and All Consoles

For Sony things weren’t looking so great going back to the Tokyo Games Show in September 2006. Sony was unveiling their eagerly anticipated new PlayStation 3 games system, and the demo unit were spluttering and dying left and right. This was essentially bad news considering the recent recall of Sony’s lithium ion batteries.

The problem was simply that the Playstation 3 console was overheating. A representative from an equities company was the first to report it and soon after, everybody in gaming industry was talking about the new PS3’ overheating problem.

Actually, there were several reasons why the consoles were taking to overheating, that did not really have anything to do with the design of the machines themselves. To start with, the Tokyo Game Show was extremely hot. Anyone that visited Japan in September will know that it’s a brutal time of the year, and the venue was lacking air-conditioning. There were 200 PlayStation 3 all in action close to one another, which is probably poor planning on the part of the organizers. To make things worse, all the consoles were sealed in cases to prevent anybody from peeking into the machine. This means that unfortunately there was no way that the exhaust fans, which were reportedly operating just fine, to get fid of all that heat.

It seems obvious that with 200 consoles in sealed cases in sweltering conditions that they would overheat. Still, it looked very bad. Representatives from Sony were all over the place during October stating that there weren’t any overheating issues and many gamers were sceptical.

To make things worse for Sony was the recent recall of the lithium ion batteries, which are mostly used within there Vaio Laptops. The batteries were overheating and bursting into flames! This resulted in a massive recall of nearly seven million batteries being returned, and this was a massive financial blow to Sony. Critics commented that Sony was actually aware of this problem but didn’t act quickly enough, and if they had, the recall may have been avoided. Taking all this into account, it did effect Sony’s reputation pretty badly, combined with the overheating demos at the Tokyo Game Show looked much worse. With batteries exploding and the new PlayStation console choking away, many investors decided to pull out. At that time, Sony’s share price dropped 2.75%

Now, since the release of the PlayStation 3 console late last year, how many machines have been over heating? The good news seems to be that nobody has reported their machines over heating. It may have been just a fluke. In view of the variety of reasons why the consoles were getting over heated at the Tokyo Game Show, none of which seems to be down to the machines themselves, and all lack of consumer confidence and bad press blew it way out of proportion.

It has been experienced by many gamers that after prolonged gaming, sometimes 48 hours straight (more or less), playing various games on the PlayStation 3, there was no trouble to report. The fans continued to run quietly, there was warm air coming out of the back, it got hot as all consoles do, but not too hot, and no overheating trouble was noticed. The only problems were bleary eyes, backs and thumbs, and delirium due to a complete lack of sleep and video game overdose.

Finally, if you don’t believe the lack of PlayStation 3 overheating problems, check out the gaming forums, you won’t hear anything about PS3 on these issues.

Published by Darren Lintern

Although the Nintendo Wii is great, no system is perfect. Here are some of the main problems that users have experienced since the release of this gaming console late last year.

Interference from Bright Lights:

It seems that many users who have experienced the Nintendo Wii, have noticed some kind of interference from light sources. It was reported that the consoles was unable to respond to the remote control while certain lights were on. Some gamers quickly discover that if they played on the other side of the room from the lights, there problem quickly went away.

This is a result of the sensor bar on the Wii console, a part of the unit that will detect changed in the position of the remote, which gets thrown out of whack by bright lighting. This is the reason that playing the console too near to a bright light source will mess with the remote control movement.

Nintendo’s response to this was to advice that the Wii remote may not work when played too close to a bright light source. It’s not an actual problem with the technology or design, they said, and suggested moving away from bright light while playing. Also, it is important to keep bright lights away from the TV, as this can also potentially interfere with the signal there as well.

Slowing Down and Crashing Wii’s:

A further technical problem noted by Wii gamers is their games slowing down. This only seems to occur after 10 or more hours of straight game play. The simple solution to this is to turn the console off and back on again, but the unit should really be playable for longer than 10 hours at once. The reason for the console slowing down is likely to be slight overheating, so if this does affect you, make certain that the warm air is able to escape and the fans are working correctly. It is recommended that if the stand that comes with the console is used, the warm air will be able to get out.

However, this problem does not seem to be affecting the Nintendo Wii nearly as much as the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 consoles, so it doesn’t seem to be a mayor problem.

Trouble with Online Connection:

Some users have reported trouble when attempting to establish an online connection with their Wii’s. It seems that the Wii doesn’t too well to on-bar connections, and results in a slow dial up process. The online connection used on the Wii is wireless, so is likely to suffer from all other problems associated with wireless systems. If it starts to get too annoying, you can always purchase an adapter from Nintendo and run a line.

Strap Related Accidents and Injuries:

The most notably problem with the Wii is not technical, but physical. It has been widely reported the number of Nintendo Wii related accidents. The main culprit, apart from the overactive gamers, comes down to the wrist straps on the controllers. The wrist straps, that are intended to keep the controller from flying across the room, apparently break easily. This becomes more of a problem, as the gamers hands become sweaty, which makes it easy for the controllers to slip. The result from this is lots ob damaged TV’s, broken glass, wrecked light fixtures, cut and bruises.

Nintendo is now actually facing a class-action lawsuit because of these strap related accidents and injuries. They claim that it is the users fault for not keeping hold of the controller properly. Still, the complaints have prompted Nintendo to recall millions of the original straps and offer an exchange for a thicker version.

In view of these problems, the Nintendo Wii will certainly continue to sell well, and is being enjoyed by gaming fans worldwide.
Published by Darren Lintern

A lot of the interest surrounding the Nintendo Wii comes down to its new remote controlled technology, but if you prefer more at home with the old school controller, they also offer the “Classic Controller”

As it been named the “classic” controller, it’s ideally suited for the good old Nintendo games of yesterday. It is intended to be used for the games where you aren’t able to use the innovative Wii remote, the nun-chuck, or any other fancy control, although it can be used with any game. This is the controller of choice if you really want to keep it simple.

The design has similarities to the Super Nintendo game pad. Its oval in shape and the buttons are shaped like a diamond. It has the usual D-Pad and a start and select button. The buttons included on the front are the good old A, B, X and Y buttons, and finally it does include the four buttons across the top edge of the controller.

The classic controller is a much smoother ride over the Super Nintendo control. The D-Pad has a much more comfortable feel than the SNEC, and the controller fits right into your hand better. The analog sticks will move like a dream compared to the old ones. For some, the A, B, X and Y buttons may pose a problem, as they are spaced further apart. It will take a little thumb stretching to use, but you will quick get over this. Although, it still may be tough to do some of those combinations moves on games like Street Fighter.

The classic controller has obviously been designed with maximum gaming comfort in mind. The controller buttons are rounded to be that much easier on the fingers. The previous controllers had indented buttons, while easier to grip, can get tiresome after extended play.

On drawback to the classic controller is that it can’t be used to play games on the GameCube system. If that’s what you were expecting, you be advised to get something else.

The left analog stick on the classic controller is use to control the cursor when you are in the Wii’s channel menu. If you intend to play the classic Nintendo games from the Virtual Console, than this controller is a necessity.

That’s the true purpose of the Nintendo Wii classic controller: to play all of those classic games that are being made available for the Wii. As cool as the Wii remote is, you simple can’t play Mortal Kombat or any of the thousands of other games that Nintendo are intending to release. It is expected, that shortly the Virtual Console will allow you to access all the excellent games of yesteryear, and the classic controller is that perfect, retro controller to enjoy them with.

The Wii classic controller will need to be purchased separately for $19.99, and there are places all over the internet where you can grab one.

Published by Darren Lintern