Replay Value

Just look at this headline to a recent WIRED magazine article and tell me it isn't at least a little surprising: Can the PS3 Save Sony ? The company that created the transistor radio and the Walkman is at the precipice. If Sony's new $600 console doesn't blow gamers away, it may be time to say sayonara. by Frank Rose Now I know that the video game industry has been considering the possibility that the PS3 could be a flop for quite a while now(the timeline varies greatly depending on who you talk to, but for my money it's since they announced the price), but I don't think too many people really thought it could sink Sony. However I suggest anyone who thinks that possibility is very slim should go ahead and read the fascinating article Frank Rose has written for WIRED because it makes a very convincing argument. My own opinion? Well despite some severe bashing by the hardcore gaming community, I still think this machine has a decent chance. Some huge mistakes have bee...

Before I say anything about the story he wrote, and it's snowball effect on the video game world, I will simply say that I believe Chuck Klosterman is a genius. His books and articles are insightful, hilarious, intelligent, and thought provoking, often all at the same time. He's a senior editor at Spin Magazine, a columnist for Esquire and ESPN the Magazine, and has written for countless other publications. You would do yourself good to go read some of his work, or all of it for that matter. Now that I'm done kissing his ass, I'll tell you the real story. Last month Klosterman wrote an article for Esquire titled The Lester Bangs of Video Games . The intent of the article was to discuss why there isn't a truly transcendent video game critic writing about video games for the masses, or any real writing in that direction. It's a fascinating read even for non-video gamers. To say that the reaction was mixed would be irresponsible, it was a torrent of applause...

So a few posts back I spent a decent amount of time explaining the big news stories of the Electronic Entertainment Expo(E3) from the Big 3. Well now I come bearing news of the status of E3 itself. The Entertainment Software Association(ESA) announced a few days ago that it is restructuring the E3 expo into a much smaller and controlled affair. Most video game media outlets are reporting that E3 is for all intents and purposes cancelled, and they're pretty much right. The beast formerly known as E3, and what will take place next year look to be so different as to warrant an entirely different name. What is the reason behind this you ask? Well basically the publishers were saying that they weren't getting a good return on their investment. When you add up the cost of putting together very high tech booths with tons of demo stations, people to staff them, free swag to give away, and the time taken out of the development cycle to create demos specifically for E3, one starts to se...