The plunge from 360 to PS3: Aftermath

So the plunge happened yesterday as I have now a Playstation 3 instead of a Xbox 360 for a day and so far, I'm loving it. I currently have the 160 GB that came with Uncharted (going through it slowly, but so far its pretty good) and Pain for free (need to play that later). Even though it didn't come with component or HDMI cables, I had to roll with standard def for a bit before getting HDMI cables of my own and it makes a huge difference. At 1080i and 1080p, it flats out looks cleaner and better than the 360 from playing Uncharted and WipeOut HD (loving that game so far too). My only setback with the PS3 so far is dealing with the slow download times (Wipeout took hours to download), but I'll eventually deal with it in the end anyway. I also messed around with Home for a bit and it still has potential, but yeah it had a rocky start of some sort. Tomorrow, I'm going to buy SSFIIT HD Remix again (this time on PSN) and Lumines Supernova once its out on Tuesday via the Playstation Store. I'm also planning to get LittleBigPlanet after Christmas and maybe even Buzz Quiz TV as I need a party game if others come by. And yes, Blu-Ray is truly awesome if u have HDMI and a TV that supports 1080p (need to buy The Dark Knight again I guess).

Is the plunge worth it? I think so, I'm only buying Skate 2 next month and then the madness heats up again with my most wanted game Street Fighter IV (still buying the Collector's Edition and the Tournament Edition Arcade Stick). I guess I have to buy Killzone 2 too now that I have this system even though I'm getting tired of first-person shooters taking over the gaming world currently.

Off-topic: Here's another Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion video with Zafina and Kazuya matches. I'm loving some of the new stages so far like the Fountain and the Skyscraper stages (Great BGM too) while other new stages feel weird and random like the Spanish stage on tomatoes and a forest filled with sheep.

New pics of Street Fighter IV (First gameplay pics of Rose)

And the hits keep on coming, Kotaku released some new screenshots of the console versions of Street Fighter IV featuring Dan, Gen, Cammy, and the first gameplay pics of Rose in action. Actually, Rose looks pretty good and a fine addition to the roster considering her style of play. Her signature special moves from the Alpha games return and who knows what her Ultra will be anyway. The link above has more pics, but here are some of my favorites of the bunch (Rose is featured since there are not a lot of pics of her in action till now).

UPDATE - Check out today's 1up Show for a preview of this game (with way better gameplay footage than the G4 preview) as the 1up fellas went to San Jose's Keystone II to talk to Capcom's Seth Killian more about SF IV and the scene in general at Keystone II. The same episode has previews of Noby Noby Boy and Resident Evil 5 too.

Metal Gear DLC for LittleBigPlanet = Amazing!!!

LittleBigPlanet gets all crazy on Tuesday with the Metal Gear Solid-specific DLC with new Sackboys and Sackgirls along with new levels created by Media Molecule. The Metal Gear-inspired levels look amazing and add along the charm of LBP from the paint gun to Snake Sackboy. This is obviously the best DLC for LittleBigPlanet so far since they have been adding more themed Sackboys like Street Fighter and Santa along with more objects for user-based levels. If this Metal Gear DLC is a success, which will be, then who knows how other games will get the LBP treatment (Final Fantasy VII - Sephrioth Sackboy does exist, or even Street Fighter).

Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion is out at Japanese Arcades

Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, Namco's first major update to Tekken 6, is now out at Japanese arcades. Just like Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, this ain't your bread and butter update. Tons of gameplay changes in terms of moves (either new ones or change in properties), two new characters with Lars and Alisa, the health meters going back to green and red, new stages and customizations, and a new crappy announcer that reminds me of Tekken 5.0. As for an American release, it is likely to come here (at least SoCal) in a month or two at places like Super Arcade in Walnut. I guess I'm returning to Tekken soon - even though I suck when I play normal T6 against the stiff competition compared to Street Fighter IV.

OutRun goes downloadable...

Sega surprisingly announced OutRun Online Arcade today for Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network for an early 2009 release. Developed by Sumo Digital (who did OutRun Coast to Coast for PS3 and XBOX), this is pretty much a cleaned up version of OutRun 2 SP (Special Tours) for the Arcade (maybe Coast to Coast too). I have actually wanted to this in downloadable form and Sega finally answered. This is hopefully a start of a new vision for downloadable games by Sega like Capcom has been doing since last year. Maybe more classic racers by Sega (there are so many to choose from) are just waiting to be revisited again.

The plunge from 360 to PS3 is going down!!!

I have been thinking lately about some risky decisions involving the plunge from the 360 to Sony's almighty Playstation 3. I'm about had it with Microsoft's hardware issues regarding the 360 from red rings of death (I dealt with it four times), stratching discs, and so on. If you're going short-term, the 360 is still a viable console, but people eventually have to realize if your console is manufactured from launch to last year, that thing is going to die out eventually. If you're able to get a Jasper 360 (the newest model out now), you're safe from any RROD issues. I'm been a supporter of this system ever since its launch getting it on the first day three years ago. Now, after five strikes, I have given them so many chances and it is about time to make a change. The Xbox has pretty much reached its peak last year and this year as their lineup for 2009 exclusives-wise looks bleak for now (Halo Wars, Alan Wake, Halo 3 ODST). Sure, they have been making strides to get former third-party exclusives to their system ever since the 360's launch (GTA IV, FF XIII, Tekken 6 BR, DMC4), but since their hardware issues have probably prevented them from getting more sales, the 360 is running out of life.

