Is Sony’s Game 3.0 truly a fundamentally new concept? Is user created game content only now being done for the very first time in history? Next-Gen dares to suggest that this might not be the case.

I remember Pinball Construction Set and user created Lode Runner levels and Eamon modules. No, user created content isn’t new and Sony didn’t invent it. Guess what? Microsoft didn’t exactly invent online games with Xbox Live nor did Nintendo invent gesture recognition.

Part of this is just the unfortunate way the world works. If you attend a big glitzy CEO keynote, you’re not going to hear some cranky old speech about the glory days of Pinball Construction Set, 300 baud modems, and wonky old VR gesture helmets. You’re going to hear well dressed, fast talking executives trying to generate excitement and optimism about their company’s current offerings.

Also, just as the Wii offers a far better implementation of gesture recognition then we’ve seen in the past, I really expect Sony (and others) to deliver a heck of a lot more interesting user created content options than Pinball Construction Set.

For example, one thing I really want to see is better content creation options for programmer types. I want something at a much more casual level than writing a whole game from scratch. I want to be able to think up neat algorithms and logical heuristics and see them work in a fun to use environment. Maybe an RTS game could support programmable unit behaviors or a puzzle game could support user-designed puzzle mechanics?

Do you think anything in the game industry is really new or is it all just variations and improvements on what we’ve seen before? Is anyone else looking forward to any particular type of user created content options?

Game 3.0 is Nothing New

Mortal Kombat II is scheduled to be released on the PlayStation network this Thursday.

I’ve read much excitement about this release on various forums. Can someone explain this to me?

The Midway Arcade Treasures 2 disc had this game as well as Mortal Kombat 3 and eighteen other games (I’ve remember most of them) as well as all kinds of extra bonus pics and interviews and goodies. That disc cost $20 when it originally came out and I’m sure it’s much cheaper now. That compilation disc seems to be a far better deal than this PlayStation Network release.

Who cares about this release when this game has been readily available for many years for dirt cheap prices on a variety of platforms?

I think many people just like the theatrical release aspect of it. Few people really feel like digging through a bargain bin and buying this for $5 or downloading a PC ROM and playing by themselves. But, when a game like this is released on the Playstation Network or XBLA, it makes lots of headlines, and gets lots of people talking about it. And if nothing else, content like this pads the release schedule.

I don’t know if this’ll do any good.

The last PS3 petition I signed was to get splitscreen support into MotorStorm, and that petition sign-up sheet somehow disappeared. So much for the power of the people!

This latest petition is to get XMB access during a PS3 game, and I have to voice my opinion that this petition isn’t needed. Why? Because I’m quite certain that Sony is already working on this. Sony isn’t stupid, and they know that users want this. The fact that they showed it off before the PS3 was ever launched is clear indication.

So if you want to sign your name to this petition, go ahead. Frankly, I don’t think it matters.

Sony GIVE US ACCESS TO THE XMB Petition

What’s going on here? I just finished downloading these two PS3 game demos, and they both stink!

First I tried Armored Core 4. There was no option to invert Y! So the game became mostly unplayable because I couldn’t look up or down correctly. This is unacceptable. Every game where an invert Y option makes sense should have it. I know more people that use it than don’t, so its lack is unforgivable. Outside of that, the missions were pretty boring too. There was one desert mission where you had to destroy one transport (I think), which took all of two seconds. Wow, impressive. Not! I can’t see myself ever shelling out any money for this game.

Then I tried MLBTK7, and I think I just don’t understand the demo. That is, I don’t think it was a demo at all. It was basically a movie that you could slightly control. Because nothing I did seemed to matter. The batter swung or not according to his own wishes, and the pitcher pitched the same way. I was in control of nothing except pausing the game. It was retarded. Am I missing something here? Please tell me I just forgot to set an option somewhere or failed to “activate” the game or something, because this was a total waste of time.

Somebody please help me out here.

What’s new on the PlayStation Network? Here you go:

Game Demos
GTHD (v.1.2)- addition of force feedback and worldwide ranks
Armored Core 4

Game Trailers
Grand Theft Auto 4

Movie Trailers
Are We Done Yet?
Perfect Stranger
Stardust

The PS3 Network - PSN Thursday Update (4/5)

If you’re like me, you are anticipating the launch of PlayStation Home like it was Christmas. You also have a sliver of hope that you might actually be chosen to be one of the lucky few to beta-test the Home service. And being such a Home aficionado, you probably downloaded the Home trailer from the PlayStation Store and showed it to your wife/husband or girl/boy-friend, or lacking those, your pet. (Although I have to say Home didn’t seem to impress my wife. She saw the scene near the beginning where a bunch of people were watching a video on the wall and immediately thought of The Island and 1984. Big Brother is watching you and all. Oh well. Can’t win them all.)

Of course, you’re also curious about how Home came about, and Develop Magazine has a small blurb about just that. The article looks long enough, but that’s deceptive. But there are a few interesting tidbits, like the fact that Home was original “Hub” for the PS2, and that it was meant to be a 2D service until it came to the PS3:

A 3D platform for Home, rather than Hub’s 2D one, means assets can be natively exported from games built using Maya and incorporated straight into the service when it comes to developers and publishers building their own spaces.

So do yourself a favour if you’re a Home fan, and check it out:

Welcome, Home