With the Xbox One being announced this week, we've finally rounded out the list of eighth generation consoles. Here's a side by side comparison of specs for the Wii U, PS4, and Xbox One.

Taking a look at the gaming and tech trends in 2012

If there's one thing about Nintendo, they've never played a conservative game. Their innovations are small, yet have a profound impact on gaming. Take something as simple as the plus shaped D-Pad. It's hard to believe that something so ubiquitous didn't exist prior to the Famicom. The Wii U is a little different. The latest gimmick is something that has existed for some time, just never really implemented: dual screen gaming.

A lot of entertainment providers talk about multiple screens. When I watch a movie on TV, I'm frequently on my iPad looking up actors, directors, discussing it on Twitter. The Wii U is a natural extension of the tablet revolution as much as it's an extension of the DS. The motion control that made the Wii famous has been pushed aside for a tablet-like controller with a touch screen interface. Have your inventory pulled up at all times, touch to solve puzzles, or even detach it from the TV and take your game with you to another room. Play your games on your TV the same way you loved to play them on your DS.

The Wii U GamePad is such an innovative product, it was introduced by Sony, six years ago. Back then it was called RemotePlay. The much touted feature would have allowed you to play PS3 games on your PSP. A couple of indie games implemented it but it never got far beyond that. Possibly owing in part to the PSP's low resolution and painfully slow WiFi. The same function is present in the Vita and has been used a bit more effectively, but not by much. So far only one game officially supports Wii U style mobile control. Apple also has this technology via AirPlay to stream iOS games to a TV and use iPad or iPhone to as a controller. Both these systems require the purchase of costly peripherals.

Where Nintendo excels the most is jumping in on trends before anybody else does. Even if they didn't originate the idea, they're the first to see its potential; no matter how small.

I've been told for quite some time now that I'm wrong about mobile gaming. Many fellow gamers have said that smart phones and tablets are not cannibalizing the console and handheld market. A recent study by Neilson proves them wrong. Kids want Santa to bring them tablets, not games.

The study looked at interest in electronics for kids 6-12 and teenagers. Almost half off all children said they wanted an iPad. The Wii U topped second place with 39%. The iPod Touch, iPad Mini, and iPhone rounded out the top five. Only a quarter of all kids wanted an Xbox or PS3. In the case of portables, 29% wanted a 3DS and 18% wanted a PSP. Only 14% wanted a Playstation Vita.

In the case of teenagers, things are a little different. The iPad still topped the list with 21% wanting one. Computers, non-iOS tablets, Wii U, and iPhone rounded out the top five. Only 8% of teens said they wanted a game console, with the PS3 being the most popular. In the case of portable systems, the 3DS and Vita actually come out on top. It's a Pyrrhic victory with only 5% and 4% respectively.

Things aren't full of Christmas cheer for console manufacturers this year. Though we're hardly set for another crash, a lot of what's going on mirrors 1983. There's a strong interest in multi-functional devices over dedicated gaming systems. Interest in portables has taken a nose dive. Still, it's unlikely parents will be willing to spend upwards of $500 for an iPad. Especially for the little ones. If Sony and Microsoft take anything from this, they will need to get their new systems out by Holiday 2013. The current generation has finally run its course.

Source: IGN
Image copyright Bethesda, via Nukapedia

Nintendo import fans are once again out of luck. Nintendo has announced that the Wii U will be region locked. This isn't a big revelation for the company. Almost every single console to come out of Big N has been. Dating as far back to the classic toaster NES.

Nintendo is currently the only company that has mandatory region locks on their consoles. Both Sony and Microsoft give the choice to developers. The Playstation family is well known for being friendly to the import community, with few games being locked. Notable exceptions include games by Atlas, a big Japanese developer. In fact, it seems this feature is more favoured in Japan that it is by Western publishers.

It's a well known fact that Japanese gamers and otaku are being gouged on media. Resident Evil 6 for example sells for $20 more in its home country than it does in North America. For the same price in the US, you can buy the Resident Evil Anthology, which contains all six games in the series.

The purpose of region locking is simply to make money. More from Asia-Pacific gamers than we in the west. While one could argue the game costs the same or more due to import duties, publishers get less of that money. It also explains why Nintendo has been so hostile to digital download. All a Japanese gamer would need is a North American gift card to grab the game at a significantly cheaper price.

This is a big letdown for import fans. Many popular games don't get global releases for one reason or another. Xenoblade Chronicles was launched in North America a full two years after it's Japanese debut. It's also unfortunate that Nintendo keeps making this choice instead of embracing globalization. Instead they'd rather keep screwing Japanese gamers with artificially higher prices.

After more than a year, we're serving up some fresh shovelware to all you casual gaming fans. So sit back and relax. Enjoy Your Massage, but no happy endings.

Enjoy Your Massage (Wiiware)
Wii want you to relax. Care for a sensual massage? Sorry babe, it usually doesn't go off like that. Enjoy Your Massage has you rubbing some beautiful ladies, professionally of course. This is a family console after all. Enjoy Your Massage is a memory game like Simon. A series of squares on the person's back flashes. Rub the right squares in the right order and you relax your client. Fail and you're relegated to giving happy endings in a Camden, New Jersey back ally.

Dot Man (DSiWare)
Na na na na na na Dot Man, Dot Man, Dot Man. Actually, a game about a crime fighter would be cool. Instead, Dot Man is a poor Pac Man clone out of Japan. Your mission is to drive around in a maze in the Dot Car, collecting Dot Coins, and avoid the Dot Cops. Dot's Graphics look strait out of a bad Dot NES game. The hot anime Dot Girl at the beginning of the video is a nice piece of deceptive Dot Marketing.


