Geek Grotto

Well, Amazon reopened preorders for the Day One system, and within minutes they were all gone. So, what do you do if want a system on day 1 but haven't preordered? Do not just blindly show up at a location before Midnight, that may blow up in your face. Call around or go and ask in store. My local Wal-Mart, in a small town, has an extra 10 systems for sale, but I was told to show up Thursday morning before 9am as they will hand out tickets for midnight. If you are there, then you get your system. If not, the first person in line will get it. Similar to the last few console releases, stores "should" get extra stock. Some will not divulge how many, some will. The Best Buy I was at for the Xbox 360 launch had roughly 30 extra AFTER the midnight release for sale that morning.  We were not made aware of that number until 5am. Originally I was #42 at 1am. By 3am I was #36. At 5am, I was #28! So stick to your guns until they tell you there are none left for sale. So ...

Well, the first real shot in the next gen console wars has been heard. Sorry Nintendo, The Wii U hasn't really been a contender. While I have attended every major console release since the Sega Dreamcast many years ago, I have also lived in a major city. This tends to bring the crowds and major festivities. After moving to a small town of 40,000 outside of Las Vegas, I was curious how a console launch would be handled here. So, I drove over to Wal-Mart, the only place to buy games in town, and was surprised to see roughly 12-18 people waiting in line. Unfortunately, unlike big city releases, where people are having a blast and smack talking about how they will rule online this gen, the line locally was, depressing. Just 12-18 people standing in line....doing nothing. What bothers me more is that this town DOES have a large geek culture,  but NOWHERE to express it. Want to buy the latest games? You're buying online or driving 120 miles round trip to Vegas. Anime? The Same....

Today is kind of a big one for Idea Factory, as is international site has launched! What is the big deal you may ask? Well, you can now keep track of all Idea Factory games worldwide regardless of its regional publisher.  On top of this, they have a contest going on that will allow you to win some epic !f prizes! Source: Idea Factory International

Well, the PS4 is about 2 weeks away, and the Dual Shock 4 and Killzone can be bought in stores. With that said, Sony has released a detailed FAQ about the PS4.... and if you are a media junkie (and decided to grab something like the Synology DS214play ), then you may be a bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong. The PS4 is a great and powerful system, but some features users may be used to will no longer be available. Such as: HDMI will be the ONLY means of video out. So, it may be time to upfrade some TV's or projectors! While the HDD is upgradable, USB will not be an option, so if you want more storage, you are buying a new HDD. No DLNA or Audio CD support! This could change after the fact, but at launch, these are a no go. Read more at The PlayStation Blog

THE US GETS A SONY SYSTEM BEFORE JAPAN!!!!! February 22, 2014 is the Japan Launch Date. PS4 1st Limited Pack. System, dl code for  Knack, and 1 year extended warranty for the same price as the base system alone. Sony Worldwide Studios will release 4 Disc and 4 Digital titles by spring. Large lead in for Knack, one of the 8 titles.

One week after the PS4 launch is when the Xbox One gets released, which means I have until then to sell a kidney to pick up Crimson Dragon!

I have to admit.... I am a bit more excited about the Xbox One launch exclusives more that the PS4 launch exclusives... The cross platforms games will be very similar across the board. I will admit thought, Assassin's Creed 4 and Watch Dogs I have a chance to play at SDCC on the PS4 and they look GREAT! Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag (Ubisoft) Battlefield 4 (EA) Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision) Driveclub (SCE) FIFA 14 (EA) Killzone: Shadow Fall (SCE) Knack (SCE) Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft) LEGO Marvel Superheroes (Warner Bros.) Madden 25 (EA) NBA 2K14 (2K Games) NBA Live (EA) Need for Speed: Rivals (EA) Skylanders: Swap Force (Activision) Watch Dogs (Ubisoft)

At Gamescon this morning, Microsoft has release the Xbox One's launch title list..... and if nothing changes, this seems to be a GREAT list... Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft) Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts) Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision) Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land Ho!, Microsoft Studios) VERY EXCITED! Dead Rising 3 (Capcom Vancouver, Microsoft) FIFA 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts) Fighter Within (AMA Ltd., Ubisoft) Forza Motorsport 5 (Turn 10 Studios, Microsoft Studios) Just Dance 2014 (Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft) Killer Instinct (Double Helix, Microsoft Studios) LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games, Warner Bros. Interactive) Lococycle (Twisted Pixel, Microsoft Studios) Madden NFL 25 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts) NBA 2K14 (Visual Concepts, 2K Sports) NBA LIVE 14 (EA Sports, Electronic Arts) Need for Speed: Rivals (Ghost Games, Electronic Arts) Peggle 2 (Popcap, Electronic Arts) Powerstar Golf (Zoe Mode, Microsoft Studios) Ryse...