Next Gen Price Wars2
Matt posted in Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii on July 21st, 2006

Next gen seems to offer the greatest spread of console pricing since the 3DO was released. How can you get the most bang for your next gen buck? Let’s look at the price points and see what you can get for it.

$200-$300
The Wii is confirmed to cost less than $250. This is absolutely no problem for Nintendo because the hardware is an incremental revision over the 5 year old GameCube console. Assuming that Wii is coming out for $249.99 (which is less than $250, and I have a feeling that they’ll release at this price despite that all their other consoles came out at $200), Xbox 360 may look mighty tempting. The problem is that if you buy the $300 Xbox 360, you don’t have any storage for your saved games. (Wii comes with 512 MB of internal flash memory). For some reason Microsoft has seen fit to charge $40 for 64 MB memory cards, which is quite expensive (Not as bad as the $30 I paid for an 8MB PS2 memory card a couple weeks ago though). For comparison, a 64 MB USB pen drive, which is basically the same hardware as Microsoft’s memory card (you can actually rewire a memory card to interface with your PC using USB) is $10 on www.pricewatch.com. So, a potential consumer concerned with price is looking at $250 vs. $340 comparing the two platforms if they want to save their games (which I think everyone does). Although traditionally, console makers make a lot of money back on the peripherals, I think Sony has the right idea allowing generic hard disks (both USB and internal, although I imagine internal 2.5” hard disks are going to be trickier to find) as well as compact flash/memory stick readers. So, that $40 memory card really hurts Microsoft for people in the budget group. If it were $300 with some sort of storage alternative vs $250, I think that would really cut into Wii’s sales with the budget gamers. Maybe Microsoft should open up their platform and allow other storage devices for saved games.

$400-$500
If you aren’t interested in either Blu-ray or HD DVD Microsoft is the clear winner in this price range because besides Blu-Ray, the $400 Xbox 360 System and the $500 PS3 console are functionally equivalent. If you’re interested in a next gen media format, the Xbox comes out behind because the 360 HD DVD add on is going to cost $200 according to quickly removed information on the Microsoft site (which unlike other Xbox 360 peripherals seems like a good deal). For $500, you could get the 360 Core System and the HD DVD add on, but you wouldn’t have the 20 GB hard disk that the $500 PS3 includes. It’s possible that Microsoft might create a new bundle where you can get an Xbox 360, HD-DVD and a hard disk for $500, but that’s unlikely.

$600
This category is the interesting one. If you are interested in all the features that Sony offers, the Playstation 3 is a much better deal. For $700, you can get an Xbox 360 premium pack, an HD-DVD drive and a Wireless Ethernet adapter (which costs $100. For comparison, you can get a wireless USB adapter that will work with the Playstation 3 for $13.59). The Playstation 3 still comes out ahead because it has HDMI and the 60 GB hard disk. Microsoft should really lower the price of their wireless adapter, or allow 360 owners to use adapters from generic vendors. Even still, there’s no way to get HDMI output on the Xbox 360, which could cripple the HD-DVD player should content providers start using iCT, which will downsample the source material if the media is played without every device that relays the signal to have HDMI (except of course the wires). There are rumors that Microsoft will release a Xbox 360 with an HDMI port on it. As much as I would love to get HDMI, I don’t know if I’m willing to buy another Xbox 360… Nintendo was pretty sneaky in actually REMOVING their HD port on GameCubes manufactured after a certain date, so maybe most consumers don’t distinguish hardware by its video out capabilities, but in the case of HDMI, it can cut the resolution in 1/4 for viewing an HD movie. (Although, that’s assuming that Xbox 360 with an HDMI port could actually display HD DVD movies at 1080p rather than 1080i)

So who gives you the best value for your money really depends on what features you want and what price range you are looking for. If you don’t care about HD and price is important to you (and you like playing games with the Wii-mote) then obviously the Wii is your best choice. But if Wii is $250 and you aren’t sold on the controller, the core pack at $300 for Xbox 360 might be tempting. Xbox 360 is the only console at the mid price range, which could prove to be the sweet spot for next gen pricing. The main downside problem with Xbox 360 is that Microsoft has a lot of markup on potentially desired upgrades (700% on the wireless adapter, 400% on the memory card and 200% on the hard disk versus the equivalent hardware prices from www.pricewatch.com), so if you don’t like what you get out of the box, you’ll have to pay quite a bit for the additional functionality. One of the great things about Playstation 3 is that if you don’t like your original configuration, you can upgrade it using PC hardware (so you don’t have to overpay for your components), but you cannot upgrade to the HDMI port, which is really bad if studios start using iCT for next gen media. Playstation 3 seems to offer the most features if you are prepared to drop $500 or $600 mostly because the Xbox 360 extra peripherals are expensive. Which one is the winner? It’s hard to say. All three have wildly varying configurations and there’s little overlap in the price points. All I know is I love my Xbox 360, and I’m looking forward to both the Playstation 3 and the Wii.

