HomeWeekly News Roundup (12 April 2009)
Hello everyone. This weekend is the Easter weekend, so while not everyone celebrates this holiday, it was still a very slow news week. So slow that this week’s WNR will be much much shorter than usual, as we only have 4 stories to report on.
I also didn’t have time to make a mid-week blog post, as I had some personal business this week (good news, mainly). Also, I’m working on something new for Digital Digest, which I think will be very interesting, if not entirely useful. All I can say is that it’s something to do with Blu-ray buying, and if you’re a cheapskate like me, you’ll appreciate it.
But on with the news, or whatever there is available. The MPAA has hit back at a claim that 90% of consumers want RealDVD to exist. They claim, correctly, that the study was funded by Real Networks (sneaky buggers). But even if the funding came from Real, it does not suggest that the result isn’t correct, and I think if you asked most people, they won’t think RealDVD should be illegal and most will also think that being able to play DVDs without having to insert the disc all the time is a good thing.
Apple’s iTunes is now 100% DRM free as Apple promised. But at the same time, they’ve introduced tiered pricing and all sorts of other things that may not be that consumer friendly. But no DRM is a good thing, and Apple should be applauded for making this move, even if it was a bit too late for my liking.
But as one industry goes DRM free, another is still clinging on. Atari’s latest Riddick game is full of the latest anti-piracy features we’ve gotten familiar with over the least year: online authentication; limited PC installs, and limited re-installs per PC (hardware based). The public response has been typical as well, the game is rated with only 1 star on Amazon.com, with most reviews attacking the DRM aspect. I don’t know if this game is a good game or not, but frankly, I won’t care and I won’t buy, not when there are so many other games to choose from. Why do publishers want to take attention away from their games with stupid DRM, although if the game really is bad, then perhaps taking attention away from it may be for the best after all.
And finally (I told you it was a quiet week), Microsoft has a new anti-Apple commercial out and this one, ironically, uses Blu-ray to say why Windows is better than Mac OS. It is true though that you can play Blu-ray on Windows PCs with relative ease, but it is much harder (but not impossible) on Mac OS X. And because PCs are more easily upgraded, you can even turn your old computer into a Blu-ray player with a few minor purchases, which I did a couple of weeks ago to my old P4 system. And the irony of course comes from the fact that Microsoft supported HD DVD, while Apple sits on the board of the Blu-ray Disc Association.
And that’s all the news I found (interesting) in the last week. Hopefully things will be back to normal next week. See you then.
April 13th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
I’ve been reading your blogs for sometime,and you’ve always criticise Sony and the PS3. Over the last couple of months the PS3 have outsold both the XBOX and the Wii in Japan. Why not report this in your Blog?
April 13th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Hi Micro$oft. I was wondering when someone was going to ask about this. It’s not just me that’s criticizing Sony and the PS3, look around at any gaming blog, even PS3 fansites. As for the PS3 outselling the other consoles in Japan, it’s because Japan is a relatively small market compared to Europe and the US, and what happens there does not always reflect what happens elsewhere. For example, the 360 barely had any market there, while the 360 was the best selling console up to until last year elsewhere. Also, even the 360 has beaten both the Wii and PS3 in monthly stats before, and it is very much a game driven market (especially Japanese developed games, most of which don’t even get ported over to overseas).
April 13th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
As stated before Your Blog makes interesting reading…just looking for a balance view( if you know what i mean).