Thanks to the wonderous concept of the “2 A.M. Impulse Buy” available to the world through the Internet, Final Fantasy III for the DS is on the way from Japan (this being my first Japanese import ever)!

I’ll also be buying Enchanted Arms, Okami, and Yakuza within the next few weeks… the [huge] backlog will have to wait.

Finally returning to the monthly report of sorts, here’s what I’ve been playing, watching, and listening to, as well as what I plan to buy for the month of August… (I know, I’m late.) This month I’ll probably be busy almost exclusively with PSP RPGs, as well as my backlog to finish up the summer drought.

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Two items:

Las Vegas Hates Ubisoft

I’m not really going to throw too much commentary in here, but wow. How ridiculous is the LV mayor? His town’s ad campaigns consist entirely of risque promiscuity, usually in the vein of rash sexual activity, and he believes that Rainbow Six can taint the reputation of Sin City? I must have forgotten that we’ve all forgotten about the countless shows that depict Las Vegas as a drug and strip club-infested crime capital.

Sony Also Abandons UMD

I had to resist putting this in my actual news post… What the hell is Sony thinking? They’re screwing themselves left and right with the PSP and the PS3, and let us not forget the very public misfortunes they’re having with BluRay. Developers are calling them arrogant, stores are pulling their portable movie format, and the decent version of their new console is retailing for $600. But let me get to the real point of showcasing this news tidbit as ridiculous. Selling an “Entertainment Pack” for $60-100 is a ridiculous idea. Who wants to pay that much money for a Memory Stick? Why is Sony already introducing an alternative to its own format? Most importantly, who wants any of those movies besides Hitch (I’m being serious)?

As rumors of Microsoft’s supposed handheld gadget fluorish on the internet, it becomes clear that the question must me answered: does anyone want another handheld besides the DS or PSP, or rather, another MP3 player aside from Apple’s undefeated iPod? If the rumors do, in fact, turn out to be true, I guess we’ll soon find out.

As for me, I’m not so sure I’ll be ready to drop another (presumably) $200+ on a handheld gadget. My iPod video is fine, my second (!) DS Lite is fine (minus a dead pixel or two), and my PSP is functioning well enough as a paperweight on the corner of my desk. That’s the thing, each of my gadgets (minus the PSP) from the digital camera from the iPod have one function, and they do it well. The iPod plays MP3s flawlessly, the DS games. The camera takes pictures with no hassle. Even my cell phone, with its crazy multifunctionality, handles its primary task, with unmatched competence.

If Microsoft does indeed drop this handheld, it will surely carry out more than one function. Games are rumored to not even be the “primary” function of J. Allard’s latest baby, although they’ll be there. What I’m getting at is that MS should learn from Sony’s PSP mistakes. None of the “alternative digital lifestyle” (I’m quoting noone) features of the PSP function nearly as well as standalone products, and to top it all off, the games available on the handheld are incredibly lacking. (This trend does seem to be changing, see: Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Power Stone, Metal Slug, et al.)

Either Microsoft will ensure the quality of each component of its new product, or it will not succeed. People will just continue to buy standalone units for each of their digital needs.

Even so, is there room for yet another handheld gaming platform, even with well-executed features?

[/end rant]