Some of you may have wondered this, even been extremely angry about this (like I was) when you found out that the next generation was not backwards compatible. Well, after I took some time to think about it, I started to understand. So let's start at the beginning of the understanding that I began to have. Why do you think the consoles aren't backwards compatible? Lets thing back to all the series you've ever played, for example, since it's one of the easiest to show for, is the Call of Duty series. When you bought Call of Duty: Ghosts, your goal has become to enjoy that game as much as possible, right? It makes sense, you want to get every bit of enjoyment out of it as you can since you spent a ridiculous amount of money on it yeah? Alright, well consider this. What if you hadn't been able to purchase it? You would still be playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 right now wouldn't you? Or would you really? The thing is, a while back whenever I was playing Black Ops 2 after it had come out, I wanted to go back and play the original Call of Duty: Zombies maps from World at War. Then I wanted to play online since that was the only CoD that I hadn't ever prestiged on because it was so difficult on that game for some reason, plus I LOVED the guns and maps from that one. But the thing is, when I tried to play online, I spent 30 minutes just trying to find a match with at least 4 people in it. The problem was that everyone had moved on to the new games, and not anyone wanted to play the old ones anymore. So let's put this into current perspective. Sony and Microsoft both want their consoles to finish out their 10 year life cycles. (For those that don't know, they've only fully completed about 8-9 years of their life cycles) They say they'll keep releasing content, and good content at that, for a while until finally dropping them to focus fully on the "Next Generation Consoles." Consider the fact that everyone decided to go pick up the next generation consoles, but those few thousand people that can't due to monetary issues. They would go pick up the next Call of Duty, and not be able to play with anyone online, completely ruining their console experience, and possibly making developers decide that it's not worth making the games for that generation anymore. So the PS3 and Xbox 360 would pretty much end their life cycles 1-2 years early, and lose a lot of fans due to their lack of caring for that generation. Now, the consideration that I have with this extends a little farther. There is a possibility that the consoles indeed ARE backwards compatible, though that feature is not yet, what we can call "Unlocked." There is a possibility that a small update later on will be able to allow the consoles to play previous generation disks, especially because both generations used Blu-Ray technology to play back titles. Given this is just a speculation and probably won't happen anyway, there's no reason to fret. Sony has already announced and talked a lot about their Gaikai streaming service that will be launching not to far in the distant future that will allow your PS4 console to play previous generation content including PSOne, PS2, and even PS3 games. This is something I can't wait to see what they do with it and hope that it won't be a huge fee added on to your already subscribed PSPlus.
Back to what I was originally talking about to just wrap this up. If they allowed the consoles to be backwards compatible, then the games like CoD: Ghosts would lose all the people playing on that console and everyone would be unable to find lobbies to play in and enjoy their old consoles.
Thanks again for reading, and please continue to feel free to let me know about topics you want to know more about and giving me stuff to argue over or even just talk about with everyone. Furthermore, I may start doing YouTube Vlogs over this topics as well that may go deeper into it, or just provide a faster way to get the information. Let me know what you think about this idea in messages or comments. Thanks and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving/Black Friday, and find some great deals on Cyber Monday!
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Console War News
Alright, so right out of the gate let's talk about the recent controversy between the Xbox One and the Playstation 4's versions of CoD: Ghosts to run at different resolutions; Xbox One running on Native 720p, upscaled to 1080p while the PS4 runs natively at 1080p. The easiest way to explain this is by talking about the system specs. Unfortunately for Microsoft, their console lacks in power what Sony's does not. Call of Duty: Ghosts was made to run, engine and software, at a certain minimal amount of power. The Xbox One did not have the power to run the incredible cutscenes, or engine, or whatever it is that they couldn't leave out. Due to this, they reduced the native resolution to 720p and upscaled it to 1080p just so that it could compare to the PS4's native 1080p resolution.
Next I want to compare the launches of the consoles and their numbers.
PS4
-Units Sold in First 24 Hours: 1 Million
-Countries Released in: United States, Canada
-Percentage of Consoles Affected by Hardware Problems: Less than 1%
Xbox One
-Units Sold in First 24 Hours: 1 Million
-Countries Released in: United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
-Percentage of Consoles Affected by Hardware Problems: Low Percentage
I only wish that there were more specific numbers for the Hardware issue affected consoles. Anyhow, as you can see from these results, the Playstation 4 sold just as many consoles as the Xbox One, however, it was only released in 2 countries while the Xbox One was released in 13. Both companies are handling their replacements/repairs of consumers consoles that have issues very well. Although according to a quote from Microsoft, they recommend sending the Xbox One back through Amazon if you ordered there for faster results, and because the console will be replaced instead of just repaired. Begs the question, why would a middleman be the person to talk to about replacing a broken console, and how many consoles did Amazon have left over that they would be able to do this? Previous understandings were that all of the pre-order limits were filled. Was this information falsified, and if so, why?
