Thoughts from the Shelf

In more news regarding the BBC iPlayer and following on from last months post about the service launching on both the iPhone and iTouch, iPlayer Launched on iPhone and iPod Touch, it seems the service has stepped up a gear and is now available on the Nintendo Wii.

Having struck deals with Apple to be the first mobile platforms to support the service, it seems the BBC is now pushing the service into living rooms of the public through the Nintendo Wii.

It has been rumoured that both Sony and Microsoft were eager to sign the iPlayer for their respective PS3 and Xbox 360 consoles, but the deal feel through due to increasing demands of the games console manufacturers.

“If you want to get [iPlayer] on the PlayStation or Xbox, they want control of the look, the feel and the experience; they want it done within their shop, and their shop only.” - head of BBC Future Media and Technology Erik Huggers

Darren Waters, BBC technology editor said “The BBC’s announcement of a deal with Nintendo to put the iPlayer’s streaming service on the console makes something of a mockery of claims by Sony and Microsoft that their consoles are the true multimedia machines.”

With Xbox live having no browser it seems Microsoft are unwilling to work with the BBC without retaining control over the look and feel of content delivery, however with the ‘open platform’ of the PS3 it does seem inevitable that the iPlayer will find its way to the PS3 before long.

“[Sony] has said often that PS3 is an ‘open platform’ and all it would take is a small update to let gamers access iPlayer in the web browser.” - Darren Waters, BBC technology editor

With the majority of iPlayer customers currently accessing BBC content through a PC, the publicly funded broadcaster is taking steps to make its services available directly to the big screen television set, and it sees the Japanese games console as a means of doing so.

Currently users can view content downloaded from the iPlayer through their television sets, although it requires using the S-video output on most notebooks and a suitable S-Video to Scart cable. For LCD or plasma screen screens this could be replaced by a higher quality VGA input/ output.

The advantage of this latest deal for the iPlayer is that the Wii consoles are already rigged up to TV set, and therefore programmes can be viewed directly on the console.

Wii players will need to install the Internet Channel which will cost 500 Wii points or £3.50 but there are plans for a free alternative in the future.

The service will remain in beta initially as the BBC experiments with the optimal video encoding techniques for superior playback. The BBC already encodes all 400 hours of weekly iPlayer video, and now must do the same again for the high quality H.264 iPhone streams, and the Wii.

Wii encoding will be of a poorer quality as the Wii only supports Flash 7.This is because of the fact that initially the Wii was only designed to support lower quality Youtube style video.

“Our regular Flash content is encoded at 500Kbps. We chose that bitrate because it’s the highest quality that could be reliably streamed on pretty much any UK broadband internet connection. However, for Wii we had to increase the bitrate to 820Kbps because the Sorenson codec used by Wii simply needs more bits to achieve the same picture quality,” - BBC’s Anthony Rose

Mobile phone giant Nokia has launched its revamped internet service platform know as N-Gage, which enables holders of the higher end handsets to download videogames directly to their mobile phones.

N-Gage’s growing library of games will be accessible as users download software that connects their phone to their internet platform. With 30 games expected to be available by mid-2008, it marks one of the biggest moves by a mobile handset manufacturer to get into the content market.

“The games, the devices, and the community are all here for you to finally get your teeth into. The Forums are back up and the new N-Gage application is here”. - Nokia said on the N-Gage blog.

Currently the service is only available on the N81, N81 8GB, N82, N96 and N95 8GB, but Nokia is also planning to launch N-Gage for other phone models, including the N73, N93 and N93i.

According to Nokia there is a keen interest in gaming on mobile phones.

“People have been put off mobile gaming because there is nowhere to try games, gaming experiences have been poor, and the games are difficult to use, but all these problems have been solved with the new platform” – said Nokia’s Christopher Joyau

Officially the site is not being launched until April 7th, when select Nokia mobile holders will be able access the site and choose between six games. From then onwards two to three new games a week will be added to the platform.

