The Winner is …

Reports have been swarming since Friday but today Toshiba officially announced that it would no longer develop, make or market high-definition HD DVD players and recorders. The withdrawal of Toshiba all but ends the high-definition format war that has been waged over the last few years between Toshiba’s HD DVD and Sony’s Blu-ray Disc. Several developments undoubtedly led to this decision but from what I can tell the beginning of the end was last month’s decision by Warner Brothers to drop support for HD DVD and to release future titles in the Blu-ray format only.

On February 11th two more nails were driven into HD DVD’s coffin when the online rental company Netflix announced that it would drop support for HD DVD and would begin to purchase HD titles in Blu-ray only. Best Buy announced on the 11th as well that it would begin to promote Blu-ray as its format of choice in stores by March of 08′. A mere four days later on February 15th the coffin was nailed shut when Wal-Mart announced it would drop HD DVD and would only sell movies, players and recorders in the Blu-ray format. Three days later Toshiba conceded defeat in the DVD format war.

Who cares? …

Anyone who has invested the $300.00-$400.00 or in my case $600.00 dollars per system at launch on the Playstation 3 should be more then pleased with today’s news. While downloads may be the future Blu-ray at present has a clear playing field with unlimited potential. Sure it costs a little more but in my case as a gamer I don’t care. The more companies and developers that pick up support for the format the more titles we’ll get and the happier I’ll be.

The interesting part of this whole mess is yet to come however when Microsoft tries to obtain a license to make an external Blu-ray player for the XBOX 360 as it had previously supported HD DVD. It will be odd to see Microsoft on the other end of a class action lawsuit. The plaintiff instead of the defendant …HA.

All I know is my 60GB PS3s are starting to look better and better everyday. Anyone who thinks that downloadable content will kill recorded media in the near future is undoubtedly misinformed. Someday downloadable content may very well dethrone the disc but I doubt it will happen in my lifetime. In your kids lifetime perhaps but not today and certainly not tomorrow. In other words go buy yourself an HD television and a Blu-ray player. Step out of the Stone Age and join the rest of us in the HD revolution. The winner …Sony and Blu-ray!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars …

On the heels of this springs latest Lucas Arts release Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Which looks good) comes the highly anticipated animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Apparently the new animated series will be released to us in two chunks. The first will be a full length animated feature film which is currently set to release in North American theaters Friday, August 15. The second will be a new television series which will run weekly 30 minute episodes. Currently there are over 100 episodes planned for the new animated series.

Like I don’t enough on TV to watch? On the other hand it’s nice to know that Star Wars isn’t dead and while we will undoubtedly never get Episodes VIII, IX, & X at least the brand will go on. After reading up on it and watching the trailer a half dozen times I’m pretty satisfied that it should keep the Star Wars dork (Myself included) occupied for quite some time.

The story will be set in the fictional Star Wars galaxy of course and will take place between Episodes I & II. You can grab more information on the project at Starwars.com or you can click here for a look at the latest trailer.

Call of Duty 4 …

I know this is old news but considering I haven’t been around I figured I’d throw in my two cents about COD4. I’ve been a gamer for as long as I can remember and with all the systems and software released over the years there have been very few games that were capable of not just capturing your attention but holding on to it. The vast majority of games simply do not have enough replay value to warrant a purchase when you can simply hit your local gamer store and rent. You breeze through and beat a game in days or in most cases hours only to never play it again.

With the advent of online play that all changed. The first game I can remember that had that “it” factor as far as replay value is concerned on a console was Socom 1 for the PS2. I played that damn thing for months on end. Running around pissing people off day in and day out and in a word it was addicting. Some of the Socom sequels were equally as attractive but not all. Even today on the Next-Gen Consoles (360, PS3) replay value is a concern for gamers. We wait for that game that will keep us occupied for months on end and finally Infinity Ward delivered just such a title.

While the single player or campaign mode of the game is lacking in substance the online multiplayer definitely sports the “it” factor. The campaign mode while polished and entertaining was to short in my opinion with a protracted story line. Some players like the quick “no fluff” approach in the game while I however prefer a little more back story and interactivity in a game. That aside it was one of the better single player games (Exception …Halo 3) that I had played in a very long time regardless of what console you find yourself on.

With the exception of some server issues in the first few weeks and months of the game the online play is without a doubt the best that I have participated in. It was voted Game of the year in 2007 along with countless other awards. If you haven’t played it you’re missing out and apparently live on another planet. Be warned however if you play too much you will suffer from burn out like most other shooters. I played for the first time in almost a month (Due to burn out) last night and after a mediocre game I was back to my usual form with a 2-1 to 4-1 KD/Ratio. Ownage!

The Hiatus …

So I haven’t posted in months but apparently people do actually read this shit because I’ve gotten a sizable amount of mail asking me why I stopped. I wasn’t all that surprised since every site has some sort of following but the initial volume; I must admit was a little flattering even for an ass like me …HA. So where was I …?? I was on hiatus.

For the unedjumacated “Fonicks dun good for mee, im edjumacated!” … Hiatus

DEFINITION

Noun:
1. A break or interruption in the continuity of a work, series, action, etc.

SYNONYMS

1. Break …2. Interval …3. Space

So Anyway …

I imagine I’ll either get that itch and continue to post or I’ll get bored with it or caught up in something else. At which point I’ll probably proceed to disappear yet again. For now however I suppose I’ll be around since winter sucks balls and there isn’t much else to do at the moment.

Happy Thanksgiving …

Not everyone will have something to be thankful for or joyful about during this holiday season, but it never hurts to wish someone Happy Holidays. With that said …Happy Turkey Day!

Now go get your grub on, get fat, watch some football, and crash out for the night in prep for the madness of the weekend ahead.