To save money and to save power, I turn off electrical appliances when i'm not using them. I'm not happy when something only goes into standby. I've noticed that most recent consoles have a bad habit of never turning off and not even having a switch at the back.
The PS2 slim only goes into standby, while the old PS2 could be turned right off, even if you had to reach round the back and flick a switch. You basically now have to remove the power lead at one end or the other. With my PC, unless I turn the power supply unit off, the usb peripherals are still supplied power.
PS2
Standby mode: 1w
Being on: 45w
PS3 is quite annoying to switch to standby with the little touch sensitive button, and then the switch around the back of its gargantuan frame. More worrying is just how much power the thing takes.
PS3 *
Standby Mode: 1w
Idle @ Xbar: ~185w
Running a Game: ~200w
Playing a Bluray: ~200w
When it's idle at the crossbar, it takes nearly as much power as when it's playing a game, something to consider if you decide to leave it on overnight to download a demo. The buray drive takes a lot of power and is seemingly never switched off. At least the standby mode sticks to the EU power consumption guide.
Xbox 360 turns off around the front but the power brick still has a light on and is still warm. This is powering the console so that if you press the button on the xbox 360 controller, the console turns on, and so is basically a standby mode. The standby mode is 2w, double the EU guideline of 1w.
Xbox 360:
Standby Mode: 2w
Idle at Dashboard: ~140w
Running a Game: ~160w
Playing a DVD: ~110w
'Low power' download mode: ~110w
The Wii is by far the worst offender in terms of its stand-by mode.
If you want it to have any sort of internet functionality you bafflingly have to select an option called 'Standby Connection'. It makes no difference if WiiConnect24 is turned on. For some reason, the internet on the machine won't connect if you don't have the standby feature on as well as Wii-Connect 24. I found out this when I didn't get a message that I knew someone had sent me, then realised when I tried to start the internet browser that it wasn't connected to the internet. It wouldn't be quite so bad if it did what it promised before it came out, which was to download demos and other interesting content overnight.
Wii:
Standby Mode: 10w
Idle at Wii menu: 17w
Running a Game: 17w
Although the standby mode is shocking, it's extremely impressive that the console takes so little power when playing games, less than half the power consumption of the slimline PS2. The console is designed to stay in standby, imagine 10w multiplied by the console sales worldwide. The Wii is such a popular console and sold out worldwide.
I think that whatever power a machine takes in standby, it's too much. With most of the consoles not providing a true off button, it's best to turn off at the wall, no matter how inaccessable the plugs are. It's not just about yourself, it's the whole country. Last year 8% of Britain's power needs were due to electrical goods in standby mode. The power needs of the digital switchover of televisions in the UK peak at around 1,450 MWh/day which is the average output of two reactors. All the boxes have to be in standby to download the program directory.
Televisions seem to have the worst standby figures of all, but most have a proper off-switch. Will later console firmwares come with more comprehensive power saving modes? Perhaps the same will happen with PCs through Vista, on a country by country basis.
What do you lot do? Leave your consoles with the little red light on? What about your televisions? What is your electricity bill like, if you're the one that pays for it? :)
Sources:
http://forums.xbox-scene.com/lofiversion/index.php/t567631.html
http://www.phicons.com/index.php/2006/10/03/the-wii-power-consumption-myth/
Cost and power consumption implications of digital switchover - Ofcom 08/11/2005 Scientific Generics Limited
Hey kids, turn on the 'power off when complete' option on your torrent programs when downloading your Naruto and Bleach. Save your parents some scrilla. Average pc left on 24/7 costs over $200 a year.
*At least you know it's not really a George Foreman Grill, those babies are 1000w (baboomtish)
U1 Blog
Under the Weather
by U1 on Comments
Have you ever had weather so bad that it takes out your television reception, telephone and internet? It's intermittently dong that for me, meaning this heavy rain is not only messing with the satellite dish, it's doing weird things to the phone cables. Hopefully this'll post, the new Gamespot blog entry system won't let you copy and paste in Firefox.
I don't wanna go to work today, i'll get soaked -_- I want to just snuggle back into bed.
