Tuesday, Jan. 29th, 2008 -- Activision Gets Obnoxious on the PS3! Or... is it just business savvy?
So I'm sure that most of you have heard the news by now - especially since Kotaku announced it back in December - but I just felt that I had to say something about this "incredibly stupid move" by Activision.
At this point it sort of goes without saying that when Rock Band hit the consoles a few months ago, it slapped Guitar Hero right in its face and called it a bitch, and rightfully so. The game boasts support for up to four players, and in fact promotes this kind of play, bringing to the "adult-oriented" consoles the kind of interactivity normally only found on Nintendo's highly popular Wii. Rock Band also contains a larger library of songs (most of which can be found on GHIII), and with downloadable content, the list keeps growing. You also have the ability to not just change your character, but build an entire look! Want to be that grungy bassist you saw play last week? Or maybe you're tired of that look and you want to go baldy for a while? But maybe that's going too far and you just want a new t-shirt and a badass mustache? Well it's all there, and it's all awesome.
With so much going for it, what could be keeping fans from purchasing the game? How about a $170 price tag?
While most will admit that Rock Band is the superior game, many can't afford the game's lofty retail cost. This is specifically a problem for PS3 gamers, and the reason why brings me to the main point of my article.
Back in December Harmonix had worked on and developed a patch for the PS3 console which would allow users who owned a Guitar Hero III wireless guitar to use it to play Rock Band. While this would easily complete the band (adding a bass) for those who already own the big box version of Rock Band, it would also allow PS3 users to purchase the standalone copy of Rock Band which comes with nothing. On Harmonix's part, this was a fantastic idea, but Activision wanted no part of it.
Why?
Well, for starters, Activision apparently wants money for the use of its controller technology on another game. This is a silly argument, because the Guitar Hero III guitar works just fine with Rock Band on the XBOX 360, so what's the problem?
Harmonix claims that they have tried to work out something with Activision, but to no avail. Activision claims the exact same thing. So who can we believe? What's really going on?
I'm not sure that we can believe anyone.
Harmonix has claimed that this would "benefit the users" and they see no reason for Activision to be upset about this, but the problem is if Activision agrees to this, then they almost officially become Harmonix's hardware developer. That doesn't make any sense at first, but hear me out.
I think that Activision may reconsider this patch once the new guitars are released by Harmonix. Why not just do it now? Well, look at the facts.
Gaming is an industry and like every other industry, you take interest in yourself. That is to say that you're not going to suddenly reach out and help the competition, just because it will make users like you. Does that make you a bunch of greedy jerks? Yeah it does, but it also means your company lives another day.
Right now, Rock Band has guitars, but in case you haven't heard, they kind of suck in terms of longevity. Guitar Hero III doesn't have that problem. So if only you could use your Guitar Hero III guitar on this game, there would be no problem!
Exactly.
If you could buy this game that has this flaw there WOULD be no problem, but there is a problem and that leaves you with two options: buy a flawed game and get angry at the company for making a shitty product, or don't. Most people are going to save their $170 for when the hardware is more solid, but who knows how long that could take or how much money will be lost by Harmonix while it's going on?
The same point can be made about the PS3 standalone version. Currently, the microphone is the only instrument you can buy separately, so the PS3 standalone version of Rock Band is utterly useless - unless you're into Karaoke. In other words, why buy it?
Without this hardware support on the PS3, Rock Band and Harmonix will run into a lot more trouble trying to market their game. And that spells nothing but more money for the less expensive and still popular Guitar Hero III.
So why do I see them allowing the patch later?
Look, the work's been done, it was nearly Sony approved and the controllers DO work. Once the popularity of GHIII levels out, or Rock Band becomes more affordable, allowing players to use the GHIII guitar WILL actually be a smart business decision for Activision, but not until then.
So what's the verdict on Rock Band for the PS3? For now, if you're looking for some cheap fun, try getting hooked up on Ebay, if you have the money and can deal with the inevitable broken strum bar, BestBuys are all over the place, but if you can wait until June, I feel confident that the winds may change just in time for Summer - you know, the season of Rocking!
Keywords: Activision, Harmonix, PS3, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Patch, and Video Games.- Shadow "Rrrrrock!" 64
Tuesday, Aug. 28th, 2007 -- 2WIRE SUCKS OR: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Shadow64.net Being Static
As much as I would love to bring you a wonderful article about magnificent things to behold on the internet, you're going to have to settle for this today, folks.
