GamerBiz

Halo 3 has gone golden!

2007-08-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

9/25/07

Halo 3 Trailer: 2nd Impressions

2007-07-11T11:08:00.001-07:00

Watching it the first time, I was mainly focused on plot hints and amazed my the mood and atmosphere of the trailer.
Now comes the scrutiny.
Graphically, the trailer represents a huge overall leap from the Multiplayer Beta.
However, the trailer seemed to show scenes from polished and unpolished levels.
I specifically noticed at the end when Master Chief looks on the table, their is no real-time reflection on his visor as seen in 2006 E3's trailer. Instead it is very very similar to what we are accustomed to seing in Halo 2.
Bottom line is that I beieve that some scenes in this trailer were not polished. Atleast I hope they werent. If that was the final game, it is a huge let down from what was shown at E3 2006. I was hopeing Bungie didnt set the bar too high then but after viewing this trailer, I can only hope it gets better.

Real time reflection in the visor?

The Halo 3 E3 Eyegasm

2007-07-11T09:08:00.002-07:00

Its that time for teasing again. Yesterday Bungie released new screenshots and videos of their baby, Halo 3 for all to view. Apart from containing infinite eye candy, the trailer saw several emotional swings and revealed a few small details with big impacts on the storyline.
Go ahead and check it out below.

All I can say is... "Wow"

Here It Comes: Let the Price War Begin

2007-07-09T10:04:00.000-07:00

As reported earlier Sony is set to slash $100 off the PS3 in the United States, making it very close to the price of an XBOX 360 Elite ($479). Well guess what? If reports on the internet are true, Microsoft is preparing to slash the 360s price significantly. Whats changed?
Microsoft has started to produce XBOX 360 chipsets differently. The main change is from a 90nm to a 65 nm. This is cheaper because it uses less materil and is smaller.
It should be a very interesting holiday season.

PS3 for $499??

2007-07-08T16:20:00.000-07:00

Yes you read right. According to several retailers including bestbuy and target, Sonys PS3 console will drop from $599.99 to $499.99 . No word if this affects the 20 GB model. This is a sign of desperation from Sony, as it has already been stated that a PS3 60 GB unit costs $840 to produce. Even though this may sell more units; the more units sold spikes the losses up even higher. Looks like those Sony execs will have to skip that pay raise this year.
Perhpas the cheapest PS3 available?

PS1+PS2=PS3!

Gears of What?

2007-07-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

So here it comes. The Crown Jewel of the XBOX game library is coming closer and closer. As usual, Bungie Studios has set on teasing us as much as possible. And yesterday, they released a new screenshot in-game. Simply put, the screenshot looks stunning. Myself personally, I cannot wait until September 25th so I can slay through Halo in full 720p glory.

XBOX 360 vs PS3- Differences that Matter

2007-07-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

What am I using to Compare?
For the XBOX vs PS3 comparison I am using a XBOX 360 Elite and a 60 Gig PS3
Difference 1: Price
The 60 Gig PS3 costs $599.99 and you get;
60 Gig PS3
Blu-Ray player
1 SIXAXIS Wireless controller
RCA Cable
USB cable
The XBOX 360 Elite costs $479.99 and you get;
120 Gig HD (!)
DVD Drive
RCA cable/HDMI cable included
1 Wireless controller

The Disk Drives.
Blu-ray is a new format that can hold between 20-50GB. XBOX 360 uses a 9GB DVD format. Why does this matter? Game developers can fit twice as much 'stuff' in a BLu-Ray disk than a DVD disk. More textures, more lighting affects, more everything.
The Controllers
The Sony PS3 has the new SIXAXIS controller, while the XBOX 360 has the option of corded or wireless controller. (Although the wireless version is included.) Although SIXAXIS seems like a cool feature, many games do not include this feature, which is a shame. Another problem I have with the SIXAXIS controller is the fact that the battery is built in and to be charged it must be plugged into the PS3 unit with the unit running. With the XBOX 360, the wireless controller uses 2 AA batteries which are instantly charged and easy to replace.
The Output.
Both systems are able to output in 1080p, the highest output available. However out of the box, only the XBOX 360 will be outputing in 1080p as Sony does not include a HDMI cable with the system. This fact I believe stinks. If your going to fork out for a $600.00 system then you want to be able to make the best use of it out of the box.
Most important, The Games.
Right now, XBOX 360 seems to hold the upper hand as many exclusives are held by XBOX 360 with many others being first created for 360 then being ported to the PS3. Because of this, alot of the titles look best on the 360 since they have to be adjusted for the PS3's architecture. Speaking of which, one problem developers have had with the PS3 is how difficult and expensive it is to program for. Many titles have been delayed (Inculding Medal of Honor Airborne recently) because of the compleixity of the PS3 unit. As of now, we arent even close to the potential the PS3 has. However I dont think that limit can be reached for 2 reasons. One because of the enormous financial burden required to reach that limit and 2) because you can develop for the XBOX 360 for 2/3 the cost. Another point to look at is the fact that the XBOX 360 has a larger install base than the PS3 right now. Spend less, sell more. Makes sense to me.

Bottom Line:
The PS3 contains great potential to provide absolutley stunning graphics and games. However I believe it is ahead of its time and due to enormous production costs, the potential will never be fully tapped into. The only way the PS3 can survive is by securing exclusives, something which it has failed to do.

Right now the XBOX 360 is the better unit based on some of the points mentioned above. However their are other factors that can be considered (the much over-hyped CELL processor for example). But one thing both Microsoft and Sony better watch out for is the run-away success of the Wii, which has the ability to reshape the Gaming Industry completley.

NASCAR 08: Preview

2007-07-04T18:34:00.001-07:00

EA Sports released new screenshots of their new up and coming NASCAR release. I have purchased many EA sport games and it is easy to notice the lack of detail put into the NASCAR series as compared to Madden 08. Finally it looks like EA Sports has actually put effort into this game, trying to make it the best of the series. The screenshots almost look real which is quite a leap forward from the dismal effort put into NASCAR 07. Just take a look at these screenshots and you should be able to see that this looks to be a beauty.

More at NASCAR 08s website

Google and Microsoft...the saga continues.

2007-06-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

Human rights group and surveillance watchdog Privacy International has just released an interim report on the privacy practices of over 20 leading web companies, and the results don't look good for colourful, cuddly Google.

The big G was the only one in the group that included companies such as Microsoft, AOL, MySpace and eBay to be placed in the bottom section of the six stage colour coded scale and labelled hostile to privacy.

Just a day after the results were published, just to show how well the verdict was going down, Google representatives apparently tried to start a smear campaign against Privacy International, claiming it has "a conflict of interest regarding Microsoft". This information was sent to two European journalists by Google representatives, according to the privacy group.
source: Will Head from Tech Digest
here

Wii Continues to dominate.

2007-06-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

First Wii was outselling PS3 5:1 on their home turf (Japan). Now Wii is outselling Microsoft about 2:1 on Microsofts home turf and continues to outsell all consoles in the PAL regions.
Recently I just checked Amazon.com to see the Bestselling in Video Games and Consoles. Sure enough, Nintendo completley owns the top 5 and has 8 of the top 10 spots. See here below.

The final telling factor? 6 months after launch in the United States, you can still not find a Wii sitting on a store shelf for more than 30 minutes.

Bravo Wii on your early come from behind victory.

Nintendo Pwns Sony in Japan

2007-06-05T14:42:00.001-07:00

Well by now, we have learned to forget about the XBOX 360 in Japan. It only sold 11,082 units last month. However the more interesting fight is between Nintendo's Wii and Sony's PS3. Sony has undoubtebly held the uper hand for the past few years. However that appears to be changing. According to market analysis firm Enterbrain Inc, the Wii outsold the PS3 by a margin of 5:1. Thats 251,794 Wiis compared to approx. 50,000 PS3's. Alot of people say Sony has to do something, but what can they do? If they lower the price, it sells more consoles but means an even BIGGER loss than they are already earning. If they dont lower the price they have smaller losses, but sell fewer consoles. Basically, Sony shot themselves in the foot trying to push the Blu-Ray format apon us and they are paying ever so dearly for it now. Sony is blowing its once dominant lead in the multi-billion dollar gaming industry. Last generation 60%+ of all consoles were Sony consoles. This generation however it seems that Nintendo and Microsoft have 85% of the market. (According to nexgenwars.com)
Sucks to be you Sony.

Nintendo Wii Hard Disk?

2007-06-05T14:37:00.000-07:00

According to various reports on the internet today, Nintendo may be getting a hard drive add on. This add-on hard drive for the Nintendo Wii will open up a whole load more options for downloading games.

The new hard disk is rumoured to get a world-wide look at next months E3 which starts on July 11th.

