Don’t mind the mess – We’re getting ready to move

Don’t mind the mess (or extremely old posts) – We’re just preparing to jump servers and as such are moving all of our old blogs over to WordPress format. If you’re currently looking for NYLatenite’s Gamer’s Paradise – (also known as nylatenite.com) – we’re still over at www.nylatenite.com. Thanks!

About

Here’s what you need to know about this wonderful little site that I call home…

This site is entirely based on the personal opinions of the editorial staff, internet reports, conjecture, rumors, and blatant idiocy. In no way should any report, news item, picture or description on this site ever be taken as 100 percent factual. To put it simply, if you think the 10 minutes of research I may do into a specific subject is enough for you to take something as reported at face value, you need to get your head examined.

As implied by the statement above, information on this website can, and probably will, contain numerous inaccuracies and as such should never be used to make any kind of an informed decision on a subject. Seriously. The nature of news on the internet and the business of reporting on rumors, ommissions and, let’s call it what it is, wild-ass guessing should never be mistaken as 100 percent accurate. While all attempts are made to report things as accurately as we can, things are always going to get missed or misunderstood in the shuffle.

In short, take everything on this site as what it is – news being reported by someone who is a fan of the video game industry, but who has no connections to the game industry or related businesses.

If you’ve seen something you feel is inaccurate or misinterperated, feel free to drop us a line at nylatenite@yahoo.com to let us know the truth of the matter. Thank you.

MICROSOFT EXTENDS 360 WARRANTY TO 3 YEARS FOR RED RING ISSUES

Microsoft has announced that due to the ongoing issues with the Xbox 360’s dreaded Red Ring of Death system failures, the company will be extending the system’s factory warranty to cover the defects that cause the issue to 3 years from the date of purchase.

I can’t begin to mention just how huge of an announcement this is. Microsoft has basically admitted that the failure rate on the Xbox 360 is far higher than they would like and have taken action to make sure that their customer base is treated fairly. To give you an idea of the scale of the problem, Microsoft will be taking a 1.15 billion dollar pre-tax charge to their earnings for the quarter ending June 30th to cover the cost of the extension. (If you’re wondering, this means that the cost of supporting the warranty will not be included in fiscal year 2008, meaning that Robbie Bach’s prediction that the Xbox line would be in the black by 2008 is still a reasonable possibility.)

In an open letter to their customers, Microsoft’s Peter Moore apologized to Xbox 360 owners for any inconveniences they may have experienced due to system failures and promised that the company would be retroactively reimbursing any fees paid by 360 owners for repairs due to the issue.

“As of today, all Xbox 360 consoles are covered by an enhanced warranty program to address specifically the general hardware failures indicated by the three flashing red lights on the console. This applies to new and previously-sold consoles. While we will still have a general one year console warranty (two years in some countries), we are announcing today a three-year warranty that covers any console that displays a three flashing red lights error message. If a customer has an issue indicated by the three flashing red lights, Microsoft will repair the console free of charge—including shipping—for three years from the console’s purchase date. We will also retroactively reimburse any of you who paid for repairs related to problems indicated by this error message in the past. In doing so, Microsoft stands behind its products and takes responsibility to ensure that every Xbox 360 console owner continues to have a fantastic gaming experience.

If we have let any of you down in the experience you have had with your Xbox 360, we sincerely apologize. We are taking responsibility and are making these changes to ensure that every Xbox 360 owner continues to have a great experience.” – Peter Moore

It should be noted that the extension (years 2 and 3) only cover issues related to the three red ring failures and does not cover the rest of the system. To clear up any confusion, Microsoft has made a FAQ available that covers many of the questions Xbox 360 owners may have about the updated warranty and have advised that they will continue to update the FAQ over the next few days.

One question that wasn’t covered in the aforementioned FAQ was what affect this would have on the warranty status of those who purchased the Xbox 360’s 2 year extended warranty directly from Microsoft. To get an answer to that issue, I called Microsoft’s customer support help line at 1-800-4MY-XBOX, and after waiting on hold for 1 hour and 15 minutes was advised that the extended warranty will begin once the 3 year warranty period has expired and that all services would be covered during that time.

