Archive for the ‘ videogames ’ Category

Is it time for a new Xbox?

Xbox 360 devs reaching the ‘upper end’ of the console’s graphic capability? – Engadget

Epic Games, developer of Gears of War and Unreal Tournament has expressed that they may already reaching the limit of the console.

If that’s the case, the Xbox 360 reached its end pretty quickly with both the Wii and PS3 still have a lot in them. The tranformation of the Xbox into your home entertainment device with the addition of Netflix rentals this fall could be a way to increase the value of the console. Already priced lower than the Wii, I think we could expect at least a preview of the their next next gen console by E3 next year.

Not all is lost in Japan…yet

Rumor: Kingdom Hearts A PS3 Exclusive, Will Be Seen At TGS

The Tokyo Game Show is the next big gaming event on the calendar (WoW fans will argue that Bizzcon is the next gaming event) and it seems that Sqaure-Enix is busy trying to comfort die hard Sony fans that all is not lost with their favorite franchise.

Sure we’ve heard of Kingdom Hearts for the DS and the PSP. But get this on the PS3!! Not only that. It’s playable.


The unlikely marriage of Disney and Square in 2002 has proven to be one of the most lucrative team ups in gaming. I don’t see anything bad out of this but only good things. Another game to tide us over until Final Fantasy 13 is released.

Final Fantasy XIII Agito: Final Fantasy XIII For PSP Is Way, *Way* Off

Downside, FF13 Agito for the PSP will not be coming out until it’s console cousins FF13 and FF Versus 13 come out. They may change their minds. But I haven’t seen that happen. Well with the exception of FF13 going to the 360. It’s such a long way off. By that time a new PSP version might be out already and I would be playing my PS2 games on it and still FF13 isn’t out yet.

Sigh.

What should’ve been there in the first place

PSP Online Access: Shit Just Got Real

When Sony launched the Playstation Network store on the PS3, the PSP store was also launched but only for the PC. Yes, mac users were left out in the cold. It seems that times have changed and they will now be bringing that very same store to the handheld. I wonder where they got that idea?

Before, you had to buy the game on your PC or on the PS3 then hook up your PSP via USB and transfer it to the memory stick. Soon you’ll be able to shop directly on the PSP and download it there. Be prepared with your power cord since some downloads may take a while, of course that’s just from my experience.

There are more functionalities announced such as ad hoc gaming and such with the PS3. All I can say is that it’s about time.

Doing what I’m good at: procrastinating

Why else would I call this blog if I didn’t do this myself. Now that I’m trying to get back on track. Back to the rhythm of blogging. How can I get back to it. Well the best thing I can do is try to catch up to all the things I’ve missed and simplify it as links here. I missed the olympics blogs. So I can only catch up to it now.

So let’s begin:

If you’re not aware, doomsday postponed to September 10. Hadron Collider launch postponed until September.

To understand this Godzilla of a physics project this rap does it justice.

Large Hadron Rap

2008 Olympics: The rise of a Dragon.

I have nothing against dragons. Actually according to the Chinese calendar, I was born under the sign of the dragon and that’s what they showed in Beijing. Unfortunately for us who couldn’t be there for one reason or another, the TV broadcast was really bad. Delayed telecasts is the bane of any sporting event. Why watch it on TV when you can surf the web and get the results or even watch it. The downside of watching it on the internet, you have download Silverlight. But of course there are other means.

But why watch the Olympics when you can be a part of it on your Wii. Yes, your Wii. Japan gold medalist Kosuke Kitajima apparently spent time training on the Wii in order to familiarize himself with the venue. Kotaku

It’s both inspiring and disheartening when I watch the olympics. Like, these are people who really dedicate themselves to their sport and the amazing things they do. But at the same time, what have I been doing with my life all along. I did harbor a small dream in my younger days of becoming an olympic athlete. I was however ill equipped mentally to focus.

Speaking of younger, did you see those gymnasts?

In the world of gaming,

Chrono Trigger: Chrono Trigger DS Hits America On November 25 which is a few days earlier than it’s release in Japan. I really feel like a sucker for buying all of this. The sick part is. I will.

Final Fantasy Online releases the Tidal Talisman, a limited edition item for $42.99 Unfortunately it’s only for North American players (or those who have a credit card). This item also comes with an in-game code for your character to use in the game.

Well that’s one way of monetizing items in the real world.

Speaking of Final Fantasy, Square-Enix will revise the game so certain notorious monsters will not take 18 hours to kill. Why?? Why change? I like it the way it is. It’s the challenge that makes it something to do. Not like Sky runs now that you can be almost certain to defeat the bosses.

FFXI will release a “level sync” system to allow high level players to party with n00bs. For those who aren’t playing some form of MMO or another, the system doesn’t allow your high level character to earn any XP from low level monsters. It also reduces the amount of XP earned by the lower level player if a high level player is in the party. Playonline

Wizards of the Coast releases a Dungeons and Dragons Facebook app. Server crashes a few days later and in the process deleting my character. Now I have to start all over again.

Sony announces new PS3 model. Still no PS2 compatibility. Damn you SONY!

Rock Band 2 will charge users $5 to be able to play your Rock Band 1 songs.

Square-Enix makes it very clear that there never be a Final Fantasy for the Xbox in Japan and assures the world that it is only Xbox is in the US. – Kotaku

Sony is milking the PSP cow so much that there’s another PSP on the way. Dual shock on a handheld?

Apparently it’s easier to develop for the PS3 than the Famicom. 1UP

Square-Enix makes a bid for Tecmo.

