The Importance of Play

I spent 11 years working in Research and Development for Sony PlayStation, a video game company. While there I looked at a number of studies trying to prove that video games are bad for children. Ultimately the outcome proved that allowing kids to play for an hour a day is actually good for them. Those that played in moderation proved to be better at problem solving and social interactions than those that did not play at all. I always found that interesting and shared it with parents when they questioned me on the subject.

Last night I read an article in the January 2024 issue of National Geographic about how play is also important for adults. The article didn't single out video games but included all sorts of games, whether it be sports, cards, or just horsing around. It went on to look at behavior in animals and how those that play are better able to handle new and unfamiliar situations.

One example of animals playing that stood out to me is young dogs learning to play together. There is an important social interaction when stronger dogs learn to be somewhat submissive so the play fights are not always one sided. They have to learn to balance wins and losses. Having witnessed plenty of dogs having fun, I realized the truth of the article.

As we enter the season of New Year's resolutions and trying to better one's self. I think increasing the amount of play in our lives is something we can all get behind. I don't think you necessarily need to go out and buy a video-game console but it might not be a terrible idea. Some other things you might want to try are regular game nights with friends or family. You could also look at trying a new sport. I understand Pickle Ball is a lot of fun and easy to play.

One of the reasons I ended up working at PlayStation is because my older brother gave me a refurbished PlayStation 2 for my birthday one year. Every Thursday evening we would get together and play SOCOM II online together with my other brother and my dad. We had a lot of fun and I miss those nights of taking down bad guys. Perhaps I will restart that tradition with my own sons and my grandson who loves to play games. I think that will be one of my goals for next year. Feel free to share some of your ideas on how to increase your own play.

With Computers, Heat is Your Enemy

When it comes to computers, heat is an enemy. I recently visited my youngest son in Ohio and enjoyed an evening of watching him play Spider-Man 2. The way he has his PS5 set up is that it sits in a television stand below his TV. His stand has doors on it and so when he plays, he has to open the doors to make sure the console has enough airflow to remain cool. When he forgets to open the doors, it gets really hot and the PS5's fan sounds like a jet engine. Continuing to run the console could cause damage and render it useless.

When I worked in Research and Development at Sony Interactive Entertainment, the PlayStation 5 early development kits took many precautions to ensure they didn't overheat. I can't go into too many details because of my existing confidentiality agreement but we always worried. about heat. The consumer units have been designed to withstand a lot, but they are not designed to run in an enclosed space without proper cooling.

The PlayStation 5 is similar to high-end home computer systems. Both need to be appropriately cooled. This means ensuring there is good airflow around intake and exhaust vents. Dust needs to be cleaned from fans and airways. Basically you should constantly evaluate your computer setup and make sure nothing has changed that would create an overheating hazard.

Video Games for Younger Kids

My 6-year old grandson loves to come over and play video games. This is not a new thing as he has done it for the past couple of years. Sunday when he came over, it took him all of 3 seconds after walking in the door to ask to play video games. Of course we spent some time with everyone eating a nice dinner my wife prepared. Then after my grandson helped with dishes, we headed into the TV room and played, "Lego Harry Potter Collection."

The Lego-branded video games are a cross between dexterity and puzzle solving. That means I wouldn't start with it for smaller kids. There are much better choices. One of the launch games for the PS4 was Knack and while created to show off the new features of the console, It is a great game for kids. I actually prefer Knack II for younger kids and think most 4-year olds can pick it up easily when playing with someone older in 2-player mode. It has the advantage that if one player is new and doesn't know where to go, the player is transported to the same location as the more advanced player. This feature comes in handy when the youngster surpasses the adult in ability.

I find that when I complete a video game, I am not eager to repeat it. That isn't the case with young children. My grandson has completed Knack II and we are back at it again going through the story one more time. That is important to remember as an expensive game will get more than one play through. Unfortunately the Knack series of games is only available on the PlayStation consoles.

Another game that my grandson loves to play is another PlayStation exclusive called, "Sackboy A Big Adventure." It is part of the Little Big Planet series of games and is another great game for 2 people to play. He started playing it with his dad but knows that I also own the game and he will sometimes ask to play it when he comes over. This is one game where my grandson is better at it than I am.

My son won a contest at work and received a Nintendo Switch console so he has that in addition to a PlayStation 5. Before I started working at Sony, we had a Nintendo 64 that my kids grew up playing. There is a lot of content specific to the Nintendo platforms that is great for smaller children. When I go over to my grandson's house, he is always trying to get me to play on the Nintendo. I think the current favorite is Super Mario 3D World. Then there is always Mario Kart that everyone loves.

