And I'd agree with that if the games were priced the same worldwide, but they're not at this point. Lair and Folklore are both full price everywhere else. Terribly confusing pricing, but it's great for UK gamers. I'm just praying that similar prices come to the U.S.

Lair is just a really interesting topic at this point. So far, we've got a couple of sites who played a previous build who say that the game has some issues. By the same token, there are some sites that have received what they claim is the latest retail build and they have much different impressions, saying that it's actually a very good game. Lair is going to be one of those games that ends up having its fate determined by the hands-on impressions by consumers just after retail launch. The reviews have been too much of a mixed bag at this point. Toss in that no one knows which build the various previewers/reviewers are playing and it's really hard to take anything from them.

There is absolutely no precedent for this, Amazon sells hundreds of complete piece of shit games for full price. Given the fact it's in the market which isn't getting a price drop - I'd say it has more to do with boosting PS3 sales than game quality.

Actually online you often find the most popular games discounted heavily by sites for two reasons:

* Loss leaders, they know people shop around and so if they're 'cheap' they might get a new customer who comes back.
* They buy such games in bulk and so might get a lower deal price on them and then attempt to pass that onto customers who then feel they got a good deal and come back again.

(and yes I do have to admit I'm biased in this as FM is generally discounted online each year by the sellers and I'd prefer to think its because its popular rather than being a 'cheap coaster' ;))

Yep, it appears that TroyF wasn't correct in his assumption and that Marc Vaughan hit the nail on the head. Amazon completely sold out of both games last night. This morning, they have them back in stock and they are now listed at full price once again. It would appear that this was a 'you snooze, you lose' situation.

These last 2 weeks would have been hell on the wallet if I wasn't playing WoW with all of my time.

Bioshock
Metroid Prime 3
Blue Dragon

Stranglehold next week.

More game articles and info.......

First, Gamestop has sent out e-mails to Lair preorders that their games will be shipped on August 30th. Interesting as the game was not supposed to come out this week. Not sure if that was in error or if it will actually be shipped.

Next is an interview with NC Soft's CEO. Most interesting part that I noticed is that they will be offering both subscription-based and free MMO's for the PS3. I honestly never play the subscription-based ones, but I'd definitely give the free ones a try.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=28059

Interview with Uncharted developer discussing many of the game's features..........

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/28/pa...out-uncharted/

This month is going to be excellent for both 360 and PS3 owners. Halo 3 should obviously be added to your 360 list. Warhawk (released today), Lair, and Heavenly Sword are all coming out in the next couple weeks for the PS3. Great time to be a gamer. Makes you wonder why they couldn't spread these releases out a bit more, but we all know the reason for that.

FYI.......for those of you looking for a HD media player, there's two good offers through Amazon right now. You can purchase the 60 GB PS3 for $472 shipped with 8 Blu-ray movies. If you already own a 360, you can get the HD-DVD add-on player for $170 shipped with 8 HD-DVD movies.

The deal is a combo deal with has the standard 5 movie deal that has always been available. In addition, Amazon is tossing in 3 more HD movies from their stocks. The movies you can get through the Amazon deal include 300, Casino Royale, The Departed, and several other movies that are excellent on the HD formats.

You can find the info for both deals on http://www.slickdeals.org.

Video of Halo Wars demo now available:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24172.html

An EA developer slamming the PS3's ease of development:

http://www.psxextreme.com/ps3-news/1767.html

"The truth is the PS3’s tools and the way it works just sucks. The truth is they are both virtually the same in terms of hardware when it comes to how powerful they are, maybe the PS3 has a few different things that makes it a bit more advance, and Sony has this idea that it is designed for optimal development but that’s a load of crap. In the last generation we would make the game for PS2 and then port it over to Xbox, but because Xbox was easier to develop for, we could actually enhance the title a little if we wanted to. The case with this generation is different, now we make the game for 360 first and then port it over to PS3, but we really don’t have the time to mess with how the PS3 works to really add to much more. It will change in the future, but for now it sucks.”

