Author: jcalvert

After a few more game, I am completely frustrated with passing in NCAA 08.  Things are getting better, but at this point it appears that all passes are on the same plane.  There is no concept of airing one out, lobbing a pass, or putting touch on the ball.  Maybe I am missing something, but I do not have time or the inclination to mess around with sliders.

Past versions of NCAA football suffered from being able to lob the ball over defenders and they hapless (and helplessly) watched receivers pull in the ball.  NCAA Football 08 goes to the opposite extreme.  Time after time I have a defender beat, but they manage to easily step in front of the ball and knock it down.  I guess I am going to have to start searching various message boards to see if this is a problem or if it is just me showing my age and inability to grasp the complexities of modern video game football.

Frustrated in Columbus.

I got to put in a few minutes of NCAA 08; 3 quarters to be precise, and my first impressions are not pretty. Let me rephrase this; I suck at the game. UGA vs. GA Tech; it should not have been so bad for the Bulldogs.

From a cosmetic standpoint, I have no idea about the 30 fps vs. 60 fps deal. The game ran smoothly, with no stuttering or slowdown. The graphics, while certainly pretty at 720p, seemed to be more cartoonish instead of realistic. I guess this has something to do with the vivid colors. It bothers me that the players look like they are on top of the grass instead of actually playing on the grass. Cosmetic and all, so I guess it does not really matter.

On to things that matter. If I have Matthew Stafford, I should be able to pass the f’ing ball with some success. I can chalk up some of my mishaps to just not having the timing down on a new game, but that can only take us so far. I could not believe my eyes when I watch a reply of the ball hitting my receiver’s facemask, and then falling to the ground. The announcers made a comment about the great defensive play, but give me a break. My dude dropped the ball.

I had a solid six sacks, and went something like 4-10 before Stafford was knocked out of the game. Blake Barnes did not do much better, going 2-6 before I had to stop playing, down 20-3 at the end of the 3rd qtr. I know Georgia’s receivers are not top flight, but I hope things will get better once I get the hang of the game.

I hate the new play calling screen; it is too damn limiting to only see four plays at a time. Once again minor stuff, but I suffered through several delay of games just trying to find a decent play.

The pre-play options on offense and defense are pretty nice. On defense you can easily setup a LB blitz and call for certain pass coverage.

I do not mean to be negative, but these are very first impressions. It is kind of bad coming from me, because I am normally all about a new release of NCAA Football. Hopefully more time and effort will provide for a better experience.

NCAA Football 08 is sitting on my front porch, waiting for me to get home and give it a go. There’s only one problem. Tonight is my wife’s birthday. So dinner, getting the kids to bed, and maybe some downtime. I did not really time this one very well. Maybe some impressions later night, but I need to report on Super Stardust HD, and Oblivion Elder Scrolls IV. Too many games; too little time.

A few weeks ago I picked up Planet Earth (the BBC narration version) from Amazon for $66.95, which is price as far as my normal DVD purchases go, but well worth the money.  I have seen enough of the episodes on Discovery HD to know what to expect, but oh my goodness, this set looks incredible.  I am not sure what makes the difference – the Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V2500, the PS3, the HDMI combination for 1080p, or Blu-ray.  If you want a way to show off a high-def set, this is the way to do it up right.

Last week, my boys and I watched the original Star Wars Trilogy; I hate that I have to qualify it with the “original” moniker.  While these are the newer DVD versions with all the pretty blinky lights, beautiful explosions, and all the other eye candy, I have to report that Star Wars has never looked better!  The PS3 upscaling is incredible.  While I am not any sort of HD expert, I do know that this is the best looking Star Wars that I have even seen.

I doubt I will be picking up APF 2K8 for the PS3.  At some point maybe I will give it a go via a rental, but after downloading a video from the PlayStation Store, the game looks … well … like a bad version of amateur football.  The actual gameplay may be pretty good, and the graphics are fine, but there is no way I am going to get past the NFL Europe (or worse) uniforms.  OK, call me superficial, but that is the way I feel.

Time to admit that I was never a big fan of the 2K series; I know it has a strong following among gamers that are bored, burned out, and generally frustrated with EA Sports’ brand of football as seen yearly in each Madden and NCAA Football release.  I enjoyed the first release for the DreamCast, but I enjoy NCAA (or Madden) more than the various 2K releases.

