Weekend Discussion

All I want to do this weekend is see Star Trek. Anything else is secondary. The hype is overwhelming, and I feel like some sort of nerdy traitor for not having seen it yet.

mancide has asked me to point out his shackstats site, which lets you see how your post count, LOLs and/or Xbox/Windows Live Gamerscore ranks relative to everyone else around here. Make sure your Gamertag is in your profile, else you look like a scrub.

My little brother also passes along word that his short film "Danny and the Page" has again progressed in Rooftop's National College Funny Film Competition. Only the four highest-voted videos will progress to the final round in Aspen--think he's got a shot?

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    May 16, 2009 9:14 AM

    fucking red ring, this is the second time. What a piece of shit fucking console FUCK. I'm buying a PS3.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:22 AM

      me too. I only had a 360 for 2 weeks. it's really frustrating. :(

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 9:24 AM

        im about to hit the 2 year mark on my elite :o

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 9:27 AM

          you just cursed yourself, sorry but yours is going to red ring in 7 days

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 9:30 AM

            ive been cursing myself for the past 2 years talking about how mine hasnt gone belly up probably

            • reply
              May 16, 2009 9:32 AM

              Nah, it won't RRoD now. It will wait until the fall releases start to ramp out, and then come out and give you a giant FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.

              • reply
                May 16, 2009 9:32 AM

                as long as it makes it for ghostbusters next month!

                • reply
                  May 16, 2009 9:55 AM

                  Haha, seriously. I am debating not even turning my 360 on till then for fear it will RRoD if I look at it wrong.

                • reply
                  May 16, 2009 10:26 AM

                  [deleted]

                  • reply
                    May 17, 2009 9:15 AM

                    i will probably never buy a ps3. don't need another money hole and the only exclusive im interested in is warhawk

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 9:30 AM

          My Launch system is still going strong.

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 9:44 AM

            As is mine, I almost want it to Red Ring so I can send it in, I just know that after the extended warranty runs out it will Red Ring and I'll be screwed.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:23 AM

      Hense the reason I haven't touched a 360 yet. I pay good money to keep my gaming systems from ending in hardware failure, why chance it with MS.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:23 AM

      I would send it in for repair, and wait until E3 before getting a PS3.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:26 AM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        May 17, 2009 8:05 AM

        Can't afford? How much is a repair anyway?

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:28 AM

      What does one flashing red ring indicate? I get this every time I power on the console, but if I shut it down and turn it right back on its fine. This is a new console they sent me in exchange for my old rrod one.

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 9:29 AM

        [deleted]

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 10:03 AM

          Whats the warranty for consoles they send you as replacements? I assume if its broken when you get it they should fix it?

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 10:10 AM

            On the xbox.com support page I noticed that the normal 3-month warranty on mine reset to the day they shipped it back to me. RROD is only 3 years from when you purchased the first xbox but the normal 3-month resets when you send it in.

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 9:30 AM

        [deleted]

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 10:38 AM


        var indicationString:String = new String();
        if (redRingCount >=1) {
        indicationString = "You ";
        }
        if (redRingCount >=2) {
        indicationString += "Are ";
        }
        if (redRingCount ==3) {
        indicationString += "FUCKED!";
        }

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:32 AM

      Every time someone posts about this, it makes me glad I bought a PS3 back when I did and waited as long as I did before buying a 360. Even then, I'm just waiting for the 360 to shit the bed. I only buy cross platform games on it when they're clearly better in some major, meaningful way (like lots of extra content or something) and generally just stick to buying the PS3 versions since I'm pretty sure I'll actually be able to play those titles 1-2 years down the line while I'm grateful everyday that my 360 actually powers on.

      Hopefully the next MS console has full backwards compatibility with 360 titles and allows XBLA-purchased assets to be migrated over so that I won't have to actually rely on it to work. It's pretty sad that it's less reliable than a SegaCD or a PCE CD. Double bummer that it can't be fixed by simply flipping it upsidedown like the early PS1s.

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 9:36 AM

        This is the only reason I continue to support the 360, honestly. I have a possibly jaded hope that the next console from MS will fully support 360 games.