Appears is a key word here. Let's see how the game plays.

Heavenly Sword looks like a keeper. I'm not sold on Lair yet.

I'm going to hold off on Metroid til I beat Bioshock at least once (maybe twice) :)

Yeah, several publications have noted that his comments show just how little effort EA has put into PS3 development. It's really not too shocking that other developers are raking EA over the coals concerning their sub-par releases on the PS3. Those developers correctly smell blood in the water and a huge door of opportunity. They openly admit that they're more concerned about ease of conversion as opposed to maximizing the potential of a game on each system.

Sales figures for EA indicate a drop in sales again this year. It seems like everyone except EA seems to understand that they need to change the way they're doing business. The only thing they've ever done right is marketing, and even that isn't having nearly the effect it has had in past years. Few businesses would tell you it's a good idea to put out negative press on any console that you publish products for. It's incredibly interesting that a console they slammed sold over 500,000 units while a console they openly supported that has 3x the user base sold 50,000 units. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that EA is making some blatently stupid moves.

Also, the fact that it's an anonymous comment from a Tiburon developer speaks volumes. I'm guessing that EA execs would have some harsh words for this developer if they ever found out who it was. Making comments like these is borderline stupidity.

No, it was incorrect. If Lair ends up being a bad game, that doesn't mean that your assertion that the price drop was because it was a bad game was correct. It just means that Lair is a bad game.

Unless you have suddenly become an executive for Amazon.com and know why the price drop was put in place, you have NO F'n idea as to why they made the move they made. Nor do I. Nor does Marc Vaughan. Nor does President Bush. All of us are making guesses. My guess is as good as anyone elses. I don't pretend to have all the answers. I have opinions and state them.

You could be right. Or you might not. Your assertion that I'm incorrect is based soley on guesswork and suppositions.

Does anybody have any idea where you can find a 360 premium version with HDMI at a retail store? I'm considering buying one, but haven't seen the new HDMI versions anywhere.

It's hit and miss. You'll have to go to the retail location and physically check the package to see if it's HDMI.

I'm going to guess that Marc Vaughan has a pretty good idea how these things work. It certainly made a lot of sense. I'm going to go with his version over your version of 'no one knows why retail outlets drop prices on products'.

That sounds like a fine plan to me. I have no problems with you siding with Marc's version. He's a smart guy. In this case, he's a smart guy with an opinion.

See how simple that is? We agree to disagree. I don't need to pretend I have all of the facts and you don't need to pretend you have all of the facts because neither of us do.

Aint life grand.

I know that amazon and dell both have that specific sku, of course it's not "retail."

Like i was saying in the other thread, if you want to export hdmi into your tv, and then run audio via optical into your receiver, your best bet is going to be the elite instead of the HDMI premium.

Can you do that and still get audio out of the TV? I don't always want to have to turn my receiver on, especially since it is one hot mo-fo.

And I don't really want to have to buy the Elite. 450 plus 100 for a wireless connection is outrageous. $550 before you even get your first game? And then $50 for a gold Live account. And I'd buy two games, so we're looking at a cost of $720 right off the bat.

That's incrediby steep. I had a very profitable trip to Vegas last weekend, so I'm considering it, but it's probably still too pricey for me.

I may be totally off here, but isn't HDMI both a video and audio input? I know that DVI is video alone. I thought the difference was that the HDMI included audio. If that's the case, then you shouldn't need a receiver. Otherwise, I'm totally off. :)

I don't have an HDMI input on my receiver, so I would hook my 360 to the TV using HDMI, but would still want to send my audio to my receiver using the adapter. What sometimes happens with doing that though is the TV isn't able to play the sound through HDMI. The audio signal is usually sent through one or the other but not both.

My DVD player works like that, and you have to change a setting on the DVD player's menu to tell it which signal to send. Which sucks, because I'd like to be able to have just the TV on playing sound when my son is watching one of his kiddie movies, but when I want to have true surround sound, I'd have to change some settings to get it to go through my receiver.

