thirdworldgamer

If you've been reading our blog for a while now, you'd know that we already bought 2 Xbox 360s; one near launch time (around Dec 2005) which was a Japanese system, and another one this year, around May 2007. That's because our old Japanese system 3RL'ed on us (3 red lights of death) last January 2007. We had the system fixed by Waxx at Pinoyxbox, and while it worked for a few months, eventually it would just hang or stop working completely. We had Waxx look into it one last time, and for several months we left the system with him. Later on he informed us that he had some breakthrough in his 3RL research and had employed a new fix that was better than before. The problem was, after a few weeks the system would hang again (it would not get 3RL but it did just 'hang', like a PC that just gets stuck on one screen and you can't move the mouse or make commands). So we asked Waxx to give us back the system regardless of the hanging problem. As we've probably po...

This is one of my favorite articles on the video game industry. I'm posting it here just in case it disappears off the Internet completely. ******** http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2005/11/01/8362844/index.htm Moore's War FOR MICROSOFT, THE NEW XBOX IS THE BIGGEST LAUNCH SINCE WINDOWS 95. FOR THE MAN LEADING THE CHARGE, IT'S ALSO A CHANCE FOR REVENGE AGAINST SONY'S PLAYSTATION MASTERMIND. By Geoff Keighley November 1, 2005 (Business 2.0) – It's not surprising, considering the products they sell, that executives in the videogame business like to pepper their speeches with trash-talking one-liners about rivals. But there are few opportunities for unscripted face-to-face smackdowns, so Peter Moore relishes the moment he bumped into Ken Kutaragi in a corridor at the Tokyo Games Show in September. Moore is the top marketing executive for Microsoft's next-generation console, the Xbox 360; Kutaragi, the legendary Sony PlayStation CEO, is his ...

There was a thread on Pinoyxbox today asking, when is a good time to buy an Xbox 360? Naturally most of the forum goers were saying "TODAY's the best time!" and somehow that turned into a flame war with 3RL thrown in as the number one reason NOT to buy an Xbox 360. But what I don't get is that there are those that think that the Xbox 360's 3RL issue is a good enough reason to buy its closest competitor, the PS3. To that, I said: "Let's make it simple. If you don't want to feel the hassle and fear of 3RL to bother you, then do NOT buy an Xbox 360. Seriously, I wouldn't advise it. But at the same time, I would NOT advise you to buy a PS3 EITHER. Just because you're not buying one thing doesn't mean you should buy the other. The bottom line is quite simple, really: RIGHT NOW, the PS3 has no games worth buying. No Game-Of-The-Year-material titles. All those games are on the Xbox 360. Just look at metacritic, all the highest scoring games for ...

Today we found out that Microsoft just intensified their efforts to ban modified Xbox 360s from Xbox Live: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=209956 http://forums.xbox-scene.com/index.php?showtopic=630440 ">> We don't have a lot of information yet (it just started, but we try to warn you all as early as possible), but it looks like Microsoft started a new wave of bans against modified DVD firmwares or DVD+/-R DL discs. Several users on our forums and on IRC report their Xbox 360 has been banned from LIVE today. We get reports of Toshiba-Samsung and Hitachi-LG drives banned with both Xtreme and even the newer iXtreme firmwares. However we also see many reports of people who are currently on LIVE and have no been banned (yet). No reports of banned BenQ drives yet (but few of these drives have been flashed yet). We don't know yet if Microsoft is detecting the modified firmware or the discs (or maybe only with a specific game?). If you have the 'Z Code'...

Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Virtua Fighter 5....wait, wait, WAIT, we're out of money! :( Damn, there were so many good games that came out this month and last month. Of course we still have to pay the bills.... Luckily, we can rent games from Gamehopper, which is a local game rental service here. Now that I'm completely broke when it comes to the game budget, it looks like this is the best option for me now. Want to try out their game rental service? Give it a shot and register over on Gamehopper.com.ph

Just finished Ace Combat 6, man, what an awesome game. Just epic from start to finish. I don't recall any flight simulator (yes, I know AC6 isn't a sim) that had this much intensity, action, and excitement. I really enjoyed the experience of playing this game, and highly recommend it to everyone who has even thought of what it might be like to pilot a jet fighter against swarms of foes over land, air, and sea..... I'll still continue to play this for the other modes (Hard and Expert) and so I can get all the planes and medals. Note that the Ace of Aces mode is visible in the game but you can't select it---I read on Namco's Ace Combat forums that that mode will be available later on as downloadable content. I just hope it's free content..... But I won't let that thought ruin my exhilirating experience with the game. The game is great as it is. Buy it!!!! (Note: This game is REGION FREE , I have the US version and I'm able to play it on my Asian Xbox 360)

Short and quick impressions: Beautiful graphics and animation that resemble the anime, great fighting gameplay and good implementation of RPG and story elements! Short and quick impressions: Epic and challenging air battles (but never to the point of frustrating) beautiful photorealistic graphics and slick cutscenes and presentation! Short and quick impressions: Great party game, includes master tracks, and it also has the GREATEST ROCK/METAL SONG EVER, "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce! Also, don't forget...the included guitar is WIRELESS! [Note: all the above games are REGION FREE, they work on any xbox 360 (US/Asian/Japanese/PAL)]

For the first time in the history of console sales in Japan, the Xbox 360 finally outsells the PS3! Unbelievable! This is thanks to several factors: 1. Ace Combat 6 - (Excellent game, I might add.) 2. Release of several 'Platinum Hits' titles (at cheaper price points) 3. Release of the cheaper Xbox 360 Premium in Japan 4. The inevitable release of the Online-Enabled VIRTUA FIGHTER 5 and Lost Odyssey this December 6. Sources: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=206308 http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=30482 http://kotaku.com/gaming/only-in-japan/simple-2000-the-japanese-hardware-chart-320731.php http://www.gamespot.com/news/6182608.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;3 http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7876&Itemid=2 http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/09/xbox-360-outsells-ps3-in-japan/ Sales figures: Hardware - This Week Last Week YTD LTD 1. NDS - 78,597 76,273 5,882,215 19,887...

And the wallet's definitely feeling it. In recent weeks we've bought: 1. Halo 3 2. Project Gotham Racing 4 3. Ace Combat 6 4. Naruto: Rise of a Ninja 5. Guitar Hero 3 And in the next few days or weeks these should be out: 1. Virtua Fighter 5 Live Arena 2. Mass Effect 3. Lost Odyssey 4. Rock Band (hopefully it isn't too expensive!) Meanwhile, the others at Pinoyxbox are going nuts over NBA2k8 and Call of Duty4. What a season for Xbox 360 gamers! This is insane, I've never seen so many triple-A games come out all at once.....so far, the games we did buy above (all four) feel like great games that are well worth the time and money. More on this soon!