Suck on this, Fox News
A new poll says Bill Clinton is more honest as President than George Bush. I swear, I'm not making this up. Of course, when given the choice between oral sex and say, someone recording every phone call you make in a national database, people will give you the benefit of the doubt on blow jobs.
I can't wait to see how Rush and Fox News and all those people spin this one. Hysterical.
That being said, John Kerry is up here doing stuff. He's actually thinking he can win. Ugh.
E3 Report Later
Sorry I haven't blogged much from the show, I have been pretty busy with appointments so my 'roam' time has been nil. I did see the entire 2K line today as well as several cool strategy games that I'll talk about when I get back. Stuff like Medieval II, ParaWorld, Anno 1701, Mark of Chaos, the AoE III add on, -- it was a good show for strategy games on the PC although you'd never know it by reading a lot of the coverage. It was also a good show for MMOs. I played Warhammer Online with a roomfull of people and it was a total blast.
Anyway, I have stories to do and sleep to get. So I'll catch up when I get back.
An Open Letter to Insight Broadband
Dear Sir,
I'm writing to you today because I have reached Day 7 of a week without Internet access. Let me say that your phone operators are incredibly friendly and professional (although I do wish the female operator had offered to compensate my lack of onlineness with a BJ). Your website, when I access it from work, is open an inviting and has been reflective of your technical issues. And the automated phone call from your CEO, while lengthy and offering no new platitudes than any other corner of your PR spin control machine, was a nice touch. But enough is enough.
I hung in there. I did. The first few days I pretended it was like I was away at summer camp. Except the only camps I've ever been to were Space Camp and that pro-bowlers camp in Reno and both of those were awash in electronics. So, you see, I'd really have to reach back to the 80s for the last time I lived in this kind of technological blackout. Nevertheless, I hung in there, despite the distracting buzzing in my ears and the occasional chill down my spine whenever I contemplated checking email, looking for E3 news, or finding out the score of the Tiger game. But time waits for no man.
On Wednesday the shaking in my hands started. I could hardly drink without spilling, and there was a nervous tick starting in my left eye. On Thursday the shaking got so bad I could only inbibe liquids through a straw. But I also started to fall down a lot. Walking, sitting, you name it, I fell while doing it. Thank god my wife hasn't been amorous or I might've fallen off doing that too.
Today is Friday. I now have to use one of my daughter's sippy cups due to the shaking in my hands and arms. New symptoms have included incontinence, drooling, the occasional yelp (for no reason) and occasional cardiac arrest. All I can say is thank god for those portable defibrillators. That helps, but now my hair is all frizzy.
Needless to say, sir, having survived this experience (so far), I feel like I have grown. I've learned new things about myself (like how to go to bed at 10:00 and feel briefly refreshed in the morning), my family (my kids have brown eyes!), and my home. (Did you know you actually have to cut the grass on your lawn or it just keeps growing?)
But there comes a time when the natural order of things must be set to rights. Internet is not a priveledge. It is a fundamental part of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (reference the 2.3 version). Do the right thing, sir. I know that technical problems happen, but if we can rebuild Iraq, then surely you can restore Internet service to all your Midwestern customers, and not just those with a cable modem made before 2002... Okay, that was a bad example. Nevertheless, it is in your best interests to resolve this matter immediatley. I fear for my health. In my dimished mental state, who knows what extreme action might start to sound very reasonable. Even necessary.
Your faithful customer (paying you an overpriced $45 a month just to browse Porn... er, news and gaming sites),
Todd
PS - Do you have any pets or loved ones living at home with you? Just curious. It would be a shame if anything were to happen to them.
E3 Winds Down
The big shooo is winding down today and people will start to fly back home for the mother's day weekend.
If there's anything you can glance from all the reports on the show floor, it's that Nintendo has a runaway hit, despite the world's ugliest ass graphics (at least for the sports games). Keep in mind though, that E3 is a 'press' only event, although when I was there, I didn't realize the number of 18 year old journalists that were out there. Will I buy Wii? I'm guessing I will because it's so unique, but for my main gaming console, I still see the 360 standing on top. I'm in the minority apparently on that. Of course, I also enjoyed the Dreamcast, so what the hell do I know.
Uno fever has taken over my life. I'm so glad I dropped $399 to play a $15 card game. But, I dare you to download the demo and see if you don't become addicted. It was a surprise to even see the game launched, but man is it fun. One thing that's interesting, is that I'm noticing a lot of female gamertags playing the game online. Just saying...might be a good way to get a date if you're single.....
