Next Year.

2007 has been a monumental year for video games and the industry thanks to the release of the next-gen consoles that have gained so much attention in the years that they have began to come into their own.
First we have the xbox 360 released in 2005 it already had a year lead on its competitors, a improvement on the xbox which was dominated by the previous Playstation 2, Microsoft kicked back with this ass kicking piece of hardware that was set to give the Playstation 3 a run for its money, and as every gamer knows, has. Microsoft have had their fair share of pickles, such as 'the red ring of death', known and revered by every 360 owner. 360's were breaking down all over the world and were gaining a reputation for poor reliability and to solve this Microsoft splashed out a billion pound on a three year warranty on all 360's. Microsoft have released many versions of their machines to cater for all gamers;
- The xbox 360 Core, later replaced by the xbox 360 Arcade
- The xbox 360 Premium
- The xbox Elite
The 360 has had its fair share of decent exclusive games in the form of Gears of War, BioShock and ermm that other one, Halo which have been crucial in the 360's walk to the top.

Then we had the wii, Nintendo's stab at next gen gaming, released in 2006 it revolutionised the industry and audience by enabling wireless 'virtual' controls as well as the coming of age of the 'casual gamer'. The wii sold, and continues to sell massively with its large appeal to family and more 'kiddy' related aspects that have proved highly profitable. Is it just a gimmick, and if so, when will people grow tired of it? Games such as wii sports seem to be keeping people entertained for eternity.

Then comes the Playstation 3 launched in 2005, to a lukewarm reaction many complained that it only really appealed to hard core gamers. People were more interested in the shenanigans that happened in the lines queuing up to purchase the ps3's such as shooting and people demolishing the machines in front of impatient customers. Bundled with its relatively weak selection of launch titles things haven't exactly gone to plan for Sony this year. Any one who says other wise is a filthy liar. Losing out on significant exclusives such as Grand Theft Auto 4 to the 360 have pushed many people off the fence and onto the 360's garden.

But what does 2008 have to offer us. Surely enough the wii will come into stock and keep on selling. February the 10th will be a crucial day for Nintendo with the release of 'Super Smash Bro Brawl'. 'Brawls' predecessor 'Super Smash Bros Melee' was the highest selling game on the gamecube and is sure to top charts in the new year with its ability to appeal to the hardcore and causal gaming crowd. IF people do ever get bored of 'wii sports' there appetites are certainly going to be enticed next year with 'wii fit' which is set to be the next big thing. The release of the ever loved 'Mario Kart' will do wonders, because well who doesn't love Mario Kart? And its going to be online, it makes me want to get a wii. Sure they don't have many huge titles to be looking forward to but, 'too many cooks can spoil the brooth', apparently.

2006 and 2007 have been great years for Microsoft with over 100 games to pick and choose from, many of which are critically acclaimed. But ever since the halo-hype has died down Microsoft have not let on too much as to what expect next year, big 360 exclusives are hard to name at this time. 'Halo Wars' is set to keep halo fans happy with its strategy based take on the Haloverse, but will it appeal to the more casual gamers? Ninja Gainden 2 will be released, and as good a game as it is, it is not a console seller. Other large scale titles will also be appearing on the PS3: Burnout Paradise, Devil May Cry 4, Grand Theft Auto 4, Soul Calibur 4, and (by the grace of God) Resident Evil 5. But Microsoft just might have an ace up their sleeve; they could unleash 'Gears of War 2' just in time to boost Autumn sales as well as 'Fable 2'.

2008 seems to be a lush year for Sony with many exclusives to rely on, such as Metal Gear Solid 4 which has practically been piggy backing the ps3 for a while now. This is the game lots of off the fence gamers have been patient and have a lot riding on this excellent looking game so, no pressure Konami. The second installment of the first person shooter Killzone is set for release as well, titled 'Killzone 2' (woah didn't see that coming) and by the looks of it, is going well. It has wowed many people but is this finally Sony's answer to Halo? Gran Turismo, the most prestigious of racers, will hopefully grace the system with its fifth installment by the end of the year; a huge advantage. Finally Final Fantasy (see what i did there?) will burst onto the scene and bust open Asia. All these and a new Tekken, chances of a new Jak and Daxter as well as a Fian Fantasy spin-off entitled 'Final Fantasy VS'. The futures bright for the ps3.

All that coupled with Sony's very own 'Home', a free social networking like Sims. Sure hardcore gamers may hate it, but social parasites that thrive off MySpace and other web 2.0 application will love it. If the wii has taught us any thing, that is that stupid names sell...and that casual gamers are a large aspect of the gaming market. Sony are looking to encapsulate this with other titles such as 'LittleBigPlanet''.

Slowly but surely developers are starting to use the ps3 s the lead platform when releasing multi-platform games such as 'Devil May Cry 4' and 'Burnout Paradise' as developers claim it’s much easier to restructure a ps3 game opposed to a 360 game. This means that a few games might just be technologically superior when played on a Sony console. Will developers somehow harness the mythical full potential of the Playstation 3's Cell and significantly edge out the 360’s visual capabilities? Let’s say that does happen and you happen to own both consoles. What would you rather buy the games on, the one that is visually superior or the one that has 'achievements', baring in mind that Sony 'Home' will be releasing player 'trophies' to cater for the OCD ridden lot of us in that you have to get every possible achievement.

From that Sonys future seems to be getting brighter by the day. Nintendo's may not look extravagant but one should never underestimate the selling power of a brand name. Think 'ipod'. Sony seems set to do better in the 360 feud as it is more of a multi purpose machine. Microsoft xbox live still runs rings around Sony's Playstation network which is set keep the 360 going steady along with exclusive content to games such as GTA4.

