On many of the podcasts and websites I frequent, the question of buying a used game or a new game has become a hot topic. I've not really heard anyone take the position I have, so I thought I'd toss my two cents in.
In today's economy, for both developers and gamers, it's tough. Developers need to get paid for their work to continue making the games we love, but on the flip side, gamers must get their money's worth out of the game. A developer simply cannot expect most gamers to go out and shell out $60 for a game that takes them all of 10 hours to finish. If I can see all there is to see in a game within 5 days of owning it, in my eyes, this is not a good value.
If you're a developer, there are many ways to add value to a game to make it worth it to a gamer to own. The primary way is creating a compelling multiplayer mode. The key word here is "compelling". There are games out there (I'm looking at you Bioshock 2 and Uncharted 2) that have no need of multiplayer. Nothing disappoints me more than multiplayer shoehorned into a title for the sake of a back of the box bullet point. This does nothing to make the game sticky if it's not compelling. The more sticky a game is, the less of a used market there will be, therefore boosting new game sales since the used games are scarce.
Another great way, and also a great way to pick up more coin while using the same game assets, is great DLC offerings. Borderlands is a great example of this. You already had a great game, and tack on some great additional content, and you've got a two-fold winner. First you reward the people that already bought your game new, and secondly, you still make money off of the people who bought it used, thus gaining revenue off of a game that you wouldn't have otherwise.
In contrast, if you're a gamer walking into Gamestop with the intention of buying a used game, let's consider the savings you get on most used games. I've rarely if ever seen the price of Gamestop's used games be more than five dollars removed from the price of a new one. As a gamer, you need to consider at this point, is it really worth only a five dollar savings when you could be supporting the developer that created the game? In my mind, this is a no-brainer. I have personally bought the new game in all instances. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying "never buy a used game." What I am saying is, "Are the savings enough to support a predatory business model and to not support the guys that poured months of their life in it?" One of the few used game models I support is Goozex. At least there, you get dollar for dollar trade in value, unlike just about any retail outlet.
Many are also knocking the EA "Project Ten Dollar" program. I'm actually on their side on this. Project Ten Dollar accomplishes a few things. Firstly, it devalues used games. Either companies like Gamestop will be forced to lower used game prices, or they don't make the sale. As a gamer, I can hardly justify paying $55 for a used copy of a game that I won't be entitled to all the features of. On top of that, to get those features, I would have to pay $5 more than the new copy of the game. Realistically, to achieve the same value, Gamestop would have to lower the cost of a used game that's just been released to $45. At this cost, the gamer gets a great choice: Are the features missing worth my $10 or not? If not, these gamers get a nice bonus. If so, the developers get their reward. I see this as a potential win for everyone.
The second thing it does, most obviously, is get a developer revenue it wouldn't otherwise have received. Since I get a lot of my used games from the above-mentioned Goozex, the games are effectively free. I have NO problem kicking $10 to the developer for a game I'd normally have paid $60 for. I win because the game is still ridiculously cheap, and the developer wins with the extra revenue.
Lastly, and this is long term, because the title makes more money, its worth is shown in regards to getting a sequel. This lets me win again later when they make another great game I want to buy.
My attitude on the topic is this: It's OK to be cheap to an extent. But make sure that the discount is truly worth it before taking food off the table of a developer and potentially taking future games off the market.
September 24, 2010
September 22, 2010
Microsoft Opens Preview Program For Fall Update
As in the past, Microsoft has opened their Connect site for the Fall Dashboard Preview. Applicants lucky enough to be accepted into the preview will get a sneak peak at ESPN, an improved Netflix interface, and a new party chat codec among others. Microsoft warns that the preview will break party chat functionality with non preview members because of the codec change, but such is the life of the early adopter.
Veteran Gamer has already been accepted into the preview, but awaits a code push with everyone else. The confirmation did not set a specific date, only saying that it would come in "the next two weeks." Get signed up, and good luck!
