via Gizmodo US


"Firmware update" sounds like something you'd want. Something solid, yet fresh and new. But lately deciding to update is getting more complicated. The newest firmware is no longer just a nice downloadable present from a benevolent electronics overlord; on many devices, it has been buggy or downright dangerous to install. Manufacturers like Apple, Nintendo and Sony are increasingly releasing firmware that disables functionality for business reasons—or that just make products worse by being halfbaked. Here is a rundown of firmware updates that weren't exactly beloved by users.

Sony PSP: A healthy and thriving homebrew community had sprung up around Sony's PSP, with alternate, user-made firmware adding new functionality like a wider range of supported media codecs and the ability to share music. Oh, and, well, there was also that little issue of mass piracy of games. Sony issued a number of firmware upgrades—a whopping six each in 2006 and 2007—designed to curb the little thieves, but which had the unfortunate side effect of discouraging the more creative, less piratical wing of the homebrew community. Sony used the "carrot and stick" method, enticing users with marginal new functions when the real purpose of the upgrade was to stop the homebrewers. This led to users actually trying to downgrade, or move back to an earlier firmware. Sony in turn tried to make it harder to downgrade, escalating the squabble into a war with its own customers.
Degree of Evilness: High. This is a deliberate attempt to harsh PSP users' buzz.

Sony PlayStation 3: The PS3's anticipated firmware 2.40, on the other hand, was a simple disaster. The famously expensive console was due to receive a major update, adding the flashy XMB interface to the mix. Unfortunately, while the update did work for some, it bricked a lot of PS3s, producing some very upset gamers. Sony pulled the update and re-released it, repaired, as 2.41, but Sony's mucked-up firmware was the Story of the Day. Bad press, ill will and useless hulking black machines. Not a great moment for Sony.
Degree of Evilness: Low. Simple incompetence from a corporation that should know better.

Apple iPod: Back in 2004, Real cracked Apple's FairPlay code in order to allow music purchased from Rhapsody to be played on iPods. When Apple released an update blocking Rhapsody users, Real cracked it again. Apple released another block update, and so on until Real ran out of steam. We doubt there was much demand for the service at the time, but Apple's clampdown was shameless. Hell, Apple could have played Real compatibility as yet another reason to buy an iPod.
Degree of Evilness: Medium-High. In the end, it was more bratty than evil.

Apple iPhone/iPod touch: When the first iPhone/iPod touch software was jailbroken, a few updates came out under the guise of bug fixing that just happened to make unauthorized use a lot more difficult. This time around, with the 2.0 release, the setbacks were more accidental than deliberate. The new 2.0 firmware may have creaked open the floodgates for third-party applications, but it also resulted in a lot of instability. Thanks to the update, iPhones have crashed at a rate never seen before (well, outside of my last couple Windows machines, that is), the keyboard gained a frustrating lag, "backing up" takes almost as long as the Iraq occupation (zing!), and, in a total affront to common sense, THERE IS STILL NO COPY-PASTE.
Degree of Evilness: Middle. A mix of self-preservation and circumstance, with some brazen stubbornness from His Steveness thrown in.

Nintendo Wii: In Nintendo's Photo Channel 1.1 firmware update, the game maker quietly removed support for MP3 playback in their Wii console. They replaced it with support for the iPod-friendly AAC codec, a far-too-obvious hint at what we all suspected: Nintendo has been taken over by the White Devil. How else do we explain the move from that GameCube controller that was clearly designed for some moon octopus to a remote control so simple I can operate it with my genitals? What about the new and incredibly racist all-white color scheme, the minimalist design aesthetic, and the cavalier and haughty attitude toward competition? Readers, watch out, or Jobs will get you ne-AAAACK!
Degree of Evilness: Nintendo can do no wrong. (And Steve Jobs is perfect.)

Firmware updates that leave you worse off than you were before are a kick in the crotch. But what about the slow, increasingly painful wedgie of unfulfilled promises? Electronics companies often promise to deliver features in firmware updates that, for whatever reason, aren't included at the time of purchase. In the best of cases, this is frustrating: Samsung's P2, for instance, promised Bluetooth compatibility, games, skins and more upon release, but was only achieved, finally, ...

via Eurogamer


Four new fighters have been added to the roster of playable characters in Midway's Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe.

The Joker, Kitana, Jax and Green Lantern join all sorts of family favourites in the cross-over beat-'em-up, which is due out this autumn on PS3 and 360.

The announcement of their inclusion was made alongside the release of a new gameplay video from Comic-Con, which we had the foresight to snatch and publish last week.

The video shows off some of the shiny new whizz-bangs players will have at their thumb-tips. First there's Klose Kombat, a toe-to-toe palaver where you'll see 'progressive damage' on each fighter (what progressive damage means, we're not sure, but that's another great name for a thrash-emo band gone to waste).

The most eye-catching new ability is probably the Freefall Kombat, which involves throwing your opponent down onto the next stage of the level and beating them vigorously on the way down, calling to mind Killer Instinct and Dead or Alive to some extent.

This is illustrated in the video by a clip of handsome misogynist The Flash pummelling Sonia in the face, chest and abdomen as she plummets into one of the lower circles of hell. Charmer.

You'll also see Superman knocking seven bells out of Scorpion as he crashes him through several brick walls and "Bats" (superfan parlance) taking on Sub-Zero in a lycratastic man-on-man love fest that will have even the hardest hearts melting. ...

via Computer and Video Games


Gears of War 2 will ship with a 'family friendly' parental control option, which waters down the game's awesome, sorry harsh, language for our younger gamers.

According to MCV, the parental control option, when turned on, substitutes blood and violence for sparks, and moves all bad language.

