I’m a big girl.  Sometimes when I’m wrong about something, I have to admit it.  Good luck actually debating me into submission because my outer hull reflects logic projectiles--only cute fuzzy things like I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER to weaken my mental reinforcements.

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See? Look. I just spent 15 minutes there and forgot to keep writing.

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Where was I? Right, advising you to give up arguing with me.  And I was admitting that I can be wrong. Because I can be. That’s why I reserve the right to change my mind. Like that time I decided it isn’t so bad to have Blu-ray in my PS3.

I don’t deny that I was apathetic about the inclusion of Blu-ray as a required feature of the PS3, not only because DVDs have worked just fine for me up until now and I don’t see a reason to change what isn’t broken, but because it drives the price up to astronomical levels. I think they do build space-going pirate ships for less than the price of a PS3.  I thought I’d prefer the Xbox 360 model wherein the HD-DVD drive could be purchased later as its own peripheral.

Well, you know what? I now find myself with a Blu-ray player (it’s called a pee-ess-three or somesuch) and without an HD-DVD player.  I went ahead and told Netflix to send me movies on Blu-ray when they’re available, and my queue is increasingly populated by Blu-ray items.  Kung-Fu Hustle in HD? Yes, please!

A Blu-ray player was recently announced that will retail for $600--the same price as the good PS3, and this has a lot of people questioning Sony’s strategy.  One of PS3’s selling points was that it was the only Blu-ray player in its price range, right? But now there’s this other one! How will gamers convince their spouses that the PS3 is the affordable Blu-ray option if another one exists?  I’m not seeing the problem here.  They cost the same, but one plays games.  Doesn’t that still make it the better option? Problem solved. Go torment your spouse.

If you have a PS3 and you haven’t been keeping up on the recent GDC bloggery, there are more good things in the pipe as well.  Witness, while I repent my skeptical ways.

Home:

The PS3 HOME is a system due to release sometime later than now (October, I believe). It’s like a graphical lobby system with up to 64 players per lobby, as well as an individual pad you can customize to reflect your style, and then invite your buddies over for a pretend party.  It’s intended as a central experience for your music, movies, dirty laundry, and social life.

Has Sony heard of Snow Crash? If not they should give it a read so we don’t have to worry about people going brain dead.  It’s bad for business.

If they can implement it well, I think this could be a great idea.  It certainly mixes with Nintendo Mii system with Xbox Live and the Marketplace, but this thing has also certainly been in development for long enough that it’s not just a rip.  Now I can watch myself watch TV in my pretend house.  Yes, things are certainly looking up.

LittleBigPlanet:

Oh. My. God.

Sony also let this little gem slip at GDC: LittleBigPlanet, soon followed by a clip of the same project in action. It’s a game, a toy, and a tool to create your own game.  And it’s cute as a button.  The graphics are gorgeous and the clip shows the game in action with delightful physics and what looks like incredibly fun multiplayer.  It should include the ability to share your designed levels and some other community stuff I couldn’t pay attention to because I was watching the fruits get squished.

Sony… can I have a hug?

- jinx

with your feet in the air and your head on the ground