Slams Xbox 360 Blog

Closing Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:17:00 +0000

I know. It has been so so long since I have updated this blog, but due to my recent current workload, it just has not been possible. I only use it lately to trash Xbox 360 avatars. I guess my "genocide" campaign to wipe them out doesn't seem to be working.

So it is with a slight sadness and be it a corporate decision, to close this blog. The space here could be better used. The hard drive space on blogger.com servers would go to better homes than my rants. I started this blog some two years ago and so it was a good run. If you still like to read them then now and again, the entries can be read here, and I will keep the blog open on blogger.com. I may even write now and again there.

I would like to thank my 12 loyal subscribers. I never actually knew who you were, but my "feedburner" stats said you were always subscribing by RSS. Thanks for reading !!

As for the picture of Alison Carroll. Well I couldn't go away without posting the worse Lara Croft could I? She has been the subject of my many rants. (Sorry Alison, you are probably a nice girl, but you need to know how to hold a gun properly) The sales of Tomb Raider : Underworld being of what they are, low, I would say Eidos to try a different marketing strategy. Not treat us gamers as nerds that would buy a game because a female flaunts sex. Probably worked when I was 13 (actually it did) but not now.

Anyway, it has been nice. Thank you again for reading.

Rave? Behave!

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 23:03:00 +0000

Was I right or was I right? Microsoft rolled out the avatars and clearly didn't think it through. It was only a little while back I mentioned the lack of options. Now at Major Nelson's blog the new set of clothes for this week is Rave. Oh our God. Is it me or are they absolutely clueless?

Rave? Are they serious? Did that not die and get buried along with Acid House and Stadium Metal Rock. I am sure I went to their funeral? Blue fingerless gloves and Day-glo zebra print pumps. That is what is on offer. Check it here. Microsoft, will you sack your fashion slash pop culture consultant, because he or she has lied to you. Rave was 15 years ago and it has not been dead long enough to be brought back as retro. It is embrassing to even look at the stuff.

But here's a genre you should explore. One that everyone of your first 10 million subscribers that signed to your console in the first place, can relate to. Gaming culture. Master Chief helmets, Marcus Fenix headbands or even Sam Fisher Night vision goggles. The list is endless and people WOULD pay for this. Idiots.

Xbox Fanboy-ism

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 03:36:00 +0000

Take a good look at my crib. I have now ten Xbox 360's just in case I get Red Rings Of Death again. As for all those games on the left, they are just my weekend "to do list". The real pile is on the other side of the room.

Is this for real? Of course not. My TV is way bigger than that. This actually belongs to an uber Japanese Xbox 360 fan. Read it here. He has every limited edition console released and every game released for the Xbox 360 in Japan. Is he a whacko? Well he has some fried chicken and cake included in the picture. So lets just assume he could possibly be a little bonkers. He also only has six hard drives and that's just plain stupid.

But if any one out there has a partner that really isn't into your gaming, and you want to get rid of them, then this would be the way to go. Simply re-create the picture using your joint savings account and wait for them to come home after a hard day at work. Do include the fried chicken and cake. They will be your piéce de résistance that will define your insanity.

A Week In Gaming

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:01:00 +0000

It's been a week since I have blogged here, but that was due to the recent changes at my other site. A lot can happen in a week of gaming. Like a Nintendo DS catches fire and burns down a house. A fireplace is added to Xbox Live and I have spent a whole week not mentioning Xbox 360 avatars.

Where? What house you ask? Read it here. Along with your seasonal snow globe comes a fireplace that you can download for 5 bucks. Where? Read that here. Now that I have got those two news items out the way, I can get back to the avatars.

Ok, it has been a month now and we have only two sets of new clothing. A Ski set and Formal Wear. Why? Where's the commando battle gear? My Klingon facial features? The option to go naked (well semi-naked)? Forget about games for a while Microsoft, and get back to the "so much options" you promised with our avatars. I don't want to be wearing the same t-shirt for a whole week. I don't do it in real life, so why should I do it here? The clothes you have totally suck. Give at least some zombie looks next time. Like a zombie infected with an alien parasite. Let me scare some kids.

