Initially this post was going to be about one topic, but several other things have come up that warrant discussion. Let us begin!
– Yahoo! Music is closing its doors. You probably never used Yahoo music, but it was big enough to warrant some sponsorships with Pepsi in the past, and worked as both an iTunes style store and a Rhapsody style subscription service. Strangely enough, the remains of the service will be merged with Rhapsody.
Meanwhile the DRM keys used to play music purchased from Yahoo will be going away, forcing Yahoo to give refunds – though the details are flaky as hell for subscribers.
The lesson here? These same dangers are a threat to gaming. Digital downloads are getting more and more popular, and for good reason. They are convenient, more reliable (no moving parts), and can potentially be cheaper. Moreover, the biggest platform for digital downloads, Steam, has been very good with providing backup options in case the service dies.
Yet Steam will certainly not be the only platform in the future, and those that do not adopt a fair stance on DRM could leave customers in the cold. I don’t like bringing DRM/copy protection issues into the realm of gaming, but in this case it is an issue that more gamers need to take notice of.
– The Playstation 3 has finally received its first batch of Greatest Hits. GH’s go for $30, come in bright red cases that are far too similar to HD-DVD cases, and best of all, the prices are effective immediately. That means you can walk into Best Buy early this week and find a regular copy of Resistance or Motorstorm for the Greatest Hits price. My suggestion? Go look for an old copy of Warhawk. I did, and thus have a solid multiplayer game and Bluetooth headset for $30.
– Go to 1up’s Soul Calibur IV review, and look at the comments made by someone named Justin. If that isn’t editing then I don’t know what is. The supposed poster is a selectbutton.net user who explained his original post, which was essentially a fair attempt at calling out the game’s bullshit and implying shenanigans at James Mielke’s review.
Being a selectbutton fan and user, and knowing Mielke’s penchant for being an asshole, I believe the drama, and makes me that much more skeptical of 1up. As if anyone at this site needed any more reason.