What is Weird Words? Read the foreword here.

Potation
noun
1. The act of drinking.
2. a drink or draft, especially of an alcoholic beverage.

I thought I'd introduce two words today so you can sound upper cl@ss (or perhaps like a twit) the next time you want to get drunk with your friends. Potation is the simpler form. If you are partaking in potation, you are having a drink. There is very little opportunity for extra usage here, it's just a posh word you can use when you get drunk.

Libation
noun
1. A pouring out of wine or other liquid in honour* of a deity
2. The liquid so poured.
3 Often facetious
a. the act of drinking an intoxicating beverage
b. an act or instance of drinking such a beverage.

Several entries at www.dictionary.com indicate the same thing; libation informally has the same definition as potation, though it seems the first two are the 'actual' definitions. This opens up opportunities to represent yourself as a god. Some examples of usage;

"Will we be partaking in potations this evening?" "Indeed, I think libation is on the agenda."
(In response to being poured a drink) "Why thank you for the libations" (either informal, or with the implication you are a god).
"This libation honours* me greatly" Guaranteed to have people scratching their head wondering what on earth you are talking about (referring to 2nd definition).

So perhaps next time you are having some drinks, you can have a play with these words.

Enjoy your vocabulary!

* I'm Australian for those spell checking.

I have a friend who thinks it odd, almost offensive even, that I do not play my games online. According to him, I am missing the best part of the game. Online multiplayer is the way of the future. I've seen the same sentiment at times in forums discussions.

It's obvious that online multiplayer is not the be all and end all. We need only look at some of the highest profile titles released late last year. Bioshock, Mass Effect and Assassin's Creed were all nominees for Gamespots end of year awards, and offer no multiplayer, online or off. But even in games where multiplayer is available, and perhaps critically acclaimed, it is still something I leave alone.

Here are a number of reasons why I stick mostly to single player (I do play some local co-op from time to time). I'm sure that anyone who doesn't play online shares some of these sentiments.

I Like a Story
I like a bit of story with my game. Understanding your character and what motivates him or her, and the other people in the game is important to me. In many games, you play the hero. If you fail, the game doesn't say 'That's OK, we got someone else to do it'. You are the only hope, the only saviour. At the end of the game, you feel you have accomplished a great achievement because you were able to overcome all of the odds and complete an arduous task. This isn't to say multiplayer games have no story at all, but there is almost no character development, and motivation is often 'kill the other guys/team'. I don't require it for all games (Guitar Hero being a prime example, although even that makes an attempt at a story), but I couldn't play a first-person shooter or action adventure without some semblance of story, some reason why I should be doing what I was.

I Want Control Over my Experience
Once I have come to grips with a games controls and mechanics, I am in control of how I use them. I get to approach ingame situations how I see fit. I can learn how the artificial intelligence responds. In many games I can tailor the difficulty to the challenge I prefer. In a multiplayer game, I lose some of that control. I may not be up the skill level of other players. Methods of play that may have worked for the single player could be useless in multiplayer. I may be forced to play in a method I don't like if it means I want to win. I may get team killed by an unscrupulous player who thinks it is fun.

I Don't Want To Be Abused
If I were to play online, I would want to use a headset. I do not want to be insulted for bad play, which would inevitably be the case when a player first starts playing the multiplayer portions of a game. I've noticed some forum posts about 'noobs' spoiling games by being bad; everyone has to start somewhere. This is a minor point for me, and is perhaps a smaller part of the online gaming community than it is made out to be, but repeated insults would still probably make me drop from a game.

There Are Other Games I Want To Play
Once I've finished the single player portion of a game, I would prefer to begin an all new experience. There are plenty of highly acclaimed games across multiple genres that I have a desire to play. Learning new game mechanics and controls is more exciting than making small, gradual improvements in a multiplayer game. My desire to experience new games is probably the biggest reason why I don't play multiplayer.