Veteran Gamer has already been accepted into the preview, but awaits a code push with everyone else. The confirmation did not set a specific date, only saying that it would come in "the next two weeks." Get signed up, and good luck!
Veteran Gamer Reviews
In the near future, you'll begin seeing some game reviews posted by yours truly. I felt I should explain my scoring methodology, since I'm probably coming from a different angle than the more mainstream sites.
Veteran Gamer as a site tailors its content based on the principle that if you're reading the site, you're at least in your late twenties, likely married, and maybe you've got a kid or two in the mix as well. Because of these facts, it's extremely unlikely that you can buy every new game that hits the market. Because of these facts, it's a certainty that this site cannot review every game on the market. Right now, I'm a staff of one writing because I love video games. So when you do see a review, you know I own the game. If I'm ever so fortunate to have a publisher send me a game for free, it will be noted in the review. In light of these facts, my review scale based on a five-star scale as follows:
1 Star - Not worth your time - Seriously. I'm scarred having played it, and would really like the time and money I just wasted back.
2 Stars - Worth your time, but not your money - This is one of those games that someone who likes it will fully admit that it's a guilty pleasure. There's plenty wrong with it, but for some reason, you have a good time with it. Find some other sucker who's bought it and play it on their dime.
3 Stars - Worth Renting - This game is a good game, though not worth owning. Good for a few nights of fun, never to be touched again, it's the perfect game to get from the local video store, GameFly, or Goozex so you get to play the game, but didn't have to plunk down $60 to do it.
4 Stars - Worth owning - This game is a great game. It will have good replay value, or a quality campaign that takes long enough that rental isn't really a valid option. As the subtext says, it's worth your money.
5 Stars - Must own - If you own the platform this is released on, and you like the genre of the game, you're doing yourself a disservice as a gamer by not owning this game the minute it's released. Five stars for me, is not an award given out easily. A game must be worth every penny and then some of it's new release price to receive this designation. Think of this as the "Editors Choice" award of the site. The accolades don't get any better on this site.
I hold the philosophy that games should be fun as well as worth your hard earned coin. You might find the most awesome game in the world that can be completed in four hours. But are those four hours of game play worth $60? Highly unlikely.
Herein lies my purpose. To let you, dear reader, know if it's really worth it for you to plunk down your hard earned coin from an everyman's point of view.
Veteran Gamer as a site tailors its content based on the principle that if you're reading the site, you're at least in your late twenties, likely married, and maybe you've got a kid or two in the mix as well. Because of these facts, it's extremely unlikely that you can buy every new game that hits the market. Because of these facts, it's a certainty that this site cannot review every game on the market. Right now, I'm a staff of one writing because I love video games. So when you do see a review, you know I own the game. If I'm ever so fortunate to have a publisher send me a game for free, it will be noted in the review. In light of these facts, my review scale based on a five-star scale as follows:
1 Star - Not worth your time - Seriously. I'm scarred having played it, and would really like the time and money I just wasted back.
2 Stars - Worth your time, but not your money - This is one of those games that someone who likes it will fully admit that it's a guilty pleasure. There's plenty wrong with it, but for some reason, you have a good time with it. Find some other sucker who's bought it and play it on their dime.
3 Stars - Worth Renting - This game is a good game, though not worth owning. Good for a few nights of fun, never to be touched again, it's the perfect game to get from the local video store, GameFly, or Goozex so you get to play the game, but didn't have to plunk down $60 to do it.
4 Stars - Worth owning - This game is a great game. It will have good replay value, or a quality campaign that takes long enough that rental isn't really a valid option. As the subtext says, it's worth your money.
5 Stars - Must own - If you own the platform this is released on, and you like the genre of the game, you're doing yourself a disservice as a gamer by not owning this game the minute it's released. Five stars for me, is not an award given out easily. A game must be worth every penny and then some of it's new release price to receive this designation. Think of this as the "Editors Choice" award of the site. The accolades don't get any better on this site.
