While discussing the possibility of 3rd parties abandoning the PSP over at the ESLS union, I finally articulated a theory I've had for quite some time. Please, tell me what you think, and be sure to shoot holes in it as needed.

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Bigger companies are one thing; Square Enix is a bad example because, quite frankly, their games sell systems. Its almost like saying "The DS has awesome games - look at everything Nintendo puts out."

There are some companies that aren't going to be bothered one way or the other. But they're far fewer in number compared to everyone else. They're the ones you need to be concerned with because, when you add all of those companies and their games together? That's pretty sizeable.

I've got this "shovelware" theory to gauging system success. You know you've got a really successful system when it can support companies that put out mostly mediocre to bad games. The NES, SNES, PS1 and PS2 are examples of this - there are square metric tons of mediocre and bad games on all those systems, yet the companies who published them still made money. The PSP isn't there. AAA-games doing well is not news or really any indicator of anything other than "damn, that's a good game." Don't go by that; every system ever made (including the 3DO and Jaguar) had at least one, must play, OMG game.

To me, a successful system will have:
A - A selection of top-notch, elite games. AAA-grade titles. Lets be honest - this is the smallest group.

B - A very good selection of "B" tier games. These are the mainstays of any systems - great games that nobody should be ashamed of owning or playing.

C - A very large selection of average games. Not the best, not the worst, playable. This is the largest selection of games.

D - A pretty big selection of mediocre or worse games. Maybe they're badly flawed. Maybe they're licensed crap. But there are so many people with the system in question that these titles can come out and still make money.

The Dreamcast and Neo Geo Pocket Color, for example, didn't follow this. Both had a lot of A and B titles, but not so many C titles, and couldn't support D titles.

The Jaguar had a smattering of A titles, precious few B and C titles, and more D titles than it could support.

It seems the PSP has got some good A and B titles, but how are the C and D titles faring compared to the DS? Given that C and D make up a LOT, if not most of what's out there?

Just a theory, and to be honest it really needs going through more on my part and revising. But that's my theory. I think the PSP is an awesome system, and would not call it a failure at all. But I think that right now, unless you're only doing A-titles, maybe a popular B-title? A company isn't going to do as well on the PSP as it should, and that's the major concern. I know the "easy answer" is to say, "Well, only make A-titles," but honestly? If it was that easy, everyone would be doing it AND that would establish the new "average," making "A" into the new "C" due to higher expectations and all that... Its a lot easier to compete at middle-school basketball during PE than it is the NBA.

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In short, average games and "shovelware" are to consoles what a canary was in a coal mine.

I love this guy. But you all know this by now.

Follow the link.

If you haven't played Bionic Commando: Rearmed in 2-player Co-op mode, you're missing out. BC:R is a great as is, but wow.

I just got done playing with my bro for about an hour here. I let him use my 360 pad, and I used my VF5 stick. Maybe its due to the old-school roots, but the stick works quite nicely. And, well, the button layout (A, B, X, Y) is very Neo Geo **** so it was very easy and familiar for me to use. Not quite like playing Top Hunter, but my fingers caught on quick :)

Having two people playing really changes the feel of things. Its not Contra; too fast moving yet not quite as run-and-gun. The mobility the bionic arm affords you makes a huge difference in that regard. I go here, he went there, the enemy jumps behind cover to avoid me, then my bro blasts him from behind. Great stuff.

BTW, the enemies on BC:R's medium difficulty are good about getting behind cover! I was impressed when I saw a soldier jump behind a barrel for the first time, only popping his head up when he thought it was safe-ish. The heavy arms guy fired a rocket from far away, but the moment we started getting too close? Grenade, baby. Smart. A lot smarter than I recall the game being "back in the day."

I especially love how, unlike Contra, getting seperated resulted in first zooming out, but after a point? Split screen! Very cool! Very nice on a 1920x1200 monitor, too ;)

Yeah, so far I've been really enjoying the game, and I'd have to say that its been worth the $15 I paid to Capcom's digital store. My only regret is that I could've gotten it on Stardock's Impulse, but in all honesty I got tired of waiting! That's okay, though. I'm considering buying Demigod from there, and Capcom has more stuff on the way through Impulse.

As far as I'm concerned, Capcom is doing a wonderful job this generation in terms of making not only great games but making their titles accessible to everyone. While not perfectly 100% multiplatform (I want 1942 and Commando 3 on PC, Dead Rising on PS3), Capcom is showing once again why they're such a great gamer-friendly company. They're easily my favorite console developer/publisher right now, and are doing pretty well from a PC standpoint too!

Thank you Edge Online!

Nice read. The original was a good game if you could set aside the impossibe hype. I'm most excited and curious about the deepend morality/personality system, though. Most RPG's I've played that consider that, such as Fable, KOTOR 1 & 2, and Jade Empire, only really have Good, Evil, and shades inbetween - a bit one-dimensional, you know? Sort of as dull and boring as Republican or Democrat, Left handed or Right handed, Coke or Pepsi.

Here. Take this quiz. When you get to your results, notice that there's more than "either/or."

The idea that your character can have these other personality traits that are meaningful in the game? Its adding another axis, another way to plot things out in how you're perceived. There's an X and Y to chart out with (top put it simply). As someone who's played pen-and-paper RPG's, this is pretty much something I'm used to. This is also something that console role-players might *not* be used to.

I'm hoping that Lionhead knocks this out of the park, so that other developers can be inspired by it. I loved the original Fable, and this sounds like its building off that good (albeit scaled back) foundation. What's the defining quote for me out of this story? The one that sells me on Fable II more than anything else?

