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Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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2.40 seems to fuel the fanboy war again
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 Not enough that PS3 owners get exited about the features of the forthcoming 2.40 firmware, the new firmware starts another rave in the 360 faction which I though was allover already since the initial excitement.
It's kind of funny to see how people start arguing again and again that Microsoft obviously invented almost everything we know today when it comes to online gaming. The typical threat is all about why the new features of 2.40 don't buy it and why this and that feature is still not up to what the 360 offers. The most ridiculus conversations are about the new trophy system and why a Gamerscore and achiements are still better than Trophies and Levels. Sure, the new in-game XMB is not perfect yet (mostly due to backward compatibility issues) but more and more of the still missing features like cross game chats or in game invites will either be solved by game developers directly or via following updates. What I see more and more by looking at both consoles (360 and PS3), the more the two products evolve over time and even though they lend from each other big time, both consoles have a totally different character. The 360 to me looks like a professional tool for the sole purpose of playing games. Everything is tweaked towards maximum efficency when it comes to game play. Target audience: hard core gamers. The PS3 on the other side too me looks like the entertainment center that integrates into your living room, the entertainment hub that can be used by all family members, be it the hardcore gamer playing MGS 4, the teen party doing SingStar, the movie player for your girlfriend, the audio player for your next party, ... For sure, both consoles can play in the respective are of the other console as well, but this is not their main purpose. Personally, I think that Sony decided for the right strategy as it seems to be key these days to extend your audience beyond the typical gamers clientel towards a more versatile, diverse audience. Many people complain about the PS3 being no longer a console anymore. Well, thank god it is. Don't get me wrong, there is no question that the PS3 needs to be one of f not the best gaming console in the first place, but that's no longer enough and this is not just about having a music player as well. Waiting for more of these discussions ...
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by Mutsch at 5:44 | 11 Comments
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Categories: Console War | Firmware | PS3 | Xbox
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Monday, June 30, 2008
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PS3 Reloaded
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July 2nd, 2008. What sounds like 2 days before Independance Day is actually one of the most exciting dates in the short history of the PS3. What could easily be called a relaunch in former hardware generations is actually the biggest software overhaul on the PS3 since its launch. Ok, let's turn back time for a couple of month. Remember, even though the PS3 got launched half a year later due to some hardware issues, the system software or the OS of the PS3 was still in its infancy during the launch November, 2006. Featuring only the minimum functionality, the PS3 was hardly usable at the time, especially when talking about the online features. Can you imagine that couldn't download anything in the background? With the European launch in March, 2007 Sony launched the Firmware 1.60 which beside a couple of other improvements featured the critically acclaimed background download. Remember, that at the time the Xbox 360 already had such a feature. Already around this time users where asking about a so-called in-game XMB functionality. In-game XMB, what the heck is this? Even though there was never a clear definition what it actually comprises, everybody was absolutely sure that this is a must-have functionality the PS3 can't live without ;-) The next major functionality came with Firmware 1.80 which brought us both DVD as well as PS2 upscaling. No in-game XMB yet. After this release Sony focused more on the secondary functionalty like audio, Remote Play and new video codecs other than new gaming features. meanwhile everybody was expecting in-game XMB for the forthcoming 2.00 firmware. When it finally appeared it was just one of many other updates, mainly adding play lists, Remote Startup and custom themes. Was Sony actually working on the in-game XMB at all? Random hints during interviews here and there kept the crowd interested. One of the things we learned from the 2.00 release was the fact that Sony really doesn't care about version numbers. What would be a major release for any other software product is just a minor release for Sony. Very clever. This way nobody knows when the next big bang would take place. But why is this in-game XMB so difficult to implement that it takes so long for Sony to release it? Ok for the time being let's just imagine that in-game XMB is the accessibility of the XMB functionality from within a game, i.e. access to messaging, music player, picture viewer, etc. Not that the PS3 wouldn't be capable of doing this in parallel, the problem are the system specs. When Sony launched the PS3 in 2006, developers got the minimum specs a developer could depend upon while writing games for the PS3. Even though the PS3 has a kind of memory management, the usage of certain features of the OS is a cooperative task. In other words, the game need to be aware if the user accesses the friends list for instance. Even though almost everything that's available on the XMB could be provided in-game already, the developer had to pay a price in terms of available memory. The memory usage is critical especially for background tasks like the music player or chat. So, the problem until now was the memory footprint of most of the PS3 XMB features and so far there was no way for Sony to implement those feature transparently without compromising already released games. The only way to introduce in-game XMB was by slowly reducing the memory footprint of most of the XMB functions over time. Coming back to the firmware, we further got a DivX codec as well as the Blu-ray 1.1 and 2.0 profile support while still waiting for in-game XMB. While talking about those new features, I almost forgot about another big advantage of the 360: the gamerscore and achievements. What seems to be the biggest achievement since the invention of Pong according to Microsoft is definitely something Sony can't really live without long-term. But havn't we've been told, that Home would introduce something called Trophies? Sure, but is that actually a Home feature or shouldn't that be part of the base OS? Hmmm. Meanwhile rumours about a forthcomig in-game XMB enabled firmware appeared almost everywhere on the net, with more or less creditable screenshots. Today its just two more days for the Firmware 2.40 to arrive and meanwhile everybody has already watched the introduction video that Sony's Eric Lempel created on the various features of the 2.40 firmware. Based on what we know so far, in-game XMB within 2.40 is not the magic bullet that covers everything you dreamed of. No question, it's amazing to see that Sony could actually retrofit in-game XMB into an already released console with 100% compatibility (fingers crossed). Based on what the videos show so far, we don't get cross game audio chat yet (most probably due to the still profound memory footprint) but most of the other stuff like messaging, game startup from within games, etc. is there. In a nutshell, 2.40 is one of if not THE update that brings the PS3 to the level of the 360 when it comes to secondary and online gaming features. Looking at the details of the Trophy system, the PS3 actually seems to have something that goes even beyond Mircosoft's gamerscore and achievements. Now, both consoles look at each other eye to eye on the same level and it's only a matter of the games and no longer about the system software. Happy in-game XMBing ...
