So, starting to read the latest Play magazine, I notice the topic I've been thinking about lately...where are games to go now...first person runners, mmo in the fps, 2-d games as major contenders, etc...I guess there is such a diversity that it doesn't really matter such topic or opinion...but no, the idea is that the creativity is spawning new game ideas and game 'realitys' -ie cod4, rv2, HALO, all become an entity unto itself- that it is quite exciting to think and discuss just what is around the corner.

The reason I'm actually posting this is, I want to ask and wonder, what companies are really out there? I mean, there's EA, Microsoft Studios, Ubisoft, ID, etc and so, are these enough? are these the places where the next great game experience is to come from? or are they just going to spew the same types as their last great creation -not necessarily great seller though. Madden, COD, MotoGp, games that are rehash, and trying to be 'great' again, but come on, long time players are sticking around because the feeling is you want to try a little new, but slowly realize it's all just wack....madden nothing; cod wow seems to be a step back; halo is still a big contender, and is actually branching out into rpg/mmo territory -balsy! so, what are we, as gamers, looking for? wanting? Mad World seems the most extreme jump out in gaming in a while, but 2-d games are just as unique and creative, but from where? what parts of these big companies? Is the money, like in music/movies, what makes or breaks a game? or like with music/movies, is it the packaging/PR? Assassins Creed gets rave reviews over its trailers and marketing, but the game too delivers -not greatly, but still a year later I'm impressed with the graphics and just the immersion of the experience; and I figure that's what delivers with a game -does it have the Bioshock, Halo 2, Ninja Gainden, FF, 'life altering' community or the Lair-types annoyance and dissapointment? Maybe the future holds for big companies -above mentioned- to start supporting smaller studios in a way that music did -movies did once, but realizing they can just put out a bunch of items and retail, they went with the least expense and most return.

Anyway, Activision, Vivendi, who knows what else, were, and now not so much are - and yeah, they probably didn't deliver incredible games, but they were games that had some great elements -think back to rogue trooper- that in an industry that is like the software it uses, change comes more periodic than how often your 360 freezes while playing madden...awah, I'm off to play saints row 2 beeatch...

good stuff man, but first off you shouldn't have used ylod, unless you actually explain what it stands for -yellow light of death, a play on rrod for the 360, of which one of my 360's gets now and then -I just power it off and on again, and it seems to work. - for the ps3 it seems to happen, how? and that's what your survey should have included in asking. date of manufacturing, how set up -flat, vertical- sounds it makes!, etc...I wanted to do this too -survey- for the 360, but didn't go through with it, so hopefully more than me get to reply.

anyway, here you are:

1ylod had- nope, not until I saw your thread. and now, going to google, I see it's not uncommon. I have had games freeze on me, and even had to reformat my hard drive -twice now- it gives the message it has to do it, and makes me have to go through with it.. it all comes back to normal, but so far not many people have had THAT happen to them...I have heard weird sounds, hard sounds, coming from inside the ps3 as it reads the disc and plays it, but so far it's frozen only on online gaming -army of two, blazing angels, and started actually with GRID. the first game to freeze my ps3 while online...

2average playtime -about 5-6 hours daily. nonstop. mostly online: rv2, army of two, cod4...I've been online since about may2008, wireless then -most problems, and now wired, not so much if not at all- other than army2 freezing or disconnecting...

3Handling discs- I try. but I do leave them out, ontop of other discs, cases, etc sometimes, collecting dust -not a good thing I know... but mostly they're in their case. I try to clean them too, so no smudges as they go in

4disc in console when off- sometimes, but not usually. usually I eject em right after play.

5firmware -2.5. the only time I thought that it was messed up w/ frimware was with 2.01 or the one with the new trophy blah, that was when it froze on me with GRID...and later blazing angels -mind you these are only the demos.

6ps3 model and long had -mine is the 40 gig, since 11 2006 I believe...actually, don't know. probably earlier model.

7breathing room -I try to give it, lies flat, on my tv actually, next to my 360, but I have a fan about a foot or so away that I turn on if I play more than 5 hours, don't think it helps, but I try...it does get hot though -although not as hot as my 360...