Video games can be addicting and so it is important to set limits, especially with small children. An hour a day is about the maximum amount you should allow and it doesn't need to be a daily ritual. I play with my grandson only about once a week. I also would not start a game and then abandon a small child to play alone. I look at video games as a way to bond with the younger generation and it is something I can do with my grandchildren now. I don't know how long it will last but it is fun and one of the reasons my grandson loves coming over.

In Person vs. Joining From Home

Today begins the annual Sony Technology Expo Fair or STEF. It is a chance for different research and development groups to showcase the work being done. In the past, I have been able to attend in person but this year I am attending from the comfort of my own home. Unfortunately I am not able to share any upcoming technology due to my confidentiality agreement. Let me just say that there are some very interesting things on the horizon.

This morning I woke up early and had to give up my usual morning exercise to attend the first group of meetings. I didn't mind though because should I have wished to attend in Japan, I would have had to catch a flight Saturday morning and missed a lot more than just an hour or two of my daily workout. Furthermore I was not feeling 100% this morning. I would have had to excuse myself from an in-person meeting for about an hour. Instead, I could bring my laptop to the couch and lie down while I recovered.

Today I hosted a series of meetings on AI and Data. Those meetings are now done and I can relax for the rest of the week. Had I made the trek to Tokyo, I would still have 4 more days of meetings and events to attend. Instead I can return to my normal schedule and get real work done.

All of the convenience of not having to get on a plane does come at a cost though. There is something to be said for meeting people face-to-face and shaking hands. It is also easier to have a lot more energy leading a discussion. By the end of today, I felt like everyone was so worn out, they couldn't wait for the last presentation to end even though it was very interesting and effects 125 million PlayStation consoles.

Fortunately the restrictions from COVID are loosening and next year I will be able to attend STEF in person. It is a great event and I love seeing all the cool stuff coming out from other parts of Sony. While I get the idea from online presentations, there is nothing like seeing the new lineup of televisions and other consumer electronics.

A New Job at KLAS Research

At the end of April I started a new job as the Director of Software Engineering at KLAS Research. It is a far cry from Sony PlayStation but a nice change. My new company researches medical software used by hospitals and health networks. It then makes it's findings available to medical providers to help them decide which to buy. My job is to manage the software engineering for all of the company's internal tools that help them gather and publish this research.

Working at KLAS is very different than working at PlayStation. I miss working in the video game industry and I also miss the excitement my job used to generate. One nice thing about the new job is that my work is much more serious. I also am at the director level again. I also work with some amazing people that are incredibly smart.

The best thing about my new job is that I am working with a bunch of new technologies. I always enjoy learning new things and we'll see how my existing knowledge translates. So far it has been pretty smooth but I am just getting started.

Time for a New Adventure

After 11 and a half years at Sony PlayStation it is time to move to a new adventure. Monday, November 1st will be my last day. It has been a great ride and I have enjoyed my time there a lot. When I first started, I thought it would only be a 3-month job. I originally started as a contractor working in the Research and Development group. The guy that hired me needed someone to take over so he could go back to his native South Africa to watch the 2010 World Cup. When he got back, I kept waiting to be let go. That never happened.

During my time at Sony Interactive Entertainment, I got to see the launch of the PlayStation 4. Employees were given the chance to buy the new consoles and receive them 2 days before the general public. The PS4s came in on Thursday and I had my new console in hand as I headed to the airport to fly home. Some people in the shuttle bus were so excited to see the new device before its release date that they took pictures with it on the way to the airport.

Not long after the release of the PS4, I had a bunch of friends ask if I would join their new company. I went into the office on Monday prepared to resign from Sony. On the way to talk with my boss, I got pulled into someone's office and asked to start working on the PS5. I couldn't say no to that and so I ended up turning down my friends and staying at PlayStation for a few more years.

With the release of the PS5 and my latest project moving into production with the next update of the console software, it is time to move on. Unfortunately my career has stagnated for the past couple of years at SIE and it will be good to jump start it at a new company. First I plan to take a few weeks off and get ready for my next adventure. I will be sure to post where I land.

Meeting In-Person For the First Time

This morning I got on a flight to head to the Bay Area for a quick trip. When I arrived in town, I headed to a local restaurant next to my office in San Mateo. A large group awaited me as they knew I would be in town and everyone wanted to get together. COVID-19 has prohibited coworkers from meeting in person and the group finally felt safe getting together.

We had a lot of new faces at lunch today. While I have seen everyone on frequent conference calls, today is the first time I have physically met some of them. This includes my data scientist that I hired back in January. We talk almost daily over video conferencing but I have never met him face-to-face. I have to confess that he looks significantly different than I thought. For one thing, he is tall. I always assumed we were the same height. Nope, he towers above me. There are other differences but nothing bad, just not the image I had of him.

