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Multi-Tap: A Week In Comments
PA's Tycho Picks Zune Over iPod The Zune is going to be the (insert Gamecube/360 in Japan/PSP) of the mp3 player market: it's never going to get anywhere due to several factors, only one of which is even sort of under Microsoft's control. The first factor is iPod/iTunes compatibility.Tyrannical wins
Clip: Crecente on AOTS
Courtesy of Attack of the Show, here's the clip from last night's segment of The Loop featuring Joystiq's Chris Grant and myself. Brian CrecentePeople are too hard on Kevin... and by people I mean male gamers who wish Olivia would make sexual innuendo at them instead of him.
Child Killed By Water and Electricity
Tragedy struck as a 7 year-old London boy vacationing with his parents on the island of Phuket died of electrocution, having attempted to unplug his GameBoy from the wall while still dripping wet from a dip in the pool. A truly sad story, and I cannot imagine what his parents must be going through, but the press in the UK are having a field day.holy crapstick what kind of voltage runs to outlets there? certainly not 120, which isn't *that* dangerous
I'm guessing there was probably no circuit breaker either?
Witness The Guitar Hero II For Xbox 360 Bundle
Attention Xbox 360 owners: you're this much closer to having Guitar Hero II on your console of choice. Start drooling now at the promise of additional songs and downloadable content. That guitar controller looks wicked hot. Sorry, still no release date on this one.The D-pad, guide button and start/back buttons are there because the thing has to work in the Dashboard as well, probably part of MS's requirement for controllers.
It can't be wireless (using the 360's wireless technology) because MS won't let anyone use that tech. However don't think there won't be a wireless controller offered down the road just like there is on the PS2. It can use it's own frequency without messing with the 360.
HD DVD Possibly Cracked
A creative code restructurer named Muslix64 claims to have created an application that strips encryption from HD DVD discs. The program is called BackupHDDVD, and if Muslix's claims are true, it breaks the unbreakable AACS content protection system used by both next-gen DVD formats. What's the gaming angle? With Blu-ray have more than just AACS on it, it's a step, just not that big of one. Basically the program circumvents the checking of the software code on the disc.AACS, HD-DVD themselves have not been hacked
You have to 'hack' individual titles and in this case the developers of the player were stupid enough to leave a key in memory for savvy people to find.
This isn't like one answer to all DVDs.
However... nobody is unreasonable enough to think that any DRM method is going to stop determined hackers (case in point)... it's a matter of making it hard for college kids to do in between beer bongs.
Feature: The Decline of the PS3 Grey Market
By: Michael Fahey The rise and fall of the PlayStation 3 on eBay is one of the most talked about gaming stories of the year. In order to paint a broader picture, I've tracked pricing trends from preorders to Christmas Eve and surveyed retailers to determine just how hard the PS3 grey market has crashed.It went exactly as I thought it would. My little gamer heart leaped for joy as the crash happened. It's a shame the PS3 sucks so bad right now... this launch is a bit of a tarnish on the Playstation brand.
Feature: How to Get Your 5-Year-old to Shred
By: Brian Crecente My son Tristan and have been playing Guitar Hero 2 on and off since the game came out. Shortly after the game's release The Ant Commandos sent me one of their Shredder guitars for my son, who is 5-years old, to test out. The idea, was that the guitar was supposed to be easier to play for a child because it was smaller. I had heard that the it was really just a design flaw that they turned into a specialized product and wanted to figure out which was true.I've been trying to teach my 6mo old to play but all he does is try to eat the guitar.
Next-Gen Console Numbers: Wii Sells 3 Million
According to figures posted at VG Charts, Nintendo has managed to sell 3.19 million Wiis since the console was launched. That's a million in Japan, 1.32 million in the US, and an addition .86 million sold over the rest of the world. Considering the number of folks I saw at GameStop this past weekend begging for the funtabulous new console that number is growing in leaps and bounds with every new shipment that comes in.It's like these numbers are just being pulled out of thin air...
who really gives a crap anyway besides stock holders?
Feature: Made Man Q&A;
By: Scott Steinberg Word to would-be wiseguys: Crime does not pay - at least, not usually much more than a job at the local Electronics Boutique, according to David Fisher, the author behind best-selling Mafia tell-all Killer. Seriously: How many street-level enforcers do you know that put in this kind of overtime on PlayStation 3 heists?awesome
I hope his game does well... he sounds like he really pours a lot into his work
Madden 07 Tops Five Million, EA Crows
Electronic Arts took the time during the lull between Christmas and New Year's to flex their Madden sales numbers a bit. According to the company, Madden NFL 07 sold more than five million copies via the ten versions of the game that hit this year. The company goes on to predict that Madden 07 will be the top selling game of 2006.EA has no tricks up a sleeve or even an ass
They sucked the fun right out of defense... which is actually a big part of NFL Football.