Category: Today’s Specials

Major Nelson Covers Up for Steve Ballmer: No Blu-Ray for Xbox 360

As I expected, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer misspoke when he said Blu-ray was coming to Xbox 360. Marketing guy Major Nelson just issued the following statement:

I wanted to clear something up. Steve was referring to Blu-Ray accessories for the PC. As we have said in the past, we have no plans to introduce a Blu-Ray drive for the Xbox 360.

Steve Ballmer 2

After that, the Major went into marketing overdrive and started talking about how 1080p streaming is the future of entertainment. I’ll spare you those remarks.

As I mentioned in the comments to the original story, I was expecting this to happen. Ballmer has a history of misspeaking on Microsoft consumer products. While it’s easy to say that he was speaking quickly and the quote was taken out of context, I just don’t think he completely understands that part of Microsoft…or maybe Nelson was just worried about him raining on the 1080p streaming parade (play conspiracy theorist now!)

[Thanks to Sandrock323 for pointing this out!]

Source

Coffee Talk #9: Is Peter Molyneux Hurting Project Natal?

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, Manny Ramirez taking a shower while his team is still playing, Barnes & Noble’s Nook e-reader, or Google’s upcoming iTunes competitor, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Peter Molyneux is one of the most polarizing figures in game development. He talks big and dreams big, but a lot of gamers believe that his games do not live up to the hype. Whether it’s deserved or not, he has a reputation for over-promising and under-delivering. With that in mind, is he really the best person to be pushing Microsoft’s motion controller, Project Natal?

Fable III

Molyneux recently revealed that Fable 3 will have support for Natal. He mesmerized the crowd at E3 2009 with his Milo virtual indentured servant boy demo for Natal. Microsoft seems happy with having him be one of the project’s faces, but I question if he’s the best man for the job. There’s no doubt that he’s one of the most ambitious and creative people in game development, so it’s easy to argue that he’s a good choice for an ambitious and creative endeavor like Natal. However, he has that pesky reputation. A lot of hardcore gamers already have issues with Natal, so maybe using the “over-promising under-delivering” guy to push it isn’t the smartest thing to do.

What do you think? Does Molyneux’s heavy involvement with hurt or help Project Natal? Is it better to have a dreamer like Molyneux pushing the project? Or would it be wiser to use a high profile developer that delivers results that are much closer to their hype?

Windows 7 Poll: Are You Taking the Plunge?

Windows 7 boxMicrosoft’s Windows 7 is available today. The company’s latest operating system promises to be its best since Windows XP. After a rough ride with Windows Vista, most reviews point to Windows 7 being a vastly superior experience. The question is, are you going to buy it? Let the RPad.tv community know by voting in this poll. If you have time, explain why you voted the way you did in the comments section.

[poll id = 2]

Coffee Talk #8: Why You Should Support Borderlands

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, A-Rod discovering how to play in the post-season, Apple’s $999 unibody MacBook, or T-Mobile’s mysterious Project Dark, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Borderlands is one of those games that I hope sells likes crazy, but probably won’t. While I won’t go as far as to say the game has been “sent to die”, like Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter did, I acknowledge that it has several things going against it. Even though it’s an action-RPG, a lot of people view it as a shooter based on screenshots and Gearbox Software’s history. This is an extraordinarily crappy time to release a shooter — especially a new franchise. Halo 3: ODST recently came out and Modern Warfare 2 is a few weeks away. While all three games are different enough, there’s definitely a lot of audience overlap and a limited amount of dollars that can be spent. Most people are going to go with the sequels to established franchises instead of the new game with the funky art.

Borderlands

I hope I’m wrong — I really do. Borderlands is the kind of game we should all be supporting. The developer has a strong track record, the reviews have been great, the game is unique, and the art style rocks (well, it rocks me anyway). A lot of people complain that the gaming business is too sequel happy and not enough effort has been made to generate new IPs. Well here’s your chance to stand up for originality and against sequel-itis!

Of course it’s your money and you should do what you want with it. You should buy whatever game you think will entertain you the most. It’s just upsetting that a good, original game from a quality developer is likely to get brushed aside in favor of sequels. Again, I hope I’m wrong and Borderlands sells millions of copies.

With all of that in mind, here are my questions for you this morning. Does supporting originality or developers come into play when you buy games? Or is it all about entertainment for you?

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Japanese Release Date

Square Enix’s highly anticipated Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for Sony PlayStation Portable has been slated for January 9, 2010 according to Andriasang. While a general January time frame was given by the company during Tokyo Game Show 2009, the date is now set in stone by way of keyblade.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Hopefully localization will be quick and North American Kingdom Hearts fans will get Birth by Sleep a few months later. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days was released on May 2009 in Japan and September 2009 in North America — a four-month gap. However, that’s a Nintendo DS game; Birth by Sleep will require more localization time, especially with the voice acting. I’d love an American version by June, but wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t arrive until August.

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Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time Videos

Sony has posted a pair of excellent videos for the (what should be) excellent Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. I know a lot of PS3 gamers are going gaga for Uncharted 2 (and rightfully so), but I’ve always preferred Insomniac’s games and am super looking forward to this one. Anyway, check out the vids and let me know what you think (please)!