8in room/set up- on top of my tv, flat, not close to window, but near, the fan helps with air push, but not much....

9clean surface- i like it shiny black, so yeah, I try to get rid of any dust. but it still settles on the panel, top,

10online play- well, about 5 or 6 a day, so about 30 to 40 in a week...yeah...

11dwnlded games- only pje, last guy, demos, lots of videos though, and pictures... some cd songs on there.

12bricked by 2.4- don't think so, at least not forever. it did freeze and that hard drive reformat thing..and that hard sound of reading the disc, don't recall that happening when I got it....

13longer 12hours- no.

143 beeps- um, yeah I thnk so, but that's when it froze and I had to restart it -either unplugged it, or hit power switch -the ps button didn't work, nor the console button...

15crashed games- disc games- army of two; demos grid, blazing angels, and often when I'm online and downloading videos or doing more than one thing at once...usually online. but I have mgs4, but haven't really played it, so.... not gta 4 either...so don't know if these games'll do it.

well, there you go, hopefully more people will read this, and your thread to start something, cause it's a good idea. people that laugh about it are f-d in the head in my opinion, cause it's not cool. like laughing at someone crash into a pole or something...anyway, if you get replies post the average of the answers- either on your blog or another thread -better if on your blog. good luck.

the simpsons gave you an achievement for game cliches but I think games are getting less innovative as they get more popular....it's popularity will be its demise?...that's a stretch but in music that's exactly what happens, but then for it being the only option, it actually becomes the norm...make sense?

fps are fun, rv2 is probably my epitome or a fps -replay value and just overall options- but come on, has it really changed since doom(bioshock being the exception)?... quantom of solace is trying the ol' vegas/dark zero thing, and it might be fun, but it is just another fps..... damnation, dark void are trying to go with something, but like dark sector, they say they want to be and trying to start something new, but really it falls into just that, falls -the biggest game that I can think of that fell big time in all its "innovation and new game mechanics" is lair...seriously that game would have made a bigger splash if only the right thumbstick was used for flying -ala blazing angels, crimson skies- and the sixaxis for viewing, diving, and rolls....anyway, do I have the answer? I have ideas, but stuff like pixel junk eden, linger, goo, easy stuff, seems to be the most interesting and cool...although, timeshift is probably the most creative fps since 007, the graphics on that thing, in my opinion, killed it.....

Open world games are in my opinion the most potential gameplay there is, but because they're so big and wide, they almost limit themselves in options because it might be too much for its own good...san andreas was the epitome OW because in that you could just go and do anything, freaking go pearl hunting and find out what that did, but that does not make a great game, the whole package does. prototype and infamous are the next big OW games but they might be too limiting in potential because how accessable are they? mercenaries 2 style? blow and go, but then what? so the idea is, yes, open it, but offer the content that lets the player go to this neighborhood/part and a whole new campaign/option opens up, by just the exploration, going in with the proper upgrade, etc...darksiders might be the exception to this, but that is yet to be shown.

RPG's are engrossing and, overall, fun, but not since zelda has there really been one to just enthrall and capture the imagination -mass effect definitely pops in there- the new final fantasy can definitely change that, but all rpgs seem to be just roaming and fighting, with the fundamental part -upgrading and stats meaning nil or encurring nil in the outcome/unfolding of the eventual game -I'm playing Too Human now, and it annoys me -not only the controls- that you get all these orbs but no easy way to organize them or see the difference...sure a lazer is a lazer, but...ok, ok, then I guess there's the fun, in finding out, right? I guess that's not the best ex....my point is, is that I feel rpg's should be more "fable" than fable was, meaning, you go right, you kill the boss with the wrong weapon type, you fail to meet the upgrade criteria for a certain encounter, and the game takes a completely different turn. replay value unlocks different sections, and upgrades add new moves, combos, and looks -here too human has some of these properties. rota might be too, a completely different rpg, but we'll see when that comes out.

