The Great PS3 Back-Compatibility Debarcle

Sony really can’t get any breaks these days: 2006 was a PR nightmare for them, as they attracted bad press over DRM, exploding batteries, the PSP and the PS3. Unfortunately, 2007 isn’t looking too rosy for the Japanese giant either, as the furore over the PS3 back compatibly in the PAL regions continues.

Thankfully, Sony are at least playing ball with bloggers on this one, and they’ve given Three Speech, a self-described semi-official Playstation blog, a response to the public outcry.

While the answers given to Three Speech’s questions are most definitely in business speak, they have a few juicy nuggets of info in them, in particular in these two.

People weren’t expecting this announcement. Surely we have the right to know the number of PAL supported games before the launch?

We have been assessing the extent of backward compatibility, and will continue to do so right up until launch. It is therefore not possible to provide a specific number of backwards compatible titles at this stage, but close to launch consumers will be able to check whether their titles are compatible with PS3 by looking at the list of compatible titles at http://faq.eu.playstation.com/bc. This site will be available on 23rd March to meet launch day.

This is both good and bad news for gamers. It confirms that there is a site and a back compatibility list, but it would be useful (not to mention good customer service) if Sony allowed people to know what games they can play on their PS3 in advance. I wouldn’t be happy pre-ordering a games system if I didn’t know that the games I had were compatible with it.

If this is a business decision to save cost, why are users left to bear the burden, having to purchase a system inferior to those sold in the US and Japan at a higher price?

The PS3 launching in Europe is every bit as powerful as the PS3s available currently in North America and Japan. PS3 is defined by key features such as the CELL broadband engine, its Blu-ray drive, the SIXAXIS Controller and its ability to output full 1080P HD game content which makes it an entertainment system for the future, without equal.

PS one titles remain backwards compatible and we will continue to assess the compatibility of PS2 titles right up until launch We will continue to offer firmware upgrades to increase the number of titles that are compatible, but rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3, truly taking advantage of this exciting technology.

This answer worries me tad, but it does indicate that Sony have very probably got the PS1 emulation sorted and that all PS1 games should be playable on the PS3. This isn’t that surprising given that you can download PS1 games for use on the PS3. What is worrying is that they don’t mention anything about passing the cost cutting on to users.

In other areas, Sony are trying to appeal to the larger userbase. The announcement that PS3 games from Sony are going to cost £39.99 (roughly the same price as a Wii game, cheaper then a 360 games) is defiantly a good one. Games prices have been getting far too high in recent years, and seeing games for the 360 hit that £50 does make me less likely to games at launch.

EU Virtual Console Releases – 23/02/07

Apologies for this being a day late. The one thing that I always try to do, no matter how little time I’m able to dedicate to news and original articles is getting the EU VC release list up. Unfortunately, I’ve been quite busy with some other things, so I haven’t had as much time as I should have for Mach Nerd. Normal service should resume on Thursday or Friday though. _________________________________________________

My reaction when I saw which two games went up for grabs today was one of shock and awe. Nintendo have pulled out one of the biggest guns in their gaming arsenal, possibly in an attempt to shake off claims that there is a Wii gaming drought.

First up, from the classic days of yore, comes Kid Icarus. Featuring Pit, who is currently enjoying attention as one of the new stars in Super Smash Bros Brawl, Kid Icarus is a platformer in the same vain as the early Meteroid games. You get to run, jump and shoot things, so it’s all good. It’ll set you back 500 points.

This week’s only other release is a legend of the N64. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the first three-dimensional Zelda game and is generally accepted to be one of the best in the series. I’ll be interested to see what it’s like trying to play the ocarina with an analogue stick instead of the C-buttons of the N64 pad, but possible control issues aside, this is a great game. If you like Twilight Princess, you’ll love this. Despite selling for 1200 points in Japan, Ocarina of Time is only going for 1000 points in Europe.

[Via Nintendo of Europe]

New Crush PSP Trailer

This game intrigues me. It’s been a while since anyone tried to completely change the platform game, and Crush certainly promises to do that. Or at least add a pretty unique trick to an already saturated genre.