I don't wanna go to work today, i'll get soaked -_- I want to just snuggle back into bed.
Women's clothing in videogames
by U1 on Comments
This picture pretty much sums up what I think (click on picture to make bigger):
especially witnessing the disgrace in Ninja Gaiden Sigma first hand recently
Even my favourite series Final Fantasy is guilty, a race of high heeled s&m gear wearing bunny women, with bottom jiggling physics. Even the princess has a microskirt and catwalk armour.
I think the only exceptions I can think of were Longest Journey and the sequel Dreamfall, even if you start Dreamfall in a tanktop and panties. Oh and thankfully Oblivion, if you dress right.
I think there'd be more respect for games if at least not just the lowest common denominator was catered for, it would be less geeky and more acceptable.
Or make things equal and put Ryu Hayabusa in a posing pouch and a gimp mask ;p
I thought Dead or Alive 4 was okay, but very embarassing. I don't see how anybody but a 14 year old boy hiding it like a glamour mag could actually play it a lot.
I believe that the original Laura Croft design didn't have massive lips and breasts bigger than her head, it was put in later. I guess that it might not have sold as well, but wouldit have brought more women into playing games, with the heroine not bringing as much distain and providing a more positive rolemodel?
especially witnessing the disgrace in Ninja Gaiden Sigma first hand recently
Even my favourite series Final Fantasy is guilty, a race of high heeled s&m gear wearing bunny women, with bottom jiggling physics. Even the princess has a microskirt and catwalk armour.
I think the only exceptions I can think of were Longest Journey and the sequel Dreamfall, even if you start Dreamfall in a tanktop and panties. Oh and thankfully Oblivion, if you dress right.
I think there'd be more respect for games if at least not just the lowest common denominator was catered for, it would be less geeky and more acceptable.
Or make things equal and put Ryu Hayabusa in a posing pouch and a gimp mask ;p
I thought Dead or Alive 4 was okay, but very embarassing. I don't see how anybody but a 14 year old boy hiding it like a glamour mag could actually play it a lot.
I believe that the original Laura Croft design didn't have massive lips and breasts bigger than her head, it was put in later. I guess that it might not have sold as well, but wouldit have brought more women into playing games, with the heroine not bringing as much distain and providing a more positive rolemodel?
Guitar Hero 2 - practical ideas on how it COULD have been a worthy sequel
by U1 on Comments
Guitar Hero 2 was released today in the UK. Tomorrow, my job is to demonstrate it to the public and sell as many copies as possible. Not bad! However, it got me to thinking about how I feel about the game.
I've played Guitar Hero 2 since just after the USA launch. I was VERY disappointed. I don't think it feels like a sequel at all. I could stand that the track list was really poor in comparison to the first game (subjective). I could stand that the two player co-op was very very dull for the second player. I could even stand that due to the tracks being boring, the brilliant practice mode was made pretty much useless, and you couldn't use it to pop in the GH1 disc and practicing those too. I was even predicting that the UK GH2 would come with the GH1 black guitar and not the lovely red one (the proper SG colour).
No, here's why i'm truly disappointed. It's like an add-on pack! Nothing new in the way you play the songs. What I wanted was more techniques, more things to do in the harder difficulties to make it more satisfying. In the unlikely event that someone from Harmonix is reading this, i've got some ideas for things that should have been in Guitar Hero 2 and should be in Guitar Hero 3. If you see these in GH3, you know where they came from, and Harmonix should at the very least have the decency to put one of my songs in the bonus tracks... or more likely give me a free game and guitar hehe
So, techniques. By now we've mastered hammer-ons and pull-offs, so how about these?
1. Vibrato - That's when a note wobbles. You can't vibrato the 'string' with the guitar, so how about during the vibrato periods, pressing and releasing the button quickly.
2. Dive-bombs - make more use of the tremolo arm and press it down slowly when indicated, or use it for simulated tremelo gymnastics.
3. Slides - A slide up or down the string could be simulated by pressing an indicated button then sliding your finger along the other buttons to another button end-point.
4. Bends - I've never been a fan of tilting the guitar for Star Power. Move Star Power to pressing all 5 buttons at once (or just the select button as usual), and have the guitar tilt as a bended note, or holding a button then pressing another one as well, when on a bending note.