Next I want to compare the launches of the consoles and their numbers.
PS4
-Units Sold in First 24 Hours: 1 Million
-Countries Released in: United States, Canada
-Percentage of Consoles Affected by Hardware Problems: Less than 1%
Xbox One
-Units Sold in First 24 Hours: 1 Million
-Countries Released in: United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
-Percentage of Consoles Affected by Hardware Problems: Low Percentage
I only wish that there were more specific numbers for the Hardware issue affected consoles. Anyhow, as you can see from these results, the Playstation 4 sold just as many consoles as the Xbox One, however, it was only released in 2 countries while the Xbox One was released in 13. Both companies are handling their replacements/repairs of consumers consoles that have issues very well. Although according to a quote from Microsoft, they recommend sending the Xbox One back through Amazon if you ordered there for faster results, and because the console will be replaced instead of just repaired. Begs the question, why would a middleman be the person to talk to about replacing a broken console, and how many consoles did Amazon have left over that they would be able to do this? Previous understandings were that all of the pre-order limits were filled. Was this information falsified, and if so, why?
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Microsoft: Carousel King
When you were young, maybe even now, what was some of the first thoughts when you heard the word Carnival? Some may think roller coasters, ferris-wheels, and rigged carnival games. For me it was the a carousel. I remember all of the different things to do at the carnival, yet so many people were drawn to the carousel. I look back now and wonder why? All the carousel did was allow you to ride a magical unicorn in a circle, sometimes bouncing up and down to a pretty tune. The reason why this is a rather unconventional start to an article, is because I want you to understand the connection I'm making with Microsoft and their way of addressing the public.
Alright, onto the point. In a recent announcement by Microsoft's director of product planning, Albert Penello claims, "I'm not dismissing raw performance. I'm stating--as I have stated from the beginning--that the performance delta between the two platforms is not as great as the raw numbers lead the average consumer to believe. There are things about our system architecture not fully understood, and there are things about theirs as well, that brings the two systems into balance." Well, thank you for that enlightening message Mr. Penello. Microsoft has, from this statement, told us nothing as to why their system is better, and why I should spend the extra $100 for theirs instead of my already pre-ordered Playstation 4.
Let's take a step back so we can get a broader picture of what I'm talking about. First off, the "average consumer" as they call us, knows the raw system specs, the PS4 having much better specs when comparing the GDDR5 to DDR3, giving the PS4 a huge lead on the XBone. Now, Penello is claiming that even though the PS4 has higher specs, the systems will still even out in the long run. Now anyone that knows anything about RAM knows that GDDR5 is better than DDR3 because of the (lets call it Long Term Evolution for the time being) LTE of it's hardware, while DDR3 will stay strong and is more balanced generally. (I apologize for the quick, terrible explanation, just trying to condense this explanation for those that might not know the difference)
Now, closer to the point, (really sorry for the sudden jumps all over the place, just trying to get a point across quick) Microsoft continues to "carousel" their customers with promises of a dream console, yet they can't/won't tell us why/how it is a better console. Albert Panello dismisses the difference in the technology in the systems, but I think that Howard Stark said it best when he said, "But I'm limited to the technology of my time." This quote just goes to show, no matter how brilliant you are, unless you have the technology to back up what you've invented/designed, you cannot move forward.
Microsoft is leading everyone around in a circle, promising them that it's the console of their dreams, but not Why. When Microsoft can tell me why I should cancel my preorder for my Playstation 4 in lieu of their console, and it's legitimately better, then I will. Until then, I will continue my argument in lieu of Sony due to their complete explanations as to why their product is the better choice.
Here's my challenge to you Microsoft. I hope someone will read this. When you can give me an argument that shows the XBone is better than the PS4, then I WILL cancel my PS4 preorder, and exchange it for your XBone, also taking back all the negative arguments I have made towards your company and your console, explaining, that I was wrong. I'm waiting.
Alright, onto the point. In a recent announcement by Microsoft's director of product planning, Albert Penello claims, "I'm not dismissing raw performance. I'm stating--as I have stated from the beginning--that the performance delta between the two platforms is not as great as the raw numbers lead the average consumer to believe. There are things about our system architecture not fully understood, and there are things about theirs as well, that brings the two systems into balance." Well, thank you for that enlightening message Mr. Penello. Microsoft has, from this statement, told us nothing as to why their system is better, and why I should spend the extra $100 for theirs instead of my already pre-ordered Playstation 4.
