Grand Theft Gamestop

April 25th, 2008 Davis

Over the last year, I’ve been drooling over the new GTA and with less then a week before the launch, I’m starting to really get fired up. I’ve been playing GTA since it was a PC download only and with every new release the game gets better and better. When Rockstar ran their first trailer for the game, I immediately went to their site to reserve a copy. When I saw that overnight shipping was an extra $20! I canceled the order and decided to go the retail route instead.

I don’t buy a ton of games, but when I do it’s almost exclusively from Gamestop. Normally, I care more about price then brand recognition, but over the years certain brands have won my loyalty and Gamestop is one of them. Whenever I visit their stores, the employees are always really friendly and give great advice on which games to buy. Gamestop is one of those rare places where an employee will actually try to talk you out of a sale, if you try to buy a game that blows.

Since getting to Gamestop can be a bit of a hassle for me, I wanted to reserve a copy over the internet and then pick it up at a local store on the street date. Unfortunately, when I visited the Gamestop website, they were happy to let me pre-order the game, but only if I wanted it shipped to me. When I called my local Gamestop, they told me that I had to physically visit the store if I wanted to reserve a local copy.

Given that Gamestop’s core demographic is hyper connected to the web, I’m surprised that they would be so technologically backwards. It could be that they sell more games when they make people visit the store twice, but it’s not a very customer friendly strategy, especially with gas prices being what they are. Since I’m not willing to take two trips to a store (even for a brand I like), I ended up going to Best Buy’s website instead. From there I was not only able to pre-order the game, but I was also able to find a store near my home where I can pick it up. All without having to unplug from the internet.

Shopping at Best Buy always makes me feel scuzzy because they treat me like a shoplifter when I try to buy video games there, but in this digital age, I’m willing to give up brand loyalty for the convenience of the web. Losing my transaction won’t hurt GameStop, but I can’t help but wonder how many other people choose a competitor over a separate trip to Gamespot.

Gamestop told me that they have their in store pre-order policy in place for “security reasons”, but that doesn’t really make any sense. They allow you to purchase things with a credit card off of the internet, but they won’t allow you to put down a $5 deposit for pre-orders? If Best Buy can offer this type of convenience then GameStop should be able to come up with a better solution too. I still plan on stopping into GameStop when I’m itching for a new game, but they’ll miss out on the games that I know I’m going to buy, long before they even come out.

Posted in Video Games | 2 Comments »

Is DivX and the Xbox 360 About To Become A Reality?

November 6th, 2007 Davis

DivX followed up last night’s earnings report, with a presentation at the JP Morgan SmMid cap conference. After having just undergone their quarterly confessional, I didn’t expect to hear any new information, but wanted to tune in anyway.

Luckily, I was rewarded when midway through the Q&A session, JP Morgan analyst Paul Coster, coyly probed Kevin Hell about whether or not we were about to see DivX support on the Xbox 360. The question seemed to catch Hell off guard and while his initial reaction was enthusiasm, there was something about his tone, that suggested that Coster might be onto something.

Here is the exchange verbatim, but in order to appreciate the awkwardness of the exchange, you should really listen to the quote at the 24 minute mark of the presentation and make your own decision as to whether or not you hear a sense of urgency in Hell’s response.

Coster - “Just a minor point here, but there was a recent Microsoft conference where I believe their media extender now incorporates the DivX codec on it, is that correct? Can you confirm that and does that mean we’re soon going to see Xboxes with DivX on them?

Hell - “Yes! that, uh, we’re in discussions with Microsoft on that at this point in time, so I can’t go into any great detail on that. Um that is not a certified, that is not a certified or licensed product at this time.”

At that point DivX CFO Dan Halvorson jumped in and quickly changed the subject.

It was only a brief exchange, but after pretty much giving up all hope of seeing DivX on the Xbox, I found the news to be very encouraging. When I originally saw that Microsoft was going to support DivX on their media extenders, but not on the 360, I took this as a sign that negotiations were over and that Microsoft didn’t want to pay for their entire Xbox360 population. In retrospect, Microsoft may have really been engaging in the subtle art of negotiation.

In thinking about some of the leaked XviD/360 rumors over the past summer, I can’t help but wonder if Microsoft could have intended to leak this information, in order to gain leverage in their discussions. An Xbox that supports XviD, but not DivX, is a less then optimal experience for consumers, but the downside would be far worse for DivX then Microsoft. Could Microsoft have been flexing their muscles in an attempt to get a better licensing deal with DivX? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but I do have advice for both companies.

DivX - I know that you have responsibilities to your shareholders, but as a fan, I urge you to engage in some fiscal irresponsibility and give in to whatever Microsoft is demanding. DivX support on the Xbox is one of the top requests from your community and would make a killer extension for your codec. Don’t make us hack into our Xbox to get at the DivX love. The platform would give you instant access to millions of television sets and would energize your entire community.

