Thoughts from the Shelf

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.

Microsoft have announced that as of Tuesday 11th of December 2007, UK Xbox gamers will be able to buy films through their Xbox consoles, a move which puts the Xbox in direct competition with everything from television to internet download services.

This move makes the Xbox the first games console to offer a video on demand service, although the PS3 is intending to launch a PlayTV service in 2008 which will provide a similar function to SkyPlus.

Each film will cost gamers from £2 to £4.50 with the download then remaining on the games console for two weeks. Launched in the States in November, as well as the UK the service will be rolled out in Canada, Ireland, France and Germany, with an initial offering of 40 titles available in HD format.

The movie download market is growing at an exceptional rate, and as domestic broadband speeds mature the industry will continue to grow. It is estimated that by 2012 the film download market could be worth 350 million euros in Europe alone.

Data compiled by vgchartz.com indicates that there are 1.6m Xbox consoles in the UK, which would give Microsoft a healthy market to build on as a download distribution platform. However, the Xbox still trails the Nintendo Wii in sales by two to one, and the PS3 has already shifted 4.8 million units in the UK, providing Sony too with a healthy download distribution platform after the launch of its own video on demand service.

This to me seems very much like a pre-emptive strike, trying to establish the Xbox as the dominant video on demand gaming platform before Sony’s offering early next year. I have the feeling with three times as many UK units sold, the PS3 will get a healthy share of the movie downloads market in due course.

I often play poker online and Full Tilt Poker is just one site I hold an account with. It is much the same as other poker sites as far as playing online poker goes, and I have found the quality of players tend better than a lot of sites. As a result Full Tilt is one of four poker sites I regularly play.

There is a sign up bonus that is offered with this particular site where new players can get up to 100% of there initial deposit (up to $600) added to their account. Once an account has been set up there is also a referral bonus players can receive. Through a Full Tilt Referral Codemembers are rewarded for spreading the word to any new members.

Personally I prefer to stick to Texas Holdem however there are a range of other poker games available including the Omaha and 7 Stud.

There is a wide selection of tables to play on including the expected sit and go tournaments and straight up cash game tables. I have also found the freeroles are quite popular on this site and kick off fairly regularly.

Looking for a alternative online gaming experience?

I logged onto rushmore online casino having been used to playing many other popular on casino gaming sites.

As you would expect with an online casino gaming site you are required to download some free software before you start playing, which in Rushmore’s case was extremely easy to do.

After quickly setting up a free account I was ready to deposit and play within minutes. With a range of promotions on offer including an $888 sign up bonus I couldn’t wait to get started.

The more you play with Rushmore it seems the more you earn back. With every bet made users are granted points that can be used for a range of gifts and bonus chips.

There are a range of over 90 games on offer, including my favourite table games Roulette and Craps.

Try rushmore online casino out next time you are looking for some gambling fun online.

With the increasing number of homes with broadband access there has been a stark shift in the amount of online gaming sites available this new audience. But over the last decade has the increase in online gambling sites had a direct effect on volume of people gambling within the UK? The answer, apparently not.

A study by the Gambling Commission was published this week that concluded that since 1999, the number of people gambling has not increased. The report goes even further to claim that if lottery sales were included the number of people who gamble on a regular basis has actually fallen from 72% to 68%.

The report concluded that 68% of the population, that is about 32 million adults had gambled in the last year. The most popular forms of gambling in terms of number were The National Lottery (57%) Scratchcards (20%) Hourse Racing (17%) and Slot Machines (24%).

These figures are very refreshing in terms of the number of people who are regularly gambling, but I would like to see how this study looks when compared with how much money people are spenting. The UK gambling industry now is now a £42bn industry, so although not as many people are gambling, they are certainly spending more.

The report concluded positive news for the UK, and the figures have not shown as big a shift to online gambling as one would have expected. Out of those surveyed only 6% of people used the internet to gamble, 3% accounting for online poker and bets with an online bookmarker.

Although relatively small, the report does however reflect a changing culture when it come to gambling. People are beginning to bet online, but although there is over 3.5million people who now regularly gamble online, a six fold increase in five years, this still remains a small percentage of overall UK gambling figures. In my opinion this simply demonstrates how deeply gambling is engrained within everyday British culture.

I look forward to seeing the next report planned for 2009-2010, and how the UK gambling industry will inevitably change after the enactment of the 2005 Gambling Act.

With domestic broadband capabilities increasing and the ever lucrative gaming industry going from strength to strength, internet gaming has become an increasingly attractive avenue of entertainment. A vast audience that is ready to play on demand, without the boundaries of geography, time or culture has become far more appealing than traditional multiplayer gaming methods. This is only reflected with the online gaming capabilities that the newest generation of games consoles are starting to provide, a facility that has previously been restricted to PC.

