Slashdot Mirror

I think, if you look carefully enough, that a number of the articles posted at Slashdot Games aren't from the 'usual' sites, and there's plenty of interesting, alternate views out there.

How about Gamers With Jobs, GamerDad, Insert Credit, DIY Games, Terra Nova, Skotos, Curmudgeon Gamer, and GamesIndustry.biz? That's just off the top of my head.

And, of course the normal response applies - if there are alternate views and intelligent comment that aren't being covered here, then write it up, and send us the link - we'd love to include it.

"This is hardly the proudest hour for online game media, and it illustrates the need for journalists - even some of those working for large professional sites - to more effectively divide fact from speculation and opinion in their reporting."

"This is hardly the proudest hour for online game media, and it illustrates the need for journalists - even some of those working for large professional sites - to more effectively divide fact from speculation and opinion in their reporting."

From this article at Gamesindustry.biz:

"Beyond mere console sales, there's interesting reading in the other figures as well. The software attach rate for the system, a key indicator of its viability as a platform, is at a healthy 5.2 units per console - although it's thought that this encompasses bundled games (Microsoft was unable to confirm this at time of publication), which would make it altogether less impressive since few Xboxen are sold without at least two cut-price (or free) software titles in the box."

And as someone else pointed out, when the XBox first came out people were strongly encouraged or required to buy extra games in a kind of bundle pack, which may also skew the figures.

You're right, games the user gets discounted or for free with the system probably shouldn't count, however just because they _shouldn't_ count doesn't mean that Microsoft won't count them anyways.

From this article at Gamesindustry.biz:

"Beyond mere console sales, there's interesting reading in the other figures as well. The software attach rate for the system, a key indicator of its viability as a platform, is at a healthy 5.2 units per console - although it's thought that this encompasses bundled games (Microsoft was unable to confirm this at time of publication), which would make it altogether less impressive since few Xboxen are sold without at least two cut-price (or free) software titles in the box."

And as someone else pointed out, when the XBox first came out people were strongly encouraged or required to buy extra games in a kind of bundle pack, which may also skew the figures.

You're right, games the user gets discounted or for free with the system probably shouldn't count, however just because they _shouldn't_ count doesn't mean that Microsoft won't count them anyways.

Gamesindustry.biz has the rumour that the new Gameboy DS will be sub 100 or under $180 US dollars.

From GamesIndustry.biz:

Infinium Labs' proposed console, the Phantom, has made a showing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as announced by the company earlier this week, but only in the form of a box which was not switched on.

The Florida-based start-up showed off a Phantom console on the Windows Embedded Device showcase stand at the event, but although the system sported a full array of connectors on the backplate, it was not powered up or demonstrated in any way.

In terms of physical design, the box is almost exactly the same as the previously seen concept art and renders, and its size belies the standard PC components from which it is built.

However, the fact that Infinium Labs did not properly demonstrate the console working is likely to add fuel to speculation that the entire project is some form of elaborate hoax or scam - even though this seems increasingly unlikely.

The presence of the Phantom on the Windows Embedded Device stand, if nothing else, proves that if Infinium Labs is a hoax, it is a hoax which has taken in Microsoft along with several other key companies in the industry.

Hoax or not, however, such a lacklustre and content free unveiling for the machine on its first public outing is unlikely to boost confidence in the device, which promises a "new way to deliver content" for the games industry, ever actually making it to the market.

It's interesting to note that Take Two has net sales over the BILLION dollar mark.

then why is Sega struggling so much

It was announced today that IBM will be making processors for Nintendo's next generation console. So that means IBM will be involved in developing the processors for all 3 next-gen consoles. Sony obviously has its own thing with the Cell processor, but what about Nintendo and Microsoft. Is it possible that they have basically decided to team up (against Sony)? It is possible that they will both use a PowerPC-type processor on their next console, as well as an ATI graphics core. Could it be that a) they are going to develop one XBox/Nintendo console, or b) that they will make their hardware so similar that porting a game from one to the other would be child's play? Option a) seems very intriguing to me. There would be no question that I would get the XBox/Nintendo console over the PS3-- especially if I could play both Gamecube and XBox games on it.

Also, in an interview with Denis Dyack of Silicon Knights, he said "...it wouldn't surprise me if sometime in the future there is a collaboration [between console makers]. It doesn't mean that there's a less-competitive environment, but it would mean that everyone could worry about making good content instead of the technology. And I think that would be a huge positive shift for our industry." Denis Dyack is very close with Shigeru Miyamoto, and is likely to have some insight and input on Nintendo's plans for the next generation.

What does everybody else think?

Didn't Microsoft say they had some big ass announcement for today? Well, we're waiting.