FIFA World Cup took a bit of a back seat while I played Uno. I did find that my best way of scoring goals is speed bursting down the wing, crossing and heading it into the goal. While it can work, it's not automatic and you don't always hit net. I'm excited when I get a goal, but not a mind blowing orgasm like feeling that I get with Winning Eleven. Still, it seems pretty good. I still wish there were linesmen in the game though.
Moto GP 06 Demo for 360 out
I've been waiting for this one, there's now a demo of MotoGP 06 on Xbox Live Marketplace. Just gotta tear me away from Uno to do it. Oh, btw, it's a mere 882MB download. I'm going to have to buy a second Xbox 360 HD at this point. I'm down to 8GB!
A Week Without Internet
My cable service provider (Insight) announced last week they were making numerous service upgrades to their infrastructure. So, of course my cable Internet service went out... five days ago. As of today it has yet to come back. It's the week of E3 and I'm stuck in the Dark Ages. Unreal. (I'm just glad I'm not too busy at work this week to do a little casual surfing.)
Actually, after five days of doing without I don't miss it that much. Don't get me wrong, when Insight does eventually fix their problems my online routines will go right back to normal. But if you'd have told me two weeks ago I'd have to live for a week without Internet access in my home I might have gone into convulsions.
I do miss the porn, though. (No, not really.)
Soul Patrol!!!!!!!!
Well, lots of Americans were stunned last night. What is the only thing that can stun Americans? Chris getting voted off American Idol, natch.
Feedback in blogs and online was all like, "OMG" and stuff. For me, I'm actually happy. Let's see this guy: 1) Sung a song by Styx, 2) did Walk the Line, pretended he 'remade' it, but it was actually done by a band called Live, 3) Sang Suspicious Minds in the way of Fine Young Cannibals (the guitar had the same sped up tempo as the FYC song), 4) and fully expected to win. Kat has zero confidence at all and we think she'll go at some point.
Of all the idols, the only one I was waiting to see how he'd do was Taylor. All white hair resemblence aside, when he sings songs like Something and In The Ghetto, he does a great job. He can also have fun with songs like Takin It To The Streets. And, to top it all off, he's been parodied on Saturday Night Live. Not any other Idols can say that, even if it was Horatio doing the parody.
So anyway, I'm happy with America's decision. The only one of the 3 left I like is Taylor. Now that being said, Vote For the Worst.com wants Taylor to win too, just because he'd be a marketing nightmare. I'm not sure I'd by any of the Idol's albums becuase they take whatever is left and just make them into another recording artist. Last year, I said, man, Bo is so good, I'd buy that album. Then I heard the Real Thing, and I was like, hey wasn't that song out in the 1970's as guitar man?
That's another reason to like Yahoo Music Unlimited. No way I'd buy that stuff now, but I can check it out as part of my subscription.
In other news, I just realized there were two eps of the Unit on Tuesday. I only watched one. That show is damn good. President Palmer from 24 + playwriter David Mamet + Producer Shawn Ryan from the Shield = awesome action television.
About 1:30AM last night, I was able to play a 4 player online game of Uno, which knocked my GamerScore up to 5,000. Wooohoo! I'm going to put my card up, so add me to your friends list. The 4 player online game was a lot of fun. Almost too much fun for a bleeping card game. Sounds stupid and I never thought I'd spend $400 to play Uno, but it was fun.
Addicted to Uno
As you know, I am an Xbox Live Marketplace and Xbox Live Arcade whore. I buy all those games. Needless to say I have spent most of the evening playing Xbox 360 Uno. Yes, I am lame, but it sure is fun. I just bought it and unlocked the 35th anniversary game. Anyone want to play me? Let me know.
Sorry. Ironically it's called a 'camera' game but yet there's no camera available yet..go figure.. Umm I wonder if my eye toy would work. Let's try it.
Well I have a blue light on the eye toy when plugging it in...let's continue. It can't be that easy, can it? Nope, it says video enabled, but it says the camera is unplugged. Yeah, heaven forbid they let you use a standard USB camera. Ugh.
No one is playing Uno tonight. I'm it. WTF.
Other Stuff
Went back down to the EA Booth, earplugs in tow (it's so loud they provide headphones to play the games) and saw Madden 07 running on the PS3. Looks good. Nice grass. Looks like Madden to be honest.
