See the awesomeness that is the game trailer above? It's Unreal Tournament 3 and fellow Xbox 360 fanboys we'll have to wait a little longer than our PS3 brothers to play. Sony and Epic Games just announced that UT3 will be a timed exclusive for the PS3 platform which will launch this November. But the wait will be short lived, because the game will be available on the Xbox 360 platform early 2008. Epic is obviously feeling love from everyone this generation and it looks like Sony played the right hand this time. Sorry fanboys, this is one game the PS3 will get before us ... consider it a fluke.
Chris Kohler of Wired magazine recently took a moment to list exclusives that Sony has lost to Microsoft. Perhaps the most intriguing titles on the list are GTAIV and Assassin's Creed, both of which were offered as exclusives to Sony. Sony didn't pursue the titles as exclusives, and two major titles became simultaneous releases for multiple platforms. Another interesting story is Beautiful Katamari which began as a mutliplatform title and is now slated only for Xbox 360. Finally, according to the article, Metal Gear Solid 4 on 360 is only a matter of time. The article is a decent read and serves as a good conversation starter (without even considering once Sony-only franchises like Ace Combat). It begs the question: are console exclusives as important as they once were?
Previously, we've posted about Sarcastic Gamer's variouswork, because we find it A: very well done and B: very entertaining. And his latest song parody doesn't let us down. Sarcastic Gamer's "No Frickin' Games!" is a musical parody of Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends" that talks about the Playstation 3 having ... well, no frickin' games. And, as you know, we're not all about PS3 bashing here at X3F, but this song is too funny-good-times not to share with you guys. Heck, we've laughed at our 360 too with the "Ring of Fire" parody, because it's also greatness on a bun. So, give the song a download, have a good laugh, and thank the lord that we don't have to deal with a lack of games on our 360.
It looks like the Playstation 3 will be getting some exclusive love from the upcoming shooter from Free Radical, Haze. The game will debut this fall on the Playstation 3, while it seems that mention of the Xbox 360 and PC versions has dropped from the game's official fact sheet. When probed about exclusivity by GameSpot, a representative from Ubisoft said, "Haze is leading on PS3, but no exclusivity for any platform has been officially announced." In all likelihood, this pegs Haze as a timed exclusive, which means PC and 360 players may be waiting until 2008 to experience the mature shooter.
Sorry fanboys, if you were looking forward to playing as a genetically enhanced super soldier in 2007, you'll have to look elsewhere.
When we found out that Project Gotham Racing had been used to promote the PS3 for a third time, it took every ounce of strength we could muster to avoid making a 300 "This is madness!" joke. The truth is though, this is madness. First, PGR3 was used by Sony to promote a trailer for Gran Turismo HD, then it was used again by Kia for a PS3 promotion. This time the offending publication is from Media Markt, one of Europe's largest electronics store chains, which overlays a PS3 on top of this image from PGR3. In an ironic twist, the article in question is apparently about the Playstation 3's future.
At this rate, we'll be seeing PGR3 images in the next ad for Ratchet & Clank.
Here's a question for you. What do you think Microsoft should do to guarantee that the Xbox 360 will remain king among the video game industry? It's an interesting question and the guys over at GameDaily BIZ aren't afraid to express their opinions. In summary, GameDaily BIZ thinks Microsoft needs to cut the 360's price before the holidays, beating Sony to a possible PS3 price cut, and maybe stealing some of the Wii's "cheap console" thunder. They also feel Microsoft should make Xbox Live free, get more exclusives, and that they should consider making a special Halo 3 Xbox 360 bundle. You know, because Halo 3 is kick-butt.
All their ideas are pretty good and would nearly guarantee more console sales, but would they be beneficial from a business perspective? You know, the whole cost versus return thing. Well, we aren't sure if there is a right or wrong answer to what Microsoft should be doing, but we'd love to hear your ideas. So, we ask you again. What do you think Microsoft should be doing to guarantee a next gen console win?
