Son of Phantom

The ambitious but troubled Phantom gaming console will probably never actually see the light of day, but we've got another company coming out with something that sounds surprisingly similar. And it's expected to be about $80 more than the extremely pricey PS3. Now granted, they aren't really selling it as a game console, more as a low-end gaming computer. But given it's price and Sony's claims that their system will be a replacement for home computers, that's pretty much direct competition right there. Plus, as much as the medium seems to be shifting towards strictly digital content, I'm just not sure the public is ready for a system that's completely dependent on it.

Is UMD officially on its way out? Two big news items from today would make it appear so. First, Target has apparently dropped UMD from all its brick & mortar stores, making it only available online. This is usually the first step towards phasing a product out completely. Secondly, Sony is going to start offering memory sticks preloaded with movies, which will essentially undercut their UMD sales that are already stagnant to begin with.

Sony has pulled their racist billboards. I realize this was intended for the possibly less sensitive Amsterdam market, but given how the internet works, I still can't believe they didn't think people who would take massive offense to these ads (like say the NAACP) wouldn't get wind of this. It was just a boneheaded move.

To add even further to Sony's woes, it's Blu-ray production is experiencing even more delay problems, which may ultimately affect the planned November launch for the PS3. I think Sony would rather go down in flames than miss this launch window, so I don't expect there to not be any PS3s come launch time, but this may severely affect how many units are available and how bug-free they are.

So, think you're an avid collector? Got quite a nice collection of figures hanging on your shelf? Odds are Brett Martin has you beat. With over 10,000 pieces of video gaming memorabilia to his name, he has to be pretty much the ultimate collector. the good news for those of you who are actually envious of this (and I'll admit I'm just a little) is that he's selling of a good portion of his collection through his website, which is linked in the article. Now I have to wonder if a Strago doll is truly worth $56...

Finally, Episode III of Super Mario Z. is up. This is just an amazing flash series, I hope the creator doesn't have to suddenly quit making them anytime soon.