Ah, makes sense. I had mine hooked directly into the TV until I recently got a HDMI receiver.

Preview for PES 2008. This one is going to be a must-buy for me. Can't wait for it to come out.

http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3.../816313p1.html

Another great game on the way........Silent Hill 5. Always have enjoyed this series. Good article about some of the game's features.........

http://silenthill5.net/2007/08/27/si...m-article.html

Apparently, even with the price cut and all the X360 problems, the PS3 is still behind the XBox360 in monthly sales.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3162365

Actually, the piece of news in there that caught my eye was this:


Anyone hear more of this? I'd much rather buy this for the PS2 than buy a 360 or PS3 just for the game. But is it only coming out for the PS2 in Europe? And it's not guaranteed that PS2 users have a HDD... I would guess that most don't. So how does downloadable content fit in (as compared to the Wii)?

I heard a rumor that the European-only version of Rockband has a much smaller music library to choose from, with the majority of songs coming from "Best of Falco" Vols. 1 & 2.

Please tell me you're joking.

Why would anyone joke about something as majestic as Falco: Vol. 1 and 2??????

You could always buy a reciever that can handle HDMI

PS2 was huge in Europe, and the PS3 and Xbox 360 are more expensive over there thanks to the exchange rate.

I think it's more like EA's hedging their bets from a financial perspective than really worrying about Guitar Hero.

Could you be anymore blatantly ignorant and unwilling to admit you're wrong on this subject?

Everything says this isn't the case (precedent, other stores, the fact that the games are back to full price, and a guy who has video game sales knowledge to name a few) and you're still trying to sugar coat it your way.

Stuff like this is what makes these threads embarrassing.

One of my big frustrations right now with consumer electronics is that I have a DVD player, an Xbox 360, and an HD cable box, all of which could potentially use HDMI output (my 360 doesn't 'cause it is older, but would if I rebought it now). And yet most TVs or receivers handle 2 HDMI inputs. The TVs I can live with, but I have yet to find a sub-$1000 receiver with 3 or more HDMI inputs.

Basically you get sound from both sources, the TV and the receiver. I mean, you can buy the optical output thing, but it's 50 bucks separately(comes with hdmi cord). If your TV does optical out, well then I think you'd be okay as well.

It's not a big big deal to me, as the component looks okay, although i'd like to be able to upscale dvd's via hdmi.

I'm really hopeful that the number of HDMI inputs will increase on receivers and prices will go down as more HDTV's, next-gen consoles and HD media players get into the homes. I'd like to add a home theater to my home in a year or two. I really don't want to give up an arm and a leg to get that done completely with HDMI.

I just bought a cheaper Onkyo home theatre for now with 3 component ins, and hopefully in 4-5 years the HDMI version will be affordable. For the room i use it in, it's more than loud enough and it sounds pretty good.

Do you know if Europe and Japan will be getting the games months ahead of the US like in prior releases? If not I would be tempted to import.

On the PS3 I know you can play Japan games in a US/Europe console, US/Europe games on a Japanese console, does the PAL format or anything like that prevent a US PS3 playing a European version game or do games from all three regions work in all three regions?

I would rather import from Europe due to language concerns but would have no problem getting the Japanese version if it came out months earlier...

Got a 60 GB PS3 from Sony in the mail today.

Guess it's time to start adding upcoming PS3 games to my GameFly account. The only two I know for sure I want to play this fall are Ratchet and Folklore, though.

Tough life you live..

Last I checked, I was allowed to have my own opinions. I didn't try to "spin" anything my way. I've stated my opinion. You think it's idiotic. Fine. I can live with that. If you can't, I have 4 words of advice for you: Put me on ignore.

It's a struggle.

Well, they did have a whole bunch lying around that they were trying to push through the channel but weren't moving all that fast even after a major price cut :D

I just opened it up.

It's a debug unit they sent me.

