Michael Jackson

I just found out that someone was asking $2000 for an LP featuring Michael Jackson narration of Steven Spielberg's E.T.. The reason for the rarity of that item is that apparently MJ was signed under a different label when he recorded the material, making it illegal and production was cut short. We had that record once upon a time. I'm sure we don't anymore. Doh!

CONSOLE WARS!!!

I don't know why I still care about this, but something about the arguments that I read involving "which console is best" just irk me. I've got more important things to do, but this is a fun diversion...

Let me first say that I am not deliberately involving my personal opinion in this little diatribe. I have one, and it might be obvious from what you'll read here, but I think the arguments I make are cogent and speak for themselves.

the xbox360 is not less expensive than the PS3. A PS3 will set you back $400. The closest Xbox360 model also costs $400. The PS3 comes with a blu-ray player and wireless ethernet. That same Xbox360 model does not. The Playstation Network available through the PS3 is free. One must pay for XboxLive. XboxLive is a more robust online offering than PSN, but in an absolute sense they offer much the same functionality--they aren't exactly apples to apples but they aren't precisely apples to oranges either. PSN being free and XboxLive being better probably makes them a wash, but what can't be ignored is the simple fact that one must still pay for the XboxLive service, which invariably, unarguably makes it more expensive than its Sony competitor. The value of that online service lies in the opinion of the user, likewise the value of the blu-ray functionality built in to PS3.

What about games. We are talking about games consoles after all. Which one has better titles is debatable, but what isn't debatable is the general consensus among critics that the PS3 has had the lion's share of well-received games in the last six months or so. Observe (metacritic scores in parenthesis):

Infamous (84)
Killzone (91)
Little Big Planet (95)
MLB '09 (90)

xbox360 had the following major releases in roughly the same time period:

Halo Wars (82)
Gears of War 2 (93)

Disclaimer: I'm sure I'm missing several titles--that was not meant to be a comprehensive list, just a representative sampling...and it is my blog, after all.

I know that both consoles have major exclusive titles planned for the coming year so, again, this is probably a wash, but it should serve as sufficient ammunition to put to rest the ridiculous notion that the ps3 has lousy software support.

I find it interesting that even in the light of these rather obvious facts, it seems the general consensus is that the ps3 is not a good value when compared to the xbox 360.