Played some one on one NCAA 07 against some poor soul, unaware he was walking into an OSU hornet's nest! We playede on default AA again and the QB accuracy looks about the same as usual on this default setting. Usual as in..too accurate on long passes. This isn't a surprise, really, but just an FYI.
I enjoyed the 5 min quarter game we played. I did see a dropped pass to a wide open TE, but it was the first drop I saw in the 50 minutes I played so this might just be fixed. I mean we should see drops, not just 10 per game.
The screen stated the game was a work in progress and at times it showed as the animations at times looked choppy, even on the 360. Lots of nice post play animations, though.
I wish they had the Xbox version at the show. I mean come on guys..we can see the 360 and the PSP but not the PS2 or Xbox?
Anyway, just like I said last year, I hate to come down too hard or be too gushy about a game at E3. But so far so good...the long pass stuff still has me a bit concerned, though.
Going non sports, my preview of Warhammer Mark of Chaos is up at GSpy. Whew...I'm excited to play this one.
Quick NCAA 2007 Stuff
I have only a few secs, so bare w/ me.
I played the 360 version for about 30 minutes-- and I liked whatI saw, for the most part. It LOOKS nice. The Horseshoe was a sight to behold. I also saw a lot of new (and gameplay-centric) animations. I did see the same old deep ball crap AI on default AA level but I don't want to be judgmental until we can at least tweak it (you know what I mean, the DB AI that runs ahead of the WR w/o even looking back at the WR until the catch is made). I saw NO drops and the CPU was able to pass well on me, which was very nice to see.
OSU ranked #12 Michigan ranked #7?
If that's final, that's total bullshit. heh. OSU will be top 5 preseason, but hey...we'll see.
Last year I said the game looked just like NCAA 05. Well, I didnt see that this year but then again it was the 360 version that was on the floor and not the Xbox or PS2. The cut scenes in the 360 version looked disgustingly sharp. Crazy good. I know it's fluff but it was yummy fluff all the same.
It feels like NCAA, they are not reinventing the wheel here but I was pleasantly surprised with the short time I spent with the game and compared to how pissed I was last year...hey at least the initial impression is good, right?
Now, this doesn't tell you anything about Dynasty Mode and once again I got that deer in the headlights stare when I asked if it was fixed, but hey...I'll take what I can get.
More later as time permits.
E3 Day One
Well here it is , day one. Lots of impressions all over the place ,and you can check out the usual suspects. Click here for a look at Madden on the Wii. And some really bad graphics. No matter what Nintendo says, Wii is a dumb name.
Of course, when it comes to E3, nothing (and I mean NOTHING) stops the fanboys. According to this GameSpot article, before the event opened to the press, the line for exhibitors was an hour deep. My gawd. Impressive, yet stupid.
Click here for a free Bic3 Comfort Shaver. Just found it, enjoy.
Golden Axe is coming to the 360, but as an RPG. Yawn.
The Xbox 360 camera will be coming out 9/19.
I'm hoping we'll hear from Bill at some point about football. So far I have to say I'm really not missing being there. Well of course you miss it, but you don't. It's a long day and for every Microsoft appointment, you have 3 up and comers who have a tech demo of a bunch of warriors running across a field or something.
So there it is, of course it's only 4PM Pacific time so they still have some time to wait in line. The true E3 person knows to show up on the final day of the show and then get all the free swag and get in all the lines.
Funny E3 story: one of the amazing things about E3 is that it's not just a US show, it's very --uh--international (hence the reason why Nintendo's booth is so full). I remember having a meeting at the EA booth and some German "press" literally grabbing all the press kits EA had and putting them in a bag. I believe one of the EA press people literally ripped the bag away and let the guy have it. It was awesome. I know I pick on some of the press around here (EA especially) but there's no doubt the job sucks.
I've been downloading trailers over Xbox Live all day. Halo 3, Call of Duty 3, and so forth. This was a fantastic idea for Microsoft to do as it's so much better to watch gameplay on TV versus some MS Media Player window. MS is dumping content on Marketplace like there's no tomorrow so be sure and check some of it out!
Microsoft Wrap UP
Because GameSpot was teh gay, I had to watch this one on tape delay. You have to pay to get it live. I'm a cheap bastard for GameSpot 
. The funny thing is that GameRankings was mentioned for Forza -- geez Scott, you'd think that someone that pimps your site, you'd get that PC live to non-subscribers...
