2006
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TUAW 2006
Motorola SLVR Verdict: It's no "i"PhoneMotorola recently launched the SLVR, the iTunes-compatible successor to last fall's failed ROKR. Like its predecessor, the ROKR is a great idea in theory, but it ends up as a disappointment. On the plus side, the design is much more sleek than the ROKR -- think of it as a RAZR without the flip (and who doesn't love the RAZR? Best. Phone. Ever.). Even better, it has 512 MB of built-in memory, so you can store music with ease.However, we still hate the proprietary headphone jack, the 2-year Cingular lock-in and the 100-song iTunes limit. We really don't see people spending $200 for a phone that they have to use with Cingular, with a proprietary headphone jack and with no ability to buy songs directly from the phone. Come on Apple/Motorola, that's just weak!Here's hoping that a "real" iTunes phone appears from Apple sometime in the future.Is Paying the "Black Tax" worth it?The new MacBooks are here and they come in two tasty colors: classic iBook white and dark and sultry black. We polled our readers to see if the Black Tax was worthwhile, and while the comments seem to suggest that no one is really going to spend $150 more for a black MacBook, we're sure there will still be plenty of buyers out there.So is paying a premium for a color really worth it? I'll go out on a limb and say, "yes, yes it is." The resale value will likely be higher (which will come in handy if those rumored Core 2 Duo chips arrive before Christmas) and come on, the economy is booming! Spend a little on yourself! Will Vista beat Leopard?All the excitement over Boot Camp's introduction has plenty of Mac users doing the unthinkable: installing Windows on their precious Intel beauties. Although it's pretty neat to run Windows XP on your Mac,Vista is the future. Reports of users running preview versions of Vista via Boot Camp are starting to pile in, and while it might not be as speedy as XP, remember this isn't the final release of either Vista or Boot Camp.Microsot's long-delayed next-gen OS should be shipping later this year, with a decidedly more OS X look. The next version of Apple's Mac OS X, Leopard, should be out later this year (early 2007 at the latest) too, but will it be able to compete?Many business users use XP at work, but as we said, that's yesteryear's technology, Once PC users everywhere upgrade to Vista en masse, will Mac users need to dual-boot to keep up? I guess there is always the possibility that Vista could be a colossal failure and the PC world would remain in the 32-bit XP sphere for several more years, but come on, that's about as likely as a Microsoft-branded iPod competitor. We'll just have to see if Leopard has the goods to compete with Vista.Apple Stock: How high can it go?Apple's stock (AAPL) is ON FIRE!! Closing in at nearly $90 a share, we have to ask, how high can it go? Is there any possible way Apple can end 2006 ABOVE $100 a share? The market in general is pretty good right now and tech stocks are on a tear, but $100 a share? Apple??! My, how times have changed.%Poll-28695%
What it will look like when you're invited to the WotLK beta
Right now there is no WotLK beta, there is no chance you'll get in the alpha if you're not already in it, and there is no email that's going to be coming to your inbox anytime soon about it. But when it comes, it's going to make you one happy gamer. This is a very important thing for people to understand, especially with the flood of fake emails lately.Blizzard will make an announcement on their forums and/or their homepage letting all of us know that WotLK beta invites are going out. The email that you'll get if you're lucky enough to get invited will be sent from an @blizzard.com address, will come through the blizzard.com servers (you can check the extended email headers in your email program to see this). The email will have tons of identifiable information in it that only points to blizzard.com or worldofwarcraft.com and nowhere else.For a reference, let's that a look at what the Burning Crusade beta email looked like that I got back in 2006
E3 2006's Wii line in real time
As we go ready for E3 2007, to many the Wii is just as elusive as it was back in May of 2006 -- before it was even released. With the festivities (or doldrums) all set to begin next week at Min-E3, it's time to take a little look back at the thing which really stood out at E3 2006: The Wii Line. From the beginning of every day at last year's E3 until closing that line of Nintendo Wii touching hopefuls snaked and stretched. The people at the back of the line spent half their day just waiting to get their hands on a Wiimote -- then they had to wait in another line once inside the Wii rotunda. So enjoy the video, which we've kept in real time (except for a tiny edit which takes out less than a second) to give the full impact and length of the monstrosity. Just let it wash over you and don't forget to check out the super special ending.
