GT5 for £40? Blasphemy. It should be £12,840

This morning I awoke to an article surrounding the release of "Ferrari Virtual Academy 2010". I was quite looking forward to this game, mostly because I thought it'd be F2P. Boy was I wrong. It's €14.90 ($19/£12)...

What does that buy you?

1 car. Count 'em. One. (F10)

1 track. Count 'em. One. (Fiorano)


Typo? Misinformation? No. I got that right. You get one track, and one car. Granted this is FERRARI's virtual academy... they're not exactly going to be able to get licenses for other cars but still... you'd assume for that price you'd get at least say... 10 cars?

Don't get me wrong... I understand this is an official Ferrari product and like all Ferrari products it's a commodity, and it's going after you wanting the "official" experience. It probably is a bit more sim than GT5 in ways... don't quote me on that. But still, GT5 is a sim and it offers 1000 cars and 70 track variations.

Ferrari wants £12 for 1 car and 1 track. If GT5 wanted that it'd cost roughly £12,000 ($18,512).

You get it for... £40. And don't forget they're not charging for cars or tracks but about 3 official licensed modes, GTTV, leaderboards and not only that but if you stand a chance with racing for Ferrari one day with "Virtual Academy"... don't forget GT Academy and the HUGE impact Polyphony, and GT5, have on the motor industry itself making the product just as "official"... if not more.

Removing USB functionality and how it wouldn't be an issue.

Firstly, I would like to say I know that Move is a huge investment for Sony and you can't advertise functionality and remove it in a heartbeat.

So, how can Sony remove the USB function but retain PS-eye (needed for Move) functionality?

Quite simple actually!

1. If game requires move, then detect for Eye and see if it works (as you calibrate move, the PS3 KNOWS you're using Eye). Detect which port it's in, and disable use of other ports.

2. If game doesn't require move, disable use of USB ports as it boots.

3. PS3 firmware KNOWNS when it's charging a controller. Detect this, and ignore other ports.

4. This... Admitedly, will mean you can't: Import videos, Import Photos, or Export them either. BUT... I found KIND of a work-a-round... Detect for PSP! Stream via BlueTooth/Wireless access photos and videos! You could also do this STRAIGHT to PC.


So, question is : Do you even use your USB ports that much? Other than charging, and eye... Do you use it for conventional storage?

How can Sony stop the PS3 "jailbreak"?

Today's biggest news wasn't the stuff coming from Gamescom... No, it was the news of a PS3 being hacked. Hacks = piracy, piracy = low sales, low sales = less games (or less INVENTIVE games you can always count on CoD... Sigh...) and less games = a boring fucking time.

Here are some things I think Sony can do :

- Get the USB dongle and find out how it works. BUT do NOT release a patch to remove it's functionality. They need to detect if the console is online and if it is it will run a PURPOSE BUILT VIRUS that bricks the PS3. The person who bought the USB will contact Sony asking for support only to be labelled as a pirate and will then face a FINE. This harsh method will stop any further hacks and it will stop any retards stupid enough to buy one in the first place.

- Change from USB to firewire for the PSEYE (USB to fireware cable?) to stop piracy on newer PS3 models. Or even a propietery port that new PSEyes can connect to?

- SUE THE FUCK OUTTA THE DIPSHIT WHO INVENTED THIS

- SUE THE FUCK OUTTA THE CUNTS WHO ARE SELLING IT

- Make it illegal in the EU, UK and USA. All who sell it openly will be fined $100K for every USB sold.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE  : "http://psjailbreak.com/" HAS BEEN SHUT DOWN. That didn't take long.

Kotaku : Complete retards, GT5 has excellent load times.

SolidSnakex who is a well-known personality NeoGAF forums has taken footage of the same track loading in real-time (not Kotaku time); which, by the way, takes just about 28 seconds. The link to the video is below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gk5waWBfPSo&feature=player_embedded#!

Unrelated but on topic, seems Kotaku will post ANYTHING to get their annual bribe from MicroSoft. Or to get hits for that matter. Flamebait article, and it still remains on the site. Asscraft simply states : "Our users have reported this may be fake. Make of it what you will" in other words: FLAME ON.

What features will be in the PSP2?

Apple lately have been dominating. Their devices are drool-worthy. Truly beautiful. They offer the best of both worlds : designer goods - Stainless steel, glass surface, slim design, smooth touch sensitive controls, and genuine productivity.

Apple's huge success lies within the amount of stuff these devices can do.

