Slashdot Mirror

Forget the games, just bundle a Japanese model with each XBox360.

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/xbox-360/japanese-gir ls-on-xbox-live-no-really-164852.php

Note that your list doesn't have the CELL final until April... This is late. Very late.
The question is do you seriously believe it is AACS holding up launch till November?

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/ps3/playstation-confe rence-news-roundup-160603.php
Here's their summary so far for anyone who wants to catch up:

PS3:
- GLOBAL RELEASE NOVEMBER 11th
- 60GB HDD 2.5" with pre-installed Linux OS will be included?
- Dev kit specs fix as of today
- Final PS3 development kits will be sent to developers in June
- 10.000.000 BD-ROMS manufacturing capability per month @ cost around same as 2-layer DVD
- Every PS3 game will be on a Blu Ray Disc, in an attempt to prevent piracy
- Price will not be less than 50.000YEN (~$425USD)
- PS3 will have HDMI support from launch
- Sony plans to produce 1 million PS3s a month; 6 million PS3s for FY2006 (by the end of March 07)
- Basic online service free, no details yet (could be XBLS for PS3)
- Full backwards compatibility, hi-res and texture filtering for all titles (akin to what the Xbox 360 does to Halo)
- The online service will be working off of GameSpy technology

Digital jail? Digital deportation?

Digital jail.
Digital deportation (or exile.)

Or maybe visit the other articles at Kotaku - they are actually very interesting when taken as a whole. The link in the Slashdot blurb was just one of many that were posted during the day as part of the search for a DS Lite (that was to be given away as part of a contest). It makes no sense by itself, you have to read it in context.

You can see the whole series (in reverse chronological order) here: http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/contest/index.php

Hopefully BioWare will take a page from Second Life and avoid the mistakes made by WoW. In a recent speech at the Game Developers Conference, a designer noted that the players of Second Life contribute over 20,000 design hours per day to the content of the game, which would otherwise cost Linden Labs $400 million per year to produce in-house. To be the "next big MMO", BioWare's game needs to empower players to create their own content and produce player-driven conflict. Otherwise, it'll just be another linear "RPG on rails" a la WoW.

Found here.

I think this is awesome, even if it is only the result of legal pressure applied from Lambda Legal and probably not done because it was the 'right' thing to do.

If a person decides their time or enjoyment is worth more than the cost of gold or items let them do it. Considering just how much time is involved in these games where speed runs are measured in days, not minutes it certainly makes sense.

Lindsey says the negative associations surrounding Lara will be swept away with a single decent iteration, arguing that Lara, far from being a one-decade wonder, has legs

Oh, it's even worse than that, if the article is accurate. From the article:

2). Even if the prototype of the game is finished, the quality or marketability could be deemed "low" (a subjective term not clarified by either Sony or KIPA), the entire development cost would need to be paid to KIPA.

So it's more like you're a contractor who gets paid up front, and if the work doesn't meet some undefined standard then you have to pay the money back.

The whole arrangement is kind of confusing, but if I'm reading it right it goes kinda like this: Developers will create games for Sony's network. Sony can reject the game and get back the money it fronted, or choose to keep the game and get the rights to the software and any sequels for the cost of develeopment.

The only potential upside for the developers is a share of the profits once the game makes enough money to cover the development costs. Sony is not yet prepared to disclose what percent the developers get. But if Sony's dealings with Stan Lee are any indication of what to expect, then developers would be foolish to enter any such agreement.

So it looks like Sony's attempting to capture the profits from development while offloading almost all of the risk onto the developer.

Since editors think is not newsworty, here it is: Uwe Boll is quitting videogame movie adaptations, apparently.

The PS3 is sounding dangerously vaporous, and adding new vapor features doesn't help. Seriously, the conventional wisdom on this was that we'd see a Spring launch in Japan, and Fall in North America. Well, Spring is getting pretty close, and the only news in the PS3 camp is that blogging on how it's too hard to develop for and not really "next gen" gets you fired.

Whatever the PS3 ends up being, I no longer expect to see it in 2006.

Here's another Microsoft quote that underscores the fact that MS has not confirmed that the Xbox is still being manufactured with these statements.

FACT: The Xbox is no longer being manufactured, and hasn't been for the past several months. All Xboxes still in the retail channel were manufactured quite a long time ago, prior to Summer 2005, just sitting in MS warehouses, waiting to be shipped to stores until supply is eventually depleted. MS isn't running an efficient JIT operation here, and they never have when it comes to their consoles. They were just as sloppy with Xbox inventory as they are now with the severe manufacturing, QA, and supply problems of the Xbox 360.

