tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60002722024-03-08T00:54:17.915+11:00Consoul GamesRobin (aka consoul) talks about videogame console games, hardware and the industry.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-20249582451883593262007-10-04T22:23:00.000+10:002007-10-05T00:52:37.587+10:00Sony's diet consoles<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Empire strips back. </span><br />Sony are trimming the fat with their two new Playstation offerings: the new <span style="font-weight: bold;">Slim & Lite PSP</span> which has been on the market for a few weeks now, and the new model <span style="font-weight: bold;">40GB PS3</span>, which will be officially announced very soon.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0WEiRazn8z7ASrszFlaF1c7SbgLCZEdrgSanTA2Rutpk7o8mJyojffMu1UXOq0_A0C3BnNCqVk_jjvlDTZH69NJCCAi1In3M4o36cvniPLK_EI4y5cuH0paFlcuk9jAaWtKGiDg/s1600-h/DSC03121.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0WEiRazn8z7ASrszFlaF1c7SbgLCZEdrgSanTA2Rutpk7o8mJyojffMu1UXOq0_A0C3BnNCqVk_jjvlDTZH69NJCCAi1In3M4o36cvniPLK_EI4y5cuH0paFlcuk9jAaWtKGiDg/s320/DSC03121.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117486299461853986" border="0" /></a><br />At a glance, the Slim & Lite PSP looks remarkably similar to the original PSP, but has a number of significant changes. As the Lite name implies, the new model weighs much less. It's 33% lighter than it's predecessor, and that difference is immediately evident when holding the unit. The new PSP feels almost empty by comparison. It's also true to the Slim name, being almost 20% thinner. The back of the unit is now truly flat, unlike the old PSP which had protruding bumps on either side. While the screen is the same size, it's now brighter and features a faster response time (though some ghosting is still apparent). Placement of the speakers and wi-fi switch have been adjusted for the better. The responsiveness of the d-pad has also been improved.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0NtU7-uy2u9X5oarWULciORPIde8A1F_TuQ_R2M-yu6Kn6mKBxRoypDjEOcQ2wUuOEc7q8aqnTZRTAEwqsdWsg5SoXDd5b9qmVRvcYY_jNoZkWsvZPlOZv6nVToZKKMHvny8cg/s1600-h/DSC03124.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw0NtU7-uy2u9X5oarWULciORPIde8A1F_TuQ_R2M-yu6Kn6mKBxRoypDjEOcQ2wUuOEc7q8aqnTZRTAEwqsdWsg5SoXDd5b9qmVRvcYY_jNoZkWsvZPlOZv6nVToZKKMHvny8cg/s320/DSC03124.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117489494917522242" border="0" /></a><br />The differences extend beyond the physical unit however. Two key additions to the PSP's functionality have been added in the Slim & Lite. First of all, the amount of RAM in the PSP has been doubled to 64MB, with the Slim and Lite utilizing the extra 32Mb as cache to reduce loadtimes and improve web browser performance. The benefit of the UMD caching feature varies greatly from game to game, but in some cases loadtimes are halved or better. I expect developers will program future PSP games to exploit the Slim's caching feature, resulting in significantly shorter loading delays.<br /><br />The second big addition is TV Out. You can plug a Slim and Lite PSP into a TV and display it on the big screen. This is a feature that has been requested since the PSP launched. The output looks fantastic. It's hard to believe it's coming from a handheld. Cables are sold separately (<span style="font-style: italic;">of course</span>) and there's one major caveat: PSP <span style="font-weight: bold;">games</span> can only be displayed in 480p via the component cable. The composite and S-video cables can display everything but games (photos, videos, etc.). I should also mention that games are displayed at the original resolution of the PSP screen, 480x272, which means they appear in a smaller window inside the 480p TV screen output. Given that all the other PSP features are shown full-screen at full 480p resolution via TV out, Sony's decision not to output PSP games full-screen has been a controversial one. Having used the TV out feature extensively, I think it was the right decision. Games look good via TV out at their original resolution. The PSP wouldn't have enough CPU cycles leftover to upscale game output to full-screen gracefully, so the choice between great looking smaller output and ugly chunky upscaled output seems a no brainer to me. If your TV has a "zoom" mode, you could always use that to do the upscaling for you.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZWwMUk7IhRGKGz1yIdlHy_YPpwm9vTAd43Wwy_saIFrdx3kdB1MBGYdC5nieduCkL7-vdIpB_7UBm33PkTcSU3OlmAI17eMZp6O14pdWlKvGr3gwk-FUW5LIpYIh4qAEIWDW7g/s1600-h/DSC03134.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ZWwMUk7IhRGKGz1yIdlHy_YPpwm9vTAd43Wwy_saIFrdx3kdB1MBGYdC5nieduCkL7-vdIpB_7UBm33PkTcSU3OlmAI17eMZp6O14pdWlKvGr3gwk-FUW5LIpYIh4qAEIWDW7g/s320/DSC03134.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117490255126733650" border="0" /></a><br />Incidentally, it's apparent that Sony intended on supporting TV out from PSP all along. Evidence of this can be seen when playing UMD movies via TV out. They look virtually indistinguishable from DVDs. Despite the PSP's screen being only 480x272 pixels, all UMD movies are encoded at full 720x480 (NTSC) DVD resolution. My Japanese Biohazard 2 UMD from 2004 was deliberately encoded in 480p despite the fact that there wouldn't be a device capable of playing it at that resolution until three years later. Sony were clearly planning ahead.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdPhhlW9epnpQsu3kXRlrLcy5z-5ZuSvA7a4jHn5TTGgQaNq6_3QpWSoaooCfz3VKoFH3WVTqHzs8RJOObRYXQE0M4F2GxuyysCSRPa8WAfIFO277HXxITPtQ1OAwP7GWeVF7eg/s1600-h/DSC03145.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdPhhlW9epnpQsu3kXRlrLcy5z-5ZuSvA7a4jHn5TTGgQaNq6_3QpWSoaooCfz3VKoFH3WVTqHzs8RJOObRYXQE0M4F2GxuyysCSRPa8WAfIFO277HXxITPtQ1OAwP7GWeVF7eg/s320/DSC03145.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117491096940323682" border="0" /></a><br />Regardless of whether you're using the new Slim and Lite PSP or the old Phat (as it has become known), games are now able to use the PSP's full 333MHz clockspeed. Sony finally lifted the clockspeed cap that I wrote an expose on way back in April 2005 (See <a href="http://consoul.blogspot.com/2005/04/unlocking-psps-future.html">Unlocking PSP's Future</a>). We should start seeing some really impressive titles on PSP in 2008. The next Remote Play barrier has also been broken: you can now actually play PS3 games on your PSP remotely. Only Sony's beautiful, but flawed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lair</span> is playable via Remote Play so far, though other games will surely follow. The ability to remotely switch your PS3 on and off from your PSP is coming in a future firmware update too, which should make Remote Play a much more practical proposition.<br /><br />So, onto the other big news; a <span style="font-weight: bold;">40GB PS3</span> will be launched across Australia on October 11. In the wake of Microsoft's Halo3 launch and in the lead-up to the all-important holiday season, Sony have addressed the single biggest problem the PS3 has: the price. Nearly a thousand Aussie dollars is just too much to compete effectively with XBox360. While it hasn't even been announced yet, Sony's response is the introduction of a new SKU: the 40GB model. It's cheaper. That's the main thing. The 40GB PS3 will retail for just AU$699.<br /><br />Of course, reduced cost comes at a cost. The difference between the standard AU$999 60GB model and the AU$699 40GB isn't just 20GB. The 40GB PS3 has been stripped back to make the price cut possible. The card readers are gone, the four USB ports have been reduced to just two, and here's the real kicker: <span style="font-weight: bold;">PS2 backward compatibility is out</span>. I don't just mean there's no hardware backward compatibility; there's no PS2 compatibility at all.<br /><br />Current model PAL PS3s feature software-based backward compatibility anyway, so why wouldn't the 40GB model? It's not like the emulation software costs anything extra to include, right? Well, it's not quite that simple. When Sony introduced software backward compatibility into PAL PS3s, they removed the Emotion Engine (the PS2 CPU) which saved them about $25 a unit. The backward compatibility on these PS3s was never pure software emulation at all - these machines still contained the PS2's GPU (the Graphics Synthesizer). Now in a further effort to reduce manufacturing costs, Sony have stripped out the GS chip, making PS2 games impossible to play on the 40GB unit.<br /><br />Expect the 40GB PS3 to be officially announced this weekend (and prepare for the internet shitstorm that will undoubtedly ensue). Microsoft will counter attack with the announcement of a new cheaper XBox360 SKU, details of which will emerge shortly.<br /><br />I'll leave you with more pics of my new PSP. I picked up one of the 77,777 limited edition Japanese bundles made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the ground-breaking PSone RPG, Final Fantasy VII. The bundle came with the new FFVII prequel, Crisis Core (which is absolutely brilliant by the way).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrguHJwxugxGlo9Qi8K14taVL55GxtQc5394qbjUIWSYZJfxAEbdiM9Oeu0KU77aqdIYFYWwP2MKK0oXN5QOqfvCfp584p-SJH3NXS1SbBW7mi2XB7bc1XsTbBhljOpYvcm5UfA/s1600-h/DSC03122.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmrguHJwxugxGlo9Qi8K14taVL55GxtQc5394qbjUIWSYZJfxAEbdiM9Oeu0KU77aqdIYFYWwP2MKK0oXN5QOqfvCfp584p-SJH3NXS1SbBW7mi2XB7bc1XsTbBhljOpYvcm5UfA/s320/DSC03122.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117492041833128818" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kG_Y3vUIc1uzIOaZC8JsozOCMSfpyS4guv4OjDhAasS4_wbjeEMUYdLEdvJcnIqO6wDUXp8mGZnCiPzYwDJ7Si4d6dQLCHuMFDzG2w78EKMKwjOBHZzkNNpRPhePOSc_imQDMg/s1600-h/DSC03126.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4kG_Y3vUIc1uzIOaZC8JsozOCMSfpyS4guv4OjDhAasS4_wbjeEMUYdLEdvJcnIqO6wDUXp8mGZnCiPzYwDJ7Si4d6dQLCHuMFDzG2w78EKMKwjOBHZzkNNpRPhePOSc_imQDMg/s320/DSC03126.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5117488120527987506" border="0" /></a>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-90895105508352360562007-05-28T10:58:00.000+10:002007-06-01T13:40:42.663+10:00PS3 makes firm progressSix and a half months ago, I was standing on a cold Shinjuku street with my brand new Playstation 3 while Ken Kutaragi posed for photographs behind me. Much has changed since then. Two weeks later, Ken Kutaragi was no longer President of Sony Computer Entertainment, and as of last month, was effectively retired (becoming an Honorary Chairman).<br /><br />The "father of Playstation" may have left the game, but his final product, the PS3, has continued growing and evolving. There have been eleven firmware updates since the Japanese launch, with the latest, version 1.8, going live late last week.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Firmware 1.8</span><br />This has proven to be a very impressive update. Several gripes I've had with the system since day one have finally been resolved by this firmware, and many nifty new features have been added. Some of the changes are quite obvious, others not so much. Let's take a look some of the improvements that the latest firmware update has delivered.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Scaling</span><br /><br />The new scaling options are the most talked about feature of this firmware update. Until now, the PS3 could not output Blu-ray movies at 720p resolution. Given that most HD sets in homes today have a native vertical resolution of 768 pixels, the PS3's remarkable inability to downscale Blu-ray movies to 720p (due to it's limited hardware scaling capabilities) was a real problem for it's credibility as a Blu-ray player. Not anymore. As well as supporting 720p, the PS3 now also supports 24 fps playback (to match the framerate of the original film), making it one of the more fully featured Blu-ray players available.<br /><br />DVDs can be upscaled now. The PS3 can upscale DVDs to 720p or 1080i/p, and the resulting visuals are fantastic. The catch here is that DVD upscaling is only supported via HDMI cable. When using component cable, DVD upscaling is disabled. Well, it's almost always disabled. It will be disabled when watching any copy-protected (ie. commercial) DVDs via component. As a copy prevention measure, the MPAA insists that DVD players must not upscale to HD resolutions without implementing the HDCP protocol (that HDMI supports, but component doesn't).<br /><br />Scaling has also been added to the PS3's backward compatibility. PSone and PS2 games, which were originally displayed only in standard definition, can now be displayed at resolutions up to 1080p. Additional options are available to apply a smoothing filter to the upscaled content and automatically "pillarbox" 4:3 games on widescreen displays. These are nice features, but you shouldn't expect a huge visual improvement. The games are not being rendered at a higher resolution, they're just being resized. Having said that, the smoothing option does make PSone games much easier on the eyes, without dramatically changing their look.<br /><br />I've created some comparisons below of Metal Gear Solid in it's original 480 state and upscaled to 1080p with smoothing (<span style="font-style: italic;">click for larger versions</span>).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2q_cq2kMC7O65Jz7-Pe5bUiTQn_0aDxeoGswBGyZyUC6RJobgKBvMbycu9V96J5_jPxjzOwk362Um3iOwLUQYkJiTvW2FBzPAHpjzdAEgBd4Kv6EGxdHYscesfh6cPe1qorrx5g/s1600-h/ConsoulUpscaleSmoothMGS1a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2q_cq2kMC7O65Jz7-Pe5bUiTQn_0aDxeoGswBGyZyUC6RJobgKBvMbycu9V96J5_jPxjzOwk362Um3iOwLUQYkJiTvW2FBzPAHpjzdAEgBd4Kv6EGxdHYscesfh6cPe1qorrx5g/s320/ConsoulUpscaleSmoothMGS1a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069451710501917138" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9Z60H0uh3xAt3Kg2PQMBzFlokSEjNPXmY_JJbfrjiHpU6_SdJftejPK0SDfCzjmOJYEXZyDcETfENdeTOD6rbfzqhSrVPF6Tu-oy95To5gqhfQelRNgY3FoWAmgnkhYqM356bA/s1600-h/ConsoulUpscaleSmoothMGS1b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO9Z60H0uh3xAt3Kg2PQMBzFlokSEjNPXmY_JJbfrjiHpU6_SdJftejPK0SDfCzjmOJYEXZyDcETfENdeTOD6rbfzqhSrVPF6Tu-oy95To5gqhfQelRNgY3FoWAmgnkhYqM356bA/s320/ConsoulUpscaleSmoothMGS1b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069451714796884450" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNSC-C9lGvZSAREC7lrArL2Oxazj770OdPlOi5hNNHE9Sa8q43coJBRuuZJSGobVeuDKFcHl6V6-Y2ICSoqk6PruXpPUnV-POvp0j-54wAQ0QzxX_syvSRegr6QAUg9jDv0esGA/s1600-h/ConsoulUpscaleSmoothMGS1c.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcNSC-C9lGvZSAREC7lrArL2Oxazj770OdPlOi5hNNHE9Sa8q43coJBRuuZJSGobVeuDKFcHl6V6-Y2ICSoqk6PruXpPUnV-POvp0j-54wAQ0QzxX_syvSRegr6QAUg9jDv0esGA/s320/ConsoulUpscaleSmoothMGS1c.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069451714796884466" border="0" /></a>The new scaling options apply not only to games on physical discs, but also to PSone games bought and downloaded from the Playstation Store. Until recently, these downloaded PSone games were only playable on PSP systems, but can now be directly played on the PS3 too. (Unfortunately, Sony have not yet made any PSone games available through the Australian or European Playstation Stores.)<br /><br />Interestingly, it seems downloading PSone games is a viable way to bypass the region restrictions still enforced on PSone software. My Japanese PS3 won't play US PSone discs, but will happily play downloaded US PSone games.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Memory Cards</span><br /><br />Speaking of backward compatibility, support for the memory card adaptor has also improved immensely. Prior to firmware 1.8, this adaptor was essentially a one-way device for one-time usage. It's only capability was copying the content of PSone & PS2 memory cards to the PS3's hard drive. You couldn't even check what was on the cards first. The implementation of the legacy memory card system was extremely limited and frustrating.<br /><br />Under firmware 1.8, you can finally write files back to your memory cards as required. You can directly browse the contents of any connected memory cards and "copy-protected" save files which were previously not transferable, now are. If you're playing PSone games downloaded from the Store, you can now move their save files seamlessly back and forth between your original memory cards, the PS3's HDD and your PSP's memory stick. The entire legacy memory card system is now as flexible as it always should have been.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Remote Play</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IQxfl15KRvN6QcGnHOONF76MBlaY38cV4I0xbubP9qyAnc0WTwEjjMlttRaxc6Mz1-HqAbdGqEo6ApLxKNUGs2At58t1oJn54oXji6A5BzW2Dp3OwLW7gkI4TaT2umrhLs2Hiw/s1600-h/ConsoulPSPFriends.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2IQxfl15KRvN6QcGnHOONF76MBlaY38cV4I0xbubP9qyAnc0WTwEjjMlttRaxc6Mz1-HqAbdGqEo6ApLxKNUGs2At58t1oJn54oXji6A5BzW2Dp3OwLW7gkI4TaT2umrhLs2Hiw/s320/ConsoulPSPFriends.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069470917595664930" border="0" /></a>The PS3's Remote Play system, which allows a PS3 system to be remotely accessed and controlled by a PSP, has been greatly expanded upon in firmware 1.8. In addition to the Music, Video and Photo sections which were available before, the Friends list, Game menu and even the Playstation Store are now accessible. You can see which of your friends are online, check what game they're playing, and even engage them in chat sessions via your PSP. As you can see below, the Playstation Store interface is optimized for viewing on the PSP screen.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAvwFRq7MOP3ELEb8QInXqmq8LXpF5i3WNJxojQdJdEJnysA54qc4gV62ELP1gro8RlfiEwaYHhinS2jLJIc_naZGrGDZ8cwXyTo8pXQn7_FUyvEfwBLlsjI5lAVd9jWzxpTq_A/s1600-h/ConsoulPSPStore.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAvwFRq7MOP3ELEb8QInXqmq8LXpF5i3WNJxojQdJdEJnysA54qc4gV62ELP1gro8RlfiEwaYHhinS2jLJIc_naZGrGDZ8cwXyTo8pXQn7_FUyvEfwBLlsjI5lAVd9jWzxpTq_A/s320/ConsoulPSPStore.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069471845308600882" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vZNBmR7BXuEmeAMGWz0fleNF-cXUpdGbgUk5EEKs061pJ2AgZu3vC2gbbbgmCpq8ttREAsCV573OZrvqIRA4kWG2-QnSgiQf8fAmHIEQwKaMUrP16xY-OPPkPhrgBHYhuwegdg/s1600-h/ConsoulPSPHome.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vZNBmR7BXuEmeAMGWz0fleNF-cXUpdGbgUk5EEKs061pJ2AgZu3vC2gbbbgmCpq8ttREAsCV573OZrvqIRA4kWG2-QnSgiQf8fAmHIEQwKaMUrP16xY-OPPkPhrgBHYhuwegdg/s320/ConsoulPSPHome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069466450829677074" border="0" /></a>While you can now browse the Game menu (above), you still can't actually play any PS3 games via Remote Play. The only parts of the PS3 interface that remain inaccessible via Remote Play are now Settings, Users, the Folding@Home client, and actual gameplay.<br /><br />There's one more change to Remote Play that needs to be mentioned. A change that really makes the Remote Play feature deliver on it's potential. Before firmware 1.8, Remote Play was little more than a clever gimmick. It's usefulness was limited by the fact that both the PSP and the PS3 had to be within direct wireless range of each other (essentially using an "Ad Hoc" connection like two PSPs connecting for local multiplayer). Firmware 1.8 adds support for Remote Play <span style="font-weight: bold;">across the internet</span>. This means you can use your PSP to access your PS3 when you're away from home. No matter where you are, if you've got your PSP and wireless internet access, you can connect to your PS3 and utilize whatever resources you have on it.<br /><br />How well this works will be reliant on network conditions of course, and you'll need to sign in on your PSP using the same email address and password you use to sign into your PSN account. Remote Play across the internet won't actually be possible until PSP firmware 3.5 is released (later this week?). This feature has enormous potential and I can't wait to try it out.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">UPDATE</span> - (1/6/07)<br />PSP firmware 3.5 was released yesterday, and I tested the Remote Play via Internet feature last night. I'm pleased to report that all the features of local Remote Play are still available across the internet. Using the default settings, the picture quality was visibly more compressed than using local Remote Play and there was some skipping and input lag, but all in all, it worked a lot better than I'd expected.<br /><br />If the "tunnel" between the PSP and PS3 has sufficient bandwidth, you can change the settings on the PSP to improve the picture quality and response time, making the experience much the same as local Remote Play. Colour me impressed.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Media Streaming</span><br /><br />This was an unexpected and pleasant surprise. DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compatibility was added in firmware 1.8. It's a set of standards allowing media (like videos, music and photos) to be shared between networked devices. Unfortunately, hardware with native DLNA support isn't very common right now. Some VAIO laptops support it and some high-end digital media recorders do too. That's great if you've got one, but what if you don't? Well, chances are you can easily get your PC to play along.<br /><br />Windows Vista supports DLNA, but you needn't upgrade just yet. XP users can get set up in seconds flat. Just switch on Sharing in Windows Media Player 11 , and after allowing sharing to the PS3 (which will appear in WMP as an "Unknown Device") , your PS3 can access music, pictures and video stored on your PC. You can stream and play it directly across the network, or copy it to your PS3's hard drive.<br /><br />Of course, your PS3 can't handle all media formats. PS3 only handles MPEG videos, for example. If you want to be able to stream all your videos (regardless of format), you'll need to do a bit more work on the PC side. There are numerous DLNA media-streaming apps available; some free, some commercial. Right now, the latest release of Nero Media Home looks like the most versatile option, as it does on-the-fly transcoding of other video formats into PS3-friendly MPEG-2.<br /><br />When watching videos streamed across the network, you have the same options as you do when watching videos off the PS3's internal hard drive. You can stop watching a video mid-way through and resume it from the exact same point later. The 1.5x fast forward option is still available too, allowing you to watch videos at 150% normal speed with audio at the normal pitch. The network media streaming features all work via Remote Play too, so you can wirelessly access media stored on your PC (or any other DLNA device) via your PSP, as illustrated in the photos below.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJU7gIaTdpLxjdCW2_Veb-AW_KI-hf8f-wDpSzSJFOkXGJq6r78DLIw2pT9mOqfMftVwUNaoQE6KwdSPZUtITJV7NEvi0uE2aAi0Fb77bsYXI0a5O3-8s6fIvr-qXvAdd8Ie1tIA/s1600-h/ConsoulPSPMedia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJU7gIaTdpLxjdCW2_Veb-AW_KI-hf8f-wDpSzSJFOkXGJq6r78DLIw2pT9mOqfMftVwUNaoQE6KwdSPZUtITJV7NEvi0uE2aAi0Fb77bsYXI0a5O3-8s6fIvr-qXvAdd8Ie1tIA/s320/ConsoulPSPMedia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069499513487921730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB89ztbYcTk-lQmNuhzpJVEJJ33piWqSs4nqiiM4V2F1axkRcXHEJrUBKJD3dvxZ0C0vGm8RtWzjySYFfbQy2PU2-mjnPKKTmSBVwhfWfx9PgUOGc8zsR_tBqNoFxbv-RTOp9xng/s1600-h/ConsoulPSPVideo15.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB89ztbYcTk-lQmNuhzpJVEJJ33piWqSs4nqiiM4V2F1axkRcXHEJrUBKJD3dvxZ0C0vGm8RtWzjySYFfbQy2PU2-mjnPKKTmSBVwhfWfx9PgUOGc8zsR_tBqNoFxbv-RTOp9xng/s320/ConsoulPSPVideo15.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5069499513487921746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Full Range HDMI<br /><br /></span>For folks with HDMI displays (or HDCP-compliant DVI displays), the new Full Range HDMI display option is well worth checking out. Until now, the contrast range of PS3's HDMI output has been consistent with TV standards. TV signals are contrast-compressed so that in the full 0-255 range (where zero is true black and 255 is absolute white), all picture brightness is rendered within the 16-235 range.<br /><br />Many TVs can't adequately display tones darker than 16 or brighter than 235. Even if a TV can support it, it's chipset may have been configured to drop tones below 16 to black and push all those above 235 to full white. For TV, that's ideal. For PS3, these sets are best left at the default "Limited" range setting, as enabling "Full Range" will actually lead to loss of detail at the top and bottom ends.<br /><br />As the name suggests, the "Full Range" option will open up the contrast spectrum to the full 0-255 range, producing deeper blacks, whiter whites and overall better contrast on displays that will support it. Monitors are built for this range, and some TVs will handle it well too. On the Samsung monitor I'm using, Full Range HDMI produces a much better picture.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Other Stuff<br /><br /></span>There are a few other noteworthy changes:<br /><br />Printing support has been added, but at this stage, only a select range of Epson printers connected via USB will work.<br /><br />A new Slideshow mode called "Photo Album 2" has been added to the Photo viewer. This displays virtual prints, like the original Photo Album mode, but arranges them neatly in a grid instead of randomly scattering them. Zooming and cropping functionality have also been added (finally!).<br /><br />CD information is now editable. After the PS3 automatically retrieves information about audio CDs from the internet, you can now manually edit the information.<br /><br />Background downloads are now supported from within a greater range of games and applications (including Folding@Home), and can be manually paused from within the XMB.<br /><br />On Australian/European PS3s (that don't contain the PS2 chipset) software emulation of PS2 games has improved. A greater number of games are now compatible.<br /><br />The only downside of firmware 1.8 seems to be that the PS3 arcade sticks that worked on PSone/PS2 games under firmware 1.7 no longer work under 1.8. With so many improvements, I guess they had to break something.