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.

Left 4 Dead 2 has seen one of the biggest price drops you’ll see right before the holiday season.  The game, which originally sold at $59.99 when it releases just a short time ago, is now available for just $44.00 on the Xbox 360 and PC.  If you haven’t bought the game yet, there is no better time to than now. Buy Left 4 Dead 2 now from Amazon!

Halo fans have been waiting a long time to get a glimpse of Reach, but they won’t have to wait much longer.  The game will be shown off for the first time on December 12th, at the Video Game Awards on Spike TV.

Halo: Reach will be the fifth entry into the first-person shooter series.  It is also rumored to be the last Halo game that Bungie will work on.  We’ll get to see their progress soon.  Tune into the Spike TV Video Game Awards December 12th at 8pm.

VGA on Spike TV