Netflix Coming to PS3 by Temporary Disc Based Solution

Roughly a year later than the Xbox version Sony and Netflix are bringing Instant Watch to the Playstation 3. This does not mean a whole lot to me seeing as I already have this function on my 360 but it is still a nice addition for those PS3 owners whom do not have that luxury. It will be nice for convenience purposes (ex. not having to switch between consoles to watch a movie).

But there is a caveat, until late 2010 the Netflix experience shall remain a disc based experience. This does not make much sense if any at all. Sony and Netflix both knew that this was an experience that was coming to the PS3 and they had to know how ridiculous this whole prospect sounded. I can see the side where they wanted to get the experience into the consumer hand quicker (for business reasons I'm sure) but they could have:

1. Worked on it a little harder and faster since they probably knew that Microsoft only had a year of exclusivity, or:
2. Not released it until it was actually finished (again greedy pockets are most definitely the culprit here)

All I have left to say is that this is really a bonehead move from both parties. But, I have requested my disc and I'll let you know just how annoying not being able to access Netflix through the XMB (XcrossMediaBar) really is in a month or so.

Adventures in Babeland - Weekly Gaming Girl Diary: October 26, 2009

There were two games that dominated my playing time this past week. The first is Borderlands. As I stated in a previous post, I picked this game up last Tuesday on release day. I had the opportunity to get in some SP time as well as some co-op time over the rest of the week. Thus far I am truly loving this game. I've played more SP than co-op, but I find the SP to be just as fun as the co-op. I finally unlocked a 3rd weapons slot and feel as though I have the appropriate weapons I need for the time being. I discovered that my purple sniper rifle (don't remember the gun's specific name) has the ability to completely blow the heads of skaggs in the lower level areas. This made me squee with joy.

My experience with co-op was fun, although I felt I was totally lacking and holding everyone I was playing with back. The ability to power level with friends is actually pretty awesome as you jump levels much quicker then you ever would in SP. It's a nice feature to have, especially since I didn't get the opportunity to play this weekend at all and feel like I've fallen behind others as far as leveling goes. The co-op plays much like if you were to group with someone in WoW. If you have the same quests, they show up and you get the same objectives. I don't have too much to report on the co-op front as the only time I played I was a bit confused and hadn't fully fallen into the ebb and flow of the game, so my personal experience wasn't all that great just due to my lack of knowledge. Definitely looking forward to getting in more hours on this game throughout the week.

Even though I was up visiting the girlfriend at college this week, I still had the opportunity to play some WoW. I finally got to level 70 (HOORAY!) which is quite the accomplishment for me. I've been enjoying the Northrend content, although I'm looking forward to getting out of the Borean Tundra zone and moving onto something new. Being a mere 10 levels away from "the end" is a nice feeling though. I think I might start leveling my old warrior main after I'm done with my current. Maybe I'll try out some different zones I didn't get to on my current to mix it up a bit.

WAIP: October 26, 2009: Playstation 3 Acquired Edition (The First Experiences)

On Friday night I finally took the plunge and picked up a PS3. I picked it up in Jersey (boo hiss) because we were visiting my wife's Aunt and the tax just so happens to be a tad bit cheaper in Jersey. When we got back to Cindy's (wife) Aunt's house I unpacked it slowly, but deliberately, and proceeded to hook it up to a busted standard definition television (let us not forget the fact that I hooked it up incorrectly at first). I purchased a HDMI cable online so my standard definition gaming will be limited.

So I went through all the set-up procedures (pretty standard issue here) but it took me a few minutes to really learn the way the on screen keyboard works. The standard issue QWERTY keyboard works just fine and it is actually a bit quicker than the 360 on screen keyboard (good thing too considering their version of the 360 chat pad is said to be not that great). What I cannot figure out is why some of the time they have this cell phone like keyboard that forces you to type in some T9-like formula that really does not make sense in the realm of the console but in the grand scheme of everything this is a low priority issue.

The real annoying issues came out of having to update the console. Before I could sign into the Playstation Network I had to update the console to 3.02 and folks, people are not kidding when they say that the console takes forever to update. I would measure the time in time it takes to make a sandwich (slowly) and then eat that sandwich (slowly). It was painstaking considering all that I wanted to do was play my new console.

After that I signed into PSN and began to browse their very pretty and well organized store front. The first thing that I noticed, other than the aesthetics, was the lack of content compared to the Xbox Live Marketplace (not really disconcerting but an easy observation to make). So I queued up the demos of inFamous and MLB: The Show 09 and went on my merry way (meaning I left the Playstation Store).

I then popped in LittleBigPlanet (which needed an update that was long enough but not nearly as long as the system update) and proceeded to be melted by that games charm and attention to detail. I managed to accidentally get myself online in one of the levels I was playing and while it was more funny than anything that one experience was a smidgen laggy and I immediately noticed that lack of people talking (which I think that this game benefits from when it is there).

I later installed the demos for inFamous and The Show. Yes you heard correctly, you have to install your demos and I think this might go the same for PSN titles but do not hold me to that seeing as I have not purchased one yet. It does not make sense to me and it is just one thing getting in your way of playing your games sooner.

That is all for my initial thoughts on the Playstation 3 and though it may sound like I do not like the thing, that is not the case. I quite enjoy the Playstation experience I had so far and I am looking forward to playing Uncharted 1 this coming week. I thought I would not like the controller at all but I really do not mind it. I still prefer the 360 controller but I can (and still need too) get used to the Playstation controller (I need to stop pressing the 'SQUARE' button instead of the 'X' button when it says to press the 'X' button. I need to train myself on the PS controller).

But for now I PS3'ed out and I just want to play some Borderlands on my 360 (mental hug).