Smoking Area's Live Blog

It is Official, Sony's PS3 Sucks

2006-11-28T20:42:00.000+08:00

And I still don't know why.................... YET.

I'm going to update this post Zune....

No posts for this week (or month)

2006-07-11T00:01:00.000+08:00

Since I'm taking a Pre-university course that many of you may already heard about, called: SAT, I'm not going to post anything for the next few weeks. I have LOTS of stuff to do and ultimately to learn about. So, this means that I might also stay away from my 360 and let it take a rest for a week or so.

I'll be back....
Update: I'm Finally Back!!!! (11/28/2006)

P.S -- Check this link out:

Xbox 360 Faceplates Database: Here

Sony borrows $698 million

2006-07-06T14:03:00.000+08:00

According to a Bloomberg financial report, Sony borrowed $698 million (80 Bln Yen) from more than 20 different japanese lenders associations. Making this, the first that Sony has taken in 10 years.
"Sony will use the proceeds for general purposes" said/explained Koji Kurata, Sony's spokesman.

-----------------------

"General Purposes"? or Sony's PS3 production costs?

Picture of the week

2006-07-03T18:17:00.000+08:00

This week: "Seeing owned peeps" in this case, on Live...... hehe

Picture form the Trueplayer blog: Here

Prey DEMO review

2006-07-02T11:11:00.000+08:00

As Michael from the GamingBox blog points out, I didn’t even know that the Prey demo was released yesterday (there should be a system that notifies you or something like that) But once the download started (pretty fast since the spring update though, 1.3 GB in 1 hour) I was wondering if all the hype was REAL. That this game was Doom itself with NEXT GEN graphics and else. BUT sadly, it is not. And here is why.........

Graphics-8.5/10
Graphics are OK, once the game started you can really see some chunky blocks here and there but it is not as impressive as in the E3 demo. The character seems to react well with the environments even though some of the enemies animations are odd. Lighting is great and you have a little lighter in case you are playing in dark areas.

Music-7/10
There is no such thing in this game.......... there is some background music, but is nothing to be impressed with (It is not Halo remember?) The sound of the weapons, grenades and enemies are nicely adapted but once you play A LOT you will find yourself hearing the enemies say the same thing again and again. Oh yea, and the character sounds like a retard. "OMG, it is a giant", "this is fcked up.. no...... THIS IS FCKED UP!!!" <----- WTF he just said??! Gameplay-9.3/10
This is where this game rocks, I have never played a game like this before. You can walk on walls, get out of your body and kill everyone as a spirit, and etc. It is pretty funny when you have such freedom in a FPS . But NO melee attacks in this game, which is pretty odd since your character can activate a lot of things (buttons, maps, doors, etc) using his hand....

Storyline-8.5/10
The story is pretty nice, but the fact that you survived in an alien ship with xxxx monster in it just to save your girlfriend (main mission) is pretty stupid (I think). They should give us options while advancing in a game like this, so you can choose what you WANT to do.

Multiplayer-5.5/10 :-(
Damn, I really hope that this happens just in the demo, BUT THIS GAME LAGS TERRIBLY. I couldn’t even join a single game without lagging, and I really wonder why since multiplayer games such as The outfit or eve Battlefield on live aren’t laggy at all (and the maps are like twice the size of the Prey multiplayer maps). Every single object in this game lags (including your character and the weapons.)

Summary:
+Gameplay rocks!!
+Graphics are OK, but not as good as in the E3 demo
-Main character's voice
-Multiplayer lags terribly
-Storyline is OK but not great..........

Another test...........

2006-06-25T23:34:00.000+08:00

Wanna test your knowledge about games in general? well, thx to the True-player blog author/writter C.J's friend now YOU can. Just download this test in PDF version to prove that you are a TRUE gamer. (It is pretty easy tho, Im sure that you can answer half of them correctly....... Even Joystiq staff's said that it was stupid)

Download it: here

Note: this is a REAL test BTW, people that want to become a game designer NEED to take this test.... As Joystiq points out:

"On first glance, this exam paper looks like a hoax intended to poke fun at the recent trend for video game degrees. However, if you dig a little deeper, you'll find that it's actually a genuine ex am paper that students studying Computer Games Art or Computer Games Design at The University of Teesside have to take. "

Picture of the week

2006-06-25T22:08:00.000+08:00

From now on I have something special for you guys...... A new section called "The picture/image of the week". For the most hilarious and significant picture that involves the gaming community.

This week: "The DS printing money" as their explanation for the success of the DS (at least in Japan)

Image from Joystiq's Weekly Japanese sales

Update: Image also available in GIF animated version..... enjoy....

Where do I put my PSP?

2006-06-25T00:37:00.000+08:00

In the washroom.....

..................see anything familiar?

