Walt Mossberg really needs to stay away from writing reviews about gaming hardware. The Wall Street Journal s famously influential reviewer dropped the ball in his review of the PlayStation Portable, showing both his age and disconnect with modern popular culture, and does so again with his review of the 360.

Although I only found a couple of out-right mistakes in his review of the console, which he calls the most powerful computer ever sold for gaming , the real problem lies in his total and admitted ignorance on the subject of gaming. He can t be an expert on everything, but then he probably shouldn t be writing review of a technology he doesn t understand. Isn t it time the WSJ hires a full time game writer?

Instead of relying on his own typically intuitive persepective and ability to compare, Mossberg relied on a local gamer he tracked down to play around with the system. The end result is an review that misses both the valid pros and cons of the system and comes off as awkward and ham-fisted.

Putting the New Xbox Through its Paces [WSJ]

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