:eek:

I'm actually contemplating breaking down and buying a PS3 this week. My PS2 being fritzy all of a sudden (go figure, I had to say how bomber it's been and it starts going funny), and I'm hoping to get one while they maintain the hardware backwards compatability.

I am such a sucker.

/tk

Just another few points on this to close my end out:

1) With apologies to Marc, I cannot remember a single time an FM game has been slashed over 50% off before it was released. I've seen slight cuts, but never that drastic.

2) I'm not sure how I'm making this thread embarrassing because of my opinion on this. I haven't said "Don't buy this game, it's gonna suck" I haven't said "this is a PS3 game, so it certainly sucks" It's been the opposite. I don't like what I'm seeing from the game (a late scratch on the release date, a major distributor slashing the prices by over half, horrible PR on the web sites I've read) But I'm hoping all of that is wrong. I WANT the game. I WANT to fly around on a freakin dragon and set things on fire. I can't think of a better idea for a video game.

It's not like I own 1 console and spend my time commenting on the other two. It's not like I refuse to play games on one console or that I wish any of them fail. I'm one of the only people commenting in this thread that owns all three systems. The more good games released, the happier I'll be.

Even if you think my opinion on this makes me nuttier than a Snickers bar, I think it's a rare thing for me in these threads. If you disagree with that, I STRONGLY urge you to throw me on ignore, cause we just won't get along.

This is always the argument used online, 'it's just my opinion, throw me on ignore if you don't like it'. Okay, I didn't see that one coming... And fyi, I wasn't saying your opinion was embarrassing, just the total unwillingness to admit you were wrong when there is nothing other than your 'opinion' backing it up and everything else pointing to opposite (and you're not the first to do it in these threads).

Anyway. Has anyone found the new 360's readily available yet?

I'm tempted to sell my 360 and a few games and pick up the newer model a week or two later if it would help curve the lock up issues I have basically with all the EA games (Madden and NCCA are virtually unplayable) and the occassional freeze with the rest of the bunch.

New as in the ones with the new chip? I don't think they've started selling/distributing those yet. The ones with the HDMI are hit or miss if you walk into stores...

/tk

:D

SI

To be fair, this is from the studio that seems to have the most idiotic programmers in the industry for someone as large as they are. This is the only group that couldn't figure out how to eliminate lag times on the Gamecube, for instance. Or has a plethora of bugs... in console games. Never mind the fact that they figured it was just easier to cough up money for exclusivity than actually work to improve games. So, let's take it with a grain of salt.

SI

That's just it, I haven't been proven wrong yet. Just because 5 people disagree with my opinion doesn't mean I'm off base. I have no issue admitting I'm wrong, but just because Marc said so doesn't make it wrong. (no offense Marc, you're still my favorite game developer) If you have facts from inside the Amazon board room, please post em. If not, say my opinion is idiotic, but don't act as though you have the golden opinion and can't be disagreed with.

As for the new 360's, they aren't in the retail chain yet. My guess is they'll be in stores for fourth quarter. I'd say that in all probability you are looking at October.

This may have been covered in another thread (July console sales numbers, etc.), but how do you have the numbers for August when August isn't done yet?

Basically the thread pops up in, say, August with the July numbers.

It's really weird nomenclature, but that's how they've been named so far. shrug.

No, that only started in the last couple of threads - usually they've been named correctly.

I changed the title to make it semi-correct and make it thoroughly confusing all at the same time. :)

For those that have a PS3 and enjoy multiplayer gaming, Warhawk is a must-buy. I put in a couple of hours last night and really had a blast. I'm not sure I'm all that good at it, but I had fun even when I was getting blasted away. I've also been really happy to see no lag in the gameplay, as it was a pretty major problem in the beta.

The reviews have been very good, with most being in the 8.5-9.0 range. I purchased the downloadable version for $40 as I already had a Bluetooth headset. Download size is around 800MB.

