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13 May 05
It's Friday the 13th. That's considered unlucky around some parts. Given that today is my Father's birthday and my first nephew was born today, I can't complain about the day. Happy Birthday Dad and Andrew.
There have been some complaints about Perfect Dark Zero not being impressive on the MTV special and some of the new screenies and videos. Personally, I'm not too worried. With rush demos on just finalized (maybe?) hardware, any bells and whistles that don't work fully are dumped to keep gameplay going. I'm sure the final version will be quite impressive when you see it in action in High Definition. I still don't know if any FPS will have the wow factor that Halo pulled off in its day.
There have been other complaints that the MTV special was a slap in the face of hardcore gamers. Some viewed it as Microsoft saying, "We know we've got you geeks with the hardware specs. We're trying to appeal to the big bucks in the mass market." I don't think that's what they meant at all.
I've mentioned before that being cool and popular is very new thing for Microsoft. They've been big and rich, but that doesn't buy cool and popular. The Xbox was the most powerful console of this generation. It had the most features. It had the best online service. Once they got the controller fiasco worked out, it surged to the top of the coolness meter. Like any geek that's tasted popularity, Microsoft doesn't want to let that go. Of course, in a more calculated way, they want to turn some of that Xbox chic into 360 hype and love. That was really more of what the MTV thing was about.
In other 360 buzz, rumors are that the price point will be ... wait for it ... $360. Kind of silly but not unreasonable. I'd prefer sticking with the $299, but I'd rather pay $360 for the console and still get $50 games instead of a cheaper console with $70 games. I still think that $70 price point will be unpalatable to the mass market. Incrementalism might work, but I still say the sweet spot is lower, not higher at least once the customer base has been established.
Another rumor to be cleared up is the matter of Xbox 360 backwards compatibility. Apparently, all questions will be answered at Monday's press conference. It's bad PR if it's not available in some form, but it's not really a system killer.
There have been reports confirming that the Nintendo Revolution controllers will all be wireless. Will Sony make that a trifecta?
Speaking of Sony, they let out a rumor today. It seems they want people to think the PS3 might come out this year. Boy this could get ugly. Remember Sony is only trying to put doubt in the heads of potential Xbox 360 customers. Should I wait for the new hotness? That's the question they want everyone asking. The new EGM's rumor column has a report that some Xbox 360 developers are shifting their projects over to the PS3. True or not, Sony is already building doubt.
E3 is next week. Please forgive any inane comments I make. In fact, let's just make that a standing request.
Jason
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12 May 05
Recently people have been amazed at how well Microsoft was handling the buzz, hype and information flow for the Xbox 360. That ended tonight. They hyped the MTV special to the ends of the Earth. Now we get it. Oh my, that was painful. In the words of Whose Line: Et Tu Crappe!
The gameplay shown was minimal. The information provided was the same. I'm glad I didn't have to make a purchase decision based on that. I know that someday, barring disaster, I will have a Xbox 360 in my entertainment center. By then that MTV fiasco should be a distant memory.
Fortunately, that shrieking noise from MTV was merely a signal to open the floodgates of information. Now all the NDA's are expired and we can get something useful. It will probably take a few days to wade through. That probably indicates the only good thing about that special. It was at the right time to keep people focused on the 360 before E3.
I'd like to hit the two highlights that jumped out at me from what I've been able to read thus far. First, we only have one SKU launching. That's good. As I've said, the great strength of a console is the single hardware spec. By launching with only one version, developers can have confidence to use any of the features available since everyone will have them. It also reduces consumer confusion. Overall I think it was a smart move.
Next, we have the big rumor born out. It's shipping with 512MB of unified memory. Personally I would have liked that 512 on top of a 1080i frame buffer dedicated video memory, but it's still an impressive number for a console. Hopefully this move will force Sony and Nintendo to match. Sony especially doesn't want any feature of their console to be beaten by the 360. It's probably not strictly required since there's marketing speak around anything, but if Sony and/or Nintendo want to lure developers to their systems, they have to give them more than the competition. Microsoft has put up a big number there. Memory is pretty cheap right now and likely to get more so in the future. There's not much reason the other players can't see or raise Microsoft on this one especially when you consider how much of a bottleneck memory was in the current generation.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. I hope all three next generation consoles are hits. Strong three way competition means more and better games for gamers. With Nintendo's move to differentiate themselves and an expected (perhaps purely hyped) power gap reported between the 360 and the PS3, we might see less of the major multiplatform games. I think each system would be strengthened by that.
I think from now on I'll stick to my policy of avoiding MTV. However, it's still a great time to be a gamer.
Jason
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11 May 05
You know it just occurred to me that there'll probably be advertising during the MTV Xbox special. I'm not sure I could take advertising within my advertisements. Good thing it's going on the DVR.
The latest word is that Microsoft is upset about all the leaks from the taping party. Right. They hate all the frenzy and publicity. Cry me a river.
I put up some new screenies in the news section. I added some more Rise of Legends and Rebelstar shots and added a category for Age of Empires 3. Check out all the screenies Here.
Speaking of Rise of Legends, Gamasutra reports that it will support the upcoming Ageia PhysX chip for accelerated physics calculations. Note to self, when building new rig for RoL, make sure it has a PhysX chip or card. What they're promising with the PhysX accelerator sounds neat, but we'll see how it pans out. I can't wait for the AI accelerator.
Finally, there are new patches out there for Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War and Silent Hunter III. Look for them at the Usual Suspects.
Jason
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10 May 05
I guess the word is out now that Perfect Dark Zero was the big playable game at the recording of the MTV Xbox 360 event. Presumably that means it will be heading the launch line up. That means it could be interesting to watch the sales numbers for the 'Reloaded' Conker release to see how well Rare's cachet carries over to the Xbox world.
I suppose on the one hand they need a big shooter to launch the 360. It worked for the Xbox. I like to think Halo was a little different though. On the console side, it moved the genre forward in many ways all the while wowing players with eye candy. I don't know if PD0 is the same type of vehicle. We'll know more Thursday.
On the other hand, I think a fighter might be the game to wow the masses. Gamers have seen FPS' leap forward in they eye candy arena even if it was largely on the PC, but don't discount games like Riddick, Doom 3 and the upcoming Half Life 2 for the consoles. I'm not sure that Microsoft can capture that same feeling of awe with a shooter this time even on much more powerful hardware. A one on one fighter can throw in all the bells and whistles faster. Perhaps a new DOA will be 'The One' Microsoft is looking for.
The one wrench I can see is the entry barrier to the HD era. HD sets sales are starting to take off, but until they're mainstreamed, Microsoft will have to produce games that look markedly better both on HD sets and regular TV's. In a sense, they may actually have to avoid games that might look stunning in 1080i, but scale down poorly. After the jump made by the last generation, expectations could be too high initially.
The other big news today was the announcement of a new Rise of Nations game. But Big Huge Games is throwing us for a loop. The new game will be set in a fantasy world pitting two factions based on technology against two based on magic. Either that sounds like a really hot idea to you or you're pretty upset. Count me in the excited crowd. Previews are up on IGN and Gamespot. I added the announcement screenshots Here. Pretty. It's expected sometime in the spring of next year. By then I might be able to afford the rig to run it.
Jason
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9 May 05
Well, we're only a few days away from the Xbox 360 (now officially leaked) debut on MTV. I wonder what that says about the 360? I guess I'm not the target audience any more. I haven't watched MTV much since college. They actually showed videos back then. Another factor is the release of the 'cool' skins image. Strangely I don't find them cool at all.
I'd be getting the impression that I wasn't cool enough for them, but I'm a gamer. I like games. They sell a game machine. Or do they? Bill Gates keeps talking about the media center capabilities of the 360. Those could be nice bonuses, but really they shouldn't be more than perks. Depending on what they do with the detachable hard drive, that could be cool.
I'm really still not clear on Microsoft's strategy for this next generation. They seem to want to be cool. That's good, but cool is fleeting. It's possible that the 360 could be the least powerful system of its generation simply by going first. That alone could wipe out the cool label. I know most people seem to be writing off Nintendo this time, but they've been making the right noises this time. We'll see if they take a leap forward or stay in the same rut.
My only redeeming point is that I did set the DVR to record the premier event. That's got to count for some geek cool points somewhere. The only thing I'm sure about is that after the MTV show, we'll still have a bunch of unanswered questions. E3 is almost here.
There are so many game announcements before E3, I actually don't have to dig for a game of the week. This week's game is Night Watch (official site) from Nival Interactive. It's a tactical RPG set in both Moscow and the magical 'Other' world, Dusk. You'll have access to over 70 spell and abilities spread across three magical career paths, Shapeshifter, Enchanter and Mage. As you battle across realities, you'll meet (and sometimes battle) interesting characters. No release date has been set for Night Watch yet.
Jason
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