Howard Stern smarter than Jack Thompson and Dr. Phil?

With his family counseling show, Dr. Phil is the latest media darling to come from no where and invade our group conciousness. Jack Thompson is the attorney loved by Fox news and anti-gaming politicians everywhere for his ludicrous and boisterous attacks on our favorite past-time. Howard Stern is an over the top shock jock widely seen as a pariah by the mainstream media but loved by tens of millions of listeners that tune into his sirius radio show every day.

Now, if you had a serious subject to discuss such as the possible causes of the tragic Virginia Tech massacre, would you trust the judgment of the Attorney, the Family Therapist or the Shock Jock?

I'll take the Shock Jock, thank you very much!

Jack Thompson wrote an open letter to Microsoft founder Bill Gates this week calling for Microsoft to put an end to one of the most popular online video games on the planet, Counterstrike. He blamed the Virginia Tech massacre on Mr. Gates and Microsoft for not shutting down the servers for what Thompson calls a "killing simulator".

Unfortunately for Mr. Thompson, he doesn't understand the industry he would so dearly love to legislate well enough to even know that he wrote his sarcastically toned and poorly reasoned letter to the wrong person. Microsoft only published the Xbox version of Counter-strike back in 2003. Valve Software originally developed Counter-strike and Vivendi Universal handles the publication of the game on the PC, which is the only version that’s played on a large scale these days. So, even if he were right, which I STRONGLY disagree with, Thompson was wasting his ink on a letter to someone who had zero influence on the future of Counter-strike.

Monday night Dr. Phil made the following statement on Larry King Live on CNN about the connection between video games and the VT tragedy:

“The problem is we are programming these people as a society. You cannot tell me - common sense tells you - that if these people are playing video games where they’re on a mass killing spree in a video game, it’s glamorized on the big screen, it’s become part of the fiber of our society. You take that and mix it with a psychopath, a sociopath, or someone suffering from mental illness, add in a dose of rage, the suggestability is just too high. And we’re going to have to start dealing with that. We’re going to have to start addressing those issues and recognizing that the mass murderers of tomorrow are the children of today that are being programmed with this massive violence overdose.”

Enter the voice of reason, Howard Stern. Wait, Howard Stern as the voice of reason? I know I know, sounds ludicrous, but it's true.

On his sirius radio show this morning, Stern lambasted Dr. Phil for his comments and said, "he's a f***ing ***hole!"

Stern ridiculed the idea that video games could have caused the VT shootings, pointing out that plenty of the world’s greatest tragedies happened in environments devoid of video games, sarcastically suggesting that “Hitler played Donkey Kong” and “Osama Bin Laden played Grand Theft Auto.”

Stern went on to explain why he thinks so lowly of Dr. Phil saying, “You know the reason why Dr. Phil is an ***hole? Because whenever something like this happens he wants to play the blame game.”

Stern commented that he has either played or knows people who play video games “all day and all night” and do not act out violently. He pointed out that blame is always put on “the movies or something” and finished the conversation expressing the sentiment that most gamers have known all along:

“This is so stupid.”

Amen brother, amen!

*Complete transcript of Dr. Phil's appearance on CNN.

More PS3 Woes: Sony cutting jobs in struggling games division

Amid intense competition in the video game console market, Sony is planning a restructuring of its games division that will include job cuts in Europe and possibly in Japan and the U.S.

Sony used to welcome competition when it came from the Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast. However, with financial behemoth Microsoft steadily growing their Xbox brand and a resurgent Nintendo printing money with their Wii, Sony is feeling the pressure from stagnant PS3 sales worldwide and the latest result is the elimination of 160 jobs, which translates to roughly 10% of their entire European workforce.

According to Forbes, a Sony (nyse: SNE - news - people ) spokeswoman said the job cuts in Europe are under negotiation with employees and she declined to confirm numbers.

“In order to maintain our healthy business operation, we need to make structural changes,” she said, adding that it is needed to better reflect the convergence of different forms of content.
She said the business model would be very different from that for the previous two generations of its PlayStation games console, she said.

The move follows the reorganization of the executive team at the game division last November which saw Kaz Hirai, former president and chief executive of the Sony’s American gaming unit, replace Ken Kutaragi, the father of the Playstation, as president of the international group. Kutaragi was named chief executive and chairman of the unit, allowing him to save face while essentially stripping him of any real decision making power in regards to the Playstation brand's future direction.