Stay tuned for next week's Worst of Shovelware, when everyone's favourite incompetent serial killer Naughty Bear takes the stage.

According to their Twitter account, Netflix will be launching their video streaming service in Canada this fall. So far not much is known so far. However, we can expect that devices that can stream Netflix in the US will do so here. That includes the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, the iPad, Windows and Mac PCs, and some Blu-ray players. The company has created a website where Canadians can sigh up for information as it becomes available. The exact release date has yet to be announced.

Magazine Game Informer surveyed 5000 readers to determine failure rates and satisfaction with the repair process for the three current generation consoles. The results show that the Xbox 360 is suffering a staggering number of hardware failures. Of the respondents, 360 owners reported that 54.2% of their consoles had failed. Those sent in for repairs had a second failure rate of 41.2%. Xbox owners were also the least satisfied with the service they received with only 37.7% reporting a good experience. 3.6% of 360 owners said they would never buy a Microsoft console again due to the high failure rate. The Wii and PS3 faired significantly better, having failure rates of 10.6% and 6.8% respectively. In terms of customer satisfaction, the Wii and PS3 were almost even with 56.1% and 51.1%.

I think the numbers do seem quite high though I suspect they're including as "failures" anything that requires the console to be repaired including worn out fans, hard drives, and optical drives instead of just catastrophic failures such as the 360's infamous Red Ring of Death. This would explain why the Wii's rates are so low since it has the fewest moving parts. This news doesn't bode will for Microsoft though, who has been battling serious hardware issues with the 360 since day one. We can only assume that sales may have been better had these issues not existed to begin with. One has to admire the resilience, or stupidity depending on how you see it, of 360 owners. Many keep coming back to the system due to its strong library of games while Sony has failed to take advantage of consumer dissatisfaction with the problems by not aggressively building their library and marketing the PS3.

Source: IGN

A lot of people out there are unsure about which gaming system they should purchase. Let's examine the practical pros and cons all four major gaming rigs so you can make an unbiased decision of which one to buy.

Gaming PC

Advantages:
-Games will typically have superior graphics and sound to console counterparts and games can be played at much higher resolutions than 720p, which is what most console games are limited to.
-Keyboard and Mouse offers superior gameplay, especially in First Person Shooters
-System can be tailored to specific needs and budgets and can have more advanced features than consoles, such as Wireless N networking and built in DVRs.
-System can be used for a large variety of things other than gaming and watching multimedia, such as enhanced web browsing, office work, AV content creation and editing, etc.
-System can be easily upgraded as needed to remain cutting edge.
-Huge variety of both free and pay downloadable content. Games can be user modded. Large variety of full retail games can be downloaded through services such as Steam.
-More connectivity options for audio, video, and networking
-More online play options including both free and pay services
-Can also be adopted as a mobile platform through laptops and LAN Boxes.

Disadvantages:
-The most expensive gaming option. To stay top of the line, you will need to replace major components such as the GPU and CPU annually to biennially, in contrast to consoles that have a stable 5 to 10 year life span. Cost of these upgrades can range from a couple hundred bucks to thousands of dollars.
-Fewer exclusive game titles, fewer high quality games. PC is plagued with a high amount of shovelware.
-Strict Digital Rights Management schemes limit how games can be used and who can play them. DRM is known to cause problems with some systems and cannot be removed even if game is.
-PC games are known to have a lot more bugs and glitches than console games.
-Games are typically not available for rental.
-All games require mandatory hard drive installs yet most still require the disc to be in the drive during gameplay.
-Windows Vista is not an ideal gaming platform. Too many performance tradeoffs due to its "jack of all trades" nature, thus requiring significantly more computing power.
-Hardware reliability can be hit and miss. Needs a lot of maintenance compared to stand alone consoles.

Microsoft Xbox 360

Advantages:
-Large game library including a huge variety of high quality exclusive titles
-XBL is widely considered to be one of the best online gaming experiences around
-Huge amount of downloadable games and DLC through XBL
-Games can be installed to the hard drive for disc-free play
-Full 1080p HD output through HDMI with excellent graphics and game performance
-Cheapest console of the current generation at $199 for the base Arcade model
-Three year warranty
-Netflix video streaming service for Americans
-Backwards compatible with Xbox games
-Easy media streaming through Windows Media Player and Vista Media Center

Disadvantages:
-High hardware failure rates including Red Ring of Death, disc scratching, and HDMI chipset failures. Noisy. Mostly a problem with older systems.
-Lacks built in wifi and gigabit LAN
-Lacks optical HD video disc playback
-Online service requires mandatory monthly fee
-Below average media playback capabilities
-Region locked
-Optional hard drive upgrades and wireless adaptor hugely over priced

Sony Playstation 3

Advantages:
-Most technically advanced and futureproof system. Reliable & quiet hardware.
-Built in Blu-ray playback and excellent media capabilities. Widely considered to be one of the best BD-Live players on the market.
-Full 1080p HD with HDMI connector
-Built in Wifi and Gigabit LAN
-Free online play with advanced social networking features.
-Larger number of high rated exclusive tiles than other systems
-Not region locked meaning games from Japan and Europe will work in North American systems, and vice versa. Gives access to region specific titles such as popular JRPGs.
-Internal hard drive easily upgradeable with any off the shelf 2.5'' SATA drive.
-Motion control system
-Connectivity with Playstation Portable

