Today I was looking at PS3's when I can across an article at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/322906_sony09.html 

it said

"Sony is cutting the price of its primary PlayStation 3 game console by $100 in the United States, seeking to regain traction in a market it has long dominated.Putting a new twist into the video-game console wars, the company on Monday is announcing a new price of $499.99 for the 60-gigabyte PlayStation 3, effective Monday. Sony says it also plans to introduce a new PlayStation 3 model, with an 80-gigabyte hard drive, at a price of $599.99." and this was on July 8th 2007.  I did a google search to see if it was a joke and came up with this.

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/8078.html 

"The limited amount of top game titles yet available for the Playstation 3, as well as stiff competition from Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360, have forced Sony into lowering its original price for the 60GB PS3 from $599 to $499. The price cut is effective immediately.  In addition, Sony also introduced a new 80GB model. Aimed at online gamers and entertainment enthusiasts, the 80GB model will ship in August for $599. The online-enabled racing game MotorStorm will be bundled in the sales package."

I went to best buy's and circut city's websites and the 60gb ps3 was for $500, a $100 price drop and E3 is hear yet.

YES!!! I can now buy one.

I'm sure that anyone with a DS or PSP (or even a PS2, for that matter) can't fail to recognise just how many Retro compilation packs there are in the market all supposedly "filled with classics you remember from your childhood". Yet, as I'm sure many of you who have succumbed to temptation and actually bought one of these compilations will know, although you do remember these games from your childhood, they seem to have gotten worse due to extra features that don't complement the original game, but in fact, they ruin the experience of playing the game.

For example, The latest remake of Rainbow Islands (Rainbow Islands Revolution for Nintendo DS), seems to have touch screen elements (using the touch screen to create rainbows) which were tacked on at the very last minute, in order to make a remake of a game over 15 years old seem "revolutionary", yet, it manages to take the game I knew and loved from my childhood (playing the game when I was 5 years-old at a seaside arcade in the mid 1990s), and totally destroy all the fun I had, replacing it with monotony and boredom.

Although there are other arcade remakes and compilations which are much better than that atrocity, please take this as a cautionary tale from me. Although there are some good old school/ retro compilations (Sega MegaDrive Collection ,aka Sega Genesis collection for you USA people, comes to mind here) NEVER buy one that messes around with the original formula, you'll just be disappointed, as I found out.

I end this cautionary tale on a lighter note- a list of retro compilations I recomend-
NES Classics range (GBA)
Sega MegaDrive/Genesis Collection (PSP/PS2)
and Taito Legends- Power Up (PSP)

Ever wanted to have a glimpse of the development hardware used by game developers of the last generation? Well, today is your lucky day to set your eyes upon these rare gems! Above is the Microsoft XBOX Alpha Development Kit, followed by the Sony Playstation 2 TOOL Development Kit, the Nintendo GameCube Dolphin Development Kit, and last but not least the Sega Dreamcast 'Katana' Development Box. Some of these could sure have one wishing they could not only "look" but also "touch" at the same time.

You can check out more video gaming obscurities here:
http://oldengineer.com

What is next-gen? The Wii, Xbox 360, PS3? Does the wii qualify? the answer is yes. Believe it or not, Nintendo has not yet released the Wii's full graphical capabilities, although many websites claim it has worse graphics than Xbox 1. In my opinion, the most manageable console is the Wii. It has an excellent cooling system, fast loading, and is just plain fun. Lately, however, people have been busting on the Wii's capabilities, not realizing that it does look good. The Wii comes with a composite cable, but if you buy the component cable, and have EDTV or HDTV, you can play Wii in 480p. For starters, most people have EDTV, this is what it is(from the back)EDTV, or 480p, doesn't sound like much compared to HDTV. But it is in fact a major step forward in picture quality. On a big screen it looks closer in quality to HDTV than it does regular television. And it is here today in its full glory. Nintendo utilizes EDTV, because that is what most people have, like me, and I did not even know!

See the green and blue "component" cable plugs?

This means you have an EDTV, and you can play you're Wii games in 480p, which is closer to HD that standard-definition in terms of visuals. I think that Nintendo did the smartest thing, because I can play my Wii in 480p, which is like HD. Another interesting fact is that we really do not know what the Wii can do yet, because Nintendo has not released the complete specs. Games like Zelda:TP on the Wii @ 480p gives you a glimpse of the Wii's graphics, when you play a Wii, you realize that the graphics are enough, and find yourself immersed in a game that even still looks vibrant.

Personally, I think that the Wii is the best, although many other people would argue otherwise. Just keep in mind that if you're not looking for extreme graphics in HD, don't want to shell out 350$+ ,or just want something simple, the Wii is probably for you. I know its graphics do not beat the Xbox 360's, but no other console gives you more fun for just 250$. When it comes down to it, games were created for entertainment and fun, not for the admiration of picturesque gameplay, even though that would be nice.