Footage for PDZ on Original Xbox Leaked!

Perfect Dark Zero is one of my favourite games on the Xbox 360, before coming to the Xbox 360 though, the game had some time on the Gamecube, and Original Xbox. A few days ago some footage of the game's and early build stages on the original Xbox have been released, I hope some actual game play footage exists with the final graphics and all, if the game was ever that far into development. For those who have played PDZ, you might see a few similarities in terms of map designs between the 2 builds.

Note: Their is no way anyone can say that these graphics would have been the ones you would see in the final build if it were to be released on the Xbox.

 

Perfect Dark Zero was a launch title for the Xbox 360, it received really good reviews, with a average of 81 on metacritic. The game was developed by Rareware, and published by Microsoft.

 

 

 

 

http://digg.com/xbox/Footage_for_PDZ_on_Original_Xbox_Released

The Top 10 Movies That Really Didn't Need Video Games

Unfortunately, video game companies aren't always able to identify what movies viewers would want to insert themselves into. While super hero and action movies lend themselves nicely to the gaming world, let's not forget the movies that really didn't need games, but for one reason or another got them anyway.

read more | digg story

Cooper Lawrence: I'm Sorry!

For those who listened to the podcast this week, have heard me talking about this "scandal" featuring Fox News, and Mass Effect. Fox, without playing the game, had labeled it has a sex simulator, to prove their point they had a debate. They brought on Geoff Keighly, and self proclaimed psychiartirst Cooper Lawrence, Cooper went out on a limb and labeled the game has a sex simulator, a menace to society, etc! Of course Lawrence and those at Fox were all wrong, and it really didn't help that Fox plugged her book on air either. After the airing, gamers took it upon themselves to review her books on Amazon, like she reviewed Mass Effect on air! Her 3 books got crap ratings on Amazon, and it seemed like her career was ruined.

 

Today she came out with a apology, heres a quote:

...Ms. Lawrence said that since the controversy over her remarks erupted she had watched someone play the game for about two and a half hours. "I recognize that I misspoke," she said. "I really regret saying that, and now that I've seen the game and seen the sex scenes it's kind of a joke.

"Before the show I had asked somebody about what they had heard, and they had said it's like pornography," she added. "But it's not like pornography. I've seen episodes of 'Lost' that are more sexually explicit."

 

I guess Lawrence learned something this week!

 

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Microsoft Games Division Posts Another Profit!

Yes that's right, for a second time in a row, Microsoft is proud to announce that its game division has turned yet another profit! This is good news for those at Microsoft, since the Xbox division, up until Halo 3 had not turned a profit! So this means, at the launch of the original Xbox, up until late 2007, Microsoft had been losing money in its games division.

Before the game's division introduced the Xbox in I believe 2001, the division was focused on PC gaming's, and they still are, with their newly introduced Games for Windows and Games for Windows Live brands.

 

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Toshiba Responds to Blu-ray Sales Blip

As you may have seen, there are attempts being made to portray NPD’s weekly sales tracking figures for next generation DVD as a trend. We want to remind you and make clear that it is not accurate to make long term assumptions based on one week of sales - a cautionary point that NPD has made as well. The facts are that during the week that is being singled out, both Blu-ray disc players and software were being given away for free with the purchase of 1080p TVs. It is also important to note that the instant rebate promotions that had previously netted Toshiba’s players’ MSRP’s to $199 and $249 had actually ended on Jan. 5th - causing an increase in HD DVD’s MSRP back to $299 and $399 during that same week. Since Toshiba’s retail price move on Jan. 13th to $149 / $199 - Toshiba is seeing very positive sales trends at retail. This reinforces the fact that price is a significant driver of sales.

Full Article

Warner Extends HD DVD support!

Today Warner Brothers has announced it will extend its support for HD DVD 3 weeks longer than original planned! This is good news for HD DVD owners, for now. Hopefully the word gets out to the consumer that we still have Warner for now.

 

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Sega Fan Club Podcast Show #1 Released!

