jcalvert

Why not Intellivision?

If you are going to go old school, and release games for the PC Engine (or TurboGrafx-16), why not do this retro game thing justice and go for broke? Yes, we have all been there and done that with Intellivision Lives, but why not release a virtual Intellivision, Colecovision, or C-64 console? According to andriasang.com, PSN is now offering some old non Sony content.

Bomberman ’94, New Adventure Island (Takahashi Meijin no Shin Boukenjima), Sengoku Mahjong, and Devil Crush are available starting today, priced at the standard Game Archives going price of ¥600. The games are playable on both PlayStation 3 and PSP.

Not sure where Sony is going with this, but obviously they cannot call on Nintendo’s back library. Maybe they go for Sega next, but I still say go for the good stuff. Give me Seven Cities of Gold and Elite for the C-64 and Treasure of Tarmin for the Intellivision.

Going, going, gone. Or another story on how Sony sucks eggs.

The only reason I am posting a link to this story from the escapist is because their content is always well written, provoking thought, and of course entertaining. But really, do we need another “Sony lost, blah, blah, blah …” story?

Only the Game Boy kept Nintendo in the race, while Sony led two hardware generations. It seemed immovable.

Then, a series of events brought Sony crashing down to earth. Microsoft released the Xbox 360 at the end of 2005 and enjoyed a full year as the sole next-gen console. When the PS3 eventually arrived, it did so practically in tandem with the epoch-making, zillion-selling, game-changing Wii.

On the handheld front, Sony’s attempt to remove Nintendo from its portable stronghold was equally disastrous. The PSP went head to head with the DS and came off far worse, hitting 50 million unit sales earlier this year as its rival reached 100 million.

Then the iPhone came along, but we won’t talk about that.

The article then goes on to talk about how news of the PSP Go was leaked prior to E3 and explains that third parties could give a rats ass about Sony. All true? Probably.

I did a write-up on this many moon ago; will have to see if I can dig up the original article. If anyone wants to write about Sony’s struggles, just lament back to the days of 3DO. The hardware was ahead of its time, and the price point was into the stratosphere as far as the average Joe was concerned. Oops, Sony failed to learn from history.

Playing second fiddle to Nintendo’s DS variations probably sucks for Sony, but when you consider the number of PSPs sold is 50+ million, that is a lot of opportunity to make some money. Even if the PS3 stays in third place for the remainder of this hardware generation (however that is defined) at some point I assume that Sony wins the high-def format war. Sony gets a little slice of paradise every time you double dip and purchase a Blu-ray upgrade to your DVD library.

Monday news, notes, and recycling

Other than wanting to get a cold one I do not have a lot of junk to spew about tonight. Actually, before we get started I have to admit that I am a little bit pissed off that there is no update on the Sony site about the status of my PS3 repair. The site says to “please allow 1-2 business days for your unit to be assigned to a Service Agent once received.” Hmmm … I guess there must be some sort of backlog of broken PS3.

Price cuts by October?
This article from VG247 shows that the price cuts are coming, just in time for your holiday shopping pleasure.

Wedbush Morgan super-analyst Michael Pachter has predicted that Sony will cut PS3’s price before October 1 if US hardware sales continue to slide.

“It is likely both manufacturers [Sony and Nintendo] will cut by $50, with Sony making up any lack of increased demand with a software bundle.

The article basically states that hardware sales suck [stagnant is probably a more profession description] and that there will be price cuts all around. Everyone is looking for a $100 PS3 price cut from Sony, but I guess $50 is more reasonable. To be honest, once I saw the $249 price point for the PSP Go I figured Sony was going to go for a deep PS3 price cut and try to recoup PS3 losses on early PSP Go suckers [I mean adapters].

PSP Homebrew Stuffs
If I get a PSP Go, I am going to consider bricking my PSP-1000 into a homebrew system. In anticipation of this event, I have been looking at different homebrew options. QJ.net seems to be a decent news consolidation point for all things PSP homebrew related.

PSP-3000 vs. PSP Go
Click here is an interesting article comparing the PSP-3000 specs to the PSP Go.

NCAA Football 10
I have not budged. Have not started checking for the “I have it posts” or looking to see how much the game “rules or sucks.”

NCAA Football 10 – Prerelease post.

I am trying not to second guess myself about not preordering NCAA Football 10, and more importantly, abstaining for this year’s release. Since my PS3 is off in unknown parts of Texas getting repaired it is a lot easier to show will power. Or is it?

I keep trying to talk myself out of getting the PSP version. That one does not really count, does it? When I made my declaration of “no NCAA Football this year” I was really talking about the big brother version, right?

Oh well, just a day before the pending release, there are several things I am not doing …

I am not looking at the “I got it early” threads.
For that matter, I am not even visiting forums of any sort.
I am not looking for early reviews.
I am not looking for bloggers with hands-on day one type impressions.

When I think about it, I find it rather amazing that I am actually sitting on the sidelines waiting this one out. I almost do not know what to do with all this free time on my hands. With all that said, at the very least I am damn curious about the PSP version, and since my current PSP library is down to exactly zero sports games, I may have to take a couple of sneak peeks later in the week.