I really love that you can use the bluetooth on the PS3. Overall, the PS3 looks to be the more rock solid console in terms of construction, noise, hardware features. MS just destroys them on the software end. Better software, better online experience, easier menus, etc. Still think Sony has fallen to far behind to catch up at this point, but we'll see what they do.

As for Warhawk, I only see two reviews at gamerankings. One a 6.5, the other an 8.5. The 8.5 review is interesting to me, read the last line:

understand that Warhawk is engaging, addictive, reasonably long-lasting fun. It's just not quite $40 worth.

This is one of those things that drives me nuts about review scores. An 8 to 10 game should be well worth the money you paid for it, the best of the best. A 7 game should be a solid, well above average game with a few flaws. A 4-6 range should be an average game with the severity of the flaws determining the range. 3 or under should be essentially unplayable garbage.

Here we have a guy who reviews a game at 85% and it's not quite worth the $40. Are you kidding me?

Nothing against the game. It's one I will probably pick up at some point. First I have to work my way through Bioshock and Metroid and then maybe actually play Madden a bit more. The game looks pretty fun though.

When is Ace Combat 6 coming out for the 360?

Metacritic.com has 6 reviews up so far (http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps3/warhawk). Only one review was scored lower than 80, which is the one you cited. The praise/criticisms on the reviews in general are pretty valid.

It's definitely not a 6.5 game by any stretch. Their main complain was that it was too expensive for an online only game. They cut $20 off the price and tossed in a very well reviewed headset into the retail version. If that's not good enough, wait for a price drop, but it's not a reason to render a bad review. Gameplay should be the major consideration and it's well done in Warhawk.

Don't doubt it at all. From everything I'm reading, it sounds like a 7 to 7.5. Good, solid game, but not a classic either.

Price isn't a consideration for me personally. The issue for me is time. I still have about half of Bioshock to go through and then Metroid will be up. That's probably another 20-30 hours worth of gaming (or more). By the time I'm done with them, it'll be close to Heavenly Sword and the hockey games. 2 weeks after that it's Halo 3. A week after that it's NBA2K8 and PGR4.

Add into this the fact that a good % of weekends and nights will be eaten up for football and it's simply a game that came out at the wrong time for me.

Alright there, Captain Fuzzy Math. :)

Sony released a statement that states that the warehouse supply of the 60 GB machines is now gone. Only retail chains now hold the remaining stock. Statement also hints that a price drop on the 80 GB machine may occur in the near future.............

http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=131768

Read my opinion of reviews above. I don't care that the guy rated the game as an 8.5, I care that he stated it wasn't worth the $40. In my mind that's a 7 to 7.5. (and that isn't the only one of the 6 reviews to state that)

If we want to get into semantics, I notice you said that most sites have the game as an 8.5-9.0 game. If by 3 of 6 sites having it scored like that is "most", you are correct.

I'm sure the game is good. But it doesn't look like it's "classic" good. To get into the Bioshock, Metroid, Heavenly Sword, hockey game battle, it's going to take better than that.

If the PS3 were my only gaming system, this game would be purchased tonight. It's not, so it won't. :)

Here's the scores thus far that I've got. Certainly not anywhere close overall to the 7 that you claim (which it should be noted that you haven't even played). The numbers speak for themself............

Warhawk:

PSM3 90/100
Yahoo Games 4/5
IGN 8.8
Ripten 8.7
Game Informer 8.25
GamePro 4/5
EGM 8.5, 7, 8.5
Edge 8/10
Gamereactor 7/10
PSM 6.5/10

Not to take sides, but it would make sense to "normalize" review scores before talking about them. A review of 8/10 means a much different thing for a company which reviews games between 6-10 and a company which uses the full 1-10.

Just throwing that out there before you guys go through too much review-score math.

Hence the reason I cited Metacritic (82 overall). I agree that it's still a somewhat imperfect art, but it gives a general score that can be compared to games that were reviewed using similar methods. Anything above 80 on Metacritic is a pretty good score for a video game.

