The Internet and Web 2.0 can be a glorious thing. Like art itself, it serves to mirror to our civilization, our wants, needs, hopes and our desires. Writers like Chris Anderson have called it the democratization of media. It’s a place where the voice of the individual speaks as loud and clear as corporate media. But what if the individual is just an a**-hole? Well, the Internet is full of that too.

One example is the protest over the graphics in the upcoming game Diablo III by Blizzard. The mythos of the Diablo franchise cannot be understated. It lives on in the hearts and minds of geeks worldwide. For many it was the first taste of multiplayer online gaming as Blizzard made it cheap and easy for Internet users. If Diablo was legendary, then Diablo II turned a generation of gamers into zombified addicts.

Bliz officially open the doors to the Diablo III website, giving fans a glimpse of a game that is months (possibly years after obligatory delays) away from release. Blizzard also probably predicted the firestorm they’d set off regarding its graphics.

Fans with way too much time on their hands are doing their part to protest the graphics in the upcoming installment of the Diablo franchise. An online petition has been created demanding the game’s graphics get retooled. Within the rash of criticisms from point-and-click-critics is the game’s cartoonish quality. Some already cite that the game they haven’t even played is too similar to World of Warcraft. 
 
Some of us may recall the release of Diablo II and remember the firestorm over its graphics. In an era where graphics accelerators like the add-on Monster video cards and early Nvidia chipsets were the order of the day, gamers were hungry to test out their new hardware’s graphical APIs on some shimmering eye-candy.

But Diablo II was stuck with 90s-style 256 colors at an 800×600 resolution. Reluctance quickly dissipated among gamers who found that story and game-play easily trumped graphics. That’s a gaming history lesson that’s all too easily forgotten.

The initial announcement came early today but you’ll have to wait to get full details. Hirai and Sony are tight lipped for now but say full details will be divulged by the end of this month.

Kaz (as the kids are calling him these days) noted that the company is out to cut costs on the PlayStation Network and improve profitability on the free online gaming service. Sony seeks to strengthen its overall services with upcoming initiatives like online movie downloads which should help offset the costs of maintaining its ambitious network service. But Hirai and Sony’s gaming network aren’t going to slap on the movie download feature and call it a day. Hirai told reporters today at the company’s Tokyo headquarters that you can expect to see more from its evolving PlayStation business. Hirai’s aim is to see the PlayStation Network achieve profitability by 2009.

Games vs. Music:

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a stick-in-the-mud organization that uses litigation to protect copyright music. While you can’t blame the legal arm of the recording industry for protecting its intellectual property, the RIAA has proven resistant to adapt to changes in music distribution.

Compare the plight of the recording industry to a different digital medium, video games and you get a stark contrast. Few industries are as adaptable and experimental as the video games industry. Perhaps that’s why PricewaterhouseCoopers has recently suggested there will be a $68.3 billion dollar spike in the games industry through to 2012.

Clint over at Audioholics thinks the music industry could learn a lot from gaming when it comes to keeping your sector profitable. The RIAA needs to listen and apply some new ideas for online distribution. Part of the reason the record industry is so bad off is the media itself, CDs are a media without a future. Who buys CDs nowadays?

It’s a pathetic failing of the recording industry that a computer hardware company like Apple created the most successful music retailer in the world. You can read the full article here: “Games Prove to Music Industry that Content is King”.

Who says the new wave of console gaming is for casual gamers only? The MGS series is unapologetically for serious gamers only. And Sony hopes sales of Metal Gear Solid 4 will catapult the struggling PlayStation 3 into the stratosphere.

In this article on Metal Gear Solid 4 sales, Audioholics takes a closer look at the impact of the game for Sony. Xbox 360 had its Halo 3 that shot its sales above Wii (for a short time) and boy, wouldn’t Sony like to see the same thing happen with MGS4. In this article Audioholics.com asks the simple question… Will MGS4 be PlayStation 3’s Halo 3?

That’s a lot of sequels for one question, but you get the idea.

The Call of Duty series have taken gamers all over world in epic, beautifully rendered struggles. This time the franchise goes back to familiar ground. Developed by a veteran of Call of Duty 3, Treyarch will takes the game back to World War II to explore some of the war’s darker side.

The new game will use the same graphics engine of Call of Duty 4 but will add a few enhancements. It’ll bring gamers to the war in the Pacific theater as US forces face Imperial Japan. Another plotline in the upcoming first-person war-shooter will have you playing as the Russians facing the might of Nazi forces in Germany.

A few things to be ready for are the fighting styles and new ways to impose digitally rendered destruction. According to a military advisor to the game’s developers the Japanese are going to fight using some shocking and unorthodox ways… Sun Tsu would be proud. 