I Don't Have Time To Get Good
This ties in to the previous point. Finishing the single player campaign is one thing. Sticking with a multiplayer game to learn all the maps, nuances, and evolving tactics to maintain a competitive edge would take much longer. I feel the time I would need to invest to be competitive in multiplayer games would be better spent simply playing another single player campaign.

To conclude, let me say that these are simply my opinions. I've given multiplayer a try for a few games, and I'm certainly not saying that multiplayer is not fun (it was), but I generally prefer the single player experience. An equally valid rebuttal can be made against most of the above points in support of multiplayer, and I'm sure a decent portion of the gaming population play both. To all the multiplayer aficionados out there wondering how some of us can waste hours of potential entertainment by skipping the multiplayer portion, don't worry; we love games just as much as you do. We just enjoy them for different reasons.

I recalled this puzzle I was presented with once at a show, and thought it was interesting enough to share.

You and two other men have a crossbow. You are standing equal distances apart to form a triangle. No-one is allowed to move, and each of you will take it in turns to fire.
You have never held a crossbow before. Your chance to hit one of the other people is 30%.
The second person has briefly used a crossbow, and has a 60% chance of hitting whoever he aims at.
The third person has mastered the crossbow. At this range and his target not allowed to move, he will hit 100%. If he aims at you, you are dead.

The order of firing is you, the person with 60% accuracy, then the person with 100% accuracy, until one person is standing.

You get to go first; WHAT DO YOU DO?

Before I get into the definitions of procure, I'll let you know why I selected it. I thought it was strictly synonymous with 'obtain' or 'acquire', but I had a sneaking suspicion there might be more to it, so I looked it up to make sure. It turns out it has a slightly more specific meaning, and also a surprising second meaning! Let's begin with the first meaning.

Procure
verb
1. to obtain or get by care, effort, or the use of special means.
2. to bring about, esp. by unscrupulous and indirect means.

The emphasis seems to be on extra effort required to obtain the item. For example, Microsoft procured exclusive downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto 4 (with the extra effort being a large sum of dollars). Perhaps you procured a Wii prior to Christmas (which may have required a lot of effort shopping around).

You could always try to be fancy and in team games say "I've procured the flag".While this may be an accurate statement (as it will have taken the effort of the team),your team mates will probably think you are dyslexic and can't say 'captured' properly. On to the second meaning.

Procure
3. to obtain (a person) for the purpose of prostitution.
4. to act as a procurer or pimp.

I am sure most of you reading this were at least vaguely aware that procure meant 'acquire' or 'obtain'. I doubt many people are aware of this second meaning; I certainly wasn't! "I want to procure your sister for a helping hand" is certainly ambiguous. The next time one of your friends uses the word, it might be possible to jest you did not realise they were a pimp.

Until next time, enjoy your vocabulary!

Foreword
Greetings. Recently I've come to enjoy weird or obscure words that might be outside the scope of most peoples vocabulary. I thought it might be educational, interesting, and perhaps even amusing to share some of these words with others. Things I expect to cover in this series;

Words with obscure meanings.
Obscure synonyms (different words that have the same or similar definition)
Defining words that are in your vocabulary, but you can't quite explain their exact meaning, so you can use them with more conviction (or nitpick when someone else doesn't use it in the correct manner).
Other word-related weirdness.

Much as I like weird words (even if I doubt I will ever use them), I will try to keep the ones used in this series a little more relevant, so that you might actually get some use out of them. I will try to give a few examples of when you might use the word. Feel free to write your own sentence using the word in the comments; using the word will make it much more likely that you will remember it.

Note that I generally won't quote references. If you require them, you can find them at http://www.dictionary.com/. If the definition I give did not come from that source, then I will quote the source.

Grandiloquent
adjective
Speaking or expressed in a lofty sty1e, often to the point of being pompous or bombastic.

