There's general agreement that Sony stumbled out of the gate with the PlayStation 3. Months of intense hype were followed by a late launch (fully a year after the Xbox 360) and a staggering $600 price tag for the deluxe model.
Even worse, the PS3 didn't initially have any real must-have exclusive titles, and despite the power of its vaunted Cell processor, multiplatform games from third-party developers didn't look appreciably better than the respective titles on the Xbox 360.
Since then, the company's been modifying the PlayStation product line to better fit the competitive market landscape. As of August 2008, a new "bargain" PS3 is available with a larger, 80GB hard drive, and a "deluxe" model is due in November, doubling the capacity to 160GB.
Both, however, lack backward compatibility with PS2 games and do not come with flash card readers. If those features are a must, it might be best to pick up the 80GB "Metal Gear" bundle version on eBay w... More »
Rod Fergesson, the Senior Producer from Gears of War 2 has outlined on the official forums (linked above) the problems with their online matchmaking service and acknowledges that and patch will be released in the near future to counter the issues.
To quote: We're aware that some folks are experiencing longer-than-ideal wait times while using the skill-based Public matchmaking in Gears 2 multiplayer.
We're working on some solutions but it's a complicated issue as there isn't any one problem; it's a combination of factors. Clearly, scale is one of them as we've had millions of successful matches played online so far, however a small percentage of players are having issues, which is unacceptable.
We're working closely with Microsoft to address the matchmaking issues, I promise you that it is our #1 priority, and we hope to have an update soon.
In the meantime, I would like to suggest some workarounds:
If you're exp... More »
This is about as close to Banjo Kazooie as PS3 owners will get, so enjoy it!
Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts Theme:
• 5 Backgrounds custom made with a lithograph font, modified Web site background image, screen capture of the main page of the Web site and various photos from the official Fan Site Kit.
• 5 custom sounds straight from the game
• 2.5+ compatible Icons
Download: Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts PS3 Theme
Just under three months ago a preliminary USB 3.0 FAQ was published, and today both USB 3.0 final details and a date has been confirmed.
USB 3.0 is set to arrive during late 2009 or early 2010. It will be able to transfer at incredibly fast speeds of 5Gbps per second, so that's about an average sized movie every second.
To quote: USB Implementers Forum President Jeff Ravencraft let loose with some information about USB3.0, which is expected to appear late 2009/early 2010.
It'll apparently be able to transfer at blisteringly fast speeds of 5Gbps per second (roughly 600MB per second), or for media junkies that's about an average sized movie or eight average sized music albums EVERY SECOND.
In comparison USB 2.0 takes ten times as long, and we pity the fool who's trying to shift this sort of data using USB 1.1 on a knackered old la... More »
Visit our Web Shop for the latest Deals on gaming gear today!
Use Coupon Code: holiday at check-out to get 15% OFF your order!
Rumor has it that Windows 7 will drop in the middle of next year, but last month Microsoft released a "preview" tester build of Windows 7. After living in the Windows 7 Preview for a week now, several features and niceties jumped out at me which promise to make Windows a better place to work come 2009.
Here are just a few of the things to look forward to in Windows 7.
10. Ding-dong, the Sidebar is dead.
One of the first things I hunted down and killed in Windows Vista was the Sidebar, which loaded by default and docked Vista's Gadgets to the right side of your desktop. In Windows 7, the sidebar is no more, and gadgets, should you want them, can roam free across the desktop. This time around, the gadgets feel less distracting to me—the CPU meter and calendar gadgets are my favourites, though this screenshot shows many more.
9. Calculator, WordPad, and Paint got overhauled.
It sucks that Windows 7 is stripping the built-... More »
Today Microsoft has detailed NXE's party and photo sharing features via GamerScore blog as follows:
Pretty sure we can all agree that Xbox LIVE is the best place to play games, hands-down. A good game of Gears of War 2 becomes an incredible game when you get into a heavy multiplayer match with your friends – or any person you’re matched with – and reduce them into small chunks with your pretty chainsaw. It’s the little things in life that bring such satisfaction.
But some people asked for ways to create parties and keep entire groups of people together online, no matter what they were doing. Well, we’ve listened and we’ve delivered.
Once NXE launches on Nov. 19, it will be even easier to connect with your friends and the Xbox LIVE community of 14 million people around the world via Xbox LIVE Party*.
Xbox LIVE Party will let you and up to seven friends jump from experience to experience while staying connected at all tim... More »
In the past 2-3 years the games industry has passed over the proverbial cusp that had prevented it from reaching mainstream appeal.
Games are being mentioned in the same breath as top tier films and books, being compared to art and various literature. It is set to take it’s place as a prominent form of entertainment.
There are however a few things that are holding it back, small hurdles that need to be overcome. I shall now suggest three changes that the Games Industry as a whole should make to cement it’s social acceptance and cultural relevance.
1 – Definitive media outlets
World news has the BBC, CNN and the New York Times. Film has Empire and IMDB, Music has Rolling Stone and NME. All of these are well established and respected sources for people outside of the subject they hold personal interest in. The games industry has Kotaku? Gamespot? Eurogamer? There isn’t one site or even a few out there who I would person... More »
Japanese site Watch Impress has recently got their hands on a brand new Nintendo DSi, and decided to take it apart to reveal a peek at the inside contents.
As previously mentioned, differences include slightly larger LCD screens, refined stereo speakers and the DSi CPU, which includes the 'TWL' revision stamped on it with a 2007 date.
The original Ninwtendo DS/DS Lite CPU was dated as 2004, with revision stamps 'NTR' and 'NTR B' respectively.
Those interested can check out all the dissection photos on their site linked above. Enjoy!
(3) 
