thirdworldgamer

Whether Sony likes it or not, the next generation of video gaming has arrived with the XBOX 360. The XBOX 360 officialy launched in the United States last Nov 22 and what a week it was. It was a week marred with exceedingly high demand, shortages, eBay price gauging, harrowing reports of system defects fueled by some fanboy trolls, sarcastic media and so much more. But is it stopping the XBOX 360? Not at all! In fact the demand appears to be greater than what it used to be given some negative publicity that the console has been receiving. But going back to the original question, is the Philippines ready for Next-Gen? For the majority of the Filipinos, my answer is no. I’ll be honest, much of the Philippine gaming market thrives on cheap pre-paid schemes as popularized by localized Korean MMORPGs and the ever-so-popular piracy problem that has been plaguing the country ever since the dawn of gaming. A local game store in Greenhills, when asked when the...

The Xbox 360 just got released in the United States last November 22. I've not been able to post here because I've been following how the launch over at the US is going. So far, here's what I've been reading about: 1. Microsoft hasn't been meeting the demand for 360s...the demand is so high 2. There are claims of defects on the consoles, but lately I've noticed that the claims feel like they're fabricated for some motive (some of them are complaining about the simplest of issues, or don't even know what they're talking about) 3. The ones who should be happy about having a 360 are too busy complaining about the slightest jaggy. Sheesh, mankind should have been obliterated ages ago if we would just end up THIS whiny. What do I think about the launch? For starters, because of the *shortage* over at the US, the local gaming outlet here isn't able to guarantee anything with regard to when and how they'll get the 360. That said, I've got money ...

After the controversial New York Post article , which openly advised people not to purchase an XBOX 360, another publication has aired a similar opinion. (The above image is a parody...but 50 Cent: Bulletproof?!?) “If you still haven't been swayed and are actually thinking about buying an Xbox 360, you should know it has severe limitations which could put you and your family at risk. In the event of an emergency, the Xbox 360 can NOT be used as a flotation device and has not been approved to put out grease fires due to its shoddy design and Microsoft's willingness to cut corners. The console does indeed play dvds, but fast-forwards through scenes it doesn't like and flat out refuses to play any movie starring a now-deceased actor.” Got your curiosity piqued, click HERE to read the rest of the article!

Sony has delivered its strongest blow to its competitors, particularly the XBOX 360, months before the launch of the Microsoft console. They have done it by once again implanting the seeds of doubt in the minds of people. A sneaky but effective strategy, that they had used before hand when they squashed the Sega Dreamcast. What have they done? Comments from the SCE head, Ken Kutaragi from month’s back were like a virus slowly trying to kill and disillusion its host. Particularly, Kutaragi’s comments of the following were the strongest: XBOX 1.5 Xbox 360’s true competition is the PS2 Not Next-Gen PS3 will come with true superior Next-Gen hardware To the unkeen eye and to people who really don’t know what gaming is all about, it’s so easy to believe Ken Kutaragi’s statements. The XBOX 360 is coming out 4-6 months earlier than the PS3. Let us remember that the hardware that will come out in Japan in Spring 06 will be the SAME har...

I posted the following on the xbox.com forums...If you have any ideas, feel free to post them in the comments section ************ Let's help Microsoft - What to you is NEXT-GENERATION? Alright, you know what guys, I'm so sick of all of these gaming journalists telling us what is and what is NOT NEXT GENERATION. To tell you the truth I don't think these journalists care about gaming anymore. They rush through Kameo and say that it's too short (when they themselves didn't even bother to enjoy the ride), they say that Perfect Dark Zero is just another shooter (when another shooter, entirely comprised of CG, is what they claim to be 'next-gen'--KILLZONE 2 for the PS3), and they say that Project Gotham Racing 3 is just another racing game with good graphics (and they were DROOLING over a movie of Gran Turismo running supposedly on the PS3). They claim that 'graphics arent everything' but can't help but say that Gears of War will be GOTY simply becaus...

