Coffee Talk #280: Your Most Wanted Games of 2011

2010 was a fantastic year for gaming and 2011 looks even better! What are some of the games you’re looking forward to in 2011? Here’s my personal top five…

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, why America cares about the Kardashians, Floyd Mayweather getting hassled by his HOA, or the miracle of Ted Williams, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

2010 was a fantastic year for gaming and 2011 looks even better! What are some of the games you’re looking forward to in 2011? Here’s my personal top-five list:

  1. Dragon Age II — I love BioWare. I love fantasty RPGs. Of course this is on the top of my list.
  2. Diablo III — I love Blizzard. I love action-RPGs. Oh, you know….
  3. The Last Guardian — As a huge Ico fan, I’m really looking forward to the game’s visuals and emotional storytelling.
  4. Portal 2 — I have no doubt that this one will rock. I’m fairly sure that this will be even better than the original.
  5. Journey — Some day, love will find you. Oops. Wrong Journey. I loved Flower and I can’t wait to see what thatgamecompany has in store with Journey.

Games that just missed the list include The 3rd Birthday, The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword, Batman: Arkham City, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution.

Now it’s your turn! What are your most wanted games of 2011?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

My friend Kenny is stopping by on his way from Vegas to Northern California. Last weekend we played some Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Perhaps we can finish the game this weekend. After he goes, I’m going to play some Pokemon SoulSilver or Pokemon Pearl. I’ll pick up my shiny Raikou later today and start EV training him to become a fierce special sweeper.

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

Torchlight Coming to Xbox Live House Party

Runic Games’ Torchlight is coming to Xbox Live House Party in February. You haven’t heard of Torchlight?!? Shame on you! This nifty action-RPG was designed by several ex-Blizzard North employees and has a Diablo-esque feel. It was quite popular on PC  in 2009 and 2010. Here’s the official word:

A highly regarded PC game with more than 800,000 units sold to date, Torchlight is now coming to Xbox Live. Combat is more exciting with revamped controls and mechanics, new armor and quests. There’s even an exclusive new pet for your character. Send a select goodie or two to your friends on Xbox Live to share the fun for the first time.

I’m excited that the game is headed to Xbox 360 and thrilled that Runic will get more exposure, but I wonder how Torchlight will control with a gamepad. The mouse-and-keyboard gameplay of the original was fantastic and I worry that something will get lost in translation. I’ll be cautiously optimistic about this one.

How about you? Any Torchlight fans out there? Any newcomers interested in the game?

CES 2011: Motorola Xoom Tablet Sizzle Videos

Here are a pair of teaser videos for the Motorola Xoom tablet featuring Google Android 3.0. The Xoom packs a 10.1-inch display and a 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor. It will be available on Verizon in Q1 2011, with a 4G upgrade arriving in Q2. Here’s a snippet from the press release:

Motorola Xoom features a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chats over Wi-Fi or 3G/4G LTE, as well as a rear-facing 5-megapixel camera that captures video in 720p HD. It delivers console-like gaming performance on its 1280×800 display, and features a built-in gyroscope, barometer, e-compass, accelerometer and adaptive lighting for new types of applications. It also features Google Maps 5.0 with 3D interaction and delivers access to over 3 million Google eBooks and thousands of apps from Android Market.

I’ve played with a few Samsung Galaxy Tabs and have been largely unimpressed. The Xoom seems far more useful and interesting. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this Google Android tablet. Check out the videos when you have a chance and share your thoughts (please)!

CES 2011: Droid Bionic Packs Dual Core and 4G LTE

Motorola and Verizon have announced the Droid Bionic, a Google Android phone with a 1GHz dual-core processor and 4G LTE speeds. Additionally, it has a QHD 4.3-inch screen and dual cameras. Here’s more from the official press release:

Packing a dual core processor with each core running at 1GHz, delivering up to two GHz of processing power, and 512 MB RAM, the sleekly designed Droid Bionic smartphone with 4G LTE delivers a mobile Internet experience that’s up to 10 times faster than 3G. This means consumers can stream their favorite music and the latest TV shows with unparalleled quality experience. Droid Bionic also races through loading of complex web pages and media that take advantage of Adobe Flash Player and HTML5, rendering graphics faster than previous generation single-core devices.

Personally, I’m more interested in the Droid Bionic than the two AT&T Google Android phones I wrote about yesterday (the Samsung Infuse 4G and Motorola Atrix 4G). AT&T blows in too many places I frequent. The Droid Bionic offers formidable hardware coupled with a reliable network. If the LTE speeds are competitive with other 4G speeds (WiMax for Sprint, HSPA+ for AT&T and T-Mobile) then this phone should rock.

Anyone interested in this beauty?

Coffee Talk #279: Sold to Retail = Blowing Smoke

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer impressed the crowd during his CES 2011 keynote when he revealed that the company has sold eight-million units of Kinect for Xbox 360. The only problem is that’s not how many units were actually sold.