Currently the maximum amount of memory you can get is 512 MB, the problem is some games that are starting to come out require 350MB+, eating up alot of your memory. This is a rumour, but a rumour with strong motives and I wouldnt be suprised one bit if it turns out to be fact.

Halo 3 vs GTA IV

2007-06-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

What will happen this fall when Halo 3 launches weeks before GTA IV? Well according to Michael Pachter, it could cause the delay of GTA IV. Full Story Here :
Halo 3 and GTA IV have the potential to be the biggest entertainment events of the year. I think it would be smart for Rockstar to delay GTA IV or 2 reasons. A) It will help their sales out B) It will give them more development time. Whatever the case, it will be an interesting fall season in games.
Halo 3 comes out September 25th in the USA and Septemer 26th in Europe
GTA IV comes out October 16th.

SCEA Losses trimmed

2007-06-02T18:17:00.001-07:00

(<-Perhaps the only good use for a PS3?)
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced recently that their losses were 630 million bucks for Q4 (ended March 31st). This number is smaller in comparison to recent losses. A 60 GB PS3 costs around $800 to make, and sell for $600. Everytime someone buys a PS3 console, they lose 200 dollars. The more consoles that sell, the bigger the loss. So a smaller loss indicated rather poor sales. And this is supported by the fact thatthe PS3 sold only 80,000 units in the US for April. This is compared to 360,000 units for the Wii, and 200,000 for the XBOX 360. Poor Sony, if they lower the cost they will lose even more money, but if they dont lower the price then they will lose something bigger than the PS3, and thats control of the Gaming Industry. You have to feel sorry for them, what can they do? Trying to push a next generation format into the console has really created quite a mess, and scores the 8th spot on the Top 21 Tech Screw Ups of 2006. Microsoft hasnt even made that list....yet.

GTA IV limited by XBOX 360?

2007-05-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

Rockstar head honcho Dan Houser has been reported by several gaming sites as to have stated the fact that XBOX 360 is limiting GTA IV, since some units do not contain a hard drive (Core Edition). This is quite disturbing to me, because I wanted GTA IV to be the best GTA ever. And although I fully support Microsoft (hell, maybe im even a fanboy) I have to say it is time to get rid of the Core SKU. Sony has removed the 20GB version (lower end) of its Playstation 3 console, I believe Microsoft will have to do the same. Its ashame, i promised myself I would buy the XBOX 360 version of GTA IV, however with this news I may have to reconsider. One thing I have to wonder though; How is Halo 3 going to be packed into the primitive DVD format , and be able to live up to the hype surrouding it. Bungie will need a miracle I believe, to pull of something extraordinary; which they have promised.

Fried PS3

2007-05-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

My PS3, which had been running for the past 29 days straight, as finally came to its death. RIP..

Update Update Update.

2007-04-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Well alot has been going on recently. During this time, alot has happened in technology as well. First of all, I would like to report that my PS3 has been running for its 11th straight day, as apart of Folding@home. This is very impressive, considering the fact my XBOX 360 would have melted in that time span. Speaking of which, I recieved my XBOX 360 back from the repair centre, and was disappointed to see that I only recieved a refurbished unit that had a MFD of June, 2006. I was hoping for one between November-December 2006, since this date included the new DVD drive that is much quieter.
XBOX 360 Elite is set to come out on April 29th, nine days away. Unless you were lucky enough to snag one from the stores that broke release date. llama.com managed to buy a unit from a store and thouroughly examined its interior. Interesting no doubt, as it includes many new features that reduce the heat inside the box. However, it hasnt been stated wether this is a 65 nm or 90 nm chipset. Time will tell.
Finally, thoughts go out to the victimes of the Virgina Tech massacre.

Sony Ditches 20 GB PS3?

2007-04-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

It appears Sony has ditched the 20 GB version of the PS3. Although people may say this was an unfaithful decision to the (few) people who own 20 GB models, it is actually a good move by Sony (one of few). The majority of PS3 owners bought the 60 GB version, the only people who bought the 20 where short on cash, or just wanted a PS3 for that Next Generation of entertainment that no other console offers (Sarcasm). Therefor, Sony can cut costs and maybe reduce the price of the 60GB model. Either way, I dont care. All I know is I will be getting my XBOX 360 Elite.

Windows Vista: Update

2007-04-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

Well its been a few days since I've installed Vista. Initially, I was quite impressed with the operating system. However within a few days it has become slow, and freezes quite often. Interesting to note is that Im writing this post on an Apple iMac, and I must say it is light years ahead of Microsofts OS. Even if the price is higher, it is absolutley worth it.