5. Widdling! - or double hand tapping. That's where you hear someone doing stupidly fast riffs, by using two hands for pressing the notes. - hold a button then press other indicated buttons quite fast with your other hand.
6. Pinched harmonics - The screaming notes. Hit the paddle just as you're letting go of the button.
Also, for co-op mode, solo duets please.
If I can think up these things, being a lowly minimum wage worker, that's the real reason why i'm disappointed in Guitar Hero 2.
I've played Guitar Hero 2 since just after the USA launch. I was VERY disappointed. I don't think it feels like a sequel at all. I could stand that the track list was really poor in comparison to the first game (subjective). I could stand that the two player co-op was very very dull for the second player. I could even stand that due to the tracks being boring, the brilliant practice mode was made pretty much useless, and you couldn't use it to pop in the GH1 disc and practicing those too. I was even predicting that the UK GH2 would come with the GH1 black guitar and not the lovely red one (the proper SG colour).
No, here's why i'm truly disappointed. It's like an add-on pack! Nothing new in the way you play the songs. What I wanted was more techniques, more things to do in the harder difficulties to make it more satisfying. In the unlikely event that someone from Harmonix is reading this, i've got some ideas for things that should have been in Guitar Hero 2 and should be in Guitar Hero 3. If you see these in GH3, you know where they came from, and Harmonix should at the very least have the decency to put one of my songs in the bonus tracks... or more likely give me a free game and guitar hehe
So, techniques. By now we've mastered hammer-ons and pull-offs, so how about these?
1. Vibrato - That's when a note wobbles. You can't vibrato the 'string' with the guitar, so how about during the vibrato periods, pressing and releasing the button quickly.
2. Dive-bombs - make more use of the tremolo arm and press it down slowly when indicated, or use it for simulated tremelo gymnastics.
3. Slides - A slide up or down the string could be simulated by pressing an indicated button then sliding your finger along the other buttons to another button end-point.
4. Bends - I've never been a fan of tilting the guitar for Star Power. Move Star Power to pressing all 5 buttons at once (or just the select button as usual), and have the guitar tilt as a bended note, or holding a button then pressing another one as well, when on a bending note.
5. Widdling! - or double hand tapping. That's where you hear someone doing stupidly fast riffs, by using two hands for pressing the notes. - hold a button then press other indicated buttons quite fast with your other hand.
6. Pinched harmonics - The screaming notes. Hit the paddle just as you're letting go of the button.
Also, for co-op mode, solo duets please.
If I can think up these things, being a lowly minimum wage worker, that's the real reason why i'm disappointed in Guitar Hero 2.
Rule of Rose: Any publicity is good publicity
by U1 on Comments
In case you're not aware, there's another high profile 'Games are sick' media circus going on, with a game called Rule of Rose.
Mayor of Rome condemns Rule of Rose
EU Justice Commissioner calls for Rule of Rose to be banned
Now the thing is, if the mayor of Rome hadn't opened his big uninformed gob about the game, would anybody know about it? The game would have flopped and disappeared from even the gaming enthusiasts's memory as it is an obscure and poorly made title in an obscure niche genre (lolita waif runs away from bad things survival horror), neither noticed by the mainstream, nor bought by its target market. Now everybody wants to play it, everyone wants to buy it because it's front page news and it's now ilicit and tabboo. If I were more cynical, I would think it was one big genius marketing ploy. It's an age old story, banning and bad publicity never did Life of Brian, Evil Dead, Babycart, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Last Temptation of Christ and many other movies, books and music any harm.
Haunting Ground was another game with a lolita in an unfamiliar place, who rescues an abused dog, and they both run away from danger with the occasional need to turn around and fight. That was a far superior game, with an interesting story, some great innovations and wonderfuly devillish cutscenes. It was released by Capcom in 2004 and sank without trace. Had someone with a public voice said 'OMG games are filth! Ban ban ban, the main character can be shot in the head with a crossbow and snapped in half by an overly affectionate giant!' it might have got mroe attention and become a commercial success.
