GTA IV: Best Game Ever??

Easily one of the biggest games to come out this generation, GTA IV is finally out in solid form and spinning in over 8 million PS3s and Xbox360s worldwide after less than a month on the market. Reviews had initially placed its average score at over 99% which made it the highest rated game of all time! Over the past two weeks, it had dropped slightly to 97.6 on Xbo360 (#1 all time) and 97.4 on PS3 (#3 all time). Needless to say, it had lived up to the hype in terms of sales and critical acclaim.

But does the game warrant all of this acclaim? Is it really the best game ever made? After only 6 hours of playing the game myself, I would have to say that it is a great game but not necessarily the best of all time. The game is definitely the best GTA game ever released. I admire the shear size and attention to detail the game exudes. Things like stopping to pay a toll to go across and bridge and the cops chasing you if you don't is one of those touches. The ability to call a cab from any point while walking the streets and take a realistic virtual cab ride while admiring the city is another. Being able to to actually attend a comedy show and watch a show in real time by the likes of Katt Williams and other big time comedians is yet another. The game world is absolutely phenomenal and completely engrossing. The story is also the best of any GTA game and better than most other games of its type. Voice acting is top-notch and the animation is much improved over previous games. However, I do have several complaints that take away from the experience. One is that the driving is pretty difficult, much more so than previous versions. It is pretty hard for me to drive straight without crashing all over the place and it can get kind of frustrating at times. My other complaint is with the overall graphics. The graphics have many moments of just seeming like a HD version of the previous games. The frame rate suffices but does dip below 30fps often enough to notice it (PS3 version). Also, I'm not a huge fan of the extensive filters applied to the image on the PS3. Overall, its not enough take away from the enjoyment of the game, but I was hoping for a little more.

These are just some of my initial thoughts and impressions after spending a few hours with the game. I'm interested in knowing what some of yours are?

PS3 Secrets Revealed: The PS3 Harddrive Can be Upgraded to Any Size

Today is more confusing than any other time to be a game console buyer. Since their respective launches, there have been more than 5 different SKUs of the Xbox360 and 4 different SKUs of the PS3. It is annoying, but one of the main criteria that both Sony and Microsoft use to differentiate the SKUs are their HDD sizes. For example, the 360 currently has the Core w/o a HDD, the premium with a 20GB HDD, and the elite with a 120GB HDD. Meanwhile, the PS3 has had a 20GB, 60GB, 40GB, and an 80GB SKU, of which only the 40GB remains on store shelves. So it would seem that the 360 is a better deal since ultimately, it comes with a largest HDD in the 120GB SKU. But there is a fundamental difference between Sony and Microsoft's HDD strategy.

The Xbox360 is a "closed" platform, meaning that only Microsoft designed HDDs built specifically for the Xbox360 can be used in the system. However, the PS3 is an "open" platform meaning (in this context) that the HDD which comes with the system can be swapped out with ANY off-the-shelf 2.5" SATA HDD (the same HDD used in almost all laptops). That's right! So if you feel that 40GB is too small, then you can go to amazon.com, newegg.com, best buy, circuit city or wherever and purchase that 500GB HDD you've been dying for. I purchased a 60GB launch PS3 but now have it outfitted with a 230GB HDD!

Now you may be saying, "but wait how much would a HDD larger than say the 120GB HDD in the 360 cost"? Here is where it gets interesting. As a reference, I purchased a Toshiba 230GB HDD online for a mere $100. Why do I say mere? Well compared to the prices on the Xbox360 it is mere. With the 360, you are limited to using only the Microsoft certified HDDs built for the 360. Currently, there are only 2 options: 20GB and 120GB. But how much is Microsoft charging? Are you sitting down? The 20GB HDD off the shelf has an MSRP of....$99!!! The 120GB HDD costs....$179!!! So yes, I got an 230GB HDD for the same price as the 20GB 360 HDD. Remember that Microsoft charges these crazy prices because they know you have no other choice and if you want a harddrive you have to pick 1 of the 2.

So yeah. Advantage Sony on this one. Keep in mind that the HDD swap would easily take less than 10 minutes for an average person to perform. Please read the PS3 manual for instructions on how to perform the swap. The only tool you will need is a small screw driver. Also, make sure you backup whatever data you want to save to an external device (USB drive, Memory stick, external HDD etc) since the new HDD will have to be formatted by the PS3 and all data will be lost. If anyone has any other questions or want more information about this, feel free to let me know.

PS3 Secrets Revealed: Introduction

I will start a new series a post called "Ps3 Secrets Revealed" that primarily serve to educate current and future PS3 owners on some of the neat and unprecedented features present in the hardware that they may not know about. The PS3 is easily the most complicated piece of gaming hardware ever released and the amount of things that it can do is staggering. Sony has done a poor job promoting and educating many on its features primarily because there are just too many to manage and discuss. So, that's what I'm here for.

