Laser Sharks

These are from techradar.com, and sadly,  every single one of these apply to me.  Click the link for the full explanations.  Here is the list:

11. You prefer playing against the computer
10. You only play when your significant other is out
9. You believe that winning isn’t everything
8. It’s been days, not hours since you last switched on your console
7. You’re the oldest person trading in games at GameStation
6. You like your Xbox 360 and your PS3 equally
5. You fondly remember a ‘golden age’ of gaming
4. You avoid playing on the Wii because it’s too much effort
3. Your FPS experience consists of spawn, run, die… spawn, run, die… spawn…
2. You find the idea of videogames based on board games perfectly acceptable
1. You’ve pre-ordered GTA IV but don’t mind if it doesn’t turn up on launch day

Popularity: 28% [?]

Remember the gossip game in school? It is the one where the first person whispers “Bill is wearing brown shoes” to a second person, the second whispers it to a third, the third whispers it to a fourth, and so on. Eventually, the twentieth person says what he heard, which is something to the effect of “Bill and Susan were making out under the monkey bars.” Well, the same thing happens in so-called respectable journalism.

Here is the original story from the BBC.

Teenager serious after stabbing

A 19-year-old is in a serious condition after he was stabbed in broad daylight in a town centre in south London.

The victim was stabbed on Tuesday morning in Croydon, near the town’s Whitgift Shopping Centre, and taken to hospital by air ambulance.

In a separate incident, a 15-year-old boy was shot in Streatham, south-west London on Monday evening. His injuries are described as not life-threatening.

No arrests have been made in connection with either incident.

The 19-year-old was stabbed shortly after 0930 BST on Tuesday.
Police described his attacker as a mixed-race man, about 5ft 11in tall, with a scar on the right side of his face.

No doubt, this is a very sad story. However, this story was reported on April 29, 2008, which just so happens to be the launch day of Grand Theft Auto IV. British publication The Mail decided to jazz things up a bit. Below is an excerpt from their story.

Man stabbed queueing for midnight launch of ultra-violent video game Grand Theft Auto IV

The launch of the ultra-violent Grand Theft Auto IV video game descended into real-life horror when a man was stabbed repeatedly in a queue of fans waiting to buy it.

Shoppers thought they were witnessing a promotional stunt for the launch when the blood-soaked victim staggered among them.

They realised the attack was genuine only when police arrived.

It took place outside the Gamestation store in Croydon, South London, one of 40 stores which opened at midnight to sell the new game.

Not wanting to be outdone, The Press Association, which is a British news service similar to the Associated Press and Reuters, published this story.

Police hunt video game attacker

Police are hunting a hooded man who stabbed a passer-by as he waited to buy a new edition of a notoriously violent computer game.

Up to 100 people witnessed the knife attack as they queued ahead of the midnight release of Grand Theft Auto IV on Monday.

The 23-year-old victim was attacked as he passed the queue outside Gamestation, in George Street, Croydon, at about 11pm.

Certainly the Croydon Guardian had to top any other publication about a story in their own town. Below is an excerpt from their article, with the title “Grand Theft Slaughter.”

Grand Theft Stabbing

A man was stabbed in the town centre of Croydon last night at the opening of the new controversial video game Grand Theft Auto 4.

Queues of people waiting outside Gamestation in George Street at around 10.50pm saw the 25-year-old man staggering around covered in blood as they waited to get their hands on the latest copy of the game.

He was carrying a knife, which was also reportedly covered in blood.

Wow, we have people standing in line so desensitized to violence that they are ignoring a rapidly-aging blood-soaked man and only care about getting GTA IV so that they can get their next violence fix. However, in the reader comments of the Croydon Guardian, someone leaves the following comment.

“I’d just like to clarify, that the incident and the four “blokes” involved had no connections with the people who were in the queue for Grand Theft Auto 4, nor did they have any intentions of purchasing the game. It just happened in the same place.”

“I was in the queue and saw the events unfold, but once again it seems instead of looking at the root of the problem it’s much more conveniant to blame the games that we play.”

The stabbing had absolutely nothing to to do with GTA IV, as evidenced not only by the eyewitness account but also by the radical change in the story. The original article does not even mention the game while the Croydon Guardian article practically blames GTA IV for the stabbing. Gamers knew all along that this was the case. The insatiable desire for the media to have more attention-grabbing headlines combined with the general public’s ever-present need for something to fear has once again cast a bad light on video games and gamers. Gamers are currently a very easy target, mostly because games are a newer form of art, and the majority of people who run newspapers/tv stations/etc. do not play games. The gaming public needs to educate the general public. Perhaps this is a good start.

Popularity: 31% [?]

