More rumours for the next Xbox have come out today. This time they give as a small peak into what the console may have to offer it. Some of it is not good, at least according to IGN. VGLeaks put out several screenshots from the Durango development kit, the software used to program games for the console. IGN analysed the images and confirmed them to be accurate through sources. Some of their findings are pretty run of the mill, namely a next generation Kinect sensor. However, two things stood out.

Well now this is interesting. Hackers have already been plodding away at SimCity and found out the game can indeed be played offline. It involves putting the game into some sort of "debug mode". It's fully playable though it can't save cities or interact with other regions. By the sounds of it, the process is relatively simple. To make an offline, single player version, programmers would just have to add local saves. Something that could easily be patched in. This fully dispute's EA's claim that online functionality is so deeply interwoven into SimCity that an offline version was impossible.

Furthermore, a Maxis insider told Rock, Paper, Shotgun that the servers only handle cloud saves and communication between players. All the computational business happens on the local end of things. He stated he can't understand why EA keeps claiming otherwise.

It's also been suggested that the servers don't even react to your gameplay in real time. Kotaku found out that the game could run happily offline for 20 minutes before it realized it wasn't connected to the server. This backs up the hackers claims and proves SimCity really isn't an MMO at all, nor does it need the servers to run.

So it seems EA isn't being completely honest over their always-on functionality. The servers do enhance gameplay but are not necessary for it. Yet EA continues to state otherwise. The plot keeps thickening.

Sources:
-Destructiod
-Rock, Paper, Shotgun
-Kotaku

Electronic Arts once again has egg on their face. The latest fiasco has to do with SimCity 5 and its always-online functionality. EA had planned to reinvent the game as a multiplayer experience. Instead gamers were met with clogged servers and dropped connections, rendering the game unplayable. It launched without enough servers to meet demand. EA says they plan to add more over the weekend to address customer concerns. This is just the latest PR disaster for the company, who Consumerist named the "worst in America".

For those less technically inclined, the always-on DRM SimCity uses requires a player to be connected to an EA server in order to play. Should the connection be lost on their end or yours, the game is rendered unplayable. This method of copy protection has been met with controversy since its introduction a few years ago. Many gamers feel it's unnecessary for single player games. Aside from that, it has been plagued with technical problems since day one. The issues with SimCity are only the latest in long line of rocky launches. Last year, Diablo III was met with harsh criticism when gamers could not log on to its servers. Prior to that, Ubisoft was met with outrage when the same thing happened to those who had bought Settlers 7.

The definition of insanity is attempting the same thing over and over, yet expecting different results. In the case of always-online copy protection, it has never worked. While Diablo III managed to keep piracy to a minimum, the problems with the system generated a lot of ill will towards Blizzard/Activision from the gaming community.

SimCity Burning - or how gamers really feel buying EA. From GotGame.com

EA has followed the classic corporate model for the entertainment industry. Buy up competition and focus on producing products at low cost in high volumes. Suits with MBAs control the creative process, and most don't even posses a creative molecule in their body. The conglomeration of studios has definitely hurt gaming. PC gaming in particular has taken it on the nose more than other platforms. Gamers are often still treated as pirates even though they legally obtained their games.

So far SimCity's problems have been met with strong backlash from the gaming community. Video game publications are recommending people not buy it, at least not until EA gets their act together. Most companies would freak at this level of negative press. Yet EA seems to blow it off as a lot of whining over spilled milk.

What has happened is inexcusable and rather amateurish  A company that large should anticipate large server demand at launch and prepare accordingly. They didn't and in my opinion, they don't deserve your $60 because of this.

Though I will take the time to take a knock at my fellow gamers. We knew this was coming. EA never hid the fact that SimCity would require a constant server connection to play. We also know that these systems have never worked properly in the past. Why would this time be any different? Yet people still bought the game. People are probably still buying it. That's the fatal flaw. As Forbes columnist Paul Tassi put it, the only way to force EA to change is to vote with your wallet.