Sun rises in the east, and the DS rakes in the money
Nintendo posted the final numbers for fiscal year 2006, and as expected, between the DS and the Wii, Nintendo's raking in piles of money that would make Scrooge McDuck's eyes pop. Is it the Wii? Alas, no; while Nintendo's latest has certainly been a powerhouse, the big N tells it like it is: 2006's major profits are due in large part to the DS. Last year, Nintendo sold more than 23 million DS units, raising the handheld's lifetime sales to over 40 million. Nintendo predicts similar numbers for the 2007 fiscal year, and triple the number of Wiis sold from release through March 31, 2006, for a total of 15 million units. That means that by this time next year, Nintendo's 226 billion yen profit will seem like small potatoes.It's good to be Nintendo right now.
The 2006 Engadget Awards: phones on the ballot!
We know Engadget Mobile readers are opinionated folks -- just the way we like 'em -- so go make those opinions count! The 2006 Engadget Awards are in full swing, and the Cellphone and Smartphone categories are currently up for voting. You have until this coming Monday night, April 16, at 11:59PM Eastern Time to rock the vote, so what are you still doing reading this? Make it happen!Vote - Cellphone of the YearVote - Smartphone of the Year
DS games pepper Next-Gen's top 100 games of 2006
Where can you find Hannah Montana hanging out with FFIII? No, not on a shelf at your local GameStop -- in Next Generation's list of the top 100 best-selling games in North America in 2006. But you get more than just a regular ol' list; they also broke the games down by average critical rating, and it's pretty interesting to compare sales with review ratings. More signs that the review system could use an overhaul? Or just an indication that critics and gamers often look for different things?Some interesting things we noticed while perusing the list: Bratz outsold a lot of very good DS games, including Tetris. We can only guess that Games 4 Girls campaign worked. Also, we're now certain that Bratz dolls should be banned, due to the fact that they're obviously both evil and insidious. People really dig Cars. DS games started to get fewer and further apart as the list wound down. We suspect that's simply because there are too many great DS games for people to buy. Our wallets hurt. Really. But we're not complaining. Nintendogs barely made it into the top 50. We're surprised. The highest ranked DS exclusive: New Super Mario Bros., which came in at number 5.
Apple showcases 2006 Academy Award nominees
Is it awards season again? I feel like I just put my tux into storage. Ah well, someone has to be the arm candy on the red carpet and this humble blogger is up to the challenge. It looks like Apple wants in on some of the red carpet glory as well (how is that for a segue?). They have set up a special section of their website that lists all the Academy Award nominees with links to: The QuickTime trailer of the movie (in HD when available) Music from the movie that is available on the iTS Links to IMDb when neither of the above is available (most notably with the shorts) Here's your change to get acquainted with the nominated movies before the ceremony. You can also check out the nominated films from 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005.
Sony flog and more remembered at 1UP
Sony's fake blog, "All I Want for Christmas is a PSP," still lives in infamy. It hit number three on 1UP's list of "top ten WTF moments of '06." "Chock full of painfully awkward slang, the whole thing peaked with a horrendously embarrassing hip-hop video that as much as we'd like to we just can't un-watch." If you missed out on this marketing blunder, check out the links below:See also:Flog archived for your pleasurePSP for porn, pedophiles and Nazis ... according to FOX[Via Joystiq]
Sony leads U.S. TV sales for 2006
Sony has announced that based on the NPD Group's retail sales numbers -- the same ones that appear to disagree with Sony's 1 million PS3s shipped in 2006 claim -- it is the number one seller of TVs in the U.S. for 2006. Lead by its microdisplays and Bravia LCDs, Sony continues its streak since 2003 of being number in TV dollar sales. After an up and down week, showing an impressive LED backlit Bravia, (not) receiving an Emmy for the SIXAXIS then today finding out the Wii outsold the PlayStation 3, hopefully this has raised Sony's spirits and we won't have to hear any more whining about dropping prices.
The titles you may have missed
Cheap-Ass Gamer made an important observation: the DS just had far too many AAA titles in 2006 for its own good. Amongst the chaos and personal financial destruction of games like New Super Mario Bros, Metroid Prime: Hunters, Final Fantasy III, and Brain Age, it was quite easy to miss some of the gems hidden in the rough. Thus, CAG has made a list of games you might want to go back and visit as the holiday game rush ends (though not really ... Phoenix Wright 2 comes out this month and is certainly your first priority). Check it out, and discover the lost.
