My how time flies...It seems like just a few months ago when at Sony's pre-E3 2005 press event, the lights came up and the PlayStation 3 was first unveiled amidst a cloud of smoke and flashing lights. Remember the initial impressions? People didn't like the system's font because it looked too much like Spider-man. They hated the boomerang controller, even though they had never held it. And don't forget the whole real/not real debacle with the Killzone trailer.

While people still debate the authenticity of Killzone's footage, and they still seem to dislike the system's font--there's a whole new set of questions being asked. Since I do the whole "gaming" thing for a living, I get tons of questions from my family, friends, and GameSpot's readers. For many of these questions, there aren't any right answers. Some depend on the individual, and some will only be answered as time passes. Bear in mind that these are just my thoughts on the PS3--they aren't GameSpot's official stance and they aren't necessarily reflective of anyone else's views here at GameSpot.

Is it worth $600?
That depends on the person. For some people the console will be well-worth the $600 (or more with the crazy bundles and eBay prices) that they spent to acquire the "latest and greatest" in video game technology. If you're strapped for cash and you won't be able to buy more than a game or two, then getting a Wii and some games, or an Xbox 360 and several used games for price of a PS3 is certainly something to consider.

Are you getting one?
Eventually. If I could just roll into a store on launch day and pick one up, there's a 95% chance that I would do so. But we all know that's not going to happen. To be honest, I'd be a lot more enthusiastic about getting one if we didn't have them here at work. Being able to stay after work to play the system makes it easier to get by without having one at home. I also haven't been blown away by the PS3's launch line-up, but that's partially because I've played so many of the games on the Xbox 360. I know that it's eventually going to have tons of great games, so I'll certainly be getting one--probably as soon as they're readily available.

Will I be able to find one at launch?
Hahaha. No. Not unless you want to spend a day or two out in front of your local Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, or Circuit City. Regardless of what any website or magazine says about the price or quality of the games, this thing is not going to be easy to find. I'm hoping that they become easier to find by February or March, but I have no inside knowledge on that front--it's just a guess.

Do I "need" Blu-ray?
Movie-buffs will appreciate the excellent picture quality that Blu-ray delivers, but for the casual movie watcher the difference isn't so great that you'll need to run out and buy movies you already own on DVD again on Blu-ray. However, it does look good enough that you'll probably pay an extra couple of bucks on all future movie purchases to get them on Blu-ray.

Is the PS3 better than the Xbox 360? What about the Wii?
I wouldn't say any system is better overall; they're just different. Each console does something that the others can't and each one will appeal to a different audience. But since it's all about the games, the real answer will come at the end of the system's life when we can look back it its library of games compared to the Xbox 360 and Wii.

What's the deal with the tilt-controls?
So far, I'm not a fan, but I think I will be. A lot of the tilt functionality seems to be tacked-on and doesn't add much, if anything to the games. To be fair though, developers didn't have much time to implement a whole lot of tilt-control features for the launch games, and I'm sure plenty of games will eventually do some cool stuff with it.

Do you miss the rumble feature?
Not at all. Until someone asked me if I missed having the controller rumble in the PS3 version of Call of Duty 3, I hadn't thought about it once. I really could care less if the controller shakes when I drive off the side of the road, or if it rumbles while a take a free-throw. I would rather have two-dozen games use the tilt-controls in some awesome way than I would want two hundred games that rumble. But that's just me. I do know some people that miss it.

Does it overheat?
We've never had one overheat and the system doesn't seem to get really hot, no matter how long it has been on. Oh, and it's really quiet, too.

Is it heavy?
Heck yeah it's heavy. Someone around here was saying that it's the heaviest console ever, and while I don't have the facts to back that up, I believe it. I'd bet that if you take the weight of the Xbox 360 and its giant power brick and compare it to the PS3 that they're pretty close.

Hopefully this answered some of your questions on the system. Like I said, I'm not claiming to have all, or even any of the "right" answers here, but people seem to be curious what I think, so there ya have it. The good news is that you can find out the answers to all of these questions for yourself in just a couple of days. Good luck to anyone camping out for a system! I hope you're successful!

[video=d3w3lWb-5bgPsjXY]
Get to know the people that bring you all of the great content on GameSpot in a regular series of short and lighthearted, gaming-related interviews.

Episode VI: Rich Gallup

Wow, what a day! As you have probably seen by now, we finally got our shiny new PlayStation 3 in the office and things are a bit crazy. And by crazy I mean we had about 4 hours of live coverage with a ton of great games. Needless to say, it has been awesome to get some quality hands-on time with the system. Hats off to the guys over in the live department for putting together a heck of a show today, and for doing it on very short notice.

Speaking of the video crew, this week's "Getting To Know" is with none other than the host of "On the Spot" and the "HotSpot", Rich Gallup. But don't go mistaking Rich as just another host...he's much more. And he's a pretty hardcore gamer to boot. Find out about one of Rich's worst jobs from his pre-GameSpot days, learn about his affinity for a certain hood ornament, and hear just how often he gets recognized on the street.

Because things are getting B-A-N-A-N-A-S around here with all the holiday games and TWO new console launches, chances are pretty good that I won't be able to do a "Getting To Know" every week. But don't worry, when time allows I'll be sure to get one done and when things calm down a bit I'll be back on schedule. I promise. I enjoy doing these interviews and I appreciate all of the great feedback I've gotten so far.

[video=dXcwlzv85bgPuDXZ]

Contrary to what you may think, the magic video game fairy will not be delivering a Wii and a PlayStation 3 to every boy and girl at GameSpot—no matter how good we’ve been this year. Sure, we’ll get a couple of systems in the office, but that’s not the same as having a shiny new gaming system in your entertainment center.

With Wii and PS3 pre-orders going on sale Sunday morning at Toys "R" Us, I decided this was going to be my best chance to get my hands on a system. Actually, I think the Wii will be pretty easy to find on launch day, but I figured I might as well snag a pre-order for Nintendo’s new baby while I was pre-ordering a PlayStation 3. My plan was to show up at the Toys "R" Us in Sunnyvale, California around 10pm on Saturday night. I guessed that most people would show up around midnight and there would be a steady stream of people lining up throughout the early morning hours.

Boy was I wrong.

I was sitting around Saturday, eating lunch, watching our World of Warcraft marathon and browsing the message boards, when I noticed a thread about people lining up at Toys "R" Us. I clicked on it and was shocked to find out that not only were people already lining up at noon, but also that some people had been camping out since Friday night! At that moment I knew I wasn’t getting a pre-order, but I hoped I could get a good story out of it.

At an ungodly hour on Sunday morning, I drove to Sunnyvale, CA to find out exactly what kind of person spends two days in line for a PlayStation 3 and a Wii pre-order. When did they get there? Why were they there so early? What games were they looking forward to? Were any of these systems not immediately going up on eBay? Watch the video for the answers to these questions and more.

* A big thanks to all the tired folks in line who took the time to talk to me. I hope you got your pre-orders!

[video=dnQ2kzuv5bgPujXc]
Get to know the people that bring you all of the great content on GameSpot in a weekly series (so far!) of short and lighthearted, gaming-related interviews.

Episode V: Jason Ocampo

This week's victim is none other than resident PC game expert, Mr. Jason Ocampo. Jason takes a few minutes to wax nostalgic about the Commodore 64 and classic PC games of yore. I can tell you one thing--the dude knows his PC stuff. I'd write more here, but it's Friday night and it's time to go home. Besides, you'll know everything you need to know about Jason after watching the interview.

As always, if you'd like to suggest someone for a future interview, or you have a question you're dying to have asked, please feel free to comment, or send an email to AaronT@GameSpot.com.

(If you're having trouble with the video stuttering, pause it for a little while and let the buffering catch up. If that doesn't work, I got nothing for ya. Sorry.)

It has been over a month since I started working at GameSpot, and I had a few minutes to kill while I was eating lunch today, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to take a look back at my first month.

For starters, the job has been everything I thought it would be, and more. I love what I'm doing, and getting more comfortable with how things work around here every week. The first few weeks were stressful to be sure, but I'm starting to relax and have more fun.

Because everyone's so busy I haven't gotten to know my fellow editors as much as I had hoped to by now, but that's not to say I don't know anyone yet. After Hours was a good way to get to know both my co-workers and the readers a little better. I was sick as a dog that day, but I managed to tough it out from 3-9:30pm, so I wasn't a total wimp. Actually, if you want to see me and my lovely girlfriend on camera, check out the After Hours page. We're in the 9pm segment at the 5:35 minute mark. She's on first, and then I jump in to yap to Homer about getting my butt whipped in Battlefield 2.

I'm currently without pre-orders for both the PlayStation 3 and the Wii. This is mostly because I have a  job that requires me to show up at 9am, and I couldn't wait in line to put my money down. I'm not worried about being able to find a Wii at launch--I think there will be plenty of them, but, I have a ton of credit at GameStop so I wanted to pay for my Wii with that. I'd like a PlayStation 3, but like many others, I'm resigned to the fact that I won't be able to find one at launch. The good news is that we will have them at work, so I can get my fix here. If the launch lineup were better, I'd be a little more bummed about not getting one right away, but so far, none of the games do much for me, and the ones that do...well many of them I've already played on the Xbox 360.

I've got to get back to work now--these reviews don't write themselves! I suppose that's a good thing, or else I wouldn't have a job.

Oh, before I go: Jones' Crushed Melon Soda is the bomb. had it for the first time today and I'm a fan.