<br /><br />Considering that all this was bundled into firmware 1.8, it should be interesting to see what Sony have planned for firmware 2.0. This may co-incide with the public release of Sony's innovative Home online interface. Home is currently in a closed beta phase, and while I've been fortunate enough to have a thorough play around with it, unfortunately I'm not allowed to disclose any details about it.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-79258543106803651232007-03-20T18:56:00.000+11:002007-03-20T22:17:26.210+11:00What's in StoreI heard that Sony switched on the Australian Playstation Store today, so I've just activated my Australian PSN account and had a look. The Aussie Store is much the same as all the others, but I thought I'd reveal what's in there for those of you picking up an Australian PS3 soon. No doubt the content is essentially the same as the UK Store, though the pricing is obviously different.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgabWMXNsBleCQ7uV3qjguhPQ_B_ylZ99YdIjl0e3BPLy-18Xlq45KepK0mra0eG5O2fi2yoVfhjbqsjyW__msdgphR5CJpvLPFCgB1njkDOXdF1ei0IWJgbwyROkNDn-ErY0azw/s1600-h/PALStore.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5043944004338265250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgabWMXNsBleCQ7uV3qjguhPQ_B_ylZ99YdIjl0e3BPLy-18Xlq45KepK0mra0eG5O2fi2yoVfhjbqsjyW__msdgphR5CJpvLPFCgB1njkDOXdF1ei0IWJgbwyROkNDn-ErY0azw/s320/PALStore.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Here's the complete list:<br /><br /><strong>Games</strong><br />GTHD Concept (free)<br />Tekken 5: Dark Ressurrection ($16.95)<br />Blast Factor ($8.45)<br />Lemmings ($8.45)<br />Gripshift ($13.37)<br /><br /><strong>Demos</strong> (all free)<br />Resistance: Fall of Man<br />Motorstorm<br />Blast Factor<br />Formula One C.E.<br />Lemmings Starter Pack<br />Genji: DotB<br />Ridge Racer 7<br /><br /><strong>Video</strong><br />PS3 Advert: trailer 2 "underbelly" (61MB 1080p)<br />Resistance: FoM TV advert (58MB 720p)<br />Formula One: C.E. trailer (73MB 720p)<br />Motorstorm trailer (224MB 720p)<br />PS3 Advert: trailer 3 "grenade" (93MB 1080p)<br />Resistance: FoM trailer (223MB 720p or 122MB SD)<br />GT HD Concept trailer (185MB 720p)<br />Motorstorm TV advert (6355KB 720p)<br />Casino Royale trailer (282MB 1080p or 38MB SD)<br />Gripshift trailer (91MB 720p or 23MB SD)<br />Genji:DoB trailer (155MB 720p)<br />PS3 Advert: Keiji (18MB 1080p)<br />Ridge Racer 7 trailer (128MB 1080p)<br />PS3 Stories: Control (146MB 1080p, 110MB 720p or 32MB SD)<br />PS3 Stories: Power (147MB 1080p)<br />PS3 Stories: Real Time (203MB 1080p, 143MB 720p or 146MB SD)<br />PS3 Stories: Cinematic (178MB 1080p or 35MB SD)<br />PS3 Stories: High Def (156MB 1080p, 120MB 720p or 33MB SD)<br />PS3 Stories: Storage (187MB 1080p, 138MB 720p or 37MB SD)<br />NHL 2K7 trailer (31MB 1080p)<br />NBA 2K7 trailer (23MB 1080p)<br />X-Men 3: The Last Stand trailer (112MB 720p or 29MB SD)<br />Behind Enemy Lines trailer (108MB 720p or 31MB SD)<br />The Omen trailer (66MB 720p or 17MB SD)<br />Kingdom of Heaven trailer (119MB 720p or 30MB SD)<br />Ice Age: The Meltdown trailer (98MB 720p or 27MB SD)<br />Speed trailer (121MB 720p or 31MB SD)<br /><br /><strong>Game Content<br /></strong>Ridge Racer 7 Game Decal Sets 1-5<br />Genji Enemy Costume Pack<br /><br /><br />That's it...well almost. Strangely enough there's another trailer available that's not listed in the Video section. It's a rather brutal <strong>The Darkness: Revenge trailer</strong> that's only accessible by scrolling through the Latest section. It's the same trailer that was shown at TGS 06. Notably absent are previously announced titles like flOw, Go! Sudoku and Super Rub-a-Dub.<br /><br />Remember folks, the first 20,000 Australians to activate their PS3s online are eligible to recieve a free copy of Casino Royale on Blu-ray. Good luck.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-38629198275199240722007-03-16T11:45:00.000+11:002007-03-21T10:06:58.873+11:00Consoul MagazineWell, this piece was going to be a long and thoughtful post-mortem of GDC '07 and the announcement of Sony's new MMO online interface, Home. The rest of the gaming press and blogosphere have already talked that to death, so instead here's a picture of a blond girl in a pink bikini, sitting on the toilet with her pants down.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-yjfUj84GmCgHqxV0e6xYp4Lmn9puUi1zN23WfWCWLI7FvvDkx4MfXWNsjp-OmA2xxwmyJivggPZoQJwTf4fkvD_AUeZYQyg9Ib08IabVc5cbIWymfBm7PoZN-FGfTWI-9U19g/s1600-h/ConsoulMagazine.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5042319472152538402" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; cursor: pointer; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-yjfUj84GmCgHqxV0e6xYp4Lmn9puUi1zN23WfWCWLI7FvvDkx4MfXWNsjp-OmA2xxwmyJivggPZoQJwTf4fkvD_AUeZYQyg9Ib08IabVc5cbIWymfBm7PoZN-FGfTWI-9U19g/s320/ConsoulMagazine.jpg" border="0" /></a>This is the cover of Sony's new PS3 lifestyle magazine called CONSOUL. How nice of them to shamelessly steal my name. This free monthly magazine debuted earlier this month in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Here's my own (admittedly very rough) translation of the <a href="http://www.editorix.org/article1053.html">media release</a>:<br /><blockquote>Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland (SCED) brings its own lifestyle magazine to the launch of the PLAYSTATION3 on the market. In co-operation with the Köln agency, the first edition of CONSOUL will appear on 06/03/2007 with a run of 500,000 copies. The new monthly trend magazine appears in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and is distributed through stores catering to the gaming & internet scene and other selected outlets free of charge.<br /><br />CONSOUL covers the PLAYSTATION 3 from the perspective of lifestyle and entertainment enthusiasts. High production value photo shoots, reports on sports, fashion and design, and music and movie reviews will fill CONSOUL's pages, as well as features on the technical highlights of the PLAYSTATION 3, and outstanding games and gadgets. The articles, which are all written by an independent specialized editorship, don't lose themselves in technical details, but inspire curiosity to find out more and targets a readership which sits around the fringe of video game topics.<br /><br />PLAYSTATION 3, which will be available with the European-wide sales launch on 23 March 2007, is more than just a next generation game console, but a multimedia high-end entertainment centre. CONSOUL welcomes this new dimension of digital convergence, which is made possible with the start of the PS3. "The PlayStation brand will be shaped with PS3 as high definition home entertainment. With CONSOUL we look directly at the lifestyle of our customers. We address all, the fun of new emerging gadgets, the digital life of the internet, and naturally our outstanding games and films", said Uwe Bassendowski, Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Deutschland GmbH.</blockquote>Wow. I'm still not sure exactly where the girl on the toilet fits in, but she will no doubt attract some attention. I'm somewhat dubious about the "independent" editorship, but this seems to be the direction in which Sony's 'decentralized' PR is headed (see also thinly-veiled Sony mouthpiece blog <a href="http://www.threespeech.com/">ThreeSpeech</a>). I'm curious to see what this magazine actually contains. If anyone could send me one, or provide some scans, I'd be much obliged.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">First they take my name, then they take my story.<br /><br /></span>So I had a subtle dig at Threespeech in this post. Well, they've responded by <a href="http://threespeech.com/blog/?p=343">ripping off</a> part of the post (complete with my re-sized, re-named cover picture and my own bodgy translation) and posting it on their site, without credit. <span style="font-style: italic;">Do not underestimate the petulance of Playstation.<br /><br /></span>Thanks to good folk like <a href="http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/03/racy_german_ps3.html">Chris Kohler</a> @ WIRED, <a href="http://ncroal.talk.newsweek.com/default.asp?item=527677">N'Gai Croal</a> @ Newsweek and <a href="http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/dirty-german-ps3-magazine-inferno-244688.php">Brian Ashcroft</a> @ Kotaku who gave credit where it was due.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1170034933294534102007-01-29T12:02:00.000+11:002007-01-29T14:29:40.993+11:00PS3: Shown to scaleFirst of all, the Australian release details have been finalised: <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">March 23 2007. AU$999.95.</span> <br />Only the 60GB model will be initially available.<br />Now on with the show.<br /><br />Scaling has been a high-profile issue for the PS3. While the PS3 can natively render at resolutions as high as 1080p, it has been drawing heavy criticism for it's apparent inability to perform hardware scaling. The PS3 currently will not upscale games rendered at 720p to 1080i/p. For the small number of people who have older HDTVs that support 1080i, but not 720p, this is a disaster. Similarly, the PS3 cannot downscale Blu-ray movies from 1080p to 720p. Even backward compatibility was suffering horribly from scaling issues, with PSone and PS2 games being badly stretched to higher than their original horizontal resolutions.<br /><br />Fortunately, it seems Sony are taking steps to address the situation. First of all, Sony have released PS3 firmware version 1.5, which among other things, fixes the backward compatibility issue. PSone and PS2 games now display correctly, without any horizontal distortion. This welcome upgrade finally brings PS3's backward compatibility up to scratch. Of course, it could be further improved with options for higher resolutions or texture filtering (like the PS2 had), but we probably shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.<br /><br />As previously hinted at by Resistance developers Insomniac, it turns out the PS3 does in fact have some kind of hardware scaler built-in. Developers just weren't able to access it until now. The latest software development kit (SDK) from Sony has at least partially unlocked it for developer use. Why it was locked previously is unclear. Unfortunately, full-frame hardware scaling from 720p (1280x720 pixels) to 1080p (1920x1080) still isn't possible. Oddly enough, the newly unlocked hardware scaling functionality supports only horizontal scaling. Any vertical scaling still has to be performed in software, at the cost of processor time. So while this isn't the ideal hardware scaling solution, it's half way there. <br /><br />Sony have wisely included a new 960x1080 rendering resolution as an option in their latest SDK. The beauty of this resolution is that the actual number of pixels to be rendered is only marginally higher than standard 720p (less than 10% extra), and because the full 1080 lines are already rendered, the PS3 is able to upscale it to full 1920x1080p at no extra cost.<br /><br />So it seems the PS3's hardware scaling abilities aren't quite as lacking as originally thought. There's still a way to go toward resolving all of PS3's scaling issues (720p Blu-ray movie playback is still a sore point), but Sony are certainly taking the issue seriously. Whether they can still find a way to achieve full-frame hardware scaling is anyone's guess.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1166668786008929832006-12-21T12:01:00.000+11:002007-01-04T17:07:32.136+11:00Red SteelThe weight of expectation can be a heavy burden. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/816877/rs_sm5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/400/8830/rs_sm5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Ubisoft's high-profile title <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> carried a lot of baggage to the Wii launch. It was the first Wii game announced and was hotly anticipated from the moment the first screens were shown. Even Nintendo themselves constantly hyped <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> as a great showcase for the Wii in the lead-up to launch. Beautiful, crisp anti-aliased screenshots found their way around the web. Despite being devkit "bullshots" that were obviously higher resolution than the Wii could support, they raised people's hopes of how good the game might look.<br /><br />Despite playtests of beta versions being met with less than stellar impressions, hopes for <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> remained high. The gaming community wanted to believe. The final review copies went out, and the discrepancy between expectations and reality became abundantly evident. The press were merciless: "Horrible", "buggy", "broken". Reviews were mostly five or six out of ten, even falling as low as four.<br /><br />The community quickly turned away from what had apparently been a terrible train wreck. <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> dropped off the shopping lists of many of Wii's early adopters. I had originally planned on buying it on day one, but it's critical reception had been so scathing that I didn't even consider it when I picked up my Wii at launch. A day or two later, I felt strangely compelled to try it anyway. I knew it was meant to be awful, but the curiosity was killing me. For such a high-profile game with a budget of ten million Euros (that's bigger than <span style="font-style:italic;">Gears Of War</span>!) to have failed so spectacularly, the result was something I just had to experience for myself.<br /><br />While so many other mediocre Wii games had sold out in the pre-Christmas shopping frenzy, I had no trouble finding stores with <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> in stock, and even got a good discount on it. My initial impression was pretty much consistent with the general consensus. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/266649/rs_sm9.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/400/574351/rs_sm9.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Red Steel: Not ready</span>. There's no escaping the fact that Ubisoft rushed the game out for launch. Right from the boot up, the game feels like a beta: unfinished, and desperately in need of more polish, or any polish for that matter. The loading screens, menus, and cutscenes all feel like internal placeholder work that should have been redone properly before the game ever saw the light of day. Then the game itself begins and the stuttering frame rate and last-gen graphics join forces to dig the hole a little deeper. So how do I control this thing? Whoa. Oh boy. It doesn't handle like any FPS you've ever played and it's not like a lightgun shooter either. It's a new control scheme that you're not accustomed to, and for the first few minutes, you'll probably feel like it doesn't work very well.<br /><br />I have to wonder how many reviewers crystalized their opinions at that point. It would be easy to throw up your hands right there and decide the game was crap. The thing about <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> is that it takes time to open up, and it needs the player to give it that opportunity. Half an hour in, the game still seemed bad, but the control scheme wasn't grating quite as much. I had adjusted to the idea that I needed to point the remote at the screen all the time, and that it controlled both the aiming reticule and the direction I was facing.<br /><br />An hour in, the sluggish frame rate was still bugging me though I'd gotten over the initial shock of the chunky looking graphics and occasionally dodgy textures. I still wasn't really comfortable with the controls, but I played on. The disconcerting way the game just froze up for a few seconds every time I reached a checkpoint was certainly contributing to the amateurish vibe of the game. The storyline and characterization hadn't improved matters either. They were terrible in fact. Poorly written, poorly acted, and absolutely riddled with clichés and stereotypes. Any cheesier and the game disc would have had a stuffed crust.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/912006/rs_sm6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/400/959111/rs_sm6.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />And yet, as I continued into the third, fourth and fifth hours of the game, I noticed something odd happening: I was having fun. The control scheme had pretty much clicked (although moving toward the TV to zoom in still felt a little clunky) and I was really enjoying the immersiveness of it. Graphically the game had become much more impressive too, though inconsistently so. It still had it's ugly moments, but there were plenty of nice subtle effects on show coupled with some beautiful set pieces and good art direction. Even the cheese had turned golden. I found I was appreciating the dodgy dialogue and lame plot on a B-movie level. I was hooked. I just wanted to keep on playing.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span>'s gameplay carves it's own path somewhere between lightgun shooter and first-person shooter, and strikes the balance quite well. The sword fighting isn't what we were all hoping for, but in the grand scheme of things, it's little more than a mini-game. Shooting and hurling grenades is what <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> is about. I'm more than happy with <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span>'s duration. As a fan of lightgun games that usually last no more than an hour or two, I think the ten to fifteen hours on offer in <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> is a satisfyingly large serving. The campaign is about all there is though. The offline multiplayer is okay, but the lack of online multiplayer is a real disappointment. <br /><br />So I'm left with mixed feelings about this game. It's so bad on so many levels that I feel like I should just consider it as a straight-out bad game. ...and yet, in spite of it all it's faults, I enjoyed it. I really had fun with it, which is more than I can say for many technically accomplished and highly-polished games that are just boring to play. It certainly won't be remembered as one of the Wii catalog's highlights, and no doubt much of my enjoyment of the game was based on the novelty of using the Wii remote and nunchuck to play it, but so what? Putting aside all other considerations (like the shoddy execution of the entire game), if the sole purpose of a game is to be fun, then I can't deny that <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> delivered.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/628121/rs_sm2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/400/922092/rs_sm2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />If you're willing to persist and forgive it's flaws, <span style="font-style:italic;">Red Steel</span> actually does offer one of the more interesting and fun experiences available in the Wii's launch line-up.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1164845057896009542006-11-30T10:18:00.000+11:002006-12-15T17:55:19.033+11:00PlayStation3: consoul on console.So I've been putting the Japanese 60GB PS3 I picked up on <a href="http://consoul.blogspot.com/2006/11/yodobashi-shinjuku-ps3-launch-massacre.html">day one</a> through it's paces for about five weeks now. I finally feel like I've seen enough to share some detailed hands-on impressions. As usual, I'm not going to spin this either way or try to convince you to buy one or not - I'm just going to call it as I see it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Design</span><br /><br />The first thing that strikes you when you take the PS3 out of the box is the sheer size of it. It's big. Bigger than you expect. (325mm x 98mm x 274mm) The depth of the unit is the most surprising part. However, like a woman in a black dress, the PS3's dark translucent curved design works wonders in minimizing it's apparent size. When you've actually got your PS3 set up, either horizontally or vertically, you likely won't notice it's depth anymore, as your eyes are drawn to it's uncluttered tapered front. The name "PLAYSTATION3" is emblazoned across the hood in the same font Sony Pictures have been using for the Spiderman movies. <br /><br />Unlike the all black 20GB unit, the 60GB unit features a silver strip along the base and a silver panel on the front where the optical drive is. The drive has a self-loading disc slot with the trademark Playstation logo below it, which can rotate 90 degrees to match the orientation of your console. On the ledge beneath it are the power and eject buttons. I call them buttons, but they're really just touch sensitive areas, completely flush and with no discernable edges. The power lights are reminiscent of the PS2 - one red light indicates the system is in standby, and a pair of blue and green lights illuminate when the system is on. The blue light flashes when loading or ejecting a disc. Four USB ports are tucked under the overhang on the front, along with indicator lights for HDD and Wi-fi activity.<br /><br />Like the original PSP, the PS3's shiny black surface is an absolute fingerprint magnet. It also shows dust like you wouldn't believe, so for this reason alone, you're best standing the PS3 vertically if your loungeroom setup can accomodate it. Overall, the PS3's physical design is slick and appealing, while being quite understated. Rather than standing out like a 360, the PS3 can blend in with other home theatre components very well.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Ins and Outs</span><br /><br />One of PS3's much heralded points of differentiation from XBox360 is it's ability to natively render and output graphics at HD resolutions up to 1080p (1920x1080 progressive). That's effectively twice as many lines per frame as the 1080i (interlaced) HDTV broadcast standard. Sony brashly claimed that "the HD era doesn't begin until we say it does".<br /><br />When first shown at E3 2005, the PS3 proudly sported dual HDMI outputs. By E3 2006, the 60GB PS3 had only one HDMI port and the 20GB had none. Shortly before launch, the word was that the 20GB would get one HDMI port and the 60GB would have two as originally intended. In the end, both models ended up with only one HDMI output.<br /><br />The display settings selectable in the PS3's menu are dictated by what kind of cable you're using for output. If you want to see every pixel of the PS3's 1080p graphics at the best possible quality, HDMI output is your best option. Of course, you'll also want an HDMI cable and a compatible display that's capable of actually resolving 1080p. <span style="font-style:italic;">Got an extra $3000-$5000?</span> You're all set then. If your TV doesn't accept HDMI, but is capable of resolutions above standard defintion, then component is for you. Like HDMI, the component cables can output resolutions up to 1080p (including 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i). Unlike HDMI, component output is analogue rather than pure digital, but it's picture quality is still very good. <br /><br />The trouble is that Playstation3, the 1080p console that apparently ushers in the true HD era, doesn't come with cables that support HD resolutions at all. It comes packed with the same composite AV-multi cable (with the traditional yellow, red and white plugs) that shipped with the original Playstation ten years ago. Using the included cable, you can only display in 480i (standard def). Admittedly, many people, okay most people, don't have a TV that accepts component or HDMI input. The majority of people still have standard definition TV sets. You have to wonder though, how many of those people are dropping a big wad of cash on a high-end device that renders games and plays back movies at 1080p? I understand that Sony felt it necessary to include cables to support standard definition TV, but why not include component or HDMI cable as well? <br /><br />Memo to Sony: Your "HD era" hasn't begun if your console doesn't support HD out of the box. Microsoft got it right. The Premium 360 pack included a single cable that had both component <span style="font-weight:bold;">and</span> composite plugs. The lack of HD cables in the PS3 box is disappointing (and downright cheap). On the upside, if you already own a PS2 and a TV that supports component, then you may already have a set of component cables for your PS2 (as I did). You can just use those.<br /><br />I know many people intend to buy a PS3 first and get an HDTV later. Fair enough. PS3 still looks <span style="font-style:italic;">okay</span> at 480i, but you should definitely be aware that you're missing out on the big picture. Technically, you're seeing less than a quarter of the detail you'd see in 1080p. If your TV doesn't support at least 480p (EDTV), you're robbing yourself. That said, I should mention that most of the launch games don't actually render at full 1080p. True 1080p games will become more common as software developers get better acquainted with the hardware. <br /><br />The back of the PS3 also features digital optical output and an ethernet port for taking the console online. The 60GB model also offers wireless connectivity via wi-fi, with optional WEP or WPA-PSK security. Also exclusive to the 60GB model are card reader slots for Compact Flash, SD/Mini-SD and Memory Stick Pro, all neatly concealed behind a flap on the front. Like the rest of the casing, the flap is translucent, so the access indicator lights for each of the slots can still be seen flashing when the flap is closed. The left side of the unit (or the bottom if you're standing it upright) is where the hatch concealing the hard drive caddy is. Should you feel the need, replacing the stock internal drive with a higher capacity 2.5" inch SATA notebook drive is a simple process, and is fully explained in the PS3 manual.<br /><br />The four USBs are perhaps the most versatile ports, allowing all kinds of devices to be connected. You can charge your Sixaxis controllers with the cable provided, or plug in an Eyetoy, flash drives, cameras, keyboards, external hard drives, or your PSP or iPod. Whatever. If you'd rather go cordless, up to seven Bluetooth devices are supported simultaneously, including the Sixaxis controllers and headsets.