Category: Today’s Specials

Sony Engineer Critiques Kinect for Xbox 360

Sony Computer Entertainment engineer Anton Mikhailov recently gave an interesting critique of Kinect for Xbox 360. Obviously he has a vested interest in PlayStation Move succeeding, but his critique was more interesting than the typical pissing contest between sales-and-marketing executives. He are some of the things he told Videogamer.com:

We feel like Move has more applicability across more genres so it fits better with what we try to do.

Also I think the tech is a bit, not so much immature, but not quite up to spec in what we think. Like the PlayStation Eye camera runs at 60 frames per second so it can track you very quickly whereas the Kinect and other depth camera are only 30 frames per second. So they are more suited for slower motions. Dancing is still kind of okay and then the yoga stuff that they were doing, it fits that very well, whereas if you want to do quick punches it’s harder to do that just because you can’t see the player as quickly.

The fact that it runs at 30 frames per second instead of 60, that’s a common problem with all those cameras. It’s actually hard to fix because you have a lot of data to transport. Sort of working with that image is expensive computationally-wise. I think they quoted something like 10-15 per cent of the Xbox resources, plus like 50 megs of memory or something like that. The Move takes less than 1%, and like 1 megabyte. So, you know, that’s just a bunch of numbers but to developers that means like Killzone 3 can just put in Move and not have to worry about it, whereas something like Kinect you have to make significant game changes to actually fit that into your game.

Whether you believe him or not, superior technology doesn’t necessarily win console wars. Look at the Nintendo Wii, for example. Furthermore, from what I’ve gathered, Microsoft’s marketing budget for Kinect makes Sony’s Move budget look like lunch money. People will buy into hype and purchase products that seem different.

What do you think of Mikhailov’s views on Kinect? Are they honest and legitimate? Or is he just touting his product’s technological superiority over one that’s outselling his?

Source

Coffee Talk #259: Is Wikileaks Useful or Evil?

Is Wikileaks a useful way for people to get information they wouldn’t normally have access to? Or is it an irresponsible site that endangers lives and international relationships? Or is Wikileaks simply a tool that can be used for good and evil?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Britney Spears possibly getting physically abused, Kanye’s new album, or your favorite board game, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The recent United States diplomatic cables leak by Wikileaks shook up the world (like Muhammad Ali). There’s a global manhunt for Wikileaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange and no matter what anyone says, it stems from the cable leaks. Some are hailing Assange as the Robin Hood of information, while others are calling him an irresponsible anarchist. What do you think of Assange and Wikileaks?

The reason I find the situation so fascinating is that this is the biggest Internet controversy I can recall. Sure, documents have been leaked, phone calls have been recorded, and secrets have been spilled in the past, but I don’t recall anything this big spreading through the Internet. Is Wikileaks a useful way for people to get information they wouldn’t normally have access to? Or is it an irresponsible site that endangers lives and international relationships? Perhaps Wikileaks is simply a tool that can be used for good and evil? I’m super looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this. Shout it out (please)!

TPB Review: Batman & Robin and Red Robin

Two weekends ago I devoured the comic-book trade-paperbacks: Batman & Robin volume 1: Batman Reborn, Red Robin: The Grail, and Red Robin: Collision. I read each one at least three times. Here are some random thoughts on these three books.

Batman & Robin: I absolutely love Frank Quitely’s art. It’s so distinct and full of character. His pencils are consistently great in this Batman & Robin run. Too bad I can’t same the same thing about Grant Morrison’s writing. I really don’t understand what happened to him. He used to be one of best and most consistent writers out there. For the last few years he’s had outstanding moments mixed with ones that leave you thinking, “What the f*ck was he thinking?!?”

Anyway, I was drawn to this book because I’m a big Nightwing fan and I wanted to see how Dick Grayson would do as Batman. I’m also fascinated by Damian Wayne, the new Robin. Damian is the son of Bryce Wayne and Talia al Ghul (Ra’s daughter). He was genetically bread for physical and mental perfection, but he’s also arrogant and harshly warped (being raised by the League of Assassins will do that to you). This version of Batman and Robin is fun because Batman is the light character and Robin is the dark one.

The first half of the book is kind of mess thanks to a really lame villain. The second half is infinitely better thanks to the return of the Red Hood (Jason Todd, the second Robin). It’s fun watching the Red Hood try to modernize vigilantism with a brutal sense of justice and using social media tools like Twitter. The second half of the book is really good, combining a sharp story, excellent action, and great art.

