Madden Bowl 2011

For all your viewing pleasure, here is GTTV's Madden Bowl 2011 featured on Spike TV.

Happy Madden Day!

Madden Out Now!

Last night around 10:30pm, Madden NFL 12 tackled the Apple's App Store. Today, it arrives on store shelves for you favorite video game console. The digital PSP edition should hit today's PSN update as well.

Enjoy!


- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Madden NFL 12, Hours Away

In less than 24 hours, Madden NFL 12 will be released. What can I say but I am jacked up! Updates to the game are not huge, however they are numerous. Plus, the game's presentation is mirrored like the big HD television presentations. This includes NFL Network style camera shots. It looks amazing.

Off the bat, I will be purchasing the digital editions of the game for the PSP and iOS. They will hold me over greatly until I acquire the PS3 edition. This will be accomplished via a Sports Illustrated subscription, which should be available by mid-September. Check out SI.COM for their current NCAA deal, it'll give you an idea about the upcoming Madden NFL 12 subscription. Why am I doing this? Simply because for the price of the game, I'll receive a year of Sports Illustrated in my mail box. It's nice to receive something else besides bills.

Those who are curious about owning a portable Madden and who don't own a PSP, should seriously consider the brand new bundle from Sony. It includes a PSP-3000, 2 gig memory card, Madden NFL 12 and Need For Speed: Shift on UMD for $159.99. It may also help sooth the non-vita North American launch this holiday season. *sniff* Remember you can purchase PSP, PS1 and Mini's for your PSP on the PSN and this content is usable for your Vita. Think of it as building a library today, for your future awesome tech.

BTW, did you watch the August 26th pre-season match between the Packers and Colts? It was awesome stuff! The final 45 seconds of the game is why I love football.

Enjoy the pigskin!

- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Uncle Steve Steps Down

Steve Jobs has resigned as Apple's CEO under undisclosed reasons. Apple fans shouldn't be to heart broken, he will remain on the board and play a "Godfather" type roll.

As a testament to his and Apple's influence on the industry, I'm writing this post with my iPod Touch. Heck, half of my posts on this blog have been posted utilizing this delightful piece of technology.

Apple's future will be interesting without Steve at the helm. However, the modern era computing innovators will be flying high for a long time.

Here's to Uncle Steve and his brilliant vision. May his step down come with great rest and relaxation. Funny thing is I don't think he will. He has more great ideas brewing in his mind. ;)

- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Sonic CD Coming Soon

A true gaming treasure will hit the PS3, X-Box 360, PC and iOS platforms very soon, Sonic CD is legendary.

Originally released ages ago, for the ill-fated Sega CD, the game sadly wasn't widely played. Until now.

Many would argue that it is the greatest Sonic game of all time. Personally for myself, Sonic 2 is the best but CD is way up there! Expect a November/December release for the much anticipated title.

- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Sony Support Rules

I love my Sony Playstation line of entrainment. They support they're software and hardware, non-stop.

Whether it is SingStar to the PSP, both not the biggest hits in North America. It did not matter.

You see unlike other video game companies, they introduce a product and support it to the bitter end. So if you find me talking a lot about Sony on this blog, it is for a simple reason. They care about their product and the users utilizing it.


- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Achtung! PS Vita Spec Sheet Released!

Sony's impressive showing at Gamescom 2011 included the release of final spec data for the future of handheld/mobile entertainment. The press release information below includes hardware data alongside social networking connectivity, which is key to success for any portable device this generation.

In particular, I will point out one interesting element. The Vita will contain 512mb of main memory ram alongside 128mb of VRAM aka video ram. This is in comparison to the PS3 which only contains 256mb of main memory ram and 256mb of VRAM.

Wow!

It's awesome to see Sony prep this baby up for it's "10 year life cycle" and not sacrificing hardware for cost. The more news I hear about the Vita, the more I want my hands on one! ;)

Now all we need is definitive launch details, which should arrive at TGS 2011.

** Official Sony Press Release Data **

Social networking functions:

Facebook
Facebook is a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and coworkers. The company develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information through the social graph, the digital mapping of people’s real-world social connections. Anyone can sign up for Facebook and interact with the people they know in a trusted environment. Over 750 million active users visit Facebook each month.

Foursquare
foursquare is a location-based service that helps users explore the world around them. Using PS Vita, users can “check in” at the locations they visit to meet up with friends, and share information about places. Users can also collect virtual badges for exploring new places, and can earn points to compete against friends.

Skype
Skype is software which enables people to communicate with others around the world using Internet-connected devices. Skype has more than 170 million average monthly connected users (for the three months ended June 30, 2011). Users of PS Vita will be able to use Skype to make free calls to others on Skype, as well as low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles virtually anywhere in the world.

Twitter
Twitter instantly connects people everywhere to what’s most meaningful to them. At the heart of Twitter are short messages called Tweets, which are 140 characters or less in length. Users can follow celebrities, friends or other people they find interesting to discover what’s happening around the world.

Vita spec list:

Platform Name
PlayStation Vita

Model number
PCH-1000 series

CPU
ARM Cortex-A9 core (4 core)

GPU
SGX543MP4+

External Dimensions
Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth) (tentative, excludes largest projection)

Screen
Touch screen – 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colors, OLED
Multi touch screen (capacitive type)

Main memory
512MB

VRAM
128MB

Rear touch pad
Multi touch pad (capacitive type)

Cameras
Front camera, Rear camera

Frame rate
120fps@320×240(QVGA), 60fps@640×480(VGA)

Resolution
Up to 640×480(VGA)

Sound
Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in microphone

Sensors
Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic compass
Location
Built-in GPS (3G/Wi-Fi model only)
Wi-Fi location service support

Keys / Switches
PS button
Power button
Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left)
Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square)
Shoulder buttons (Right/Left)
Right stick, Left stick
START button, SELECT button
Volume buttons (+/-)

Wireless communications
Mobile network connectivity (3G/Wi-Fi model only)
IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1×1)(Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode)
Bluetooth 2.1+EDR (A2DP/AVRCP/HSP)

Slots/Ports
PlayStation Vita card slot
Memory card slot
SIM card slot (3G/Wi-Fi model only)
Multi-use port (for USB data communication, DC IN, Audio (Stereo Out / Mono In), Serial data communication),
Headset jack (Stereo mini jack) (for Audio (Stereo Out / Mono In))
Accessory port

Power
Built-In Lithium-ion Battery
AC adaptor
Supported AV content format

Music
MP3 MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer 3, MP4 (MPEG-4 AAC), WAVE (Linear PCM)

Videos
MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC), H.264/MPEG-4 AVC High/Main/Baseline Profile (AAC)

Photos
JPEG (Exif 2.2.1), TIFF, BMP, GIF, PNG

Vita Power! Launch 2012 *sniff*

GamesCom is just around the corner, with TGS following a month later. These two massive game industry events will finally unveil Sony's launch plans for the PlayStation Vita.

Early word has it that the powerful handheld will not launch in the West until 1st quarter 2012. *sniff* Insert crying here...

I purchased a 32gb Apple iPod Touch for $319.99 before taxes and I got every penny of usage out of it. The Vita is designed the same way. It will browse the internet, read PDF files, watch movies, listen to music, have an Android app store, social networking features, two 5 mega-pixel cameras and brand new ways to interact with your gaming experience. Starting at $249.99 for a Wi-Fi only model, this is an awesome value. Also included is the Vita's 5-inch OLED touch screen allowing users to watch beautiful video content and read books with more clarity, providing a tablet like experience. Except of course, more portable. :)

Again back to the portability. The handheld is the same size as a PSP-3000. They are portable my friends, more than you think so. Yes, even more portable than an iPad or rival tablet.

This is a console my friends. It does more than a PlayStation 3 or X-Box 360 and is nearly as powerful. Some users won't need to purchase a gaming box to have a "console like experience", the Vita does it for you and you will have it with you 24/7. That is what Sony is providing gamers, a console in your pocket.

The delay of the launch sucks. I give you that. However, extra development time for Uncharted and other launch titles will benefit. It will launch in Japan this holiday season and it will provide Sony with much needed feedback for western launches.

I can't wait to get my hands on one.

Our Way Or The Highway

It's definitely wake up time for the video game industry. Old players such as EA and Sega have been investing in mobile gaming for the iOS and Android platforms. Some spectacular results have occurred with the like of Dead Space and Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing. 3rd parties have awoken to the lure of easy, .99 cent gaming. The era of the debate of quality, great gaming would never appear on these platforms is near an end. There are great games and great value to be had.

I'm a little worried about the attitudes on both sides.

For investors, gamers and news journalists who write off console/dedicated portable gamers as a non-profitable concern is a joke.

Then at the other end of the spectrum, for Nintendo to completely write off mobile cell phone gaming as a future option is dangerous for them.

It appears to be rare that a company like Sony has gone full force into both arenas. You can have your PS3's and your Vita's alongside your PS certified phone and tablets.

I believe the market is big enough for the both of them.

- Posted using my iPod Touch. Happy 20th Sonic!

Happy 25th Samus!

Nintendo's Anniversary celebrations for some of the video game industry's biggest franchises are flat. Donkey Kong came and went. Mario's birthday last year, came in and out with a whimper.

They are attempting something of a Zelda celebration this year with musical concerts. However their attempt at reaching fans online, where most gamers are, is again flat and uneventful.

Amongst the beloved franchises, this year marks Metroids 25th anniversary. So, here's to one of our fravourite franchises and to it's star, hottie Samus.

Happy Birthday babe!

Changing Your Background

I own a HP Windows 7 Netbook. She's over a year old now and I picked her up on sale for $199.99. It's one of the easiest reasons why I still don't own an iPad. Apple's touch device is phenomenal. However, it's $620 price tag for the 32GB Wi-Fi model keeps me at arms length. We'll see in the future what the iPad 3 will offer, that may be my breaking point in a purchase.

Back to my Netbook. The model I have has a gig of RAM, 140gb hard drive, SD card slot, 3 USB ports, VGA out and much more. So, for $199.99 it was a huge value for, well, a huge value. I love it.

My only disappointment is an odd decision for Windows 7 Starter operating systems, which dominate the Netbook market. A user can not change the desktop's background from it's hypnotic Windows fair.

Now you can. Head over to Windows SevenForums and download the Oceanis change background program and you're ready to rock and roll.

Have fun!