Coffee Talk #329: Discless Wonders

Most pundits believe that videogame consoles will eventually be discless. When do you think gaming is going to go discless? Will it be the generation after next? Or perhaps the one after that?

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, Charlie Sheen’s “comedy” tour, Mark Teixeira’s quest for 100 home runs, or lower back pain, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Most pundits believe that videogame consoles will eventually be discless. It’s just a matter of when. Publishers love digital distribution. Digital movies, music, and television are booming and expected to grow at a mercurial rate. When do you think gaming is going to go discless? Will it be the generation after next? Or perhaps the one after that?

The biggest obstacle — especially in America — is bandwidth. American ISPs are all about bandwidth capping, shaping, and throttling. That has to change if consumers are going to download gigabytes of games. Gamers also need to adjust to the digital world. Some people love boxed games, while others love being able to trade games after they’re done with them. I envision a vocal minority screaming and shouting about digital distribution…and eventually accepting it.

Anyway, I wanted to get your thoughts on discless consoles. When do you think they’ll arrive? Which major console company will be the first to attempt one? How do you think the market will react to a discless console? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments section!

The Hangover 2 Trailer Reminds Me of Life in Thailand

The Hangover amused me greatly. It’s funny on its own, but reminded me of a crazy night I had in Vegas with a bunch of important gaming people. There was a lot we couldn’t remember, one of us ended up getting married to an exotic dancer, and…well, I think I’ve said too much already.

I’m really looking forward to The Hangover 2. As some of you know, I spent one of the best years of my life having an adventure in Thailand. Just like the first movie had some eerie similarities to my real life, I expect to find several situations in The Hangover 2 that I can relate to.

The trailer makes the movie look like a lot of fun. Check it out and let me know what you think (please!).

Today’s Poll: Would You Pay $30 for a Movie Rental?

In a move with potentially huge ramifications for the movie business, four major studios have agreed to launch a premium video-on-demand service with DirecTV. The service, called Home Premiere, will cost $30 for movies that were in theaters two months ago. Here are more details from Variety:

Warner Bros., Sony, Universal and 20th Century Fox are the first studios that have agreed to launch Home Premiere as the official brand under which the industry will offer up movies to rent for $30 two months after their theatrical bows for a viewing period of two to three days, depending on the distributor.

If the service is popular and similar deals are made with other providers, movie theaters stand to lose a lot of business. This also makes things more difficult for Netflix, Amazon, Apple iTunes, and other digital movie rental services.

While $30 seems like a lot of money, it’s actually a decent deal. Movie theater tickets costs more than $10 each, food at theaters is incredibly overpriced, and there are often idiots at theaters (talkers, people that leave on their phones, etc.). For a family outing or a parents’ night out (babysitters cost $), Home Premiere could be a lot cheaper than the movies. It also offers the convenience of privacy and eating your own food.

What do you ladies and gents think of Home Premiere? Would you be interested in the service or one like it? Kindly take today’s poll and discuss!

[poll id=”109″]

Download DICE 2011 Highlights on Xbox Live

I highly recommend downloading highlights from the Interactive Achievement Awards and DICE 2011 through Xbox Live. Just head on over to the Zune section of the dashboard. You’ll be able to find the awards highlights (search “interactive”) and three DICE panels (search “DICE”). Here are the panel descriptions from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences:

Richard Garriott, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Portalarium, speaking on his foray into space and its influence on him from a game creation standpoint in his session titled, “Achieving the Impossible – Creating Games and Gateways to Space!”

John Stevenson, filmmaker and director of Kung Fu Panda, speaking on passion and pursuing his dreams as an animator in his session titled, “Monsters, Muppets and Movies”

Dr. Dave Gallo, Director at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, speaks on diving deep into the ocean and exploring the Titanic in “Exploring the Ocean Deep in 3D: To the Titanic and Beyond”

I definitely recommend the Stevenson and Gallo panels — super interesting views on gaming from people outside of the industry. It’s hard for me to recommend a session that has Garriott showing off his adventures in space. To steal a joke that Jay Mohr laid on Garriott a few years ago, “Let me get this straight. You can launch yourself into space, but you can’t launch Tabula Rasa?!?”