Disadvantages:
-Most expensive current generation system after PC; starting at $399
-New models lack backwards compatibility with PS2 games and lack flash reader
-Controller batteries can't be swapped and can't be charged with some USB chargers
-Playstation Store neglected; a limited amount of downloadable titles and DLC. A lot of shovelware is on the store.
-Fewer exclusive titles than other systems
-Few games that are family friendly or appeal to casual gamers
-Motion controls aren't widely adopted

Nintendo Wii

Advantages:
-Advanced motion control system allows players to become physically active participants in the game.
-Huge library of family friendly titles and hit Nintendo classic series. Easily accessible to casual and non-gamers.
-Relatively low cost at $270
-Virtual Console allows download and play of retro titles from NES, SNES, N64 Genesis, & PC Engine, and NeoGeo systems. WiiWare exclusive downloadable games
-Backwards compatible with Gamecube games
-Built in Wifi
-Connectivity with Nintendo DS
-Reliable hardware
-Free online play

Disadvantages
-Largest amount of shovelware titles compared to other systems and the lowest number of high rated exclusives. Lacks more "hardcore" titles.
-Does not output games in high definition, no HDMI connectivity
-Lack of hard drive and has limited storage space for downloadable games
-Online gaming system clunky and limited. Uses long "friend codes" rather than the simple Facebook style friend requests used with other systems
-Limited media playback capability. Cannot even play DVDs.
-Relatively poor value when comparing features per dollar

I spotted this on eBay.
That's right, some guy actually thinks he's going to get $99,999 US for a Wii, or $124,000 CAD. In all fairness, he is offering free shipping to Canadian residents. In case you're wondering what $100,000 gets you...

• Nintendo Wii and Wii sports (5 games), one controller (wiimote + nunchuk)
• Gamecube controller
• Classic controller for retro games
• 128MB SD memory card for save games
  
• Wii : Zelda Twillight Princess
• Wii : Super Smash Bros Brawl
• Gamecube : Megaman X Collection (RARE)
  
• Megaman X
• Megaman X-2
• Megaman X-3
• Megaman X-4
• Megaman X-5
• Megaman X-6
• Megaman Go Kart
• Gamecube : Sonic Gems Collection
• Sonic CD
• Sonic the fighters
• Sonic R
• Sonic the hedgehog 2
• Sonic Spinball
• Sonic the hedgehog triple trouble
• Sonic dift 2
• Tails' skypatrol
• Tails adventures
• Gamecube : Sonic Mega Collection
• Sonic the hedgehog
• Sonic the hedgehog 2
• Sonic the hedgehog 3
• Dr robotnik's mean mean machine
• Sonic Spinball
• Sonic 3d blast
• Sonic & knuckles
• More bonus games
• Gamecube : Sonic Adventure DX (RARE)
• Gamecube : Sonic Adventure 2 battle
• Gamecube : Zelda the windwaker bonus pack (RARE)
• Zelda the windwaker
• Zelda ocarina of time
  
• Zelda master quest (ocarina of time, harder)
• Virtual Console : Paper Mario 64 (N64)
  
• Virtual Console : Super mario World (SNES)
• Virtual Console : Super Mario Bros : Lost levels (Super Mario bros 1, harder) (SNES)
• Virtual Console : Super gouls n' ghosts (SNES) (HARD)
• Virtual Console : Legend of zelda a link to the past (SNES)

I've left out the user name of the guy to protect the guilty. It's worth noting that Wind Waker and Sonic Adventure DX are not rare titles as claimed. I found both of them for sale on EBGames's US website. Now, I'm not accusing this guy of scamming people. Most cases of this are publicity ploys and the price will likely drop once enough traffic draws attention to it. It just seemed so outrageous, I had to post it.

Even two years after it's release, the Wii is still in high demand and still proving difficult to find. I have yet to see one just sitting on a store shelf. Yes, I still would like one but paying $300+ on eBay, which is the going rate, is ludicrous. Wii is over priced to begin with at it's MSRP of $279.

Nintendo is joining on the VOD bandwagon along with Sony and Microsoft. The PS3 has its own Sony branded video download service and the 360 has Netflix. Soon Wii will be getting a video rental service as well. Nintendo has partnered with Japanese ad firm Dentsu and plans to introduce free (presumably ad backed) and pay-per-view videos to download. Unlike its competitors, Nintendo plans to focus on original, family friendly content. The service will be available in Japan sometime in Spring 2009. No other details have been announced so far. The Register estimated that it will likely be a streaming only service since the console lacks a hard drive and does not have enough internal storage for feature length 480p video. The Wii has been criticized in the past for its lack of DVD playback capabilities and poor multi-media performance.

For content, I'd estimate stuff like the Pokemon anime series will make an appearance, along with other Nintendo themed shows like Kirby. No word if Super Mario Bros. Super Show or The Legend Of Zelda annimated series will make an appearance. lol

Source: El Reg

Not only is smoking very bad for you, it's bad for your Wii too. So says the Boston Harold on the heels of the issues with Super Smash Bros Brawl. SSBB is the biggest Wii game to date and thus requires a dual layer disc. The problem is that if the lens gets contaminated with dirt and dust, the Wii has trouble reading it. The Wii uses special "Wii Optical Discs", which have the same capacity as a DVD. The only difference is that the discs are watermarked with a special barcode, presumably to keep the format proprietary.

Can second hand smoke really damage your Wii? What a stupid question. The residue of the smoke and tar gets sucked into the console and gums up the lens. Smoking around electronics is generally not a good idea. In fact, smoking period is not a good idea but some people insist on doing it, so just keep it away from your games. Nintendo has advised against using commercial lens cleaning kits and has told people that are receiving the read error to send the console to them. The service is free of charge regardless of warranty status. Some have taken matters into their own hands and reports that blowing compressed air into the slot will work. It's a good idea to try and keep all electronics dust and dirt free since they can blind optical drives, block fan intakes, and act like an insulator around heatsinks causing overheating.