Red Robin: First off, it was hard to read these books without thinking of endless fries at Red Robin. Getting past that, this was the most pleasant comic-book surprise I’ve had in 2010. As I mentioned in this Coffee Talk, I love “tweener” characters — heroes that are no longer sidekicks, but aren’t the primary heroes just yet. These two books trace Tim Wayne’s (formerly Drake) path from being a sidekick as Robin to becoming his own man a Red Robin.

I absolutely loved Chris Yost’s writing in these books (you really need both trade paperbacks for the full effect). It blends action, mystery, a global chase, coming-of-age, romantic tension, and more. The story is well paced; it does a fantastic job of alternating the fight scenes with Tim’s cerebral stuff and fun banter between the various characters. The two books culminate in a plot by Ra’s al Ghul against Red Robin and it’s so completely awesome to see how Tim outsmarts one of Batman’s sharpest foes. [Minor Spoiler Alert!!!] I totally marked out when Ra’s called Tim “Detective” right before kicking him out a window. Ra’s usually reserves that title for Batman and using it on Tim shows how his respect for the former Boy Wonder has grown.

Like most Bat Books, the story begins and ends in Gotham. In between, Red Robin travels the world on an impossible quest. Of course he emerges triumphant, but it’s one hell of a ride to the end. While I can’t fully recommend Batman & Robin volume 1, I highly suggest picking up these two Red Robin books. I expected to enjoy them, but I was surprised that they were among my favorite reads of 2010. Excellent stuff.

Coffee Talk #258: Videogame PR Events and…Me

Back in Coffee Talk #250, RPadholic SlickyFats asked me, “Do you get invited to events or do you have to actively seek them out and invite yourself?” I wanted to answer that question in a Coffee Talk column to pull back the curtain on the videogame business and for self therapy.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, your thoughts on the Grammy nominations, what Carl Froch’s wife was looking for, or Jayson Werth possibly signing with the Red Sox, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Back in Coffee Talk #250, RPadholic SlickyFats asked me, “Do you get invited to events or do you have to actively seek them out and invite yourself?” I wanted to answer that question in a Coffee Talk column to pull back the curtain on the videogame business and for self therapy. When I worked at Happy Puppy, GameSpy, Yahoo!, and G4tv, event invites were pretty much automatic. When I freelanced for high-profile outlets like FHM, GigaOm, Amazon, GamePro, etc., invites were pretty frequent. These days…not so much.

No matter what you’ve done in your career, PR people will forget about you once you stop serving a large audience. Their job is to promote their games to as many people as possible. Once you’re no longer useful to them, they stop calling, they stop returning your phone calls, they stop sending you games, and they stop sending you press releases. That’s just how it works.

Obviously this is a source of frustration for me. I’m trying to build and grow a web site. I need support from PR people. They control the information and coverage opportunities. On one hand, I completely understand where they’re coming from — I’m not as useful to them as I once was. On the other hand, I naively hope that people I’ve known for more than 10 years will help me grow my site. At the very least, I’d like to be invited to events that are miles away from my apartment. To be fair, I suck at self promotion and I hate groveling for stuff; I need to get over this in 2011 for the good of the site.

The good news is that I have several relationships with developers that many of you like. I will try to pull in favors for video interviews and stuff. Recently I was chatting with a pretty famous developer and he asked me what I thought about a recent press release. I told him, “I don’t know. Your flacks took me off the mailing lists. I don’t get your games or press releases anymore.” He was surprised and a little pissed off. He asked me if I wanted him to “fix” that situation. I declined. I’ll try to “fix” that myself next year.

So yeah, I get a fraction of the coverage opportunities I used to get and it kind of sucks. I’m going to try to change that in 2011. Also, I’m making a list and checking it thrice — I will never forget the PR people that still send me games, email me press releases, and invite me to events…nor will I forget the PR people that completely dropped me.

Thanks SlickyFats! This was therapeutic.

Original Halo Being Remade with the Reach Engine?

Eurogamer posted a hot rumor that the original Halo is going to be remade using the Halo: Reach engine. When asked about this rumor, Microsoft PR responded with the following:

Right now our focus is on supporting Halo: Reach. We have nothing to announce at this time.

In my head this is the PR equivalent of *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*, “It’s coming!” What do you think? Is a Halo remake in the works? Would you buy it?

Source

PSP Phone Spotted in Greece?

This “spy” video allegedly shows the Sony Ericcson Z1 — the rumored PSP Android phone. It’s super grainy, so it’s hard to tell exactly what it is. The Android part seems accurate, but it’s impossible to tell if the handset can play PSP games. Check it out and share your conspiracy theories (please)!