In case you're wondering, No I am not doing this feature because I'm just some biased ignorant Sony lover that wants to brag about the PS3. I can say that I've owned all three of the current generation hardware and currently still own a PS3 and Wii. I waited in the rain for 5 hours on a work day to get a Xbox360 only to be denied! I then purchased it off of ebay for over $200 above the MSRP. Not to mention I thought the PS2 hardware was horrible overall. So, no i'm no fanboy. I'm just a fan of all gaming.

The reasons I'm doing this now for the PS3 are:

1. Education of the PS3 hardware is an ongoing challenge. The PS3 is complicated and there are so many features and options that most consumers will never even realize what the system can do.
2. I actually own a PS3 and am familiar with most (if not all) of its many secrets
3. It is indeed my personal opinion that the PS3 is the best piece of gaming hardware ever released and I think it is cool to share why I think that to be the case. Just my thoughts.

Hopefully, some of you will find the information helpful and interesting!

Nintendo Wii: Fastest Selling System Ever?!?!

You have to commend Nintendo and what they are achieving this generation with both the Wii and the DS. Here is a company that once dominated the market but spent much of the 90s and 2000s languishing in the shadows of their competitors, including Sony, Sega, and Microsoft. Most thought that Nintendo would fall the way Sega did and drop out of the hardware business after the GameCube. Instead, After over 10 years of playing 2nd and 3rd fiddle, Nintendo is once again dominating the market and the Wii has achieve unprecedented success. Not only is the Wii alone outselling the PS3 and 360 combined on a month-month basis in every major territory around the world, but their brilliant business strategy allows them to be the only hardware company to actually make a profit on every single Wii system sold (chalk it up to the relatively simple and old technology powering the machine). It is one of the greatest comeback stories ever! If there ever was a doubt, just take a look at the official hardware sales numbers from NPD for the month of March:

Hardware Mar-08
Wii 721,000
Nintendo DS 698,000
PlayStation Portable 297,000
Xbox 360 262K,000
PlayStation 3 257,000
PlayStation 2 216,000

Well, it's official! According to vgchartz.com, the Wii has become the fastest console ever in America to sell 10 million units. It achieved this in a mere 70 weeks! To put that in perspective, the current highest selling system of all time, the PS2, took 84 weeks. Note that these numbers are for consoles and do not include handhelds like the GameBoy or DS.

So, the Wii is a bona fide phenomenon. The interesting thing is that it is doing this without much marketing and with no huge games that appeal to the core Nintendo fan. In fact, it is no secret that the biggest complaint against Nintendo continues to be lackluster software. While the quantity of releases for the Wii has been high, only a fraction are deemed playable by most gamers. It is still true that most gamers who brought a Wii rarely play it outside of family or friend events. So who are the people that continue to wait outside for Toys R US and other stores to open every Sunday to buy the system well after a year from launch? And what are they buying it for? To play Wii Sports still? Can't be. I honestly still don't get it. Sure the price point is great and don't get me wrong I expect the Wii to be selling great, perhaps even outselling the PS3 and 360. But to achieve the numbers its achieving every single week since day 1 and not a single hint of slowing down? It is on pace to truly become the fastest and highest selling console of ALL TIME! Everyone in the industry has been saying since mid 07 that "the Wii is just a fad" but that statement is proving not to be true at all. How can this be? What do you guys think?

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue Preview

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
Platform: PS3
Develepor: Polyphony Digital
Release Data: 4/15/08
Price: $39.99
Screens:







The next installment of the critically acclaimed Gran Turismo series, which has sold nearly 50 million units to date, is on its way to the PS3 next month. However, there is a catch. The prologue in the title indicates that this is not the final and complete version of GT5. In fact, it's more of a progress report as Polyphony is breaking down the release of GT5 into increments to tide fans over since the scope and development time for the full game would have too long of a wait. Indeed, the existence of this game is smart marketing by Sony to milk one of its biggest franchise on its still young PS3 which has been starved for big games. The first installment came out in December 06 titled Gran Turismo HD concept which was a free demo featuring a single new location to race about 20 cars around with new HD graphics. It looked great and was a great free tease of what GT5 could be on the PS3. Well GT5:Prologue takes us deeper into GT5 for the not so free price of $39.99. So is it worth it?

