PS3 Slim « Riddlethos

Hey! Look! Listen!

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Is it time for yet another one of these things already? My goodness, how the time flies. Sure, it’s only been like two days, but it seems SHORTER STILL.

Still trying to get the sleep schedule back on… uh… schedule. Not working out well so far. I blame Mike Babasick.

I know none of you know who that is, I just wanted to say his last name because it’s a source of eternal amusement to me.

Ahem. We must move on.

It IS pretty...

PS3 Slim Sells a Shit Ton
I know I had a similar story in my last HLL, but this time Sony has actually commented on the spike in PS3 sales since the release of the Slim. In a statement from Sony:

“Our top retailers have reported a 300% lift in PS3 hardware sales and an increase of 140% in total hardware revenue across the PlayStation portfolio when comparing the first week of September to the week before the $299 price adjustment”

Who knows what the actual figures are, but a 300% increase can only be a good thing. We attempted to comment PS3FTW for comment, but uh… we were unsuccessful. (Kotaku.)

Batman: Arkham Asylum Sells a Shit Ton
This honestly came as a surprise to me. According to the publisher DC, Eidos’ Batman: Arkham Asylum has sold almost two million units. (Kotaku again.)

Good news, because it’s well-deserved. Hopefully, Arkham Asylum’s success will set an example for future publishers of licensed titles; it’s literally a bar-setting title.

We'll catch those damn piraters, Gordon

Batman Hates Piracy
It’s true. The PC version of Batman: Arkham Asylum proves it. Evidently, a glitch has been deliberately placed into the game’s code to ensnare those who download the game illegally before its release on September 15. Cheshirec_the_cat, resident of the Eidos forums, wrote:

“I’ve got a problem when it’s time to use Batman’s glide in the game. When I hold “,” like it’s said to jump from one platform to another, Batman tries to open his wings again and again instead of gliding. So he fels down in a poisoning gas. If somebody could tel me, what should I do there.”

Instead of some helpful advice, Mr. Cheshirec_the_cat instead received a verbal bitchslap from forum administrator Keir:

“The problem you have encountered is a hook in the copy protection, to catch out people who try and download cracked versions of the game for free. It’s not a bug in the game’s code, it’s a bug in your moral code.”

Shyit. I can feel the burn from here. Still, it’s difficult not to chuckle at Mr. Keir’s “holier-than-thou” stance on piracy. In fact, it’s often difficult not to chuckle at the industry in general for the exact same thing. 1UP

omg this is so offensive

Courtney Love Apparently Still Does a Lot of Drugs
My apologies, I couldn’t resist. Anyway. Um. By now I’m sure you’ve heard that Kurt Cobain of Nirvana will be appearing in Activision’s upcoming Guitar Hero 5. Apparently there’s been some slight controversy as to the “appropriateness” of such a thing, seeing as how the dude’s dead. I never quite bought into that personally, but Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, has… and she’s PISSED. Just read what she wrote on her Twitter:

“For the record this Guitar Hero shit is breach of contract on a Bullys part and there will be a proper addressing of this and retraction.”

Later, she added:

“WE are going to sue the shit out of ACtivision we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises.”

Bitch obviously means business. However, her story doesn’t quite line up with what Activision told Kotaku:

“Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero 5.”

Who to believe? Who to believe? Personally I’m hoping this turns into a huge, hairy, newsworthy ordeal. Sadly, I think this entire ordeal can likely be attributed to what I titled this post. (Kotaku. Again.)

This is a screen of the game, not the boycotters.

Left 4 Dead 2 Boycotters Sell Out
Familiar with the (rather large, loud, and annoyingly prominent) Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott Community? You know, all the people who somehow think Valve is stabbing them in the back by releasing a sequel so soon? (As they place their reservations at GameStop for Modern Warfare 2?) Well, apparently they were such a pain in Valve’s ass that they actually INVITED two of these fuckers to their offices to try the game out for themselves. No joke. Users Walking_target and Agent of Chaos got to play L4D2 for an entire day, and report back to their community about it. And guess what? They actually liked it.