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 9:45 AM

          Hopefully they're more dedicated to the effort than they were with the Xbox -> Xbox 360 BC. What they did was pretty impressive, but there's still a number of amazing games that you just can not play anymore (like Stranger's Wrath).

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 11:34 AM

          I think this was the idea behind their choice of hardware this time around, being more scalable and in-house will let them maintain future BC. Same can be said for the PS3 as well, just upgrade components with minimal R&D to develop something from scratch. Also remember that article on how they might even "improve" 360 games on the next console?

          With Xbox it was all OTS hardware which was more expensive in the long term and also not as scalable.

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 10:19 AM

        I bought a PS3 when MGS4 came out, and to date I have only ever played two games on it: MGS4 and LBP.

        There simply isn't anything else out on it that I want that I don't already have on 360, and it seems like the 360 has more good exclusives that I want than the PS3 does. :|

        The only game I can see myself caring about on the PS3 in the future are:
        - FF13 (or whatever number they're up to)
        - MGS5

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 10:24 AM

          God, they need to just retire the "Solid" subseries. They pretty much ended it with 4, so I hope that they start up a new Metal Gear series. Another Acid would be nice, as would another Portable Ops.

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 7:09 PM

        God help us if the next MS console isn't backwards compatible, and the day comes when they stop supporting RROD's.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:35 AM

      It took me 6 red rings before I went out and picked up a ps3

    • Ziz legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
      reply
      May 16, 2009 9:41 AM

      I've gotta pay $99.99 to get mine fixed. Mine has the error code E75, which is hardware failure i guess. I hada send it in once when that one update bricked a lot of consoles. I got the same one back and hadn't had any problems till this.

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 9:43 AM

        I would honestly just pay the extra $100 and pick up a new Arcade and get some extra games with it, another controller, the HDMI port, and a new warranty. When my dvd drive started dieing that's what I did and threw on my 120 hard drive and it has been awesome since.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:55 AM

      This seems to be the trendy thing to post about these days.

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 10:08 AM

        [deleted]

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 10:39 AM

          Yep. I've seen a couple from Shackers the past couple of days. The Shack piled on Shack Wolf on his 10th red ringer, accusing him of sexually abusing his console.

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 10:44 AM

            I'm sorry, but SW posted some pics of his 360 sitting on a carpet while they were playing GH or something.

            worst idea I can possibly think of for any electronic device that is prone to overheating.

            I'm recalling something from a year or two ago - I could be wrong

            • reply
              May 16, 2009 11:37 AM

              I warned my friend who I sold my 1st 360 to about putting it on the floor that's carpeted and right next to a cat litter box for two cats.

              It RROD within 3 months and it was a launch console I sold when the Elite came out. I routinely dust the entertainment center and dust the 360 with compressed air. Probably once a week. Also the room is hardwood flooring so dust is minimal to begin with.

            • reply
              May 16, 2009 11:40 AM

              WAY fucking wrong, I have put this thing on the carpet let alone post pics of such stupidity.

              • reply
                May 16, 2009 11:41 AM

                insert a *never there

                • reply
                  May 16, 2009 8:55 PM

                  Sorry, you lose. We all know 360's instantly break the second they hit carpet. Or wood floor. Or concrete. Or any other form of matter.

                  The only proper way to store the 360 is in an anti-grav chamber, noob.

            • reply
              May 16, 2009 7:10 PM

              I posted a pic of my new tv, the 360 was sitting on the carpet, and i moved it once everyone started screaming at me. ;p

      • reply
        May 17, 2009 7:27 AM

        I'm suprised it isn't nuked already. Everyone knows it's only ok to bash PS3 around here.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 10:11 AM

      Hearing about all the RRODs me so glad I never bought a 360 and never got to play any of the cool games for it and never got to play online with any of my friends. :(

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 10:17 AM

        That's the shittiest thing about the 360 - despite all the hardware failures it's a pretty fucking awesome experience the other 99% of the time.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 10:14 AM

      you should do a real upgrade and get a PC instead

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 11:16 AM

        ^^^^ This

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 11:24 AM

          unless, you know, he enjoys the slew of console exclusives that first prompted him to get a console...