I found that answer a little strange as one would assume that only the coverage for the Red Ring failures would continue into the 4th and 5th year of the warranty period, but the representative I spoke with assured me that this was indeed the case. While I’m taking that part of the answer with a grain of salt, I am at least confident in believing that those who purchased the extended warranty via Microsoft will have protection from general system failures (Red Ring of Death failures) for 5 years from the date of purchase.

My guess is that since Microsoft also stated that they believe they’ve found a way to fix the problem that this move may essentially be a long-term recall. If the problem is such that they know that most Xbox 360’s will fail within 3 years, this would allow them to repair the problems without the massive negative publicity a true recall would bring. The move should also allow Microsoft some breathing room at E3 in regard to the failure rate, so while it’s certainly a great move for the consumer, I wouldn’t go sending mushy love notes to the company just yet. Still, I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling all warm and fuzzy at the moment. Between the rumors of the PlayStation 3 price drop and Microsoft’s warranty extension, it’s been a pretty good day for gamers. For more information on the announcement, warranty procedures and what it all means to you, check out the below links.

• Microsoft Expands Xbox 360 Warranty Coverage – Official press release
• Xbox 360 Expands Warranty – Gamerscore Blog
• Open Letter From Peter Moore – Xbox.com
• Expanded Xbox 360 Warranty Coverage FAQ – Xbox.com

PLAYSTATION 3 TO GET $100 PRICE CUT ON JULY 12TH?

That’s the current rumor floating about the internet. According to Kotaku, a poster over at the DVD Talk forums is advising he got an early look at the Circuit City sale circular for the weekend of July 15th. According to the poster, the 60GB PlayStation 3 will be advertised with a $100 price break, bringing the cost of the system down to $499.99.

Many would argue that the circular could be taken to indicate either an as-of-yet unannounced price drop or perhaps just a one week sale to clear inventory, GameDaily Biz followed up the story by announcing that they had received confirmation from an insider at “one of the world’s biggest retailers” that the price of the PlayStation 3 will be dropped by $100 effective July 12th. Looks like Sony has one heck of an announcement on their hands for E3, eh?

While I think it’s definitely the right move for Sony given the relatively lackluster sales of the PS3, as an early adopter – and someone who understands that early adopters always take some degree of risk – I can’t help but feel completely shafted now. I’ll tell you why;

1. Unlike other systems I’ve owned, even after 8 months I really don’t feel like I’ve gotten any benefit by having been an early adopter. There hasn’t been a single “must have” game on the system since launch (and I’d even dispute whether one could call Resistance: Fall of Man a “must-have” title) and at this point, a price drop would just serve to reinforce the “sucker” feeling.
2. I get the feeling that by the time Sony gets any product worth playing that hasn’t been on other platforms into the stores, my factory one year warranty will either have expired or be close to expiring. From a piece of mind perspective, I would have liked to have seen that the PlayStation 3 could handle the load of being played on a daily basis. Now, given the low number of failure reports for the PS3, I doubt this will be an issue, but it’s one of those nagging thoughts that sticks with me.
3. Between the rumored price drop, new 5 Blu-Ray Disc movie offer and the prospects of having to purchase new Sixaxis controllers when the vibration feedback enabled models become available, I just can’t help but feel like Sony has taken advantage of me.
4. Everything I’ve experienced with the PlayStation 3 to this point has really made me feel like I paid to beta test the system. From the disorganization of the PlayStation Store to the lack of quality titles on the shelves, everything just feels like it wasn’t quite ready for release.

Again, I know this is a move Sony must take in order for the PlayStation 3 to have any chance of surviving, and I know that as an early adopter, there’s always an inherent risk of getting burned, but I’m not going to lie and say that I’m happy with the situation as it stands. The only thing I can hope is that since Sony has not made any official comment on the matter as of yet, there’s always a chance they will do something to show a bit of loyalty to those who were willing to buy the system at it’s original price.

I’ll be sure to update this story with any new information that comes in. As of right now, it’s looking pretty solid, so to those of you who have been waiting for a price drop before picking up a PlayStation 3, your wait may finally be nearing an end.

