The FNG-Spot: PlayStation

Game Sharing & Console Wars

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 04:55:21 GMT

I stumbled across something today that I found extremely interesting today; something called "Game Sharing". I had never heard this term before reading an article on Wired.com about Warhawk for PlayStation 3.

"Warhawk, Sony's latest PlayStation 3 game, is available now from the PS3's digital download store. But gamers hoping to share the $40 game with their friends should know that Warhawk is for them alone.

While every other PlayStation 3 downloadable game can be shared with up to five PS3 machines, the online-only Warhawk doesn't have this feature. There's a warning in the game's description on the store that says it will only be playable through the PlayStation Network account that purchased the game, and only on one machine in any 24-hour period."

SOURCE: Wired.com

Yes, you read that correctly.... Not only can PlayStation 3 owners download classic games like Mortal Kombat II, Joust, Crash Bandicoot, Coolboarders, Lemmings, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and Gauntlet II to their PS3 hard drives and play them in HD, they can share those games with up to FOUR other PlayStation 3 consoles!!! Apparently Warhawk is the first exception to the "Game Share" rule, however, at least PlayStation 3 owners are informed BEFORE they make their purchase. Not only that, but the game WILL work on other PlayStation 3 consoles, just not if you've played it on a PlayStation 3 within the last 24-hours. (You're free to move the content to another PlayStation 3 after those 24 hours has passed.)

Hmmmm... Seems like the iTunes method works for Apple as well as Sony, but it's far too complicated for Microsoft.

As we all know, the PlayStation 3 is trailing by quite a bit in the console wars, but one question remains; for how long? HALO 3 and BioShock are leading the US sales charts, and they're a great way to persuade gamers into purchasing an Xbox 360, but what happens when BioShock is ported over to the PS3 and Killzone is finally released? I think it'll be a pretty even playing field as far as 'must have' games are concerned, and people will start looking a bit closer at 'the little things' that make each console unique. With that being said, let's take a look at some of the bells-and-whistles / selling points of each of these next generation gladiators.

	*Xbox 360*	*PlayStation 3*	*Winner?*
Availability	In Stores Regularly	In Stores Regularly	No Winner
Price?	$349.99 - $499.99	$449 - $599	Xbox 360
Multiple Console Config. Options?	Yes	Yes	No Winner
Hard Drive Included?	Not All Versions	Yes	PlayStation 3
Hard Drive Upgradable?	Yes - 20 or 120 GB	No	Xbox 360
Access Media From External Hard Drive or Portable Music Device?	Yes	Yes	No Winner
Copy Media From External Device to Console Hard Drive?	No	Yes	PlayStation 3
Stream Media From PC?	Yes - Media Center Enabled PC Required	No	Xbox 360
Stream To Wireless Handheld Device? (Such as a PSP)	No	Yes	PlayStation 3
Media Card Slots? (SD/Memory Stick)	No	Yes	PlayStation 3
Backward Compatible?	Yes (Most Games)	Yes (Most Games)	No Winner
Console Reliability?	High Defect Rate	Low Defect Rate	PlayStation 3
Built-in Wireless Network Adaptor?	No	Yes 60 Gig & 80 Gig Only	PlayStation 3
Bluetooth	No	Yes	PlayStation 3
HD Disc Player?	Yes (HD DVD)	Yes (Blu-Ray)	No Winner (yet)
Plays HD Discs Right Out of The Box?	No ($199.99 add-on)	Yes	PlayStation 3
HDMI Output?	Some Versions [ Changes in Progress ]	60 / 80 Gig versions only	PlayStation 3
HDMI v1.3?	No	Yes	PlayStation 3
1080i / 1080p Compatible Games?	Yes	Yes (Not All Games)	Xbox 360
Online Gaming Service?	Yes	Yes	No Winner
Online Gaming Service Fee?	$49.99 /year	FREE	PlayStation 3
Downloadable Games?	Yes	Yes	No Winner
Digital Rights Management?	Yes	Yes	PlayStation 3
Digital Rights Management?	Heavily Restricted	Games may be shared with up to 4 other consoles.	PlayStation 3
Web Browser?	No	Yes	PlayStation 3
Wireless Controllers?	Yes	Yes	No Winner
Controller with Rumble Feedback?	Yes	No	Xbox 360
Keyboard Support?	Yes	Yes	No Winner
Mouse Support	No	Yes	PlayStation 3
Friends List?	Yes	Yes	No Winner
Voice Chat Room?	Yes	No	Xbox 360
Voice Chat In Game?	Yes (All)	Yes (Some)	Xbox 360
Seamless Dashboard / Friend List / Voice Chat Integration?	Yes	No	Xbox 360
Game Play incentives such as Achievements?	Yes	Possibly Coming Soon	Xbox 360

Personally, I feel that some of the PlayStation 3's "winning features" are fairly unnecessary; like the built-in Blu-Ray player, media card slots, and Bluetooth. I feel being given the option for a High Definition DVD or Blu-Ray player would be far more beneficial for the consumer. After all, not everyone owns an HDTV, nor does everyone care to choose a side in the format war this early on. If Sony actually utilizes the Blu-Ray technology, and upcoming games actually require a much higher capacity disc, then I’m all for it.

