Archive – Page 16 – The Recycle Bin

PS Vita Preordered

I preordered a PS Vita from Amazon last night after checking to see if the preorder page was finally up. It was, so I did the needful.

I opted to go with the Wi-Fi version because I have not seen any indications yet how AT&T will price Vita’s 3G offering. Saving $50 bucks, also means an extra game, but the appeal of having connectivity wherever I have AT&T connectivity is very strong.

Unfortunately I doubt AT&T will offer a one-time use fee, or a standard flat rate; best guess is on some sort of bandwidth tier similar to current smart phone plans. I really do not need another monthly bill of any sort.

What I do need is to get my wife a new phone next month for her birthday, and since we are already planning to switch off the T-Mobile network, which pretty much sucks in our area, the timing of a switch to AT&T for upcoming Vita support is in our (well mine anyway) sweet spot.

I’ve been tempted to get my wife an iPhone; although she would not utilize all the features, I am sure my boys will! If AT&T does some sort of bundled offering for multiple devices (I don’t think they currently do this) I would switch to AT&T in preparations for a 3G Vita Christmas.

More to come as events and launch games unfold.

Sony Continues To Be Ill Prepared For High Home Volume

In a continuing pattern of ‘Sony just cannot do anything right’ I found Sony’s E3 Home experience rather lacking. You would think that Sony would be prepared for high server volume, but it just appears that Sony does not care or Sony has no idea how to resolve volume related issues with Home. I am really not sure which, but either way causes this jaded gamer to be a tad bit grumpy.

Funny enough, I did not really criticize Sony for the PSN hack, their response, and their approach at reconciliation. I am however highly critical of the post launch experience. When tells us to ‘come on down’ and check out E3 in Home, and I cannot, well, that is an entirely different matter.

Start your journey by getting an up-close look at the PlayStation VITA and then proceed throughout the space to view trailers and collect rewards from some of the top PlayStation titles, including Twisted Metal, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, Papo + Yo, Resistance 3, and more! Collect all rewards to gain access to the special VIP area play the first level of Scribble Shooter – an upcoming top-down, shoot ‘em up game exclusive to PlayStation Home. As an added bonus, our friends over at Heavy Water have created a package for all VIPs that includes an array of limited edition virtual items.

So I attempted to get the aforementioned goodies, but could not even get into Home due to ‘Z’ server disconnect errors. When I finally did get in, I often could not get media (the trailers) to work, and usually had to guess which E3 virtual booth areas were the right destinations for watching the media in order to get the rewards.

I have been trying to get a little more use out of Home; maybe I have been missing something. Perhaps my timing is bad, coinciding with the return of the PSN post-hack outage and E3, but my patience is wearing thin.

Enter PlayStation Vita

Today at Sony’s E3 press conference, the formerly named NGP was officially unveiled as the PS Vita. I have not read any other options, new stories, etc … after the conference ended, taking the dog out for a quick walk, and putting my oldest son to bed (coincidentally, he is now lusting for a PS Vita), I am just now quickly putting words to ‘print’.

My initial thoughts? I already knew that the Vita would be feature rich (call it sexy hardware), but I kept asking what about the price point? We now know that the Vita is being released in time for the 2011 Holiday season in two models. $249.99 for Wi-Fi only, and $299.99 for G3 with Wi-Fi. The 3G model is being exclusively partnered with AT&T.

I am actually OK with the price; I think I remember paying $249.99 for my PSP day-one bundle several years ago. So it cost as much as a traditional console; but who f’ing cares because it is a really great portable gaming system. Well, at least it has the potential to be wonderful, if developers are able to get their arms around the specs and do the needful. Seems like we went down this same path a few years ago with the PS3, but I do have high hopes for the Vita.

Speaking of bundles, one of the biggest auxiliary questions I have surrounding that Vita is will major retailers such as Amazon force consumers into purchasing stupid bundle packages in order to move ridiculous products and subpar games that would never sell on their own merits? I hate bundles, which is why I abandon GameStop and EBGames several years ago, but that is an entirely different rant for another day.

