Slashdot Mirror

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/psn-outage-begins-to-hit-retail

“In the first week of downtime we did not really see any major change in sales or trades,” says one source, a store manager at a major UK retailer speaking on condition of anonymity. “However from the second week onwards we have seen an increase of over 200 per cent on PS3 consoles being traded in, split almost 50/50 between those trading for cash and those taking a 360 instead.”

Globally Microsoft is now in third place. http://www.next-gen.biz/news/report-ps3-passes-xbox-360-worldwide Not to mention Kotaku is, in my opinion one of the shittiest game sites around. They'll be relevant once their site has something more than fluff pieces and fanboyish trolls.

The Wii won't be around long enough to sink as low as Microsoft has. The WIi most certainly will be the first one to step into the next generation. It has the weakest hardware so of course it will run out of steam sooner and it has been an huge success. Where else can it go from here so might as well move onto the next system.

The headline gives the impression that this is being done right now. The timeline also gives a hint of the level of commitment. Before the "promised" SDK, we've heard stories like http://www.next-gen.biz/features/hacking-kinect -- So this response, whatever the spirit, is delayed. It is definitely not one of the "right" things Microsoft has done recently. (There may be others.)

The PS3 is already porting steam. When Portal ships, it will already use steam to save games in the cloud. And for people who don't know, it's fine. There's still local copies of your savegames as well.

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/valve%E2%80%99s-lombardi-ps3-steam-support

There's no clue in the article I could find as to whether Sony opted to use Steam to do this, or reinvent the wheel. Here's hoping it's the former.

Also consistently dominated by Nintendo.

NPD software sales for the top 10 for the first half of 2010.

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/npd-reveals-first-half-2010-bestsellers

Looks like a lot of people are actually buying games for the Wii and probably playing them.

"Game development is a very special job that requires a very special person. The high stress levels often drive our staff members to become... subhuman. They're violent and need to be caged. But we need them to make good games. This is the unfortunate truth of the game industry..."
- actual in-game quote from a Segagaga NPC

Microsoft doesn't even know what it is doing as they said they weren't going to release the game and then it was Peter who said that Milo was a full game and would be showing it off at TED.

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/microsoft-not-planning-to-release-milo-and-kate

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/molyneux-milo-is-a-full-game%E2%80%9D

It seems odd that the director of xbox product management would know whether or not the game would be released. I think MS is afraid of losing Peter and don't want to tell him they think his game sucks and that's where the confusion came from.

Microsoft doesn't even know what it is doing as they said they weren't going to release the game and then it was Peter who said that Milo was a full game and would be showing it off at TED.

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/microsoft-not-planning-to-release-milo-and-kate

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/molyneux-milo-is-a-full-game%E2%80%9D

It seems odd that the director of xbox product management would know whether or not the game would be released. I think MS is afraid of losing Peter and don't want to tell him they think his game sucks and that's where the confusion came from.

http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/213014/premium-psn-service-planned-wont-affect-online-gaming/

"Sony is considering adding a subscription-based version of the PlayStation Network, but the company denies that it will charge customers to play games online."

http://www.next-gen.biz/news/sony-may-introduce-psn-subscription-model

"Especially in the online area, we are studying the possibility of introducing a subscription model, offering premium content and services, in addition to the current free services." (Emphasis added.)

if you see ads before the game starts, will the price of games go down?

Well, last time they tried it, no. And people were pissed off and complained enough, they pulled the functionality from the game.

Copy protection isn't suppose to stop hackers from stealing the games, it's suppose the slow them down long enough for the first few weeks to sales to pass which are extremely important to a game. A good example off the top of my head is the delay between Doom 3 being sold in the US and in the UK.

It was downloaded in the UK on bit torrent over 3 million times or something before it even came out in England, are you (not parent) seriously telling me these people weren't going to buy it when it came out if there wasn't a free download? Bullshit!

The problem is the slashdot crowd complains constantly about the copy protection yet most people here say "I downloaded and played it but would never have bought it". Hypocrisy!

I knew I couldn't have been the only one to notice! Error looks to be submitter's. This is the first page.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index2.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10800&Itemid=2&pop=1&page=1

Next, how much time does it take to rip that DVD, convert it to fit on a single layer disc, burn it, label it, etc?

Most of my DVDs I buy used from Hollywood Video or Blockbuster. They pretty much always have a 3 for $25 deal. I'm paying $8 for a movie to own it legally.

