I'll echo the comment that has already been made about linking the GT logo in the upper left back to the front page.  I used that quite a bit.

Please, else I'll never find the front page again

If you want the full widescreen presentation, you'll probably have to flip the HD switch on your video cable and let the TV stretch the image.  That's something I've seen with 360 BC.

i downloaded the demo...played the tutuorial and the mission on offer,which was mouth of saurons gang against the elves

quite suprised,as i quite enjoyed it...may pick it up

but xbox live for me isnt needed for this game,that doesnt interest me at all

I think CR is saying that he can't check out the demo as no xbox live (at all, not Gold)

Thinking about BFME2 (360) - yeah, I wait a little...

Hex is good stuff.

1. the geeks at E3 are what would be the early adopters, and the ones who would pre-order. they are the initial evangelists. A bad rep with them will harm their sales.

Again, I disagree.  What us geeks think, say, do, etc. does not mean jack shit.   No one gives a rats ass what we think. The few lost sales form negative geek feedback is a drop in the ocean of the consumer market that Sony is marketing to.

Untrue - where do you think people go for reviews first now?  Who's writing the early reviews?  If the buzz on teh internet is that the PS3 is an overrated overpriced hunk of developmental technology with bad games, do you really think that won't get out to the mainstream?  Dan Rather might be able to tell you a little about the power of negative internet feedback.

whiteboyskim, I may have a disagreement with you on how hamrful Sony's idiot talking heads have been.  I would bet a full 80% of the market for a new console this coming christmas are absolutely unaware of the horrible showing at E3, all the bullshit that Sony has been throwing around, or even that they are going to be charged an arm and a leg.  'Going down in flames' for a multi-billion dollar company over what is rampant hatred & disapproval from a bunch of pasty faced geeks is way too strong of wording.  The non-seeking of feedback from 'consumers' over E3 is a joke: E3 is just for geeks, and home consumer electronics is a MUCH more gigantic market than us.

Now, as for a very real possibility that this christmas Jane Consumer will be standing in a store, look at the PS3 at $600, and the Xbox for $350, I can't figure out how Sony doesn't realize that WILL kill them.  Perhaps brand loyalty is that strong in Japan.  Someone needs to point them to GM in the '70's.

3 more notes:

1. the geeks at E3 are what would be the early adopters, and the ones who would pre-order.  they are the initial evangelists.  A bad rep with them will harm their sales.

2. User education - which unit is joe consumer going to buy?  HDMI?  Bluetooth?  Blue-Ray?  Why do I need to know this for my kid to play games?  Does the unit include the $100 (retail) HDMI cable, or an HDMI-DVI adaptor, or Component HD as well?

3. It's all about the games.  Here is where Sony is stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Nintendo has already grabbed the pre-teen family market.  MS will have their second generation of games out, with a significant amount  of exclusive content (don't forget Live Arcade is also 'exclusive content') as well as an extremely significant price point differential.  And an HD-DVD addon.  All of which can probably be had in one bundle for less than the PS3 premium.  Early EA games (based on reports) are also going to be ports of 360 games, and even if they could look better, might not be for years, if ever.

Part of it is that you have the right to know what is in the warrant, and what limitations there are to the search.  You may also need your lawyer present to verify this.  Most people don't keep their lawyer locked up in the basement for just such an emergency...

Kameo now allows co-op play over Live, as well as split screen - you have to download the update from Live.

Bill has a nice post on what might be happening behind the scenes:

The greatest bidding war in the history of gaming is going on behind closed doors.

What's a console exclusive for World of Warcraft worth, anyway? 50 million? 100 million? More? I'm not sure there's even a method to accurately value the fanchise, but I do know that whatever it's actually worth, Sony or Microsoft will overpay significantly.

I'm still not sold on it, but I've never played WoW (I refuse to pay $15/month).