The initial Vita games look amazing, but I do have a few questions. First, what happens to my PSN PSP purchases (digital PSP games, PSOne classics, comics, minis, etc)? Second, for titles playable on the PS3 and Vita, do consumers have to purchase two full priced SKUs, or will some sort of discount or bundle (i.e. buy the PS3 SKU, get the Vita version for free or with a $10 coupon … or some such)? Third, what will be the typical MSRP for Vita games? Are we talking $29, $39? Higher? Will Sony continue to run with the minis concept to compete with the dime a dozen $0.99 entrants for the iTouch/iPad?

I actually did have more than those three plus questions, but I am nuts out tired, so these two will have to do for tonight.

PS+ subscribers will be interested in the use of a ‘cloud’ service for Vita game saves, which can be loaded on the PS3. This implies that the PS+ exclusive service is about to go mainstream, at least to Vita owners.

I am a portable gaming fan, so I am ‘in’ because I can live with the price point. I also really like the concept, the initial quality games, and of course the hardware. 3G or Wi-Fi only? Not sure, but I do like the idea of going 3G … just not so sure about being locked in with AT&T.

Can’t wait to see how the Vita develops over the next few days at E3.

Welcome Home Not So Free?

I have never been a huge Home user, but I have to admit that this deal from Sony to receive 100 free virtual Home items is pretty cool. This morning I managed to download many of the items from the Central Plaza kiosk, including the Dragon’s Lair space, which is pretty neat.

I was not able to get all of the ‘free’ virtual items due to (just a guess) high volume, resulting in frequent server error messages. I also had one of the ‘free’ items (some Egyptian sandals I think) show up for $0.49. Uh, no thanks Sony.

I may be such an infrequent Home user that I do not know WTF I am doing, but I really don’t understand why Sony does not offer a straight up ‘download all this welcome back free stuff’ package. Instead I had to load a few items, often hitting retry due to server errors, wait for a ‘your cart is full’ message, download, and start again. Rather tedious.

With E3 just hours away, I may try to be a frequent Home visitor, just so see if there are any freebies being given away for visiting different places and watching videos in the Theaters. Maybe; it is actually easier to just watch G4 and look for content online.

Spain Exposes and Embarrasses Team USA

The U.S. National hosted Spain with great fanfare; over 60K in attendance in New England to watch Team USA warm up for their Gold Cup. Too bad no one reminded Spain this was a ‘friendly’ because Spain just totally kicked the snot out of our National team, exacting revenge over a 2-0 loss to the U.S. in the 2009 Confederation Cup.

Actually there is revenge, and then there is 100% humiliation, which is what happened to the U.S. I did not get to watch the game due to other commitments; however I did watch some highlights and read some commentary. Not pretty.

I understand that the U.S. ‘rested’ some players, but when your only noteworthy highlight, is almost having a ‘chance’ there are serious troubles afoot in the kitchen.

The U.S. team took advantage of their fresh legs and increased its possession during the second half. The veterans made an impact on the game and nearly created a goal in the 70th minute. A streaking Sacha Kljestan got behind the Spanish defense, but Joan Capdevila caught up to him and slowed him down. He cut the ball back from just outside the box for Dempsey, who had continued his run straight down the center of the field, but lost his footing while trying to control the pass and the defense was able to clear.

Tim Howard wore the Captain’s band, and while the 4-0 spanking was not his fault (continued piss poor defense and sloppy midfield play are major culprits), I don’t really agree with the ‘brave’ face he tried to spin after the game.

“When you get knocked down, you see what you’re made of,” Howard said Saturday after World Cup champion Spain overwhelmed the U.S. 4-0 in an exhibition that the Americans used to tune up for the Gold Cup. “I put it behind me. I’ve been at this a while. When you play the best team in the world, they can make you look silly at times.