I hold the philosophy that games should be fun as well as worth your hard earned coin. You might find the most awesome game in the world that can be completed in four hours. But are those four hours of game play worth $60? Highly unlikely.
Herein lies my purpose. To let you, dear reader, know if it's really worth it for you to plunk down your hard earned coin from an everyman's point of view.
September 21, 2010
Public Service Announcement - PSN Maintenance
Since I had a few people ask, I thought I'd mention that the PSN is indeed down for maintenance until 5:00PM Pacific, 8:00PM Eastern. This also is delaying the PlayStation Store update for today.
Officially, Sony says on their web site: "During this time, users won't be able to access the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home, or Account Management, and may encounter difficulty while signing in to PSN."
The frequently asked questions I'm getting are below:
Q: Does this mean I can't play online?
A: Of course it does. You must be signed into the PSN in order to play games online.
Q: What about my trophies?
A: You can still earn trophies, but you won't be able to show your shiny goodness off to others until the PSN returns to operation.
Q: Can I play anything at all?
A: Yes. All single player games should work just fine, though if there are any online components to the single player, these will not likely work. A good example of this are the GamerNet Challenges in EA Sports games.
Hopefully the folks turning the knobs at Sony will get things finished ahead of schedule, or at the very least, on time.
Officially, Sony says on their web site: "During this time, users won't be able to access the PlayStation Store, PlayStation Home, or Account Management, and may encounter difficulty while signing in to PSN."
The frequently asked questions I'm getting are below:
Q: Does this mean I can't play online?
A: Of course it does. You must be signed into the PSN in order to play games online.
Q: What about my trophies?
A: You can still earn trophies, but you won't be able to show your shiny goodness off to others until the PSN returns to operation.
Q: Can I play anything at all?
A: Yes. All single player games should work just fine, though if there are any online components to the single player, these will not likely work. A good example of this are the GamerNet Challenges in EA Sports games.
Hopefully the folks turning the knobs at Sony will get things finished ahead of schedule, or at the very least, on time.
PS3 Day at Amazon.com
Is the PS3 your platform of choice? Then today's your lucky day, as it's PS3 day at Amazon
. Starting the day off is the deal of the day, the soon to be Move enabled Heavy Rain, for $40. But that's not all! The lightning deals today are all PS3 related as well! Stay tuned to this post throughout the day to catch the deals as they're revealed.
9:00AM EDT - Madden '11 - $45
11:00AM EDT - Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions - $45
1:00PM EDT - Ear Force PX21 Gaming Headset - $56
2:00PM EDT - Transformers: War For Cybertron - $44
4:00PM EDT - NHL '11 - $45
6:00PM EDT - 3D Dot Game Heroes - $20
8:00PM EDT - Singularity - $43
10:00PM EDT - Tiger Woods '11 - $45
11:00PM EDT - Blur - $45
. Starting the day off is the deal of the day, the soon to be Move enabled Heavy Rain, for $40. But that's not all! The lightning deals today are all PS3 related as well! Stay tuned to this post throughout the day to catch the deals as they're revealed.9:00AM EDT - Madden '11 - $45
11:00AM EDT - Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions - $45
1:00PM EDT - Ear Force PX21 Gaming Headset - $56
2:00PM EDT - Transformers: War For Cybertron - $44
4:00PM EDT - NHL '11 - $45
6:00PM EDT - 3D Dot Game Heroes - $20
8:00PM EDT - Singularity - $43
10:00PM EDT - Tiger Woods '11 - $45
11:00PM EDT - Blur - $45
September 19, 2010
Playstation Move Impressions
I feel I've spent enough time with Tiger Woods '11 and a couple of PSN demos that I can give a well informed impressions piece. What follows is my experience with the Playstation Move after owning it for a weekend.
