Beyond Gaming

Death of the HD DVD is not Exaggerated

It's been a long time since my last blog post, and a lot has happened in the Blu-Ray, HD DVD battle.  I'm sure all of you who have followed the news saw the big announcement from Warner that it is going exclusively to Blu-Ray.  To me (and I don't think I'm going out on a limb here), this signals the death of the HD DVD.

Format War Drags On ...

Paramount and partner Dreamworks Animation have just extended the Blu-Ray/HD DVD war, as they have announced that they are throwing their exclusive support behind HD DVD.

Encouraged by a $150 million bribe from Toshiba, Paramount Pictures will release the films in its library only on HD DVD -- these include one of my favorites, Braveheart, the Star Trek films and obviously thousands more.

Phil Swann over at TVpredictions.com has put together a good, quick synopsis on the impact this move will have, but basically the consumer is getting screwed again.

I don't care which side wins -- Blu-Ray or HD DVD -- since I have both players, but I would like this decided sooner rather than later, so that I can start building my library.  I'm hedging my bet on Blu-Ray winning the war, but with this latest announcement from Paramount and Toshiba forking over millions to keep the battle going, who knows when it will come to an end?

Xbox 360 Bamboozle

I've been on the road for the last three weeks, but I did get my Xbox 360 back via UPS as expected on July 31 -- four weeks, instead of the promised three, not too bad.

What is bad that I didn't get my original system back.  Having saved my serial number from the 360 I sent in, I checked the back of the console to find that I was sent a different refurbished system.

What I sent to Microsoft was one of the original 360's from November 2005, and what came back was a console built in April 2006.  And, what is irritating about it is that the new system gets a lot hotter than my old 360, so I expect to go through the Red Ring of Death within the next six months.

My question is that since Microsoft sent me a new 360 with a later manufacturing date, does my three year warranty end in November 2008, or in April of 2009?  I'm guessing the former, but what's the difference?  I'm also guessing that the new system will break long before then and I won't have to worry about it. 

Now I'm going to go crack open Madden 08 and see what improvements were made over last year's game, and next week I'll be picking up Tiger Woods 08.  I should have reviews of both games in the next couple of weeks.

Week Late, $140 Short

My Red Ring of Death Saga is nearing an end ... UPS called last night to let me know that they were bringing a delivery today.  Unfortunately, my wife couldn't commit to staying home during the UPS delivery window of 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. 

It should be easier tomorrow, with the delivery expected between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m.  I get home this weekend, and will compare serial numbers to make sure they sent back the same system I sent in for repairs, and to see if the console actually works.

So, the whole turnaround took four weeks instead of the promised three weeks ... which isn't too bad.  With the large number of repairs I assume the Microsoft team has to make, I guess the week delay is understandable.

What's more disappointing is that I still have six to eight weeks to wait for the $140 I was charged for the repairs  One day after I made the call the warranty was extended to three years, making my repairs free, but rather than cancelling the charge we're waiting for a check.

I'm keeping track of my experience, so that others who go through it know what to expect.  I should have an update next week on how the system is performing.

"The PS3's coming, tra-la, tra-la ..."

The recent $100 price drop on the PS3 is already paying dividends for Sony.  In the two weeks since the reduction, sales have increased 135 percent. 

This is great news for early adopters of the PS3.  Increased sales may lead to greater support for the system by third party game developers, to more game exclusives, and can help tilt the scales of the Blu-Ray-HD DVD battle if the system really takes off.

Maybe this success will encourage Sony not to screw things up by jacking up the price of the PS3 to $599 when the 80GB system comes out in August.  With Lair and Madden 08 coming out for the PS3, August can be a great month for Sony.

Red Ring of Death Saga Continues

Well, the three-week turnaround date has come and gone and I still haven't received my fixed Xbox 360.

I called the Microsoft repair facility on July 2, and their customer service representative told me that from the time of the call it would take three weeks to get my Xbox 360 back home.  That was Monday, and I haven't heard anything from Microsoft or had a delivery from UPS.  I figured that the three-week window was too good to be true, but I'll wait until next Monday before I get too angry.

The one thing that was easy for them to do -- pre-charge my credit card for the repairs -- was taken care of within a day.  To get the money refunded (due to the warranty extension), it will take ten to twelve weeks -- which took us 45 minutes to find out on the customer service line.

