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PlayStation 3 could be delayed until next year
The North American launch of the Playstation 3 could slip to 2007 if the Merrill Lynch report we blogged about earlier is to be believed. The report states that as a result of Sony's design choices the PS3 is an "expensive and difficult to manufacture product" which could have the consequence of delaying the launch until next year. The components that seem to be causing the most trouble are the Cell processor and the Blu-Ray drive.The Cell processor is a very complex chip which means it'll be a difficult and expensive part to manufacture. Processors are often a reason for delays in the computer industry (3GHz G5 PowerMac anyone?) so it's possible the Cell could be a factor in any potential slippages for the PS3. The second problem is Blu-Ray. The standard is so new that no-one is making the drives, resulting in another expensive component. The inference is that Sony might delay the PS3 until Blu-Ray is a more established format in order to reduce their losses.What we've got here is a waiting game. The longer Sony waits to launch the PS3, the less money it'll lose on its consoles. However, as long as the PS3 remains off the market Sony runs the risk of losing out to its competitors.[Image credit: Dave Simmer II's blogography. Via news.com. Thanks, Dave Zatz]
Something Awful picks worst five game reviews
According to Something Awful, 2005 was not a good year for gaming journalism. In fact, they reckon it was a terrible year, and they've picked the five worst gaming articles to exemplify just how abysmal game journalism has become. Not limiting themselves to 2005, the two worst articles in their lineup are both by the same author and neither is actually from 2005; in Something Awful's words, the reviews are so "horrible that they have transcended the limitations of linear time".Among the lineup is Kieron Gillen, who's responded to the article on his own site. The traits identified by Something Awful that make these particular reviews so bad include, but are not limited to: rampant fanboyism, an awful sense of humour, pretentiousness, spending much of the review not talking about the actual game, spending the entire review failing to describe the game, and being Tim Rogers. A useful checklist of things to avoid when reviewing games.[Thanks, anonymous]