Having shot four full rounds of golf on Tiger Woods '11, I have to say that the only setback EA's golf game using the Move is if you're not wishing to use a 100% shot, things can become anyone's guess as to how much power you'll end up putting on the ball. But other than that one area of the game which can honestly be worked around (the last round I shot four under par) everything else sparkles. The one-to-one tracking is there, and the swing is a very accurate reproduction of your real life golf swing. Just like in real life, I tend to slice the ball, and I was amazed that it picked this up. You'll see that you can create slices and hooks on purpose to shape shots for various situations. Using the Move with Tiger Woods '11 is very much like hitting the real golf course, but without all the walking. I truly believe that if you played this game enough, you could work kinks out of a real life golf swing based on how well the technology reads what you did in your swing. I watched my brother-in-law fly open with his hips, and just as in real life, the ball hooked like crazy. It's scary good at determining the result of your swing input. Then we come to one of the most frustrating parts of any golf game, motion based or not, once you reach the green. Putting is no mystery as you get a "sweet spot" to aim for that will allow you to sink your puts. Reading the greens, just as in real life, is the challenge here. It took me the better part of 4 rounds to begin to read the greens very well, but now that I have it down, the game has gotten significantly better.
If you're buying Tiger Woods '11 because you believe it will be a great game to use with the Playstation Move, you won't be disappointed. Just be prepared to be as frustrated as you are in real life golf, because what you're signing up for here is an incredibly accurate depiction of real life golf.
Disclaimer: The next impressions are based on the demos of full games. While Veteran Gamer has some coin to spend on this hobby, the spare coin for this paycheck has been exhausted in purchasing the Move and Tiger Woods '11.
The next game that I gave a shot in testing out the Move was EyePet. EyePet is a cute game geared more towards a younger audience, though it's a great tech demo to show adults what the Move is capable of. The game really could have done much of what it accomplishes with the Playstation Eye alone, and it does remind me of some of the old EyeToy games. You are able to use your normal hand in addition to the Move controller to interact with the little creature that will jump into your living room on screen. The magic is what the Move controller can turn into to play with this pet. In the demo, you give your EyePet a bath and draw an airplane for it to fly. The Move tech is pretty flawless in implementing the accessories onto the end of the Move controller. For those with younger children, the $40 for this game is nearly a no-brainer.
Lastly, I took Tumble for a spin. Tumble can best be described as an odd spin-off of Jenga. Sure, you're working with blocks to stack a tower, but there is much to do with the tower. The demo gives you a taste of the game, allowing you to play the tutorial as well as 4 levels. Each level gives you a set of medals that you can earn based on things you do in the level. Most levels have several medals available. Two of the four levels in the demo revolve around building a tower as high as you can. You earn bronze, silver and gold medals depending on how high you build the tower. But there can also be secondary medals that can be achieved as well, ranging from achieving a gold medal winning tower in a certain amount of time, or building the tower in such a way that it touches a target. The other level type appearing in the demo is the destruction type. In these levels, you blow up a tower that has been built already and try to scatter the pieces as far as possible from the center. This is great fun to be sure. I spent nearly 20 minutes on one level trying to achieve the "Home Run" medal, which was quite challenging. There appears to be much to do in the game, but I digress from my purpose here, previewing the Move tech. In this game, it's very, very precise. Working in 3D space is no easy task, and the tech works fantastically. The hardest part of this particular game is figuring out a comfortable "center" position, but the game makes it extremely easy to set the center position and send you back off to play with the blocks. There are some hiccups when you're getting very precise in that it will sometimes get a little jumpy, but nothing that is going to ruin the experience at all. This is a game that at $10 on the PSN, I certainly wouldn't mind purchasing and doing a full review on.
So based on this, should you buy it? The answer isn't a simple one. If you're a nut for motion-based gaming, it's a must own. You will undoubtedly enjoy many hours of fun, and many of the titles in the launch library for the Move will likely appeal to you. If you're someone like I am, that likes the allure of motion-based gaming, but couldn't stand to use the Wii with its last generation graphics and lack of any achievement or trophy system, I'd say this is worth your money to buy. A couple of existing games will support the Move, with Tiger Woods '11 already patched, and Heavy Rain will be receiving a patch this week. These two should keep you busy until (hopefully) more comes along. If you're a complete motion curmudgeon, you owe it to yourself as a gamer to at least give it a try. You may be surprised at how much fun you have with it.