Anyone who thought Sony was going to repeat the success of the PS2 and walk all over Microsoft and Nintendo in this generation of console hardware was sadly mistaken. Sony has made one mistake after another so far with the PS3; from marketing blunders to supply chain issues and a lack of games for launch. At the same time, Microsoft and Nintendo have both capitalized by making great strides with their own gaming divisions. Nintendo has deep pockets thanks to it's overwhelming domination of the handheld market and Microsoft continues to work the three step plan they've touted ever since they entered the market with the original Xbox. Step one was get in the door even if it meant losing money. Step two was making a profit while increasing market share, which they've done with the Xbox 360. Step three is to dominate the market in the 3rd generation which will begin in or around 2010-2012.

So, what will Sony do now to spur sales of the PS3? A price cut is the obvious quick answer, but with the amount of money Sony has gambled trojan horsing Blu-Ray players in the PS3 they can hardly afford to cut the price and take on even larger losses. Unless of course they offered a PS3 model without Blu-Ray. They would have to restructure some game manufacturing processes to allow for such a move, but it is not impossible.

Sony’s chief executive, Howard Stringer, told reporters this week that it has sold close to 800,000 units of the machines in Europe since its release in March, but the company has yet to confirm whether it met its target for global sales of 6 million units by the end of the fiscal year in March. Stringer's silence is as good as an admission that they have not met that goal. Global sales figures seem to indicate they are no where NEAR 6 million units sold.

I wouldn't count out Sony or the PS3 as dead in the water...yet. But clearly, they need to make some major moves to convince gamers to buy into the PS3 and it's games in a big way before they dig a hole so big they can't climb out. With Bioshock, Mass Effect and Forza Motorsports 2 right around the bend, Microsoft isn't going to stop to let them catch up. Things will come to a head this holiday season when Halo 3 hits. Sony will have to have one of their BIG guns like Metal Gear Solid 4 loaded and ready to counter it or this could very well be the end of a long era of Sony console domination.

Guitar Hero 3 will feature online multiplayer

Speaking to Pro-G, Kai Huang, President and Co-Founder of RedOctane, has confirmed that the upcoming Guitar Hero 3 will feature online play.

So, the one feature that Xbox 360 Guitar Hero fans have been wishing for will be coming eventually. It is possible online multiplayer may be added to the 360 version of Guitar Hero 2, though nothing has been confirmed at this point.

You won't have to wait very long to get your online rock fix. Guitar Hero 3 is scheduled for release on all major platforms this winter and is in development at Neversoft.

Disney wants Michael Bay for Prince of Persia film

Film site IESB reports that Disney is lobbying Michael Bay to direct the film adaptation of Prince of Persia. Bay's friend and frequent producer Jerry Bruckheimer has already signed on for the project, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Armageddon director takes the job. The Bruckheimer-Bay duo that brought us Bad Boys and The Rock is also responsible with inflicting us with Pearl Harbor. The film version of Prince of Persia, a game franchise heavy on explosive action and light on character development and plot, is expected to be a Summer 2009 release. Disney plans to make it an ongoing franchise if this first film is successful.

Sony considering 80GB PS3 after all

In a reversal of Sony's March assertion that they "don't have plans" to increase the PlayStation 3's hard drive size, Sony spokesman Satoshi Fukuoka now says the company is "considering" a version featuring a drive bigger than the 60GB existing model. This tidbit comes just days after the announced discontinuation of the 20GB PS3 everywhere except Japan.

So, will this news precede an impending price drop for the 60GB PS3? Or will Sony challenge our minds and bank accounts with a new $700 SKU?

Sixaxis Xbox 360 Controller - Heck yeah!

It's no secret that many people prefer the Xbox 360 controller to the SIXAXIS controller for the PS3 for its comfortable, ergonomic design.

Since Sony making a Xbox 360 SIXAXIS controller is about as likely as you dating Tyra Banks AND Salma Hayek, our favorite modder, Ben Heck, has made his own; and it is pretty sweet!

Fanboyism aside, regardless of what you think of either console or their respective controllers, there is no doubting the quality of Heck's work. Heck is the MacGyver of modding. I'm pretty sure he could solve global warming and the energy crisis using only a broken PS2 controller, a rubberband and the guts from an old casio calculator watch. Nice job! See more pics and read exactly how the surgery was performed.

Sony pulls the plug on 20GB PS3

After months of slow sales and rabid speculation Sony officially dropped the hammer on the 20GB version of the PS3 yesterday, announcing that they will no longer offer it in North America.

