Some of them are even quite specialized; you don’t get just generic guitar controllers, but can — for a princely sum — get something name-brand and fancy like a Gibson SG. The trouble is, eventually, all these music games are pretty much alike, so the choice comes down to the game’s selection of songs.

That’s why I like the Music Wars series, currently from Wolverine Studios. The developer, Antuan Johnson, got his start with a feature-slim freeware version and took it commercial a couple years ago with Music Wars: Rebirth.

That’s why I’m excited to hear he’s in the open beta stage of his next massive update of this game. By focusing on simulating the music industry itself, the focus is less on whether a person can hit all the notes in order, and more on one’s evaluation of talent and such.

The updated game is said to have a ton of feature improvements to make it a deeper game experience than ever.

I, for one, can’t wait.

Put a nail in it. You’ll spend your time better in pursuit of ways to buy gold online.

Here’s the real reason, though; between my Kindle 3 and my T-Mobile G2 with Google by HTC Android phone, I have plenty of ways to game without hauling out my old PSP, which is bulky and simply not fun. Why pay even $20 for PSP games when I can hop on my Android market and get a free demo that might set me back $3-$5 if I really like it?

The good news for Sony is that they have seen the writing on the wall; that’s why they’re introducing the new Sony Ericcson Xperia PLAY line of Android-powered gaming cell-phones. It’s the company’s last-ditch attempt to become relevant again in mobile gaming. I have yet to see a unit, but I am given to understand that the Xperia PLAY has the PlayStation Store built in and runs games that are at least as impressive as anything ever released on PSP, if not moreso.

The trouble is that Sony seems intent on keeping their games aimed at the Xperia PLAY phones, rather than open to the entire Android Market as a whole. That’s not a good sign, as only a small segment of that market is going to be willing to jump over to the Xperia PLAY just to get Sony games. And if they don’t scale their prices to become “in line” with the rest of the Android gaming market, which means virtually nothing more than $9.99, Sony’s battle could be lost before they’ve even suited up for battle.

I suspect Sony’s time would be better-spent focusing on the PlayStation 4 than trying to break into the Android Market with overpriced games that only play on their own Android phones.

My experience with my iPod nano makes the iPad a candidate, and my experience with my HTC G2 makes an Android-based solution another candidate, but there is a third possibility: a blackberry tablet.

Hey, I was surprised, too. After all, Blackberry has been the slowest to up their screen size on the smartphone front, but apparently the Blackberry folks are fully up-to-speed and launching a tablet, as well. Plus, they’ve been in smartphones before it was cool, so who knows? It could very well be worth looking at before making a final selection.

Also in baseball videogame news, Out Of the Park Baseball 12 isn’t out yet, but I’ll certainly be interested to see how the two games stack up feature for feature this season, since they are both releasing in roughly the same time frame. Whoo!

Lately, I’ve been motivated to give Kindle books to my wife as nice, simple “I Love You” gifts. But even an Angry Bird game app could serve the same purpose, when you think about it.

Sure, one doesn’t want to go overboard on such things; it’s a nice new possibility. But one should never underestimate the value of rotating in some more-traditional gift ideas, like flowers, teddy bears, and the ever-popular chocolate.

The point? Never be afraid to mix it up.

Of course, addiction of some forms can play a subplot in a textured videogame. It can be used as a motivational imperative for a character’s rash choices, for example. But a detox sim, specifically? No, I fear it would either make light of a serious topic, or become to gruelingly realistic to be entertaining. So let’s just pass by CLEAN AND SOBER: THE VIDEO GAME. Michael Keaton has plenty of money already.

So what would reinvigorate my interest in the PSP platform? Good question.

First, it’s time for an all-new PSP with beefier stats all the way around. Forget about maintaining backward compatibility and focus on making the new platform as cool and modern as possible. Pay attention to what iPhone and Droid are doing that works, and then improve upon it.

In fact, I’d recommend Sony forming a partnership with Google on the next PSP, so that it can use the Android OS and have access to the entire Android market. Sony could then make their own game apps available not just to new PSP2 owners, but the entire Android market.

So what would make PSP a must-have if it had to compete against the Droid X and the emerging tablet market like the Samsung Galaxy? Simple. Make PSP2 the most gamer-friendly mini-tablet on the market. That way, the selling point can be that it is capable of everything a normal Android phone or tab can do, plus all these exclusive “Sony extras.”