Throwing out history with the bathwater.

Yesterday I was doing some belated spring cleaning and finally decided to turn towards the old bookshelf. You know the one with old college text books and programming manuals and books that time forgot?

Programming Windows 3.1 Third Edition Charles Petzold
Advanced Windows Third Edition Jeffrey Richter
Microsoft Foundation Class Bible 4

I started to keep these three books for prosperity or something. The only reason I have been hanging on to them was for sentimental value. I spent a lot of time with these books early in my career, but it is time to move on to other adventures.

Shed no tears of sorrow; all these books served me well. Now off they go to the local Goodwill for someone else to enjoy.

Monday Blues.

It sucks to be you if you have to go to work today. It’s not like I am off or anything, so we will just have to muddle through this life thing one blog entry at a time.

Happy Monday. Make the best of it. Well, something like that.

More PSP Go dribble.

It is a slow gaming news day, so I went hunting for PSP Go news. I am still very much on the fence about getting one of these systems, but I am getting ahead of myself.

Last week RPGamer posted some E3 hands-on impressions of the Go. Not a lot of new nuggets here, but the article is worth a read if you are pressed for PSP Go news.

The battery life on the Go is a bit of a disappointment. Many people, including myself, thought that with the exclusion of the UMD drive, the battery life on the Go would be much longer than the current PSP’s 3-6 hours for games and 3-5 hours for video playback. Unfortunately, the PSP Go has nearly the exact same battery life as previous PSP models. This is a concession to the Go’s smaller form factor. It uses a smaller battery at 960mAH while the previous PSP-3000 used a 1200mAH battery. Technically, the PSP Go is far more energy efficient because even though it has a smaller battery it can achieve the same battery life as previous models. To be honest, that is a very small concession since functionally, nothing has changed.

I still do not understand how Sony failed to address battery life; 10 hours should be the minimum that engineers should strive for with a portable gaming system. At least with my current PSP-1000 brick, I do have two batteries, so I can always keep one changed. If the PSP Go has an internal battery, we are all F’ed if we expect to take this thing on a long flight.

Still not convinced that you need to spend your hard earned duckets on a PSP Go? Neither is TheSixthAxis, but they tried to come up with some reason to go with a PSP Go.

Let’s face it, many people who buy a PSPgo will likely be buying it simply because it is new. With the technology and gadget loving crowd if they are not considering buying it because they themselves always like to have the newest gadget they may be considering it just for the cachet that comes from showing their peers that they have bought the latest technological bling.

So this is what happens on a slow news day. You have to read me droning on and on “will he or won’t he” style about the PSP Go. Part of me wants one – my PSP 1000 is a brick and if I get a PSP Go, I can turn my PSP 1000 into a homebrew system.

I keep saying, “screw it, I am heading to Amazon to preorder” then at the last minute I cannot justify $250 for this minor PSP upgrade. Besides, I cannot make up my mind on the Black or White decision. If I can find $175 worth of crap to throw up on eBay this afternoon, I think I will take the plunge. Stay tuned.

Funny D&D + LOTR webcomic.

I am really now sure how I came across The DM of the Rings comic strip, rather webcomic, earlier this week, but OMG, this thing had me LMAO. At times it was so bad that my wife would look at me in bewilderment, and finally pat me on the head and say something along the lines of “I am glad my little geeky nerd is enjoying that stuff.”

So here is the deal, if you grew up playing Dungeons and Dragons, or at some point were a fan of D&D, AD&D, the various derivatives over the years, debated the merits of 1st Edition vs. 2nd Edition vs. whatever came next; and you take your Tolkien not too terribly seriously, this webcomic is for you. It has been around for a while, but if you missed out on it, check it out now!

FOX, thanks for taking my Nurburgring away.

Another F1 race, another FOX tape delay. These things suck. It is bad enough that FOX will not play the race until later this afternoon, but WTF is wrong with SPEED TV? I love how SPEED TV offers its own replay at 1PM this Wednesday. Seriously, whoever signed a deal for me not to be able to watch live F1 races can just F Off!

Looks like SPEED TV does not pick up a live race until Aug 23, the European Grand Prix.

Welcome to Sunday. Don’t let my grumpiness prevent you for having a good one. Happy Sunday!

Myst baby! Myst!

My second “Holy Toledo Batman!” moment of the morning, and in my dotage, it is much too early (dare I even say exiting!) for me to take this sort of news. What to do? What to do? According to GamersDailyNews at long last … wait for it … sit down and take a deep breath … Myst is coming to the PSP! You know you need to get you some of that!

As part of a publishing agreement with Cyan Worlds, Myst will be released on Thursday July 16th through the Playstation Network.

The game takes advantage of the PSP system’s glorious 16-million color 16:9 screen as it catapults the player into a universe of mystery, discovery, and mind-bending puzzles.

Utterly alone and without encountering another single living soul on a mysterious island, the player sets out to explore its grandeur and unlock its secrets. A chilling tale of injustice unfolds, expanding beyond all boundaries of space and time. Quickly, though, it becomes clear every action can somehow help unfortunate individuals trapped somewhere in a parallel dimension. The Myst adventure is like no other, tantalizing with its unique combination of lavish environments, puzzles, mazes, and a sizzling underlying drama which steadily reveals itself to the player

Just you wait and see. This sum bitch is going straight to the top of the PSN download charts.