Having shot four full rounds of golf on Tiger Woods '11, I have to say that the only setback EA's golf game using the Move is if you're not wishing to use a 100% shot, things can become anyone's guess as to how much power you'll end up putting on the ball. But other than that one area of the game which can honestly be worked around (the last round I shot four under par) everything else sparkles. The one-to-one tracking is there, and the swing is a very accurate reproduction of your real life golf swing. Just like in real life, I tend to slice the ball, and I was amazed that it picked this up. You'll see that you can create slices and hooks on purpose to shape shots for various situations. Using the Move with Tiger Woods '11 is very much like hitting the real golf course, but without all the walking. I truly believe that if you played this game enough, you could work kinks out of a real life golf swing based on how well the technology reads what you did in your swing. I watched my brother-in-law fly open with his hips, and just as in real life, the ball hooked like crazy. It's scary good at determining the result of your swing input. Then we come to one of the most frustrating parts of any golf game, motion based or not, once you reach the green. Putting is no mystery as you get a "sweet spot" to aim for that will allow you to sink your puts. Reading the greens, just as in real life, is the challenge here. It took me the better part of 4 rounds to begin to read the greens very well, but now that I have it down, the game has gotten significantly better.
If you're buying Tiger Woods '11 because you believe it will be a great game to use with the Playstation Move, you won't be disappointed. Just be prepared to be as frustrated as you are in real life golf, because what you're signing up for here is an incredibly accurate depiction of real life golf.
Disclaimer: The next impressions are based on the demos of full games. While Veteran Gamer has some coin to spend on this hobby, the spare coin for this paycheck has been exhausted in purchasing the Move and Tiger Woods '11.
The next game that I gave a shot in testing out the Move was EyePet. EyePet is a cute game geared more towards a younger audience, though it's a great tech demo to show adults what the Move is capable of. The game really could have done much of what it accomplishes with the Playstation Eye alone, and it does remind me of some of the old EyeToy games. You are able to use your normal hand in addition to the Move controller to interact with the little creature that will jump into your living room on screen. The magic is what the Move controller can turn into to play with this pet. In the demo, you give your EyePet a bath and draw an airplane for it to fly. The Move tech is pretty flawless in implementing the accessories onto the end of the Move controller. For those with younger children, the $40 for this game is nearly a no-brainer.
Lastly, I took Tumble for a spin. Tumble can best be described as an odd spin-off of Jenga. Sure, you're working with blocks to stack a tower, but there is much to do with the tower. The demo gives you a taste of the game, allowing you to play the tutorial as well as 4 levels. Each level gives you a set of medals that you can earn based on things you do in the level. Most levels have several medals available. Two of the four levels in the demo revolve around building a tower as high as you can. You earn bronze, silver and gold medals depending on how high you build the tower. But there can also be secondary medals that can be achieved as well, ranging from achieving a gold medal winning tower in a certain amount of time, or building the tower in such a way that it touches a target. The other level type appearing in the demo is the destruction type. In these levels, you blow up a tower that has been built already and try to scatter the pieces as far as possible from the center. This is great fun to be sure. I spent nearly 20 minutes on one level trying to achieve the "Home Run" medal, which was quite challenging. There appears to be much to do in the game, but I digress from my purpose here, previewing the Move tech. In this game, it's very, very precise. Working in 3D space is no easy task, and the tech works fantastically. The hardest part of this particular game is figuring out a comfortable "center" position, but the game makes it extremely easy to set the center position and send you back off to play with the blocks. There are some hiccups when you're getting very precise in that it will sometimes get a little jumpy, but nothing that is going to ruin the experience at all. This is a game that at $10 on the PSN, I certainly wouldn't mind purchasing and doing a full review on.