FWIW, I think expansions would be shipped on a second DVD containing the appropriate art assets, etc.  I don't think bugs would be as much of an issue given that the game has been out forever now, and the console hardware/drives are a known quantity...

Well either way, it would have to be a hard-drive based system, so the gimpy360 owners are out of luck.

Why?  I could definitely see them storing everything on the servers, and linking to your account.  I do have a Premium though, so I'm unfamiliar with the full limitations of the Core...

Wow, it looks fantastic, but I worry about how one can keep up with controlling so many units on such huge maps.

I don't see using that zoomed in view ever, except if it is possible after being knocked out of an MP game...

It depends on the game... check out http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/ to look up specific titles.

It can be a bit difficult navigating that site, try this link for particular games:

Master Gaming list

Definitely a wait and see.  Last Fall I sprung for the 50" Plasma +Wall Mount+ High-Def cable DVR and got the 360 to go with it.  Rather than pump $600 + $50-100 on accessories + $60/game + Sales Tax, I'll probably just get 3-4 360 titles and maybe the HD-DVD add-on to the 360, if it looks like the titles will be there, as well as quality, etc.

Sony appears to be banking on the kind of reception the 360 got to drive demand, but a chunk of that demand is tied into the HD market and HD gaming, and it may be that Sony is going to launch too late/too expensive to really catch that wave.

It *May* be.  Between now and November, every gamer buying HD sets will also get a 360 to maximize the experience.  Then they'll be faced with another large outlay for the PS3.  If there are any to be had.  Any production shortages just might kill the PS3 - MS could survive last holiday season's shortages because there was no competition, Sony can't - every box a potential buyer can't find easily the first time into the store will likely become a 360 buyer - cheaper + more games + available will be tough to compete against.

No price? BOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That's the reason I watched. BOOOOOO!

That surprises me as well. Only reason I can think of is that they're waiting to see if Microsoft decides to drop their 360 price to make the PS3 even more outrageously expensive.

We'll see tomorrow?

Yep, I agree. They want to see what MS does today. If they drop the price on the 360, then expect the Wii to be $150.....if not than it will be $200.

That would be my guess.

MS won't drop the 360 price until the PS3 is about to ship, definitely not tomorrow.  They might not even do it then, as I could see a coupon/rebate strategy, coupled with a third sku - integrated HD-DVD and/or larger Hard Drive to capture the high end market.

Probably depends on what drugs you are on... post-decapitation:

Oh holy mother of god!

Guitar Hero II, if no one said it please.

One thing I *didn't* see in the Press Release - what platforms it is/will be on.

Specifically, the press release did not state PS2/3 exclusivity - which leads to speculation...

Please find out more and especially if there will be xBox 360 versions... Quadrophenia+, baby!

helot - that is one well-written rant.  Well done!

Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series- starts with The Black Echo but they can be read in any order (though I recommend going in order if possible).

Michael Connelly's The Poet- one of the best serial killer novels I've ever read (also a mystery).

The Alienist by Caleb Carr.  The hunt for a serial killer in the early 20th century.  One of my favorite novels.

I (Black Echo) this - all of the above are great.  However - Do not read the first 3-4 Bosch books out of order, if you  have any choice...  There is a Hardcover that has all of the first 3, which you may still be able to find.

I like the idea that they are offering mods for the 360.  However, as others have said, no way I'm paying money, especially 2.50, for a simple texture.

Honestly, if they charged 20 pts, or 50 pts I would probably go ahead and do it.  But, I want more actual content before I cough up the dough.

That said, if down the road they do a compilation of several mods for say... 200-400 pts.  I would consider that worthwhile.

Bingo!  It's the price point + value content that will drive this model.  If we want better than this claptrap, this better fail.

Seems I have a bit of a convoluted setting, but like Jancelot, I'm testing out some workarounds.