• PLAYSTATION 3 $100 Price Cut Hits July 15 – Kotaku
• Report: PS3 $499 on July 12 – GameDaily BIZ
• Circuit City Prices: July 15 – July 21, 2007 – DVDTalk Forums

GAMEFLY INTRODUCES NEW MAILERS

Gamefly dropped me an e-mail yesterday advising that after some testing, they will be changing the mailers they use for all standard disc-based games. From the sound of it, they’ve made a few changes to the overall design and removed the protective cardboard insert they used to place in each mailer – a move that I’m not particularly fond of.

“We’ve changed our mailer! As of this week, you may see your games arrive in a newly redesigned mailer that opens vertically instead of horizontally.

This new mailer does not include any cardboard inserts. Please do not attempt to use your old cardboard inserts when returning games in this new mailer.

Also, when returning your games, you will insert the disc into the top of the return mailer, instead of into the side.

Please note – handheld games (PSP, DS, GBA) will continue to be mailed in the usual mailer with the cardboard insert. Please return these handheld games with the cardboard in the same mailers they arrived in.” – Gamefly

I guess that extra dollar they tacked onto all membership plans back on June 18th just wasn’t enough to cover the cost of using the inserts. I just hope they are ready for the inevitable slew of damaged discs they’re going to start getting back.

• Gamefly – Official website

BOTH XBOX 360 RAINBOW SIX VEGAS PLAYER’S PACKS NOW FREE

This story has been sitting on my “to post” list for about a week now and seeing how as of tomorrow both player’s packs for the Xbox 360 version of Rainbow Six Vegas will be free downloads, I figured now was the time to post it.

Back on June 29th, Major Nelson reported that Ubisoft had finally fixed the problems they were having with the recently released Player’s Pack: Black Edition for the Xbox 360, and announced that the pack was supposed to have been a free download. As a way of making up for the confusion, Ubisoft had opted to put the “Black Pack” back on Live as a free download and announced that the older Player’s Pack: Red Edition would also become a free download effective July 6th – you know… today.

“Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas Black Pack Downloadable Content for Xbox 360 Live was originally intended to be free content for the fans of Rainbow Six Vegas. We apologize for the error. All players who purchased the Black Pack will be reimbursed automatically.* The Black Pack will be posted Saturday June 30th and will be free of charge. Also, as a token of our appreciation for the Rainbow Six community, we are making the Red Pack free as of Friday July 6th as well. Thanks for playing and we hope you enjoy this free content.” – Ubisoft

That’s a whole lot of freebie goodness right there, so if you have R6V and haven’t picked up either pack yet, you should be golden by the end of today. One last thing to note is that anyone who purchased the Black Edition pack during it’s short time as a pay download can expect to see a refund automatically within 8-10 weeks.

• Rainbow Six Vegas – Official website
• Rainbow Six Vegas Black Pack Update (good news) – Major Nelson
• Rainbow Six Vegas Player’s Pack: Red Edition – Product page at Xbox.com
• Rainbow Six Vegas Player’s Pack: Black Edition – Product page at Xbox.com

ALL PRO FOOTBALL 2K8 – PLAYER ABILITIES DETAILED

Yes, we’re focusing on All Pro Football 2K8 yet again today. Gamespot has posted another preview of the game in which they take a closer look at the special abilities players can have in the game. If you’re a little confused as to what that means, let me explain; In addition to the usual stats all players have, the “Legendary” players all have special attributes that are used to make them play more like they did during their NFL careers. For example, a player that was king of the late-game comeback may have the “4th quarter comeback ability” – which increases all that players stats during the 4th quarter. It’s one of the little things that 2K Sports is doing to try and make the title stand out.

Now that you know what the special attributes are all about, let’s take a look at the full list of them as per Gamespot;

• Signal Stealer — Press X with our QB or defender to try to steal your opponent’s plays.
  