For those old enough to remember, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) way back in the late 80s had a similar issue with dust on the cartridge slot causing read errors. Nintendo released the NES cleaning kit. The problem was only with the original toaster style NES, not the top loading NES 2.

Source: Daily Tech

Again with our monthly tradition of posting console sales though I think this is the last time I'm going to do it. Marketing firm NPD has released February's figures.

Nintendo DS: 587.6K
Wii: 432.0K
PlayStation 2: 351.8K
PlayStation 3: 280.8K
PlayStation Portable: 243.1K
Xbox 360: 254.6K

More of the same from last month. This month's winner is once again the Wii and the PS2 is still the dark horse. PS3 catching up. DS tops all. Not much to say on these numbers that I didn't say last month.

Source: PSU

Well, we have NPD sales reports for US console sales for the month of January. Wii was on top once again, but surprising to some, the PS3 edged out the 360 by 39,000 units. Lets serve up some hot and fresh figures.

TV Top Consoles
Wii: 274,000 units
PS3: 269,000 units
PS2: 264,000 units
Xbox 360: 230,000 units

Handhelds
Nintendo DS: 251,000 units
PSP: 230,000 units

I don't find these sales figures particularly surprising, at least when it comes to the PS3 outselling the 360. I feel that hardware wise, the 360 is reaching a point of market saturation. For those less economically inclined, that means that mostly everybody who wants a 360 already has one. The PS3's strong figures are due to the highly successful 40gb model at it's $399 price point, same as the 360 Premium while offering more features. Also, Sony has really strengthened their software lineup in the past five months with titles like Uncharted and Ratchet & Clank. There are also big upcoming exclusive releases of LittleBigPlanet, Home, and Gran Turismo 5. The 360 is also starting to loose its edge software wise with developers looking to make make more cross platform titles.
What I do find surprising is the enduring presence of the PS2 in North America. The console turns eight years old this year but is still selling almost as many units as the Wii and PS3, and is outselling the 360. It is the cheapest console, but in the past, North Americans have been reluctant to hold on to past generations. Most older consoles die out less than a year after the release of the next generation. Sony seems to have no plans to discontinue it and there are still plenty of games being released or planning to be released in the next year. The face of gaming is starting to change as both the Wii and PS2 target a much neglected sector of the gaming market, the casual gamer. One final thing worth noting is the the PS2 and PS3 are starting to catch up to Wii sales. The big question is if these sales trends will continue. I'm pretty confident they will based on what I've seen.

Source: Dailytech

Ok, lets launch off another game review. 2006 was a very good year for gaming. It's 2008 now and gaming is moving along well. So why am I reviewing a PS2 game that's over a year old? Well, because it's coming out on Nintendo Wii on April 15th. I already mentioned Okami in my top ten of artistic games but lets see where it hits and misses where it really counts. Okami was developed by the now defunct Clover Studios and was published by Capcom. The Wii port is being done by Ready at Dawn.

The story is loosely based on Japanese Shinto folklore. Don't worry, I wouldn't call this a religious game. The story takes place in around the classical to medieval eras in Japan. You play as Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess who has come to Nippon in the form of a white wolf. 100 years before the game takes place, you and the great warrior Nagi had fought the dreaded Orochi, an eight headed beast that had been terrorizing a small village. Orochi was defeated by you and Nagi, but you die in the battle. Your spirit slumbers in the statue of a wolf. 100 years later, Nagi's descendant Susano accidentally revives Orochi. The game begins as the revived Orochi has unleashed a dreaded curse upon the lands of Nippon. It's Amaterasu's job to lift the curses and defeat Orochi once and for all.
The game itself bares some similarities to the Zelda series. The game's developer has admitted to taking inspiration from Nintendo's classic franchise. It's fitting that it would eventually end up on the Wii over a year after it's original release in December 2006. The game itself seems made for the Wii's motion features, though lets not downplay the original PS2 release. Like Zelda, the game is huge and involves a mix of fighting, adventuring, and solving side quests. Even the game's main screen and menus are strikingly similar. That's not to say that Okami is exactly identical to the Zelda series. Though it borrows a lot from Zelda, it is its own unique game.

Lets talk technical details first. The game's graphics take the form of a living painting in the Japanese watercolour, woodblock, and Sumi-e styles, also borrowing from the works of Hokusai. It uses cell shaded graphics. Cell shading is a technique for rendering 2D objects in a 3D environment. The same technique was used in Wind Waker and The Simpsons Game. It's also used heavily in 2D cartoon shows and movies these days. Futurama was a notable pioneer. So while your character is 3D, they appear to have no depth. Another unique feature is a paper filter, which gives a paper texture to complete the living painting effect. The environment is hauntingly beautiful, it's one of the best looking game's I've seen in a long time. Perhaps what stands out the most is that the game looks hand painted. The game has settings to optimize it for CRT or LCD TVs in the menu settings, allowing you to pick what's best for your TV. I'm not sure exactly what this means though. The PS2 version sports 480i resolution with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The Wii version is 480p with a 16:9 aspect ration. PS3 owners can play the game upscaled for HDTVs. It actually excellent on an HDTV considering that a lot of other PS2 games have aliasing problems at HD resolutions. Okami doesn't have this issue. IGN noted that while the Wii version has slightly better resolution, the paper filter (which surprisingly adds a lot to the feel of the game) is not as noticeable as it is on the PS2. Both versions have some frame rate issues but otherwise the graphics are pretty smooth.

