Wow Sony now THAT was funny.
xbox1
Sony just kicked Xbox’s Butt R.I.P Microsoft
So E3 yesterday was a big event. It was great we heard from Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. I also released my prediction about the Xbox’s chances moments before the reveal. All I can say is WOW I mean…WOW. Sony basically watched Microsoft dig its own grave and effectively shoved them into it on E3. Microsoft might as well rename it D-Day on their calenders. The day the real gamers packed up their controllers and headed over to Japan and with them they shall take the interests of the non gamers who deem it necessary to purchase a console. I’m not even going to talk about Wii U because…I mean it’s Wii U what’s there to talk about?
I can’t lie to you, I’m pretty upset Microsoft. I mean I’ve been a die-hard Xbox fan since the original console broke free in 2001. I got that console as a Christmas present and began dutifully building my game reserve including titles such as Halo (obiviously), Madden, Legacy of Kain, Advent Rising, and the like. Ever since then I was Xbox all the way. I worked hard to save up enough money to get my 360, then proceeded to get Halo 3 and 4, Gears of war 1-3, dead space, lost planet, stranglehold, and more. I paid for my Xbox Live subscription and played the games online and watched netflix. I even got the Kinect and three games for it. I marveled at how I could wave my hand and it would cycle through the options. I could speak and it could hear and take commands. I loved my Xbox and I loved my 360 so when I heard news of a new Xbox console on the horizon after oh so many years I was quite enthused to say the least(why am I talking like that? Its late forgive me).
However news of the Xbox1 was all bad in my eyes from the boxy VCR style design to the “always online” issue(has to be connected to the net every 24 hours), to the no games from friends(has to be through the cloud system, you must be signed in to get to your game). It seemed like they put all of the resources not into making a better system(the xbox’s pure power pales in comparison to the PS4’s) but into making a box that would suck up the money from your wallets, pockets, and couch cushions. FOR SHAME Microsoft. That’s exactly where my prediction came in. My line of thinking was that if Sony was smart they’d focus on what historically sells consoles, power, games, and compatibility. Everybody buys used games, its just the way things are. Its not really hurting the companies pockets because at the end of the day the amount of people that buy the used games would never buy the games at full price anyway. They are literally only buying the games because they are used and at a reasonably lower price. Yet Microsoft insisted on going with a “perception profit” style instead of a “realistic profit” style. Realistically the reception of this E3 has been nothing short of the worlds roughest knockout blow.
See Microsoft forgot what this entire industry is really based on, gamers. Nintendo didn’t forget with the Wii who apparently they are trying to emulate in terms of grabbing an audience that doesn’t really use consoles. Yet in reality most of Wii’s sales were motivated by gamers who loved the new spin. The new spin just happened to be something that was extremely accessible to those who don’t usually play video games. This whole Television thing is not going to do Xbox one any good. Why pay extra for something I already have a box for?
So basically Sony let everyone question their motives on why they were staying silent and they let Microsoft feel smart by talking and talking. Then they took the stage and delivered death blows to their competition. “Yes you can buy used games.” The crowd exploded which is funny because that’s really the bare minimum we really want to know about backwards compatibility but because Microsoft set the bar so low its just something that needs to be cheered for. We can take our games to our friends house and play them on the Ps4. Which after the amount of time they’ve spent making everything a co-op and everything multi-player you’d also think THAT was bare minimum as well. Then we get to the price…Xbox’s hefty 499 price tag for something that everyone is already have MORE than second thoughts on is going to be a huge obstacle to conquer whereas PS4 right now has all the positive press and media generated AND a 399 price tag. A hundred bucks cheaper and an already better looking deal if the Xbox was exactly the same price, that comparison alone is enough to warrant switching your preferences. If there was anyone in the middle they’ve probably shifted to Sony just based off the price.
The only thing that can save Xbox at this point is the games. However to tell the truth they are on their fifth halo their fourth Gears of war…I don’t know if there is anything left for them to do that will be so amazing that I’d have to get THIS console. Even still Sony announced Kingdom Hearts three. KH3! PEOPLE! First that game is one of the best ever with one of the best sequels ever. If you go back and watch the original intro movie the graphics more than stand up and that was on the ps2. Imagine what they are going to do with the ps4! That’s just one game people, they also have series over at Sony that will be coming back bigger and better on the ps4. Xbox has a few good games coming but none so much that will make it so that those who must make a choice between the two will choose them.
Xbox…you just got KNOCKED OUT.
I’ll be reserving my ps4 as soon as I get the money. So sad I really was looking forward to you Xbox1 but…I just can’t throw away money like that. R.I.P Microsoft gaming…maybe try the hand held arena?
