Pirating is not as easy as it is used to be. A sign that developer winning the race?

So Mass Effect 2 came out couple days ago and it is Xbox 360 exclusive. With only having a PS3 only, I borrowed my girlfriend's nephew console for two weeks, just to play ME2. Being in Indonesia, it is virtually impossible to get original copy, so I bought Mass Effect 2 pirated DVD. Once I got home, the DVD cannot play, it just gives an Xbox 360 logo and stuck there. Then I was told that I need a utility disk in order to play it.
The next day I bought the utility disk and it was true that the game works. Less than 5 minutes into the game, the disk gave an error and told me to clean it by cloth.
Then my friend suggested me to install it to hard drive. halfway through, the disk gave the same error. So maybe I have to go back to the shop and trade the disk. It is not just the disk, basically it's waste of time and it is a hassle.
My point is, playing pirated copies is not as easy as it used to be. I remember during NES, SNES, SEGA, until Playstation 2, pirated copies has no problem and run perfectly on the system. But now, with online era and more advance copyright technology, playing pirated copies sometimes is a nightmare.

Take Wii for example, sometimes new games cannot work on the console, and when you update to the shop, the previous titles stopped working. And Xbox 360 as I mention, gave a lot of hassle, the pirated copies is so low quality that you have to trade often.

And PS3 is considered the safest console in history. I admit that I am impressed that PS3 has stayed pirated free after all this time. Sure you might heard news that PS3 is successfully hacked. But the word "hacked" and "being able to play pirated copies" is very different. As I read several news, turns out there are still numbers of security layers that not been broken. So I guess it will still take quite a while for PS3 to be broken.
But even if PS3 can be fully pirated, then what? Most of games nowadays are online. Being online, means that Sony can detect whether your console is modded or not, thus can ban you for life from PSN like Xbox did.

So is this a sign that developer can win the race? Maybe, maybe not, but one thing for sure. It's getting more and more complicated to hacked a gaming console system.
Read more...

Gamers perspective of the new Apple tablet: iPad

Apple just announced its new tablet called iPad. This new gadget looks like the big version of iPhone, but without the camera. It will comes in two versions. One is the Wifi version, the other one is 3G version.
1Up.com said that the device starts at $499 for the 16 GB WiFi-equipped model, then $599 for 32 GB and $699 for 64 GB. 3G functionality adds $130 to each price ($629, $729, and $829 respectively). Data plans range from $14.99 per month for 250 MB of data, to $29.99 per month for unlimited data.

Most of the iPhone apps is compatible with iPad. This is a good news for gamers, so they don't have to buy or upgrade the software they purchased. iPad will let you play in original mode (iPhone resolution) or blow up iPad mode. That means the grahics will be stretched. During the demo of Need for Speed, the game was blown up to iPad full screen, from the looks of it, although the graphics is less detailed that the original, the sharpness reduction is minimal. The game is still looks great even after blown up.  

Now the downside is, it is really uncomfortable to play games on iPad. Trying to hold the tablet and at the same time play, control the software is awkward. The size and the wight also makes it hard to handle.

And iPad won't let you multitasking. Meaning that once you play games, you cannot switch to other application to say browsing. Given how powerful this gadget is, seems that multitasking shouldn't be a problem.

Now the price. Given the most expensive gaming console is PS3 cost only $299 in the market, for sure people won't be buying the tablet just for gaming cause it will be too expensive, and I don't think Apple position its tablet around gaming anyway. It is basically a "semi PC", that can browse, read books, and if you want.. play games.
Read more...

Monster Hunter Frontier coming to Xbox 360

Big announcement from Capcom and Microsoft today. Monster Hunter Frontier is coming to Xbox 360. Most probably it will be timed exclusive for Xbox 360 and currently it is unclear whether it will also be coming to west, since Monster Hunter Frontier PC itself is only available in Asia region. 

Monster Hunter Frontier is a MMORPG released on PC back in 2007. While Americans don't really play Monster Hunter series too much, its different in Japan. Monster Hunter is a big franchise in Japan. Microsoft hoped to gain more stronghold in the land that they have been struggling since.
The game will run on different server than current Xbox games, and it is planned sometime in the future the PC server and Xbox server will be integrated.
From point of view of Capcom and Microsoft, this is really a win win situation. From Capcom side, it will bring new players and prolong its game's life, not to mention some kind of rewards from Microsoft for exclusivity.
From Microsoft side, this will greatly add to its bargaining power so that Japanese has more reason to buy Xbox 360.
But for $15 a month to play, do we really have to be excited? Unless you are a Monster Hunter maniac, there are lots of options. We don't have to look very far for the best game in MMORPG market, the mighty World of Warcraft. It costs the same dollar, and personally I think it is better than Monster Hunter.
But then again, this is Japan we are talking about. World of Warcraft may globally dominate, but Monster Hunter in Japan is definitely no joke.
Read more...