Znow Globe

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:00:00 +0000

This will end the console wars for good. You can now throw your friends into a snow globe and shake them about. Oh joy.

This is the kind of stuff that inevitably comes with a hardcore games console. If you are finding hard to resist the temptation to try it out, go to your dashboard's Spotlight page. There's no download required, so you can pretty much do it straight away. I can't wait for more killer applications like this.

Eventually the New Xbox Experience will no longer be "new", and they will rename it Zone It Xbox Experience. They will rename all the menu's and tag everything with a "z" because that's what "tween girls" (girls aged between 9 - 12) like. Spotlightz, My Xbox Zone, Friendz, Party On Girlfriendz, Chat Zone. Don't believe me? Just you check out that Snow Glode. Sorry, Znow Globe.

Easy Point Community Game

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 07:28:00 +0000

If you have wandered around the New Xbox Experience, you might have stumble across a menu item called Community Games. What are they? They are games developed by the community, for the community.

Members of the XNA (game developing software) Creators Club can upload games (after review) and make money. The club is not exclusive, but you do need to download XNA and need to subscribe to the club, but it is all free.

Sounds cool, eh? Except from my point of view. You cannot get achievements from these games. I had a great plan of downloading the software and developing a crappy game and place two achievements worth 500 points each. One to start the game, the other to push "B" on your controller. Knock Avatar : The Last Airbender game off the "1000 points in under 2 mins" list. Not only would I gain 1000 points super, super easy, but I am sure a game like this would have been top download of the year and I would have made a hunk of money.

But noooo. Microsoft have no balls to allow achievements on these games fearing people like me would trivialize the Community Games. Look, if gamers want to download my crappy easy point game, then it is up to them. If someone else develops a good game and no one wants to download it, then tough sh*t. Tell someone who cares. Sounds reasonable, don't you think?

MGS for the Xbox 360?

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 02:55:00 +0000

One for X-Files more like. Over on the official Metal Gear Solid website Konami, there is a strange webpage with just the symbols above in the pic. Conspiracy theories have flooded in that the green "start" button looks supiciously like an Xbox 360 start button.

Well for a start (excuse the pun), shouldn't it be red. Like the Red Ring of Death? It should also be on it's side, if you check your Xbox. Go ahead, have a look. There is also a small dot in the center that the Xbox does not carry. One poster at XF3 site suggests the both the "i" are at polarity so 180 + 180 = 360 degrees. Ok, whatever Fox Mulder.

That "i' symbol could mean anything. iPhone, DSi, Canon 250i, iDog Food, iBean Bag maybe even iCrack. Who knows? Stick an "i" in anything these days and it sounds innovative. We all want Metal Gear Solid on the Xbox 360, but I don't think this is it. As I have had previously mentioned, if it were to port over to the 360, it would probably come in 3-6 discs anyway, because the cut scenes take forever.

Real Lancer

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:26:00 +0000

Ok, now I'm scared. This guy in the picture has constructed a real-life working chain saw Lancer (a gun from Gears of War), but it is not the gun that it is scray, it's him. He say's he made it to kill zombies.

Right. I am staying well away from him. There's a YouTube video here if you want to see him in action. Leave a message that he can seek help. I personally think some people are beyond help, especially the ones that believe in zombies. What gets me, is this a homage to Gears or what? Because if he thinks Locusts in the game are zombies, the mind boggles of what he thinks the story is on other games?

You know what, I don't want to know. The world is full of weird loco nuts, and he is one of them. What would I do if he sends me a friend request? Delete.

Lego Harry Potter Not!

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:02:00 +0000

There is a rumor that Traveller's Tales, the developers of the Lego series of games, are developing a Lego Harry Potter. This just proves, that Traveller's Tales are just shooting in the dark now.