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 11:28 AM

            [deleted]

            • reply
              May 16, 2009 11:35 AM

              if you like sports and fighting games it's a pretty large number in addition to platform specific exclusives.

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 7:06 PM

            well I hardly ever use my 360, that's why it's so fucking annoying. I turned it on to play a dvd.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 10:16 AM

      [deleted]

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 10:17 AM

        hey let's get married, so i can beat your face in. i know you'll always come back to me, baby.

      • reply
        May 17, 2009 8:59 AM

        Yeah, despite having 1 RROD my 360 has still given me more hours of entertainment than my PS3 has.

        I doubt even now that my PS3 has clocked in the hours my 360 had done when it RROD'd 18 months ago.

        Still, if you've had a 360 for ages, and can only have one console and not both, then it's not too insane to switch to a PS3 and try out some of the exclusive you've missed out on. Though IMO only a couple of the exclusives are really worthwhile, the controller sucks (though the d-pad is less bad than the 360's for the few games/genres where that might matter), and the online/friends/messaging/invite stuff sucks. Not everyone feels the same though, and you can always switch back if you don't like it.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 10:28 AM

      If I ever get RRoD, I 'll just go out and buy either an Elite or the RE5 edition, I cannot wait for M$ to fix mine :(

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 10:35 AM

      I'm glad I got a PS3 so I can play um. Oh wait theres nothing to play on ps3

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 10:38 AM

        yeah the MS hw problem sucks, but I like the game library and will stick with it. I just hope I'm done getting RROD for now...

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 10:44 AM

        What is this, 2007? There's more games on the PS3 that interest me personally than the 360 at all. Oh, Halo and Gow, zzzzz.. I couldn't even make it past the 1st level of GoW it just bored me to tears.

        uncharted
        MGS4
        Wipeout HD
        Resistance 2
        Killzone 2
        Little Big Planet

        and soon, God of War 3, infamous, MAG, Uncharted 2, all kinds of games coming that are exclusives and you still get to play the big name 3rd party titles. Cod4, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Bioshock, Fallout 3, GTA4, all of those are on the PS3. I'd EASILY trade quality hardware and peace of mind any day for minor improvements in 3rd party software. We have a 360 and turn it on only for Netflix nowadays. I'm afraid to even look at it funny.

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 10:50 AM

          this thread is going places

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 9:00 PM

          You totally should have saved this good post for a decent troll. :(

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 9:10 PM

            no, it's a pretty stupid post. watch:

            What is this, 2007? There's more games on the 360 that interest me personally than the PS3 at all. Oh, MGS4 and Killzone 2, zzzzz.. I couldn't even make it past the 1st level of MGS4 it just bored me to tears.

            Halo 3
            Gears of War 1/2
            Forza
            Fable 2
            PGR 4

            and soon, Halo ODST, Alan Wake all kinds of games coming that are exclusives and you still get to play the big name 3rd party titles. Cod4, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Bioshock, Fallout 3, GTA4, all of those are on the 360 with exclusive DLC no less. I'd EASILY trade quality games and great online any day for minor improvements in movie playback. We have a PS#and turn it on only for Blu-Ray nowadays. I'm afraid to even look at it funny.

            • reply
              May 16, 2009 9:12 PM

              Excluding his 360 bashing though, he has a point that the PS3 does have games, but you already knew this.

              • reply
                May 16, 2009 9:15 PM

                certainly, it's just silly to dismiss either one because you happen to not like the exclusives which millions obviously like

                • reply
                  May 16, 2009 9:56 PM

                  millions of people wore zubas :(

                • reply
                  May 16, 2009 10:05 PM

                  Well.... it's silly to assume someone else should dismiss it based on your opinion but I don't like most of the 360 exclusives either :( which really sucks because I kind of preffered the Xbox 1 to the PS2 in some ways, I've 'switched sides' this generation.