I thought grandiloquent was a good word to lead off the series; a word that is about words. If someone is speaking grandiloquently, they are using big words, usually in an effort to impress. This is an excellent word to use as a retort to someone who is making an attempt at grandiloquism, if they do not know the word. After they have finished their pompous speech, simply say 'That was overly grandiloquent' in an unimpressed tone. I find it ironic that grandoliquism itself is really a grandiloquism of 'fancy word'. Other uses;
"Church was wonderful, the reverand spoke very grandiloquently today"
"I finished my first draft of my essay, now I just need to rewrite it more grandiloquently"
"Just because you are grandiloquent, it does not make you smart"

Enjoy your vocabulary!

Some time earlier this year I read an editorial featured on the soapbox regarding using the dance mat to play games for exercise (apologies for not giving full credits; I don't recall who posted it originally). So finally Dancing Stage Universe (called DDR Universe or somesuch in other regions) made it to Australia last week and I grabbed a copy, ready for a workout. Here are some initial thoughts.

1. I suck at this game. While I've been intrigued, I've never been game enough to embarrass myself in an arcade, so this is my first experience with a dance game. I think on my second time loading up the game, I passed a song on Basic, scoring a D. I wanted to see if I could get a bettergrade and played the same song about 8 more times before I passed it again... to get a D. I have some work to do.

2. Streets of Rage 2 is a good workout. Prior to getting DSU, I was already planning to give this game a shot with the dance mat. Of course, you lose some of the precision a control pad would give you; my 8 lives on hardest got me to the end of the first level, when normally they would probably get me to the end of the game, but that's not really the point. Admittedly for the mid boss and end boss I crouched down on the balls of my feet and started using my hands, but flailing around the mat like that was still a workout, and a good way to break it up a little.

3. You can't use the mat to play Guitar Hero. At least this is my first impression. I assumed the game (Guitar Hero 3) would detect the mat as a normal controller, and I could use it as such, but it doesn't appear to be the case. I might give it another shot later, or try it with Guitar Hero 2.

4. I'm sweating. Half hour or so after starting, I'm worked up to a light sweat. Sure, it's not as effective as a traditional workout, but a traditional workout isn't as much fun either, and that's why many of us shy away from a traditional workout; it's work! Dancing games are a good way to mask the 'work'.

5. I suck at this game. I know, I've said this already. I did try a couple of songs on difficult to see how big a leap it was, and failed miserably for the most part. I did make it about halfway through one song, which I was quite impressed with at this early stage of my play experience. Still, I think I have several hours ahead before I think about making this my default difficulty setting.

Time to dance and work up a sweat!

Everyone loves controversial points of view. I don't know if any of my points are really controversial, but I guess that's because I'm looking at them from my point of view. So here are my thoughts about what may happen in the video game world next year.

1. Microsoft will do something with Achievement points.
I've never been one for achievement points. I don't even know what my gamerscore is. Maybe 3000 after owning an Xbox 360 for 18 months? But if I could redeem them for something, that would be a lot more interesting. They would need to maintain your total score for those that love the bragging rights, and add a 'left to spend' value to your gamercard. The intriguing part is, what do you spend it on? The answer (or predictions) to that question could take up a blog all on its own.

I think this is the least likely of my predictions. It would be a fine balance finding something that Microsoft is willing to offer, that is also something that gamers find enticing. However, I have little doubt that this is something that someone at Microsoft is (and probably has been since launch) looking at long and hard to try and find an answer.

2. The Playstation 2 will cease production.
I think this Christmas might the last hurrah of the Playstation 2, and production will cease in the third quarter of 2008. At that stage, the PS2 and PS3 will have co-existed for over 18 months in all major territories, and Sony will want to shift the focus solely to the Playstation 3, which will already have gained momentum in the first half of the year. Notice will be given, and because of the lack of back compatibility in newer models of the PS3, PS2 consoles will fly out the door. Sony will stockpile them beforehand to meet the demand, but they'll still go fast.