Images from 
Falahultrachaos
GotGame.com

Meet the Kitchen family, and their five year old son Danny. Like many families, they have a communal iPad they let their child play with. Dad was kind enough to even download some free games for Danny. He put his password in, grabbed the games, and let his kid go to town. Over the next 15 minutes, the precious little scamp went on a mind boggling shopping spree. To the family's horror, Danny had racked up £1,700  ($2500) on dad's credit card.

Fortunately this story has a happy ending. Apple realized it was a mistake and decided to refund the Kitchens. However, there's a lot of lingering questions. How could this happen, and more importantly, how can you prevent it from happening to you?

The blame obviously lies with the parents themselves. Apple had emailed them an itemized invoice for 70 pounds the next day. They ignored it assuming it was sent in error. In fact it's likely the spree would have continued had the Kitchens' credit card company not called. That's mistake number one. Any charge that you did not make on your credit card should always be cause for alarm. ALWAYS check your receipts. I can't stress this enough.

The second mistake was allowing a five year old unsupervised access to the family computer. Kids are a lot smarter than we adults tend to give them credit for. It's truly amazing how much trouble they can make in such a short time. Especially when you give them the means to buy things when the child has no concept of money.

"Free" games targeted at young children frequently use micro-transactions for in-game items. These items range for $1 all the way up to $100 or more for something as stupid as a "Trunk of Diamonds" in one particular farming simulator. The kid is smart enough to know that more resources make the game easier. What they don't know is these items cost mommy and daddy real, finite money.

Lucky for you, it's very easy to protect yourself from what's happened to the Kitchens and countless others.

1. Never let kids use the computer unsupervised. 
Don't treat it as a babysitting tool. If your child wants to play a game, play it with them. As any parent knows, kids that young can start a world of trouble if you take your eyes off them. For the love of god never share your passwords with your children either. Heck I can remember hacking my dad's user account when I was eight because his password was too obvious.

2. Familiarize yourself with your computer's security and parental controls. 
It's amazing how many people rely on technology to run their lives, but are still technologically illiterate.

In iOS, under the settings tab, go into General and click restrictions  These are your parental controls.  The list labelled "Allowed Content" is what you're interested in. Particularly the two at the bottom. By default, iOS allows in-app purchases and waits 15 minutes before requiring a password to buy and download new content from the App Store. You'll want to set these to OFF and IMMEDIATELY respectively. This will prevent kids from accidentally buying things without your permission.

Turn off "In-App Purchases" and set Require Password to "Immediate" to prevent accidental charges

3. Set up a separate iTunes account for your kids
The biggest problem with iOS is you can't set up separate accounts for different users. HOWEVER, what you can do is set  up multiple iTunes Store accounts which can be used on a single device.

It's very easy and requires about five minutes of your time. Sign out of iTunes on your computer, then hit sign in and select "Create Apple ID". Don't tie a credit card to this account. Just select "none" as your payment method. Now that your kid has their own account, which you will monitor, they cannot download any apps or in-game content that aren't free.

4. Teach your kids the value of money
It's never too early to start teaching your kids the value of a dollar. Get them to do some chores to earn money, or if they like playing games on your iPad, some iTunes gift cards. Let them know that once they spend the value of the card, that money is gone and they'll have to earn another. Not only will this prevent you from financial heartache, it will set them up for a responsible future.

5. When all else fails, don't count on a bailout
The Kitchens got extremely lucky here, in that Apple refunded them. However, they are a business not a charity. Once these incidents start happening too many times, they won't be as forgiving. If you take the above steps to protect yourself, you shouldn't encounter problems. That is unless your kid is Bart Simpson and is smart enough to steal your credit card. But that's a whole different kettle of fish.

Sources:
ArsTechnica
BBC News

So there we have it, Sony has officially unveiled the Playstation 4. We've had a few days for it to sink in now. Unfortunately my work schedule hasn't allowed me to tackle the unveiling sooner than today. Here's a complete recap of what went down, what to expect, and which rumours were true and false.

It will be called the Playstation 4
Sony's newest console will be officially named the Playstation 4, or just PS4 for short. I expected Orbis to be the name of the new system to match the Vita. However, there's just too much brand strength with the traditional naming scheme, so Sony stuck with it.