The music is also well done in Japanese classical style. The game truly is an AV masterpiece. The sound track is beautiful and the sound effects realistic. You get your choice of stereo sound or 5.1 Dolby Digital. I did feel the game could have really used full voice over rather then the computer generated babbling that Clover used. Voicover would have allowed for more expression from the characters, given that the artistic style of the game allows them to only express emotion through body language. The babble can also get annoying during particularly long pieces of dialogue. It's a minor issue but it would have been nice to hear the characters speak. Then again, Link has been silent for years and babble is better than nothing. According to the game's English translator in an interview, Okami had too much dialogue to practically do voiceover since it would not fit on a single DVD otherwise.

Gameplay wise, Okami is somewhat similar to Zelda. The game is huge and takes about 30 hours to complete the first time through. There's a wide variety of locations you can visit, from cities, villages, the sea side, fields, and dungeons. Throughout the game, your partner Issun the Wandering Artist acts as your guide. Issun is from a race called the Ponnicle who are only one inch tall. If you're familiar with the Zelda series, Issun plays a similar role as Navi did in Ocarina of Time though he fills a much larger role. Because Ammy is a wolf and can't talk, Issun speaks for her. He provides a lot of the comic relief for the game but his character is actually quite complex.
One of the unique aspects of the game is the celestial brush. Hitting R1 will freeze frame and you can draw things on the environment using the Square button and the left stick. In the Wii version, the left stick will be replaced by the Wiimote. There are thirteen brush techniques in total, which are learned as you progress through the game. There are also several sub-techniques you can learn. The brush techniques are your part of your god powers. You can use them to attack and defend against enemies, alter the environment, or open new paths. You draw symbols for the specific powers. The size of the symbol you paint effects the intensity of certain powers. One of my pet peeves about the game is that it can be a bit sensitive when it comes to detecting the technique you want to use. Sometimes you'll draw the right symbol but it won't trigger. The brush is not infinitely powerful. You have a limited supply of ink that drains each time you use a technique. The ink slowly replenishes over time but you have to carefully manage it so you're not caught running out of ink in the middle of a boss battle. Not only will you loose your brush techniques, but also your god powers.
Combat is arena based. Demon scrolls are scattered about the land. If you come too close to one, it will chase you and start a fight. Fights are enclosed by a demon barrier. You have a variety of weapons at your disposal. These are mirrors, rosaries, and glaives. You can equip a weapons as either primary or secondary. Secondary weapons have different abilities than their primary counterparts. The weapon you have at the beginning of the game (a divine mirror) allows you to make close range attacks and can also be used as a shield as the secondary weapon. Rosaries are long range and are used as a whip, or as projectiles as a secondary. Glaives are swords that work best at very close range and launch charged attacks. You get new, better weapons throughout the game, either by completing quests or buying them at a store. You can also upgrade weapons with gold dust.
Since Amaterasu is a wolf on four legs, she controls the weapons telekinetically. If you run out of ink, you loose your god powers which is bad in battles since you loose your special abilities. If this happens, she's only able to fight like an ordinary wolf. No weapons, no enhanced physical abilities. You don't regain your powers until three ink bottles are replenished. However, you can never technically run out of ink as it's being constantly replenished. Some monsters will drop ink bottles for a quick boost. Tools can be employed in battles, such as certain sakes (rice wine/beer) which can improve attack or defence ability and the Inkfinity Stone, which gives infinite ink for a limited period of time. There are a few other aspects of combat worth noting. You have limited solar energy, which is your health. Victory in combat gains money in the form of Yen, which you can spend at shops in the game for more items. You also gain godhood power through combat, which acts as a shield to protect from a limited number of attacks without taking damage. Drowning or running from battle looses godhood. Combat controls are tight and you can learn additional battle abilities at one of three dojos in the game. Lastly, you also have an astral pouch, which if full of food, revives you if you die.
Okami also has some roll playing elements. Throughout the game, you'll be given various quests. Solving problems gains praise. Since you are a god, praise gives you power. You can then bank it to enhance your abilities. You can put it towards more solar energy, more ink capacity, bigger wallets, and a bigger astral pouch. Quests include restoring cursed zones, restoring nature, feeding animals, and helping characters in the game. There are also spots where you can dig up wilted clovers (Clover's shameless plug, lol) and use the brush to revive them. The clovers give you even more praise. You can also dig up treasure chests. Treasure can be collected and sold for money. In battle, sometimes you will get demon fangs, provided you preform a certain special attack which varies depending on the monster. These can be traded for special powerups.
There are a large variety of characters to interact with in quests. There are humans, ponnicle, other gods, and demons. The story is well laid out but there are some parts that irritated me. The story becomes too anime-like towards the end of the game, which I felt did not fit in with its theme or world. The game does have anime overtones throughout but I just though the ending was weird. Without giving too much of the plot away, lets just say it involves fighting a mech and ends with some J-pop over the credits.

For difficulty, as I said it takes about 30 hours to complete. It's no more difficult than your typical Zelda game but there are some parts that do have no room for error. One of which is a race against a demon through a room of saws that nearly drove me nuts, since it was timed. If you've played the Zelda games though, this game is quick to get into. Even if you haven't, it's pretty easy to pick up. The game does a good job at describing how to play. The manual is also well written and even takes the time to explain some of the mythology used in the game. It goes the extra mile for non-Japanese audiences. If you want to learn more, Wikipedia is a good place to start.