Final Fantasy VII Bundled with U.S. Xperia Play

Huge announcement on the American version of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play — it will come bundled with Final Fantasy VII!!! I’ve been calling for this move early on. It’s a brilliant way for Sony Ericsson to attract gamers to the Xperia Play and for Sony Computer Entertainment to attract gamers to PlayStation Suite for Android. FFVII is one of the most popular and beloved games of all time. Launching the Xperia Play with Android version is just a sharp, sharp move.

Also, look at today’s date.

Coffee Talk #328: Your Top 3 Games of Q1 2011

The first quarter of 2011 was loaded with outstanding games. Now that there quarter has come to a close, I want to know what your three favorite games of Q1 2011 were? As for me…

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, an ex-ref fighting Dominique Wilkins at a basketball game, Yankees baseball, or your favorite April fool’s day joke, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

The first quarter of 2011 was loaded with outstanding games. Now that there quarter has come to a close, I want to know what your three favorite games of Q1 2011 were? As for me, that’s an easy list to whip up. Check it out.

  1. Dragon Age II — While there are some aspects of the original that I prefer, there’s a lot I love about this game. Don’t believe all the whiners and haters out there. This is another high quality RPG from BioWare.
  2. Tactics Ogre — I absolutely love the developers that worked on this game. They went on to make Final Fantasy Tactics, which is my all-time favorite. The gameplay, music, and Queen references are awesome.
  3. DC Universe Online — I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this MMO…but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. As a comics fans, I had loads of mark out moments while adventuring with established heroes, but it was more fun beating up baddies with my friends.

Now it’s your turn! What were your three favorite games of Q1 2011?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

I’m going to be finishing up The 3rd Birthday for a Machinima.com review this weekend. I want to tell you lots and lots about the game…but I have to wait until the review posts. To break things up, I’ll take some Dragon Age II breaks. My fourth game is underway and I’m still loving it. This time around I’m going for a perfect rogue that can dole out damage by the tens of thousands.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Mega Man Universe Cancelled

In a sad bit of news, Capcom has cancelled Mega Man Universe. A couple of you showed interest in the game. I was intrigued too. I was really looking forward to the blend of classic Mega Man gameplay and creative user-made levels. I was thinking that Mega Man Universe would feel like a more familiar version of the excellent LittleBigPlanet. Sadly, a potentially cool game has been killed.

Any of you disappointed by Mega Man Universe’s demise?

Source via Andriasang

PS3 Overtakes Xbox 360 in Global Sales

Strategy Analytics claims that Sony’s PlayStation 3 has overtaken Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in terms of worldwide installed base. The company’s numbers include sales up until the end of 2010. Here are more details from Gamasutra:

According to the company’s data, the Nintendo Wii continues to enjoy the world’s largest install base with 75.5 million active units worldwide, but the active install base of PS3s reached 43.4 million at the close of 2010 versus Xbox 360’s 42.9.

There are a few things to keep in mind. In America, the Xbox 360 still has a healthy lead over PlayStation 3. Microsoft’s sales have been strong — perhaps surprisingly so — since the release of its Kinect motion controller. While this data set shows the PS3 taking the lead, the Xbox 360 arguably has more momentum.

What do you guys and dolls think of these numbers. Also, “Flame on!!!” and, “Fore!!!”

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PlayStation Games Hit Android Market

To prepare for the launch of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has added several PlayStation games to Google’s Android Market. Titles include Cool Boarders 2, Destruction Derby, Jumping Flash, MediEvil, and Syphon Filter.

Hopefully Sony will flood Android Market with quality games. The Android platform is a joke compared to iOS in terms of gaming. Great PlayStation games for Android will make the joke a little less funny.

Any of these PlayStation games for Android interest you?

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