• Scrambler — QB is talented at throwing the ball out of the pocket.
• Rocket Arm — QB has top-flight arm strength with QB charge.
• Quick Release — QB has a quick throwing motion.
• Pocket Presence — QB is at his best when in the pocket.
• Play Fake — QB’s play action fake is great at fooling defenders.
• Pass Threat — QB’s threat of passing makes draw plays more lethal.
• Laser Arm — Pinpoint accuracy with QB charge.
• Deception — QB’s pump fakes are more likely to deceive defenders.
• Cadence — QB’s cadence is good at drawing defenders offside.
• 4th Quarter Comeback — QB is at his best when trailing in the 4th quarter.
• Strength Bonus — Player has top-notch strength for his position.
• Stamina Bonus — Player doesn’t tire easily.
• Speed Burner — Player has top-notch speed for his position.
• Secure Ball Bonus — Player is good at holding onto the football.
• Run Coverage — Player is good against the run and when pursuing ball carriers.
• Quick Feet — Player has top-notch agility for his position.
• Leadership Bonus — Player makes his teammates better.
• Hops — Player has excellent jumping ability.
• Durability Bonus — Player is resilient to injuries and very dependable.
• Acrobatic Catches — Player is able to make difficult circus catches.
• Branching Tackles — Player is good at shaking off tackles by tapping A.
• Break Away Burst — Player has an extra gear when running away from defenders.
• Bump Buster — Player is talented at beating bump and run coverage.
• Cutback Ability — Player is quick out of cuts.
• Deep Threat — Receiver is skilled at catching deep passes and draws extra attention from safeties.
• Mr. 3rd Down — Receiver is clutch in 3rd down situations.
• Possession Receiver — Receiver is particularly talented at running short routes.
• Return Specialist — Player is skilled at returning punts or kicks.
• Route God — Receiver is great route runner.
• Ankle Breaker — Player has a 2nd level charge juke move.
• Battering Ram — Player has a 2nd level charge shoulder charge.
• Spin — Defender has a 2nd level charge spin.
• Arm of Steel — Player has a 2nd level charge stiff arm.
• Stop on a Dime — Player has a 2nd level charge stop.
• Tough in the Middle — Receiver isn’t afraid to get hit on catches in the middle.
• Workhorse — Ball carrier gets better the more he gets the ball.
• Soft Hands — Player has excellent hands.
• Special Team Demon — Player is talented at covering punts or kicks.
• Magic Feet — Player has the footwork and balance to stay in bounds on sideline catches.
• Brick Wall — Player has superior pass blocking skills.
• Bulldozer — Player has superior run blocking skills.
• Stonewall — Linemen is such a stalwart that the QB is extra composed around him.
• Clutch — Player’s performance is best in all-clutch situations and games.
• Scissor Kick — Player has a scissor kick special move by using RS.
• Finesse — Player has a 2nd level spin and juke move.
• Power — Player has a 2nd level shoulder charge and stiff arm.
• Finesse and Power — Player has a 2nd level spin, juke, shoulder charge, and stiff arm.
• Ball Strip — Player is adept at forcing fumbles.
• Big Hit — Defender is particularly adept at big hit tackles with RS.
• Bull Rush — Defender has a 2nd level charge bull rush.
• Bump Master — Player is skilled at bump and run coverage.
• Closing Speed — Defender is able to cover ground quickly when closing in on the ball.
• Club — Defender has a 2nd level charge club.
• Loose Ball Magnet — Defender has a knack for recovering fumbles.
• Reach Tackle — Defender has the strength to pull down ball carriers with reach tackles.
• Rip — Defender has a 2nd level charge rip.
• Run Reader — Defender has a sixth sense that allows him to hit the hole.
• Sack Master — Defender is particularly skilled at sacking the QB.
• Wrap Up Tackler — Defender is a textbook wrap tackler.
• Coverage Bonus — Player has excellent pass coverage skills.
• Pass Rush Bonus — Player is skilled at rushing the passer.
• Run Coverage — Player is good against the run and when pursuing ball carriers.
• Ball Hawk — Defender has a keen sense of the ball on passes.
• Footsteps — Defender strikes fear in receivers and this can result in gator arms.
• Return Specialist — Player is skilled at returning punts or kicks.
• Coffin Corner — Player is good at pinning punts inside the 10-yard line.
• Kick Accuracy Bonus — Player has excellent kick accuracy.
• Kick Power Bonus — Player has excellent kick power.

For more details on player special abilities in All Pro Football 2K8, check out the full article over at Gamespot.

• All Pro Football 2K8 – Official website
• All-Pro Football 2K8 Special Abilities Spotlight – Gamespot