Archive – Page 57 – The Recycle Bin

Sports Friday. Falcons take on Rams. No Schumacher return.

I was disappointed to learn that Michael Schumacher’s return to Ferrari ended before it started. Earlier this year Schumacher injured his neck racing around on two-wheelers; apparently the injuries were enough to keep him from being fit enough to race. PlanetF1’s editorial hit the nail on the head.

The shame is F1’s. Schumacher’s return, however fleeting, would have been one of the highlights of the sporting year. Given that poor results would have been attributed to his age and inaction then a victory in Valencia or beyond would perhaps have been the equal of any other achievement in his F1 career. But such musings are now academic.

I am bitterly disappointed that I do not get to see Schumacher give it one more go.

Falcons visit the Rams
It is preseason, so to casual fans it is not very exciting, but there are plenty of positions to watch. Backup QB battle – will Shockley pass Redmond? How will the secondary shape up – Houston is out for this one, which means someone will have an opportunity to step it up a notch. What about the WR depth chart? Is there a number three on the team, much less who is going to fill the fourth and fifth spots on the depth charts?

Happy Friday!

PS3 Negativity Exposed.

I mentioned this the other day – for whatever reason there is an overstated negativity towards Sony and the PS3 in gaming press. The author of Why do the press hate the Sony PlayStaion 3? cites numerous articles after the PS3 Slim and corresponding price drop were announced as examples of pure negative spin.

As you can see, the arrival of the PS3 Slim has done nothing to quell the fires of hatred from the gaming press. For reasons I can’t begin to fathom, fair and balanced journalism seems to have gone out the window when it comes to Sony, with many commentators treating the Nippon conglomerate with as much distaste as a sniffling swine flu victim. Just what has Sony done to tick you all off, exactly? Did Ken Kutaragi pee in your drinks? Did he punch you in the nose or steal your partner? Or is Sony simply an easy target to kick in the butt — like celebrity Tom Cruise or Star Wars character Jar Jar Binks?

This is a pretty good read, and interestingly enough the author claims to not own a PS3.

PS3 Slim tries on a new Cell.

I always find it interesting to see which stories are “burning up” the charts at N4G. Typically it is something very fanboy’ish related, a price cut (see recent PS3 Slim junk), or maybe some nice T&A. One of today’s top items is an article about the new Cell processor in the newly announced PS3 Slim.

Sony has made some enhancements under the hood to boost its processing speed and power efficiency. The gaming console will carry an upgraded version of the Cell microprocessor, which is being jointly developed by IBM, Sony, and Toshiba.

The new chip has been manufactured using an advanced 45-nanometer manufacturing process, an IBM spokesman said. Based on IBM’s Power architecture, the chip delivers many performance improvements while drawing less power than earlier chips, IBM has said. The earlier console carried a Cell processor manufactured using the 65-nm process. IBM declined to provide the clock speed of the new Cell processor.

It’s smaller, it’s faster, it draws down less power, and it is cheaper to manufacture. Sounds like a winning combination, but it must be a very slow news day if this is the best we can get.

PS3 receives more negative press.

I really do not understand why a lot of members of the game media press despise Sony. I can think of no other way to describe the current hatred when articles like this one in show up on PCWorld.

The NPD Group reports the PlayStation 3 moving only 122,000 units in July, a mere 14,000 more than its predecessor, the PlayStation 2. This is sad news given that the PlayStation 2 is nine years old and totally outdated in its hardware. For comparison’s sake, the Microsoft Xbox 360 moved 203,000 units, and the Nintendo Wii moved [sic] 253,00.

Granted, the numbers suck. Big time. With that said, the worst kept secret around was the upcoming PS3 Slim and price cut. If I had the option of buying now (or then as was the case in July) or waiting 30-60 days for a $100 price cut, I would wait on the price cut. I bet the NPD Group numbers spin in a different direction after the price cuts hit retail.

Then the author provides us with the following gem.

Cutting the price of the PS3 is just slapping a fresh coat of paint on a crumbling house, and it seems to me that no matter what Sony does with its PS3, it may just be doomed to failure.

I guess this depends on your definition of failure, but it seems to me that Sony has finally positioned the PS3 for some measure of success. Will holiday numbers be enough to overcome the 360 and Wii? Probably not. Will momentum help give Sony an advantage in 2010? I think the answer will be yes due to a completive price point and some very desirable first party software titles.

I think Sony launched a system that was too expensive [what I like to call the 3D0 syndrome], over estimated the impact of waiting to launch a full year after Microsoft, and waited far too long for this $100 price cut. With all that said, saying the PS3 is doomed to failure is just plain ridiculous. If Sony continues to lag after the Christmas numbers of posted, I will be happy to eat crow.

Wii Fit Price Breakdown

The September 2009 issue of Money has an interesting page that gives a breakdown of the cost of Wii Fit, which retails for $90.