With this change in gaming culture it is no surprise that we have seen the emergence of massively multiplayer role-playing games (MMRPG’s), computer role-playing games that enable thousands of players to play in virtual worlds via the internet. Providing more than a simple online gaming environment that MMROG games spawned from, these games now have complex social networks that evolve within the game, often mimicking those of reality.

Gaming is social by nature and the communities within these MMORG are strong as a result. Acting as a corner stone, players have a common interest in the game and a common goals to complete within it. Although founded by a common interest these communities grow as players continue to work and socialise together to achieve different objectives within the game.

Gamers play with an avatar; an online representation of ones self. It is possible that gamers can become so engrossed within the social networks built within MMRPG’s that a reality shift occurs, and a person’s avatar actually becomes more real than the gamer. The gamer exists, but more so in the virtual world of the MMRPG than the real one, stopping only for physical needs such as food and water. The online characters become them, and social networks within the game replace those in reality.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that there have been documented cases of players being so engrossed in the social networks within MMRPG’s that they have died whilst playing, neglecting the requirements of their physical bodies. An extreme case but documented none the less.

It is also the case, although less extreme, that MMORG environments often develop into a state where life within the game does not only reflect reality, but become a part of it, with artefacts within the game developing real commercial value. Such things as game currency begin to have a real life monetary value, and objects within the game are bought and sold as commodities through real life commercial outlets.

There was a documented story about a player who purchased a virtual island within an MMORPG as real estate for a real life $50,000. This proved to be a successful commercial venture, as he then sold plots within the game to developers paying real money, who in turn build virtual homes and business on them. This simply shows how virtual economies within MMRPG games can have a real life economic value too.

To back this up further there are certain industries that have been formed to accommodate MMRPG players who don’t wish to spend time doing the time consuming mundane tasks within the game, necessary to build up creditable characters. Players can instead purchase characters or levels from people who have instead completed these tasks for them. An article in the economist case studied Chinese businesses that have been established and consist solely of workers who play MMRPG’s only to sell characters on in such a way. For this to be commercially viable time within the virtual worlds of MMRPG’s must be more valuable than real life time, the cost of paying someone somebody to play.

When examining the concept of communities within MMRPG’s, we can see how they can develop to do more than simply reflect reality. Thanks to such things as a developed commercial presence virtual worlds effectively become embedded within reality. Resulting industries that are set up around virtual worlds make characters and artefacts within them commodities in the real world, and consequently there is a blurring of the borders of where the actual world ends and virtual worlds within MMRPG’s begin.

So the eighth leg of the Grosvenor UK poker tour has started in Plymouth. After the a previous post about a qualifying tournament we ran, the winner of that has made a good start. That person is Carl Dawson, and sits 9th on the chip leader board after day one.

Two hands saw him build this stack, first his favourite pocket fours hitting trips to beat poket queens all in to double up. Later Dawson beat off pocket aces with pocket 7’s. Although no all in shout was called, Dawson hit trips on the flop and then later quads on the turn. This Provided the oppertunity to bet bet big on the flop in confidence, get called and get paid, before his opponant folded with the second 7 on the board after the turn.

Average remaining stacks are around 27,000.

Paez, Raul 111525
Hewston, Jonny 70550
Bansi, Praz 61975
Davies, Alan 55325
Sarmias, Minos 42675
O’Reilly, Scott 41625
Wilkinson, Adam 41525
Chattha, Sunny 39550
Dawson, Carl 36875

Good luck to one of the Exmouth representatives, and lets hope his luck holds up throughout the course of the weekend.

Monday Update :: Sitting 17th after the two qualifying days, Dawson was caught early on playing KQ out of position. Well done for getting to the final weekend though.

For avid gamers there is the one question that divides the pack, X Box or Playstation? The competition between the two games consoles manufacturers to grab a lucrative share of a multimillion pound games market is by is no means new, but as I recently noticed still sparks many a front room conversations and bar debates in gaming circles.

I suppose it is the type of conflict in opinion I should be used to, growing up similarly with the Commodore 64, Spectrum and Amstrad, and then later the Atari, Sega and Nintendo offerings. The most memorable of these console offerings for me was the Master System from Sega competing against its Nintendo Counterpart, which resulted in the push for the development of the first 16bit home console that followed in the form of a Sega Mega Drive.

Growing up on video games my own choices were the Commodore 64, Sega consoles and then finally the Playstation. Although I don’t game as much as I once did, mainly due to lack of free time, I still own a PS2 and a selection of games of which the Medal of Honour and Pro Evolution 6 titles are the most popular.

Since the release of the first PS2 (I have the model that could support a wall of your living room), I have not been able to justify spending the money asked for the newer console models. However, after recently seeing the PS3 in action and the online game play facility provided that has only been available on an Xbox previously, I must say I was impressed.

