PS3 & XBox Gaming

Paul Wilcox asked:


Who wouldn’t want to score a free PS3? The Sony Playstation 3 is, with little argument, this generation’s most powerful video gaming console. Many say that it is the most functional as well, as it doubles as a cost-friendly blu-ray disc player that can play blu-ray movies aside from games.

Unfortunately, these mean that the Sony Playstation 3 is also the most expensive gaming console in the market today. Hence, the prospect of scoring a free one becomes even more attractive.

How can you get a free PS3? Here are 4 methods you can try.

1. Join online contests. Many websites sponsor contests that give away PS3 units, among other prizes. Most of these websites secure their PS3 prizes from Sony itself. Every quarter, Sony releases review copies of the console to highly visited gaming-related websites. Some of these websites use these review copies to generate more visitors for their pages, i.e. sponsoring contests that promise the PS3 as the main prize. Finding such contests is quite easy with the help of a search engine

2. Join offline contests. Sony also provides review copies of the console to print publications. Gaming magazines, for instance, hold monthly contests that reward the winner with a free PS3, among other possible prizes. You may find some luck in joining any of these offline contests.

3. Try affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing requires you to promote the products of a particular merchant using a specially generated affiliate link that will track referrals and credit them to your account. Every time a person you referred purchases something from the merchant, you will earn a stated commission. This commission can be in the form of cash, or in the form of store credits. Regardless of what form the commission will take, you can use the same to get a PS3. Affiliate marketing doesn’t require a lot of work, just the proper implementation of correct internet marketing strategies.

4. Try to secure a review copy. Earlier, we have discussed how online and offline publications manage to secure review copies of the console by virtue of the large volume of traffic they generate or the huge readership they can boast of. You can secure your own free review PS3 if you have your own gaming-related website or if you publish your own newspaper or magazine. The challenge, for a website, is to garner at least 10,000 unique visitors per day. The challenge, for print publications, is to garner an average of 10,000 readers per published issue. You will need to break through these numbers to win Sony’s attention so that the company can send over a free PS3 which you can use for “review purposes.”

DENA

Josh Young asked:


The Xbox 360 is a great system to own. You can play games, stream video, watch DVDs, and listen to music all in one box. So yes it is a great piece of technology but many individuals that have one find the plain white and chrome design boring. I mean who wants their console to look exactly like everyone else? Well there is a solution to that problem – Xbox 360 vinyl decals.

What are Vinyl Decals?

Vinyl decals, or skins, are custom cut pieces of vinyl designed to fit your case and faceplate. You can also get decals for your controllers. Vinyl decals are quite flexible and have a sticky back so you can apply them straight to the case. You don’t even have to take the case apart and void your warranty!

Decals are highly customizable – you can have almost any image you want on them. You can use use your favorite video game character, favorite game, celebrity, your girl/boy friend, or a picture you made yourself. The options are endless.

Types of Vinyl Decals

The main two types of vinyl decals for the Xbox 360 are calendered and cast. Both are good but there are a few drawbacks to each type of decal.

Most calendered vinyl is not quite as flexible as cast. It is also very shiny or glossy. It can warp and shrink eventually, especially if it is exposed to high temperatures often. The warping and shrinking can lead to peeling and maybe even lead to the whole skin coming off.

Now cast vinyl on the other hand, is much more flexible and has about the same amount of gloss. You could compare the gloss of this type of vinyl to the paint used on cars. Cast vinyl also won’t shrink, peel or warp as much as calendered. The major disadvantage is how much more it will cost you.

If you have any doubts about applying a decal to your Xbox 360 because you think it might damage your console, you should not. You can remove them at any time and they are plenty safe for your system. The case doesn’t even need to come off so you get to save your warranty too. If you’re an Xbox 360 owner and you don’t have a skin or decal kit for your console yet go out and get one. You can find them at many local gaming stores, department store, and online. There are thousands of designs out there for you to try. What are you waiting for?

BRIGID

le asked:


Sometimes the game is so dark I can’t even see where I’m going, is there anything I can do besides wait for it to be daytime in the game. I’ve tried adjusting the brightness with the cheat code but it doesn’t work at night.

JACK

prabh007 asked:


i heard about so many ps3 titles like kill zone 2 , resistance 2 , fallout 3 , resident evil 5 , motor storm 2 and many other but none of them are out in Canada , so what are the other MODERN FIRST PERSON SHOOTER GAMES OR STREET RACING GAMES THAT ARE OUT IN CANADA AND I CAN BUY THEM FOR MY PS3 , PLEASE HELP !

BELEN

Tom D Kingston asked:


Sony Playstation 3 Slim Review

Even after a few minutes with the new PS3 it comes across as a very impressive console. With it we see Sony branching out from the dedicated gaming console into the full all-round entertainment package! A role the PlayStation 3 really makes its own! It’s 32% smaller, 36% lighter and consuming 34% less power than the original PLAYSTATION 3 models. With the 120GB hard drive in the PlayStation 3 Slim, you can also store more downloadable games, music, photos, videos and much more! PlayStation network members have downloadable applications at their fingertips, such as the gaming community PlayStation Home!

To make reading easy I’ve split the PlayStation 3 Slim into its Pro’s and Con’s (I struggled to find these!):

The Pro’s

• Very stylish design (a mat finish means no fingerprints!) and quiet operation.
• An easy to use interface (as usual with Sony products)
• All games played in HD
• Plays Blu-ray discs whilst also upscales standard DVDs for more viewing pleasure
• 120GB hard drive and no external power supply
• Comes with free online game play and gaming service
• Plays all PS2 and PS1 games
• Has built-in Wi-Fi and flash media reader
• Comes with Bravia Sync
• Shipped with firmware 3

The Con’s

• Only 2 USB ports
• Only compatible with Bluetooth remotes (although a remote is included)
• No card reader

The Verdict

A fantastic console! Bringing High Def gaming, Blu-ray DVD, web surfing and much more all into one place the new PS3 slim is well worth its price tag!

SUSIE

Deshea R Witcher asked:


Ever since the PS4 was rumored in the market, there were many kinds of speculation regarding its design, looks as well as its capabilities. But, one of the biggest things in the PS4 was predicted to be presence of some amazing 3D capabilities.

Well, Sony isn’t really going to let out a single word about PS4 for quite sometime for sure, but off-late they’re were seen busy showcasing some fantabulous 3D game demos, which were nowhere even close to the best games even seen before.

Till date none of the gaming consoles have been able to harness the 3D capabilities to a good extent, and more interestingly, even Sony has not promised anything about the PS3 being able to play these 3D games in future either.

But, the experts are predicting that the Sony PS3 might receive some firmware updates pretty soon, which might allow the PS3 to allow the gamers to enjoy 3D games without really spending something substantial out of their pockets.

And, quite obviously, if the PS3 jumps into the 3D world after a magical firmware update, then the PS4 will definitely come with some unparalleled 3D capabilities for sure.

However, since Sony hasn’t even confirmed anything officially even about the firmware update for the PS3 yet, things are pretty fishy. Some of the hardcore Playstation fans are speculating 3D integration in PS3 with a firmware upgrade to be Sony’s trump card to re-enter the battle of supremacy in the gaming arena. Currently, the PS3 is almost down and out in comparison to its rivals X-Box 360 and Wii, but Sony looks to be preparing for something very promising.

In any case, Sony’s demo on those cool 3D games has made it pretty clear that they’ll surely let the gamers enjoy the same, though it might take sometime after all.

Hence, as of now, it is most likely that the PS4 would feature some of the amazing 3D gaming capabilities, but you may not really need to wait for the launch of the PS4, to enjoy these fascinating 3D games (most like PS3 will get firmware updates at some point of time).

MEAGAN

boddah asked:


I don’t have a PS3 now because my dad wont let me get one right now. (10 more weeks) I do own some PS3 titles like Spiderman 3 and Motorstorm from lots on eBay. My question is should I go out and buy games like Resistance and other games that will become greatest hits before they become GH’s. I HATE GH boxes (like red bar on Ps2 and green thing on PSone). I know i am going to get a PS3 in 10 weeks and I just want to know that instead of buying ps2 games from gamestop or eBay, I should just get PS3 games in place of them.
Money is a NON-ISSUE!!!!!!

DUNG

Alan Adams asked:


Did you just play your favourite game on your Xbox 360 and suddenly out of no where you get the E74 error? This is a really annoying situation. The E74 error is caused by heat. You know, a while ago before the Xbox 360 was released, Microsoft faced with a problem; The DVD drive was too big. So to let the drive fit into the Xbox 360, they have made the size of the heat sink (the cooling system) smaller. And now, you’re stuck with the error. The only way to solve this is to do a Xbox 360 E74 fix!

There are a few options for you to do this.

1) You send your Xbox 360 back to Microsoft. They will repair it for you. When you send it back, you don’t have to expect that your Xbox 360 will be repaired in a couple of days, no. It takes at least 1 month. And not to mention that it’s for a price of $140,- You might think that this is the best option because Microsoft will know how to fix it. But don’t forget that they are the ones who messed up.

2) If you want a Xbox 360 E74 fix, you could send it to a repair shop. This can take a couple of days, but the costs may be high. This is because you have to pay repair costs, the hours of work they put into it, etc. This can cost you around $100,- Not really cheap for a small problem…

3) The third and best option you have is to fix the E74 error by yourself. The Xbox 360 E74 Fix doesn’t really take a lot of time. In matter of fact, it can take you less than 1 hour! And the costs will be pretty much close to $0,-. Now don’t think that you can’t do this, because that’s nonsense. Anyone can do this, as long as you have a guide on your side.

VERDELL

Bai Zijian asked:


The DVD drive of the Xbox 360 is one of the most important components of the Xbox 360 and at the same time, it is very easily damaged through frequent usage or there can even be dust or other components that get into the drive that damages it.

One of the best ways to fix your Xbox drive is to actually open up your Xbox 360 system and check the actual drive for any physical defects or any problems with it. That way, you can actually do fixes on the drive or even replace the drive (if necessary) and get back into your games once again.

Below are some of the steps that you can take to begin checking for physical defects on your drive or even replace it.

1. First of all, unplug the Xbox 360 drive from the power source to ensure safety and that you do not get electrocuted.

2. Flip the Xbox 360 over and find for the screws. They are located near the rubber feet found at the bottom of the Xbox 360 device.

3. Get a screwdriver and remove the screws.

4. Lift off the top cover of your Xbox 360.

Now that the Xbox 360 is taken apart. You can proceed to look for the dvd.

1. Try and locate the dvd drive in the Xbox. It will look like a silver box when you view it from above.

2. There are three screws that hold the Xbox 360 and hard disk in place. Remove them.

3. Remove the dvd drive from the Xbox 360 console.

4. There are two screws on the drive. Remove them.

5. At both sides of the rive, there are catches and you have the push them in. After pushing them in, the cover of the drive will pop off.

6. Check for any physical problems on the drive, if there are, you may have to consider replacing the drive itself.

7. Get a cotton swab and cloth and clean off both lasers that are within the dvd drive.

8. Backtrack all the steps above and reassemble your Xbox 360.

The above are the steps by which you can clean off and check for any physical defects on your Xbox 360. That way, it can be free from jitter when you play the game and error free games. Another point to note is that cleaning your Xbox 360 dvd actually prolongs your dvd drive life and you will have to repair it or replace it less often also.

ANTONIA

Tim P asked:


Do you have the dreaded rings of death on your xbox 360? Yeah, so do thousands of other gamers. Some have sent away for xbox 360 repair, while others have taken it into their own hands. That’s right. No longer do you have to wait several weeks, and in some causes 2 months, to have you xbox 360 repaired. Not only can you be gaming in under an hour again, you will save $140! Here’s what people are doing.

Warning: Do not attempt the “towel trick” for your xbox 360 repair. You could damage your system even more. Here the rundown of how this theory works.

1. Wrap your Xbox 360 completely in towels and turn it on for 15 minutes.

2. After it is done baking up heat, unwrap it, turn it off and let cool for another 15 minutes.

3. Turn it on, cross your fingers, and hope it worked.

4. When it doesn’t or when you get the red lights again shortly after try this…

To be totally honest with you, there is only one permanent xbox 360 repair. And that is to do the exact same fix they technicians use at the international repair center. So how are you going to learn this? Easy, I’ll show you where to find it.

All over the internet you will find tons of products showing you how to perform xbox 360 repair. Great sounds simple, right? Be very aware of these products. Remember you want to save money and time, not mess up your system even more.

The biggest question is can these products show correctly or without confusing you? The best sources give you step by step written and color picture pages, as well as a full beginning to end video of the entire process to fix your Xbox 360.

CYRIL