It is almost amusing to see a reviewer blaming the audience for the way a 6.0 is viewed. The reason the 7-10 scale exists is because game reviewers are not hard enough on games. Honestly most games, even the big selling franchises should be falling into the 6-7 area, 8s + should be reserved for when something truly special comes along. The description of what a 6.0 game is is well laid out in this article and yes this is how a 6.0 should be viewed. However you need to review to a scale that fits a 6.0 being as described above and that means undoing years of previous reviews that treated 6.0s with the same disgust as a mouldy sandwich. Only recently have I seen Gamespot become a little harsher on reviews than they used to be and I like it, but you need to keep it consistent in order for people to understand what Gamespot deems a 6.0 or any other score for that matter. Every time you give a mediocre game an 8 you mess up this scale and confuse your readers.
I wouldn't have included Minecraft Pocket edition. Don't get me wrong I love the PC version to bits, but it is a lesson in patience when playing on a touch pad.
Sony I would be surprised if they dropped out because the PS console are gateways of introducing new tech into peoples homes at a resonable price. They did it with DVD and they have now done it with bluray, the PS is also the biggest (maybe even only) reason you would ever consider buying a 3D TV. They have also just reentered the portable space, so to drop out only a few months after would be rediculous. If they were to drop out I don't see them continuing as a sofware company, I think it is all or nothing with Sony. Software doesn't sell you TV's and surround sound systems and this is Sony's primary business. All that being said I don't expect anyone to drop out by this E3 and if this Nanea Reeves truly believes this then he is a moron. There are going to be big changes next generation but this will be mainly to dev studios and the cost of making and distrubuting games. Part 2
I would love to see Nintendo as a software only company. I really do like their games but am unwilling to use their motion controls and I really can't look past the standard definition output of the Wii. Sure it is only cosmetic but when you blow that up to 55" it is like I have really bad eyesight and have lost my glasses. Also I am not completely sold on the Wii U control yet. If we accept the premise that one company is not going to continue then Microsoft is the least likely to go simply because they look to be on a hot streak right now. They also have the least to offer in terms of software, sure they own Halo now but Halo isn't the brand it used to be. Forza, Fable, Gears (which has now concluded), all great games but not enough to hold a gaming division at Microsoft around. Plus they would never develop for Sony. As I already said I could see Nintendo as a software only company far more than either Sony or Microsoft. To put it into perspective thousands of people would have bought the PS3 as a bluray player and I'm sure with all the extras that are now on Xbox Live you could use the system as a Netflix machine, Nintendo are the only ones left making a single use machine and I don't see that cutting it any more. The only snag being they have already annouced the Wii U, but still if they were to go software it wouldn;t be the first time a console has been cancelled. Part 1
Wii U was shown wayyyyyyy too early. It was like Nintendo had nothing else to build a show around so they just threw in whatever they had of the work in progress console that was laying around.
I think EA's reaction to the ban is fine. Iran is not America (in case you didn't know) EA just seems to be respecting the decision of a foreign country with different views and values. It is almost irrelevant that it happens to be Iran. Also is it just me or did this article sort of just, well, end. It was basically a list of how the ESRB works, it didn't really tackle the question it poses. Does the ESRB and the fact that the big three don't allow AO games on consoles limit creativity in the medium? Yes, if you want to explore a story that would breech the AO guide lines. Overall though it doesn't, if you were really pressed to do an AO game you can on PC the only drawback is that it will probably make less money. But hey, we are talking about creative vision here, money doesn't matter to us..........
Just wanted to add something to my comment about swapping the cpu cooling for stock and getting rid of the SSD. On amazon.com each of these parts are $120 so if we stick to stock cooling and throw out the SSD we have an additional $240 to spend on a better graphics card. Based on amazon prices again that's $590 to spend on graphics which easily nabs a 580GTX and not too far off a 590GTX. Then looking at Tomshardware benches a 580 runs the game at 69fps @ 1920x1080. So in response to the end of the article, don't go spending $240 on additional stuff you really don't need (at least not yet) and then say you cant get above a solid 60fps. That is just poor rig building.
If you are writing this from a console gamers perceptive why use things like an SSD and dedicated water cooling? Obviously the first thing a console gamer considers about when comparing PC to console is price, a SSD is not necessary when you take budget into the equation also what you save on the water cooling and SSD you could upgrade to a 580GTX which would gain far more frames than the boost you get from the OCing the water cooling allow you to do. 16GB of ram is over kill again, but RAM is cheap now so screw it. You have missed an opportunity with this article by not proving that when building smart (and simple to accommodate new builders) you can get very good performance for a reasonable price. Considering the game this entire build is based around is one of the best looking, highest profile, multiplatform games this year I would have thought that was the whole point.
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