You can get an iPod Touch - admitedly 8GB, for about £100. Probably less if you shop around. This gives you :

• full games at the cheapest price (MOST is generally £5.99 (or $10)) not to mention FREE games,
• internet connectivity : Safari Web Browser is miles ahead of the PSPs and even the PS3s (although it doesn't support flash it has alternatives).
• official mail application, using push notification
• Social media websites (twitter, facebook, etc)
• Maps!
• Still an iPod! So it's supremely good for actual music!
• Plays MP4s and other formats
• BlueTooth 
• Accelerometer (Gyroscope with iPhone)

In terms of looks, this is PROBABLY pretty close.

So... The PSP2... What does it need to compete with this?

Well, my predictions are :

• 3D-enabled : Stereoscopic? Potentially. As the device is a 1:1 experience i.e. User and device, and the fact you won't be showing the 3D as a TV screen it can have the full 3D movie experience. It'll probably have some sort of special screen with the glasses film applied directly, or some other unique way of showing it. Don't forget Sony are pioneering 3D and pushing it more than even Nintendo with it's glasses-less experience.
• A better browser : Google Chrome? Possibly. It could even have Opera Mini or ... dare I say a fully fledged browser? A sony propietary one... or Firefox?! I'd say it's possible, with FULL, RICH flash pages.
• It'll have non-gaming apps. Calc, Maps, Calander, Mail, etc. It's NEEDED. If Apple can do it for £100 or less, Sony can. 
• PSN, PSN+. To push + it's highly likely the full PSN service will be there : friends list, online, trophies,
• A highly powerful GPU : Nvidia Tegra 2? Tegra 3?! Sony apparently have been having issues with battery and heating with the Tegra 2 so... Just like the RSX and Cell... it could have a genuinely unique component for PSP2 ONLY.
• Dual-Analogue sticks, Motion Control (more than an accellerometer?)
• PSP backwards compatible, PS2 backwards compatible (Sony will release PS2 games in 2011 officially, with both HD remakes and plain non-trophy, non-HD supported games)
• 2011 Leak I'm guessing. Mid March we see factory floor components and then E3 it'll be unveiled for a Christmas release. Don't plan on seeing it at TGS this year because Sony won't be showing tech demos when it's unveiled. It'll be close to completion by it's true release.
• Digital only? UMDs again? New disc format? Cloud-based (like OnLive? although I doubt that)? My money's on purely digital : 120GB in a non-digital form. It'd need to be that high of capacity to play PS2 games.

Another believable PSP2 mock-up

Batman Arkham City Art Analysis

Bloodthirst?

 

 

 

 

The sequel to 2009 hit Batman Arkham Asylum has been named, and today it was officially unveiled. Entitled "Arkham City" the newest issue of magazine "GameInformer" shows use new artwork/promotional shots.


The cover itself shows batman, in a high concentration of light, this is a first for any artwork featuring batman. He's always been cloaked by the darkness. So the obvious point to make here is that he's no longer available to conceal himself so easily. He will have to at times reveal himself and just fight. From the title we see that it's obviously going to be open world, if not - it'll be big. That's not the most intriguing part however, as again from the official site we see an image with helicopters in the background, these aren't behind him, batman isn't looking at them, they're in front and almost look like they're unimportant. This to me suggests batman will interact with GOOD citizens from the city and they'll help him. He will maybe even have radio contact with these people and it's possible they'll be his guide through the city.

This point is furthermore justified via this background image from the official ArkhamCity site.

In it we see batman, fists-clicnched, with blood on his nose. Is it his own blood? Or the blood of his enemies? I believe it's his own. But he's here to save the city. He's not beaten down, he's not weak, he's just in a matched fight. This suggests we will see even more residents of Arkham Asylum in the game, and perhaps a new bad guy. Yes the Joker will still be the main guy -- wouldn't be the same without him. But it's possible he's got some new henchmen, and this time they'll be more than just "henchmen".

The Official Logo of the game

The logo pictured above suggests we'll be seeing real-time or HEAVY CGI elements. This logo isn't like batman at all. The font isn't clear, the bottom "ARKHAM CITY" is reminiscent of "The Dark Knight" Posters and the Joker's Blood font. Again -- suggests we'll see the Joker as the main guy, and that in this game he'll potentially defeat Batman - or get close. The batarang is inked and doesn't shine. Batman may have to be more resourceful this time around.

Unlikely to be a rivalry- Batman Arkham City to have Co-Op?

This alternate Game infroemer cover shows batman chained with catgirl. This close unity is unlike batman, suggesting the game potentially has Co-Op. The contrast of their poses suggest that catwoman would have a complete different playstyle to batman. Batman keeping his fists, flying and stealth while Catwoman forms a new gameplay style, potentially faster, challenging batman along the journey?

Be sure to leave a comment or three, and remember I don't work for Warner, RockSteady or GameInformer so all this information is purely speculation, but when it turns out to be true you won't be questioning my art analysing skills!