November 15, 2006
PS3 Launch Line Survival Guide
Well, if you've never done this before you might not know what to expect. I'm here to tell you. Get in line EARLY. I'd say 24-48 hours before launch. Okay, but what do you need to take with you while you make yourself unavailable to anyone and anything?
- Money. You don't want to do all this for nothing.
- Dry Food - snack crackers, cookies, chips. You will get hungry.
- 2-3 Bottle of favorite liquid refreshment - Try not to take too many. Gotta pee? Better hope everyone else is okay with you getting back in line.
- Cell phone - In case you need to call a friend when you get bored or need something. Maybe the pizza place will deliver to you. Get some for your commrades, it'll pay when you need to pee.
- Seating - One of those folding camping chairs. Even better with the foot-rest extensions. Some people can get away with sleeping in these.
- Sleeping bag - I need something comfortable to sleep in.
- Time-Passing - Handheld games, PDA-phone, books, epalying cards, etc. You NEED this.
- Deoderant - Please.
If your line is outside
- Tent - the type that require no spikes in the ground. I know it's going to rain tomorrow around here and you won't
- Bundling - Parkas, Jakets, Long Johns, Throws It's going to be cold around here.
Things that could be cool if they were allowed:
- Grill - Most places might take issue with this, but when you have a couple packs of hotdogs and a way to cook them, you'll make fast friends with everyone.
Optional but maybe good:
Change of clothes - I can change by putting my new clothes on top of the old ones and pulling the old ones off if I can't get out of line for a second.
I'm probably going to be hitting the lines tomorrow night and I suggest you do so soon as well. Good night!
PS - Don't forget about my launch guide!
Posted by akijikan at 12:31 AM | TrackBack
November 14, 2006
PS3 In Chattanooga, Update
So I did more recon around the Chattanooga area today to see how the lines were doing and they're definitely growing. I think I'll be joining one tomorrow, because as you can see it, they're growing, and fast. The lines made the Chattanooga evening news tonight so they'll probably grow even more.
We are supposed to have severe thunderstorms passing through tomorrow though.
I found this notice on the door at Rhino Video Games
Here's the lines at Best Buy and Circuit City.
The Playstation Launch Guide version 1.2 now available.
.TXT version Here
.PDF version Here
.DOC version Here
I promise my Video Game System camp-out guide to come in an hour or two.
Posted by akijikan at 10:43 PM | TrackBack
November 13, 2006
Playstation 3 In Chattanooga (+ My Downloadable Launch Guide)
Well, I went around today to Walmart, Best-Buy, Target, and Circuit City in an attempt to nail down info on what would be available, how (they believe) the launch will go down, and how many units they had (no one knew the answer to that question. This was all in an attempt to update my Launch Guide, which I am making available here to you.
It lists all retailers in the Chattanooga area carrying the PS3, what time they go on sale, how they are doing the sale, and how many systems will be available (if known). It also lists all the addresses and phone numbers for all locations in the area of each retailer. Things that are in red are unknown or likely but unconfirmed. The .DOC version is recommended so you can edit and have the formating, but .TXT is available as well .PDF for those who can't open word documents.
.TXT version Here
.PDF version Here
.DOC version Here
That is version 1.0 that doesn't include my corrections and additions from today's trek to the stores. I'll be adding that tonight and make it available as soon as that's done.
I had some fun going from store to store getting information...Walmart is interesting because they are handing out tickets to those in line, at some point. The information originally leaked to the net from Walmart's "playbook" said at "10 PM or possibly ealier". The first Walmart I went to said the tickets would be handed out at midnight as the launch starts...sounds kinda pointless to me. As I played Guitar Hero II demo at the instore PS2 display, the worker later came up to me and told me that she consulted with her manager and they don't know when the tickets will be handed out. The next two I went to didn't even know they were using a ticketing system. I stopped at Best Buy (in Hamilton Place) where I found Chattanooga's only camper (so far).
The also have a kiosk where you can play game demos.
I was also in Target when it seems the entire electronics staff had left. On the counter was a folder with their PS3 marketing info, a dvd, and PS3 lanyards. I was going to take it, but I knew as soon as I did the whole staff would return at the same time and tackle me.
Look back later tonight and I'll be telling you what you need to make you pre-launch line waiting the best possible. And I'll give you the updated Playstation 3 Launch Information Guide.
