GamersVue

Yeah, ok.. so like this is a little late.  But the [The Wall Street Journal] has confirmed a price cut to the Xbox 360 PRO model down to $299.    So now there’s no excuse if you don’t own one.

[T3] is reporting some juicy gossip about the next XBox from Microsoft.  To just point out a few features:

1) 3rd Quarter of 2009 release date.

2) The new ‘Valhalla’ Chipset to allow for a slimmer and trimmer box

3) no word about the Blu-ray drive…

the interesting thing about this is  that all the rumors just seem to be a rehash of all the current rumors that have been floating around for ‘upgrades’ to the 360.  Though an ‘09 date would make sense because of the 7 year 360 life cycle.

Well it’s been an interesting couple of days, with the leaked list of XBL updates slated for spring to Microsoft flat out saying they one this generations battle with Sony…    let’s see what’s going on shall we?

[Xbox360 Fanboy] as posted that Stubbs the Zombie (Wideload games) and Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (Midway) are coming to XBL as Xbox Originals slated for release to XBL on May 19th (2008)   The [Xbox360 Fanboy] is also reporting that Microsoft expects the 360 to have a 7 year life span (better then the 10 year PS3)
so that leaves us with 4 years.. so in about 2-3 years we should see the next 720.
but it won’t be next year according to [Engadget]. 

According to the [SeattlePi] website along with a metric butt ton of other blogs and sites, the Xbox 360 have just barely beat out the PS3 in unit sales, mostly becasue of GTA sales.  Of course this really is only in America.  The XBox hasn’t sold well at all in Japan, and for some reason our European friends like the PS3 over the Xbox. (which I still do not understand)

Now [GameTap] is saying that the Microsoft now holds the crown for the first ‘10 million sold’.  According to Don Mattrick (the Xbox ‘boss’) 

“History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry,”

Well I don’t remember that myself personally..but 10 million isn’t bad. drop in the bucket next to the Wii.. but not bad.

the weird thing about this is that there are 12 million LIVE subscribers.  Now if you’ve sold 10 million, but have 12 million subscribers.. how is that possible?

QJ.NET has a [nice post] about the possible updates to the Xbox 360 and LIVE for the spring update.

The rumor list includes (Remember this is only a RUMOR list)

Xbox LIVE

1. Option to delay sign-in to Xbox LIVE upon booting console (to allow user to set Online Status).
2. Option to promote Child Account from Family Settings.
3. Disallow Child Accounts (over 1 to override Family Settings by launching Privacy Settings through a title.
4. Option in Family Settings for Child Accounts to enable child-oriented/non-mature advertisements.
5. Introduce a group chat (4) for Private Chat and conferences through Video Chat.
6. Support to indicate media being watched to gamercard status (video content from Marketplace only).
7. Extend height for Bio field in Personal Profile, easier navigation through text.
8. More fields present in Personal Profile - recent achievements, interests, games, movies, links, custom section.
9. Compact Personal Profile for new fields (navigating to field will open it up).
10. Mandatory option to delete duplicate titles from gamercard (excludes Games for Windows - LIVE). User disconnected from Xbox LIVE when booting any title until action complete.
11. Option to remove payment information from gamertag.
12. New payment methods for international users.
13. Download History on Account Management better organized - games, genre, type, download date, miscellaneous.
14. Long descriptions of items on Marketplace can be scrolled using right stick.
15. Better organization of free content on Marketplace.
16. Option to ‘ping’ when testing connection.
17. Allow re-connection to Xbox LIVE if Ethernet cable is re-inserted whilst powered on.
18. New strip colors available to developers, staff gamercards.
19. New corner icon available to ambassadors.
20. Re-introduce Messages button for Inside Xbox updates only.
21. Option to store up to 10 messages permanently on server (excludes invites, status messages).
22. Increase character limit for text messages between friends only.
23. Option to disable invites from non-friends or all players.
24. Option to disable invites from titles not on gamercard (excludes demos).
25. Option to have smaller items moved up in Active Downloads.
26. Automatically re-connect to Xbox LIVE if disconnected unexpectedly (set intervals).
27. Option to download gamer picture (if available) from a gamercard being viewed.
28. Display random tips to replace static text on Xbox LIVE and Games blades.
29. New button on Marketplace for optional dashboard features - uses Storage Device memory.
30. Option to donate Microsoft Points to anybody with a Windows Live ID.
31. Option to purchase Membership for charities (includes benefits).
32. Integrate file-sharing for selected titles on Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows - LIVE.
33. Disable notifications to friends of user repeatedly signing into service (set period).
34. Option to see ’snippet’ of text message in notification.
35. Windows Live Mail integration - includes support for Xbox LIVE Vision.
36. Web feeds integration - text, images, audio. Includes support for specific item codes on Marketplace.
37. Option to display gamer picture or standard picture as display picture in Windows Live Messenger.
38. Support for headset, Xbox LIVE Vision in Windows Live Messenger.
39. Support for limited ‘winks’ that display on dashboard interface. Option to disable ‘winks’ and ‘nudges’ added.
40. Notifications separate from Windows Live Messenger to Xbox 360 notifications.
41. Disable multiple languages from being used in any Xbox LIVE editable fields.