How does it work? Well, you can control your character and the camera orientation. The gimmik is that you can also make the world switch between being a three-dimensional affair to being being two-dimensional, either from the top down, as in the video, or viewable from the sides.

I doubt that it will be the game that will save the PSP, but it definitely looks interesting. The plot also sounds pretty good: you play Danny, a young man who has been committed due to insomnia. Crush is the invention of a mad scientist who is hoping to cure Danny, but who also has hi own agenda. It’s a tad wierd, but it certainly makes a change from ’save the Princess’.

1Up has a more detailed preview, where they give a deeper explanation of the dimension switching.

[Video from Kotaku]

Are Blogs Killing the Gaming Press?

Today was a significant day for the British print media publications, namely because the annual circulation results were published today by the ABC. Of the 17 gaming magazines published in the UK, all but three of them are seeing a downturn in circulation. The three magazines which are remaining buoyant are multi-format title Edge, the newly re-born Official Nintendo Magazine (ONM) and the Official Xbox 360 Magazine (OX360).

GamesIndustry.biz reports that Future Publishing, which owns eight of the UK gaming magazines, has put this down to handover period between the 6th generation systems and 7th generation systems. This may well explain the success of the OX360 and ONM, but it really doesn’t explain why non-lisenced titles have been failing.

I disagree with Future Publishing’s conclusions. Given that you are reading a gaming blog right now, it can hardly have failed to escape your notice that gaming blogs and websites are immensly popular. To be honest, I’m not sure when the last time I paid for a gaming magazine was but it must be more then two years.

In this day and age, the internet has practically rendered gaming magazines obsolete. Instead of having one review by one writer, the internet gives us resources like Metacritic and Digg, which allow people to compare dozens of reviews and all the latest news with a couple of clicks. Even for a casual internet user, Gamespy, IGN, Gamespot and Gamefaqs offer a large selection of reviews and news.

And you know what? It’s a good think that gaming magazines are dying on their arses. As much as sites like Joystiq and it’s associated Fanboy sites create and thrive on fanboy rivalries, the gaming press (in the UK at least) is worse. I have memories of reading scathing criticisms of the PS1 and the Dreamcast in Nintendo Official Magazine (the predecessor to ONM) back when the N64 was on the go, and other licenced magazines can be equally vicious. The gaming press also seems to suffer from what can only be described as idiocy when it actually comes to writing articles, using language that would appeal to a five year old in reviews and editorials. The list of sins goes on to include misogynistic attitudes towards female staff, printing abusive letters and generally acting like complete and utter tits.

Incredibly, most of the people writing for gaming magazines in the UK are accredited journalists.

The bell may well be tolling for games magazines. I say good riddance. To be honest, I think that amateur UK based sites like the Machiavellian Nerd and 8Bit Hero!, coupled with the more mainstream game blogs are doing a better job then the print media has in years.

EU Virtual Console Releases – 16/02/07

We’ve got another week of great VC releases this Friday.

First up is Kirby’s Adventure for the NES. This will set you back 500 points, and for that you are getting a Satoru Iwata classic. The game follows a standard platformer story line – something’s been stolen and you have to retrieve it, saving the world in the process. What makes it stand out from other platformers is Kirby’s ability to fly and acquire the abilities of enemies. Well worth a download.

Next, we have another NES classic, Excitebike. A Miyamoto design classic, this game hasn’t aged well. Both the graphics and gameplay seem quite dated. It will only set you back 500 points, but I’d suggest holding out for it’s sequel, Excitebike 64.

From the SNES, we have R-Type III for 800 points. If you’ve already player R-Type (also available on VC) then you’ll know the score: horizontal scrolling space shooter. It sounds pretty brainless, but the R-Type series is fiendishly addictive and surprisingly good looking.

Finally, from the Turbo-Grafx 16 stable, we have New Adventure Island. This game was a remake of the NES game Adventure Island, and it’s a reasonably good action-adventure romp. You control Master Higgins’s as he fights his way though jungle, fire and water to rescue his new bride. This will set you back 600 points.

[via Nintendo of Europe]