Xbox 360 Dash: What the next update should include0
Matt posted in Xbox 360, Wii on July 19th, 2006

I love the Xbox Dash. Microsoft is really turning the Xbox 360 into more than an ordinary video game console with it. They have committed to bi-yearly updates, which is really great because the platform is constantly improving and innovations/new features can be introduced over the life cycle of the product. I think everyone will agree that the ability to queue up downloads was a much needed improvement. But what other improvements are needed? Here’s my thoughts.

More Marketplace Content – Microsoft has created a great platform. I really think they should use it for more. Why not be like iTunes and create a whole new way to distribute sell TV shows in HD? I’d pay to download my favorite shows in 720p just the movie trailers they offer for free. Why not offer more movie trailers? I’m sure the movie studios would host them to get the free advertising. Plus, I can’t get enough of the “Snakes on a Plane” trailer.

Using Live Gold at a friend’s house – I wanted to play The Outfit online with my friend. The Outfit (unlike Perfect Dark Zero) REQUIRES that you have two Xbox Live Gold accounts (one for each player). We had our accounts, but we still couldn’t play. Why? Because he can’t sign in with his Live account. The only way he can do that is if he moves his Live account to my machine. The problem with that is that the next time he tries to connect his own Xbox to Live, it will delete all of his saved games as well as his Live profile. I can understand that Microsoft doesn’t want two people using one Live account, but the way it works is completely ridiculous and ruins the whole idea of Live. The whole point of Live is so you can have your gaming profile shared across games. If you can’t share your profile when you are at a friend’s house, then Live isn’t really an advantage over storing local settings on your machine. Also, I think it’s pretty lame that you HAVE to have two Live Gold accounts for games like The Outfit. I don’t know why they didn’t let you log in as a guest for the second player, but they really should have.

More Classic Live Gaming – Microsoft bought Rare. Now I’m not sure how the publishing contract worked, but I imagine they own some rights to their old IP. (I know Nintendo sued about Perfect Dark, and I believe they lost) Why not release classic Rare games through Xbox Live Arcade? Nintendo is touting their virtual console as a killer app, so why shouldn’t Microsoft steal some of their thunder by re-releasing (or doing simple remakes to avoid copyright issues) classic Rare games?  Here’s what I’d like to see: Battletoads, Killer Instinct, Blast Corps, and Banjo-Kazooie.  (Let’s hope they don’t rerelease Taboo: The Sixth Sense) If those appeared on a Microsoft platform, that would hurt one of the Wii’s big selling points. That would show that Microsoft can release some classic games that appeared on Nintendo systems. Since Microsoft has bought Bungie, why haven’t they re-released Marathon? (I don’t think Pathways into Darkness is worth re-releasing, but maybe there are some Pathways fans out there) Why don’t they get a deal with Sega also to release their classics on the Xbox 360? Sega has a deal with GameTap also, so it seems like anyone can get the old Sega IP if they pay for it… (That’s assuming Nintendo doesn’t have an exclusive deal, which they may) Nintendo doesn’t have the rights to everything that was published for the Nintendo consoles, so why not get a deal for exclusive rights to the Konami back catalog? I can’t be the only one who wants to play Contra at 720p! Why not get Capcom classics on Xbox Live Arcade? Capcom is already re-releasing everything they can think of (except the classic Chip and Dale’s Rescue Rangers and Ducktales. Those games are awesome).