Games

1. Option to delete titles from gamercard with 0 gamerscore and 0 achievements (excludes some titles that will be re-added to launch another title).
2. Organize My Games at the Games Library section better (includes disc-based titles) - sort by genre, platform (Games for Windows - LIVE), percentage completion.
3. Support to display friends leaderboards for disc-based titles.
4. Show dates of an achievement unlocked when comparing.
5. Preload Games Library upon dashboard bootup for faster access.
6. Game updates now shown as items in Memory, increased amount of updates on Storage Device.
7. Option to delete game updates, removed ‘cheat code’ as no longer needed.
8. Support for more titles to display banner when accessing guide in-game.
9. Option to re-introduce awarded gamer pictures from titles that do not have their own re-introduce feature (requires saved game).
10. Disable gamer pictures from being awarded from trials.
11. Support for titles to store installation data on Storage Device for faster loading.
12. Synchronization to achievements offline/online that were deleted and then re-added from developers.

Media

1. Option to hold LT and RT for rewinding/fast-forwarding video content.
2. Option to delete individual music tracks from storage device.
3. Option to rip music CD at different quality.
4. Copy non-protected files (pictures, music, videos) from USB storage devices, CDs and computers to proprietary storage devices.
5. Support for menu, top-menu features on video content downloaded from Marketplace.
6. Section added for audio delivered through feeds (podcasts). Option to stream, download to Storage Device.
7. Support added for video titles/description to gamercard status.

Dashboard/Miscellaneous

1. Option to navigate quickly out of several menus back to respective blade home (applies to Games, Media, System).
2. New blade trim styles added.
3. Introduce expanded Inside Xbox as a portal to news, weather, entertainment, help and community features.
4. New sounds for various functions (notifications, blades, navigation).
5. Calibration options for display/sound.
6. Calibration options for motion sensor devices.
7. New effects for Xbox LIVE Vision and dashboard background.
8. Disable changing of Theme when on Memory to prevent ‘hanging’.
9. Preload recent, limited items upon dashboard bootup on Memory.
10. Faster loading of Themes section on guide.
11. Option to see what items will not work offline due to DRM license changing from Memory.
12. Option to automatically associate new DRM to items downloaded for free.
13. Indicate ‘charging’ status on guide when Play & Charge kit is connected.
14. Option to change text colors on guide to better contrast some backgrounds.
15. Language improvements.
16. Word censor updated for fields.
17. Privacy Settings/Family Settings updated for new features.
18. Voice, picture messages can be read at Xbox.com (Gold accounts).

So I read something this afternoon that just pissed me off.  James Rivington [submitted an article] to TechRadar.com with a different view (vue?) on the Xbox 360 sales press release that Microsoft posted a little while ago.

The press release from Microsoft UK stats:

“Gamers have voted with their wallets, and the results are in. The Xbox 360 version of ‘Grand Theft Auto IV’ has sold more than 100,000 copies, or 20 per cent more than the PlayStation 3 version in the UK since the game’s release last Tuesday 29 April.”

The article is filled with negative wording like:

• “Microsoft is attempting to use GTA as a PR exercise to boast (and lie) about the Xbox 360 console”
• “We received an unbelievable and outrageous press release today from Microsoft UK”
• “Lies, all lies!”
• “The release then sees Microsoft rambling on and on, mostly just patting itself on the back about selling more copies”
• “Please excuse me briefly while I pause to be sick.”
• “It’s all a load of smoke and mirrors nonsense.”
• “This is an absolutely textbook example of a big company spouting a load of dingo’s kidneys in order to promote itself.”

Sorry, man, you come across like a fanboy pulling crap like that, and I expect more from TechRadar then to listen to fanboy rant.

You can prove anything you want with statistics.    It’s all load of ‘Dog Kidneys’

Besides that all the numbers are skewed because  no one tracks the number of units out the door of a store (IE the number really BOUGHT.. not given away or promos and such).  It’s the number of units shipped from the publisher.  So there’s no way to tell really HOW many PS3’s or 360’s are really out in the market.. let alone how many games have really been sold. 

The only thing those numbers really show is that the PS3 version and 360 are both selling well, and Rockstar is making a killing.