The whole novelty of the Lego series and the comic feel was that they turned a well known adult themed movie franchise into a kids game. Harry Potter is a kid's franchise. So turning a kid's game into a kid's game seems pointless. I mean everybody has an IMO of what should be turned into a Lego game, but mine is the mutts nuts. Alien vs Predator.

Sure Halo or Final Fantasy could be good, but they are niche, because only gamers know them. Halo would actually look kind of weird, as it is an FPS, and it would have to be done as a third person shooter. Spiderman or X Men would could be fun, but digging into that super hero bucket again seems too obvious and besides the story plots of many super heroes are not well known. This is why Lego Batman created their own plots.

I was torn between Terminator vs Robocop at first, but Alien vs Predator won over. Why? Because they totally balls up a potentially good idea. Both the movies of Alien vs Predator were complete shite, dire and embarrassing. Having Alien and Predator run around in Lego form would completely dilute their previous legendary movies, but who cares? Never mind the plot, I just want to play co-op with the Predator and kill people. Harry Potter my arse.

New Lara Shots

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:22:00 +0000

There are shots of Lara Croft model Alison Carroll at the T3 website. Click here if you want to take a look at them. Although pretty, she still isn't my favorite Lara. Check the photo. Why is she holding a gun why talking on the phone? Like that would happen. Who is going to shoot? The Fed Ex guy?

My problem with her is she can't even hold a gun right. She holds it like an eight year old girl with a bratz doll. I would go out with her just to teach her to grip the gun like you mean it. To be fair she does look more comfortable in the shots, but I still don't buy it. Maybe if she was naked...actually never mind.

There was an episode some weeks back where a reporter asked her some archeology questions, and she didn't know the answers. The interview was quickly halted by an aide and she left. Now this reporter, who probably takes two hours to watch CBS's "60 Minutes", is stupid. Because to even think she might be able to answer any questions on archeology you don't need to be a genius to say "I don't think so." I am not saying she is not able to answer, but what has it got to do with the game?

He should have asked her questions about the game and like will she play it? More importantly what is her Gamertag? I would then send a chat invite then tell her on how to hold a gun properly.

Dreamcast 10 Years Old

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 23:18:00 +0000

Would you believe that the Dreamcast is ten years old today? For those wondering WTF is a Dreamcast, it was Sega's last console and it crashed and burned well before it's peak. The Playstation 2 stabbed it in the back and front just two years after release.

I remember going over to a friend's house all those years ago and seeing the Dreamcast. I was into PC gaming then, but waiting for the Playstation 2. Back then, the console wars was all about the hardware. It did look like a beast compared to the Playstation 1. It was fat with a built in modem and I remember the ad campaign was like "play six billion people" Slightly over estimated market sales projection, I think. My friend at the time thought it was "the sh*t" Yes, he had limited vocabulary.

Why did it fail miserably? It was crap. Well to be more specific, Sega didn't back online enough and there were very few games. They basically thought the console would sell itself. Sound familiar? Sony, Dreamcast could well be your Nemesis that you knifed all those years ago. As for my friend, I bet he still calls the Dreamcast "sh*t" , but without the adjective.

Sony Pulls A Fast One

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 03:10:00 +0000

How's your Netflix account? Queued up your movies nicely? Unfortunately "Ghandi" and "Open Season" have been pulled. Along with any other Columbia movie you queued, because Sony own Columbia and half of Hollywood, but someone forgot to tell Microsoft that. What is amusing is that the movies were pulled one day after the New Xbox Experience with Netflix was launched.

Did someone forgot to tell Sony and they quicky hasten with a few phone calls to make sure Microsoft don't get their grubby hands on their movies? Oh no, I am sure they knew all along. They just waited until the last day to stab the knife in. Good friends always stab you in the front remember? Now all Microsoft have to do is deny Sony Vaio laptops any Windows updates so they will be running on Windows 2000.

It's war out there in that playground kids. We will ever get Sony stroke Columbia movies? Of course you will. It's just that Sony want Microsoft to suffer a little bit. They still want to sell laptops and make money while you watch a movie. So I can't see them denying Microsoft that long. Well not until they have their own movie network running along nicely. Then they will need a Windows server to help them.

