You know I sure was more excited about all the new video game systems like a year ago? So why not now? General lack of funds for all the new systems…over-pricing of systems (sorry, but $600 for a PS3, if I’m lucky, is just flippin’ insane)…too many games for the older systems I still haven’t finished…and any number of small technical aspects that just annoy me.
Then comes the question of the Xbox 360…a year old and no price drop? Thanks Microsoft!
About 2 weeks ago I did some Super Nintendo shopping on eBay for grins…I spent $.49 on an Animaniacs game and $9.99 on an unopened copy of Super Return of the Jedi. Think I will stick with the systems I have for now, thanks!
A recent study conducted by the Oxygen Network shows women are getting more in to gadgets. According to this study, men owned an average of 6.9 gadgets to women owning 6.6. The same study showed that 77% of women wanted a plasma television instead of a diamond solitaire necklace, but 56% would only make the same choice over a weekend in Florida. (I would still take the plasma TV)
I am thrilled to see women getting more with gadgets and electronics, but would someone explain to me why gadget makers think the way to tap this market is just to make their devices in pink?
The pink PS2 coming out in England.
Pink PSP coming out in all of Europe.
Samsung Q40 coming out in Europe
The pink Razr sold just about everywhere.
I know there are some women who will be thrilled by these (calm down Rachel), but in general, well…I think it’s kind of insulting. Can’t you just imagine these product meetings?
Executive 1 “We need to tap this growing female consumer market for gadgets. How do we do it?”
Executive 2 “Make our existing products pink?”
Executive 1 “BRILLIANT!”
What’s even more insulting is when they not only make the device pink, they think they can UNDER POWER IT! The Samsung Q40 pictured above is a perfect example of that. With the blossoming of the dual-core age, releasing a laptop with a single core only running 1.2GHz is, well, insulting. A 60gb hard drive? But let’s not forget…it’s pink! For the price of $2,460, it’s a rip-off is what it is.
If pink is your thing (again, calm down Rachel…we all know you love pink), more power to you, enjoy. If, however, you are serious about your gadgets at the same time, don’t be lulled in to being jipped in power or performance just because it has a pretty cover.
Random link, check out ShinyShiny for all your female gadget news.
E3, The Electronic Entertainment Expo, is going on in Los Angeles right now. As was expected, the video game console war is stepping up with Sony announcing the pricing of the Playstation 3, Microsoft announcing add-ons to the XBox 360 and Nintendo changing the Revolution in to the Wii.
First up, XBox 360 is adding an external HD-DVD player priced at around $100. If you already have a 360, this is a steal. An HD-DVD player is going to set you back around $800 if you buy a stand alone unit.
They are also making some big changes to XBox Live. Once Windows Vista is released (whenever that will be) they will launch “Live Anywhere and you will be able to play games cross platform, and also see where your friends are. They will also cross over to cell phones, but how that’s going to work, I have NO clue.
Halo 3 has a trailer being shown, but it’s not due until 2007.
Nintendo has changed the name of the Revolution to the Wii…why, I have no idea. They say they want a name that can be used in any language, but still…uck. They are keeping the motion control controller, but it has been modified since last year.
Still not sure how much I like this thing. Your not going to want to play any game for too long because your arms will wear out.
Wii Connect 24 interests me though. The Wii (UGH!) will be connected to the internet all the time, but when you put the system on stand-by, Wii Connect will check with Nintendo to see if any of your games need updating. The next day when you turn on your system, you may discover new levels, weapons, vehicles and so on for games you own. I like this idea.
And Sony…oh Sony. They’ve announced early November for the world wide release of the PS3.
The system will either $500 for the base system, or $600 for the loaded system. Now, with either one you get the Blu-Ray player (a bargain at either price), but if you want WiFi and high-def video output, you will have to go for the $600 model. You will also get a larger hard drive, but who knows if that will be important yet or not.
Do note though, last years stupid controller is GONE! *does a happy dance*. The new controller will be wireless and will feature some motion control, but will not rely on it like Wii’s does.
So, what to do? Well, it would seem you will need to be saving up tons of pay checks to pay for any of these systems. I’m sorry, but I will not be shelling out $500 – $600 this November for a game system. I’m not even sure I’m that in to gaming anymore to be honest. I haven’t had time play a game in months, and frankly, I’m not missing them much. I have so many other things going on, I just don’t see the point. Even if I do feel like playing, I have tons of games built up over the years to entertain me. I am just not sure what these companies are thinking by pricing the systems at these prices.
I’ve talked about this before, but it’s worth bringing up again…why are online gamers, for the most part, jerks? It’s a game, it’s meant to be fun, it is not a life or death situation.
The occurances of idiots on Halo 2 seems to be getting worse and worse, especially since the recent rank resets. The new tendancy, since everyone is working on new ranks anyway, if you don’t like the map you are on, or the gametype on the map, to just leave the game, deserting your team and possibly leaving them vastly outnumbered.
Last night I ended up in a game of Assault on Headlong in Halo 2 where my team ended up being outnumbered 8-to-3. Ok, fine, Blue team was going to win, but they couldn’t be sporting about it. No, they had to come racing over and started spawn camping us. To me, this is just poor sportsmanship. You know your going to win, just let the players at least try. There is no reason to just constantly pound on them.
Of course, I’m not to happy with the team members who quit either. To me, joining a game is like a social contract. You are agreeing to play this game with this group of people. Leaving by choice is just bad manners in my opinion.
You know, as much as I complain about online gaming, it is amazing I still enjoy it.
Well, someone has snapped a photo of an Xbox next to an Xbox 360.
On the right is the Xbox, on the left the 360. Well…not much smaller is it? And since the hard drive for the newer one attaches to what would be the top of it in this picture, it will be the same size.
So some of you are probably thinking “So? You won’t have the first one to deal with anymore.” WRONG! It seems the 360 is only backwards compatiable with SOME of the games from the Xbox. So to be able to play your entire collection of games, you will still need to keep the first system around. Oh joy. More space taken up!
E3 is rocking the video game world this week with announcment galore! The console wars are back, and badder than ever.
Microsoft – Nothing new here, we already know all about the Xbox 360, so you may move along. The only update being that it is backwards compatiable to Xbox 1. Thank goodness. Expected release by end of 2005.
Nintendo – The Revolution is here, and boy is the name appropiate. While the Playstation 2 was the first backwards compatiable system, the Revolution is moving the bar higher. Using emulation and downloadable content, you will be able to download 20 years of Nintendo games and play them all from the Revolution. The NES, the SNES, the N64 and the system will accept Gamecube discs. Wireless controllers and Wifi enabled. Yowza! Expected release sometime in 2006.
Sony – The mama of all the systems, the Playstation 3 was unveiled. Wireless controllers (but boy is that controller ugly), Wifi eneabled, backwards compatiable with Playstation and Playstation 2. 256MB system RAM 3.2GHz, and 256MB GDDR VRAM at 700MHz, 6 USB ports and a 3.2 GHz Cell Processor rated 2.18 teraflops. (non-geek speek “Holy damn!”) Expected release in early 2006.
So, yay, lots and lots of gaming goodness, but now, reality begins to set in. How much are these suckers going to run? The only rumored price so far is around $465 for the PS3. Um…I’m sorry, but I do not need to take out small home loans to buy my gaming systems. While all these new features are wonderful, I do not plan on shelling out that much money on systems. That is just insane. What mother is going to tell little Johhny “Oh of course you can have the new Playstation, we don’t need groceries this week!” That is just insane.
So while I am excited, I am also way cautious of what all these new sytems are going to cost.
The lid is off, the details are out, and the Xbox 360 appears to rock my socks….with one exception. …still no word if it is backward compatiable! What the…?! Oh well, let’s look at some of the spiffy features:
Memory:512 MB of 700 MHz GDDR3 RAM
This is going to make a HUGE difference in load times and size of levels. I am blown away by this amount of RAM in a game system.
Storage:
Detachable and upgradeable 20GB hard drive
12x dual-layer DVD-ROM
Memory Unit support starting at 64 MB
Well it would appear they are thinking ahead. The hard drive being swappable is great, and the memory units START at 64 MB. Nifty, so obviouslly they have thought ahead to games requiring larger save spaces. Nice to see them thinking ahead.
Input/Output:
Support for up to four wireless game controllers
Three USB 2.0 ports
Wireless controllers out of the box, faboo! Thats the way to go! I am tired of these wires running everywhere. Three USB ports though has me wondering what they have planned.
Online (broadband only):
Xbox Live out of the box
Built-in Ethernet port
Wi-Fi ready: 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g
Nice! You can use ethernet wire or wifi right out of the box. .11a support though? Wonder why they bothered with that. Nice to have options though.
Lots more interesting features, make sure to click on the links above!
Now sources are saying that Nintendo MIGHT debut the Revolution at E3. Fraid of missing the hoop-la are we?
I admit I have a Game Cube, but of all my systems, it gets played the least. The controller looks like something Willy Wonka would have dreamt up with all it’s vividly colored buttons. So if Nintendo is going to want to play in the new herd of systems, they are going to have to step it up. The console wars have already had one big fatality with Sega and the Dreamcast (which I actually liked, and still play), could Nintendo be next?
Here it is boys and girls….the Xbox 360 (or Xbox 2 if you prefer)
It sure as heck is a lot nicer looking than the old Xbox
The 360 didn’t have to do much to be more attractive, that’s for sure. All the stats aren’t out yet, but first thing I notice on the 360…where are the controller ports? The rumors have been circulating like crazy that it would have wireless controllers from day one. Wow if true.
I am sick and tired of fighting with all the cords for my different controllers. Now one has to wonder though, will they be battery operated or rechargable? Either way, can’t wait for this one.
If you are playing Halo 2 online, please remember something….teamwork. If you are playing Big Team Battle on Waterworks…cover the Wraith while it moves the boxes. It’s doing a job that helps everyone. Don’t run off while a Ghost is shooting it up….help it take out the Banshee…watch out for the rocket launchers…it is there doing a job…help it!
