Isurus

Pizza...lots and lots of pizza.

"Is that guy in the picture Stinkles?"

It looks like that is Frankie from Bungie.net.

My prediction: you do NOT play as the Brutes in Halo 3 and the 2.5 mins of footage they are referring to will simply be Halo 2 footage of the Brutes as they explain their backstory. Nothing more.

I'm fairly certain that the screen shot you have is from a Dev Kit, which have larger hard drives than the retail kits.

The 2nd is definitely NOT a fake. Check this link:

http://m3mnoch.wordpress.com/2006/10/29/punkins/

If you'd have read his blog in the past, you'd realize is a quite the artist. For example, he painted a great mural on his son's wall:

http://m3mnoch.wordpress.com/2006/01/18/busy-today/

Don't knock great art simply because you don't have the talent to do it. That being said, the last is a fake. Anyone with some photoshop skills can see it.

I would say the title to this post is a little misleading. The linked article rounds up the 10 most 'unique' controllers, not the 10 most 'innovative'. The last time I checked, unique and innovative meant entirely different things.

"Also... XBL camera can only lead to only bad things... I don't want to see these freaks who shout obscenities and sing nursery rhymes over the headset."

From what I understand, you will only be able to see people who are on your friends list. So, as long as you don't add 'freaks' to your friend list, you should be just fine.

"The same is true with game consoles. From the PS1/N64 to PS2/Xbox/GC to PS3/360, there is no major shift in technology that can define them as a different generation."

I think that the move to multi-core processors in the 360 and PS3 represents a major shift in technology. Coding for multi-core is vastly different than programming for a single-core processor. I would go far as to say that this change is an even bigger change than the move from dual-analog controllers to the Wii remote. I think that most coders would agree.

"Instead of designing a full, expensive, stand alone controller, game developers can now include inexpensive shells into their games that piggyback off the main wand."

Not so fast. Are you suggesting that it will be cheaper now for devs to create a new controller that plugs into the Wii remote than it would be to create a controller for any other console? It doesn't work that way. The port on the Wii remote is basically the same as a controller port on a console. Think of the remote as a wireless hub for it. In no way do I see how it would be cheaper for devs to create a remote for the Wii than it would be for any other console. If you have any proof that suggest this, I'd love to see it.


"No one here can name one major difference between the PS2 and PS3 or the Xbox and 360 to justify a new generation defenition."

Again, I disagree. In the end, it comes down to the experience that I have with one "generation" versus the other. I can definitely say that experience I have had with the 360 so far is quite different than that I had with the first Xbox. Much of it comes down to the evolution of Xbox Live. Now when I turn on my box I can check for new game trailers, movie trailers, game demos, special features like Artist of the Month, even TV spots are going to be released on Live soon. There is also the full integration of XBL Arcade, which has been a surprise treat for many. Achievments have also added replay value as they give something to work towards doing in a game. It isn't as much the achievement points as it is others being able to see what you have accomplished in a game. Finally, there is the new XNA developments recently released to the press showing that Microsoft is going to be making initial attempts at allowing homebrew on the console. When was the last time you saw this in the console space being willing promoted by the developer of said console? And I'm not even getting into the possiblities that having more advanced hardware allows (such as the 'squad cam' in Ghost Recon or hords of freaking zombies in Dead Rising). All of these sum up to a much different and better experience than that of last generation. In the end, that is all that really matters.

""Geometry Wars was never a surprise to us. We knew that Geometry Wars would be our Halo. And it has ended up being that."

Wow, he actually thinks that? I never would've thought Geometry Wars would be that popular. What do you guys think?"

I think he means that he knew it would be the "Halo" of Xbox Live Arcade, not the Halo of the 360 as a whole. I think that would have been a fair assumption. It is quite clear after spending some time with it that it is a great game and it was the most widely known of non-retro arcade game that was available at launch. Plus, many people liked the retro geo wars that was included with PGR 2.

I've been thinking about the pricing point of the retro games some more and I'm starting to think that they probably make sense. Look at DVD releases of old movies for instance. They are available on other formats for different types of players and yet many people drop 10 bucks or more to get there hands on these digitally enhanced re-releases of old movies. When you consider that the retro games coming to XBLA are doing something similar, being that they simply enhanced versions of old game, it makes sense to charge what they are given the pricing precendent that has been set for re-releasing old movies.

While I don't have a link confirming this, I was under the impression that Microsoft had previously stated that retro games would all be priced at 400 MS Points. Last time I checked, Street Fighter II was definitely a retro game. Personally, I don't feel the price is justified. I'd rather pony up 800 points for a new experience, like Cloning Clyde.