Our department has hired a number of other people and it was good to meet them today as well. None of them looked significantly different than from the usual video conferences. I imagine that it is because I only see them once a week whereas I see my data scientist almost daily. I wonder how many other people are having or will have similar experiences once we all return to the office. Furthermore I wonder how different I look in person to the new guys on the team. Hopefully I didn't disappoint them.

 

Imagined Perks of Working at PlayStation

When people find out I work for Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) which is the part of Sony responsible for the PlayStation product, they always ask if I can get them a free console. If I know the person really well I respond with something polite like, "No but that would be nice wouldn't it?" If it is a total stranger I might respond with something a little more cheeky like, "I only get one free one per year and I keep them for myself." The real answer is that employees get a minimal discount on console hardware, especially after a new product launch like the PlayStation 5. The discount, if anything will only be around $5 to $15. Towards the middle of the console's lifespan we are given the ability to purchase refurbished machines at a significant discount but are limited in how many we can purchase.

My son had a neighbor who failed to get a PlayStation 5 pre-order and was asking if anyone knew how to get one as her son's birthday is quickly approaching. My son replied, "My Dad works at PlayStation and can't even get me a PS5." It is a true statement and I appreciate him not setting me up for failure. I have seriously looked for ways to get each of my own children PS 5's but have come up short. Looks like I have to come up with some other idea for Christmas gifts.

One of the best perks of being an employee at SIE is that we do get a discount on games. Once again we are limited to only 2 copies of the same game per year but the price has been $15 per game. I imagine the price will go up for PS5 games as the retail price for video games has also gone up. I am also limited to games published by SIE. That means I can't help you with anything from Electronic Arts or Activision. One Christmas I had a neighbor come to my house and go through whatever games I still could purchase and buy them. After that, I put a limit on how much I help others with their Christmas gifts.

There are strings attached to the perks at working for a video game company. If I purchase the disk version of a game, it comes with the barcode scratched out so I can't return the game to a store or resell it as a new game. That means when I help someone get a game, he or she also has to abide by those same rules.

Finally there are the peripherals. I don't know why but every time I play any of the "God of War" games, I completely destroy a controller. It happened with the original 3 games remastered for the PS3 and again with the latest title on the PS4. So when I purchase any "God of War" game, I also pick up another controller as I know my current one will not make it through the end of the game. We get a nice discount on controllers, headsets, and other console peripherals. Once again, we do have some restrictions on how many we can get but each color counts as a separate product. That means I may only be able to get 2 black controllers per year but I also can get 2 red ones, 2 white ones, etc.

Now if you run into me at the airport or in public you know that I can't get you a free PlayStation console. Please don't ask for one. I wonder if people who work at Ferrari get asked if they get free cars?

Maintaining Your Electronics

Yesterday I brought a pair of skis into the shop to have new bindings mounted for the upcoming ski season. I own about 7 pairs of skis already and so you are probably wondering what is special about these new ones. I am trying out a new ski binding that works well in the resort but can also be used efficiently in the backcountry. Needless to say I am getting pretty excited about the upcoming ski season, especially since it snowed at my house on Sunday.

This morning I started going through my e-mail and saw an article about the Pieps DSP Pro changing from transmit to search or off modes. For those that don't know, Pieps is a small transceiver (both a radio transmitter and receiver) that is used to help find someone in the event of an avalanche burial. I use a different brand from BCA that I love and so I am not worried that I need to replace my transceiver. I still read the article. Basically there is a faulty switch caused by not properly maintaining the equipment. That is a polite way of placing blame on the user instead of the manufacturer.

This brings up the point of what the proper maintenance is for all of your electronics. Do you know what that means for you? When I received my new avalanche transceiver, I read through the very short manual but now don't recall anything about regular maintenance. Considering the thing may someday be the difference between a bad day and a downright tragedy, I may want to reread the manual. I do know that my avalanche air bag is due for maintenance and will be doing that in the next week or so.

What about other electronic devices? Should I be worried about my computer? My mobile phone? How about any of my PlayStation consoles or televisions? Ultimately most of the electronics I own will never be used to save a life. The only exception might be a mobile phone. If my television stops working, I can repair it under warranty or get a new one. While it may seem like I am miserable, I won't be dying any time soon.

So how do you maintain a mobile phone? Fortunately it is something you use every day and so it is easy to see if it is working correctly or not. If it stops working, get it replaced immediately. Some things to look at are cracked screens and bulging battery compartments. Older rechargeable batteries can start to swell and may need to be replaced. If you are up to the task yourself there is a great Internet resource called IFixIt.com. I am a huge fan and just used one of their battery kits on my wife's MacBook Air. I also used them to help replace the screen on her mobile phone when it had a crack that caused it to stop working correctly. 