Final thoughts. Clover took an epic story and mixed it together with a proven concept and produced a masterpiece of a game. There are very few games of this calibre. I dare say this matches Ocarina of Time, one of the titles that inspired Okami. It has won numerous awards, winning several game of the year trophies. IGN ranked it 90th out of the top 100 games of all time. As they put it, though it's similar to Zelda in some aspects, it's unlike anything else. It's definitely a game that every PS2 and Wii owner should have in their collection. Clover studios closed shortly after Okami was released so unfortunately there will be no sequel. Okami will remain unique. Fortunately, it will see a second life on the Wii and hopefully will sell more copies. It's probably the one of best game I've played.

What works
-Excellent storyline
-Unique and hauntingly beautiful "living painting" art design
-Excellent musical score and sound effects that blends seamlessly with the environment.
-Unique gameplay with the celestial brush
-Finally a game that matches Zelda.

What doesn't work
-Weird 'anime-style' ending doesn't fit the Okami world
-Game sometimes has trouble recognizing brush technique inputs

Rating: 10 out of 10

Tips, Tidbits, and Easter Eggs:
-Plant a tree next to Kushi when she's at the springs. She'll be so delighted, she'll give you a hug.
-When the game is completed, select the red "start here" icon from the saved games menu. It will start a new game but you'll get to keep your items, certain weapons, ink bottles, solar energy, money, and astral pouch contents that you had at the end of the last game. Brush powers are not transferred over though.
-Thoroughly search areas as many special items are well hidden.
-Keep visiting the Dojos to learn new techniques.
-Shooting projectiles at Orochi's individual heads will irritate him. He might need a drink after that.
-Sake is featured predominantly in the story. It is sometimes called rice wine but it shares more in common with beer and spirits. It is non carbonated, typically with low alcoholic content (12%). It ranges in taste from sweet (Nigori) to dry and has a smooth body. It can be clear filtered, or unfiltered giving it a cloudy appearance and milky texture. It is usually served chilled or at room temperature in small cups or saucers. Cheaper varieties can be drunk warmed during the winter months.
-Headbutt the bathroom door at the inn in Kusa village. The girl will freak out. Visit her later in the guest room on the right and she'll give you a sidequest.
-Race the postmen in Shinshu and Ryoshima three times each for a special reward.
-Talk to Camille by Konohana in Kamiki village. Headbutt her when she asks if she's dreaming. Talk to her and her sister again while visiting the city.
-Visit the tower in the Aristocratic Quarters and the rear of Himiko's palace after beating Ninetales.
-Collect demon fangs whenever possible. They can be traded for certain special items. Talk to the Emperor in Sai-an City.
-Collect all stray beads for a special reward.
-In the game's manual, Amaterasu is said to be deliberately genderless. However, several scene in the game clearly identifies her as female. She is also clearly stated to be female in the original Japanese version and in the concept art comments in the Art of Okami book.
-While they share the same name and have similar powers, the Amaterasu in the game is not the Amaterasu from Shinto mythology. Neither are the other characters despite their stories and names being similar. Is this were the case, Susano would be her brother and a fellow god.
-Western elements appear in Okami. Susano's design is partly modeled after Popeye. Waka speaks French and has blong hair. Westerner characters were originally going to appear in the game with different font for their dialogue.
-The weapons in game represent the imperial regalia of Japan. The sword Kusanagi, a mirror, and prayer beads, all said to be owned by the mythological Shinto goddess Amaterasu. They share similar mythological background to the True Cross and the Holy Grail of European mythology. However, the imperial regalia is claimed to actually be in the current possession of the holiest Shinto shrines. No historians, archaeologists, or members of the public have actually seen them though so this claim is debatable.
-The brush gods in the game represent the animal figures of the Chinese Zodiac.
-An Okami original sound track was released in Japan as a CD boxed set but was never made available in other regions. The OST is unlockable on the Okami DVD.

We can debate console sales until the cows come home but who is really winning the console wars? Well, it turns out none of the current generation of consoles has taken the top spot. Neilsen, famous for their TV ratings studies did a study on game use. They measured the total number of minutes people spent playing games and divided them up by percentage.

According to the study, gamers spent 42.2% of their time with the Sony Playstation 2. Here's the ratings from IGN.
Videogame Console Usage (April-November 2007)
1. PS2 – 42.2% of usage minutes
2. Xbox – 13.9
3. Xbox 360 – 11.8
4. GameCube – 7.1
5. Wii – 5.5
6. PS3 – 2.5
7. Other – 17.1

This only includes TV top consoles, not computer games (which I believe would likely rank top spot if that were factored in), or handhelds.

This certainly says something about the PS2. I remember the excitement over it when I was in Grade 10. Hard to believe that was seven years ago and still harder to believe its still going. As past history has show, consoles usually die a quick death in key markets (North America, Japan, Europe) when the next generation comes out. In fact, all sixth generation consoles are still holding strong, with the Xbox 360 being the only well used seventh generation console.
Also of note is the fact that the Wii ranked so low in time used despite it selling like hot cakes.

Source: IGN

The Halo 3 juggernaut managed to knock the Wii off top spot. For the first time since it's release, the Wii dropped to second place in sales. According to market research firm NPD, Microsoft sold 527,000 Xbox 360s in September. Wii came close with 501,000 units. Once again, Playstation 3 was third, selling only 119,400 units. The PS2 is still outselling it's descendant, the aging console moved 215,000.
As for handhelds, the DS is till in the front with over 495,800 consoles sold. The slim and light PSP sold 284,500 units.