That’s not the interesting part, actually. The interesting part is that, upon reporting to their community, they were instantaneously branded as sellouts, traitors, faggots, and the like. I’ll just let Steam community user “N1MM duz it” do the talking:

“valve has turn the leaders of this group into there puppets .. they got them to change their minds and trying to influence us. open your eyes !!!”

Yes. Indeed. Open your eyes, N1MM duz it. Perhaps you’ll realize what a moron you actually are.

Oh Hey, Little FFXIII Tidbits from Kotaku
Sheesh, I’d love to know how many references Kotaku gets from us these days. That aside, if you’re the type just dying to whet your appetite for Final Fantasy XIII even further, these two articles might interest you. First, PS3 controls for the game have been revealed, so if you wanna know exactly how you’ll control the game, check out this article. And if you’re REALLY desperate, check out these little snippets from the new trailer that premiered at TGS.

Yikes. That one got long. Hope it kept you entertained throughout. But if it didn’t, I don’t really care. I had a blast writing it all.

Oh, and my count is still at zero, and I’d be surprised if it got any higher.

Tags: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Final Fantasy XIII, Guitar Hero 5, Hey! Look! Listen!, Left 4 Dead 2, PS3 Slim
Posted in Grande No Water With Whip Tazo Chai Week, Hey! Look! Listen!

Hey! Look! Listen!

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

Well God damn, Square Enix finally gave us a release date for Final Fantasy XIII. A Japanese release date perhaps, but a release date NONETHELESS.

Ahem. Welcome to yet another edition of Hey! Look! Listen! I am your host Oliver Motok, and this article is being produced to the sound of Green Day’s American Idiot album. Just… just an FYI.

So gorgeous.

Oh hey, Final Fantasy XIII news
Not just the fact that the release date was announced. There was a brand-new demo on the floor of the release party, and a bunch of people got their hands on it, Kotaku being one of them.

In addition to that, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada stated: “In the past, it’s taken a year or half a year to release our games abroad, but this time we are aiming for an international release this Spring”. So. If he’s true to his word, we might see the game sooner than expected.

PS3 Slim Racks Up Big Sales
People are loving the PS3 Slim. According to Famitsu publisher Enterbrain, In Japan, system sold over 150,000 units in its first three days on the market, which is phenomenal given the sales history of the PS3. VGchartz is even reporting that the system has sold over 500,000 units worldwide since its launch, which is an amazing – and unconfirmed – number.

I could offer some intelligent commentary here, but I believe that I’ll instead let PS3FTW, resident of VGchartz’s message forums, do the talking:

screengrab

Elegant.

Again: Gorgeous.

Oh Hey, 1UP Liked Murumasa: The Demon Blade
It’s true, they did. Check out their review here.

I was actually going to possibly buy that game today, but then I started playing Arkham Asylum and COMPLETELY forgot about it. And now it’s 1 in the morning and my GameStop is long closed. Ah well, perhaps tomorrow. Or maybe I’ll just play more Batman.

There really wasn’t much to that one, eh? A shame, I really thought more news might come out of the FFXIII release party. But hey, I did my best.

Oh, and this is still the dumbest theme week ever. Want to know what MY Grande No Water with Whip Tazo Chai count is? ZERO.

Tags: Final Fantasy XIII, Hey! Look! Listen!, Murumasa: The Demon Blade, PS3 Slim
Posted in Grande No Water With Whip Tazo Chai Week, Hey! Look! Listen!

PS3 Slim: The Unboxing

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

I awoke bright and early today (and by that I mean 12:30 PM, which is pretty bright and early for me) and rushed to my local GameStop. Why? Well, the title of this article should give it away: to acquire a brand-new PS3 Slim.

Even the box is smaller.

Three hundred bucks later, I was back in my humble apartment with a working PS3 – something I haven’t had in almost three months now.

There she is, in all her glory... pardon the apartment in the background.

