Saturday, September 30, 2006

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

So, now there is a study out there (conducted by the company that sued Sony for patent infringement, no less) that says that Sony is going to lose market share because the controller for the forthcoming PS3 does not have the “rumble” feature like the Xbox 360 and the Wii. I have never been one to play many racing games (and I think it may have something to add in that genre), but I don’t really see the appeal.

I think the feature was used well in one game, I think it had to be a Resident Evil title, where you began to feel your heartbeat when your health was low. That was kind of cool, but you still had to open a menu to find out exactly how badly you were hurt. For my dime, I’d just rather you put a health bar at the top of the screen.

Also, and maybe this is just me, after I’ve been playing a game for more than a few minutes, I don’t even notice the shaking of the controller. So, I say “good riddance” to the rumble feature. I also say that the price of the PS3 controller should reflect the lack of internal hardware as well, but that’s the subject of another post.

Monday, September 25, 2006

First G4, and now Wizard?

Once upon a time, there was a cable station called G4tv. At one point, it was even given the tagline “TV for Gamers”. The tag fit perfectly, as the programming was all about video game previews, tips/strategy, interviews with industry movers, coverage of major gaming events like E3, and even video game competitions. It was a good network. Then came the shows about cars. And Star Trek. And The Man Show. After that, G4 became nothing more than another TBS clone. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. At least they still show X-Play every now and then.

So, I’m reading the latest issue of Wizard (also known as Wizard: The Comics Magazine), and I come across something inexplicable: an article about the TV show “Lost”. A few pages later, there was a blurb about how the movie “The Grudge 2” is going to be too good to miss. What’s all this? Don’t get me wrong, Wizard has been about a lot more than just comics forever, but they’ve always been grounded in comics-based material. They’ve always talked about movies and TV, but only as they relate to comics – TV shows like Mutant X, movies like Spider-Man…that type of thing. Throw in an action figure and a Batman statue or two, and it’s still good. Add a recommendation for a non-comic-based TV show or movie, and the formula is broken.

I already had to give up watching G4 (unless I’m in the mood for Star Trek, of course) because it broke its formula. I don’t want to have to give up Wizard because it has aspirations of becoming an Entertainment Weekly clone.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

[insert console name here] Haters...UNITE

The Sony fanboys hate Microsoft and everything they stand for. The Microsoft fanboys hate Sony with every fiber of their being. Both the Sony and MS fanboys generally ignore the Nintendo fanboys, but the Nintendo fanboys don’t care because they secretly hate everybody who isn’t a Nintendo fanboy.

All this hate going around is really good for the industry. Tensions get high, message boards get filled up, and the corporations are forced to produce even better product. “Our console was out first…we’re first to market!” “Oh yeah, well, our offering will be more powerful than you could possibly imagine!” “Well, we have a gorilla-chasing plumber as our mascot…so there!”

Personally, I follow the software…the games decide what console I’ll buy. I’m a Sony fanboy, but I’m 100% sure I’ll buy an Xbox 360 as well as a PS3. If the games look good, I’ll even pick up a Wii. But that’s not the point of this post. The point is this:

Playstation Haters, Xbox Haters, Nintendo Haters…UNITE! Let’s all bring the hate together against the PC gamers! Those uppity bastards have had it coming for a long time!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Civil War!

Well, this just has to be said. Iron Man is a jerk.

This Civil War storyline from Marvel has got to be the best thing to come out of the House of Ideas in a very, very long time. I was just beginning to lose hope, too. It was starting to look like anything except for the Ultimate stuff (and anything by Bendis) was bound to suck. Hard. But, in walks Civil War, and all the tie-ins, and I’m completely blown away.

In case you’re unaware, the basic premise is that the powers that be in the US government in the Marvel Universe (Marvel “616”, to be exact) have decided that all practicing superheroes need to either register themselves with the government (thereby revealing their identities to various agencies, and essentially become government employees themselves), or they need to hang up their tights for good. No one pays much attention to this initiative until the New Warriors are involved in the destruction of a schoolyard full of kids while trying to bring in some bad guys for a reality show. Iron Man agrees the measure needs to be pushed through, and Captain America disagrees. A deadline passes, and Cap and the rest of the heroes who refused to register become criminals.

I can’t reveal too much more without ruining the story, but just know that Iron Man is indeed a huge jerk. And as of this writing, Spider-Man isn’t too far behind.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

What the?!? Only 400k PS3s for the US Launch???

This is painful...truly painful. I can't lie to you...I'm a Sony fanboy. Sure, I own an Xbox, and, as I've said before, I plan to buy an Xbox 360. I'll most likely be buying a Wii at some point, too. But in deep down inside, I'm pulling for Sony all the way. Sure, I'll probably have to slip the Game Stop clerk $50 to make sure I get my name at the top of the PS3 reservation list, but I still plan to get a PS3 on the day it launches. And I'll stand by my decision, just like I did for the Sega Dreamcast...not that my support for Sega's best console made much difference in the end. It's too bad...the Dreamcast was a worthy console.

Aside from the fact that there will only be 400,000 PS3s (projected) in the US, Sony has decided to scrap their plans for a worldwide launch. For the initial launch, only the US and Japan will be receiving units. And Japan will only be getting 100,000 PS3s (projected). Ouch. The rest of the world will have to wait until March 2007. Ouch again. Either that, or wait to buy a PS3 for $5000 on EBAY. That goes way beyond "ouch".

The problem is this: Sony, at least publicly, is trying to say that this drastic cut in their PS3 launch numbers are no big deal. They're saying that this'll be the same as the PS2 launch, and better than the Xbox 360 launch. Sure, when the PS2 launched, they had about the same amount of hardware. But, they also didn't have any real competition when they launched. If you wanted to play on the newest console, and you missed out at launch, then tough...you just had to suffer through the PS2 shortage. This time around, there are two other new consoles out there -- one of which will be brand new (the Wii, of course). As for the faults of the Xbox 360 launch...well, they did it the same way Sony did with the PS2. They launched when there were no other new consoles due out for months. They launched when there was no competition, and now they have a foothold. At least in the US and Europe. They are still sucking pretty hard in Japan.

In closing, this PS3 hardware shortage may be good for the short-term profits of the EBAYers out there, but I'm not so sure it bodes well for the future of Sony's PS3. Either way, I'll still have my PS3 on the day it launches.
And I'll stand by my decision, just like I did for the Sega Dreamcast.

I just hope the PS3 has a brighter future than the Dreamcast.