mip's scan

Getting People Excited About Technology

Over the weekend at the cottage I was chatting with an acquaintance about next generation entertainment and the conversation turned toward gaming consoles.  He was asking me about Xbox360-this and PS3-that when I said, "It'll be Nintendo that storms the holiday season this year."  I was trying to communicate the ideas to him that I've written about here and in the end, if a picture is worth a thousand words, than a video is worth a million words.  I showed him the video I've embedded below. 

It's about innovating the gaming experience not just creating better looking games.  When I see the clip below, it excites me because it's new and innovative.  Will it work?  I'm not sure...I'm hoping so.  If it doesn't though, I think it will definitely shift the gaming market in a new direction.

Opera on The Nintendo DS - Review

I'm really looking forward to the day this becomes available here in North America.  Orgs Tech Times has gotten their hands on the Opera web browser cartridge that has been slated for release in Japan on July 24th.  Read his review, it is excellent.  It sounds like Opera has created a hit for the already hugely popular Nintendo DS.

To me, what is interesting, is that Opera has grasped an important fundamental truth about the future of the web.  It'll be accessed through many devices.  I would bet that most devices that access the web 5 years from now won't be a PC. They'll be devices like the Nintendo DS, smartphones / cellphones, automobiles, video game consoles and other places that embedded versions of a browser will bring niche content (i.e., a browser built into a kitchen appliance delivering info regarding food, a DVD player with an embedded browser that brings up movie information). 

I've been using Opera Mini on my Blackberry 8700 and it is excellent.  It is surprising to me that Firefox has not created a "mini" version of their browser.  I think it is a missed opportunity for them and the other browser creators like Microsoft and Apple.  With wireless internet access becoming more and more pervasive, it'll be no surprise to see the Internet move from your PC to some other mobile device.  Opera is well positioned to be there with you.

Nintendo DS - Brain Age

So we took along for our family vaction 2 Nintendo DS gaming devices, one for each of my children.  I have to say that this little device continues to impress me.  As I've said before, despite the superiority of the Sony PSP, the Nintendo DS is doing innovative things that make the gaming experience really enjoyable.  The touchscreen is a huge plus.  Nintendo launched a site to show off / highlight the types of things you can do by being able to touch the DS.

Before leaving for our trip I laid my hands on a game called Brain Age.  Here is a link to the game itself, but in a nutshell...

Keep your brain sharp and in shape with 'Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?'
Inspired by the theories of neuroscientist Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, 'Brain Training' is a collection of simple daily exercises that help stimulate the brain and keep it young.

...at first glance it doesn't sound fun.  But it is hugely fun.  So much so that my wife has been playing as well. The neat thing about this game is that while she was playing she went into this kind of share-mode that allowed me to use the other DS and play with her....WITHOUT the need for a second copy of the game.  The DS that I was using went into wireless mode, downloaded the game from her device and we played a competition match against each other (yes, I lost every tiime....hmmmm). 

Now you are probably saying.."mip...who exactly did you bring these gaming devices for?  Sure they were for your kids...wink wink, nudge, nudge."  In truth, that is the brilliance I think of what Nintendo is doing in the gaming market.  They aren't just trying to create a gaming platform (whether it be the handheld DS or the soon to come Wii) that is more powerful and better able to render a more realistic splash of blood in some first person shooter.  You see, even when the PS2 and Xbox came out and I would say to my wife for example, "Look how good the sun looks as this racing car rounds the bend.", she would always say...."So..."  Nintendo is not looking to just make games better for hard core gamers, they are looking to expand the market by reaching out to new gamers.  They aren't going to do that by just giving us a better racing game or more realistic first-person shooter...they are going to do that by innovating the games and the gaming experience and making games fun.

PSP Update Now Available

For those of you with Sony PSP's in hand, an update has been made available.  Added features in the update are:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

		Macromedia® Flash® content can now be displayed in [Internet Browser].
			You must perform an activation procedure under [System Settings] to enable Flash® content to be displayed.
			The system supports Macromedia® Flash® Player 6; however, some features are not supported.
		[Connection Settings] has been added as a setting under [Settings] in [Internet Browser] > [Tools].
		Audio content from [RSS Channel] can now be saved on Memory Stick Duo™ media.
		[Automatic] has been added as an option under [Rate] in the control panel of [LocationFree™ Player]. For details on the LocationFree™ Base Station, visit http://www.sony.com/locationfree/ownerslounge/psp.

             

                                                                                                                                               

A new file extension has been added to playable AAC formats.

               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

		[Enable Flash® Player] has been added as a setting under [System Settings].
			You must be connected to the Internet to activate this setting.
		Options to display simplified Chinese or traditional Chinese characters have been added under [System Settings] > [System Language].
		[RSS Channel Settings] has been added as a setting.
		[UMD™Video L/R Button] has been added as an option under [Video Settings].

Really nice to see them opening up the music file formats and the inclusion/enabling of Flash 6 in this update.  To get it, simply click here.

Xbox 360: How Elder Scrolls Blew Me Away

Lots of my friends and family seem puzzled that I didn't get an Xbox 360, yet.  I still enjoy hours on fun on my Xbox and my PS2.  The main reason I haven't gotten a 360 yet is that I don't have a hi-def TV which I think is critical if you're going to enjoy the fantastic graphics the 360 brings to gaming. 

