I recently listened to the March 31, 2008 EGM Live Podcast (download) where Garnett Lee interviewed Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft’s Director of Product Management for the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Among other topics, Aaron had the unenviable job of defending the concept of Microsoft Points (time index 17:40).

Reading several articles today on Sony’s pending PS3 on-demand service (see here, here and here) and Sony’s pending Playstation cards, to be denominated in local currency (here), it occurred to me that Microsoft’s use of points alone is going to become increasingly untenable as Microsoft’s key game/movie/TV show download competitors all offer competing products denominated and purchasable in local currencies.

Below I discuss Aaron’s arguments for Microsoft Points and what, to me, are overwhelming competitive arguments against them.

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The new PS3 Playstation store is a much needed improvement over the older store.

The Old Playstation Store

The old store (pictured left) booted slowly, was unresponsive, had tiny print and was almost unusable. It relied on a ‘mouse’ like interface with a pointer that needed to be moved around the screen with the PS3 controller’s analogue stick. It was very difficult to use and imprecise.

The New Playstation Store

• The new store boots up faster
• Thankfully, the mouse-pointer interface is gone
• The main menu now presents a grouped items column on the left
• Selecting an item group brings up a much easier to read sub-menu (see the “New Releasesâ€? submenu above)
• The submenu has a navigable list of possible selections on the right
• Selection details show up in a big, easier to read, panel on the left
• Everything is faster and crisper
• (more pics on joystiq here)

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Grrr….. Why does Sony make simple things so complicated? I’ll start with the answer to the titular question. After firing up the PS3 with your new Dual Shock 3 (DS3) controller

• start Resistance Fall of Man (RFoM)
• choose “Multiplayerâ€?
• choose “online gameâ€? - the following notice will appear:
  “An update to Resistance: Fall of Man is available. This update is required for online play. Download update?
• choose ‘yes’
• exit the game when the download is complete
• start it up again.

You’ll finally have 10 year old technology in your sparkly new PS3 - yeah!!!

Who came up with this clever idea? How are people that want to play the single player campaign offline supposed to know this? Now for the back-story… Read the rest of this entry at The Daleisphere »

Text of Decision

In yet another example of Canada’s broken broadcasting policy, Canada’s national broadcasting regulator, the CRTC, has denied John Bitove’s (XM Canada’s founder) HDTV Network Inc’s application for an eight city Canadian HDTV broadcast network. The network was to be backed by Microsoft founder and Charter Communication’s chairman, Paul Allen.

Most Canadian cities have few or no digital broadcasters. Global has repeatedly missed the CRTC-imposed deadlines to launch its terrestrial HD broadcast system in Canada. Here, a proven entrepreneur was denied the right to do that which a national Canadian broadcaster is unwilling or unable to do.

Why? Because the network was not committing to broadcast enough local Canadian content. Content that most Canadians neither want nor watch.

It was heartening to see one commissioner, Len Katz, dissent.

Canada’s broadcasting policy is in need of top to bottom overhaul with an emphasis on market-driven competition and integration with U.S. broadcast and telecom policy. Until then, Canadian consumers are left with an increasingly sub-par and antiquated broadcast system.

Dale Dietrich is a Toronto-based technology, video game, and interactive media attorney. Read more at The Daleisphere.