We can quibble over a point here or there, but his implication that the game is a 7 without having even played the game when the general review scores are at least a point higher, is way off. If I came on here and said that Bioshock was likely an 8 based on some stuff I read in the reviews that rated it a 90 but said some critical things about the game, I'd get lynched by this group. It's a stupid comment with no basis whatsoever, much like his comment critical of the Lair price drop.

why yall aint playin stuntman ignition man! yall arguing over some game wit a damm dragon and yall ignorin tha hottest game to drop since wii cookin mama

man 4get yall. imma go home tonite and jump over some lava on my bike. holla!

aight peace

Are you just trying to pick a fight or are you daft? I stated multple times that I don't give a damn what the score is because the review gives me a better idea. When a guy rates a game at 8.5 and then says it isn't worth the $40 he spent on it, I don't personally rate the game at an 8.5. I explained, in pretty solid detail, how I score games. If you score the game a 15 out of 10 and end your review by stating "it's not worth the money," I slide your score down to a 7. Understand? Do you need it spelled out more clearly than that? Should I put a spotlight up in the sky?

I've stated my reasons. Disagree with those? Great. Make a case against me. Don't post review scores after I've already told you why I think some of them are wacked.

For the record, I've also stated I'd buy the game if it wasn't for so many good games out now or if I owned only one system. I'm not bashing the game by saying it's a 7 to 7.5 on my scale. On MY scale that's a pretty darned good game that's worth a look. I apologize that my scale isn't in line with yours and that you didn't take the time to read why I have differences with review scores of a lot of gaming sites. I'll make sure to bold that opinion and put it in 40 point font next time so you see it.

:D :D

Uh, the dragon game is Lair, not Warhawk.

man all them games is the same. i dont see yall jumpin lava and shit. stuntman ignition 4 lyfe

Some clarification regarding Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. It will not be a free download as previously reported by gaming sites. Also, there is an advantage to getting the retail version of the game as it will have damage modeling, whereas the PSN version of the game will not. 16 player online racing will be available.

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/816/816592p1.html

I don't know Troy, when I take those numbers and average them I don't get a 7 either.





;) :D

Sometimes I think these threads are just for folks who like to argue.

Back on topic a bit....
:p

Does anybody know if the 80 GB PS3's that they're selling right now still have the chip in them that makes the PS3 backwards compatible with older PS games? I can't remember what the chip is called, but basically it allows hardware compatability instead of relying on it in software.

Help?

/tk

Only certain people.

Luckily that the review didn't say the game was worth a $1000 and Amazon still did a 50% price drop.



TK - the way I understood it is that the 80gig has software emulation instead of the ee chip to cut cost.

dola

yeah here is the link confirming it.


http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3160917

The 80 gig does not have the emotion engine chip.

1) You are correct. No emulation chip.
2) You read as well as Mizzou. Congrats.

Yeah, I know that terpkristen was considering purchasing a PS3 soon. From what I've seen, the disbursement of the consoles vary pretty wildly. Some stores have quite a few 60 GB PS3's while others only have a couple available. Best to act sooner rather than later if you want the 60 GB with the Emotion Engine.

Additionally, Sony is reportedly paying less for the 80 GB HDD than they were for the 60 GB HDD. They secured a bulk rate for the drive that is actually better from a cost perspective than the 60 GB HDD counterpart. So even if they do drop it to $499 once the 60 GB machines run out, they're still making a larger profit margin than they were selling the 60 GB machine due to the HDD and EE savings.

My PS2 love makes me want to get a PS3, but my brain tells me it still only has a couple games that I want to play on it...

yea dog u need to get stuntman ignition aight u can jump LAVA and shit (smily face shit here) i recomend

My PS2 starting to make funny noises I can't track down after opening it up and not playing games right (random resets) is what's making me lean that way. And I know my local BB has 60 GB's in stock, sounds like I'm getting me one of those...

/tk

The system itself is rock solid. Sony will eventually get games out for it. As of now, it's a pretty pathetic lineup. I don't think you'll regret purchasing it, it's just a matter of when you want to take the plunge.

