Thanks! I just got off the phone with them and it looks like we got it squared away. They put a note on my order and I should get it on launch as I originally ordered.

I'm sure they're just reshuffling things because they have no idea what the release date is, and that's triggering some automated email notifications. I wish they'd cut it out.

Jesus...that's brutal.

Guessing it was written before the DRM change and Mattrick firing.

I don't think comments like this add to the discussion.

He made almost the exact same comment in the XO thread a couple weeks back. Pretty sure he's joking, as he uses the term all over the place here.

I just think it's funny that Titanfall's "cloud usage" basically came down to having dedicated servers available. You know, what us PC gamers were doing a decade ago.

What's wrong with console gaming catching up to that, then?
I agree that Titanfall, as a major release, is important for BOTH consoles, because it'll either prove that MS is either totally full of shit with regard to their Azure service, or it'll prove that Sony needs to catch up in a big way in that department. Maybe they'll just lease some Azure servers from MS and be done with it.

I really don't give a flip whether he's joking or not. "Fanboy" is a derisive and stupid term to use.

I prefer to think that we are all adults and pick what we pick based on what we value in a console and respect that others might value different things in a console. I also prefer to think that we are all capable of objectively analyzing and discussing what both companies are doing without calling each other names.

Actually, I was referring to Circle Jerk. But I agree about Fanboy, although I think many have called one particular poster that in the XO thread a few times, as well as a few of the Wii U fans. But I hear you. Let's stay respectful/mature.

Moving on (as it is the mature thing to do), I don't specifically remember any demos showing it off, and I think I asked in this thread earlier and got no response, but has any game shown off how they plan to use the PS3 controller's touchpad? That thing is still kind of a mystery to me.

If memory serves, "circle jerk" was used in that thread to describe this thread.

Does the Wii U really have fans? I love Nintendo, but I don't have any idea what they are doing right now, and I don't really think they do either. They make Microsoft look organized.

I'm not sure that I've seen any specific software show it off, and it doesn't really strike me as the sort of thing that would get integrated into many 3rd party games, but the applications are self evident. First, it's a touchpad like you'd find on your laptop, so I'd imagine it would facilitate more direct ports of PC games that use the mouse extensively. Second, it's a big ass button, so I'd imagine it will get used that way as well.

I'm pretty sure that Sony is holding a lot of their software close to the vest in order to sustain momentum and will have new stuff to show at every expo between now and launch, so maybe we'll see more touchpad applications going forward. At a minimum, I'm positive that Naughty Dog and Quantic Dream were among the very first to get dev kits, and we haven't seen anything PS4 from either of them.

The problem with the touchpad is that it will require you to move fingers away from the normal two handed grip most gamers use.

The touchpad is pretty small. I don't expect it to be used for anything mind-blowing or exciting. Probably additional buttons ("Inventory") or for showing stats that don't need to be on-screen.

I guess I'm further derailing the thread by responding, but...

I really like the Wii U when I play it, which admittedly is not very often anymore. I thought the gamepad would be miserable to use as a controller, but Nintendo really did nail the weight/form factor. (The touchscreen element is kind of mediocre, though.) I love, love, love local multiplayer with no split-screen, and some of the tech demos in Nintendo Land tease at some very compelling possibilities for the future.

I was genuinely going to let the Wii U be my console of choice for multiplatform releases until the PS4/XB1 drop, but the DLC hiccups have been a turnoff for me. (I was going to get Injustice on the Wii U but wound up not buying it at all.) I feel like Nintendo came up with a germ of an idea with the gamepad but is still trying to figure out what to actually do with it. The very, very limited battery life is problematic for me. It's baffling to me that a company can develop both hardware and software in house, and yet the software group can't figure out what to do with the hardware. The chronic inability to meet targeted dates within many months, a barren wasteland of games... I was also disappointed that NSMBU was 720p only, especially in the wake of playing another 2D platformer, the super-gorgeous Rayman: Legends, in 1080p on hardware that's 6 years older. I mean, I have confidence that Nintendo will turn it around, and I'll probably wind up buying everything over the next year that they've been plugging.

Between this and the 3DS, I will probably never buy a Nintendo console/handheld at launch again, though. (Maybe they'll surprise me next time! ...but they probably won't.) I'll wait until they can be bothered to produce some games.

Is it a touchpad or a touchscreen? I thought it was the former... but added stats on the controller would be cool.

I have a hard time picturing it too, but I can also think of some applications where it could be great. I'm thinking of games like Diablo, or depending on the form factor and how the "clickable button" aspect works, I could see moving a character with the left stick and aiming/shooting with the touchpad.

That said, I agree with...

...despite whatever potential it might have, I kind of doubt it gets widely used. I'm mostly just glad it's there to add cost.

It's the former.

This whole time I thought it was a touchscreen.

lol

No sir, it's essentially a mousepad for your PS4, which I actually would rather have than a touchscreen.

Though I'd rather have neither and a $5-10 cheaper controller.

The editor confirmed on Twitter today that the article was written after the DRM change.

The touchpad may work for point-and-click adventure games, but I don't like them for shooters at all. This one also appears to be much smaller than the typical touchpad on a laptop, and you'll be expected to use your fat thumb, not a stylus or even an index finger. I don't think it will have anywhere near the precision of a good mouse.

I have a feeling it won't be used that much though, mainly for supplementary functions. Maybe some indie developers will make a point of using it to be different (like how Thatgamecompany did Flower with solely the Sixaxis motion control).

There aren't that many games that use the touchpad on the Vita well (at least, not that I can remember), and that one is bigger and better positioned...

I don't think I'll use the touch pad for anything but surfing the interwebs.

It is easy to see why you thought the touchpad was a screen, since they talk about the resolution it has ( it sports a 1080 x 900 resolution)

Even worse then.

I'll be interested in seeing their rationale, because they are probably the most respected print magazine left. I like Game Informer, but despite their having a lot of journalistic independence from Gamestop, I don't think they could ever go that far.