Playstation Plus, in depth

Sony announced Playstation Plus, a premium service  for PSN subscriber at E3. Sony wanted to monetized from its PSN like Microsoft did with Xbox LIVE. But since PSN has been free after all these time and like any free product, it still lagging behind Xbox LIVE. Therefore Sony introduced this Playstation Plus. So what does it offer?

First thing first. The price of Playstation Plus is $50 a year or $18 for three months. Should you decided to subsribe, you will get a free PSN games, PS One game and minis and the title will change each month.
You need to keep you subscription active in order to play the PSN games, so it is more or less like rent games.

Selected dynamic themes and avatars will be given to you and you can keep it even after the subscription expired. And there is also steep discount of 20 - 50% of selected item.

Full game trials will be available only to the subscriber. You can download the game that usually last for an hour and if you decided to purchase it, there is no need to redownload, you can start where you left off and throphies will be unlocked.

Subscriber will also get automatic updates for patches, download demos and betas while your PS3 is in standby mode.

So is it worth it?

Well, I can say that this is not bad. It is better than paying for online gaming, and it is an added incentive. I think this is the right way that Microsoft should follow. I can only hope the free game selection will be better, not just some old games that no one's buying anymore.
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Kinect is too lag for competitive gaming

Lag has been the main issue around Microsoft's no controller Kinect, and it is doubtful if Kinect capable in playing FPS. Turns out it is not. 
Microsoft 's director of platform marketing, Chris Penello more or less confirms it, and said that

Well, I don't want Halo on Kinect. I want Halo on a controller. Now would it be interesting to see what kind of game they could make using Kinect? Yeah, I would love to see what those guys could do, or what the Call of Duty guys could do. But I don't want to play Call of Duty 4, I want Call of Duty: Black Ops on the controller. 

In addition to that, Rare confirms that Kincent lag will be around 150 ms. That means from the time you do your body gesture, Kinect will roughly take 150 ms to process the data and translate it into the game. If you do online play, the number probably should be add 100 ms to communicate with online server. Hence the total amount of time required is 250 ms which is unacceptable.

I think it's wise to separate games that can be Kinected from games that don't. Not all games can be enjoyable with no controller. The success of Kinect will depend on how developer innovate with this thing. As a matter of fact, doing dancing, fitness, and party game won't cut it, they need to integrate it into hardcore gaming and that is a tough task for all developers. The unconfirmed but likely price of $150 a piece doesn't help either.
I begin to see why Nintendo and Sony ditch this technology. Probably it is too ahead its time for competitive gaming. But in the mean time, since it is already here, let's just wait and see. 
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Assassin Creed: Brotherhood, another useless spin off or true sequel?

When Ubisoft decided to follow Activision's path of annual CoD series, I was thinking that Assassin Creed: Brotherhood will be more like AC2.5 with few upgrade and worse story spin off. Apparently that is what happenned with MW2.

I then read June issue of PSM UK about the newest title of this Assassin Creed and in fact there are new exciting things. First of all this new AC is developed by collaboration of three internal studios: Montreal, Annecy, and Singapore). Ubisoft Annecy who developed multiplayer for Splinter Cell: Pandora Tommorow (remember the spy vs mercenary thing?) worked on it for more than five years.

The multiplayer component has its own story and cast of characters. The only confirmed multiplayer mode is called 'wanted'. There are six visually distinct characters which you will randomly assigned to one of them. After that, you all put into a small city where there are 140 non playable character that is identical to the players.

You will be given a picture and assigned to kill a target. You will also have a mini map to roughly tells you where the target is. Another player whose in the same level will in turns hunting you and it's not the one that you are hunting. So its more like free for all, A hunts B, B hunts C, C hunts A. The clever part is when someone is at the highest rank might get targeted by more than one people. So you must really careful and keep watch your back often.

For the single player is said to be as big as AC 2, all the things except combat will more or less the same. You now can recruit and manage a assassin guild. Assassins that you trained will be able to help you during the mission.

It sounds that Assassin Creed: Brotherhood is definitely worth a try, but I still doesn't like the idea of annual franchise milking.
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Nintendo 3DS: Early impression. Potential blockbuster

Nintendo 3DS is officially announced during E3. It is a successor for current NDS system capable in displaying 3D graphics without the need of glasses. A lot of people actually skeptical when it was first announced. So what is the early impression?

Firstly the design and shape is basically the same with previous NDS, but bigger screen at the top. A analog pad is present above the directional button. I feel that the design could have been improve, but Nintendo said that final design is not yet confirmed. I hope it can be more stylish like the PSP.

Official processor hasn't been detailed yet, but the graphics is better than PSP and it is a powerful system that could be on par with Gamecube or Wii.