On paper the ps3 seems set to make up for what it failed to achieve in 2007-success. I'd put my money on the ps3 narrowly getting the advantage over the 360 in 2008.

Only time will tell....or fortune tellers.

In other news!

- A ps3 firmware update is set for tomorrow. This will enable DivX playback to counter the 360's.
- GTA4 is apparently related to violence against prostitutes...who knows why.
- Problems UK 360 owners have experienced when renting movies through Xbox LIVE have been "all but cleared up" according to Microsoft.
- wii 2 will apparently not use hand held controllers, instead they will just use sensory cameras located around the room.
- Sony dominating standalone blue-ray dvd sales
- PS3 soon to be able to link to phones to do God knows what.

The Interet founder and his thoughts.

Chairman Markey, Ranking Member Upton, and Members of the Committee. It is my honor to appear before you today to discuss the future of the World Wide Web. I would like to offer some of my experience of having designed the original foundations of the Web, what I've learned from watching it grow, and some of the exciting and challenging developments I see in the future of the Web. Though I was privileged to lead the effort that gave rise to the Web in the mid-1990s, it has long passed the point of being something designed by a single person or even a single organization. It has become a public resource upon which many individuals, communities, companies and governments depend. And, from its beginning, it is a medium that has been created and sustained by the cooperative efforts of people all over the world.
The special care we extend to the World Wide Web comes from a long tradition that democracies have of protecting their vital communications channels. We nurture and protect our information networks because they stand at the core of our economies, our democracies, and our cultural and personal lives. Of course, the imperative to assure the free flow of information has only grown given the global nature of the Internet and Web. As a Federal judge said in defense of freedom of expression on the Internet:
The Internet is a far more speech-enhancing medium than print, the village green, or the mails.... The Internet may fairly be regarded as a never-ending worldwide conversation.[1]
The three crucial factors of the World Wide Web that got it where it is today are:
A. Universal linking: Anyone can connect to anyone, any page can link to any page B. Open Foundation for Information-driven Innovation C. Separation of Layers to allow simultaneous but autonomous innovation to occur at many levels all at once
One of the main reasons the internet has got where it is today is how easy it is to make a web page. Basically a web page is just standard HTML and the web is just a collection of all these web pages linked together
How ever
The Web is Not Complete
The Web is by no means finished.
The Web, and everything which happens on it, rest on two things: technological protocols, and social conventions. The technological protocols, like HTTP and HTML, determine how computers interact. Social conventions, such as the incentive to make links to valuable resources, or the rules of engagement in a social networking web site, are about how people like to, and are allowed to, interact.
So how do we plan for a better future, better for society?
We ensure that that both technological protocols and social conventions respect basic values. That Web remains a universal platform: independent of any specific hardware device, software platform, language, culture, or disability. That the Web does not become controlled by a single company -- or a single country.


My Response

This is a very insightful article from the man himself who has given us the internet. The entity that we all know and love. The basis of what he is saying is that the internet has got to where it is today because we, the users have been pushing it there. Simple knowledge, the introduction of web 2.0 and social networking has sparked a boom in the internet where every one who’s any one has their own web page enabling people to contact people any where on the planet as long as they have an internet connection.

But I ask you, do you not think that the internet will falter humanities progress? How often have you found yourself sitting down to do home work then slowly but surely dragging the curser over to the internet to type in www.myspace.com. I for one can say, many a time. Hell im surprised im not on Myspace now to be honest. With the internet come many advantages, such as a boost in communication, knowledge and technological design. But it also comes with its bad points. Such as the lack of proper conversation, Myspace comments, don’t exactly count, people losing their grips on reality as they act as hermits playing the latest expansion pack to the MMORPG World of Warcraft and downloading copyrighted content are some of the cons of the net.



So with the good comes the bad. No doubtedly the internet will constantly expand maybe with out us in the future.

Alex out!

This is getting silly

Ever since both Microsoft's xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3 came out fanboys everywhere have been fighting (over the internet of course) over what one is better and at doing what etc etc.

As everyone in this field knows, at the moment 360 in my opinion has the upper hand on ps3 as it has such a wide selection of games and exclusives to choose from. The ps3 at the moment, hasn't. People who have one are just having to be patient. And if that wasn't bad enough the ps3 has lost some of its appeal by losing out on crucial exclusives such as the ever epic Grand Theft Auto franchise to the 360, effectively swaying people more to the 360. It gets worse for Sony. Rockstar have announced that the first 2 additional downloadable content packages for GTA4 will be exclusive for the 360.
:|

But the one thing that most critics agree on is that the ps3 is infact the superior media hub, this has been due to many reasons, from large, such as the ps3's blue ray disc player, to petty, such as the 360's cooling fan being louder that a swarm of very....very angry bumble bees.
Never the less the ps3 always had the upper hand. But yesterday, (or was it the day before, i forget) the 360 launched a firmware update enabling the 360 to support DivX codec as well as a Video On Demand service. This is one of Sony's problems as the ps3 at the moment only supports mp4 formated videos, those of which, no one seems to use.
Hmmmm.

But, PlayStation 3, is going digital.
PlayTV, is to be the new digital TV service released by Sony in early 2008.
It consists of a combined Freeview (DVB-T) TV tuner and Personal Video Recorder (PVR) for the PlayStation 3. Next gen or what.
This new fancy piece of kit will enable ps3 owners to watch, pause, and record live TV by recording the programmes to the console's hard drive. Conveniently, you'll also be able to transfer those recordings to your PSP handheld for watching while on the move. If yur into that kinda stuff.
Designed to reinforce the ps3 as the media hub king and reinstate its place in the family room.
Think of a sky+ box, that just happens to play games and music as well.



Is the Ps3 future proof?

Click the title for more.