It will have an octal core AMD "Jaguar" processor
We had two rumours served up suggesting the PS4's processor would either be a quad core at 3.2ghz or an octal (8) core Jaguar based chip. Sony has confirmed that the latter is the case. Not much is known about the exact specifications as of yet. We do know it's 64-bit and based on the x86 programming language, the same used for PCs and Macs. Sony wants to make their console as developer friendly as possible. This first step makes it very easy to program new games and port existing ones from Windows.

Continued after the break

Sony had some big news for the Playstation faithful. All signs are pointing towards a PS4 reveal on February 20th. The Wall Street Journal claims inside sources confirmed this to be true. Gamers are hungry for the next generation of TV top console. It's been seven years since the Xbox 360 first launched. In an industry where generations usually last five, this has been long one. On top of that, hings haven't been good for Sony lately. The Vita flopped and revenues have taken deep cuts. Despite statements to the contrary, Sony seems poised to get the PS4 in the public eye before Microsoft makes their move. It's in their best interest to.

Lets take a look at what we can expect. Just some forewarning, this is a little more technical than my other posts. Keep reading after the break.

You walk into the front door and you're met with wall to wall nerdgasm. The shop is filled with the musty smell of old electronics. Every single nook and cranny is lined with games for every system you could dream of, and a few you never knew existed. ToyRatt in Milton, Ontario is one of those rare gems. Their staff is driven by a passion for vintage video games. You can chill out with them, talk games, or even play a few with your fellow geeks on their big screen TV. Something that future generations may be denied if Sony and Microsoft get their way.

Today, Edge leaked a report suggesting that the Xbox Durango may ban the use of used games. When you purchase a disc copy, its specific serial number would be forever tied to your Xbox Live account. Sony recently patented a similar system to block out used games.

The used video game market has been around for as long as gaming has been around. However, game publishers have suddenly begun to equate it to piracy. When you buy a used game, publishers never see a dime from that sale.

For retailers like GameStop, the sale of second-hand games is big business. Profit margins on new games are  thin. A friend who owns a computer shop sold games at one point. At the time he was only making $5 for every copy. He didn't sell enough to make it worth while so they were taken off the shelf. Retailers like GameStop and Best Buy have the same problem. Buying and selling used games is a good way to boost profits. Since they're cheaper to buy, it's a win-win for both retailers and budget minded gamers. Though many have accused GameStop of paying too little for used copies and selling them only a few dollars below MSRP. Which is partly why Microsoft and Sony have their panties in a knot.

Even if you hate GameStop, the loss of the used market would be a major infringement on consumers rights. If this becomes reality, video games would be the first ever industry to completely ban the sale of used items. Imagine how ludicrous it would be if eBay, Kijiji, Craigslist and Autotrader were shut down. If Goodwill could no longer accept donations because sales of used clothes aren't going to labels. It's all silly but that's the point we've gotten too in our greedy, materialistic corporate culture.

Worse still, it would kill the soul of gaming. For years, gamers have been buying, selling, renting, and trading  to grow their collections and fuel their obsession. Stores like ToyRatt aren't GameStop. They're run by a couple of guys or girls who just live and love video games. They're not greedy corporate monsters. If the industry bans used games, they'd be put out of business. Classic yet unpopular titles would die quick deaths in favour of bland shooters that sell lots but hardcore gamers hate. Once the servers go down and the discs stopped getting pressed, it's curtain call. Many great games I've discovered I've found in used bins. The loss would cheapen the art form by denying so many fantastic titles the appreciation they deserve.

What about the PC market? Used games have been defacto banned on that platform for years. Which is true except for one catch. PC games tend to be substantially cheaper than console games, and they tend to go on sale more often. Also many disc based PC games have moved away from DRM which ties copies to specific accounts or hardware. The Spore debacle and the revolt of casual games four years ago caused a paradigm shift regarding this style of copy protection. So used PC gaming has potential for a comeback.

Lets keep our vibrant culture alive by retaining the used market, help protect small used game shops, and let Microsoft and Sony know what you think of their plans. Tweet @Xbox and @Playstation to ensure that future gamers will have access to today's best games. Use #SaveUsedGames.