If you have any electronic device that is used to save a life, please pay attention to proper maintenance procedures. That helps to ensure it will work when you need it. Oh and don't buy any Pieps DSP avalanche transceivers no matter how good the deal may seem. After today's article people will be dumping them in favor of a different brand or newer model.

Video Game Console Fanboys

With only a little over a month until the next video game consoles are released, there is a lot of opinions being shared online. There are several camps of people: PlayStation fanboys, XBox fanboys, and the undecided group trying to decide which console to buy. As someone who works for PlayStation, I am probably biased and so I will refrain from discussing the technical merits of either console. For me the big deciding factors are what I am used to and where I can get the cheapest games. You may agree with me yet still end up getting a different console than I will. That's just fine.

As I read through the various reviews and comments, I enjoy reading some good-natured ribbing  but some of the remarks are just plain mean. I don't like that at all, regardless of the product being discredited. It is also interesting to view how some people can read the same information and use it to argue against each other. Ultimately we should all agree to disagree with one another and not take it personally.

The most recent comments I have read deal with how Microsoft and Sony both handled the pre-order situation. Sony said that pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 would be available the day after their price and availability announcement. Unfortunately that is not what happened. As soon as the announcement finished, retailers made the consoles available and they quickly sold out. Those who waited for the day after missed out. Microsoft saw Sony's mistake and ensured that retailers didn't start selling before the agreed upon date and time. Then they sold out minutes after the consoles became available. So who had the better strategy?

Those in the Sony camp (remember, that is where I work but I am trying to be fair and impartial) defend what happen by saying things about how the unplanned release kept the bot authors from buying up all of the stock at the appointed time. Those in the Microsoft camp argue that at least they knew when to be in front of their computer or when to go stand in line at a retail outlet. So who is right? Ultimately it doesn't matter because both console makers underestimated how many people wanted to purchase the machines. This is my personal opinion but if my college Economics teacher taught me anything it is that if both Sony and Microsoft knew there was such pent up demand for the new consoles, they would have priced them higher.

I will admit that I am not a fan of rivalries. I think our sports culture does us a huge disservice by encouraging this hatred for the other team and it has started spilling out into other parts of our society. I would like to see it stop and this post is my attempt to enlighten everyone with my point of view from inside one of the major console vendors. Competition is good and companies rise to the challenge of trying to create better products because of it. If Microsoft decided to stop producing consoles and pushed all gaming onto the PC, tablets, or mobile devices, it would not be a win for Sony. The whole console segment of the video game market would suffer in the long run.

One more thing before I finish tonight is that Sony and Microsoft benefit each other in ways that most people don't see. A lot of my colleagues came from Microsoft and I have seen Sony employees leave us and go to them. We are like those sports teams that trade players from time-to-time. Therefore it is in my best interest to never badmouth the competition. After all, I may end up working for them one day and would hate to have one of my posts cause my future employer question my loyalty. In the end we really are working towards the same objective: create the best gaming console for a price we think people are willing to pay.

How to Get the Latest Video Game Consoles

If you are a big fan of video games then you know that the latest generation of consoles from both Sony and Microsoft recently became available for pre-order. Shortly after, the pre-order allocation sold out. Now it Seemingly looks like the only way to get one of the newest consoles is to wait in line on release day or hope that you will get lucky and more units will be made available for pre-order at the exact time to you look on some retailers online site. Fortunately there is another way to get one of the latest video game consoles.

So what is the secret to getting one of the latest video game consoles? It is really quite simple. You just have to wait. I know that sounds like blaspheme but those who are patient will win this battle. The rest of my post will focus on why this is a smart move.

The first reason to wait is to stick it to the scalpers. A lot of people purchased several consoles in the hopes of selling them for a huge profit. Those that panic and need to have a console on day 1 will end up paying extra to those scalpers. Now if we collectively decide not to pay the premium and just wait, the scalpers will be punished by their own greed and get stuck with machines they won't be able to sell. I know this advice will not be followed by everyone but think of how it will effect scalper behavior in the future if we all agreed not to give in and pay their exorbitant costs.

Now let's be honest with ourselves, is there a game worth playing on day 1 of the console launch? I remember what happened when I got my PS4 on launch day. I picked up one of the launch games and still have yet to play it. I will admit that my sons took over the console and never gave me the chance to play but the reality is that most of the really good games arrived months later. I know both companies are trying to make the consoles worth buying on day 1 but I have a nice backlog of games for the existing consoles that will keep me busy for the foreseeable future. Furthermore most launch titles seem to show up for previous game consoles as well.