Okay, this argument doesn't really work. When you buy used like that, guess who gets 100% of that revenue? Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. Not the publishers. As far as they're concerned, you might as well be pirating the movies. If you search around, you'll find the publishing houses (movies, music, and games) blame their losses on the used market just as much as piracy (example here).

My time is worth far more than $8 an hour, so even if it only takes 1 hour to pirate a DVD, then it really is a huge waste.

If it's taking you more than 5 minutes of your time, you're doing it wrong. Insert DVD, launch ripper app, click "Rip", go do whatever it is that's more "worth your time".

I don't know many folks who actually re-burn DVD rips anymore, especially when the new consoles can play media from a USB drive or even network shares. Even if you did, if it's taking you more than 3 minutes to swap disks, fire up your burning software, start the burn, eject, and scribble a title, you're doing it wrong again. NOTE - If you're sitting there watching the ripping or burning parts, you probably actually aren't worth more than $8/hr.

Consoles, in aggregate, generate more game software sales revenue from traditional brick and mortar retail outlets than the PC. Its a bit more difficult to sort out the hardware side. NVIDIA posted a record quarter for its first quarter this year (at $1.15 billion) but that's from a variety of sources and only one of the big two name sin gaming. There is no good way to filter out PC gaming hardware vs non-gaming hardware outside of video cards so we won't try and split up the more than $100 billion a year PC system sales to compare it to the $8 billion or so in console hardware sales.

Sticking with software for a moment; if you compare US PC retail software sales vs US console software sales the PC came in third behind the PS2 and XBOX 360 last year with $900 million from brick and mortar stores (ignoring that NPD collects data from only 60-80% of the market and extrapolates the remainder). If you add back in subscription sales the PC was actually the top (non-portable) platform last year with over $2 billion in software and subscription sales. And if you accept recent evidence that digital sales have reached parity/exceeded brick and mortar sales then the PC is in the neighborhood of $3 billion in software derived revenue per year, or in the same ballpark as the top three console platforms combined.

Of course, all of that is a lot of silly wang measuring using NPD numbers. Which really amounts to comparing one wildly inaccurate (or at the very least, incomplete) set of numbers to another. The frustrating thing is that while NPD uses a lot of hand waving when describing their data collection methods and releases very selective sub-sets of data to the public (remember, their business model revolves around selling the detailed stuff); our illustrious media accepts these numbers as immutable, indisputable, fact. They then turn around and ignore that the $18.5 billion figure includes hardware, software, and accessories sales for nine platforms (PS2, XBOX, XBOX 360, PS3, DS, Game Boy Advanced, and PSP) plus partial software sales from a tenth (the PC) and proclaim that video games outsell theatrical movies tickets by almost two to one. The general public in turn parrots this line ('cause the news is always right) and console fans trumpet the 17 to 1 ratio vs retail PC software sales as proof that the PC industry is essentially dead.

The offer is a clever move by EA, and if this particular offer isn't accepted, another one like it will be very soon.

As a company, Take Two is simply falling apart. They're being sued by shareholders for not accepting EA's original $2 billion buy out offer, the company is constantly under attack by politicans, parent's groups and religious leaders and aside from the temporary stock price hike attributed to EA's lust for the firm, the company's shareholders are jumping ship and dumping stock faster than you can say "GTA made me do it."

EA has foreseen the collapse of the Take Two and has decided it wants to salvage Grand Theft Auto -- not for any altruistic reason, but for the hundreds of millions of dollars each new game automatically earns. They may not be able to create an original football game, but EA certainly has the cash and the legal know-how to absorb Take Two.

Prediction: EA will own the firm by the release of GTA4.

The offer is a clever move by EA, and if this particular offer isn't accepted, another one like it will be very soon.

As a company, Take Two is simply falling apart. They're being sued by shareholders for not accepting EA's original $2 billion buy out offer, the company is constantly under attack by politicans, parent's groups and religious leaders and aside from the temporary stock price hike attributed to EA's lust for the firm, the company's shareholders are jumping ship and dumping stock faster than you can say "GTA made me do it."

EA has foreseen the collapse of the Take Two and has decided it wants to salvage Grand Theft Auto -- not for any altruistic reason, but for the hundreds of millions of dollars each new game automatically earns. They may not be able to create an original football game, but EA certainly has the cash and the legal know-how to absorb Take Two.