Unfortunately I need a simple 2-button macro, but I have to create a whole new activity to accomplish this.  That's fine, but when I switch back to "Watch TV" it turns off my TV and cable box.  Still trying to figure this one out.  If I tell the software to ignore the device's on/off state then the power button doesn't work.  So far the best I've done is to create a menu option and map the power button to that.

Spent more time setting up the remote than I have with the 360...

I know my 680 has an option to always leave the cable box on (but it is a DVR cable box...).

for the TempurPedic, if you sleep on your belly, does it matter to the benefits?

2. It also comes with a free month of Gold, to let you try out the online play.

Another way is once you have it hooked up inside your computer, you can try ghosting (if you have a copy of ghost, or another disk imaging program) it to a good drive with all the error checking switches off.  This *can* lead to getting to some good data off of a bad HD.

I agree. Fox didn't kill AD, the American viewing public's indifference to its style did. Lamentable, but not Fox's fault.

If only they'd given Firefly as much of a chance...

Its actually about the all-black UTEP squad which beat the all-white, segregated Kentucky squad

I see your guys points, but...I still disagree. To each his/her own. I`m not a bush fan, but I think there are reasons for certain things, and I see a good reason for this. That`s all I guess.

the other thing to keep in mind is the 1st amendment too. What is  the effect of all this gov't spying on free speech?   Do you really feel comfortable saying what you believe about the gov't if  someone is listening?

Actually, it is that for backwards compatibility the HD is required.

Hack the Router into a bridge to hook up xBox Live - oh wait, that's not a game (or is it?).

Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge (never played before, came bundled with xBox live subscription).

Damn, but this is a fun game!  Adn I haven't even tried MP yet...

I assume the graph represents sales in terms of $, not units, but I'm wondering how they are splitting the "Online" Category.  Is WoW not a PC game?

No plans for HDMI or DVI at this time.  I expect this to change at some point as it is one of the 2 larger missteps with the 360 (the other being no HD DVD/BluRay support which will bite them/early adopters at some point).

Get it from Costco.

Hi all - I played and enjoyed Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone as well as Chamber of Secrets on the PC.  I then picked up the xBox version of Harry Potter and the Sorceror's stone (thinking my wife would enjoy it) to find that it was a very different game, and a pretty dull one at that, though I may not have given it much of a chance.

What's the best console HP game, and did the PC version and the console versions ever become the same or not?

Thanks!

Serious Sam 2 for some co-op goodness!

Pong, for teh win!

Well, Microsoft had the 360 half in the grave with not putting a hard drive on each unit, and this pretty much ends it for me...


SONY OFFICIALLY revealed many details about upcoming Playstation 3 hardware. At the game developers conference, held at the Cafe Royal, where George Bernard Shaw and Oscar Wilde used to hobknob, the company decided to provide developers with some more information about the machinery.

We learned that despite having up to seven Bluetooth 2.0 compliant controllers, and six USB slots, and you will also be able to plug in a keyboard and a mouse. The company representative added that you will be able to play games such as Unreal Tournament 2007 with the keyboard and the mouse. This can mean the end of the auto aiming that you now have on Playstation 2, but I guess that developers will need to make the game fit the controller and keyboard and mouse.


...and this is coming from someone who currently owns an Xbox and has never owned a Playstation.  Micro$oft has been p0wned.

LINK?  I really don't believe much of anything Sony says with regards to the PS3 until I see it in the stores.  Good Lord, if my wife were a gamer, they'd say that it washes dishes.

Hmmm... come to think of it, that' not a bad idea.

If you have cash in the bank, should be no problem, simply pay your rent in advance.  Landlord should be amenable to add'l months in advance.  Eg just say you'll pay 3 months in advance on a 6 month lease or somesuch...

thanks for the update.  Sounds like a wicked commute.

There's a hybrid version of the Lexus RX330 SUV coming soon too.

*But I'm guessing that might be a little bit out of your price range. Too bad.

the 400h - lists at 48k+

about 10k more than I would contemplate.

Toyota Highlander hybrid is coming this calendar year too.