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Note for PS3 importers:</span> The sticker on the bottom of the PS3 indicating that it requires 100V power is somewhat misleading. Despite what you may have read elsewhere, you don't need to go out and spend a couple of hundred bucks on a 500 Watt sine-wave down converter. Inside the PS3, the AC adaptor is actually clearly marked as being designed to accept 100V-240V at 50-60Hz. In other words, it's universal. You can in fact plug your PS3 directly into 240V without frying it. I'm running my PS3 straight off Australian mains power right now.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Boot Up</span><br /><br />You can power up the PS3 by touching the power or eject icons on the PS3 itself, or by holding down the Playstation logo button on any Sixaxis controller. The system emits a beep and only takes a few seconds to boot up into the menu. The words "Sony Computer Entertainment" briefly appear and there's a short sound like an orchestra tuning up, which sets a rather classy tone. <br /><br />The loud beep is kind of annoying and unnecessary in my view. The system also beeps if you use the power icon to switch it off. (Shutting down the system using the controller does not produce a beep.) As someone who often dons a pair of cordless headphones and plays late at night while my family sleeps, I really appreciate that the PS3 runs virtually silently. Considering the system's processing power and it's internal PSU, the fact that it runs so quietly is quite an achievement. By comparison, my XBox360 sounds like a hair dryer. I can only assume Sony included the beep because the touch sensitive power and eject icons can easily be activated accidentally. Regardless of their rationale, the inclusion of the beep irks me.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Interface</span><br /><br />If you're familiar with the PSP's user interface, you'll feel right at home here. PS3 employs a variation of Sony's Cross Media Bar (XMB) interface, as seen on the PSP. Behind the menu, a fluid ribbon waves slowly and like the PSP, the background colour changes throughout the year. If like me, you play mostly late at night, you won't see too much of the background colour, as each day it gradually changes from being brightest at midday to being pitch black at midnight. From left to right, the menu has eight top-level categories: Users, Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Game, Network and Friends. Let's take a look at these individually.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Users</span><br /><br />PS3 is Sony's first console to feature integrated user accounts. You'll need to create an account whether you're going online or not. You can create and store up to sixteen user accounts on your PS3. Each of those user accounts can have an associated PlayStation Network (PSN) account for online play and transactions (see Network section). The PSN name and local account names need not be the same. When logged on as one user, you will not be able to see, load or delete other users saved data. <br /><br />If you have created more than one account on your PS3, the first thing you'll be prompted to do each time you power on, is choose which account you wish to use. I'd recommend creating at least two accounts, as this prevents the PS3 from auto-booting games when switched on. If you have to choose an account, you'll be sent to the XMB menu afterwards. If there's only one user account, it'll automatically be signed in and any game disc present will boot immediately.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Settings</span><br /><br />There's a whole lot of settings you can tweak in here. Display, Audio, Networking, Formatting, etc. Perhaps the most interesting option in Settings is the "Install Other OS" option, which allows you to install Linux on your PS3 and use it as a fully fledged computer. You can install whichever flavour of Linux you like, but <a href="http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/products/ydl/">Yellow Dog Linux 5</a> is the best option, as it has been specifically written for PS3 hardware. Be aware that to install Linux, you'll first need to re-partition the hard drive, so be sure to back-up any saved data you want to keep to removable media first. Reformatting (or replacing) the hard drive will not delete your user accounts or any system updates. Obviously, Linux on PS3 is best used with a high resolution display.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Photo</span><br /><br />The Photo section allows you to view images stored on the internal hard drive, inserted cards, sticks, or any connected media. Jpegs, Tiffs, Gifs, BMPs and PNGs are supported. Like the PSP, the PS3 will not automatically detect Images, Music or Video files that are buried several directories deep on your removable media. However, the PS3 does provide an option to display the entire directory structure so you can dig out any files that don't immediately show up.<br /><br />One of the more useful features of the PSP's photo viewer was the zoom tool. On PS3, zoom is conspicuously absent. Small images are scaled up to the screen size, but you cannot manually zoom into photographs at all. It's a glaring omission that should be rectified in a future system update.<br /><br />There are four slideshow styles: Normal, Slide, Portrait and Photo Album. Each can be run at three speeds. The Photo Album slideshow mode has attracted a lot of attention. It renders the images as prints, polaroids and negatives, and casually tosses them onto a virtual tabletop, grouping them together with times and dates seemingly handwritten in pencil. It's a strikingly realistic effect. You can control the position and zoom of the camera above the table with the analog sticks. Impressive as it is, the Photo Album mode is ultimately just a great looking gimmick that falls short of being useful, because you can't actually zoom into any one photo so that it fills the screen.<br /><br />Normal mode is exactly that: static images are shown with a quick dissolve between them. Slide mode adds animated transitions replicating a traditional slide projector, where one image is whisked off the side of the screen momentarily and replaced with the next. The timing and realistic motion blur really nails this effect.<br /><br />Portrait mode is, in my opinion, the most interesting option. It cycles through the images with dissolves in between, but also pans across the images and zooms in and out. The Xbox360's slideshow option does the same...well, almost. The crucial difference is that the PS3 is not choosing the zooms and pans randomly. <span style="font-weight:bold;">It's actually interpreting your photos.</span> It's looking for faces and points of interest. While it's not 100% accurate, it's usually able to pick out the important parts of the picture to zoom in or out from, or pan across. It took me a while to even notice this particular subtlety, but it's now my favourite undocumented feature of the PS3.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Music</span><br /><br />From here you can play music off the HDD, or any other media, including CDs or even SACDs. Congratulations if you're the one person who actually has an SACD. You can rip songs or whole albums to the hard drive, and choose from a wide range of codecs and bitrates. ATRAC, AAC, MP3 and WAV are supported, though protected MP3s (like from iTunes) won't play. When you put in a CD, the PS3 will sneakily begin retrieving album information from the internet, so you'll get full artist, album and track information without having to type anything in.<br /><br />A couple of different visualizer options are available, which adapt to the music quite well and are quite soft and pleasing to the eye. Holding the PS button during music playback pulls up the XMB again, so it's possible to play music and watch a slideshow at the same time. Unfortunately, there seems to be no support in the operating system for custom soundtracks in game. Hopefully this will be addressed as the system software is updated. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Video</span><br /><br />Again, you can access files on the hard drive, or any other connected media. DVD and Blu-ray movies will also show up here. While it doesn't support as many video formats as I'd like, the MPEG1, 2 and 4 (including H.264) codecs are a good start. Videos stored on the hard drive can have animated thumbnails, which look fantastic. Contrary to what you may have expected, none of the videos will have an animated thumbnail until you give them one. You need to start playing the video and then choose a point at which the 15 second loop should start, then manually select the thumbnail icon from the OSD. It would have been nice if these videos defaulted to using the first 15 seconds as their thumbnail. By default, they actually don't have a thumbnail at all; not even a still image.<br /><br />If a DVD or Blu-ray disc has been inserted, the XMB gives no indication of what is on it; only showing that a disc is present. While that's essentially a limitation of the DVD and Blu-ray formats, after becoming accustomed to the animated menu icons for UMD movies in the PSP's XMB, the generic disc icons for DVDs/BDs are a disappointment. A feature like the one used for retrieving CD information could perhaps be implemented to allow the PS3 to recognize specific DVD and Blu-ray movies.<br /><br />Anyway, the playback quality is excellent. 1080p movies play off the HDD or BD without a hitch, and look sensational. As other sites have reported, the PS3's image quality trumps that of some dedicated (and far more expensive) Blu-ray players. Strangely though, PS3 only supports Blu-ray movie output at 480 or 1080 (interlaced or progressive). 720p Blu-ray output is not available, even though most PS3 games currently natively render at that resolution. This is another oddity that will hopefully be resolved by a system update. It's possible however, that the PS3 is incapable of supporting 720p Blu-ray without a hardware scaler. Time will tell.<br /><br />Putting in the memory stick from my PSP, I found all the videos I'd encoded on it immediately showed up in the PS3's menu with their original thumbnails. They scaled up pretty well when played too. Taking the memory stick out of my Sony Cybershot camera and putting it in the PS3 didn't yield such good results. No videos showed up at all. I had to switch on the 'show all directories' option and then dig down through Sony's arbitrarily named folders to find the movies, which displayed without thumbnails. Admittedly my camera is a few years old now, and other newer cameras <span style="font-style:italic;">may</span> be better supported, but a bit more comprehensive support for Sony's own product lines surely isn't too much to ask for.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Game</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">What?! You mean it plays games too?</span><br />Yes, we've reached the "Play" part of the Playstation 3 at last. Well, sorry, I'm not going to bother going into much detail about PS3's games here. There are plenty of detailed reviews of individual titles elsewhere. Instead, I'm going to take this opportunity to reveal one specific and little-known aspect of the PS3's game functionality, before discussing backward compatibility.<br /><br />Region free. Those two words are being used a lot in relation to PS3. So is it really region free? Well, yes. And no. Mostly no actually. It's not region free for DVDs or Blu-ray movies. It's not region free for PSone or PS2 games. You can only play DVD and Blu-ray movies or PSone and PS2 games that match whichever region your PS3 console comes from. Those of you who have been following the PS3 news no doubt knew this already.<br /><br />You'd also know that PS3 is officially region free for PS3 games. Hmm. I suppose that depends on how broad your definition of region free is. You can buy a game from one region and play it on a PS3 from another region. That much is true. That being the case, you'd be forgiven for thinking that it doesn't matter where your games come from, or where your PS3 came from. As far as playing PS3 games is concerned, the experience should be the same no matter what, right? Wrong.<br /><br />This raises an interesting 'feature' of PS3's region coding that seems to have been kept quiet. I bought a Japanese copy of the critically acclaimed <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance: Fall of Man</span> at launch, with my Japanese PS3. Packaging aside, the Japanese <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance</span> and the US <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance</span> are feature identical. The discs both contain all languages and all game content. So I was somewhat surprised when I read impressions from US gamers discussing the game's "hero moments" and the way the blood splatters on environmental objects. Blood? I completed the game and never saw a drop. Hero moments? These are sequences where you have the opportunity to save handy allies from a grisly death, not that I'd encountered any such sequences in the game. Something tricky was going on.<br /><br />My experience of <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance</span> had been censored, completely unbeknownst to me. The once liberal Japanese have apparently become conservative regarding graphic depictions of violence recently. <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil 4</span> (on GC and PS2) is a good example of this. It featured chainsaw decapitations and other explicit death scenes that were cut from the Japanese release, but remained elsewhere in the world. <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance</span> has apparently been adjusted to appease the censors too, but the method has changed.<br /><br />No content has been cut from the Japanese release. If you take my Japanese copy of <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance</span> and start playing it on a US PS3, you'll find it plays completely uncut, with all blood splattering and hero moments intact. Conversely, start playing a US copy of <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance</span> on a Japanese PS3 and the blood and hero moments are gone. The games have not been cut. The PS3 console itself is determining what gets cut.<br /><br />A Japanese PS3 will censor games to meet the Japanese rating. It makes no difference if you're signed on under a US profile, or playing a game you bought in the US or anywhere else. No doubt the US and forthcoming Euro/PAL PS3s will work the same way. Game content will be altered/cut on-the-fly to meet the ratings requirements of the region that machine was intended for. It certainly will be interesting to see how different PS3s handle a game like <span style="font-style:italic;">Grand Theft Auto 4</span>.<br /><br />This revelation probably comes as a bit of a kick in the teeth to people who've imported a Japanese PS3. The prospect of playing a needlessly censored version of <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil 5</span> is somewhat depressing. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Fear not!</span> <span style="font-style:italic;">You shall go to the ball!</span> I'm going to tell you how to get around this awful bit of region coding. The trick is all in the save file. When you boot up a game for the first time, your PS3 creates a save file in a folder on the hard drive for whichever user account is logged on. It's then that the PS3 checks the hardware region coding and decides whether it will be censoring the game or not. It never performs this check again. So the key to getting around the censoring is getting your hands on another save file that was created on a PS3 from an uncensored region.<br /><br />Here's the catch - you can't just get a save file created using the US release of a game on a US PS3 and expect it to work with a Japanese game. The disc IDs are different, so the game will refuse to load the save data. What you'll need to do is have someone with a US (or other region) PS3 boot up the Japanese game disc. They don't even have to start a new game. Just booting up the disc will create a save file that indicates the game is being used on US hardware. Take a copy of that save file and import it into your Japanese PS3. Bingo. You can now start a new game with all features uncensored. I'm playing <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance</span> again, on hard, with all blood and hero moments unlocked.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Backward Compatibility</span><br /><br />I expected that backward compatibility would just work on PS3, without a hitch. The PS3 actually contains the same (EE/GS) chipset used in the slim PS2, so hardware compatibility shouldn't have been a major factor. It's interesting then that many games do exhibit issues. Usually it's nothing that will make a game unplayable, but it's surprising that a machine as advanced as a PS3 can't necessarily do a PSone game justice.<br /><br />While individual titles seem to exhibit different issues, there's one broad problem that seems to plague all the PSone and PS2 games when played on PS3: it's the horizontal resolution. The vertical resolution of the backward compatible games seems to match the original (480 in the case of most NTSC games), but the PS3's horizontal resolution seems to be higher than that of the original games. That's not to say the backward compatible games are being rendered at a higher resolution - as far as I can tell they're not, but rather they're being stretched to fit. The result is ugly. As PAL gamers, you've probably noticed the awful line doubling evident in many game FMVs that were shoddily converted from NTSC to PAL. The effect seen in backward compatible games on PS3 is very similar, only the lines being doubled are vertical instead of horizontal. It's not always obvious, but the overall effect is that games look worse on PS3 than they did on their original platforms. The PS3 does not upscale (apart from showing 480i games at 480p) old games and has no texture filtering options like PS2 did. Disappointing. I can only hope that future system updates improve backward compatibility and give us options like upscaling and texture smoothing.<br /><br />The PS3 has no PSone/Ps2 memory card slots, so save files for PSone/PS2 games are saved to the internal hard drive on virtual memory cards. You have to create these cards from the XMB in advance and they hold only as much as the original cards did (example: virtual PS2 memory cards can only store eight megabits of save data). You can create as many cards as you like, but only two can be assigned to the virtual memory card slots at any time. Unfortunately that limitation applies across the virtual slots regardless of whether you're playing PSone or PS2 games. This means if you have PSone memory cards assigned to slot one and two, when you start playing a PS2 game, those PSone cards are still assigned to both virtual slots. It would have made more sense to be able to assign slots one and two for PSone and PS2 games independently. How often do you need to access a PSone memory card when playing a PS2 game? Never. <br /><br />One of the (many) great failings of XBox360's backwards compatibility was the inability to bring save files across from the old XBox. Sony addressed this issue on PS3 by creating a legacy memory card adapter (sold separately) that plugs into the PS3 via a USB port. This means you can plug in your old PSone/PS2 memory cards and import your existing save data. This is a great feature to have, but the implementation of it is extremely inflexible. When you plug any memory card into the adaptor, the PS3 gives you only one option: to import the entire contents of that card onto the harddrive. You can't choose to import specific save files, or even view the contents of the card to see what's on it first. (You probably don't have a dozen different memory cards, but I do, so not being able to simply check what's on them is annoying.) <br /><br />You cannot access cards plugged into the adaptor from within PSone or PS2 games, and copying the contents of the memory card to the hard drive is a one-way operation. Ideally, you should have been able to just use the cards plugged in via the adaptor as if they were plugged into a slot on the original machine. Not being able to copy save files back to the memory card makes the situation worse. Consider this scenario: You copy your PS2 memory card containing your <span style="font-style:italic;">Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence</span> save data. You play <span style="font-style:italic;">MGS3:S</span> on the PS3 for several hours before deciding you'd rather continue playing it on your old PS2 (which isn't plagued by any backward compatibility issues). Unfortunately, you've now lost all progress and anything you unlocked while playing it on the PS3, because the PS3 does not allow you to copy save files back to the memory card. The restrictive way in which legacy memory cards are handled is immensely frustrating.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Network</span><br /><br />Three topics to talk about in here: The Internet Browser, the PlayStation Store and Remote Play. The PS3's Internet Browser is actually pretty decent, but it's no match for a traditional computer-based browser. It's a vast improvement on the PSP browser, but that ain't saying much. It handles many complex sites very well, including Youtube, forums, and even e-commerce and banking sites that use SSL. You can have multiple windows open simultaneously and it decodes and displays pages quite rapidly. I've heard many people complain about how slow the browser is, but in my experience that mostly comes down to network conditions. In Tokyo, I found browsing on the PS3 very fast. Here in Sydney, it's much much slower. I blame Telstra.<br /><br />The biggest problem for the PS3 browser is the interface. Using a Sixaxis instead of a mouse and keyboard is a chore. An on-screen button-based mobile phone-style text entry window pops up whenever you click in a text field. It's predictive text works well, and it learns and improves the more you use it. Of course you can plug in a USB keyboard, but you'll still find the on-screen text-entry window appears. You can never type directly into the page. Worse still, the text-entry window is character limited, so if you try to reply to a particularly long email, you may find you can only enter a few words, as the previous email has nearly filled all the available space. Other missing features like the ability to select, cut, copy and paste really restrict the browser's usefulness. In any case, if you really want to browse the web on your PS3, you can install Linux on it and run Firefox. Alternatively, just use your PC to surf the web.<br /><br />The PlayStation Store is Sony's answer to the XBox Live Marketplace (XBLM). From here, you can download game and movie trailers, playable demos, full games, and additional content for retail titles. Rather than being integrated into the OS, like the XBLM, the PlayStation Store is essentially an external website. As such, it feels a bit clunky and unresponsive at times. Consequently, just navigating it's content can be a bit painful. The Store is best displayed at 720p or higher. At lower resolutions, you'll get a cut-back version of the store that's much less attractive. There's no background downloading, or download queueing (yet). If you want to download something, the PS3 will leave you looking at a progress bar until it's complete. <br /><br />On the upside, the Store uses real currency amounts for transactions. Microsoft and Nintendo's download services utilize "points" which deliberately create a layer of abstraction between the listed 'price' and how much real-world money that really is. In the PlayStation Store, you know exactly what any transaction will cost you because it's there in dollars and cents. Better yet, you aren't forced into buying five or ten thousand points when you only want a three thousand point item. You can just pay the exact amount. This is an often overlooked feature of the PlayStation Store. If you opt to add credit to your account in advance, you'll only be given set options for $20, $50, etc., which is much the same as buying point packages. If instead, you go straight to the checkout without any credit, you can charge the exact total to your credit card (provided it's more than $5). As an aside, contrary to what you may have heard, you can use foreign credit cards in the US Store. Game pricing seems quite reasonable too. As an example, the new 3D HD Lemmings game is available for download for an introductory price of USD$2.99. A whole range of PSone games are available to download, transfer and play on PSP for just six bucks a piece. It's hard to say how it will all turn out long term, but right now, compared to it's competitors, the PlayStation Store's transparent pricing scheme and bang-for-buck seem much less geared toward ripping you off.<br /><br />Building on Sony's Location Free Player technology, PS3's Remote Play function allows you to control your PS3 wirelessly from your PSP. You don't need a wireless router for this to work, the PSP and PS3 connect directly to each other via wi-fi. There's a quick one-time set-up required on both machines, but once they're configured you just choose Remote Play from the menu on the PS3, do the same on your PSP and then you're looking at the PS3's XMB on your PSP. At present you can do just about everything but play games and watch DVDs or Blu-ray movies. I'm not surprised that games are off limits, as there is a slight lag when using the PSP's controls in Remote Play that would hurt gameplay badly, but it's hardly noticeable when just selecting options in the XMB. You can access whatever is on your PS3's hard drive, be it music, photos or movies (even 1080p video content streams smoothly), and you can also use the PS3's superior web browser. Very impressive - it will definitely wow your friends...but is it really useful? It seems a clever if not hugely practical gimmick at this stage. It's potential may be better explored in future.