Check out the two pictures above. Looks like a Wii controller, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. It’s a very clever knockoff off the design of the Wii controller but it’s for a simple baseball game. See that small LCD screen that harkens back to the dim and distant days of Nintendo’s original handheld games? That’s where you get to play the game.
There’s an interesting article on 1up.com at the moment about Couples Therapy which takes a look at four couples and whether gaming is of benefit to the relationship each couple is in or if it harms it. Two specialists — a matchmaker and a psychologist — then look at the relationships and give their thoughts on them. While an interesting read, I don’t agree with the final thoughts that were given and have some things to say on the matter.
A possible Xbox 360 price drop? Can it be true? Yes, according to Cheap Ass Gamer and a number of other sites.
I’m in the process of cataloging all of the games that we own. So far I’ve managed to catalog all of the console games, and haven’t yet gotten to listing all of the Windows PC games nor the 8-bit computer games.
While building the store lists for the IATB Amazon Store, I popped into the Playstation 3 section, and was presented with the above image. It might be a little small, so here it is at 1:1 screen size:
As you can see, the Xbox 360 version of GTA is leading the Playstation 3 version by 60:40 right now. That’s rather interesting because of a number of factors:
There’s also a whole lot of discussion going on at the Amazon comparison page.
My thoughts are this: GTA is one of those seminal brands that has a core following of players behind it. Most of these players will have played it on one platform and will continue to play it on that platform. The battleground really becomes generating sales to new gamers that haven’t played the game before, and this is where the 360 has the lead. Of course, the 360 also has a habit of dying on gamers, so this might affect things a little. Ultimately, sales of this game will be strong no matter what. Once the price drops by about 25% more people will pick it up and will play it.
Keep in mind that these numbers can change. There’s still almost 2 months to the release date, and in the past the GTA franchise has sold systems. Tie this into the fire sale that Sony has had on the 60Gb and you might get a bunch of sales leading into October. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Nintendo, do you have any idea about online connectivity at all?
Why can I connect with my WII via WPA, but you won’t let the DS do that? I understand your argument about WEP being ubiquitous throughout much of the world. Surely a simple firmware update can allow WPA and WEP in the chipset of the DS? How hard could it be? I’m hoping by the time I get my DS that they’ll allow WPA.
At the Sony Keynote speech, Jack Tretton announced that Sony and NCSoft have struck a deal to create titles for the PlayStation Network:
“Let’s start with our partners games first. We’re providing them with the tools they need to develop great games for the PS3. We’re very pleased to announce that NCSoft will be joining the PlayStation camp. You probably know them from Lineage, City of Heroes, and Guild Wars. Very soon, they’ll be brin[g]ing that to the PS3 exclusively … Only the PSN can support the types of games NCSoft has become famous for.” (Joystiq)
Hmm. I see a pattern here. Let’s analyze it using the Underpants Gnomes Analogy:
Ah, Sony, can’t come up with any new ideas of your own? Still need to steal thunder from others? NCSoft became famous for making great games on the PC platform, not the PlayStation one. I know they share a capital letter, but they’re not the same thing. Yes, yes, I know. The PlayStation is more than just a games machine - it’s the holy grail of computing. Whatever.
More to the point, it seems that there’s a quantum quandary, a paradox if you will. If the PSN network can only support the games that NCSoft has become famous for, then why am I able to play the games (on PC) that NCSoft has become famous for, without having access to the PSN. Unless of course, the PSN network is already in place and I’ve been using it all along? The mind boggles. Quantum entanglement ensues. My cat is both alive and dead at the same time.
Sony once again has raised hyperbole to an art form. I’d salute Jack Tretton and Sony, but I’m too busy trying to pick my jaw up off the ground.
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