The release date has already been pushed back twice, originally targeted for a 2007 launch, and after the initial launch of the service in 2003 which bombed, Nokia are hoping for big things.

Game publishers including Electronic Arts, Gameloft and Glu Mobile, have signed agreements to get their games on to the N-Gage service. In the UK, launch titles include Asphalt 3: Street Rules, Hooked On: Creatures of the deep, Brain Challenge and System Rush: Evolution. Many of the games are free to try and, in the UK, cost between £6 to £8 for a full copy.

Nokia made 40% of handsets sold in the last quarter of 2007.

This week has seen the Nintendo Wii reach an important milestone in establishing itself as a console that can compete with more established brands that are responsible for the likes of the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

This week Nintendo released the 200th title for Nintendo’s Virtual Console service, and as part of the celebrations is releasing a sequence of revamped titles not seen since the days of the Commodore 64.

Originally promised back in February ‘International Karate’ and ‘Uridium’ are due to be released after Commodore teamed up with Nintendo of Europe to launch the games that were integral in the revolution of computer gaming.

Released on the new C64 channel Nintendo have said there will be plenty of updates following these initial two titles, so retro gaming fans can be sure to experience more Commodore nostalgia soon.

A little closer to the modern day ‘Cruis’n USA’ is also to be released a game which was originally released in 1998 on the N64.

Each of these commodore 64 titles will cost 500 Wii points which is the equivalent of around £3.50, whilst the N64 title will cost 1000 Wii points.

To get some heads up on extra Commodore titles that could soon feature I have found a link to some Commodore 64 Classics. Enjoy!

An online game that has been launched aimed at young girls, has come in for a wave of criticism from parents this week after it was said to be encouraging children to diet and seek plastic surgery.

Launched in the UK last month, the game is titled Miss Bimbo and is aimed at nine to 16 year olds. The game gives each player an unique avatar which then competes against other players with the aim of becoming “the most famous, beautiful, sought after bimbo across the globe”.

Within the game players register and compete in beauty contests and send text messages to the site to earn currency which then can be used to buy lingerie, diet pills and a range of plastic surgery operations within the game. Alternatively an avatar can attract the attention of a rich celebrity.

The game states among its objectives to “Become a socialite and skyrocket to the top of fame and popularity.” With another stating “Even resort to meds or plastic surgery. Stop at nothing to become the reigning bimbo”.

The site has over a quarter of a million registered users in the UK and over 1.2 million play it in France, its country of origin.

It is not surprising that some parents are concerned about the mixed messages the game sends out. One parent said “It sends out all the wrong messages about what it takes to get ahead. I would rather my daughter learned that brains are more important than looks.”

It is not just parents jumping on the messages being sent out by the game either, it seems that the site is also being heavily criticised by groups working with vulnerable children.

“This is as lethal as pro-anorexia websites,” Dee Dawson, medical director at Rhodes Farm Clinic.

Chris Evans business partner of founder Nicholas Jacquart countered the criticisms saying: “It’s a fun game, many positive areas are being overlooked.” He added “members can send their Bimbo to university and are encouraged to love and nurture her”.

Personally I can’t help but question whether this game is as bad as games such as the immensely popular Grand Theft Auto series, which itself sends out the message that gun crime and grand theft auto is a reputable and cool way to make a living. This title is not on its own either with the recently banned Manhunt 2 due to be released in the UK.

I realise that these games are certified for 15+ but this is still leans towards the older age bracket of Miss Bimbo’s target audience. Is the nature of this game not meant as a fun spin off of celebrity tabloid magazines that spawn the idea of a Miss Bimbo!

Would like to hear your thoughts on this.

In the latest news in the battle of next generation consoles, Microsoft has announced that thanks to its price drop it has recorded a 36% increase in sales of its Xbox 360 games console.

