Note: this post contains rumors which are unsourced, because they’re rumors. While I wouldn’t post about them unless i was fairly certain they had some credence, they should not be taken as fact, and should be approached with the appropriate amount of skepticism. The exception to this is the fact that the three studios in question did blackball EGM/1UP (as well as a number of other publishers in Europe as well), and Sony did fuck up last year and try to bully Kotaku into pulling a story.

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Finally the PSP is getting functionality that actually makes it stand out in ways that the DS doesn’t. Here is a list of improvements/add-ons, that are coming soon for the PSP:

1. Skype support (for PSP Slim only): VOIP support for the PSP will hit in the next few weeks. PSP owners will be able to call and receive calls from landlines and cellphones for an additional charge. It will come as a firmware update, but will apparently only be accessible for Slim owners. Sony points towards a memory difference between the two versions of the handheld as the cause.
2. PSP GPS: Sony is officially showcasing a PSP GPS system at the 2008 CES. GPS has been available in Japan, but is now going to come to other countries as well. Users will be able to download city guides, see real time 2D and 3D maps, as well as get driving directions. No pricing has been released at this time, but it is still awesome to see the potential use of the PSP as more of a powerful handheld device.
3. Blu-ray to PSP move download: Sony has been showcasing the PSP’s ability to download a lower-res version of a Blu-Ray movie through the PS3. This makes me actually kinda want some Blu-Ray movies….

Dunno about you, but all these PSP additions make me happy to own the system. I am not happy that I won’t be able to use Skype–though I don’t know how much I actually would have used it, but I still wish I had the option. Maybe I’ll just sell the phat PSP to Aegies…

Anyways, combine these new features with games like God of War: Chains of Olympus, and I think the PSP has a good year ahead of it.

Chufmoney

Last year was an interesting time for console gaming. I would argue one of the major changes over previous generations was the almost ubiquitous console beta and preview demo. While PC players have been downloading early code for a test drive since shareware was a viable option for developers, the idea of a public (albeit limited) beta test is new to console gaming. The 360 was the big platform for this, with Shadowrun, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4 beta tests being well received major draws throughout the year. The PS3 also got some love in the form of the Warhawk beta that launched shortly before the game released.

Then of course there was the continuing expansion of demos on both Live and PSN, and at this point, it would seem to me that the lack of a prerelease demo for a game means one of two things: supreme hubris, or a troubled title. Games that don’t get demos are immediately on my list of games to wait for reviews on, much like movies that don’t screen for critics are marked with road flares in my consciousness. I understand that demos take time and money to produce and can often put undue strain on a development team. And that argument would hold a lot more water with me if I didn’t know for a fact that developers almost uniformly create demos for the gaming enthusiast press to play prior to a games release. The difference is, press have embargoes and restrictions as to what they’re allowed to talk about after game demonstrations, while gamers will sing a titles praises or tear it apart at the slightest provocation, and that word of mouth can be powerful. The thing is, if a developer is making a game they’re proud of, a demo is the equivalent of putting their money where their mouth is and letting their product determine whether I buy it.
Such is the case with Burnout Paradise. While Alex Ward has often been known as a somewhat partisan member of the development community and routinely engages in diva-like behavior, the Burnout Paradise Demo shows his willingness to let his work speak for itself. What’s more, just weeks before its release, Criterion has increased the functionality of the demo, in effect making it a sort of last minute beta for the title:

Whatever your feelings about the demo, you should be interested to know that Criterion and EA are expanding the demo to allow more players on Xbox Live and include more Freeburn challenges. Multiplayer will now allow 8 players (up from 4) and there will be 13 new challenges added. These changes will be available starting today and will continue until January 14th. Well hey, that’s just a week before the retail game comes out! Boy, that’s some coincidence, huh?

I played the demo, and while it was gorgeous, Burnout has never really been my thing. Regardless, this shows balls, and I can appreciate that.

-Aegies

I’ve been gone a while.

This is obvious, if you look at the recent posts. Chuf has made a valiant effort to preserve some sense of regularity in the posting during the end of the year lull, for which I thank him immensely, and a special thank you as well to Jayslacks.

My absence has been the result of some fairly distracting personal life issues. These issues were amplified and focused by their proximity to Christmas and the holidays in general, although my life shows a strange predilection towards entering a tailspin around the holidays. I’m not making excuses. I’m just sharing, I suppose.

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