Beyond that, we’re all used to that kind of marketing.  It’s the same crap that Sony has been pulling all along with the PS3.  But it doesn’t matter, the PS3 has RIDGE RACER!!!!!!!!   

Well here’s something you don’t see everyday.  According to the [Reuters article], Rockstar is suing the Chicago transit Authority for pulling GTA4 bus ads down early.

Hmmm, looks like Rockstar is pissed that Titan Outdoor LLC violated it’s $300,000 contract by not running the GTA 4 posters for the full time of the contract.  However, the juicy bit here is that is seems the ads where pulled after a FOX News affiliate asked why the ads where being allowed to run after the wave of violent crimes in the Chicago area.

Now I’m let wondering, when do we follow what a news affiliate says?!  it’s already been proven that gaming does NOT make you violent, as long as the ads are/were still using the stylized cartoonish look then who cares?

it’s just a game people, the movies SAW and Hostel had SO MUCH more violence and graphic violence then GTA, yet no one bitched about those movies.

Does it really matter that you are watching a movie VS directing it?

Ok…so 12+ hrs later…

Here is my first impressions of GTA IV.

Let me start off by saying that ign.com gave this game a 10 and they actually they had a disclaimer at the end of the review explaining that…while not ‘perfect’, for what the game does…in thier eyes it earned a 10….good save.

I am about a good 1/2 way thru the first island’s missions and I have:

• beat up gangsters threatening my cousin
• thrown a man out of a window 3 stories to his death
• Went bowling and played darts
• Watched the cops arrest a guy for illegal credit cards
• said no to weed from a ganga smoking Rasta
• had warm coffee…hint hint…
• played darts
• Wrecked enough havoc with the LCPD to make any criminal blush….and
  got away…
• Made it with some random ho in a park and blew her away
• Of course, checked out the Strip Club
• Watched Katt Williams on TV (for some odd reason, not a funny as it
  could be…lol)
• Saw a magic show
• Accidentally ran my car into the river and survived!!

Now guess which ones were in a mission and not!

I am going to start off some of the cons of the game and get it over with because while expectations are high, let’s bring it down a few notches and make sure people don’t get too overly hyped about the game.

- display issues: I am not sure what happened here but some some reason Rockstar decided to run this game at 720p. When displayed on my TV, The rght portion of my screen is partially cut off…I can’t really see how many stars I have and sometimes it’s a tiny bit of a challenge telling what weapons are being used or how many bullets you have left.

- ducking the cops: Ok….this is a mixed bag of a new innovation. While I do like the idea of any trouble you start brings up a proximinty circle of where the cops will come to the scene of a crime, sometimes it’s far too easy to get away, even when you have done something that warrants the SWAT team to come in. Even still if after you lose them and come back in almost immediately after the
circle disappears, there is no particular reason for the cops to continually be on the lookout for you….maybe I am nitpicking but at least in other iterations, when you have set off every possible alarm, it was nearly impossible to shake the cops and made getting away very harrowing….because once you got up to 5 and 6 starts the cops were very poersistent….but then…with as apathetic as cops really are, this may be real…LOL.

- Speaking of, no real reprecussions and consequences for actions in some cases: One thing I think I would like to have seen more of is, if you do something, the is a bit more of a reaction for the crowd. For instance, I was at a club and some bouncers tried to jump me, I went to town with my shotgun…maybe 2 or 3 people moved. With the way that the AI was hyped in this game, I was hoping more for a
stampede for the doors and maybe a 911 call. Same with being out on the street, I robbed and shot someone in broad day light….now while a few people ran, most still carried on thier business and not one frantic call to 911…but again…this may be sad testimony to what kind of empathy to people…LOL

And that pretty much are my only issues with the game…as far as
everything else well:

I am very impressed with the storyline and voice acting. This has always been a very top notch standard with Rockstar and GTA games. I also like the fact that if you are with characters during missions, the dialogue doesn’t just happen in the cutscenes, it also flows with you and the NPCs as you travel. For instance, you find out more about what Roman has gotten himself into, Michelle asks about your
stay in America, Little Jacob, if you can understand his heavily West Indian accent explains why he needs someone he can trust to do his errands and so forth, so count on interactions like that throughout the game beyond cutscenes not to mention most missions do seem to run a little differently and sometimes have added twists

I was also graphically and aurally with the environment. The game really pushes the 360’s power! No matter what GTA you have ever played it has always looked kinda sterile despite the grittiness. In this iteration, all you need is smells, good and bad. When you are nicer lookng neighborhoods, you can really tell…when you are in
bad areas…ditto.

And aurally, with all the ambient noices…second only to Assassin’s Creed (despite all the shortcomings of the game, really listen to the background chatter!) in quality to make you almost feel like you are ‘there’.