So far, not a great case study for customer service.  But, if I get the system back in working order by this Friday, I'll be satisfied.  Stay tuned to Beyond Gaming as this exciting story continues to unfold!

Stay Away from All-Pro Football 2K8

I haven't played All-Pro Football 2K8, but I have already decided not to pick up the game and I hope nobody else buys the game either.

As most sports gamers know, EA Sports has the exclusive rights to make NFL-licensed football games, so 2K Sports used a group of NFL legends to make an unlicensed game.  They also created their own teams and their own stadiums, which is all pretty cool.  In fact, I was close to picking up All-Pro 2K8 myself last week.

Fortunately, I didn't.  As I was checking out the Joystiq gaming blog this morning, they showed a clip from the game, and the developers decided to include O.J. Simpson.  2K representatives said that they contemplated not including Simpson, but the fact that he was a legend on the field meant that he should be in the game.  I think that was a terrible decision, and it was a decision that will keep me from buying the game.

Since Simpson is in the game, I'm assuming that 2K Sports had to pay him money to use his likeness.  Simpson may or may not get money for every game that is sold. If he does get paid, buyers of the game are lining his pockets, and even if he doesn't I don't want to buy from a company that financially supports Simpson.

So, I will either buy NCAA Football 2008 or pick up Madden next month.

What do you think?  Will the inclusion of O.J. Simpson in 2K8 impact your decision to purchase the game?

Say it aint Sony!

As an early adopter of the PS3, I feel cheated by the latest news from Sony.

Sony is introducing an 80GB version of the PS3, which will be available for $599, and is going to phase out the 60GB version of the PS3.

While early adopters should be rewarded for their patronage, it seems we're always getting the "royal screw job," to quote Homer Simpson.

First, the Xbox 360 is plagued with the Red Ring of Death and hardware failures, now Sony gives late comers an advantage by offering the 80GB version -- and to top it off, there's word that the new, improved version will be reduced in price to $499 once the stock of the original 60GB version is sold out.

I guess I shouldn't complain -- as Sony attracts more gamers to the PS3, the industry and game developers will throw more support behind the system and improve on the high quality games already available for the system. 

What do you think about the recent moves from Sony?  Are you more inclined to buy the system now that it's available for $499, or will you wait for further price drops?

Part of the Mii Generation

I picked up the Wii a couple of weeks ago and finally had the opportunity to sit down and play a couple of the Wii Sports games.

So far, the system gets my thumbs up ...

Microsoft's Corporeal Experience at E3

I haven't had the opportunity to watch my TiVo'd reports from E3, but I did watch the first part of the Microsoft press conference.

Microsoft threw up Jeff Bell, a spokesperson who acted like he was doing an infomercial -- making it pretty painful to watch -- sort of like any kids' comedy on the Disney Channel these days (I know because I have a six-year old who is hooked on that crap).

I saw that they have new HD movies to download from Disney on Xbox Live -- including Hercules, Aladdin, the Hunchback of Notre Dame and Tarzan.  I thought that was pretty cool, but I have to wait for my system to return from Microsoft before I can take advantage of it.

The part that was really cool was at the opening.  They had Corporeal, a band from Libertyville, IL (one of the many northern Illinois cities I've called home) play the theme song from Halo.  You can see their performance from E3 on the Xbox web site, or you can see an earlier performance at Libertyville High School on You Tube.

Some of the games to look forward to in the coming months include:

- Halo 3 (obviously)
- Assassins Creed (looks awesome)
- Rock Band
- Mass Effect
- Madden 08
- NHL 08
- Tiger Woods 08
- NCAA Football 08 (this Tuesday)
- Project Gotham Racing 4
- Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation

It sounds like there's a lot of good stuff coming from Microsoft over the next six months.  For a full report, check out this detailed report at Gamespot.com.

My next purchase for the 360 will be NCAA Football 08, and I hope to have a review of that posted in the coming weeks -- depending on when I get my system back from MS.

Aside from NCAA Football, I'm looking forward to the releases of NHL 08, Tiger Woods 08 and Assassins Creed.  Besides Halo 3, let me know which games are on your buy list.