I'm really excited about Firefox 3.5. From what I've used of the official release today, it really is a nice improvement. The one thing I noticed immediately, though, was the very subtle icon change.
New one on the left, original on the right.
Anybody else notice that?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Firefox 3.5
Sony's Next Big Move
Sony has been claiming, for as long as I can recall, that the PS3 is a console that will be around for the long haul. Part of this "long haul" involves the system not truly coming into its prime until further along in its life time. Well, I'm starting to feel Sony is about to make its move.
In May, 2009, NPD (we will miss them) reported that the PS2's sales were almost as good as the PS3's (117,000 PS2s and 131,000 PS3s). What's more, while I'm not sure how accurate these numbers are, it would appear the NPD is reporting that there have been a total of 44.1 million PS2's sold worldwide, while there are only 7.7 million PS3s sold worldwide.
While this is nothing new, as we've all joked about how the PS2 remains Sony's biggest console, it seems like Sony has been saving the best advantages it has had for this Holiday Season.
First off, Sony has recently patented new software PS2 backwards compatibility for the PS3. If this runs as well as their PS1 emulation for the PSP, then this will be a great move that will soften the transition from PS2 to PS3.
The second thing is the PS3 slim coming up. Sony has decided to keep this under wraps for a while, but I think this is mainly because they want to save the surprise and hype that it will bring for the holiday season. This form factor will be a huge plus for those who have held back on getting a PS3 based on its huge size and high power consumption. Yep, the new PS3 will have lower power consumption.
The final strike to me on Sony's plan are the price drop rumors. I really think Sony has held back on the price drop for after Nintendo's Wii lost popularity and was no longer artificially scarce, and for after Microsoft's 360 price cuts.
The only thing I really see standing in Sony's way is how well Microsoft has set the 360 up as a media player, especially with Netflix streaming. Though, if the PS3 is going to receive Netflix as well, then we could see a shift in the Media Center/Gaming Console favor to Sony's side, as Blu-Ray support on the PS3 is great.
It will be interesting to see how well Sony fares this Holiday Season, as the console game seems to have become more of a "wait your turn" for good sales amongst the major companies.
Blizzard Declares the End of an Era
Blizzard's upcoming Starcraft II may be one of the most world-wide anticipated titles to date. With the original Starcraft's huge impact on PC gaming, especially in the realm of multiplayer, it is easy to imagine how Starcraft II will change the way to play games in the future.
Unfortunately for those who love PC Multiplayer, Blizzard has decided to not include LAN play with Starcraft II. Goodbye era of the LAN party, you were good to us while you lasted.
More details on Starcraft II's LAN situation and more here.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Ghostbusters for PC Ruined... why?!
I'm the kind of guy who gets excited about a game, and then doesn't follow up its development super closely. I'll keep up on mainstream reports on progress and watch the trailers, but I hate mucking though rumors or hearing about setbacks. This often causes me to be hit by some surprising bit of news just about the time the game is supposed to come out, usually along the lines of one of my favorite features getting axed before release. Well, the soon to be released Ghostbusters game for the PC seems to have been done just that.
For exact details, check here, but the basic rundown is that the PS3 and XBox 360 versions of the game are going to have multi-player, but the PC version will not. I know that most people will just say, "Get the PS3/XBox 360 version then." To me, though, that simply won't suffice.
I love using my keyboard and mouse to control FPS and over the shoulder shooters. To me, it is the ultimate control scheme, with all the buttons I could need right at my fingertips, and full range of motion from my mouse. Joysticks just don't quite cut it for fast-paced action that shooters present. Of course, this is simply my opinion, and I know lots of people love and prefer their controllers, but that's not the point.
Why not include the multiplayer features? The only reason I can think of is because Atari is convinced the PC is a dying platform for gaming, or too expensive to maintain.
All I can say is that this really ruined my excitement for the Ghostbusters title. I suppose I'll have to wait and see how it pans out, and likely be able to pick up the PC version for $10 in a bargain bin before November.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Valve leaving L4D for Dead?
My initial impression when I read about Valve's sequel to Left 4 Dead was, "Didn't I just pay $50 for the first one?" I felt oddly ignored and put aside, as though I had put money into something I felt would be amazing, only to find out the company who sold it to me wasn't into the idea of backing me up. In fact, when I had pre-ordered the first title, Valve apparently had already started development on the second one. But I read the feature list and started to feel maybe I was over-reacting. Until recently.
A group is growing in the steam community called the L4D2 Boycott. While many of its outlined complaints seem somewhat frivolous, the main point is that the sequel feels a bit too much like what Valve promised L4D would become after DLC improvements came along, and that the sequel will only hurt the people who paid full price for the original. This is where I start to feel the argument is incredibly valid.
I have struggled a bit through the last 6 months as to whether Left 4 Dead was worth my $50. The features were cool, but there were a few things lacking that bothered me. The only thing that kept me hopeful was that DLC would likely fix these issues and keep me happy about my purchase, much as Team Fortress 2 has done, and is still doing.
So, here's to hoping this pans out in favor of the current Left 4 Dead players, and that the sequel, if it does come out as a full-fledged sequel, ends up surprising us all and delivers nicely.
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