So based on this, should you buy it? The answer isn't a simple one. If you're a nut for motion-based gaming, it's a must own. You will undoubtedly enjoy many hours of fun, and many of the titles in the launch library for the Move will likely appeal to you. If you're someone like I am, that likes the allure of motion-based gaming, but couldn't stand to use the Wii with its last generation graphics and lack of any achievement or trophy system, I'd say this is worth your money to buy. A couple of existing games will support the Move, with Tiger Woods '11 already patched, and Heavy Rain will be receiving a patch this week. These two should keep you busy until (hopefully) more comes along. If you're a complete motion curmudgeon, you owe it to yourself as a gamer to at least give it a try. You may be surprised at how much fun you have with it.
September 17, 2010
Veteran Gamer Picks Up Playstation Move
At lunch today I picked up the Playstation Move and a copy of Tiger Woods '11, the only "normal" game to currently support the Move controller. I'll put up impressions later today. As far as my first impressions of the hardware itself, they are good. The controller has a good weight, and the trigger appears to be an analog trigger and feels great. Much better than the trigger on the Wii Remote, and miles better than the L2/R2 triggers on the DualShock3. The "Move" button is easy to press, and my only complaint would really be the stiffness of the X, Square, Triangle, and Circle buttons, but I'm guessing due to the nature of the controller, these should be used only sparingly anyhow. Look for more tonight!
September 10, 2010
Veteran Gamer Takes the Hulu Plus Preview For PS3 For A Spin
When the new Playstation Plus service was announced, one of the benefits of this service was to be able to access the Hulu Plus preview via the PS3. Since the Veteran Gamer household recently told the cable company they could keep their video service, it was decided that Hulu Plus was worth a look.
The difference between the standard Hulu service and the Plus level is that you're afforded the ability to play your shows on supported TV sets, Blu-Ray devices, and on Apple mobile devices as well instead of just on a computer. Another difference is that the standard service only lets you have access to a selection of the content in the Hulu library, where a Plus subscription will afford you access to all there is to offer, including episodes from the current season of shows. Now that you know what the service is all about, let's have a look at the PS3 client.
You'll notice right away that Hulu Plus has a very polished look and feel. It's clear that they took great care to have a very simple, but very beautiful interface. We decided to watch a couple of episodes of Modern Family to put it through it's paces. The first drawback of the service is that it does not take advantage of the PS3 remote if you own one. The second, is that the use of the PS3 controller doesn't seem to work as I would expect. I hit the down key and rather than have a highlight appear over the play/pause button, the video just resumed. These things seem like something that can be corrected, but it's surprising to me that they exist at this point even in a preview. The next point that hit me straight away, and this may just be with this particular program, or it may be because I'm a bit under the weather right now and couldn't hear it, is that it does not appear that we're picking up any type of surround sound. I only seemed to discern audio coming from the front speakers of my surround setup, another disappointment. This may be due to the fact that until the Plus version launched, they only expected to deliver audio through computer speakers. Lastly, unlike if you had recorded these shows using your DVR, you will have to suffer through commercials. The upside is that at least currently, there are no more than two commercials per stoppage, and no more than a minute of total stoppage. At least in the Modern Family episodes we watched, there were only three commercial breaks in the half hour show.
On the positive side of things, the high definition video is gorgeous, and in the two episodes we watched, we had no buffering issues, which is saying a lot when you're streaming high definition video over the Internet. It's also saying a lot considering the amount of time it takes to download anything off of the PSN, regardless of how fast your Internet connection is.
For a service that will set you back $9.95 per month, whether I can recommend it depends on what your situation is. If you're a cable or dish consumer already with a DVR, I can't give this service a full recommendation. The only thing you gain here is the ability to play these shows on the go on your Apple mobile device. But even that feature wouldn't make me inclined to recommend the service to a cable or dish subscriber. However, if you're in my situation and have eschewed traditional video service this service looks to be a serviceable replacement for the cable company. In my situation, it's a savings of about $45 per month over having cable, and though you do give up some features, it is after all still the preview. Some of these pieces may yet show up, and even now, the service is worth the money to someone without a current video service provider.