P.S Nintendo has a new Zelda coming out for the hand held based on a link to the past also the Smash Bros for the Wii U has been announced.
P.P.S or whatever you’re supposed to say. As I finished writing this and casually clicked over to my Facebook page I saw an update from IGN saying that “Mad Max” has been announced for the PS4…ok Sony…now you’re just being mean the ref already counted to ten why are you still hitting him?
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely
Brian Bell-Wiseguy Industries
Xbox One Follow Up-The Prediction
Ok so if you haven’t heard the Xbox One was shown awhile ago at a large demonstration in Seattle and London. I was following the show and made an article which you can view here. With the rest of the world tuned in on their television sets Microsoft rolled out their plan for the new Xbox console which can be broken down to Television and Xbox equals Chocolate and Peanut Butter.
They spoke about the new Kinect which will come with the Xbox, the compatibility with the television, and the Halo show. However in their little presentation they neglected to mention some of the flaws (outside of the name) but our friendly neighborhood Sony was more than happy to tweet shady remarks about them until we could finally see them ourselves. However before we get into strictly Xbox problems, the need to address the state of the gamer nation is high so this I shall do.
Ok the trend of the industry moving away from the gamers has been long documented. We’ve seen it and especially with the advent of the Wii, we’ve lived it. I mean they really were able to capitalize on people who never would have played games before. That’s great, whoop-ti-doo great for you Nintendo really, but who do you think introduced these foreigners to the games in the first place. That’s right, the hardcore gamers. If you piss off these people NOBODY will buy your product because WE are the experts, not your fancy advertisement campaigns with your clever phrases and puns. Not your millions of dollars that you spent developing the product. No it is US the Gamer Nation that holds the fate of your company in our hands…and we…are a butterfingery bunch. Why the slightest aggravation could cause us to lose our grip!
Even deeper down the rabbit hole you’ll find Gamestop which uses the slogan “power to the player”. Yeah I remember when that actually used to be TRUE for them. I’d get a game maybe it was already scratched, maybe somehow it got scratched the same day I bought it, either way it was “Power to the player” and I got another disc. Now they try to swindle even more money out of you by requiring that you buy an insurance policy. That’s right they now want you to pay for something they used to do for FREE. The reason this messes with me is because it is one of the MAIN reasons I went to them because lord knows I wasn’t selling them any of my games. However this is just another facet of the move away from hardcore gamers. Microsoft sees this and is going right along with it so now that you have that back story, let’s get into the issues with the one they call….the one…for whatever reason.
KINECT MANDATORY
First off it comes with the Kinect which sounds great BUT that’s probably going to drive the price up. Now if later on I discover this is not the case and the price is around the same price as the 360 was (plus inflation) then I shall retract this statement. However any way to make an extra buck seems to be Microsoft’s saying these days so I doubt I’ll be doing that. Also the reason that the Kinect comes with it is that it will be MANDATORY for ALL GAMES. Now that doesn’t mean that you will have to use it as a controller in every game. I’m sure they won’t have you leaping about the room to the next Final Fantasy game. However it will be used for everything from turning on the Xbox to in-game controls by reading your game controller. It can be a good or bad thing however I’d love to have a choice in the matter. Don’t get me wrong I totally went out and bought a Kinect and thoroughly enjoyed all three games I ever played on it. It’s a great concept and it’s nice to see that they have enough dedication to it to do something like this. Yet it just seems to be a bit of a stretch just like…
The Xbox1 Look
Ok so many people around the net noticed this so I’m glad I’m not the only one. Does it look like a 90s VCR to any of you? For those of you who don’t know what a VCR is…grow up and stop making me feel old. The Xbox1 looks big and clunky, a direct opposition to what they pushed with the curvy (kind of) 360. I loved the look of the 360 and to replace it with this mess just seems crude. It looks like a generic box, and not much fun. Usually in advertisement you DO judge a book by its cover and this one looks like some boring book about the growth cycles of worms.
Internet Connection
So apparently you will HAVE to have the internet to use this system. Every 24 hours it must be connected to the internet which SUCKS. I mean seriously to play a game that I bought, with my money, from your company, I have to then pay another company 25 plus bucks a month to get access to play it??? What sense does that make? None and yes it’s been confirmed that even offline activities will require this. This leads me to believe that Microsoft has a very narrow view of economics. See if you buy something one time that means you saved up for it. Even if you couldn’t afford this Xbox every month, you can afford it maybe once a year or maybe once every two years, but now that you have to factor in the additional internet costs…it’s just not going to work for a lot of people. Especially for people outside of America who you do realize, are also an entirely large market. I know people take it for granted that internet access is there for everyone but that’s just the problem, when making a multi-million dollar investment, you can’t just assume.