Remove copy protection on saved game files – I borrowed an Xbox 360 from a friend because it took me a while to get one. (I preordered mine, but apparently, I didn’t preorder it early enough) I created my gametag and Xbox Live Gold account on his machine and started playing Dead or Alive 4. I wanted to move my saved game, so I bought a memory card. I was disappointed to find that I couldn’t transfer it to my new Xbox 360. I ended up buying a SATA Xbox 360 hard disk adapter that would allow me to transfer my Dead or Alive 4 saved games. The saved game was still tied to my Live ID, which was a bit annoying because I couldn’t use ones that I downloaded off the internet, but at least I could back up/transfer my saved games. With hard disk failure rates being what they are and how important saved game files are to some (all?) gamers, you’d think Microsoft wouldn’t prevent someone from backing up their own saved game. So, I’m fine because I bought a SATA Xbox 360 hard disk adapter, but it is relatively involved to install (it takes a PC SATA cable and an internal power plug), and if you flip the connector around, it’ll fry the hard disk because it’s a symmetrical plug (one side is power and the other is the SATA signal). Datel has made an Xsata transfer kit, which I imagine is a lot easier to use, but also costs $50 as opposed to the $10 or so I paid for my little circuit board.

VCDs – Maybe I’m the only one who likes VCDs in the United States, but VCDs are quite popular in Asia. Almost all DVD players will play them, why not the Xbox 360? If you are trying to make it an entertainment hub, I would think supporting as many formats as possible would be the way to get this point across.

Web Browser - Why isn’t there a version of Internet Explorer available for Xbox 360? You can use a USB keyboard and with HD resolutions, surfing the web won’t be so bad. It’s not an essential feature, but it’s definitely a useful one and probably one that Sony will offer on their Playstation 3 since they even offer it on the small PSP screen.

Are “Girl Gamers” hurting female gamers?9
Matt posted in The Industry on July 14th, 2006

[Update 11/15/06 - After some dialog with Vixen herself, which you can see in the comment section, I have changed my opinion. I don’t think Versus is trying to play the “girl gamer” card. I’m leaving my original post since I still feel that I had some good points although Vixen and Versus were probably a bad choice to single (double?) out.]
There’s been a few noteworthy articles this past week about the subject of women gamers. GameSetWatch describes a Frag Doll who is sick of “selling out”, so she joined with another girl gamer to start a… Well, I don’t know what it is. Website I guess? Are they competing together in tournaments? Are they going to start marketing a new line of crazy red wristband/glove thingies?

Well, whatever it is they are trying to start, they definitely put a lot of time into coming up with names, symbols, and costumes. As GameSetWatch pointed out, they awkwardly explained why they hired a photographer from Glamor Shots to take pictures of them in tight clothing and goofy wristband/glove thingies. Also, in the comments section for the GameSetWatch post, it sounds like Vixen admits that the pictures are to get them attention.

This leads me to my point. It seems like this “girl gamer” image (which VersuS in my opinion is guilty of even though they claim not to be) is very similar to the idea of booth babes. Attractive women get most men’s attention. That seems like the premise of the “Frag Dolls“, which is why Ubisoft invests money in it. Why the name “Frag Dolls” anyway? To me, “doll” isn’t a good term to apply to a woman. It’s a bit condescending in my opinion. If I went up to a woman, and said, “Hey doll!” I think I might get slapped in the face. Doll to me is like a figurine that is attractive, but there’s no mind or person behind it. Doll seems to only recognize women as objects because “dolls” are objects. Now, other people disagree. Yasmin Kafai organized the Girls ‘N Games conference, and she wrote in a soapbox about how great the FragDolls are in vanquishing stereotypes. Maybe they do that, but when she criticizes booth babes for dressing provocatively and then includes a picture of the Frag Dolls showing off some midriff and wearing the world’s shortiest skirt, it’s hard to reconcile her mixed message.

So, is the only difference between the booth babes and the booth babesque Frag Dolls the fact that Frag Dolls like video games? They are both paid to be there, and it would seem ridiculous to argue that the Frag Dolls aren’t paid to be attractive, especially when they give out shots like that. I’ve yet to see an unattractive Frag Doll. Plenty of successful male gamers are unattractive, so where are all of the unattractive yet talented female ones? I have a feeling that they aren’t invited to join VersuS or the Frag Dolls.

Why give out pictures of female gamers at all? Why choose provocative handles like “Vixen” and “Siren”? What’s wrong with “BigVideoGameFan” or “SuperAssassin”? Why not just enjoy games rather than put scantily clad pictures of yourself up on the web? UK Resistance got a press pack from the VersuS girls and commented on their pictures just as sex symbols. Regardless of whether or whether not they want that type of reaction, certainly sending out shots that are deliberately trying to be sexy is going to get reactions like that. The title of the UK Resistance article is “It’s like they’re actually asking for it”, so it’s clear that they felt like there reaction was to be expected.