GT5:Prologue demonstrates many of the new features that has been discussed for Gt5 for a while including an in car view with full interior modeling of individual cars, live guages, and working mirrors (1st in the series), the addition of high end European manufacturers such as Ferrari and Lamborgini (1st for the series), and an online mode complete with online racing, stat tracking, and a TV spectator mode. Prologue will release in North America this April (Japan had it since Oct 07 with less features) with 6 tracks, over 70 cars, 16 player online, and a brand new drift mode which the Japanese version did not feature (see full details here). In typical GT fashion, GT5:prologue will be an absolute showcase for the technical prowess of the Ps3 with 1920x1080p high definition graphics running at 60fps. The car models consist of over 200,000 polygons each and the environments are accurately modeled after real-world locations with glorious HDR lighting. Up to 20 cars with the increased detail can be driving in a single race (previous GTs never had double digit number of cars on screen at once). The physics engine has been overhauled making for even more realistic and accurate handling of each car and the audio has been upgraded in both quantity and fidelity featuring uncompressed 7.1 PCM surround sound.

GT5:prologue looks to be a great treat for fans of cars and previous GT games. Its even better to think that this is not even the finished version of GT5 and almost every aspect of the game will be enhanced by the time its released. Polyphony already promised damage and hinted at weather as additions to the final game. $40 is cheaper than the normal $60 game but is pretty expensive for a "glorified demo". But with online play, 6 courses, 70 cars, and some of the best graphics in gaming today, it may just be worth it.

PS3 1st Year A Failure?

Never have I seen a gaming system be as widely criticized and hated on as the PS3 between it unveiling back in May 2005 and the end of 2007, a year after it's November 2006 release. Hardcore gamers and gaming press would bad mouth it as if they were paid too, consistently pointing to lack of features compared to the competition, high price, and "No games" as reasons to not buy the system. The criticism went much farther than simply recommending its competitors as the PS3 literally was the laughing stock of the industry and Sony simply could do no right. Many times I've heard of casual people walking into a game store and asking "What about the PS3?" and the clerk responding with a chuckle saying "Nobody's buying it! It's too expensive and has no games. Xbox360 is much better". The impression most had was that the PS3 had a horrible 1st year, with a launch that resulted in its limited hardware not even selling out weeks after release, limited software released, limited online network (compared to Xbox live). and not a single "big" game that could come close to the software released on the Xbox360 like as Gears of War and Halo 3.

No doubt it was a tough 2006-2007 for Sony and things are already looking way up for 2008 (more on this in a future post). But was 2007 really that bad for Sony and the PS3? Should the launch of the PS3 go down in the gaming books as one to remember and laugh at or cry about (depending on which side you're on)? To answer this, we'll look at the hard facts and evaluate this by the most important criteria for gaming hardware: SALES.

Here is a chart showing a comparison between the worldwide sales of the PS3 and Xbox360 in their respective 1st years of availability:


Note:Wii=blue, Xbox360 = green, PS3=red
The origin is the aligned launch dates of each system and the X-axis is month (1 month increments)

Calender Year 2007 Worldwide Totals
PS3 = 7,628,951
Xbox360 = 8,162,707

Both pieces of data are from vgchartz.com and are not official numbers but good approximations.

So what can we gather from these two pieces of data? Let's start with the graph. I'm not including the Wii in this discussion A) because there's no doubt that the Wii is outselling both of its competitors by a sizeable margin and B) given the nature of the hardware systems and their intended audiences, the Wii is not considered a direct competitor to the Xbox360 or Ps3. But it's clear to see that the PS3 sales within its 1st year is virtually identical to that of the Xbox360 for the same duration. In fact, the PS3 is currently selling at a faster pace than the Xbox360 did at the same point as discussed in this article. The 2007 numerical totals are approximations and cannot be taken literally, but we can conclude that the numbers for the PS3 and Xbox360 are very close and virtually equal.

So what does this mean and why is it significant? Well, for one it shows that the PS3 did not have a bad 1st year at all compared its primary competition. In fact, the PS3 is selling on par with the PS2 which 8 years after its release is still selling strong (how strong? How about outselling the Xbox360 for the month of Feb 2008). The PS2 is the highest selling non-handheld system of all time, surpassing the original Nintendo and PS1, so that is a very nice path for the PS3 to be on thus far.

But come on, what's significant about how close these numbers are? Well let's think about this. 2007 was apparently a horrible year for the PS3. The facts are that it was ridiculed by the press and fans alike, its price was way higher than the competition, and there was precious little software to play. All of that was true. Meanwhile, 2007 was arguably the best year for the Xbox360 to date and it was so good that many debate whether any future year for the system will be able to top it. In terms of the number of A quality games released on the system in 2007, the Xbox360 arguably had one of the best years in gaming for any system period. Dozens of games sold more than a million units and rated higher than 90% on the system last year than any other system in recent memory. Blockbusters like Gears of War, Bioshock, Forza 2, Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, and Call of Duty 4 are just a few of the juggernauts the Xbox360 enjoyed last year. If there ever was a time for the Xbox360 to distance itself from the PS3, that would have been it. But....it didn't! Despite favoritism from the press, retailers, and fans, tons of marketing from Microsoft, and a "weak" launch from the PS3, the PS3 still remained about even with it through the year?! What? How?!