This news comes as absolutely no surprise to me as I predicted a year ago that Sony would eventually move to a single SKU. The only reason they ever released the smaller 20 GB model was to demonstrate that they were offering a "choice" like Microsoft had with two different versions of the Xbox 360. However, when the two models and their respective features were announced, it was clear to me the little brother would get its ass kicked by its bigger brother. Sony didn't really offer a choice to consumers at all. They made sure the 20GB version was crippled enough to ensure consumers would have no good justification for passing up on the $600 version. Funny thing is, the speculation of this move started a few weeks ago when JOystiq revealed an internal Best Buy document showing the 20GB PS3 as "discontinued" but I've never ever seen a 20GB PS3 in my local Best Buy stores since the launch; and I live in Minneapolis, where Best Buy is headquartered. So, either Best Buy saw the writing on the wall, or they did the writing themselves by simply not ordering 20GB machines from Sony. Seeing as the profit margin is larger on the 60GB version, this would not be at all surprising.

This news comes just weeks after Microsoft introduced a third SKU for their Xbox 360 with the announcement of the Xbox 360 Elite with a 120GB hard drive and HDMI outputs. One company says they offer consumers choices, and one actually does offer choices.

Microsoft says they have no intention of discontinuing the no-hard-drive Core Xbox 360, but you have to wonder how long they'll stick to that story now.

Sony has had a rough time of it so far with the PS3, but analysts don't think the discontinuation of the 20GB model is any reason to be pessimistic about the PS3's future. So far they all say it's about games, and eventually Sony will have some compelling games. When? I'm looking down the road and I don't see anything compelling before 2008 that I can't get on Xbox 360. Am I missing something?

So, do you think the nixxing of the 20GB PS3 is another sign of trouble for Sony or simply a shrewd business decision?

FYI, if you are really desperate for a 20GB PS3, you can always import one from Japan as they will still be sold in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Top Ten Games of 2007

2007 has a chance to go down as the single greatest year in the history of gaming. That's not hyperbole, it's simple fact. Don't believe me?

First of all, 2007 is already off to a nice start with Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2, God of War 2 and Motorstorm. Now, consider the short list of games coming later this year. With the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV, 2007 was already poised to rock our worlds. Now, add Mass Effect, Bioshock, and Assassin's Creed along with a new Forza, Mario and Metroid to that list and 2007 is truly poised to be remembered as a new golden age of gaming.

GameTrailers has their list of the Top Ten Games of 2007 and I agree with most of their choices, if not the order. Check it out below and let the debate begin!

Halo 3 Beta opens May 16th

You've got your copy of Crackdown ready and you've been chomping at the bit for this news to arrive. Well, finish whatever you have to get done now and clear your calendar because the Halo 3 beta is coming, and it's coming on May 16th.

Bungie made the announcement today and Halo players around the world wept in gratitude.

The announcement squashed rumours that there would be two different beta start dates for those who had got their beta keys either through the Rule of Three promotion or through purchasing a specially marked copy of Crackdown. Access to the beta will be rolled out simultaneously worldwide at 1 p.m. GMT (5 a.m. PDT) on May 16, and will end on June 7 at 7:59 a.m. GMT (June 6 at 11:59 p.m. PDT). Those who have not yet obtained a Halo 3 beta key can still sign up by buying a copy of the Xbox 360 game Crackdown.

There will be three maps available to play--Snowbound, High Ground, and Valhalla--which will "represent a mixture of large- and medium-scale combat environments." New vehicles will include the nimble Mongoose all-terrain vehicle, and new weapons will be available, such as the "new and improved" Assault Rifle, the Brute Spiker, the Spartan Laser, and Spike Grenades.

For those who absolutely can't wait for May 16 to see the game in action, Bungie has released a "Vidoc" titled "Is Quisnam Protero Damno" that shows off the multilpayer portion of Halo 3 in action. The video is now available at Bungie.net and on Xbox Live Marketplace

The game will be releaseed in three different versions in November. The Legendary edition is going to be $129.99, the Standard will retail at $59.99; the Limited edition will be $69.99.

So, which version of the full game do you plan to buy in November? For $130 you get a plastic helmet! wOOt!

Lose Weight the Wii Way!

So we know the Wii is a great way to keep seniors moving and active and it certainly seems to appeal to a diverse range of people, but can it really help change your life for the better?

Well yes, it seems maybe it can.

After being inspired by the Wii Sports Experiment, J.R. (last name not given) who goes by the online name "Eldorian" has created his WiiWeightLossPlan, incorporating the Wii along with some mild lifestyle changes to create a weight loss plan that seems to be working for him. He has tracked his progress over the past six weeks and he claims he is the lightest he's been in eight years. He started at 270 lbs and now weighs 254 lbs. Not bad. His goal is to lose 80lbs and get down to get down to 190lbs. That's a lot of Wii Bowling and Wii Boxing!

Keep it up J.R., maybe you'l'l inspire some of us to get up off our duffs and sweat to the Wii.