Yesterday I was talking to some friends online, working on a new update, and prepping for my upcoming job interview, when suddenly my connection went dead. Now, this usually happens if I leave my laptop on overnight. So I figured that I would do what I normally do: reset my computer and continue with my business. I didn't even bother to check the modem, that's how common this occurance is.
When my laptop was ready to roll again, my internet wasn't. I was a little annoyed so I went to check the modem. It's flashing more than an 18 year old on a late night infomercial. It's flashing so much, in fact, that I decide to power it down.
I wait thirty seconds. Somewhere Poptarts are being made.
I plugged the 2Wire 1701HG Gateway modem back in. No difference.
"Whatever." I decide. I pack up a bag for writing and drawing and head over to Santa Clara University for an afternoon of hands-on creative work. "It's fine," I think, "It'll be good to be outside. With people. And things. And, of course, when I come back, the internet will be fixed."
I was wrong.
When I returned home, the modem was still flickering more than an early episode of Pokemon. Now I was annoyed and now I was calling SBC.
I spent a half hour on the phone with someone (who never seemed to give his name) who, after I repeatedly told him "I think something's wrong with my modem." He gave me some number, and told me he would send some people over to look at the bad phone line in the morning.
"What's the number for?" I asked. "Oh, that's your report code." "Oh... Thanks."
Here's the thing. I live in an apartment complex. My friend who lives downstairs has SBC as well. So I called him up and asked if there was a problem. There wasn't. Unless some rat decided to run over and chew through my line and not his (I don't even think that's possible), the line wasn't the problem.
So I connected wirelessly to my friend and started looking up what could be done for my modem. After about fifteen seconds of searching through Google results. I find a couple of forums discussing the issues I described over and over again to the technician on the phone. I find out that ACTUALLY, it's not my line at all, but APPARENTLY the 2Wire 1701HG Gateway modem comes complete with a crappy AC Adapter. FUN! It's number one feature is that after roughly 18 months (Hey! I've had MY modem for about 18 months!) the AC Adapter doesn't put out enough energy to the modem so the modem can't properly turn on. This results in the lights flickering and an unsteady (or complete lack of) connection.
A SOLUTION! Brought to me once again by the fine people on forums and NOT by SBC technicians. I have to admit I was pretty annoyed. The guy who I spoke to never even mentioned this and there were at least 6 immediate results on Google which dealt with the topic. All of which were at least a year old. It seems like if SBC knows this is a problem (and they do), and they know what the solution is (and they do, they offer a replacement power adapter on their website specifically FOR this model), then maybe they should inform their technicians! Instead of, you know, sending out people to check a line that's fine!
The end result of all of this is that I bought a new AC adapter, but it won't come until at least tomorrow. At least it should come tomorrow. See, the modem was only $10.00 - Hey, it's much better than buying a new modem for $80.00, right? Oh... and then there's the $13.50 for GROUND SHIPPING??? So I get to pay $3.00 more for 7 business day shipping than for the item itself? AWESOME! Now, that's service!
In the end I decided to pay an extra $8 bucks on top of that to get overnight shipping so, like I said, it should be here very soon. For the moment, I'm writing this on my desktop which is connected through a SpeedStream modem. Unfortunately, most of my webdesign files are on my laptop which is pretty much stationary in my office at this point.
In other words, don't expect an update until Thursday night (if then!) and don't buy a 2Wire 1701HG Gateway modem. They suck.
Keywords: Shadow64.net, 2Wire, and Downtime.- Shadow "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room." 64
Monday, Aug. 27th, 2007 -- Amy Winehouse was a CREEPY kid!
So I guess that Amy Winehouse has been on the tip of everyone's tongue lately. Whether you're singing the praises of... well her singing, or just talking about the fact that she DID go to rehab (despite her catchy, lyrical, 50s-era protests of "No, no, no!") only to check out twice and then beat the hell out of her boyfriend after he found her attempting to cut herself in a bathroom while a hooker watched.