Also planned for the girls and kids are new co-op options which let two players select different difficulty settings in the same game. That way the girlfriend can stroll through Casual while you scream and sprint head-first into Hardcore.

You can't blame Microsoft and Epic for putting the options in - just look at the amount of cash coming from the 'casual' games market. But are there really any parents out there that are going to be more comfortable putting their kids in front of Gears, if the blood's replaced with sparks? ...

via Joystiq


After revealing special Trophies a couple days ago for the "survivor mode" in the PS3 port of BioShock, developer 2K Marin finally saw fit yesterday to explain what the new setting is all about. The wait was definitely not worth it as the PS3 "exclusive" mode isn't much more than a very hard difficulty level for the game.

2K's BioShock site, The Cult of Rapture, explains that in survivor mode there are no extra enemies, but the citizens of Rapture are tougher and deal more damage. Vita-Chambers will also provide less EVE back when dying, so there is some penalty. Players are also expected to take their time in the new mode and learn to utilize some of the "hardly-ever-bothered-with-'em" plasmids like Target Dummy and Enrage. All this secrecy over an extra difficulty mode was just so contrived. 2K, would you kindly never do that again? ...

via Joystiq


The God of War himself will soon find himself under new employment as Super Awesome Sackboy Superstar. The official US PlayStation blog has revealed that there are plans for five separate LittleBigPlanet pre-order bonuses in North America, depending upon where you reserve the game (a key detail that has yet to be revealed). Here are the bonuses:

• The Official "LittleBigPlanet Creator" MiniGuide by Brady Games
• A LittleBigStickerBook, which is -- shocker -- a sticker book
• LittleBigPouch, a burlap sack reportedly big enough to at least fit a copy of LBP
• An exclusive Nariko (of Heavenly Sword fame) SackGirl
• Exclusive Kratos (God of War) SackBoy

Sure, the exclusive SackPeople are nice, but we're willing to bet those will eventually arrive as premium downloadable content or recreated/shared via the LBP community. We'll take two pre-orders for the decidedly more tangible LittleBigPouch, wherever that reserve bonus may end up. ...

via Eurogamer


Europe will have to wait until "early 2009" for Chrono Trigger DS, Square Enix has told Eurogamer, but will be only "a few weeks" behind the US "holiday" launch.

Originally and fondly remembered as a SNES role-playing title - albeit not one released in PAL land - Chrono Trigger follows Crono and friends on a time-travelling adventure to change the present and events still to come. Sort of like Back to the Future, but with swords and fewer proms.

The DS revamp will make use of touch-screen controls, two screens, feature a new dungeon, and include some sort of wireless play.

"It gives me great pleasure to see Chrono Trigger being released in Europe and the PAL territories," said John Yamamoto, boss of Square Enix, who must himself be in the future if he's seen it released in Europe.

Graphically little appears to have changed, as you can see in our Chrono Trigger DS gallery. No bad thing, as Akira Toriyama's character designs were great the first time around. ...

via Kotaku


SOCOM: Confrontation will be hitting North American stores and the Playstation Network on Oct. 14 for $40 to $60, depending on the bundle you choose.

The SOCOM folks broke down the bundle options on their site a bit earlier today and it looks an awful lot like the options Warhawk gamers were given. While they haven't yet nailed it down, the team hopes to have the game hit the rest of the world at the same time.

And now for your choices:

• $59.99 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation (Bundle Version)
• Includes SOCOM Confrontation, a newly designed Bluetooth® Headset for the PLAYSTATION®3 system and exclusive Behind the Scenes videos.
  
• $39.99 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation (Stand Alone Version)
• For all of the people who want SOCOM: Confrontation on a disc. Does not include the headset or the Behind the Scenes videos.
  
• $39.99 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation on the PlayStation Network
• SOCOM Confrontation downloadable from the PSN without ever leaving you couch. Does not include the headset or the Behind the Scenes videos.

...

via Computer and Video Games


Microsoft may be footing the bill for porting Final Fantasy XIII from the PlayStation 3 to the Xbox 360, if internet rumours are to be believed.

According to Kotaku, the latest issue of Famitsu discusses the exclusivity breach, claiming that Microsoft will be paying for the game to land on Xbox consoles.

The article allegedly says that FFXIII will be out by next summer and in Europe/US by the end of next year.

Square-Enix also makes a comment, claiming that porting the game should be easy. If it's that easy, it makes you wonder if they ever considered keeping the expensive title on a single-platform anyway. ...

via Eurogamer


Braid creator Jonathan Blow is "less happy" Microsoft insisted on charging 1200 Points (GBP 10.20 / EUR 14.40) for the game, rather than 800 Points (GBP 6.80 / EUR 9.60).

But the increased price does help Blow guard against what he describes as the "Space Giraffe problem", where Jeff Minter offered his equally non-mainstream and unadvertised game at a low price, but still sold barely any copies.

"There is a significant possibility that Braid would have been the next Psychonauts or Beyond Good and Evil (critically acclaimed but nobody played it), even at USD 10. If that happens at USD 10 then I am in debt and have to get a job and can't make games any more. If that happens at USD 15, maybe I can still make games. That is the difference," said Blow on the Braid blog.

"And again, I don't know if I would have been able to convince Microsoft to release the game at 800 Points anyway, so it seemed my best move was to make the agreement and keep a good relationship with them."

If he could, Blow argues he would offer the game for as little as possible, but he has borrowed money in order to see the project through, which "makes the nature of the decision a little different".

Braid, wonderful Braid, was released today on Xbox Live Arcade and is due sometime soon on PC. We gave the game 10/10 for stretching intellect and emotion as well as being "beautiful, entertaining and inspiring". The price tag should be no obstacle here. ...