Prediction: EA will own the firm by the release of GTA4.

MY POST WAS NOT OFFTOPIC! He listed a link that can't be seen and he got an extra point for that! Furthermore, here is proof that Halo II is VISTA ONLY! http://www.megagames.com/news/html/pc/halo2pc-vistaonly-bungieqna.shtml http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/reviews/738/Halo-2-Vista-Review But if you want to crack, that is up to you. http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6146&Itemid=2 Seriously, get it together you moderators.

"It's true that homebrew stuff invariably winds up getting used for software piracy."

Yeah like Nintendo needs to worry about software piracy, since they only have the top selling console for the past year, having outsold both PS3 and Xbox360 consoles by factors of 2:1, and they're the only console maker that actually makes a profit from the consoles, $49 for every console sold in the US.

So no matter how much software someone pirated Nintendo still made $49 off that Wii bought in the US.

The XBOX 360 is a marvel of design and XBL revolutionized on-line play

One page print copy.

That may be, but crap or not - I say they still deserve publicity if they are willing to stand up to Government censorship.

Even if profit is their real motive, it's a gamble - remember that this isn't about age ratings (like in every other western country where they don't have such stupid censorship laws), the current situation is that no adult can legally buy the game.

And some MPs think things should go further - a recent proposed bill suggested allowing MPs to overrule the BBFC when it approves media for release, if they decide that the material is unsuitable for us adults to view.

Just for your edification - http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8148&Itemid=2

It's still coming out before the 360 version...

Wrong.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7359&Itemid=2


"These technical issues are now completed at a core level in our engine, and now that we have the systems working, looking ahead to 2008, we expect the PS3 versions of our titles to ship day and date with our other versions," [CEO David Zucker] said.

Close, but no cigar.

As of July, they were losing about $200 a console (not quite as big, but still quite a hunk of change).

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6573&Itemid=2

From a PR perspective, I completely agree that Sony has screwed the pooch on managing consumer opinions, at least within the industry. Outside, however, the average consumer just sees a $499 60GB PS3 on sale.

I disagree with the people that insist Sony is driving for some "magic" $599 price point. If it were, I think the sales spike the will see from this price drop will convince them otherwise. The reality for Sony is that they have a huge number of 60GB systems collecting dust on store shelves. The still-born 20GB is largely vanished, and the 80GB isn't even available yet.

Now, if Sony was to announce the 80GB system at the same $499 that the 60GB has just been reduced to, how many of those 60GB systems would they be likely to sell, now or in the future? Not many, I'd wager, unless they planned to drop the price on those even further. The company would be foolish to do that, especially since the 80GB won't be around until August. The smart thing to do -- and what I suspect is Sony's plan all along here -- is to release the 80GB at $599 with the no-longer-in-production 60GB at $499 until the 60GB units are either depleted or nearly impossible to find (as opposed to now, where it's the only thing available!), then get another PR boost with another price drop lowering the 80GB to $499 as well.

So if an extra 20GB is worth an extra $100 or a few months waiting for you, go for it. For me, 60GB is plenty, and the hard drive is already pretty damn easy to upgrade way past the 80GB anyway, if one were so inclined.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=6427&Itemid=2

Sony: masters of confusion

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=6231&Itemid=2&limit=1&limitstart=9

For people who don't like clicking next 100 times. Print View

Apparently the article is just a bunch of "user generated procedural content", i.e. bullshit. c(-;

-Don

EA: Spore Delay "Misinformation"

Reports that Electronic Arts' highly anticipated Spore has been further delayed are "misinformation," the publisher told Next-Gen today. ImageIt's one of the most anticipated games of today, and any word of further delay for Will Wright's Spore is sure to make headlines.

But reports making rounds today are basically old news being made into "new" news, EA said.

"There seems to be some misinformation flying around," explained a rep in a phone interview. "Nothing's changed since our call on May 8, where [CEO] John Riccitello specifically said that we were moving Spore from fiscal '08 to early fiscal '09."

EA's fiscal 2009 runs from April 2008 through March 2009.

During that May earnings call, Riccitello stated, "...Spore is a title we have enormous confidence in. I've had the chance to review the title three times in the my short return to EA and it looks fantastic. I will also tell you that it's right up [to] the bubble in Q4 [of fiscal '08], if not sometime in early fiscal '09, so we don't feel comfortable in forecasting it."