Mature-themed Wii games get the black box in Japan

We know Mature themed games don't sell on Wii. Nintendo of Japan has launched a new approach. In order to differentiate Mature games from casual games, Nintendo decided that Wii games that have a CERO C rating (equivalent to ESRB's Teen rating) or above will be packaged in black boxes, while others will stay in white packaging.

So, next time you'll see a black box Wii, that means it's more mature themed game. However I find it interesting if this is Nintendo's move to help sell more mature Wii titles to hardcore gamers. First of all we need to understand that Mature games doesn't mean its for hardcore players. Yes, the perception is that the hardcores play more mature games in Xbox 360 or PS3 compared to Wii. But that doesn't mean separating the packaging helps selling games for hardcore players. 

Plus hardcore players more likely to keep track of upcoming game releases, so I don't think hardcore players need a reminder. I personally feels that the message Nintendo is saying, rather than, "Hey this is a mature title, so it is for you hardcore gamers!", more like a reminder for kids and parents saying,"Hey careful, this contains mature themed games, so better look for the white packaging. It's safe!".Or better yet, it helps to convey to kids," Hey this is mature games, its cool and you can be adult for playing this one." Its like a forbidden fruits for kids, cause you know kids, the more you tell them that you can't have it, the more they likely want to try.
We need to ask, do casual players definitely don't like to play mature content? Or do hardcore players don't like less mature content? It can be both and we definitely cannot draw a fine line here.

I feel that by doing this, this is just to seperate teen/adults from kids games. Both may have easier time to find a game that suits their tastes, but it did not address why Mature Wii games don't sell.
Read more...

EA tinkering with Mass Effect 2's DLC

Its getting more and more complicated. We know that there is a free DLC called "Cerberus Network" for those who purchase new original copy of the game. Those buyers will get a code that can redeem the DLC. The Cerberus Network is an in-game portal that can be used to view news, messages, as well as upcoming DLCs. So basically it is a DLC to view DLC, get it? No? We don't blame you.

Bioware via interview with Joystiq helps to clear the confusionp. Aparently there are DLCs that are free through Cerberus Network, and paid DLC that purchased without Cerberus. More confusion? 

Anyway the reason for this is that EA want to encourage customer to buy a new original copy and reduce used game trading. Those who buy on secondary market will have to buy it from Bioware site or Xbox marketplace should they want the Cerberus Network DLC.

Developer especially EA has been trying to combat used game trading, because it simply does not give them any benefits. Remember DRM that EA put into its The Sims game that sparks protest from customers?
Now rather than using blunt force, EA trying to lure customers via incentives like this free DLC.
Well, for a reason I cannot blame customer who want to sell the game, because its the customer's right. However if EA decided to treat new game buyers with bonus, then I'd say its a welcomed strategy. Confusing but welcomed.
Read more...

News & Updates

Ok, time for news update. Let's see what we have for the past days..

- Heavy Rain demo will be coming to PS3 on Feb 11th. Try not to miss this folks. Finally we can see what this game is really about.

- Yakuza 3 is given March 12th European release date. This is the Japanese answer to GTA, it sells well in Japan, they even making the sequel Yakuza 4 as this moment.

- ModNation Racer Beta is available for European download. Sony will allow only 100.000 users who sign in to the store to have a chance to download it. First come first serve everyone!!

- Square Enix confirmed Front Mission Evolved will be coming in Spring 2010.

- EA effort to tackle highly successful Modern Warfare 2, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, will be given a demo on February 4th. Is it really can match Modern Warfare 2? We'll see.

- PS3 motion controller launching pushed back to Fall 2010. Yeah.. ok. Not really excited for this one.

Looks like we are going to be busy this February just by testing demos. 
Read more...

The REAL reason Gran Turismo 5 is delayed so much

So, Gran Turismo 5 is delayed again. With development cost already reaching $60 millions and still counting, not to mention over 5 years in development, many wonder why that Polyphony still taking their time in polishing the game until it is perfect.
The answer you are looking for is no other than Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The game was only a part of Gran Turismo 5, and already selling over 3.5 millions units to date. When you count the price of $39.99, that is almost $150 m in sales. If for assumption half would be profit, then the development cost is already covered.
If you take that into account, no wonder Polyphony have so much time in releasing the full version.
Read more...