Microsoft's consoles will be in stores on November 10th and Sony's on the 12th. Those are both in the middle of the week (Tuesday and Thursday respectively). I have to go to work. If I did get the console on one of those days, I would have to wait until the weekend to start playing. Ideally I would pick up the console right before Thanksgiving so I could keep myself entertained during the long break . . . if I am not skiing. Looking at historical data from previous console launches, new inventory arrives at stores weekly. All you need to do is ask your local stores nicely when the next shipment will arrive and plan to be at the store early on those days. That gives you around 6 weeks to get lucky if you are looking to put one of the consoles under the Christmas tree.

Now for the big reveal. I actually work for one of the two video game console makers and it is company policy that I disclose this information so as not to mislead anyone. It is probably no secret that I work for PlayStation as I have always been a fan since my older brother worked for them and have the most experience with Sony products. So the next question is if I will be getting a PlayStation 5 on launch day? When the PlayStation 4 came out, all employees had the option of pre-ordering one that actually arrived 2 days early. Naturally I got one. We are still waiting for details on what will happen for employees with the PlayStation 5 but I imagine it will be similar to the PS4 launch with one or two minor differences. I plan to pick one up. Unfortunately I won't be able to use it until the weekend as I do have to go to work and have other projects that will keep me from playing games. However if I am not able to get one from work, I will follow my own advice and wait patiently for stores to have them restocked.

Oh, one last thing. While I work for Sony Interactive Entertainment (or PlayStation), I don't speak for the company and am very restricted in what I can say. All opinions represented are my own.

 

Greatest Hits Games

For anyone looking to save money on video games, there is a little trick to be aware of at this point in the console lifecycle. Both Sony and Microsoft have announced new consoles but they won't be appearing this year. In order to keep the game sales moving, there are some steep discounts on a number of really great games. While new releases are often in the $60 range, games that were best sellers a while ago can be had for $20. These are referred to as "Greatest Hits" in the PlayStation world. I'm sure Microsoft has something similar.

I have a lot of credit on my PlayStation account and so I thought I would run through the list of Greatest Hits to see if there is anything I might have missed and want to play now. I looked at what is currently available for $19.99 and have a couple of recommendations for those that have not played these games yet.

One of the best deals out there is the "Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection" available on the PS4. This includes Uncharted One, Two, and Three all for the low price of only $19.99. When the games were originally released on the PS3, they cost $60 each for a total of $180. Talk about a huge discount. All 3 games have been remastered for the higher quality sound and graphics available in the PS4 console. If you like those 3 games, Uncharted 4 is also in the Greatest Hits collection and is also only $19.99.

The second game I would like to recommend is Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition. This includes the Frozen Wilds DLC that came out several months after the original game release. I enjoyed the DLC so much, I paid the $15 full-price for it. I have a lot of fond memories playing the game and highly recommend it.

Video games can be expensive and so looking for great deals like this is one way to keep the costs down. I highly recommend these games and the price makes them almost too good a deal to pass up if you haven't played them yet. If you have, there are a number of other games in the Greatest Hits collection you might want to consider.

Video Game Review: King Oddball

I am always looking for games to play on my PS Vita during my weekly flights between Salt Lake and San Francisco. I started playing Spy Hunter but quickly lost interest. PlayStation Plus offered King Oddball free for PS3, PS4, and PS Vita last month. I downloaded it to both my Vita and PS4 and started playing it on the PS4 in my office right before heading to the airport to catch my flight home. Let's just say that the game is very addicting and I had to rush to the airport even though I knew I could play it on my Vita while on the go.

The game is available on almost every platform possible. It is very similar to the Angry Birds series in that you have an object you lob at tanks and army men in an effort to destroy them. Each puzzle lasts a few minutes at most and then you move around the map faced with increasingly complex scenarios. There are a few areas on the map where you have additional challenges such as tossing grenades instead of rocks or trying to win with at least one remaining piece of ammunition. Then when you complete the game there is the secret game.

King Oddball kept me entertained for a month's worth of airplane flights and is great for someone looking to be entertained during a bus, plane, train, or ferry commute (don't play it while driving). You can get it for your phone or tablet and so you don't require a PlayStation device to enjoy the game.

King Oddball is rated E 10+, meaning it is suitable for anyone over the age of 10. Why not everyone? The fantasy violence. Tanks explode and little army men go poof. I got the game for free as part of my PlayStation plus subscription and it is worth every penny.