Microsoft - Have you looked at how much cash you have in your bank account? Why are you even playing this game of chicken? We should have had DivX support years ago. Offering XviD, but not DivX would be a huge hassle for your customers and isn’t worth the money you would save on royalties. The publicity from adopting an open strategy would more then pay for your investment. Your strategy to treat media extenders differently from the 360 is an obstacle to mainstream adoption and one that should be abandoned. You should listen to consumers, even if it means overpaying DivX for their certification. With a consistent extender strategy and DivX support on the Xbox 360, you could crush the PS3 and create a more compelling reason for people to adopt your Media Center technology.

It’s hard to say how negotiations will turn out, but I have a feeling that it won’t take long to find out. The “fall” update is rumored to be taking place sometime in December and if it doesn’t include DivX support, it will likely mean that these discussions broke down. If it does include DivX support, it will be a huge win for DivX, for Microsoft and most important, for their customers.

Posted in Technology, DivX, Video Games, TV, VOD, Microsoft | 2 Comments »

Winter Rabbit Land

October 15th, 2007 Davis

It’s probably still too early to be thinking about winter, but I couldn’t resist posting a link to this strange little bunny game that I found online. The game play is pretty minimalistic, but I found its soothing music to be a nice alternative over most of the shoot em up games that I find. The goal of the game is to see how many bells you can get the rabbit to jump on without falling back to the ground. I couldn’t get all of the bells in order, but think that it might play a song if you can. My best score was 3800, but that was using a touch pad instead of a mouse. My only complaint was that I couldn’t find a mute key or a way to change the song after a while. Still, it’s a good stress reliever for when you want to waste time online.

Posted in Video Games | 2 Comments »

Software You’ll Need When Your PC Hits The Big Start Over Button In The Sky

October 9th, 2007 Davis

Recently, I suffered a computer meltdown and the good news is that I still have my data, but the bad news is that it’s cheaper to replace the PC, then it is to fix it. Since I was already in the market for a laptop, I decided to purchase one, while I took the time to figure out my home PC strategy.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a new computer, so I was a little surprised at how long it took me to recreate my unique PC experience. Getting the right mix of bookmarks and software is key to taking full advantage of the horsepower that your computer has. At first, I thought that setting up my new laptop would be quick and painless, but I misjudged the sheer number of programs that I would need and forgot about the pesky bloatware to deal with.

Even after an aggressive campaign, I am still finding things that I need to uninstall. I did manage to get rid of the McAfee pop up that warned of my computer being comprised because I wasn’t paying them money but I’m still trying to remove the Vongo free trial offer that shows up in what seems like every menu.

Since I know that I’m not the only one to experience some frustration in setting up a new PC, I decided to keep a list of all the programs that are helpful, when you are doing a fresh install.

Web Browsing

Firefox - I’ve tried the new internet explorer browser, but it still can’t beat this open source underdog. Step #1 - fire up IE, so you can download Firefox, then delete all IE shortcuts, so you never accidentally launch the software again.

IE Firefox Plugin - As much as I try to avoid IE, sometimes there are services that are only supported by Microsoft’s browser. In order to avoid having to fire up IE, I install a firefox plugin, that allows me to use IE, in my preferred browser.

Email

Thunderbird - I normally use web based email, but still like having Thunderbird, in case I need to archive my emails. I actually prefer Microsoft’s Outlook, but am not willing to spend the money when there is such a great open source product available.

Communication

Skype - I don’t use Skype as much as I should, but think that it’s a great alternative to cable telephone or Vonage. I’m still looking for a good program that can record my Skype calls, but this is still a pretty robust service.

Trillian - Thomas Hawk turned me onto this one. Why run separate Yahoo!, MSN and AOL instant messaging software, when one program can handle all three? Instead of being forced to choose your friends, you can show up on all three major networks easily.

System Resources

AdAware - This one isn’t fun to play with, but it’s important to have on your system. It can’t stop a full blown virus from invading, but it can help you find programs that are trying to sneak their way on board.

Spy-bot Search & Destroy - Spy-bot is a lot like AdAware, but I like to keep both programs available. One time I came across a download that blocked AdAware from starting, but was no match for Spy-bot. These services can’t replace the paid ones, but they go a long way towards helping to improve the security on your computer.

Google Desktop - I’ve had mixed feelings about Google Desktop from the get go, but still continue to use it. On one hand, it’s really helpful to be able to search my hard drive easily, but on the other hand, I also feel a little weird about Google desktop tracking me. I figure that the functionality is worth it, as long as I make sure that I’ve got a strong password for my login.

Java - I’m not even sure that I can tell you what Java does, but I do know that it is at the heart of some pretty cool applications. I’ve used the technology to play games, watch videos and watch live streaming content online and I don’t think that I’ve even scratched the surface of what it’s capable of.

Greasemonkey - GreaseMonkey allows you to mash up different parts of the web inside of your browser. It’s a very powerful plugin and is worth downloading, even if you’re not sure how you’ll end up using it. My favorite GreaseMonkey script is a plugin that allows you to see which movies in your Netflix queue, will be airing on TiVo soon.