APF has some interesting ideas – Hall of Fame caliber players could be fun, but I cannot get past the blandness of it all; I do not want generic football.  I do not mind going generic with some sports titles if the game is great (see OOTPB), but I am long past the point where I enjoy playing unlicensed console games.  It is really kind of funny (maybe even pathetic), but I do not mind doing fantasy drafts (Vince Young to the Falcons; Vick to the dogpile) in Madden.  The difference is that it is still the licensed players and still the licensed teams.

As I get older, I continue to slant more and more towards the middle.  I admit to having casual gamer syndrome (CGS), but I wish 2K all the best of luck.  Hopefully the game is decent, sees enough sells to make apply some pressure to EA, and eventually spurs more improvements in Madden or NCAA Football.

I am not sure WTF is wrong with Sony, but the miscommunication around the recent price drop announcement is appalling.  Honestly, I could care less about the price drop; I am comfortable with my purchase of my 60GB PS3 for $599.  With that said, a price drop will sell more systems, and more systems, eventually will mean more games.

As of right now, while there is a “price drop” of $100 for the 60GB PS3, apparently Sony has no desire to keep the PS3 at a $499 price point.  If all the rumors are true, the 60GB PS3 is no longer in production, which means that the new 80GB PS3 (due in August), priced at $599, will eventually be the only PS3 available.  So the price drop is really a temporary price reduction or a discount for a discontinued system.  Spin it however you will.

Confused?  Message boards, blogs, and gaming sites are all ripping Sony for not really having a true price cut.  This is somewhat warranted, but then again I think many gamers realize that Sony has thousands (maybe even a few hundred thousand to a million) 60GB PS3 sitting in warehouses, so the strategy is a good way to clear out inventory.  It is also a good strategy to get PS3 systems in the hands of potential buyers that have been holding out for a better deal.  $599 is simply too much for the mass market to absorb, regardless of value (Blu-ray, Bluetooth, HDMI, etc).

I can only assume that Sony plans to drop the price of the 80GB PS3 to $499 once the 60GB PS3 is no longer available, but they cannot show that hand now or the 60GB PS3 systems would stagnate as gamers pick the “better” version (more = better).

I came across an interesting article about Sony’s strategy with the PS3. Of course Sony has been telling us since day one that the PS3 is not just a gaming console. This article pretty much drives the point home. The bottom line is that Sony is putting all it’s eggs in the Blu-ray basket. Once again, this is nothing new, but it is rather revealing to see the strategy laid out so clearly.

Should PS3 owners be concerned about Sony’s PS3 strategy?

The bottom line: Sony’s PS3 serves multiple Sony goals, only one of which is being the big platform in the the gaming console market. It doesn’t have to outsell the Nintendo Wii or the XBox 360 for it to be successful; it only has to establish itself as a viable high-definition platform for next-generation developers, gamers, and movie watchers.

Another telling point is that Sony’s overall high-def strategy is working.

Sony’s Bravia line recently became the best selling LCD brand on a revenue basis, despite being third on a unit basis.

A couple of months ago I made a decision to purchase a PS3, not because of the current gaming library (as of May 2007), but because I wanted to take advantage of my Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V2500. That is not to say that I only wanted the PS3 for Blu-ray, but it Blu-ray played a significant factor in my purchase decision. At some point I knew the games would come. After reading this article PS3 owners have to wonder what happens to the PS3 if Microsoft and Nintendo decide to reload in 3-4 years with new consoles? Unless Sony can get major market share in a hurry, PS3 owners should be concerned.

It seems that Sony is all over the map. First there was a leaked price cut, but it was not really a price cut. Not that big of a deal because rumors are often denied. Then there was a price cut, but now it may really be more of a price reduction of a system no longer being manufactured. Price cut confusion oh my.

I thought one of the interesting stories from E3 was a Codemasters’ interview that states that the PS3 will receive the best version of DiRT.

Listening to the interview makes me sound brilliant. Earlier this week I wrote that “they [Sony] are going to have to start offering free consulting services to the third party developers to help them with their porting efforts.” I have no idea how much money changed hands, but this is the right tactic for Sony. Help the third party developers make better games, but much like the price cut fiasco, it looks like Sony is sending mixed messages when it comes to third party support:

“If the games don’t look good on the platform, consumers aren’t going to buy them. As I said, we can’t control what third parties are going to do,” explained Tretton. “We can try to evangelize the technology and assist those guys in development and try to convince them that it is in their best interests to take advantage of the technology.”

“At some point, what’s the point of porting it over to another platform if it is not going to look as good on a platform that is more expensive? Why waste any money in development doing that?”

