EDIT: I've been enlightened as to the fact that Peter Moore is no longer with Microsoft. How embarrassing. Hence the alteration.

I'm sorry about this, but I'm not going to put any degree of polish in this piece. This is pure rant, and is coming from a very dark place inside of me. If you feel the hate, please express so.



Is anyone else as bitter as I am about Microsoft's stifling of the Xbox 360 peripheral market? First off, their claims that the reason they don't allow many manufacturers to produce third-party peripherals is so that they can monitor quality. This is a flat-out lie; it is so they can maintain their choke-hold on the consumer, and their counterintuitive approach means that consumer's choices are severely limited. Microsoft charges exorbitant amounts for their (granted, quality) accessories; but honestly, their obstinate approach is the antithesis to Sony, who practically invite the fanbase to use their own hard drives, keyboards and mouses, etc.

Microsoft has a personal vendetta against the joy of its audience - 120 GB hard drives for $200 AUD is absolutely unacceptable. This is especially infuriating given the recent announcement of optional HDD installs - their fiendish plot to surreptitiously expand the market for their over-priced parts. Additionally, $40 AUD for a messenger pad? Seriously? When PS3 users can use keyboards? This is nothing to do with quality to control, and everything to do with market control. Don't stifle manufacturers of quality parts Microsoft - in fact, makers of the X Arcade stick recently attested to the stubbornness of MS in terms of this issue, as they have thus far been precluded from bringing their arcade sticks to the 360. This is especially infuriating for me - I was looking at investing in an arcade stick, however my only options are either importing the expensive Hori stick from Asia (because I can't find any here) or ... well... their are no alternatives. This is the height of inanity.

Creating arbitrary standards and imposing astronomical royalties is so preposterous and arrogant at a time when the company exploits consumers by charging ridiculous amounts for worthless DLC, has saturated the market with lackluster hardware that fails at an unacceptable rate, that it literally has me fuming. Microsoft - your blatant disregard for the welfare of your audience, confounded by your sheer pigheaded ignorance, has pissed me off to no end. However, my ambivalence - largely due to the awesome library of games that enthralls me daily - has prevented me from dismissing you entirely. Just know you won't get away with this forever. TAKE A STAND!

Style can make or break a game. Heaven knows some games that are lackluster in terms of gameplay enjoy immensely from a definitive art style, that compels the player to overlook these deficiencies in order to appreciate the visceral, the fantastical, the hypnotic and the entrancing aesthetics that engulf the game worlds, invigorate the characters, and breathe life into a universe. If Geometry Wars didn't sport retro vector graphics and bright, neon colours would it be nearly as entertaining? If Okami wasn't as beautiful would it be as popular? Art can help a game transcend the traditional benchmarks of what constitutes a 'good game.' It can be appreciated, dissected, and extolled as the pinnacle of the medium. Its what makes games unique from one another, preventing them from suffering the dreaded denotation of 'generic.'

The first two Diablo games were punctuated by a distinctly dark tone, coinciding with the Gothic theme replete with Daemons, Witchcraft and legions upon legions of Hellspawn. The games attracted a rabid fanbase, and as with any fanbase, these obdurate (but intensely loyal) Blizzard sycophants are utterly resistant to any tweaking of the precious Diablo formula. Thus, with the announcement of the long-belated Diablo 3 revealing a somewhat different tone (permeated by more a more vibrant palette) many fans were jarred to say the least. There was a public outcry, even propagating a petition to see the changes reverted and a more traditional look reinstated. Well, I say, good on Blizzard for making some much-needed augmentations to the visual style - after all, innovation never comes about if developers re-hash the same shit over and over again, playing the safe hand and not taking risks in the name of pioneering a new way to think about games. From what I've seen the sequel looks great, and I have no doubt that upon its release the rabble will be silenced when the overwhelming majority fawn over the new Diablo, much like its forebears.

Am I the only one who feels that all three major players in the console market - Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo - are so caught up in their futile pursuit to be crowned 'winner' that they'll do just about anything to appeal to all demographics? It seems that in the current generation especially, our consoles are fast becoming carbon copies of one another in terms of feature-sets. This is most blatantly exemplified in the case of Microsoft's Avatars (or, as they've been unaffectionately referred to as, Mii-Too's). This move was widely lambasted as a cheap attempt to cash-in on the furore, rather than a genuine attempt to enhance the experience of Xbox owners. Are 360 fans - who are already charged through the nose for arbitrary downloadable items like themes and gamerpics - really going to appreciate having these purchases completely devalued when they become secondary to these generic-looking, ostensibly hastily-conceived things? This is only exacerbated by recent pictures that surfaced showing what appeared to be the Avatar-creation interface -- where Mii's strength lies in their simplicity, it appears Microsoft's iteration is marred by an obfuscated and confusing design process.

This is just one example of copycat syndrome. There are a litany of instances, however; the Sixaxis motion controls which have thus far seen little use or enjoyed any real acclamation also spring to mind. The Xbox Live Vision Cam - which, up until this point, hasn't seen any real practical application beyond indecent exposure on Uno; Microsoft's upcoming Kareoke title, 'Lips,' is the 360's counterpart to Singstar; and Nintendo's WiiWare, an XBLA competitor. However, while some of these concepts turned out to be worthwhile additions - such as WiiWare - others are clearly just another case of the kind of bandwagon-jumping that lets half-baked ideas come to fruition, and leave consumers with a bitter taste after they shell out for useless content or peripherals.

What do you think?

This is my inaugural post and also, my first act as member of Dtoid. I have long been reading the site and only just now decided to actually register. So, please welcome me to your fold.

I suck at Geometry Wars. The original game told me as much, taunting me with those insufferable leaderboards. My rank languished much in the same way as my ability, and not coincidentally, so did my will to commit much time to the game. However, buying the new edition on a whim I found that the developers had included a feature that makes playing the game an absolute compulsion - having the next highest score of any of your friends who own the game on display while you play. This simple augmentation does wonders for providing that extra incentive - to strive to surpass ones peers, even if only by a few hundred points. Granted, only one person on my friends list owns the game, however I spent an hour today trying to trounce his score in every single game mode. Despite not having an actual online multiplayer mode (which was regarded as an odd omission by some), this option makes the solo game infinitely more tantalising.

On that note, if anyone else who only has a modest ability level in the game would like to pose a moderate challenge for me, please add me. Most of my scores however around a couple of million (yes, I'm aware of how feeble that is). My gamertag is Jimzzor2.