Hardware is No Longer Enough

I went to a company's presentation on Tuesday where they talked about how well sales are going. This company is known for producing hardware but have discovered that hardware needs infrastructure. Now half of the company's sales are for online services. That is a big shift in business.

The Apple iPod is probably one of the first instances where it became clear that hardware is no longer enough. When they released the original music player, Apple knew that they also needed a marketplace where users could go to buy content for the new device. They then invested in the infrastructure necessary to create an online music store. Furthermore they did the job well and have grown it to also include software for their mobile phones. Google had no choice but to match that investment in order for Android phones to even be considered an alternative to the iPhone.

Now we see the same thing happening for other consumer electronics companies. When video game companies released the first versions of consoles, all games came on some sort of media. Nintendo created cartridges while Sony started with CD ROM's. The latest versions of video consoles continue to support Blu-ray disks but both Microsoft and PlayStation have online stores where you can purchase digital copies of games.

Think about other consumer-electronic devices. How long will it be before Cannon and Nikon create online services that interact with the next-generation camera equipment? Companies should be looking at this new revenue stream and embrace it. Those that do will succeed while those that don't will cease to exist.

Telltale Games

This afternoon I finished playing "Game of Thrones" from Telltale Games. A few weeks ago I finished playing "Tales from the Borderlands," which is another Telltale game. Rather than review them separately, I thought I would review them together. Review is probably too strong a word as I will do more describing of what it is like to play any Telltale game. They all play very similarly. These are not the first games I have played from this game developer as I also played "The Walking Dead."

Playing Telltale games is a lot like watching a slightly interactive movie. There are a lot of scenes where you have no control over what is going on. Then every once and a while you can choose your dialog or make some minimal button presses on your controller. If you don't select the dialog quickly enough, you don't say anything and that has an effect on the story. Given the choice of watching a movie alone or playing a Telltale game, I much prefer a game.

"Game of Thrones" played very similar to "The Walking Dead." I felt like no matter what I did, people I cared about still died. When things started going well, bad things quickly followed. I am sure that a lot of that has to do with the original content that the games are based upon. I have never watched an episode of "Game of Thrones" on HBO but I did watch a lot of "The Walking Dead" on AMC. Ultimately I stopped watching because I got tired of seeing people struggle against all odds to better themselves only to have circumstances beyond control propel them back to having where they were before. Some people enjoy that formula and it keeps them entertained. I don't and so I stopped watching. After playing "Game of Thrones," I probably won't be watching that series at all.

"Tales from the Borderlands" is based on a video game and is actually quite humorous. I enjoyed finishing the game and it constantly kept me entertained. The game still had the element of succeeding only to crash but much less than the other games.

One nice thing about Telltale games on the PlayStation platforms is that most reward you with a platinum trophy for completing the game. Both "Game of Thrones" and "Tales from the Borderlands" had platinum trophies. If you are into trophy hunting, then definitely play as many Telltale games as you can. I paid nothing for either of my latest Telltale games as they came for free as part of my PlayStation Plus subscription. If you had the chance to add them to your library while they were available, I highly recommend playing them. If you ask me how much I would pay to play them, $5 sounds about right but I doubt you could find them for that price.

Trophies vs. Achievements

Both PlayStation and Xbox consoles reward you for accomplishing various tasks in video games. On the PlayStation they are called trophies and on the Xbox they are called achievements. While they are similar, there are one or two differences that do exist.

It is no secret that I am a fan of the PlayStation console more than the Xbox. This stems from when my brother used to work at PlayStation and got me a PS2 for my birthday. Therefore I am very familiar with the trophy system. If you are playing Far Cry 4 and rescue 15 hostages, you get the bronze trophy titled "No One Left Behind." Trophies come in 4 levels: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. They are supposed to be in levels of difficulty. That means that it should be more difficult to earn a gold trophy than a bronze one. Interestingly that is not always the case. I have earned a number of gold trophies much more easily than some of my bronze ones. It is the game developer that sets up the trophies and determines what actions are required for each award.

Achievements operate similarly to trophies with the addition that you are awarded points. The more difficult the task, the more points the achievement is worth. You can earn the same "No One Left Behind" achievement in Far Cry 4 for rescuing 15 hostages. You also get 10 points for your work. With achievements you are not restricted to 4 differing amounts of points. Scrolling through the Far Cry 4 achievements, they can be 10, 15, 20, 50, or 100 points. I'm sure other point values exist as well.

Trophies and achievements can help show how much of the game you have completed. If there are 1250 achievement points for a specific game and you have 1150, you know you only need 100 more points to complete the game or one final achievement.

