Does it matter?

This is /.

I can't be expected to both Google something *and* RTFS. That's for the later comments to point out.

TFS doesn't explain everything.

• The PSN Store is divided into multiple regions. Each region has control over their own store. iirc there's more stores than 3 (SCEA, SCEE, SCEJ)
• Publishers in 1 region may not be the same in others, hence pricing disparities. While SCEA might be the publisher in the US, Capcom could be the publisher in Japan. This somewhat explains the selection available between stores.
• Each PSN Store is free to run their own promotions. I've picked up Calling All Cars for $4.99 before on the US Store, and gotten a free episode of Voltron

So 800 MS Points is $10 in the US. How much does 800 MS Points go for in other countries? Is it still $10 USD, or has it been adjusted? That's the apples to apples comparison right there.

Personally I like the $$$ option of the PSN rather than the point method of Microsoft. I have a credit card, I don't want to buy some sort of currency first to then buy games. I don't want to have to convert all points to prices to see if something is a good value. Nintendo's is a bit easier, with 1000 points being $10, but Microsoft wants you to spend more points without realizing it. 1200 points, Oh wow, that looks like only $12 when actually it's $15.

Personally I like the PSN UI. The current version is a whole lot better than the old one, particularly with regards to redeeming promo codes.

Not to say the PSN can't be improved. I would love to see either a unified login (for all regions) or a way to change your name with your current account. Right now when people want to change account names they create a new account. That decreases the number of names available for new PSN members. All because they got tired of xxxhazz0rszzzz and wanted omgitssephiroth. So I'm sure you've got guys out there with 5-10 accounts, where Sony could charge $5 to change your name and keep all your DLC/Trophies. Microsoft already allows you to change your name, iirc. I would also love to have some of the content available on the Japanese store, without creating a Japanese account and trying to browse that store. Will it happen? Who knows.

I agree with your sentiments, except for me it was mandated in 8th grade (we had learned it in grade school). Up until then, it was a "whatever you want to use is fine with us" mentality.

Since then I've also only written my name in cursive. I could probably more easily write hiragana than write every letter (upper and lower) in cursive, but that's only because I've handwritten more stuff in Japanese than English recently

Damn it, why didn't I make some sort of half assed comparison on my website, get linked to it from Slashdot, and watch my impressions go through the roof?

This guy didn't have any benchmarks (even a damn file copy would have been nice). He then added another category "Extras" to make Snow Leopard have the same number of "won" categories as Windows 7. First comment is that he appears "fair and balanced." Fuck that shit, he just did it so he didn't have a flame war about how he favored one over the other.

I'm thinking this slipped by the cens---I mean, reviewers. For every single overly strict reviewer they have, one or two is probably more lax. That guy, whose job is probably now in jeopardy, approved the app not realizing Apple won't make money, even if it did compete with existing iPhone functionality.

Either that or they're panicking because of the recent FCC inquiries so they don't want to mess anything up.

But we all know Apple doesn't panic.

When I look at Newegg reviews or the like, I like to read the 2-4 range. 1 star is usually consisting of dumbasses who expect every product to work flawlessly every time. "Oh I had to RMA this. Props to Newegg for fast RMA." 3 Dead parts, yes please write a negative review. If your first product was DoA wait until you actually use the damn thing to write a review.

3's usually have a good mix of pros and cons, though I find some of the 4 star Newegg people are very articulate about why they rated 4 instead of 5.

5's are just people who had no real problem with the product. I want to know any potential problems that may occur, not that it ran as expected.

Honestly I don't think they've improved the Emotion Engine emulation at all. I haven't seen "Improves playback of certain PS2 software" as a fix in a long time

They didn't remove functionality, if that's what you're asking. So long as your hardware supports PS2 games, you can play them.

Not true. The EU 60GB model and US 80GB (with 4 usb ports) still had PS2 GPUs installed. the PS2 CPU was emulated, which is why it only has ~85% compatibility. The US 20/60GB models had a full PS2 inside.

The current lineup of PS3s do not have any PS2 parts, which is why I don't think we'll see a return of PS2 compatibility this generation.

Unlock DLC irks me. You pay for what's on the disk, just a few dollars to unlock it.

My thoughts is that PC DLC would be pirated immensely. Also, since distribution is distributed, you don't incur massive bandwidth costs. WoW does bittorrent type patches, for most other games it's mirrored on a dozen sites. Marginal cost to the developer.

With consoles, you have to pay to get certified, and this includes any bugfixes you release. While the cost of DLC certification may be marginal, as someone else pointed out (Just assume $1 out of the 5 that DLC costs), you still have to certify all your patches, which are given for "free." DLC works to pad their expenditures in other areas in order to sell more copies.

Also, you can't really pirate the DLC from a closed network, so it's guaranteed that people pay for it. With every person that purchases DLC, you lock them into owning your game. If they bought it second hand, you now got revenue that you wouldn't have otherwise. If they bought it new, paying for DLC ensures they won't get rid of it, otherwise their DLC purchase will have gone to waste. Less used copies floating around.

I don't know about you guys, but I like my books hard copy. I can highlight, loan out, do whatever. Positive reviews will influence my purchase, but ultimately I want to compare several books about the same topic (since we all know there's a bajillion books on Apache, PHP, Drupal, etc). Just the other day I bought a Rails book. There were like 5 of them on the shelf. They don't all cover the same thing, and the author's style isn't all the same.

While I suppose I could hunt down a 5 page preview online, it's easier just to flip through the entire thing and buy it in the store. I had a coupon so it brought it down to near Amazon price. I pay tax, but not shipping. I can walk out of the store, go home and work on it.

Another benefit of in store is that you get to see related books without relying on Amazon's recommendation system to show you things it thinks you like. This may contribute to an impulse buy. If the OP is the impulse buy, I'd say that's a good thing.

Inconceivable!

Agreed. I'm posting just a few achievements/trophies from Dead Space, which I recently played:

• Complete Chapter 1 on any Difficulty
• Complete Chapter 2 on any Difficulty

• ...

• Complete Chapter 12 on any Difficulty
• Get 30 kills with Plasma Cutter
• Get 30 kills with Ripper
• Get 30 kills with Melee

On the other end of the spectrum, we have the otaku level achievements, such as Cross Edge's "The Hikikomori: Spend far too much time unlocking dozens of titles." Just to let you know, there's at least 140 titles available, each title has requirements such like obtaining items X, Y, and Z, holding some quantity of item X in your inventory, doing over 10,000 damage, or having a combo over 400. Basically you have to 100% a RPG and then some in order to get this trophy.