Video Games

Check out this graph of Nintendo Gamecube sales versus Sony PS3 sales from the NPD, a firm that tracks North American console sales:

In the first 10 months, the PS3 sold 1,742,000 units compared with the Gamecub, which sold 2,120,000 in the same period. This means that the more expensive and less profitable PS3 might signal Sony’s final attempt at making console video games…. or so we hope!

Aeropause has the latest Rock Band details, via someone at NeoGaf who posted them all.  For those of you who don’t know exactly what Rock Band in, it’s Harmonix’s latest project, which offers the ability to function in a virtual band by allowing up to four players play guitars, bass, drums, and vocals.  Check these details out!

* One disk with 4 separate campaigns. Guitar, Drum, Bass and Vocal. Each can be played on its own from start to finish, in addition, a full band game is designed to allow for one huge co-op playthrough.
* Will feature full support for four player online play on both 360 and PS3. Any combination of on/offline play will work and each player can pick their own difficulty setting.
* Flexible community system will allow you to find bandmates anywhere in the world
* There will be a way for you to share your band’s triumphs with the world, but the details are still under wraps.

* Musical fret-boards are now transparent so you can see more of the background visuals. Guitar is on the left side of the screen, Bass on the right and drums down the middle. Vocals scroll from right to left along the top of the screen.
* Guitars and Bass now have 10 frets. 5 for the regular sections of the game and 5 for the newly designated solo sections.
* Whammy bar is back as is the tilt to activate rock band’s version of star power
* there is a five way switch on the guitar that allows for 5 different self-applied effects to the sound.
* Singing is now more in depth. There is a phoneme detector that will pick up individual vowels and consonants you say. Build up enough highly judged phrases and you’ll be able to sing free-form. If you do well enough in free-form, then you’ll trigger the vocalist’s version of star power.
* Microphone doubles as a tambourine on many songs to combat super long guitar solos where the singer doesn’t have much to do.
* Drums are apparently insane. You use actual sticks and hit one of four colored pads in front of you, in addition to a kick pedal attached to the drumming unit. Drummers will also have the ability to do fills etc. in their own little free-form section, do well and you’ll trigger the drummers version of star power.
* If one person fails, the whole band does not fail, their section simply turns gray and they have to sit out the rest of the song unless one your band mates initiates star power, which will bring you back into the fold.
* If all bandmates can reach the end of a song, you’ll be greeted with one huge free-form jam session.
* There will be a character creation system, and you can create multiple avatars that play different instruments.
* Four themed clothing stores in addition to licensed guitars and pedals and other rock paraphernalia.
* A full set of mo-cap stage movements have been added for each instrument. You can decide whether your vocalist moves like Axel Rose, or stands his ground like Clapton.
* 40 performance venues planned
* All peripherals will be unique to each platform. This isn’t the developer’s decision. Apparently MS peripherals require special circuit boards.
* You’ll be able to craft your own band logo

There’s more…. dear god is there more…
4 songs announced in the article, not sure if this is new or old but whatever.

* Weezer - Say It Ain’t So - Original Master Track
* Black Sabbath - Paranoid - Original Master Track
* The Who - Won’t Get Fooled Again - Original Master Track
* Nirvana - In Bloom - Original Master Track

INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTIONS

Guitars/Bass

* Guitars are an exact 3/4 replica of a Fender Strat.
* Xplorer guitars will work for 360 owners, but you may not be able to pass on all the new stuff this model has.
* Five familiar buttons near the top of the neck, five buttons near the body of the guitar. You will use these new buttons during specially designed solo sections using ONLY hammer ons and pull offs, no having to worry about your strum bar. Signature Fender 5-way switch has been added. By shopping at the in game store you’ll be able to purchase several virtual effects pedals such as Flange, Wah, Chorus and Echo. These can be applied during your song by setting the 5 way switch to the desired effect.

Microphone

* There will eventually be a Rock Band branded Mic
* Other USB mics will be supported, but Harmonix will probably NOT allow the use of the 360 headset due to its low fidelity. Mics will be usable as tambourines during certain songs.

Drums

* It consists of four pads, a kick pedal and legs for the enire unit to stand on. Think of it as a TV dinner tray stand only cooler
* Leftmost pad (red) is your snare drum, everything else doubles as toms and cymbals depending on the song.
* A set of real wooden drum sticks will ship with the unit.
* A piece of the stand can be taken off so that the unit can sit lower, or on a coffee table.
* There is a kick pedal
* If you play drums in this game on hard or expert, then you’re really playing the drums. Apparently you could sit down at a real set and play the same songs.

There’s a new hot version of the xBox 360 coming out! The new xBox 360 Elite Edition is essentially the same , but sold in limited quantities and all black finish. It will cost $479 with 120GB hard disk and HDMI. There is also speculation that the cooler-running Elite editions are made with 65nm chips.

Sony’s Jack Tretton famously said in an interview with EGM:

If you can find a PS3 anywhere in North America that’s been on shelves for more than five minutes, I’ll give you 1,200 bucks for it. I can get any retail buyer on the phone with you and get them to verify that there’s not a single retail location in America where there’s a PlayStation 3 on the shelf for sale. They’ve all been sold in a matter of minutes.

Now our friends at Penny Arcade want their $13,200–to go buy Nintendo Wii Consoles!

While it’s impossible to get the PS3 for free, at least EBGamestop is trying to make us feel better about shelling out the big bucks by offering $100 off the price of either model of the PS3 if you trade in all of the following:

1. A working PS2 with power cord, AV cable, & Sony controller
2. A 2nd Sony brand PS2 controller
3. Any brand 8MB PS2 memory card

The offer expires 2/18/2007.