3. Nintendo will release a hard drive for the Wii.
I think this is a no-brainer. With folks already complaining about the space their virtual console games take up and the upcoming WiiWare games, Nintendo will want to release a hard drive. We can only hope they do not charge an exhorbitant fee for an official hard drive, like Microsoft.

4. LittleBigPlanet will be the biggest system seller the Playstation 3 will have since launch.
Resistance : Fall of Man and Motorstorm were excellent launch titles for the Playstation 3. As has been documented, many of the exclusive PS3 games released this year have failed to live up to sales expectations. LittleBigPlanet will live up to all hype and expectations, and people will buy a system (including me) just to get lost in this game.

5. Microsoft will release a blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360.
I'm no analyst, but it seems blu-ray is going to win out in the high definition movie war. As such, I expect Microsoft will release a blu-ray drive add-on for the Xbox 360, which they have previously said was possible if HD-DVD didn't pan out. Expect a price drop on the Xbox 360 console, then an announcement on the drive shortly thereafter, so that the two combined will bear a price comparable to the Playstation 3. There is also potential for the Xbox to be completely rejigged with a blu-ray drive, replacing the Elite model.

6. Microsoft will make full Xbox 360 games available via download.
To clarify, games that have made their way to budget prices will be made available via download, to join the Xbox Originals at 1200 points, or possibly 1600. The Xbox and Xbox 360 games both fit on a DVD, so I don't think this is much of a stretch. I expect this will be for budget releases, and Kameo and Project Gotham Racing 3 to be among the first releases. This may be the best way to continue selling old product; once sales of physical product drop below a certain threshold, it may be more economical to switch it over to digital only distribution. Such an announcement could also be accompanied by a much-welcomed price drop for the 120GB hard drive, or a new hard drive offering altogether.

7. Sony will release back compatibility software as a download for Playstation 3 models without that functionality at the end of the year.
Whether as part of a general update or choice of download, this functionality will be re-introduced. However, I expect this will be announced after the Playstation 2 has been discontinued, in a sneaky (but smart) effort to sell more PS2's.

8. The gap in install bases between all 3 major systems will close.
Despite the Xbox 360 having a one-year lead, the Wii managed to sell more total units than the Xbox 360 in half the time. The Playstation 3 is generally selling less units than the Wii or Xbox 360 on a monthly basis. I predict that towards the latter half of 2008, the systems will be selling similar units each month. Many of those reasons are topic for debate, but here are my three major points.

1) More consumers will buy HDTV's and want to take full advantage of them, thus the Wii may look less attractive. The fact that the Wii can't play hi-def movies (and I assume this will no be feasible with an add-on) may also factor with these people.

2) Due to it currently being in 3rd place, Sony will keep good on its promise to keep the PSN network and Home free of charge, despite how much it may cost them. Due to it being commonly accepted for current users, Microsoft will not remove its charges for Xbox Live Gold memberships to compete. These things combined with the continual improvements to broadband services (and more focus on playing online) may lead to some new adopters of this generation of consoles to opt for a Playstation 3 instead of the Xbox 360.

3) People will buy PS3's as a glorified blu-ray player. My father hasn't played games for years, but wants a PS3 so he can watch blu-ray discs. While he might not use them very often, he knows it will have extra functionality over a stand-alone player should he ever want to.

So there you have it, some off-the-cuff predictions by the average gamer. Some of those predictions would not be entirely unexpected or surprising if they came to pass, while others might be a bit of a stretch. Do you agree with any of them? Are there some you think I've got completely wrong, and would like to debunk? I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

There is a lot of focus on peripherals at the moment, with successes like the Guitar Hero franchise, the anticipated drums for Rock Band, and Buzz and Scene It. Not to mention the general success the Wii has had in the last year, which has offered what most peripherals aim to deliver; a different way to play. I thought it would be interesting to look at what other peripherals we might see in the future, but first I thought I'd list what we have already seen, and what has been announced for the near future.