My opinions:

360 -

Positives - Great games. Live is terrific. Best controller IMHO.
Negatives - Can'ts save via USB. Can't really do anything via USB. Loud. Systems have had problems.

PS3 -

Positives - System rock solid and quiet. BluRay if you are into movies. Built in wireless. Free online play. USB and bluetooth as well as ease of changing HDD.
Negatives - Software lineup a joke for a system that's been out for this long. Online is clunky. I don't like the feel of the six axis at all. Will buy a third party one at some point.

Wii -

Positives - Innovative. FUN. Great for the entire family.
Negatives - Need more games. Sports games will be prettier on the other two consoles.

Knowing what I know now: Assuming I had money for one console RIGHT NOW, I'd go 360 if I were an FPS/Sports game fan, WII if I had a family. The PS3 simply doesn't have the software to compete yet. It will at some point, but I have no idea when that'll be.

Oh. And wanted to thank those that responded, I had thought that the 80 GB version didn't have the chip, but couldn't go to a gaming site to confirm from work.

Thanks!
/tk

Don't worry Troy, I get the whole "Reviewer gives score X, but the actual text of the review doesn't back that up, sounds more like score Y, so where did score X come from?" point.

Yeah, if I didn't have a 360, I would have broken a long time ago. :)

Basically, my dilemma with PS3 is I want the EE chip in there, but want to wait for a price drop. Unfortunately, those 2 demands are destined never to cross paths. I thought about the Sony deal that some folks are using, but we are about to buy a house, and I don't want to be opening a new line of credit that might hurt my credit score just to get a cheaper PS3.

Had to return the PS3 to Sony. It wouldn't...well...do much of anything. Apparently it was a non-working unit that got returned by another outlet, and instead of getting sent to wherever they repair them, it got...sent to me.

¬¬

So it's gonna be a couple more days before I'm up and running. But hey, I'm fairly sure I have a PSN ID now. I just can't USE it yet.

What morons!

Ah, so maybe life isn't so charmed ;)

SI

It's a struggle.

You get what you pay for. Free=not working. :)

New HD trailer with gameplay up for Unreal Tournament 3.........

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24261.html

I found this comment to be very intriguing. You do know that the 360 at the same point in its console life had roughly the same number of releases, right? If you think that it's brutal that companies don't have enough games ready for their release window and that's your point, then we agree.

Also, the Wii, which has been the console of choice for bad ports, only has 14 more titles than the PS3. For as many bad ports as the Wii has received, it still doesn't have many more titles than the PS3 which you mentioned to some extent.

This should produce some interesting discussion. Took some time to do some gaming research based on game scores on Metacritic.com. First the raw numbers on number of games in each system that fall in the given score ranges.......


Some thoughts on those numbers using an assumption of 70 or higher as our line between solid games and the bad games:

-Looking at the percentages, the PS3 has 61% of it's games rated 70 or higher. The Xbox 360 has 52% of its games rated 70 or higher, which given the sheer quantity of 360 games available, is a very good number. The Wii has 33% of its games rated 70 or higher, which is absolutely stunning. That's basically saying that if you randomly pick a Wii game out of a bag of all games available for the Wii, there's a 2 in 3 chance that you're going to pull out a below average game or worse.

-Looking at the 'stinker' category (less than 50), the Wii stands out in a bad way as well. The 360 has 6% of its games that were under 50, while the PS3 came in at 7%. The Wii has an unbelievable 17% of its games that came in with a score of 49 or less. That's a lot of bad games for a system this early in its life.


My next thought was that the Wii proponents would quickly point to the exclusive titles on the Wii. After all, most of them purchase Nintendo consoles for the Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and other Nintendo properties. So I tried to isolate those figures by putting together a list of the exclusive titles for each console and averaging those scores......


The Wii exclusive average was WAY below the figures for the PS3 and 360. There's always going to be bad games on any given console, but the difference in scores between the Wii exclusives and the other two systems was obvious. The lack of good quality titles on the Wii extends to exclusives and is not just a issue due to bad ports from other systems.