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Apple Introduces New Unibody MacBook for $999

Apple has unveiled a new 13-inch unibody MacBook for $999. The laptop is available today. Here are some highlights from Apple:

  • Durable Unibody Enclosure: Just 1.08-inches thin and 4.7 pounds, MacBook features a sleek, sturdy unibody design that slips easily into your bag or backpack.
  • Built-in 7-Hours Battery: The new built-in battery lasts up to 7 hours on a single charge.
  • Brilliant LED-backlit Display: Your photos, videos, games, and websites come alive on the new power-efficient, 13-inch LED-backlit widescreen display.
  • Glass Multi-Touch Trackpad: The spacious new trackpad gives you plenty of room to navigate and supports two-finger scroll, right-click, and Multi-Touch gestures.

Macbook unibody 2

This product will do some killer numbers. It has all the sexiness of the Mac at a sub-$1,000 price point. Other notebook manufacturers should be scared. The new MacBook will sell like crazy. I also love the timing of the announcement — just days away from the launch of Windows 7. Ha!

What do you think of the new MacBook? I think it’s the hotness!!! But perhaps you disagree. I wanna know!

Coffee Talk #7: PS3 vs. Xbox 360 — The Race to #2

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, Joe Girardi’s interesting bullpen management, the sexy Motorola Droid for Verizon, or what games you’ll be buying this week, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

By now, most of you will have had time to think about the September 2009 NPD Group console sales figures. Sony did very well for itself, selling loads of systems thanks to the PS3 price cut and the introduction of the PlayStation 3 Slim. While the Nintendo Wii will end up being the sales winner this console generation (barring some catastrophe like Romulans attacking Earth to steal every Wii on the planet), some feel that second place is up for grabs.

PS3 vs Xbox 360

Xbots will argue that the 360 has way too big a lead in North America. The company will continue to sell its exclusives and sell more third-party games thanks to a larger installed base. Improvements to Xbox Live will cement the console’s position of having the best online console-gaming experience.

Members of the Sony Defense Force will point out that this is a marathon, not a sprint. This console generation is far from over and Sony has superior first-party games lined up for 2010. With the console’s price cut, the PS3’s capabilities — Blu-ray playback, built-in Wifi, etc. — clearly make it a better value than the 360. With better games and better hardware that’s now at a competitive price, it’s only a matter of time until the PS3 surpasses the Xbox 360.

Certainly there are still too many variables, too many years, and too many unannounced games that will shape the remaining years of this generation, but it’s still fun to play analyst. So pretend for a few minutes that you’re Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter or EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich. I want to know which console you think will end up grabbing the silver medal this console generation. Do you think it’ll be Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Sony’s PlayStation 3? Pick a side and state your case (please!).

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NPD Console Sales Figures Top 10 Games of September 2009

NPD Group has issued its console software sales data for September 2009. Did MTV Games prove that all you need is love and a cool Gretsch peripheral? Or did Activision trounce it with the more varied Guitar Hero 5? Do any of you doubt that Halo 3: ODST did some major damage? Was Batman strong enough to take on the entire Marvel Universe? Let’s take a look!

The Beatles Rock Band

  1. Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360): 1,520,000
  2. Wii Sports Resort (Wii): 442,900
  3. Madden NFL 10 (Xbox 360): 289,600
  4. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo DS): 258,100
  5. The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360): 254,000
  6. Madden NFL 10 (PlayStation 3): 246,500
  7. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (Xbox 360): 236,000
  8. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PlayStation 3): 212,500
  9. Guitar Hero 5 (Xbox 360): 210,800
  10. The Beatles: Rock Band (Wii): 208,600

    I’m relieved that The Beatles: Rock Band did better than Guitar Hero 5. I don’t have anything against GH5, but I needed to know that America had the good taste to support The Beatles. I’m a little bummed that Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 didn’t perform better, but I’m also not surprised. At the end of the day, the chart was dominated by balls (Madden) and guns (Halo). While millions of people are (what I like to call) balls-and-guns gamers, that’s just not my thing. Seriously though, it’s not so much about the genre, but two strongly established brands performing extremely well in September.

    What do you think of NPD’s September sales figures? Anything surprise you?

    Michael Pachter Says Xbox Live Going Up to $100

    Michael PachterIn today’s Coffee Talk, reader RRODisHere pointed out this interesting tidbit from Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter. On an episode of Gametrailer’s Bonus Round, Pachter said:

    Microsoft wants you to never play a game again on your PC and play everything on your 360.

    You really want to hook every gamer who has a 360, you want them to buy all their games on 360, play everything multiplayer, pay you 50 bucks a year so that, in a couple years, it’s a 100 bucks a year. That’s going up — we all know that. It’s a profit deal.

    While it’s normal for prices to go up, this is one case where it might be a tough sell. There’s no doubt that Microsoft offers the best online console gaming experience with Xbox Live. It’s so good that the company justifies charging its customers $50 a year to use the service. That said, Sony’s PlayStation Network is getting better and better all the time. If both services continue to improve and Sony’s continues to be free, it will be difficult for Microsoft to raise the price of online admission to $100.

    Then again, I could be totally wrong. I’ll ask you what RROD asked earlier — would you pay $100 for Xbox Live? I don’t think I would. The service is good, but not $100 good. Hit the break for the full video.

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