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Friends</span><br /><br />PS3's friends list is a bit light on detail compared to XBox Live on 360. There's a basic list of your friends, with avatars, indicating whether they're online or not and what game they're playing (if any). That's about it. You can't check when they were last online or what games they've been playing. You can send and receive messages and initiate chat. There's a section called "Friends Met" which I expected would show players I'd recently played against online, but after many multiplayer sessions of <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Ridge Racer 7</span> it remains empty. Right now, PS3 games maintain their own friends lists. I expect the Friends Met section exists in anticipation of a time when PS3 games begin using the one unified list. So far the only way I've been able to access the main Friends list in-game has been to send people an invitation to join. Similarly, rankings and achievements are tracked only within individual games, so there is no Gamerscore equivalent.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Final thoughts</span><br /><br />Reading back over this, I've certainly listed a fair few gripes and flaws that I see in the PlayStation 3. That's not to say I don't like it. On the contrary, I think it's a great piece of hardware with a lot of potential. I just wanted to give a "warts and all" overview of the system. Many of PS3's current shortcomings could (and should) be overcome with software updates. Sony have issued four PS3 software updates in as many weeks since it's release, so I'm sure there will be many improvements to come. Even as it stands, the PS3 packs in a lot of great features and the hardware seems well equipped to weather the years ahead as consumer uptake of HD expands. Having official support for Linux installation and user-upgradable hard drives in a console almost defies belief.<br /><br />As much as Sony and Microsoft want you to see their new consoles as much more than just game machines, in my opinion, the real measure of a console is still the games it brings us across it's lifetime. It's way too early to judge how Playstation 3 will perform on that front. There are only a few games worth playing on the system so far. The hardware certainly has the potential to deliver deep, engrossing HD games. Let's hope the developers make the most of it.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">PlayStation 3 is still <span style="font-weight:bold;">scheduled</span> to launch in Australia and Europe in March 2007.</span>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1163554567360728122006-11-15T11:52:00.000+11:002006-11-27T17:06:37.930+11:00The Yodobashi Shinjuku PS3 Launch Massacre<em>A view from the queue.</em><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/311190/DSC02225.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/626944/DSC02225.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Sure was a hell of a way to start a holiday. I had flown out of Sydney on Thursday night, arrived in Tokyo on Friday morning, got a bus through the gridlock from Narita to Shinjuku, dropped my luggage off at the hotel and started making my way to the nearby Yodobashi Camera as the sun began to set. With only 80,000 Playstation3s available for launch, getting one was not going to be easy. Most japanese retailers don't take pre-orders, particularly when there are so few units to go round. A lottery system was being implemented at most stores, meaning that getting the chance to buy one came down to sheer luck. I didn't like my chances. With many retailers being allocated less than ten units, even camping out overnight at one of the few non-lottery retailers was no guarantee of securing one.<br /><br />I had heard that Yodobashi weren't going with the lottery system, and were likely to have a decent amount of stock - rumour had it they were getting 100 units. I had decided early on that the queue at Yodobashi Akihabara would be a nightmare, so I figured the Shinjuku outlet would be a safer bet. Given that people in the US had started camping outside the Best Buy in Burbank several days earlier (even though the US launch was still a week away), I wondered how large the queue would be at Yodobashi Shinjuku when I got there on the eve of the launch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/803160/DSC02193.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/371914/DSC02193.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Arriving at the Yodobashi games store in the narrow street behind the main Yodobashi Camera building just after 5pm, I could see there was no queue at all. The front of the store was dominated by a large Playstation 3 display with three demo units connected to gorgeous new 1080p Bravias. Only the middle PS3 was actually playable; the other two were running long demo loops and had no controllers attached. There were less than thirty people standing around, and most of them appeared to be just passers-by who had stopped to take a look at the display. No-one was even playing the PS3. I was pleasantly surprised by the apparent lack of interest. I spotted another couple of gaijin checking out the displays, who turned out to be an American exchange student and an English, but now Kyoto-based, writer for Joystiq, GameSpy and <span style="font-style:italic;">*cough*</span> Spong. He told me that there wouldn't be a queue until the Yodobashi staff announced where the queue would actually start, and that probably wouldn't occur until closing time - 10pm.<br /><br />I considered wandering off to find some dinner and returning closer to ten, but with every passing minute, more people were arriving. The beginnings of unofficial queues were forming, and being quickly broken up by a few police who were making sure that traffic could still get down the lane. With five hours to kill, I decided I'd pass the time while holding my position right at the front of the store by getting hands on with the four playable demos and watching all twenty rolling demos.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/931672/DSC02194.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/610846/DSC02194.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Devil May Cry 4</span> was a joy to play and looked fantastic - very reminscent of DMC1. It's framerate occasionally dipped, but only during cutscenes. <span style="font-style:italic;">Gran Turismo HD</span>'s alpine course ran smoothly and looked good, but much to my surprise, the conspicuous lack of rumble in the new Sixaxis controller actually did detract from the experience. When you drive across a bridge or slip off the edge of the road, you expect to feel it. The screen was shaking, but the controller was dead in my hands. I hadn't expected I would miss rumble at all, but I did. There are certain games where it adds to the immersion, and <span style="font-style:italic;">Gran Turismo</span> is one of them.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Ridge Racer 7</span> was, well <span style="font-style:italic;">Ridge Racer</span>...again. You know what you're getting with <span style="font-style:italic;">Ridge</span>. At 60fps in full 1080p it was truly gorgeous, and the drift gameplay is as satisfying as ever. Slipstreaming seems to be the one significant new addition to the game. Sega's tennis game <span style="font-style:italic;">Power Smash 3</span> was the fourth playable demo, which looked good but didn't really grab me. Of the rolling demos, the standouts were <span style="font-style:italic;">Motorstorm, Final Fantasy XII, Lair, Heavenly Sword, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Virtua Fighter 5, Eye Of Judgement</span>, and of course, <span style="font-style:italic;">Metal Gear Solid 4</span>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/796125/DSC02202.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/776300/DSC02202.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />By 8:30pm, the street was full of people waiting to queue; a few hundred at least. Unfortunately, the main loading dock for Yodobashi is directly across the road from it's games store, so every so often a large truck would squeeze down the street and perform a tight reverse turn into the dock. No-one wanted to lose their position, so with the help of the police, each truck ended up slowly navigating the sea of people, crushing them against the storefronts and hitting them in the head with their side mirrors. It was going to be a long night. My feet were killing me already from just standing in the jam-packed crowd for a few hours. Several other gaijin had arrived, one of them being a friendly Welsh bloke who, with his Japanese wife, had attended several previous console launches here. With a little help, he'd bought 22 PSPs at launch and made a small fortune selling them on to international buyers. The guy was a pro. He had no interest in the games. It was strictly business. He had convinced several of his non-gamer mates to come along and queue up for him this time too.<br /><br />A quick poll of the gaijin in the area revealed that I was the only one who intended to keep the PS3. All the others were going to sell theirs immediately, even if they were gamers. Many of them weren't even buying any games. I found this state of affairs a little disappointing, but as a Tasmanian ex-pat explained to me, he was going to sell his in order to make some money so he could buy an HDTV. That way he'd be ready for the PS3 when the software catalogue improved. With only five titles available for the Japanese launch (and only a few being any good), I couldn't really argue with his rationale. Due to the ludicrous prices the PS3 was fetching on the international market, there was a good number of gaijin present, including quite a few Chinese and Thai, but the vast majority were actually Japanese, and judging by the number of DS's and PSPs in the crowd, they were indeed gamers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/192753/DSC02205.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/900781/DSC02205.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Not long before nine, the playable demo unit crashed, leaving only a few scattered white pixels across the bottom of the screen. Not a great omen for the reliability of the first-gen PS3 hardware. About twenty minutes later, one of the Yodobashi clerks pushed his way through the crowd to the kiosks. I figured he was just going to reset the crashed one. Well, he did turn it off, but he turned off the other two as well. A moment later all hell broke loose. <br /><br />Somewhere down the street, someone yelled out something and everyone ran. I didn't know where they were running, but I ran the same way. The flood of people came careering down the street, running in a blind panic, like Godzilla was after us. The wave of people I was in ran broadside into a bicycle, tipping it over, and leaving many people stumbling. I richocheted around it and using my height advantage over the crowd, I pushed and weaved my way forward through gaps I could see in the haphazard stampede. As I got near the front of this impromptu running-of-the-bulls I could see there were many innocent bystanders being caught in it's wake. Women were screaming and brave men were pulling them out of the way into nearby shopfronts. As I dodged another pile-up and rounded the corner of the block, I saw it. A queue growing as fast as I was running. A human serpant, four or five people thick, materializing down the street. I threw myself to it and was instantly crushed into a human terrine.<br /><br />As the rush to join the queue continued down the block behind me, I took stock of my surroundings. The queue ahead was sizable. I couldn't see quite how long, as it seemed to have begun somewhere just around the corner near Club Sega. It appeared that there were easily more than a hundred people in the queue ahead of me. My heart sank. This was not an ideal outcome. I couldn't see any of my gaijin comrades. God knows where they (and their useful translation skills) had ended up. To make matters worse, I was stuck directly under a scorchingly hot floodlight mounted on a shopfront awning, just inches away from my head. It was only a few minutes before the sweat began running down my face and dripping from my eyebrows. Had I been able to move my arms, I would have wiped it away, and taken my jacket off too. The queue was so densely packed I could not move at all.<br /><br />I wasn't feeling real good about the situation at this point. It appeared I would be trapped under this sunlamp for the next eight or nine hours, unable to move, unable to disappate any body heat (as I was in direct physical contact with all the people around me) and unlikely to get a PS3 for enduring this torture anyway.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/592590/DSC02209.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/330094/DSC02209.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It was only another five agonizing minutes before the police came along and started pushing the queue back, creating small breaks in it to allow people to get in and out of the other Yodobashi outlets we had queued in front of. That got me out from under the burning floodlight and gave me the opportunity to elbow myself a little more breathing space. The looping Yodobashi jingle that had been driving me mad for the last few hours stopped. To my bemusement, in it's place, the PA began playing Auld Lang Syne over and over instead. This was apparently a signal that the shops would soon be closing. <br /><br />After 10pm, when the shops had closed, the two Japanese girls next to me took the opportunity to sit down with their backs against the rollerdoors. I opened up the small pouch I had brought with me and pulled out the tiny Jackeroo folding camp seat that I'd bought at K-Mart shortly before heading to the airport on Thursday evening. I found just enough room to unfold it and set it down beneath me. It was small and uncomfortable, but as I finally took the weight off my feet, I decided it was the best six bucks I'd ever spent. Had I continued to stand, I would have seen it coming, but half an hour later, myself and the two girls were suddenly swamped as the wall of people began moving quickly backward. I scrambled to my feet but my pouch (with PSP inside) was lost in the incoming swell. Somehow it was returned to me by a chain of kind hands as the tide subsided and the wave of people compacted back into a dense immovable mass. While I wasn't happy about being packed like a sardine again, it became apparent the reason the queue was being moved back again was to give everyone enough room to sit. It only took another fifteen minutes before R2 shut down the Death Star trash compactor and we were all able to sit in relative comfort.<br /><br />A couple of Yodobashi clerks were issuing the people sitting about fifty feet ahead with tickets. This was a reasonably good sign. On one hand, it meant that anyone getting a ticket was guaranteed a PS3. On the other hand, there were about 70 people between them and me. If the rumours of this store getting a hundred PS3s were true, then I was certainly too far back. As the clerks slowly approached, I could see they had plenty of tickets left in their hands. I breathed a deep sigh of relief as I accepted my ticket for a 60GB PS3: ticket #220. Looks like I'd chosen the right store - Yodobashi Shinjuku had evidently been allocated a whole lot of units. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/759212/DSC02215.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/438483/DSC02215.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />My Welsh scalper friend came casually strolling down the street smoking a cigarette. "What happened to you?" he asked. Thinking back on the chaotic queue formation, I honestly didn't know. He had been tipped off about the queue announcement by some seasoned Japanese scalpers just before it happened and had scored ticket #54. His wife was holding his spot near the front of the queue. "So," I asked, "what news from the front?". Word from the front was that this Yodobashi had been allocated a <span style="font-weight:bold;">thousand</span> units, with an even split of 60GB and 20GB SKUs. He took a walk down past the twenty rows seated behind me to the corner and confirmed that the queue streched back at least another two blocks before it left his line of sight. Some of the other gaijin were ahead of me, others behind. At least none of us would be leaving empty handed. I got him to buy me a much needed drink from a vending machine before he headed back.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/826913/DSC02220.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;"src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/826737/DSC02220.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The reality set in that the excitement was over. I was in the queue, I was guaranteed a 60GB PS3, and now I had to sit here for another seven or eight hours. Sales would not begin until 6 or 7am. I hadn't had more than an hour's sleep since I woke up on Thursday morning and it was now almost Saturday. This Suntory Boss Black coffee in a can was really hitting the spot. Several blocks away and thirty-three stories up, my wife and baby boy were sleeping soundly. Lucky buggers. Out of nowhere, a fully outfitted stormtrooper patrolled past the line, keeping a watchful eye on us rebel scum. <br /><br />It wasn't until midnight that I actually wondered why there wasn't a midnight launch anywhere in Tokyo. Midnight launches are de rigeur everywhere else in the world, so why not here? By 1am one reason became clear. The streets had been busy with young party people and drunken businessmen until then, but by 1am the streets were deserted. Most people in Tokyo don't have a car and the whole city relies on its ruthlessly efficient train system. The trains stop at 1am. If sales began at midnight, most people wouldn't be able to get home afterward.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/108690/DSC02232.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/414514/DSC02232.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />2am. It was getting cold...and I felt what I hoped weren't the first signs of rain. A man in a suit and tie keeled over asleep in front of me. Apart from him, there seemed to be no-one sleeping. Well, there was another drunk businessman in an expensive suit who had clearly missed his train and was passed out in the gutter across the road, but the queue itself was awake. There was a whole lot of wireless <span style="font-style:italic;">Monster Hunter</span> going on with the PSP owners, and the DS's were on fire. I've never seen Pictochat moving so fast. There was a surprisingly high number of girls in the queue, about one in five, though I wondered how many were actually buying one for themselves. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/683468/DSC02234.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/932604/DSC02234.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/185166/DSC02228.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/101189/DSC02228.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Not much happened as the early morning hours passed by extremely slowly. I watched episodes of Consolevania, On The Spot, and Good Game on my PSP to pass some time. I was pleased to hear I'd won a Good Game t-shirt for a review I'd written. I stepped out of the line to stretch my legs and chat with the other gaijin I'd met earlier. We had all made it into the first third of the queue apparently. Over a thousand people had turned up here, but only a thousand tickets were issued. We talked about everything we could think of, but time just seemed to drag on forever. By 5:30am there was nothing left to say. We all just stood around nodding knowingly at each other and looking at our watches.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/260564/DSC02237.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/674964/DSC02237.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />At 6am the queue began standing up, so we all rushed back to our places. The lights in the Yodobashi storefronts came on. Stand up everyone! It is time...to wait. Nothing happened, and everyone returned to their delirium. At 6:30am, I looked up momentarily while watching the 1UP Show and saw Phil Harrison (head of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios) walk right past me. No-one else seemed to recognise him at all. I was a bit slow pulling out my camera, but that's his bald head walking away in the photo. You'll just have to trust me.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/202324/DSC02238.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/481015/DSC02238.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/889019/DSC02242.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/282919/DSC02242.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />At ten to seven, the Yodobashi clerks returned and began dividing the queue up into managable groups. By 7am, my group had moved toward the corner and some press photographers had arrived. I heard a countdown and applause from the store. Sales had begun. Five minutes later I saw the first guy walk away with a big Yodobashi bag.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/392384/DSC02244.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/146382/DSC02244.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />It was then that the rain that had been threatening us all night decided to fall. Fortunately about one in four people had brought an umbrella, which was just enough to keep us all from being soaked. Having just bought his PS3, the Welsh scalper ran up to me and handed me his wife's Yodobashi points card. Yodobashi's generous loyalty program nets members ten percent of the value of their purchase, so chalking my sale up on their card would get them a free Sixaxis at least. I was happy to oblige. As I finally returned to the store entrance, a man wearing a sandwich board showed us the five games and accessories that we could choose from: <span style="font-style:italic;">Ridge Racer 7, Resistance: Fall of Man, Genji, Gundam, Sega Golf Club</span> and extra Sixaxis controllers. The legacy memory card adaptor was also pictured but had already sold out (though I later picked one up elsewhere).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/604434/DSC02266.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/472173/DSC02266.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/110692/DSC02247.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/962517/DSC02247.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Just as I was entering the store, I heard someone call out my name. Turning around I saw my wife and son waiting across the road having braved the rain to come down and meet me. Better yet, they had brought food and coffee. Awesome. The queue weaved through the back of the store before reaching the cashiers, and with only three registers operating, it seemed to take forever to get there. I shudder to think how long the folks at the back of the queue must have waited before they got their PS3s. I finally got served and chose <span style="font-style:italic;">Ridge, Resistance</span> and an extra Sixaxis. The 60GB PS3 was only 62,000 yen (roughly AU$680) and the games were about ¥4,500 (AU$50) each. Much cheaper than they'll be when they become available in Australia four months from now. I tried to put them on Mastercard, but despite having informed my credit card company in advance that I'd be in Japan for two weeks, the transaction was declined. As luck would have it, I had just enough cash to cover it. I wouldn't even have been able to afford the ¥1,200 memory card adaptor had it been available.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/554741/DSC02249.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/887540/DSC02249.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/102386/DSC02258.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;"src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/422286/DSC02258.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/625855/DSC02251.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/445408/DSC02251.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The rain eased slightly as I triumphantly stepped out onto the street and was greeted by the smiling faces of my wife and son. Fresh hot black coffee made the victory even sweeter. I gave the Welsh scalper his points card back, and he also gave me a coffee. Gah! It had milk in it. I told him it was okay as I already had another one, but he insisted on running off and buying me another black coffee anyway. I noticed a small man in a brown suit walk past me into the store. It was none other than "the father of Playstation", Ken Kutaragi, who had come to see how things were going.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/990457/DSC02263.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/17400/DSC02263.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/1600/953393/DSC02265.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/2777/267/320/38245/DSC02265.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />With my day one PS3 in the bag and my family beside me, I headed back toward our hotel, basking in the glow of a mission successfully accomplished. You might think I'd have been keen to get back there and try out the PS3. You'd be wrong. All I really wanted to do was take a piss, have a shower and go to sleep. With the fifty hour ordeal behind me, that's exactly what I did.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1161240620336968522006-10-19T15:54:00.000+10:002006-10-19T16:50:20.550+10:00Zelda: Twilight Princess EB exclusiveThere was an Electronics Boutique vendor event held in Melbourne last week, where EB Managers had the opportunity to get hands on with forthcoming hardware and software including the Wii and PlayStation3.