Some interesting numbers to ponder. It will be interesting to see how they change over time.

I'm not only talking # of games, though that's some of it. I'm really talking about not a lot of GOOD games. A lot of the good, highly rated games out for it have been out for the 360 for a year before hand. (Oblivion for example) For a system to be out over a year and have one single A+++ title? Horrific. (BTW, I'm assuming that title is Resistence, which means the score is well worth it)

Some thoughts on your list above:

The first is a question. Did you remove the arcade games from the equation? A majority of the "dog" scores are going to arcade games for all systems. It's not really fair to be putting Missle Command in the same category as a $60 title.

1) Doesn't surprise me. Remember, the Wii was the surprise system. Nobody expected it to do as well as the others. The amount of bad games is staggering and it is something they need to fix, but it isn't the end all either.

3) The overall scores don't surprise me either. It goes in perfectly with what I was saying yesterday. The 360 has the same exact number of titles in the 6 and 7 range and only a slight decrease in the 8 range. Ditto for the PS3, which actually has more titles in the 8 range than the 7 or the 6. You see a monster drop at 5 for the PS3 and 360. My personal scale is more difficult than what is up there. For one, I think there are a hell of a lot more 5's for the 360 than that. I also think there are less 8's and 7's.

When you wipe out the arcade games, you'll see very few actual games are getting below a 6. You start going trhough the list and you see that there are some games that have no business with the scores they have. F.E.A.R. for the 360 with an 85? Are you kidding me? Table Tennis from Rockstar at an 81? I've played the game, I understand the physics were kind of cool. . . but an 81? 28 sites gave the game an 85 or above. 39 sites gave Call of Duty 3 for the 360 an 85 or above.

I'm sorry, that's insanity. The game was decent, but it wasn't a must buy, gotta have title. I just have a far different way I grade games than other people. 8/9/10 are reserved for the very, very best in my world.

It's why I read the text of the reviews instead of just looking at a score. Goes back to our conversation yesterday. The guy rates a game at 8.5 and then says it isn't worth the $40 he paid for it. Sorry, I'm sliding that score down for my use instantly. Just me. :)

BTW: IGN just did a review of Heavenly Sword and raked it over the coals pretty hard. Gave it a 70. Said it was repetitive and short. (though they liked the graphics) I hope to God they are wrong. I'm buying this on day one and do not want it to be that bad.

New info on the price drop earlier this week on Amazon UK. They're now sending out e-mails stating that the Folklore and Lair prices were a pricing mistake and that all orders will be cancelled. Guess that clears up that discussion.

PS3 Eye shipping date has been announced as October 23rd. It will be $59.99 and will be bundled with the 'Eye of Judgement' card game.

Several retailers are insisting that Lair will ship in the U.S. tomorrow (August 31st).

Yes, it does clear it up. Thank God.

I'll continue to assert that a retailer who slashes a game over 50% before it's release is either:

1) insane
2) knows something the general public doesn't and hopes to create quick sales.

If it were $5 off or included in a PS3 package, I can understand it. Over 50%? Let's just say I don't think Amazon is insane. They know what their pricing means and if they truly slashed a price by that amount, there would have been a reason for it.

The arcade games for both the PS3 and 360 are included in the list. However, it doesn't really affect the overall rankings if you take them out. The overall rankings if you take them out is that the Wii ends up with roughly the same overall curve as far as scoring. The PS3 and 360 overall scoring curve actually increases if you take out the arcade scores, but they both end up having similar overall scores when compared to each other. So the end result of the data gathering is still the same.

To some extent, I think it's fair to leave the games in there. Many of the XBLA games scored in the 75-80 range, so they're certainly not dragging the 360's score down. Similarly, the PSN has several exclusive titles that should definitely be included. The change in score by excluding the arcade games is very minimal relative to the overall picture, but a good point to make just for clarification of the numbers.