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by Mutsch at 20:23 | 1 Comments
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Categories: Development | Firmware | PS3 | Updates
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Monday, June 30, 2008
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no-play-asia.com?
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Ok, it looks like Sony closed another uncontrolable distribution channel, as play-asia.com, my reliable source for all kind of Japanese and Asian video game stuff, no longer ships to the European community. 
And is this only about Sony? Well, as it seems, you can still get those Xbox 360 titles without any problem. What really confuses me is the fact that it applies to all games and not just Sony published content. It looks like that through its license program Sony can impact those publishers as well. With some critically acclaimed titles like Siren 3 and Afika in the pipe (that will eventually appear on Blu-ray in Japan or Asia only), this is even more frustrating. play-asia.com so far was a great choice for any PAL gamer. Not only did they ship to the EU for free, they even send their stuff from Belgium and therefor avoided any customs. If you guys know a similar source other than ebay, just let me us know. I definitely want to play both titles.
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by Mutsch at 6:59 | 3 Comments
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Categories: Games | PS3 | Tired of
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Friday, June 27, 2008
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Who knew
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 It has been speculated, denied, disclosed and confirmed. Yes the PS3 is already using the 65 nm chip technology, but - and that's new - for the Cell only so far.
Since last holiday season, i.e. basically since the 40 GB model, Sony is using the 65 nm version of the Cell which is the main reason for the major decrease in terms of the power consumtion. According to Sony the next iteration of the hardware will feature the higher integrated RSX which will in turn lower the power consumption as well and provides Sony with the opportunity to lower the PS3 price point again. But this decision is of course up to Sony.
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by Mutsch at 5:27 | 9 Comments
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Categories: Cell | PS3 | Updates
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Tuesday, June 24, 2008
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If you wanna become rich, don't do consoles?
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 At least that's the easy conclusion you can draw from Sony's latest announcement regarding the overall investments into the PLAYSTATION 3. Well, right but as we all know nothing comes from nothing and the PALYSTATION 3 was and is for Sony more than a gaming console.
First of all, the PS3 is one of Sony's pillars over the next 10 years and you really have to consider the pre-invest over the next 8 years at least. Almost all forthcoming content will be mainly PS3 based and the license costs for PS3 content is based on the PS3 hardware. Second, beside the gaming content the other big thing for Sony was and still is Blu-ray. Like it or not, but the PS3 is Sony's trojan horse to get Blu-ray into the homes and we can speculate if only because of the PS3, Blu-ray won the format war over HD-DVD. Looking at Nintendo, we can all see that there are easier ways to become rich and yeah, Sony could do just the same thing. But that's easier said than done. Nintendo is Nintendo and Sony is Sony. Both companies have different strategies and a different heritage and its really useless to discuss if Sony can just copy what Nintendo did. Sony needs to find its own wayin that business and we can be rather pleased that there is more choice than Mario and Dr. Kawashima these days. It's nice for Nintendo, but I rather prefer to have an alternative. And finally let's not forget Microsoft in that regard. Those guys invested even more so far just to get into the business with rather mixed results. One of the things Microsoft has to deal with is an unreliable product that is out there and which generates costs even after being sold. One of the things that are unclear for me too and which has already been speculated before: is Sony going to build an own proprietary console platform after the PLAYSTATION 3? In other words, is Sony willing to take another investment of that size in the future? One of the things we can already see happening is Sony's new strategy to deinvest in the chip manufacturing, one of the big investments on the PS3 side with the Cell. I would be surprised if Sony is going to do another Cell like component that is going to be part of the PLAYSTATION 4 if we can call it like this. It's far to early to speculate what the next hardware will look like, but Sony is for sure thinking about the different options. One of the benefits of the current PS3 architecture is the fact that it scales as soon as you have got a handle on the multicore challenges. The benefit of that would be a hardware that could share a lot with the current hardware and wouldn't require a complete start from scratch. So, why not using a next generation Cell chip with let's say 16 SPUs instead of the 7 found today? Or why not using multiple Cells instead. If that turns out to be a viable option, Ken Kutaragi's visions finally prove to be the right way to go and the today's investment into the PLAYSTATION 3 is actually an investment far beyond the PS3 life-cycle.