You're driving through the Australian outback to a town you've never been to before. You come to a cross roads. The sign says go straight, your iPhone says turn left. So you turn left. You've become so accustomed to blindly trusting technology. Your phone could never make an error, could it? A day later police find you near dead out in the scorching desert. Apple Maps had thought the town was miles away from where it actually was. 

This is a true story about Mildura in Victoria, Australia. It's a typical small town about half way between Melbourne and Adelaide. Mildura is a quaint little place of 30,000, known for its vineyards and wineries.The town is connected to the two cities by a pair of modern, four lane highways.It isn't located off a dirt road in the middle of the outback. Though according to the iPhone, it is. Apple Maps had placed the town inside the Murray Sunset National Park. After six separate incidents of people getting lost in the bush, state police issued a warning to motorists. Apple's mapping software was not to be trusted. 

This topped the laundry list of problems with Apple Maps. Some roads were missing, some roads that didn't exist were there, many things were located miles from where they actually were, 3D rendering looked like a warped Dali painting. As soon as the app launched, the complaints started rolling in. Making matters worse, it was made the default mapping application. The Google Maps app was no longer an option.

Mildura is not in the middle of the outback. Source: Wikipedia

In the end, it forced Apple to do something  unprecedented. They made a sincere apology for their mistake and even pointed people to alternative apps they could use in the interim. Apple has apologized for issues before. However, they usually twist it to somehow blame the user. This time, they knew they had screwed up bad. They released an incomplete product based built using bad data. Not because they thought they could do better than Google, but because they didn't want to deal with Google. The search giant ultimately had the last laugh. The new Google Maps app for iOS broke download records. Steve Jobs must be rolling in his grave.

More important than Apple's apology is what the fiasco says about ourselves. As smartphones have become commonplace, we've gotten comfortable with letting them think for us. So much so that common sense takes a ride in the trunk.

Windows 8 stands out as one of Microsoft's more questionable decisions. The concept was a page right out of Apple's playbook. Take the strongest elements from the mobile sphere and bring them onto the desktop. The execution didn't work as well as the company had hoped, and left a lot of users confused.

The operating system hadn't fundamentally changed in seventeen years. Granted it's been spiffed up and tweaked considerably in that time. However, it still looks, works, and feels the same as it did way back in 1995. Seeing the popularity of tablets, Microsoft jumped into the already overcrowded marketplace screaming "me too!" As such Windows 8 was designed to by a hybrid OS. It had both tablet and desktop elements, and a radically new UI called Metro.

Metro was the very same interface that had gotten raving reviews on Windows Phone 7. So it made sense to port it over. The end result was the sort of beautiful mess that Microsoft seems to master ever even numbered release. The conventional desktop was hacked to pieces, missing the all familiar Start button. You were forced to use the new UI whether you liked it or not.

The Metro interface wasn't well suited for computers that lacked touch screens. In other words most systems Windows ran on. It had a great app store and a sleek interface, it just wasn't ideal for a desktop and laptop environment. It made even less sense for business. Reception was lukewarm from hardcore Windows fans and cold as ice from the general public. A month into its release and it had failed to break Windows Vista's launch sales numbers. Most people saw it as having no real advantage over Windows 7.

Window's 8's brand new "Metro" UI, -- image from Microsoft

On the tablet side, Windows RT and Surface tablets were also a sinking ship. Apple had just released the iPad 4 and Samsung had come out with the Galaxy Note 10.1. Both featured high resolution QXGA "retina" displays and fast new chips. The Surface lumbered along with its aging Tegra 3 processor and 768p display.

There was nothing particularly wrong with the Surface. As far as tablets go, it's a fine tablet. Metro worked like a charm, it was sleek, and was better designed than both Android and iOS. Problem was you could get a much better tablet with better app support for the same price. The iPad 4 and Note were three times faster and had three times the display resolution. Needless to say sales were modest at best.

That all said, Windows 8 is perhaps the most important version since Windows 95. It signals another paradigm shift in personal computing. One where touch screens will begin to dominate over traditional inputs, and tablets will begin to replace laptops. As such, Windows 8 is very much a prototype of things to come. Microsoft may have come late to the party but they've so far delivered the best mobile GUI I've seen, and it will only get better when things get perfected in Windows 9.

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.