I was going to list every peripheral for every console, but that would be an effort in tedium and I'm sure I would miss something anyway. So I'll just list types of peripherals which may have appeared on multiple platforms over various generations, which all aim to play very similarly. Some are unique and I'll list the product. For the purpose of this article, I define a peripheral as an input device that is not like a conventional game pad (as the Wii itself uses a non-conventional control scheme as standard, its controllers will not be listed here) or an accessory designed to add immersion.

Light guns
Power Glove
Dance Mats
Activator
Game code Modifiers (Game Genies etc)
Guitars
Drums
Microphones
Cameras
Mouse
Buzzers
Maracas
Bongos
Beatmania boards
Fishing Rods
Racing Wheels and cabinets
Rumble (which became a standard feature)

I do find it interesting to note that some of these peripherals are, in essence, conventional gamepads with a different shape. For example, a Guitar Hero game can be played with a conventional controller, and the Guitar Hero controller adds nothing that can't be done with the conventional controller (besides the accelerometer, and you can still forgo that anyway). However, I've never played Guitar Hero with a conventional controller, nor do I have any intention to. Some of the peripherals may share the same functional buttons and control interfaces, but their design is what can immerse you in the game. Similarly, there is absolutely no reason that Buzz games can not be played with a conventional controller, yet this option is denied. There are some distinct design choices at work here; the USB hub allows for multiple players, and answers are listed in a vertical fashion (and would look weird if answers were mapped North, South, East and West on-screen, where you would find the face buttons a standard controller), but nevertheless, a standard controller could function.

On the Horizon

There are several announced peripherals heading to a number of platforms, most of which I am excited about. I imagine the two upcoming peripherals on most peoples minds are the drum kit for Rock Band, and the Wii Balance Board. In my limited knowledge of video game history, drums aren't anything new; however, I doubt there was anywhere near as much interest in those products as there is in Rock Band. Looking around the forums, people either love or hate the Balance Board. I'll be giving it a shot when it comes out. Other peripherals on their way are mostly stuff we have seen before; new versions of guitars, microphones, buzzers for Scene It and the PS3 version of Buzz (or perhaps the old versions will work; I have not investigated), Guncon, the Wii Zapper. The other unique addition are cards for Eye of Judgement. I find it hard to believe that this has not been done at least in a Japanese arcade somewhere (swiping barcoded cards through a scanner or somesuch), but I imagine this is the first product of its type that is hitting a home console.

Looking to the future

So what peripherals could we look forward to in the future? Here are a few I have thought of, or been inspired by others ideas, with my pros and cons.

Billiard Cue (Wii specific)

I don't think it would be terribly difficult to make a casing that could be used to replicate a Billiard Cue for the Wii. It would require one end to attach to the nunchuck (which you would hold with your leading hand) and a sliding bar for the remote. Use the nunchuck analog stick to rotate the table, aim where you want to hit the white ball, hold steady, slide your remote forward toward the nunchuck at the desired speed to achieve the desired power.

Pros :
Once assembled, it should prove very intuitive to use.
I was going to say 'limited use' in the cons, but with a little thought, perhaps not. It could be used for any number of 'pumping actions'. Pumping a shotgun. Pumping a water cannon. Pulling it back to extract something. The Wii Zapper certainly can't make you feel like you have a rocket launcher over your shoulder.

Cons :
Design would need to allow sliding, while still maintaining access to all buttons.
Sliding components could easily be prone to breakage.

Body Suit

Next generation or the one after, I see this as definitely being viable as a control method, at least from a technological standpoint. We see these currently used for motion capture. Why not use them realtime instead?. This could really let you do anything (given that developers make good with utilising the control method in their games of course) and make immersion go through the roof. Participate in some athletic events like javelin or discus with your friends or online. Take boxing games to a new level. Actually roam around the 'sandbox' world you are in. Bad guy in your face? Punch, kick or even headbutt that guy out of the park!