Silly? U.S. should have went into this one attempting to earn a hard-fought draw, but realistically expecting to come up short; 2-0 or perhaps 2-1. 4-0 never crossed my mind as a possibility.

Howard is right on one account,

“We got our butts kicked,” Howard said afterward, adding with a smile. “If we win the Gold Cup in a couple of weeks, nobody will remember this.”

In a couple of weeks I hope we are talking Gold Cup champions, and not ‘what is wrong with U.S. soccer’ – because we already know the answers. The U.S. lacks creativity up front. Quality world class strikers are few and far between, but one would think the U.S. would be able to produce a top notch striker that would be the envy of the top European Club teams. The midfield at times shows lapses in judgment; too slow to get back on defense and not cohesive enough to maintain possession. The defense is just old and slow; it is time to move on with a backline that can hold their own and assist with a counter attack.

If you think I am down on this team, I am and have been for a while. I always surprised when they manage a good result because it often seems more due to luck. Of course I am still a big fan, and want to be proven wrong.

Everyone keeps waiting for the U.S. to take the next step, and instead we keep bailing water out of the boat.

Weekend Gaming Action

First, let me start with a quick ‘Sony sucks’ statement. Earlier today I wanted to make a quick PSN store purchase. I could not; I guess legions of gamers are still attempting to pull down some ‘welcome back’ package goodness, which has overloaded the store to the point of no return.

Once I did manage to be awarded with a session in the store, I could not actually add funds to my wallet. WTF? I checked my account; credit card is still on file and all info is correct. It’s kind of a bummer not to be able to purchase something when the needful is burning a hole in my pocket. Then again, by Sony f’ing up, I guess I am saving money. Go me!

I have not played much of anything over the last 4-6 weeks, so the last couple of days has seen a variety of ‘go to’ games and a hodgepodge of random distractions. To name a notable few; Sonic the Hedgehog, Space Invaders Infinity Gene, and FIFA 11 have managed grab my attention.

Sonic because it was included a few months ago with PS+, and it is a fun platforming trip down memory lane. I forgot how much I sucked at these types of game; humbling to be an old-ass gamer. Space Invaders because it is a great pick up and play shooter; loads of fun. FIFA 11 because it is just a damn good soccer game, and deserves a spot in the rotation of any discerning sports gamer.

I also spent some time with my four year-old and soon to be nine year old sons, playing Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet. My twelve year-old stays away; he is too ‘grown up’ for this one. Too bad, because he is missing out. Sure the humor is downright preschoolish, while the action is downright button mashing smash ‘em up action, but it is not a horrible game. Decent distraction if you can get past the deformed super heroes, and a fun way to spend time with the boys.

The weekend is not even half over, so (hopefully) more gaming action to come, but date night looms. Happy me!

Sony – Welcome Back Issues

It seems that Sony just cannot catch a break. They were doomed to criticism over the hack attacks, and rightfully so on several levels. Being hacked, poor communication, not being exactly forthcoming, and so on; one nasty little cluster that has probably cost Sony a load of creditability and serious buckets of cash.

In an attempt to make amends, Sony is offering a ‘welcome back’ package that went live early today. Of course Sony, in their ongoing series of blunders, did not anticipate volume and user demand.

UPDATE: Due to high traffic on PlayStation Store, you may encounter error messages or issues. We advise you to check back a little later and try again.

Thanks Sony. Love the errors. Even if I cannot use the ‘welcome back’ games (more on that in thirty seconds), I at least would like to be able to get into the f’ing store. Not so much; really appreciate this ‘welcome back, you cannot enter the PSN store’ at the start of my gaming weekend.

Making matters just silly, the ‘welcome back’ package just could not please everyone. Some consider the free games weak; others already own much of the content. [Raises hand] One would think it would be reasonable for Sony to check previous store purchases and offer a voucher or even a discount for some other produce. That would be too much to ask. Does everyone really have to get their ‘welcome back’ package today? Good grief!

If I were into things like saying ‘fail’ then this one would be rather epic.

Pippa Strikes Back

I guess in the tabloid world that other Pippa is still lighting up the charts and testosterone of boys here as well as across the Pond, hungry for as much near Royal T&A as can possibly be achieved. I have never seen such, but alas, I do not really follow the ravishing cravings of those looking to see how the other half live.

Do I enjoy a pretty girl? Sure, as much as the next semi-old gaming guy. In fact I have had a ton of fun and laughs over the years posting T&A, eye candy, and the like, however today I am writing about one Pippa Mann, and her adventures in this year’s Indy 500.

Pippa Mann has been keeping a diary/blog over at RACER, and I have to admit that I have become a big fan of Pippa. Her writing style is highly engaging, open, honest, and of course entertaining.

The first pit stop was a reminder that while I was getting the hang of this thing on the track, it was no Indy Lights race. We were still under green – a few of the people whom I had passed, and a couple in front of me pulled off a lap earlier and dived in while I was being called one to go. Next lap – my turn. Call for more front wing, try to stay on the throttle through Four, shoot across to pit entry, on the brakes, down to speed before the line. Pit lane speed limiter, into neutral, into the box on the marks, holding the wheel and the brakes, being ready as soon as the car hits the ground but is still fueling. Ready, ready, ready… Fuel disengaged, first gear, wave out, GO. Reset the fuel, reset the in car tools. Breathe. Watch for the pit exit, be ready, be ready… Pit exit, disengage speed limit, push on the warm-up lane, push. Yellow – wait? What? Yellow?

Yes, yellow. I hadn’t even made it back out onto track and the track was down. …

I immediately learned two very important lessons. The first – you save fuel on the parade laps to try and go one further in the race; and second, being a little conservative to make sure you do everything right on your first-ever pit stop can hurt you just as much as over-shooting your marks and screwing the whole thing up.

Good stuff. I wish Pippa well, and certainly hope she catches a ride and earns a few more races. Pippa is much easier to cheer for than that other ‘famous’ female Indy racer.

Welcome back to the PlayStation Store?

So the PlayStation Store is back online, but strangely enough, the ‘welcome back’ package is still MIA. I understand that the package is in the works, but it seems like this would have been a slam dunk for the Store’s triumphant return. I would hazard a guess that a ton of PS3 owners expected to get some free treats once the store was fully restored.

Today’s push is fairly large, with a lot of decent content, and demos. Existing PS+ subscribers can look forward to a continued stream of “free” stuff and discounts, but give me a break on offering Lilo & Stitch.

As far as the new stuff goes, this weekend I will probably take a look at this potential nostalgic gem:

Wizardry: Labyrinth Of Lost Souls ($14.99)
The popular Wizardry franchise is reborn on the PlayStation 3 system as a downloadable online title! This classic 3D dungeon-crawler remains true to its roots, with all the deep gameplay fans have come to know and love. These beloved dungeons and monsters have all been reborn in glorious high-definition, and new stories for each of the 10 main characters, breathing new life and hitherto unseen replay value into one of the old-school RPG greats.

Then again, I have such a huge backlog of games that I am not sure I will pull the strings on anything else right now. Right … probably. At least there is a demo on offer.

I doubt Sony will do the needful, but it would be really entertaining if Sony decided to post some statistics – number of Store visits, number of downloads, and number of purchased items (I know Sony would never publish money spent). Anything to show consumer confidence (or lack thereof). I can dream. It would be entertaining.

Bring on Friday!