Although I am well aware that as the market has continued to grow so to have sophistication of the consoles on offer, and thus this pattern will no doubt continue, this console looks something else. It takes off from the Xbox with the provision of an online gaming facility, but the fact Sony is setting up the PS3 as a PC alternative with standard hard drive, a high definition Blu-ray optical drive, shows what an upgrade it is from the PS2. I am tempted

On Sunday I played in a poker tournament that had a bit of a twist. As well as playing poker online, there are regular table games that are on offer that I usually find myself participating in. The difference this time was that we intended to take advantage of the fact that the seventh leg of this years Grosvenor UK poker tour was to be hosted in Plymouth.

Each leg of the tour is a £1000 buy in no limit tournament, and the prize fund has an additional £10,000 added to it by sponsors Blue Square Poker. It is played over a four day spread form the 5th September to the 9th September and players can either buy in or win a seat by finishing in a qualifying position in on of the online qualifying tournaments.

With the seventh leg of the tour being held locally, we decided to run our own table qualifier, with 21 seats, £50 a seat, and a ‘winner takes all’ format paying for a seat at the event.

As it happens the day went well with a lot of good local players filling the seats. As the tournament progressed the three tables of seven eventually merged into to tables and then a final nine seat table.

After progressing through the day and making the final table a seat at the event was firmly in my sights. After hitting a string of bad cards and losing an all in shout on pocket KK against pocket bullets pre flop I still managed to sit last three, mainly thanks to two medium pocket pairs holding up against the draw heads up.

This was a tight tournament and long day as you can expect, and when I received pocket bullets twice whilst in the final three and failed to get paid, it was clear how tight it remained right up until the end.

The table sat with one favourite who held over 70% of the chips, followed the other two of us waiting for an opportunity. The short stack (but not by far from me) was gradually being worn down by the blinds, and my opportunity would have to come against the stack in order to swing the chip percentage enough to mount a challenge.

This opportunity came on my big blind, last to act one player had folded and the small blind (and chip leader) limped in and I subsequently put a rise in on on A7s. After his re-raise I was left only with an all in shout which was then called. When he turned K9o I was notably quite pleased. The flop paired my seven, with a 4 7 10 which further impressed me with cautious optimism . The turn then delivered an 8 and I cringed with the thought of him catching his straight through running cards.

This pot would have resulted in a two horse raise with a 60/40 chip divide, (or near enough minus the third players stack). Anything but a King, 9 or a 6 would have seen my battle back from being done on KK complete, with a good chance of a seat on the tour event. As you may have guessed he hit the running cards needed with a 6 on the river to make a straight off his kicker.

A great reminder of how you can play solid cards, make the right decisions time after time, but there will always be that element of chance, and that is what makes poker the exhilarating game it is. Better luck next time!

The explosion of the online casino is apparent to even the most novice Internet user. With the amalgamation of casino games such as Blackjack, Roulette, and Poker to an online environment, internet gaming is becoming accessible to an audience who was previously unable to participate in the traditional casino environment.

The characteristics of the internet mean that gambling is no longer dominated by a select number of casino outlets. Location and timing are no longer an issue, resulting in the opening up of a new gaming audience that was otherwise untapped.

There is also the anonymity that gambling via the internet provides. The virtual casino has less control than a traditional one on how often and with whom you can bet. National and local laws are harder to enforce, and the social impact of gambling, raising aweness of the potential addiction and the subsequent support needed is becoming harder and harder to manage.

The culture of casino gaming is no longer confined to traditional stereotypes. Gambling on popular casino games is no longer a predominantly male activity that is restricted to weekends or special occasions. What was once a niche activity has had the taboos lifted thanks to the internet.

I, for one, am a glad to see the rise of this mirrored gaming culture. Those long trips to casinos are no longer required, and the seeking of players for games and tournaments is an activity that is now redundant. Most importantly participants are not confined to the Poker etiquette that many can find so intimidating in a casino establishment.

There are countless gaming sites on the internet offering a range of benefits for new members. By playing a range of sites you will identify the type of audience that you wish to play with, and those that you don’t. One feature I like is the bet365 ‘One Account’ policy where by you can use the same account funds for sports betting as the online Casino. Other favourites include 32red and VC poker.

I feel that as an experienced gamer the freedom allowed to me by online casino’s is a breath of fresh air, but this is because I set myself strict betting limits and also partake in the ‘fake money’ tournaments and ’sit and go’ tables, where the losses are either zero or a set minimum. For all looking to start a journey onto online gaming I suggest that you research this in more depth, and also start by playing on the fake money table for a better idea of not only how the games are played, but also to understand how easily, if that money was real, you can end up in a difficult situation.