Next Generation Games Consoles - Separating Fact from Fiction
June 27, 2007
Over the next 18 months the 3 giants of the Games Console world will be battling it out in stores and homes across Europe, America and Asia for the title of the world greatest Games Console. The stakes are high in this multi billion dollar business, not just for the console sales but for the games sales that go along side it. Since the launch announcements of all 3 consoles in May at the E3 conference in LA. The 3 combatants have been vying for the millions of column inches that have been written about the Next Generation Consoles. Each Press release has been hotly followed by another press release from a rival company so much so that extracting the facts from all the hype has been nearly impossible. At the launch press conferences Microsoft boasted that the Xbox 360 could do 9-billion-dot-product-operations per second. Sony then came out and said that the PS3 could do 51-billion-dot-product-operations per second however Sony had combined the CPU and GPU performance numbers whilst Microsoft only reported its CPU performance number. When the consumer is up against this sort of publicity blizzard it is best not to believe a thing until you can check the facts for yourself. So what do we know? Well for the Xbox 360 and the Sony Playstation 3 we have lots of lists of hardware and specifications which actually don’t mean very much in isolation. The main thing that need concern us are the processor speeds and they are both stated as being 3.2 GHz The only time that the hardware will mean anything is when we get to run them side by side and then if experience is anything to go by the difference in real life performance won’t be noticeable and will just be used by the press departments to battle it out. Despite all the press releases and information that has been spewing out of the headquarters of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo we actually know very few facts. We know that in all likelihood the Xbox 360 will be on the shelves in time for Christmas, Amazon are currently taking pre-delivery orders and are quoting a release date of November 28th. The prices have been set at $299 for the Core System and $399 for the Xbox 360, the difference being that the Core system doesn’t have the external hard drive required to save games and download new content or the headset required to play online on Xbox Live! Why 2 prices? and why a version that hasn’t got everything included? This looks very much like a product of the marketing department trying to get a product at the historically important sub $300 level more than anything and this may backfire on them in the long run. Next to hit the Shelves will be Sony’s Playstation 3 supposedly in spring next year once again we have very few facts to go on, Sony are continually releasing press releases and mentioning in public that the price will be high and the figure of $500 has been mentioned but many industry experts suspect that this is a ploy so that when they release it at $300 or $350 it will look like a bargain. The final console to hit the shelves will be the Nintendo Revolution some time late in 2006 and 2007. Since the "launch" at E3 this year very little has been said about it by Nintendo. It seems at this time the "Launch" was just a way to deflect some of the publicity away from Microsoft and Sony. One fact is certain, If Microsoft do get the Xbox 360 onto the shelves before Christmas it will be this year’s biggest selling Christmas gift. So until you get your hands on one of the consoles?.Question everything!
Rent Games Online
June 26, 2007
Renting video games online has exploded in recent months! I for one am thrilled to see this available to me and my family. Over the summer it was my sanity saver! Why you ask? Well simply because for an affordable price I can rent unlimited games online and have them sent to my door. I don’t have to go wait in long lines or stop when I am tired after work. Having them sent to my door is easy and hassle free, just what I need!
Renting games online is not only good for my kids but my Husband enjoys playing as well and sometimes we rent games we can play as a family too. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like my children sitting in front of the television for long hours. But, renting a game and having it easily accessible when needed is most helpful. There are many days that the kids were cooped up inside due to bad weather and the games we rented online came in handy.
Rent Games Online for the Kids
June 25, 2007
It’s risky business allowing your children to play games online. I know that may sound funny but I have a good argument to back up my opinion. If you continue reading I will share it with you.
I work from home on my computer; my computer is my livelihood and it is how I make my money. Allowing my kids to play on my computer also makes my computer susceptible to ad aware, spam and the like. For someone that works from home, this can be a very big problem if my computer ends up infected with a virus! Every single time I go to a cheat code site for my son, I have to go remove the entire ad aware I just picked up. Not to mention that due to my working, I can’t always let him sit and play his games and we were both frustrated.
We than saw an ad to rent games online, we have been happy ever since! I have the games shipped to my house, there are no late fees and the monthly fee is a flat rate for unlimited rentals. As you can see, this a win/win situation for us! He gets to play all games he wants and I get to keep my computer.
Games To Encourage Thinking Skills
June 24, 2007
There is no doubt about it, using computer games is a great way to encourage children to expand their realm of thinking. Your options for entertaining your child may seem numbered. Many people allow their children to spend quite a bit of time in front of the television. But, what good does that do? If you want them to learn something while they are zoned out, you are completely lost. But, if you flip on the computer, download a great game, you may actually be able to encourage them to learn more and you will encourage good thinking skills as well.
Thinking is not something that everyone can do well. Now, we are referring here to the thought process that goes along with solving problems. For many children, this is something they struggle with. Mom or Dad always takes care of the problems. If something isn’t right, just call mom or dad. Even on the television, that is full of real life and imaginary “problems” that need to be solved, there is no encouragement for children to come up with the solution. What happens then? They just sit and watch and let someone else handle the problem.
Free Games For Your Pocket PC
June 24, 2007
Admit It-You’re Often Bored
A pocket pc has about a million uses. But one of the most popular uses of a pocket pc is to play games on it. Nearly everyone plays games on their pda, whether they will admit it or not. Of course, die-hard game enthusiasts prefer full versions of pocket pc games. A definite added bonus is if these full versions pocket pc games are free.
To find full versions of pocket pc games free is not actually very difficult. Free game downloads for your pda are available on tons of freeware sites, or as shareware for very little money. Palm pilot games are very affordable. These freeware games also work with any operating system, so you can download any kind of game your heart desires for your pda.
Casino games, arcade games, action games, strategy games, and sports games-you can find them all for free online just by searching the Internet. These full versions generally have good graphics and plenty of levels to keep your interested. In fact, why pay for games for your pda when you can get them as freeware instead?
Improving Spelling with Games
June 23, 2007
You got it! You can do just about any type of learning for a child or an individual learning a second language through the use of various computer games. You are sure to find something that will fit with their needs. You are also able to find a game that will keep them interested. Let’s take spelling as an example.
Many kids struggle each and every year at school with that dreaded Friday spelling test. It doesn’t get any easier because chances are good that the words just keep getting harder. For many parents, spelling is often a challenge to teach as well. The English language is nothing simple. But, what if you could teach them through the use of a PC game? That would be excellent, wouldn’t it?
Think about this. The next time your child comes home with that awful list of twenty words they just have to know, you can easily say to them, “Why not go play a game on the computer.” Yes, you can do this!
Best Space Themed Games - Part I
June 22, 2007
Space? How much we can place where? Incredible words, unknown planets, fantastic creatures.
But now I want to tell you about some space themed computer shareware games, and want you to play it ? I choose only best 19 games from about 200!
Here you can find 10 shooters with each of it’s own unique gameplay, 5 puzzles, some with actions twists, 2 strategy and 2 actions and 1 arkanoid. Two game studios presented in this article has here by two games, and as I know 7 of game development studios are from Russia. Take a look at this game, but please be patient ? I will split this article to 3 parts, it will help me to say more about each of 19 games. And another one note ? I don’t want to rank these games, it’s all are best, so I will present games in alphabetical list.
AstroAvenger (by Divo Games) / Space Shooter “An insane space shooter with twisted missions and cool weapons!” Looking for a space shooter that will surprise you? AstroAvenger features cool graphics, excellent sound effects and a groovy sound track. The game employs an advanced upgrade and power-up system that allows you to buy new types of weapons, ammo, armor and batteries as you advance from one level to another. Fighting takes place in five distinct and expansive galaxies, with over 25 different enemy ships types to combat.
Why We Play Games, Part 2
June 21, 2007
Last week we started to get into the motivation of the gamer. We discussed challenge and its ugly stepsister competition, two of the most common motivators. Today, we look at two more on the way to forming an overall model for what moves us.
Perhaps less common than the first two motivators, creativity is nonetheless an important driving force in the gamer psyche. Though at first gaming doesn’t seem like a particularly creative act, what with its formalized rules and structured systems, there is much more room for self expression than one might think. Some games play to this directly through unique presentations or artistic themes. Music games and many of the Sim titles are basically just expressive outlets that happen to be governed by a computerized system of rules. Other creatives find their outlet in multiplayer gaming. The modern MMORPG sports equipment and decorative combinations numbering well into the millions. The Creatively Motivated gamer takes pleasure in designing how their character looks as well as changing how they interact with their environment. Creatively Motivated gamers thrive when outlets are available. Anything involving a high degree of expression, decoration, or a large abstract component draws them. They wilt in gaming environments governed purely by numbers, and in those where presentation is extremely homogeneous.
The Story Behind OpenSimcity
June 20, 2007
I’ve always liked to play SimCity since I was little. I used to play the version for Super Nintendo for hours then and then. That version was really cool. It had 4 seasons (winter, spring, summer and autumn) and many landscapes, scenarios to choose between. That was a really big hit at the time. It was clearly the most popular videogame.
Then SimCity 2000 came out on the market. It was almost like a revolution. Many new things to use, better graphics, more innovative and the game engine was more advanced. So it was very good news (except from the fact that the seasons were gone).
But the follower that came after SC2000, SimCity3000 was real disaster. Well there were more tools, advisers and a more advanced terrain (witch was crap because you couldn’t build anything on it) but not anything special. The graphics was probably the worst part. It was more advanced but everything just looked as shit. It was a blur hell. I would state that this didn’t feel like an upgrade more like a retarded downgrade. It was fun in 2 weeks but no more.
Securing Your Accounts With Well-Crafted Passwords
June 19, 2007
In the past I’ve never really paid much attention to security issues when it comes to user names and passwords. Frankly I figured it was all a lot of overblown hype. This led to an unfortunate incident that involved my website being attacked, apparently by a skillful youth with a propensity for mischief.
The main security flaw with my website was probably the simple fact that the username and password were exactly the same. Granted I did realize that this wasn’t highly intelligent but I didn’t have the power to change it myself, and I didn’t think it really mattered enough to bother about it. Having an identical username and password is a massive “no-no” in computer security. Your username and password should not even be related along the same line of thought. A username of “Dragon” and a password of “Fire” is not a secure combination.
For maximum security, passwords should not be cohesive words or phrases and should not be too obviously related to something like your birthday or the birthday of someone close to you. Personal information is one of the first things used when people attempt to break passwords. Having a password of “Password” is indeed humorous and ironic but it is not in the least bit secure.
