There seems to be a rumor going around that Sony is going to begin charging for Playstation Network access beginning January 10.  Fortunately this is just that: a rumor.

You can read it yourself in the links I provide, but apparently Sony is planning on offering premium online services for a price.  I don't know what the price is, or what the premium content will be, and I don't think anyone really does.  Speculation runs rampant, but G4 TV correspondent Stephen Johnson quoted Sony president Kaz Hirai as saying:

"SCE will further increase sales by offering users new entertainment through the combination of hardware, software, peripheral and PlayStation Network. Especially in the on-line area, we are studying the possibility of introducing a subscription model, offering premium content and services, in addition to the current free services."

Read more: http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/700836/sony-dont-panic-playstation-network-not-going-pay-to-play.html#ixzz0aX5b8rVt

For now, though, a more present problem exists in messages stating "If you forward this message to 15 people," yada yada yada, something about being put on a list for free subscriptions.  You'd think people wouldn't be so gullible as to fall for this sort of thing, nevertheless it happens.  It's not the first chain letter I've had passed on through PSN messages, but it's certainly the most dangerous.

Please, people.  Do some research before passing on inflammatory and wrong messages.  It's called Google.  Use it.

For further reading:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091208134628AAyN3Hr

http://gizmodo.com/5411054/playstation-3s-psn-will-get-premium-level-pay-subscription-in-2010

I love the new maps.  Can I say that first?

Sure, I say I hate Nightstalker, but really, it's kinda cool not to be able to see fifteen feet in front of you.  The other guy has the same limitations you do.  Now, one thing I don't like is the map newbies sniping with thermals from waaaay across the map, but whatever, we'll make do.  As Anubis says, it's not the map.  I digress.

I think Slant 6 has really outdone the Confrontation maps.  They seem almost plain, after playing the Cold Front maps.  My favorite at this point has to be Uprising.  It seems like a combination of "That-one with-the-training-camp" (I'm not good with old map names), Citadel and Blackwoods.  It also seems to evoke a Call of Duty feel.  Anyway, I am really enjoying getting to know these maps, and I can't wait until we're all on there at the same time.

Are you as tired of the Slant 6 bashing as I am?

It seems like no one is every happy with what we get, and that's fine, people are free to criticize.  However, we don't have to pay a monthly fee like XBOX live, and honestly, this game is graphically superior to any other shooter I've played.  Now, I haven't played a lot of them, but the detail and smoothness seems to be far and above better than the other games out there.

I don't know why Zipper Interactive didn't get the license for the PS3 version, and I don't really care at the moment.  Could they have built a better game?  I don't really know.  One thing I do know, is they are standing at the plate with the bases loaded, and they're being pitched a softball.

What?

Imagine you're the guys at Zipper.  You're supposedly working on SOCOM 4 for the Playstation2.  You have the opportunity to scour the forums for every negative about Confrontation, figure out what the naysayers are screaming for, and give it to them.  People are already screaming for Slant 6 to be taken off the next-gen SOCOM team.  Imagine what it will be like if SOCOM 4 is released.

One thing people won't understand, is what if Zipper had made Confrontation?  Wouldn't there be the same critics, saying Zipper had lost their touch?  That they forgot what made all the other SOCOM games successful?  It's not a stretch, and if Slant 6 had made all the others, and Zipper was new to the project, people would be begging for Slant 6 to come back.  It's all a matter of who went first.