Now for the 3D graphics, Nintendo really pulled it off. The 3D looks gorgeous and playing it without glasses is really a plus point. There is a slider to manually tone down the 3D if you feel dizzy and don't want to play the game in 3D and this is important because Nintendo is well aware of the health issue that may occur.

Nintendo again sticking to cartridge and I can see that Nintendo has no other choice. Download only device is not an option for Nintendo, so is UMD which is Sony's. Plus to make 3DS compatible to all previous NDS library, it is a clear decision that 3DS should stick to cartridge. Only this time 3DS uses bigger 2GB capacity cartridge. In addition to that there is a rumor that 3DS allow user to install games into the cartridge which would be very cool to have multiple games inside a single cartridge much like the pirated R4 cartridge.

For the lack of hard drive, Nintendo well aware that their console had to maintain low price somewhere below $300, therefore it opt for SD card slot instead. SD may serve as a decent storage media, but it still nice if it has a internal hard disk to store DLC contents and games.

There is still a lot that can be change until it actually launch as Nintendo said that this is not a final version of 3DS. But from this early impression, I think most probably I will buy a 3DS.
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Kinect: early impression. Good not great..

So we have seen Kinect in action plus all those dancing, fitness games, and others. What are the initial impression?

First of all, Kinect's tag line is to make yourself a controller, means that you can manipulate the games only with your movement. Couple games that are really works with Kinect is Dancing theme games, where the you can do dancing movement and Kinect's camera actually tracks your movements and tells you whats wrong.

Other games are racing games where you control the car with only hand movements, but in the demo you can't actually control the acceleration and brakes which is a big question mark on how you going to do that. But anyway it is the demo, we might see different version later.

The other thing that we need to pay attention is all the Kinect's demo requires people to stand up because Kinect's camera can't distinguish between people sitting down and people bending the knees. As a matter of fact, one Kotaku staff asked whether he can sit down while doing the demo, the answer is no. Kinect works best if people standing up, and they haven't calibrate it yet for sitting down people. I hope that this won't be the case in the final product, because it is really funny if you have to play Xbox 360 standing up all the time. Don't we just love our chair?

And from that point, it is really curious to find out if Kinect camera requires us to see our whole body to be able to detect. Let's say three of your friends comes over and want to play multiplayer, do they need to be in line to each other to play with Kinect? What if the living room is small? Guess we just have to wait until release date and see user experience with Kinect. 

Other thing that is missing is Kinect enable fps based games. I was really interested in finding out what is the response/ lagging time for Kinect to translate the body movement into the game and whether it is capable of playing fps. Other thing is how the person trigger the shoot and move around. I guess I just assume that at the moment, developers hasn't seen Kinect as a capable sole input for fps games.

Now then, retail giants like Amazon, Target put $149 for Kinect. And that is a question mark for casual gamers. Do they really want to spend up to $450 (Xbox 360 slim and Kinect) just to play some dancing, fitness games? Only time will tell. Meanwhile let's just wait and see if there is any changes regarding this Kinect thing.
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E3 sum up of what's hot and not

Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony had done their E3 conference and all those 3DS, Kinect, and Move thing. Let's take a look what's hot and what's not.

Hot: 

- Xbox 360 Slim.
A sleeker redesigned Xbox 360 is always welcome and hopefully with this new SKU, RRoD is a thing in the past.

- Nintendo 3DS's 3D graphics
A more powerful 3D graphics capable 3DS is set to energize handheld market. Viewing 3D without glasses is actually awesome and from the looks of game demo, it really is promising.

- Premium paid subscription PSN
I can say that this is a good thing. Rather forcing gamers to pay for its online multiplayer, Sony decided to reward more to those who pays.

Not so hot: 

- $299 Xbox 360 slim
Quite a disappointing price point. Although it contains build in Wifi, it should have been cheaper than PS3.

- 3DS design decision
Rather than maintaining the same shape with previous DS, Nintendo should have design a sleeker model. Secondly, it still using cartridge, SD card and no hard disk! Its a thing in the past.

- $149 Kinect
Although it hasn't been confirmed yet, Kinect will most probably be priced at $149 (according to Target) which I think its a bit high especially to attract casual gamers.

- Natal change name to Kinect
Feels like its a weird name. Maybe I used to hear Natal all the time and it is friendly to my ears.
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3DS current confirmed specs

Here is the current confirmed specs for 3DS.

Size (when closed)

• Approximately 5.3 inches wide, 2.9 inches long, 0.8 inches tall.

Weight

• Approximately 8 ounces.

Look

• Final design is TBA.

Top Screen

• 3.53-inch widescreen LCD display, enabling 3D view without the need for special glasses; with 800×240 pixel resolution (400 pixels are allocated for each eye to enable 3D viewing).

