Burning Question: Has the PS3 already lost in the next-gen console wars?

The answer might be more surprising than you think.

If you read the gaming blogs during the PS3 launch, Sony was dead on arrival. It certainly wasn't the smoothest of launches, with console shortages, already lofty pricetags inflated due to eBay auctions, no online strategy to rival Xbox Live, and a dearth of compelling games for the nascent machine.

The PS3 - out even before it started?

But did the PS3 really limp out of the gate that badly? Putting its initial sales up against its direct competitor, the Xbox 360, the numbers tell a different tale. According to NPD Group data, the PS3 sold approximately 902,000 consoles during its first three months in the US. The Xbox 360 sold 50,000 fewer consoles during its first three month in the US, coming in at roughly 854,000. Comparing the PS3 with its highly successful predecessors, it outsold both the PSone and PS2 during the same time frame. So why the doom and gloom surrounding Sony?

It seems the PS3 outsold the X360 and even its predecessors, the PSone and PS2 during the same time frame.

"The media are plain stupid," says Michael Pachter, analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities. "People are being overly critical on how well it's doing mostly because their expectation for what the sales should have been were too high."

Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with IDC, agrees that Sony received an overabundance of criticism. One of the other problems facing Sony was the overwhelming success of it current heavyweight, the PS2. "The fact of the matter us that the PS2 is still entrenched," says Pidgeon. "That is Sony's biggest problem for the PS3. What is the incentive to buy PS3 when you can still get great titles like God of War II for PS2?"

"I expect the Wii and Xbox 360 to stay in the lead in North America for the next two years," says Pidgeon. Where that flips is in 2010, 2011, where the Ps3 has a huge install base and surpasses [Nintendo and Microsoft] while they are prepping their next boxes."

"I think [the PS3] ends up in first," says Patcher. "But all three consoles will all have 30 percent or greater market share, and all of them will win."

Readers, what is your reaction to this? Let us know by leaving a comment.

Photo courtesy of http://theconsolewars.blogspot.com

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Command & Conquer 3 has taken over my life!

I find myself slipping away from my studies just to write this. Why couldn't I do it in my free time you ask? Well, I was too busy playing Command & Conquer 3! C&C3 is the higly anticipated sequel to the C&C3 : Tiberian Sun released way back in 2000. The earth has been infested by an alien-like radioactive substance called Tiberium. The world's two superpowers, the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and NOD are battling it out to take control of this stuff. GDI sees Tiberium as a threat and wants to eradicate it while NOD embraces the power of the "green crystal" and is bent upon spreading it all over the globe.


C&C 3 greatly improves upon the already excellent gameplay of C&C: Tiberian Sun with over-the-top visuals, an electrifying soundtrack that keeps your adrenalin pumping and over an hour of high definition videos in between the missions to keep you pushing for more. But its strategy and that means, well, you might think its boring. But boring is hardly on your mind when you go through the game. There are thrills and surprises right through the beginning of the game.

The missions are well-varied and balanced; its challenging but not impossible.Fans of the series will notice some familiar units such as the all favourite GDI's Elite Mammoth tank, NOD's flame units and structures such as the Ion Cannon and Nod's Obelisk of Light to all new units such as Pitbulls, Predators, Scorpions and Battle Bases. The interdace has been greatly improved; everything is right where it should be and is easier to micromanage. C&C 3 is not your typical build a base and wipe off your opponents type of strategy game. To accomplish a mission, you have to be tactical; rush all your units to full-scal frontal assault and you'll get nowhere of smelling victory.

There are a couple of twists in the storline; right when you think its going to end, it start all over again. Plus there is a new third faction ( I won't spoil it for you) and an unlockable campaign. As I've said before, the missions are diverse. Your objectives will range from infiltrating the enemy base with an elite commanto to sabotage their defenses to bombarding the hell out of them with your firehawk and stealth bombers.

If you're a fan of the Command & Conquer series (an Tiberian Sun in particular) then I need not say more. I guess you're probably blowing NOD staright back to those yellow zones with your Mammoths just as I speak. And there's good news for you, and I can sum it up in two words; Kane's Back. For those whore are not familiar with the series (which I doubt), I urge you to atleast try this game; if you're a strategy fan then you'll surely not be dissapointed if not wowed. As for me, I'm getting back to a quick round of C&C before I resume my studies.

- PEACE THROUGH POWER! (KANE)

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THE ALL NEW GAMERS WORLD BANGLADESH BLOG

Well folks, I've been neglecting you a lot in the past few months, and I want to apologize.

Well, don't blame me! I've been really, really, really busy playing video games and studying for my exams. Well none of those are over, but I want to continue my blog due to the strong support (and requests) that I have been receiving.

So to make it up to you, here is an all-new and redesigned blog! I'm still tinkering with this and that, so expect to see some changes in the following days. Also, don't fret if something doesn't work or doesn't look right. It will still take some time to nail down the final design and iron out the problems.

What do you think about our new blog? Leave a comment.

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Too Many Games, Too Little Time

I'm on a gaming overload. Can't just find enough time to play all these games due to my exams starting (again).

They never seem to end, do they? I mean about exams. Its just so boring. I have to study and miss out playing all these great games that I recently bought. Some were also lying around for sometime. Hopefully I will get time to pick up and play them all.

1. Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles (X360)
2. Project Gotham Racing 3 (X360)
3. Kameo : Elements Of Power (X360)
4. Tomb Raider : Legends (X360)
5. Blazing Angels : Squadron of World War II (X360)
6. Gears of War (X360)
7. Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (PC)
8. Fear : Extraction Point (PC)
9. Prince of Persia : The Two Thrones (PC)
10. Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs (PC)
11. Titan Quest : Immortal Throne (PC)
12. Command & Conquer 3 (PC)
13. Titan Quest (PC)
14. Neverwinter Nights 2 (PC)
15. GTA: San Andreas (PC)

15 Games in total!

Well maybe I'll get time in the coming summer vacation. Yeah baby! Here I come.

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CD Comapatibility Woes

This is completely nuts! None of the CDs that I buy can install without a glitch!

Well, I am writing this after the 10th time I wanted to install Fifa 2007. At the end of the installation process, I always get an error saying that CRC checking failed. For the last time, I changed the CD and tried it ONE MORE TIME.
97% complete ... 98% complete ......... 99% complete ........ ERROR MESSAGE AGAIN!

I am totally upset. Most of the CDs that I purchase will have some sort of problem, whether be it installation errors, file transfer errors or just plain scratches! Ugh! And the shopkeeper doesn't want to change the faulty discs! One time he is very friendly and the next time he won't even recognize you!

This is totally absurd. All the discs that are locally burnt in our country (NPP, AZE, etc,) are downright unprofessional - they just care about making money, not the fact that you could even install the game in the first place! The soluion to this problem? Get Malaysian CDs/DVDs. They might not be original ones or cost as much, but they are the next best thing.

They cost around 250 taka for a single DVD (the local ones cost 100-150 taka), and in my opinion, they are worth the money. All the DVDs are golden discs and I have never encountered an error with them. They also have long shelf life.

So I guess that I am going to buy Malaysian DVDs/CDs afterall. I am just upset with our local ones!

What experience did you have? Share it with our readers by leaving a comment.

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Google turns to World Domination?

Information is the world's most vital resource in 2k millennium, and Google seems to have a hammerlock on the aspects in which people access and respond to that information. Personally, I'm almost in awe of how often we use the world Google, and how we interact with the company in some capacity almost every day. It's mind-boggling.


Google is on the cusp of establishing a virtual dynasty by exerting prominent influence in the ways people access, manage, and respond to information. Could we be witnessing the birth of a new empire?
If all roads lead to Rome, then all cyber pathways lead to Google.

You can't read a blog or visit a technology news site without seeing the company's name referenced at least once, if not several times, throughout an article. Just last week, media coverage of the Google acquisition of YouTube reached feverish proportions.

People just can't seem to get Google off of their minds.

In fact, the terms "Google" and "World Domination" are becoming more commonly associated together these days among bloggers and tech journalists alike.

The reality of the situation is that Google is becoming a mythical, almost omnipresent force in the online realm. The sheer scope of the company's influence inspires comparisons to the birth of a new empire.

The staple of a prominent dynasty is the ability to control access to and distribution of vital resources to the masses. The Roman Empire constructed a detailed infrastructure for travel between territories while also developing aqueduct systems within the framework of their cities.

Ultimately, this allowed Roman leaders to exert significant power by controlling access to both water and transportation.

How does this translate into the digital age? People want information; it's an invaluable resource. Whoever controls access to that information will inevitably wield tremendous power in the age to come.

Google acts as the road to information in today's realm, and collects the tolls in the form of paid search advertising.

The raw statistics don't lie; Google is responsible for 60% of all Internet searches in the United States and nearly 70% of searches throughout the UK. With similar shares of the search landscape throughout the rest of the world, one singular fact starts to become evident.

When people want information, an overwhelming majority of them look to Google to supply their needs.

Information access and distribution, however, mark only the beginning of Google's budding virtual empire.

The next logical course along the trail is to supply people with tools to manage and implement the information they find within the confines of Google's search domain. Google Trends, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and Google's tools for educators are all efforts focused on providing users with outlets for the management and application of said information.

Is Google ready to compete with Microsoft in terms of application prowess? Perhaps not, but refusing to take their efforts seriously would be a mistake of epic proportions. Steve Ballmer perhaps already sees the handwriting on the wall, according to John Battelle.

So while retrieving and interacting with information is vital, the third side of the triangle is perhaps the most important in securing public allegiance: Provide the masses with a forum to express their own ideas in response to the information they consume.

Google Video, MySpace Video and YouTube are sterling examples of a platform for the voice of the Internet public to be heard. Millions of people visit these sites on a daily basis, interacting within a virtual community committed to the free exchange of ideas and opinions.

Not coincidentally, Google now controls two out of the three major communities geared toward social expression in terms of video.

It is becoming clearer every day that information is one of the world's most precious resources; and Google is already at or very near the core of how people retrieve, manage, and respond to that information.

This may not constitute world domination in the military sense, but it could prove to be even more effective in the long run.

Is the keyboard mightier than the sword?

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The True Meaning of F.E.A.R

I haven't been this scared all in my life (except for the time I burned my PC!)Man, this is one frightening hell of a game!

I'm the cowardy type. I can't stay in a room alone and I also can't go to the bathroom all by myself ;) So it is unliley for me to go, purchase a shiny copy and start playing F.E.A.R. My first reactions while playing the game? Absolutely scary!

The intro is pretty gory and had me running off to the bathroom once in a while. I anxiously watched the intro and then it all started. I was dropped of all alone (oh no!) in an abondoned warehouse to investigate something. Yikes! While I am not going to spoil the game for those who have not played it, but FEAR is pretty scary.

The flashbacks to your previous life is eerie and also the sudden appearance of a defouled being, out of nowhere, on your screen and into your face!

My reactions after playing for a couple of minutes? Too scary! I haven't still got past the second level and have no intentions to do so. I can't just take it anymore!
Purchase the game, and the superb graphics and sound effects and the chilling cutscenes will make you understand the true meaning of FEAR.

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