Madden 12: Hall of Fame – $30 Premium

What makes the ‘limited’ edition of Madden 12 (AKA ‘Hall of Fame Edition’) so gosh darn special, with a going rate of $89.99 vs. $59.99 over the standard edition? EA is only going to produce 125K copies (presumable per platform – 360 and PS3), so it is ‘limited’ and therefore collectable. PlayStation LifeStyle has the scoop …

Premium bronze, foil embossed cover featuring Marshall Faulk

Full version of Madden NFL 12 video game [Seriously. Is the feature list so short, and so embarrassing, that EA has to actually call out that the ‘limited’ edition will feature the actual game? And a full version of the game to boot! Joy …]

Autographed Panini Card – “Madden NFL and Panini, the world leader in published collectables, have teamed up to create the ultimate Madden NFL trading card featuring 2011 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Marshall Faulk. Each copy of the Hall of Fame Edition will include one of four exclusive Marshall Faulk trading cards, each hand-signed by Faulk. One solid, 18k gold autographed card will be randomly inserted into one Xbox 360® and one PlayStation®3 copy of the Hall of Fame Edition. The lucky recipients of these two cards will have one of the most valuable cards in Panini history.”

Exclusive Madden Ultimate Team Platinum Pack – “The perfect combination of Madden NFL, fantasy football, and trading cards comes to life in Madden NFL Ultimate Team. The Hall of Fame Edition provides a Madden Ultimate Team experience like never before with the most prestigious Platinum Pack yet, featuring a combination of 13 NFL Hall of Famers and former Madden NFL cover athletes, including: Marshall Faulk, Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Rod Woodson, Eddie George, Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb, Ray Lewis, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young, Larry Fitzgerald, Troy Polamalu and Drew Brees. All cards feature ratings from each player’s most productive season in the NFL and are fully renewable with contract extensions, which is sure to make them some of the most sought after cards in Ultimate Team history.”

I wonder how well this thing well sells; Madden Ultimate Team fans may pick this up, but is it worth a $30 premium? I do not see what is so special about this version to warrant a purchase. More goodies please …

Watch me purchase it; just because I can. Pot, kettle, black.

Will Georgia’s tough schedule pay dividends in the 2011 NCAA Corvallis Regional?

Let’s talk college baseball for a moment. I started to write a full length feature Sunday about the Bulldogs’ performance over the weekend in the SEC Tournament, but last weekend was all about racing, so I settled for a minor digression between racing action. We open June with a college baseball quickie.

The CSS commentators covering the Bulldogs games against Florida were right; Georgia’s tough schedule gave them instant NCAA appeal.

After playing the nation’s top-rated schedule to go with a fourth place finish in the SEC and reaching the semifinals of the SEC Tournament, Georgia had a No. 16 RPI and earned an NCAA at-large bid to the field of 64. Georgia played 35 games against teams in this year’s NCAA Tournament, going 15-20. Also, the Bulldogs played an SEC-high 34 games versus ranked teams and led the SEC with 16 wins over top 25 clubs. The Bulldogs were road warriors, tallying an SEC-high 33 games away from home. Georgia has never faced Creighton or UALR, and it is 1-6 versus the Beavers. The Bulldogs will practice Wednesday morning and then depart for Corvallis in the afternoon.

It remains to be seen if the Bulldogs are up to the challenge. I like this team’s spunk, but I do not really like the West Coast draw. I think the Bulldogs finish second, which will not be enough to move on to the Super Regionals. I sincerely hope this team proves me wrong.

Go Dawgs!

PSN Return Imminent

Sony has announced that all PSN services will be fully restored by the end of this week. Of course it would have been nice to see the services, including the store, fully functional before the three-day Memorial Day weekend, but I digress.

Once the PSN Store returns, Sony will offer a ‘welcome back’ package. While this is a nice concession on the part of Sony, it kind of sucks for me that I already own the PS3 games on offer:

All PlayStation Network customers can select two PS3 games from the following list. The games will be available for 30 days shortly after PlayStation Store is restored and can be kept forever.
*Dead Nation [day one purchase]
*inFAMOUS [own, but have never played; yes, I suck]
*LittleBigPlanet [own the Game of the Year Edition]
*Super Stardust HD [long time ago purchase for me]
*Wipeout HD + Fury [via PlayStation Plus (PS+) service, so technically I don’t “own” this one]

My PSP situation is much better, as I do not own any of the games being offered:

For PSP owners, you will be eligible to download two PSP games from the following list. The games will be available for 30 days shortly after PlayStation Store is restored and can be kept forever.
*LittleBigPlanet (PSP)
*ModNation Racers
*Pursuit Force
*Killzone Liberation

Of course it will suck if you have to download these straight away, because I will have to pick up another memory card. Hopefully this will work like other PSN items; ‘purchase’ and download later.