Let's take a step back so we can get a broader picture of what I'm talking about. First off, the "average consumer" as they call us, knows the raw system specs, the PS4 having much better specs when comparing the GDDR5 to DDR3, giving the PS4 a huge lead on the XBone. Now, Penello is claiming that even though the PS4 has higher specs, the systems will still even out in the long run. Now anyone that knows anything about RAM knows that GDDR5 is better than DDR3 because of the (lets call it Long Term Evolution for the time being) LTE of it's hardware, while DDR3 will stay strong and is more balanced generally. (I apologize for the quick, terrible explanation, just trying to condense this explanation for those that might not know the difference)
Now, closer to the point, (really sorry for the sudden jumps all over the place, just trying to get a point across quick) Microsoft continues to "carousel" their customers with promises of a dream console, yet they can't/won't tell us why/how it is a better console. Albert Panello dismisses the difference in the technology in the systems, but I think that Howard Stark said it best when he said, "But I'm limited to the technology of my time." This quote just goes to show, no matter how brilliant you are, unless you have the technology to back up what you've invented/designed, you cannot move forward.
Microsoft is leading everyone around in a circle, promising them that it's the console of their dreams, but not Why. When Microsoft can tell me why I should cancel my preorder for my Playstation 4 in lieu of their console, and it's legitimately better, then I will. Until then, I will continue my argument in lieu of Sony due to their complete explanations as to why their product is the better choice.
Here's my challenge to you Microsoft. I hope someone will read this. When you can give me an argument that shows the XBone is better than the PS4, then I WILL cancel my PS4 preorder, and exchange it for your XBone, also taking back all the negative arguments I have made towards your company and your console, explaining, that I was wrong. I'm waiting.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Playstation 4 RELEASE DATE?!
What is up guys?! I want to apologize for the long down time on my posts, I've really gotta get this in gear! Anyhow I wanted to let y'all know about some interesting information that has come to light in the past couple hours for me.
Alright, so one of the biggest gaming questions right now is when is the PS4 and Xbox One going to be released. Well I may be able to narrow it down to the smallest possible time frame with some information that may or may not have been prematurely given.
Recently, Sony released an image showing an eclipse that apparently was teasing the PS4 release. The image is titled "When Worlds Collide" perhaps referencing the real world and the gaming/fantasy world.
Alright, so one of the biggest gaming questions right now is when is the PS4 and Xbox One going to be released. Well I may be able to narrow it down to the smallest possible time frame with some information that may or may not have been prematurely given.
Recently, Sony released an image showing an eclipse that apparently was teasing the PS4 release. The image is titled "When Worlds Collide" perhaps referencing the real world and the gaming/fantasy world.
Now... I found out that the next lunar eclipse is supposed to happen November 3rd this year. EXCITING RIGHT?! Well.. not exactly. You see, further research into the alleged "teaser" proved that the image actually was teasing a new title that Sony was developing... little depressing, but I have more good news.
Just a couple days ago, I went and finally got my pre-order fixed with my local GameStop, so that I'll be able to pick up and play the day/night (midnight) when it's released. (Believe me, this is one midnight release I REFUSE to miss haha) While I was there I went ahead and preordered a few more games, (which I'll be paying off for a few more months >.>) including Call of Duty: Ghosts for the PS4. Well, when games are going to come out for the next gen console, they'll release the game with the console too yeah? Well this morning I got an email from GameStop stating that I'll be able to pick up my copy of CoD:Ghosts on November 5th... WHAT?! So it's still the first week of November that the console will be released!
This is truly exciting, I'm a little hoping that the message was sent out prematurely, because I did not get any other, of the games I pre-ordered, messages like this. Does this guarantee that it's the actual release date? No, but it does give us a window to hope for. Considering the situation, if Sony can get their console on the shelves Before the Xbox One, it will give them an even bigger edge in the console market, though I think that they'll try and release at the same time this go around.
Thanks for reading! Please feel free to send in things you'd like me to cover still, I'd be happy to research and find out what's going on for you. ^_^
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Why Playstation 4 Won the Console War
Watching Microsoft reveal the latest news on the Xbox One, I was impressed with many of the new titles that the console was being launched with and was proven wrong from a previous article I wrote about Xbox One being released with primarily Kinect games. The reality is that there are some pretty interesting games that are being released with Xbox, along with the promise of a new installment in the Halo series by 343 Studios and Bunjie. However, as the conference continued, Microsoft managers continued to prattle on about how Xbox would be the next big thing in home entertainment, making numerous reiterations on the "TV" functionality of the console. Like I said in my previous post, the Xbox and Playstation consoles should be tailored towards the hardcore gamer types and emphasis should be made on games.
Well, for a long time we've argued, Sony fanboy vs. Microsoft fanboy, but Microsoft concluding that Xbox One will still have its' "Always Online" feature along with the restrictions on trading and lending of used games, topping it off with a $499 base model launch price paved the golden road for Sony to take race and end the first day of E3 with Microsoft trailing in the dirt behind them. The polls don't lie as IGN's latest poll stats (3:55pm-6/11/13) state that according to everyone, not only fanboys (though there still are some holding on for dear life to Microsoft's next console) that Sony won this generation of consoles. Sony currently presiding at 1st with 82.54% of the votes, Microsoft in 2nd with 12.44% of the votes and the Wii U in 3rd with 5.02% of the votes. If you won't take it from me, at least take it from the rest of the voters.
The Sony conference event shining moments, that literally had fans in a standing ovation (usually standing ovations only exist during game announcements like with the announcement of the continuation of the Star Wars: Battlefront franchise by DICE) chanting "Sony! Sony! Sony!" consisted of when Jack Tretton (President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America)claimed that the PS4 would not have any Used Game restrictions. This news continued into Jack stating that there would be no required online connection to play them, nor would it require a periodical "check-in" online to continue playing them, furthermore, the games would not quit working if you don't authenticate them within 24 hours, this all leading to even louder cheers and applause. The end of the Sony conference had Andrew House coming out and speaking some final parting words, ending with the Playstation 4 base model launch cost being $399, $100 less than it's Microsoft counterpart, leading to the loudest applause heard from any E3 footage shot so far.
Unfortunately there was a bit of bad news for the hardcore gamers on Sony's side. Though all these exciting new features are here, to be able to play games online with friends or other members of the playstation community, you will be required to purchase a Playstation Plus membership. Now before you get upset, lets look over the Pros and Cons of this.
One of the first things you get upset with is the fact that you will have to pay to play online now, however, you've got to understand that the cost is less than $5 a month, rivaling the Xbox Live membership fee of around $8 a month. And of course you know there will be special deals like a percentage off for paying for a larger amount of membership at a time. So considering that, I think that this will be beneficial already, without the other benefits. What are these benefits? Lets check them out:
Thanks for reading! Check back for more E3 info, or post about what your want me to write about!
Thanks Again!
Well, for a long time we've argued, Sony fanboy vs. Microsoft fanboy, but Microsoft concluding that Xbox One will still have its' "Always Online" feature along with the restrictions on trading and lending of used games, topping it off with a $499 base model launch price paved the golden road for Sony to take race and end the first day of E3 with Microsoft trailing in the dirt behind them. The polls don't lie as IGN's latest poll stats (3:55pm-6/11/13) state that according to everyone, not only fanboys (though there still are some holding on for dear life to Microsoft's next console) that Sony won this generation of consoles. Sony currently presiding at 1st with 82.54% of the votes, Microsoft in 2nd with 12.44% of the votes and the Wii U in 3rd with 5.02% of the votes. If you won't take it from me, at least take it from the rest of the voters.
The Sony conference event shining moments, that literally had fans in a standing ovation (usually standing ovations only exist during game announcements like with the announcement of the continuation of the Star Wars: Battlefront franchise by DICE) chanting "Sony! Sony! Sony!" consisted of when Jack Tretton (President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America)claimed that the PS4 would not have any Used Game restrictions. This news continued into Jack stating that there would be no required online connection to play them, nor would it require a periodical "check-in" online to continue playing them, furthermore, the games would not quit working if you don't authenticate them within 24 hours, this all leading to even louder cheers and applause. The end of the Sony conference had Andrew House coming out and speaking some final parting words, ending with the Playstation 4 base model launch cost being $399, $100 less than it's Microsoft counterpart, leading to the loudest applause heard from any E3 footage shot so far.
Unfortunately there was a bit of bad news for the hardcore gamers on Sony's side. Though all these exciting new features are here, to be able to play games online with friends or other members of the playstation community, you will be required to purchase a Playstation Plus membership. Now before you get upset, lets look over the Pros and Cons of this.