Truer than you may think :)

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/grandma/ds-attracts-o lder-set-150322.php

Well, I consider $400 pricing to be geared toward hardcore freaks. I will never pay that much for a game console, and most families won't, either. If the Revolution is $200 or less, it will see a lot more mainstream sales.

Shots of the consoles
Clearer comparison of all the consoles from multiple angles, side by side

As you can see, the Nintendo Revolution is slightly wider than the width of a DVD, much like the Mac mini. In fact, it's about the size of a PC DVD drive. The other systems are quite large in comparison. I'm surprised I hadn't heard more about the very small size of the Revolution until recently when those images came out.

Apparently the ps3 is worse than the 360.

While Fatal1ty is capitalizing on his new-found fame, it should be known that Fatal1ty recently lost his self-titled tournament at CES.

Which begs the question: Do we really want to buy a mouse named after someone who loses games? I mean, if you really want to do that, then I will soon announce my WriterMike Mouse. From Zero-To-Throwing the Computer Out The Window in 7.5 seconds.

...too bad he just got p0wned.

~jeff

Maybe they left him out because someone called Nordic beat him at the CES Try to beat Fatal1ty contest.

There are! Want pictures? http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/xbox-360-japan-launch -guide/xbox-360-sellout-is-impossible-142359.php

Exactly right.

To illustrate, according to this Kotaku story, Microsoft shipped 159,000 Xbox 360's to Japan, but only sold 42,000 of them in the first few days.

Allah is the Prince? Islamatari Damacy!

Allah (meaning "the God") is the King of All Cosmos. The prophet Muhammad is the Prince, and Jesus and the other prophets are the cousins. (But didn't you know that a katamari can give you AIDS?)

Check out this link to Kotaku. It has a picture and text saying that the launch is going so bad in Japan that since the retailers are unable to sell the consoles (which cost $350 in USD) back to MS, they are having a fire-sale within a day or two of launch selling the systems for about $150 USD, less than HALF the retail price.

Compare that to here in the US where people are pay upwards of $800 in scam auctions on eBay for a picture of the 360, or a link to where to buy one, or an empty box.

I'm sorry, but from my point of view this launch continues to look botched.

Check out this link to Kotaku. It has a picture and text saying that the launch is going so bad in Japan that since the retailers are unable to sell the consoles (which cost $350 in USD) back to MS, they are having a fire-sale within a day or two of launch selling the systems for about $150 USD, less than HALF the retail price.

Compare that to here in the US where people are pay upwards of $800 in scam auctions on eBay for a picture of the 360, or a link to where to buy one, or an empty box.

I'm sorry, but from my point of view this launch continues to look botched.

Seriously, though, I just read on Kotaku that some places are already starting to heavily discount the machine, with one place selling them for $150 and an ISP contract.

From the kotaku link:
"Adam and Donna are nice people, in and of themselves.
The negative aspects of NeoPets, all came from the side
of Scientology-Oriented business structure/psyche. From
the very get-go, any employee who applies for a job,
will be faced with a couple of personality screening
tests. I shit you not, I had a more comfortable time
with my SAT's in high school! A lot of people make fun
of Scientologists in an ignorant sort of way; they don't
really know what goes on behind the curtains, but I
assure you, it's not pretty. In hindsight, it's a little
ironic that many of the execs are part of the cult, and
many fledglings didn;t seem to get promoted to that
level without first converting (this was the case while
I was there). A mere observation, more than anything
else. Unfortunately, many businesses that visit/partner
up with these guys will look at the architecture of this
successful business, and will be inclined to adopt it
for themselves. It is for this reason alone that I want
to see NeoPets fail."


Scientology scares me... I mean praise L-RON!!!

So where's the XBox 360?

On EBay, which currently accounts for 10% of all 360 sales. Looks like prices from $550 to $1000. I kept wondering why the XBox was being manufactured for shortages, when M$ wasn't taking advantage of shortage pricing, but instead pricing under cost*. One article raises the speculation that the secondary market might be intentional.** Maybe M$ decided it prefers an auction economy, perhaps to dodge allegations of price gouging, which are apparently all the rage, for better or worse.

So where's the congratulatory hype?

Here's some, though we're probably not seeing a huge amount of post-release PR because they can't meet extra demand such PR would generate anyway. And they probably gave their PR department a holiday after all their pre-release work.