                • reply
                  May 17, 2009 7:17 AM

                  Which is what the poster did that I responded to. Which is what most folks around here do. 100% fully dismiss the PS3 and it's library which is just sooooooo 2007. I'm glad you enjoy the mediocrity of Forza, PGR4, Halo 3, and can actually sit through GoW 1 and 2, but they do not hold a candle to what the PS3 offers and it's a shame many people haven't enjoyed both. I have and make my judgements based on that. Have you spent longer than a few hours on a PS3, derelict515? Have you played MGS4 (it was only the GOTY) and Killzone 2? I've played Halo 3 and Gow 1, after playing many, many PS3 titles and not only did both games look atrociously ugly compared to Uncharted even, they were dreadfully boring. Can we talk about that? How hype has sold more than quality on a certain console or is it only cool to knock the PS3 and then hammer anyone that defends it?

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 11:30 AM

        [deleted]

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 7:16 PM

        [deleted]

      • reply
        May 17, 2009 9:07 AM

        What's up troll?

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 10:38 AM

      Only the second time? Oh, innocence...

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 10:40 AM

      fuck you people and your rrod - my original has yet to kill itself - I tried to kill it myself using a towel, and after NXE I believe they added a kill switch once the 360 reaches a certain temp or something. I get 2 red lights instead of the 3...

      Warranty coverage expires next month :(

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 10:41 AM

      Let us know when you hit #10.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 11:42 AM

      heh I just got my first Xbox360 yesterday. Jasper version... I'm not really afraid of RRoD's. If it happens, I still have my trusty PS3 to play. And Wii I guess (lol)

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 12:13 PM

      Mine too...just shipped it off last week.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 7:08 PM

      mine burned out just after the 1 yr mark, that was last fall. :(

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 7:14 PM

      Ours red ringed for the 2nd time this week also.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 8:11 PM

      is it bad to want a ps3 just because it can play bluray movies?

      • reply
        May 16, 2009 8:18 PM

        [deleted]

        • reply
          May 16, 2009 8:59 PM

          pa3 is future proof though, in as much as you can download firmware updates freely and easily.

          stand alone players i don't know about, depends on the model i guess? plus hey you have the option to play a video game on it, win win.

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 9:00 PM

            Another advantage is the ability to stream content to it from your PC, something most Blu-Ray players cannot do.

            • reply
              May 16, 2009 9:06 PM

              It's one of the best upscaling DVD players around, a great blu ray player, it's getting better network media support from stuff from yuor PC - even if you don't play games it's almost a win-win as it is.

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 9:06 PM

            [deleted]

          • reply
            May 16, 2009 9:46 PM

            The BR spec is done though. Profile 2.0 is the last update.

            • reply
              May 16, 2009 10:06 PM

              Really, I didn't know that - it's about time they stopped 'fiddling'

              • reply
                May 17, 2009 9:45 AM

                basically, 2.0 is internet content in the special menus and more permanent memory in the player. There are no more planned changes to the blu ray spec, and the 2.0 change had nothing to do with movie playback. For some discs, like "The Spirit", the studio is using the net connectivity to update promotional content rather than actual disc content, but the server it connects to isn't active most of the time, so people think their player just froze during a firmware update and they bricked their player. I view 2.0 content as a little bit like a pandora's box right now, and don't see much advantage to the net connectivity.
                For most people, profile 1.1 players will be fine. For example, the Pioneer 51fd player can be found at places for $199 right now. That's insane value, and a pending firmware will decode DTS Master Audio codec, so all codecs will be decoded internally on this player. This player retailed for $400+ 6 months ago. DVD upscaling guts are second only to players by Oppo Digital.

                If you are going to use the PS3 as mostly a bluray player:
                Pro's
                -Has the highest compatibility with the bluray discs out there. Making the next gen movie formats run on Java was absolutely retarded, created tons of issues where certain players won't play certain discs, but the PS3 is the absolute best in this regard.
                -Sony has been upgrading the firmware (so squashing any movie playback bugs) pretty consistantly.
                -Fastest bluray load time in the market. Seconds and not minutes like most players on the market. A lot of people don't realize that it can sometimes take up to 2 minutes before a movie is loaded in stand-alone blu ray players.
                -Menu navigating is snappy, early bluray players this was a problem, but now most are even
                -Descent DVD upscaling

                Cons
                -Heat. If its in a cabinet, the fan can be too loud for home theater enthusiasts
                -Having to control the player with a blue tooth remote or an extra device that will let the ps3 talk with a standard remote. Harmony's official accessory is finally out and costs $70 online. Cheaper alternatives exist, but don't power the PS3 on or off, so macro's are fucked on a universal remote.
                -Its still not as wife friendly as a stand alone player that you just put a disc in and wait.

                My Panasonic BD60 has net connectivity turned off, I don't ever need the feature, and its one less network cable to run downstairs. FIrmware updates work just fine by burning a disc when needed.

                The problem with bluray movies in general right now is calling it a "standard" is pretty much a lie. Different studios code their java menus differently and it can make different players load things in different times or freeze all together. Manufacturers are stuck having to release band-aid firmware releases to fix issues that weren't caused by them; they are caused by studios making their discs a little different (off standard).

                I can't really suggest bluray to any of my friends yet because is it still so quirky with updates and freezes. Every disc I get from netflix I have to worry if this one will play. 98% of the time, they do.

                • Ebu legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
                  reply
                  May 17, 2009 10:29 AM

                  What? I've never had a bluray disk not play.

                  Never.

        • reply
          May 17, 2009 8:20 AM

          What's the best standalone player to get? I remember I was looking at one earlier this year, but the one I wanted (I think it was a Panasonic?) that everyone said was the best had been discontinued to make way for the new model. They were sold out, so I just sat on it. It's been a few months now, though, so what's the affordable hotness?

          • reply
            May 17, 2009 9:02 AM

            [deleted]

          • reply
            May 17, 2009 9:56 AM

            bluray movie quality will be the same with just about every player. The differences from the players will be in:
            -manufactueres are adding extra features to separate themselves from the pack, such as netflix "instant now" playback, amazon HD movie rental capabilities, Dixv playback, USB thumbstick media playback, and even network media playback
            -movie disc compatibility, which relates directly to how much of an effort the companies are putting into firmware updates to solve the quirky disc issues created by movie studios elaborate menus
            -DVD upscaling quality
            -build quality
            -remote contol quality

            I would suggest Panasonic or Samsung due to how they are staying on top of getting most movies to play. Just get what you can afford, make sure it is at least profile 1.1 bluray.

      • reply
        May 17, 2009 9:08 AM

        As a stand alone player it's really not worth the price tag, so yeah it's a little wrong.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 8:56 PM

      JOIN US

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:01 PM

      My 360 never red ringed

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:14 PM

      I first read this as red wings. like fucking red wings, as in you fucked a chick that proceeded to begin her period. Meh, it happens, both the misinterpretation and the red wings. brain dead from a final

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:42 PM

      summer time will be the end of all pre-jaspers.

    • reply
      May 16, 2009 9:48 PM

      It still amazes me how many people have had their 360 burn out in the last `week or so when one of these posts are made..

      • reply
        May 17, 2009 7:37 AM

        A lot of it is the 'repairs' MS does are a band aid, and these systems will fail again. Supposedly if you really want to fix the systems that have these problems you have to void your warranty and install new screws on the mobo so the CPU stops separating when it overheats. I'm tempted to do this if I get stuck in the system getting shitty 360's back...

        • reply
          May 17, 2009 7:49 AM

          If it was a matter of putting the right screws in, i'd assume MS would. Seems like a cheap enough fix anyway.

    • reply
      May 17, 2009 7:35 AM

      [deleted]

    • reply
      May 17, 2009 8:08 AM

      it's all you dude

    • reply
      May 17, 2009 9:04 AM

      0 issues for me since launch

    • reply
      May 17, 2009 10:39 AM

      What is the deal with the newer ones, called Jasper I think? Do they red ring as often?

Hello, Meet Lola