Devil May Cry 4 Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 Bundles

The highly anticipated Devil May Cry 4 is out now, and it seems to have a profound impact on console manufacturers as well. Accompanying the release of the game are 3 console packages, 2 are from Sony and 1 from Microsoft.


The Devil May Cry 4 Premium BD Pack bundles the game alongside a 40GB Playstation 3 console in either Black or White. This pack is being sold at USD 499.90 at Play-Asia. Click here and here for details.


The Xbox 360 Devil May Cry 4 Premium Pack from Microsoft bundles the game alongside a 20GB Xbox 360 Console. This pack retails at USD 399.90 at Play-Asia. Click here for details.


If you are looking for the game, the Playstation 3 version is in stock in Play-Asia. Click here for details. The Xbox 360 version will be on sale sometime later this week.

Video Games in Dubai

Some of my friends have probably heard me mention before that Dubai has a pretty solid video games retail industry compared to that of Malaysia. Both the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 are officially available in the U.A.E and there are various well stocked retail chains such as Jumbo Electronics and Virgin Megastores.

Here are some photos:

PS3 at Jumbo.

Halo 3 at Virgin Megastore

This is where I bought my Nintendo DS, more than a year ago.

Cables Part Deux

Working part time as a lab assistant during my college years, I used to crimp quite a number of CAT-5 cables. My team mates and I would be crimping and laying cables an entire afternoon till late evening whenever there's a full lab maintenance going on or a new lab to be set up. So naturally, I don't really like cables that are not crimped properly.

When I got back to the office last week after my long break, I chance upon a newly laid CCTV co-ax cable which was to be connected to a TV capture card. The odd thing was, it didn't have one of those shiny metal heads. And yes, I did ask loudly on what kind of an idiot will leave such shoddy work. Said idiot came back a week later to finish the job.

Talking about cables, some of you might remember that I bought a third party component cable for my PS2 (it's still in stock on Play-Asia, and it's compatible with the Playstation 3..click here for details). The good news is, it's still working fine, but the not good/not bad news is the PS2 is suffering from a lack of use.

Disappointing isn't it. And there's that Dreamcast sitting in a box in one of my office cabinets. Anyways, if you own a PS3 and an LCD TV, you are better off with a HDMI cable. Play-Asia has a variety of them for sale, ranging from the loosely pack 3rd party (here) ones to the expensive ones such as Monster (here).

I'm beginning to wonder what are the differences (aside from the price) between the two HDMI cables.

Raining Down On The Wii Parade

A friend of mine asked me today which next-gen console I would rather get. Most people would expect me to pick the Nintendo Wii given that I'm a proud owner of a DS, but I've something to say that would make Nintendo fanboys cringe. Price point aside, the release of the Wii as Nintendo's next-gen console is in my opinion is a faux pas.

Fanboys will be keen to point out that aside from me being an idiot, the Wii features innovative gameplay due to its unconventional controller which incorporates motion sensing. Fanboys fail to realize that throughout video game history, innovations introduced by Nintendo like this have always been successfully implement by rival consoles.

Examples include the analog stick introduced in the controller for the Nintendo 64 as well as the rumble feature provided by the Rumble Pak. These features were incorporated into the Playstation 2's controller, the Dual Shock 2 as well as the controller for the Microsoft Xbox. With current advances in technology, it is likely that these two companies to introduce these features in their next-gen consoles, the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

As it is, the Xbox 360 is a compelling option. Currently priced just below RM 1500 for the Premium Package, it is cheaper than both the Wii and Playstation 3 on Malaysian shores, both of which are parallel imported into this country. Already a mature platform due to its one year head start on Sony and Nintendo, the Xbox 360 has an impressive library of games (I would like to play Gears of War, Viva Pinata and PGR 3) and has amazing graphics and processing abilities that overwhelm that of the Wii and currently delivers one of the better online experience among the 3 consoles.

Another aspect of the 360 that interests me is the ease in writing software for it. Sure, aspiring developers will have to pay an annual subscription fee but not many console makers are willing to do that and instead make developers pay for expensive licenses and development kits.

I'm looking forward to getting one this year, and a HDTV to go along with it, bar any problems.