The Wii version of Rock Band, with its sleek white drums and wireless guitar, will release this June. The Wii version will even feature five additional songs that were not included on the other consoles - “Roxanne” by The Police, “Don’t Look Back In Anger” by Oasis, “Roam” by The B-52s, “My Dirty Little Secret” by The All-American Rejects, and “Rockaway Beach” by The Ramones. While these songs are not included off the shelf for the Xbox 360 or PS3, they are available as downloadable content.

Sounds great, but this is where the Wii version drops the ball on one of the major benefits to the other consoles’ versions of Rock Band. Rock Band Wii will not offer downloadable content. A Harmonix representative confirmed to Shacknews that

“The Wii edition of Rock Band will not include online multiplayer or support for downloadable content.”

1Up is also confirming this

“It’s a major bummer that the Wii version of Rock Band will not have online play or downloadable content. We can live without online play, but the lack of downloadable tunes is a big blow to Wii owners, especially when Harmonix releases three new songs every week for the other versions.”

Yes, it’s true, not only will you not be able to download new songs to your Wii, your best friend 1423-2344-5355 and you will not be able to play online.

Rock Band has had a steady flow of downloadable content since it first launched for Xbox 360 and PS3. In fact, those two versions have combined for over 6,000,000 downloads. Averaging somewhere between $1.50 to $2.00 per song, Rock Band has made a killing off of these downloads.

Why will the Wii not offer downloads and online play? Laser Sharks has been unable to find an explanation for this. It appears this is simply a case of Nintendo’s Friend Code strategy.

Popularity: 36% [?]

The Wiimote has nothing on this controller.

An engineering firm called Emotiv has developed a neruo-headset which interprets neuron interactions in the brain. The headset uses a technology known as non-invasive Electroencephalography (EEG) to sense electrical impulses from the brain. Electroencephalography has been used in medical practices for almost 100 years but has only come to be used to explore brain computer interfaces since the 1970s.

According to Tan Le, president of US/Austrailian firm Emotiv,

“It picks up electrical activity from the brain and sends wireless signals to a computer. It allows the user to manipulate a game or virtual environment naturally and intuitively.”

“Emotiv is a neuro-engineering company and we’ve created a brain computer interface that reads electrical impulses in the brain and translates them into commands that a video game can accept and control the game dynamically.”

The headset controller will be used to create a more realistic interaction between gamers and the games. The Headset can sense over 30 different types of emotions, actions, and expressions such as excitement, meditation, tension and frustration; facial expressions such as smile, laugh, wink, shock (eyebrows raised), anger (eyebrows furrowed); and cognitive actions such as push, pull, lift, drop and rotate (on six different axis).

Le stated,

“This is the first headset that doesn’t require a large net of electrodes, or a technician to calibrate or operate it and does require gel on the scalp,” she said. “It also doesn’t cost tens of thousands of dollars.”

“The headset could be used to improve the realism of emotional responses of AI characters in games. If you laughed or felt happy after killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish you for being callous.”

The Wiimote has nothing on this.

Emotiv is working with IBM to develop the technology for uses in “strategic enterprise business markets and virtual worlds.” The headset features a gyroscope to detect movement and has wireless capabilities to communicate with a USB dongle plugged into a computer. It is expected to ship later this year and cost $299.

Source

Popularity: 30% [?]

A pirated copy of Grand Theft Auto IV was leaked to the internet by a group called iCON earlier this week. Initially, just the iCON leaked just the PAL version but now the NTSC version is available as well. The previous entry to the Grand Theft Auto series, San Andreas, was also leaked early on the internet. However, the early leak certainly did not harm game sales - San Andreas has sold over 21.5 million copies.

iCON also issued a strong warning against playing the game on Xbox Live before its official release, as that would basically put a large bullseye for Microsoft on any console modders. iCON is also encouraging people who download the pirated copy to purchase the full game once it is released saying that “R* deserves it.”

It would be surprising if the Swedes that run thepiratebay.org were to suddenly start apologizing or feeling shame for running one of the largest torrent sites on the internet. However, they it is a bit surprising to see that they have changed their main page logo to say “Liberty City” to correspond with the recent leak of Grand Theft Auto IV.

The Pirate Bay frequently changes their main page image, but it is unexpected to see such a timely logo change. Traffic is still light on the torrents, most like due to a requirement to mod an Xbox 360 to be able to play it. Remember kids, stealing is bad!

Popularity: 31% [?]

A Frenchman going by the name kotomi has released a sweet mod for a Nintendo Entertainment System.

Kotomi has used a NES-on-a-chip clone chip to pack an entire NES inside a Super Mario Brothers cartridge. The system is complete with a power switch, reset button, two controller ports, slot for cartridges, power jack, and A/V hookups.

