| Set On Stun |

First of all let m get this out of the way …

JP you ignorant slut!

Now moving on. Natal may sound like all that and a bag of DLC the way JP spins it, but who’s to say we’re not looking at the 21st century “power glove?” Yeah, yeah the big show off  of WinMo7 in Barcelona was all the shizzle for the new revolution in social media and gaming last week but guess what folks, behind the curtain is just a wimpy old Henry Gale trying to trick us all.

Developer Debacle — Natal Ain’t Got Nothing To Do With This

That alleged “gap” JP speaks of that Natal will create will only be filled if Natal has the ability to become the YouTube/game creator of gaming. And honestly we’re soooo far from this with a peripheral that doesn’t even have a firm drop date much less a price point . Addressing the bigger issue is if Natal (version 1) does not come built in with user friendly GUI then all of this is moot. It’s nice to think I can wave my arms around, make some cubist masterpiece and then disseminate it across all my social media but if the device I’m using is chock full of glitches then–

a. It won’t work

and b. Who care if it does? Who cares about my stupid picture in the first  place?

Taking that one step further  if the developers don’t have the tools to make the games they want to make for this device then all we’ll be stuck with is a bunch of gimmicky BS casual gamer games that will pile up like a stack of old gameboy cartridges at a yard sale next to Buzz and Woody. The same developer issues apply to WinMo 7 software and even more so when you consider the simplicity that developers now have in making iPhone apps versus the headaches they may encounter with the Microsoft version.

New and Improved OS

Allegedly Microsoft’s new OS will mix Xbox Live gaming, Zune multimedia, personal media (photos and videos), social media utilities, productivity tools and third-party apps organized into “Hubs.” So that social platform that my octopus loving counterpart envisions looks like it would all be there right? And somehow, Natal, in it’s infancy will be part of this? No &^%$#&*(* way.  The way this new OS reads is like social media and gaming for cats –

“Oooh shiny thing, Oooh dress my avatar, Oooh play bookworm, O0000h nap”

Sure you can use it -- just not on that phone

Join the club or else!

One word, a word that will kill this entire fantastical notion — EXCLUSIVITY!

next we should have xbox live on the tssseeeveeeee ... wait .. what?

We saw what a huge (huge) miss the Facebook and Twitter apps were for Xbox live. You think they would have stopped based on the amazingly tepid reception to using these apps via Xbox live. The apparent problem is clear. Xbox Live is a social media application all by itself. You can chat, game, watch movies together, even play games with your avatar. So basically why would you want to bring Twitter into that?

And then along comes this idea …. Xbox Live — on your phone. If you have an Xbox Live account this means you will be able to view your friends lists, gamerscore, and avatars using “compatible” mobile devices, as well as download games to play online. Translation of compatible means software they’re calling Windows phone 7 . According to Ron Pessner, general manager of Xbox Live Mobile,  “It has always been our vision to expand the Xbox Live service to connect people to their games, entertainment and friends wherever they go, and the launch of Windows Phone 7  Series is an important step toward that goal.” A step into what?

For that Microsoft gets this week’s AYFKM!!!!????

Seriously what are they drinking out there in Seattle?

Question: What do you use Xbox Live for?

Answer: DLC, Netflix, demos, online gaming, special videos and previews and oh yeah, Netflix.

Question: Do you care what gamertag Somedeadguy11 is doing when you’re not using your console?

Answer: Not even remotely.

Here’s the thing. Most of your gamer friends, and not just people you do team deathmatches with, you are already connected with —- using other social media! So the notion that having access to your live account on your phone will somehow “enhance” the gaming experince is like saying that the Ipad is not a big Itouch.

Xbox Live Coming to Cell Phones — Is Microsoft Drunk?

bring on the bleak

So how do you get your fans the 411 on some hot new stuff that follows one of your most successful titles ever? Twitter.

Enter Bethesda Software and their intentions to promote the followup to Fallout 3 — Fallout New Vegas. @bethblog has posted this tweet on their page

“Keep your eyes peeled for new stuff on #FalloutNewVegas tomorrow!  — about 9 hours ago from TweetDeck”

The last time we heard about this game was last April.  This is not a direct sequel but features the city of Las Vegas in a fallout that predates the original Fallout (1997).  The notion of using Twitter to beef this new title that we’ll probably see sometime this year, is very smart.

1. Direct contact with your core audience

2. Immediate intel that can be updated in seconds.

3. Instant customer response to the posted information.

While many may scoff at the superficiality of Twitter in the proper application it becomes a powerful tool. For Bethesda with their three different  Twitter accounts it’s becomes a promotional hype steamroller that will get fans excited even if they weren’t excited yesterday.  From the looks of it, some might posit that could be the beginning of some sort of mega marketing blitz to follow in the success of their  Fallout 3 campaign and well, they may just be right. There is one thing for certain, the immediacy of Twitter makes promoting a new game release really easy.   Take notes publishers — Ride the wave of social media and use it to your advantage whenever you can.

online gaming made simple

Look,  here’s the bottom line with this whole thing — Xbox Live is already an active social media application. It has been since it was first introduced back in the old days of the green machine.

• Friends online — check
• Same friends know when you’re gaming — check
• You can chat and game all over the world with people using a mic and a controller– check
• You can even watch movies together — check

So why — please tell us why the hell would you now need to muddle things up with all kinds of gobbledygook from FB and Twitter. Why? It’s not like you can hop on Facebook from your console and start chatting using the oh so deft controller to type responses to wall posts or for that matter chat with anyone. As it is it’s slower typing with your controller than it is with cell phones without a keyboard. And if you get a keyboard (that costs $30) then why don’t you just use your computer. It’s utterly ridiculous.

The basic notion of Xbox Live is social media for gaming and then some. No one actually goes on there to “catch up” with old friends. You go on there to shoot dudes with your buddies, demolish other gamers in some hella fun frag war or play some goofy games together. Occasionally there will be some kind of tournament or other gaming  opportunity/contest to win stuff,  then there’s all the other things we’ve grown accustomed to having with our gold memberships (beta tests, demos, movies, music, TV shows and the supremely awesome Netflix). Putting Facebook and Twitter into the the mix — well it’s stupid.

Some Things Are Better Left Alone

Let’s look at it from a purely simple, logistical perspective. What are the things that are intrinsically natural with Twitter and Facebook?

1. They’re internet based
2. Designed for instant communication
3. Open sources that allow you to open links, download apps, chat and even “poke.” They allow you to … browse

Now let’s compare that with Xbox Live — Closed environment, designed primarily for online gaming and getting stuff (either buying or trying out) oh and yes, for gaming.  No where in that template is there an opening for browsing the internet,  or chatting. More importantly, why. Yeah we know — all in one machine and all but guess what, XBL is really good at what it does. In fact some would argue it’s the best out of the three in this department.

“But what about the photos and stuff?”

What about them? Great you can tap into the photos and posts your friends post on FB. And? You can’t really respond to them unless you want to spend 10 minutes typing something with a controller. And the key point again is, why? Why bring these two worlds together. If you’re playing Modern Warfare 2 you could care less about what your cousin just tweeted or that your old high school chum just found a funny link on youtube.

When most gamers turn on their console they’re doing 1 of three things

1. Checking out the dashboard to see who’s online to game with and what new stuff there is to download or check out
2. Loading up netflix to watch a movie
3. Or loading up a multiplayer game and hoping to get in on some multiplayer fun where they will escape in videogame land for a while.

Oh and maybe, they might actually just want to play a …what was that again .. VIDEOGAME!

That’s it. Why mess with that Microsoft? Change the GUI all you want. Just don’t try to change an elephant into a camel.