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Halo 2 Matchmaking Was A Big Risk According To Bungie

August 26, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

It’s hard to think of anything Bungie has done in the last, oh, eight years as a risk. They’ve got what is easily one of the most successful game franchises of all time spread all over the globe. At any given time you can find more than 200,000 players looking for a game in Halo 3‘s matchmaking – a system that was largely based on the Halo 2 experience, which is a system Bungie’s calling “a big risk.”

In speaking with OXM, Bungie’s Brian Jarrad had a lot to say about the middle child of the current franchise. “I remember matchmaking, when we rolled that out with Halo 2 it was such a big risk,” Jarrard said. “We walked away from the established norm, there were no server lists – we turned the whole thing upside down and it was a big leap of faith.”

I don’t know about turning the whole thing upside down, but they certainly changed the way players look for games as compared to a PC, and it worked. And it continues to work. Pretty well, for the most part. There are still boosters ruining games, and people who just won’t seem to stay banned, but my own experience has been mostly positive when it comes to playing Halo online. Sure, I prefer the LAN experience, but I’d bet most people do. For my part, I’m still happy Bungie took the risk.

News, Xbox 360

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PS3 Slim Will Lose Money For A While

August 26, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

Kaz Hirai. Everyone knows the console hardware business is not the place to make money. Not at first, anyway. After the cost of the internals start to come down you might see some profit, but even then, it’s small. That model holds true for Sony’s new PS3 Slim, a leaner version of the PS3. Sony exec Kaz Hirai told the Times Online that the PS3 Slim will lose money, just like the earlier model.

That really doesn’t come as a surprise. Sure, the technology is a few years old, but the size is not. I think anyone reading this blog knows that shrinking an existing technology is the most surefire way to increase the cost.

Hirai’s response when questioned about profitability is certainly strange, though.

If you’re just talking about the hardware alone, the quick answer is yes. That makes good headlines, but I don’t actually know that that’s the true nature of the business that we’re all in, whether it’s PlayStation, Xbox or the Wii. I think the better indicator is to look at the business as a whole platform, to ask: are you profitable in terms of the hardware, software and peripherals. And the answer to that question is yes on a gross profit level since the last fiscal year.

I’m not sure when this kind of news made for a great headline, but I am writing about it, so I suppose what he says is true. I just think it’s odd that he words things like this is a new concept to anyone who would be inclined to read the article. We know that, and sometimes we read about stuff we already know.

News, PS3

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Diablo III Will Be Edited In Certain Regions

August 25, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

It’s hard to avoid Blizzard news during pretty much the entire month in which Blizzcon takes place. It’s a huge event, and Blizzard has one of the most rabid fanbases around. That’s a recipe for crazy rumors, crazy news leaks, and even crazier rumors.

Now we’re past Blizzcon, though, so most of what we’re hearing has come straight from the horse’s mouth, and this is no different (though it actually comes from GamesCom). Diablo III developer Jay Wilson spoke with Wired regarding the level of gore in the upcoming dungeon masher. Apparently some regions tend to frown on exploding body parts, to say nothing of most of the parents in the rest of the world. As such, certain regions will be getting an edited version of the new game – one that’s been cleaned up for the prudes of the world.

The game will also be shipping with parental controls for those nitpicky parents who think it’s okay for their son/daughter to be cleaving through the minions of hell, so long as they don’t bleed.

Activision, News, PC

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PS3 Slim Available At Some Retailers

August 25, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

If you thought you’d have to wait until September for that new PS3 Slim, think again. Multiple sources confirm that several retailers not only have the new console in stock, they’re actually selling them for the official $299 price.

Word first reached me today via Gizmodo, which ran a story on a Florida man who found a palette of consoles sitting center stage at his local Best Buy. He even grabbed a pictured. Over the course of the day other sites started to pick up on the news, and by late afternoon, people were apparently scouring their local electronic stores to see if they could get a hold a PS3 Slim early.

From the sounds of things, it hasn’t been very hard. A lot of Best Buy locations have the console in stock and ready to sell. Retailers like Target and Wal-Mart are also rumored to have stock, though most of them haven’t made it to the floor yet. Regardless, there’s no reason you should still be reading this. Go get yourself a PS3 Slim!

News, PS3

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Microsoft Doesn’t Dispute Failure Data

August 24, 2009 / Jeff Morgan

A week ago I reported on the astounding console failure rates listed in the most recent copy of Game Informer. The Xbox 360, of course, led the pack with a whopping 54.2% failure rate. Microsoft heard those numbers this week and, guess what? They don’t dispute it.

That one took me by surprise. I figured they’d nitpick the data for being some flavor of inaccurate, and then blast the other two consoles for anything and everything. Instead, a Microsoft spokesperson said that Redmond offers the “best warranty in the industry” and that the company is “constantly improving design, manufacture, and performance.”

The statement sounds more like the words of a development team than a press release about a console that’s potentially halfway through its life cycle. What Microsoft did well was to ignore the problem completely. Maybe it will go away, right?