As a former Gamestation employee, naturally this appalls me.

But then, as a former Gamestation employee, Sony have done a lot of things to appall me (I was working there during the infamous PS2 Slimline Supply Cock-Up of 2004...)

Idiots, though. Not being able to resell copies annoyed people enough when Half-Life 2 came out, and that was only one game (people were just about willing to accept it given that the game was so good, but even then, plenty of people were put off buying it because they couldn't be sure it would run on their PC, and couldn't return it if it didn't).

That thing about Sony still technically owning the disc is bollocks, as well. So does that mean if you accidentally break or scratch it, you're accountable to them? Also, if you're only buying the license to play the game, not the game itself, surely they should be cheaper? You shouldn't have to be responsible for covering manufacturing costs... and do you also not own the packaging, either? What about when stuff comes free with the game? Is that included? Are you allowed to put GTA map posters on your wall, or not? Ridiculous.

I'll be particularly annoyed if a move like this means that the resell market becomes significantly less profitable, and that Gamestation (who've been moving gradually away from it, at least in a retro sense, for years anyway, ever since they actually became a significant competitor to Game) end up dropping it altogether - because that will, of course, have a knock-on effect for people like me who like to buy old SNES and N64 games there... I'm being quite doom-mongering there, but Sony hold a LOT of sway (go into any games shop and see how much bigger the preowned PS2 section is compared to the others) and this could present serious problems.

Alternatively, it could also mean people just won't buy the piece of shit machine. At the moment, it doesn't look to have anything going for it that a combination of XBox 360 and Wii don't also cater for.

I really do wonder what Sony are up to with the PS3.

Fuck off, Sony, you bunch of cunts.

Between Sony's constant attempt to start a format war, their hi-jacking of people's PCs with rootkits and the hidden firmware patches in PSP games, the fact that they're torpedoing the PS3 in new and exciting ways only serves to amuse me. Nintendo innovate with gaming, Sony are innovating new ways to piss off their customers.

Well, that's my plans to buy a PS3 gone. And I was never going to buy an XBox, as blah Microsoft blah. (The main reason I've never bothered getting into PC gaming, really. And yeah, I know that's shooting myself in the foot, but then I really should be spending my time doing something useful anyway, and online RPGs would just make me waste even more of my life than I do currently.)

So, a Wii it is, then. Sony have just made my decision a lot easier for me.

I didn't know we were going to purchase a Wii...

Haha, John wants to buy some Wii!

Hmm. Now it seems Sony's PR people are denying the story, in a non-commital sort of way.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=17283

"We have definitely not been communicating that," UK spokesperson Jennie Kong confirmed. "It's false speculation. We don't have any further knowledge about this topic - either officially or unofficially, to be frank."

> because that will, of course, have a knock-on effect for people like me who like to buy old SNES and N64 games there...

Well this doesn't really matter anymore because if you get a Wii you will be able to download NES, SNES, N64 and even Megadrive titles. Nintendo games (Mario, Zelda and many others) will be free to download, third-party games will have a small charge. I hope they don't charge too much, but I'd be willing to pay a few quid. I also hope they offer Sega Master System titles at some point, if that's possible.

>if you get a Wii you will be able to download NES, SNES, N64 and even Megadrive titles.

This I did not know.

For god's sake, that's worth a Wii in itself.

Haha, Wii!

I want to know what idiot thought calling the new Nintendo console something pronounced "Wee" was a good idea. If I buy two Wiis, does that give me a wee-wee setup?

I mean, come on guys, the US and Euro divisions are meant to save the Japanese side from itself in stuff like this....

*hasn't bought a PS1, PS2 or PSP, and has no intention of buying a PS3*

"I mean, come on guys, the US and Euro divisions are meant to save the Japanese side from itself in stuff like this...."

Well, you see, Nintendo never really gives much of a fuck about the west, because their sales are usually poor here.

But, still, I'm an awful PC fan-boy and I usually hate consoles with their pathetic capabilities, but even *I'm* tempted to get a Wii. The emulator features quite clearly rock BELLS.

>I want to know what idiot thought calling the new Nintendo console something pronounced "Wee"

I agree. It clearly should have been called Kokk.

I want to know what idiot thought calling the new Nintendo console something pronounced "Wee" was a good idea. If I buy two Wiis, does that give me a wee-wee setup?

Yeah, we (by which I mean "the entire Internet") did the whole outrage thing a little while back. I think everyone's come to terms with the name, though, now that it looks like the console itself will rock bells. I still think Revolution would have been a more apt name, though.

The emulation thing is amazing - and the inclusion of the Mega Drive shows how canny Nintendo were in getting Sega onboard with them. It can't have escaped Nintendo's notice how well those "plug and play" TV games do in the West, and I think they're cashing in on that wave of 1990s gaming nostalgia (because, for everything that went on in the early-mid '80s, I think people are really starting to see the NES-SNES-Mega Drive years as the true Golden Age of console gaming).

Although, that said, I would still much rather play Super Mario World on a SNES and Sonic 2 on a Mega Drive than on anything else...

I think the Wii will do excellently - I'm tempted.

Yes, the name is silly, but at least everyone has heard of it now. I reckon it's all just a ploy - in Japan everyone will buy something Nintendo make anyway. In the UK/US, not necessarily. Call it something liable to get lots of silly jokes made, and it finds its way into the press. Lots of people now know about the Wii. The name is silly vocally, but perfectly fine written down.

I think it's an excellent idea.

I'm still very unsure about this wireless controller jobby, though. I mean, I've heard plenty of games jornos rave about it, but I think they'd rave about anything if you give them free burgers and booze and ship them to E3...

Can you turn it on its side and use it like a NES controller? It looks like you should be able to, if you don't want to fanny about all that waving about.

You can turn the Wii-mote on its site, but there's also the horrendously under-publicised "Classic Controller" for games that want/need more conventional controls.

Wow, that's the first time I've seen a picture of that. Awesome. Far better than the image that was going round in the Revolution days (was it fake? I'm not sure) of what looked like a Gamecube pad, but with a slot for the Wii remote to go into...

Although, that said, I would still much rather play Super Mario World on a SNES and Sonic 2 on a Mega Drive than on anything else...

^ This.

> Wow, that's the first time I've seen a picture of that. Awesome. Far better than the image that was going round in the Revolution days (was it fake? I'm not sure) of what looked like a Gamecube pad, but with a slot for the Wii remote to go into...

It was a mockup by IGN. The real classic controller plugs into the base of the Wiimote.

The Wii also has four sockets for regular Gamecube controllers.

Cappsy:

I've heard plenty of games jornos rave about it, but I think they'd rave about anything if you give them free burgers and booze and ship them to E3...

So how come they're not raving about:
- Sony PS3
- Nokia N-Gage
and others I can't remember?

Well, it was just an excuse to get a dig at games journos, really! But I've never trusted them since they told me Doom III was going to be life changing...

It changed my life. I'm never going to waste my time on crappy sequels again.

> Although, that said, I would still much rather play Super Mario World on a SNES and Sonic 2 on a Mega Drive than on anything else...

Well, considering my Megadrive fucked up a long time ago and I only seem to have Street Fighter 2 and Mariokart for the SNES (my other games have somehow disappeared for one reason or another over time...you know how things are, your mum decides that your little cousin would get MUCH more use out of a Link to the Past than you would.....) I'm welcoming this. I know I've been playing ROMs of various old games but I have a feeling I'll get a better kick out of playing them on a console. And there's bound to be some gems that I've never played.

I wish that people would stop having a go at Doom 3 like it personally came over to their house and raped with with a 6 foot barge pole.

As for the Wii and the PS3 I'll reserve judgement until either of them actually comes out, both companies have a track record of talking shit, and both of them have somehow managed to make up for it eventually.

"I wish that people would stop having a go at Doom 3 like it personally came over to their house and raped with with a 6 foot barge pole."

It was hyped, it came, I was hugely dissapointed. Perfectly good reson to have a go at it, I think.

It was hyped on graphics, it delivered graphics, what more did you expect? I don't think that anyone was promising th best AI or storyline. I played it and enjoyed, I believe that I got what paid for, a lot more than with a lot of titles these days.

It was hyped on graphics, it delivered graphics, what more did you expect? I don't think that anyone was promising th best AI or storyline. I played it and enjoyed, I believe that I got what paid for, a lot more than with a lot of titles these days.

It looked good purely because you could never see anything. Sure, the models and animations were pretty good, but the whole thing felt far to plastic for my liking. It's didn't satisfy. Plus, the engine hasn't exactly been widely licensed to the extent of the genuinely brilliant Quake II or III engines. An engine that hyped should turn up all over the place, driving game after game with aspirations to concentrate more on decent gameplay.

It also wasn't helped by the fact that it ran at a crawl on my PC, where as Half Life 2's Source glided along ANF looked utterly ashtonishing.