Hulu Plus Preview
Cost: $9.95 per month subscription
Pros:
Veteran Gamer Score: Three out of five stars
The difference between the standard Hulu service and the Plus level is that you're afforded the ability to play your shows on supported TV sets, Blu-Ray devices, and on Apple mobile devices as well instead of just on a computer. Another difference is that the standard service only lets you have access to a selection of the content in the Hulu library, where a Plus subscription will afford you access to all there is to offer, including episodes from the current season of shows. Now that you know what the service is all about, let's have a look at the PS3 client.
You'll notice right away that Hulu Plus has a very polished look and feel. It's clear that they took great care to have a very simple, but very beautiful interface. We decided to watch a couple of episodes of Modern Family to put it through it's paces. The first drawback of the service is that it does not take advantage of the PS3 remote if you own one. The second, is that the use of the PS3 controller doesn't seem to work as I would expect. I hit the down key and rather than have a highlight appear over the play/pause button, the video just resumed. These things seem like something that can be corrected, but it's surprising to me that they exist at this point even in a preview. The next point that hit me straight away, and this may just be with this particular program, or it may be because I'm a bit under the weather right now and couldn't hear it, is that it does not appear that we're picking up any type of surround sound. I only seemed to discern audio coming from the front speakers of my surround setup, another disappointment. This may be due to the fact that until the Plus version launched, they only expected to deliver audio through computer speakers. Lastly, unlike if you had recorded these shows using your DVR, you will have to suffer through commercials. The upside is that at least currently, there are no more than two commercials per stoppage, and no more than a minute of total stoppage. At least in the Modern Family episodes we watched, there were only three commercial breaks in the half hour show.
On the positive side of things, the high definition video is gorgeous, and in the two episodes we watched, we had no buffering issues, which is saying a lot when you're streaming high definition video over the Internet. It's also saying a lot considering the amount of time it takes to download anything off of the PSN, regardless of how fast your Internet connection is.
For a service that will set you back $9.95 per month, whether I can recommend it depends on what your situation is. If you're a cable or dish consumer already with a DVR, I can't give this service a full recommendation. The only thing you gain here is the ability to play these shows on the go on your Apple mobile device. But even that feature wouldn't make me inclined to recommend the service to a cable or dish subscriber. However, if you're in my situation and have eschewed traditional video service this service looks to be a serviceable replacement for the cable company. In my situation, it's a savings of about $45 per month over having cable, and though you do give up some features, it is after all still the preview. Some of these pieces may yet show up, and even now, the service is worth the money to someone without a current video service provider.
Hulu Plus Preview
Cost: $9.95 per month subscription
Pros:
- Very polished interface
- Beautiful HD video with no buffering problems
- Access to current seasons of many popular shows, as well as a large back catalog of shows
- PS3 remote does not currently work with the client
- Control via PS3 controller sometimes performs unexpected functions
- No surround sound
- Commercial interruptions
Veteran Gamer Score: Three out of five stars
September 1, 2010
Veteran Gamer Nabs New Xbox 3-Sexy
Veteran Gamer got one of the spiffy new Xbox 360 S consoles today, or as Major Nelson and company like to refer to it on his podcast, the Xbox 3-Sexy. It's a slick piece of hardware for sure. You can check out the unboxing and initial startup screens by following the links. The new console button sounds are a nice touch, and you can hear the power on sound in the initial startup video, though I don't put a disc in the tray for you to hear the eject sound. The folks at Microsoft weren't lying when they said this thing is "whisper quiet". Even with a disc in the tray, the sound is barely audible compared to the Falcon version 360 it replaced. Looking forward to getting some play time in once my transfer cable arrives!
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