Are consoles going to be too online dependent?

I have a ton of reviews (some quick ones, a few longer) set to go over the next week or so, but in the meantime - I hope you all have a great weekend while I depart with these thoughts:

That title might sound odd - but keep in mind I'm not saying that consoles should not have online - I think it's a great feature and should be used.  But is it going to be taken too far in the next generation of consoles?  Based on what I've been reading, it's a possibility.

Without a doubt, one of the greatest achievements during this generation of video game consoles was the access to online community.  Some of the consoles did it better than others (We're looking at you, Nintendo Wii - here's hopes you get it right with the Wii U), while computer gamers have enjoyed this sort of connectivity for years before there was a PlayStation Network or Xbox Live.  The ability to play with friends, have conversations through voice chat, get updates to gaming content and watch player-made videos have really helped make this generation of gaming consoles the most successful to date because it appealed to a broader base of people and gave them a means of sharing these experiences.

Read More

Gaming thoughts - Lots of game deals this week

Seems like there are a lot of game deals this week as I was scouring the net, and just figured I would do a quick dump of what I found here.

The theme for Xbox Gold deal of the week is Fable III.

 GameStop has a buy 2, get 1 free Vita deal going right now.

Gamersgate has Painkiller Complete Pack and Ship Simulator for 70% off as their midweek sale.

Speaking of midweek sales, Steam has Cities XL 2012 for 75% off right now.

I personally like to pick up slightly older golf and hockey games because you can get them for so much cheaper.  If you're equally inclined, Amazon has Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 for the 360 for $15 right now, and two lightning deals coming up later (one is a Wii fitness game and the other appears to be a Sims title).

Good Old Games has a pair of promotions going right now - not sure if they stack or not, but one is a February promo of buy at least 2 titles, get 10% off, and a buy one, get one free on all D&D games promotion as well.

Lots of stuff on the stuff mentioned on the PlayStation Blog including these:

• 5-in-1 Arcade Hits (Mini)
• Blimp: The Flying Adventures (Mini)
• Crazy Taxi (PSN)
• Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars (PSP)
• Crush (PSP)
• Darksiders (Retail)
• De Blob 2 (Retail)
• Hamilton's Great Adventure (PSN)
• Homefront (DLC)
• Homefront (Retail)
• Marvel Super Hero Squad (PSP)
• MX vs. ATC: Reflex (PSP)
• MX vs. ATV: Untamed (PSP)
• NBA 2k12 (DLC)
• Sonic Rivals (PSP)
• Spongebob Squarepants: Yellow Avenger (PSP)
• UFC: Undisputed 2010 (PSP)
• Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team (PSN)
• Worms: Battle Islands (PSP)
• WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2010 (PSP)

Though I personally liked the PlayStation Plus freebies this week:

• Altered Beast (PSN, Free)
• Comix Zone (PSN, Free)
• Crazy Taxi (PSN, Discount)
• Golden Axe (PSN, Free)
• Hamilton's Great Adventure (PSN, Discount)
• Search and Rescue (Mini, Discount)
• SEGA Rally Arcade (PSN, Discount)
• Sonic the Hedgehog (PSN, Free)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (PSN, Free)
• Streets of Rage II (PSN, Free)

  And lastly, just in general, there's a used game site called Gamestaq that a couple of friends have used and like, but I haven't tried.  Still, they have some decent prices at times and may be worth a look for those inclined.

Not sure if you guys find a big update like this useful mid-week or not, or even just interesting.  If so, let me know.  Thanks!

Read More