$45 Profit – Half of the cost of Wii Fit is pure profit for Nintendo.
$20 Manufacturing – Balance board is ~$19 while the software (and I assume case, manual, inserts) is ~$1.
$18 Retailers – The article states retailers usually get 20% while larger big box stores may get a little more.
$5 Marketing – print, TV, etc.
$2 R&D – It takes a lot of duckets to come up with this stuff!

The article states that 20 million copies of Wii Fit have been sold worldwide. Do the math. Nintendo is rich thanks to the popularity of the Wii Fit.

Mario goes multiplayer.

IGN has posted a nice GamesCon 2009 New Super Mario Bros. hands-on impression article. Of particular interest is the multiplayer aspect of the game.

Which leads me to the single biggest improvement made to New Super Mario Bros. for Wii (over its DS predecessor, since let’s face it — these games are otherwise very similar): the four-player-compatible cooperative and competitive multiplayer mode. The title is frankly doubly engrossing when you play with a friend or two because you will find yourselves working against each other just as often as you team up to take on enemies and challenges from the Mushroom Kingdom. I played in Germany against Peer Schneider, former IGN Nintendo editor turned traitorous VP of content at our little network, and we were laughing and groaning as we both made like we were going to help each other out and then instead tried to sabotage one another’s characters. You can, of course, blast through levels as a comprehensive team, disposing of goombas simultaneously, planning jumps on the tops of each other’s heads to gain height, and so on. But if you play like Peer and I did, you will do just the opposite, picking each other up and trying to hurl one another off ledges, stealing away power-ups before the other can get at them, and even throwing koopa shells at each other on occasion.

Day one purchase for the kids, and of course dad needs to play with the kids. Nothing says fun like a new Mario game for the Wii.

Favre’s Football Value.

There is always one in the room. Unfortunately, sometimes it is me. Someone always overrates a player such as Favre. As long as the love affair continues to roll on, how about this USAToday article warning fantasy football owners not pick up Favre as their starting QB.

With high-profile players such as Favre, at least one owner in most leagues usually is infatuated with the big name and drafts him way too early. True, the Vikings have an excellent rushing game, strong defense and run an offense similar to what Favre ran during most of his career with the Packers.

If anything, Favre will make RB Adrian Peterson a more obvious No. 1 pick. If Favre forces defenses to take some attention away from the run game, that can only help Peterson, who has been pretty good even when defenses were ganging up on him. Adding Favre might make a 2,000-yard season possible.

The article puts Favre somewhere in the Top 14, but you just know someone is going to take Favre way too early.

What Forbes won’t tell you about the PS3.

Last night I said I thought I was spent on PS3 Slim info, but this article from Forbes (via N4G) hand me immediately look at one of the mass market news outlets – USAToday – to see their take.

According to Forbes, the new price point is too little, too late.

Now Sony’s latest move, slashing the PlayStation3’s price by $100 to $299 and offering a thinner version of the ginormous console, has almost no hope of making a difference. That’s because Sony’s technology-packed console will remain more expensive than either the Xbox 360, which starts at less than $20,0 [sic] and the Wii, which sells for $250.

Not a good place to be, with price cuts for those consoles almost surely on the way. And while Sony’s offering is packed with expensive technology, it’s the least mature where it matters most: motion-sensitive controllers and online gaming.

I guess that the motion-sensitive action on the 360 far surpasses the Wii? I guess Nintendo decided that their technology was so damn good that they better release the Wii Motion Plus accessory before Microsoft and Sony put out their new challengers? When was the last time that Nintendo’s online offerings were put in front of the PS3 or Xbox/360? Is Sony really that far behind Microsoft in the online arena?

Good grief! I am not trying to offer up fanboy reporting, but this kind of crap is ridiculous. Just report that the price cut will not matter because the dollar conscious consumer is going to go with the lower priced 360 or gravitate towards the family appeal of the Wii. I could buy that sentiment.

Now to USAToday which has a fairly long interview with Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. The article also features this nugget of info that you will not find in the Forbes article.

The price drop totally changes the PS3’s positioning in the marketplace, says Jesse Divnich, director of analyst services at Electronic Entertainment Design and Research. “The PS3 price drop finally puts the Sony home console on par with its main rival, the Xbox 360. In fact, in terms of value, the PS3 is a much superior product in comparison to the Xbox 360; however, this is not to suggest that hardware sales will suddenly shift into Sony’s favor. It would be safe to assume that this recent price cut will slowly begin to close the gap between the two consoles.”

Even though Sony priced the PS3 higher than competitors the $250 Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360, the electronics giant sold more than 8 million PS3s in the U.S., according to market tracking firm the NPD Group.

I too believe that the price cut will make a difference. The 360 may remain in front of the 360 in terms of overall numbers, but I think that the PS3’s new price positions Sony to capture the upcoming holiday sales cycle.