GT5, Real vs In game comparison

Take a look on this comparison between real driving and in- game Gran Turismo 5 driving. It is remakable not only to see that the tracks is identical, but also the way the car is driven. Also the hands that grip the steering wheel is accurate. Only if it wasn't delayed so much.

Source: Ps3blog
Read more...

IGN's article regarding JRPG sparks fireback from Japanese gamers

Recent IGN's article regarding JRPG sparks fireback from a Japanese gamers. The article can be found in here (10 ways to fix JRPG). The article talks about how typical the JRPG are, and how Western RPG evolved and take different direction. With over 500 comments, one comment that is seemingly stands above the rest is from a Japanese gamers, nick named Clockier:

"What!? Fallout is the SAME THING! You fight the same enemies, collect the same items... There's no sense of exploring unknown territory or anything. No matter how much freedom the player has, that's all there is."

"Oblivion and Fallout fanatics are exponentially more annoying than any Final Fantasy fanatic."

"Hey foreigners: we find your first-person shooters boring as shit. What do you say to that?"

"When I see all the 'sniping' and corpse-desecrating 'teabagging' going on in US games, the thought of what what foreigners do when they get mad [in real life] freaks me out."

"I'm sorry, but the battle systems in foreign games are totally boring."

"Yeah, like Oblivion's. But I guess it isn't the main focus of that game."

"Japanese RPGs are created for the express purpose of letting one experience the blooming of their full powers from a total zero starting point. They're necessary for keeping public order in Japan."

"Okay, so give us some foreign RPGs that are more interesting than Japanese ones. I just don't find foreign RPGs interesting at all."

"Oblivion's okay, but foreign games lack subtlety. They lack detail, and the character design and stories are bad."

"Americans can't understand complexity so a lot of the best stuff doesn't get translated. Like Megami Tensei!"

"That bit about "The Road Less Travelled?" #7? That's a common complaint... of inexperienced gamers. Like, I felt that way when I was in grade school."

"So sorry, but I LIKE Japanese-style RPGs."

"The real problem with Japanese RPGs is that the storylines aren't written by pros, only gamers."

"Oblivion didn't fare that well here, and Japanese don't really get into real-time strategy games."

"I call 'cultural differences'!"

"Show me an American-made RPG that satisfactorily addresses all of these complaints."

"Do foreign companies even make RPGs anymore? The only games that come to mind are first-person shooter action games. If we followed this 'advice' to the letter they'd have us making Grand Theft Auto clones."

 With both of the parties has some valid points, I think we should be able to respect each other cultural differences. Personally, I was a fan of JRPG, I think it is cool to have so much content in one game, and you have the sense of achievement when playing through the game. My first JRPG is Phantasy Star II, and I played so much JRPG since (Lunar, Final Fantasy series).
Nowadays, I kinda stop playing JRPG anymore, not because its boring or anything else, it is down to "yeah, I've seen everything that JRPG has to offer." So, I'm kinda waiting on something new in this genre.

Not saying that Fallout 3 is definitely better than Final Fantasy series, but Fallout 3 gives something refreshing towards the RPG. For example: freedom of choices is something that we don't really have in JRPG, and the character and story seems to be more mature, which suits my age.  But play that same thing over a decade, that will also be boring.

On the other hand, let's take a look at White Knight Chronicles. WKC is exactly what I'm hoping JRPG series can be. First of all, it gives you the ability to play online coop with friends, tackles missions together. Missions can also be downloaded via internet, so it always gives something refreshing to do. Secondly, you can design your own town. While this is not exactly new, we seen it in Suikoden, but the level of details in WKC is impressive.

It is not that JRPG is bad, it just need something refreshing for people to play on. And that is my personal opinion.


Read more...

News update: tids and bits

Hello, this week's has several interesting news update around the gaming industry, so here we are:

- Final Fantasy XIII overseas version is completed, meaning that soon it will be gold status and ready for production. A lot of content is deleted from FF XIII, that if they are add up together, can make a whole new game. I think I smell some DLC in here. 

- Gran Turismo 5 is delayed for Japan release, though some rumor said that PAL release is not affected, but some report also tell that NA release has been pushed back to late 2010. Polyphone, we really want to see this game before PS4 come out!

- Gran Turismo 5 reportedly take 80% of PS3 power. Many hope, Polyphony not aiming for 100% power usage though, that will be too long I guess..

- Splinter Cell is delayed to make the game from "good" to "awesome".