On the other hand, when you combine the console reliability, the ability to copy media from an external storage device with their iTunes approach to downloadable content is MORE than enough reason to seriously consider picking up a PlayStation 3. Yep, I said it… I’m not a huge Sony fan, however, with 70% of the people on my Xbox 360 fiends list (including myself) experiencing the Red Lights of Death, and the absolutely insane Digital Rights Management that Microsoft is using on all downloadable content, I’m just about ready to say “to hell with achievements and a gamer score” and pick myself up an 80GIG PS3.

(If Sony fixes their online strategy and copies how the friends list is integrated into every game over Xbox Live, I may just do it.)

Alone time with the PS3

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:35:42 GMT

This Friday my boss asked me if I had seen Talladega Nights, when I told him I hadn't he said I should take the PS3 home with me and watch it. Since the PS3 came with Talladega Nights on Blu-Ray disc, and my new TV can properly display a 1080p signal, I took him up on his offer.

When I 1st got the PS3 home I disconnected my up-scaling DVD player and connected the HDMI cable to the rear of the PS3. Much to my surprise, no image would display on the HDMI input of my TV. I was a tad confused at first, so I started plugging the PlayStation 3 into every HDMI input on my TV... still nothing. After about 5 minutes of frustration, I realized that there must be some option in the PS3 settings menu to enable the HDMI output. What a crock of poo!!! Since the $600.00 "high end" version of the PS3 only came with the standard composite (Red, White & Yellow) cable, and I already had HDMI cables connected to my TV, I didn't think I needed to bring the cables home... boy was I wrong! Apparently the PS3 isn't smart enough to know when component, HDMI, or standard composite cables are connected to the system, and ALL of the settings need to be adjusted via the "Display Settings" option of the PS3 'dashboard'.

On Saturday I went to my local EB Games store and requested some component, or S-Video, cables for PS3. Of couse they didn't have any other cables for the PlayStation 3 than HDMI... I then called a few other stores and they all said; "We have HDMI cables, and they're better than component." Well, it looked like I wouldn't be playing around with the PS3 over the weekend, so I went to Best Buy to pick up a new CD; Eminem Presents: The Re Up. On my way through the PS3 section I decided to see if they had any component cables in stock..... nope, not a single pair left on the peg. As I headed down the isle to make my way to the register, I happened to find 1 set of 3rd party component cables for the PS3 just sitting by themselves on the bottom shelf near a bunch of PS2 racing wheels... I didn't care what the price tag was, I was determined to get this 11lb-next-generation-gaming-mammoth up and running before I had to bring it back to the office!!

Getting the PS3 to display in 1080p using an HDMI cable:
(It's not as easy as the Xbox 360 method of switching the cable to "HDTV".)

Connect the PS3 to your TV using the crap cables it came with; or use a pair of PS3 component cables you may have miraculously found somewhere.
Connect an HDMI cable to the PS3 & HD TV.
Set your TV to the crap input, or component... whichever you may be using.
Turn the system on and find the "Display Settings."
Once you manage to find the "Display Settings", change the output to HDMI.
QUICKLY, within 25 seconds, switch the TV to the input you connected the HDMI cable to and choose "YES."
(If you didn't manage to say "yes" to the display settings in time, go back to step 3.)
Once you have the PS3 using the HDMI output, choose the display resolution.
Save your settings and return to the "dashboard".
Find the "Audio Output" settings.
Choose the method in which you wish to listen to the PS3. HDMI (2 channel audio) or optical (5.1+ channel audio.)
Save your settings, unplug the cables you won't be using, and begin watching movies or playing games.

OK, now that I got that out of the way.......

Once I had it all set up properly, the first thing I noticed was that the "dashboard" looked absolutely AMAZING in 1080p!! Of course the dashboard interface still looks EXACTLY like the one you see when you turn on your PSP, but it's extremely crisp and clean when running in 1080p!!

Before I tried to watch Talladega Nights, I was compelled to pop in Resistance: Fall of Man.

GameSpot gives Resistance an 8.6 and says:

"Resistance is an exciting action game that successfully combines many of the best qualities from other great first-person shooters with its own spectacular visuals and a few novel twists."

I give it a 4.5 and say:

"Resistance is an unoriginal game that successfully steals many of the best qualities from first-person shooters that have been out on many other consoles as well as the PC. If I wanted to play Half-Life, Call of Duty, or Halo, I'd play those... not this."

Don't get me wrong, the game looks nice, plays fairly smooth, and if I had paid $599.99+$59.99 to play this game I'd be singing it's praises too! Anyway, after 10-15 minutes of shooting aliens and having Call of Duty 2 flashbacks, I hit eject and went in search of the Talladega Nights disc.

After popping in Talladega Nights, and skipping a chapter or two ahead, I noticed that the picture quality was nice... but not the mind-blowing experience that Sony would lead us to believe. It was obvious to me that this movie wasn't filmed in HD, therefore wasn't as "clean" as I expected it to be. After all, it was the movie that Sony chose this movie out of all of the available Blu-Ray movies available to ship with their system.

There was some video noise that was noticeable enough that I was able to point it out to my wife. (NOTE: I'm not saying anything negative about my wife here; I'm merely saying that she's not as much of a geek, or anal as I am about video / audio quality.) I don't blame the little video issues on the PlayStation 3, I believe it has more to do with the Blu-Ray format and how the movie was filmed. The only video playback issues that could be directly associated with the PlayStation 3 hardware would be "artifacts" or slow panning due to it's 1080p60 playback. (1080p60 means that it's a 1080 progressive scan signal being played at 60 frames per second.) 1080p24 is optimal for filmed content.

The lack of a remote for the PlayStation 3 was my biggest pet peeve. Having to navigate through the PS2 DVD-like menu system SUCKED! When I want to change aspect ratios or audio playback properties while watching a movie, I want to press a button to do it, not press a button, navigate through some clunky out-dated menu then press another button only to find out that I picked the wrong option and I've now activated French subtitles!!

NOTE: I never actually watched the entire Talladega Nights movie on the PS3.
Roughly 10 minutes into it I decided to wait for Net Flix to send us a copy on DVD.

Overall, the PS3 will be worth the money to anyone who was willing to spend it. (After all, anyone who spent the $600 on this system will need to justify their purchase somehow.) The Blu-Ray format is pretty good, there are plenty of movies to choose from, it's cheaper than a stand alone BRD player, the games are similar to anything you'll find on the 360, and you can use your PSP to "remotely navigate" the dashboard... yeah, that's all worth the money spent.

PS3 Pros & Cons:

+ It's a next generation video game system.
+ HDMI Output.
+ Integrated IEEE 802.11b/g Wi-Fi (in the $599.99 version only)
+ Ludacris owns one.
+ You'll probably see a liquid cooled version in a future episode of Pimp my Ride.
+ Online gaming service is free (for now).
+ Capable of producing a 1080p signal without an annoying system update that causes game lock-ups.
+ If you own one and didn't get mugged, shot, or sleep outside for a week, that's a "pro"!
+ Allowed early adopters to make a lot of extra spending money on eBay.
+ Makes a bad-ass George Foreman Grill
+ It's a Blu-Ray disc player.
- It's a Blu-Ray disc player.
- No remote for Blu-Ray disc playback.
- No rumble support.
- Controller is light and feels cheap.
- Rechargeable batteries in the controller are not replaceable.
- Does not have a dedicated video chip set optimized for decoding Blu-ray video.
- Doesn't come with HDMI or component cables.
- It gets HOT... REALLY HOT! (see above "pro" regarding George Foreman Grill)
- It's big, ugly & heavy. (roughly 11lbs!)
- It's unable to auto detect video / audio connections or simultaneously send a signal through various cables. (HDMI, Component, etc.)
- If you own one and got mugged, shot, or slept outside for a week, that would be considered a "con".
- PlayStation 2 backward compatibility can't be updated or fixed.
- The dashboard is extremely convoluted & will intimidate anyone that's uncomfortable with having 900+ options thrown at them.
- Any game worth playing on the PlayStation 3 has been available for a while, or is available at the same time on the Xbox 360.

- Jay

Is Sony serious?!??! (PS3 Pricing)

Tue, 09 May 2006 15:55:02 GMT

E3 06: PS3 launches Nov. 17--$499 for 20GB, $599 for 60GB

"The PS3 will be released in Japan on November 11, and the United States on November 17, 2006. Like the Xbox 360, the PS3 will come in two configurations, one with a 20GB hard drive and one with a 60GB hard drive.

The 20GB will retail for $499 in the US (59800 yen in Japan, 499 euros in Europe), and the 60GB model will retail for $549 (open price in Japan, 599 euros in Europe). Sony expects to ship two million units in its first month of launch, four million by the end of the year, and six million by the end of its fiscal year, which ends in March 31"

$499.99 $599.99

What do you get for $499.99?

A 20 GIG hard drive rather than a 60 GIG drive.
No silver pieces or silver lettering; so everyone knows you can't afford the 'good' system.
No inputs for memory sticks.
No SD & compact flash card slots.
No Wi-Fi capabilities.
No HDMI outputs.
No money left over for a game, movie, or 2nd controller.

For $799.99 you can get the 'Premium Platinum Uber Foreman Edition'

Not only will you get a 60 GIG HD, HDMI output, memory card readers & Blue-Ray playback......
If you pre-order now Sony will throw in an extra USB powered grill adapter so you can cook for a family of 8!!

- Jay