Other ‘welcome back’ items of note:

A selection of “On Us” rental movie titles will be available to PlayStation Network customers over one weekend, where Video Service is available. Those titles will be announced soon.

I have never ‘rented’ a movie from the PSN store. I think Sony should offer a couple of vouchers vs. limiting this offer to one specific weekend.

Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will receive an additional 60 days of free subscription.

This is a good deal. For my money, PS+ has been a good value; Sony should offer time lost plus an addition month.

To welcome users Home, PlayStation Home will be offering 100 free virtual items. Additional free content will be released soon, including the next addition to the Home Mansion personal space, and Ooblag’s Alien Casino, an exclusive game.

I am not really a big Home user or fan; I guess I do not have enough ‘virtual’ friends, and at my age, many of my friends and colleagues do not game. I know, I need to run in different circles. I will have fun letting my kids help me decide which free items to consume for my avatar, home space, etc.

NASCAR Fails Again …

OK, I admit it. I am a Junior fan; really wanted Earnhardt Jr. to win the Coca-Cola 600 last night. With that said, Earnhardt’s last win (104 or so races back) at Michigan (June 15, 2008) was a fuel mileage win. Not that those should not count; they should and of course do. I just hope that when Junior finally starts see the checkered flag(s), he wins on merit.

The good news for NASCAR is that Junior is running well, currently sitting 4th in the standings. Junior is to NASCAR what Ferrari is to F1. It would have been great for NASCAR if Earnhardt Jr. could finally get the monkey off his back. Instead, he has to wait knowing that he continues to run (and race) better with each passing week.

The bad news for NASCAR is that the run towards the checkered flag looked to be a bit of a fix. NASCAR has throw caution flags for lesser incidents than the mayhem on the final restart. A caution would have setup a green-white-checker finish, and of course relegate one Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the back of the pack as he would have to stop for a splash of gas. Instead the NASCAR race officials kept the yellow hanky in their pocket, giving Junior every possible chance to win.

The end result was an interesting race, and of course a lot of rumblings about why NASCAR held the caution. At the end of the day, this could be good news for NASCAR as it builds up more attention for the summer races, but NASCAR did nothing to further the stigma that it puts of a show, playing favorites, and ultimately controlling the outcome of each race.

Two Down, One (OK, Make It Two) To Go

Could you ask for a better day of racing? Monaco was fantastic; would Alonso have managed a pass on Vettel if the red flag didn’t come out? Can you imagine how long JR Hilderbrand is going to think about doing things differently in turn 4 at Indy?

As the hotter than heck day turns to night, I hope Jeff Gordon stop the Carl Edwards train in tonight’s 600?

And what’s that you say? Still some burgers in the fridge for tomorrow’s Grand-Am race at Lime Rock? You bet; and another round of wings to boot.

Happy racing weekend!

Spectacular Day of Racing

I kicked off the weekend with a slow cooked Boston Butt Roast; I am biased, but it was fantastically delicious. Watched some of the Nationwide action to see what the Ice Man would do. He was doing OK until a little over midway in the race he was penalized with a drive through penalty for leaving the pits too fast.

Quick digression; I also watched some Dawgs baseball. They managed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament by virtue of a decent run with wins over the Fighting Chickens and Gators. Too bad they could not manage a second win against the Gators in the elimination bracket. Georgia’s record may look flimsy, but when you look at their quality schedule, I hope they get consideration for the Tournament.

In a few minutes it’s onwards to Monaco, followed by some Indy 500 action and eventually some 600 miles NASCAR racing action well into the night. It is too much to take. I think throwing some wings on the grill and a cooler full of High Life and Miller Lite will just have to help me carry the day.