"But in conceptual terms what you will face in some of Fable II's most crucial moments is a stark truth: goodness isn't rewarded."

As someone who tends to play very good characters, this sounds very interesting even if it will make my character's life harder. But, in the end, I think that will make my play through of Fable II that much more rewarding...

Just read them and tell me what you think.

Part one.

Part two.

Currently working on a Dervish/Ranger(!) for the Nightfall campaign. Not sure if its changes made while I've been gone or maybe I just grok the game better, but its seeming a lot easier this go 'round than last time and my Dervish/Necromancer. It's (D/R) is a pretty good combo thus far; I can pull and the like with my longbow (Marksman being the only Ranger attribute I'm putting points into), which is nice. Hitting an enemy and crippling them is helpful as my melee Heroes and henchies close in on the guy! When enemies get close to me I switch to my scythe and become a walking Area of Effect attack.

Right now I've got Koss (Warrior/Assassin), a Dervish henchie, and a new Hero who's name escapes me (Monk).

Other differences; I'm playing a little more City of... style in that I'm not loading up on quests (WOW style). Its nice, feels a bit more relaxed, and I don't have this massive to-do list looking me in the face. That's one of the other reasons I probably stopped playing a while back - got too bogged down with junk.

At some point I'm going to have to go through Factions as well. I never did finish the main story arc, but my Assassin/Necro has already started Eye of the North. He's a cool concept, but I don't think I've got the skills to pull him off yet. I might do better with him in a team, but so far soloing can be darn hard. I tended to be face first a lot. Maybe I'll even finish Prophecies one day. I've only got one character who's progressed much there, but I'm not sure Mesmer/Monk was a good beginner build, and quite frankly I find the other two games to be more enjoyable.

My computer has a 229g harddrive in it. This morning, I had about 54g left.

O_O WOAH

I went through, uninstalled games I wasn't playing, deleted old FRAPS recordings, cleared out old installers and ZIP files, etc. I'm now at 102g; not quite but almost 50% of my drive. Still, 127g used is a LOT. So, a quick perusal shows:

7.59g used in "My photos"

6.32g used in "My music" (small collection at that - only 750 pieces, 74 albums, or 2.2 days worth of music, all legit)

9.13g used in a document's folder I have (full of movies, PDF's, OO documents, wallpapers, download archives, etc)

61.7g for my "Program Files" folder. Notably are 10.2g for my Gears of War install and 9.4g for Half Life 2. I've got 9 programs that range from 1-5g in size!

I'm thinking I *really* need to start offloading some of this stuff to an external drive O_o

I am... oooh... 3/5's of the way through the second City of Heroes novel, "The Freedom Phalanx." Its been my "going to the laundromat" book for a while, and its been enjoyable. While not War and Peace or anything, it fills in history and lore for one of my favorite games, deeping the signature characters, and all that sort of thing one would expect.

I found at that there are novels en route for Guild Wars 2, and that's pretty cool. As far as I know there are no existing Guild Wars books, so this is actually kind of exciting to me. While I will readily admit that I have a block to fantasy when it comes to playing games, I do like reading fantasy once in a while. Take one of my favorite games, make a book, and I might well be set.

I was kind of wondering though - going to Borders sometimes I see novels for all sorts of games: Warcraft, Starcraft, Halo, Warhammer and more. Even Doom had novels as I recall! Anyhow - who buys and reads them? I don't think I've ever seen anyone buy one before, or talk about reading one, but there they are, so obviously they're doing well enough. How are they? Pretty good? For fans only?

Just curious. I've got audiobooks I listen to when doing exercises in the morning, but when I'm doing laundry? I'm just sitting around for most of the time, so have some light, bubble-gum reading is always welcome...

Australia sees price drops on many peripherals.

360 Core now cheaper than the Wii in Japan.

Its possible we can thank the lousy dollar for this, but at the same time its a long time coming. I'm hoping some of these price cuts make it over to the US as well. As Microsoft gets closer and closer to the mass-market price range, they really do need to start being more aggressive with their pricing, and this is an indication they're likely to do just that.

I'm looking forward to getting a 360 in the near-ish future. Anyhow, for me console gaming is a social thing; I want people to play with. As a result, my plan is (basically) to get one, get/find a good carry bag for it, some extra controllers, and have it travel-friendly/ready. I'm starting to get to know some new folks, a lot of whom are married couples, but there's also single men and women too.

I'm looking for suggestions on games that are:

1. Accessible. Nothing that requires über-l33t sklz, the reflexes of a weasel on crack, or months of dedicated practice. Pick up and play is a huge plus.

2. Nothing that's really violent or has lots of T&A. From my experiences that's a quick turn-off to most women I've known (particularly excessive boobies).

3. If something is more cooperative than competitive that would be cool.

4. Doesn't require buying extra peripherals. Sorry, no Rock Band or Guitar Hero just yet. Getting extra controllers is expensive enough!

5. Should be fine out of the box without having to buy/download stuff off from Live. Insane, I know, but its possible I might get the loathed and reviled Core/Arcade unit. The name of the game (for now) is "casual", and if those rumored price drops do hit, a $200 Arcade + $150 120g HD is cheaper than an Elite...*

I'm actually looking forward to Lips, as I'm fairly sure that'll be at a price that won't make me choke. But on the whole this is an entire genre of gaming I've not paid much attention to, so help! Real-life experiences/anecdotes would be appreciated.

*Notes: Don't have a HDTV, and at most I'd want a VGA adapter which the Elite doesn't come with anyhow. BC isn't a factor right now. Not interested in the PS3 at this time.