In the same healthy pre-Easter period, Sony’s Playstation 3 also recorded 6% rise in sales, but it seems that the price drop has given the Xbox 360 hardware the biggest boost.

Since the price drop came into effect on the 14th March, making the entry level Xbox 360 available for as little as £159.99, ChartTtrack told MVC that sales in Xbox 360 consoles were up 36%. Other models saw around £40 knocked off their retail price.

In the same period it seems that the Playstation 3 was the only other console to buck the trend, with consumers opting out of buying hardware, with every other games console recording sales drops. Software sales also dropped in the same period after the release of big titles such as Army Of Two and Bully last week were said to have tempted gamers out to the shops early.

However impressive this pre-Easter jump, Microsoft couldn’t get anywhere near the 260% rise in Xbox sales seen in after price cuts in August 2007.

“We need to wait two or three more weeks to see if the 360 sales surge will carry on,” Bloch sated.

He continued “I would predict that it will increase again over the Easter period. It’s a bit of an odd year for the industry - Easter is early, and doesn’t coincide with the end of Q1 - when publishers traditionally release very big games - like it usually does.”

With news elsewhere stating that Chinese firm OEM has just sealed a contract to build 500,000 Xbox units a month, the same company making the PS3 unit, it may well be part of Microsoft’s long term aims to under cut the PS3 whilst ensuring supplies remain plentiful.

In the first PlayStation3 Game review on The Shelf we take a look at Assassin’s Creed, the first title in a potentially explosive series produced by Ubisoft.

This unique story line is the most interesting concept of the title, as simply put there is nothing else available quite like it. As the story is gradually unveiled you learn with the character, experiencing all the twists and turns the narrative has to offer and how each different assassination target has something in common with the last. Superb videos in between missions don’t make watching the story unfold boring, as can be the case with similar titles, making Assassin’s Creed as much a movie as it is a computer game.

The game is set across three cities in the time of the crusades, and it is the architecture of these cities that make this game so good. Superb graphics coupled with brilliant view points and scalable structures means you truly can go anywhere within each city. With each building uniquely scalable you can navigate your way through the city or over it, each giving a completely unique game play experience. Within each city there are over a thousand virtual citizens, so interacting with the different types of people; whether pick pocketing, saving victims or fighting drunks, never gets boring.

Each mission takes you to different areas within the three cities as you gradually progress throughout the game. By completing all the bonus missions in the form of investigations and interogations, you can ensure you get to see everything these carefully sculpted cities have to offer. Each mission is unique to the last with the common factor being that a different target has to be assassinated each time, but it is the gradual unfolding of the story with each mission that makes completing the game so satisfactory.

The only slight disappointment in the game is the ending. After an emphatic build up, the story seems somewhat unresolved and defeating the final bad guy is fairly easy.

The combat moves in the game are also an impressive feature of the game. Starting from a fairly repetitive strike attack, as the game progresses and player level increased, new combination attacks are learned and counter strike skills gained. In the beginning of the game players really don’t have to fight if they choose not to, however towards the end of the game these skills are needed when confronted with a dozen plus adversaries with no where to run.

Coupled with the array of amount of combat moves available, the choice of weaponry the character can utilise is one of the most impressive things about the game. Ranging from using your fists to interrogate people, to a dagger for close combat to a swords for big battles there are plenty of combinations to perfect which keep you entertained throughout the entire game.

There are two cheats available for the title that I know of, both of which are applicable once the game has been completed. The first enables you to hone your assassination skill further by killing any person (civilians included) throughout the levels without penalty. The second enables the player to use eagle vision at any point throughout the game.

I thought this was an exceptional title and eagerly anticipate the squeal. Overall rating 4.5/5.

I read an article today from a leading video games analyst that stated that Sony is likely to slash the price of its PS3 console before the year is out, and in doing so many current Wii owners are likely to purchase it.