sports are sports, but that I feel needs some continuity in the button configuration -one year a is this, the next that...nah, it has to be fluid; branch out with game options and now online options ala madden 07 to 09...also, the forcing of certain type of gameing on gamers that just want to play, takes away from the overall game experience...if I want madden to always tell me or offer me his advice, I should have the option of selecting that option on/off in game options, not always have to go over it, to get to what play I'm thinking or like to try out...anyway, blitz is trying something new, but yeah, the whole facebreaker, street ballgames, in my opinion, are there for 'lets see if this flys,' not, 'yeah, this is a great idea for gaming'...anyway.

for all the games I play I should just give the ideas that I notice about this one and that, that make this one be less than it can be, but really, what's the point of control groups and testers if they don't do this...or are game companies just not listening? like with movies, they're scared to take the risk, for stocks and the $ men need their payoffs... alas, I started gaming with the nes, and now am on stuff like the ps3 and 360, stuff that only arcade booths had the capability of offering then, so, my complaining is whineing really....but no, it's feeling that games could be more than what they currently are -just button mashers and cool cutscenes.

this one is about button configuration: like why is there a button with nothing assigned to it for half the game, and then it gets its use finally when the power-up/upgrade is available. that's a waste of a button in my opinion. so my thought is why not have a button be something for this mission and something else for that one. it's a bit confusing? nah, adds to the gameplay. also, there should be more options in button customization/configuration to suit you gamestyle -bia hells highway, i'm always pushing the wrong button to do the wrong thing. I want to run so I click LS or LB damn it...anyway, personally, I just like it when I can choose the button to do what I want it to do...

The bummer in canceled games is the fact that they put the effort into starting the game and then, for whatever reason, they freaking cancel the thing! and they tell us about it! "hey, we're thinking about xyz, cool huh, oh wait, forget it, it won't work. suckers..." wtf!, I mean, appleseed -didn't come to US -it is SEGA though, so maybe that's a good thing; cowboy bebop -axed. um, ok so that's all I can think of right now, but that's more than enough to rant on about, right? anyway, games that should have been canceled, nope, but games that could have had a good following, yeap...I'm just playing samurai champloo, and yeah, it might suck here and there, but so far, I'm a dork, so 'iiit, iiiis ffffuuuunnnn'....yeah, well. thoughts on games that should be:

AKIRA -come on 2nd gen now, someone's got to come up with this, if not, contact me, I've got it all worked out.

APPlESeed- damn it, come on, give this to meeee!! two movies and no game! WTF!, that one is a little harder, but that one too, I've got worked out.

300- totally missed the opportunity for this with the movie, but then again if rushed, that'd be one that should have been canceled...but here too, I've got it worked out:multiplayer would have had, team leader type action, where as long as your ai team is alive and in numbers, you can respawn, so the catch is: to stay alive to keep them alive, to stay alive, and to stay alive to accomplish the tasks in the map! but also, to attack and kill the vs team, so they can't respawn and not accomplish their tasks. campaign would have had both sides...you as a spartan, and persian, to see what it meant to be a spartan, and why the persians were hell bent on taking greece...it would have had "Spartan" like style to it, but also, now, conan and the like. conan was a good game, hope they make a sequal -notice the animation. PoP's new game is a bit like it, but more refined- of course there's more to it than this, like fighting animation would have had matrix-like slow-motion/capture to it, and I'm thinking a bit of open world would have made it more interesting -ala Viking- anyway, game could have been awesome, but nobody stepped up. wusses.

what more? well, we'll see, DarVOid is coming out, bayonetta, mad world! hah! and other cool stuff, wanted, ninja blade, so 09 is looking good.

Yeah, tried posting a thread..on madden. the idea was about how I feel using the thumbpad for player selection would be a better idea..just more accessable. nfl 2k1 on the dreamast had this option and man was it fun. jump from player to player -on defense- and anticipate stoping a play rather than waiting by for the ball to get close to a player and then hoping to get there in time...anyway, EA damn it, read it! I want this option for madden 10!...anyway. my first thread.

Yeah, tried posting a thread..on madden. the idea was about how I feel using the thumbpad for player selection would be a better idea..just more accessable. nfl 2k1 on the dreamast had this option and man was it fun. jump from player to player -on defense- and anticipate stoping a play rather than waiting by for the ball to get close to a player and then hoping to get there in time...anyway, EA damn it, read it! I want this option for madden 10!...anyway. my first thread.