One big difference with the PlayStation system is that they have a platinum trophy that is awarded once you have achieved all other trophies. Last week I finished earning my last trophy for Far Cry 4 and I can now say that I have "Platinum'd" the game. While some may argue that it is easier to indicate game completion with trophies than achievements, I don't see the difference between a platinum trophy and receiving maximum achievement points. The one exception may be when the game developer releases new content for the game and increases the achievement or trophy count. With trophies you will always have your platinum but you may only have 1000 achievement points out of a new total of 1250 unless you go back and earn the achievements for the new content. I'm not sure it matters that much.

Trophy and achievement hunting is a game itself. While I enjoyed Far Cry 4 enough to earn all of the trophies, it is not something I do for all the video games I play. After all, I think I am doing good just to get to the end of the main story.

Virtual Reality

Last week Sony PlayStation released their virtual reality (VR) hardware. I ordered one for myself and finally got it set up today. Being in the video game industry I have seen countless VR demos and had the chance to share some of them with my family members today. If you haven't had a demo yet, I understand you can get them at Gamestop and several other retailers. I highly suggest seeing them first-hand as there is no way to do VR justice without a live demo.

It has been interesting to watch VR games evolve over the past several years. A few months ago I participated in a demo and it amazed me how immersive the experience is. I wondered if a game that might be rated for teens (T) suddenly becomes a mature (M) game because you feel so much more a part of the game. Specifically I am thinking about violence. When you have a first person shooter or action adventure where you shoot people but there is not graphic blood, you can get away with a T rating. Take that same game, put it in a VR environment, and suddenly certain elements deserve a much more adult rating.

I know that the adult entertainment industry is eager to adopt VR which is why I opted for the PlayStation VR over the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. Sony can exercise some element of control over what content appears on their platform. While they do allow nudity in their games, they would never allow and adults-only (AO) title to appear on their console. However, this does bring up a good point. God of War, The Order 1886, and several other games from Sony studios do contain nudity. While that has only earned a mature rating in the past, will it now deserve an AO in VR?

Video Games I have Been Playing

I am stuck at the airport yet again and so I thought I would add to my blog seeing as I have sort of neglected it over the past couple of months. I tried to think of an interesting topic and reread the last video game review I wrote. Since then I have completed some really great titles and so I thought I would write about what I have been playing. None of the games are very new and so including multiple games may help you select a very inexpensive game worth looking at if you have not already played it.

When I finished playing Sniper, I had a number of games to choose from. While Sniper played well, I wanted something a little more mainstream and popular. There are a number of PlayStation exclusives in my library and so I wanted to get through a few of them before sequels arrive on the PlayStation 4. I selected God of War as the next game. I had heard a lot of good things about it and have a copy of the remastered version for PlayStation 3. It originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2005 and has been around for a very long time. I have to note that I do have a copy for the PS2 as well.

I must confess that I have actually been to Santa Monica studios where they originally developed the God of War series. It is a great place to visit and the people that work there are awesome. Therefore I am probably not an impartial judge of their game and can't really write an unbiased review. What I can do is say that I really enjoyed the game. There are certain games that you cannot put down once you start playing them. I often found myself playing late into the evening when I should have been sleeping.

I enjoyed playing God of War but it is not a title I would recommend for children or teenagers. There is a lot of nudity and violence. The nudity is animated and cartoonish but I would not have wanted my son playing this game back when he was a teenager. Regarding the violence, at one point you have to BBQ a captured soldier. Even though it is just a video game, I thought that to be a bit over the top.

I finished God of War and thought about playing the sequel. Instead I chose to play a different sequel from another PlayStation exclusive: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. I provided a review of the first Uncharted game and want to complete 2 and 3 before starting 4. Of the first 3 games in the series, the second one is my youngest son's favorite. Once again I have to excuse myself from trying to write an unbiased review for this game. I love all things about the Uncharted series and own copies of the first 3 games for both the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 consoles as well as Golden Abyss for the Vita. I also have a copy of Uncharted 4 still in the plastic waiting for me to finish the other titles before I play it.

As with God of War, I really enjoyed playing Uncharted 2. However I found it much easier to put down in the evenings and didn't try to continue playing late into the night. One reason for that is that Uncharted is divided into nice chapters that serve as great stopping points while God of War just keeps going in one long epic video game. When I would get to the end of a chapter, I looked at my watch and decide if I had time for another one or should head to bed. Don't get me wrong, I would have preferred continuing to play, I just found it easier to break away from the game.

As I mentioned, my youngest son really loves Uncharted 2 and took offense when I told him that it had a similar story to Uncharted 1. He scolded me and said they have different characters, different environments, and are nothing alike. I actually beg to differ. You run through a series of trials where you solve puzzles, kill bad guys, and ultimately lead the main bad guy to a special power that can be used to create immortal soldiers. Looking back on both games, you would have been better off sitting on a beach in the Caribbean or Hawaii. After all, the bad guys aren't smart enough to get to the supernatural power on their own.