“We anticipate Sony will have another price slash on the PS3 this year, and come Christmas, consumers who originally bought the Wii will likely purchase the PS3.” - Pamela Tufegdzic

On the news 2008 is tipped to be the year the PS3 picks up momentum with a better forthcoming software pipeline with titles such as Gran Turismo 5 and the latest Grand Theft Auto predicted to boost sales this year.

Currently Sony is loosing money on each PlayStation 3 console that is sold, but with manufacturing prices predicted to fall below sales prices this year, the fortunes of the console could be changing.

In terms of sales the PS3 still lags behind the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, so price cuts would be a great way to boost its number of gamers.

It is also worth remembering that the PS3 is also the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market, and with the format war ending and Blu0ray now the industry standard for high definition, it may not just be gamers picking up the console in 2008.

I read an article today which demonstrated the latest development in gaming technology, a device which allows gamers to interact with virtual worlds using only their thoughts and emotions. The technology is called a neuro-headset and interprets the interaction of neutrons in the brain, and is due to go on sale in the latter part of 2008.

In the past year gamers have already seen the Nintendo Wii expand the market for gamers with the introduction of a motion control interface, but the neuro-headset is an even bigger leap forward, the prospect of which is sure to get gamers foaming in anticipation of its release.

Designed by Emotive, the neuro-headset is able to identify over 30 different emotions, expressions and actions.

“It picks up electrical activity from the brain and sends wireless signals to a computer” said Emotiv’s president Tan Le.

In this technology Emotiv has successfully created a brain computer interface, a technology with the capability of reading electrical impulses and translating them into commands that a computer game can interpret.

Beyond the gaming industry and the idea of controlling characters in virtual environments through only brain activity, many are excited about the wide range of applications a technology such as this could have.

Brain computer interface based technology will no doubt play an important component in the future 3D internet as well as the future of virtual communication, and as the technology develops it may well be possible to shape music and atmosphere around the emotions of the individual users across a platform of different media.

With limited news released, The Shelf will be sure to follow this story up as it unfolds.

I recently got my long awaited PS3 console, and after two weeks of vigorous playing I thought I would write a post detailing my initial impressions, and whether the PS3 has lived up to the hype that surrounded the its launch, and whether I thought the Xbox 360 would have been a better choice in hindsight.

I am somewhat in an ideal position to write such a review as up until the arrival of my PS3 console I had regular access to its main competitor, the Xbox360. Due to this every opinion has been based upon a comparison of the two next generation games consoles.

To start with I will confess that I have always sided with Sony over Microsoft’s offering, and the Playstaion console has been my preference over the years and as such I have both the PS1 and PS2 consoles that are older brothers of the PS3. Because of this I have always found that I have had a physiological barrier that has prevented me from completely accepting the Xbox consoles, and as such I have never fully embraced them as any gamer probability should have.

That said once I gave the Xbox 360 a chance I was seriously impressed. Playing Fifa 2008 (as a popular game across both consoles that I was already familiar with), I was surprised with how similar the joy pad controls were on each of the two consoles. Looking somewhat foreign initially, the joy pad of the Xbox was both easy to adapt to and prevented the frustrating initiation period often common with other consoles.

In terms of game play too the Xbox was superb, and rigged up on a HD TV the graphics truly did look next generation. What amazed me was the difference in response to the joy pad controls, making the game so much more responsive than similar titles on the PS2 and the older Xbox.

The big disappointment for me was the online gaming facility of the Xbox3 360, a major reason I wanted to get a next generation console in the first place. Although great when in play, the Xbox delivers online playing capability through its Xbox live service which requires a fee of £5 a month or £40 a year. A sneaky hidden cost I thought and one which left a sour taste.

The Playstaion’s online gaming facility on the other hand is a free offering, providing game and system updates, downloads and internet access much the same as the Xbox 360 but without any additional fee.

The other drawback was that the Xbox 360 was also in need of a HD DVD player plug in costing £100 in order to play next generation movies, whilst the PS3 comes with a built in Blu-ray player, which more importantly is updatable. The built in next generation DVD player is a must for me, as realistically games consoles are treated increasingly like a hub for home entertainment systems, and any next generation console should be equipped for that.