No Used Games
As per their new philosophy of get every penny out of their pockets no matter how much it pisses them off, they’ve outlawed used games. Simply put you will have to pay for every game even if your friend brings over his copy of the game. Say little Johnny is all excited about Halo 5 and you plan on going through it on the co-op modes which by the way for YEARS they’ve been making so much more intricate because we’ve demanded it. Ok so he brings the game over you pop it in and because you are connected to the internet they immediately recognize that this is not a game that you have paid for and they shut your share happy butt right down.
Yep not so much fun for you and little Johnny is it? This is a shameless attempt on Microsoft’s part to stem the tide of people moving from brand new purchases to second-hand gaming. See games have always been on the expensive side but ever since they jacked the price up to $60 a game people have been throwing money at Ebay and Gamestop to get their games. Ever since that explosion happened the console creators that be have been scheming to get their paws on some of that sweet sweet cash. It wouldn’t be good enough to cut down the price about five dollars to see more people buy directly from them. They want to make it so that we the gamers have no choice but to crawl to them with our hands out begging.
No Backwards Compatibility
This one just doesn’t make any sense. I tried to make it make sense by saying “maybe they think everyone will just buy second-hand” but even that doesn’t fit because nintendo released Zelda on Gamecube and Wii and both did extremely well on both systems. This has been the case for many systems, Sony was still releasing titles on the ps2 for quite a while after the ps3 was released. Xbox one really through me for a loop. I’m supposing (if one will allow a supposition) that this was merely a side effect of the programming used to keep people from playing second-hand games. I mean we haven’t forgotten that red ring mess Microsoft so you are really going to have to prove yourself this time, and this mess isn’t helping your cause at all. I’m a die-hard gears of war, Halo fan but man this is ROUGH territory right here.
So Microsoft I love my Xbox 360, I loved my Xbox, and I really thank you for everything you’ve done with both. I mean I had about 90 games on the Xbox and 2 original Xbox consoles with 8 controllers. I sold all of it for the 360 and currently have about 50 games on that. I really do hope that I’ll find some reason to get this Xbox1 but as a gamer…I can’t see it. However I’m still going to keep my excitement and hope up for this console because I want it to be great.
Prediction
Yet my official prediction for this system hinges on the oh so little knowledge of the competition. I really know nothing about the Wii U and plan on keeping it that way. The ps4 isn’t backwards compatible either but its a more powerful system but they still never fully utilized the ps3’s full potential. I’d say the fields are pretty even and after ps4 is rolled out we’ll really see. Right now I’d say Microsoft is going to take a loss, they’ve put the ball in Sony’s court, if they play along and do what Microsoft did then the gamers are screwed and we won’t have a choice. But if Sony gives in and keeps the used games as an option then Microsoft loses everything.
Thanks for reading! I hope you found it informative and entertaining as usual you guys are the best!
Sincerely,
Brian Bell – Wiseguy Industries
The 3 most promising Survival Horror console games 2013
I haven’t always been a fan of the survival horror genre…but that was only because when I was younger my parents wouldn’t allow certain games in the house. So yes I missed out on the first resident evil, silent hill, ok and the second resident evil. However eventually I was exposed to a little known game called “The Suffering” and my life changed. Resident evil 4 came after that and solidified my love for the genre so much so that I went back and played catch up with some of the other games. Since then my affair with these games has been a strained one. Many games claiming to be survival horror are at best action games with a few cheap jumps thrown in there. A few stand above the rest like Dead Space (oh how I love that game) Alan Wake, and Siren 3(I was lucky enough to play on a friends ps3). Now it seems with the critical failure of RE6 people realize they need to get back to their roots with this thing and now we are seeing a few games with some really good promise on the consoles and on the PC they are REALLY exploding(but we’ll cover those later). So without further ado let’s get into the list with…
#3 Until Dawn
This game takes the age-old tale of promiscuous teenagers in a cabin and a killer and puts you in control. Seems straight forward enough, the thing is they’ve made this game 2 player and it looks pretty interesting. You use a flashlight and a torch via the Playstation’s move controller which seems like a newer take on the Alan Wake formula. The thing about that is it can be tricky. If you had told me before Alan Wake was teased(forever ago I know) that a flashlight would be my only weapon, I don’t think I would’ve had too much hope for that title. I mean variety is one of the best parts of any game but Alan Wake pulled it off with various upgrades and a few choice other weapons. So with this one I’m holding a little torch of hope.
inSANE
Ok you got me…so not much is known about this game but from what we DO know, it looks like it will be amazing. See its a game by none other than academy award winning and freaky creature creator, Guillermo del Toro.