Funny, we have George Harrison, as saying 'So far in 2003, Nintendo GameCube is the only home console showing an increase in unit sales compared to 2002.' ... and then you have Gamebiz quoting Microsoft 'Quoting statistics from US market research body NPD Funworld, the company claims that the Xbox is the only console which has continuously demonstrated positive market share growth in the past year, while sales of software in August grew faster than either of its rivals and boosted the console's attach rate to 5.8.'

Of course, I take that chest beating from Microsoft with a grain of salt.

Regardless, I think Nintendo's really going to break even on profit of GC hardware sales, and it will make it's money on its own first party software sales. The upcoming war now is for second place market share, especially during Xmas, when parents are shopping for that Xmas present for the kids (and themselves).

It almost seemed that Nintendo played the right strategy all along. It didn't want to compete against Sony directly, it's made a nice niche for itself with it's specific genre of games (that does not suit everybody, BTW).... and it's price point can't be beat.

Microsoft is in a precarious position. It's still hemorrhaging money from it's price war with the PS2. It's too far behind in market share wih the PS2. Now, it can't possibly compete against Nintendo's new price, and it's too late to offer kid games (especially touting kid games that are cross platform [Harry Potter]?). What's poor Microsoft to do?... and for that matter, what's with all the bad press about Nintendo 'struggling'?

First of all, I am trying very hard not to laugh at the "leading game expert" in the article. "Laura Fryer, director of the Xbox Advanced Technology Group", now we know how microsoft got into the games business. With people like that considered experts, heck, I'd make my own 50 kg console.

Do we really want games to become mainstream? Look at "Enter The Matrix". Do we really care if we're considered geeky because we play games a lot? Look at the N-gage: they think they're going to sell it just based on image. They're wrong.

I don't want games to get dumbed down, all pretty images and no soul. I have pr0n for that. I don't want every bozo down the street talking about games, ignoring the real classics and thinking they're just *cool* because they're now playing Final Fantasy XXX. If games become mainstream, then developers will have to put more and more games out every year, and we (the true gamers) will be left with yet another Tomb Raider clone. (which BTW, is a franchise that should be put to sleep: TR became too mainstream, and that's why it got all shitty-like)

Oh, and just as a closure: I don't think you can call yourself a "leading game expert" just because you "play games a lot".

And on top of that we already know the PSP will have wireless capability.

Now what exactly does the N-Gage offer that the PSP won't have at a lower price and, with the possible exception of the cell phone part, better quality?

There is little doubt that we are coming closer and closer to a "market correction" (and not just in the US, see the "What's Wrong with the Japanese Gaming Industry" series at tokyopia.com). The hows, whens, and whats of the issue, however, are really rather hard to predict. There are a few developments I predict for the future of the "gaming industry", which may or may not directly result from said market correction:

1) Shorter games at cheaper prices - This has already been brought up several times, but I think this will be one of the major themes in the future. If gamers truly are searching for "cinematic experiences", then why do many modern games promising to deliver on this account run 40 hours, when the average movie runs around 2? Shorter games will be the perfect forum for testing the new ways of telling stories that have yet to be developed (and which will most likely be pioneered from smaller and/or open-source independent development houses).

2) A resurgence of older games - Say a big industry powerhouse suddenly finds itself publishing games for a market that is no longer investing in the big-budget rehashes that said powerhouse has been investing, well, big-budgets in. It won't take too many $20 million dollar investments to flop before the company starts hemmorhaging. The answer? Tapping into the incredible backlogs of intellectual property that the company has at its fingertips, possibly stretching all the way back to the 8th bit generation. What better way to recoup on failed development investments than by re-releasing older products with little development investment required? This would mean that we finally see legal emulators released on new-generation consoles (what a major coup for Nintendo, if they were to suddenly to gain a huge chunk of Sony's marketshare simply by releasing an official SNES emulator and working with developers to ensure quality re-releases!)

3) Gaming will find its Voice - Maybe not directly related to the Crash, one development that is certain will be a rising interest in looking at video games from an "academic" perspective. Institutions such as the IGDA and publications such as Game Studies are heralding a new age of vdeo gaming discussion, criticism, and theory. And as we well know there have been several calls-to-arms among the video game journalism crowd (which the quality members of will also help to fuel the desire among gamers to get their hands on some of the older games through their nostalgic advocacy of previous classics). It is only a matter of time before a common language for game theory is developed. After that, the sky won't even be a limit!

4. Innovation based on older technologies - If you were thinking this category is just an excuse to throw out some links to Tenebrae screenshots, well, you were right (and stop reading my mind already!). Do yourself a favor and feast your eyes on some of these (Tenebrae) and these (Tenebrae2). These engines are based off the GPL'ed Quake 1 source, people! I mean, OMFG! T2 could be on par with Doom3 (in terms of capability, if not performance...yet), and it is _open-source_! Under the _GPL_! Which means it can only keep getting better! Alright, I better stop here or else I'll exceed my quota of exclamation points...

5) Convergence of Media - Check out this excellent article from gamesindustry.biz that contains speculations about Sony's long-term plans. Better believe the PSP will be my "Walkman" once it's released!