One of the first things you get upset with is the fact that you will have to pay to play online now, however, you've got to understand that the cost is less than $5 a month, rivaling the Xbox Live membership fee of around $8 a month. And of course you know there will be special deals like a percentage off for paying for a larger amount of membership at a time. So considering that, I think that this will be beneficial already, without the other benefits. What are these benefits? Lets check them out:
- Discounted Games (This was already a big thing for the PSPlus before, and now that PSPlus is being expanded so that even brand new games are being released for download on the day they come out in retail, this is an awesome change. Though I wonder about how much this will effect middle parties such as GameStop)
- Cloud Saves (Another feature that was introduced previously in PSPlus. Cloud saves will allow you to save your progress in a game from your console at home, then continue your game on another PS console at grandma's house or college or a friends house even.)
- Automatic Game Updates (One of the other amazing features previously introduced. This feature will force your PS console to turn itself on at a time set by you so that it will look at all games that you have installed on your console, (Game Data) and update it, so when you wake up or get back from work or class, your PS will be ready to go and play your games without having to install new updates before you play.)
- Early Access to Beta Programs (Speaks for itself, haha!)
- Instant Game Collection (This is a newer feature that Sony implemented that allows users to download certain games during a time period that may have been out for a while or even some new popular games that Plus users will get for free! Also, Sony confirmed that PS4 launch users will gain access to a free copy of DriveClub PSPlus Edition($60 value) immediately for free.
Thanks for reading! Check back for more E3 info, or post about what your want me to write about!
Thanks Again!
Monday, June 10, 2013
E3 - Xbox One or PS4?
Alright, so today has a huge important topic. Xbox One Conference vs. the Playstation 4.
Based on the conferences today, the PS4 took a massive dump on Microsoft. The Sony conference started blandly with a few titles launching for the PS3 that was personally scared for what may come. After this, everything took the cake as they announced several features that I will outline in a graph below. During the Sony conference, there were 3 moments that literally had the audience on their feet chanting "Sony, Sony, Sony!" or "OOH, OOH, OOH, OOH, OOH!" and clapping, even laughin hysterically. These three moments were when it was announced that Sony would not have Required Online Restriction to the games you play on their console, Used Games not being Restricted, and the moment at the end where Sony announced the $100 cheaper price than their Microsoft counterpart, the Xbox One. There will be more information I will post in the graph soon, bear with me! :)
Edit: Sony has confirmed that the base model of the Playstation 4 will ship with a 500GB hard drive, with the possibility of other models for the release. This keeps them one step ahead of Microsoft.
Based on the conferences today, the PS4 took a massive dump on Microsoft. The Sony conference started blandly with a few titles launching for the PS3 that was personally scared for what may come. After this, everything took the cake as they announced several features that I will outline in a graph below. During the Sony conference, there were 3 moments that literally had the audience on their feet chanting "Sony, Sony, Sony!" or "OOH, OOH, OOH, OOH, OOH!" and clapping, even laughin hysterically. These three moments were when it was announced that Sony would not have Required Online Restriction to the games you play on their console, Used Games not being Restricted, and the moment at the end where Sony announced the $100 cheaper price than their Microsoft counterpart, the Xbox One. There will be more information I will post in the graph soon, bear with me! :)
Edit: Sony has confirmed that the base model of the Playstation 4 will ship with a 500GB hard drive, with the possibility of other models for the release. This keeps them one step ahead of Microsoft.
| Xbox One | Playstation 4 | |
| System Launch Cost | $499 | $399 |
| Backwards Compatibility | No | No |
| Cross Game Chat | Yes | Yes |
| Online Connection Required | Yes | No |
| Live Streaming | No | Yes |
| Used Game Payment | Yes | No |
| Cloud Storage | Yes | Yes |
| Required Game Install | Yes | No |
| Game Recording | Yes | Yes |
| Storage Amount | 500gb | |
| Optical Drive | Blu-Ray | Blu-Ray |
| CPU Chip | 8 Core Custom | AMD 8 Core |
| RAM | 8GB DDR3 | 8GB GDDR5 |
| Motion Control | Kinect 2 | PS4 Eye/Dualshock 4 |
| Voice Command | Yes | No |
| USB Ports | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 |
| Subscription | Xbox Live | PS Plus |
| External Screen Control | SmartGlass(Optional) | Vita(Optional) |
| AV Jacks | HDMI + Optical | HDMI + Optical |
| Bluetooth Capability | No | Bluetooth 2.1 |
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Watch Dogs Upcoming New Franchise
Alright, so it's been a few days since I last posted, I promise that I'll get on a schedule soon and hopefully start posting a new article each day, but for now while I'm getting ready to head back up to college I will be constrained for time.
