| Set On Stun |

so close -- yet so far

We’ve all seen the sweet bundles Microsoft has been serving up since the COD:MW2 special edition. It was the ultimate “I Want That” console. Now spring is hear and we’ve got the FF13 special edition console and next month Splinter Cell comes out with another special edition bundle. In each instance the console comes with a 250 gig hard drive. So of course the question becomes ….

“Why can’t I get that separately like the 100 gig one?”

Well if you believe the rumor mill then hope springs eternal as of March 23. Unfortunately Microsoft refuses to confirm this rumor. In fact the word from Aaron Greenberg last month in a Joystiq interview was this,

“We did it with the Modern Warfare bundle, which, as people know, was a huge success, completely sold out. We’re excited to bring it back with the limited edition Final Fantasy bundle.” But that whole limited edition element is  “part of what makes it special,” he said.

To get directly to the point — “We’re always evaluating but for now we feel like the 120 is serving us very well as the standard offering, and then having the 250 as a limited edition is a good balance.”

250 gigs? You want it then you have to buy this!

Well gee Aaron that’s a bit unfair isn’t it? Special editions make them balanced? C’mon Greenberg! Especially when you consider the truckload of content Xbox live now offers and will continue to do so. It’s not entirely inconceivable that a gamer could fill that hard drive with full games (rather than own the disc version) movies, demos, TV shows and music. So for Microsoft to say that the only way you can get this is to buy one of these special edition console is in a word — stupid.

So to you Microsoft — WTF!

By the way, you may come across alleged versions of a 250 gig on some random sites but they’re bunk. Add to that you have a company that won’t allow you to say go out and buy a Western Digital 500 G external hard drive and use that for your console and well, once again, it’s stupid.  In a culture of consumerism wouldn’t it make sense to make it available so that you can then offer more stuff for people to then add to their monster hard drives? With that much space why you wouldn’t think twice about downloading GTA or Fable. But alas for now we’ll either have to shell out and extra 100 for a whole new console or be happy with the 120 gig.

Stop by the virtual 7-11 for a cyber slushee first

The block party is on the way. Okay look, maybe I’ve been a bit harsh on Microsoft recently so here’s something nice. As we head into March the folks over at Xbox Live have a big launch plan they are putting into action related to the what they talked about last year — the Xbox Live Gameroom.

Starting March 3, gamers can download a new arcade game every week and the end of the month they can download the app that goes with it. As a bonus you get 400 MS points at the end of it all and well you have three new games. The first two games (Toy Soldiers and Scrap Metal) are 1200 points and the last one, the cherry on top game is the old Perfect Dark (not the one that was part of the early 360 launch– Perfect Dark Zero). This was the multiplayer masterpiece that was originally released to the Nintendo 64.

After all this is said and done Xbox live will be as they call it in their press release, “kickin it old school” in this virtual arcade (replete with old school cabinets) with dowloadable arcade classics that will run anywhere from  240 to 400 Microsoft Points for game downloads  and 40 Microsoft Points for single gameplay. That’s .50 cents for a single play. The games on the roster will be revealed.

Okay so yes you have to spend like $40 bucks to get $5 back but this whole new virtual arcade may just be a good way to get a lot of casual gamers on board using Xbox live  and change up the game a little bit from the usual frag fest that’s online now. It’s a clever move create a central locale for all these games and your avatars. With a solid library of old games the this type of setup creates the instant gratification of the quick play or the re-playability of owning the game both on your console and your PC. This is the kind of move that targets the gamers who grew up with these games who can relive the glory of shooting asteroids and floating polygons. For the new gang of gamers it’s a chance for them to say — “This was a game?”

Updates will be continuously posted and uber promoted on XBL throughout the month.

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?

What do you mean I can't play Fusion Frenzy online anymore?!

For all the folks out where who are still playing  Star Wars Battlefront, and Halo 2 online well, that will end soon.  Come April 15 (tax day) Microsoft is pulling the plug on the online component for their old green machine games. Forget the fact that Halo 2 is still one of the biggest online multiplayer success stories ever the company has deiced that with a new decade comes time for a change. The original machine, almost 10 years old itself still has a lot of titles out and  some of those may still  get a decent amount of online play.

But,  Xbox says, “We’ll continue to evolve the service with features and experiences that harness the full power of Xbox 360. To reach our aspiration, we need to make changes to the service that are incompatible with our original Xbox V1 games.”  That’s from XBL manager Marc Whitten.

Translation: If you and your two buddies  are planning to do some Halo 2 multiplayer  April 16, then you’re SOL.

Is this a bad thing for Microsoft? Not entirely. The fact that their on demand service, which they offered up last year, let’s you download old Xbox games that may or may not have that live component, then you’re basically stuck with whatever the single player version is. So it’s kind of pointless to make these games available if you remove half a chunk of the usability that you would  get from the online play  like with Halo. What Whitten says makes sense though. If they’re trying to transition to strictly 360 titles then why hang on to the support  for games that go back several years for a system from the last decade?

Who’s Playing These Ancient Games?

The real question to  Microsoft is does it really take that much effort to continue offering live support for original Xbox games? If not then why shut it down? And even more importantly why offer these games as part of your classic library if you’re going to expect gamers to spend $20 or $30 bucks, memory space but then not allow them to  play the game online? It seems a bit … stupid. Solution — don’t offer those games.

Looking at the the current games in the XBL on demand library  you’ll see that most of their downloadable old (Xbox 1) games are primarily games that were single player hits. So essentially for this online gaming element,  we’re talking about folks who have some semblance of a videogame library and still own some of these original box titles or for some reason still use the original Xbox and buy “new” games at bargain bins and Criag’s list. As to how big of a market that is 5 years into the 360’s existence, who knows?

From a customer reputation standpoint they may lose favor with those old school gamers but it looks like Microsoft feels fairly secure that they’re not going to irk that many folks with this decision and they’re still giving them a few months to relive the old game glory days before pulling the plug.