Pros :
Immersion. Immersion. Immersion.
Potentially different colours or schemes. Suit up as your favourite mascot!
Force feedback could be included in various areas in the suit for more pinpoint feedback.

Cons :
You actually have to suit up before you play.
You may look rather silly wearing the suit if you have visitors.
They would need to be available in different sizes. This might mean that one suit will not be able to be used by multiple players in one household.
There will of course be multiple sensors in the suit. One broken sensor may ruin your game experience and require (probably costly) repair.
There are likely to be negative implications applied to software that uses this 'controller' to perform actions that replicate illegal or immoral acts in real life.
This control scheme may not suit some existing genres of games.

Smell-o-Vision

For decades we have had sound and vision feedback in video games. For the last decade, feedback via touch (rumble features) has also been a regular feature in home consoles. The thought of adding the olfactory sense to the equation has long been on my mind. I'd also like to clear something up; while the term 'smell-o-vision' is perhaps instantly recognisable to people, it is really a misnomer. We don't want to turn smells into pixels, we want to create odours. I'm sure I read or heard about potential developments in this area when I was younger, but can't recall having heard about it for some time. So I thought I'd do some light research. (Note, some of this research was done a couple of months ago, and I can no longer find the appropriate links)

The technology is available. The olfactory senses, according to my light research, seem to be the least understood of our senses, and that research is ongoing to learn more about them. Some examples of research and applications;

Sorting folders of photos on a computer. Users assign a smell to the folder which would remind them of its contents. When rolling over the folder, an odour is emitted from the device, which can help the user quickly identify whether these are the files they were looking for.

Creating an 'odour cannon'. This was experimentally used as an advertising technique. For example, a bakery may set the machine to create a smell associated with its food. This particular device has a camera mounted with face detection. Periodically it will single out someone's nose, and 'shoot' an odour to within a few centimetres of their nose. http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4834

I also discovered this little tidbit which I found quite interesting; research was intended for gaming purposes as early as 1999, with an indication that products might launch in 2001. http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4024075-110837,00.html

http://www.aromajet.com/comp.htm
This press release history of the company Aroma Jet also indicates they actually presented this idea at the Game Developers Conference in 2000. However, that is also the date of the last press release on their website I have been unable to locate any Gamespot coverage of any such presentation. So what has happened in the intervening years?

I certainly see the benefits of using smells in games. Maybe the monster you are chasing in a first person shooter leaves a smell behind; if you lose its trail, the smell will disappear to let you know you need to go back and find it. It could be useful in stealth games to let you know when it may be safe to pass. Adventure games get a new way to give you clues. Perhaps smells could be incorporated into sports games, with different degrees of smell indicating how tired (sweaty) your player might be. You could smell the burning tires in your favourite racing games. And what the Japanese can do with aromas and minigames, I'm not sure I want to know.

For any of those benefits, I don't think we will be seeing this technology in gaming consoles in living rooms for at least 15 more years (although I speculate there will be small growth in the PC market), and doubtfully ever as a standard device in my lifetime. There are a number of factors. First, it requires chemical consumables. Video and audio are digitally delivered, and we absorb the costs of running our consoles, TV's and stereos into our electricity bills; after we've purchased our hardware and games, I'm sure the vast majority of us never consider this ongoing cost of our gaming. Having to go out and purchase chemicals to restock the device is a lot more apparent, as well as inconvenient.

As I said at the beginning of this section, what someone considers a nice smell, someone else might consider nasty. I guess this is true of graphics and sound as well, but I imagine that the range regarding the olfactory senses is a lot wider (No basis in fact, just my conjecture). Your playing environment could also have existing ambient smells, which might mix with the chemicals to produce unwanted aromas or otherwise confuse the issue. Similarly, you would not want the device to leave an unwanted ambient smell after you have finished playing.

I assume there are also allergies to consider. As far as vision goes, the two major conditions I can think of that may affect video game playing are color-blindness and epilepsy. I can't think of any condition that might affect someone in regards to audio. There are of course, scores of allergies, and I assume this barrier will be too difficult to overcome.