Well the key that most people don't take into consideration is that simply, videogames aren't only played in America. While Microsoft (an American company) has enjoyed a pretty sizeable advantage in terms of sales over Sony in America, Sony enjoys a sales advantage is just about every other major territory in the world, including Europe and Japan. Here's some numbers to illustrate the point:

2007 North America:
Xbox360 = 5.2 million
PS3 = 2.7 million

2007 Europe, Australia, and Other
Xbox360 = 2.7 million
PS3 = 3.7 million (PS3 wasn't released in Europe until March 07)

2007 Japan
Xbox360 = 0.2 million
PS3 = 1.2 million

So is the PS3 a failure? Not at all. Is it doing poorly? Not compared to its main competitor and predecessor. Did it meet expectations out the gate? Probably not! The PS3 was a victim of its own hype more than anything else. Was the Xbox360 the better buy for a gamer in 2007? Definitely! But Sony hasn't been #1 for the past 10 years for no reason. After releasing firmware updates monthly to upgrade the system capabilities, dropping the price twice within the 1st year, and releasing some great games towards the end of 2007 the PS3 is riding a steady stream of momentum currently and it looks like its worst days are far behind it. In fact, it outsold the Xbox360 in North America in January and February of 2008. The war is far from over!

Great Time to be a PC Gamer!

PC gaming has traditionally been a difficult and expensive hobby due to constantly evolving hardware and high cost components (particularly graphic cards). However, the last year or so has seen a nice selection of graphic cards released by both Nvidia and ATI that are not only great performing cards, but present an unprecedented value to the costumer with very low prices.

Nvidia GeForce 8800GT
Released: October 2007
Price: ~$250 (512MB)
Specifications: 8800GT Details

Upon its release, the 8800GT literally changed the PC graphics market overnight. Delivering performance virtually equal to the 8800GTX (Nvidia's second card from the top) but for half the price, you could not find these cards online or at stores for months after its release. Despite its numbering as an 8000 series, this is actually the first card to use Nvidia's G90 cores (all of the other 8000 cards use the G80 core) which features several improvement such as 65nm manufacturing resulting in less heat output and power consumption, and additional video processing logic to enhance Blu-Ray and HD-DVD video playback. This card remains arguably the best overall buy even today and two of these in SLI will outperform any single graphics card on the market for less than the cost of the new nvidia 9800GX2 flagship.

ATI Radeon HD 3870
Released: November 2007
Price: ~$220
Specifications: 3870 Details

Essentially ATI's response to the 8800GT, the HD 3870 is one of the best cards ATI has released in years. While not quite as fast as the 8800GT, it is slightly cheaper and until recently much easier to find than the 8800GT making it quite compelling to consumers wanting quality gaming on a budget. In fact, the HD 3870 become quite popular with gamers and pretty much destroyed Nvidia's then midrange card the 8600GT and 8600GTS. Innovations include 55nm manufacturing process, support for directX 10.1 and PCIe 2.0, and higher CPU and shader clocks speeds than any Nvidia cards close to its price range. The Radeon HD 3870 is still a great buy and for $200 offers performance rivaling cards in the $400-$500 price range.

Nvidia GeForce 9600GT
Released: February 2008
Price: ~$180
Specifications: 9600GT Details

Due to the success of the Radeon HD 3870 and 3850 cards, Nvidia was forced to the respond with a card that can offering compelling performance for less than $200. Their answer was the new GeForce 9600GT, the first 9000 series card released by Nvidia. The fact that the first card in this new series was a budget card and not a flagship as has traditionally been the case for the past few generations illustrates how much the market has changed. With SLI and Crossfire leveraging multiple GPU to increase performance, single monolithic cards are much less attractive today than they once were. The 9600GT is an excellent value with a price well below $200 offering performance within 10-20% of the 8800GT and about equal to the Radeon HD 3870. An SLI configuration with 9600GTs can give any single card a run for its money while still costly much less than the Nvidia and ATI flagships. To give you an idea of the performance this card is delivering at this price, I just added it to my 3 year old Dell desktop featuring a Pentium D processor (yeah that old. We're talking Pentium 4!!) which is obviously going to be a bottleneck with any modern graphics card. Yet, I'm able to run Bioshock (high-end game about 8 months old) at max settings and 1680 x 1050 resolution with well over 40fps! Gaming on a budget? You'll do well with this one.