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Darren Waters

E3 gets set for gaming

  • Darren Waters
  • 14 Jul 08, 13:30 GMT

Hands up if you've got an Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or Nintendo Wii?

Man playing WiiThat's a fair few of you.

Now, hands up if you play any games on Facebook, or casual games on your PC, perhaps online gambling, or perhaps a few games on your phone, or on your DS Lite or PSP?

I suspect that there might be a few more of you in that category.

The fact is we like playing games; no, we love playing games. The whole world is busy playing games.

Yet the console manufacturers have not always been successful in tapping this rich interest in gaming.

The Wii has made great strides with family-friendly, social gaming but Sony and Microsoft have traditionally aimed for the hard core gamer.

That could all be about to change at this year's E3. Microsoft, in particular, is expected to spend vast amounts of money rebranding and repositioning the Xbox 360.

As one commentator said to me: "Microsoft want to be seen more like Disney and less like Tarantino."

The Xbox has for too long been seen as the home of Halo, of first person shooters, twitch action gaming, and online death match battles.

Microsoft knows that if it is going to appeal to a broader market, and to gamers in territories like mainland Europe, it needs a softer, more accessible image.

That doesn't mean the hard core gamer will be left out in the cold - Gears of War 2 and the power of Xbox Live are the two biggest weapons in its arsenal.

For PlayStation, Sony needs to move beyond the brand. The firm relied on brand loyalty in the first 12 months of its launch but now it needs to put clear blue water between itself and Xbox.

It has made bigger strides than Microsoft in the social gaming arena - with Buzz, Singstar and Eyetoy - and the firm will be putting more emphasis here too, as well as pushing its exclusive franchises.

Nintendo has the difficult task of pulling the same magic trick twice. It dazzled us with the audacity of the Wii, and has carried off the spoils for the last two years. But is there more depth to the Wii? How long can it rely on puzzle games, or lifestyle games? I hope we find out what Nintendo's peerless in-house studios are up to - because we've heard so little from them.

I'm expecting to see the big firms like EA, Ubisoft and Activision announce titles for the Wii which make great use of its control mechanism, as well as develop the social aspect of gaming further.

We're out at E3 this week, writing for the website and blog, doing on demand video, a bit of radio and some TV. So we've got a big week ahead of us.

So what are the big games of E3? Well, I'll be looking forward to seeing Fallout 3, Left4Dead, Dead Space, Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, and any first-party Nintendo titles.

And you? What are you hoping to see from E3?

Maggie Shiels

Google Open House

  • Maggie Shiels
  • 14 Jul 08, 13:10 GMT

Some cubicles are stark and workman like but the majority are gay and fun. I am talking about the work stations of Googlers who have just moved into their new home in San Francisco overlooking the Bay.

Gavin NewsomLast week Google threw an open house and the Mayor of the city, the handsome and very charming Gavin Newsom came along to officially welcome the newcomers to what he hailed as the first truly 21st Century city in the world.

"It's always been a city of dreamers and doers, of entrepreneurs, of innovators. A city always on the leading edge of new ideas. One of the most diverse cities in the most diverse region in the most diverse state in the world. The most diverse democratic city that doesn't tolerate its diversity but celebrates it."

Way to go Mayor!

And by the way, in case you are wondering, the Mayor is kinda in the middle of a political campaign. That of perhaps running for governor when so called 'Governator' Arnie Schwarzenegger hangs up his Uzi in a couple of years time.

The Mayor told an assembled crowd of journos and workies that he had been trying to persuade the Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page for years to open up in San Francisco.

It seems fitting that as the company approaches its 10th anniversary, it should finally succumb to the lure of the City by the Bay. That also puts an end to the daily misery of being shuttled 50 miles south to the Googleplex hq in Mountain View for many employees who refused to live in the burbs.

Forgive me, but always one to bat for the Scots abroad, my charming guide around the
new office space was Calum Docherty who hails from the Kingdom of Fife by way of Greenock.

Leisurely workingThere were still tons of people mingling about and working when we went for a wander around in the early evening...and some as you can see from the photo I have posted take a leisurely approach to getting the job done. Touche!

There is no doubt that a certain level of self expression is encouraged...especially if you like blow-up animals.

Casablanca themed officeCalum also gave me a sneak peak into his office, which he and his fellow cohorts have decorated with a Casablanca 'Play It Again Sam' kind of feel.

Overall what an office! For me it is the floor to ceiling views afforded of the Bay that clinches it, for others it might be the fact employees were given a budget to decorate their offices and work space. Which if you think about it is really clever 'cos along with all the fab free food, games and massages there really is no need to go home because you have just created a wee bit of home here at the office.

Google employees playing WiiI had to remind three Googlers curled up playing Wii games as I was leaving around eight that they had families and a life to return to after work.

Google is no different from big successful firms around the world in creating an environment that is enticing enough for people to never really want to leave.

Mind you this location is a bit different. Slap bang in one of one of the coolest parts of San Francisco means there is so much happening around you that you would be crazy not to want to get out and see it. Besides this area is a magnet for cool hipsters and those on the pick up. I am not divulging how I know that!

So you may wonder why the hell I am writing a blog about this. To be honest, I thought it might be interesting to lift the veil a wee bit on one of the internet's most successful companies to date and see what it is that ensures they come top of all those polls as the number one place people want to work. And heck it might even give you some decorating tips!

Rory Cellan-Jones

Tech corr in tech hell

  • Rory Cellan-Jones
  • 14 Jul 08, 09:45 GMT

Is there anything more boring than other people's stories of their domestic IT disasters, and their desperate struggle to get an answer out of tech support? No, but I've suffered plenty of these tales in my time - and now it's your turn. Hopefully this will be brief and to the point - and for a technology correspondent to spend some time in tech hell can be instructive for both him and his audience.

So, 10 days ago my wife's e-mail - connected to a domain she bought from our ISP seven years ago - just gave up the ghost. She's a reasonable woman but this left her close to despair. I was deputed to fix things - replacing our 17-year-old director of IT who was out with his mates.

First call was to the ISP. I've no wish to inflict public humiliation in them so let's call this company "Tunnelvision". We've been with them for 12 years but I've grown more and more unhappy with their prices, broadband speeds and service - especially since they were taken over by a larger company who we shall call "Monteverdi". I had suggested moving - but my wife was reluctant, fearing that moving her website and e-mail would be a nightmare.

But the nightmare did indeed begin with a call to Tunnelvision's outsourced call centre somewhere in the Far East. They could only tell me there were no general problems with the network and our issue would be addressed by a "second-line engineer" within a day. When we grew impatient and called back 24 hours later, the story had changed. There was an issue affecting a number of customers - and we should not expect to hear a result for 48 hours.

My patience snapped - and I decided on swift executive action. We were going to switch ISPs - but that would take around 10 days, and in the meantime we would move my wife's domain to another hosting company. She was impressed by my new-found decisiveness.

I contacted a hosting company - this one had 24/7 UK-based support - to get the domain to a safer place. They told me this could happen in a couple of days and then the e-mail would be up and running again. All we had to do was forward an e-mail to Tunnelvision asking them to change the name servers on the domain. So we sent off the e-mail, along with a letter sent by registered post, and we waited. And waited.

Three days on, with nothing happening, I began an extraordinary series of phone calls all around the Tunnelvision - or rather Monteverdi - empire. First, customer service. "Not us, speak to our domains registration business." "Nothing to do with us," said the next lot, "speak to the hosting company, Tunnelvision Solutions." No solution there either: "Never heard of your domain, go back to customer service." "Sorry, we know nothing about domains," said customer service, "speak to technical support in the Far East."

Then a long, long call to technical support (interspersed with much Vivaldi while on hold) which ended with the message that the only option was to e-mail domains@tunnelvision.net. "But that's where we started three days ago," I screamed. "Is there no phone number for the domains department?" No.

In desperation, I started posting messages on the Twitter micro-blogging service about our problem. Within minutes, lots of kind Twitters were proffering advice, much of it very learned. But without a response from Tunnel vision, we could do nothing. Then a few hours later came a call from the company itself. Their PR people had spotted my anguished Twittering and wondered if they could help. Yes, yes, yes, please! But that was Thursday. Friday brought no advance - except for an request to resend the original e-mail detailing the required change in name servers.

On Monday morning I'm still awaiting the call to say the domain has been successfully moved. And if it isn't done today, I will be sleeping on a park bench tonight - there's only so many excuses I can make for my failure to get the domestic IT set-up running smoothly again.

So a typically boring tale - but with some lessons informing my future purchasing.

1. Customer service, not just price or speed, should be a major factor when choosing a supplier.

2. I want to be able to speak to my supplier, night and day - and get a clear response. In future I will test companies' call centres before I sign up.

3. I will be wary if a supplier is taken over by another firm. "Hosting is no longer a core part of Monteverdi's offering," was what one person at the firm told me. In other words we may have taken your supplier but don't expect us to care about all that tedious stuff you bought from them years ago.

4. Shouting about bad customer service can work. I was lucky this time - my ravings were spotted by a PR person who recognised my name. All anyone can do is make as much noise as possible.

5. Err, I'm sure you too have a long tale to tell about your domestic IT nightmare - but can it wait a few days? I'm still getting over mine.


UPDATE

Finally, at 2200 on Monday evening, with the park bench beckoning, I got the domain transferred and my wife's email working again after ten days in limbo. It only took another half dozen phone-calls, and five emails. And we move to our new ISP on Thursday. Now if I can only fix the flickering light in the porch.....

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