Geek News Roundup for 07/23/09 - Dystopia is Best
Ray Bradbury's bleak novel Fahrenheit 451, is usually required reading for American high school students, and in some cases junior high students. Everyone should be familiar with the dystopian society where books are illegal and firemen only exist to burn them. Amusingly enough, comic books and graphic novels were not considered illegal in Bradbury's imaginary society. Earlier this month Fahrenheit 451 was adapted into a 160 page graphic novel with the full authorization of Bradbury himself. The news of this adaptation may be met with surprise from some and indifference from others, but we can all agree on the irony of such an adaptation.
If graphic novel adaptations of great American literature isn't your thing how about the adaptation of popular Marvel comics into anime series? Last year it was announced that Iron Man and Wolverine would be the first of many Marvel characters to be adapted into anime series by Madhouse. At Comic-Con International 2009 test footage from the Iron Man and Wolverine anime series was released. While fans generally agree that Iron Man looks great, Wolverine's anime adaptation is very liberal at best. Seeing Wolverine as a long-haired pretty boy versus his usual burly self is different-- very different, but it'll be interesting to see how the series works.
On the gaming side of things, the PlayStation 3 is now 70 percent cheaper for Sony to manufacture. It'll be interesting to see how long Sony holds out on the idea of a price cut. I can easily imagine Sony refraining from cutting the price of the PS3 as long as possible in order to recoup profits from earlier consoles that were sold at a loss. While it is unclear when Sony will cut the price of the PS3 at the very least we can look forward to playing Brütal Legend in October for the time being.
Yahoo and Microsoft reached a search engine deal earlier in the week. Yahoo will continue to keep its entertainment portal and Microsoft's Bing will handle the search engine functions. While the respective number two and number three search engines will combine they don't come close to rivaling Google's market share. Combined Yahoo and Microsoft will hold about 30 percent of the search engine market, while Google has about 70 percent. It's clear the real loser in this deal is Yahoo.
While Yahoo may be the current loser in the tech world, Apple is definitely a winner. Still, Apple isn't above a little fear mongering when it comes to the possibility of having the iPhone legally jailbroken. According to Apple legally allowing iPhone owners to hack their phones in order to run software not obtained through the App store could be a risk to U.S. national security. I don't know about you but Apple's claim reeks of BS, I can smell it from here. And speaking of fear mongers, Sarah Palin officially resigned as governor of Alaska. I'm keeping my fingers crossed in the hope that she fades completely from the media spotlight but my wishes could be just a pipe dream.
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I dare say the 70% reduction more-or-less confirms the PS3 slim rumor. With retail outlets reporting supplies of PS3's beginning to dwindle, I would imagine the new SKU will hit Between Columbus Day and the system's anniversary suspiciously close to Black Friday.
As far as the price drop goes... seeing Sony's pricing strategy with the PSP go, the only thing getting cheeper is the EoL'd systems as soon as the slim hits the shelves. I'm calling a $100 cut on the obsolete systems, with the Slim debuting at the current PS3 price point, with a price cut of it's own in 2010 long after the fatties have cleared the channel.
Yep, that's what I've been reading. I had no doubt the rumor is true, seeing how Sony has a horrible problem with information leaks. Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if things played out exactly as you've outlined. Here's to hoping a price cut would extend to hard to find PS2 b/c consoles, but I doubt it.
Even so, given the sheer size of the PS3 I'd be interested in seeing how a slim model would look.
I have long ago decided the best way to have backwards compatibility with a PS3 is to keep my PS2. It also spare me the expense of a memory card converter. In fact, this was a good idea back when they charged $100 more for a BC system - save the $100 and the $30 converter, and buy a PS2 with it. It's an even better value now considering both the PS2 price drop and the premium being charged for what few original 20 and 60GB systems remain out there.
This is true. But don't know, I just like the idea of having a system that can play the latest and greatest games, as well as the backlog of PS2 and PS1 games I have. That and I'm running of out space, so the idea of having multiple consoles cluttering that limited space bothers me a lot.
On the flip-side I will eventually get a PS3, and it being backwards capable seems less likely with each passing day. For the time being I'm actually content with just having my phat PS2, a 360 (with its impressive collection of RPGs compared to the original Xbox) and the handhelds. Between my large PS2 game backlog and very few games of interest on the PS3 (Valkyria Chronicles isn't enough for me) I don't feel an urge to run out and buy one.