Touch Screen

• 3.02-inch LCD with 320×240 pixel resolution with a touch screen.

Cameras

• One inner camera and two outer cameras with 640×480 (0.3 Mega) pixel resolution.

Pre-Installed Software

• TBA

Nintendo 3DS Game Card

• 2 GB Max. at launch.

Wireless Communication

• Can communicate in the 2.4 GHz band. Multiple Nintendo 3DS systems can connect via a local wireless connection to let users communicate or enjoy competitive game play. Systems also can connect to LAN access points to access the Internet and allow people to enjoy games with others. Will support IEEE 802.11 with enhanced security (WPA/WPA2). Nintendo 3DS hardware is designed so that even when not in use, it can automatically exchange data with other Nintendo 3DS systems or receive data via the Internet while in sleep mode.

Game Controls

• Touch screen, embedded microphone, A/B/X/Y face buttons, + Control Pad, L/R buttons, Start and Select buttons, “Slide Pad” that allows 360-degree analog input, one inner camera, two outer cameras, motion sensor and a gyro sensor.

Input Controls

• 3D Depth Slider to adjust level of 3D effect (can be scaled back or turned off completely depending on the preference of the user), Home button to call system function, Wireless switch to turn off wireless communications (even during game play), Power button. The telescoping stylus is approximately 4 inches when fully extended.

Input/Output

• A port that accepts both Nintendo 3DS game cards and game cards for the Nintendo DS family of systems, an SD memory card slot, an AC adapter connector, a charging cradle terminal and a stereo headphone output jack.

Sound

• Stereo speakers positioned to the left and right of the top screen.

Battery

• Lithium ion battery details TBA.

Languages

• TBA (To Be Announced)

Parental Controls

• Parental controls similar to the Nintendo DSi system will be included

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News & Update from E3 part 2

- Nintendo announced 3DS as its next portable handheld. It capable in producing 3D graphics without using glasses. Other feature includes accelerometer, gyro sensor, analogue stick,  3D capable camera. Price and date is set to TBA. I'll hold my thoughts on this one until I actually see a full specs.

- The 3DS will have some games such as StarFox, Kid Icarus, Pilotwings, Mario Kart and lots other from third party as well. Looks like Nintendo is bringing all the classic to 3DS.

- Playstation Move set to launch on September 19th. Official price will be $49.99 and optional navigation controller for $29.99.

- Sony introduces premium "Playstation Plus" subscription. Current online play will still be free, it give gamers an enhance experience to PSN such as earlier demo, exclusive in game DLC, free games, auto patching feature and much more. The subscription will cost $49.99 for a year or $17.99 for 3 months period.

- Gran Turismo is finally dated coming on November 2nd 2010 with 3D and Move support. Finally after more than 5 long years.
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News & Update from E3 - part 1

- Microsoft's Project Natal name changed to Kinect and it will launch on November and some games including Star Warz Lightsaber game, Kinect sports, Kinect adventure, Dance central and many more.

- Assassin Creed: Brotherhood will ship to retail on November 16th. Ubisoft is following Activision by releasing their biggest franchise on yearly basis, although I don't like the sound of it.

- Microsoft new Xbox 360 slim bundle will be price at $299, and will be available in a week time. In addition to that Old Xbox 360 (Arcade, Pro, Elite) will be given price cut of $50 to make way this new slim model.

- Battlefield: Bad Company 2 expansion pack will be going back to Vietnam. It will also include four new map playable in Rush and Conquest mode.

- Xbox LIVE sign exclusivity with ESPN to bring streaming sport channel in HD.

- Crysis 2 goes 3D accross all platform (PC, Xbox 360, PS3). It is surprising given that Microsoft hasn't talked about Xbox 360 3D capabilities at all.
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New Xbox 360 redesign is good for Indonesian market

The new Xbox 360 redesign is good for business and even better for Indonesian market. Why?

First thing, the new design will give cheaper and more efficient machine, and it will certainly squeeze down broken Xbox 360 rate of failure. 
According to recent survey, the failure rate is around 46%, which I think it should decrease a bit by now but nevertheless it is still an unacceptable number. With this new design, hopefully it can bring down the rate on par with Sony and Nintendo system.

So why is it good for Indonesian market?

Ever wonder what do they do with the broken returned Xbox 360? Yes, they repaired it and shipped it to countries like Indonesia where they sell it as a new console. You didn't think they put those in rubbish bin, were you?. And this sad fact actually came as a confession from a retail shop in Indonesia. He said,

"Mostly the Xbox 360 that you all buy in here is actually broken Xbox 360 which came from other countries like USA, Japan. They then refurbish it and shipped it to here. That's why I bought my Xbox 360 straight from Japan."