Xbox 360 "3 Red lights" solution------sort of......

2006-06-22T21:01:00.000+08:00

Possible solution to the 3 red lights
There is a way to determine the specific type of hardware failure that your 360 may experience by "inserting" a "hidden" error code. To do/try this, firt turn your xbox 360 on, and wait till the 3 red lights are flashing (if your console is faulty of course).

Here you can download the word document that shows and explains how this works:

-Here, here (click in the "Download This File Now" link), or here (follow the steps)

And here is an example of how this works using my own 360:

More info: here (especial thx to "SlightAlloy")

Xbox 360 R.I.P

2006-06-22T20:29:00.000+08:00

TODAY (22/06/2006), My 360 OFFICIALLY DIED

Replacement unit in 1 week (I think)

So...... what im going to do now?..... :-/

Ohhh yea I almost forgot!!!!

WELCOME BACK SONY's PSP!!!! :-D

Yep, XBOX 360 finally hacked............. :-(

2006-06-21T02:03:00.000+08:00

Now, lets see how much time it will take someone to hack the PS3 and the wii...........

-Backup games

-SATA ports config..............

My 360 System update 2 (Still faulty)

2006-06-21T01:35:00.000+08:00

Yup, I just got those deadly 3 red lights again........... ENOUGH!!!! enough troubleshooting!!! I'm calling Msoft for the replacement........

Ohh yea, btw here is a video (no audio) hope you like it:

PS3 available for pre-orders!!!!! UK only!!!!

2006-06-18T01:26:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, Play.com site started to take preorders (Yea!!!) for the new and exciting PS3!!!! But WAIT, don't click the link yet! There's something you must know, it's coming in a £549.99 bundle*..... now, how much is that in US $ ? Well, that's approx US $ 1020. Impressed? :-/

*Bundle includes: The almighty PS3 (of course) with the 60GB HDD, Singstar, Formula One 06 and Warhawk....

Now, HURRY UP PEEPS!!!! Order yours while stock lasts!!!!

PS3 for 1k: here

Note, the site also states that: Due to the expected European shortage of the PS3, we are unable to guarantee delivery of your PS3 before Christmas. All pre-orders will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis and game titles in this package may be changed, subject to availability.

It's official: Sony's podcast sucks

2006-06-17T11:21:00.000+08:00

Early yesterday, Major Nelson from xbox live gave us the link to Sony's SOE 1st official podcast ever. And HONESTLY, it sucks..... Instead of talking/speaking naturally, everyone talks like a bunch of robots with scripted dialogues AND what is completely fcked up is the constantly playing Disney background music..............

IF you don't believe me, check it out yourself and tell me what do you think:

-Link to the podcast: Here

...................and btw, wtf is Everquest anyways?

My 360 is "DYING"

2006-06-16T22:07:00.000+08:00

Well, it finally happened..... my 360 got the 3 red rings of dead. Interesting huh? Not really---- the funny part is that everything started to fail once my system updated* (you know? the spring update)..... :-(

To do list:

-Reset my system and try to solve this mess by my myself..............................

*seriously, im not a stupid ps3 retard fanboy

"$2.32 Million of Black Nintendo DS Lite Gone Missing", but not in HK

2006-06-16T21:57:00.000+08:00

Ok, the guys over joystiq posted yesterday about a "cargo of DS's lite" that went missing last week....

"Those Black DS Lites are pretty hot. Well, now they are, anyway, as $2.32 million U.S. dollars worth of portable gaming goodness was apparently stolen from a cargo container in Hong Kong. Expected to hit the black market (the puns are just naturally built into this story), officials are offering over $125,000 U.S. dollars for some information. So, if a watertight cargo container full of Nintendo products washes up on your private beach, or something, please let someone know. There are some European gamers waiting to get their Mario on."

.......but let me clear this up, THERE IS NO MISSING CARGO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, NO, NADA, NOTHING!!!! I checked yesterday in my local police station and the internet (Since I live in China/Hong Kong) and there is no such thing!!!!! it is only a RUMOR. peiod.

DS Lite sells quickly in Japan..... so ironic, What is wrong with the 360?

2006-03-02T18:35:00.000+08:00

Reports are coming in that initial sales of the DS Lite in Japan have been extremely high, selling out in many stores even before doors opened. Attempting to secure a DS Lite at Japanese retail outlets, IGN writes: "With the Japanese DS Lite launch on Thursday morning, 3/2, Nintendo has embraced launch carnage like the good old days of Super Famicom and N64. Forget about selling out minutes after opening -- the DS Lite was sold out hours before opening time at every retailer IGN was able to visit."

Info: Joystiq

No more games for the PS2........... uhhh?

2006-03-01T17:33:00.000+08:00

The Official PlayStation Magazine is on news stands, where we snapped a photograph of the cover, shown above. There are a few reasons that the headline copy, which claims that Black is "the last great PS2 game". Which is curious, why? Because....

