As alluded to in my previous post, I secured an Xbox 360 for myself this weekend. Given mutually agreed upon budgeting constraints, my wife and I invested in a console of our own.

My parents came over to visit our new place. While there, I transferred my data from my father's memory card to my 360's hard drive. We also calibrated his new wireless controller, thankfully replaced by Microsoft at no additional charge. My daughter was charming. She put on a great show. Eating, laughing, crawling, and generally looking cute.

While we are still unpacking, the irony is the game consoles have already been set up and been used. The 4th of July was marked by not going to parades, eschewing fireworks, and accumulating more than 400 points between G.R.A.W. and Hexic.  Don't expect to see any updates on my Gamercard for at least a week. Our residence is still offline.

Once I have finished draining G.R.A.W. of the offline achievements, I will go back to DoA4. Hexic just might become a staple of 360 play. . . at least in the short-run. The bonus inherent in Hexic isn't so much the novelty of the gameplay, but the game itself. With the Premium pack, you have a packed-in game, something noticably absent from the Core offering and other modern console marvels.

While I am not here to rant about the loss of systems shipping with titles, I am pleased Microsoft at least delivered a decent puzzle game with their high-end product.

While I won't be upgrading to Gold membership, I hope to make a few microtransactions to secure additional Xbox Live Arcade titles. If need be, I am willing to wait for the collection. The lag of good titles is only eclipsed by the lag of being offline.

I love long weekends. I also love getting new devices. Between now and an Internet connection at home, I will be amassing a fleet of points the likes of which Sullust has not seen . . . or I'll be taking out the trash and doing housework.

Never underestimate the power of "Yes, dear."

Work-related items:

[video=cnc6ljeo5bwJvD4]

Yes, it is longer than 4 seconds.

Yes, I am actually paid to watch the World Cup at work.

Yes, that adorable child is mine.

No, you cannot have her.

OK Go has released a video demonstrating the full destructive power of their pop/rock confection. It is Invincible.

. . . Not to be confused with Ashlee Simpson's Invisible. Although that particular video has one of the best she-mullets to appear in modern music.

During an early evening conference call last night I finished updating my PSP's firmware. Since I upgraded to 2.71, I could freely download and play the LocoRoco Demo.

With the other attendees scattered around the world and the conference room all to myself I fired up the game. The style, speed, and amazing quality reminded me why I bought a PSP. The presentation is slick, but also captures enough cheerful exuberance to give both Nintendo and Michael Eisner a toothache.

Too bad I can't play games and attend my other meetings. Seriously, that had to have been the best meeting I have contributed to in a while. I was able to lead my team as we discussed the project we are working on, analyzed the competitive landscape, and evaluated the best course of action to take for our client. With my mind freed from a deadly dose of PowerPoint, the ideas came in droves as I guided the giddy glob around the twisting, turning, and spiraling landscape.

I think I did pretty well for my first time. . .

Now I just need to practice the talking and playing for future demonstrations I may undertake.

Cryptobadger is renowned for his infliction of pain upon his friends. In that vein, from Hell's heart I stab at thee . . .

The Hass may be big in Europe, but he needs to accessorize better.

I am no Jeff Gerstmann. Nor am I Carrie Gouskos (who doesn't want to talk about points).

Though I have more Burnout Revenge achievements than either of them, the sum of all points comes down to me paling in comparison.

I enjoyed Burnout. It really is the racing game for the rest of us. PGR3 was a simulation for those who like simulations. I still don't like it, but the points accumulation is rather straightforward. I'd like to see the points incentive help me to find other rewarding experiences.

My father purchased GRAW, but I played it. I played it for the points. I always complained at game night when the guys wanted to play Ghost Recon instead of Halo 2, Crimson Skies, or any of their racing games. I learned to resent the tactical shooter. Now I wake up "the morning after" to find I have embraced it. All it took was the promise of a few points.

Do I still resent tactical shooters? Yes.

Does that make me a hypocrite for playing them. . . for the points? Personally, I would say yes. Especially when I consider how voraciously I have opposed their insertion into my regular game night library.

Who knows what other undesirable 360 game I'll play . . . for the points. The hypocrisy would just be too much if I were to one day awake and find them in my 360 queue.

Depending on what side of the fence you are on, you could call it enlightenment or backsliding to step down from the moral high ground I've constructed. Ultimately, it is a difficult decision to make. Some games just shouldn't be rewarded with hard-earned dollars (or whatever currency you use). Others, offer initially revolting experiences, but provide hours of enjoyment I would have otherwise ignored.

Chances are, it is only a matter of time before the achievement comparison betrays me. I can only hope none of my friends are paying attention.

Sotoru Iwata recently delivered an impressive presentation to the press.

The future of interactive entertainment may be in question, or at best in a transition year. Regardless, Nintendo has found a formula which may delay the dinosaur curse to ensure a longer life span for not only their hardware, but also their software offerings.

The conference was definitely targeted toward investors. Iwata showed interesting data points to buoy investor confidence that future returns on current investments were not only assured, but also likely to improve thanks to the "deep pockets" of America.

The fact 100,000+ DS Lites sell out in Japan every week indicate Nintendo has found something worth providing.

I am intrigued to see how this report, and the long-term execution of this plan, affects Nintendo stock performance in the world markets. Today, it seems the company has been taking the same hit the rest of the game industry has been receiving.

Either investors have not felt this information warrants investment in Nintendo, or the global slowing is taking an across-the-board toll on the game/entertainment industry.

If Nintendo is expanding its market reach when consumers may be tightening budgets, investment in Nintendo is looking more attractive than the Sony alternative of premium products.

Only time will tell. I think I may invest in Nintendo and give a reporting when Post 400 rolls around.

To think my next blog will be my 350th entry is almost stupifying. I think back to the notable 349s that changed the way we live. . .

Uncanny X-Men 349 . . . 

Psylocke versus Maggot? Please. While it wasn't the worst Uncanny X-Men issue, it certainly wasn't anywhere near the boss. The Chris Bochalo art wasn't bad. His work in Generation X and Steampunk . . . much better.

Fantastic Four #349 was the conclusion of the replacement first family of superheroes.

Art by Art Adams locked it down as a classic. It featured the rescued Fantastic Four (Reed Richards, Human Torch, Sue Richards, the Thing, and She-Thing) pairing up with the new Fantastic Four (Wolverine, The Incredible Hulk, Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man), and the Mole Man? If that wasn't crazy enough, the Punisher makes a rather campy cameo at the conclusion.

Speaking of families. . .

California Assembly Bill 349 proposed to correct the removal of parental rights (SB 71) to decide whether children could be excused from certain subject matter in public schools. It failed.

Even more bizarre was Superman 349. . .

Now that was confusion.

By now some may be wondering what is going on. Well, it wouldn't be a prelude to a collectible issue without a Doctor Doom cameo at the end. . .

An interesting effect occurs when gaming consumption goes up. Grades go down.

. . .not that I'd know.

It's just what I heard.