The only potential fly in the ointment of an otherwise sound franchise is the enormous popularity of Call of Duty 4, developed by Infinity Ward for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. It’s going to be difficult to follow-up the kind of love gamers have this game. Consider that Call of Duty 3, the last Treyarch addition, was widely considered the most mediocre in the series. I’m willing to give it a chance. It’s been awhile since I’ve gone on a virtual romp through the South Pacific.

Thanks to Maximumfear.net for the image.

The study was conducted from April 2007 to February 2008 and is included in a complete rundown of the purchasing habits of the generation they’re now calling the Millennials. The generational breakdowns go as follows: GenX are born between 1965 and 1981 followed by the Millennials born from 1982 to 1998. According to the study the Millennials are the most connected and diverse generation America has known.

Nielsen came to the Xbox 360 conclusion based on what it calls attach rate, the number of games owned along with the system. For you younger Gen Y gamers out there; the number of games your parents bought for you, not the games through which you dispense PWNAGE though Xbox Live.

The study concludes that the higher number of games owned, the more the system is used. It’s likely that the study was tilted toward Microsoft because Xbox 360 was enjoying a peak period through most of last year. During the study Halo 3 was released and the other consoles were lagging way behind Xbox 360 in total available games.

However, you mature gamers out there seem to prefer spending time with your PlayStation 3. The average usage days among the 27+ crowd topped at 21.65 for PlayStation 3, narrowly beating out Xbox 360’s 19.34. This is probably because the PS3 has a built in Blu-ray player that attracts many home theater enthusiasts.

Gears of War Xbox 360

The scheduled release of the $40 version of Gears of War is June 4. But soon after on June 24, a special edition two-disc set of Gears of War for Xbox 360 will appear at the same retail price of … you guessed it $40.

The Special Edition of Gears of War will feature the game on the first disc but the second disc will contain the extra goodies. Included on disc two will be Map packs 1 & 2 along with some Gears of War themes and trailers.

Sorry Xbox 360 gamers, this new version won’t include the Timgad level which is a PC exclusive. If you’re not a huge GoW fanatic is it worth the wait for the extra disc? After all it’s only a couple of map packs and some themes and trailers.

Yes, you might as well wait! You’ve waited this long to jump into GoW - what’s twenty more days? Look on the bright side, by the time you’ve completed all the GoW Special Edition content you’ll be ready for the sequel due out in November.

 Editorial Correction: GoW is a third person shooter, not a first person shooter. It’s a POV thing.

Nintendo’s fitness game came out on May 19 to sweaty anticipation everywhere. But many have been turned away in their quest for the elusive game. If Wii Fit was the killer app that finalized your decision to buy a Wii, you’re looking at an additional $250 dollar purchase and some very short supplies. The console itself is also getting very difficult to find.

Major retailers like GameStop and Circuit City are reporting Wii Fit was sold out, in some cases, minutes after it went on sale. On eBay the game that retails at $90 has sold for as much as $150. Part of the problem is that Nintendo is carefully pumping out its console and hardware in limited doses.

Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities says Nintendo is maximizing profits by selling most of its consoles in Europe. The game company shipped 2 million to Europe but only 500,000 were sent to the North American market.

"The shortage demonstrates one consequence of the weak dollar. We’re seeing companies ignore their largest market simply because they can make a greater profit elsewhere," Pachter said.

So, if the US dollar would only get stronger Wii Fit might arrive to where it’s needed most. Isn’t the US supposed to be the most out-of-shape nation on Earth? C’mon Nintendo, cut a country a break – send more Wii Fit!

Motion controllers seem to be all the rage with the runaway success of Wii. There are rumors of one coming up for the Xbox 360 and even Sony’s PS3 has a variation in its six-axis controller. But Nintendo was first!

Asus introduced what looks like a pair of Wii nunchucks in an attractive bright orange instead of Wii’s sanitary off-white. Sure, it’s a rip-off but that’s what a company like Asus does best, makes good quality products that have gone before but at affordable prices.

The video shows the Eee Stick in action. I think I’ll pass on the stick for Eee - believe if I were to control my computer like too much I might go blind.

Nintendo’s game system may still be hard to find and being sold in those insidious bundles by retailers that even Nintendo doesn’t like. But we have received word that Circuit City has limited Wii bundles available for North American orders.

We have an exclusive URL supplied only to Circuit City junk mail subscribers it’ll take you to a page where you can order a Wii bundle online. We really do wish GizmoRepublic.com were getting some kind of kick back if you buy, but honestly we have no such agreement with Circuit City at this time. You could always visit our sponsored links above, it costs nothing and you might even find a Wii or a swell BlackBerry.

Forget standing in line for hours to get a Nintendo Wii, securing yours online is best. Wii Fit, the much talked about game for Wii seems to be suffering shortages in some areas too. The CC website has Wii Fit available at the regular website so shortages might be limited to certain areas.