Don't get me wrong. The songs are great, and the voice is insane, but it's sort of funny how all of this is happening at once. So funny, in fact, that I decided that I wanted to do a news story on it (still pending). The only thing is... When I started to do my research for the story, I found a photo of her on Daily Mail that kinda scared the living crap out of me. Warning: You can probably already see the image, but if you can't and creepy looking kids frighten you, don't look any further.
Yeah, I don't know what's going on here, but that kid scares the hell out of me. When I saw the picture I was deeply disturbed. No, it wasn't just the fact that her eyes were burning cute little holes in my soul. What really really REALLY bothered me was that I could have sworn that I had seen that kid before. Or at least that face. I mean, it's so weird how could you forget it? It's like something out of a...
And then it hit me. Like a flurry of electronic drumbeats sliced together along a hardcore electronic riff. Amy Winehouse as a child looks exactly like...
THOSE CREEPY CHEERLEADERS FROM THE APHEX TWIN WINDOWLICKER VIDEO!!!
If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's the YouTube video link (Warning: Contains Language, Mature Content, and is REALLY Disturbing), but I honestly feel that the comparison image speaks, shrieks rather, for itself.
Don't get me wrong. Chris Cunningham's videos are great. So is Richard D. James' (Aphex Twin) music. But nothing that looks like that should ever appear in real life.
At least not with pigtails.
I don't know about you, but from now on whenever I hear that "Rehab" song. I'm running into the nearest bush and hiding there until it's over.
Keywords: Amy Winehouse, Aphex Twin, Creepy, Richard D. James, and Chris Cunningham Video.- Shadow "Come to Wine-y! Come to Wine-y!" 64
Monday, Aug. 13th, 2007 -- Never Again!
Recently I had dinner with a large group of people at a restaurant. This so-called "restaurant," which for legality’s sake let’s refer to as MFs, was - Oh, how shall I put this? - quite possibly one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had!
When I arrived at the restaurant, I was early - my MO. I was coming home from work and really had nothing to do in the meantime, so I thought I’d just head over and wait it out.
I realized when I got there that I couldn’t remember when the reservation was actually for, so I decided to ask one of the hostesses. I asked her when the reservation was for and she responded by telling me that it was at 7. Then she added in a rather annoyed tone that she couldn’t seat me until at least half of my party had arrived.
This was confusing. I hadn’t asked her to be seated, I merely asked her for the time of the reservation. It was like asking someone for a bagel and having them tell you that they’re all out of cream cheese. I mean, the two things are related, but why bring it up? In any case, I decided it wasn’t worth responding to her and so I just sat down and waited.
At 7PM sharp, half of our party had arrived and we asked to be seated. For some reason, it actually took 10 minutes to seat our party. I thought we had a reservation...
This is when the real magic starts. Our Waiter, we’ll call him Jerk, shows up. Jerk stands there for a few seconds, sees that we’re all sitting down and Jerk says his jerk name and tells us that he’ll be back in a second for drinks.
Jerk returns about 7 minutes later to take our drink order. Jerk goes around the table and most of the people are either ordering water, or soda (like me). As Jerk goes through non-alcoholic order after non-alcoholic order, I watch his jerk face turn from happy, to annoyed and finally to downright pissed off.
That does it, Jerk officially doesn’t like us.
Now, I understand that we were at a Swill Lodge and that they’re main goal is to push their Swill. I also understand that Swill is expensive and that soda and water aren’t. I understand so well, in fact, that I can even see that because we are ordering cheap drinks, Jerk is concerned that his mandatory over 8 people tip is shrinking before his very jerk eyes.
This is when Jerk decides that if we’re not ordering expensive drinks, he’s going to be a Jerk. Our party is nothing more to him than a paycheck, we are now a low paycheck and therefore completely unworthy of his time and it shows EVERY MINUTE OF THE REST OF THE MEAL. JERK AWAY!
He makes very little jokes to our birthday girl and brightens up ever so slightly when he hears her order something fruity, alcoholic, stupid and expensive - Here’s another dollar for your tip, Jerk! - but Jerk quickly returns to his standard jerk state when he takes the final non-alcoholic order and walks away.
Jerk returns roughly 15 minutes later with our drinks. We are more than ready to order after having about a half hour to just look at the menu with nothing to drink - not even water. As the birthday girl is about to start ordering, some more friends arrive. Rather than waiting a minute, or taking someone else’s order at the table while she says hello, Jerk gets an annoyed expression on his face and then LEAVES!
