Nintendo Gives Wii Release Info. Fanboys Angry, Stupid
Written by Chase
It comes out on November 19 for $249.95. That’s all you really need to know. It also comes with a Wii Sports, a 1 disc game that has Boxing, Golf, Baseball, Tennis, and Bowling (I know, you hate sports. Try hating them in a more interactive way, as these sports will all have some sort of motion sensitive component). It comes with all of the necessary equipment, including a couple of batteries for the Wiimote. Cool, huh?
Except, some people are still mad.
Some fanboys are angry that Nintendo’s system releases later than Sony’s. It’s only 2 days, and you weren’t going to buy (or find) a PS3 anyway.
Some are mad about the price, either because they expected it to be lower or because it’s only 50 bucks shy of the technically superior Xbox360 Core system. Nintendo said that their system would not cost any more than $250 and they delivered on that promise. Also, it may be technically inferior to the Xbox360 Core system, but it comes with more features out of the box, including more internal storage (500 MB only, but you won’t need more for now), backwards compatibility with the Game cube, and, oh yeah, a console built around the concept of motion sensitivity, making interactive media even more interactive. If you don’t like Nintendo’s new system that’s fine – nothing’s for everyone, and I myself enjoy the occasional “Lazy Sunday” (Mr. Pibb+Red Vines=Crazy delicious. If you haven’t seen it, then you’re missing out on 3 minutes of funny. Go to Youtube.com and search for “Lazy Sunday”. doo eeit.) engrossed in a good old-fashioned video game. But, Nintendo is boldly going in a new direction. If Nintendo feels it should charge more than you think is appropriate for their new system, then that is their right. Sony sure felt it was ok to charge more than what a lot of people were expecting.
If this sounds like an endorsement of Nintendo’s product, it totally is. Then again, all three of the next-gen systems have something going for ‘em. Good luck getting your hands on one (or all J) systems this holiday season.
Summer Slump Over!
Written by Chase
Now that a large chunk of the video game playing populace is back in school, games can finally start coming out at a decent pace! One of these days I’ll have to figure out why the summer drought exists. But, it’s now behind us so check out what’s out!
Madden 2007 (all systems) – Never heard of it. I think it’s a game about lacrosse? No, wait. It’s got to be a hack n’ slash with zombies. Or is it an exercise in obtaining a stranglehold on the NFL games market? I’ll have to do some research about this one later.
Xenosaga III (ps2) – The final installment in the trilogy is supposed to be a whopper of a game. That is, as long as you’re down with reading the in-game encyclopedia to catch up with the story. I mean it – even if you’ve played the first two, you may want to brush up some. It’s quite good though.
Disgaea II (ps2)– A lot like the first one, but you can find it in stores. Really, if you’ve played and enjoy squad-based tactical RPGs that shouldn’t be a problem. It’s good stuff.
Enchanted Arms (Xbox 360) – The first “traditional” (read: Final Fantasy-like) role-playing game for the Xbox 360. Another game that doesn’t offer much that’s new, but does what it does well.
Yakuza (ps2) – Final Fight meets Grand Theft Auto… or something. It comes out this week and has been earning impressive reviews.
Saint’s Row (Xbox 360) – A blatant rip off of Grand Theft Auto (from now on, GTA is its own genre, so I can stop saying “like Grand Theft Auto.” It’s such a waste of time typing out, sort of like extended parenthesis…) that even has the same font. Apparently (I haven’t played it yet) it does many things better than the original though.
NASCAR 2007 and the new Spy Hunter, now Rock powered, are also due in stores this week, but I haven’t heard much about them yet so you’ll have to wait if you’d like my opinion forced upon you! Also, several handheld games came out like Starfox Command (DS) and Locoroco (PSP). You’ll have to come in to the store to get my (lack of) expertise on those games. You’ve read enough. Go buy something already! =)
Sony: Excellent at Pissing People Off
Written by Chase
So, I hope you weren’t holding out for a PS3. I really hope you didn’t pre-order one. Sony was already spreading themselves very thin by releasing 2 million systems at launch between Japan, Europe, and the U.S. Today, Sony announced that that number is actually smaller. They’re only going to have 500,000 systems available at the system’s launch. 400,000 of those are reserved for the U.S., 100,000 for Japan, and Europe gets bupkis. The European launch of the system has been delayed for four more months, to March 31, 2007.
For those of you hoping for a PS3 this Christmas, don’t hold your breath. Seriously, that could hurt. Assuming they’ll actually get 400,000 systems to the states on launch day (and really, do you believe ‘em?), your local stores will either be full on pre-orders, won’t get any, or will only be sold to the lucky few that camp out for a few days prior to launch (or is that unlucky…).
Sony’s still saying that they should have 1-1.2 million PS3’s in the states by the end of the holiday season, far more than the Xbox 360 did last year. But, they’re also sticking to their 6 million PS3 worldwide shipment target by the end of March. Again, can you believe ‘em?
Also, their reason for this delay 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 utilized in PlayStation 3.” Given their track records with the original Playstation and Playstation 2, and their lack of ability to competently produce parts for the PS3, can we expect a quality product when the PS3 is available? I guess that’s the, uhh, five or six hundred-dollar question.
This week there are three rumors making the rounds about the Xbox360. Only one is really big, but three is a bigger number, so there.
The first one is that Microsoft is making a specialized controller for First Person Shooter junkies. The most striking feature of this new controller is supposedly its “improved and more precise right analog stick.” That sounds pretty underwhelming. Why not just make all Xbox 360 controllers “improved and more precise”?
The next is that a rumor courtesy of HardOCP about the Xbox360 getting a “media jukebox” much like Windows Media Center PCs have. I don’t see why this wouldn’t happen, but Microsoft has yet to comment on it.
The last one is the doozy. Two websites have begun reporting without confirmation from Microsoft that the HD-DVD drive for the Xbox360 will sell for $199. Even websites that acknowledge that this is simply a rumor mention that it’s at least a good estimate, considering that if it was any more expensive, the HD DVD drive and Xbox360 premium package would be more expensive than a PS3. And that’s why this is a big deal - the PS3, which has caught a lot of flak for its price point, may really be no more expensive than the Xbox360 with essentially the same functionality. Also, this HD DVD drive supposedly won’t ship with 1080p support (high end video resolution, which the PS3 supports), though a cable will be sold separately at some other time.
Microsoft has yet to confirm or deny any of these, but if they are rumors, many agree that they’re relatively safe bets.
Phantom Entertainment Transforms Phantom Gaming Console into “Service.” Release Date? Never.
Written by Chase
Not to beat a dead horse, but I’m about to. Aptly named Phantom Entertainment recently updated their website to show that they’ve cancelled their Phantom Gaming Console. The Gaming service, however, is still supposedly in development. Now it’s to be released for PC as a software application. According to Gamespot’s interpretation, the service will “still be used to ultimately get PC games running on TVs instead of a monitor, as the website lists a “High Definition or Standard Television” among the service’s requirements.” I didn’t know this was the original intent of the Phantom. That sounds like an awful idea – the audience that wishes to play PC titles but doesn’t have the means and is technologically savvy must be incredibly small.
We can’t forget about the Phantom hardware either. The Phantom lapboard, recently pushed back from “no later than October” to “November” has a hauntingly high retail price of $129.95. If you order before October you can shave 30 bucks off of that price but I’m not sure that a single person has seen a return on their investment in the company or its products. So, you know, beware and stuff.
I can’t wait for hell to freeze over so I can see some of Phantom’s fine products!
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