VGC! News: A Possible Price-Cut?

Hello gamers,
I was looking at some news on IGN about a possible price cut for the 360. According to the rumor, "The forums at High-Def Digest have gotten their hands on an image that appears to reveal an impending price cut for the Xbox 360. Currently priced at $349.99 (the SKU with a 20 GB hard drive, headset, and HDMI output) the advertisement suggests a 50 dollar price cut to $299.99." So, does that mean that more people can buy it? From my personal experience, I've had to pay over $100 for my 360. If you want online, you're going to have to spend some more money. It's not like I'm saying that you're going to spend that much (because I had to buy a wireless adapter), but you for sure are going to be paying more than just your system.

Also, what about Microsoft? If they make the system cheaper, that means that they're going to be losing more money because the system itself takes more than $300 to make. There was also rumor that the PS3 was going to lower it's price to $299, but that seems to be a myth. If SONY truly did that, they would be cutting their own throats.

Just remember this is a rumor and doesn't mean that Microsoft will cut the price. As they told IGN, "We don't comment on rumors or speculation".

Well, that's all for now,
HANG TIGHT GAMERS!!

P.S.: After looking at some of the comments, I wanted to inform you all that the 360 takes about $715 to make, not $300. (http://www.joystiq.com/2005/12/28/xbox-360-costs-715-to-make/)

Wii're Not Big Fans of Shooters

Hello gamers,

Is it just me, or does Nintendo want nothing to do with great shooters for their console?

I was taking a look into Alone in the Dark for the Wii, and I noticed that it only is single player. Now, I understand that the Xbox version doesn't have a co-op or multiplayer function either, but why doesn't the Wii have any really great shooters out yet? Sure, we have some good shooters with amazing single player (Metroid Prime 3) and we have a few nice online shooters (Medal of Honor: Heroes II), but no shooter has been released with off-line multiplayer for the Wii that is worth playing. It would also be great if they had some co-op shooters besides some old arcade games.

I'm not saying that the Wii should just focus on shooters, but they don't have many of them. I think the reason for that is because most of the games where you use the Wii remote to use a gun doesn't always work (if you've played Red Steel, you know what I'm talking about). When RE4 for the Wii came out, I was hoping they would have a co-op option for the game, but they didn't. With multiplayer, you have some great replay value and just think of how awesome it would be to aim the gun with the Wii remote if the designer made the motion sensing perfect.

News, News, and More News!

Hello gamers,

Today's post is just a bunch of news stories that I'm going to put into one post.

News Story 1:
First, I would like to peak your interest with the news of E3’s arrival coming in July (the 14 through the 17). For more details, you can click here to go to IGN. For me, it’s a huge event because it lets the gamers get a sneak peak into what lies in the future for all three systems. Who knows what the Wii will have in store with the Wii Fit or what new games the PS3 may have and possibly some information from Microsoft on a new system coming down the road. It will be held in Los Angeles.

News Story 2:
The Wii owns. Not only has the launch of the Wii Fit boosted sales for the system, but also it’s been the best selling system almost every single month since it came out (except for when Halo 3 came out). Last month (May) the Wii is still leading. It’s going to be hard for the 360 or PS3 to stop the Wii’s momentum. Click here for full story.

News Story 3:
This one is about my news. Yesterday, I was playing Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition when it froze and told me to eject the disk. I figured it had just been on too long and was a little too hot to play. I waited later when it was nice and cool in my room. I put Resident Evil 4 back in and turned on the console. To my surprise, it didn’t work. I tried another game and it also didn’t work. I then went to the troubleshooting hand book for ideas. I tried cleaning the disk and unplugging the power cord. All in vein, however, because it still didn’t work. After looking back into the booklet, I decided to find the number for help from Nintendo and called them. I was greeted by a young woman who helped me find out what the problem is. It turns out that I’m going to have to send in the Wii in for repairs. I know, you’re all very sad for me right now and can’t find a solution to finding a good night’s sleep after all of that horrible news, but they’re going to fix it for free. The lady was very nice and really helped out. In a couple of days, I’ll be turning in the system and will have it back in a few weeks. I’m sorry if I’ve given you guys some really long and unnecessary information, but I was really happy that Nintendo gave me the help they did. In fact, I’m going to send a letter with my thanks for the help. It reminds me of spacepiratefear’s story about how his virtual consol game wasn’t excepting his control, so they sent him a new one.

Well, that’s all for now,
HANG TIGHT GAMERS!!

VGC! News: The Future of Advertising

Hello gamers,

Today, we live in a world with entertainment which can only be viewed by at least watching some advertisements. For example, when you go out to see a movie, what do they show for 10 minutes before the movie? Another example would be TV. We all know how many ads on TV there are. So, my next question is, what about video games?

If you look at Nintendo or Microsoft, they ask if you would like news letters or themes based upon their new games or (for Microsoft) if you want a theme that is based upon an upcoming movie. Now, I can't really say the same thing about the PS3 (since I don't own one), but I found a news story saying they will be heading in the same direction as their other two opponents with the subject of advertising.

According to Sony.com (you can also see the home page on my links from my blog),

"Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the introduction of dynamic in-game advertising on PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3). Marketers interested in placing advertisements in games for PS3 or publishers with available in-game space for advertisements are able to engage through advertisement distribution partners, with IGA Worldwide selected as PS3’s first partner."

Now, I fail to understand what they mean by "in-game advertising". Do they mean that while playing a game, advertisements will be shown or maybe during a loading screen. Will it be like Nintendo where you can choose to not receive game advertisements? Will it just be game advertisements or will it be like Microsoft who advertises Mountain Dew or Doritos? I think putting non video game ads into a game would be bad. The best way to advertise would be to let the player choose if he/she wants to see the ads or not and not to be bombarded with ads like on TV. Never the less, it seems that advertising on video games or video game systems is inevitable.

Well, that's all for now,

HANG TIGHT GAMERS!!