Technology has advanced a longs ways when an entire console can fit within single one of its cartridges.  With today’s NES-on-a-chip clones, expect to see more of these types of hacks in the near future.

Popularity: 29% [?]

Nintendo’s Super Smash Brothers franchise has been wildly successful since its launch on the Nintendo 64. The original Nintendo 64 game sold approximately 2.5 million copies. Super Smash Brothers Melee, the Gamecube successor,  broke previous expectations garnering higher scores from game critics and selling just short of 4 million copies.

The latest entry to the Super Smash Brothers franchise certainly holds up well compared to its predecessors. Super Smash Brothers: Brawl has already sold 2.7 million copies. In the first month since its release, Brawl has outsold the entire run of the Nintendo 64 Version and sold over 70% of the units of the Smash Brothers game sold on Gamecube.

Below is the NPD data comparing each version’s sales.

Overall, Nintendo has had a great March. The video game powerhouse has the top selling game for the month of March with Super Smash Brothers.  Nintendo also had the two bestselling consoles worldwide - the Wii and the DS, which each sold about 700,000 units.

Popularity: 30% [?]

EA has been pursuing publisher Take Two Interactive since mid-February when the video game giant offer a $2 billion buyout. Take Two refused the initial offer but EA continued pursuing the company stating in a letter that “if you are unwilling to proceed on that basis, however, we may pursue other means, including the public disclosure of this letter, to bring our offer and the compelling value it represents to the attentions of Take-Two’s shareholders.” If the takeover is successful, EA will have control of hit franchises such as 2K Sports, Midnight Club, Bioshock, The Elder Scrolls, and most notably, Grand Theft Auto.

EA has a reputation within the gaming community for being unwilling to take risk, pushing out annual games just with minimal improvements, and using microtransactions to charge for things that other publishers give out for free. Take Two, although having a reputation outside of the gaming industry is less than good, its reputation inside the gaming community is stellar.

TheGamingReviews.com wrote an article about the worst things that EA could do to the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Here is the summary of the article below.

EA Trax Replaces Radio Stations

The radio stations have been crucial in creating the setting and mood throughout the Grand Theft Auto series.  In fact, the Vice City soundtrack is probably the best collection of 80s music ever created. However, EA may think it is better to institute their own brand of licensed music with the dreaded EA Trax that everyone tries to turn off when loading up an NHL or Madden game. Speaking of other EA properties, no doubt the company would see that just like real life radio, the air waves permeating Liberty City would also be a great way to keep you informed of whatever other EA products are being released.

Capitalizing on Downloadable Content

Changing clothes and adding accessories is a staple of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. EA, with their history of abusing microtransactions, would see the potential of putting all of these virtual items to good use.  Imagine having to pay real dollars for a nice new jacket, sunglasses, shotgun or even in the worst case, cars themselves. Like it or not, GTA is a prime candidate for downloadable transactions that go far beyond a little episodic content. Despite their folding at the outcry over purchasing guns in Battlefield: Bad Company, no amount of torrential wailing from gamers could stop them from being tempted to pick such low hanging fruit.

Annual Releases

Big franchises such as Rainbow Six and Guitar Hero have move to a yearly release to suck the maximum amount of money from gamers’ pockets. EA is certainly not a stranger to this trend with their yearly lineup of sports franchises.  EA may push for an annual GTA game which, as evident from other annual releases, would suffer from a lack of improvements from game to game and difficulty in creating new settings. Who else is looking forward the GTA: Topeka?

Driving Rockstar Away

In order to keep up with an increased number of games (see Annual Releases), publishers have started using alternate developers for games such as Call of Duty 3 and Guitar Hero 3. These games never seem to match the magic of the games from the original developers. There are lots of GTA clones that are released every year, but none of them live up to the game created by Rockstar. Take Two was smart enough to leave Rockstar alone and let them create their art. EA does not have such a good track record of handling developers that they purchase.

Giving In to the Man

The Grand Theft Auto franchise is a very controversial one. Mass media, mothers, and Jack Thompson all hate the series. GTA has made a lot of money for Take Two, but Take Two has also spent a lot of money defending GTA in legal battles. Would a company like EA, which may not have a particularly sparkling clean image in the gaming community but certainly does outside of it, be willing to take responsibility for such scandalous software? Would they try to release a “T” rated version with toned-down violence, humor, and edginess? While some PR problems within the gaming community are one thing, getting criticized from the government and society at large probably isn’t something EA wants, given that they’re an even easier target than Take 2.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Mortal Kombat 8 is actually going to be a spin-off game called “Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. Apparently, Midway is hoping to cash in on some of the Marvel vs. Capcom and Marvel vs. SNK popularity. Although it seems like MK vs DC was announced about a decade too late, it is actually shipping this Fall for Xbox 360 and PS3. There is another plot twist in the newest iteration of Mortal Kombat - it has been confirmed to have a “Teen” rating. This is most likely a concession to DC Comics. Midway is still including lots of blood and bone-crunching moves, but the over the top fatalities that angered mobs of overly-concerned parents in the 1990s are gone.