- Street Fighter: The legend of Chun li wins another reward.. "the worst reviewed movie of 2009". Keep your expectation as low as possible when watching this movie, at least you'll think it is better than original Street Fighter movie. It was so bad, I can't forget it until now.




-
Read more...

Modern Warfare 2, who can match it?

With sales more than 5 millions units, Modern Warfare 2 is simple the best FPS out there, and EA acknowledged it. And EA has plan to match the success of Modern day shooter.
Two of the EA's title that have potential to become MW2 rivals are classic reboot of Medal of Honor and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

Medal of Honor follows Call of Duty series for abandoning the World War II to modern era. According to original announcement, the game is set in Afghanistan and follows a small group of Tier 1 Operators- the smartest, fastest, most good looking special operatives the US army has to offer. From the trailer itself, it does look a lot like Modern Warfare series.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2, while it is set in Modern era, according to open beta testers, it feels different to Modern Warfare 2. First of all there are vehicles that you can use, ATVs, Tanks and Hummers are the first available units in the beta.
Secondly, you have classes. Unlike CoD's paintball-style encounters, in BC2, it is more about squad balance and coordination. You can be as medics who heal and revives teammates, engineer to blow stuffs or repair, and of course, Rifleman with grenades and bullets.

While BC2 is not exactly the same gameplay with MW2, EA confident that it can be as good. They also said that if any developer that can match Infinity Wards, it wil be DICE. That's a big word from EA, and you bet we will compare it with MW2!!
Read more...

Gran Turismo 5 in development for so long, ever wonder why?

We knew that Gran Turismo 5 development has been taking ages. For you who wonder why, here is a bit of info. We knew that GT 5 will feature over 1.000 over cars. According to an article of Playstation magazine, there are steps to be taken when adding a car for the game. It is not just browse the web and copy the pictures and put it into the game. The first is an extensive photo shoot. Several team members fly to the car location, which could be at the other half of the globe. By the way we are not talking of cars that you can see on the road, but rather a concept car, NASCAR, etc. Then they study the cars, photographing from a lot of angles over the course of several days.

Once they got the data, the team will return to Tokyo, where artists tasked with modeling and texturing each of the cars to the tiniest details such as the dashboard, damaged modelling, The specs of the cars are then integrated into the game and tweaked to ensure consistency. 
Each car takes around three to six months to complete and that is without the photoshoot. So can you forgive Polyphony having developing GT5 for such a long time? We sure you are.
Read more...

Is 3D entertainment going to settle?

Sony has a big plan for 3D, not only for gaming but for the industry as well. We have seen 3D movies lately, and it becoming more and more popular. This including the blockbuster "Avatar". Now that Sony is really pushing 3D to consumer by producing TV that has 3D capability and will update all BluRay movies, players, and games so that it is 3D enabled, is it the time that 3D might be due to us? Not to mention several TV station planned to have exclusive 3D channel.

It might be. However the big concern is whether your eyes capable to keep up using glasses and play for hours? Many complains of 3D is the eyes became too tired after an hour or so session. And that could become a barrier to make 3D a part of our lives.
During CES, Sony demoed Gran Turismo 5 in 3D. Though it is a excellent feature to be added, however the graphics itself seems to be dimmer compared to the standard version, and according to a response, after 5 minutes of playing, the eyes quickly become too tired and he forced to take off the glasses. Rather unconvincing, is it?

Well, I believe 3D still in developing phase, we should see in the next couple years that the technology will improve and more mature. In the near future, we might see 3D visual as a common feature.
Read more...

MAG open beta impression

So I manage to try the open beta for two days now. I picked up Valor because I thought the weaponry will be a lot similar to military. The demo only allow 1 faction to be chosen, should you want another you will have to delete all the progress. I specialized in assault rifle, so that my rifle has a red dot and foregrip to reduce the recoil on my rifle.
When you play MAG, I think it is important to not thinking about Modern Warfare 2. Let your glass be empty, because it is not MW2. First of all, the graphics is substandard compared to current generation FPS because Zipper worry that during 256 players fight, the engine will have too much to do.
The only available game mode right now is sabotage, it is 64 players, I don't know whether the other 256 players game mode will open up as you progress through the level.