Or maybe they fired them after all their ads got banned from TV.

Where are our promo boxes?

The other comments have covered this pretty well. Really, if M$ sent a big heavy box in the mail to the editors of /., would any of them actually risk opening it?

Or maybe yours just got smashed uh... "in the mail."

*Another estimate of XBox cost/unit, from BusinessWeek.

**I don't actually think M$ planned to sell direct on Ebay to capitalize on created shortages, but it's still an interesting idea.

However, I just saw a article on Kotaku that says a top guy from Valve is very excited about the Revolution (as is Kojima).

Plus, apparently Miyamoto hinted at that same event that there is still some big feature of the Revolution that is under-wraps. Considering what they've already showed us, I can't wait to see what else they've got up their sleeves.

However, I just saw a article on Kotaku that says a top guy from Valve is very excited about the Revolution (as is Kojima).

Plus, apparently Miyamoto hinted at that same event that there is still some big feature of the Revolution that is under-wraps. Considering what they've already showed us, I can't wait to see what else they've got up their sleeves.

Why haven't the judges declared that age restrictions on R movies (or even NC-17 movies) are unconstitutional?

Because MPAA ratings are voluntary . Nobody passed a law requiring age restrictions on R and NC-17 movies, the movie theatres got together and said "gee, if we let kids come in and see this stuff, people's heads will explode and we'll lose millions" and did so.

And gee, look at all this furor over these games. All these "advocates" have their panties in a bind... and all of the major retailers already have policies to card minors. Of course, these "advocates" have already proven themselves pretty much out of touch with the modern age, given their pit-bull like tendancy to clamp onto something and not let go until long after it's died and rotted away... how long were they beating the "Doom" dead horse? I recall "Quake" and "Doom" being harped on repeatedly after the Columbine shootings years after the games came out, long after "worse" games had been on the market.

Why are all of these age restrictions acceptable but the one involving video games is not?

So yeah, there are already perfectly good restrictions in place, based on a well-developed rating system that has only been "gamed" once (the disabled "hot coffee" stuff). Why should we accept the actions of a bunch of lawyers acting on the ravings of a group of people who appear to get their news from 5 years ago, as they create a bullshit "I know it when I see it" rating system to replace that?

The 360 have an external power supply. Thats maybe why finding this bug was kind of less intuitive.

You should contact the legal firm of Spiro Moss Barness, etc... They are one of many firms united in a class action lawsuit about the Thompson DVD drives that were used in the Xbox. Microsoft seem to have been aware of the lack of quality in these drives as later models used different manufacturers. Despite this, if you talk to their customer service reps, they continue to ask you if your discs are dirty despite the fact you tell them you just bought the damn game.

I don't give a rat's ass about Sony's problems. I'm here to ask about the awful consumer experience I had with my original Xbox and what exactly is the truth about this new product. Here are links that show what a known issue those drives were.

http://sentientcreations.com/xboxIssues/problem.ph p

http://www.llamma.com/xbox/Repairs/xbox_dvd_repair .htm

Now there's an entire market based upon replacing your Xbox's DVD drive with a better one such as Samsung.

Microsoft's support solution: clean the disc. No matter how many times you tell them the disc is brand new, they say it's a dirty disc.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb; en-us;8167

Then there was the power supply issue. A recall in which power cords were issued to cover up shoddy circuitry that could and did cause house fires. Mostly due to bad soldering. In the recall, older Xboxes were given power cords with breakers, so in the event of a short, you may burn out your Xbox but at least your house won't burn down.

http://s4.invisionfree.com/Popular_Technology/ar/t 215.htm

So a few weeks ago we started to see Xbox 360s in demo retail models showing the dreaded Error 74. Photograph of it here.

http://joystiq.com/entry/1234000480066825/

Now we have reports of crashes that yes, are online and could be from a vocal minority, but I have never heard of or owned a console that crashes the way photographs show us is happening to the 360 - and let's remember the people complaining about it are the ones who braved the cold and the nuisance of picking one up.

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/xbox-360/hours-old-an d-pgr3-crashing-like-mad-138978.php

Now apparently there is a fix in the form of suspending the power supply. People are finding it's working. Ergo, the power supply is defective. Just like the one on the original Xbox which was RECALLED.

Whatever marketing spiel Microsoft want to give, I want for them to answer one thing. What exactly is Error 74 and Error 79 - what does it mean is happening to the box. They have refused, as they did with the Thompson DVD drive, to let us know what is going wrong. Even if it isolated. Does it bode poorly for the future? Why is there a SPECIFIC error message already in the box's OS that is happening to people?