Anyhow! Today's talk is about upcoming releases of an exciting new franchise. Sorry if you want to hear about the new Call of Duty: Ghosts or Battlefield 4, I'll be sure to cover that really soon. One of the games that I personally am really excited for is the release of Watch Dogs. The developers at Ubisoft took such a simple concept idea from popular topics of today and turned it into a game. The controversial topic that I'm talking about is the idea that EVERYONE's personal information (i.e: their blood type, cell phone number, address, bank account info, etc) is stored on a central computer that keeps it for the government to reference if they find the need to, and that this super computer can control everything that goes on in it's "Zone." By controlling everything, I mean controlling which way security cameras face or whether they're working or not, changing the traffic lights from green to red or vice-versa, even something like making a public transportation vehicle (like a train or subway) brake or speed up. This concept of having "Big Brother" "watching out for us" or in others opinions "controlling us" is a major controversy just like gun laws because there's always two opinions on it with numerous reasons and arguments backing them. Although it is a major topic, Ubisoft made it into a game, portraying a man by the name of Aiden Pearce who was able to procure a particular smartphone that allows him to control this central computer, giving him unlimited access to do whatever he wants in the city, ultimately using this "power" to become a masked vigilante. (not your normal superhero eh?) In a game-play video that was released recently, the game shows many aspects of Aiden's power over the city while it shows him just looking at different people and being able to pull up several personal facts about the citizens; things like their job, what their chance of being a victim of a crime is, even their bank pin and accounts. At the beginning of the video, Aiden walks to a convenience store and spots a wealthy looking man talking on his phone, using his phone, he "downloads" the mans bank pin and heads to the nearest ATM, withdrawing a hefty sum of money from the man's account before moving on. Other parts of the video portray him free-running and using parkour-like moves to move around obstacles, also showing him overloading a fuse-box to catch a criminal. More information is apparently coming soon and I can't wait to see it.
If you have another game you want me to check out and write an article about, be sure to post in the comments. I'll post a video of the game-play trailer for you to see exactly what I was talking about if you want. Thanks for reading!
Click Here for Game-play Video
Anyhow! Today's talk is about upcoming releases of an exciting new franchise. Sorry if you want to hear about the new Call of Duty: Ghosts or Battlefield 4, I'll be sure to cover that really soon. One of the games that I personally am really excited for is the release of Watch Dogs. The developers at Ubisoft took such a simple concept idea from popular topics of today and turned it into a game. The controversial topic that I'm talking about is the idea that EVERYONE's personal information (i.e: their blood type, cell phone number, address, bank account info, etc) is stored on a central computer that keeps it for the government to reference if they find the need to, and that this super computer can control everything that goes on in it's "Zone." By controlling everything, I mean controlling which way security cameras face or whether they're working or not, changing the traffic lights from green to red or vice-versa, even something like making a public transportation vehicle (like a train or subway) brake or speed up. This concept of having "Big Brother" "watching out for us" or in others opinions "controlling us" is a major controversy just like gun laws because there's always two opinions on it with numerous reasons and arguments backing them. Although it is a major topic, Ubisoft made it into a game, portraying a man by the name of Aiden Pearce who was able to procure a particular smartphone that allows him to control this central computer, giving him unlimited access to do whatever he wants in the city, ultimately using this "power" to become a masked vigilante. (not your normal superhero eh?) In a game-play video that was released recently, the game shows many aspects of Aiden's power over the city while it shows him just looking at different people and being able to pull up several personal facts about the citizens; things like their job, what their chance of being a victim of a crime is, even their bank pin and accounts. At the beginning of the video, Aiden walks to a convenience store and spots a wealthy looking man talking on his phone, using his phone, he "downloads" the mans bank pin and heads to the nearest ATM, withdrawing a hefty sum of money from the man's account before moving on. Other parts of the video portray him free-running and using parkour-like moves to move around obstacles, also showing him overloading a fuse-box to catch a criminal. More information is apparently coming soon and I can't wait to see it.
If you have another game you want me to check out and write an article about, be sure to post in the comments. I'll post a video of the game-play trailer for you to see exactly what I was talking about if you want. Thanks for reading!
Click Here for Game-play Video
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Microsoft Disappoints Expectations at Xbox One Reveal
Before getting into my arguments, I'd like to say that I personally own both Sony and Microsoft products (both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles) and though I do prefer Sony's console, I am speaking not as a fan boy, but as a viewer of both of the recent events. I will be making claims based on the information revealed and information that has yet to be revealed.