Gametrailer Staff Slams PS3

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 23:24:00 +0000

I suppose this is one way to get noticed by your boss while getting 14,000 views and 400 comments. A staff member for huge video site, Gametrailers.com has weighed in his opinion and dissed the PS3 controller and it's game experiences as inferior. Read his blog entry here.

It must be noted that he is just a video editor and not a reviewer or writer for the site, so his opinion does not represent those of Gametrailers.com. So that basically puts him in a position to write almost whatever he likes. Bit like me as I can write whatever I like, it's my blog. "PS 3 sucks!" There. In reality that would be more productive if I wrote that on an actual Playstation 3 fanboy site or forum, but I am banned from most of them already. Major Nelson, Xbox Live director has barred me from his friend's list so I guess my opinion doesn't carry much weight anymore.

This video editor's "GTD", whatever that is, on the right of his blog entry, is $1,514. I want to know what this is? Will this skyrocket with his 14,000 views? If it does, then it seems like a very easy way to make money? Here's my next career move. Become a video editor for Gametrailers.com, as they can write presumably anything, and trash the Xbox 360. Major Nelson hates me already, so what have I got to lose?

Hold Bad Reviews.

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 20:12:00 +0000

If you write reviews, like I sometimes do for TheGamersCafe.net (plug), then it sucks with deadlines. What if you write a review and then told to hold off bad reviews until Monday? This is what Eidos have appealed to reviewers of Tomb Raider : Underworld. Read it here. What would I do? I would write a bad review on Monday morning, that way I would have the weekend off.

No self respecting reviewer would do this however as the ethics of being a reviewer or journalist would be undermined. We should never be told of how or "when" to write. If a game sucks then the public should be told as soon as possible to help them make an informed judgement on purchase. How they ever thought they would get away with this tactic, is beyond me. Reminds me of Lionhead boss, Peter Molyneux begging reviewers on hands and knees not publish anything below 8/10 for Fable II or they will never get an advanced disc again.

All these tactics scream desperation. It just serves to bring suspicion to the consumer when confronted with a purchase decision on the Friday. The temptation for a reviewer to write a bad review is even more great as to prove that they cannot be told when to write. In fact I could write one right now. " Tomb Raider : Underworld has got to be turd, even though I have yet to play it, because the developers are expecting bad reviews. The game smells like feet and ass" There, why wait till Monday?

7-Eleven Stores To Offer Games

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:02:00 +0000

7-Eleven stores are to offer games alongside your bottles of diet and fat coke. They will be available this holiday season along with pre-game cards and a variety of online services. This will be very convenient for those who just went in to pick up a donut and then come out with Call of Duty : World at War.

The good news is that 7-Eleven will also promise to offer advanced reservations and midnight sales of new releases. No need to go downtown or the high street when you can go around the corner, eh? I used to live not far from a 7-Eleven a few years back. I would literally do all my shopping there and occasionally looked at the limited DVD rack. There were times I would stumble in after a hard night out and buy a whole lot of crap DVD's while cradling a few hot dogs, then wonder the next morning "what was I thinking? 7-Eleven hot dogs are so not healthy.

I can imagine myself doing this with games. Thankfully, I am now nowhere near a 7-Eleven anymore. Otherwise I would be at a midnight releases buying hot dogs, donuts, and nachos with my game and wonder why I spent double when Amazon give free delivery.

NXE Is Embrassing!

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:35:00 +0000

Did you know that you can delete zero game scores from your games list, using the New Xbox Experience? Thank God because that's the kind of feature I have been looking for. Zero game scores are faux pas. If your French is rusty, faux pas is like when you drop a beer on someones foot at a party. Embarrassing.

So you can eliminate embarrassing scores but you are stuck with an embrassing avatar. If you have looked at my gamercard on Xbox Live, you will notice something missing. I am still silhouetted. I refuse to be drawn into this charade, this doll dressing. I used to get beaten up at school for this, so the psychological scars are starting to re-emerge. Ask my therapist. Actually don't ask, because it is embarrassing.