That's right, the very first episode of the Sega Fan Club Podcast has launched! Bear with me since this is the first episode so its not perfect, but with your help and comments it could get better

Show Notes:
http://www.thebitbag.com/2008/01/21/rumors-microsoft-dropping-360-premium-to-299-for-gtaiv-launch/

http://movies.ign.com/articles/846/846746p1.html

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/01/22/guitar-hero-iii-wii-replacement-discs-shipping-next-month/

http://kotaku.com/347552/world-of-warcraft-reaches-10-million-mark

http://blogs.nypost.com/pgr/archives/2008/01/no_way.html

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/163925.html

http://news.filefront.com/alan-wake-to-be-vista-exclusive-says-remedy/

http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2008/01/22/demo-the-club-north-america.aspx

http://www.majornelson.com/archive/2008/01/21/live-activity-for-week-of-1-14.aspx

http://kotaku.com/347375/nintendo-need-confirmation-the-game-boy-is-dead

So leave your comments, and tell me what you think about the podcast, how it can be improved, etc. If you want to guest host a episode then contact me, and we can do it over Skype some time.

Dowload Here

Damn you writers strike!

For the past week or so, I have found nothing new to watch on TV, other then game shows, documentary's, and news reports! Why? Its because of the damn writers strike! All their is on TV are reality shows or stupid spin offs of classic movies (I'm talking about you Sarah Connor Chronicles!). My Exams finally ended yesterday, so I can finally get back to playing games and increasing my collection of HD DVD's this year! For those interested, I have a great feeling I aced Social Studies, I'm a bit ifish on Biology 30 (Its the 12th level of Biology), I know for sure I aced Part A of the exam, but I'm having second thoughts about Part B, I just hope I pass is all. I am one of the very many out their who will turn their TV's off for reality shows, but will only watch reruns of classic shows, or even a movie that might be on. After this writer strike is over, its gonna take a lot to bring many past viewers back to watching their shows, especially since many have looked to gaming, sports, etc to fill their void. If they keep showing crap like TSCC, then I really don't need to watch that kind of TV, I'm happy with my reruns, HD DVD's, and games for now.

 

What are your thoughts?

Oh and I recommend HD DVD owners out their import a copy of Terminator 2 Ultimate Edition, it comes out in March, and it is jam packed with great features, including a restored print, and web enabled features! The Blu Ray version can't lay a finger on this print! More details on availability when they are available. 

BBC Stays Neutral!

BBC Warner or what ever they call it is staying neutral in the format war, they cite the main reason is great sales of Planet Earth on HD DVD and a big line up this year

 

Source

HD DVD News Update!

I'm not going to go into great detail about this, but Warner's move may violate the Watchdog rights, in turn violating consumer rights! See the link below, and please send the letter posted to your country's watchdog group (The email address are provided), if this is indeed true this could be great news for HD DVD!

 

http://www.campaignhd.com/WATCHDOG.html

HD DVD Players Going Cheap!

Two of Toshiba's best HD DVD players are on sale! These models are the:

Toshiba HD-A3 720p/1080i HD DVD Player $139.98 + Free Shipping!

Toshiba HD-A30 1080p HD DVD Player $179.98 + Free Shipping!

I would recommend the HD-A30, because it can do 1080P, but if they sell out, which they probably will, go with the HD-A3. Both are award winning players, infact, HD DVD's are also on sale at Amazon, going at about $15 a piece for select titles, see the post before this one for more details.

Enjoy!

Amazon Deals!

Amazon, the famed online retailer is having a sale on both HD DVD and Blu Ray movies, if you picked up either one of these players over the break, this is a great time for you to try out those features!

 

HD DVD

Blu Ray

Technology Of The Week!

Alright, this one may be a controversial gadget after recent events, but rest assured, I will not steer you the wrong way with this one.

 

I am recommending the Xbox 360 HD DVD Add on this week, its a standalone drive, that connects to your Xbox 360 via USB, the drive itself is powered by a external plug. The thing I love about it is that you can easily connect it to a Windows Vista (I heard the new Mac OS also supports it) and the system will automatically detect it and install the drivers need to use it! Once connected you can watch movies on your PC, or use it for other purposes, like reading a HD DVD disc that might have a back up on it or something.

