Hulu Plus coming to Xbox (2011) and PS3 very soon; Available on iPhone/iPad Now

The news was broke today that Hulu will be releasing their service to both Sony and Microsoft systems, with the emphasis on Sony receiving the service first. With the amount of video watched from various users on both systems through the Netflix and Sony video feeds, this will be a great addition to both platforms.

The feature will be available for $10 a month with ads to users. With the inception of the Hulu platform, the service will reach to areas of programming that Netflix cannot yet touch upon, being mostly the newest of network shows. With various programs affiliated with NBC, ABC, and FOX showcasing on the service, this product will be a thrilling help to those who want the newest and most interesting of programs, broadcasted in 720p.

It will be great to see the various reasons reflected as to why Sony is receiving the service first, and if after the inception of the $10 a month charge added to your already charged Live Accounts, and eventual Sony chargeable accounts, if we see more services charging an additional fee to use their services through the systems. Either way, this product will be one I will be very tempted to use this service when it does hit the Microsoft Xbox system in early 2011.

Playstation Firmware v3.40 Available Now; Playstation Plus Today

I do not get to play as often as I'd like.

I never knew the days of yore when the Playstation Firmware was updated on a, what seemed like, at least bi-weekly basis. Now it seems to happen on a bi-monthly basis and the update process is quicker - no one is complaining.

The main highlights of firmware 3.40 are Playstation Plus, a five-star rating system and a photo and video uploader (to Facebook and YouTube). Other features are a photo gallery where you can look at your Picasa and Facebook photo albums (again you can upload to both of these services as well) and a new power save functionality that sets your consoles default inactivity shut-down at 2 hours.

So yeah, nothing that exciting but coming along with this update is a more robust Playstation Facebook app. It allows you to add friends to your friends list that are on Facebook and vice versa. One step closer to social networking domination.

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.

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).

For Those Who Liked The Resident Evil 5 Review

Oh my Gods, two updates in a span of time less than 24 hours? This is new. And this new update regards news and not a review? Curiouser and curiouser. Could I perhaps be possessed by Nate? While this is not a definite answer to the query, it is a definite possible answer.

Regardless, I am going to relate some information that does not even have to do with a video game console I own. Christian Svensson over at Capcom recently wrote that several old games for the Playstation have been submitted by Capcom to the Playstation Network for possible downloading. This is incredibly cool because now people who never got to play Resident Evil in all it's original glory may now get the chance to do so, not to mention you'll get other games like Dino Crisis (another survival horror game) and Street Fighter. You can already get Resident Evil 3 if you are so inclined (and 2 if you live in Japan).

On top of this, I also felt that I could throw into the pot that if you are a Wii owner, you could also play the previous 4 installments. All you need to do is go down to your local GameStop and pick up Resident Evil 1-4 on the Game Cube and then throw it into your console! It'll play just as well, and all 4 games have been put on the Game Cube (the original re-made, 2 and 3 just ports). In my humble opinion, the re-make of Resident Evil is just as good as the original if not better due to the intense graphic overhaul, script edits, and added gameplay mechanics.

Just something to dwell on in case my Resident Evil 5 review moved you so much you decided you needed to finally check out the series after not doing so for over a decade.