Catching up and the PS3 guff

It's good to be home. Virginia isn't my favorite place in the world, but it was good to see my old friend and get away from Utah for a while. The Learning Tree course I took was fantastic, and I look forward to returning there in July.

I actually ran out of time during the last few lunches and I didn't want to pay the $10 a night for wireless access in my hotel room. That's why I've skipped a couple of days. But I'm back, and I'm going to try to lump together this weekend's exciting news per console/manufacturer.

We'll start with my least favorite system, the PS3. Of all the households I visited in VA with my friends, I'll have to say that NONE of them wanted a PS3. They all had original Xboxes and Wii's, and were holding out on buying a 360. The PS3 wasn't even in question...and this is coming from IT professionals who are very into tech gadgets. That says a lot, I think. Oh, and they are not even close to Microsoft supporters...we're talking Unix, Linux, Java, and C users/programmers...all with (hacked) PDA phones and Media Centers.

On a side note, they weren't totally nerdy either, LOL. We watched the UFC fights on Saturday, and it was blast. Thank God somebody planted a good one in Chuck Lidell's face finally. I hate that guy.

That said, the PS3 sounds like it's getting some cool points lately:

Continue reading about PS3 cool points...

It looks like the PS3 is now upscaling PS2 games, and doing a good job. When you check the link, you might think that "oh, the upscales look blurry". Actually, they don't look blurry in person, and the big plus is that IT REMOVES THE JAGGIES. The PS2 is notorious for horrific jaggies (jagged outlines of characters and environmental objects). It's one reason I can't stand playing the PS2 version of Guitar Hero...because the 360 version is much less jaggie-tastic. But you won't be playing GH on the PS3, that's for sure (not compatible).

Since Sony's previous idiot-statement of, "We look at rumble as last gen," yet now they are including it sometime this year. My take? It's about f-ing time. They've needed it all along (thinks to previous Shadow of the Colossus screen shots).

It also look like some UK'ers are thinking more Blu-ray, which I personally find as bad news, but it's good news for Sony and the PS3. I think this is mainly because people have seen Blu-ray but not necessarily HD-DVD. The latter is the better product, but Sony has the industry muscle to put the clamp on the competition.

However, on the negative side of things, someone reached and is suing the Blu-ray companies for patent infringement. Notice the irony of "IP Law 360" in the article. *snicker*

Also, it looks like a Bank of America analyst is thinking the PS3 needs a $200 price drop to be successful. I'd be inclined to agree. My question is, what would Microsoft do if this happened?

On probably a desperate stab, Sony is planning a "counter-assault" on Halo 3. I guess SOCOM, Lair, and Heavenly Sword are titles that are supposed to compete with the FPS juggernaut. I can't help but laugh...because even if Heavenly Sword is good...it won't compete with the relentless Halo players. Same with SOCOM...which I find an inferior shooter all around. Give me FEAR, Counterstrike, AVP, or Call of Duty...SOCOM is a joke. Good luck with that Sony.

And lastly, it looks like someone finally agreed with me on the Xbox and PS swaps in market position. I've been saying this for a while, but someone finally compiled a decent article on it. It just makes me wish I could take this hobby more seriously. Anyway, whether this prediction happens or not, depends on how well the exclusives on either side are received. I have little faith in MGS4 to be honest...and SE going multiplatform with FFXIII would be far from a surprise. I think Microsoft has what it needs to proceed.