Social Web

Commentful - This software will change the way you interact online. It allows you to leave comments on web entries and then notifies you when someone has added something to the conversation. In the past, I would comment, but would never follow up to see if there is a response, now I use Commentful to help me continue dialogues that would have normally fizzled out.

Wordpress - There are lots of blogging packages out there, but I use Wordpress. I like it because it has great fan support and offers a lot of functionality, that I can’t find in other blog packages. My favorite part is having the ability to completely change the appearance of the site, with a simple click of a button. With plenty of Wordpress widgets, it’s easy to customize templates, to fit any personality.

Del.icio.us - There are many different bookmarking sites, but I primarily use Del.icio.us. By downloading their firefox plugin, all you have to do is right click and you can clip articles. This is a great resource for archiving things that you want to view later.

Google RSS - A good RSS reader can help you keep track of your favorite sites. Without it, I wouldn’t see a tenth of the content that I track. In the past I’ve used Bloglines, but when Google introduced RSS search capabilities, they won me over. This feature alone, allows me to track 1,000 times more content, then what I could handle in a more basic RSS program.

Photography

Picasa - Photoshop is great, but there are still free alternatives, if you don’t want to spend the cash. Picassa not only has a decent photo editing feature, but also allows you to post your photos online.

Zooomr - I visit Zooomr several times a day, in order to check my Zipline. I also use Zooomr to host my photos for this blog and play web games in their forums. There isn’t any software to download, but if you drag and click on the Zooomr link, you can add a bookmark to your toolbar.

Flickr - Flickr is another great photo sharing site. They are one of the largest photo sharing sites, so they have an even better selection of images. There isn’t anything to download, but they do have a bulk uploader, if you plan on hosting a lot of images.

Remote Computing

Orb - You need a TV tuner and media center software for this one, but if you have these components, then Orb is a no brainer to install. It allows you to placeshift your content, anywhere you can get a broadband connection.

UltraVNC - Even though, I upload a lot of things online, there are still times where I need access to my home computer. UltraVNC allows you to log into your system remotely, so that you can access your files, even if you happen to be on the go.

Digital Video

Adobe Flash - YouTube is one of my favorite sites and in order to see their videos, you’ll need the flash codec. Because of the sheer amount of content encoded in flash, this one of the most essential downloads on the list.

DivX - Flash is great because it has broad support, but I prefer DivX because it offers a high quality experience that you can take with you. You can download support for just the codec, but I prefer to download the DivX web player, so that I can watch Stage6 content as well.

Quicktime - I’ve never spent a lot of time using iTunes, but I do come across a lot of Quicktime movies on the net. If you already have iTunes, you won’t need this one, but if not, then this is a helpful plugin.

Real Player - I’ve had so many problems with Real Player, that I almost hate to download it, but there are too many interesting things in Real format, to completely ignore this format.

Music

Pandora - This is one of my favorite places to find new music. Over time, Pandora will start to figure out your interests and will suggest a lot of things that you don’t hear on commercial radio.

Foxy Tunes - This is a great program for finding and sharing music on the web. It not only allows you to search for cool music, but you can also insert FoxyTunes links into emails that you send to friends

Last FM - I prefer Pandora, but use Last FM because it is supported on my TiVo. I’m not sure how to describe a technology whose roots are based in scrobbling, but once you get the hang of it, you can start to find some really cool music.

Word Processing

OpenOffice - This open source software package contains all the features that you would expect to find in a high priced business software package. It works transparently with Microsoft files and is a great alternative for those on a budget.

Google Docs - I don’t think that it can replace Microsoft in the business world, but Google docs is a free alternative for home users. It allows you to create and share documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Foxit Reader - Most people use the Adobe reader, but I only turn to it as a last resort. Adobe’s reader is an important program to have too, but it always takes too long to load and asks me if I want to update way too often. Instead I stick to Foxit and no longer have to wonder if my system will crash when I’m closing a .pdf file.

Calendar

Yahoo! Calendar - When choosing a calendar system it’s important to choose carefully, because the more time that goes by, the more you will be locked into that system. At this point, I have most of my important dates scheduled on Yahoo!, but still yearn for a better solution that offers me true data portability.

30 Boxes - If you love Ajax, you’ll be a fan of 30 boxes. The site allows you to open up your calendar to the social web. This is helpful for planning and sharing events. It’s an interesting concept, even if I’m still not ready to turn over my schedule to bill collectors and ex-girlfriends.

Games

TripleA - I highly recommend downloading this one, but don’t blame me if you drop out of society from playing it. TripleA is an Axis & Allies emulator that replicates the original game to perfection. It’s entirely fan built and is a great resource for playing out your own World War II fantasies.

FreeCiv - Sid Meier’s Civilization game had a huge impact on video gaming and this program validates it’s place in the pantheon of PC based programs. The program is a Civilization emulator where you can raise and develop your own society. I always try to be nice, but invariably, I end up attacking my neighbors.

ZSNES - This is a great open source emulator for replicating old arcade games. It won’t come in handy, if you want the modern day gaming experience, but it is useful if you ever wish that you could go back and play games from your childhood. Finding the games can be a little tough, but reuniting with an old friend, can make the journey worth it.