Perhaps one of the most worrying aspects of this story is that when this news broke out Sony basicaly said "Oh that game? How did that get there? We agree, it's filth and we don't want to be associated with it. No, we don't know this whore of a game, must have got into the party with my ex-con brother, TONY Computer Entertainment America."
Like all vacuous, unfounded, press-mongering, perceived demogogery, it ties itself up very nicely, the arguement is moot . "This game is sick and shouldn't be sold to children, it must be banned." It's got a punishable, enforced certificate, so it shouldn't be. Just because it's a game doesn't mean it's aimed at children. It's a horror game, just as a horror movie isn't for kids (except Return to Oz) A cyclical waste of time, just like this blog talking about it. ;)
Mayor of Rome condemns Rule of Rose
EU Justice Commissioner calls for Rule of Rose to be banned
Now the thing is, if the mayor of Rome hadn't opened his big uninformed gob about the game, would anybody know about it? The game would have flopped and disappeared from even the gaming enthusiasts's memory as it is an obscure and poorly made title in an obscure niche genre (lolita waif runs away from bad things survival horror), neither noticed by the mainstream, nor bought by its target market. Now everybody wants to play it, everyone wants to buy it because it's front page news and it's now ilicit and tabboo. If I were more cynical, I would think it was one big genius marketing ploy. It's an age old story, banning and bad publicity never did Life of Brian, Evil Dead, Babycart, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Last Temptation of Christ and many other movies, books and music any harm.
Haunting Ground was another game with a lolita in an unfamiliar place, who rescues an abused dog, and they both run away from danger with the occasional need to turn around and fight. That was a far superior game, with an interesting story, some great innovations and wonderfuly devillish cutscenes. It was released by Capcom in 2004 and sank without trace. Had someone with a public voice said 'OMG games are filth! Ban ban ban, the main character can be shot in the head with a crossbow and snapped in half by an overly affectionate giant!' it might have got mroe attention and become a commercial success.
Perhaps one of the most worrying aspects of this story is that when this news broke out Sony basicaly said "Oh that game? How did that get there? We agree, it's filth and we don't want to be associated with it. No, we don't know this whore of a game, must have got into the party with my ex-con brother, TONY Computer Entertainment America."
Like all vacuous, unfounded, press-mongering, perceived demogogery, it ties itself up very nicely, the arguement is moot . "This game is sick and shouldn't be sold to children, it must be banned." It's got a punishable, enforced certificate, so it shouldn't be. Just because it's a game doesn't mean it's aimed at children. It's a horror game, just as a horror movie isn't for kids (except Return to Oz) A cyclical waste of time, just like this blog talking about it. ;)
Why I'm never buying another DVD
by U1 on Comments
Payday! I buy Family Guy 5 and Blade Runner. Sit down to watch Blade Runner... How long do you think it is before I get to see the movie?
1. Disc in
2. The now infamous "You wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't snatch a purse, you wouldn't rob a bank" Piracy warning. Unskippable, 50 seconds
3. A static screen about piracy, stays up for 30 seconds, unskippable.
4. The WARNING. Do not play on Oil Rigs, Walking Tanks, Nuclear Bases, Carnigie Square, Fighter Jets etc, for home use only thing, Unskippable 1 minute
5. The Warner Bros logo crap. At least I could fast forward it but it's still annoying
6. Adverts ARGGGGGGH! I pressed the Menu button and at least they went away and I could actually play the movie
So, that was awful, annoying obtrusive, and if anything, preaching to the choir. I was actually thinking "If I pirated this, I wouldn't have to put up with all that crap, and the movie would look exactly the same."
Does the box and the disc look nice? Nope, with the age certificate, the region number, secondary certificate, producer logo, distributer logo, "Not for rental" logo, Copy Protected log, All rights reserved writing plastered over everything, there's no room for anything and it looks really messy.
Attractive
Family Guy, same thing, but with the warning in 3 languages, and then again in about 10 when you finish an episode. That's even more annoying as there's 3 discs and it's something you're going to come back to more often.
So I'm going to stick to rentals from now on, at least I know i'm paying considerably less for all the rubbish and adverts I have to put up with. Amazon do 6 rentals a month for £10, and you're guaranteed to get what you want, new release or old classic. Lovefilm is good too.