Microsoft's sales boost was primarily due to it's blockbuster game Halo 3. It took in $170 million on it's first day and $300 million in it's first week. It grossed more than any Hollywood movie for that period, which is making the studios a bit nervous. 3.3 million copies have been sold so far, with Wii Play trailing at second place in software sales with 282,000 copies.

One of the Wii's problems is it's ability to meet the demand. Wii sales will continue to weaken if Nintendo can't increase production. I have only seen the console for sale on the shelf once. Though the 360's hardware quality is inferior to the PS3, sales prove that the games still make or break a console. If Sony can't get some blockbuster tiles on the PS3 soon, sales will remain stagnated, no matter what price cuts they give.

Back around 2005, Nintendo promised us a "Revolution" in gaming. In fact, Revolution was the code name for a project that they were being tight lipped about. Nintendo had come from a bad round before that. Nintendo had been tops with their first two consoles, the NES and SNES, then fell back to second with the N64 (only selling 1/3 of the units the PS1 did), then it fell to last place with the Gamecube. Seems Nintendo really did need Sega to keep them on their toes, as their decline seemed to begin when their old rival did.

Something changed. Nintendo is now leading the pack, selling 9 million units world wide, a full 100,000 more than the Xbox 360 that was out a full year before it. The once popular Playstation is now in a distant third. (All figures on Wikipedia, from various sources)
When we heard it was being called the Wii, we all balked at it and made potty jokes. However, their was a lot of enthusiasm about the console.
What is the Wii? Well, it's basically a beefed up version of the Gamecube. It's slower and has less memory than the 360 and PS3. It cannot even play DVDs, or output to HD resolutions. The key to the Wii's success is in the controller. Full motion recognition. The game responds as the player moves about.

The Wiimote and Nunchuks work through a motion sensing bar that you place on top of the TV. It's much more high tech than Sony's Sixaxis controller for the PS3 in that it allows for a wide range of motion input, rather than just tilting the controller. You can actually swing the sword in Zelda or box in Wii Sports. Nintendo also has introduced the Wii Zapper, which is basically a souped up Light Gun that takes advantage of the new motion system. What separates the Wii from more advanced consoles is the addition to a new dimension of game play. Back in the 1990s, virtual reality was thought to be the next big thing, now we're finally getting a taste of it in our homes. With obesity rates on the rise, the Wii is one of the first consoles that actually gets people moving. (I'm aware of Dance Dance Revolution for the PS2 but that was really a one off) Such so that Nintendo is planning Wii Fitness, a workout regime for the Wii. It's the kind of stuff that grapples kids and adults alike. This can be contrasted to the rather bland, conventional game play the other consoles use. It can actually be argued that conventional game play has been suffering in recent years in order to improve the audio/visual experience.

So what does this all mean? Well, the Wii's success can directly be attributed to it's new dimension of game play that brings fun back to gaming after years of overly serious titles. That and it's also the cheapest next generation console out there. I don't think Wii is simply a fad as one Sega exec put it. Heck, in 1983, many people thought video games themselves were a fad. They were wrong. The Wii, despite it's lack of graphics power has set the bar a lot higher. Couple that with strong franchises and you've got a winner. I think by the eighth generation of game consoles, we'll see motion control as being the standard.

Market research firm NPD has released US sales figures for the next gen consoles. Once again, the Wii is still holding strong, despite shortages. The Wii beat out the competition by nearly double; Nintendo moved 403,600 units in the month of August.

The Xbox 360 saw a boost, likely due to recent price cuts. Once again taking second place in monthly sales, 276,700 were sold.

As for the PS3, well, recent price cuts didn't help it all that much. Only 130,600 PS3s were sold in August. The PS2 is still outselling it's successor. 202,000 Playstation 2s were sold. Sony is trying to market the PS2 as a cheap alternative to the Wii and it's large library of strong games is keeping it moving. The PS2 can be bought for about $140, though it does not come with a pack in game, however, sometimes stores will include one at no extra cost.

As for portables, the Nintendo DS is still selling strong at 383,300 units sold. The PSP only moved half that, selling 151,200 units. The slow PSP sales can be attributed to people waiting for the PSP Slim, which just came out this week.

As for games, the August sales charts shattered the recent notion that 'M' rated games sell more. NFL Football simulator Madden 2008 took the one, two, and four spots on the 360, PS2, and PS3 respectively. Madden 08 sold 896,600 units for the Xbox 360 alone. Undersea shooter Bioshock took third place with 490,900 units sold for the Xbox 360. Rounding out the list are a lot of modern classics (in order) such as Wii Play, Metroid 3, Mario Strikers, Guitar Hero 2 (PS2), Mario Party 8, and Guitar Hero Encores: 80s (PS2).

So what can we take from these sales. Well, we can certainly say that game demographics haven't changed much in the last year. Both the Wii and PS3 have been out for 10 months now, and the Wii has managed to consistently outsell every other console during that period. The PS3 has consistently been in third place while the Xbox 360 juggernaut still chugs along at a respectable second. As for the games themselves, people seem to be falling back to perennial favourites. Sports games are still at the top of the list, as they've always been. The Madden series is EA's flagship franchise. Bioshock seems to be the only dark horse in the list, which is rounded off by traditional platformers and party games. It's really a kick in the nuts to hardcore gamers who still believe they dominate the gaming world. Sales are showing that the big three are attracting a more casual crowd.

If there is one piece of tech news that's dominated 2006, its the game console wars between the PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii.