In truth, I haven't really seen a lot of games yet either that just give me that itch - until this past weekend.  I saw yesterday one of the most amazing games I've seen in a really long time.  Enter a game called Elder Scrolls IV. 

I'm not going to post some long game review here.  It's not what I do.  If you want to read about the game itself, check out a review here.
What I will say about the game is this: it really does a good job of leveraging the strengths of this great systems Microsoft has delivered.  It's a role-playing game and it is expansive.  I love games that have huge worlds like this one.  There seems to be a lot of sequences that need to load but they aren't long so I didn't mind it.  The onboard hard drive is key for this type of expansive world without the load time waits.  Note to Sony - if you deliver a PS3 without a hard drive, you'll be dead in the water.  Next generation games will demand/require a hard drive.

Right But Maybe Too Late!

I was so happy when not too long ago I posted a blog about being right on the strategy Sony should take with regard to their Universal Media Discs.  I wasn't happy about being right so much as I was happy about Sony finally getting it, you know.  They are going to start offering a DVD+UMD bundled product so people don't have to choose between a DVD or UMD when buying a movei.  Under the new model they could pay a little extra and get them both.  I've said all along that this is the right approach.  And now I have a bad feeling that Sony might be doing the right thing but doing it all a little too late.

Based on last year’s numbers, it seemed that the sale of UMD movies for the Sony PlayStation Portable were still doing pretty well, but studios this year are releasing fewer, or even no new movies in the UMD format.

They should start this bundling immediately.  Hell they should have done it months ago, but now that they realized it, they should go full out and get these things out.  That way PSP owners would be able to buy them.  When will large companies like Sony learn to listen to their users.  Sigh. 

To read all the details on the sluggish UMD sales just click here.

DVD+UMD=mip was right

What did I say 11 months ago?  Huh?  If you need a refresher you can check out my post from March of 2005 here.  In that post you'll see I had said that Sony needed to sell DVDs at one price, UMDs at a similar price and a DVD plus UMD combo at an alternate price that wasn't double the UMD or DVD price.  It's the only way to get real uptake on the UMD format. 

Now I'm not the usually the kind of guy who says "I told you so", but in this case...well...I told you so.  But I'm happy about it no doubt.  Happy to read

Starting March 28, consumers can buy DVD-UMD combo packs of "The Grudge," "Resident Evil," "Underworld," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and MGM's "The Terminator" for just pennies more than Sony typically charges for a new DVD.

A second batch of DVD-UMD combos--"Ghostbusters," "Mad Max," "The Fifth Element" and "Snatch"--arrives April 25, with a third wave slated to come on the market in May.

Each combo is priced at $28.95. Sony typically charges $24.96 to $26.96 for new DVD releases, while titles new to UMD generally list for $19.95.

You can read the entire article here - the UMD comb stuff begins in the 9th paragraph but the whole article is a good one.  It would seem that the big movie business is starting to finally get it.
Way to go Sony!

More Video Content for Sony PSP

It'd been a while since I've written anything about the Sony PSP.  Well it looks like more content has been made available for the PSP.  Veoh Networks announced it was making available approximately 20,000 titles for download.  That rocks!

Veoh Networks, Inc. (www.veoh.com), the first Internet Television Peercasting Network, today announced that the majority of its catalog of more than 20,000 independent, user-published videos is now available for download and enjoyment on the Sony PSP computer entertainment system. Veoh automatically downloads videos of interest to a PSP owner's device each time they connect it to their PC.

That is so awesome.  I haven't downloaded any titles yet but will.  I like the fact that their software, which downloads content each time its connected to the PSP, will run on both Windows and the Mac OS.  You can read additional details on the announcement here.

Sony Launched MobileStation

Sony has launched a portal that is aimed people surfing the web with their PSP.  They offer content around games, links and media.  I liked that they provided a section with movie trailers but the seciton on Game Add-Ons was pretty weak.  All in all it's a toe-in-the-water-thing, more of a marketing sight and short on content.  When will Sony get it - content is king.  I know that it is an old cliche but I'm going to keep saying it.  Content is king.  Until they understand that making diverse content easily available for the PSP, they will be under pressure from companies like Apple.  To check out the MobileStation, just click here.

Xbox Launch - Standing Outside the Walmart

Of course, I was curious to see what the demand for the xbox360 would be this morning, so here I am, in my van blogging outside a Walmart here in Brampton.  It's 5am.  There's a line of about 18 people (I can see some kids in line and their parents are huddled in their cars sipping coffees).  Am I tempted to go in and purchase one of these boxes?  No.  It's strange - I usually have the itch when new and innovative tech hits the scene but I haven't mustered that feeling for some reason ofr the Xbox360.  Maybe it will come when I actually see the unit and try it out.  Maybe I'm waiting to see what the actual feedback will be from users?  Maybe its been the mainstream media reviews so far that have said it's good but not great.  I had to laugh watching local news last night and they were covering a big launch party taking place in Toronto and they interviewed people who said things like "I'm getting the Xbox 'cause the graphics rock."  Then they'd cut to some game being played, but the graphics don't look overwhelming. 

Anyway, I've got to motor off to work - for those early morning readers in the GTA - if you're scrambling to get an Xbox360, it would seem that coming out to the 'burbs' might be your best bet - although I suspect this line might get a bit longer within the next few hours before the doors open.