Will games be next? There's been a lot of unskippable logos recently, and the games suffer from the same rubish plastered all over the discs and covers.
In other news, i've been moderated another two times, this time for my other videos, the commercials. Two of them weren't real commercials, and the other one I take responsibility for. Can't they just ask me to take stuff off? Or at least talk to me in some way? Maybe delete other people's videos, I don't know, all the other people that have funny commercials in their uploaded video list. Gamespot is turning me into a bitter twisted shell of a person, time to go back to music ;)
1. Disc in
2. The now infamous "You wouldn't steal a car, you wouldn't snatch a purse, you wouldn't rob a bank" Piracy warning. Unskippable, 50 seconds
3. A static screen about piracy, stays up for 30 seconds, unskippable.
4. The WARNING. Do not play on Oil Rigs, Walking Tanks, Nuclear Bases, Carnigie Square, Fighter Jets etc, for home use only thing, Unskippable 1 minute
5. The Warner Bros logo crap. At least I could fast forward it but it's still annoying
6. Adverts ARGGGGGGH! I pressed the Menu button and at least they went away and I could actually play the movie
So, that was awful, annoying obtrusive, and if anything, preaching to the choir. I was actually thinking "If I pirated this, I wouldn't have to put up with all that crap, and the movie would look exactly the same."
Does the box and the disc look nice? Nope, with the age certificate, the region number, secondary certificate, producer logo, distributer logo, "Not for rental" logo, Copy Protected log, All rights reserved writing plastered over everything, there's no room for anything and it looks really messy.
Attractive
Family Guy, same thing, but with the warning in 3 languages, and then again in about 10 when you finish an episode. That's even more annoying as there's 3 discs and it's something you're going to come back to more often.
So I'm going to stick to rentals from now on, at least I know i'm paying considerably less for all the rubbish and adverts I have to put up with. Amazon do 6 rentals a month for £10, and you're guaranteed to get what you want, new release or old classic. Lovefilm is good too.
Will games be next? There's been a lot of unskippable logos recently, and the games suffer from the same rubish plastered all over the discs and covers.
In other news, i've been moderated another two times, this time for my other videos, the commercials. Two of them weren't real commercials, and the other one I take responsibility for. Can't they just ask me to take stuff off? Or at least talk to me in some way? Maybe delete other people's videos, I don't know, all the other people that have funny commercials in their uploaded video list. Gamespot is turning me into a bitter twisted shell of a person, time to go back to music ;)
360 no more
by U1 on Comments
I threatened to do it a lot. I never thought I’d actually do it. But I did. I sold my Xbox 360.
My views are personal and I’m not forcing them upon you. I am documenting my experience with the system, maybe some people will nod their heads in agreement, maybe some potential buyers will perhaps get to see another perspective before they lay out their cash.
Note: Now, after some messages and PMs, i've got to triple stress that this is all based on my personal preferences as i've already stated. I dig that the majority of people that get a 360 love it to bits and it's fantastic. This insignificant blog entry is not a personal attack on you, your mom, your dog or your way of life.
What I liked:
Although messy and disorganised, Xbox Live Marketplace was a great free service. Pile up a lot of free gaming goodies into a queue, then come back later and play it all. Yum.
Official wireless controller was a joy.
Geometry Wars Evolved.
Some refreshing games, Table Tennis and Dead Rising really stood out.
The 4 games I did buy, I thoroughly enjoyed, and they can't be experienced on any other console (yet) as they really push HD and high polygon counts.
Games launch in the UK not long after the USA…. Mostly.
The packaging and the build qualityof everything. The console and peripherals may be big, but they are well designed.
Games in the console’s future like Lost Planet and Mass Effect looked exciting.
What I didn't like:
Dude, the first one blew up after less than a month.
Screen tearing aka the screen going all wibbly wobbly when the camera shifts. Happens all the time in 360 games and it really distracts me. It couldn't kill them to put a v-sync option in.
I couldn't have cared less about Xbox Live, because all the games I bought didn't have very good online modes. What I did experience on my free month of Xbox Live Gold was stupid mewling children and teenagers, and now, may Ming have mercy, they've got Webcams too. Luckily I think you can turn that all off so you don't have to see or hear them?
I didn't really experience any bang for my buck. If I pay $78 for a game, I want some serious longevity to at least one game. Not a single game lasted me very long, and added to the fact that the console was a huge chunk of cash as well, I went back to my PS2, getting a lot of entertainment and had the horrible feeling that my 360 was a very very expensive and frivolous toy. I think Oblivion is the only game I would have carved out some serious time with, if I didn't much perfer it on the PC due to the controls and customisation.
I have friends in the same room as me that I want to share the gaming experience with, but there's not a lot of 2 player or same room co-op in Xbox 360 games... is it because they want people to go on Xbox Live? No friend, let's not play on my expensive new console, I'm going to have to break out the Smash Bros and Mario Kart again!
Many, many games that I could play on my PC for 1/3 of the price with free content and online. (Hitman, LotR, Oblivion, Prey, Fear, Splinter Cell, GRAW, Tomb Raider etc etc etc). Obviously they'll run smoother and look better on the 360, but the games are still the same, right?
Not enough games that I could in any way envisage myself buying, games roster is American-genre-centric to the extreme, almost a caricature. Muscle cars, guys with guns, American Football and more guys with guns. There's nothing wrong with those genres, and it's to be expected those genres will be prevalent as it’s an American console, but surely all (including Americans) but the most diehard American genre fans want more choice in their 360 games library?
Technical Support was a joke and Customer Services lied and ignored their way out of any compensation for losing my stuff and damaging my replacement console.
Oh my word, that power pack is a frightening thing. It gets so hot, I don't know where to put it for fear of damaging something. It's so unwieldy and the cable so thickt that there is no where for it to go.
Game pricing in the UK. Standard game price is £50, which is $92 US. Even discounted online , they’re between £40-£45 ($73-$84).
Secondary arrogant ‘they’ll pay it’ pricing in the UK. Discounted or ‘budget’ games in the USA like Test Drive Unlimited are priced the same as everything else, yes, £50 / $92.
Covered before, but too many 3rd and 1st person shooters in the console’s future for my taste. ‘Space Marine’ game overload, you know, angry American men in armour with guns shooting aliens. I had enough of this LAST generation.
Quite ignorant and patronising ‘lets break the Japanese market’ games in the console’s future really annoys me. It will have a knock on in the world market. Smut and straightforward RPGs won’t break Japan. If you really want Japan, get some innovative games from some Make a smaller controller. Watch the industry and be all evil and seize exclusive rights to an absolutely killer app for the Japanese market. Big up the fact that it can be a nice media centre in your living room that is somewhat smaller than a PC. Stop purposefully crippling the console so it needs to be attached to a honking great big PC to do this. More connectivity, allow mobile phones and pen drives to connect and make features for them. Watch Nintendo. For God’s sake, ONLINE MAHJONG on XBOX LIVE, you fools! ;) Do it, it costs very little and people will go nuts over it.
------------------------------------------------------------
So, the overriding reason why I sold was the games being too expensive in the UK, games being quite short for the money and not many decent titles I wanted coming out in the foreseeable future, when there’s so many lovely PS2 and DS games to play. I was lured by pretty graphics, and promises of more games that I would like, but in the end it was my fault for buying the console in the first place when I knew in my heart of hearts that it would be like this from the start.
My views are personal and I’m not forcing them upon you. I am documenting my experience with the system, maybe some people will nod their heads in agreement, maybe some potential buyers will perhaps get to see another perspective before they lay out their cash.
Note: Now, after some messages and PMs, i've got to triple stress that this is all based on my personal preferences as i've already stated. I dig that the majority of people that get a 360 love it to bits and it's fantastic. This insignificant blog entry is not a personal attack on you, your mom, your dog or your way of life.
What I liked:
Although messy and disorganised, Xbox Live Marketplace was a great free service. Pile up a lot of free gaming goodies into a queue, then come back later and play it all. Yum.
Official wireless controller was a joy.
Geometry Wars Evolved.