<br /><br />One of the more interesting rumours that I heard following the event was that EB had secured an exclusive deal with Nintendo, such that the flagship title <span style="font-style:italic;">Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess</span> would only be available from EB in Australia. I didn't believe it - it seemed extremely unlikely that Nintendo would shaft all the other retailers and limit sales of their single most anticipated game. Giving one chain exclusive rights to sell such a key system-selling title just didn't make sense. It couldn't be true. I dismissed the rumour...until I heard it a second time, from a different source. This time the story was that EB had exclusive rights to <span style="font-style:italic;">Twilight Princess</span> for three months.<br /><br />In both cases, the news was second hand. Someone heard from someone else. Hardly reliable. Surely it was just a misunderstanding. I figured somewhere in the retelling, someone must have had their wires crossed. No way could it be true. A search of the usual rumour mills online turned up nothing, but when you're looking for something that no-one is supposed to know, that's often the case.<br /><br />I decided to get some exercise in my lunch break by scouting around the EB outlets in the Sydney CBD to dig for an answer. The store clerks were as surprised by the rumour as I was. They hadn't heard anything, which was pretty much expected, as they're just clerks, and EB's Sydney training events don't begin until next week. <br /><br />I was on my way back to the office when I walked past one of the outlets again. Looking in, I spotted the area manager out the back in the storeroom. Bingo. He would know. He would have been at the Melbourne event. Before I could even finish asking him the question, he said "<span style="font-weight:bold;">Yes!</span>".<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Huh?</span> I still didn't believe it. I asked again, managing to complete the question this time, and finally got an answer that made sense.<br /><br />Electronics Boutique will indeed be Australia's exclusive retailer of <span style="font-style:italic;">Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess</span>, not for three months, but indefinitely...on Gamecube. Okay. The Wii version is not bound by any exclusivity deal. Given that most other retailers have dropped Gamecube support now anyway, this news is not really shocking. Sales of the Cube version in Australia won't be huge anyway. Nintendo want you to buy their new system to play <span style="font-style:italic;">Twilight Princess</span> on, so this deal won't hurt them one bit.<br /><br />So there you have it: <span style="font-style:italic;">Twilight Princess</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;">is</span> EB exclusive in Australia. On Cube.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1158026045041245852006-09-12T09:44:00.000+10:002006-09-12T14:19:06.853+10:00New & Used: are you entitled?The rumour that Sony are preparing to implement an "entitlements" system for PS3 has been going around for a while now and the widely held belief is that it's a knock-off of XBox360's "achievements" system. Well, I don't believe that to be the case. I think Sony's entitlements are more analogous to XBox360's Microsoft points. They're for currency - not vanity.<br /><br />The entitlement system may well be a key part of Sony's plan to shake up the videogame market and solve a growing problem in the industry: <span style="font-weight:bold;">the used game market</span>.<br /><br />Anyone who has been to an Electronics Boutique recently will have noticed just how the pre-owned game market has changed. There was a time not long ago, when all used games were significantly cheaper than new ones. Now you'll find used games on EB shelves for only $5 or $10 dollars less than the brand new copies. EB have worked out that many consumers won't care if a game is pre-owned if it saves them a few bucks. Indeed, on many occasions, I've seen EB clerks actually suggest that customers fronting up to buy new games buy the pre-owned ones instead.<br /><br />So what's the problem exactly? Consumers can purchase the games they want for a few dollars less, and when they don't want a game anymore they can take it to EB for a bit of trade-in credit, and someone else can buy it for cheaper than retail. That's all good right? Well, no.<br /><br />Think about piracy. Most of us accept that piracy isn't good for the industry. The industry has worked with law enforcement agencies all over the world to try to put a stop to commercial pirates who profit from the sale of illegally reproduced games. We all understand the reason why: Developers and publishers don't make a cent from pirated games. That's obvious.<br /><br />Now take another look at the used game market. Developers and publishers don't make a cent from used games. There's a huge amount of money being made every day from the sale of used games, and the people who made and published the games aren't seeing any of it. Of course the game stores want you to buy their pre-owned game instead of the new one. Which one do you think they're making more profit out of? Developers and publishers see the used game market as a commercial threat in much the same way as piracy. The only significant difference is that piracy is illegal, whereas trading in used games is not.<br /><br />It's a situation that the industry has begrudgingly accepted. You as the consumer do have the right to sell the game you bought. Sony are looking for a way to reconcile the consumers right to sell, and the industry's desire for a piece of the action. Entitlements may be the answer. Sony's chief technical officer, Mayasuki Chatani, recently filed a variation on of one of their previously lodged patents. It's called "<span style="font-weight:bold;">Incentivizing software sharing through incentive points</span>". You can read the full patent <a href="http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=%2220060069752%22.PGNR.&OS=DN/20060069752&RS=DN/20060069752">here</a>, but the abstract tells us that the patent covers: <br /><blockquote>"A method for incentivizing sharing of a software product through awarding incentive points utilizing unique identifiers including removable storage identification, user console identification and user identification. The granting of access permissions and the awarding of incentive points are facilitated through a host server."</blockquote><br />Thanks to an in-depth analysis of the patent by <a href="http://www.neogaf.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=32">Panajev</a> at NeoGAF, it's evident that the patent describes a system where gamers are actually encouraged to pass on game discs that they have tired of. You'll be rewarded with points for doing so. While the patent never actually uses the word "entitlements", it's clear that the points in question are an online currency: <blockquote>"Points have value, and may, for example, be redeemed for rebates on disc purchases, publisher promotional items, updated versions of discs or user consoles, or may be traded among users."</blockquote><br />Well, isn't that lovely? Sony want us to play nice and share. It must be time for DRM to rear it's ugly head. The system outlined in the patent relies on a set of unique identifiers and a centralized network. Each game disc will have it's own unique ID code, as will the consoles and the gamers themselves. When you first switch on your console, the setup process will have you establish a gamer ID (in much the same way XBox360 has you create a "gamertag") and the first time the console goes online, it will register you and your console's codes with Sony's centralized servers.<br /><br />Any discs that you play from then on will be registered against your gamer and console codes. That way Sony can keep track of who originally bought a game disc and who has played it subsequently. The original purchaser of the game will be authorised to play it. When that disc finds it's way into another gamer's console however, that gamer may or may not be entitled to play it. <blockquote>"The DISC UNIQUE ID 230 uniquely identifies the disc 110. The contents of the disc 110 cannot be played on the user console 115 or other devices without access permission for the disc 110."</blockquote><br />Permission to access the disc content is granted by the servers on the Sony network. The exact details of the circumstances under which permission would be granted or denied aren't clear, but would certainly be based on the records in the Disc Database.<br /><br />Among the information stored in the Disc Database are fields called "user ID", "user consent" and "transfer charge". "User ID" is the current owner of the disc, "user consent" is who the owner authorizes to use the disc, and "transfer charge" is a point value indicating how much payment the owner should recieve for transferral of ownership. The definition of the "transfer charge" in the patent is broad enough that it can encompass there being no transfer charge at all, if, for example, you just wanted to give a game to your friend. However, "other charges" are mentioned (though not detailed), which may involve fees paid to Sony and/or the game publishers/developers for the transferral of ownership. In this scenario, your friend would still need to pay some amount to 'activate' their ownership of the game, and you as the original owner would receive some reward points for your part in sharing the game with the community.<br /><br />So every time a game changes hands, Sony and the game's publishers and developers can potentially profit from it. Better still, the system actually encourages you to share your games by rewarding you with entitlement points. Ingenious, eh? The profit that game stores are currently making from used game sales can instead be split between the seller, the publisher, the developer and of course Sony. The downside is that there may no longer be a way of giving a game to someone else without them having to pay for it.<br /><br />No doubt you're already thinking that the whole system can't work if the console isn't online, and to a degree that's true. Consider however that every PS3 has a hard drive capable of caching data from it's last exchange with the network, and indications from the XBox360 suggest that the majority of next-gen console owners will be online. Furthermore, just like the process of registering and authenticating software in the PC world, less elegant alternatives to automated online registration can exist (authorization codes issued by phone for example).<br /><br />Rumours suggest that perhaps this system will only affect online play. You may be able to freely play the used game that was given or sold to you, but when you first take it online, you could be prompted for a payment (in entitlement points) to activate it for online play. In the context of a free online gaming environment (unlike XBox Live Gold's subscription service) that doesn't seem unreasonable.<br /><br />Keep in mind that none of this is confirmed for PS3, PSP or PS2. This is just speculation on what Sony may be planning based on the content of one of their patents. It certainly would punch a hole in EB's share price if true.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1157595590641949482006-09-07T10:40:00.000+10:002006-09-07T12:25:28.283+10:00PS3 Delayed. Again.<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/6706/launchdelayxp0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br />The curse of the worldwide launch strikes again. Yesterday, as eager fans across Europe and Australasia counted down the 71 days until the PlayStation3 launch, Sony issued a <a href="http://www.scee.presscentre.com/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=4268&NewsAreaID=2">press release</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that it would revise the launch date of its PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in the PAL territories of Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa and Australasia from 17th November 2006, as previously announced to March 2007.<br /><br />Launch dates for Japan and North America will remain the same, which are November 11th and November 17th respectively.<br /><br />The revision of the launch date in the SCEE territories is caused by the delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode within the Sony Group, thus affecting the timely procurement of key components to be utilised in PLAYSTATION 3. </blockquote><br />Reset your clocks. March 2007: that's <span style="font-weight:bold;">six months</span> away. Just when PAL gamers were beginning to think they weren't going to be treated as an underclass in the next generation, they get punked again. You can almost hear the echo of Microsoft's "<span style="font-style:italic;">simultaneous worldwide launch</span>" for XBox360. That ended up taking four months to reach Australia after the US launch. <br /><br />Not surprisingly, yesterday's announcement was not well received. It was only a few months ago that the launch was <a href="http://consoul.blogspot.com/2006/03/playstation-business-briefing-2006.html">delayed until November</a>. Yesterday's news that PAL gamers would have to wait until March next year caused an explosion on the Australian Playstation forums, with the forum moderators inexplicably becoming the targets of so much misdirected anger. The European Playstation forums actually went offline, collapsing under the weight of rampaging fanboy lynchmob.<br /><br />In reality, no-one would be more disappointed than Sony themselves. Kissing goodbye to the Christmas sales across PAL regions has got to hurt. Knowing that they're delivering those sales to Microsoft and Nintendo on a platter would only make the aftertaste that much more bitter.<br /><br />As revealed in the press release, the low production yields of the blue laser diode (the key component of the PS3's Blu-ray drives) are the reason for the delay. Sony just can't meet their production schedule. While the launch dates for the US and Japan haven't been pushed back, the news isn't good for those regions either. The number of consoles available for launch has been slashed; the US will only have 400,000 available on day one and Japan will have a mere 100,000. The total number of PS3's expected to ship before the end of the calendar year has been halved from 4 million to 2 million.<br /><br />Sony's dominance is looking increasingly shaky. Xbox360's user-base continues to grow and it's games are steadily improving. Nintendo's Wii looks set to attract sales with it's innovative control scheme and low price point. PlayStation3's high price and late start into the next-gen race could be serious hurdles in Sony's way. If Microsoft were to drop the price of the 360 before Christmas, PS3 would certainly have a hard time gaining market share.<br /><br />My own plans to pick up a PS3 in Tokyo on November 11 don't look too good now. There won't even be enough PS3's in Japan to cover the pre-orders.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/5696/thisiswaitingpe1.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;"><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">PAL May Cry:</span><br />one disappointed fan's reworking of the "This is living" European PS3 slogan.</span>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1156920897841312002006-08-30T14:01:00.000+10:002006-08-31T11:10:40.510+10:00Psst. Want some PS3 info?Haven't had much time to post recently, so I'll take this opportunity to quickly share some more information on Playstation3. Some of it is common knowledge, some isn't. I've gathered this from a few sources, both online and off, with beer and without. I trust the sources, but haven't confirmed any of it personally, so take it how you like. As the late Jack Palance said, "<span style="font-style:italic;">Believe it...or not</span>".<br /><br />It's true that PS3 offers nearly 100% backward compatibility with upscaling...unless you want to play games using non-standard controllers. The complete lack of controller ports means that your G-Con45, dance-mat, Beatmania turntables, Guitar Hero guitar, etc. won't be able to plug into the PS3. Of course, Sony's first-party custom controllers (for games like Singstar, Eyetoy and Buzz) will still work as they're USB devices. A third-party solution (adapter) may emerge, but Sony aren't interested in supporting non-Sony controllers. <br /><br />On the upside, game save files will be transferrable. Despite PS3 not having legacy memory card slots, Sony will provide a method of copying save files from PSone/PS2 memory cards to a "virtual memory card" on the PS3. If only Microsoft would do the same for XBox/XBox360. The hard drives in both the 20GB and 60GB PS3 models are user-replaceable. Gamers can buy higher-capacity standard notebook HDD's off the shelf and drop them in. Technical support will only be offered for the official Sony drives however.<br /><br />The PS3 online service will indeed be free. Unlike the XBox Live Gold subscription service, Sony are providing online multiplayer, friends lists, automatic skill-based match-ups, Eyetoy integration and multiple gamer accounts free of charge. Your credit card isn't off the hook though, as all manner of dowloadable content will be available to purchase.<br /><br />A fully-featured web browser is included and mice and keyboards are natively supported, though Sony won't be selling them. Developers are free to implement mouse/keyboard input in games, but supporting the PS3 controller is mandatory. Support of its motion sensing capabilities is being encouraged. Controller vibration is not coming back.<br /><br />PSP integration is still going ahead, though it may not be ready for launch. You'll be able to use your PSP as a remote control for the PS3 and will be able to see the PS3 screen on your PSP provided both devices are on the same wireless network. Incidentally, PSone emulation on PSP will begin in October via a firmware upgrade. Only a small selection of titles will initially be available for purchase.<br /><br />PS3 game prices will be comparable to XBox360 titles. Unfortunately, the number of titles in the launch window is shrinking rather than growing. Looks like there will be about fifteen games in the launch lineup, rather than the original target of thirty. Taking advantage of the higher capacity of the Blu-Ray format, the games are massive in terms of actual data. 85% of PS3 games currently in development would not fit on a DVD-ROM. To take an example, launch killer-app, <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance: Fall of Man</span>, is currently weighing in at 20GB. Forget 5.1 surround, it supports up to 7.1. It sports over a dozen multiplayer modes supporting up to 40 players online. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Killzone</span> is said to be progressing well, but will be kept under wraps until closer to launch. Apparently it will actually live up to the graphical standard of the notorious E3 2005 target render video. For Sony's sake, it would want to. Due in March, <span style="font-style:italic;">Heavenly Sword</span> is reportedly shaping up well too, having undergone significant improvement over the already impressive build seen at E3 2006. The violence and gore factor has also been upped a notch after indications that the earlier build would have attracted an M rating anyway. <span style="font-style:italic;">Gran Turismo HD</span> is a long way from release and will be an entirely new title. <span style="font-style:italic;">GT4 Online</span> for PS2 was developed and is undergoing internal evaluation. It may never be released. <br /><br />Despite not having HDMI, the 20GB PS3 will actually be capable of 1080p output via component. Nevermind the fact that no currently available TV sets support 1080p component input. A PS3 controller or PSP can be used for Blu-ray movie playback, and an official dedicated remote is also planned.<br /><br />Expect some official announcements from the Tokyo Game Show in a few weeks.<br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/1603/thisislivinghx8.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The new European PS3 slogan.</span><br /><br />While we're on the subject of PS3, stay tuned for a launch report from Tokyo, as I'll be there on November 11.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1152755127070128302006-07-13T09:51:00.000+10:002006-07-13T17:01:29.043+10:00Tekken It Outside<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/6927/xiao0ut.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Tekken: Dark Resurrection (PSP)</span><br /><br />Ever since the PSP launch, gamers have been waiting for Namco's flagship fighting series, Tekken, to appear on the platform. While Tekken has in fact gone handheld once before, in the form of Tekken Advance on GBA, it was a rather disappointing affair, being a cut-down 2D sprite-based version of Tekken 3 with only two control buttons. Tekken has always been synonymous with Playstation, so it's only natural that the Playstation Portable should offer us the true Tekken portable experience.<br /><br />Having spent the last week playing the Japanese version of Tekken: Dark Resurrection, let me tell you, it's an absolute knockout. It's a better rendition of Tekken than I ever imagined possible on the PSP. It's virtually flawless.<br /><br />The last Tekken seen on Playstation2 was Tekken 5 (see my review <a href="http://gamepower.com.au/?aid=2407">here</a>), which was a much better game than Tekken 4, and a triumphant return to the series' strengths. Since then, Namco have released two upgrades to Tekken 5 into arcades: Tekken 5.1 and Tekken: Dark Resurrection. Dark Resurrection is the ultimate version of Tekken 5 - it's been fine tuned and better balanced, and features three additional characters, as well as a whole swathe of extra content. It's this version that has been given the handheld treatment, making Tekken: DR on PSP the deepest and most complete version of Tekken available.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/5003/paul6yu.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/8660/asuka7jn.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/8638/feng7fv.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />The most striking thing about playing Tekken on PSP is just how beautiful it is in motion. Screenshots cannot do it justice. It's simply gorgeous and the bouts spill out at a solid 60fps. Admittedly it isn't pushing quite as many polygons as T5 on PS2, but the difference is hardly significant. The characters look great and their clothes, hair and facial expressions animate fluidly as they duke it out in 19 lush detailed arenas. There are 34 playable characters (the largest roster yet), all selectable from the beginning. Armour King returns to the tournament, as well as newcomers Lili and Dragunov. Every character has at least four outfits and there are hundreds of individual customizations available for each; literally twice as many as there were in Tekken 5. Most of the arenas are variants of the original Tekken 5 stages, at different times of the day, and with new music tracks. Even Tekken 5 veterans will find Dark Resurrection a fresh experience, due to the new characters, new looks for old characters, new arenas and the new soundtrack.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/5787/charselect8az.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img61.imageshack.us/img61/9626/fight1cz.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />On the PSP's screen, the opening intro FMV looks great (being an extended version of the arcade DR intro) and the original T5 intro movie is unlockable too. Every character has their own FMV ending unlockable by completing Story mode as usual. There are extra modes galore in Tekken: DR, including Gold Rush, Command Attack and Tekken Dojo in addition to the usual modes like Arcade, Survival and Time Attack. All the modes earn you cash to buy extra character customizations. In case you need a break from fighting, the ever popular Tekken Bowling mode makes a welcome return too. The Dojo mode allows you to face off against "ghosts" of human players, providing a change from the usual CPU AI. Extra ghost packs are available to download through the game's Network menu, which also allows you to see how you fare in the global rankings and even download Tekken wallpapers for your PSP.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/1923/dragunov3ou.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Ad Hoc multiplayer is supported of course, though true online play isn't, which is probably just as well, as the inevitable lag when playing a game as fast as this online would drive people crazy. Fortunately Namco have made up for it by implementing Game Share multiplayer instead, meaning you can play local multiplayer with only one copy of the game. Your Tekken-less friends can wirelessly download the game from your PSP and join in the action. Better still, the Game Share function will utilize whatever free space they have on their memory sticks as cache to improve loadtimes.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/9946/survival0bx.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7113/wang2sb.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Enough gushing then, time for the gripes. Whoa, didn't I say it was virtually flawless? Well, yes, but only within the limitations of the system, and with Tekken: Dark Resurrection those limitations become glaringly apparent. <br /><br />Darkness isn't something the PSP handles terribly well. The nature of it's LCD screen means that shifting blacks in particular are accompanied by noticeable blurring. When a game as dynamic as Tekken is pushing out 60fps, blurring becomes an issue. It doesn't detract from the gameplay at all, but it does mean that in the heat of battle some of the meticulous detail is lost in a blur of flailing limbs. Far more disturbing is the PSP's d-pad which is frankly not up to the task. For basic four-way directional input, it's functional enough, but it fails to register reliably for the precise diagonal and quarter circle command input that fighting games require. You can still bust out the ten-hit combos if you try hard enough, but you'll probably find yourself avoiding using certain moves because the PSP's d-pad prevents you from executing them consistently. This control issue is immensely frustrating given the near perfection of Namco's conversion. Wisely, Namco have allowed the analog nub to be used for directional input too, but in practice, it's less than ideal. Some retailers are giving away a stick-on rubber attachment with Tekken: DR to improve the d-pad's responsiveness. If you can get one, I'd highly recommend it.