The Playstation 3 gives users the ability to donate their processing power to the Folding@Home project, but the 360 has yet to see such a program. Peter Moore said it would be possible, but why hasn't Microsoft allowed Xbox 360 users to do the same? Well, the guys over at Digital Media Thoughts think they know why Microsoft doesn't release such a program and it all comes down to faulty hardware. They believe that the Xbox 360's failure rate is the main reason for not including such a program. According to DMT, they feel the 360's failure rate is much higher than Microsoft wants to admit and that the hardware problems stem from the massive amount of heat generated causing the motherboard to warp and solder joints to disconnect. And if a Folding@Home project were released for the 360, nearly 100% of the CPU would be used for hours on end, causing lots of heat and much more hardware problems. Red rings of death would soon become the norm.
Whether you buy into DMT's reasoning or not, we simply cannot justify why Microsoft would not include some sort of project for users to donate their 360's CPU power. Maybe it is because Microsoft doesn't want to stress the hardware any further, maybe not, but we'd like to know the whole story without any smoke or mirrors. Any thoughts guys?
There's been some more sleuthing (Ha! Legitimately unintentional pun, we swear) on the Finnish magazine that had the Splinter Cell: Conviction screenshot scans from Friday. Apparently the interview has some spiffy details about the enemy AI, Sam Fisher's ability to interact with his environment, and most deliciously, Ubisoft giving the PS3 some flack.
First, they say that Conviction being exclusive allows them to accomplish things on the 360 that couldn't be done if the title was multiplatform. They even go so far to say that if the title was a PS3 exclusive, they still would not be able to achieve some of these feats. Ouch ... coming from a well respected developer like Ubisoft, that's gotta hurt.
Digitimes threw together a comparison in the production of a 60GB Playstation 3 and an Xbox 360 Elite, using the "latest estimates by research firm iSuppli". Upon further investigation, a few of these numbers are a little ... fishy. Sure, we can see that the DVD Drive is significantly less expensive than a Blu-ray optical drive, but the 120 GB HDD being $11 cheaper for double the drive space? Would the Blu-ray drive ramp up the Assembly to more the six times the comparative cost as well? Finally, since when did the Elite retail for $399 USD?
Somebody made a couple "miscalculations" somewhere along the way, which in turn brings into question the validity of the PS3's production costs. Still, an interesting comparison, like how much the Wi-Fi connectivity costs to be built in for the PS3 compared to the $99 accessory for the 360. So what's your take on this, fanboys? Did they actually look at a Premium or is it all a bunch of bullspit anyway?
The lovable and so very adorable Trixie posted an interview she had with a convert who ditched his Playstation 2 and jumped into the Xbox 360 community. Redstorm80 (video game elder) was a PS2 die-hard who played SOCOM and ignored every other gaming console. That is until the PS3 kept getting delayed and his friend brought over his 360 to play some Fight Night Round 3. It was love at first site and Redstorm80 hasn't looked back, actively promoting the Xbox 360 brand, and even goes as far to say that the "Xbox 360 is actually my favorite home console out of all the previous ones I've owned". We agree.
Redstorm80's story isn't anything new, it happens all the time. Fans switching consoles every generation finding new game franchises and experimenting. This of course got us thinking about you, our fellow fanboys. Do you have a similar story to share once proclaiming your love for another console only to end up an Xbox 360 fanboy? Feel free to dish your converting details without fear of judgment. We've all made mistakes.
Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 graphics comparisons aren't anything new, but when a multiplatform game releases we figure we'll just keep dishing out the video goods. Showcased above is a graphical brawl between the 360 and PS3 versions of F.E.A.R. and even though the small embedded video isn't the perfect graphical representation, we have a difficult time telling the difference. Even after downloading the HD comparison video it's still hard to tell which version is graphically superior. Maybe it was just a good porting job from the PC version to both consoles, who knows, but to us they look the same. We'll leave it in your hands fellow fanboys, watch the video and start a mini fanboy war or just dismiss this comparison and call it a draw.
That Ben Heck has used his evil genius to do it again, gutting an Xbox 360 controller and replacing its innards with ::shutter:: PS3 Sixaxis technology. Being commissioned to do so, Ben used his technology knowledge to put a functioning Sixaxis controller into a 360 controller shell. We definitely know there is some Xbox 360 controller envy coming from the PS3 fanboys, but why did you have to do this Ben? What have you done with our colorful buttons and you even replaced our spherical guide button with a ... Playstation logo. And is that a USB cable going to the back of it? Please, say it ain't so! It's a sad sight to see, but we know how hard it is for Playstation fans to use that dreadful Sixaxis controller. With heavy hearts, we'll share our controller ... but just this once.