My thoughts as I woke up this morning were of excitement as I waited anxiously for the Xbox reveal to begin. (Just the same as when the PS4 was revealed) As the video began playing revealing the XboxOne's new sleek box-styled case, I couldn't help but cock my eyebrows a bit and my grin faded. I wasn't expecting the plain rectangular case that stretched across my computer monitor. As the camera rotated around it, further showing off the disappointing case style that wasn't nearly as impressive as the Xbox360's case, (or even the original Xbox for that matter) my once jittery hands fell still. I continued watching, waiting to see the new controller and what I found to be a new model of the Kinect. As the trailer continued rolling and revealed the Kinect 2. My faded grin turned into a slight scowl and I squinted as I looked at the plain box-styled device that would be the Kinect 2. Thinking back and looking at the design to the new system case, I thought further about it, coming to the conclusion that it looked like a bulky DVD player, not an awesome show-off-my-console-to-my-friends feel.
So the case for the new Xbox One console didn't catch my attention so well, whatever. After that, of course they revealed "IntelligentTV" which was a cool feature, though they didn't say how it would tie into cable users other than Comcast, like VerizonFiOS or Timewarner cable. This worries me that the only way I'll be able to use these new features is by buying a new service through my Xbox, or by purchasing VOD from the Xbox Live Marketplace. The new features included brand new voice commands and motion commands that let you interact with the Xbox, without using a controller or remote. Freaking AWESOME! But again, how usable will that be by me? "SnapClip" was one of my favorite features. Allowing you to do two things at once, like surf the web while watching a movie or tv. Something I've always hoped I could do on my tv. No worries with this feature, I know I'll definitely use it, though maybe not really often.
Ok, so due to my desire to keep this article short, I want to get to the point.
The first disappointing thing in the video, that has become a widely popular argument that has been going around forums and popular articles on game reporting sites like IGN or GameSpot has been the statement that was made in reveal event claiming that Microsoft Studios would release 15 Xbox exclusive titles in the first year of the Xbox One's release. This would be great, a lot of games that you could only get on Xbox, fantastic. But the reality, is that many of these games that have been released by Microsoft Studios recently, have been, for the majority, made for the Kinect. Because most gamers (like myself) who buy the Xbox or Playstation are hardcore gamers, we don't play games like Kinect Sports or Kinect Adventures, even games like Dance Central very often. These games are leisure games for the casual gamer or for family gaming. These games were meant for the Wii and Wii U. Not the hardcore gaming consoles that they are being wired for. The XboxOne and Playstation4 both have high system specs, boasting 8GB of RAM and other properties that are making them more and more similar to PC's. (Though they have their own operating system, I know, please don't attack me on this, it's a mute point in this article.) They were made to be amazingly detailed and intense action scenes and game-play. Games like Kinect Adventures are fun every now and then, bu they don't need the 8GB of RAM to run, nor should any part of those 8gigs be wasted on the casual game. Cool, you get 15 exclusive titles, but how many of these will be worth buying and be played repeatedly by your biggest sources of revenue?
Something else that I read about, was an article where Xbox's UK marketing director, Harvey Eagle, said "the console will not function without Kinect connected." This begs me to question whether this will be remedied in months to come, or will it always be about the Kinect? Why is Microsoft pushing it, so that it's required to have a Kinect. Friends of mine that have 360's are Call of Duty and Battlefield players. They don't even have Kinects. From my understanding, Microsoft is forcing them to pay for something that they don't even want to use, or keep up with. Because you know that the Kinect 2 isn't just coming with the XboxOne's cost; it HAS to be included in the cost of the full machine. It sounds as though it'll be just as important to have the Kinect 2 attachment as it would be to have the power cable, cause apparently, the console won't function without either of them...
My biggest concern with Microsoft is that they are ruining their own name as a major gaming console. They have awesome features, yes, I agree completely. But they are turning a GAMING CONSOLE into a "Social-Entertainment Console." By this I mean they are trying to keep it being updated with features that many people like: Skype, Multitasking, (Lazy)Entertainment Control; and they're starting to move away from what is important. For the sake of reference to one of my favorite low-budget movies "Video Game High School," the dean of the school says it all too well when he says, "It's all about the Game." Unfortunately the XboxOne is moving away from this; and to me, it seems like it's changing to become a new type of console. If they want to continue having a strong console, I recommend they split the features into two devices. One will be the Xbox: the gaming console, what it was invented to be. The other, will be a new console, something I would like to coin as "XboxSEC" = Xbox: Social & Entertainment Console.