That’s correct Del Toro is getting into the video game field and the first game he’s making is a survival horror game. With his track record I’m sure at the very least the story will be compelling. The gameplay however is still up in the air as I’m not sure who the developer will be. Its still in production but he’s looking for a developer. The game is rumored to be based off the writings of H.P Lovecraft. Lets hope this one makes it!
#1 The Evil Within
Created by the originator of the Resident Evil series, this games trailer alone got me excited. I randomly clicked on the video while browsing facebook and was extremely impressed with what I saw. The game looks extremely dark, the trailer itself is scary and doesn’t look like the thrills will get old either. Everything looks eerie and the atmosphere is really what gives you the most scare in any horror venue be it a Stephen King novel or a haunted house. Here’s the plot of the story I found
When Detective Sebastian and his partner rush to the scene of a gruesome mass murder, a mysterious, powerful force is lying in wait for them. Witnessing the killing of fellow police officers one after another, Sebastian is then attacked and loses consciousness. Waking up in a land where monsters are wandering about, he has to fight his way through a world of death and his close friend’s madness in order to understand what’s going on. Sebastian has to face his fears in order to survive on a journey to discover what lies in the shadows of that mysterious force.
The plot seems like it will put you right back into the ORIGINAL survival horror driver’s seat. This means low ammo, hard times, and extreme scares. I can’t wait for this one to terrify me!
That’s my list for now I’ll keep you updated! Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Brian Bell-Wiseguy Industries
Spielberg and Halo, sounds promising but will it work?
Long ago when I t’was but a child, a game emerged from the darkness that changed First person shooters forever. That game was Halo, and almost as long as its been out, there have been rumors about its first foray onto the big screen. First Peter Jackson signed on then off again, no wait on again! Then back off and the project labored in development hell and fans around the world screamed and shook their fists at the moon, or maybe that was just me.
Anyway video games to movies usually end one of two ways, terrible for the fans or terrible in general. Resident Evil is a good example, I challenge you to show me at this point, any connection to the game’s plot at all. I won’t wait because it’s not there. They completely overhauled it into an apocalyptic zombie fest which isn’t bad but it definitely isn’t a reflection on the survival horror game I came to love that had you constantly searching for ammo.
Street fighter legend of Chun-Li made me literally hate Chun-Li, I honestly haven’t played as her on Street fighter since then. It was such a bad movie (as was the first street fighter) that it may have negatively impacted sales of the video game.
What usually happens is the production companies see the video game industry as a comical thing. They don’t respect the genre and see it as a cheap way to make money, so they go cheap on it. They don’t get the best producers, they get the writers that have never proven themselves in an action genre. I.E The writers for the Tekken movie had people that only wrote dramatic films which led to over developed characters, not enough action, and a storyline that never quite got fulfilled.
However with all of these things in mind Microsoft would not allow that to happen to the child it stole from Apple(c’mon people look its right here). They have now enlisted Steven Spielberg to Executive Produce a Halo television series for Xbox Live gold members.
Now here’s the problem…A TELEVISION SERIES. Halo is far to epic in reach and scope to be confined to the small screen. Honestly I don’t know if I want to see the Master Chief every week anyway. He lacks the character to be seen repeatedly in this sense. In fact the most interesting dynamic in the entire game is his relationship with Cortana, the computer that is far more human than he is.
“For me, the ‘Halo’ universe is an amazing opportunity to be at the intersection where technology and storytelling meet,” Spielberg said.
I just don’t know on the one hand it’s Spielberg, coming off of Lincoln I’m sure he’s just itching for some sci-fi epic goodness. On the other hand a television series with characters that are basically reasons for the Master Chief to blow things up in awesome ways just seems, unreasonable. Now I know as a quasi-nerd I should go by the “in Spielberg we trust” rule but for me its doubly rough to take the fact that a feature length live action film probably won’t be made, and also that Halo will be basically an experimental project for the Xbox1’s crossover capabilities and appeal.
Hopefully it will be as awesome as it’s potential but that will be seen in the months to come. Until then I’ll keep holding out for a Gears of War movie. Maybe they’ll wait a year or so and I’ll be able to direct that. You never know!
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
Brian Bell-Wiseguy Industries
XBOX ONE REVEALED TODAY DETAILS HERE!
Today is the big day! Xbox one is finally revealed in dramatic form in Seattle and London. Ok now some of these things (like Steven Spielberg’s connection with Halo, awesome) I will have to address in separate Blogs that I will link to in this article when they are up. However right now I will list everything that I can at the moment.
