1) They had a slow start and promised that they would finally finally recover. They didn't

2) lack of exceptional exclusives

Oblivion, Fallout 3, Bioshock, GTA 4, Call of Duty 4 and Final Fantasy XIII are no longer exclusive titles

3) the new format they are pedaling now hasn't been excepted as the successor to DVD yet, not to mention not every one has an HDTV to take advantage of the added resolution benefits. Unlike the DVD format Blu-Ray feels more like an unneccesary improvement to an already good format. Is the difference noticable? Yes. Is it worth paying a lot more just to get movie theater resolution media format? Probably not. Its the same movie, and the extra pixels don't necesarily add much. Is the Matrix going to be MIND BLOWING since its in full 1080p? Yes!!!!111

4) The head of Sony gaming division quit

5) More storage capacity of the PS3 is good because the games can be 'more complete' than Microsoft versions and will require fewer discs. Unfortunately this means that Sony games that actually use most of that space take a very long time to complete. This means better longevity (maybe) and longer delays. In the end it causes a loss in confidence (in the short term) of third party companies to make games for their system.

6) No momentum.

7) E3 just isn't the same as it used to be

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Okay okay I shouldn't be so negative. There are a few redeeming qualities of the PS3 for those who already have one and don't like bad news

The PS3:

1) Works both as a Linux PC and a gaming machine

2) Get an HD projector, some nice speakers, some fold out chairs and a PS3 for a portable movie theater

3) Plays PSone, and PS2 games

4) you can play your games for free online with friends

This latest E3 for Nintendo is utter bull. I mean a sand box music game? And whats with the mic that you attach to the Wii sensor bar? A Wiimote attachment to increase sensitivity? Games that use the balance board? What is this world coming to? When did Nintendo Sell out on gimmicks instead of gaming innovation? Wheres the adventure games? Wheres Zelda, Metroid, Mario and Captain Rainbow? Has Nintendo totally lost it? I know that Nintendo is trying to broaden its audience but this is too much. I'm pretty sure that music game is going to be like Wii Play II (totally boring and zero replay value). I think I'm going to go join the Microsoftcamp now.

So I learned a few things this week. But then again who doesn't get to learn a thing or two every day in life.

Last week I was lucky enough to drive a few Mercedes Benz cars around. I never actually drove them that fast (I was kept under 15 Miles an hour). My job was more like vallet parking than a test drive. I also drove a Hummer (H3) and a Jeep. I would have to say the Jeep was more fun to drive; better visibility and less sporatic gas and break.

Map Quest is not that good if you want to find a location. Lets say that you have to go to a location in the middle of an industrial park. For those who don't know what an industrial park is; it is like a residential neighborhood except the buildings are bigger and the addresses are numbered in no specific order (not sequential like residential neighborhoods). Also Map Quest tends to be nonspecific when referring to locations. All it showed was one street and a side road. The marker was in the middle of the street; so I didn't even know which side of the street this place was on (!!!). Also Map Quest only shows the main roads. So unfortunately there are no roads or buildings to grab a reference from. Also Map Quest does not usually mark the building. So you will have to look behind tall trees, and written on small letters; the address of your location. This is can be very stressful. I eventually had to drive up to pedestrians and ask them where this place was, or if I was even close enough to it. After about 30 minutes of searching (after I was at the point Map Quest claimed was my destination) I found the place I was looking for.

Chrono Cross is awesome. I played some more of that game. For any one who has played it: the special move that Guile has is pretty sweet. For those who don't know he has an attack that warps his staff into the foe's heart and then pulls it out (for massive damage). Another unrelated tid bit: PSone games are like the impressionistic era of gaming; the graphics are pretty bad but the 3D images are still kind of visible. I like the effect even though the graphics may not be exceptional. The nice thing about PSone games where the stories of the games (especially the RPGs). In my book a game with awful graphics and a great story is way better than a game with great graphics and an awful story.