Nintendo versus Sony, in stocks
Sales figures and stock prices are important to any fanboy's repertoire. For some reason, there's a strange assumption that higher sales of a system means better games (something that I'd like to disagree with ... RIP Dreamcast). However, considering how we're all invested (mentally) in the industry, it's still fascinating to see how gamer perception reflects upon stocks--and Digital Battle did the research for us.Sony fanboys know that Sony hasn't done as well as they could've this year, with both the PSP and PS3 launches. Nintendo has been on a roll with the Wii and the DS, and it appears the stock reflects that nicely. However, considering how Sony is a mega-conglomerate corporation, one can't assume the poor performance of the video game devision is to blame for their fiscal stagnation: I'm sure exploding batteries haven't helped them one bit.[Via digg]
2007: the year of the DS (again)
2006 was a banner year for gamers, particularly DS gamers. We've got it all: a rainbow of system colors, an incredible library of games, and powerful studios clamoring for a piece of the action. Our favorite handheld consistently rocked out, thundering over the competition -- all the competition -- for the entire year. The DS avalanche of awesome can't possibly continue at this rate ... and yet, when we look at the forthcoming year and the incredible parade of titles set for the year, it seems that the DS will, in fact, continue to dominate global gaming. And we're totally okay with that. Just so you know. If you're still scrambling to finish some of the titles from the latter half of 2006, play harder -- no matter who you are or what you like, you're sure to find at least ten games this year that are must-haves, and that's just among the games we know about right now. What's worse (or is that way, way better?) is that most of them are slated for the next few months. So run through Portrait of Ruin and put aside the hard rockin' Elite Beat Agents (your fingers will thank you for the break), and check after the jump for a few of the games that will drain your free time in 2007.
Best of the rest: Ross' picks
Lumines Live! (XBLA) On a big screen with surround sound, Q Entertainment's Lumines Live was easily the most-played game in my library (if you stretch the definition of library to digitally distributed titles). Although I railed against how microtransactions were implemented in this title and still think the extent to which they disclosed the dearth of features was misleading, both the Basic and Advanced Pack got more than enough play time, as did the multiplayer. It is the best Xbox Live Arcade title since Geometry Wars.
Best of the rest: Kevin's picks
Saint's Row (Xbox 360)Sure it's a ripoff of Grand Theft Auto, but the graphics, gameplay, and plotlines are loads better. Plus you get to throw Mila Kunis out a window. What other game offers you that? It wasn't a feature in the recent Family Guy game.
Breakfast Topic: Wishlist
2006 was a year of much change for our favorite MMO, from patch 1.9 through 2.0.1 (not to mention the BC beta). Here's a quick rundown: 1.9 saw the first world event in the form of the opening of AQ. It also contributed further to server unification by linking auction houses. Paladin talents were updated. 1.10 gave us weather effects, new Priest talents, and Tier 0.5. 1.11 introduced Naxx, keyrings, nifty Mage talents, and a global LFG channel, which was quickly patched to default to off. 1.12 had cross-realm BGs, the EPL and Silithus PvP objectives, and new Rogue talents 2.0.1, as I'm sure you all know, was the day the add-ons died, honor got completely overhauled, and we all got shiny new abilities and talents to tide us over till the expansion. What would you all like to see come to with WoW in 2007? Is the Burning Crusade giving you all your wishes, or do you have more burning desires for the game?
PSP Fanboy Game of the Year 2006
What is PSP Fanboy's Game of the Year? You chose it, by an overwhelming margin:PSP Fanboy Game of the Year:Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (32% of the votes)Is there any surprise? Portable Ops is no side-story, spin-off, or card game. This is the real deal, with console-quality presentation to prove it. The surprisingly deep story and incredibly detailed graphics made Portable Ops a great game; but the online multiplayer, recruitment abilities and GPS functionality made this a system-defining game. Portable Ops proves that a handheld game can not only follow in the footsteps of its console brethren, but actually surpass it.Runners-Up:Loco Roco (17% of the votes)You know a game is special when it feels like nothing you've ever played before. The brilliant three-button control scheme, colorful graphics, and charming personality made this one of the year's best.Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (15% of the votes)You can drive, kill, chill, golf, swim, and more in this insanely huge follow-up to last year's Liberty City Stories. The incredible graphics and fantastic presentation values showcase why the PSP is a technical powerhouse.Andrew's PSP Game of the Year:Daxter (7% of the votes)Daxter may not be innovative, but it shows how a PSP game should be made. The silky graphics are made even sweeter by non-existent load times, and controls that make you never, ever beg for a second analog stick.
Pogue's Top Ten new product features of 2006
David Pogue, tech columnist at the New York Times, has listed his favorite product features of 2006. This list is all about the small touches on products that really make you think that someone thought about these items before they tried selling them. One Apple feature made it on the list, and I must agree with the good Mr. Pogue on this one. The Magsafe connector is a marvel of technology. As David points out there is no 'right side' on the plug, and it pops out if the cord is jerked instead of dashing your MacBook, or MacBook Pro, on the floor.Check out the full column for David's other favorites (including the Zune's squirting ability).
Today's holiday-iest game video: Rayman raving rabbids Xmas
As we close out Christmas day, what better to bring it all to an end than a holiday themed Rayman Raving Rabbids video. It's cute, it's cuddly, and it has just the right amount of holiday cynicism thrown in. Consider it an extra special Christmas bonus for our loyal readers. In fact, if you're up this late/early and watching the video, then you really ARE loyal. Enjoy the video after the jump, and bask in the warm glow of Joystiq.Merry Christmas to all you 'stiqers out there, and to all a good night.
What end of year awards did PSP earn?
Every major video game site loves to do an end-of-year "Best of" awards feature (something we'll undoubtedly lash out at you, PSP Fanboy reader). Contrary to popular belief, the PSP has done quite well for itself, and some of the awards its received may surprise you. Here's a run-down of everything I've seen across the Internet:GamespotBest Platformer: DaxterDaxter beat out three Nintendo DS games, including New Super Mario Bros, thanks to its incredible technology, great personality and fantastic gameplay. "The gorgeous visuals and sound are wrapped in gameplay that is as polished and enjoyable as any full-fledged PlayStation 2 game. While not wholly original, Daxter sacrifices nothing and is simply an all-around amazing game."Best PSP Game: Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops"Portable Ops not only delivers some of the best presentation quality to date on the PSP, but makes some meaningful, interesting changes to the MGS formula. The resulting game is very well suited to playing on the go and also achieves a better balance of gameplay and storytelling than previous Metal Gear Solid games."IGNPSP Game of the Year: Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror"What's most impressive is the depth of the action -- no second analog stick required! The control scheme enables you to do everything from operate a set of gadgets and diffuse bombs to snipe enemies and sift through different enemy types, all without slowing down the pace of the action."Games RadarWTF Award: LocoRocoGames Radar certainly took a non-traditional approach to awards this year. "We also loved that you couldn't play this game without cracking a smile - the nonsense songs were insanely catchy, the bright colors and curvy shapes were captivating and the overall theme was almost relentlessly happy and fun. By forcing our jaded, stone-like faces to grin once again, LocoRoco earns its Platinum Chalice like few other games on this list."The "It Doesn't Actually Suck" Award: PSPGames Radar understands what we've known all the time: PSP is a great system. The plethora of excellent exclusive titles and fantastic PS2 ports has Games Radar and PSP fanboys everywhere asking "this is a bad system?"Next Generation23rd Best Game: LocoRocoIn its top 50 list, LocoRoco managed to break into 23rd place. "Eminently cute and weird as a $3 bill, LocoRoco had players controlling a world and tilting it in order for a smiling blobbish thing to collect goodies, get fatter, and eventually roll or drop past a finishing point. It was as if someone's strange drug-induced hallucination had come to life on the PSP, complete with a dandy soundtrack and a punishing difficulty factor."
2006 was "the year of PSP"
It appears that more media sources are praising the PSP's surprisingly good year, filled with high-quality games, and maturing media capabilities. UK tech website, The Register, spoke about the PSP's success in 2006. They note that although the PS3 came nowhere close to as successful as they thought, the PSP has been performing quite handidly: "But with the PSP, Sony has outstripped Microsoft and its Xbox considerably."Of course, while the PSP platform grew in 2006, it's far more exciting to look towards 2007, where the machine may finally tap into its wide capabilities: "To say that Sony PSP sales would sell over half the numbers of the iPod was bold, but it has turned out to be bang on with around 20 million devices now sold since last March when they were launched. During 2007 the PSP will come into its own, we said, and there are big signs that it is doing just that, although it will need the Sony launch of an online film service for the PSP and the promised interaction with the PS3 to make the success spectacular."