RIP Robert Novak

Political columnist Robert Novak pass away today. While I did not always agree with his commentary, I always appreciated Mr. Novak’s hard nose approach to politics. His viewpoint will be sorely missed in this age of inadequate conservative leadership, and perhaps more importantly, a lack of conservative journalistic integrity.

PS3 Slim: IGN happy with $299 price point.

All-in-all a good news day for Sony. If IGN is happy, then the masses will follow in lock step. In fact, I would wager that folks sitting on the fence are going to move in the direction of the PS3 this Christmas season. After all, the Wii is already the non gamer’s console. Call it the Dallas Cowboys of videogames – America’s Team. While the 360 is going to be positioned as the value console. No facts. Just opinions.

IGN posted some PS3 Slim impressions; mostly favorable, but with a theme of it is about damn time Sony dropped the price.

And then there’s the price drop, which is really what this whole thing is all about, and is easily the most important aspect of it. If the redesign was necessitated for a price drop, then I’m glad it’s here today rather than a year from now (even though there maybe could have been a more significant size reduction). That $299 price tag is much, much more enticing for people than the previous $399 sticker (and certainly the original $499/$599 price as well). And now that games like Uncharted 2, God of War III and Gran Turismo 5 are all just over the horizon, lots and lots of people are finally at the point where it’s time to buy.

Not sure what else I can say about the story. It is not like I am about to run out and buy a PS3 Slim to rejoice in the moment.

PS3 Slim is Official – $299.

PlayStation LifeStyle has the info.

This is about as exciting as the Favre out of retirement news.

I do not get the Brett Favre love affair.

OK, so Favre signs with the Vikings. Now what? Part of me wants to say “Big f’ing deal.” The other part realizes that if (and this is a big if) Favre can perform above average he just may put the Vikings over the top. At the very least Vikings football will be interesting.

Reading today’s news of Favre signing with the Vikings was anticlimactic. I think everyone knew it was a matter of when, not if the Vikings were able to get Favre to change his mind again (and again, and again, and again).

I just wonder what it was that made Favre say that the time was right, but three weeks ago he was done.

Whatever. I have always liked Favre, and I wish him well, unless he meets up with the Falcons in the playoffs.

Another what to do with your UMDs after you purchase a PSP Go article.

PSPWorld recently posted an article about the problem Sony faces with current PSP owners that want to upgrade to a PSP Go. How does a gamer that invested many duckets in UMDs get the games transferred to a PSP Go?

How will users who already own an older model of PSP transfer their UMD games to the 16GB internal storage of the PSP Go? Surely, Sony can’t expect us to buy all of our old games again in digital form, so they must be considering various options to placate those gamers with a big pile of UMDs.

The problem for Sony is that there might not be all that many new customers out there who have been on the fence about the PSP all this time simply because of the presence of the optical disk format. Undoubtedly, the real target customer for Sony’s new PSP model is pre-existing PSP owners like you and I, who wouldn’t mind upgrading to a new model if it contained the right features. In order to get some of us on board, Sony needs a system for transferring old UMD games to the PSP Go.

The article then goes on to offer three suggestions. An external UMD drive – this is almost ridiculous. A code redemption program – plausible, but I do not think this route will be offered as a solution. And finally, a mail-in program – this is very likely for two reasons. First, Sony controls who gets a digital version of a UMD game. Second, Sony can turn around and dump the UMDs in the 2600 ET grave.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune gets Greatest Hits Status.

Good news for those of you that have not given Uncharted a spin; the official PlayStation Blog announced that the original Uncharted is now available in the Greatest Hits format.

Last week, we announced the availability of two new “Greatest Hits” titles . U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune are the latest best-selling titles to enter into the elite world of “Greatest Hits.”

I am all for any game getting the $29.99 treatment, and in the case of the original Uncharted, it is a great experience that should not be missed. Now consider that the sequel is on the way, so the timing of this newest edition to the PS3 Greatest Hits library could not be better.

Consoles break; often.

First thing this morning I checked N4G to see what sort of PS3 price drop announcement was afoot, but right now we are getting silence. I am not sure why I care; it is not as if I am going to buy another PS3 just because they are cheaper. Maybe because mine dies again, which brings me to the point of this post from The Consumerist.

The poorly manufactured, red ring of death-prone console has a 54.2 percent failure rate, compared to 10.6 percent for the PS3 and the Wii’s 6.8 percent.

The magazine surveyed nearly 5,000 readers to get the data. And while the 360’s rate is alarmingly higher than the others, it’s still bafflingly low because it blows the mind to imagine that 45.8 percent of the consoles have not broken. Also, Microsoft’s numbers are inflated because 360s are used the most of the three consoles. Results said 40.3 percent of 360 owners use the console three to five hours a day, compared to 37 percent of PS3 owners. Meanwhile, the plurality of Wii owners (41.4 percent) play their consoles less than an hour a day.

Console failure rates in general are abysmal. I am not sure how they compare to computers, iPods, or other consumer electronics, but the numbers from this article are baffling.