I think this mentality that female gamers are sex symbols is what causes real female gamers to be alienated and turns them off. Recently, GameSetWatch mentioned how VH1 missed the sarcasm in a recent Kotaku post. The Kotaku post itself is interesting because I think it parodies how most gamers treat “girl gamers”. They are “special” and “different” and possibly sexy, so if you happen to catch one online, then it’s your chance for a virtual date with one of the few females that have something in common with you. I’m not trying to say that male gamers misconceptions are the fault of the “girl gamers”, but I’m merely pointing out that these “girl gamers” (who are models/booth babes in disguise) are hurting women’s acceptance in video games rather than helping them.

Most female gamers are just that: gamers who are female. They just want to be treated like everyone else. They play games not because they want to be a “doll” or to pick up guys, but because they genuinely enjoy them. It’s really too bad that all these booth babes/girl gamers are contributing to these stereotypes.

What I’m Excited About for the Rest of the Year0
Matt posted in Games, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii on July 13th, 2006

August
Ninety Nine Nights – I wrote a long post about how great I think Ninety Nine Nights will be, so instead of reiterating that here, check it out.

Rule of the Rose – This game is promising to not only be scary, but also some sort of psychological thriller. Regardless of how the game turns out, it seems worth playing just for something refreshingly different. Something that worries me is that Gamasutra mentions the game’s “prepubescent erotic undertones” (although they don’t go into specifics), but the trailers look like a cross between a David Lynch movie and “City of the Lost Children”, so I’m excited regardless. It definitely seems genuinely creepy instead of ghosts popping out and saying “boo!”. One thing that I have to wonder is are Japanese people afraid of children? I’ve seen the Japanese versions of The Ring, the Grudge, and Dark Water (all of which have been remade in America) and I’m beginning to think that Japanese people (at least the ones that make horror movies/games) are afraid of children.

Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus – I had to look up what a “Dirge” is, and I have no idea what Cerberus’s has to do with Final Fantasy VII, but I love RPGs and action games and this seems like a good combination of the two. I played it for a while at E3, and it seemed to preserve all the good aspects of the Final Fantasy games (items, lots of weapon customizations, pre-rendered cutscenes) with a pretty solid action shooter. On one hand, I really feel like Final Fantasy VII was a closed story and there’s really nothing more interesting to say about it, but on the other hand, I certainly loved Final Fantasy VII, and I want more because I loved the characters so much.

October
Final Fantasy XII – Although I’m not sure why the lead character looks so effeminate, and I’m frightened that the character Fran was added to cater to furries, but other than that, the art looks absolutely amazing in FF XII. The world seems completely unlike any other game I’ve played, which is definitely a good thing. I believe the team said they were using middle eastern style architecture or something, but whatever it is they are doing, it certainly looks unique. and GOREGEOUS. As far as gameplay, I played this game quite a bit at E3 2004 and was very disappointed. Combat wasn’t any fun at all. When the demo disc came out with Dragon’s Quest VIII, it was clear that this is a completely different (and better) game. I haven’t heard anything but praise for the final game and it’s new take on the traditional Final Fantasy mechanics. 

Forza Motorsport 2 – Although I’m horrible at racing sim games, and I’ve barely found time to play PGR3, I’m really excited about Forza Motorsport 2. I’ll tell you the reason. It’s being designed to use the Microsoft Wireless Racing Wheel. Although there’s really no reason it has to be wireless, it has force feedback (when you use it with the AC adapter). I have the second version of the Microsoft Force Feedback PC steering wheel, and it is ABSOLUTELY amazing! I’d play a bus driving simulation game if I got to use that force feedback. I can only imagine how great of an experience it will be with a real racing sim and an amazing force feedback steering wheel. With PC games, there are many different force feedback wheels and they all behave differently. When Microsoft releases the official steering wheel, all racing games will have one steering wheel to use in order to calibrate gameplay (and force feedback effects). I imagine developers can query whether it is a steering wheel or a gamepad, so they can tune gameplay to the steering wheel, rather than the steering wheel manufactures trying to appropriately map the steering wheel’s function to the analog joystick. So, I can’t wait for a really good steering force feedback steering wheel and the flagship title that showing it off.

