Microsoft has pushed back their release date for Windows Vista, I can only hope they are taking extra precautions to insure they can meet whatever demand they might have. Hopefully a lesson learned from the 360?

In other news Major Nelson had an interview with a developer from the upcoming game, Viva Pinata. Rare, the same developer that produced Kameo, and Perfect Dark Zero, is coming out with this game for the Xbox this hoiday season. I'll be honest, it looks like the stupidest game I've ever heard of. A mix between Neopets and the Sims, you create a world and try to get Pinatas to live in it. The age group for this is about 3-8, they will co-release with a TV show, (the Pinatas when they are by themselves, talking Pinatas) lunchboxes, and bed sheets. I'm serious.

More promises from Microsoft, I hope they can make it, but I doubt it's realistic.

Interesting article pointed out to me by my good friend, punisher. I agree with it on most points, Microsoft shot themselves in the foot with the horrible supply issues, and expensive hardware costs with the Xbox 360. Nintendo is much more conservative in their business strategy, not ruching "next-gen" material, and sticking with proven stuff in the DS.

Big newsbreak. Sony released specs for the PS3 and a release date. I will believe it when I see it, but check out the official release, a english version, and Major Nelson's take.

CUSTOMER SERVICE CALL

I think this guy should have been promoted, not fired. This is a
True phone call from the Word Perfect Help line which was transcribed from a
recording monitoring the customer care department. Needless to say
the HelpDesk employee was fired; however, he/she is currently suing
the WordPerfect organization for "Termination without Cause." This
is actual Dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support
employee.

"Ridge Hall computer assistance; may I help you?"

"Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect."

"What sort of trouble?"

"Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went
away."

"Went away?"

"They disappeared."

"Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"It's blank, it won't accept anything when I type."

"Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?"

"How do I tell?"

"Can you see the C: prompt on the screen?"

"What's a sea-prompt?"

"Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?"

"There isn't any cursor: I told you, it won't accept anything I type."

"Does your monitor have a power indicator?"

"What's a monitor?"

"It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it
have a little light that tells you when it's on?"

"I don't know."

"Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power
cord goes into it. Can you see that?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged
into the wall."

"Yes, it is."

"When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were
two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?"

"No."

"Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the
other cable."

"Okay, here it is."

"Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the
back of your computer."

"I can't reach."

"Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is?"

"No."

"Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?"

"Oh, it's not because I don't have the right angle
-- it's because it's dark."

"Dark?"

"Yes, the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming
in from the window."

"Well, turn on the office light then."

"I can't."

"No? Why not?"

"Because there's a power failure."

"A power... A power failure? Aha, Okay, we've got it licked now. Do
you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer
came in?"

"Well, yes, I keep them in the closet."

"Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like
it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it
from."

"Really? Is it that bad?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is."

"Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?"

"Tell them you're too stupid to own a computer."

I'm having some trouble with Xbox.com. First off, I can't figure out where to put my gamercard in the HTML for this page. Second, why isn't there a way to look at someone's gamercard on the Xbox.com site, without them being your friend, or signing in to see your own. If anyone has a solution to either of these problems, please leave a comment.

I played G.R.A.W. for three hours yesterday. I got through several levels and earned a bunch of points. It's the best game I've ever seen. Incredible levels, beautiful graphics, excellent gameplay, it's the first game I've seen that would convince me to buy a 360. It really shows the next-gen capacities of the 360.
I've also heard that 360s are starting to show up in stores, I'm going to stop by a few places this week and see if it's true.

Project Origami turns out to be a Blackberry competitor. Just a pocket PC type PDA. I must confess I was looking for a PSP rival.
Also Ghost Recon, Advanced Warfighter, or G.R.A.W., came out yesterday. It looks excellent.

I found a new author in HBO's fanfiction. His name is Radont, and he's an excellent author. Check out his stuff here.

GamesFirst had an article up today about a guy named Will Wright, and a project he's been working on. He addresses the development of large games requiring large amounts of money, memory, and hardware to run. The article features a link to a video of a presentation he gave at last years Game Developer's Conference. He's a very comfortable speaker, and the video is worth watching.

Microsoft's Project Origami, is surrounded with mystery and suspense. I would love to see a "Xbox like" handheld game device, but too much bait and switch gets old fast. Here's a link to their site. It's nicely put together.

VGN radio had Karate Dog on this week. He's a really funny guy, it was a great show. Last week was one of the best VGN shows I've heard in a long time. Kevin, the main host, totally lost it. Here is the link for their downloads page.

I played the Star Wars, Empire at War demo last week. It really looks like a great game, I'll probably buy it in two years when it cost five bucks.

I've been sick all week, sorry about the inactivity.

I'm getting tired of the lack of 360's, I stopped by two local Wal-Marts on Friday, they didn't know when they would get one, and they haven't gotten any for a while. Microsoft should at least tell us why they're struggling, it's obvious there is a huge problem with their supply, but they've been totally silent. Even Major Nelson, who is generally recognized as a mouthpiece for Microsoft, (not meant negatively, he has a great informative podcast and blog that wouldn't be possible without his position) has had nothing but, "I don't know and I can't answer that".

I've got to eat my words, Bungie released a news article about Podtacular's ep. 50. Quite a milestone.

Podtacular's getting no love from Bungie. They've got over a thousand users, but Frankie didn't include them in the Bungie Valentine's Day, Halo Web List, or the second one.

The rumours are flying thicker than mud, all about Halo 3. I can only hope that this means it will be out by this time next year, but like all other internet rumours, I won't believe anything until I see Bungie or Microsoft confirm it.

I saw the new movie Firewall on Friday. Harrison Ford has still got style. I'd do the same thing if somebody messed with my family like that. It was good, go see it.

A lot of folks have wondering why Microsoft is only releasing Halo2 for Vista, and not XP. I think it's pretty obvious, they're trying to get you to buy a whole new system with Vista. Microsoft has had a hard time in the past convincing people that they need the next step in Windows. They know people love Halo2, so they're doing an exclusive release. Because they're Microsoft and they rule the world.

An organization called Focus on the Family sends out a daily news update by email. I subscribe to it and today there was an..... interesting article mentioned. The article is about violent video games, it's written by a guy named Jeff Hooten, and it mentions several games by name; Doom, Resident Evil, Half-Life, Quake, GTA (of course), and the Halo games. It's a compelling article, but I'm afraid I disagree on several points. I would say that Doom, Quake, and even Half Life are too gross for me to play anyway. I don't have fun with those games because frankly, there's just too much blood and gore. Halo is a totally seperate story. I'm a huge Halo fan, as most who read this blog know; and I think that Halo is totally different from the former games. Halo and Halo 2 center around the Master Chief, a super soldier who has one purpose, save humanity as a race. He is about the only thing preventing total extermination of humans by aliens known as the Covenant. He use lots of guns, vehicles, and brute strength to accomplish his missions, but he is always focused on saving Earth. This is very important; throughout history, characters that ride out of nowhere and save others have struck a key with us who enjoy stories. People who are willing to risk it all to save others, people who kill to save others. Characters like John Wayne, Aragorn in the LOTR, Sean Connery in the James Bond movies and The Hunt for Red October. This is why the Halo games are some of the top five games of all time in sales and popularity. The Master Chief kills a lot of aliens, those aliens bleed, so there is purple and blue blood around in-game; but he fights for a purpose, and the gore is not overdone. Read it here.