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/1187/perfect9ar.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Putting aside the PSP's shortcomings, Tekken: Dark Resurrection is a stunning achievement that raises the bar for how good PSP titles can be. The King of Iron Fist has won the title as the king of handheld fighters.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9/10</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Tekken: Dark Resurrection is due out in Australia on September 15.</span>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1147163850822510412006-05-09T18:10:00.000+10:002006-05-10T14:32:57.720+10:00Sony's Pre-E3 Conference 2006The pre-E3 conferences for 2006 have begun. Of the three console manufacturers, Sony staged theirs first, in what has proven to be a strategic move. After kicking off nearly an hour late, Sony's two hour presentation was a solid success, even if many of the games were less than inspiring. The conference dragged at times, but the surprises at the end certainly made up for it. Here's my own complete breakdown of the event with some further analysis:<br /><br />Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, began by reaffirming the success of the Playstation brand and their ongoing commitment to Playstation2. Sony have shipped over 100 million PS2 consoles in less than half the time it took to shift that many of the original Playstations. On the software side, over a billion units of PS2 software have been shipped. Hirai went on to talk about the PSP, which Sony can now comfortably say "<em>delivers gaming experiences rivalling that of Playstation2</em>". On average, PSP has sold nearly a million consoles a month since its launch, with over 17 million PSPs now shipped worldwide. <br /><br />Unfortunately, it seems there are relatively few PSP titles on the way that are worth getting excited about. The video montage of PSP titles "<em>scheduled for release later in the year</em>" included some titles that are already out (like <em>Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror</em>) and spent far too much time on lackluster titles like <em>Ape Academy 2</em>. On the upside, <em>Killzone: Liberation</em>, <em>LocoRoco</em> and breakdancing game <em>B-Boy</em> are showing promise. A budget "Greatest Hits" range of PSP games (similar to PSone and PS2's Platinum series) was announced, and the forthcoming addition of RSS video support, Voice Over IP (VoIP) and camera and GPS peripherals for PSP was confirmed. <br /><br />Finally Kaz moved on to Playstation3: "<em>Last year we outlined the specifications of the machine, but let's review its main features and benefits</em>". This clever introductory line was no doubt intended to distract attention from the fact that PS3's specifications have changed somewhat since we heard about it last year...but more on that later. Hirai once again explained how PS3 is compatible with Blu-ray movies, PS3 games, CDs, DVDs and PSone and PS2 games. He also detailed connectivity options between PS3 and PSP via wireless or USB connections, or via memory stick. After stressing the importance of Blu-ray media's mass storage space for next generation HD gaming, he went on to reveal that according to their research, 25% of US households will own a HD display next year. All PS3s will ship with a harddrive built-in and things are still on track for a simultaneous worldwide launch in November. Compared to the silver PS3 prototype seen last year, a slightly fatter "<em>clear black</em>" model of the PS3 was displayed on stage. After last year's 'target render' scandal, Kaz was genuinely pleased to tell the crowd that at this E3, Sony would be demonstrating real live gameplay on final devkits, and that the assembled crowd would have the opportunity to play it for themselves on the showfloor. He then introduced Phil Harrison to the stage.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6191/ps34007wr.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />As president of the newly consolidated Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios, Phil Harrison is the frontman of Sony's first-party software. Phil brought Kazinori Yamauchi out to give a rather long look at a Gran Turismo HD prototype made specifically for E3. Rather than being a GT5 work-in-progress, it was basically assets from GT4 given a boost for rendering at high definition. The demonstration ran at a smooth 60 frames per second in full 1920x1080 progressive resolution. Four tracks were selectable, and the vehicles included racing, production and formula one cars, as well as motorbikes and even scooters. Yamauchi made the point that as a full uncompressed 1080p signal, the PS3 was delivering about three times as much picture information as most high-definition broadcasts available today...or twelve times GT4 on PS2. Despite the high level of detail, through utilizing PS3's harddrive, loadtimes from menu to race were reduced to just two or three seconds.<br /><br />Next up Phil introduced Dr. Richard Marks (creator of Eyetoy) to demonstrate an interesting card based battle game called Eye Of Judgement that uses the Eyetoy to make creatures materialize on screen above real world cards placed on the table. The cards in front of the player can be moved and tapped to manipulate and command the monsters on screen. We'll likely see more games like this on PS3 using this kind of augmented reality technology. As a bit of an in-joke, Phil ended the demonstration by whipping out a special card from his jacket making a fire-breathing yellow rubber duck materialize.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2085/eoj4009wh.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Just as the audience was starting to get a taste for actual PS3 gameplay, Kaz Hirai reappeared to prattle on about Sony's online network strategy. In short, he described a system virtually identical to XBox Live, without ever using those words. He followed this by launching into the first public demonstration of classic PSone games being downloaded and emulated on PSP. Sure enough, there was Ridge Racer in all its original 1995 pixelated glory on the PSP...and Kaz managed to drive into a wall straight off the grid. Hirai revealed that like XBox360's Microsoft Points system, Sony's online service will include microtransactions to pay for content, with pre-paid Playstation Cards available at retail outlets as one payment option.<br /><br />Phil came back out to show the content store interface in PS3's operating system, and to explain how the shops could also be integrated in-game. Singstar PS3 was demonstrated with an integrated iTunes-like "Singstore" interface to buy songs. So as not to scare anyone, song pricing was set at $0.00 in the demonstration. The Japanese historic battle action game <span style="font-style:italic;">Genji 2</span> was demonstrated next. While technically impressive, it's next-gen <span style="font-style:italic;">Dynasty Warriors</span>-style gameplay failed to excite the crowd. Phil's attempts to drum up more applause for it also fell flat.<br /><br />He quickly moved on to show an interesting example of PS3-PSP connectivity in which a PS3 running a Formula One game was wirelessly connected to a PSP that acted as a real-time wing mirror, showing the view backward down the track during the race. Phil stopped talking for a moment to let a huge live gameplay demo of <span style="font-style:italic;">Heavenly Sword</span> speak for itself. It's <span style="font-style:italic;">God Of War</span>-style combat action was frantic, varied and amazingly cinematic. In all aspects, it easily lived up to last year's target render. The crowd cheered and applauded.<br /><br />Having ended those gameplay demos on a high note, a selection of rendered videos of first-party games still further out in development were shown. Dragon epic, <span style="font-style:italic;">Lair</span>, London gangster tale, <span style="font-style:italic;">Getaway</span>, dark fantasy, <span style="font-style:italic;">Monster Kingdom</span>, and uhh... nature documentary game, <span style="font-style:italic;">Afrika</span>, all looked intriguing, but gave no impresion of their actual gameplay. <span style="font-style:italic;">Everybody's Golf</span> looked just as you'd expect. Sony's London Studio unveiled <span style="font-style:italic;">Eight Days</span>, showing off a truly spectacular trailer featuring a car chase and explosive gun battle at a gas station in the Arizona desert. Let's hope the game can live up to the trailer. Naughty Dog, developers of the <span style="font-style:italic;">Crash Bandicoot</span> series, enthused the crowd with their trailer for a surprisingly violent and realistic action adventure game set in a dense jungle. No name was given for this project. Concluding the first-party game demos, Insomniac's Ted Price talked about their bleak 1950's alien invasion shooter <span style="font-style:italic;">Resistance: Fall Of Man</span>, and played the game live, displaying significant improvements over last year's early work-in-progress.<br /><br />Kaz came back out to introduce PS3's third-party game line-up. Snippets of many games were shown, including <span style="font-style:italic;">Assassin's Creed, Mobile Suit Gundam, Coded Arms: Assault, Ridge Racer 7, Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway, Sonic, Virtua Tennis 3, Virtua Fighter 5, John Woo's Stanglehold, Fatal Inertia, Bladestorm </span>and <span style="font-style:italic;">Armoured Core 4</span>. <span style="font-style:italic;">Tekken 6</span> was also shown briefly and appears to be headed down the <span style="font-style:italic;">Dead Or Alive</span> direction of greater environmental interaction. <br /><br />EA's CEO, Larry Probst, took the opportunity to talk about EA's PS3 catalogue. The EA Sports team have been doing a lot of work on improving their characters' awareness, responsiveness and footwork, as well as their expressions and believability. By using their new universal capture system, they were able to reproduce a very realistic and expressive Tiger Woods in real-time. As well as <span style="font-style:italic;">NBA Live 07</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07</span>, Larry also confirmed that <span style="font-style:italic;">Fight Night 3</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Need For Speed: Carbon</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Medal Of Honour: Airborne</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Army of Two</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Madden NFL 07</span> are all set to appear on PS3.<br /><br />Kaz Hirai introduced Square-Enix's <span style="font-style:italic;">Final Fantasy XIII</span> for PS3, adding cryptically that multiple versions would be available, including <span style="font-style:italic;">Final Fantasy Versus XIII</span>. Needless to say, the trailer looked incredible, featuring a female lead character and a mix of natural environments with a very futuristic fantasy aesthetic, reminiscent of Namco's <span style="font-style:italic;">Xenogears/Xenosaga</span> series.<br /><br />As if that wasn't enough, Hirai continued to pull out the big guns by introducing the new trailer from Konami's super producer Hideo Kojima. Before the trailer began Hirai made sure everyone understood the footage in the trailer was running real-time on PS3 hardware. The mere mention of the words <span style="font-style:italic;">Metal Gear Solid 4</span> had the crowd cheering with excitement. What followed was a dark, deeply contemplative musing by an aged and troubled Solid Snake on the nature of war and how it has changed. By contrast, it made every other game shown in the conference seem shallow and meaningless. Every major character from the series made an appearance in the trailer, and while they've all aged, none have aged so much as Snake. Something unnatural (Foxdie?) is at work behind Snake's haggard visage. The trailer ended with the shocking vision of a resigned Snake flicking away his cigarette and slowly loading a bullet into his pistol before putting it into his mouth. The screen flashed red and the title appeared: <span style="font-style:italic;">Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots</span>. If you'll forgive the pun, it was mind-blowing - the fans were shellshocked. As we've come to expect from Kojima, <span style="font-style:italic;">MGS4</span> looks absolutely staggerring and it's atmosphere was nothing short of electric.<br /><br />As the conference neared it's end, the big talking point of Sony's conference occurred when "the father of Playstation", Ken Kutaragi, took the stage and revealed Playstation3's "one last big secret". He pulled the final PS3 controller out of his jacket. After the overwhelmingly negative reaction to previous showings of the prototype "batarang" controller, Sony have apparently decided upon a design that the public will feel more comfortable with: it looks just like the PS2's DualShock2 controller. Virtually identical. It's wireless (via Bluetooth), weighs less, and features slightly deepened shoulder buttons as well as the now obligatory home button. Kutaragi chuckled at the crowd's underwhelmed reaction. What really sets it apart from the DualShock2, he said, is not its appearance, but the systems inside it. <br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/2899/400controller0ix.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Ken called Phil Harrison back out to demonstrate what it could do. An image of the controller in a box appeared on screen. As Phil picked up the controller on the podium in front of him, the controller on screen flew into the air. Phil began tilting the controller in his hands and the on-screen controller mirrored those movements. As Kutaragi stood by looking hugely pleased with himself, Phil explained that the PS3 controller features six axis tilt-sensitivity. You could almost hear the Nintendo fans crying out in agony at this shock announcement. On the face of it, it certainly felt like Sony had copied the core innovation of Nintendo's Wii controller, thereby robbing them of their main selling point. However, it's not quite that simple.<br /><br />The Wii controller actually has motion tracking, not just the tilt sensitivity of the PS3 controller. In other words, while the PS3 controller's six axis sensitivity can detect pitch, roll and yaw, as well as acceleration along the X, Y and Z planes, Nintendo's Wii does all that and also knows where the controller is in 3D space and what it's pointing at. In short, Wii's motion sensitivity is smarter and more versatile, but whether Nintendo can convince people of that is now in doubt. Nintendo certainly appear to have lost some of their edge, so it will be interesting to see how they react (if at all) in their conference just fourteen hours later. If Nintendo really do have some secret ace in the hole, they now need it more than ever.<br /><br />As an aside, it seems we can't go calling Sony's new controller the DualShock3. While it wasn't mentioned in the conference, according to Sony's press release, "<em>the vibration feature that is currently available on DUALSHOCK® and DUALSHOCK®2 controllers for PlayStation and PlayStation®2, will be removed from the new PS3 controller as vibration itself interferes with information detected by the sensor.</em>" Hmm...yes. Well, there's that and then there's the Immersion lawsuit that the press release doesn't refer to. In 2005, Immersion sued Sony claiming their haptic feedback intellectual property had been used in DualShock controllers. Sony chose to fight...and lost. Microsoft had previously faced the same lawsuit over their XBox controllers, but in true Microsoft style, they settled out of court and bought stock in Immersion. The Immersion case may have had something to do with the removal of rumble from the PS3 controller. After all, they could have included both tilt-sensing and rumble, and left it to developers to decide when to use either feature.<br /><br />Not surprisingly, Phil and Ken talked about the "fantastic innovation" of the PS3 controller as if it were an entirely original idea. It was as if they'd never heard of Nintendo's new controller, or Logitech's decade-old tilt-sensitive Wingman controller for that matter. Following yet another rubber duck demo from Phil using the tilt features, Dylan Jobe, one of the developers of Incognito's <span style="font-style:italic;">Warhawk</span> used the new controller's sensitivity to fly an aircraft in the game. His banking and rolling was most enthusiastic. Motion sickness ensued. From what Dylan and Phil said, it seems that the controller's new features have only been finalised in the last few weeks, so I'd expect that virtually none of the titles currently in development would have been designed to exploit them.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/999/warhawk4000nq.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Kaz came back out for the final wrap up and in an unexpected move, finished by laying out all the details on pricing and exact release dates for all territories. The Playstation3 will be available in two configurations, with either a 60GB or 20GB harddrive. It will hit retail in Japan on November 11. The 20GB version will sell for 59,800 Yen, while the 60GB version will have an open price to be determined by the retailers. In North America, PS3 will launch on November 17, with the 20GB SKU retailing for US$499 and the 60GB at US$599 ($549/$659 for Canada). Europe and Australasia will also see PS3 launch on November 17 for 499 (20GB) or 599 (60GB) Euros. While the conference didn't reveal specific Australian pricing, I have since read an official press release confirming that it will cost $829 Australian dollars for the 20GB PS3 and AU$999 for the 60GB version. Considering the components inside, I expected it to cost a thousand bucks locally, so I'm not surprised, but I'm sure many Aussies will be. Kaz confirmed that there will be 2 million units shipped on launch, with a total of four million PS3s shipped by the end of the calendar year.<br /><br />So that was Sony's pre-E3 conference. No doubt there'll be many more PS3 game announcements as E3 itself takes place. The price differential between the 20GB and 60GB Playstation3's seems a little excessive though doesn't it? Does the extra 40GB really cost a hundred US dollars? A thorough read of the press releases reveals what Sony's conference didn't. The 20GB PS3 is very much a cut-down version of the 60GB model. After hyping the PS3's dual-HDMI output last year, Sony have now decided that the 20GB PS3 will not feature HDMI output at all. For a Blu-ray device, this seems like a ludicrous choice. The AACS copy-protection scheme employed on Blu-ray movies ensures that all movie content is downscaled to a non-HD resolution unless it is sent via an HDMI output. Put simply, the 20GB PS3 will not be able to display Blu-ray movies in high definition, which kind of defeats the purpose of them. Furthermore, the 20GB PS3 will apparently have no wi-fi capability, and no card reader for SD, Compact Flash or Memory Stick. <br /><br />Even the 60GB PS3 shows a significant drop in the number of rear ports since I wrote my <a href="http://gamepower.com.au/?aid=2386">original PS3 hardware feature</a> based on last year's PS3 prototype. After all the talk of dual-HDMI output last year, it now appears to have been completely scrapped. Two of the three ethernet ports and the rear USB ports are gone as well. I'll leave you with this comparison shot I've put together of PS3's rear ports:<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/5058/ps3ports2bv.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1146388318065902252006-04-30T17:33:00.000+10:002006-04-30T21:12:25.640+10:00Wii all have our theories.So Nintendo's Wii announcement has really set the gaming world ablaze. Love the name or hate it, you've got to hand it to Nintendo - in the lead-up to E3 2006, everyone is talking about Wii. They've created the kind of buzz money can't buy.<br /><br />So much so, that some people are claiming the whole Wii name is a PR stunt, and that the <strong>real</strong> name of the console-formerly-known-as-Revolution will be revealed at E3 in a little over a week. The proponents of this rumour point to the fact that Wii does not appear to be a registered trademark in the USA or Japan at all. Having searched the US and Japanese trademark websites myself, it is true that "Wii" is not listed. I don't believe the rumour though. I'm of the belief that Nintendo lodged the name Wii as a trademark around the time of the announcement, and it simply hasn't been processed and listed on the websites yet. The name Wii is real and here to stay if you ask me. In fact, the more I think about the name Wii, the more sense it makes to me.<br /><br />I've heard plenty of rumours about the Revolution project over the past two years, and most of them were completely false. Most of them. Some of them turned out to be correct. As many of you would know, the rumour of the motion-sensing controllers was being spread on the internet long before it was officially announced. As good as Nintendo are at keeping secrets, the people in the know are only human, and it's inevitable that a certain amount of leakage will occur.<br /><br />Ever since the unveiling of the Revolution prototype about a year ago, I've had the distinct feeling that Nintendo have a big rabbit up their sleeve. The motion-sensing Wii-mote/Ninchuk controllers and backwards-compatible virtual console concepts are great, but I can't shake the feeling that the real secret hasn't been let out of the bag yet. The (let's face it) bizarre name Wii has only strengthened my suspicions that there will be a big surprise revelation from Nintendo at the forthcoming E3.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/2181/wiiimage1ix.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />To my mind, there are many questions that seem to have been left conspicuously unanswered. First of all, what is behind the front flap? Does it not seem a bit strange that there's a big door on the front of the console and no-one is talking about what's behind it? We know the games don't go in there, we know that controllers and memory cards don't go in there - so what's in there? Next, the controller itself: like the remotes we're all familiar with, the Wii-mote has a dark translucent panel on the end of it...but are we supposed to believe the remote works by infra-red? Infra-red game controllers are history. There's something else behind the dark panel, but what? Finally, if the console launch is only months away, doesn't it seem odd that we haven't seen any game footage at all, and only a handful of still images from devkits have appeared online? Why are Nintendo holding out on us?<br /><br /><strong>Allow me then, to indulge in my grand unified theory.</strong> Here's an idea for your consideration that draws on various technical details and some of the other rumours I've heard over the past two years:<br /><br /><em>"I always thought that games would eventually break free of the confines of a TV screen to fill an entire room. But I would rather not say anything more about that."</em><br />-Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo guru.<br /><br /><em>"The Revolution will not be televised."</em><br />-Gil Scott-Heron, poet.<br /><br />The console will not be connected to a television. Wii is a display device itself. The front door on the console conceals two compact projection devices, that together are able to project a stereoscopic 3D image, visable without the need for visors or headsets. As I have seen with my own eyes, this kind of naked-eye 3D display technology already exists, and looks stunning, though it hasn't yet been used for video game applications. See <a href="http://www.poc.com/emerging_products/3d_display/default.asp">this page</a> on POC.com (Physical Optical Corporation) for more details.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/9572/poc3ddisplay2uw.jpg" border="0" width="300" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Wii games will be displayed in 3D on a screen positioned between the player and the console. The stand that the prototype consoles have been shown on angles the front of the console upward for projection purposes. Beyond simply showing a 3D image from a given angle, the screen can act as a 3D "window" onto the game world, changing perspective by tracking the position and alignment of the controller. Nintendo patented this concept in US patent <a href="http://patft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6908388.PN.&OS=PN/6908388&RS=PN/6908388">6908388</a>, which details "<em>a game system and a game program allowing a player to feel as if a three-dimensional game space is tilted in accordance with a tilt of a game device</em>". This process is made possible in part by a camera built into the end of the controller, which can also used for capturing player movements and transposing the player's face into the game. This is a modified version of the 'Ningen copy/Manebito' Gamecube camera accessory that was trademarked but never released.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/9786/manebito27si.jpg" border="0" width="384" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br /><strong>The name Wii is a pictogram.</strong> Nintendo have already explained the symbolism of the double i, representing the controllers and the people gathering together, but what of the W itself? The capital W is made up of two "<strong>V</strong>" shapes, that represent the <strong>twin projections</strong>.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/1287/wiilogo7pe.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />So that's my theory for what it's worth. I could be utterly wrong. I probably am. Regardless, as Nintendo of America's PR Manager Matt Attwood said in a recent <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200604/N06.0427.1154.38678.htm">interview</a> with Game Informer, "<em>I would say 9:30 in the morning on Tuesday of E3 will be filled with surprises and I would just show up...</em>[snip]...