• 12Mar 12

  I finally snapped....

  I just couldn't help it!

  I have been holding my tongue for so long about the crap that sony are doing, that I finally had to write something!

  So I sent Sony customer Services this:

  troublemaker411 wrote:

  To whom it may concern,
  
  I have been gaming for twenty years.
  I have also been a loyal Sony customer since the introduction of the first Playstation model. I have always bought PS products first and others second. Even going as far as to go to Playstation exclusively when deciding to stop PC gaming.
  
  I have spent alot of hours defending your brand and as a rule I cannot find complaint with your services. However, recently I have found it hard to keep my faith in your products.
  
  Firstly, the constant flurry of online service outages.
  In what is fast becoming a bi-weekly occurance, the taking down of the PSN/SEN is starting to make being a Sony customer a painful experience.
  I understand that sometimes these are done for security issues, but I do not understand why we can't see a changelog when this happens.
  We are not asking for your blog managers to translate it for us, instead, we would like to see the changelog and if it matters that much to us, we can look up exactly what it is you have changed. I believe that this needs to be done by your company so that we can actually see that there are reasons behind the taking down of the system.
  
  By continuation, as an IT Professional, I do not understand why server and service updates cannot be done on a rolling basis, stopping disconnection, en masse, from the SEN.
  
  Secondly, the PS branded wireless stereo Headset.
  I recently spent almost £100 on your wireless stereo headset. I have been using the standard PS Bluetooth mic for many years and with the release of Battlefield 3 in October last year, I needed a better solution for communicating online. As I stated before, I have been a loyal Sony and Playstation customer and as such, I went with the (what I thought would be) much superior Wireless PS3 Headset (Model Number PS398085)
  This piece of equipment was spectactular. Allowing me to communicate flawlessly with other players online without them hearing my game on the microphone.
  That is, until Firmware 4.10 was released early in February. Now, as much as my team can hear what I am saying, so can I. The online community was hoping against hope that when Firmware 4.11 was released, that it would fix the problem. But alas, it didn't.
  I am now left with a £100 piece of equipment that does not work properly. Battlefield is almost unplayable when trying to use the headset, and I couldn't take advantage of the voice commands available in "Binary Domain" because I was having to listen to myself through the headset.
  
  Lastly, Twisted Metal
  I watched the Sony conference live at E3 in 2010 when Twisted Metal was unveiled.
  I, and a large part of the gaming community here in the UK jumped for joy at the thought of finally getting a Twisted Metal release on PS3.
  Then it was taken from us.
  We have had Twisted Metal delayed in the EU for regionalisation. So your delaying the game, AND cutting it, all to the tune of "Twisted Metal never had a big fanbase in the EU" I am sorry, this is wrong. I, and several friends, have imported the American version of Twisted Metal, not just because we want to play it when it was supposed to be released, but out of fear that it will just not be released here (The game is due this week and so far there has been zero marketing for it in the UK) and it has to be said, that considering the game is due a BBFC rating of 15, that cuts are completely unnecessary. I have seen far worse in 15 rated games and if the BBFC think a 15 rating is suitable, why is it being cut?
  I would think, that the completely non-functioning multiplayer component of Twisted Metal would be a bigger issue than cutting a few scenes of FMV and changing the way a weapon acts in game.
  As a franchise, Twisted Metal is more likely to not have a fanbase in the EU because the multiplayer doesn't work properly in a game that is designed with multiplayer in mind over single player.
  
  Please understand that gamers, as a community, are a loyal breed.
  If you treat us well, we will stick around for a long time and give you as much of our money as you can possibly afford. But if you continue to ignore us, and leave us feeling like we are nothing more than walking cash machines for your company, we will look into other options for our gaming fix.
  
  Hopefully you read this and take it as it is intended. As a plea to you to not forget the people that spend money on your products.
  
  Yours Sincerely
  
  Andrew Brooker
  (SEN ID: TroubleMaker411)

  Not that I think a single thing will happen, or that I'll even get a reply

  But you gotta try aint ya?

  I'll update if I get anywhere!

  Laters

  • Posted Mar 12, 2012 4:30 am GMT
  • Category: General
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• 23Dec 11

  Merry Christmas To All.............

  Jeez!

  Another year almost done.

  Another year where my Game of the Year was the polar opposite of everyone elses (I had to go with Deus Ex: Human Revolution)

  Another year where I spent more on games than I did on my car.

  Another year where the quality of games can be iffy, while the quantity is higher than the last year.

  And here's to another year like it in 2012.

  Merry christmas everyone.

  Here is hoping you all have a great one, and a fanny-tastic new year.

  • Posted Dec 23, 2011 9:36 am GMT
  • Category: General
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• 10Dec 11

  Gaming Overload = Empty Wallet

  It's finally over.

  The usual explosion of winter games has finally died down. And thank God! My wallet can finally breathe a sigh of relief!

  The scary part is, there is another one on the way, and I'm not sure that My bank balance can handle it!

  Over the last couple of months, publishers have been going overboard with their releases and it seem that every year is crazier than the last! I know that it's all about the marketing but my god these guys need to spread out the releases a little. October and November are a prime time to release games. It's obvious. The nights are drawing in, it isn't the time of year where we all go to barbeques, picnics, concerts, festivals etc. and we are looking for ways to occupy ourselves in the evenings. But these publishers don't sem to realise that we would all game, no mater what the time of year and I'm just asking for a bit of a break on my bank balance before the Christmas shopping season kicks in!

  Since October, for me, the count is:

  • Rage
  • Battlefield 3
  • Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
  • Assassin's Creed: Revelations
  • Need for Speed: The Run
  • Saints Row: The Third
  • Batman: Arkham City

  Seven games. Over eight weeks. Three of them came out on the same day!

  A bit of shopping around and your looking at £30 a game. £210 in 2 months, just on games! and the list doesn't include the games like Uncharted 3 that I didn't want, and the games for Xbox that I didn't need because I got rid of the console. But if I had it, Forza and Gears of War 3 would just ADD to the numbers!

  Gaming is probably my second biggest hobby, behind movies, but it is definitely my most expensive and with the flurry of games we already know about next year, I'm considering taking out a mortgage just to keep me in games.

  Summer was wierd this year. As usual, the drought kicked in and I spent the best part of 2 months just picking up games to play through again. I don't mind obviously. If I didn't want to play them again, I would have rented them!

  Then, Deus Ex: Human Revolution came out.

  I was in two minds about Deus Ex. I am a massive fan of the originals, but the one console port of the first sequal was so bad, I wasn't sure I wanted to go through that again. On a whim, I bought it just for something to do on a free weekend I had coming up and I'm glad I did.

  I loaded mearly 70 hours into it, got the Platinum trophy and am calling it my Game of the Year! I absolutely loved it! If it had come out during the winter rush, I never would have touched it!

  DX:HR aside, I would really like to see game releases spread out a little more. In the new year, we get a month off and once february kicks in, it all starts again. I've got around £250 of games pre-ordered just covering between February and April.

  The beginning of next year, for me includes:

  • SSX
  • Twisted Metal
  • Starhawk
  • Syndicate
  • Darksiders 2
  • Prototype 2

  And a couple, that shopto.net have listed for the same time but I am not sure about the actual release dates

  • Theif 4
  • Spec Ops: The Line

  Again, this is not including games that I haven't decided on whether or not I'm going to buy them. Several HD collections, Catherine and the darkness 2 all fall into that list.

  Obviously next year, we're getting Assassin's Creed 3, Call of Duty 9(!) and whatever we have revealed at the VGAs and E3. I have to admit, I'm a little scared as to how much I am actually going to end up spending by the end of the year!

  Fingers crossed for a decent lotter win. Because we are coming up to the time where the next consoles are revealed and released, and they'll just be adding to my expense!

  Please, gaming gods, be good to me!

  

  • Posted Dec 10, 2011 3:56 am GMT
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