I was playing Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath in the attempt to defeat a Brutal Computer Player. I figured out how to defeat a Hard (the difficulty level below Brutal) but Brutals seemed impossible (I kept building a massive defense only to later be wiped out by an impossibly massive army). After about 6 or so quick games ending in my utter defeat I decided to lower the game speed (read: slowed down time) to something that a human could play at (seriously if anyone can beat a Brutal computer on full game speed, I salute you). Guess what. I crushed the Brutal computer player and at that game speed I could do it again if I wanted to. I think a Brutal at half game speed is much easier than a Hard at full gamespeed. Having more time to think against a Brutal computer player really helps. (compare this to games I used to play against Brutals in Red Alert 2) Enemies were way easier in Red Alert 2, as you could sit behind a defense (since defenses were Godly powerful) and win as the opponent ran out of money.

Nintendo announced a new attachment for the Wiimote to increase accuracy of the Wiimote. My reaction: 'hmm why didn't they do that to begin with?' And it costs $15 per Wiimote to "upgrade" them. That Wiimote better be darn good if it costs me $55 for "full capability". My guess is that they are adding a second accelorometer sensor to augment the other one contained within the Wiimote. On one hand I'm thinking that this is cool and that the Wii has needed this "upgrade" all along. On the other hand: it feels like an extra cost. I think Nintendo should provide this upgrade for free. Countless Wiimotes will have to be upgraded. The future of this will probably be something simple like: all Wiimotes from now on come with the upgrade for free. But then again Nintendo loves to add gimick after gimick just to make a quick buck. I hope it is as good an upgrade as Nintendo says it is.

Red Alert 3 alternate reality Real Time Strategy is back and better than the last one. Not only are they going to have the Soviets and Allies but they are also going to have the Rising Sun too! They will have have futuristic stuff like Mechs, Submersible Tanks and Aircraft that convert into ground vehicles. Maybe Red Alert 4 we will have Middle Eastern fighers (something a kin to the GLA from CNC Generals) or not, because Red Alert is more: "what if World War II happened differently and now instead of in the past".

The Pelamis wave power generator produces energy from ocean waves. The nice thing about it, is it will slow down the waves of the ocean. Just think about how cool it would be if you were able to stop tsunamis with farms of these. Not only that but you would produce energy off of it. I just wonder how you compensate for rising and falling tides.

• Square Enix is making Chrono Trigger for the DS! It will be out in time for Christmas

• Diablo III is 'officially' under development (as opposed to under development in secret).

• Heavy is getting upgraded soon (Team Fortress 2)

We learn by playing (doing). Playing is like exercise for the mind. Videogames require no 'area' to be played. Videogames can not be 'snowed out' or 'rained out'. You can transfer Gigabytes at a time over the internet very fast. Information is free (can be borrowed from a library). Gigabytes are cheap (you can buy a one Terabyte harddrive for less than $200). Learning at a school is a physical and mental activity. School is expensive. Going to college is more expensive. You can learn most basic (pre college) topics without ever going to school (through libraries, wikipedia, current educational software and the internet).

What are you doing when you play Halo 3, Team Fortress 2 or Counter Strike Source? You are honing your skills. You are getting better at the game. You are learning. Who said that learning was hard. Its not. As soon as you start playing a new game you are learning how the game controls, most effective strategies for winning and you are constantly searching for the fastest possible route to victory. You are trying to meet an objective. Is playing a game that much different than doing a homework assignment or taking a test? A little. Why are learning games so much different than ordinary games? The difference is: the topics covered in school are information while the topics covered in games are like a trade. In school you learn concepts (like division, spelling, communications, history), in games you learn how to 'do' something (like be an effective sniper, or win races).

Education can be broken down two ways into: memorization and application. Some classes require you to memorize a lot of different things and to be able to randomly be able to pull them out for later use. While others require you to not only memorize them, but be able to use what you know to solve problems (like mathematics). Strangely we still use books to learn, when most of the population is more used to watching TV. I know that I get more out of watching an educational program on Discovery channel than any textbook, or lecture class. Flash cards are far more effective for learning than any textbook (since they seem to be layed out in a random fashion).

If people can learn more effectively from software whether it be: a videogame, a TV program or an interactive program; shouldn't that be the goal of educational institutions as well? Education should be cheap, quick to learn and easy. All the resources are here. What is stoping us from doing this?