<em>you’re going to be very surprised.</em>"<br /><br />I for one, can't wait. E3 2006 begins in just over a week.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1146182107755236072006-04-28T09:18:00.000+10:002006-04-28T10:50:24.803+10:00Wii. Are Nintendo taking the piss?Nintendo have just officially announced the actual name of their next-gen console, that has until now been known as Revolution.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Wii</span> (pronounced "we"). You heard me. You can certainly count on Nintendo to be different.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5898/wii4ff.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Here's what they have to say about it [from <a href="http://revolution.nintendo.com/">Nintendo.com</a>]:<br />"<span style="font-style:italic;">While the codename "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer. Wii will break down the wall that separates video game players from everybody else. Wii will put people more in touch with their games... and each other. But you're probably asking: What does the name mean?<br />Wii sounds like "we", which emphasizes this console is for everyone. Wii can be easily remembered by people around the world, no matter what language they speak. No confusion. No need to abbreviate. Just Wii.<br />Wii has a distinctive "ii" spelling that symbolizes the unique controllers and the image of people gathering to play.<br />And Wii, as a name and a console, brings something revolutionary to the world of video games that sets it apart from the crowd.<br />So that's Wii. But now Nintendo needs you.<br />Because it's not really about me or you.<br />It's about Wii.<br />And together, Wii will change everything.</span>"<br /><br />Marketing disaster or not? No doubt the name sounds better if you're Japanese or French. Whether the western gaming world can suppress it's tendency toward toilet humour enough for the new name to be taken seriously is anyone's guess. The Playstation and XBox fanboys who constantly referred to Nintendo's last home console as "Gaycube" are going to have a field-day with Wii. I have no doubt that the console itself will be excellent, but for a product designed to "break down the wall" and attract the biggest possible audience, I think the name has put up a barrier that some potential customers will have trouble getting past.<br /><br />Nintendo are going to have to proceed carefully and watch their wording at E3 next month. Satoru Iwata should probably avoid talking about "waving his Wii wand" and let Reggie Fils-Aime lead the crowd in a chorus of "Wii will rock you" instead. While the launch date has not yet been announced, there's sure to be some pant-wetting excitement when Wii is released later this year.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1143065146942739172006-03-23T09:00:00.000+11:002006-03-23T19:17:33.606+11:00XBox360 Australian Launch<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/704/hype4fr.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />The official Australian launch event for Microsoft's XBox360 was staged last night in Sydney's Pitt Street Mall, and the heavens opened to rain on their parade. Between the 9pm kickoff and the eventual midnight sales launch, the patchy rain varied between light mist and torrential downpour, but the event went ahead quite successfully regardless. Microsoft laid on free pizza and drinks, plus a wide range of entertainment, including brazilian drummers and capoeiristas, breakdancers, and several performances from the ever-popular cheerleaders. Nova 96.9 broadcast live from the event and Channel V had a couple of crews doing coverage.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/989/themall4tj.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2869/capo0lv.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1675/jamesjokameo2cx.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/2853/carboot2pk.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1808/pods3zy.jpg" border="0" width="333" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />The south end of the mall was filled with demo kiosks and several larger plasma and projection set-ups, ensuring that everyone who wanted to get hands-on with a 360 didn't have to wait too long. Unfortunately all the retail kiosks only had the same <span style="font-style:italic;">Project Gotham Racing 3</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Kameo</span> demos that have been in stores for weeks now. Only three of the bigger display units had <span style="font-style:italic;">Amped 3</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Dead Or Alive 4</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Fight Night Round 3</span> available to play, and they were in pretty high demand. <span style="font-style:italic;">Fight Night Round 3</span> was far and away the most impressive game visually. It was the only game that was really obviously a generation ahead of anything we've seen before. On the big NEC hi-def plasma, its stunningly lifelike graphics were an absolute knock-out, though the gameplay itself left me cold. As did the rain.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/2175/ponchos2wc.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Much to their credit, the promoters were handing out plastic emergency ponchos to anyone who wanted one. Most people braved the rain without them...until it really started pissing down and then many were happy to forego fashion for dryness. Much of the crowd dispersed at this point. A three man crew kept the remaining crowd entertained with some beat boxing and old school poppin' and lockin'. After winning the crowd's respect, they soon lost it again when they launched into their audience participation promo rap. "When I say X, you say Box, When I say 3, you say 60" - the crowd sympathetically played along to begin with, but when it came to "Everybody say Microsoooft!" the silence was punctuated only by laughter.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/792/evrybodysaymicrosoft5ei.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/3586/roundthecorner22pd.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/9463/intoeb5ry.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Meanwhile the loyal fans who had actually turned up to collect their pre-orders couldn't see any of the hoopla, as they were all lined up around the corner waiting to get into EB so they could complete any outstanding transactions and receive a ticket that they could trade for their XBox360 at midnight. Still, it's not like they were missing anything... Well, not unless you count a bunch of perky cheerleaders in skimpy white outfits gyrating in the rain as something. The crowd that dispersed earlier miraculously re-appeared when the cheergirls did their raindance.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/6149/raindance33ub.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/7041/raindance21bt.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img477.imageshack.us/img477/6594/raindance59lx.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Nova's live broadcast may have been good for spreading the word, but they sure lowered the tone of the live event. Their broadcast was blaring out of the on-site PA and while their music was suitably commercial and upbeat, their high rotation advertisements for local brothels and erectile disfunction nasal sprays seemed somehow inappropriate for the family friendly event. The fact that the two idiots hosting Nova's broadcast constantly referred to all the people assembled as "giant nerds" really won over the crowd too.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/363/novatent0no.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3084/thetape8mz.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />As midnight approached, the ticket holders were herded into a taped-off enclosure in front of the main stage area. A promo girl came along offering the guys at the front free XBox360 caps which they accepted and put on. One guy declined, but the cap was thrust back toward him. "Just take the hat," the girl said, "it's for the money shot." Suitably reassured that the cap would provide him with some protection from the impending money shot, he donned the cap as instructed. With only minutes to go there was a quick jolt of the emerging dance craze krumping and clowning, followed by a final cheerleading routine to the 80's strains of "Living On a Prayer". With seconds to go there was a quick countdown before the screen dropped, the tape was released and a fun-run style rush for XBox360's ensued. (<a href="http://rapidshare.de/files/16193048/Countdown.MPG.html">Download and watch the video here.</a>) A few gamers actually tripped over the screen that had dropped and thanks to wet shoes a bit of a pile-up occurred, though unfortunately I didn't catch that in the video.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/4646/clowning1mp.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/3041/lastdance0gc.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/8393/rush0wm.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />So the happy pre-order folk were finally able to pick up their 360's and go home, the media got a nice shot of the crowd stampeding in, and Microsoft pulled off a pretty impressive launch event despite the weather. Perhaps the other winner of the night was the homeless and sanity-challenged man who spent the night wandering about muttering to himself and scarfing pizza and Coke Zero. He came away with a full belly, a new hat and several emergency ponchos. Everybody wins.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/5544/walkout7yy.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1142418654568266282006-03-15T20:21:00.000+11:002006-03-15T23:34:47.093+11:00Playstation Business Briefing 2006Sony have unleashed a wave of new information at their Playstation Business Briefing in Tokyo today. It's about time too, as confidence in Sony (as reflected in their share price) was beginning to drop. Up until yesterday, Sony had stuck by their story that they were aiming for a (northern hemisphere) Spring launch for their next-generation console. Given that retailers still had no firm dates, developers had no final development kits, and the PS3 motherboards hadn't even started rolling off the factory floor, no-one in the industry believed them anymore.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/5231/scej1023gt.jpg" border="0" width="325" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />So they've come clean: PS3 has officially been delayed. As had been widely speculated, the delay was put down to "Blu-ray spec finalization". Playstation3 is now due for launch in November. Ken Kutaragi pleasantly surprised everyone by explicitly stating that PS3 would launch worldwide before Thanksgiving (which is November 23rd this year). After a "simultaneous worldwide launch" was promised for XBox360 (<em>Australia is still waiting Microsoft!</em>), many people may be inclined to take Sony's announcement with a grain of salt. Promisingly however, David Reeves, head of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has since echoed Kutaragi's assurance, saying "We are absolutely delighted that we will be able to bring PS3 to gamers in Europe and Australia before Christmas". Unlike Microsoft, who weren't able to produce enough consoles to supply all territories at once, Sony plan to produce a million consoles a month in the lead-up to the launch and beyond, ensuring that supply channels remain filled. Their goal is to have six million PS3's shipped by the end of March next year.<br /><br />Kutaragi confirmed that PS3 will feature an upgradable 60GB hard drive with Linux OS onboard to act as a home server for various kinds of media. PS3's "Playstation Network Platform" will be an online service not dissimilar to XBox Live, with lobbies, player matching, voice chat, and commerce features including bootable downloads. The online service will be available from day one, and will apparently be free. While no specific games were discussed, it was revealed that all PS3 games will be released on BD-ROM (Blu-ray discs) as an anti-piracy measure. 100% backwards compatibility was reconfirmed - the PS3 will display all games, including PSone and PS2 titles, in high-definition via HDMI output. Final devkits and contollers will be distributed in May, allowing developers ample time to tweak and polish games currently in development.<br /><br />There was quite a bit of news on the PSP front too. Utilizing PSP's wireless capabilities and a digital camera add-on, PSP will exploit Video Over IP technology so that it can be used as a videophone. PSP software will also become available through an e-Distribution system and memory stick booting will be supported. PSone games will be available to download and play from PSP's memory stick via an official emulator. Of course, the PSP is still short two shoulder buttons and one analog stick, so the controls could prove problematic. These features are expected to be available by the time the PS3 launches. In the meantime, support for the popular Macromedia Flash 6.0 format will be included in the next firmware update. <br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/3005/psoneonpsp0jo.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />The white PSP and cheaper PSP pack (sans accessories) that were previously only available in Japan are coming to the western markets too. Forthcoming GPS and EyeToy add-ons for PSP were also discussed. Interestingly, Sony's own research shows that people most often play the portable system at home.<br /><br />In typical fashion, Kutaragi made some vague marketing-speak comments about PS3 being "4D" and going beyond the space seen in PSone/PS2 games to become truly "live". He didn't miss the opportunity to congratulate himself on just how successful Playstation2 has been either. With more than 100 million PS2s and over a billion games shipped worldwide, there's no denying that PS2 has been a phenomenal success.<br /><br />As informative as the meeting was, several questions over PS3 remain, with pricing, games and region-coding topping the list. Expect more details (and hopefully some playable PS3 games) at E3 in May.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1139533407806101752006-02-10T09:33:00.000+11:002006-02-10T17:22:40.186+11:00Touching Is Evil<span style="font-weight:bold;">Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (DS)<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(aka Biohazard: Deadly Silence)</span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/6799/reds6big3jj.jpg" border="0" width="256" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Ten years ago Capcom released a game called <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil</span> (or <span style="font-style:italic;">Biohazard</span> as it is known in Japan) that established a new genre in gaming: Survival Horror. Okay, so many people insist that Interplay's PC game <span style="font-style:italic;">Alone in the Dark</span> actually started the survival horror genre and Capcom simply stole the concept, but consider this: <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil</span> was the game that coined the term "Survival Horror", and popularized the genre. Furthermore, the first true survival horror game was not <span style="font-style:italic;">Alone in the Dark</span> (1992), it was Capcom's own <span style="font-style:italic;">Sweet Home</span> (1989), a Nintendo Famicom (NES) game released only in Japan. <span style="font-style:italic;">Sweet Home</span> features a group of people exploring an abandoned mansion in the woods, solving puzzles and battling zombies and other monsters. Sound familiar? It even has the classic door-opening scenes between rooms, and during the game one of the characters actually says "We must escape this house of <span style="font-weight:bold;">residing evil</span>!" Whoa. I'm off on a tangent already.<br /><br />Let me start again. Ten years ago Capcom put Survival Horror on the map with <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil</span> (1996). At the time Capcom were in a financial slump, and the worldwide Playstation hit rescued the company and became their flagship franchise. Since then <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil</span> has spawned many sequels, prequels, spin-offs, ports and remakes -over thirty in all. For a series based around the undead, the franchise still has a lot of life in it; last year's <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil 4</span> was hailed by many as Game Of The Year, and the forthcoming <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil 5</span> is already the subject of much anticipation.<br /><br />In order to commemorate the tenth anniversary of <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil</span>, Capcom have gone back to it's roots and have just released a new port of the original Playstation game. Dubbed <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">D</span>eadly <span style="font-weight:bold;">S</span>ilence</span>, the name inevitably leads to "silent but deadly" fart jokes, but also hints at the system it has been released on: Nintendo's DS. It's a somewhat unlikely match, as the DS is not known for mature or violent games, and translating a CD-based Playstation game to a cartridge-based handheld that has two screens with touchscreen and microphone functionality doesn't seem to be the most logical choice. And yet...it works.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil: Deadly Silence</span> offers two main game modes: Classic mode and Rebirth Mode. Classic Mode is just that - a near perfect port of the original game. Rebirth Mode mixes up the formula to take advantage of the DS' unique capabilities, and to shift the veteran players out of their comfort zones. It's amazing how well the game has translated to the DS. The top screen shows a live map, your equipped weapon and character status, while the bottom screen shows the action unfold. While that bottom screen is obviously much smaller than your average TV, the visuals look much the same as the original, as the actual resolution of each DS screen is not much less than the output of the Playstation version. The DS screens each have exactly 80% of the horizontal and vertical screen resolution of the Playstation original (RE on PSone: 320x240, single DS screen: 256x192). The pre-rendered backgrounds have been made a little brighter (presumably to allow greater visibility when playing in brightly lit conditions), but other than that, you'll hardly notice the difference. DS isn't exactly known for it's 3D capabilities, but the 3D in <span style="font-style:italic;">RE:DS</span> does not disappoint. The framerate is rock solid and while the polygon count for each character has actually dropped slightly, the level of detail has increased, and characters look markedly better overall. In Rebirth mode, there are often more characters/monsters on screen at once than there were in the original too.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/3366/reds7big7zk.jpg" border="0" width="264" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">RE:DS</span> is the biggest DS game to date in terms of sheer filesize, having squeezed all the content of the CD-based game onto a 1 gigabit DS cartridge. All the shockingly cheesy voice-acting and FMV cutscenes of the original game are present here, including the wonderfully lame live-action intro and endings. The audio quality is good, though compression is evident in much of the FMV. Purists should note that the intro is not the uncut version, and for reasons unknown, one mansion hallway music track has been dropped and Richard Aiken's voice actor has been replaced (though his dialogue is word-for-word the same and is acted just as poorly). <br /><br />So what's new? Well, even in the Classic Mode, there are some new additions. The 180 degree turn that was added to later <span style="font-style:italic;">RE</span> games has been added to the control scheme, and the left trigger button can be used to draw your combat knife at any time, which is a particularly useful new feature borrowed from <span style="font-style:italic;">RE4</span>. Better still, the combat knife no longer occupies a slot in your inventory either. In a nod to the surgeon general, Chris Redfield no longer smokes, and consequently doesn't carry a Zippo lighter (though one is still available in the mansion). The door opening and stairwell screens that covered the Playstation's loadtimes are still included, but can be immediately skipped with the press of a button. The momentary pause between screens when changing camera angles is gone now too, and the game flows much better as a result.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/9747/reds5big6cm.jpg" border="0" width="256" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Rebirth Mode's most notable addition is the surprise first-person attack. When entering a room, even if you've been through it many times already, you may randomly encounter a touchscreen knife-battle shown from a first-person viewpoint. Zombies, dogs, crows and the like will come rushing at you and you need to swipe the touchscreen in order to dispatch them with your knife. By swiping the touchscreen in different ways, you can execute a variety of knife attacks and combos, and by timing your attack correctly you can even perform one-hit kills. The random nature of these events frequently catches you off guard, and can easily prove fatal if you're already on Danger status and are running back to an item chest through what you think are "safe" areas. Clearing these encounters rewards the player with ammunition or herbs, which is just as well considering the amount of enemies you'll encounter. Rebirth Mode puts the emphasis more on action by throwing in lots more enemies and combining enemy types. Dealing with a few zombies becomes much harder when there's a crow or a dog or two in the room at the same time. Working out which enemies to take out first and keeping the rest off you in the meantime is a refreshing challenge.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img279.imageshack.us/img279/7787/reds3big6be.jpg" border="0" width="264" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Many of the puzzles in Rebirth are new and mostly based around the touchscreen. There's even an optional challenge to revive one of your team members by blowing on the microphone to simulate CPR. I was surprised to discover the touchscreen can be used during normal play too. If you're being munched on by a zombie, rubbing the touchscreen will make your character perform a defensive move like a kick or knee to get them off you faster. The save rooms feature new blue puzzle boxes in Rebirth Mode too, similar to those in Capcom's <span style="font-style:italic;">Onimusha</span> series, each of which needs to be solved with a simple touchscreen logic puzzle. While there are no new areas in Rebirth, the new item locations, puzzles, weapons, and greater emphasis on action certainly make it a fresh experience. Completing the main game with each character in both Classic and Rebirth modes unlocks new costumes and the rocket launcher (if you're fast enough) as well as new playable characters for the Multiplayer modes.<br /><br />That's right - <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil</span> on DS features up to four player wireless Multiplayer in both competitive and co-operative modes. Three scenarios are available and completing these unlocks even more playable characters. Each player will need a copy of the cart, and only local multiplayer is supported (no wi-fi unfortunately). One more new game mode is unlockable: "Master of Knifing", which is basically all the first-person knife battles in a survival mode.<br /><br />Certainly the most perverse new addition to the game is this little easter egg: if you leave Jill alone until she enters her inactive animation, you can then tap her on the chest or the behind and she'll react with surprise. Likewise, and even more disturbingly, you can touch Chris too. Ahem. WTF Capcom.<br /><br />All in all, <span style="font-style:italic;">RE:DS</span> is a really well done port, with loads of nice extras. Fans of the original will relish the opportunity to revisit it on a portable system and experience all the new content. Newcomers to the series expecting something like RE4 are in for a nasty shock. The tank-like controls and limited inventory space of the original <span style="font-style:italic;">Resident Evil</span> are as unfriendly as they ever were, and rightly so. This tenth anniversary port shows just how far the series has come, while at the same time demonstrating that what made this game a classic still holds up after a decade.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8/10</span><br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/9436/biodslebox3fr.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Limited Edition Japanese version of Biohazard: Deadly Silence comes with a S.T.A.R.S. branded black leather DS case and strap.</span><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2447/starslogo0pd.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img471.imageshack.us/img471/2489/biocaseslots1uk.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/9354/blackonblack3dp.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />While we're on the subject, you can read my full review of the PS2 port of <a href="http://gamepower.com.au/?aid=2510">Resident Evil 4 on Game Power Australia</a> now.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1132399654412994622005-11-22T17:00:00.000+11:002005-11-22T17:08:47.473+11:00Next GenerationApologies for the lack of recent updates. Team Consoul have been busy with the release of their next-gen handheld. As is common in such cases, the release date slipped due to a longer than expected internal development cycle, and the launch was consequently two weeks late. The project formerly under the working title "Pumpernickel" was officially released as "Jack" (aka "P-Jack") on October 19.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9505/jack27tk.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br />Jack is a bit bigger than your average handheld, weighing in at ten pounds, but provides an entirely new range of visual, aural and err...olfactory experiences. Jack has been warmly received by shareholders and is showing great potential.<br /><br />In other news, the next generation of home consoles is finally kicking off with Microsoft's <strong>XBox360</strong> going on sale in the US today. Two versions are available: the cheaper "Core System" (US$299 without hard drive) and the full "Premium System" (US$399). Games for the 360 have actually been on shelves (and on sale) for some time now. They were distributed to stores early to ensure gamers weren't left without games when the system launched. While there are a respectable number of 360 launch titles (more than a dozen), reviews have been lukewarm on the whole. Most of the 360 launch titles aren't jumping out and screaming next-gen - rather they feel more like current generation games with a high definition makeover. In some cases, that's precisely what they are, though a few new titles like Call of Duty 2 and Sega's Condemned are showing a clear jump above what current generation consoles can offer. Having said that, gamers who have seen Call of Duty 2 on a high end PC won't be blown away by the 360 version. <br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/7537/corevspremium0oi.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><em>The Premium XBox360 (bottom) is distinguishable from the Core system (top) by it's dark disc tray cover and the removable hard drive enclosure (left).</em><br /><br />Microsoft have launched XBox360 just in time for the US holiday season, in the hope of translating the Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping sprees into a well established user base before Sony get PS3 out of the gates. At this early stage, I imagine the XBox360 will prove popular with owners of high definition sets, who will appreciate its native 720p output. The vast majority of gamers (who still have only standard definition displays), will probably adopt the wait-and-see approach. To say there's a high level of awareness and anticipation of Sony's Playstation3 in the gaming community is something of an understatement. Many will resist investing in a 360 until the actual relative capabilities of 360 and PS3 become apparent. Some media outlets have already taken sides, such as Fox News, with their brilliantly subtle piece entitled "<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,175860,00.html">Don't buy XBox 360</a>". <br /><br />Software sells hardware. This is day one for XBox360, so it's a bit early to expect a killer app of Halo proportions, but realistically, that's what Microsoft are going to need in order to maximize their early start advantage.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1128727764281271482005-10-08T08:43:00.000+10:002005-10-10T15:13:54.140+10:00Sony Power Vs. Mod & GodSony have finally officially announced the impending release of a new battery pack for PSP. This is something I've been anticipating since April, as it seemed like a key part of their strategy to <a href="http://consoul.blogspot.com/2005/04/unlocking-psps-future.html">unlock PSP's full clockspeed</a>. The new battery will retail for 5300 Yen (around US$45 or AU$60) and should provide an extra 20% battery life. Not exactly a giant leap in battery technology, but it's a start. An official standalone PSP battery charger has also been released in Japan, reducing chargetime from over two hours down to around 90 minutes. <br /><br />As expected, in response to the recent PSP downgrader hack, Sony Japan released firmware version 2.01 this week, blocking the exploit that made the downgrader possible. Considering that the voluntary update contains no new features, uptake will likely be low.<br /><br />The Australian High court has upheld the prior ruling of the Federal court, concluding the four year battle that was the Sony vs. Stevens case. Essentially the ruling states that mod chips <strong>are</strong> legal. The key argument was that they can be used for the legitimate practice of bypassing region coding, allowing Australian Playstation owners to play genuine Playstation games purchased in the USA or Japan. Furthermore, the judiciary and ACCC found that the mod chip itself does not infringe copyright, rather the act of illegally reproducing a game by way of a CD/DVD burner is where an infringement occurs. The consumer's legal right to circumvent region coding in Australia is not likely to change, but nor is Sony's practice of region coding their games.<br /><br />Perhaps somebody up there doesn't like Sony at the moment. The Vatican certainly thought so when they expressed their disapproval of Sony's recent Italian advertising campaign to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Playstation. The campaign features a man wearing a crown of thorns bearing the trademark Playstation symbols: the cross, circle, square and triangle (below). The slogan reads "Dieci anni di passione" - Ten years of passion (a clear reference to "The Passion of the Christ"). Sony withdrew the campaign after the Vatican's objections.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img308.imageshack.us/img308/1024/blasony6ej.jpg" border="0" width="278" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Leading anti-virus merchants Symantec have listed the first PSP Trojan on their <a href="http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/trojan.pspbrick.html">website</a>. This is being widely reported as a "PSP Virus" (!!!) on news sites, but it isn't a virus at all. What Symantec are referring to as "PSPBrick" is just one of the fake downgrader programs available on the internet. It uses the 2.0 TIFF exploit like the real downgrader does, but simply deletes core system files instead of downgrading the operating system, so the the PSP will no longer boot up. It's not a virus, and it's not capable of infecting your PSP through the PSP's web-browser. The only way this fake downgrader poses a threat is if you're stupid enough to download it on your PC, transfer it to your PSP and launch it via the picture viewer.<br /><br />In vaguely videogame related news, <a href="http://www.ceatec.com/en/2005/news/ne_web_detail.html?volume=053">CEATEC</a> (the Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies) has kicked off in Japan. Toshiba, who co-developed the Cell microprocessor (PS3's CPU) with Sony and IBM, are displaying an amazing tech demo exhibit being referred to as a "digital mirror". The "mirror" captures live footage of whoever sits in front of it, and seamlessly mixes their image with a 3D model that mimics their movements and facial expressions in real-time. Utilizing the power of the Cell, different clothing, make-up, tattoos and hairstyles are all able to be applied to the sitter's "reflection" in real-time.<br />If you're finding it hard to visualize what I'm on about, just watch this <a href="http://www.xb360info.com/Toshiba-Cell-Demo.avi">Japanese news report</a> (right-click to save - 60 secs, 2.9MB).<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/9325/digitalmirror3rd.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1127870612536031952005-09-28T10:54:00.000+10:002005-09-28T12:24:35.763+10:00Real 2.0 to 1.5 PSP Firmware DowngraderWell, whaddya know? It's been done.<br />The seemingly innocuous 64K non-kernal mode buffer overflow exploit recently found in the picture viewer of the version 2.0 PSP firmware has been used to make a downgrade possible. The best we'd seen from this exploit until now was a rather weak version of Pong, but now 2.0 users can actually downgrade their PSP's firmware back to the homebrew-friendly 1.50 version.<br /><br />There are several files required for the downgrade, including the official Sony 1.50 upgrade file. The process itself, while fairly straightforward, has a few hair-raising moments, such as when the 1.50 "upgrade" gets to 99% completion and then crashes with an error. After a reboot, it errors again, but finally after another restart, the PSP settles in as a fully functional 1.50 unit.<br /><br />I'm not going into a lot of detail or providing any links, as there's considerable potential for irresponsible use (ie. mass piracy and the odd bricked PSP). Having said that, it's worth noting that ex-WAB team member Yoshihiro is one of the coders responsible. After the WAB team debarcle, Yoshihiro has silenced his critics with this release. No doubt Sony will release a plugged version 2.1 firmware upgrade very soon, and make it a mandatory upgrade for upcoming PSP titles, like GTA: Liberty City Stories. Until then, it seems PSP owners have the ability to upgrade and downgrade between versions 1.50 and 2.0 as they see fit.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1127532424673794122005-09-24T10:03:00.000+10:002005-09-28T12:28:33.103+10:00TGS wraps up, PSP plugs in, 2.0 exploit's out.<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/360/tgssonybooth2yl.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So the Tokyo Game Show is over for another year. The Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer really knocked everyone's socks off and initially sparked debate over whether it was pre-rendered or actually running in real-time. After the Killzone 3 trailer shown at E3 in May turned out not to be truly real-time, people have become understandably sceptical. Hideo Kojima took the opportunity to nip the rumours in the bud, by demonstrating the MGS4 engine in a live presentation at TGS. He controlled the camera and altered many effects on the PS3 alpha kit as proof that MGS4, while still at least a year from release, is already running in real-time.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img356.imageshack.us/img356/9018/mgs4rt25ee.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/5092/mgs4rt16dt.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Konami also let attendees get hands-on with their new 3D PSP peripheral for Metal Gear Ac!d 2 on the show floor. The "TobidAc!d" is a lightweight add-on (reportedly made of cardboard) that folds around the PSP and produces a convincing 3D effect by splitting the widescreen into smaller displays for each eye. It has now been confirmed that the entire game can be played in 3D and that the title will sport USB connectivity features with MGS3:Subsistence on PS2. Cinematic sequences and photos taken from MGS3:S on PS2 will be viewable in true 3D on the PSP. The "TobidAc!d" was shown in both black and white variations to match the PSP's colours.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/2194/tobidacid7bw.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/2897/tobideye4xm.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Nintendo put many gamers' minds at ease when they announced that an official cradle would be released allowing their radical new Revolution controller to slot into a more traditional Wavebird-style controller, allowing conventional controller input in addition to the new motion-sensing features. While many tech demos were playable, no actual Revolution games were shown.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img354.imageshack.us/img354/7475/doa41iv.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Microsoft's TGS showing for XBox360 didn't cause much buzz. Racing games Project Gotham Racing 3, Ridge Racer 6 and Test Drive Unlimited were all on show, but failed to inspire and were widely regarded as "more of the same". Dead Or Alive 4 (above) and Gears Of War looked gorgeous, but less than innovative. The first wireless arcade stick for 360 was shown in a DOA4 theme (below).<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img380.imageshack.us/img380/4789/doa4stick8by.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/6678/capcomtheatre16sc.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Capcom had a very strong presence. Dead Rising looks set to be a launch title on 360 and is shaping up to be a dead-ringer for George Romero's Dawn of The Dead, while Resident Evil 5 (below, coming to 360 and PS3) looks stunning, even at this early stage. New additions to the Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe franchises also look promising.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/9153/re40wb.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/3331/sonicng4lg.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Sega's Sonic Team unveiled a playable next-gen Sonic title (above, for PS3 and 360) that looked great and retained the classic gameplay style of the original Sonic games. A new PSP exclusive version of Namco's brilliantly quirky Katamari Damacy franchise was playable at their booth (below), though the lack of twin analog sticks means the d-pad and face buttons are used for control instead. Namco also staged a tournament for their soon to be released PS2-exclusive fighter, Soul Calibur III, which could be the deepest fighting game yet, featuring an unprecedented amount of extra modes and huge scope for creating and customizing characters.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/6274/kdpsp5rw.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/4582/sc30yr.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5852/sc3custom5wo.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Okay, enough TGS...moving on:<br /><br />The first true exploit for the PSP's 2.0 firmware has been found. A method for triggering a buffer overflow and running a simple piece of homebrew code embedded in malformed PNG and TIFF images has been discovered and released. Whether this exploit can be reworked and used to launch more complex homebrew applications remains to be seen. This may finally draw attention away from the long awaited 1.5 downgrader from Yoshihiro, which has proven to be vaporware. It turns out Yoshihiro never had a working 1.52 to 1.50 downgrader and the WAB team accepted a whole lot of PayPal donations under false pretences. The other notable WAB team member, AloneTrio, seems to have kept most of the money. The saga ended with a customary team meltdown and undignified brew-ha-ha of lies, greed, insults and blame-shifting.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Team Xecuter, famous for their XBox mod chips, are preparing an unofficial PSP AV-out adapter for commercial release. The solderless system, currently dubbed PSP2TV, has two parts: the first is a replacement faceplate with a connector for the second part, which clips onto the back of the PSP when needed (while still allowing the UMD door to open). The back part features standard stereo AV out RCA connections, plus a port to attach a PS2 controller! The aspect ratio is selectable between 16:9 or 4:3 output.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/1682/psp2tv2py.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a>Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1126881777138234262005-09-16T22:15:00.000+10:002005-09-17T00:42:57.193+10:00TGS 2005<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/7179/iwatarev6xr.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The annual Tokyo Game Show began this morning and has already proven to be a big event. Nintendo's head honcho, Satoru Iwata, kicked it off with his keynote speech. Aside from announcing the forthcoming Nintendo wi-fi online service, he also revealed Nintendo's big secret: the controller for Revolution, their next generation console. No, that's not some new iPod he's holding (above), it's a wireless controller that strongly resembles a common remote control. We all knew Revolution's controller would be different, but this is <em>really</em> different.<br /><br />The basic controller is held in one hand, like a remote, with the d-pad at your thumb, a large "A" button below it and a "B" button trigger on the underside for your index finger. The revolutionary part is that the whole unit is motion sensitive. The Revolution console can sense the position, alignment and motion of the controller in 3D space. You can tilt, turn, raise, lower, swing, point or otherwise move the controller as input. The controller also allows for additional control modules to be attached, such as the analog stick and twin trigger attachment shown today (below). With a cord between the two parts, the Revolution controller takes on a distinctive nunchaku appearance. I choose to call them "Ninchuks".<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/5673/iwataninchuks4mr.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img271.imageshack.us/img271/1281/revo21kk.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The last time we saw the Revolution (at E3 in May), the prototypes were mainly black. Apparently black <em>is like so last generation</em>. White is the new black. Nintendo's Revolution, Microsoft's XBox360, and even Sony's PSP and PS3 are now being seen in white varieties. Apple's iPod certainly has set a trend...but I digress. Nintendo showed off a wide range of basic tech demos using the Revolution's motion sensing capabilities. The potential uses for this controller, like flying a plane, fishing, aiming and shooting, sword fighting etc. are near limitless. One of the demos shown was a retrofitted version of the first level from their current Gamecube hit, Metroid Prime: Echoes. This was an effective demonstration of how the new control scheme can be put to use in conventional games. The analog stick and buttons were used as usual, but the motion sensing feature allowed users to look around freely and aim precisely just by moving their hand.<br /><br />One of the oft-stated goals of Nintendo's strategy with Revolution was to broaden the audience, providing a method of control that is as simple and intuitive as possible, so that people who have never played videogames before can just pick up the controller and play, without having to worry about convoluted control schemes or complex button layouts. I'd say they've hit the mark with this controller, but whether Revolution will prove to be a success is still very much in doubt. Hopefully third party software developers will get behind the console and make the most of it's unique possibilities. When you're competing with world powers like Microsoft and Sony, being radically different is a big gamble. I hope for Nintendo's sake that it pays off.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/549/revo11md.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/6393/revo36ts.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Speaking of the competition, Microsoft chose their pre-TGS show yesterday to announce firm dates for the XBox360 launch. It's hitting retail on November 22nd 2005 in North America; just in time for the all-important holiday season. Europe will follow on December 2nd, and Japan a week later on the 10th of December. While Microsoft previously confirmed that the 360 would be available in two versions (the full version or a cheaper, cut-down "core" system) for the US and Europe, it's now clear that only the full version will be sold in Japan. It was announced that it would go on sale for 37,900 yen, making it slightly cheaper than the US full version's US$399 price.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/6688/360attgs5vr.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In Sony's camp, Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear series has stolen the show so far. The showing of a new trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots running on PS3 hardware was a real eye-opener. Solid Snake has never looked so real...or old. Some years have passed since MGS2 and Snake (below) is no spring chicken.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img394.imageshack.us/img394/7468/mgs4snakecu7nm.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5339/mgs4otacon5vx.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Even Otacon (above) is showing his age. Fear not, tactical espionage fans, as Snake is still kickin' it in a battlezone somewhere and still enjoying a crafty cigarette when he can (though he's hacking his guts up a bit more than he used to). Kojima's quirky humour is evident in the trailer and the visuals are second to none. The MGS4 trailer really highlighted the power of PS3 to create richly detailed cinematic graphics. Hopefully a higher quality version of the trailer will be leaked to the net soon. The prospect of playing this game in true high-definition leaves me breathless. Forget Killzone. MGS4 is Playstation3's new killer app.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/4741/mgs4smokin3nk.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img162.imageshack.us/img162/1932/mgs4snatcher4gi.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Returning to the current generation, Kojima is also readying "Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence" for release on PS2. This is an expansion on MGS3, much like "Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance" was to MGS2. The biggest single addition to the game is an online componenent. The MGS series has never offered an online multiplayer experience before, and Subsistence looks set to deliver both quality and quantity on that front. The latest footage shown at TGS revealed more multiplayer maps and cameos from an unlikely source: <a href="http://consoul.blogspot.com/2005/02/rumble-roses.html">Rumble Roses</a>. Yes, the provocative lasses from Konami's all-female wrestling game (which is currently being remade for XBox360) are playable in MGS3:Subsistence. First it was the monkeys from Ape Escape, and now it's scantily-clad female wrestlers. No-one can say Kojima takes his games too seriously.<br /><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/1530/subsistonline24vv.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" src="http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/1218/subsistroses1ue.jpg" width="400" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/4387/solideyereiko4hy.jpg" border="0" width="400" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us" /></a><br /><br />Finally, Kojima had another surprise in store for the next installment of the Metal Gear Ac!d series on PSP. Metal Gear Ac!d 2 will apparently support a new peripheral that transforms the PSP into something that looks more like a set of binoculars. This will allow players to see portions of the game in true stereoscopic 3D! Few details have been revealed at this stage. I somehow can't see too many people using this peripheral in public, but it's interesting nonetheless.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6000272.post-1125642394104437352005-09-02T15:15:00.000+10:002005-09-08T14:19:43.543+10:00UMD Movie MadnessOne day after the Australasian/European PSP launch and forums across the net are once again alive with new owners moaning about dead or stuck pixels on their screens. They're a vocal minority however. Most people apparently don't have any, and of those who do, few of them consider it to be an issue. Yoshihiro (see last post) bought himself a French v1.52 PSP yesterday and is said to be busy working on a PC application that will make up part of his yet-to-be-released firmware downgrader.<br /><br />What has turned out to be interesting about the Australian launch is the UMD movies. Sony have been very clear that UMD movies would be region locked just like DVD movies. Indeed, the Hollywood studios insisted upon it. Up until now, that was taken as a given. Japanese UMD movies wouldn't work on US PSPs and vice versa.<br /><br />When I walked into Sony Central today, they swore blind that this was still the case. I then pulled out my Japanese PSP and suggested they try it. They grabbed the nearest Australian UMD movie (Hellboy: Directors Cut), I popped it in my PSP and <span style="font-style: italic;">guess what?</span> It worked. Despite the clearly marked "Region 4" logo on the case, it loaded straight up and played just fine on my (Region 2) PSP. Owners of US PSPs have also reported success in playing Australian UMD movies on their units.<br /><br />So what is going on? Have Sony changed their mind? Have they slipped up? Were they just pretending there'd be region locks on Euro/Aus UMD movies to discourage importers? The real story isn't clear yet, but I'm leaning toward option 2. This feels like a mistake.<br /><br />Sony were under some time pressure to meet the Sept 1 launch and perhaps they didn't double check everything. It seems apparent that some of the first batch of Australian UMD movies were pressed without a region code being set (ie. they're set to the region zero default, which will work on all PSPs). Sony also made a minor slip-up with their first Australian download pack for WipEout Pure. It comes up as "Corrupted Data" when viewed on the memory stick duo. It still works in-game though, so it's no big deal. <span style="font-style: italic;">(Memo to Sony: If you want to fix this, you may want to correct the typo in the directory name reference in the PARAM.SFO file.)</span><br /><br />I guess we'll have to wait and see whether any of the second batch of Australian UMD movies work on imported PSPs to determine whether the lack of region coding was actually a mistake or not. I don't imagine the movie studios would be too impressed should their movies continue to be region-free. Another PSP retailer I spoke to today said all of his current UMD movie stock worked on his US PSP, though from my own tests I can confirm that some Australian UMD movies, such as "Be Cool" are correctly region-locked.<br /><br />To those of you waiting for a significant PSP price-drop: don't hold your breath. Sony have Australian retailers under contract to sell all 1st-party PSP products at the current RRP until March next year: $399 for the PSP and $79 for 1st-party games. Should they breach this, the threat is that they'll be cut off from delivery. Major chains will likely drop the prices slightly anyway (as Sony wouldn't dare cut them off), but smaller games retailers will probably have to toe the line. Retail profit margins are slim anyway.<br /><br />Enjoy your new PSPs everyone.<br />For lots more PSP coverage, check out my articles at <a href="http://gamepower.com.au/">Game Power Australia</a>. More of my reviews will be online there shortly.Robinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05244607672442571267noreply@blogger.com3