Okay, I think that is all I have to say for the moment. I am very excited fo

Regardless, is the show of women a good sign? If it helps create diversity in video games and help manufacturers build more innovative games than "Adventures of Barbie," then this can only help the industry.

Eye Toy is the best example. It is innovative, and appeals at much to men than women, according to my personal experience. And what is really unbelivable (and a good thing) is that it is topping UK Charts. It sells better than newest pokemons!

Fellow slashdotters can also admire this this week's runner-up : Norton Antivirus, who moved from 39th to 8h position, thanks to Microsoft. Exepect an even better result next week..

The Video Game Ombudsman does what this article did on a regular basis, with more structure, in the form of a (we)blog. Plus, Kyle has heard of the word "ombudsman" before, so that gives him a little more cred.

Websites like GameCritics, Joystick101, and GameGirlAdvance have gotten notable mentions from industry and academic heavyweights, such as the venerable Henry Jenkins.

I encourage smarter game/gamedev/gamebiz/gameculture/gameacademia journalism, but to say this is new and unique is an insult to those that have come before.

I'm not at all sure that PDAs are becoming obsolete in the face of competition from smart phones. The new phones will still be that, phones. I don't see how a product can be designed to be two different things without sacrificing something(s) from both.

I'd rather have a phone that's a good phone, and a PDA that's a good PDA than something which tries to do both and fails. Old arguement I know, but I feel nothing's changed, phones will not be the all-in-one device they promise to be, not enough thought has gone into user adoption. Unlike Sony's attempt , unfortunately.

The much better article on gamesindustry.biz doesn't leave out some important details that like this article. Mainly:

"Microsoft and Sony have now rolled out online services in all three major global territories for their consoles, but the numbers of subscribers remain relatively low - with estimates for the combined numbers of console online gamers ranging from one to two million players, only a tiny fraction of the 60-million odd installed base of the two consoles." (emphasis mine)

Yes, Sony and (especially) Microsoft may be establishing themselves as an 'online' brand. But they are not getting a very big finnancial benefit out of it, and will it be a big boost in the long run? If brand was all that mattered, shouldn't Atari be ruling the market right now?

Gamesindustry.biz also wrote a nice little article about the pros and cons of the N-Gage at first sight.. Check it out here.

Let's hope that they get paid for making the game:

Bam fucked over a load of companies in the companies in the UK by commisioning projects and then refusing to pay for them. The companies went bankrupt and didn't have enough money to sue Bam.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?sect ion_name=pub&aid=204

Let's also hope that Bam doesn't become bankrupt before the game ships - they've been losing cash ever since they started and are now running out of cash to run the company. It'd be slightly surprising if they can stay alive till quarter4 when this game is meant to ship.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?sect ion_name=pub&aid=944

Let's hope that they get paid for making the game:

Bam fucked over a load of companies in the companies in the UK by commisioning projects and then refusing to pay for them. The companies went bankrupt and didn't have enough money to sue Bam.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?sect ion_name=pub&aid=204

Let's also hope that Bam doesn't become bankrupt before the game ships - they've been losing cash ever since they started and are now running out of cash to run the company. It'd be slightly surprising if they can stay alive till quarter4 when this game is meant to ship.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?sect ion_name=pub&aid=944

Nintendo hasn't released some of its best titles in the UK yet, so it's suffering there. But in the US, sales in February were up quite a lot (110%) last month. And Zelda has massive preorder numbers: 600,000 already.

Nokia N-Gage: First Impressions

Apparently you have to remove the back and take out the battery to switch games. Not very clever.

The other good news is that European gamers will not have to wait overly long for the console, as it should debut in Europe priced between 129 and 139 Euros on March 28 - just five days after it appears in the US. We've also been told that it will appear in three colours - silver (pictured), black and blue, and will be backed by a half-million-Euro marketing campaign.

Nintendo updates GBA
Much as sources including reputed UK gaming mag Edge have been speculating over
the last few months, the GBA SP boasts an updated clamshell design, improved ...

Nintendo announces Backlit GBA
Dubbed GBA SP, the new model comes in a redesigned clamshell case with
a screen that flips up (think cellphone) to reveal the control pad. ...

New Game Boy Advance revealed ... conditions. Partly to offset the demands of the internal light, Nintendo
has added rechargeable batteries to the GBA SP. And to ...
The Next Game Boy Is Here
Nintendo to sell premium model of Game Boy Advance

Yes, people actually believe this. Presumably they also expect the megaton announcement itself to be made by Shigeru Miyamoto on the back of a flying pig...

Probably, since a google news search of sony playstation nintendo turned up this article from Dec. 4 calling it a rumor for the gullible. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?sect ion_name=pub&aid=998

Actually, by almost all accounts, Xbox is #2 in America and Europe. By a very thin margin though. In Japan, they're just dying.