Iron Chef for the Wii feels like Cooking Mama. But it’s still as fun as it can get.

In other internet stuffs,

Yoda cannot get a Facebook account. There goes my Darth Vader identity.

The cute girl who makes your iPhone did not get fired.

iPhone is released in Singapore and the Philippines. Glitches mar the event. Catch? They were activating phones on Dell computers. That’s just so wrong.

Joss Whedon returns!

One of the best TV series ever seen, Firefly will finally make it’s HD debut on November 11. But in order watch the 14 only episodes ever made, you will have to let go of $90. Yes nine zero dollars. Gizmodo

There’s always the $4.99 for 3 episodes of Dr. Horrible on iTunes.

Don’t forget of course Dollhouse coming this fall.

Whew! That about covers it. I’ll get back to my regular blogging schedule this week. That is if I don’t procrastinate.

Home early!

Today was a pretty good day. I’m home early! Apparently the typhoon over Hong Kong is cancelling a number of flights into China. Not that it has anything to do with me.

My hectic schedule has driven me away from my Wii Fit again. I forsee this happening for another two weeks for the duration of the Olympics.

But that doesn’t stop me from trying to read all of my RSS feeds and flagging those I want to blog about.

Gizmodo posts that Electric City Akihabara is now on Google Street Maps. Kakoii!

PS3 fans still have something to be happy about. FF Versus XIII is still a PS3 exclusive – Kotaku

I’ll see if I can post more stuffs tomorrow.

World’s First Double Arm Transplant: Man Gets Arms from Teen

Surgeons have performed the world’s first double arm transplant. The 16-hour operation was carried out last Friday on a farm worker who lost both arms in an accident. The 54-year-old man was given the arms of a teenage boy who is believed to have died in a road crash. This is amazing! Wow. I really do hope he’s doing fine.With that in mind, I would to apologize in advance for what I will write in the next few sentences.LIQUID! SNAKE! I live on through this arm!Well then, this proves that not everything in MGS2 is make believe.

read more | digg story

Dateline: Tokyo DKΣ3713

At the Square-Enix event in Tokyo, they seemed to announce things that would appease their loyal PS3 fans.

Final Fantasy XIII demo is heading for the PS3 in March 2009 which is bundled with the blu-ray version of FFVII Advent Children. This practically crushes any hope that it would be a surprise Holiday title.

Development of the Xbox 360 version will not begin until the PS3 version has been released.

PSP fans have everything to look forward to especially with Parasite Eve making it’s return.

My only problem with the announcements is that it makes me excited, next year. Sigh.

Will the San Diego Comic Con replace E3?

E3 and the San Diego Comic Convention were only weeks apart from each other and it seemed that other than Netflix and Final Fantasy 13 moving over to the Xbox 360, the SDCC generated more news than E3.

For the uninformed, the San Diego Comic con is the largest comic book convention in the world. It is where Marvel, DC and dozens of other publishers and related industries show their wares and for fans to meet the writers and artists behind the comic books.

With the surge in comic book related success like that of Iron Man and Batman, not to mention Superman and Spider-man and with an ever growing manga (that’s Japanese comics) fan base it should come as no surprise that movie studios, video game publishers and toy manufacturers are now almost a permanent fixture at the SDCC.

Since E3 has turned into an industry only event, many have said that it now a shadow of it’s former self. It’s not the same with the fanboys cheering on the side for their favorite game or console. This is a huge difference between the “welcome fans!” banner of the SDCC.

I’ve only attended a comic con once which was the Wondercon, the 3rd comic con in the US and I must say that it was a lot of fun. I heard the SDCC is a whole lot better.

More news was coming out of San Diego more than Los Angeles during E3. Fans had a chance to see first hand what DC online looks like on the PS3 and hear Jim Lee talk about it as well.

Is E3 doomed to suffer the same fate as Comdex?

E3 is now over and how did we do?

I think I did pretty well in predicting some E3 announcements.

Things I got right

  • Animal Crossing for the Wii
  • Newer Xbox 360 (actually HD upgrade to 60GB)
  • Newer PS3 (now with dual shock 3 and 80 GB)
  • Star Wars Game for the iPhone (does it count as a major game?)
  • Pikmin for the Wii
  • Rock Band instruments are now cross compatible with future Guitar Hero games
  • Almost got it right with Bungie (if not for its “publisher”)

It’s not bad. I missed out on all the new Wii peripherals and no really redesign or controllers with any of the consoles.
The biggest surprise was certainly the Square-Enix jump to the 360. But Sony is apparently saving something for the Tokyo Game Show which happens this fall.

Things that probably got overlooked at E3

Cooking Navi (DS)

This game was released in Japan 2 years ago and I’ve been wishing forever that it would be translated to English. And it has! It’s not really a game but a cooking guide where a chef will teach you how to prepare and cook various dishes. It even comes with a timer. I’m definitely getting this.

Where on E3 is Bandai Namco?

Last year, Bandai Namco released Ace Combat 6 and Beautiful Katamari for the Xbox 360 exclusively.

This year apparently, they only released a Tales of Vesperia demo on Xbox Live Marketplace and that Eternal Sonata will be making its way to the PS3 later this year.

After just releasing Soul Calibur IV, what’s next?

Microsoft has no answer yet to the handhelds of Nintendo and Sony

With device and game sales outselling that of consoles shouldn’t the handheld market be something of interest for Microsoft?

There must be something there M$. There’s always next years E3.

Well the week is not over yet so there maybe more to say this weekend.

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