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, whether Steve Ballmer is ruining Microsoft, John Morrison upping his game’s physicality, or your favorite Entourage character, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer impressed the crowd during his CES 2011 keynote when he revealed that the company has sold eight-million units of Kinect for Xbox 360. The only problem is that’s not how many units were actually sold. Ballmer cited the “sold to retail” number — a term that’s being used more frequently by PR flaks and marketers.

It’s quite clever, though certainly disingenuous. More people know the difference between shipped and sold than ever before. More PR people are using “sold to retail” instead of “shipped” in their press releases. Internet reporters and bloggers are doing less fact checking (and less thinking, for that matter) in their race to get stories up as soon as possible. PR people know this and cleverly mask actual sales figures with sold-to-retail numbers.

Marketers and flaks are playing the press. Sure, some writers will verify whether touted numbers are shipped or sold, but it’s almost always too late. Hundreds of articles with inaccurate claims will have been posted by the time a verification email is received. Millions of readers will have been misinformed by the time a diligent journalist receives confirmation via phone.

I’ve covered games for a long time and have seen PR people manipulate journalists time and time again. The sold-to-retail gimmick is one of the smartest tactics I’ve seen in a long time. As a reader, do you trust the numbers issued by console manufacturers and game publishers? Do you suspect that most bloggers don’t bother to verify figures? Do you think PR people punk the press more often than not? Leave a comment and let me know (please)!

Google Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) Teaser Video

Google has released a teaser video for the upcoming Android version 3.0 (Honeycomb). This particular video focuses on the OS’s tablet functionality. While several vendors have jumped the gun with Android tablets, Honeycomb is the first version of Android designed with tablets in mind.

Kindly check out the video and let me know what you think (please)!

CES 2011: Samsung Infuse 4G Features 4.5-Inch Screen

AT&T and Samsung have announced the Samsung Infuse 4G Google Android phone. The phone appears to be a bigger, badder, and more powerful version of Samsung’s Galaxy S. The large 4.5-inch screen — featuring next-gen Super AMOLED Plus tech — stands out, while the 1.2GHz Hummingbird processor should provide ample power. Here’s the official word:

The Samsung Infuse 4G will be the thinnest Android device and feature the largest screen — at 4.5 inches — in AT&T’s smartphone lineup. The device delivers a brilliant display using Samsung’s next-generation Super AMOLED Plus technology which features 50% more sub-pixels for better contrast and outdoor readability. The Infuse will be powered by a 1.2 GHz application processor, run the Android 2.2 platform and be offered exclusively by AT&T.

On paper, this looks like a fantastic phone. However, I’m a little wary of Samsung’s Android offerings (aside from the Nexus S). The company has been relatively slow at providing updates. Android 2.3 is out now and rolling out to numerous phones within the next 30 days. Android 3.0 should be out before June 2011. Based on Samsung’s history, I’m not confident that the Infuse 4G will receive these updates as quickly as competing phones.

What do you guys and dolls think of this beefy Google Android phone? Would you rather have a Samsung Infuse 4G or a Motorola Atrix 4G?

CES 2011: Totally in Love with the Samsung Series 9 Laptop

Windows users looking for a MacBook Air alternative should definitely keep an eye on the Samsung Series 9 thin-and-light laptop. Going by the spec sheet, the Series 9 offers reasonable power in a svelte form factor with sharp looks. The Series 9 is a seriously sexy piece of consumer electronics and I’ve been drooling over its pictures for the last hour or so. Here are the specs:

  • CPU: Second Generation Intel® CoreTM i5 Processor 2537M (1.40 GHz, 3MB; turbo up to 2.3 GHz)
  • Operating System: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 bit) / Windows® 7 Professional (64 bit)
  • Memory: 4GB DDR3
  • Storage (max): 128GB Solid State Drive (SSD)
  • Screen: 13.3-inch HD LED-backlit SuperBright Plus display (400 nit)
  • Resolution: 1366×768
  • Graphics: Intel HD GT2 Integrated Graphics
  • Speakers: 3 watt (1.5W x 2) stereo speakers and 1.5 watt sub-woofer
  • Battery: Lithium Polymer; up to 6.5 hours
  • Wireless: 802.11b/g/n; WiMaxi
  • Weight: 2.89 lbs.

The Series 9’s body is made from Duralumin, which is twice as durable as aluminum according to Samsung. From my research, it’s not nearly as strong as the adamantium found in Wolverine’s claws. The specs are mostly strong. While many tech enthusiasts shudder at the words “Intel integrated graphics”, the GT2 is supposedly the first Intel integrated GPU that doesn’t blow.

I want one of these machines now!!! Sadly, it won’t be out until February (and I can’t afford it).

What do you think of the Series 9? Is it a worthy MacBook Air competitor? Does the machine cause you to drool or is that just me?