Yeah, so the headline isn't all that shocking. Nonetheless, the senior regional director of Microsoft in Ireland and the UK, Neil Thompson, isn't worried about the Playstation 3 (which finallylanded in Europe last week). Speaking to Times Online, Thompson said that the PS3 poses no threat to the Xbox 360 from a technological standpoint. He says that the biggest threat Microsoft faces is Sony's well established brand presence. Technologically, Thompson notes that the PS3 has no notable features that he wishes were also in the Xbox 360. Thompson does admit that the PS3 may have a graphical advantage, but states that the Xbox 360 already outperforms the PS3's online capabilities and has a wider variety of games available..
Concerning Blu-ray, Thompson says that Sony has jumped into the next generation format war prematurely, stating that the average consumer isn't ready to replace his or her DVD collection with another format. Furthermore, he notes that a regular DVD will actually play at a higher resolution on an Xbox 360 than it will on a Playstation 3. Finally, Thompson references the oft cited reasoning that the format war will be rendered moot by digital distribution in the long run anyway. Digital distribution, of course, is something the Xbox 360 already supports (very successfully, according to Microsoft).
So, an Xbox executive thinks the Xbox is top notch. No surprise there. Still, now that the new console war has gone global, we expect this isn't the last bit of executive sniping to be had.
Over at Gizmodo they've pitched an interesting question, why not allow Xbox Live members to participate in the Folding@Home project like the PS3 has? If you aren't familiar, the PS3 allows users to use their PS3's horsepower to aid in disease research when they aren't gaming online. So, with Gizmodo's plan, 360 and PS3 users could take the console war into the science lab by keeping track of which console completes the most work units each week or the fastest. It'd be a mini competition that helps keep the (not so) friendly console war alive while helping disease research. Sounds like a win-win solution to us. So, what do you think? Should Microsoft give us the option to donate our 360's computing power in the Folding@Home project or any other charitable cause?
Microsoft had one goal in mind for the European Playstation 3 launch ... be annoying. The Xbox marketing team did everything in their power to humiliate, taunt, and make fun of Sony's launch, all with a smile and a devilish whit. We mentioned France's love boat and the Foster's beer delivery, but there were a few more incidents we didn't acknowledge.
During the PS3 launch in France, the Xbox team sent out text messages to anyone who'd accept them wishing everyone great night.
More beer was delivered.
If you were a waiting in line for a PS3 in the UK, the Xbox team handed out chairs to sit on with a URL on the back. The website, toolate, taunts the PS3 by saying "Xbox welcomes PS3 to the next generation. Sony ... you're late! Let the games begin."
There were also reports that Microsoft employees were standing on nearby rooftops blowing whistles to drown out Sony's press conference talk.
Whether you find these acts hilarious, creative, immature, or evil there's no doubt Microsoft stirred up some negative PR for Sony's European launch. This is the time when we ask ... can't we all just get along?
Previously, we've posted about Sarcastic Gamer's 
Here's a question for you. What do you think Microsoft should do to guarantee that the Xbox 360 will remain king among the video game industry? It's an interesting question and the guys over at GameDaily BIZ aren't afraid to express their opinions. In summary, GameDaily BIZ thinks Microsoft needs to cut the 360's price before the holidays, beating Sony to a possible PS3 price cut, and maybe stealing some of the Wii's "cheap console" thunder. They also feel Microsoft should make Xbox Live free, get more exclusives, and that they should consider making a special Halo 3 Xbox 360 bundle. You know, because Halo 3 is kick-butt.
The Playstation 3 gives users the ability to donate their processing power to the Folding@Home project, but the 360 has yet to see such a program. 
Yeah, so the headline isn't all that shocking. Nonetheless, the senior regional director of Microsoft in Ireland and the UK, Neil Thompson, isn't worried about the Playstation 3 (which finally 