With my likely jump to PS3 sometime soon, I would give up a lot of stuff and memories the 360 provided me for three years. From 56,030 achievement points, Xbox Live Arcade, Rock Band and Guitar Hero taking my money week after week, and shooter-heaven with Halo and Gears, Microsoft has been pulling the right strings in terms of giving people more games that people want on their system. I don't mind being rhythm game-less for a year till the inevitable Rock Band 3 and Guitar Hero 5 come out. Their Live service has been proven a success over time even though you have to pay 50 bucks a year to subscribe and play against others online with XBL Gold. I spent so much money on anything Marketplace related from themes, gamer pics, Rock Band songs, DLC, XBLA games, and so on. Plus, I will leave behind a friends list of 60+ people even though 20 of them are worth playing against (Gears 2, SSFIIT HD Remix). I am keeping my 20 GB HDD in case as I have an extra 20 GB that came with the Halo 360 to sell off.

I still feel that it is not too late to get a Playstation 3 right now considering that their 2009 lineup is stacked compared to 360 and Wii. There is still time to catch up on past games that came out the past two years (MGS4, LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted, Resistance 2) till the new year's batch of first-party games and exclusives (Killzone 2, Uncharted 2, God of War III). Sony's PS3 is a little open towards external devices compared to Microsoft's strict hardware policy on 360 specifically in terms of hard drive space. You can actually use external hard drives on PS3 rather than the 360-only hard drives that are expensive for how much space contained. Sure, I have to buy a new set of accessories for the PS3 (PS Eye, another Dual Shock 3, the ugly chatpad, the awesome PS3-branded Bluetooth headset that comes with SOCOM), but the system itself is more reliable compared to the 360's hardware issues.

If the plunge happens, I want it to happen this weekend. I had enough with the 360 and their stupid hardware problems. I'm tired of wasting money on DLC, themes, and pics. The Playstation Store seems more friendly now with less themes, quality over quantity PSN titles to buy (double dip for SSFIIT HD Remix, WipeOut HD, and upcoming original and innvovative games like Flower and Noby Noby Boy), and Home (it had a rocky start, but the potential is still there to be special compared to the 360's NXE). I also have to cancel my Xbox Live subscription and sell everything Xbox related (my Halo 360 in its current shape, all of my games that I have now, guitars, RB1 drums, controllers, and other accessories) to get enough store credit to pay the system for less. Sorry, Microsoft, I gave you too many chances, but now it is time to join the light side.

UPDATE - The 360's other major hardware issue, stratching discs, has reached the front page of Yahoo. Think about that too if you're still enjoying their system.

If anyone thinks I'm changing to a PS3 fanboy after this, then that's your opinion. I still like the 360 because of its advantages, but its weaknesses are turning to a boiling point for me. Do you still want to believe in the past and present ways Microsoft provides you, or believe in the future with Blu-Ray and more originality with Sony? That's your call...

Will my tag change?? - Hopefully no... My PSN ID will be the same (G Unit Ver1)

UPDATE 2 - This plunge is officially going down this weekend!!!

Games I would buy on PS3 that I want now...

• LittleBigPlanet
• Metal Gear Solid 4
• Motorstorm: Pacific Rift
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
• WipeOut HD
• SSFIIT HD Remix
• Pixeljunk Eden
• Buzz Quiz TV
• SingStar

PS3's current 2009 lineup that is stacked...

• Skate 2
• Street Fighter IV (now I have to change my pre-order from the 360 version)
• Flower
• Noby Noby Boy
• Killzone 2
• Resident Evil 5
• Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion
• Infamous
• God of War III (probably 2010)
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
• Final Fantasy XIII / Versus XIII (2010 as well)

Street Fighter IV on tonight's X-Play...

Tonight's X-Play on G4 (whether u love the channel or not) had a preview of the console versions for Street Fighter IV. While the gameplay footage is not as good as what I posted related to my current favorite game, the interview with Capcom's Seth Killian (I met him at Comic-Con) is surprisingly good (it is a sort of basics interview in terms of questions if u played the game like me lately) if you're never paid attention to the game yet with what's in the console versions, the focus attack, and the online being as good as SSFIIT HD Remix latency wise according to Seth. And yes, I'm buying that stick they showed during this preview (already pre-ordered with the Limited Edition, currently 360, but maybe PS3 if things go the right way).

I can't believe the console versions are just two months for release now.

Semi off-topic: 1up's Game Night might happen this Wednesday featuring either this game or Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Considering G4 is the first preview of the console versions, expect the major game sites to follow with their previews sometime during the week (Also there's a SF IV preview on the new Game Informer with Uncharted 2 on the cover).