Construed

I may have been late to the party with purchasing a XBOX 360 & PS3 but when I think back over the other consoles that I have owned in the past, none of them have been of SEGA branding. At the height of the Dreamcast’s popularity(late ’90s), I was caught up in the realm of PC gaming & hungry for as much online gaming as I could devour from that medium – games like my first MMO love, Meridian 59.

The Dreamcast was unique in it’s ability to allow players a taste of online gaming, via a console, for the very first time. So my gaming habits could have been very different, if I had latched onto console gaming with the Dreamcast, at that time.

There have been plenty of rumours circulating since the demise of the Dreamcast, that SEGA would eventually return to the console hardware market again with Dreamcast 2. But the official word has always been the same from SEGA & was again reaffirmed this week, in a tweet:

Shame.

Personally, I would welcome another console into the fray. But is there space in the market between the likes of the 360s, PS3s & Wiis? Would a new console need to be significantly different from what is already in the market, to succeed?

Whatever SEGA produces in the future, be it software or consoles or indeed both, I’m sure they are shrewed enough to succeed. I just find that to dismiss the possibility of console production, in the way that they have, will probably never end the rumour or speculation from inside & outside of the games industry. Dreamcast owners of old, seem to hold very fond memories of their SEGA console – possibly the last ever manufactured by SEGA – to which, I must admit, I feel a little bit jealous of.

DM∞

In need of a little cheering up? I did this morning & what else could put a smile on an old geek’s face than some french guy playing out Pacman in a supermarket?

Remi Gaillard is that guy. A french prankster that seems to have been playing the fool since 2001 – my french is a little rusty!

My thanks to TheDvS for the heads-up!

DM∞

52 episodes in, Freak Angels is the weekly online comic book from writer Warren Ellis & artist Paul Duffield. Set in a fictional past, Freak Angels unravels a story of 12 children born in England at the same time, 23 years ago – all of whom appear to be rather strange & all of whom are having to deal with the world that has come to an end.

I picked up on Freak Angels from a recent tweet sent out by Warren Ellis, announcing episode 52 was available to read. Online comics may not be a novel idea anymore but what is unusual, is to find such high profile comic book creator doing so.

Each weekly episode comprises of 6 pages illustrated with some very fine artwork by Paul Duffield, who was introduced to Avatar Press after posting some artwork on past Warren Ellis forum. When it comes to the story, well I’m still trying to work my way through it – I’m planning to review the first 52 episodes in a future post, here at Construed. When I hope, by that time, I’ll have worked out what the hell is going on!

If you like your future(or should that read past?) apocalyptic then I recommend giving Freak Angels a spin through – the artwork alone stands head & shoulders above some of the material coming out from the major publishers.

DM∞

Am less than a year into ownership of my first 360 but it’s reassuring to read that the problems that plague the console can be reclassified by Microsoft:

Microsoft ceasing its defection discrimination and revealing via the Xbox Support page that the mysterious E74 error is now covered by the RROD’s three-year warranty. Microsoft has determined “that the E74 error message can indicate the general hardware failure that is associated with three flashing red lights error on the console,” and will “refund to customers the amount paid for an out of warranty repair due to a general hardware failure associated with the e74 error message.”[Joystiq]

Well here’s hoping that I never have to worry about any of the hardware problems that have plagued the 360’s lifespan.

Microsoft…please…don’t rinse & repeat in the future.

DM∞

To highlight WordPress adding support for TED videos, here’s one with Evan Williams, the co-creator of Twitter. In the video, filmed in Feb. this year, Evan reveals that many of the ideas driving the growth of users on Twitter, come from unexpected uses invented by the users themselves.

Is your Twitter use more conventional or do you frey towards the unusual?

Think I’ll do a little catching up over at TED(Technology, Entertainment, Design), in the coming days.

DM∞