Spreading rumors …

What the hell? N4G has a 1000+ degree hot item from TheSixthAxis. By golly wow, it appears that the PS3 is going to pick up a 360 game, hot dog!

Whilst we can’t reveal any specifics right now, we can now reveal that the PlayStation 3 will play host to a popular 360 favourite. The title, which has to remain under wraps with us for the time being, will be released towards the end of the year. We’ve been promised more information in roughly a month’s time, at which point we’ll be able to share the specifics, first.

Our contact has also let us know that the studio will have other exciting news to share soon enough. Note that we can not talk about this further at this stage.

Holy shit Batman, this is serious news! I’ll play along too just to help spread rumors. Speaking of which …

Did you hear the one about Susan? Some say she’s much too loose. That came straight from a guy who claims he’s tastin’ her juice.

Did you hear the one about Michael? Some say he must be gay.
I tried to argue but they said if he were straight he would’nt move that way.

Did you hear the one about Tina? Some say she’s just a tease. In a camisole she’s six feet tall she’ll knock you to your knees.

Mmmm … love me some rumors. Happy Saturday!

Braves finally dump Francoeur.

Not sure what else you can call it besides a dump. Most surprising of all, the Braves traded within the NL East.

Wow. Church must really have worn out his welcome with the Mets. Since coming off the DL in early June, Church’s line is .290/.336/.402 … far from good for a corner outfielder, but decent enough compared to most of the Mets’ other outfielders … and of course a far sight prettier than Francoeur’s .250/.282/.352 line for the season.

Defense? According to UZR, there’s little difference between them and Church might actually be better.

Handedness? With Fernando Tatis and Gary Sheffield, the Mets already had two righty-hitting corner outfielders; now they’ve got three.

So, let’s review: The Braves got a decent hitter and fielder who bats left-handed, and thus can platoon (or semi-platoon) with Matt Diaz in right field. The Mets got … what, exactly? If you figure it out, drop a line to Jerry Manuel. He’s going to need all the help he can get with this one.

Like everyone else in Braves-vill, I was all on-board the Francoeur bandwagon until the wheels fell off. As I said a few days ago, a change of pace would probably be good for him and help revive his career. I just cannot get over trading within the NL East, and I must admit that I do not know much about Church. Landing a 30 year old for a 25 year old, plus giving up cash does not seem like the best deal around.

What happened to Boston being hot and heavy for Francoeur? Was this really the best deal on the table? All I can say is rats!

PS3 repair update.

I received an email yesterday afternoon that Sony had received my PS3. The email indicated that turnaround time is typically 7-10 business days. If you tack on another 3-4 days for return shipping, it looks like I am going to be without a Blu-ray player (sorry, gaming system) until the end of July. As my grandmother would have said, that is a hell of a note.

When gamers, bloggers, and developers need a life.

This one from PlayStation Life Style is a silly little head scratcher. A CNET poll to vote for Forza or GT went horrible wrong. Ballet box stuffing. For shame!

We live in a very competitive world, and this is apparent in the video game industry where publishers and developers are constantly trying to get a leg up on their competition, whether it’s through clever marketing or brilliant feats of engineering. But what is NOT acceptable is when a publisher or developer uses bribes to gain an advantage. Che Chou, the community manager at Turn 10, has done exactly this, and we feel compelled to inform our readers about the dishonest tactics that the Forza Motorsport developer has chosen to carry out.

This is just classic. The CNET poll is now closed thanks to all the shenanigans.

Editor’s note: After numerous complaints of cheating and in-game content being offered as payment for votes, I’ve decided to close the poll. Way to ruin the fun for the rest of us, guys.

Wow. The competition between these games is serious business, and folks are playing for keeps (or at least votes).

Out of the Park 10 is $10 off July 9-15.

I have not played the last couple of OOTP iterations, mainly because the online league I was in folded. There was a $10 off preorder special, but at the time I decided I would pass. Now this deal comes along, and I am going to strongly consider jumping back into OOTP.

All-Star Special: $10 off Out of the Park Baseball 10!

Get OOTP 10 Now And Safe [sic] $10!
If you’ve just heard of OOTP, or if you’ve been sitting on the fence, take advantage of our Out of the Park Baseball All-Star Special!

From July 9th through July 15th, OOTP 10 can be yours for just $29.99 (€29.99 for customers living inside the European Union), a discount of $10 off the normal price!

Out of the Park Baseball 10 is the 10th iteration of our award-winning baseball management simulation game. It will be the best OOTP ever released, adding more features to an already unparalleled feature set and improving already existing ones. We have done a lot of work on the under-the-hood functionality, greatly improving the artificial intelligence, which results in the most realistic baseball management experience ever. As a baseball fan, you owe it to yourself to play OOTP 10!

This is a pretty good deal. It is basically on sale for the price of a PSP game, or a heavily discounted (or Greatest Hits) PS3 game. Plus you get the added advantage that the game has already been patched, so it should be pretty clean.