Popularity: 6% [?]

According to videogamer.com , Comedian Ricky Gervais is going to make a cameo appearance in Rockstar’s upcoming game Grand Theft Auto IV.  Liberty City will feature a comedy club in addition to bowling alleys and bars in its latest iteration of the ultra-popular, ultra-controversial open world game.

Gervais told men’s magazine ShortList in an interview that he would appear in GTAIV as one of the stand-up acts in the comedy club. His avatar will perform approximately 3 minutes of new material in addition to excerpts from his hit tour Fame. Gervais also confirmed that he would appear in the game outside of the comedy club, but refused to elaborate.

Quotes from Ricky Gervais in ShortList:

“It’s a first - which always interests me. It was shot in New York, my favourite place in the world, and I got to wear a tight lycra suit as part of the digital process. No, hold on, that wasn’t so good.”

“Unfortunately they captured the whole horror, except I look slightly tougher. It is seriously a big deal, though. Games have outsold Hollywood for the past few years so it’s nice to be a small part of that.”

Popularity: 5% [?]

Bruce from bruceongames.com has an op-ed on how Microsoft has really missed out on an opportunity to make money by cutting the life of the original Xbox short.  He cites Sony’s numerous redesigns of the original Playstation and how they were able to keep manufacturing PSOne until March 2006, just a few months before the launch of the Playstation 3.  Bruce also gives the example of the Playstation 2 and states the fact that it is still outselling the PS3.

He summarizes his point by saying:

To me it looks like they killed off the original Xbox half way through it’s life. They could have re-engineered it to make it far cheaper to manufacture (just as Sony did with the PSOne) and kept on selling it for another 5 years as part of a two product line. They would have sold tens of millions of additional units if the continuing success of the Playstation 2 is anything to go by.

This is a great theory and has been implemented by nearly every successful console manufacturer to date.  Even Nintendo redesigned the NES and sold the cheaper top loading NES 2.

Reduced cost of manufacturing means that the console can sell for less money and the company can still make a profit.  That means Sony or Nintendo can tap into a different market, what I like to call the $99 crowd.  This group may think $300 is much too high for a game console but would gladly pay $99.  Microsoft on the other hand only manufactured and sold the original Xbox from November 2001 to November 2006.  By mid 2006 they wee only exhausting supplies and had no games is serious development. 

Why would Microsoft bail on the Xbox so soon and miss out on all of the potential to make money as Bruce has suggested?  The reason is simple.  Microsoft’s big mistake wasn’t that they quit selling the original Xbox too soon, but rather that they started selling it so soon.  To rush the console to market they licensed many preexisting parts rather than have parts designed specifically for them, as most console manufacturers do.  Microsoft licensed Nvidia chipsets rather than have custom chipsets manufactured.  Microsoft tried to negotiate with NVIDIA to lower the price, but NVIDIA refused to do so.  As a result, Microsoft lost money on every Xbox sold, and was unable to re-manufacture the console at a significantly cheaper price.  Microsoft lost more than $4 million on the original Xbox and wanted to get away from it as quickly as possible.  Had Microsoft taken the time to design a custom chip that they owned, they may have been able to recoop some of that massive loss.

Popularity: 27% [?]

Assassin’s Creed Lead Engineer Mathieu Mazerolle was asked the big question; how do the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions stack-up against each other?

Our goal is to ship the two versions of [Assassin’s Creed] to be within 5% or less of difference between each other. That doesn’t mean the PS3 is 5% “better” or “worse”, it’s really just an approximation and a statement that while the two versions are very similar, there will be (as there always is) small, hopefully inperceptible, differences between the two versions within a very small threshold.

He also added:

Both machines are very complex and have very distinct strengths and weaknesses, so it’s almost impossible to quantify these sorts of comparisons - we just want to make the game as good as it can be on both platforms, and owners of both consoles will get the same experience from playing [Assassin’s Creed].

At X07 when asked about the benefit of Blu-Ray versus standard DVD Mathieu told us that even if UbiSoft wanted to add a new piece of content to the Xbox 360 version of Assassin’s Creed the DVD version is already at capacity.

He clarified:

As far as adding extra content, it’s not really an issue: we have all the content we need for the game fitting on a DVD as it is, and the game wouldn’t necessarily be better by just by adding “stuff” on the disk: the biggest limitation for us isn’t disk space, it’s squeezing every last drop of performance out of the processors on both consoles to make the game as cool as possible on the screen!

Popularity: 30% [?]