Source via Engadget

Salman Rushdie Talks Red Dead Redemption

In a Q&A with Big Think about his novel Luka and the Fire of Life, author Salman Rushdie spent some time talking about Rockstar Games’ Read Dead Redemption. He seemed fascinated by the game’s mix of storytelling and open-world interactivity. Rushdie said:

The game that my 13 year-old boy Milan and his friends all seem to be playing right now is this wild west game called Red Dead Redemption and one of the things looking over… I mean I don’t even pretend to understand what is going on really, but one of the things that is interesting about it to me is the much looser structure of the game and the much greater agency that the player has to choose how he will explore and inhabit the world that is provided for you. He doesn’t… in fact, doesn’t really have to follow the main narrative line of the game at all for long periods of time. There is all kinds of excursions and digressions that you can choose to go on and find many stories to participate in instead of the big story, the macro story. I think that really interests me as a storyteller because I’ve always thought that one of the things that the Internet and the gaming world permits as a narrative technique is to not tell the story from beginning to end — to tell stories sideways, to give alternative possibilities that the reader can, in a way, choose between.

I’m a big fan of Rushdie and was totally jazzed to hear his thoughts on videogames. (On a side note, I totally marked out when he asked J.K. Rowling about Severus Snapes’ motivations in a Deathly Hallows Q&A.)  However, not everything he said was positive. Check out the video clip if you have a chance and let me know what you think (please)!

Source

Coffee Talk #257: What Was Your “Rubber Soul” Game?

Although my dad played The Beatles’ Rubber Soul for me hundreds of times, it didn’t “click” with me until I got older. I’ve always loved music, but Rubber Soul changed my perception of what music could be. Is there a game you’ve played that did the same thing for you?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Verve Roaster’s Guatemala La Maravilla, Taylor Swift dating the Prince of Persia, or Anne Hathaway acting topless, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Although my dad played The Beatles’ Rubber Soul for me hundreds of times, it didn’t “click” with me until I got older. I’ve always loved music, but Rubber Soul changed my perception of what music could be. Is there a game you’ve played that did the same thing for you? Is there a game that changed your perception of what videogames could be?

As for me, there are two that come to mind…and they happen to be in the same series. Similar to music, I’ve always loved games. Final Fantasy VI (FFIII in America) changed my perception of what games could be. Until then, I didn’t realize that games could offer an interactive experience that combined an epic story, outstanding music, and deep gameplay — an experience that rivaled or surpassed what movies and television offered.

As much as I loved FFVI, I didn’t think RPGs could be as popular as action games or sports games. Final Fantasy VII changed all that. The videogame genre I loved the most hit the mainstream! Although I have my problems with FFVII, I appreciate and love what it did for the genre.

Now it’s your turn! What games transformed the way you perceived the medium?

Moonkin Hatchling WoW Pet Benefits Make-a-Wish Foundation

Blizzard has announced a new World of Warcraft pet that benefits the excellent Make-a-Wish Foundation. The Moonkin Hatchling costs $10 and if you purchase one before the end of the year then $5 will go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Blizzard has announced a new World of Warcraft pet that benefits the excellent Make-a-Wish Foundation. The Moonkin Hatchling costs $10 and if you purchase one before the end of the year then $5 will go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Here’s the official word:

The googly-eyed Moonkin Hatchling, which comes in unique Horde and Alliance versions, will occasionally plant flowers at your feet, and happily /dances with any willing partners. Like last year’s Pandaren Monk, the Moonkin Hatchling has a soft spot for helping children. For every Moonkin Hatchling adopted from November 29 through December 31, 2010, Blizzard Entertainment will donate 50% of the $10 purchase price to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

I love that Blizzard is doing this. If I still played WoW, I’d buy one. Hopefully some of you will pick one up. You get a cool pet and help a great cause! Here are more screens of the lovely hatchling in both forms:

Source

Coffee Talk #256: Your First Videogames

It was cool watching you guys talk about your first videogame console in yesterday’s Coffee Talk. To follow that up, I’d like to know about your first console games.

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the NFL going light with player fines, President George W. Bush interviewed by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, or Christina Aguilera finding a new boyfriend (*sniff*), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

It was cool watching you guys talk about your first videogame console in yesterday’s Coffee Talk. To follow that up, I’d like to know about your first console games. What was the first console game you ever played? What was the first console game you bought with your own money?

I honestly can’t remember the first game I purchased on my own. I do remember playing Videocart-1: Tic Tac Toe, Shooting Gallery, Doodle, Quadradoodle for the Fairchild Channel F. I was completely fascinated that I could play Tic Tac Toe with something other than a crayon or a pencil. In some ways it’s funny looking back at how enamored I was with digital Tic Tac Toe. In other ways it’s amazing how far videogames have come. Going from Tic Tac Toe to Heavy Rain is quite a leap. Ha!

Now it’s your turn! What was the first console game you ever played? What was the first console game you bought with your own money?