Having purchased the 40GB version in order to stretch the games budget further I did however find myself without the backwards compatibility of the 60GB PS3 model. This at first disappointed me, but after a fortnight of gaming I realised how often you actually play older games on new generation consoles. The answer was almost never. In fact after buying the PS2 in never played a PS1 games on it, so if Sony needs to take this technology out to bring the retail price of the 40GB console down then that is a sacrifice I am willing to make. I still have the PS2 so can always open that back up if I get the any sudden nostalgic cravings in the future.

With everything taken into account the PS3 was impressive, and I think surpasses the Xbox 360 with the provision of free online gaming and built in Blu-ray player. A very good console and will be a market leader for several years at least.

PS3 9/10
Xbox 360 7/10

As regular readers of The Shelf will know, we are firm supporters of the Playstaion 3 over the Xbox and Blu-ray over HD DVD for a variety of reasons, of which Sony sponsorship is not one of them, having access to the latest gadgets before they hit the market would have its benefits.

However, recent rumours have started to concern us here, and although they are unfounded according to Sony there has been increasing talk of the PS3 manufacturer taking steps to cut down on the second hand games trade that has been o popular retail model for high street stores such as game.

The plans that have led to an explosion of opinion in forums, blogs and journals online include the insertion of code on game discs that binds it to the machine it is first played on, thus eradicating the second hand sales market overnight.

“The technology would allow an authentication code to be read and then rendered unreadable; making the software unplayable on any machine but the one which first read it.”

The supporting argument here is that second hand game revenue is not shared with the manufacturer of the original game. Although they have clearly already been paid once for the game title, the argument is that often resold games use server resources in the form of tech support. A significant number of people calling up saying “I don’t have my serial number” are quite likely to be from second hand sales and this cost manufactures money.

I personally believe that this is a bit far fetched, when you pay near £50 for a title are you not paying for technical support for the games life – whether it was you who paid that is by the by – the fee for this support has been received.

The other point is that second hand game stores will often promote second hand titles over new ones, and as companies do receive revenue from second hand titles they are loosing revenue. As such manufactures would like to see an official refurbished games policy where both the shop and game manufacturer gets paid.

I see a problem in this. Games manufactures have already been paid once for a title and as such the most successful games are those that sell the greatest volume, and in reality this is a fair assessment. Would implementing the aforementioned policy simply encourage game making to aggressively advertise mediocre games?

After initial sales disappointment in the product would be encouraged so that the game title is sold onto the next person, with the manufactures taking a slice of the re-sale profit. We would the be left with manufactures measuring the success of games by the amount the game is circulated second hand, not by initial sales encouraging lower quality games to be released.

From a user perspective I think this would severely restrict the offering of any console implementing this technology, not to mention an incredibly bad business idea. As a result

1. Users could not sell a game after you’ve played it
2. Users could not buy or play any second-hand games

So what happens when I’ve bought round to a mate’s house to play, even if it’s to encourage him to get a copy so we can play online? I can’t bottom line.

Secondly if you invest in a bad game you are stuck with it, which would mean make people more reluctant to buy game titles.

Thirdly all games that a consumer has invested in throughout the years (for instance PS1 and PS2 console games) would be unplayable on the new PS3 with this technology.

Lastly I don’t know what would happen if like many first generation consoles they needed replacing under the manufacturers warranty. The new console would make the games bought to date redundant, meaning a customer has a lot of expensive drink coasters on their hands.

A quote from Sony has said

“I would like to clarify that this is false speculation and that PlayStation 3 software will not be copy protected to a single machine but will be playable on any PlayStation 3 console. “

But there is often no smoke without fire. Could it be such plans were in the pipeline only to be shelved because of the consumer reaction? Either that or a very clever marketing trick from Microsoft.