With this new redesign and low failure rate, at least as a Indonesian customer, we can pick the new Xbox 360 instead of the older design to make sure that what we get is 100% new.
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New Xbox 360 design and name for Project Natal

The image above was briefly appear on certain website before its taken off. Though its not confirmed (for new design), it can safely assumed that Xbox 360 undergo design change. Whereas for Project Natal, Microsoft officially changed the a slightly weird name to Kinect.

 The rumor for Xbox 360 redesign is already circulating around for quite some times, some even correctly predicted that it will be announced during E3 together with Project Natal considering it is the right moment. From the looks of it, it certainly will come true.

The redesign will feature a 250 GB hard drive and built in Wifi. Like PS3 slim announcement, price cut should follow. I'd predict that the new Xbox 360 cost should be $199.
If it is true, then together with Kinect, Xbox 360 should gained enough momentum to break away from PS3 assault and bring its price closer to Nintendo Wii.
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Sony: We've learnt a lot from PSPgo.. really?

PSPgo was a failure, no doubt about that and Sony is finally speaking of it. When asked about success of PSPgo, SCEE president and CEO Andrew House replied: “It was introduced in a mature lifecycle to learn more about what the consumer wanted and we’ve definitely learnt a lot.

“Is that measured by success in sales? I don’t think it is.

“One of the reasons we launched PSPgo was to understand where that consumer behaviour was going. We were getting signals from consumers that this was the kind of device that they wanted. But we need to recognise that consumers like their packaged media library.”

From my personal opinion the segment "consumers like their packaged media library" is where Sony got it wrong. Its not that consumer prefer UMD vs digital download that contribute to PSPgo doom. Digital download actually seen success elsewhere such as Steam, and iTunes, and Sony cannot simply blame digital download. In fact I believe digital download is the future of gaming industry, as more and more people conveniently buy digital products than ever before.

So what really went wrong? 

PSPgo is overprice, and still no reduction of price is seen although Sony make an effort giving free games for new buyer.
The library for digital PSP games are disappointing. Try finding back couple years back games, and not only that, sometimes new games need couple more weeks before it appears into PS store. And the funny thing is, sometimes the new games don't even appear at all.
The the cost of the game? Same as UMD, not cheaper. So what's the benefit in buying PSPgo? Sure, it is slicker, smaller, but for more money it doesn't give any added value for people to invest in it.

Those things are what Sony has to identify and not blaming consumers for loving their "packaged media library".  
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News & Update, 9 June

- iPhone 4 is announced, and it will support full 3D motion control to enable 6 axis motion sensing gaming. It will release on June 24 in US. Oh boy portable gaming is getting interesting this year!!

- Rumor told that Nintendo's 3DS is significantly more powerful than gamecube and closer to Xbox 360 and PS3. It might not be the processing power but only the visual.

- According to his twitter, Hideo Kojima join up with Square Enix to do a new game collaboration. Kojima probably tired of being ordered to milk Metal Gear franchise by Konami.

- Rumor has it that Tekken vs Street Fighter is in development and may be announced in E3. Two of the biggest fighting franchise finally going head to head. I wish it is not only a rumor.

- Yakuza 4 will be coming to western market. After some success with Yakuza 3, SEGA gained confidence to release the sequel. 
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Red Dead Redemption review

Red Dead Redemption is the latest sand box game by Rockstar which sets in western early twentieth century.
Being the creator of Gran Theft Auto series, Rockstar really excel in making old western open world. It can be seen almost immediately the attention to detail of everything. From the environment, the town, the people to horses. I wish it already in 3D mode, so that the experience can truly be mesmerized.

Like GTA series, riding horses is one of the things that Rockstar spent a lot of time of. It included studying the horse's movement using motion capture technology and the horse riding feels really real and natural.

The story itself is interesting and well paced. The dialog is significantly more than in any of GTA series. There are also a lot of side missions to keep you busy for a while and some mini games such as poker, liar dice, horse shoe throwing.

For the battle system, RDR borrows auto aiming system from CoD series, when you reaim your gun, it can immediately pin point to your nearest target. In addition to that, there is Dead Eye system that slow the movement of your enemy and let you direct your cursor and mark multiple target, and once you've marked it, you shot the targets after you press fire.
With auto target and dead eye, it almost makes the combat sometimes too easy. However, I can also understand the design decision.
When manual gunning a moving target during horse riding can really hard, which if not for those two systems, it can be frustrating that can nullify all the good things that are already present. In the end, it was a wise decision.

RDR however didn't introduce anything new in terms of gameplay mechanics. It is basically a GTA with different setting. But then, why fix something that isn't broken, right?
Verdict: 4.5/5
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