Mature Gamer's Blog

PS Home Mall

maturegamerspeaks — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:46:02 +0000

In order for Sony to be financially successful in PS Home, they need to find a way to make the HOME platform revenue generating. It seems as if the current plan is to sell virtual products for minimal amounts of money. For example, you can furniture for your apartment for a a few dollars, or you can purchase clothes for your avatar and the the going rate of .99 cents per item. This model does not work very well for two reasons. One their is a limit on the a) the number of people who would shop with real money for their PS Avatar, and b) the number of items a person would purchase is also seriously limited. The second reason is that you are not actually purchasing anything. It seems more logical to me that real money would buy real items, and for virtual purchases, you would use “virtual money.”

With that all being said, Sony does have a chance for success in “the mall” if they begin to view it as a vehicle for advertising. For example, Sony should have setup a Sony Style store, one that looks and acts similar to the online store. You should be able to both shop for and virtually shop for products. For example, they could sell Sony VAIO laptops, you can pick up two or three basic models for zero dollars, or you can spend a few dollars and buy an upgraded model. When you own one, you can now launch the PS3 browser via an interface that looks like a VAIO laptop. Another example would be an MP3 player, the interface could mimic the interface of a real Sony MP3 player, but you would use it to play MP3s on your PS3. The possibilities are endless, basically any product Sony sells in the VAIO store, you can purchase emulators for to use in your PS HOME space. You can even use it as a vehicle to “test drive” certain products. You can marry on-line shopping and the HOME platform by being able to shop for real products and via your credit card and have them shipped. It wold be just like visiting the Sony store on-line and shopping.

This is not limited to electronics, it would work just as well with clothing retailers. Imagine a Virtual “Old Navy” that lets you pick out seasonal clothes for your avatar and then purchase online and have shipped to your ‘real home.” You could do that with hundreds if not thousands of designers. And Sony could be paid a percentage of the sale as well as rent on the mall presence. The possibility here is truly limitless. They just need to be able to link to the already vast network on online retail.

I really hope that Sony is thinking along these lines and is in negotiations with future partners, because if the ultimate plan is to sell fake stuff for between 1 and 5 dollars, then they may as well close shop now. No One is going to go for it beyond the novelty of a transaction of two.

..:: askdante

console wars

maturegamerspeaks — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:44:43 +0000

I have read a lot recently about Sony being in last place in the console war. It has been coupled with rumors of Sony selling its game division and it has listed its first profit loss in 14 years. I would not put Sony to bed yet, the game console business is about content, same as all other entertainment businesses. The hardware is interesting to few, but killer titles sell systems. In my opinion, the system is still too new and game development has not yet hit its stride. Once the titles that gamers want to play begin to hit the shelves, you see Sony slowly but steadily move to the top of the list of consoles. I read recently that on average Sony PS3 games score better than Wii and Xbox360, but sell less systems. I did a little investigating on my own to see if that was true, and this is what I have discovered. I looked at the last ten games reviewed on gamespot.com, ignored the titles and averaged the review scores. All review average scores were between 6 and 7, with PS 3 leading the pack at 6.55, Xbox360 at 6.35, and Wii last at 6.00. I contend that as games get released, the gap in these scores will widen. Casual gamers will grow board of the Wii novelty, and tough economic times will make less gaming money available for casual game players and buyers. The concentration of money in the industry will be hard core gamers, and they inevitably will choose PS3. i have included a copy of my results below.

PS3 Wii Xbox 360

1 7.00 2.00 7.00
2 7.50 4.50 7.50
3 6.50 7.50 6.50
4 6.50 7.00 6.50
5 3.50 5.50 6.00
6 7.50 7.50 4.00
7 6.00 7.50 7.00
8 7.00 7.00 3.50
9 7.00 8.50 7.50
10 7.00 3.00 8.00
6.550 6.000 6.350

..:: askdante

a few changes

maturegamerspeaks — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:13:22 +0000

I have been a little slow at getting things going around here. I have not been a total slack. I have decided on a few changes. A friend has reached out to me and asked I would be moderate the bulletin board that he has set up for PlayStation Home. I have accepted his offer and have been trying to post there frequently. It is a new board and does not have any really active members, but if anyone s reading this blog, it would be great if you could joining the board at feedyourfear.com. The PS Home section is where I will be moderating. I will be posting under the name askdante.

After my post about how my game rating system will work, I have decided that I will not be posting my reviews of games on this blog. The new location for reviews has not yet been determined, but I will be sure to post it here once I figure it out.

Not much else happening besides that; work, school, and family have been keeping me extremely busy.

Look for me on PS Home, my user name is askdante.

..:: dante

Notes about Game Rating

maturegamerspeaks — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:55:46 +0000

Before I submit an actual game review, I think it is best if I take a moment to explain the rating system. The system I will be using is nothing new nor innovative, I will be rating games along five basic criteria: Game Play, Story, Graphics / Sound, Duration / Replay-ability, and Final Recommendation. A game can earn up to 5 points in each category, and the final score will be in whole or half- points.

I have looked at several different methods for scoring games, and have decided on the simplest system. This will help me to stay motivated and review games as regularly as possible, and to give a very clear, easy to understand game review for the both hard-core and casual gamers.

I am hoping to have review ready to submit the end of this weekend.

..:: dante

Getting Started.

maturegamerspeaks — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:13:36 +0000

This is blog is part of my list of 2009 new year’s resolutions. I have been interested in starting a blog about my views and reviews of video games and the video game industry. Like most people my age, I was raised with a game controller in my hand, over the last few decaeds have seen a lot of hits and misses in the industry.

I have blogged on and off for the past few years, mostly about personal experiences and observations. the goal here is a bit different, I plan to review games that I have played, share my insight on games and the direction of the gaming industry, and hopefully initiate discussion about ideas for new game ideas.

I hope to you enjoy what I have to offer and are willing to share your own views and opinions. Please read often and more importantly, comment often.

That concludes my intro. Look for my next post, I have juts played through call of Duty: World at War for PS3, and will be posting my review shortly.

..:: dante