HomeWeekly News Roundup (11 May 2008)
I’ve played GTA IV for a week now, and while I think it’s a great game, it does have some flaws. I think people got too excited handing out the 10/10 scores, and as with the Net media these days, one site does it and then everybody does it. It’s a great game no doubt, but perfect? Or even the best game in the last year? For a sandbox game fan and GTA maniac like myself, perhaps it is the best game of last year, but I’m sure there are games that are up there with it. It’s old, it’s cheap and it doesn’t have a storyline, but Crackdown on the 360 is an awesome game … makes GTA IV feel 2D by comparison (although I agree that giving Niko Bellic Spider-Man like abilities is a bit too much). I’m also not a big fan of the judder in the game, which some say is normal, but it’s something I can’t stand.
Despite my time wasting in Liberty City this week (I’m now awesome at GTA darts, BTW), there was actually quite a bit of news, and only half of it was GTA related.
In copyright news, the news of the week has been a good one for the MPAA. They won a judgement awarding them $110 million in damages to be paid by the owners of TorrentSpy. That got them all fired up and now their next target is The Pirate Bay, having asked for several million from them too. It’s unlikely the TorrentSpy people will not appeal this decision, and even more unlikely that they will have to pay anything, but neither compares to the impossibility of the MPAA getting their hands on TPB, or stopping torrent based piracy on the Net. Their other lawsuit involving IsoHunt is still going on, and both sides are awaiting a ruling which will finally decide if having .torrent files is the same as hosting pirated content.
While the MPAA might be enjoying the victory, the news has been less good for the RIAA. After their humiliation in court last week over what constitutes piracy, they have also suffered from the public backlash against DRM. But the RIAA is standing firm and claiming that DRM will make a comeback soon. Yeah right.
New York’s AG recently proposed new anti-piracy laws. In case you’re wondering why so many new anti-piracy laws are being passed, then look closely at the lobby groups spending huge amounts of money getting their issues to be heard. Something fishy going on behind the scenes, perhaps happening in New York? And it’s not just New York, the US House of Congress also introduced a new crack down on copyright violations. Studios are spending huge money to get laws passed in their favour, but are they really that concerned about piracy or is it more about having more control over users and having laws that allow consumer rights to be stripped away bit by bit. We’ll report, you decide.
Microsoft, at the brunt of DRM related controversy last week, has once more angered anti-DRM activists by suggesting a new update that will force copyright control on their Zune players. Did you hear that? That was the sound of the Zune dying a horrible death and the iPod taking full control of the portable player market. What is it with companies doing things that will hurt them more than it helps? 
Electronics Arts will introduce a new type of DRM on its new PC game releases, including the widely acclaimed Mass Effects. The new DRM will require an Internet connection that will dial back every week to ensure the serial used isn’t a pirated one. No Internet connection? No play! The public outrage was swift and vicious, and EA backed down by toning down the Net-based authentication required, which again raises the question of why introducing it in the first place if only to back down in a week and causing a lot of negative publicity in the process? Will companies ever learn?
In HD news, not much going on in the world of Blu-ray this week. Some “doom and gloom” articles are still being spun thanks to the sales figures from January to March, which recorded a huge drop and was reported on earlier here as mainly due to seasonal variations. Blu-ray is definitely not doing as well as it should, compared to DVDs at the same stage and now that it has no competitor. But it’s far from over yet, and without a competitor, time is no longer an enemy. Still, the latest Nielsen VideoScan results (for the week ending 4th May) aren’t looking too rosy, with Blu-ray vs DVD sales down 1% for Blu-ray to 5% vs 95%, with Blu-ray sales dropping 23% compared to the previous week (which was 7% down compared to the week before). But again, this is far from doom and gloom as Blu-ray sales are still up quite a bit compared to the same time last year, and that Blu-ray sales, unlike DVD sales (which was also down 5% compared to last week) are much more dependent on new releases, and no new major releases in that week meant worse sales. But Sony’s claim that they will raise the 5% to 50% in the next 7 months seems quite ridiculous now. Lies, damned lies, and statistics indeed.
Perhaps 3D movies will help Blu-ray. Samsung is set to release a new 3D TV that will aim to bring IMAX style 3D movies to your home, and I’m sure they will look great on HD as well. Perhaps it’s a gimmick like this that will drive Blu-ray sales, especially if the 3D components can be somehow integrated into Blu-ray players (HD DVD players supported mandatory USB connectors for just this sort of thing, but USB is not required on Blu-ray).
