According to a number of videogame blogs, there is a growing concern that to actually take advantage of the high defintion nature of the PS3 you must buy the more expensive model.

Even if you you do purchase the $600 version of the console you still need a cable that apparently runs fro $25-60.

A federal court has just overturned a Lousiana law that would limit acess to videogames with objectionable subject matter.

From Joystiq:

"For those keeping track, this is the seventh separate federal ruling defending video games as speech."

I really think the only event that will change the seemly endless cycle of: legislature passes law, high court overturns law is a supreme court ruling.

But how that will go is anyone's guess.

Shigeru Miyamoto gave an interview where he discussed the possibility of remaking old Gamecube modified to take advantage of the Wii’s motion direction technology. The part that really gets me is this quote:
“ Of course you can wander into a second hand shop and buy a lot of these games still, so I don't think we can release these Wiimakes at full price. Since a lot of the development cost has already been accounted for, we'll be able to release these at a much more affordable price.”

This is the kind of thinking that has really interested me in Nintendo’s new market strategy. They make a product and then price it based on the perceived value to the customer rather then how much money they would like to make off of it. Add in the fact that the Gamecube has such a small audience and I think there is a real case to be made for remaking old games and releasing them at a budget price.

Game|Life got their hands on a Playstaion 3. They had this comment about the motion sensor:

"The controllers we had in front of us didn't even have the motion sensors inside them… There was plenty of speculation after Sony's E3 conference that the motion-sensing functionality was jammed into the controller at the last minute as a reaction to Nintendo's strategy… Not to mention the fact that apparently the first many game developers had even heard of the functionality was right there at that press conference."

Seriously, it’s like the wait for me to say something nice and bam! Something like this comes along to make me look like an idiot.

Joystiq has more information about the continuing woes of would Dead Rising gamers and the desire to play the game on a standard definition televison.

For those who do not obsseively check videogame news sites. There have numerous compaints of gamers not being able to read some of the in game text when it is displayed on a non-hi-defintion televison.

I love that this combined with psychosis surrounding the PS3 apparently the recurring theme for the next-generation is stupidity.

Gamesindustry.biz has a quote from LucasArts President Jim Ward where he says:

“Right now this industry has a business model that does not work. This industry has been flat for the past six years; we've been selling games to the same people. Our revenue model is based on one shot at retail - we have no back-end revenue streams like a movie might in terms of DVD, TV, that type of thing."

I think this is the thinking in the right direction. The game industry has got to start looking for new revenue models if it wishes to survive. Especially, as the next generation of consoles is risking pushing the industry into even more of a niche then it already is, with their higher price points.

Additional downloadable content and recycling old games into Xbox Live Arcade-style systems and services like Gametap seem like steps in the right direction. However, it may be time for the gaming industry to concede defeat in its attempts to cross-over into other media. I am just not sure that there are enough videogame properties with the narrative strength to translate into a worthwhile film or television experience.

Gamasutra has an incredibly lengthy article on the dying nature of the platform game. Honesty, I think interest platformers has faded for a number of reasons including: simply lacking the variety of game-play that other genres offer and a whole generation of console gamers being way over-saturated by them.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that a law that would fine minors who rented or purchase videogame rated M or higher $25, is unconstituional.

This is really the best thing that can happen to the videogame industry. Win or loose the more rulings like this the more seriously legislators have to take the notion that videogames are indeed constuitionally protected speech.

Kotaku.com has a story saying that Free Radical’s Haze will not be ported over to the Wii. Free Radical claims that the Nintendo system simply lacks the necessary technical power to run the game.

This is of course going to be a problem for the Wii. It is simply not as powerful of a system as its competitors and Wii owners will have to reconcile themselves to this. The Wii’s marketing strategy seems targeted toward being the number two system on the market. The system is going to a trade-off lower system specifications in exchange for what will hopefully be more diverse game play.

Gamedaily Biz has an editorial on how to reinvent the videogame retail market and I think they really hit the nail on the head with this quote:

“Third is the big question—how does the publisher make money or stay in business with this model? Here's the part you're either going to love or hate. Publishers must package and sell games in new ways. For example, I'd pay $19.99 for a lot of games, but there are far fewer I'd pay $50 or $60 to play. The difference between retail pricing of games and user demand to pay for that price is clearly out of whack when you look at the high rental rates of new games, and increasing trade-in business. Here is my solution. Publishers should make games with more limited basic feature sets. For example a 5-hour experience is worth $19.99. Then upsell the user to more features such as more levels, assets, online communities, etc. This a la carte approach will let more casual users enjoy their 5 hours of entertainment for $19.99 (still a bargain compared with DVDs, music or a movie ticket) and let more voracious consumers buy what they want. This approach encourages the publisher to build a relationship between their products and the consumer. They are rewarded to do that and punished for failing. This will lead to greater focus on making good games that expand consumers' interest.”

The videogame industry needs to start facing certain facts about their industry for one:

Videogames are disposable entertainment. Look at how many people still watch their copies of 16 Candles compare to how many people even talk about games from 1984. There are a few perennial classics but I think most of them are kept invigorated by franchise maintenance. Would we still talk about Legend of Zelda if there had not been a Zelda game on every Nintendo platform since the Nintendo Entertainment System?

The industry needs to start asking questions about how it provides customers with an entertainment value compare with other media.