Now we know for certain that the machine is not only prone to overheating, there is an inbuilt error message related to it.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/907533/

And did you hear about how the tech support person told that guy to "wipe his video cables with a soft cloth"? Too rich.

The Xbox360 really does burn DVDs.

(http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/xbox-360/360-burns-c ds-and-dvds-says-best-buy-138419.php)

Enjoy your Xbox360 & games!

Yes it is a shame that those of us, who prefer to wait a while before buying a new console, will miss out on all the fun.

Oh, please. The DS is getting a 3D Final Fantasy game in a few months; screenshots can be found here:

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/final-fantasy-iii-ds/ final-fantasy-iii-ds-screens-132333.php

Mario Kart is truly good if you'd give it a chance; the terrain in the Desert Hills track would definitely meet your needs, and it's not alone.

Metroid coming in a few months looks great, Castlevania was great, Zelda is coming, and Tony Hawk is also fantastic. Not to mention the release of Animal Crossing next month, or the various games like Kirby, Nintendogs, and Trauma Center which aren't even really possible on any other system.

I really don't see your argument - by my experience, the DS by FAR a better selection of games than the PSP, and I really don't even see how you could argue otherwise unless you were just a huge GTA fan.

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/images/3604.jpg

Though Xbox 360 is a bit smaller than the original one, if you add this huge power brick it's bigger.

Just a big marketing ploy it seems.

What the Slashdot article neglects to mention is that Microsoft has already fixed the problem .

They had a fix within 24 hours and started rolling it out. It didn't affect wireless networks in general, only some specific point-of-sale systems.

Anyhow, to sum up, problem was fixed before launch and wouldn't have affected consumers anyhow.

Apple is selling the nano as a vanity item. Everyone wants one because they look so damned sexy. You can walk down the street in New York wearing wearing Prada shoes and a Dolce & Gabana outfit with a fashionably shoplifted 2nd hand jacket, and still the Nano is the hottest thing on you. If you shell out that much cash because the thing is just so bloody lickable, you want it to stay that way for at least a little while.

My cell-phone is a plastic candybar style that shares a pocket with a rather unwieldy set of keys and a less-cool-than-I-thought-it-would-be aluminum moneyclip. Yet, in a year of abuse it has gotten less scratches than some of the pictures I've seen of day-old nanos. My girlfriend's iRiver looks less abused after two years of use, and it's also black and also goes everywhere with her. And it's by HP for crying out loud.

It seems like older iPod owners have this attitude that "Yeah, I put up with it, and so should you." Demand better, damn it. Also, realize that this is a different thing. The nano is half the size of your iPod, meaning the scratches are twice as large. And your iPods are white, whereas a lot of the Nanos sold are black, which make the scratches stand out more. And while the iPods get scratched, I haven't seen an iPod get scratched this quickly. Most of the pictures out there look like a 2 or 3 year old iPod, yet are only a few days out of the gate. I can only imagine how badly scratched up they will be in 2 to 3 actual years. Some people are already complaining that they're sufficiently scratched to make the song titles completely illegible. I've never heard of an iPod get that bad.

I had been planning on buying a Nano, either for myself or my S.O., but I'm definitely waiting until they have this problem solved.

And the bras on the front of cars absorb radar, letting you drive a bit faster and still slow down in time for the cop. They're functional.

I found one top ten games of 2004 list at Kotaku http://kotaku.com/gaming/business/top-ten-games-in -sales-for-2004-029995.php

PS2 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
XBX Halo 2
PS2 Madden NFL 2005
PS2 ESPN NFL 2K5
PS2 Need For Speed: Underground 2
GBA Pokemon Fire Red W/ Adapter
PS2 NBA Live 2005
PS2 Spider-Man: The Movie 2
XBX Halo
PS2 ESPN NFL 2K5

While none of those top ten sold were Gamecube versions you could still purchase Madden NFL 2005, Need For Speed: Underground 2, NBA Live 2005, Spider-Man: The Movie 2 and ESPN NFL 2K5 to play them on a Gamecube...and one game was GBA only.

So 5 out of the top ten games sold in 2004 could be played on the Gamecube.

Heres an interesting factoid: The top selling PSP title for the Playstation Portable is Need for Speed, selling about 325,000 copies as of the end of July. Compare that to Nintendogs, which sold 250,000 in just a week. Ouch!