For example, while Sony could make all their game apps available on the Android market, they could make feature-loaded versions available exclusively on the PlayStation Store, which only Sony PSP2 owners had access to. That way, the hardcore gamer gets something extra, but the casual gamer that owns a Droid X or a Samsung Galaxy is still a potential market for Sony apps … a market Sony currently has no access to, even through PSP Go.

In fact, instead of calling it PSP2, they could make the new product launch a clearer departure by calling it something related, but different. Like… I don’t know… The Sony PlayStation Tab!

And here’s the clincher; here’s what could really make a Sony PlayStation Tab a hot seller. Instead of going the cell-phone route, follow the eReader market model, and offer the Sony PlayStation Tab in two flavors: WiFi Only or 3G + WiFi. And cover the 3G bill for those who adopt the 3G+WiFi model, the way Amazon does for Kindle and Barnes and Noble does for Nook.

Imagine: the full Android OS and market, free wireless gaming (no data plan to purchase), plus access to enhanced games through the PlayStation Store. It could be an all-in-one gadget… eReader, app platform, gaming tab, and more.

With the data rates that wireless companies are charging consumers, suddenly a deal like that would make the Sony PlayStation Tab a really hot item on everyone’s list.

I just haven’t been seeing much in the way of fresh, exciting, must-have PSP titles of late. The iPod Touch effect is finally starting to catch up, I think… and with inferior games, at that.

I’m not saying I’d trade in my PSP for a nice supply of fat loss supplements just yet; I still enjoy the games I have on it. But with new toys like my iPod (though I went nano, not Touch) and my Amazon Kindle… well, the ol’ PSP has just kind of lost some of its appeal, I guess.

Maybe at 44, I’m just not as interested in videogames as I used to be; I don’t know. Maybe it’s just a funk and it’ll pass.

For the budget conscious, I see they are offering a “WiFi-only” model for $139… that’s $50 less than any previous Kindle device, and with twice the memory of the K2… 4GB instead of only 2GB. With better screen contrast, longer battery life, a smaller, lighter form and faster performance, it’s everything I’ve wanted to see in a Kindle before deciding to buy one.

I thought I’d have to somehow find a way to save up for a Kindle DX to get all these features, but now the Kindle 3 has everything the DX has, except for a bigger screen. And with the WiFi access, it has one feature even the DX doesn’t have so far.

I’ve been vacillating between a Kindle, a Kindle DX and a Nook for a long time now; but I’ve finally decided that K3 is what I’m looking for, at the price I’m willing to pay. (Plus, I’ll probably re-activate my Audible account to get $100 knocked off my Kindle 3.)

Do I love gadgets almost as much as videogames? Sure… but I love reading even more!

It seems VideogameVagabond.com and a couple other of my blogs have been targeted by a punk company called Score Card Research; they’ve somehow attached something to my site and it’s making calling my site up quite difficult for most people.

As far as I know, they did this uninvited by me; I have my hosting provider on the case and we’re working to get their crap removed so people can actually read my site again.

I hate companies like this to begin with, they are the phentermine of the Web; but they will be gone soon if I have anything to say about it! And I suspect I do… These are, after all, my sites, not theirs, and they are an uninvited guest.

You see, BioWare had promised that your decisions and the way you played Mass Effect would deeply affect how the story plays out in later games. So far, I’m seeing that to be a case of truth-telling, not just hype. For example, my character took the Paragon path and chose to save the Council at the end of the game; my Mass Effect 2 game started with those events taken into account.

Had I let the council perish, my Mass Effect 2 experience would have been immediately different. And while I haven’t searched through the game enough yet to know where all the electric fireplaces are, I can say that BioWare is rather unique in actually delivering a notably different experience based on how you play. In a few years, we might look back on this story-branching approach to game design as simple, rudimentary, even a bit dated… but whatever we’re playing by then, the branching storytelling with genuine differences in play revolution started here.

Mark it down in the chronicles.

PureSim 2 is available for $19.95 from Wolverine’s Web store and currently is in Official Release version 2.59. Virtually no other information is known nor has any been made available at this time. However, I’m not sure I’d trade a Sony VAIO for any guarantee on a release date; the overhaul is expected to be significant, which means a fair amount of development time, I’d guess.