Anyhoo, let's get to it: Gears of War looks interesting, nice to see Cliffy B...lots of new Xbox Live Arcade games....Galaga, MK3, Dig Dug....people do pay $4 for these old skool games...add some live multiplayer and you have hits. Lumines is coming...awesome PSP game, nice idea for Live arcade.
Fable 2 is coming...nice. Forza 2 is announced. Based on the video, I'll take that anyday over GTHD or whatever TF it's called. Maybe GTHD will have online. Heh. WHOA! Wireless steering wheel. Now THATs what I'm talking about. wonder if it will have wireless pedals, too.
Xbox Camera -- not a shocker. Can use it with WSOP. Great idea for a camera...
Blue Dragon -- uhh...guess this one is for the Japanese crowd only. They seemed to like it though.
DoA Xtreme 2-- No gameplay. D'oh.
Viva Pinata -- sounds stupid, it'll be a sleeper.
Interesting note, apparently putting Fight Night Round 3 on XBL Marketplace as a free demo really generated some sales. (On a side note; check out that Test Drive demo now. Looks gorgeous...but it plays like old test drive games. Man I do not like their physics engine.)
GTA 4 is coming 10/16/07. That's 17 months from now. No hurry. There will be downloadable updates only on Xbox 360. Whoa, is that Sony getting bitch slapped?
PC stuff. No sports stuff here. BUT -- on Windows Vista, your GamerTag will go with you so PC games will add to your GamerScore. Cool.
Then there's this lame game called Halo 3. People literally pleasured themselves at this point. The bummer? 2007. Sounds like 2007 will be an awesome gaming year. This year might be interesting, guess we'll see.
So the press conference roundup:
Best of Show: Microsoft. They kicked as much butt as I was thinking. Wireless steering wheels, camera for poker, GamerScore on PC, and some great looking games in video.
2nd Best but still pretty good: Nintendo. As a sports geek, I have to say I am interested in tennis and golf. And it's all one game!
Shittiest: Sony. This one sucked. I mean really sucked. The games sucked, the conference sucked, the gameplay videos sucked (MGS 4 looks interesting but no where near the OMG You have got to see this of the MGS back in 2000), the price and the release date sucked. But other than that, it was great.
Nintendo PC
Oh my gawd. Just when you think it can't get any stupider it does, the Nintendo conference just started and they are 'conducting' an orchestra using the wii motion controller. Now they are playing games and dancing while using the controller for a racing game. It keeps getting weirder...I will keep it blogging.
UPDATE:
Now showing video of people using the wii controller. Interesting for Tennis and Golf, not so interesting for orchestra conducting. That is not a game.
So for the video presentation is much more professional than PS3, but still not convinced about this controller.
UPDATE:
Reggie is up there yapping saying that Wii is 4Q 2006, but no price is going to be released. Graphics look last gen from the video I'm watching.
Update:
They laughed about the feedback with Wii, saying that Google sounded funny (funny I don't remember saying "google is a stupid name" like I did with Wii, but whatever).
Now they are showing more gameplay videos.
Bill just missed 20 seconds of Final Furlong Revolution, a horse racing game.
Update 3:
Reggie continues about Madden 07, saying how you will be in control with free hand control. No video. As my friend says, "I will be vague because nothing exists of this game aside from CG I had my little brother make on his amiga"
Update 4:
Still waiting for online strategy...
Update 5: Now we see people from Ubisoft...
Update 6: now moving on to Nintendo DS and DS Lite. Still no Wii online mention.
Final Update:
They played Tennis with some winner to be the first to play with the controller. I have to say I was a little intrigued by it. Only problem is, I don't know about you, but i don't have a totally empty room to run around and play tennis in. I don't think this will go over very well. Nice concept though.
End of the conference: no interface demo, no online demo, the Wii games didn't even mention online playing, no virtual console demo. Lots of unanswered questions. The conference itself was much more interesting than the Sony one (5 minutes of GT4 anyone)...but still ..yikes.
One more to go at 4pm EDT today...Microsoft can knock it out of the park given the crap competition...or they can fall on their ass.
I remember in 2000 the Sega Dreamcast didn't have a PC but instead had a party on Tuesday evening. It had open bar, some bad alternative rock band of the moment and lots of gameplay stuff. We say NBA2K1 being played online over a 56K modem. That was cool.