Depending on what side of the gaming fence you are, lets admit it, the next generation of videogames are coming and it starts with the XBOX 360. At least it does for me. Now there is one thing odd that I have been noticing about people’s standards when it comes to the next generation. First, they the next gen perception is heavily influenced by traditional CG cut scenes. Second, next gen expectations always fall somewhere along the lines of being “realistic”. With regard to the XBOX 360 games, I have seen a lot of people throw praises at realistic looking games such as Call of Duty 2 or Project Gotham Racing 3. While I have no problems with these things and no doubt the praises are well deserved by those games, the idea behind realism affects the way other ‘unrealistic’ games are perceived. Take a look at the first party game called Kameo. Simply enough the character is a female fairy elf that can transform into a variety of cute looking characters as she...

This offers a little bit of hope that one day the Xbox360 will be offered here in my country locally. A contest is being sponsored by Canon Philippines wherein they're giving away 10 Xbox360s! Here's a screenie of their flyer:

Just read some reviews on Kameo, Project Gotham Racing 3, NBA 2K6 and Madden 06. I'm noticing a pattern when it comes to game reviews which is quite distressing. In summary here's what I've noticed: 1. Game reviewers on console launch are intent to be MUCH MORE CYNICAL than usual. This is because they want to impress their wives/girlfriends/office mates that "they're not fanboys". 2. There is this horrible slant towards games that look ultra realistic ("like-real-life"). Granted there's nothing wrong with having such high expectations for next-gen games, but what would gaming be like if --every-- game had characters and settings that looked like the real world that we live in now? Where would the creativity be? Oddly enough, my comment comes from reading 1UP's review of PGR3, which essentially gave the game a 10 simply because it looks BEAUTIFUL. Granted I made another blog post where I share that same sentiment, and I still think the game lo...

Yes, me and wuffy are going to get one XBOX360 each! No, our country is not included in the launch list for that console. Heck, our country isn't even on the list for XBOX LIVE! (though i got a subscription anyway... A SINCERE THANK YOU TO MICROSOFT SINGAPORE FOR YOUR KINDNESS IN ACCEPTING MY XBOX LIVE SUBSCRIPTION! ). Microsoft Philippines does not officially support the Xbox and the Xbox 360 in our country because the piracy rate is so high that they think it will not be profitable for them. Boo hoo for me. But we are going to get the xbox 360, when our 'supplier' manages to get them all the way from the 'States (or however they get it...i have no idea how they manage to do it). It's funny though. I visit message boards every day related to the xbox 360. And these days a lot of the people in the 'first world' are whining about xbox 360 shortages. Every manner of curse and four-letter word is being hurled by consumers at their retailers for not being able t...

Nuff said.... For more incredible screenies click HERE!!!

Exactly. That might be the question on your mind right now. The Philippines isn't exactly the greatest country in the world. It has serious issues with poverty and government corruption. Our exchange rate with the US dollar is at an all time low and the threat of the government collapsing on the weight of its own sins can happen any day. That, my friends, is a Philippine flag. So why the hell am I a gamer? I ask myself that question a lot. Maybe I should have picked a more inexpensive hobby. How'd I get introduced to the wonderful world of video and computer games? Maybe that's a good place to start. Have you ever heard of a device called a "Game and Watch"? I think Nintendo produced that thing sometime in the 80s'. If memory serves me right, that's where I got introduced into video games. I played this game where you're controlling this monkey that's supposed to be catching coconuts being dropped from a high place. If you miss, you lose a turn...a...

Hi! Trying out blogging for the first time...so bear with my n00biness... Welcome to thirdworldgamer.blogspot.com. Who am I and what is this blog all about? I'm a gamer...a guy who likes video games of various types. This blog will be about my thoughts on the gaming industry, computer and video gaming in general, and sometimes---about gaming in the third world. That's right. The THIRD WORLD. Okay, to be fair, it's about gaming in MY PART OF THE WORLD. I have no idea how gaming is like in the deserts of Africa.... But I didn't want to name my blog philippinegamer.blogspot.com or pinoygamer.blogspot.com or anything obvious like that that just gives away my nationality. If you follow this blog for the next few months (and hopefully years if i never get lazy on updating this) you'll be able to piece together why that is. I don't want to come on too strong on my first blog post (is that what people call a post on a blog? Sheesh I'm such a n00b!) I'm writing t...