Do you like the Xbox 360? Do you have a smartphone? Want a blade system for your smartphone? Then head over here and check out someone's work on recreating the blade setup on their mobile phone along with all the files necesarry for you to do it yourself.

 

Ever since the 360 decided to segment their install base by producing one SKU with a HDD and one without, I've questioned if this decision would come back to being an issue for Microsoft. Lately, we're seeing one extreme though on the PS3 where Capcom installs a huge amount of data on the hard drive so that you would get a smoother playing experience. The installs produce a much better gaming experience in terms of waiting a lot less than the 360 version but it costs a lot of space. 5 gigs, while not that big of a deal on a computer, is certainly a lot worse on a console. Granted, you could put any size hard drive on the PlayStation 3 to ease this burden but the process is still a little bit more complicated than unplugging the current HDD and plugging a new one in. For that I wish Sony wouldv'e gone with a more simple method of accessing the hard drive like the 360 or even the PlayStation 2 but I digress. 

Developers can't count on a 360 owner having an HDD so they can't force an install like PlayStation 3 games.  With games coming out these days with higher resolution textures and more video, the 360's starting to suffer from the long load time effect that makes gaming on that console a little annoying. Capcom games are one example but Mass Effect might not have suffered the texture pop ins and long elevator rides if the game could've used the HDD to cache some of the graphics. And I'm sure Chuck would appreciate the quicker loading of the cut scenes from Lost Odyssey. Coming from the PC side of things, I've always found long load times annoying as I just want to load up a game and play. That's not to say PC doesn't suffer some of the same effects but it's not as prominent as the console area since you can install a lot of the main files on a PC. 

In my opinion, the answer isn't a huge install or none at all but some place in between. For 360 owners, developers should allow an option of caching some data on the HDD when they first boot up the game. That way those that do have the HDD can benefit from the faster loading and seeking times of the HDD over the slower DVD drive to get through parts of the game faster. For the PS3, follow the PC side and ask how big of an installation do you want on your HDD. Some PC games let you install a minimal, normal, or full installation (including FMV) and I think this option would be a great way to curb the large Capcom like installs if you don't want it but still want to take advantage of the HDD to speed up some things.

The HDD can be used in both systems to benefit gamers. It doesn't change my opinion that Microsoft made a poor decision in not putting an HDD in every system but developers should still program their games to take advantage of it better if you do have one in place. 

Got to say, when I clicked on this video that Cyril posted with the Portal end song being composed via Mario Paint Composer I was a little skeptical. But, after watching it the person who did it did a great job and it's really enjoyable.

 

"The PS3 is also a Blu-ray player, priced very affordably, and many early adopters of Blu-ray are using the PS3 precisely for this purpose," said Serene Fong, analyst with ABI Research.  "Microsoft's Xbox 360, which uses the HD DVD format, will see a very negative impact in terms of console sales."

Now we all know that analysts like to sprout off things and while it's their job to predict the future, I never take what they say seriously. One research firm has the Sony PlayStation 3 predicts that the PS3 will out sell the 360 this year with the Wii being the overall leader. Can't say I disagree with their take on the Wii as the console is less expensive and appeals to a wider range of audiences than the PS3 and the 360. What's interestng is they think by 2011, the PS3 will be the console leader. Could be. By that time I'm guessing we'll be either looking at or be close to launches of new consoles from Microsoft, Nintendo, and maybe Sony.

I have seen some scary shit in vending machines over the years, but nothing quite as, how shall we say, "unusual" as this.  Down in the lunchroom at my office I found this little gem waiting for some unlucky sole to drop their $0.85 cents on.  Allow me to introduce the Burger King Ketchup and Fry Flavored Potato Snacks.  The picture doesn't do it justice, but the image on the bag is of some Kibbles and Bits looking schlag.  Not sure why someone would turn the worst French fries of the top fast food chains into bagged snacks, but "Have it Your Way" indeed....

 

 

You knew it was bound to happen, especially with the way violence in video games has been getting hammered for years.  Now, a company (Music Go Round) has come out and declared that music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band are causing society to lose focus on the benefits of playing real instruments.  Umm, how about a resounding NOT!!  No offense to the folks over at Music Go Round, but they are living in a pipe dream if they think video game fans would be playing the violin or trumpet instead of rocking out to Metallica.  Most schools have music programs that begin about the fourth grade and carry upward.  By the time you hit middle school, you either are playing in the band or playing sports, all while playing video games.

I personally think that they have it all backwards, as kids (and adults) playing video games would probably have zero interest in music instruments at all without the likes of Rock Band and Guitar Hero.  With so many becoming expert players in game, how many of these young masters of the plastic may decide to check out what it is like to play the drums, bass or electric guitar for real to see if they can do it?  I don't know either, but this proclamation by Music Go Round trying to blame video games for a lack of real world instrument play is poorly thought out and about the dumbest thing I have heard in a long time.  Music Go Round take note, I am 36 years old and have NO interest in playing a musical instrument.  I play a video game that utilizes musical style controllers, but it is not keeping me from blossoming into the next James Taylor.  Enjoy your five minutes of publicity I gave you...

Check out the whole release from Music Go Round after the jump:More...

Stardock's a company that gamers should support. They sell their games without DRM. Just pop in the DVD, install, and you're good to go. You don't need th DVD in the drive to play and your key affords you new updates and patches. It's funny to hear on the Sins of Solar Empire blog about how one big name publisher thought they would go bankrupt. The game Stardock was releasing with the no DRM model was Galactic Civilizations II. It went on to sell a great deal and earn Stardock a lot of money.

I'm coming from the ole C64 days when the piracy scene was pretty big so  I can understand companies wanting to protect their product. The problem is there's no scheme out there that can't be broken and as seen by the BioShock fiasco, can turn off ordinary customers by being too constrictive.  Perhaps because of the way DRM has evolved over the years and how bad it can be, people are starting to reward companies without any restrictions. We just want our stuff to work and not be hassled into proving that our copy of the game is legitimate. 

Stardock deserves a lot of praise and your money for doing what they are doing. They are producing high quality games and trusting their customers to purchase it. So far it's working and while I don't see any of the major companies coming around to this in the hear future, let's hope they see this as a model on how to do business these days.