Some refreshing games, Table Tennis and Dead Rising really stood out.
The 4 games I did buy, I thoroughly enjoyed, and they can't be experienced on any other console (yet) as they really push HD and high polygon counts.
Games launch in the UK not long after the USA…. Mostly.
The packaging and the build qualityof everything. The console and peripherals may be big, but they are well designed.
Games in the console’s future like Lost Planet and Mass Effect looked exciting.
What I didn't like:
Dude, the first one blew up after less than a month.
Screen tearing aka the screen going all wibbly wobbly when the camera shifts. Happens all the time in 360 games and it really distracts me. It couldn't kill them to put a v-sync option in.
I couldn't have cared less about Xbox Live, because all the games I bought didn't have very good online modes. What I did experience on my free month of Xbox Live Gold was stupid mewling children and teenagers, and now, may Ming have mercy, they've got Webcams too. Luckily I think you can turn that all off so you don't have to see or hear them?
I didn't really experience any bang for my buck. If I pay $78 for a game, I want some serious longevity to at least one game. Not a single game lasted me very long, and added to the fact that the console was a huge chunk of cash as well, I went back to my PS2, getting a lot of entertainment and had the horrible feeling that my 360 was a very very expensive and frivolous toy. I think Oblivion is the only game I would have carved out some serious time with, if I didn't much perfer it on the PC due to the controls and customisation.
I have friends in the same room as me that I want to share the gaming experience with, but there's not a lot of 2 player or same room co-op in Xbox 360 games... is it because they want people to go on Xbox Live? No friend, let's not play on my expensive new console, I'm going to have to break out the Smash Bros and Mario Kart again!
Many, many games that I could play on my PC for 1/3 of the price with free content and online. (Hitman, LotR, Oblivion, Prey, Fear, Splinter Cell, GRAW, Tomb Raider etc etc etc). Obviously they'll run smoother and look better on the 360, but the games are still the same, right?
Not enough games that I could in any way envisage myself buying, games roster is American-genre-centric to the extreme, almost a caricature. Muscle cars, guys with guns, American Football and more guys with guns. There's nothing wrong with those genres, and it's to be expected those genres will be prevalent as it’s an American console, but surely all (including Americans) but the most diehard American genre fans want more choice in their 360 games library?
Technical Support was a joke and Customer Services lied and ignored their way out of any compensation for losing my stuff and damaging my replacement console.
Oh my word, that power pack is a frightening thing. It gets so hot, I don't know where to put it for fear of damaging something. It's so unwieldy and the cable so thickt that there is no where for it to go.
Game pricing in the UK. Standard game price is £50, which is $92 US. Even discounted online , they’re between £40-£45 ($73-$84).
Secondary arrogant ‘they’ll pay it’ pricing in the UK. Discounted or ‘budget’ games in the USA like Test Drive Unlimited are priced the same as everything else, yes, £50 / $92.
Covered before, but too many 3rd and 1st person shooters in the console’s future for my taste. ‘Space Marine’ game overload, you know, angry American men in armour with guns shooting aliens. I had enough of this LAST generation.
Quite ignorant and patronising ‘lets break the Japanese market’ games in the console’s future really annoys me. It will have a knock on in the world market. Smut and straightforward RPGs won’t break Japan. If you really want Japan, get some innovative games from some Make a smaller controller. Watch the industry and be all evil and seize exclusive rights to an absolutely killer app for the Japanese market. Big up the fact that it can be a nice media centre in your living room that is somewhat smaller than a PC. Stop purposefully crippling the console so it needs to be attached to a honking great big PC to do this. More connectivity, allow mobile phones and pen drives to connect and make features for them. Watch Nintendo. For God’s sake, ONLINE MAHJONG on XBOX LIVE, you fools! ;) Do it, it costs very little and people will go nuts over it.
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So, the overriding reason why I sold was the games being too expensive in the UK, games being quite short for the money and not many decent titles I wanted coming out in the foreseeable future, when there’s so many lovely PS2 and DS games to play. I was lured by pretty graphics, and promises of more games that I would like, but in the end it was my fault for buying the console in the first place when I knew in my heart of hearts that it would be like this from the start.
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