I'd love to hear other users thoughts on these suggestions, and also any other peripherals or accessories that they would like to see, either now or years into the future.

I am a huge fan of the downloadable services of the new generation of consoles (Xbox Live Arcade, Wii Virtual Console, Playstation Store), at least as far as downloading games. That said, I've only downloaded one game so far, being Castlevania : Symphony of Night. There are plenty of Virtual Console games I'd like to pick up; I've got the controller and a points card, I just haven't bothered to go through the not-simple-like-it-should-have-been process of getting the Wii connected to the internet via my PC. That however, is not my dilemma.

There is a gap in my experience between the Mega Drive/SNES era and my current gaming platforms of Xbox 360 and Wii, where I didn't really get huge exposure to systems like the Playstation, Playstation 2, Dreamcast, Saturn, GameCube, and Xbox. Sure I played games on some of those, but I didn't own them, and didn't play games with the passion I did when I had my Mega Drive, a passion that has been rekindled with the purchase of my Xbox 360 and Wii last year.

Playing Castlevania : Symphony of Night, a title which had passed me by during my gaming lapse, changed my approach to games somewhat. I didn't need new fangled shaders, lighting effects, or complex physics. I just wanted to play good games. I began researching games on some of those older systems. I've bought a couple of GameCube games that I can play onmy Wii. I've been looking at Playstation 1 + 2 games; I can borrow a PS2, otherwise I'm sure to pick up a PS3 some time down the line. There are several gamesfrom older generations like Mega Drive and Nintendo 64 that I'd be quite glad to play on the Virtual Console... if they make it to the Virtual Console.

And therelies the dilemma. I've got a decent list of games for defunct systems that I'm fairly certainI will enjoy, and a good chunk more that have piqued my interest. I'd love for them to be available via any of the downloadable services... but what if they never arrive? The longer I wait, the harder some of the old games will be to come by. Due to legal reasons, some games may never make it. Do I look for second hand systems with controllers, memory cards and all the accessories, plus the games? Or do I wait, hoping the games I want will be released as a cheap download some time down the track?

I've been doing a bit of auction browsing, andtoday I noticed an auction for 5 Final Fantasy games (6-10). At the time I saw it, it had a few hours to go, and was AU$126 plus postage. Given some of the pricing I'd seen for some of the individual games, it piqued my interest. But that thought plagued me; what if they rerelease them via a downloadable service? I'm unlikely to be playing them for a little while with the current games I'm playing; I'd feel mighty stooged if they were available as $10-15 downloads before I'd even played them. Granted, this is less likely with the Final Fantasy titles due to their size, but the concern remains for these older titles in general. As internet speeds get faster these larger games won't be a problem to download anyway (and the cost of extra hard drives will come down, so space won't be as big an issue).I agonized over it right until the end; I ended up placing a bid, but I didn't get the games.

So I'm a little torn. I've got access to plenty of good games to play at the moment. But there are a bunch of older games whichI can't help but think I'd like just a little more. For each of these games I buy in it's physical form, I might be able to buy 3 downloadable titles. I've got time to decide. I have some Xbox 360 games to finish, then I can get started on the Virtual Console games. But I can't help fight the feeling that some of the games I really want to play will forever be lost to me (or skyrocket to prices I'm not willing to pay) if I don't grab them now in their original format.

Is it the future? Will all games within legal plausibility be made available to the relevant systems via download? I sure hope so.

There is no question that the original Xbox is dead. I haven't seen a new game in months. I haven't seen a new game listed for I don't know how long (at least here in Australia). Heck, even Halo 2 for the Xbox has been discontinued. Just about everything I see for Xbox is budget priced. Despite all the budget-priced trash, there are still some good titles to be had, and surely many that have been deleted.