Posted by akijikan at 6:04 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
November 12, 2006
Japanese Playstation 3 Launch Brings Insight on Video Game Culure, Media
Well as you may or may not know, we are now inside five days until the US launch of Sony's Playstation 3 (PS3) on Friday, November 17.
We have had the pleasure of watching a launch in Japan, but just what did it tell us? One thing people are becoming increasingly aware of is that with each launch of the "next generation" of consoles the demand leads to long lines and high prices. And this year looks to be no different.
If you hadn't heard the PS3 comes in two flavors. One is $500 and comes with a 20 GB hard drive. The other is $600 and comes with a 60 GB hard drive, Wi-fi, and built in Compact Flash, Memory Stick Pro/Duo, and SD card readers. Many people regarded prices this high (highest ever for console at realease) as prohibitive and some thought sales would be low. However, in Japan all 80,000 available units sold out [slashdot.org]. It is worth mentioning that in Japan the low-end PS3 sold for approximately $410 dollars while the high-end system was sold at "market price" (retailer sets the price) which was ¥62,700 (approx. $534) here [kotaku.com].
Kotaku also has an e-mail sent to them about the launch experiences and observation of a foriegner in Japan and characterizes it as a "dark side" to the launch [kotaku.com].
The e-mail takes issue (And blames Sony) with the following:
- People in line are unruly
- People buying PS3s are poor Chinese-nationals and homeless people who are being paid by Japanese business men who intend to re-sell (scalp) on ebay or other places for more than the retail price.
I don't see how you can blame Sony for people being idiotic and unruly. People's behavior is not a responsibility that falls on Sony. If people become unruly and a public disturbance they are breaking the law and it is law-enforcement's job to take care of that.
Also what is wrong with people buying consoles and reselling them if they see fit. There's an old saying here. "A fool and his money are soon parted." If people are foolish enough to pay 2-4 times the retail price to get a PS3 now instead of waiting for the supply to catch up with demand, then why shouldn't someone sell to them. The resellers aren't taking advantage of people or exploiting them, the people know what they are doing.
And the article mentions the employment of poor Chinese-nationals and homeless people like that's something bad. What's wrong with paying poor people to do something? Oh no! We might drive away their sense of entitlement by paying them to work. The truth is there's nothing wrong with it. It's how the free market works. Paying a poor person to do something is not expoitation, it's employment.
Some would say that the problem could be fixed by pricing consoles even more prohibitively to lower demand. But why would a company want to lower demand for their product? That goes against all business sense.
As we can see the launch tells us a few things; the pricing of the PS3 did not quell demand like many thought it would, people will be people (and hence, idiots), and the free market presents many unique opportunities (for the poor: employment, for the business minded: profits).
As for me I will be in line at a Wal-Mart or other retailer on the night of November 16th. Why? Yes, I am a video game nut and I would love to have a PS3, but I am patient enough to make upwards of $1500 and then buy my PS3 later. Oh wait, I think the auctions are topping $2000 now!
Posted by akijikan at 9:53 PM | TrackBack
September 14, 2005
Updating From My PSP
Haha. I updated my PSP to firmware 2.0, and now I'm updating from it.
Check out interfaceLIFT for an awesome selection of PSP wallpapers.
Posted by akijikan at 1:26 AM | TrackBack
April 19, 2005
PSP Games Review #2: Worth it
This is the second in my series of PSP game reviews. Previous Reviews:
April 17, 2005
PSP Games Review #1: Best of the Best
Lumines and Ridge Racers
Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix
The first thing you notice about this game is that it stands on the same level as the console version. It is graphically nearly just as good. The levels are just as spread out and the controls are almost the same. There's not much you wouldn't be able to do in this that you would be able to do in the console version. In fact there's more! They threw in four extra levels. Amazing. There's also 10 different multiplayer games to play wirelessly through the Wi-Fi function. This is masterful devilery of a console experience to a handheld device. The only thing I could of asked for is a whole new Tony Hawk game. That and a level-editor. - 8.9
Twisted Metal: Head On
This is a game that harkens back to a console game, for better and for worse. If you loved the classic game Twisted Metal 2 but thought the series went sour, then this is for you, in more ways than one. It takes the simple story mode and puts it in your hands. It also takes the simple and dated physics engine and puts it in your hands. Too many weapon are also auto-aiming and homing weapons abound. The story mode is too simple. You can beat it in an half and hour to 45 minutes. The best this game has to offer is the online function and that's only enjoyable for so long. It can be fun with your friends though. - 8.3
Posted by akijikan at 5:45 PM | TrackBack
April 17, 2005
PSP Games Review #1: Best of the Best
Well it's been a while since I first aquired my PSP. I promised game reviews but I don't think I'll be able to review every game in an individual post so I'm just going to do a few at a time. Besides, there's been plenty of time for everyone else to review these, so who would care about my review anyway?
