2 posts tagged “ps3”
some weeks just seem prime for these kinds of stories. It was a complicated week for videogame companies, epescially if they were also hardware manufacturers. Least of which is the launch of Microsoft's Xbox 360 Elite today, which seems to be going over with as little fanfare as you'd expect from an Xbox 2.5 designed mostly for Miscroshaft to sell more downloads unto a larger harddrive.
Speaking of upgraded consolses, Nintendo's Gamecube 1.5 (aka the Wii) was the center of Nintendo press releases on Thursday, including the impressive feat of selling some 3.3 million Virtual Console games on top of record profit increases. Although the announcement was probably designed to counteract the launch of 360 Elite, it was quickly followed by an offer to help to Ken Kutaragi.
Almost immediately on the heals of Nintendo's news, and among an endless stream of poor sales numbers coming out, father of the Playstation (it is mandtory to put those words before his name in the press) Ken Kutargi announceed his retirement from Sony and their Playstation brand. Needless to say, the father of the playstation will be missed (albiet not necessarily for altruistic reasons).
So fire up the Technology tab of your News Channel for your wiikly dose of microsoft and sony bashing (if you're a wii fanboy like me), download the infamous PS3 E3 speech with all that new 360 hard drive space, or grill up some crow to eat with your discontinued PS3 core unit this Sunday. Goodbye and goodriddence to last week.
Welcome back to Wednesday Re:Play, our weekly feature of retrogaming and videogame review.
Videogames have come a long way not just in terms of graphics and gameplay, but also as this clip demonstrates in terms of our social conciousness. We offer this video of the old newsmagazine show Inside Edition (back during Bill O'Reilly's Peabody-Award winning days) as evidence of this change in perception. And while everyone featured in the show probably knows who the Mario Bros are now, some old stereotypes presented here remain the same. Videogames are sometimes still presented as children's playthings, and their enjoyment by adults presented as the exception. And while that may have remained true in 1988, we can be proud that the same story cannot be told anymore in today's television news. But don't take my word for it - watch the video for "tough questions we want answered" ;)
What I find most amuzing about this clip is that a lot of the same stories have been been said about the Nintendo Wii - the games are really for kids, you'll be doing more than just playing a videogame, sales have exploded, unlike any game system before, etc etc. Who are the Mario Brothers? Have you gotten to the mansion with the giant eyeball in it? Some questions just have no answer.
Update - Wednesday Wii:Play
I had to do a double take at my local Target store today when I saw Wii systems for sale this afternoon. For all the talk about Wii shortages persisting, this is the first time I remember seeing any for sale since I bought mine less than a month ago. The service clerk there was just as suprised as me that no one had been tipped off and they had lasted this long, until a customer approached asking if they had any for sale. A whole six of 'em are left in this picture so you might want to pay a visit if you live in the St. Louis area.
Not to be a fanboy either - you'll still find PS3s patiently waiting for new homes there too. In fact it looks like Target has to offer a special promotion to sell them. Yes you too can be the lucky recipient of a free blu-ray disc for the mere price of a Playstation3. Of course you'll just have to find a store that carries blu-ray movies in order to redeem the offer...