 

Now, people are going to say: "Oh Warner switched, HD DVD is going to die a slow death"! Well here's what I say to you all:

Warner will officially go exclusive July 1 08, new HD DVD owners will have roughly 6-7 maybe 8 months, to build up your Warner collection, after Warner switch's, you will still have a great selection of Universal, and Paramount titles to choose from (Including Subsides). A majority of the good Warner stuff is already out on HD DVD, so your really not going to be missing much. On top of that, a lot of Sony, Fox, Disney, etc titles that are on Blu Ray in North America can be imported from Europe on HD DVD discs, because of publishing rights. So you can own great titles like the Terminator series, Rambo, Underworld, etc on HD DVD. Since all HD DVD's are region free, it will work anywhere in the world!

In the states, the player retails for about $170US, while here in Canada it is about $200US, the package comes with the following:

 

• The HD DVD Player
• A copy of King Kong (It looks great in HD)
• The required cables
• A driver disc
• A Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote,
• Manuals and other documentation

Links

Official Site

Official HD DVD Site

Amazon Europe (For importing information, a Google search should bring up other sites that also import)

DC N64 Emulator RELEASED!

A working emulator that emulates the Nintendo 64 on the Sega Dreamcast has been released today! But their is a catch, well mabye a few. Follow the link below, your gonna have to create an account to download it though.


http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/daedalusdc-released-n64-emulator-for-the-dreamcast-2-versions--83587.html

Warner Goes Blue!

Yes thats right, Warner Brothers will stop publishing their movies on HD DVD, and instead move exclusivly to Blu Ray starting June 1 2008. This is sad news for us HD DVD owners, and it will be interesting to see what they do at CES 2008. Im to pissed off to write, but heres some info for you guys.

To contact Warner please see the following:

http://www.campaignhd.com/080104_WARNER.html

The time to act is now!

N64 Emulation on Dreamcast!

I hope this is true, theirs a video on the net that shows a the Daedulus emulator running on the Dreamcast. Apparently it can only run one game, Super Mario 64 and its not optimized for the system yet. I really hope this turn sout to be true!

Source

Shadowrun Forums Closing Down

I myself am a huge fan of Shadowrun, it may not be the most liked game, but I sure enjoyed the hell out of it. Sadly, the forum staff have announced that in approximatly 2 weeks time, the Forums, aswell as the site, will shutdown. But all is not so bad, because the post says the domains will be passed to those working on future Shadowrun ips. For those who don't know, the original owner of FASA has purchased the license to use FASA's former IP's to create new titles. Full details have not been announced, like wheater Microsoft still owns them, or wheater it was a full transition. But we can always hope for the best.

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Oh, this means we could probably forget about the downloadable content Microsoft promised us in September.

Rumor: Crysis Coming to 360!

A new rumor has appeard, that the famed PC game Crysis, will be coming to the Xbox 360! This rumor comes from the fact that a Austrian Video Game retailer has listed Crysis, in 2 variants as a upcoming game for the 360. Wheater this is true, or just a typo, no one really knows at the moment. This could also be supported by the fact that a few months ago Cryteck, the makers of Crysis, became a offically licensed Xbox 360 developer.





Personally, I played the game, and other then the graphics, its just your casual shooter.

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A New Year A New Blog!

Hey, if anyone is even reading this blog yet, good things are ahead! For 2008 I really want to put more effort into the blog, it started in 2006 with little success, since I forgot about it. Yesterday it had reopened, apporxamitly a year after its last post! I hope this blog takes off this time, because I have no plans on forgetting about it this time around. Here are a few pictures I took from Project Gotham Racing 4 that you can wrap your heads around.

Oh one more thing, a few of you may have noticed that the posts have mainly dealt with Xbox related things, well I assure you I will have posts about other consoles aswell, as good news becomes available.