This is what NXE is all together. Awkward and embarrassing. You fiddle around and feel like the school bully has found your Hannah Montana / Harry Potter coloring book when you select an avatar. You wonder why Microsoft bother and cringe at every selection. Click the right stick and it burps. Funny joke, if I was eight.

But you know what would make it really awesome? If we can use our avatars in casual games like Scene It, how about making them available in other games like Gears of War? To chainsaw each others avatar would completely vindicate my faith in the New Xbox Experience. It would be a whole "new experience" full stop.

New Xbox Experience Online Store.

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:35:00 +0000

Apart from deforming your avatar when the New Xbox Experience arrives , there will also be an online store. Microsoft believe you will buy from Microsoft simply because it is Microsoft, because they are charging $59.99 for a game but $6.99 for delivery! You might as well go to Amazon where you get free shipping?

The store will offer a wide selection of games and accessories, including offering the cutting edge Windows Vista for full retail price of $149 plus shipping. You wonder what bonehead decided that the online store should not to be competitive, but to charge extra. Yes, that will be popular as millions discover the New Xbox Experience, it will reinstate Microsoft's image that we look after our consumers.

Hopefully this will be a stepping stone to a future online store that will offer games to download, because I cannot see many people paying extra for shipping when they can get it free. Why can't they at least give some introductory offers for us to browse the store? Oh I get it, because you cut the price of consoles, you are going to make it up on fleecing anyone sucker who visits the store. You also probably have an agreement that you cannnot compete with retail stores. Then why bother with it? It is just another pointless feature along with the music clips, photo sharing, online prime time game show thingy and some little Bratz-wannabe feature called avatars.

Xbox Live Mass Disconnections

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:58:00 +0000

Scary stuff. In the past 48 hours, Xbox Live has been experiencing mass disconnections. The issue was said to be resolved yesterday, but Xbox Live director Major Nelson, has just updated his blog and admitted that there are still ongoing problems. Just in time for the New Xbox Experience in a couple of days.

Microsoft's record has never been too crash hot when it comes to massive whale operations. Check Vista and in spring 2006 there was an Xbox 360 update that caused a few Xbox 360's to turn into bricks. Only just last year around christmas, there was mass connection meltdown for two days, due to the fact several people tried to log on at the same time on Boxing Day. I mean how rude is that?

Seeing that Microsoft want to reach a target of 100 million consoles sold, it is kind of confuzzling that they can't handle a mere 10 million subscribers. I love Xbox Live, it is a great service and much better than the Playstation or Wii live networks. But the difference is that we also pay for this service, so as consumers we have the right to ask WTF?

So come November 19th, in a couple of days, hold tight onto that controller when you switch on. There will be a forced update and your screen will go black as it reboots. This will be the scariest seconds of your life, as your mind races as to what you are going to do if it stays black? Because if your screen remains black then the first words you will definitely mouth are "what the f**k?"

Zombies And Aliens

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 23:04:00 +0000

There are some things in video games that never change. Zombies and aliens. Until aliens actually visit us (and bring back Elvis) then they will always be OK to shoot. In today's politically correct environment, finding another modern contemporary enemy to shoot just becomes a diplomatic minefield to developers.

Mutant humans are also available, but they tread on the thin ground of believability. In the 50's, radiation was the big unknown in Hollywood and if you wanted to create a human monster, just expose them to radiation. This has now given away to "genetically altered". But I find genetically altered humans turning into evil powerful monsters as bogus. Because if you change slightly anything genetically in a human, the most probable outcome is death. We can die if we take too much aspirin, so go figure.

Zombies are old school. They have been around centuries . Sure they can be cool to shoot, but they are generally regarded as slow and dumb. In the game Dead Rising, to make them a challenge, Capcom the developers just made save points were insanely hard to reach. I find Zombies hard to believe as well, because how can you shoot something dead that is already dead. Surely the spirit or voodoo that awoke them would just make them alive again if you shot them?

So the two above enemies belong in the "yeah, right" bin. Which leaves us with aliens. I love aliens. Because space is a huge unknown mother of a frontier, it leaves so much scope of in creating enemies. That is until they finally come down and visit us, then the whole gaming industry will be screwed. Why? Because every interpretation of an alien would seem politically incorrect or highly inaccurate. Can't play Gears of War, as aliens are portrayed as Locusts, which is a lie. Can't play Halo, because that is all a lie. Great, now what am I going to shoot?

Sony Keypad.

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:33:00 +0000

Take a look. Sony are launching a keypad and it looks like an evil twin to the Xbox 360 Chatpad. As with all Sony products, there is a delay but somehow I don't think there will be a queue for it. Unless you have huge long fingers.

Why do they not just stick it on the bottom? It's called practicality. This is why most mobile phones have keyboards at the bottom or cars have round steering wheels. Because it makes sense and as designers, you just have to deal with it. They seriously don't believe that we will be fooled into thinking, that they have found a new innovative way, by sticking it up the top, do they?

I wish I was there at the design meeting. "Seriously, it's fugly. We are not doing a homage to bulky 80's Atari 2600 computer peripherals. That memo was a joke you numb nuts." I wouldn't be surprised, if after a year they abandoned this design (like their Boomerang Controller) and stick it at the bottom. Then it will appear ten years later on a TV show "What Were They Thinking?"

Christmas Buying

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:14:00 +0000

If you need reminding, Christmas is almost here and so when it comes to games, there's always a bunch of titles we want under our tree. Since giving up on Santa a few years back, I have to charade my friends and family of what I don't want. That's right, what I don't want.

My mom, until very recently, has always bought me a short sleeve shirt with tartan tie. The last time I wore a short sleeve shirt and tarten tie, was when I was 11 at a Christmas party and I remember it well. Because it was the first time my mom bought this combination. Ever since then she has been taking the piss. For those people unfamiliar with this term, click here.

As for my friends, they all know me too well that I am a gamer and so they figure that I have already got every title under the sun. So they all buy titles I wouldn't touch (although there's very few I wouldn't touch these days) like I am bound to get High School Musical 3 or My Horse & Me 2 this year. My friends are also taking the piss.

As for my girlfriend, she bought a Wii game last year. It was her ploy to get me to buy a Wii and then we can play "together" Needless to say it didn't work. I bought a ton of girlie stuff and she buys me Legend of Spyro on the Wii. She just winked when I asked if she was taking the piss.

So this year, as with most years, it isn't just about sharing and spending quality time with family and friends celebrating Christmas, it is also about taking the piss. So what kind of gifts do I give out to my family and friends? What do you think? I also will be taking the piss.

Apple : iPhone is better than PSP or DS

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:44:00 +0000

Poop. Apple thinks the iPhone is far more superior for games than the Playstation Portable or Nintendo DS. I have played games on the iPhone and they are pants. Even when the most basic function of which it is primarily called, that is to make an actual phone call, sucks. You cannot hear anything and there are about three ringtones. So why are Apple promoting games?

Read the interview here. I do like the iPhone with it's ace 3-axis accelerometer (that is just a elaborate word for motion detection) but it is far from being a serious game console. Sure it has some very powerful computing power, however they are just gimmicks to gaming. It is a well known fact that Steve Jobs, head of Apple, doesn't play games. A computer nerd from the 80's that doesn't play games is like a Star Wars fan who only likes Return of the Jedi. A bit suspect.

What Steve Jobs should realize, that it is gaming (and it's nerds) is what pushed forward computing power. A lot of the high end specs for graphics and power were demanded by gamers and even today the most advanced commercial models are designed for gamers. I don't think Apple would ever enter the console race, but if they are serious about games on the iPhone then they should really not compare it to the PSP or DS. Like some of the games I have seen on the iPhone look like they belong on the Sega Master system.

Apple have a very powerful rocket under it's iPhone which has a lot of potential to be competition to the PSP or DS, but they need to get decent games on there first. Maybe they should talk to Microsoft? They are desperate for some help in their motion controller.