CONTROLLER
First there is a “new” controller that basically looks exactly like the old one but black and a little sleeker.
The real upgrades to the controller take place on the inside.
The triggers are apparently very responsive and the directional pad has been reworked for touch sensitivity as well.
Everything else pretty much looks the same, the joysticks are concave now which seems like it will give you a little more control.
The images on the start and back buttons are different but seriously relax people, they’ll probably do the same things as before.
The bumper’s are still there (remember the black and white buttons? Good times…) With this controller Microsoft opted to keep the traditional controller and focus on other upgrades for their new system.
SYSTEM
The Xbox One is powered by an eight-core AMD processor and a very powerful graphics processor. Codenamed “Durango,” the console, gaming site Kotaku reports, will have 500GB of storage space, 8GB of RAM and USB 3.0 connectivity right out of the box. It also now has Blu-Ray capabilities! This will give us cleaner cut scenes and of course access to a wider movie base as everything is moving toward blu-ray (been moving toward it). It has wi-fi built in also which wasn’t featured in the original 360 but was later added into the Elite version.
All of this power will make for games with amazing visuals and equally amazing gameplay. Hopefully the story lines will be as awesome, graphics aren’t a band-aid for poorly written material.
KINECT
Kinect is now an extremely integral part of this system as it will not work without it. That’s what I said it WILL NOT WORK unless your Kinect is attached, but take a deep breath and chill reader, it comes with one.They have completely upgraded Kinect and it can now take 1080 video as well as notice subtle movements. It is also compatible with the Xbox controller. By moving the controller you can do different activities in the game which makes it possible to utilize the Kinect even in traditional games. They’ve also upgraded the speaking functions allowing for a wider range of voice commands utilizing the Kinect’s microphone. Another addition is the Kinect’s upgraded light to object meter and camera. It now has the ability to work in a completely dark room. Microsoft is really pushing the Kinect’s limits in order to captialize on one of their more popular add-ons. Seems like a good idea, Nintendo tapped into an entirely new marketplace with the accessibility of the Wii’s control. Perhaps just using your hands and voices will appeal to that same consumer base? We shall see!
GAMES
They haven’t revealed many games and the ones they have are the ones that are on every system such as FIFA soccer and NBA live. Microsoft execs have stated that there are 15 games in production right now and 8 are Xbox exclusive. They are probably saving these reveals for the E3 event and are focused more on the actual gaming systems special functions.
I’m sure however it’s safe to say that fan favorite trilogies such as Halo and Gears of War will be back for the Xbox1. Also I just saw the trailer for Batman Arkham origins that may be playable on Xbox1 depending on the release. Even still it may get a Xbox1 and 360 release so we can look forward to that.
I for one would love to see Prey 2, I loved the first game and even though the second one seems quite different, I wouldn’t mind seeing what Tommy has been up to.
SPECIAL FUNCTIONS
Xbox one will allow you to chat with friends on Skype(owned by Microsoft) while watching a movie on the new Blu-ray system or watching live TV, or surfing the web. In addition to adding more voice recognition functions, they’ve added a lot of integrated app functions. This means when you download an app such as ESPN, you can get the updates while you play. You can also hook your cable up to the Xbox and record shows as well as get show recommendations based on what you usually watch.
The real focus of Microsoft has moved from purely gaming to entertainment as a whole. Microsoft is attempting to send the entire entertainment industry through their product. From your cable television programs to their own programming that will be coming soon, you can send all sorts of entertainment through it.
Well I guess they had do something because as I hear Apple is coming with something similar later on, and people by Apple stuff just because it says Apple on it.
Microsoft has built deeper Smartglass support into the console, letting you use your smartphone or tablet to display secondary information. However this is the only thing that has been released regarding news of Xbox one’s compatibility with tablets and mobile devices. Hopefully we’ll hear about that more later on. However for the present time that is the only thing that is a little disturbing. I’ve had the Xbox live app on my phone for awhile and I would love to see an upgraded version of that soon.
It’s clear that Microsoft has decided to attempt to grow not only with their games, but with entertainment as a whole. With this new Xbox they are attempting to give the consumer the ability to do everything from watch television to record videos, through their product. It seems like an exciting situation and I can’t wait to find out the (hopefully) amazing things that will be done with it.
The release date is sometime in 2013 though they failed to be more specific about when.
Sony didn’t stay quiet as they threw a little “shade” Microsoft’s way via twitter.
Well we await your full announcement with bated breath Sony!
Oh and Spielberg is Executive Producing a Live Action Halo series for Xbox Gold.
Ha! More on that later! Thanks for reading!
Sincerely,
Wiseguy Industries
Wiseguy Industries Media 