Strange word comes from Videogamer.com that, at least in the UK, several retailers have decided to charge £10 more for the PS3 version of Devil May Cry 4 than the Xbox 360 version. Contrary to Sony marketing bollocks, the 360 still has both a higher install base and significantly higher game sales in the UK, so, maybe retailers are looking for a way to subsidize all the SKU changes and hardware stocking costs they’ve had to eat?

“We don’t set the prices of our games, that’s at the discretion of the retailer. In this specific instance, the process has resulted in a price difference, but the process itself is not something we completely control.”

High street specialist retailer GAME lists DMC4 with an RRP of £49.99 on PS3 and £39.99 on Xbox 360. Both Play.com and Amazon.co.uk list the same pricing.”

First of all, at current exchange rates, the 360 SKU of DMC4 costs the equivalent of approximately 80 dollars. This means that the PS3 version is selling for essentially $100.00. So, a moment of silence for our British gaming compatriots, because that is fucking insane. This also means you don’t get to bitch about games being too expensive anywhere on the internet.

Second, the more I think about it, the more I really do wonder if this is aimed at recuperating costs associated with the difficult retail costs associated with Sony’s rapidly transforming strategies for the PS3 over the last 12 months. At least here in the states, hardware price drops are frequently eaten by retailers (although people are welcome to correct me if I’m wrong, as this is the case at Frys, Best Buy, and Gamestop at the very least), and retailers already make next to nothing on hardware. Will other retailers in the UK and EU decide to follow suit?

-Aegies

Posted in Devil May Cry 4, PS3, Xbox 360, bullshit | No Comments »

Whether or not you have been online in the last few weeks, whether or not you are even a gold or silver member of Microsoft’s XBL service, you will be able to download a free XBLA game. The details of what game are still under wraps, but Microsoft promises to make these details available soon.

While it would be awesome for them to allow the user to choose the game, I fear that we will have to suffer through something that is only so-so. My guess is that we’ll either get something that is over a year old (Catan, anyone?), or that we’ll get some new XBLA game that was never going to do that well to begin with. Hell though, at least they are doing something.

Chufmoney

[via 1up]

Posted in XBLA, Xbox 360 | No Comments »

I am glad I built a new computer, as XBL is only working intermittently. It appears that Microsoft’s service was unprepared for the deluge of new gamers that received their Christmas consoles. As a result, several people have complained openly on Larry Hyrb’s–aka Major Nelson–blog. He has personally addressed people’s worries and complaints with the following response:

You may have noticed that the LIVE service has been having a few issues over the past few days. This includes things like signing in, matchmaking and account recovery. Not everyone has had problems, but I know some of you have and I wanted to give you and update. While the service was never completely offline, problems like this are not acceptable. The entire LIVE team has been working day and night to ensure that you can have a great LIVE experience. While we’re not done yet, I wanted to let you know that things are getting better each hour and that no one on the team is going anywhere until the job is done. Thanks for your patience.

Edit: As people have noticed, we have made good progress. We have a bit more work to do, but we’re doing much better now. I know some of you still may be having issues, and we’re working on those. Oh, and Happy New Year to those that are celebrating.

At least they are working for the money they take from you every month. I would like to see Microsoft give something like a free week of service–as WoW has done when they encountered server issues–but I doubt that will happen. Back to computer land for me!

Chufmoney

[via Evil Avatar]

Posted in Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace, xbox live | No Comments »

Everyone should be lovin’ the new 360 dashboard update. After all, you have DivX playback, faster blade navigation, and a smoother way to look at downloadable content. But, with the good comes something that I personally find questionable: Silver Members can’t access free content until it has been out for a week.

On one hand, I can see that MS is trying to make us feel privileged and that our subscriptions are worthwhile. On the other side, I kinda feel like this is just Microsoft’s way of pressuring Silver Members into subscribing. Should a person that purchases Bioshock today not be able to download the free DLC for a week just because they don’t feel like paying 5$ a month? What if it is a service that they aren’t going to use outside the marketplace?

I guess I actually do know how I feel about it–it’s shitty! They can get anything they are willing to pay for at anytime, but have to wait for free shit, and that is wrong.

Thanks for the update, Microsoft, I really appreciate it. But could you shit a little less on my cheap ass friends?

Chufmoney

Posted in Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace, xbox live | No Comments »

Since there’s little to post about today (with the exception of a new Deus Ex game and Sony swearing they’re selling a lot of systems now), I thought I’d take this time to talk a little bit about my recent experience in sending back my poor, dead 360. This may be (hell, probably is) something that every owner of a 360 prior to this fall’s version of the console is going to have to deal with, so in the event that you haven’t, perhaps my tale will make your life easier.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Microsoft, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments »

Halo, in its various incarnations, is being used to bring the Christian gospel. The NY times has broken a story that details how various Protestant churches around the nation are using Halo to get to the youth. Ministers and pastors alike have started Halo game nights, using them as a tool to bring in the youth who they feel they might otherwise not connect to.

This method is not without its critics. The obvious problem that many find with this approach stems from the fact that a violent video game is being used to draw these children. Many of the kids that are coming to the “Halo nights,” couldn’t even go out and buy the game legally, but that probably adds to the appeal of the events. Ken Kenerly, a pastor who runs a church out of Atlanta, in response to critics, asks, “With gamers, how else can you get into their lives?”

Some churches have been much more accepting than others. The Southern Baptist church has recently sent out an email to over 50,000 young congregates, teaching them how to spread their faith through Halo 3. Other organizations, like the group Focus on the Family, still hasn’t made up their mind about what stance they should take on this new form of proselytizing.

Neither Aegies or I have any problem with this. Despite the fact that neither of us are religious, we understand where these people are coming from. They aren’t being malicious, they’re just using new venues to spread a message they think will help us. So, I guess what I am trying to say, is, don’t be a dick to these people, they are doing what they are doing only out of love.

Moreover, we should all look at this as a good thing because it is doing two things. One, it is opening people’s minds about video games and violence, and two, it is making people more aware of the medium. These are good things, people.

I bet Jesus whores the rocket launcher.

Chufmoney

Posted in 360, Xbox 360, religion and video games | 1 Comment »