Today In Video Games

2007-04-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

There are a few stories I thought interesting that surfaced today. The first was the revealing of a few details pertaining to GTA IV. The characters name is Niko Bellic. Another exciting detail is the fact that the game will include multiplayer. Yes MULTIPLAYER!! Also, Rockstar has announced that the game will be extremely open-ended, giving the user the ability to chose their own path. For more information, go read this months issue of Game Informer, which contains a 10 page spread with exlusive details.

Also, information was released on Bungies next game Halo 3. The Beta version of the multiplayer will include 3 maps (Valhalla, High Ground and Snowbound) and will start May 16th and end June 6th. According to Bungie, the images will be much more developed than the screenshots already released earlier, and give a good indication of the graphics that will be released in Halo 3. I suppose only time will tell.

Thanks to Monstersandcritics.com for the GTA IV spread picture, and Trustedreviews.com for the Halo 3 Multiplayer Screenshot

HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray Update:

2007-04-10T14:58:00.001-07:00

As pointed out by Michael, HD-DVD doesnt have the protective coating that Blu-Ray has, and 51 GB Triple layered HD-DVD disks arent in production yet, but are scheaduled to be soon..
Anyway.
Today top 25 sales data was released for Next Gen Formats.

As you can see, Blu-Ray has a sizeable amount of the top 25 Next Generation sales per title. However, it is still early times. As DVD is outselling both formats by more than 25:1 (Guesstimate).
So dont fret yet about that brand new collection of HD-DVD's you just bought, the format is not dead... (yet)

100 Million iPods - Wow.

2007-04-09T14:15:00.001-07:00

Apple today announced it has hit the 100 million mark with its populary iPod portable MP3 player system. Apple currently has a monopoly on the market, holding over 75% of all Portable players globally.
Microsoft has made an attempt at catching Apple, introducing its Zune last year. However with a weak marketing campaign, it is struggling to make but a dent in the iPods lead.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1

2007-04-09T08:49:00.000-07:00

Although Microsoft has pubicly announced that the first Service Pack for its next generation operating system doesn't exist, everyone is expecting it to appear soon. Many believe Microsoft will follow the path of Windows XP; releasing service packs in batches to cure any stability or bug issues. I have Windows Vista, and I find it to be an excellent operating system with huge potential. However as you can see in my earlier post, I have suffered some compatibility issues with drivers. My recommendation would be to wait until the first service pack is released for Vista. Hopefully by then the bugs and issues will be ironed out, and you can start enjoying the next generation of computing.

HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray

2007-04-09T02:35:00.000-07:00

Like many people, I am still undecided which format to chose. Both formats are the next generation of video entertainment; a replacement for the ageing DVD format. However, all the parties involved were not available to agree on which format to use. So now, we are experiencing the 1980's all over again with another format war.

Having already reviewed the results of one video format war , you can take the events of what happened there and apply them to the current format war.

The things they have in common include;

Expanded Storage Space
Revolutionary video quality
Revolutionary audio quality

The Differences include;
Difference storage amounts;
Double Layer Blu-Ray= 50 GB
Triple Layer HD-DVD= 51 GB

Price;
HD-DVD disks and players are much cheaper to produce than Blu-Ray
Industry Support;
The majority of movie makers have chosen the Blu-Ray format over the HD-DVD format.

Another interesting note is to see that Blu-Ray is outselling HD-DVD by 2:1 in the United States
but HD-DVD is outselling Blu-Ray by as much as 4:1 in the United Kingdom.

Sony Computer Entertainment is using there next generation console, the Playstation 3, as a trojan horse to get their format (Blu-Ray) to be the dominant format. So far it appears to be working, as Blu-Ray overcame a sizable deficate.

However, Sonys PS3 is not selling near as well as its predecessor, the PS2. The Ps2 has sold 108 million units and continues to beat the PS3 and the XBOX 360 in sales, 7 years after its launch.
Could this be a high price tag, lack of interest, or the beginning of the end?

Who knows, but its sure to be an interesting fight between the industry heavyweights.

XBOX 360

2007-04-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Well sadly, I must report that my XBOX 360 died last night. I called up the Microsoft help support number (1800-4-My-XBOX) and they were amazed how long it lasted, since the console was manufactured Decemeber 2005. So now I am waiting on a box to send my baby back. I suppose I'll have to stick to my PS3 for now..