Tag: video games
PlayStation Plus: Better Online Gaming (For a Price)
by Ranju Chaudhary on Jun.17, 2010, under Latest Web Technologies, What's Happening?
Sony has announced PlayStation Plus, a new online service forPlayStation 3 owners. While the features of the free PlayStation Network service will remain unchanged, Plus adds game downloads, auto-patching and other exclusives.
The premium service will launch on June 29 and cost $49.99 for one year or $17.99 for three months.
Cross-game voice chat has been requested by gamers in the past, and it’s something that Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold service (which also costs $50 per year) already offers. Now you’ll be able to do it on the PS3 too, according to Joystiq.
When playing with a friend over the Internet
, you’ll be able to switch between games without interrupting your voice chat conversation. Cross-game chats must be initiated by a Plus member, but they will include non-Plus members so long as the premium subscriber is present.
In addition to getting exclusive or early access to beta testing periods or playable demos, Plus members will be able to play some full games for up to an hour before choosing whether or not to buy them. Finally, they’ll get access to the already-launched Qore premium video series, which offers glimpses at new games and gamer culture.
Many of the new features are already available to Xbox Live subscribers, but if you want to play the Xbox 360online, you have to get a Gold subscription. The PS3 already offers basic online play without charging its users. Since the benefits are just icing, not essentials, will you spend $50 per year for a Plus subscription?
Nintendo 3DS Hands-On: 3D Gaming Without Glasses
by Ranju Chaudhary on Jun.17, 2010, under Latest Web Technologies
We had a chance to go hands-on with Nintendo’s new handheld console, the Nintendo 3DS, here at E3 afterthe company’s press event. What we saw was only a demo, but even so the 3D visuals looked impressive enough to give gamers a reason to pick up a dedicated handheld console — at least until mobile platforms like the iPhone, Android
, and iPad catch up and start offering titles in 3D.
Something that’s very cool about the 3DS is its 3D slider — a small toggle on the right side of the device that allows you to seamlessly “zoom” up to higher levels of 3D all the way from regular old flat 2D. Not only is the visual transition itself impressive, but the option to play any of your favorite titles at various 3D depth levels is a welcome amount of customization.
On the left side of the bottom screen you also have a slide pad that allows you to control the camera angle relative to the action on the screen. This too is a great add-on to your customization options, in addition to being an impressive way to access various vantage points for viewing the on-screen action that you simply would not be able to see in regular 2D gameplay.
Beyond that, the 3DS felt comfortable in my hands and generally similar to its brethren the DS Lite and DSi — although Nintendo cautioned that in terms of the hardware, the final design is still TBA. We’re also sadly still missing two key ingredients here, namely price and release date for the handheld.
We will be looking forward to checking out more about the 3D functionality of the device, including 3D gameplay, as well as 3D movie playback and 3D still shots with the two outer-facing VGA cameras. We’d also like to hear more about the passive Wi-Fi features that will be able to pull down content automatically when the user gets near a hotspot.
Are you looking forward to the Nintendo 3DS handheld? If so, what interests you the most?
