It can be hard to believe, but the Playstation 2 was launched all the way back in 2000, at the beginning on the decade.  It launched at $300 – not couch change, but it didn’t exactly break the bank, either.  After all, the original Playstation launched at $300 as well.  However, Sony decided to double that for the launch of the Playstation 3, which clocked in at a whopping $600 for the 60GB version.  The Xbox 360 was more expensive as well, costing $400 for the top-end model at launch.  There is no doubt that these were costly, but it wasn’t the worst part of the decade.  A one-time cost for a console that will last you 5-10 years of great gaming?  That’s fine.  It’s all the rest that has emptied our wallets.

The price of games has skyrocketed with the most recent generation of gaming.  While PC and Nintendo Wii games, for the most part, remain at $50, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 jacked up the price to $60 for new titles, citing increased development costs.  $10 might not seem like a whole lot, but when you establish a double-digit game library, all of a sudden it adds up.

Another popular way for companies to take our money was to charge a monthly fee.  Xbox Live Gold was the first subscription model for consoles, costing $50 per year.  But let’s not forget about Massively Multiplayer Online games.  MMOs were in no way invented in this decade, but they went mainstream with releases like World of Warcraft.  Millions of people are paying up to $15 per month to enjoy these games, all while paying $50 for the game and maybe another $40 per year for expansions.  I don’t even want to think about how much money we’ve all spent on these titles over the years – too much, to be sure.

But that’s not the worst of it.  No, the worst thing to come out of this decade is downloadable content, or DLC.  The idea of this content is great: you can expand your game while sitting on your couch, prolonging the enjoyment of it.  Unfortunately, virtually all downloadable content is overpriced.  We all laughed when horse armor for Oblivion came out for $2.50.  Who on earth is going to pay that?  Well, apparently a lot of people.  Charging $10 for 3 new maps is increasingly becoming the standard, even though the stand-alone game usually contains about 15 maps, the entirety of multiplayer content, the single-player content, and whatever else comes with the game.  That’s not to say all DLC is bad – there are plenty of games that have great content available for download.  Unfortunately, these are usually far and few between.

You know what, though?  It’s all been worth it.  This decade has been perhaps the greatest for gaming, ever.  There have been tons of great games with decade, and many of them have attracted a new audience, particularly with the Wii and DS.  I love the power of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, even if it costs me a premium.  Plus, $15 arcade games can help even out the $60 price-point.  My only real complaint would be the ridiculous prices of some downloadable content, since I don’t think I’ll ever be able to justify spending $10 for three maps.  Still, it’s hard to blame the developers, since millions of these map packs are being sold.  All in all, this was a great decade for gaming, and I can’t wait to see what the next one brings.

Here we are, three years after the release of the Playstation 3, and multi-platform games are continuing to receive shoddy ports.  The most recent example of this is with the release of Bayonetta.  First, the game received a perfect score from Japanese magazine Famitsu for the Xbox 360 version, but only received a 39/40 for the PS3 port.  If that wasn’t bad enough, now IGN has given Bayonetta a 9.5 for the Xbox 360, but just an 8.2 for the Playstation 3.  What gives?

When the Playstation 3 first was released and poor ports were aplenty on the system, most of us chalked it up to the fact that developers have not had enough time to figure out the PS3’s hardware, which was much more advanced and complicated than in past generations.  Over time, we began to see exclusive PS3 titles look stellar – an ode to the fact that the system was indeed very powerful.  Titles like Metal Gear Solid 4 and Uncharted 2 proved that the Playstation 3 was capable of producing the best graphics around, but ports virtually never look better on the PS3 than they do on the Xbox 360.

The answer is not because developers can’t make titles better on the Playstation 3, but it is because developers won’t put the effort into it.  Somewhere along the line, developers have found out that it is cheaper to make games on the Xbox 360 and then port it to the Playstation 3.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that all ports are bad – there are plenty of multi-platform games that are nearly identical on both systems.  Rather, it just means that the Playstation 3 will almost never have the superior game when compared to the Xbox 360, ignoring the possibility of exclusive content.

It’s a shame that developers do not feel like they need to put the time into the Playstation 3 version of the game, because it feels like we’re all getting ripped off just a little.

You can purchase both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of Bayonetta for just $54.99 at Amazon.

In an effort to keep the number of discs down to a maximum of 3, the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII appears that it will have to make some unpleasant compromises.   Currently, the PS3 version of the game takes up almost a whopping 40GB of data. That’s a lot, to be sure, but still small enough to fit on just one dual-layer BD.   However, Square Enix has said that the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIII will ship on just three DVDs, which can hold a maximum of approximately 25GB combined.  Which begs the question – just where is that other 15GB of data going?