Lumines
This is probably my favorite game. It comes down to this or another. I keep coming back to it and I can't stop. The brilliant fusion between sight and sound is amazing. The premise is simple but addicting. You form 2 by 2 squares of colors and a line sweeps across the screen that eliminates them. You can add on to each 2 by 2 with 2 more blocks before the line wipes them away to make it grow. Plus there are special blocks that will eliminate all blocks linked by a block of the same color. So you can build up awesome combos. The gameplay keeps me coming back for more and the simple yet clear and beautiful visuals dazzle me and the music puts you in a trance. - 9.3
Ridge Racers
This is the competition for Lumines, and ultimately I think it is more of a favorite for me than lumines. This is THE game to show off the graphics on the PSP. The cars look great as do all the environments you race in. The gameplay is a thrill too, especially when you unlock the faster classes of cars. They also included a motion bur when you fir off your nitrous. The drifting is so much fun. It's not a challenging think to learn but it is a great challenge to perfect. There are 57 cars, 24 tracks and 5 albums of music. They bring back classic tracks and background music as well as some new stuff. If I cannot win a race the first time I do it I am so compelled to go back and keep trying till I do. I love it. - 9.5
Don't worry, there's more reviews to come. Also, on an unrelated note, I've migrated all of my entries from [[REDACTED]] my old blog into this one. So if you have only read stuff on this blog, feel free to browse the archives to catch up.
Posted by akijikan at 8:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
March 27, 2005
PSP Ushers in New Era in Handheld Gaming
Well, I've had my PSP for a little more than 4 days and what can I say? It's wonderful. Yes, it is like a PS2 on-the-go. No the games aren't ports and yes, the smudges drive you crazy.
All told I bought 5 games and a PSP system after saving up since December. This review will be of the system only and not any of the games. Those will come later.
Above all, the first thing you notice about the system is the screen. Sony did not skimp on the wonderful 4.3 in wide-screen. The display is sharp and you will not believe your eyes if you see one.
As you probably know the layout is almost just like a Dualshock 2 controller. On the right you have the square, circle, triangle and X buttons all PSOne and PS2 users are familiar with. Also on the right side is the power light and the hold-status indicator (it's not really a light, just a slides between black and yellow).
The power light is green when it's running on it's own power or is plugged in and in use but fully charged. It is orange when when charging with the power off or powered on, but not fully charged (because it charges even when you play it plugged in).
On the left side you have a D-pad that is standard for pretty much any video game controller, and you have an analog "nub". Sorry if you can't see it. The dark reflection kinda keeps it from being seen. If you click for the full-size picture you can see it "Nub" has been the lingo used pretty much since people discovered it didn't operate like the traditional analog stick. What's the difference? A traditional analog stick rotates across a curved surface. The "nub" just slides along a flat surface.
The "nub" doesn't take that long to get used to, but I do have one complaint: sometimes it feels like there isn't a wide-enough range of motion to hit the in-betweens of a analog control system. The whole point is that you're not stuck with digital control (0 or 1 (all off or all on)), so you can initiate different degrees of input, like any number between 0 and 100, zero being the weakest and 100 the strongest (though I'm not sure that the actual analog stick is a range of 0 to 100 because that depends on the bit-resolution). Sorry for the in-depth tech-talk.
Also on the left is the orange memory stick light, which lights up when the memory stick is being accessed, and the green WiFi light that is on when a signal is being broadcasted and/or received. You can turn WiFi on and off with a switch so that is doesn't drain the battery when it isn't needed.
There's not much to see on the back except for the sleek logo. One of the side panels pops off and the battery goes there.
Speaking of the battery. While people awaited this system there was a lot of speculation and complaint about battery times. What's the story? It gets about 4-5 hours and that's good enough for me. I never use it all completely in a day and it gets charged every night.
Also for those of you who are wondering what is the best way take care of your PSP battery so you minimize damage and capacity loss, here ya go: First off, the PSP utilizes a Lithium Ion (LION battery so it has no "memory" problem like the old Ni-Cad (Ni-Cads would would capacity just because you didn't use all of the power before you charged again). So you don't need to worry about draining the battery before you charge it again. In fact, fully draining a LION battery causes more capacity loss than not draining it and should be avoided. If you are going to store the battery for an extended period of time, it should be drained below 40% capacity and stored by itself, not in the PSP.
