The Game Druid

So the Druid has finally come to need a new monitor (does this even sound right?) I was thinking about the Dell 22″ HDMI variant. Do let me know your thoughts on this…

This way I can also connect my 360 and ps3 to the monitor. Do any other brands come in mind? I’m not sure about Samsung and HP, but i’ve heard a lot of good things. The only downside I see to the dell monitor is that its not 1080p ready.

The retail box business doesn’t paint an accurate picture of the PC
games market, a sector that EA CEO John Riccitiello said has been
“growing for several years.”

“I certainly recognize that the box-side [retail] of PC is soft. It’s been soft for some time,” Riccitiello said during a conference call Q&A with analysts.

“Frankly, if it were not for The Sims and World of Warcraft PC box sales, it’d be a pretty dismal sector.”

But Riccitiello said that EA is still committed to the PC platform, because it’s the primary vehicle for burgeoning businesses such as subscriptions, microtransactions and casual games.

“One thing EA tries to look at is the total business that’s represented by PC game software. And we’re seeing a growth business there. In fact, it’s been growing for several years.

“It’s just been categorized wrongly by looking simply at the box-side of the equation.”

EA has continued to be a firm supporter of the PC platform while continuing to help feed the growing console business. Titles such as The Sims and Crysis have served as high-profile PC titles from EA, and the free-to-play online title Battlefield Heroes, Burnout Paradise, Spore and others are also on the way.

Toshiba has some interesting new plans that will be of particular interest to people that enjoy playing videogames. Apparently, Toshiba will be launching two new products that involve the same technology being used in the Playstation 3.

According to reports, Toshiba will be introducing a new HDTV that will incorporate the cell processor used in the Playstation 3. With the help of this cell processor, the HDTV will be able to use some high-end features that are not usually found with consumer television sets. For example, the television will have the ability to perform “real time upscaling of SD signals into HD resolution.” The television will also be able to play and record several different television shows at one time.

In addition to its HDTV, Toshiba plans to use the cell processor to create a new notebook. This notebook will utilize the SpursEngine graphics processor developed by Toshiba and Sony and will be launching later this year. The HDTV, on the other hand, should be hitting the market in the fall of 2009.