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/psp/nintendogs-crushe s-top-psp-game-in-about-a-week-123569.php

Blood-sucking remora like Thompson are the biggest dangers to further acceptance of gaming as a healthy passtime.

I think you are spot-on. I just wanted to add that the article is wrong, and the sex scene is apparently present in the PS2 GTA as well. This doesn't change your point at all, since you still have to get the cheat codes off the net (and have a device with which to input them, so it's even more cumbersome). Just wanted to clarify the facts of the matter.

From Kotaku... Date & Girlfriend Codes... D1U0-7U5R-BJ2ZC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Date Modifier... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 39VZ-NARK-06RVU >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 8UQH-1851-EZQPC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Always Driving Date >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 8JKP-4XPM-Y2W6U >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 12UF-9DF5-0P0RG >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 7ZPF-J4VG-C20FY >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> vAUN4-Y662-7NFV0 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 7ZPF-J4VG-C20FY >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Always Dancing Date >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 9YZR-17TF-MWZU4 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 5JC3-M4E8-VQ4CX >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 6BHH-ZW1G-YH2TU >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> AUN4-Y662-7NFV0 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 6BHH-ZW1G-YH2TU >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Always Dinner Date >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> HRHT-J8VC-2P05M >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 5JC3-M4E8-VQ4CX >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> NG2H-VX0E-Z0G2T >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 12UF-9DF5-0P0RG >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> NG2H-VX0E-Z0G2T >>>>>>>> Quick Fun Increase (Driving Dates) >>>>>>>> HC35-44B7-1B0QY >>>>>>>> DVN8-B67P-H075B >>>>>>>> Hot Coffee (After Successful Date) >>>>>>>> WARNING: Uncensored Hot Coffee CODE >>>>>>>> UNLOCKS ADULT CONTENT HIDDEN BY ROCKSTAR GAMES >>>>>>>> 7UZJ-9YW8-0T45Z >>>>>>>> 8UQH-1851-EZQPC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Censored Hot Coffee >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Note: Use this code if you wish to save >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> game with Uncensored Hot Coffee disabled >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 1NQR-NVFE-NXV1Q >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 20MW-A62G-9MQ30 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Uncensored Hot Coffee >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Note: DO NOT SAVE WITH THIS CODE ACTIVE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> This cheat will save and MAY corrupt your >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> save USE AT YOUR OWN RISK You will be stuck >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> in an invisible box after adult scene Press >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> R1 R2 L1 L2 buttons at the same time to escape >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> JD3N-EV68-AGRW0 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 4PMG-6VNA-PBZQ7 >>

Well, I agree with you except I'd call this a bipartisan issue if only because Jack Thompson is a Republican.

I can't speak for the PSP here, but I've dropped my DS off a 6' dresser, ejecting the cartridge, and it's no worse for wear, save for a small nick on the outer casing. I've been carrying it around with me for the past month, and it's continued to function as well as it always has. The DS is hardly "delicate".

I'll one up that and say that the DS is quite possibly the most durable system to date. One of the members at a forum I frequent had pictures of his DS working (despite having cracked and broken casing) after having been in a fire in his apartment.

Furthermore, we have our lovely trip up Mount Everest in which they brought ten DS's because they expected some to break. All 10 DS's survived, no worse for the wear.

Staying on Nintendo's approach to a wireless future, I just came across the following article on wi-fi capable Nintendo DS and Revolution:

Nintendo on Revolution, Zelda, etc

and here is another blogg-type article with an analysis of th revolution

Here's a link to a movie of the mini-game from a site that's not dead (as of now). http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/pc/gta-sex-authentic- and-unlocked-107620.php

You thought you were joking, weren't you... Click.

Click.

nearly correct, if I'm reading the specs right it appears that the PS3 will have one PPE, one VMX vector unit, and seven SPEs.

source:
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/playstation-3/playsta tion-3-full-specs-103733.php

Anyways... it seems (at least for me) that the Revolution is knid of /Vaporware/.

If you see this page at Kotaku
it seems, from what Mr. Satoru Iwata said, that the next Nintendo console is still in the paper...



We have a number of candidates for a new interface but are not ready to reveal them. All I can say right now is that whatever we choose will be intuitive and easy to use for everyone
[...]

We may or may not use the microphone in the new [Nintendo Revolution] interface.


So, what does this say??, for me, it seems they are going to be laaaaate at the Console fight next year so, their next console would better be good... (of course Nintendo has always been reluctant to expose their new consoles in the past, e.g. Project Unreality).