April showers bring more data storage? Xbox 360 and PS3 see media storage upgrades

Spring has sprung, we've hopped past Easter and now the Summer is only about two months away so there's only one thing on the minds of folks in the video game industry - data storage.

Confirmations are fleeting everywhere that an Xbox 360 firmware update will finally allow 360 owners to use USB flash drives for additional media storage. That means game data and other media can now be backed-up and stored outside of the Xbox 360.

But just wait a minute.

Much like the PS3, the size said external media storage devices cannot exceed 16GB and must be larger than 1GB. That quickly dashes one's hopes for circumventing Microsoft's pricey hard drive upgrades by attaching a 1TB external hard drive.

To add insult to injury it is unclear if third-party flash drives are even compatible with the Xbox 360 as Microsoft announced Xbox 360-branded flash drives manufactured by SanDisk. To make matters worse, these 8GB and 16GB USB sticks are priced at $40 and $70 respectively. That's more than twice the price of most USB flash drives.

If you need to back-up your Xbox 360 on an external drive, try your 4-year-old plastic flash drive first.

The Blu-ray Disc Association also announced an upgrade in the storage size of new Blu-ray discs called BDXL.

These high capacity recordable and rewritable discs use three to four recordable layers allowing 100GB to 128GB disc capacity. This a major increase from many existing 25GB and 50GB Blu-ray discs.

A press release by the organization lists the upgrade as ideal for commercial segments such as braodcasting, medical and document imaging enterprises. Why not games?

Since the Blu-ray disc is the physical media format of the PS3, why not integrate upcoming video games on this mega-Blu-ray beauties?

This could also easily pave the way for cross promotion and conglomeration between media by packaging a Blu-ray copy of a popular film release with the video game tie-in on the same disc. This coupling could also easily work the other way by pairing the upcoming expansion to last year's Street Fighter IV with the critically acclaimed (not really) 1994 film starring Jean-ClaudeVan Damme.

The association also announced the IH-BD (Intra-Hybrid disc) format. The IH-BD incorporates a single BD-ROM layer and BD-RE layer to "video, but not overwrite, critical published data while providing the flexibility to include relevant personal date on the same physical disc" according to the press release.

I'm not sure what the gaming application is here, but I'm sure it could mean something.

VGF Magazine issue 2 April 2010 is active

It's not an April Fools joke, it's official, the next issue of VGF Magazine is active today!

I'm very pleased to introduce the 12-page follow-up to November's first issue of the magazine. This issue features Scott Daly, a former high school classmate of mine, who is a student at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, Mich. He illustrated the zombie cover as well as designed the layout for pages 3-6 which include the Third Annual VGF Awards.

You can order your issue through MagCloud.com for $2.75. Your copy will be mailed directly to your mailbox.

Here's what's included in this issue:

REVIEW: Assassin's Creed II

FEATURE: Third Annual VGF Awards

REVIEW: Final Fantasy XIII

FEATURE: Bizarre Video Game News

OPINION: What the Apple iPad means to gaming

...and more

Order your copy of the latest issue of VGF Magazine today!

Five things video games can learn from movies

As the convergence of media continues and more film and video game franchises combine by crossing into each medium, why not look at what each does well and implement those techniques into the other?

In other words, what can video games learn from the film industry and what can the film industry learn from video games?

Below is part one of a two-part series looking at what each industry could learn from one another.

So what can video games learn from movies?

Great Story

There are clear examples of amazing storylines, plot development and characterization in video game, but many console bouts boil down to "go kill the bad guy." If the industry is ever to be legitimized and taken seriously the epic tales players meet should be something players can engage in. It is the only interactive medium after all.

Something called editing

A truly great film can not exist without great editing and video games desperately need to follow suit. Sometimes it's due to graphical missteps in a game's cinematic sequences and sometimes its a lack of attention or background in editing, but video games often miss the mark when choosing when to cut away from a shot or scene or even in repetition of gameplay (there is editing some editing work there too). Editing is a powerful tool and can alter a viewer's perception of what's happening on the screen - The Kuleshov Effect.

Music is important

Once again, too few video game developers understand the importance and impact of a good musical score. Instead, we find billowy and repetitive themes that add little to the experience aside from additional noise. Just as how music can cue a specific emotional response to what's happening on the screen in a film, unique and distinctive musical pieces can diversify the experience in a video game with each environment creating it's own personality by not only its artistic palette, but music as well.

Try some metaphor, symbolism, and motifs

The difference between a "movie" and a "film" is contingent on its artistic merit. As in great literature, one of the most expressive ways content in any medium reaches the realm of art is through creative and expressive techniques such as metaphor, symbolism, and motifs. Video games have never attempted to reach the next dimension of expression with these techniques in a visual and interactive medium where it is easy to tie-in a visual motif in association with a character or gameplay element.

