Are We There Yet?

Everyone gets pretty excited about new gaming technology whether it be as simple as shiny new graphics and sound or as futuristic as 3D gaming (although you all know my thoughts on the latter). Sometimes, though, it seems as though hardware developers and manufacturers are getting a little ahead of themselves, so taken with a great idea that the proper QA isn't completed and so a flawed product is introduced. I am at the moment concerned with Kinect, Microsoft's controller-free game device due to come out in North American markets on November 4. Rumors have been circulating that there is a major problem with interference that prevents Kinect gaming from functioning except in the most barren and matte locations (see this comic for details). Microsoft has alarmingly not issued any statements as to how it will deal with the issue. I have the feeling that the developers feel pushed to get this highly hyped product out on time and just deal with any bugs later (oh Microsoft, have you learned nothing from the red ring of death?) but in my opinion, consumers are tired of paying full price for products that are pretty much just the beta versions. Please, Microsoft, fix it and then deliver - we'll wait.

Another Microsoft Money-Maker

Microsoft has finally decided to respond to the strong consumer demand for a controller with a non-sucky D-pad. Let the world rejoice! ...As long as you have $65 lying around to buy one of them since it will only be available as part of a play-and-charge bundle out November 9. The product itself is pretty cool-looking as you have the choice of using the normal (sucky) flat D-pad or switching (via a neato twisting motion) to a more defined (non-sucky) D-pad a la Wii, PS3 and pretty much every other console controller ever. I just continue to be boggled by Microsoft's tyrannical pricing decisions. When the majority of your customer base hates an easily modifiable part of your product, you'd think a low-cost alternative might make a top 10 list of development ideas somewhere. Instead, if we want an improvement, we're saddled with a bundle that (let's be honest) we're not really interested in. Booooooo. I suppose with Kinect out we may as well wait for controllers to be rendered obsolete anyway?

Microsoft Raising XBox Live Gold Subscription Prices

In a questionable move, Microsoft is increasing its XBox Live Gold subscription prices starting in November. A one year subscription will cost $59.99 (up from $49.99), three months will cost $24.99 (up from $19.99) and one month will cost $9.99 (up from $7.99). This seems to be that favorite corporate action of charging consumers more and delivering less - in direct opposition to all major competitors. Online services are free for the PS3 and the Wii (and of course, for PCs), so aside from mulitplayer online gaming being free, this means that Netflix and hulu streaming are included at no additional cost from Nintendo or Sony, making the consoles versatile at a much lower overall cost. Granted, XBox Live is arguably the best online platform available, but when competitors are providing the service for free, I just don't feel the need to burn a hole in my pocket for slightly better quality. What is the fee for, anyway? Most games are hosted locally, not on their service, so it's hard to explain a monthly subscription fee and even harder to explain a price increase for it. Sadly, the popularity of online gaming on the XBox 360 doesn't look like it's going to be dying down anytime soon and as such, Microsoft will continue to reap the (increasing) profits. I'll be sticking with my PS3 for online content until (if ever) the tides change and gamers start refusing to be hosed.

Activision Signs 10-Year Deal with Makers of Halo

In one of their smarter moves, Activision has signed a 10-year exclusive contract with Bungie, the developer of Halo (and other less noteworthy games). Having lost (both deliberately and then more as backlash) their main FPS talent at Infinity Ward, Activision was forced to scrabble for a new deal to keep their name in the adventure/FPS market. There are two interesting parts to this contract. First, in a blow to Microsoft, the deal is for cross-platform game development, so we can expect to see games on the PS3 and maybe also the Wii instead of just on XBox and Windows-based PCs. Second, the creation of an online community is part of the terms. Whether this just means continued support and updates for XBox Live play or a whole new paradigm of online FPS play (MMOFPS? World of Halo?), I am interested to see what a talented developer such as Bungie will come up with when partnered with Activision. Per Thomas Tippl, Activision's COO, "When it's ready and when we're talking about it, I think you will be blown away." I hope he's right for both gamers' and Activision's sakes.

XBox 360 Slim to be announced at E3?

Gofanboy has conjectured that Microsoft will finally announce plans for an XBox 360 Slim at E3 this June, and rumor has it that "fat" XBox 360s will be liquidated at the low price of $149 to make room for the updated system. This comes on the heels of the recent XBox 360 news of a firmware update to allow USB storage capability, affording gamers with a greater degree of flexibility in hard drive choice as they would not need the pricier higher-capacity 360 to have access to more space. From this information, it looks like Microsoft is making a strong attempt to lower manufacturing costs, allowing them to decrease retail pricing to make their console more cost-accessible to gamers. Efficiency of this sort can only be a positive thing for consumers, and the implied future increase in console sales would mean greater market share and the potential for increased profits for Microsoft. It's a win-win; nice work, Microsoft.