Now I'venever had an Xbox. I do however have an Xbox 360. Of course, some Xbox games do work on the Xbox 360. Anyone reading this is obviouslyan avid game player, but what about the rest of the game playing public who don't read gaming news? They probably couldn't be bothered to find out if an Xbox game is compatible or not. I probably wouldn't if I didn't know where to look or simply couldn't be bothered searching for the info.

Are some of these games still in production, or is it just excess stock slowly being depleted? If they are still in production, how much is it costing to produce and distribute to retailers?

So we come to my obvious suggestion; release selected Xbox games via Xbox Live Arcade. I'd expect 1200 points would be the right price. That works out to about 20 Australian dollars, and the price of most budget games is $20-$30 here. But gamers would then have the comfort of downloading from their own home instead of having to go out and search for ttles which are becoming scarcer to find. I fail to see how they couldn't sell more copies of a game to Xbox 360 owners this way than standard distribution. Developers would be better off because there is more money in their pocket. I don't know Microsoft's business model, but I can only assume they charge for server space for downloadable content, and/or a percentage of each piece of software downloaded, so they can't be worse off either. The developer would have these costs offset by the fact that they no longer have the costs associated with producing a physical product.

What are the downsides? Well, for starters, I'm not a tech-head. I don't know if a downloaded game saved to the hard drive will play the same as it would be played from a disc. Maybe some code needs to be rewritten for that. Having never played an Xbox game on my 360, I am also unaware of how save games work. Perhaps these issues would be too problematic, and require too much rewritten code (and thus cost) to remain viable at budget price points. Players don't get a physical manual,but Iwould assume it is not too much trouble to include a digital one with the game.

AllXbox Live Arcade games also have a demo. I wouldassume this is not possible with many Xbox games. Of course, even classifying them as Arcade is probably not correct in any case. These would probably be given their own home in the downloadable section. As an option to replace demo's, perhaps there could be trailers or gameplay footage; these might tip someone into making a purchase.

As I've never played an Xbox game on my 360,I don't know if games played this way still retain their online features. If anyone can shed any light, that is appreciated.

There is the question of size. For reasons unbeknownst to me, when I first started writing this article, I was writing under the impression that Xbox games fit on a 650 megabyte disc. I must have had a mental lapse, because I know in fact they are DVD's. But I've written enough now that I may as well follow through. What I thought was going to be a minor point (given that we download demo's of up to a gig all the time) has probably become the most relevant. Of course, I'm sure most Xbox games do not comeclose to filling the DVD's capacity; Xbox 360 games are still on DVD's, and we can assume that they would require more content. We only have limited hard drive space after all. You can always delete a demo and redownload it later if you want to play it again. While you can download games again for free after you have paid for them the first time, there is the chance that consumers don't know this (I didn't; I asked in the forums as research for this article). Perhaps the size would have to form a part of the selection process for games made available for this service. It could however, be extra incentive for new consumers to purchase an Elite or existing users to purchase an extra hard drive.

One potential issue from a business perspective, is they probably don't want to release these games via Live while there is still physical product out in the market place. Furthermore, physical product gets into the hands of original Xbox owners, but downloads can't. This is on the assumption that they are still producing discs for the system; surely there can't be too much life left there though.

I think Microsoft are in the prime position to test this idea. As I said earlier, I didn't own an Xbox, but I own an Xbox 360. I'm pretty excited about Halo 3. I've never played Halo 1 or 2, and I'd like to play these before Halo 3 gets released. I have a friend who has them, and I can borrow them when I want. But if Microsoft releases them as a download for 1200 points, I'll download them, and the size won't matter. Instead of borrowing the game, Microsoft will get some more of my cash. Releasing Halo at the end of July and Halo 2 at the end of August would probably be a wise business move. It would be the perfect trial to see if such a system would be viable.

Have I covered all the issues? Are any of my thoughts misguided? Would you download games via this service, and if so, how much of a factor is size? If anyone can give me an idea of how much space the average Xbox game takes up on the DVD, that would give me extra food for thought.