Sometimes less is more

Flashy visual effects, massive boss battles and an innovative physics engine is the recipe of the day for many video game titles. Although there is nothing wrong with this formula, it's sometimes better to go back to the basics. Games like Pac-Man, Tetris and Frogger are not just classics because of their popularity during the dawn of the medium, but because they are simple, timeless entertainment. "Casablanca" never had any explosions, car chases, scantily-clad woman or 3D CGI (cough, Avatar, cough) to warrant it a film masterpiece, it was the mastery of its writing and brilliance of its acting that made it a classic despite its technical inferiority. Video games can make a conscious effort to focus on the core of a great game, such as its gameplay and story, the fanfare should come second.

Nintendo announces new handheld with Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo made a tease of an announcement today that it will release a new handheld called the Nintendo 3DS.

The only information in its paragraph-long press release aside from its name is that it is planned to be fully backwards compatible with all DS and DSi games, will launch in Japan within the next fiscal year and more details on the console are set to be released at E3 beginning June 15.

That miniscule amount of information hasn't (and won't) stop media mongers from speculating exactly what the Nintendo 3DS will be. Is it just another upgrade to the DS? An entirely new handheld plateform? Will it even play games in 3D?

We have seen videos across the internet about 3D motion via head-tracking a la some sort of camera.

Arcs Technica posted a video showcasing how the 3DS could function by using the DSi camera as the unit for head tracking:

Medal of Honor shows its resemblance to Modern Warfare

Electronic Arts's long-running first-person shooter franchise "Medal of Honor" is finally taking it's first steps in a "modern" direction when it's newest title - aptly named "Medal of Honor" - hits shelves this fall.

The game's release will come three years after Activision's "Call of Duty" franchise launched "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare." Ironically, the development team from the first two "Medal of Honor" titles defected in the early 2000s to create their own development studio.

Now it seems like EA is trying to play catch-up by mimicking a lot of the visual look of the first two "Modern Warfare" installments with it's newest title set in Afghanistan.

Check out the latest trailer for "Medal of Honor" below:

PlayStation Move coming to PS3 consoles holiday 2010 priced under $100

Yesterday, Sony finally announced the name and gave a little more insight into its newest motion controller, the PlayStation Move.

Sony made the announcement yesterday at a press conference at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. You can watch the entire presentation below:

The PlayStation Move is a combination of a the Playstation 3 iteration of the Playstation Eye camera; a wand controller which features a multicolor, light-emitting diode sphere and a secondary controller for character movement similar to the nunchuk on the Nintendo Wii. This combination is Sony's answer to the Nintendo Wii and its motion controller - just four years late - and Microsoft's up-coming Natal for the Xbox 360.

Sony has released the most information on the Playstation Move on it's European blog filled with photos and a trailer:

The new Move is slated for release Holiday 2010 and is reported to cost less than $100. Sony is also suggesting that Move features can be added to existing games since integration of the new controller poses low technical demands on PS3.

Be on the look out for more information relating to the Playstation Move and Xbox 360 Natal on VGF.

New York man breaks Donkey Kong world record

It's been about a week and a half since the closing of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada., but records are still being broken - in the world of video games.

Hank Chien a 35-year-old plastic surgeon from New York, NY., broke the world 1,050,200-point world record on the original Donkey Kong arcade game held by Florida resident Billy Mitchell. Mitchell was filmed claiming the previous record in a 2006 documentary called "King of Kong."

Chien's record of 1,061,700 points was set in 2 hours and 35 minutes.

The official gaming scorekeepers, Twin Galaxies, confirmed the record and has a full interview with the new world champion.

In the interview he discusses his strategy:

Well there aren't many secrets left in Donkey Kong and I'd be glad to share what I know. I think in the past there were some secrets, but these days it's more a matter of execution. First, getting the bottom hammer on the barrels boards is absolutely crucial for breaking 1M. Not just getting it either, but knowing when to get it and how to steer the rest of the barrels down after you get it. But what really pushed me to the world record is what I call "barrel grouping" and running down ladders to re-jump groups. You get more points by jumping barrels in groups than you would individually and you can run down ladders to re-jump the same group and get even more points. You have to get good at recognizing when the barrels will group and when it's safe to run down ladders. You can do that anywhere on the screen, but I find near the top of the screen to be the safest. Even there, it's not risk free.

He also provides some inspirational hope to the youth of the world:

As one notable Donkey Kong record holder says "It's in your DNA." While I do believe there is some truth to that, I also feel it's really a combination of DNA and practice. Don't be afraid to shoot for the stars, just stay away from my record.

Finally, here shares an interesting experience that was a request of a mother and her son that could make for a story all on its own:

That does reminds me of a funny story....I have this video on YouTube of me doing a perfect speed run of the hardest board on Super Mario Galaxy. A mom and her daughter found the video and emailed me asking if I could pass that board for them if they sent me their memory card. I asked "Is this for you or your daughter?" She reluctantly told me "Both!"