The first thing that I took note of was the new plastic finish that coats the system, forgoing the glossy “piano black” of the original model. Essentially, the PS3 Slim has the exact same casing as the original PS2/PS2 Slim. It looks fine, honestly, though I’m unsure which I prefer – I rather liked the shiny finish of the original model. But since I don’t consider myself a shallow guy, I’ll just let it go.

The second thing I noticed – unsurprisingly – is how much smaller the system is. It’s not as drastic a difference as the PS2 Slim was from the original PS2, but it’s still quite a notable decrease in size and weight. A most welcome change indeed, as the original PS3 was quite the space-eater.

Yep, definitely smaller.

Perhaps the most welcome change in the design of the PS3 Slim is the new Power and Eject buttons. Sony was nice enough to give us actual buttons this time around, rather than little symbols that hover over some invisible pressure point. Anyone who’s owned or used a PS3 before knows how frustrating those little bastards could be. Trivial as it may sound, it’s incredibly satisfying to turn on the system with the click of an actual, physical button. Also worth noting is that a blue LED above the Eject buttons lights up when there’s a disc in the tray – another small, but welcome change.

Good...

Bad.

The Slim has a different power supply than the original model; no longer is there a “main power” switch on the back. I’ll just let the pictures do the speaking:

The original AC In

Slim AC In

The final thing worth noting is that this thing is quiet. You thought the original PS3 was a silent beast? Wait until you power up the Slim. It makes the original sound like a dying cow by comparison.

So, as you’ve likely gathered, I’m quite happy with Sony’s redesign. There’s literally nothing to complain about at all; it’s the same great system at a lower price, in prettier packaging. If you’ve been holding out on a PS3 purchase, there’s no better time than now to give in. Of course, the question still remains: is it worth purchasing if you already own the original model? Well, if you’re an electronics snob like myself, the answer is apparent. If not, the PS3 Slim doesn’t exactly offer enough new to warrant $300. Regardless, it’s a fantastic little machine, and I’m more than satisfied with the purchase.

Tags: PS3 Slim
Posted in Team ICO Week

News Roundup #002

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Well, seeing as how we didn’t get booed off the stage last time we did this, we decided to go ahead and do another. Let’s see how long we can keep this up!

No, seriously, it’s a weekly feature. It would likely continue even if we did get booed off our virtual stage, because we can do whatever we want. So HA.

Anyway. This week is fairly light on the news items, composed mostly of the more relevant GamesCom announcements. However, it’s heavy on sagacity, wit, and and inappropriate humor. What more do you need?

News Roundup #002

Tags: Fable III, Final Fantasy XIII, GamesCom 2009, News Roundup, Persona 3 Portable, PS3 Slim, Sexpants
Posted in King Ethos Week

GamesCom 2009: The PS3 Slim

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

In a surprise to no one, the PS3 Slim was officially announced at Sony’s GamesCom 2009 presser. What came as a bit more of a surprise (to me, at least) was the announcement that it was being released in conjunction with a $100 price cut. That’s right, Sony is giving us a smaller, more efficient console for less money.

The PS3 Slim will be available starting the first week of September, so we won’t be waiting long. It will be 33 percent smaller than the current PS3 model, and 36 percent lighter. It will pack a 120 GB hard drive, and retail for $299. Almost sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?

Wondering how they managed to knock a whole $100 off the price tag? Yeah, so am I, especially after what Sony’s CEO said about a month ago concerning a price cut. Speaking to Reuters, Howard Stringer flatly stated: “I would lose money on every PlayStation I make – how’s that for logic.”

comparison
Clearly, then, Sony has managed to reduce manufacturing costs with the PS3 Slim. Obviously a small console requires less raw material to produce, but there’s more to it than that. Speaking to Kotaku, SCEA’s Director of Hardware Marketing, John Koller, revealed three key changes in the PS3 Slim’s design. First, the Slim’s Cell processor has been reduced from 65 nanometers to 45. A new cooling system has been implemented (which, presumably, won’t be as heavy-duty has the one in place for the current models.) Last, the Slim features a new power draw. While Koller stated that these changes reduced the manufacturing costs of the system, he would not reveal whether or not Sony would still lose money in the process. Personally, I’m going to take his lack of comment as a “sadly, yes.”

Koller also frankly stated that the PS3 Slim would not feature backwards compatibility, describing it as “off the table.” Damn. Aside from that, the PS3 Slim will be short one other feature (though I doubt people will miss it nearly as much): the ability to install a different Operating System, such as Linux. Somewhere, approximately forty-seven nerds are sobbing.

Firmware 3.0
While Firmware Version 3.0 will be released on September 1st, early adopters of the Slim will have to download it themselves for whatever reason, as it won’t be pre-installed. For those interested in learning more about 3.0, check out this video. I generally don’t pay much attention to these things, but 3.0 actually looks pretty sweet. I’d recommend giving the video a look.

I don’t even own one yet, but I’m very impressed with the PS3 Slim thus far. Sony is giving us all nearly the features and all the power that the current model has at a lower price. The fact that it’s in a smaller, more attractive casing just sweetens the deal. And in a sense, this redesign represents Sony’s one last burst of speed in the race towards… not being in last place. Will it be enough to push them past the Xbox 360? Frankly I’m not so sure, but it gives them a fighting chance.

Tags: GamesCom 2009, PS3 Firmware 3.0, PS3 Slim
Posted in King Ethos Week

‘Twas the Night before GamesCom…

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

…and the PS3 slim rumors are out in full force.

Earlier today, Kmart ran an ad promoting a new PS3 with a “new low price” to boot. It’s since been pulled, but here’s the image below, courtesy of Kotaku:

Huh.

And if you love Kotaku as much as I do, take a look at this for some more PS3 Slim buzz.

In case you haven’t pieced it together yourself, I’ll give ya the down-low: the entire world is preparing for the official announcement of the PS3 Slim. Sony’s GamesCom conference starts at 9:30 AM PST. I have no idea what that is in CST, and I’m too tired to figure it out. If I manage to drag my ass out of bed before 3PM, I might post about it tomorrow. Today. Whatever. It’s late. Goodnight.

Tags: PS3 Slim
Posted in King Ethos Week

Hey! Look! Listen!

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

The Extra Annoyingly Long Edition

Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another edition of Hey! Look! Listen! I am your host LORD RIDDLES, and I’ll be lording over you tonight.

…

Anyway. Got more than a few news items here that I COMMAND you to peruse.

Even More PS3 Slim Rumors
Yes! These never get old! Apparently, two of the UK’s “leading national retailers” have been told not to expect any further shipments of the system until September. They’re clearing the way for something… BUT WHAT COULD IT BE?! Whatever it is, I bet we hear about it at GamesCom, a conference that I’d completely forgotten about until today.

Goodbye Xbox 360 Pro?
Clearly jealous of all the media attention Sony has received due to Slim rumors, Microsoft went and started a rumor of their own. Well, actually, Meijer did, as evidenced by this image from their catalogue:

Yep, looks pretty convincing.

The catalogue is due out on August 30. So, if this is legit, the Pro model’s days are numbered. Luckily, we get to keep its pricetag. Good on Microsoft, I say. Three different 360 SKUs always felt unnecessary. When Kotaku contacted Microsoft for comment, they responded with the standby “Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation.” Again, I’d look for an announcement at GamesCom.

Lawsuits! Oh, Juicy Lawsuits!
Actually this one isn’t so juicy. It’s just… odd. A company known as Bandspeed, which specializes in wi-fi development, is attempting to sue Sony, Nintendo, and Apple for patent infringement on their devices. The devices in question are the PS3, Wii, and iPhone 3G, respectively. Apparently handheld gaming devices are in the clear. Thank goodness.

No... not that one... dammit

Just because it’s interesting…
So, when Tri-Ace announced that it’s upcoming multiplatform RPG, End of Eternity was being published by SEGA rather than Square Enix, did you stop to wonder why? Well even if you didn’t, here’s the answer: according to the game’s director Takayuki Suguro, “SEGA has a more open attitude towards accepting new RPG ideas than Square Enix, we’d decided to have SEGA release End of Eternity.”

Interesting. And yet… not too surprising. Square Enix hasn’t had a whole lot of luck with fresh-faced RPG franchises this generation. Meanwhile, games such as Crisis Core and Final Fantasy IV DS have sold… well… a lot.

Because it Made me Chuckle…
So, remember when long-running videogame mag EGM went under? Yeah, well apparently it was arranged that subscribers could either cancel and arrange for a refund, or leave it alone and receive a free subscription to Maxim instead. That’s what 12-year old Jake did, and it didn’t sit too well with his mother when she found out.

You cannot play this...

“When I saw it, I didn’t think it was a magazine my son should be looking at,” said Kathleen O’ Donnel.

Ride on, sister.

But seriously, who thought that was a good idea in the first place? If I didn’t know better, I’d think gamers were being profiled in some way…

Anyway. That’s it. Hope you enjoyed it. But then, if you didn’t it’s really no skin off my nose.

Tags: Hey! Look! Listen!, LAWSUITS, PS3 Slim, Resonance of Fate
Posted in Hey! Look! Listen!, Lord Riddles Week

Hey! Look! Listen!

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

Yum, stale tortilla chips and dip. I am living the good life here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. At least I have beer, thanks to my good buddy Charlie. (That’s twice now that his name has managed to show up in a post.)

To be perfectly honest I had half a mind to go vegetate in front of Scrubs tonight instead of writing anything. But since I’ll be ~~in hell~~ at work all day tomorrow, I figured I’d throw the lot of you a bone now and save the relaxation time for tomorrow evening. Plus, there’s some pretty interesting stuff to report on today.

Just… make the announcement already.
Everyone freaking knows that the PS3 Slim is coming. For months now we’ve been subjected to a veritable deluge of rumors and info that have all but confirmed its existence. Still in doubt? Well get a load of this: According to Taiwan’s DigiTimes, Sony has recently placed some uncommonly large orders for key PS3 components. In other words, they’re looking to build a fuckton of PS3’s in the coming months. Wonder why…

If something sounds too good to be true…
…then it probably is. Happen to be a member of GameStop’s EDGE program? Y’know, pay ‘em $15 per year and you get 10% off all used games, an extra 10% credit on all trade-ins, plus a free subscription to Game Informer? Well, according to some recent customer surveys, they might be looking to replace it with a new program known as GameSpot Elite. Additionally, they’re rolling out another program called GameStop Rewards, which is pretty much how it sounds. Click here to read the survey. (Kotaku).

Read it yet? Yeah, how about that Reward Level 4, eh? An all-access pass to E3? For a MERE 501 POINTS??

I could blow $500 at GameStop in a very, VERY short time. So, like I said earlier, this has GOT to be too good to be true. And the idea of some nerdy spendthrift being sent to E3 while I sit here, (with my own FUCKING WEBSITE no less) forced to watch through the lense of the internet, fills me with rage.

This one is strong…
I’ve never actually played a game on the iPhone/iPod touch, but I’ve been watching the device’s evolution as a gaming platform with sincere interest. One thing’s for absolute certain at this point: if anyone is strong enough to step into the war zone of console gaming, it’s Apple. And with this analyst claiming that he’s been shown a new Apple multimedia device that will function as a game console, that step may not be far off. All in all, it sounds fairly legit; check out the full story here. (Develop-Online)

I should rephrase what I said earlier: while I’m fairly sure that such a device is being developed, I’m unsure if Apple plans to angle it as a “game console,” per se; at least, not any more so than the iPhone is. Frankly, I’m not even sure how they’d market the thing anyway. It’s too big to be a portable, and while I’m sure it would include the ability to connect to your television, it’s not a console either. So… we’ll just wait and see, I suppose.

And that’s that. Pray that Ethan finds the time and/or motivation to write something of substance tomorrow, because unless I have a major change of heart, you won’t be hearing from me.

And srsly, who DOESN’T know that Spider-Man includes the hyphen?

Tags: Apple, GameStop, Hey! Look! Listen!, PS3 Slim
Posted in Hey! Look! Listen!, Launch Week