Both God of War and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves are fairly old titles and can be found rather inexpensively. A quick Internet search revealed that you can purchase each of them used for less than $10.  Considering their original selling price and how much fun I had playing them, they are real bargains. I played both on my PlayStation 3 even though Uncharted 2 is also available for the PlayStation 4. I just have a PlayStation 3 on my boat and that is where I play most of my video games. Soon I will replace it with a PlayStation 4 but until then I am trying to get through a huge backlog of PS3 games.

Voice Recognition in our Devices

A friend and I laughed the other day about how careful you have to be with various devices trying to understand voice commands that are not really meant to instruct the device. I remarked about how when I watch the movie Fool's Gold, there is a scene where Matthew McConaughey is flying a small plane with Kate Hudson. She asked him where he learned to fly. He replies, "PlayStation." It is a cute line for some one like me that is a fan of PlayStation. If I am watching the movie on my PlayStation 4, that is a keyword that brings up the voice command menu and my console waits there for a new command while the movie continues playing. Fortunately there isn't any dialog in the movie that turns itself off.

My friend commented about how smartphone devices have to be careful especially when being used inside a car. There has to be great care taken so that a voice command meant for a phone isn't interpreted by the car or visa versa.

I didn't think anything of this conversation until my wife and I drove back from vacationing in Aspen this past week. We got in the car and her phone quietly paired itself with our relatively new Jeep Cherokee. She pulled out the phone to get navigation directions to the hotel. Unbeknownst to us, the phone started using the hands-free feature built into the car to listen to our conversation. Nothing too strange happened but my wife did notice that the phone tried to figure out where we were going based off our conversation even though she also used the keyboard to enter our destination.

Fortunately our devices currently require some sort of activation before they try to interpret our voice commands. With the PlayStation 4, there is the "PlayStation" keyword. With the iPhone, it is holding down the round button on the bottom until you hear a ding. Hopefully engineers continue to pay attention to potential interference between devices. I would hate for a seemingly innocent conversation to be misinterpreted by my phone and suddenly all my contacts disappear.

Video Game Review: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

I had a goal to finish one video game over the Christmas break and was successfully able to complete Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It is the first in a series of PlayStation exclusive games and really set the bar high for action adventure games. I have versions of the game for both the PS3 and the PS4. I understand that they went so far as to rerecord the music to higher standards for the remastered version on the PS4 and so I played that over Christmas. I had started the game on the PS3 several years ago but never had the time to finish it. I got all the way to chapter 7 and thought I was getting close to the end. Little did I know that there are 22 chapters and was really just getting started.

One nice thing about action adventure video games is that you get to run through a number of different activities. Sometimes you are shooting at bad guys while other times you are solving puzzles. Sometimes you try to do both without getting killed in the process. It was a lot of fun over the break to come home from skiing and spend an hour or so getting deeper into the game. Sometimes it was painful for those around me to watch as I struggled to climb around various parts of the game only to fall and have to restart that section. My son kept wanting to take the controller and get me through certain areas. Then I would breeze through other parts of the game that had him stuck for hours. It probably would have been much more enjoyable for him to jump from precarious ledge to ledge while he let me shoot bad guys. We could have worked together to complete the game in half the time.

The original Uncharted game was a breakthrough in many areas and really opened a new genre of video games. It was followed up by Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3 which continued to build on a solid foundation. Then other games like Tomb Raider evolved the genre so that I am eagerly anticipating the release of Uncharted 4 later this year. Unfortunately that means that Uncharted is not as much fun as these other games and I have to admit that it got rather tiring at times. Several of my co-workers that are avid video game players have yet to finish the game because they lost interest. Given the choice of Uncharted or Tomb Raider, I would recommend the later.

That being said, Tomb Raider is one game and if you purchase the remastered version of Uncharted, you get Uncharted 1, 2 and 3. I have yet to play 2 or 3, but judging from comments made by those who have, I am in for a lot of fun. I'll give them a try over the next 3 months and be sure to provide a review for each of them.

Uncharted is rated T for violence and strong language. It definitely has a lot of both and so if you are sensitive to them, I would recommend a different game. However if you like a good tropical action adventure game, Uncharted is well worth your time. If you are a budget shopper you can get Uncharted on the PS3 very inexpensively. The Uncharted Collection for the PS4 won't be so kind to your wallet.

I have to remind the reader that I work for a video game company that may or may not be involved with any of the 4 games listed in this review.