Jerk doesn’t return for another 15 minutes!!! (I wish I was lying about the times here folks, but all told this "meal" took about three hours from sit-down to check.) During this time, most of us are drinking our beverages and now need refills.
Jerk finally shows up and takes our food order. Jerk doesn’t smile, Jerk doesn’t make conversation, he hardly even makes eye contact; Jerk is not friendly at all. Jerk finally gets to me. I place my order and ask politely if I could place my food on my credit card, or get a separate check. Jerk goes apeshit, starts rambling about not doing it because the party is so large and on and on and on. I explain that I have no cash on me, and I need to use my card to pay for my portion of the meal. Jerk just stares at me, and then states that he can’t do separate checks, but he can put a given amount onto my card when the time comes. Isn’t that what I JUST asked for? What a jerk!
I reply that that would be fine and Jerk sulks away.
I’ll speed this up. Over the course of the entire meal I did not receive a SINGLE refill! That’s correct, although Jerk walked by many times, pointed to my drink and said "Pepsi," he never refilled it once. I started to believe that he just liked saying the word in my general direction. In any case, what that means is that since I drank my Pepsi before the food was even ordered I had NOTHING to drink during my entire meal. Not even water. I paid $2.40 for that soda! That’s ridiculous!
Add to that that Jerk took literally an hour getting us our food, almost another hour to bring us the bill - and, of course, was very annoyed to hear that we only wanted one (lame ass) Pizookie for dessert.
By the end of this meal I told many of the other patrons that given the ability, I would have this guy whacked in a second, but unfortunately I was there for someone else and I wound up tipping appropriately and not causing a scene.
To make matters worse, this isn’t even the first time I’ve had problems with MFs! Oh no! These MFs have been a consistent let down every time I’ve eaten at one of their "fine" dining establishments. I mean, sweet Jesus, for what generally amounts to crappy food, crappy service and an overall crappy decor, these guys sure have a stick up their butt for essentially being an extremely over-priced TGIFridays!
Hence this article, and this statement: I will NEVER go back to MFs EVER again. No matter who invites me, no matter what the reason, if you want to go to this shitty, annoying, over-priced, obnoxious turd of a restaurant? Count me out.
Of course, I say this, but how serious am I? This serious: I realized the next morning that I had accidentally left my favorite pair of shades on the table at MFs. I don't care. I flat-out refuse to go back to get them. I went out and actually bought a new pair. That place can go to Hell. As far as I’m concerned, I will do everything in my power to ensure that I never set a foot in that place again.
Keywords: MFs, BJs, Food, Service, and Rant.- Shadow "MF's! Where the fun never starts!" 64
Tuesday, Mar. 20th, 2007 -- Darren Aronofsky is NOT my friend???
Woah Woah Woah!
Don't you run away!
Hold it there, Mr. Hollywood Big Shot. Mr. "I Have 5767 Friends Why Do I Need One More?"! Hold it right there!
What the Eff?
Myspace is supposed to be a loving community where I can befriend super movie megastars like Darren Aronofsky all the time. Now I know what you're saying:
And I know what I'm saying:
But I'm also saying:
Hey, where's my friendship, D-bag? That's my friend name for Darren. Even though he wouldn't know it because we're NOT FRIENDS!
That's right, after THREE attempts to add D-bag to my friends list, he seems to not just refuse, but simply not even care!
Maybe he's picky, right? Maybe D-bag doesn't want that many friends.
Oh yeah? Then how come he has 5767? Are those just like his close pals? I highly doubt that he has no room for one more. Especially on his Top 24!!!
Okay, seriously. Look at them. They're all young, hot chicks except for Clint Mansell (which I argue is debatable)...and some dude named Eric from Syracuse, Indiana? Wait, what? Alright, now I'm confused. And this Eric guy doesn't even have Aronofsky in HIS top friends; let alone his number seven? Did I mention that Eric's General Interests are "Computers; Ramtha; Quantum Physics; Movies; Books; Music;" and "Spiritual Marjiuana use"? Because they are.
You know what? Forget Darren Aronofski. Everyone should go befriend, Eric. Cuz that guy's obviously more badass.
Keywords: Darren Aronofsky, Film, MySpace, and Rant.- Shadow "I'll call him E-bag. Yeah." 64