Perfect Dark Zero... Rises Again

While I wasn't holding my breath for it, I was still hoping that PDZ would follow the same plan of unveiling that Halo did. That, of course, would be an initial unveling that underwhelmed (which happened on the MTV special), followed by a lack of screens and info and then, eventually, a new resurfacing that would instill a greater sense of confidence and hope in the product. Well, if the screens found in the recent issue of Edge magazine are any indication then history may well be repeating itself. The "new" PDZ looks great and has definitely rekindled some of my faith in the series. Granted, there are still precious few Xbox 360 titles that actually look "next-gen" and interest me, but I guess I can add at least one more to my list which only currently features PGR3, Oblivion and Gears of War.

Unfortunately, none of these titles has gotten me to a feverish point where I feel I need to get a 360 at launch, but the system is finally starting to get some momentum. Despite the beating it has consistenly been getting in the media, in comparion to the PS3, the system still has some strong legs and Microsoft is managing to do some things right. The console's menu system is just one example of this.

2006 is defiintely going to be an interesting year for gamers... I only hope for two things:

1) That the PS3 and Revolution launch with a fair number of quality titles
2) That the Xbox 360 doesn't become too infested with games that I can also/already play on my PC

Oh, btw, you can check out the scans from the Edge PDZ article over at JeuxFrance.com.

Nintendo's Innovation Strategy

There is a great article over at Lost Garden that talks about Nintendo and its focus on innovation and what the new controller could mean for the industry and the company that Mario built. Check it out here.

PS3 = Too Much Stuff?

Since I expressed some of my opinions on the Revolution “remote control”-ler and will continue to add to them over the next few days, I thought I would jump over to the Sony side and express some of my problems with the PS3 design. Obviously, I can’t really comment on the controller, since it’s supposedly in the middle of a redesign right now, so I’ll focus on the actual console instead.

In general, I think that Sony is (pardon the phrase) trying to pimp out the PS3 a little bit too much. The inclusion of certain features seems unnecessary and will probably add considerably to the final retail price. As far as I’m concerned, just because Microsoft is selling its upper console package for $400 doesn’t mean Sony needs to. I’m hoping they are still trying hard for that $300-350 zone. Anyway, here is a list of features that I tend to disagree with:

Secondary HDMI port – How many people are actually going to be able to afford two HD-capable televisions or want to carry their PC monitor and have it next to the PS3? I can’t imagine very many. Granted, dual-screen Gran Turismo would be hot, but I would expect that very few games would follow that lead. I just don’t see the importance of this second port.

2.5” HDD slot – If Sony doesn’t pack-in the HDD as a standard device then you might as well forget about it being much of a success. Just take the slot out and save a few bucks. Most developers aren’t going to support it anyway considering the debacle that was the PS2 hard drive.

USB 2.0 ports – I like USB ports because they allow for the easy addition of cool new peripherals, as well as keyboards and mice. However, are six of them really necessary? Just throw in 2-3 and then sell an external hub that people can buy if more ports are needed.

Ethernet ports – There are currently two output ones and one input. I say, throw out the 10BASE-T output port and just have one input and one output. Again, people can buy a switch box if more outputs are required.

I/O - I can understand the inclusion of a memory stick slot, since the PSP has one and countless Sony products have them, as well. Also, it will be the standard game save format for the console. However, do we really need both a SD slot and a CompactFlash slot? Granted, these would probably only run about $1 in actual cost, but why does the PS3 need them? Just plug your digital camera into a USB port and stream the photos that way. Better yet, let the PS3 grab them from the PC that's hooked up to it via a ethernet cable.

Disc-loading mechanism – It’s cool… there’s no doubt about it, but having a slot-loading drive increases the cost of the system and could possibly add to the potential of drive problems. The general rule of “the less moving parts, the better” still holds true and I would expect that Sony could still come up with a cool-looking console even if a drive tray (or a caddy slot) was included instead.

Those are the main features I could live without in order to guarantee a lower retail price for the PS3. The quicker the system can get down to a more mainstream price of $200, the better. What do you guys think?