[video=cCNnxjfw5bgOvTPd]

Episode IV: Tim Surette

After a long day covering all of the breaking news at Sony's Gamer's Day, Tim Surette was true to his word and stayed at work even later so he could make an appearance on "Getting To Know GameSpot" this week.

Until Friday, pretty much the only stuff I knew about Tim was that he works in our news department and that he likes the Oakland A's enough to TiVo their games. Oh yeah, and I knew that he'll yell at you if he thinks you're going to spoil the final score for him. Now I know much more. What did Tim have to say about dressing as a video game character? Was he really a stripper before working for GameSpot? Where does he get those wonderful toys? You'll have to watch to find out.

If you'd like to suggest someone for a future interview, or you have a question you're dying to have asked, please feel free to comment, or send an email to AaronT@GameSpot.com.

(If you're having trouble with the video stuttering, pause it for a little while and let the buffering catch up. If that doesn't work, I got nothing for ya. Sorry.)

It's 7:15 on Friday night, and due to technical difficulties, I was unable to upload my "Getting To Know" video today, but I wanted to contribute something to the ol' Soapbox. It seems like everyone has thoughts on downloadable content and micro transactions these days, so what better time than now to put in my two cents?

I love the concept of downloadable content and micro transactions. I dig the idea of playing a racing game and then coming back to it a few months later because the developer has released a new track and a roster of cars for a a few bucks. It's great that they can make a little extra money and I can get a little more mileage out of a game I already own. I also have no problem with a character with maxed-out stats being made available for a small fee--provided that same character can't be used by someone to kick my butt online.

I also hate downloadable content and micro transactions. I can unlock "Sunday Tiger" in the PSP version of Tiger Woods 07 for free, but the only way I can get him in the 360 version is to buy him? That's disgusting. Let me guess, it cost EA a ton of cash to render that red shirt because next-gen development costs are soooo high. And for the record, cheat codes should always be free. I'm not super-worried that developers are going to start cutting games short so they can charge you later for stuff that could have or should have been included in the retail version of the game, but this Lumines fiasco has me at least somewhat concerned. Fortunately, I read our review of the game before I decided to take the plunge, or else I would have had no way of knowing I'd be getting anything less than a full-featured game. In my book, you're treading pretty darn close to committing fraud when you're describing a game as the "full version" and right below it there's an "advanced pack" that refers to the neutered "full version" as a "base pack." Gimme a break.

What I'm trying to say is that I'm excited for the possibilities for new and exciting experiences that downloadable content can bring, but my enthusiasm has been somewhat tempered by horse armor, Sunday Tiger, and Lumines.

[video=JScxnzGr5bgNvjLZ]
Get to know the people that bring you all of the great content on GameSpot in a weekly series (hopefully) of short and lighthearted, gaming-related interviews.

Episode III: Ricardo Torres

Ricardo Torres took time out of his crazy busy schedule to sit down with the camera this week. Between the Tokyo Game Show, X06, and GameSpot After Hours, Ricardo has been going non-stop since I started working here. This was the first time I've gotten a chance to speak with him, and I learned a lot about the guy responsible for making sure our preview coverage is the best in the business.

If you have any constructive criticism or have someone at GameSpot you'd like to see interviewed, feel free to comment. You're also more than welcome to suggest questions for future episodes, but try to keep them somewhat gaming related. Thanks to Daniel Thomas for the theme song.

[video=dnYykzL75bgMvTbX]

Episode II: Jeff Gerstmann

I know, I know. Jeff is on your Internets all the time. Points Reports, On the Spot, Telemundo...he's everywhere. But Jeff's the guy that stepped up to the camera when the person that was originally going to be on this week got sick, and when everybody else was all busy with work and didn't have time to chat with the camera.

Other than when I interviewed for my job, this was really the first time I've ever had more than a minute or two to talk with Jeff, what with him flying all the way to Tokyo to get Japanese Xbox 360 games and all, so I had lots of questions. That's why this week's episode is quite a bit longer than last week's.

My youngest brother, Daniel, contributed the new theme song this week, so a big thanks goes out to him. If you'd like to share any constructive criticism or have someone at GameSpot you'd like to see interviewed, feel free to comment. You're also more than welcome to suggest questions for future episodes, but try to keep them somewhat gaming related.

[video=I3xlwTOo5bsFsz7c]

Get to know the people that bring you all of the great content on GameSpot in a weekly series (hopefully) of short and lighthearted, gaming-related interviews.

I'm still meeting people around the office every day, and I figured this would be a good way for me to not only get a chance to work with them for a few minutes, but to get to know them a little better as well. First up is Andrew Park, who was gracious enough to take a few minutes out of his busy day to answer my goofy questions.

If you have any constructive criticism or have someone at GameSpot you'd like to see interviewed, feel free to comment. You're also more than welcome to suggest questions for future episodes, but try to keep them somewhat gaming related.