Gears of War – I went into the Microsoft E3 theater not really expecting anything. I figured it’d be another lame video showing how Xbox 360 brings people together or something like that. I was way wrong. CliffyB was there actually explaining what was cool about the game and what he was trying to accomplish. Now, I think it’s cool that CliffyB was giving the demo not because he’s a “name” in the video game industry, but more because he’s the lead designer, so he should know the game better than anyone. It’s too often that you have someone who doesn’t understand the spirit of the game demoing it. For example, some of my friends recounted a story about how someone demoing Viva Pinata beat a pinata to death because it was in the way of the two pinatas that were supposed to mate. This completely violates the spirit of the game, and is a bad thing to show. For example, I can’t imagine Shigaru Miyamoto beating his Nintendog to death for a demo because it didn’t smile at him when he turned on the DS. Viva Pinata is all about growing and taking care of the pinatas on your island, and beating one to death because it was in the way, certainly doesn’t convey that. At any rate, Gears of War is trying to create a whole new style of action game based on cover. Sure, maybe that doesn’t sound appealing to you, but that’s what was so great about the demo. Gears of War may not be impressive on paper, but when you see the fluid movements that the player character can do, you’ll understand why I’m so excited about it. CliffyB showed that you could duck behind cover,  then shoot from either side or the top,  and go from either side or jump over it to get to the next cover point. He also explained his main design goal  - to make the controls simple. I wasn’t playing the game, so I don’t know how simple the controls are, but it really seemed like a lot of amazing moves happened because of the context sensitivity of the A button. I wrote in an earlier blog post about how this idea of simplified control scheme will make games more accessible to non-gamers. Anyway, this is defiintely a game to look out for.

Super Paper Mario – There hasn’t been a GameCube title I’ve been excited about for a while. I loved all the old Mario platformers, so I’m really excited about a new one. On one hand, I’d say that Nintendo isn’t really innovating gameplay by releasing another platformer similar to their NES releases, but on the other hand, those games were really fun, so I’d be happy to play a game like that again. It does sound like there’s some cool new things in this game, so we’ll see how good it is. At least it’s better than a rerelease, which Nintendo has a habit of doing.

November
Warhawk – This was the Playstation 3 game at E3 that I enjoyed the most. I thought the motion sensing worked better in this game than it did in any of the Wii games. The gameplay didn’t seem all that innovative, but the aircraft handled really well, and it was fun to fly with the tilt sensing. Sure, apparently you could play the original Warhawk with a motion sensitive controller, but I have a feeling the new Warhawk works a lot better.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess – I’m feeling quite torn about this game. Firstly, I didn’t really enjoy Windwaker all that much. It seemed like Ocarina of Time only with cell shading and sailing, and I liked the cell shading, but the sailing was really annoying. I’m worried Twilight Princess will have the same gameplay only better graphics and a few Wii minigames. But, despite my worries, I’m hoping this will be a title that really proves that the Wii input can be fun.

Sonic the Hedgehog – I love Sonic. Sonic Adventure is what sold me on the Dreamcast. That game was unlike anything out at the time. In the Mayan level, I was so amazed when Sonic was sprinting unimaginably fast through winding passageways. Sonic Adventure 2 was also amazing, and Sonic Heroes was okay. I will not speak of the abomination that is Shadow the Hedgehog. With the 15th  anniversary of Sonic, Sega is trying to return to his roots. I was super excited to play it at E3, and it was a real let down. The controls were very wonky. The newest Hedgehog, Silver, had very wonky telekinesis powers, and was difficult to platform with. That’s understandable because he’s a new character. The unforgivable sin was Sonic was also very difficult to control. Sonic has always been a bit hard to control since he goes very very fast. As much as I love the original Genesis games, I have to admit that oftentimes you run at full speed until you hit an enemy that you never could have seen. You have to collect your rings and then keep running. The main problem is the autotargeting for the jump attack is really bad. They had a section where you had to land on a small rope, and then it would spring you up, and then you had to land on the next small rope and so on. Unfortunately, the jump attack auto targeting didn’t find these ropes, so either you had to land on a narrow rope positioned in threespace, which is quite tricky, or you could hope that your jump attack would take you to it, but the several times I tried it, it took me straight into the bottomless pit. So, although the E3 demo was disappointing, I still have a lot of hope.