You can only claim that a title is the "last great PS2 game" once. You can be sure that the editors won't be doing it again, not if they hope to retain any credibility with their readership. This indicates that there really will be no more "great games," assuming the eds have any insight whatsoever into the remaining PS2 pipeline.
Isn't it a little early to announce the last stop on the PS2 train if the PlayStation 3 is still six to nine months away? If PS3 delays are as extensive as folks speculate they are, wouldn't a promotional rag want to save such an emphatic proclamation till fall?
Think of the poor developers! How many PS2 games are still in development? How does this cover make them feel? There's tears in our beers at the thought of it.

Info: Joystiq

Microsoft: Origami Project

2006-02-28T17:50:00.000+08:00

"Microsoft officially flipped the switch on the buzz machine for their Origami Project -- an atypical viral marketing manuveur for a company whose products are usually known about years ahead of time. Scoble says its a device, the Internet's lighting up with rumors -- is it the Xbox portable? Well, we dunno, but as usual got our hands on some pictures. And as usual we can't guarantee they're the real deal, though we are pretty confident in their source. So, let's go over it: these were sent to us detailing it as a Microsoft portable media player, which wouldn't be too far off from what Jobs and BusinessWeek both prophesied Microsoft doing (despite being pretty broadly denied from within)." Engadget

"A flash film has emerged showing the different functionalities of this thing. What we see in this video is supposedly a year old prototype so keep that in mind. " xbox 360 news

Here is the video showing off some of the different "functions" that this new "PDA" device from Microsoft can do. The video is quite long so patience......

P.S notice how the guy plays Halo only with 2 buttons, common, I really doubt that this will be their (Microsoft) final version of the device.

Xbox 360 demo kiosks finally arrived......... this time, Hong Kong!!!

2006-02-24T20:52:00.000+08:00

Well, the time for Hong Kong to enjoy ext Gen gaming in a Demo kiosk has finally arrived and people seem to really like it (just look at the photo, see that happy face?); Even though release dates have been pushed back few weeks (originally 02/03 now 16/03).

BTW, when we came into "Toy´s r us" both kiosks were....... "empty", and running a very (VERY) laggy version of PDZ (WTF?!?)

More photos: here, here and here

Note: when I said "empty" I meant of people......... just like in Japan, nobody cares.

Xbox 360 camera to be released in May

2006-02-21T19:56:00.000+08:00

I m very glad to inform you guys, that the Xbox 360 official camera and the other "especial and secret" accessory (also known as the quick & charge kit) will arrive this MAY as some of the scans that I managed to take from a official and not yet released 360 games magazine here in Hong Kong (China).

More pictures: Here and here

UPDATE: There have been people saying that this is old because older scans and information are the same. But is not!!!! here is an example of what i´m talking about. In older scans the release time was stated as SPRING 2006.

Video-of-ds-and-ds-lite-side-by-side

2006-02-03T16:21:00.000+08:00

It's a video of what may (or may not) be the DS Lite sitting next to an original DS. Could be fake, could be real, but the point here is that if this thing is actually as small as it looks, we're so in love. In fact, it's pretty safe to say we're in love anyway.

Info from engaget

PS3 games listed for pre-order, shipping October 1st

2006-02-03T16:06:00.000+08:00

Gamestop has 32 Playstation 3 games listed for pre-order, supposedly shipping October 1st. It's a perfectly reasonable for thing for them to do, but it's just nice to actually see something concrete come out for Sony's console which is still wallowing in some sort of "conceptual" phase. Hopefully these developers have more to go on than we do, because we've been doing all of our prep for the PS3 launch with a cardboard mockup and a sandwich.

Info from engaget

UPDATE: I know that there is no concrete date for the release of these games. This story is not even true, is just a rumor. This is just an old new that I forgot to update.

Top ten of things that would leave the world fcked up

2006-01-24T23:40:00.000+08:00

-The invention of a time machine
-Porn for kids
-Michael Jackson becomes black again
-Osama Bin Laden never left Afghanistan, in fact he was there celebrating his 2nd anniversary of the “World without Terror” party when the troops pass them over in direction to Siberia.
-Getting drunk is legal
-Bush created a genetic and modified human drone of Sadam Hussein just justify his capture
-Elton Jones admits that he is “lesbian”
-Jackie Chan becomes a rap singer
-Cheese cakes are no longer made of cheese
-No more frontiers between countries

2525

StuffOnMyCat.com

2006-01-23T20:40:00.000+08:00

If you haven’t checked out Stuff On My Cat you’re missing out on one of the most hilariously random sites on the web. Have a look here. this is a one of a kind website and it really worth checking it. Here are some pictures from the website: