I'm a bit late to the show, but I got there

It's so close to the truth.

I heard about Playstation TV a while ago and quickly brushed it off as a Sony Clone of Apple TV.  While I wasn't far from the truth, since it does provide services that Apple TV does, I did not realise that it could also play Playstation Portable and Vita games.  And that's gotten me interested in it.

I've been desiring for a long time to be able to play my PSP games on the TV, believing whole heartedly that the big name consoles should be able to provide that support.  It shouldn't be too difficult to provide an Inbuilt Emulator, right?  Just download it in a patch or something.  That'd do it.

Alas, my beliefs were pushed back by arguments of lacking hardware compatibility to match the system requirements.  Sure the console might be more powerful but it's like mapping the thoughts of a dog to a cats brain, to put it crudely.

So I sighed and dreamt of such a device that would do that.  There was a moment of optimism when I saw a patent for an external device that would do such a thing for the PS3, but that was just them covering their bases.

The last I even heard about any form of backward compatibility was the Playstation Now, where you hire games for an exorbitant amount of money, and you can simply stream the game from their servers onto your TV through your console.  While I can appreciate this, that's just too much money for what I want.

But this Playstation TV, a little device that has the similar area to a deck of cards, will give me what I want out of a console.  The ability to play my Playstation Portable games on the Big Screen.  I may have to re-download a couple of them, such as Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics, but it's exactly what I want.  It won't kill my neck playing them from looking down because I'll be staring straight on.  And the feel of an actual controller will be sublime.

Credit where credit is due, though, I won't be able to play certain PSVita games due to the lack of compatibility between the Game and the PS3/PS4 Dualshock Controllers.  But I'll have that completely under consideration when the time comes.

If only though I could play the PSTV through my PS4 when I get it, like the Xbone can do with it's HDMI Input and the Xbox 360.

Next Gen Consoles

I sit here drinking a Roy Rogers from the limited edition Batman Cup that I got from the Dark Knight Disappoints, and I think about the next generation of Consoles. Because it pisses me off.

Now mostly it’s rumours going around. Only a few days from now will there be an announcement/presentation on the Playstation 4 and will eliminate any misconceptions for it, so that we know what the hell we’re getting out of it.

The biggest pain I still find is that reporters who are cogitating on the upcoming systems seem rather obligated to state immediately that there likely won’t be any backwards compatibility. That still pisses me off. I’ve said to myself again and again “Why is it not standard practice?”

“It’s not a selling point” has been stated before. Sure, that’s true. I wouldn’t base my purchase on whether my library of games from previous generations of consoles would be usable on a new console. It wouldn’t have been a thought at all.

But now it’s one thing I have to ask when I look at a new console. Because I have a collection of games for my PS3 and my Xbox360, all games that I have gone over again and again, that I would like to have not go to waste. But I would rather not continue to have more and more consoles connected to my TV because I have no reason to simply replace my old consoles.

That’s another thing I’m worried about with this DRM feature that’s been heavily rumoured and speculated. The DRM Restriction is like buying a game from Steam. Once you buy it, you own that copy of it for as long as that account exists. The Rumour is that Consoles will be going along a similar line. Once you’ve played a game on a particular account or console, you can’t trade in that game or loan it out. It is restricted to that account.

The reasoning behind it is that it will potentially eliminate the Used Game market, which is apparently making a significant impact on the developer market. How big an impact, I have no idea. I know through a friend that as a technical writer, he has a massive worry about it since there are many who require his books and a large portion of that market are simply finding the torrents and downloading them for free.

So I’ve got mixed feelings about it. While I would like to buy a game and then trade it in to get a discount on a new game (especially if I don’t like the game I’m trading in), it’s unfair to the developers because they’re not getting anything out of that game being resold. But then the brick and mortar shops are losing a rather large market because they are getting all profit from those games.

These two things tie in largely, and that worries me. I have games on my Playstation and Xbox accounts, all of which I can re-download if I have to replace my consoles.

So what about these future consoles?  Digital Distribution is becoming a household feature, so assuming using the same account, but if the console isn’t backwards compatible, what about those games in your Library from your PS3/360 days? Will there be any point in downloading those games again? Because without backwards compatibility, you have games on your account that you can download just to use up the space on your Console.

Or you could do what is expected of you and make room for a new console and keep your old console sitting there to collect dust?  Cos fuck that for a PC that can still download and play COMMANDER FUCKING KEEN.

Digital Librarian

One thing I can really appreciate about walking through Aisles of Books of varying subjects and ages is the Custodian of these hallowed halls. A professional woman, with luscious hair braided and wrapped into a bun pierced with chopsticks (possibly actual chopsticks), a white blouse and grey skirt to cover her sensual body and long elegant legs, which approach you with elegance in every stride.

Sadly I don't think there's anything like that for Digital Libraries. Yet. These computer programs don't have a simple feature such as this, possibly out of fear of Clippy Syndrome. Or worse.

Granted, you can have your own personal Librarian from your partner. Dress them up appropriately and then ask them the subject matter of what you want to read. They'll scan the shelves, starting from the top and making their way down each shelf to find a matching title, then reach for the cover slowly and run their fingers down the spine, before sliding it out and reaching it over to you.

Then you probably attempt to have sex instead of reading the book, because you feel like a teenager with a crush on the hot Librarian, and you're both in the Staff only back room of the Library.

I like to doubt that this would ever happen, but I've heard of people getting off using Car Exhausts so anything is possible with the number of ports a computer tower has.

This is what bugs me, though. You have access to these books and games, but there's no guide to walk you through them all before you get distracted. Sure you could have your partner scroll through, and seeing those crossed legs always gives me a thrill, but obviously it isn't the same.

There's no scene of wrinkled spines and plastic cases, no scent of aging pages to waft up as you open a book, or clatter as you open the box of your game of choice. It's all a scrolling list of beautiful box art, with the same atmosphere you conceived when last a game was played.

The selection of activity is a sacred ritual that should be taken with a hardy respect, and enthusiastically exercised for long hours to leave one in a sweaty satisfaction.

The convenience of having a Digital Library is that of having dozens, maybe even hundreds, of games not cluttering up your home. It's there, in your system and you don't have to worry about damaging a disc, or tearing apart the pages of the book.

And this will be the world in time to come. Future Generation of devices, and even devices today, will be part of the Digital Distribution. Physical copies will start the decline into becoming collectable memorabilia.

So what will happen to this sacred ritual? Will it evolve with the coming times? What will be the Avatar of this ritual, the Librarian to the your Search Engine? Or will the entire idea simply dissolve into time?