Feel free to comment on my article on your own views of what it is or with any sort of suggestion. I can't promise a response quick or at all, but I'll do my best. Thanks for reading! ^_^
My thoughts as I woke up this morning were of excitement as I waited anxiously for the Xbox reveal to begin. (Just the same as when the PS4 was revealed) As the video began playing revealing the XboxOne's new sleek box-styled case, I couldn't help but cock my eyebrows a bit and my grin faded. I wasn't expecting the plain rectangular case that stretched across my computer monitor. As the camera rotated around it, further showing off the disappointing case style that wasn't nearly as impressive as the Xbox360's case, (or even the original Xbox for that matter) my once jittery hands fell still. I continued watching, waiting to see the new controller and what I found to be a new model of the Kinect. As the trailer continued rolling and revealed the Kinect 2. My faded grin turned into a slight scowl and I squinted as I looked at the plain box-styled device that would be the Kinect 2. Thinking back and looking at the design to the new system case, I thought further about it, coming to the conclusion that it looked like a bulky DVD player, not an awesome show-off-my-console-to-my-friends feel.
So the case for the new Xbox One console didn't catch my attention so well, whatever. After that, of course they revealed "IntelligentTV" which was a cool feature, though they didn't say how it would tie into cable users other than Comcast, like VerizonFiOS or Timewarner cable. This worries me that the only way I'll be able to use these new features is by buying a new service through my Xbox, or by purchasing VOD from the Xbox Live Marketplace. The new features included brand new voice commands and motion commands that let you interact with the Xbox, without using a controller or remote. Freaking AWESOME! But again, how usable will that be by me? "SnapClip" was one of my favorite features. Allowing you to do two things at once, like surf the web while watching a movie or tv. Something I've always hoped I could do on my tv. No worries with this feature, I know I'll definitely use it, though maybe not really often.
Ok, so due to my desire to keep this article short, I want to get to the point.
The first disappointing thing in the video, that has become a widely popular argument that has been going around forums and popular articles on game reporting sites like IGN or GameSpot has been the statement that was made in reveal event claiming that Microsoft Studios would release 15 Xbox exclusive titles in the first year of the Xbox One's release. This would be great, a lot of games that you could only get on Xbox, fantastic. But the reality, is that many of these games that have been released by Microsoft Studios recently, have been, for the majority, made for the Kinect. Because most gamers (like myself) who buy the Xbox or Playstation are hardcore gamers, we don't play games like Kinect Sports or Kinect Adventures, even games like Dance Central very often. These games are leisure games for the casual gamer or for family gaming. These games were meant for the Wii and Wii U. Not the hardcore gaming consoles that they are being wired for. The XboxOne and Playstation4 both have high system specs, boasting 8GB of RAM and other properties that are making them more and more similar to PC's. (Though they have their own operating system, I know, please don't attack me on this, it's a mute point in this article.) They were made to be amazingly detailed and intense action scenes and game-play. Games like Kinect Adventures are fun every now and then, bu they don't need the 8GB of RAM to run, nor should any part of those 8gigs be wasted on the casual game. Cool, you get 15 exclusive titles, but how many of these will be worth buying and be played repeatedly by your biggest sources of revenue?
Something else that I read about, was an article where Xbox's UK marketing director, Harvey Eagle, said "the console will not function without Kinect connected." This begs me to question whether this will be remedied in months to come, or will it always be about the Kinect? Why is Microsoft pushing it, so that it's required to have a Kinect. Friends of mine that have 360's are Call of Duty and Battlefield players. They don't even have Kinects. From my understanding, Microsoft is forcing them to pay for something that they don't even want to use, or keep up with. Because you know that the Kinect 2 isn't just coming with the XboxOne's cost; it HAS to be included in the cost of the full machine. It sounds as though it'll be just as important to have the Kinect 2 attachment as it would be to have the power cable, cause apparently, the console won't function without either of them...
My biggest concern with Microsoft is that they are ruining their own name as a major gaming console. They have awesome features, yes, I agree completely. But they are turning a GAMING CONSOLE into a "Social-Entertainment Console." By this I mean they are trying to keep it being updated with features that many people like: Skype, Multitasking, (Lazy)Entertainment Control; and they're starting to move away from what is important. For the sake of reference to one of my favorite low-budget movies "Video Game High School," the dean of the school says it all too well when he says, "It's all about the Game." Unfortunately the XboxOne is moving away from this; and to me, it seems like it's changing to become a new type of console. If they want to continue having a strong console, I recommend they split the features into two devices. One will be the Xbox: the gaming console, what it was invented to be. The other, will be a new console, something I would like to coin as "XboxSEC" = Xbox: Social & Entertainment Console.
Feel free to comment on my article on your own views of what it is or with any sort of suggestion. I can't promise a response quick or at all, but I'll do my best. Thanks for reading! ^_^
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