Peer 2 Peer

Limewire - If you don’t want to spring for the pro version, Limewire can be a little spammy, but it’s still a good resource, for those interesting in taking a bite of the forbidden fruit.

Emule - Another powerful P2P client. It doesn’t have access to the largest number of files, but it does offer a clean interface and is a good resource for when you can’t find things on the other P2P networks.

Bit Torrent - It’s one of the most popular programs on Download.com for a reason. This robust p2p system allows you to download and share tiny bits of content from multiple users at once. This helps to speed up the download times and helps to get around some of the uploading restrictions.

Fox Torrent - Fox Torrent isn’t as fast as the original Bit Torrent software, but it’s easy to use and makes downloading a breeze, when you don’t mind waiting for the content. The software integrates nicely into the Firefox browser and adds bit torrent capabilities to an already powerful internet browser.

Entertainment

Stumble Upon - I’m not a huge fan of the toolbar plugins, but I make an exception for this one. You can find some amazing stuff on StumbleUpon. It’s a great time killer, if you are ever bored and still have access to the internet.

Search

Wikipedia Firefox Plugin - I like to use the search bar that is built directly into the Firefox browser. The default supports Google, but there are a lot of other sites that will let you install plugins on your browser. It’s probably a good idea to double check the facts that you find on Wikipedia, but this plugin, makes easy to search the site, without having to go directly to their home page.

Stage6 Search - DivX Labs has built a plugin for Firefox and IE browsers, that allows you to search the Stage6 website, directly from your browser. I’ve found that this plugin comes is especially helpful, when I know that I’m looking for video content.

Del.icio.us - Most of the time, I prefer to use Google, but Del.icio.us can help you find articles that wouldn’t show up in simple keyword searches. I never know quite what to expect, but Del.icio.us search results tend to focus less on style and more on function.

Technorati - I love Technorati, even though the site only seems to work part of the time. I’d like to find another blog search plugin, but this is the only one that I know about.

MusicPortl - This search plugin allows you to enter the name of just about any artist and you can instantly find a wealth of information on your favorite band. MusicPortl aggregates their information so that you can see the latest YouTube clips, blog entries and Wikipedia information. This is a must, if you enjoy researching music.

Spout - If you love movies, you’ll love Spout. The site is a great resource for finding out information about your favorite films and for connecting with other film fans. This firefox plugin makes it remarkably easy to focus exclusively on movies, with your search results.

There are a lot of programs on this list, but I’m sure that I’m still missing some of the most important ones. f you know of any other services that should be included on this list, feel free to contact me or leave a comment and I’ll keep this post updated with other helpful programs that people suggest.

Posted in Video Games, TV, Media, Technology, DivX, VOD, Web 2.0, TiVo, Disclosure - I own stock in co. mentioned, Microsoft, Slingbox, Netflix | 5 Comments »

Poker Bots Still Can’t Beat The Pros

September 4th, 2007 Davis

A few months back, scientists at the University of Alberta built a piece of software that could not lose at the game of checkers. Even if you played the game perfectly, at best you’d end up with a tie. Somehow I doubt that most online gamers are looking for games that they can’t beat, but it was still a pretty amazing technological feat to see accomplished.

After proving that checkers could be perfected, the team behind the software set their eyes on the high stakes world of Poker and in late July they entered their Polaris poker software into the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Computer Poker Competition in Alberta, Canada.

The highlight of the event turned out to be a Polaris rematch against celebrity poker player Phil “the Unabomber” Laak. Laak previously had beaten the Polaris software, but not without quite a bit of difficulty.

For the rematch, the AAAI paired up Laak with fellow poker pro Ali Eslami and the two did battle against a number of different poker programs. The end result of the event proved that the pros can still beat the best software out there, although even the pros admit that the poker bots are getting better.

“And so it seemed a solid victory for team humanity. Was this more proof that the complexity of poker was still currently too much, even for a program that had been in the works for 16 years?

Not according to Eslami and Laak.

As the applause died down Eslami spoke to the crowd, “This was not a win for us. First of all there are a few things you need to know. One of the bots completely clobbered us. Another one had kind of a glitch in the second match that we won.”

Both players also agreed that they had played their absolute best poker and if there had been a time limit on the hands, they would not have been able to beat Polaris.”

As it turns out, the Polaris software wasn’t even the best bot to play in the tournaments. A piece of software called Bluffbot 2.0 couldn’t beat the pros, but was able to edge out the other robots in a tournament that pitted a number of different bots against each other.

The Bluffbot was built by a couple of software developers Teppo Salonen in Claremont CA. The duo that created the software hasn’t released the Bluffbot 2.0 on their website, but they do have an earlier limit version, that is available for download. They also promise that they’ll have an online version of 2.0 up soon, so that internet surfers can test their own skills against the machine.

A lot of people find the idea of poker robots somewhat distasteful, but I’m fascinated by the technology. Trying to create the perfect chess or checker games is tough, but because there are only so many mathematical possibilities, it’s something that is at least possible.

When it comes to poker though, there are so many variables involved that I’m still not convinced it can be done. You can certainly analyze other players patterns for tells, but sometimes, it’s the little things that give away someone’s hand. I used to play online poker quite a bit, but after finding that I couldn’t win online, I stopped playing in the real money tournaments.

I’m not sure if people are gaming the system online or if I just can’t do well at poker in an online environment, but when I play live, it’s a very different game for me. Just being able to look for subtle tells like which card someone is eyeballing, can give you a real advantage in real life, but when you play online, there isn’t nearly as much info to go on.

Eventually, someone will come up with a piece of software that will be able to consistently beat real life players and when they do, it will make online gambling even less attractive. There have already been attempts to deploy this technology on real money sites, but there isn’t any good data on how effective these programs really are.

At the end of the day, I enjoy online games as much as the next person, but part of what makes internet gaming so appealing is that people actually make mistakes while playing it. It’s fun to be challenged, but it’s even more fun to win and when your opponent is a cold calculating machine, it takes random mistakes out of the equation.

Posted in Robots, Technology, Video Games | 4 Comments »

Sony Has Already Lost The Console Wars

July 25th, 2007 Davis

There is no doubt that Sony dominated the second generation of the console wars. Their PS2 platform had an early jump on the Xbox and Sony never looked back. Since it’s launch, the console has sold over 105 million units and has made Sony a video game powerhouse.

Given their footprint, Sony should have had an easy time convincing their customer base to upgrade, but as the latest generation of consoles have launched, Sony has lost their control over the market, after trying to force users to buy a Blu-Ray drive, along with the console. The inclusion of the drive has resulted in high prices, product delays, and limited supply during the launch. Even after Sony has agreed to sell the console at a loss, they still have not been able to get the device down to an acceptable price level for consumers.

As the latest generation of consoles have been hitting the market, Sony’s PS3 sales reflect some pretty troubling numbers. They may have recently celebrated their 1 millionth sale in Japan, but overall they’ve actually performed pretty miserably. According to the latest data from the NPD group, Sony sold a pitiful 98,500 PS3 consoles for the month of June.

Sony is quick to point out that these figures represent a 21% increase over their May sales, but even with the gain, if they continue at this pace, it will take them 83 years to hit 100 million console sales. If Sony was hoping to sell 100 million consoles over the next 5 and a half years, they would need to increase their sales from 98,000 units a month to 1.625 million.

Now to be fair, Sony’s latest price cut on the PS3, has improved sales. The company reports that they’ve seen a jump of 135% since lowering the price by $100. The problem is though, that the price cut is really only temporary and perhaps even worse, it may have prompted Microsoft to consider slashing $50 off of the price of their own consoles.

With the Wii taking half of the market and Sony and Microsoft fighting for the rest, Nintendo has put themselves in an enviable position in the console wars. They’ve not only been able to draw in non-core gamers without sacrificing profits, but they’ve also been able to convince consumers that the Wii can compliment an existing console system. With their innovative game play and their low price margins, they’ve been able to turn single platform households into dual console living rooms.

The addition of the Wii as a 2nd option creates big problems for Microsoft and Sony, because it eats into the profit centers of the video game industry. Because so much of the money on gaming is made on the software, having another competitor in the living room, can have a significant impact on the profit margins for that customer. Nintendo’s ability to not only capture market share, but to also siphon off video game sales from the incumbents, will change the dynamics of the third stage in this battle.

Given Sony’s prices, it’s a lot harder for them to convince a Wii family to compliment their console by adding on a PS3 system. While the graphics are much nicer than what the Wii offers, the extra entertainment benefit isn’t worth the additional cost attached to their super computer.

When Sony could control the video game market, they were able to negotiate gaming exclusives, but now it’s Nintendo that has the pipeline of exclusive titles. There will be those who argue that less price sensitive customers would buy a PS3 over a Wii in a heartbeat, but if you look at the most recent Nielsen’s survey, high end households are actually more likely to choose Nintendo over the PS3.

If Sony is failing to sell their Blu-Ray infested video game console to the least price sensitive customers, it doesn’t make me very optimistic that price cuts will be a very good long term solution for competing against the Wii and the Xbox. While there is still plenty of time for Sony to retake their lead in this latest incarnation of the console wars, I believe that their missteps at the starting blocks have all but assured, that they’ll never be able to outsell their PS2 console.

Posted in Technology, Video Games, HDTV DVDs, Microsoft | 6 Comments »

Nintendo, Wii Have Liftoff

July 9th, 2007 Davis

This weekend I was driving through the East Bay, when I noticed a Gamestop store nearby. Normally, I would have kept driving, but I wasn’t in a hurry and having canceled my Gamefly membership, it’s been a while since I’ve checked out any new games, so I decided to stop in and see what they had.

I usually buy my video games from whatever store is closest to me, but Gamespot is one of those rare stores, where I actually enjoy shopping. Normally, when I go shopping, I just want the employees to leave me alone and let me get in and out with the product I’m interested in, but at Gamespot, the employees are the best part of the store. I don’t go there to buy things, I go there to graze. Unlike the employees at Best Buy or CompUSA, Gamespot employees are usually working there because they love video games.

I’m not sure if they get free rentals or discounts or if it’s just that Gamespot attracts employees who like playing every game that comes out, but every time I go in their store, the employees give me customized game reviews on any title that I’m interested in.

Because these employees tend to be hardcore gamers, I have to be careful to not always pick the games that they are fanatical about, but I still listen to what they have to say and more than once, they’ve saved me from buying a bad game.

When I dropped into Gamespot this weekend, I wasn’t planning on buying anything. I just wanted to know if there were any new games coming out. Once I started to talk with the clerks though, one of them pulled me off to one side and in hushed tones, told me that they had one more Wii tucked away in the back of the store.

By the way they told me about the Wii, you would have thought that they were selling illegal fireworks left over from the Fourth of July, but when a console has been this hot, for this long, I can understand why they would speak about it with a strange sort of reverence.

Apparently they had gotten a shipment just the day before, and the Wii they had in stock, was the last one left from the batch. Even before I went into Gamestop, I had toyed with the idea of buying a Wii, but had not made a decision about whether or not I really wanted one. Since I knew that the Wii’s were still pretty hard to come by and because they told me, it was the last one, I made a quick decision to buy it and figured I could always flip it on Ebay, if it didn’t live up to the hype.

When I took the console home, I was eager to try it out. I had read a lot of the reviews on the Wii, but nothing had prepared me for what the experience would really be like.

When I was a kid, my parents used to take me to Zuma beach in Southern California. Even though, I didn’t know how to surf at the time, I must have been born with a pair of extra flippers or something, because they could not keep me out of the the water. From the moment we would arrive until the moment we left, I would spend the day splashing about the water, just about as happy as I could be. Whether it was body surfing through the waves or just swimming along the coast, no matter how cold and shriveled I was, I never wanted to get out.

After I would go home for the day, I would be dog tired, but when I would lay down, I could still feel the up and down motion of the tide. I’m not sure what the medical name for this effect is, but the sensation would stick with me for a night and would go away until my next trip to the Pacific Ocean.

Since moving to San Francisco, I haven’t spent anytime in the ocean and had almost forgotten about this sensation, but after spending all day Saturday playing the Wii, I was surprised when I closed my eyes and felt the same sensation creep over me.

Instead of an up and down tide motion though, I felt like I could fly. Something about the visual aspects of playing the game, combined with the physical exertion required to control the characters had burned the experience into my sub-conscious and made it feel like I was still playing, even after the console had been shut off.

The one big downside (or upside, depending on how you look at it) of the Wii, is that because it’s such a physical process to play, you can’t play for 12 hours straight like you can other consoles.

When I was a kid, I would have friends over and we would play the Nintendo all night. Eventually, someone would pass out from too much caffeine or red vines. If I try to play the Wii all night though, it’s not a caffeine overdose that makes me stop, my body eventually goes kaput and my muscles say no more.

While I’m sure that owning the Wii will help to improve my conditioning, when you can barely lift your arms over your head, it makes the thought of playing another quick game less appealing, than some of the less active forms of gaming.

Overall though, I’m really pleased with my new console. My only legitimate complaint, is that the graphics aren’t very impressive. Of course, I knew that this was the case going in, but I still expected them to be a little bit better than what they really are.

It could just be that the Wii isn’t designed to be played on a big screen TV, but when you play the console on a big screen, you can really see how rough the pixels look. It’s still way better than the original Nintendo, but the graphics do make me feel like I’ve taken a step back in the evolution of my video gaming.

When the Xbox 360 came out, they made a big deal about the HD graphics that they had, but I never realized how important this was, until I saw the quality of the Wii. What the games lack in graphics though, they make up for it with the fun factor.

When playing Zelda, instead of mashing buttons to make your way through the fighting scenes, you use the joystick like a sword. I can’t over-emphasize how much fun this is. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a monster will jump at you and you have to dodge, twist, turn and slash, all in real life, in order to dice your way through each level. This adds a dimension to gaming that is way beyond 3D. It’s like you are out there by yourself, fighting to save the princess.

While I’ve only been playing for two days and I haven’t gotten to try out many games yet, I can already tell that this will be my new #1 console. As much as I like the Wii though, it still won’t be able to replace my Xbox 360.

If a game is especially dependent on graphics or if it’s exclusive to Microsoft, I still plan on buying it for the Xbox, but if a game involves a lot of physical characteristics, than I’m likely to buy the Wii version instead. I am especially excited about trying out John Madden’s football game on the console. It’s been a long time, since I’ve seen any real improvements to this title, but Madden on the Wii, will be like a whole new game. I just hope I don’t get so excited, that I end up breaking my TV, throwing touchdown bombs to Randy Moss.

Posted in Technology, Media, Video Games | 8 Comments »

Davis Freeberg’s Site Of The Week

July 9th, 2007 Davis

The winner of this week’s site of the week contest was Cat With Bow Golf. Cat Golf is an unusual, but highly addictive Japanese flash animation game that was created earlier this year. While I wasn’t able to understand all of the Japanese instructions, the game is pretty easy to figure out, just by playing it for a few minutes.

Basically, you control a cat with a bow and arrow. The goal of the game is to hit a target with your arrow. The only catch is that the cat is connected to the arrow, so everytime you shoot at the target, you also go flying across the screen. As you are flying, you can fire a second shot and it will change your trajectory.

The levels in the game are a lot like the courses you’ll find at your local miniature golf course. There are obstacles that you have to go above or below and there are times where you need to think beyond just one shot.

The further you get in the game, the harder the levels get. I played the game a lot over the last week, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t finished the game with a par score or better. For every Eagle my cat caught on early levels, I had plenty of triple bogeys at the later levels.

Overall, Cat Golf won’t make your internet surfing any more efficient, it won’t give you access to special information or provide any unique insights into technology. It’s not the type of site that will save you money or provide a tangible benefit from using it, in fact, if you go to the site, it will probably be a waste of time, but from an entertainment standpoint, it’s a great way to waste time.

I’m not sure what is is about the game makes it so playable, but there is something about the Cat Golf that makes it easy for one quick game to turn into a marathon gaming session. While the graphics aren’t going to compete with Halo, the combination of the easy rules with it’s unique game play, makes Cat Golf a lot of fun.

Congratulations to Cat with Bow Golf on winning this week’s site of the week award. The nominations for next week’s site are listed below, you may vote in the sidebar. If you know of a good site that should be considered, feel free to send it to me and I’ll be happy to consider it for a nomination.

Desktop Blues

Save The Bunny

Podcast Alley

Posted in Site Of The Week, Technology, Video Games, Web 2.0 | No Comments »

EA Sports - It’s Not In The Game

May 18th, 2007 Davis

Over the course of my life, I have been one of Electronic Arts best customers. It’s embarassing to admit how much money I have spent on the company, but year after year, I’m the guy who falls for their trick of repackaging the same content, over and over again.

I’m not sure why I feel so compelled to upgrade each year, but for the last decade, I’ve purchased an EA title at least, once every three months. A few of these have been new games that EA has come out with, but by and large I’ve mostly stuck with the tried, but true sport franchises.

I like the sports games the best because they allow me to play a quick game without having to keep track of what’s going on. I’ll usually start with a season mode and by the end of the real life season, I am wrapping up the playoffs. When the online capabilities started to come out, I was pretty fired up about being able to skool other gamers with my mad John Madden skillz, but as a casual gamer, I quickly found out the hard way, that I was no match for the caliber players, who have the time to play online.

Right now my lifetime winning record for all Xbox Live games is under 10%. These days, I tend to stick to playing the computer, but every now and then, I’ll still log in, just so that I remember what it’s like to take a beating.

EA knows that they make their bread and butter on customers like myself. Most of their titles are franchise oriented, which allows them to have a neverending game pipeline in the works. In the past, I thought it was silly to upgrade from one title to another, just for the updated player stats, but each year the subtle differences in the gameplay was enough to convince me to keep upgrading.

Normally, overpaying for a game that I won’t play very long, isn’t really all that big of a deal, but over the last few years, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend at EA and after continuing to be disappointed with their products, I’ve finally decided that enough is enough.

Every since I first bought my Xbox 360, I’ve noticed that EA sports has been building in planned obsolescence into their franchise titles.

My first disappointment came when I purchased Fifa: Road To The World Cup. This game was one of the first few titles that came out for the Xbox 360 and as a huge World Cup fan, it was immedietely on my must have list. After getting the game, I quickly set up my franchise and ended up picking Sweden to try and take to the World Cup. For the next few months, I played my season diligently and finally made it to the end of the qualifiers. I had a lot of tied games, but was able to successfully make it into the World Cup tournament.

It was then that I found out, that my game wasn’t FIFA World Cup it was only “the road to the World Cup.” If I wanted to actually play in the tournament, it meant that I had to pay another $60 to EA, just so that I could get the follow up title that was released shortly thereafter. I did end up trying out the real World Cup game and other than the tournament, it was exactly the same game.

As a customer, this is really frustrating because it would have been easy enough for them to include a playoff round in the game, but instead they wanted to resell the same game to me a second time. Had I known about the subtlety, I probably wouldn’t have bought the game, but you never really know what a game will be like until you’ve already purchased it and it’s sitting in your console.

After being disappointed with the FIFA game, I decided to try out NBA Live 2006. At the time, the basketball season had already started, but I was eager to see how far Kobe could take the Lakers without the help of Shaq.

After buying the game, I loaded it up and was excited to try it out, but quickly found out too late, that EA had removed the franchise option from the game. The franchise has always been my favorite part of any sports title and often times, I would build up a promising, but young team, only to sim 3 or 4 years, so that I could play my players in their prime.

While I enjoy the actual gameplay of NBA 2006, trading players and adjusting the starting lineup can be even more fun for me. Even though this feature has been included in every NBA game that I can remember, for some reason EA left it out. Given their history, it makes me suspect that the reason why they did this was so that customers would have an added incentive to upgrade in 2007.

With both of these games, I was willing to cut EA a little bit of slack. When the Xbox 360 came out, there was a rush to get the games out. I could see Microsoft making them release a stripped down version of their games just for the launch. I kept buying titles hoping they would get better, but finally, my patience wore down. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the ultimate EA franchise game of all time, John Madden’s football.

I’ve been playing this franchise longer than any game I own today and every year I’ve felt really good about making the upgrades. There were some years that they would tweak the controls a bit and it would drive me nuts, but year after year, I’d see little improvements and the game only got better. Then all of a sudden, EA decided that they needed to take away past functionality that their customers had gotten used to. In this case, they decided to kill the ability to do a fantasy draft at the start of your franchise.

The fantasy draft was my favorite way to run a franchise. Not only could I make sure that my favorite players ended up on my team, but it also introduce parity into the league. When you combined the initial fantasy draft, with the college draft at the end of each season, it allowed a user to take over the general manager position and try their hand at managing a team from the executive level. Now it could be that I’m misinterpreting EA’s intentions, but given how popular this feature has been with players, the most logical reason to take the feature out would be if they wanted to build in an automatic reason to upgrade, for the next year’s game.

I don’t mind when EA adds new features that don’t turn out to be so great. I also don’t mind, if they kill features because they are terrible or because of outside legal considerations, but when they make their games intentionally defective, it doesn’t make me very happy about upgrading year after year. It would be one thing, if I had the option to take a bad game back, but most retailers have strict rules about returning lame games, after you’ve opened up the package.

Because I’ve become convinced that EA is intentionally making their games bad, I have stopped purchasing their titles unless someone makes a personal reccomendation. The strategy may ensure that more people upgrade each year, but by watering down their games, they’ve lost at least one important customer from being so short sighted.

Posted in Technology, Marketing, Media, Video Games | 1 Comment »

Gamefly Implements FastReturn Strategy - Will Customers Return For A 2nd Chance?

March 20th, 2007 Davis

For the last few months, I’ve found myself buying more video games then I normally do. Usually I might buy a game once every three months and then play it intermittenly until I get sick of it and move on. Recently though, I’ve found myself wanting to try out more games and have been spending more time playing my Xbox then normal. This was probably caused in part, by my having to live without my Xbox 360 for a month, while Microsoft repaired my console. Once I got it back, I was ready to play video games with a vengence and have spent way too much money over the past few months, buying new games for my console.

At first I figured the best way to try out a bunch of new games would be to reactivate my Gamefly account, but everytime I went to their site, I just couldn’t hit the submit button to actually sign up. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to join, but rather that everytime I went to the site, I froze up when I was faced with the decision over whether I wanted ten days free or a discounted first month. This sounds really stupid because the difference in price was only a few dollars, but having had a negative experience with Gamefly in the past, I liked the idea of trying to see if they’ve improved and being able to quit without a hassle, in case they haven’t. At the same time, before signing up, I was about 75% certain that I’d be a member for at least the first month, so the part of me that loves a good deal, didn’t want to give up the lower promotional rate. The positives and negatives of this trade off were so evenly balanced in my mind, that for the last three months, I’ve been spending way too much money buying video games when I could have been renting them from Gamefly instead.

I probably would have just kept buying games, but over the weekend I came across a story on Digg, that helped to motivate me to become a member again.

I haven’t found a lot of details on the program, but Gamefly has put into place a new shipping program which they are calling FastReturn. The program utilizes a partnership with the USPS and is set up so that the post office will actually notify Gamefly as soon as your video game arrives at the post office. This allows Gamefly to immedietely ship your next game to you, instead of having to wait until the disc actually arrives at their distribution center. Because the system relies on getting it’s notifications from the USPS barcode system, not every postal location will be able to participate, but even without every postal office participating, this is still a big improvement for Gamefly.

Because of their limited number of distribution centers, long wait times have been one of Gamefly’s glaring weaknesses from the get go. Even though I live on the West Coast, it still takes a day longer then it should, for me to receive games in the mail from Gamefly. While a two day wait for a game isn’t unreasonable, if I was living on the East coast and had to wait 4 or 5 days to get a video game, it would certainly diminish the appeal of the service.

So far I haven’t shipped any games back, so I can’t comment first hand on how good the service is, but the early reviews seem to suggest that FastReturn has been a hit with customers.

Ironically, after all of the agonizing that I did over which discount to take, it turns out that because I was a former member, I wasn’t even eligible for the discount to begin with. While I ended up having to pay full price to reactivate my membership, I’m pretty sure that by reactivating my account, Gamefly must have added me to their preferential treatment list, because not only did they immedietely ship out the top two picks from my Queue, but one of those picks was NCAA March Madness 2007. Considering that March Madness in full swing, you can bet that Gamefly won’t be getting that game back from me, for at least the next few weeks.

Posted in Technology, Video Games | 6 Comments »