Here is the spring-loaded disc-tray. Nothing much to see here, a minor complaint is that the disc tends to pop out and can sometimes all to the floor. Just be careful.
If you plan on utilizing the PSP's awesome MP3-playing features or the picture viewing or MP4-video playback, then this is where they all go via USB between PSP and PC. The included 32 MB stick isn't much when it comes to digital media. Right now I have 4 songs and all my game save files on there and it's pretty much full.
I'd like to get a 1 GB stick, but so far the production is far far behind the demand. Wasn't there a problem like this with memory cards for the PS2 when it first launched?
Lastly, I'd like to speak to all of the problems we saw with PSPs coming out of Japan. Does the square button stick? No, it doesn't even feel different from any other buttons. Does the analog stick come off? Hasn't happened to mine yet, and it feels solid (whatever that's worth). Are there dead pixels? Yes. I have dead pixels. There are a few in the lower-left hand corner that are always noticeable on dark screens. Does it prohibit gameplay? No, but I am going to get a replacement when EB has more in stock. I already talked to EB and they said their Product Replacement Guarantee covers this.
For now, I'll enjoy what I have. In fact, I'll enjoy it a lot. This thing is definitely worth 250 dollars. I would have paid 350 dollars for it, but that's just me. It wows you in pretty much every manner. Our gaming consumers are graphics-whores and they'll love the PSP to death for its near-PS2 quality imagery. I know I do.
If you can find one of these, buy it. If you're a gaget freak, you'll love it. If you're a gamer you'll love it. This is the must-have electronic device of 2005 and now I know why.
Posted by akijikan at 10:24 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 25, 2005
PSP Paid! (LUNCH WARNING!)
Well today I went to work after school and got my check. I then went to EBGames and spent $101 out of the $132.01 I was paid.
First thing I did was pay off my PSP. I only had $47 dollars and some cents left to go to pay it off completely including tax. w00t! I am glad to have this done. I pre-ordered on 12/07/04 and I am second on their list. The sales girl told me I "have nothing to worry about," but I'm sure she meant pertaining to obtaining my PSP on launch day, because I still worry about other things.
In addition to the sign above, EB also had boxes for a lot of PSP games on display.
While at EB, I also picked up Gran Turismo 4 for $54. For anyone who doesn't know, GT4 is one of the PlayStation 2's Killer Apps. That is, it's one of the series of games on the machine that people will buy the machine just to play. It's a "real driving simulator" that is amazing. "Un-real" graphics and physics make this game a must have for any fan of cars. I'll do a later entry that is just a review of this game later.
I also found out why I've been having trouble breathing.
Yeah I blew that out of my nose today. Nice, eh? Now you know why included the words "lunch warning" in the subject. Sorry. I just had to share that though.
Posted by akijikan at 1:19 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 31, 2005
Today at the Mall: PSP!!
So I went to the mall today for a preliminary interview at The Buckle. I didn't get picked up for the second round though because I lacked clothing retail experience. He said he would call me if any n00bs get fired or leave or anything.
I got some lunch at the mall. I tried this fast-foot Japanese hibachi place. I got chicken tempura and fried rice and accidentally covered the chicken in siracha. How adventurous am I?
I never finish all the rice
From there I decided to check out EB Games. I was talking to the sales person on the floor about the PSP and she mentioned that her manager had an import sitting in the back. She said he was gone, and she didn't want to touch it herself, but that I should come back in 10 minutes. So I did, and the guy let me play a whole race in Ridge Racers. What a guy! I've always thought nice of EBGames, but now I think a whole lot more of them!
Anyways my short impression of the PSP is simple: Freakin' Sweet! Anyone who is worried about the analog nub, forget about it. It's fine, especially if you're experienced with a dual shock. You hardly notice it's a sliding motion. It was all beautiful, and as far as I could tell no technical issues. I didn't experience button stick/squeak or notice dead pixels, but keep in mind I didn't get to spend quality time with it, just a quick race in Ridge Racers.
I've always been kinda fair-minded when it came to PSP vs. DS, but it's painfully obvious to me, the PSP blows the DS out of the water. Nintendo is really going to have to work hard for those third party games and exclusivity contracts.
SWEET!!
I cannot wait till I have my own.
Posted by akijikan at 8:59 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack