XBOX 360 SLIM UK PAL VERSION IN THE FLESH

and this is what the UK Xbox 360 Slim box actually looks like ...vs elite to follow when i unpack the thing .....

SIDE

BACK 

TAKE ME TO THE OTHER SIDE :

THE SOON TO BE SOLD OUT TOTALLY NICER AND QUIETER XBOX 360 SLIM
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN READY YOUR DATA TRANSFER CABLES AND USB STICKS 

  

Sony PlayStation 3 160GB Slim Console for £159.99

Remember when you paid £550 for your PS3 Phat? those days are gone get a Sony PlayStation 3 Slim Console for just £159.99 !

this content is © and originated from thegameveda http://the-games-veda.blogspot.com/  if you are reading it from any other site that has not provided a link back it has been leached 

Sony PS Vita set to rip the core out of Apple`s casual App gaming revolution

I could write one of those terribly negative posts vs the PS Vita , you know the kind that ponders what place is there in a world of iOS and Android fart and watered down Unreal Engine quick time slide shows Apps .. for a dedicated gaming handheld with dual analogue sticks and games as close as to a full home console as possible. 


But fellow gamers the Sony PS Vita is set to be an astounding success . 


Really.. the key to the Sony PS Vita`s eventual success is in the staggered Sony launch schedule ......  


The Japanese launch hit the Nihon otaku last year , and left them bemused , as missing was the great Monster Hunter , Gundam iteration , JRPG and of course the teenage dating games most beloved by Salaryman trying to alleviate the stress of 0 holiday , 20 hour work days ,stopping off in a capsule hotel for some respite. 


This first wave was really just to seed the Japanese market ,  to remind Japanese gamers that there would eventually be more Monster Hunter , more Gundam , JRPGs and teenage dating games , but unlike the 3DS which got its Monster Hunter dose at that time this would come later. 


The launch of any hardware Japan side always lights up the radar of EU and USA Sony fans , but with the PS Vita fans have not resorted to importing in great numbers , and this is because they were waiting for the 2nd wave :


The launch of the PS Vita  from it`s inception has been weighted towards the  USA and EU markets , when this second wave hits next week with the UK launch of the PS Vita , this is when the core gamer , that Sony has targeted since the days of it's first grey fliptop , will go to work for Sony . 


Sony hardware is always introduced to and by core fans. In the UK core fans are people who can remember inputting Basic into their computers to play Pong on their black and white TV. These guys are the Sony footsoldier , next week there will be one in your class (your teacher) , on your bus , tube train , sitting across from you in some recently wified burger or coffee joint and they will be wowing a crowd with near console quality gaming , playing games on a portable with dual shock precision , and this will set in motion the third wave:


Any Sony hardware is always propagated by core fans all the way back to the Walkman , you were either the cool dude who first had it , or were influenced by that early adopter into getting it . So  we pay £550 for a launch PS3 , we pay £799 for a Sony HMZ T1 , and we will pay close to £400 for a PS Vita , with a a few games ,memory card , case , etc . But any Sony hardware becomes successful  when the core start to influence the casual gamers into buying the hardware , a cut down cheaper lighter version of which will probably be here in time for Christmas in Japan and next February every where else . 


This is the way of Sony , they give core gamers what they want , and the core then deliver in time through exposure the casual gamers . 


The beauty of this device is the control, the real console game experience , and the potential back catalogue of AAA Playstation , Playstation 2 and PS3 games and there PS Vita exclusive versions ( Disgaea 3 for instance)  that are going to have fans pick up a PS Vita somewhere down the line . We are almost 3 generations into iPad and 4 into Android OS tablets , and whatever their power , display size and multifunction uses you still cannot beat a real game developed by a real software house. And there definitely is a place for both in your life , especially if you can fork out £800 for an iPad 3 with accessories or 2k for your phone contract!


There are lows though , the browser needs improving , but this will come , the PS3s is a lot better than the Xbox 360s after all , and its improvements will eventually trickle down to the PS Vita . 


Get your UK PS Vita from Zavvi or Game now  , oh Game are being coy about shortages  , but there will be plenty to go round . 


Remember this launch is for the core , and like the Rohirrim there were never many , but they get the job done when taking on the Android orcs and the Dark Lord of iOS (R.I.P. dude) .

this content is © and originated from thegameveda http://the-games-veda.blogspot.com/  if you are reading it from any other site that has not provided a link back it has been leached 

Nintendo Wii U :Yes Wii Can! The death of casual Nintendo & rebirth of the core

Placing my order for the Nintendo Wii U with Zombie U it dawned(!) on me ,come November the dead shall rise on Wii U and with them perhaps Nintendo after all. 

For whilst it is true Nintendo as we know it is about to croak, shedding the few casual Wii mote fans ( majority aged under 7 or over 70), a new shinier NIntendo is about to emerge.

Who is going to be responsible for this iron fisted  R-E-S-U-R-R-E-C-T-I-O-N ..Heihachi? Mario?Peach? Samus? No .. Wii will ... U will resurrect Nintendo...somebody stop me..

Nintendo is going to have a small quantum of opportunity to push it's console the old school way, using the core gamer that you know and I know already placed their pre order. The core gamer that is hooked through social media face book twitter et all that can spread kudos faster and far more effectively than underpaid nose ringed beer troll X at the local soon to be gone retail gaming store.. or the overpaid nose ringed emo chick at the soon to be gone music retail store ... enuff of my gamer girl fantasies.

If, if Nintendo push the Wii U to the core , through the core who are right now hungry for something new , if they do this they may be able to by pass all the iOS , Android , Windows 8 , PC, Sony and Microsoft hype. That core will then bring in casual gamers at a later date ... the old Nintendo two step.. 

This console release more than any will succeed on core gamer uptake , Nintendo must aim for this audience, the audience that frankly owns every gaming device going , these ..some call them walking dead .. ( or couched dead )  are the key to Nintendo's resurrection. 

The core I refer to  are not the Halo or COD generation , the core I refer to actually paid $100  for their Atari Carts back in the day, to whom Mario is as vital as Half Life 3. The real force that moves video games. Can Nintendo reach out to enough of these gamers? Well looking at the sell out status in the US for pre orders of the Wii U it is on it's way... 

this content is © and originated from thegameveda http://the-games-veda.blogspot.com/  if you are reading it from any other site that has not provided a link back it has been leached 

The new fab and groovy Sony PS3 ..and it's killer App : Playstation Plus

Sony seem to have taken pity on long time PS3 fat owners by introducing the lightest model yet of the wonder machine known as the PS3 ..

Time was when people in these here parts would be third in line after Japan and the US of A got their fill of hardware releases. In today's market of simulataneous global launches ( thank you Apple) we more or less get our hardware at around the same time . And so it is with the new slimmer lighter PS3 , the white version of which tempts me as I type ... Find out more at the official site here.The design looks cool , but people 30 years of consoles and still no carrying handle...wait did not the old Gamecube come with a carrying handle... ?

What it really needs is dual band Wifi N for me to pick one up, expect a killer eventual price of £199 or many bundles at £229 to £299...The PlayStation Store is also due for an update to accompany the release.

Now that we are all gaming through PlayStation Plus and increasingly purchasing digital releases even on console, replacing dust ridden ageing hardware regularly is going to be vital, so if like me you have a 7 or 8 year old PS3 fat then Sony's new smaller lighter and 8 year younger model may be just the thing to keep you going till PS4 and make the inevitable passing of your PS3 fat more bearable...( back it up now people) .

Of course what really would be killer is if Sony included one year of Playstation Plus and or digital vouchers for upcoming games like Assassins Creed III or Black Ops 2 with the new PS3...that way it would secure millions more PlayStation Plus accounts and hook more punters into it's eco system. 

In 2012 Sony need to not only sell hardware but more importantly increase uptake of PlayStation Plus which could be THE killer draw for the next gen of console and gaming fans, far more than whatever hardware AMD , Intel and nVidia throw into the box that will become PS4... As such every bundle of the new PS3 should include a full years worth of subscription to the service. 

What goes around comes around and if Sony spread some love now the fans ,who are in large droves turning to PC and tablets/phones will repay them down the line. 

Digital and cloud services like Playstation Plus and Gaikai are the future of the Sony PlayStation , these two killer apps can secure Sony's presence. But  only if some free radical at Sony recognises their worth and utilises their true potential .. 

Eventually PlayStation Plus and Gaikai should become the PlayStation Store .. and extend across all your Sony devices from phones ,tablets , tvs , hifis,pcs to consoles . At that point hardware can be introduced and updated whenever the need arises with customers confident that their digital libraries will travel with them.

Persistence of your media /gaming library is a major draw now that people have spent years gaming and investing in gaming , so the PS4 and 720 must allow persistence of your gaming collection or fail.

This is one of the reasons for the present exodus of  console gamers to the PC on which services like Steam maintain the 1000s of hours of gaming time and money you have devoted to sustaining the human gaming condition...

this content is © and originated from thegameveda http://the-games-veda.blogspot.com/  if you are reading it from any other site that has not provided a link back it has been leached 

Nintendo Wii U : review part 1: Unboxing ,Zombi U and Super Mario U : Enough to reanimate the dead console plaftorm?

Today is Farcry 3 day, also the day I finally caught up with the latest Halo and discovered the joy of playing full Windows 8 Steam games on the Google Nexus 7 using Splashtop THD... but today is also Nintendo Wii U day for me as my very own paid for by me and not loaned to me by some non gamer PR girl Nintendo rep , Wii U Zombi U Premium Pack Limited Edition with Super Mario U arrived one day early!

The Nintendo Wii U is not the first of the next gen consoles in so much as it is a swan song to the whole idea of consoles as this casual generation of gamers knows them. It may indeed be the last console ever released by Nintendo, or to draw Mr Fils Aime to fans of the waiting in line a month in advance or hosting a chat show variety. 

That the Wii U has caused much debate ..along the lines of " Nintendo did what?" isn`t really anything to do with the choices made by Nintendo hardware designers .. the same debate will rage over the irrelevance or death of the console format when PS4 and the Nextbox 720 eventually launch.

And like those future ( distant) launches , the Nintendo Wii U is going to live or die on attracting and keeping core gamers , not casual ..

Looking at the Wii U in front of me and messing with the fiddly box ,way overcomplicated packaging and several hour long setup ..this new Nintendo Console is likely to hook the casual family gamer as Bowser is likely to kidnap Mario instead of Peach ..No all those kiddies and biddies ( 7s and 70s ) that Wii Sports and the simplicity of the Wii enthralled are not going to be drawn by this machine. They are currently messing with birds on phones , tablets and some ..enlightened ones may even have gone PC or Mac!

But Core gamer, you who have to have every star /coin/secret , you who appreciate innovation or attempts at innovation to engage your jaded gamer brain with novel forms of control and immersion in your game ..you are gonna love this machine..

For the first part of my review lets look at what you get in your heavy Zombi U Limited Edition. And you get a lot of stuff!

Here is an unboxing video I made .. you get an awful lot of stuff to connect and mess with , this is not going to sit well with Johnny Casual used to swiping apps on a phone.. In fact setting up connecting and initially starting the Wii U (before updates) is actually more involved than booting up an new pc or laptop or tablet. It is actually the equivalent of setting up a new PC ,laptop and tablet...only with more cables and fiddly packaging,,,

The gamepad : tablet and controller ..

The Wii U GamePad is  the perfect design marriage of controller cradling tablet screen , intelligent button positioning , there is a reason that X is under your right thumb stick.  Use it and you will wish someone added a control cradle like this for your Android and iOS tablet ..or Windows 8 Pro tablet!  

Great pen control  : the screen is built for this ..a completely different beast when you use the  stylus.. 

Screen : the panel is not retina display shattering but is great in terms of colour , brightness and can be viewed from fairly wide angles.

The magic : when playing mirrored games like Super Mario U I completely stopped looking at the HDTV and just played with the GamePad screen ..instinctively..In Zombi U the way the screen is used  to send out a radar ping illuminating for a second zombies heading for you makes the game for me. 

Useless touch control ..currently almost every 3rd finger touch fails to register ..this resistive one point touch screen is primitive compared to your iOS and Android screens..but remember they have useless controls for gaming! 

battery :

you are going to want to play a lot , the battery runs down very quickly in comparison to iOS and Android touch screen devices but .wait there is hope you can play with the GamePads own power cord plugged in directly to the controller ( as well as leaving it to charge in the dock) 

Charging Dock : this is great , we pay upwards of  $45 for stands and charging docks for iOS and Android tablets..the dock is great for setting your GamePad down , the best feature I discovered as stated above is  the same charge cable that powers it can also be sent straight to your GamePad charging whilst you engage in the longest of gaming sessions...and the cable is long! not like the ridiculous iOS and Android standard charge cables! 

The pro controller : comes with a charging USB cable. looks like every other console pro controller , lacks the analogue triggers ..but hey I am going to be playing FPS games in HD with the nun chuck and wii mote ..

Zombie U and Super Mario U : Ignoring the update hell I proceeded to play the games that came with my Wii U .. 

And ? Well both make the system purchase worth it for me . Zombie U is an intelligent take on real survival horror and by that I mean all the way back to when point and click adventures like the original Alone in the Dark series were the only examples. Zombie U has great tension , this is not Condemned nor is it Resident Evil (4,5 ,6 ) , nor is it Dead Rising or any of the other action orientated FPS zombi games. This is a study in creating fear and getting you to use sound and visual queues that only the Wii U with the GamePad and console working together can do at this time. Just the radar blip makes the game for me , that Ubisoft have made what olden people would class as a zombie adventure game complete with exploration , puzzles and of course survival element is great. This is the one game you really cannot play on any other system. 

Super Mario U ? Is tough ..just the right level of tough to challenge your ageing reflexes ..prepare to be shamed by your 7 year old nephew or niece you have been warned. Several minutes into playing it  I kicked back and stopped looking at the HD TV I had the Wii U connected to ... I was playing entirely using the GamePad screen and it felt so natural I left my audience of non gamers watching my antics on the big screen whilst I walked off into another room playing the game.. it is very like they gave you an handheld gaming system with your HD console ..only this one has the perfect balance of fit and control in your hands..all the thumbsticks ,triggers , button placements which look too large or strange for a device this size are actually perfect. Playing something like Super Mario U is a joy ..the Wii U GamePad is in fact a very real joypad...

Right I am off to update the system which I should have done this morning ...or Nintendo should have done before sending it to me... Iwata san ..what would Srippy  and Foxxu say?

There is a worry that for long times your Wii U will sit dormant , waiting for first party content to arrive , but you know it will so today is very much Nintendo`s day, the Wii U console really is a thank you note to all the core gamers wishing for a HD Wii.. right now casual fans there is no need for you to join in , not unless you are going through that rare metamorphosis of going core ..it happens ..rarely ..but it happens... 

Every one else is going to have a great time rescuing Peach again and dusting off all those Wii games to see how they play on the new machine. 

Nintendo need to sort the on line and updating issues out ,but coming from a PC gaming angle where motherboards , gpus and of course operating systems as well as games launch broken..these are minor teething problems.

So has Nintendo with this undead Limited Edition Wii U pack managed to reanimate the console as a gaming platform? No, no console or tablet manufacturer can do that any more , any more than the finest 8 track or vinyl player can do any more than look cool but pale into insignificance when faced with the way the  masses use the Internet , cloud and streaming to consume music . 

In the same way the console died the second video games reached the Internet , started to be  bought from the Internet and of late started to become platform agnostic..streaming and lacking installs altogether... 

Sony see this ..which is why they picked up GAIKAI,have PlayStation Plus crossing platforms , SOE plugging PC games , Microsoft seem to have lost it fleecing people for Xbox Live.....the real competition to consoles is not the iOS and Android revolution but the cloud ..and as such the PS4 and Xbox 720 are going to look just as irrelevant and anachronistic when they launch, by which time you will be streaming Crysis 5 to your phone ,playing it wearing your transparent wireless 3D display ...

So if you are in line waiting for your Wii U now, or about to receive it have fun ,rest assured you will be impressed and spare a thought for Iwata san and Regie for this indeed may be the last hardware console from Nintendo...the successor may just be part of the cloud...
 More to follow tomorrow I am playing Wii U games with HMDS ..and also some Metroid Prime Trilogy too..

UPDATE in the UK Wii U is close to sell out , the Zombie U pack is gone check the link below for more updates on stock

Wii U – Out Now!

Wii U Games -

Wii U Accessories -

and if you are lucky this weekend you could  Win Your Order – Order now for the chance to win

In the US of A some stock from the 2nd batch is still available:

Wii U 32GB Deluxe, now in-stock at GameStop.com! 

Free shipping on Nintendo Wii U console with purchase of any in-stock Wii U game. 

this content is © and originated from thegameveda http://the-games-veda.blogspot.com/  if you are reading it from any other site that has not provided a link back it has been leached