And as expected, Microsoft once again denied rumours of a Blu-ray enabled Xbox 360. This must be the third time this year already. You have to wonder who is coming out with these rumours, if they are indeed false? Perhaps someone who wants to create some positive news for Blu-ray, and at the same time, highlight the major difference between the PS3 and Xbox 360? Gee, I wonder who that could be. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, I’m highly skeptical that the 360 will ever have a Blu-ray drive. The next Xbox console maybe, but I just can’t see it in the 360. One, because the drive would only be used for movies, not games like on the PS3, so it’s kind of a pointless addition to anyone who doesn’t use the noisy 360 to play movies. Two, by including a Blu-ray drive, that’s Microsoft basically admitting the PS3 is superior and it wants to copy it. The Xbox 360 will never be as good a Blu-ray player as the PS3, so why make the comparison when you don’t have to? The Wii doesn’t even play DVDs, and nobody is saying it needs that capabilty to compete with the 360/PS3, so why does the 360 need Blu-ray to compete with the PS3? I will say this though, that there are a lot of people who are quite bitter at the moment because the PS3 isn’t doing very well in the format war, not because it’s losing badly, but because it’s not winning handsomely as they had expected. And everyone knows the delay to the release of the console due to delays to Blu-ray was what caused it (or rather, the earlier release of the 360 allowed it to gain crucial market share to win over consumer and developer confidence). The same people are the ones trying to suggest Blu-ray will help the PS3 win the console war, but in actual fact, it was the other way around (PS3 helping Blu-ray to win the format war). If the 360 gets a Blu-ray add-on or a built in drive, then it would represent the ultimate victory for these people. Which is why I don’t see it happening.
(cue Microsoft announcing next week Blu-ray is coming to the 360)
In gaming news, as expected, GTA IV broke all sales records. This was always going to be the title that bought the “next-gen” into “this-gen” (and this will be the last time I use the term “next-gen”, unless I’m talking about the PS4 or Xbox 720 or WiiII or something). Microsoft was quick to point that that is has won the GTA IV war, having sold more copies and having seen hardware sales jump as a result too. Some will say that one shouldn’t believe MS’s claims, and I would normally agree, but there’s a lack of any noise from the usually spin-tastic Sony PR department about GTA IV, which leads me to believe that MS is telling the truth. Microsoft was also quick to point out that the only console you can play GTA IV in full 720p glory is the Xbox 360. This, plus the freezing issue which a patch is now available for but apparently doesn’t fix the problem, at least not all occurrences of it, means that GTA IV’s release could definitely have gone a lot smoother for Sony. And then there’s the issue of exclusive downloadable content for the Xbox 360, but Sony is trying to muddy the waters by suggesting they will get DLC too. These two possible facts actually don’t conflict with each other … nobody has ever said that all DLC is exclusive to the Xbox 360, just two episodes worth. But if Sony is suggesting future DLC will be PS3 exclusive, then that’s just misleading because there’s no evidence of it and I’m sure Rockstar’s contract with Microsoft won’t allow it.
So while Sony PR can’t talk much about GTA IV without getting attacked for having a lower res, broken and exclusive lacking version, then they will have to talk about something else. The PS3 has done well in Europe, and total sales have exceeded the Xbox 360 figures even though the PS3 was released much later. No spin there, just facts. What could be considered spin is Sony saying they will overtake all others, including the Xbox 360 and Wii, both of which are miles ahead of the PS3 in the US. I always find it funny to hear Sony talk about their 10 year plan and that the PS3 hasn’t reached its full potential yet. It is true that there is more to come from the PS3, but three years ago, nobody could have predicted the rise of the Wii, so even if the PS3 can squeeze out more in the next 5 years or so, will it still be an attractive console by that time? For one, they can’t predict what Microsoft and Nintendo have up their sleeves, so if Sony are going to rest on their laurels and rely solely on developers getting more out of the PS3, then I think that’s a disaster waiting to happen.
And speaking of what’s up Microsoft’s sleeves, a new Xbox 360 build could be here by August with a new GPU chip codenamed Jasper. It promises lower heat production, and hence, lower noise and more reliability. Microsoft will probably introduce the Wii like controller for the 360 at the same time as well. A cooler, more reliable and quieter Xbox 360 is exactly what Microsoft needs right now to compete with the PS3, and not a Blu-ray drive in sight! The GTA IV related victory has given Microsoft a lot of confidence, and some analysts have already concluded that the 360 will win the “current-gen” console war, mainly due to a superior games library and multiplayer community. I’m not so sure about that, but you can’t argue with the 360’s games choice and Xbox Live, and not letting Sony maintain 80% of the market is a victory of sorts already.
Of course, the real winner could be the Wii. While everyone is talking about GTA IV, Nintendo has been quietly selling loads of Mario Kart and Wii Fit, making Wii Fit the best selling exercise equipment of all time. What, even more popular than the Thighmaster I hear you ask. Yes, more popular than that and Jane Fonda exercise videos … COMBINED!!
Ok, that’s that for this week. I’ll have more for you next week. More of what? I don’t know. Will it be interesting? Probably not. But there will be more …