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by Mutsch at 12:06 | 1 Comments
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Categories: Console War | Development | Playstation
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Monday, June 23, 2008
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My first interview ;-)
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 Now I can imagine what it feels like to be a celeb as I just gave my first interview the other day. You know what? It doesn't feel too much different ;-) Actually it was kind of interesting when the guys from retrozoid.net asked me to do a short interview about my website and I just thought why not. So, here you go ... and thanks retrozoid.net for giving me the opportunity.
P.S. And don't tell anybody about my age ;-)
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by Mutsch at 16:18 | 3 Comments
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Categories: Fun | Interview
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Sunday, June 22, 2008
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Yet another Yoshida interview
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 Seems like everyone wants to have an interview with Sony's new software guy, Shuhei Yoshida.
Nothing that we already know of, but the part where he speaks about the his resigned predecessor Phil Harrison is kind of interesting. From what he said, Phil seemed to be the PR person for Sony almost right from his start with SCE. This is what I liked about Phil Harrison as well, so it's not really surprising to me that his bosses felt the same way too.
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by Mutsch at 19:47 | 0 Comments
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Categories: Interview | Playstation | Sony
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Sunday, June 22, 2008
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Alone in its opinion
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 If there is one thing to take out of the Kane & Lynch - Gamespot incident then it's something like: don't mess with the press. No matter if a review is right or wrong, trying to put magazines or website under preasure is usually a bad thing as it comes back at you, big time.
Well, it seems Atari didn't take this advice as they obviously try to force the German gaming site 4players.de to take their latest "Alone in the Dark" review off their website. Not as this would be stupid enough, Atari argues that the review is based on illegal copy from the Internet which appeared even before the official launch. First of all the guys used a offically purchased copy and second what would that have to do with the review as such. Ok, as we all know by now, Atari is switching gears as they will no longer go for huge single player games but for online multi-players. So maybe Phil's and Atari's nerves are all fried by the fact that they really need this to be a blockbuster after so much investment, but this PR strategy is not going to be supportive in that matter. And yes, I can understand if someone feels himself treated unfairly by the press as I don't get some of those reviews as well. But the worst you can do is force them to do certain things. Source: 4players.de
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by Mutsch at 12:01 | 1 Comments
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Categories: Games | Reviews | Tired of
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Sunday, June 22, 2008
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Could the PS3 be a family console?
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Casualgaming.biz asked this question Pauline Jacquey, herself being executive producer of Ubisoft's Games For Everyone range also known as casual gaming. Even though Pauline thinks that the PS3 has the potential (btw. the 360 not) let's look at this a little closer. First of all, what's a family console? Well, I guess the right definition would be something like if you find your mom and dad playing games on your console, you own one. Actually, the easiest way to find out if a console is a family console, check out your favorite video game store (the bigger the better) and look for those bargain bins. If you find games of your console there, your console is a family console. Believe me. The PS2 plays in that category as well as the DS. Looking at the PS3, it definitely is to early to call the PS3 a family console. The PS3 is still a high price product and almost all of the current games are targeted towards hardcore gamers. But this is not necessarily going to be the case for the whole life-cycle. Look at the PS2 in that concern. It was the same thing. Initially a hardcore gaming device it became a console for everybody. There are two factors that determine when this is going to happen: the content and the price. Content-wise the PS3 is already on the way to become more adopted by a boader community. Games like SingStar, Buzz and al of the PLAYSTATION Eye games are targeted towards that group of people. But due to the still kind of high price point of the PS3, Sony is approaching this market top-down. With the PS2 still in place it is a wise decision not to compete in its own playground. As long as the PS2 is around we will not see the PS3 getting into this price region, in other words it will not fully address those customers. Anyway, at some point (I guess during the next 18 month) this is going to happen and Sony will eventually launch a lot more of those gaming titles that nowadays appear on PS2 mainly. Meanwhile Sony will nevertheless continue to address the experienced casual gamer ( hardcore gamers that like casual games as well) with games like LittleBigPlanet which have the potential to attract casual gamers as well as owners of a competing console (like the Wii or the 360).
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by Mutsch at 6:47 | 4 Comments
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Categories: Games | Interview | PS2 | PS3 | Wii | Xbox
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Sunday, June 22, 2008
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ElektroShock
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No, this is not one of products from the latest S&M fair, Mindwire V5 is actually a new gaming device that complements your normal video game controller with a little device that electroshocks you while playing video games. 
For all of you not fully satisfied with what rumble support can do within a game, this is it, the next level. Not having tried the device myself, from what I can see on the various videos, it seems to work. Well, if you can call this work when you are almost unable to play the game due to a permanent arousal caused by the device. check out the Call of Duty video on stuff.tv and decide yourself if this is more of a useless gadget or a must-have for next gen consoles. Check out the product details here and see how to actualy setup the device with your PS3 which requires an PS2-PS3 controller adapter. P.S. Now that I think about it, PAIN should work very well with this device ;-) P.P.S. Still not sure what the MAD port is all about ;-)
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by Mutsch at 6:11 | 0 Comments
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Categories: Fun | Gadgets | PS3
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