Go Speed Racer, Go!

The Inquirer has an article up claiming that the PS3's specs have taken yet another hit. They're not exactly the most reliable source of news, so take this with a grain of salt. But if they're right, Sony's about to take yet another PR beating.

Blue Laser Blues

Saw over at Joystiq that both Sony and Toshiba are having trouble producing the diodes required to make the blue lasers required for both HD DVD and Blu-Ray. It looks like the console wars will be well on their way to being decided by the time production is back on track at the beginning of 2007. How this bodes for the PS3 is yet to be seen, but Sony has supposedly been dedicating what little supplies they can get to making sure they hit their launch target. It just goes to show the remarkable savvy of Microsoft to stay out of the HD format battle so far. They can keep prices down and avoid such shortages. And they can still have their cake and eat it too with their add-in drive, making them a solid bet if the war winds up going Toshiba's way.

Metal Gear Squalid

Gametrailers has some footage (found via Joystiq) of a new Metal Gear Solid 4 trailer. Joystiq seems rather excited by it, but I'm not sure why. Yes, it's pretty- very, very pretty. But we knew that already. Where's the gameplay? Is it going to play exactly the same as the past three iterations of the series? If that's the case, it just goes to prove Nintendo's point: there's nothing new in gameplay, and all developers seem to know how to do is make us play the same games over and over- just with nicer graphics. Come on Kojima, prove me wrong.

Zelda Wall Hanging

This is the wall hanging I commissioned from my mother. It's based on this Wind Waker promotional desktop wallpaper with some modifications for material and sanity (Link's shield is obviously more detailed in the drawn version.) I was inspired both by the "best gaming tattoo ever" and previous quilts that my mom made.

The quilt took several months to finish and uses several different techniques. On my end the hardest part of the process was creating a black and white image with simplified design elements. After that I created several different colour schemes (some with the intention of making the quilt "easier" to make) and eventually settled on one that was similar to the original design. The black and white outline was then transferred to an overhead transparency and enlarged. From there the pieces were made while I played the waiting game and received tantalizing email updates somewhat akin to a reverse ransom demand as I saw bits and pieces of Link come together rather than fall apart. I'd love to go into more detail about the construction of the piece, but I was only present for the final bits so I'm not entirely certain on the process.

There are five more "stained glass" desktop images on the Wind Waker website (most of them are dead links, pardon the pun, but the images can be found elsewhere on the web) but I have no plans of asking my mom to finish up the set. I think I might find myself having to pay, one way or the other, if I did that. For now I am content to have the one quilt hanging in my livingroom.

Click the right-hand image for a detail shot of Link.

What the Hell Nintendo?

You've done it again. "Wii Prove our Promise" and reveal nothing but a pair of new games. Sure there are a hell of a lot of playable games in Leipzig, but it kind of seems like you might be running short on time. We want a release date.

We (and by that I really mean you, Nintendo) need a release date. We need it to place pre-orders and to start setting aside money that might otherwise go towards other things (games on other platforms etc.) Without a release date many retailers won't take money down, or at least won't be very honest about it. Don't do it for me, do it for yourselves and keep the buzz going.

September 14th is your next and possibly last chance. Don't screw it up.

History Lesson?

I'll admit, I'm not the world's biggest Sony supporter. In fact I've been a detractor since about the time the PS2 killed off the Dreamcast simply by existing some point in the nebulous future.

The DC had a good year or more lead time in all of the major regions, it was reasonably priced ($199,) and had arguably the best launch library of any console then or since (Soul Calibur, Sonic Adventure, Power Stone etc..) Everything was going the right way for Sega and new and exciting titles were released monthly, but by early 2001 the Dreamcast was officially discontinued.

What went wrong?

The answer isn't surprising, many of you know it already. The Sony hype machine kicked in.

In April of 1999, month's before the September 9th release of the Dreamcast, Sony began to promote the upcoming PlayStation 2. In the lead-up to its launch the PS2 was presented as a digital entertainment savior who's "emotion engine" was capable of rendering Toy Story in real-time, and referred to as a computer rather than as a console. Much was made of the storage capacity of the PS2's DVD media versus the DC's proprietary GD-ROM.

Despite all of Sony's hype the Dreamcast was superior to the PlayStation 2 (at least when comparing first and second generation games.) The DC cost about half as much, had more quality titles in its initial library, and came ready for on-line gaming. Sega fell to the Sony hype machine.

In reality Sony was little more than the straw that broke the Sega camel's back. The Dreamcast was the first relatively successful piece of hardware in a long line of flops that started with the Sega CD. In addition to financial losses from poor console and add-on sales Sega also lost a good deal of consumer confidence and brand loyalty, which ultimately lead to fewer sales of the Dreamcast.

So, what does this tell us about the fervor? Not as much as we'd like to think. While Sony again finds itself coming second to the market, they are facing a much stronger foe. While the original Xbox Microsoft established themselves as a major player in the business who is willing to do just about whatever it takes to be successful. For once Sony has to take on a company that is as big or bigger than they are.

What can Sony do to win or at least do well in the upcoming console war? Crank the hype machine up to 11. Not the "Riiiiiddddge Raaacer!" or "Giant Enemy Crab" type hype we saw at E3, but real hype. Tout the capabilities of the system, show off some real gameplay footage, nail down some actual exciting exclusives, drop the freaking motion-sensitive controller like a brick.

Sony's problem is that they started the hype too early. We heard about the supposed power of the Cell Processor so many years ago and it has changed so much that we just don't care anymore. The specs and capabilities of the PS3 have varied so much (it was supposed to be a hub, and output to two TV's simultaneously) that each new announcement seemed to elicit disappointment rather than excitement. The price point doesn't help much either.

All in all Sony has to convince us that the PlayStation 3 is a product that we simply must have, at least until we get it into our hot little hands.

Exclusively Multi-platform

With today's confirmation that Ubisoft's much-anticipated Assassin's Creed will appear on both Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, it looks like exclusivity is largely a thing of the past. There are a few exceptions, but with perennial exclusives like Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series moving towards multi-platform support, the general rule of thumb seems to be "if it runs on both platforms, it'll be released on both platforms". Once fanboy favoritism is put aside, this is definitely a good thing for gamers. We're used to being fought over like a kid in a bitter child custody battle, but it looks like we'll finally get the love we so richly deserve no matter which side we choose. How this'll change the dynamics of the console wars, we'll have to see. One thing is certain: it's definitely going to be an interesting generation.