According to the NPD, a US based marketing firm, the PS3 sold 159,000 consoles, up 60% from the previous month. Its claimed that the $100 price drop for the 60gb model was the primary reason of this. The Wii still topped at 425,000 units sold. The Xbox 360 took second with 170,000 sold.

The Wii is still the most popular console in the world, selling more units than the Xbox 360 in the same time period. Shortages are still being reported. In fact, the only place I've ever seen Wiis on the shelf was at a Costco on just one occasion. No major electronics stores are carrying them. Apparently, they're all sold as soon as they come in. At $279, its the cheapest console. The Wii itself is signaling a shift in gaming demographics. Graphics quality is no longer as big a concern as innovative gameplay. In my opinion, I think people are looking for games that are just fun rather than the overly complex, overly serious graphical wonders that have been coming out in recent years.

Sony is also moving in a new direction with the PS3. In the past few months, they've been trying to position it as more of an all-in-one home entertainment unit rather than a video game. Such tactics have been met with only limited success in the past. I believe this new marketing tactic is to change people's perception regarding the high price. Most people think its $559 price tag is too much for a video game. Sony has had mixed success using this tactic when it comes to the PSP. Such so that the PSP has become so distanced from its chief rival, the DS, that comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges. I'd say they've done the same with the PS3. It's become impossible to compare it to the Wii since the two are just so different. I'd knock the PS3 out of the console wars simply because its now difficult to even classify it as a console. In fact, I think home theater PC is a more accurate definition of what the PS3 is.

Then there's the Xbox 360. The 360's sales have been declining, down from 198,000 in May according to NPD. I expect this is mostly because people are waiting for the fall to get the consoles since that's when the new and cooler 65nm processors are due out. Summer is a slow season for gaming anyway. November to January is when sales pick up due to Christmas and Boxing Day sales. I think the 360's reputation as being a lemon is really hurting it, especially considering the price cuts and increased warranty didn't do anything to budge sliding sales. The 360 has also tried to grapple onto the media center concept. As I said in my review, the 360's media capabilities are nothing to phone home about. It's cluttered GUI also hurts it in terms if media, especially when you compare it to the clean and easy to use GUI that the PS3 uses. If we were to compare game consoles to cars, I'd say the 360 is the minivan of consoles. It's a big thing that does a lot of things. Everyone has one. It performs its job ok but underneath, it's a piece of crap. The PS3 is like your luxury sedan. Packed with features, runs great but expensive. The Wii is your sports car. It's a fun toy and is purposely designed to do one thing exceptionally well.

Sony's Playstation 3. Supposedly the ultimate game console on the market right now, although Sony likes to down play that. The PS3 is truly an all in one media center offering true HD movies, music, photos, games, and even Linux. The only thing the PS3 can't do is cure cancer. Oh wait, it does cure cancer thanks to Folding@Home. It features a state of the art IBM Cell Processor, nVidia Geforce 7800 graphics, and Sony's Bluray high definition video disc drive. The PS3 is certainly a powerhouse, yet it sits collecting dust on store shelves while it's primary rival, the relatively low powered Wii, is selling like hotcakes. Why? Don't people want the latest and greatest anymore?

In many ways, the PS3 is a victim of it's own power and is perhaps just slightly ahead of its time. Sony built the console using the same ideas they incorporated into the Playstation 2. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be working for the PS3. There are numerous reasons for this. The primary factor is price. Here in Canada, you can get a brand new PS3 for $659.95. This price drop is primarily because the console is cheaper to import now thanks to the increased value of the Canadian dollar. However, this is still $30 US more than it sells for in the States. Historically, other consoles that have tried to sell at this price point have failed miserably. Take the Panasonic 3D0. It tried to sell for nearly $700 US, marketing itself as a home entertainment system as well. The original Playstation, ironically enough, smashed the 3D0 and sold 17x as many units despite an aggressive marketing campaign for the 3D0. The console lasted barely three years on the market. I see the same thing happening for the PS3.

It's not that the PS3 is a bad console. It's very good at what it does but its still a jack of all trades system. Sony's insistence on using the Bluray drive is another key factor that keeps the price high and sales down. Xbox 360 and Wii use DVD and a DVD derivative respectively. The eight gigabytes offered by dual layer DVDs is plenty for games. Xbox 360 does offer full HD-DVD support with an external addon drive. In my opinion, this is what the PS3 should have done. Though it is the most cost effective Bluray player on the market, this drive is what's keeping the price $200 more than the Xbox. Other than for playing HD movies, Bluray right now is pretty useless. Experts think that it won't be well into the next decade before DVD for software storage is exhausted and the new HD drives become common place in computers. This will likely come at a point when the PS3 is dead or nearing the end of its service life. Sony can't even fix this since all the games that are out are on Bluray. Talk about digging yourself into a hole.

So where does the Wii factor in? Why is it hammering the PS3? It's graphics are clearly inferior and it can't even play regular DVDs. Wii follows Nintendo's philosophy of keeping it simple. It's a game console, nothing more. However, it's unique form of game-play is where it really shines over the PS3. It's attractive to causal gamers for its simple and fun games and parents like it because it gets their kids up and moving. Something that the PS3 does not do. For gaming, the PS3 has a trail of mediocre titles and despite its power, it still retains conventional game-play. There was plans for a motion system but they were scrapped. The Wii is also 1/3 of the price of the PS3, which makes it more attractive for casual gamers and parents who don't want to mortgage their house for a game console.

It's simple as that. Though the hardware is good on the PS3, among the best, its mediocre games and high price compared to the Wii is what's keeping gamers away. With no plans for price cuts, it looks like the PS3 is just going to be another footnote in video game history.