Can Gran Turismo 5: Prolog really look this good?

I have not had much time to post the last couple of days, but I have plenty of things I want to post about.  E3, Super Stardust HD, PS3 DVD upconverting/upscaling, crap from video game magazines, and then some.

I just saw that ebgames.com is running a $5 off coupon, for today only, on one game priced $49.99 or higher.  I think I may use this as incentive to finally preorder NCAA Football 2008 or Madden 2008.  Maybe.  Probably need to write about that as well, but right now I am out of time.

Price cut aside, Sony needs to do some serious work at E3 to get some momentum for the PS3, but more on that after we get the price cut business out of the way. A $100 price cut will help improve sales, but by how much? I believe that there are millions of loyal Sony fans still playing their PS2 because the entry point for a PS3 is just too steep. A PS3 for $499 will not entice the majority of these gamers; $299 is more reasonable. With that said, the price drop will help move some systems, because a $100 price drop will be enough incentive for some gamers sitting on the fence. I have no idea how much of a bump the price drop will provide PS3 sells; maybe an extra 5K per week leading into Thanksgiving weekend.

In other words, a price drop alone will not be enough for Sony to make significant progress. Then again, the price drop is still speculative. Sony is still denying the rumors, but surely they have been caught with their pants down.

Speaking of rumors, a popular one is that the Sixaxis controller will be replaced with a rumbled enabled Sixaxis controller. Great plan on Sony’s part, but retiring the current Sixaxis controller and bundling the rumored Sixaxis with rumble will not have a big impact PS3 sells. This rumor will come true; Sony set this precedent back in the original PlayStation days. The good news for Sony is that margins on accessories are normally huge, and I am sure that most PS3 owners will pick up a rumbled enabled Sixaxis controller before Christmas. I am sure I will; drone, tool, whatever … the new controller will be the default controller going forward.

Price drop. Check. New controller with rumble. Check. Neither will be enough. What else can Sony do? Free Blu-ray movies, game pack-in, quality games, and better third party development tools and support.

Sony is going to have to continue running free Blu-ray movie offers. One of the reasons I picked up my PS3 was for Blu-ray to compliment my Sony HD TV. I have to believe that there are some other PS3 owners in the same boat. It will be interesting to see what impact, if any, the current 5 free Blu-ray movies offer has on PS3 (and other Blu-ray player) sells. The back of the August 2007 PSM details the offer (pick one game from each category).

• The Guardian, Pearl Harbor, Invincible, Chicken Little
• Corpse Bride, Phantom of the Opera, Blazing Saddles
• Stealth, Resident Evil 2, Underworld Evolution, Stir of Echoes
• The Italian Job, Black Rain, Babel, Devil’s Rejects
• Kiss of the Dragon, Omen 666, The Transporter 2, Species, Hart’s War, The Last Waltz

Not really a great offer; I thought maybe you would get to pick any five Blu-ray movies that had a certain MSRP, but it is still a very nice bonus. I bet Species tops the list – something special about boobies in HD.

I really believe that Sony needs to pack in a game or have some sort of free game offer. I doubt they will do either, but offering a mail in rebate for certain PS3 games (see list below) would help spur sells.

What about the games? At E3 we are sure to learn more about Lair (it is really in trouble?), Heavenly Sword (God of War with a sexy female?), LittleBigPlanet (will not be out anytime soon), Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (looks incredible), Warhawk (should be popular for online gamers), and finally Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. I may be the only gamer around that never played a Ratchet and Clank or Jack and Daxter game, but both of I bet I will try the new Ratchet, and Uncharted (from Naughty Dog) looks like a system seller.

I know there are a lot of PS3 fans excited about Home, but this is not something that really excites me. I have enough trouble keeping up this site, much less worrying about making my virtual PS3 home look exciting.

The biggest thing that Sony can do at E3 is announce some soft of software toolkit to help port games from PC/360 that allow developers to focus their efforts on taking advantage of the PS3 hardware. Or they are going to have to start offering free consulting services to the third party developers to help them with their porting efforts. Sony is not careful; they really run the risk of turning into the Nintendo 64 and Game Cube – great 1st party games, but no variety because of lack of third party support.

Will Sony get smart with third party support? That may be the biggest issue facing Sony, and the key factor in gaining some momentum for the PS3. Price drops are nice, free Blu-ray movies will help, a new rumble enabled Sixaxis controller will sell well, and a game pack in or mail in rebate would be an unexpected bonus. Helping out the third party developers and publishers is the only way I see for Sony to make up major numbers on Nintendo and Microsoft.

Next week should be darn interesting for PS3 owners.

When will FOX stop their tape delay coverage of F1 races?  I was looking forward to watching the British GP at Silverstone this morning, but just checked SPEED, and it is not going to be shown, which means FOX has it today at 1PM EST.  FOX had four consecutive events – Canadian GP, US GP, French GP, and British GP.  For some reason I was thinking last week was the end of FOX’s coverage, but it looks like I have to wait until July 22 (European GP) to return to live F1 action on SPEED.

What can happen in .005 seconds?  Last night, to end the Pepsi 400 is dramatic fashion; Jamie McMurray managed to nudge in front of Kyle Busch to win the race by .005 seconds.  Needless to say, that was an exciting finish.

Unfortunately I only got to watch Q1 and Q2 at Silverstone today (missing Q3 pretty much stinks), but I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race.  Hopefully we will see some passing action outside of the pitlane.  I did a little pre race prep by running some F1CE time trials at Silverstone.  Have I said lately how much I enjoy F1CE?

Of course tonight there is the Daytona night race, which is one of my favorite NASCAR events.  Say want you will about super speedway racing, but I think this will be entertaining.  It would be easy for me to say Junior, Gordon, or Stewart, but I do think one of those guys will win (in that order).  After watching the race I bet I will get a jones going for NASCAR 08.  I keep telling myself “no.”

Tomorrow we get to see the IRL boys (and girls) take on Watkins Glen.  I am really looking forward to this one, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that ABC will give this one some HD treatment, but I know that is not going to happen.

So grab a cold one, lift up a glass, and get ready for a night of NASCAR racing, followed by some morning glory F1 action, and an afternoon nap before tuning into IRL at the Glen.

Me?  I am sipping on some Red Guitar, which is a rather unorthodox pre race drink, but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

It looks like a PS3 price drop is imminent no matter Sony does to deny that a price drop will be in full force by next weekend.  I think the current price point of $599 is much too expensive for the mass market.  Sony will only reach diehard fans (looking at myself in the mirror I suppose), gamers looking for a compliment to their shinny new HD TV (reflection in the mirror again), or maybe a high end Blu-ray system.

With the PS3 priced at $499, the system is still probably $100 to $150 to high for the mass market, but I think it will be enough of a price drop to help get Sony back on track.  I still think Sony needs to offer more incentives.  Once the price drops you will still be able to get 5 Blu-ray movies for free (use the search feature for the link), but I think Sony should offer a free game to really sweeten the pot.

Sony fans will have to wonder if the $100 price drop is enough.  Me?  I am comfortable with my purchase.  Not only do I have a great console, but I also have an awesome Blu-ray system to compliment my Sony BRAVIA KDL-40V2500.  There are a lot of interesting titles on the horizon, and I am sure that more info will come from E3.  No matter; Sony fans (you know the ones I am talking about) still have to worry because Microsoft and Nintendo have all the momentum.

Message boards run rampant with flames about how much money Sony is taking up the pipe with every PS3 system sold.  They are probably right, but does Sony have anything on the Microsoft charge back that is coming for the Xbox 360?  Earlier this week Microsoft announced that they are going to make things right for 360 owners that have had to pay for out of warranty repairs (for certain types of problems, cough, red right of death, cough).  In addition, Microsoft will extend their 360 warranty for up three years.  How much will this cost?  $1.05 to $1.15 billion.  Yes, billion.  Ouch.  Looks like console makers from Japan to Washington are taking it up the pipe.

For Microsoft, the worm has turned.  A few years ago, all developers led with PS2 games, followed by ports to the Xbox.  The Xbox ports often looked a little better, but it was usually a case of the developers not putting in the extra effort to really make the Xbox games shine.  The situation is now reversed.  Most major developers and publishers are developing for the 360, and porting to the PS3.  This is contributing to much anguish for PS3 owners.  While I cannot count frames, the whole of Sony-Nation is up in arms that NCAA Football 2008, Madden 2008, and 2K Sports non-NFL licensed entry all run at 30 FPS on the PS3, while running at 60 FPS on the 360.  Sony has already admitted that there is work to do when a game is ported to the PS3.  Why is Sony not helping the developers and publishers make their games shine on the PS3?  Seems like it would be money well spent.

I was going to comment on the Wii, but Q1 at Silverstone is almost over, so it is time to stop and get on with Saturday.
I do know one thing; next week will be very interesting for console fans.

Happy Saturday!