Sent from my iPhone.

Download The Ending

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 01:17:00 +0000

Gamers should download the ending of the game via DLC. Unless you bought the game at retail, then you would get it for free. This is an idea brought forward by Epic boss, Mike Capp to solve the tricky issue that developers get nada on second hand market. Read it here at videogaming247.

Go ahead Mike, try it out. I am sure it would be very popular with the masses. Some time back I went over this on a blog, as some Halo developer wanted second-hand market action too. I can understand your position here guys, but the average gamer doesn't care. The fact we can re-sell a game very easily is very much in our minds when we purchase a game at full retail. If it sucks, at least we can sell it to some other loser or trade it in.

No one, and I mean no one is going to buy a game without a ending. They will be nicknamed "stupid copies", because you got to be a "stupid" to buy a game without an ending. Why don't you target the retailers instead of the end user? They are the ones making double profit on the same product. Let them pay a license fee to re-sell at a profit or something.

What if I was a stone age emo hippy without internet? Man, would I be pissed because I didn't know about this (because I have got no internet) and my game is telling me the end boss fight is not available because you are a cheap hippy who bought it second hand at Gamestop. (I know this isn't logical, because a stone age hippy wouldn't have a energy guzzling Xbox, but bear with me) What happens to me then? Do I send away for a end boss fight disc? What if the developer went broke and the disc is no longer available , then I will never know the ending?

If developers actually did this, then they would sound too greedy and a lot of gamers would avoid buying a game simply because the re-sale value is toilet. "Stupid toilet copies" that's what they will be called.

Xbox Head Invents Avatars

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 03:37:00 +0000

Vice presidents. There is always seems a load of them in big corporations and Microsoft isn't any different. They normally speak what their PR departments fly in a memo, but Don Mattick, Senior Vice President to Microsofts Interactive Entertainment Business doesn't stick to those rules. He instead claims he invented avatars. Read it here at OXM

Now if the New Xbox Experience avatars fail miserably, as in like NO ONE uses them, I am sure Don Mattick would point out that it wasn't his idea. Yeah, sure. That when he invented them back 1991 for some 8 bit 1 Megabyte game, he didn't think that Nintendo would steal that kind of crap. Yeah, sure. That most of the people that work below him are fools and he can't get the staff these days. That is if they fail.

On the other hand, if everyone embraces them and they explode into a pop culture phenomena and an iconic representation of this decade i.e. Paris Hilton wears a Xbox Avatar T-shirt, then Don would be claiming it was all his idea. And by the way he will point out that Xbox ball logo idea came about from some 8 bit 1 Megabyte game in 1991 he was doing. All I can say is God help us if these avatars become popular.

By the way, I know I have posted a picture of Wii Mii avatars, because there is not much difference.

Atari Pirates Watch Out

noreply@blogger.com (Slam Da Brakes) — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:46:00 +0000

Atari have mistakenly targeted an old couple for software piracy. Check the story here at GamePolitics. With their obvious heavy handed storm trooper tactics, they actually neglected to knock on the door first.

The BBC reports that they were aged 54 and 66, and they never "had any computer game or sharing software " and may have been victims of unsecured wireless network theft. I still say shake them down. They say they do not own a wireless network and have no idea what "peer-to-peer" is? Then how did the pirates steal their IP address? This still has not been established, so I still say shake them down.

Let me guess, they own one computer and Nessie only used it for recipes. Did the authorities take away the hard drive, as you would think that would be the first step before launching a suit? Apparently they didn't and went by solely on the IP address. So take away the hard drive and then bomb them some quick fire questions I say.

Do you own an Xbox 360?

What is your Gamertag?

Were you or were you not in the queue in the high street for Gears of War 2?

I know these are Xbox 360 questions, but you have to trick these kind of gangsters. They can be shady. Gaming piracy isn't isolated to some spotty nerds with a PC you know. I would keep a good eye on this couple and check their Gamertag regularly. Send them a friend request, then watch them like a hawk.