The Console King Will Fall
Sony has absolutely lost touch with reality. Yes, from a dollars and sense perspective you can justify $600 for the hardware monstrosity that is the Playstation 3. But the console wars have never been about hardware. Hardware is a means to an end, and that end is about how the hardware makes the games better. The hard drive and network port were a big deal in the Xbox because it helped improve the experience of playing games (memory cards no longer required, downloadable content, Xbox Live, etc.).
What hardware in the PS3 is going to make the gaming experience that much better than the 360? They can push a few extra polygons? Big whoop. I missed the press conference, but nobody I’ve seen has said anything about the games other than, same old, same old. You’re not getting consumers to fork over $500 to $600 for a console for a prettier round of more of the same.
The next big cry is, “Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray!” To that I say, big freaking deal. You may as well shout, “Betamax, Betamax!” for all the good that’s going to do for Sony’s sales. Let's be clear, because most titles will be cross-platform, Blu-Ray in the PS3 is not for gaming. It's for movies. If I’m wrong, it won’t be the first time, but I say one of two things will happen in the high definition movie disc war:
A) The majority of Americans, who are perfectly happy with DVD, will say, “meh,” and ignore them both (just like they have done for SACD versus DVD-Audio, which are both far superior to regular CDs).
B) HD-DVD will win out because it’s downright cheap compared to Blu-Ray, it’s available right now, and it is going to end up with all the backing it’s going to need from Hollywood studios.
Blu-Ray support will be a footnote in this generation’s iteration of console wars. Sony is only going to remain king of the console market by having the best games on the best console and they’re not going to have games on it that wll make the console worth $200 more than the 360. And guess what, by the time the PS3 hits shelves the 360 will have been out for a year; that means more games (we're not buying new consoles for the backward compatibility), and a reasonable expectation of a price drop that will widen that gap even further.
Then there’s Nintendo. The past couple years, privately, I’ve laughed about Nintendo. They were sooo not-bleeding edge. The DS had nothing on the technology inside the PSP. Their next console wasn’t even going to have HD support and that new controller thingie looked like an iPod Shuffle. What a joke right? Turns out, the joke’s on me (and all the other naysayers). I haven’t played it, but I’ve seen no one who has used both systems say the DS doesn’t provide a better gaming experience than the PSP and the sales numbers I’ve seen reported back that up. And the Wii (dumb name and all) may just be a master stroke.
The Wii’s controller may just revolutionize console gaming. In a time where the games themselves can’t really do anything to distinguish themselves from what’s been done before, Nintendo is instead trying to change *how* we play and interact with games. And they’re going to do it at a price point of $200 or less. Better yet (for them), they’re going this route at a time the American middle-class (I can't speak for Japan or Europe) is being squeezed out of existence because of rising energy prices, lost jobs (that are replaced with ones that don’t pay as much), etc. We can’t afford to spend $400 to $600+ on a gaming console.
Personally, I swore I’d never purchase two game consoles from the same generation. To me, it’s a waste of money and with two kids and a PC gaming habit, I’m not exactly swimming in free time? But whatever you want to call it, the Wii may just be where innovation in gaming is at, and I got into video games to begin with because for so long, every game was innovative in its own way. Part of my lack of enthusiasm for games this past year or two is because everything feels the same. There’s still fun to be had sure, but I can’t name the last game I played that changed how I looked at games or offered an experience that was completely unique from anything I'd seen before. If Nintendo’s console isn’t just a bunch of hype and they can make the gaming experience that much better by changing how we interact with them (and I’m betting they will), then I’ll be all over that console. And if it falls flat? Well, for $200 I haven’t exactly bet the farm on the console either; that's something that can’t be said of the 360 and PS3.
In the numbers game (in America) the 360 may be crowned King, but my money is on the Wii to run away with second place and sell comparable numbers to Microsoft’s console. After all, anyone that can afford a $400 360 can afford a sub $200 Wii. There’s just one caveat: we’re still a half a year away from the PS3 launch, and nothing would surprise me less than for Sony to change their pricing strategy before the holiday shopping season arrives. If they get price competitive, the PS3 can still do big numbers and maybe hold onto Sony’s game console crown. But at $600 for the real console (that $500 version is a joke) they’re going to be DOA. Sure, they’ll sell out a limited quantity initial launch, but the excitement will die off quickly unless they come up with something better on the gaming front than GT4 and a handful of titles that are also going to be available on the other consoles. If this is all Sony’s got to offer then the console King will fall, Louis XVI style.
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