Now on with the gameplay. When you aim down the sight, there is a bit lag like Killzone 2 but not as bad, so it is quite hard to aim moving target. But after couple rounds, you'll get used to it.
The map is big sometimes you can't see the snipers from far away, and get killed instantly. This is not the type of game where you can run around and rack kills. The pace is slower than most FPS game, you frequently need to take cover and kill as the enemy pass you by.
The sniper is frustrating, more often you cannot 1 shot kill with sniper and you must really score a headshot (which is hard) to get 1 shot 1 kill. I don't know whether after you upgrade your sniper, things will be better, but right now the sniper is not my weapon of choice.
I haven't got friends to join me as we play MAG, but being with the PUG (pick up group), the coordination and tactics which should be the strongest element of this game, seems to be non existent, I am often wandering myself without knowing what my team mates is doing. However should you play with your friends the game could be different, you always know who is and where on the map as well as on battleground.
The lag itself seems to be acceptable. The connection seems stable enough, and it is really easy to find games.

From this experience only, it is hard to decide whether MAG can be a hit or flop because so many element of the game that I haven't test it out. We really have to see the final version.
Read more...

Xbox gaming room to feature over 1000 arcade classics

During Consumer Electronic Show yesterday, Microsoft announced that Xbox 360 will be added so called "gaming room". It's like Playstation home where you can play the classic arcade. And it could feature over 1000 arcade classics to played on. The catch? It is not free. Should you want to purchase it, it will cost you around 240- 400 MS point, or you can play it once and pay 40 MS point ala arcade.
I think Microsoft is really testing the market on this one, the pay for play thing. It is interesting whether this could work, especially that we have this thing called "emulator". If it does, I'm pretty sure other will follow.

My personal view, yeah maybe I'd try it a few rounds of some oldies and pay per play, not for the games but for testing this Xbox gaming room. But after that, I'm not interested at all spending 0.5 cents per play for some really old games. If they put some Street Fighter III, well yeah sure why not. But Centepede, Digger? You can always play it for free on the PC. 
Read more...

New Gran Turismo 5 details leaked; night racing, indy cars, weather effects confirmed

After a long wait... still waiting, Gran Turismo 5 has a new details! Doh..
Anyway the details isn't lame after all. It is reported that Polyphony adds night racing, indy cars, and weather effects.

Here are the list of confirmed features courtesy of Qj.net:

• 1,000+ vehicles
• All vehicles have modeled cockpits (170 premium cars will have interior damage modeling)
• All vehicles will have both physical and mechanical damage modeling
• Indy (IRL) cars and tracks
• NASCAR cars and track
• Up to 16 players online
• High-definition video uploads directly to YouTube
• Multi-display rendering
• Head-tracking
• Full weather and night racing on all tracks
• Night/Day on all tracks

Read more...

Sony Increasing The Storage Capacity Of Blu-Ray Discs [Sony]

Sony and Panasonic reportedly announced plans to increase the capacity of Blu-Ray discs from 25 GB to 33.4GB. This is possible due to some new ways to evaluate content on the disc.
This upgrade will be compatible with all existing Blu-Ray player product (including PS3) via firmware update. And the best of all, it applies to both layers of the discs. 33.4GB on one layer, two layers mean whopping 66.8GB. Now that is huge!! It brings more possibility of more content fit into the discs, though I doubt game developers is going to use that much, and sadly they would rather release more content via DLC. But hey, who knows!
Read more...

Wii most probably won't get Mature title anymore

With the recent Mature games released on Wii like Madworld and House of the Dead: Overkill disappointing sales, when asked whether SEGA will develop another mature title for Wii, they said," probably not".
They also look at Dead Space on Wii as an example and they were stunned to see that the sales is not even breaking 10.000 copies during the first month.
They admit, the Wii sales don't spike at the first month like any other console, it is more a "slow burn" process. While SEGA said that the titles doing "okay", they won't develop mature title for Wii anytime soon.
Looks like Wii is really going to be all casual players with all developers staying away to develop mature title. Well anyway casual market is a big market, Wii dominate total sales compared other consoles. And actually that is what Wii was targeting the market for. Well you cannot have everything, don't you?
Read more...

The most pirated games of 2009 are..

TorretFreak released a list of the most pirated games of 2009. Yes you guessed it right, it is also the biggest selling games of 2009, Modern Warfare 2. Mainly it is pirated for Xbox 360 and PC.
Also worth mentioned, DiRT 2 for Xbox 360 and Punch-Out for Wii, the piracy rate is higher than the sale itself!! Well, developer will definitely sad upon hearing this.
According to the report as well, Wii games are more pirated than Xbox 360, maybe because Wii has a lot more installed base than the Xbox 360.
Lastly, there is no piracy on PS3. If PS3 can be pirated, we would have already seen the copies by now. And the question is, is Bluray have such a good anti pirating system so that they cannot copy it? Since the first generation, every console in the market has successfully been pirated usually no more than 2 months after it launched. For PS3, this is actually for the first time, console games cannot be pirated.
Read more...