Everything else that IGN touched on as far as getting around, getting missions and so forth is on point.

The control, once you get the hang of it is fairly decent. The fight controls could have been a bit tighter, but it works.

Now while I did talk a bit down about the AI, let me tell you how it is when it really does work. You can sometimes go along and see some really random occurances in a course of the day.

There is more traffic on the street at 2pm than there is at 2am and this is still depending on what part of town you are in. I saw a random instance in which a cop chased down a thief and held him at gunpoint. I saw people use thier cell phones. I saw where early in the morning you see people out sweeping the sidewalk. I alos noticed that late at night you see more garbage trucks…but what was most
priceless was a womon walking along sipping a soda…walks PAST a trashcan…and drops the cup in the street….yes…she litters!!

Yes, there are so many little nuances in this game that can be picked up on and so much randomness going on that it does make it seem ‘alive’ but you still kind of wish for more but…..that’s not what the whole game is about.

As far as multiplayer, it’s a lot smoother than I thought it was going to be, I really haven’t had a chance to delve estensively into it as of yet but I played around in a set up with 10 people and noticed no lag whatsoever…it’s smooth like butter.

What I will say, and this is one of the reasons why I am not big on doing multiplayers with a whole lot of strangers, is that the kids and the knuckleheads that have gotten this game will abuse the language more than what it needs to be abused. If you got sensitive ears…just be prepared..otherwise I recommend that you find a group of friends and set up your own private match and play.

All in all, GTA IV is the must play game of the year, I can’t fully endorse the 10 unless you count the story and all the random mini games but, so far the game is so tight , that I do believe that Saint’s Row II will have it’s work cut out for it.

SO pick it up, go bowling, make sure you watch TV, and listen out for Jack Thompson’s being a stripper reference!!

   — The Dreddheaded Poet.

*sigh*  what’s a gamer to do when ‘news’ channels start knifing gamers in the back by preying on the fear (and stupidity) of the the non-gamer human?

So here’s a story (it’s FOX.. what do you expect?) with the nice bold headline of: [Cop Killing Video Game Makes Big Debut], by Sharita Hutton posted just this morning for the Kansas City News.

Where as nothing was said about the record sales, nor about the spammers trying to steal your pre-order copy, or anything about store (like EB) funking up your pre-order and store sale-outs… Nope this is all got to be about the violence of the GTA series.

The whole news story starts off with such a negative overtone that you wouldn’t like the game before you even knew anything about it.  However, even WAL-MART the king of ‘you will like what we give you’ is selling the game.  I guess money does talk. 

Though a couple of things about this article struck me as funny: “An online preview of the game describes the game, saying its as violent as the past three versions and more realistic, with 1080p resolution.”   

So this tells me Sharita got all her information by looking at the web site.  Didn’t FOX already get into trouble for pulling this kind of BS?   And if 1080p makes pixels look more realistic, then watch out Microsoft paperclip!  you’re heading into the real world!!!  (you know since, Computers can produce higher resolutions then the Xbox 360, or the PS3)

She also states: “the game is only for X-Box 360 and PlayStation 3 games. “

Well we know they are games.. perhaps you mean CONSOLES?    So what’s this also tells me is that Ms. Sharita doesn’t know her ass from a C Prompt.   My advice? report on what you know. You obviously don’t understand Gaming.

And reporting on a 3 year old bill, where as there have been multiple attempts on the same type of bill across America ALL of which have failed, is moot, a waste of space, and just prays on the peoples un-founded fear of technology.  

[CNN Money] is reporting that Microsoft has slashed the price of the Xbox 360 in four of it’s Asian markets.

The price cut was on the 20 gig model and was dropped by:
    19.5% in Singapore  (S$499)
    17% in Taiwan (NT$10, 360)
    10.7% in Hong Kong (HK$2,499)
     5.1% in South Korea (KRW369,000)
     But didn’t drop the price in the India market.

The price of the Arcade version (the one with out the HD) was dropped by 13.1% (S$399) in Singapore.

the Elite model was dropped by 12.5% (S$699) only in Singapore.

Microsoft is sighted to have stated: “This price drop is part of Microsoft’s ongoing strategy to bring Xbox’s high- definition gaming and entertainment experience to an even wider user base,”

(PogoWolf: Which to mean says, “We’re still not doing as well in these markets as we should so we are making it cheaper in the hopes someone will but it”)

Microsoft also went on to say: “If and when price adjustments in other regions make sense, we will be sure to keep you informed, but we have nothing to announce at this time,”

So sorry you other guys. =(

On the other hand, Microsoft said that by April 24th, it’s revenue rose 68% for the end of the quarter (March 31st) and they’ve sold over 19 million units since launch (Nov 05) which is up 74% from last year at this time.