However, it may not be as bad as it seems.  The game data itself appears to take up just 8GB, while the CG movies appear to take up the vast majority of space.   Perhaps it will be that this data will be simply compressed, and most users will not even notice a significant difference?  Time will tell.

You can pre-order booth the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of Final Fantasy XIII at Amazon for just $56.99.

[Thanks, Sankaku Complex] (Warning: Link NSFW)

I woke up this morning to a nice treat in my email inbox, today. Codes for the ModNation Racers beta are now being sent. The beta is schedules to run from December 18th to January 10th. Stay tuned for our impressions after we get some time with the beta.

If you’re one of the few PS3 owners who has not picked up Uncharted yet, and you’re in need of another controller, this new bundle may be just the thing you’re looking for.  Amazon is offering Uncharted and a Dualshock 3 controller for just $60. Shipping December 15th, this could be a perfect gift for someone for the holidays.

The God of War Collection, which releases on November 17th for $36.99, features some of the cheapest and easiest trophies you will find on the PS3. The collection, which houses God of War and God of War 2 in high definition, includes two platinum trophies. Since the combo is being sold for so little, which amounts to under $20 per game. Since platinum trophies are usually reserved for full-fledged $60 retail games, this is one heck of a deal.

Not only are the trophies cheap , but they’re easy as well. The vast majority of trophies are obtainable by simply playing through the game as you normally would, and most of the rest can be easily gotten by getting 100% through the game. Then there are a few specific ones, like playing through certain parts of the game under a time limit. This is a game that every PS3 owner needs to own, regardless of whether they have played the franchise before.

You can save some money if you buy the God of War Collection at Amazon for just $36.99.

You can view the entire list of trophies here.

Previously, we showed you a quick and cheap way to record video from your favorite console. Although it is an effective way to record standard definition content, it doesn’t work if you want to record HD content.  With YouTube and plenty of other sites offering high-quality uploads, we’re going to show you how to capture video from a console in high definition quality.  You can use either an Xbox 360 or PS3 for this, although an extra cable might be needed for the latter.

A word of warning for those choosing to take this route.  You’ll need a somewhat powerful PC to process the HD signal and record it – a dual-core CPU and 256mb video card should work.  Also, this particular HD PVR works with only Windows PCs.  If you need something compatible with a Mac, look into something like the Blackmagic Design Intensity Pro (more expensive).

The good news for this setup?  It’s simple as can be.  The bad news?  It’s going to cost a bit more.  We’ll be using the Hauppauge 1212 HD-PVR to do this, which is about $200.  If you’re using an Xbox 360 and have the HD component cables that came with the system, you do not need any other items.  If you’re using a PS3, you’ll need to also buy an HD component cable compatible with the PS3, such as this Playstation 3 Component Audio Video Cable.

Once you have everything you need, setting it up is a snap.  Simply plug the other end of the component cable coming form your console into the PVR, plug the included AV component extension cable into the back of your TV or monitor, and plug the included USB cable from the HD PVR to your PC.

That’s it.  You’ll have a signal on your HDTV, and by installing the included software you will be able to record and edit that signal with your PC.

If this setup is a little too pricey for you and you’re OK with an SD signal, check out how to cheaply record an SD signal.

Ever wanted to record an epic kill from a video game?  We have you covered.  Here is a simple, cheap and effective way to capture video from a game console.  Below, you’ll find everything you need to accomplish this for all major consoles, including Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Nintendo Wii.

First, you’ll need an item called a Dazzle. (the Dazzle Plus comes with software to help you edit the video that you capture)  It’s primary purpose is to record to DVDs, but instead we are going to have it record to your computer.  Then, you’ll need a Standard AV Cable.  Both of these items are needed, regardless of what console you want to record from.  Finally, you’ll need one more cable, specific to each console:

Xbox 360: Xbox 360 S Video AV Cable
Playstation 3: PS3 S-video Cable
Wii: Wii S-Video/AV Cable

Once, you have all of these items, all you have to do is set it up.  The setup should go like this (we’ll use Xbox 360 for this example):

Xbox 360 > S-video AV cable > TV > Standard AV cable > Dazzle > PC

To be more specific, connect the Xbox 360 to the TV using the S-video cable, like you normally would.  Then, use the standard AV cable and plug it into the TV “out” input, connecting the other end into the Dazzle.  Finally, connect the Dazzle to your computer using the included USB cable.  Finally, install the software (also included with the Dazzle) and you’re ready to record anything you do on your game console.

And there you have it.  For under $60, you get a simple, cheap, and effective way to record anything from your game console.  It should be noted that you can you also record from older consoles, like the Playstation 2 or Xbox, by using the same setup but just replacing the console-specific S-video AV cable.

This setup will only record an SD signal.  If you want to record in HD, see how to capture, record and edit an HD signal.