There has yet to be a firm announced released date for Spore. An "early fiscal '09" release means that the game could theoretically launch in spring 2008.

The rep said that the rumor of the additional delay was exacerbated by a quote making the rounds in the games press lifted from the latest issue of Game Informer which says that the game is "delayed indefinitely." Apparently, the information from the conference call was misconstrued, the rep determined.

"It's the same information we said in May. Spore's progressing and it looks great," she added.

EA says otherwise.

Next-Gen contacted Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter, who further explained the deal. "What Microsoft did was pay a $50 million advance," he said, much in the same way a big-name author receives a payment in advance of his or her next book.

In other words, Microsoft is confident that Take-Two's portion of the revenue generated by GTA IV content downloads will surpass the $50 million advance paid.

"Microsoft basically said that it's happy to pay [Take-Two] in advance $50 million in revenue that [Take-Two] is going to receive from GTA IV downloads," he said.

Microsoft takes about a 30 percent cut from Xbox Live Marketplace content sales, according to Pachter.

Taking that 70/30 split (publisher/Microsoft) and the $50 million advance into account, Microsoft is apparently confident that GTA IV download revenues over Xbox Live will be at least $70 million.

If revenues don't meet that figure, Take-Two will have to return some of the advance, according to Pachter. But he said that there's no reason to believe Take-Two would actually miss that revenue target.

He also stated, "By giving this advance, Microsoft did extract from Take-Two the promise to make [GTA IV content] exclusive. But there will not be any downloadable content for PS3, at least for some time. My guess is at least for a year."

... PS3's getting creamed elsewhere. In Japan alone, as of last week, Wii is outselling PS3 8:1. http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=5913&Itemid=2 That might say more about the Japanese buying tastes than those of the Euro crowd, but it's still highly indicative of Sony's "hard sell", uphill battle with the PS3. 1mil units in the EU/AU market might sound nice, but we have to really look at the bigger picture. Since the article link is wrong, is this actually 1mil sold through to customers or to retailers. Totally different scenario.

isn't affected by the endless hardware and software problems of the PC

This kid doesn't deserve to be arrested. He doesn't deserve to be thrust into "Alternative Education". He deserves to have someone ask him why he built the school in a video game. Let a psychologist evaluate him, and then either medicate the kid or let him go back to class.

• Article in Houston Chronicle
• They found five swords (not a hammer)

1. He was created a game maps for a first-person shooter game.
2. He was dumb enough to show his work to somebody else, most likely at school.
3. When the police searched his room, they found five swords. There's no indication of whether his parents knew about them, or whether they were part of some hobby (like fencing) where it would be appropriate to have them, or whether they had practice or sharp edges.
4. Even the board is questioning whether they overreacted.
5. The police chose not to arrest him.

Sat TV, collage courses, gyms, all the comoforts of home.

Unless, of course, your home includes a PS2 or PS3, which have been banned from UK prisons due to their WiFi capabilities

Last year, you (Phil Harrison) stated that regarding the Xbox 360's emulated back compatability, updated through firmware updates, you "don't believe that was backwards compatibility". Now the PS3 is being redesigned with emulated back compatability, which will be updated through firmware updates. What has changed Sony's attitude to software backwards compatability in the past year?

Found my next-gen source:

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=4222&Itemid=2

I was wrong on the RSX, it costs $129 to build. Only 4 more bucks over the blu-ray components.

Likewise the PS2 and the PSP and the PS3 set themselves as far apart as possible from popular expectations for what a videogame machine should, or might, look like - to the point of plain impracticality. In their time the systems are so expensive, so glossy, they serve more as high-end luxury items than a simple game machine. To drive that point home, they are all packed with features to give the impression that they are indeed more than a mere game machine. That nobody uses these added features, that most of them are implemented poorly, and that nobody in his right mind would have reason to buy a game console no matter how "cool" it was unless he was interested in videogames, is beside the point: they create a perception of value, and of a higher order. They also create the odd perception that, to sell videogames, you have to hide them behind a veneer of more "legitimate" electronic devices.

The implication seems to still be, from the Sony camp, that videogames are either something to be afraid of or not innately worthwhile - which, considering how entrenched Sony has now become within the industry, strikes me as something of a problematic and silly position. All it suggests to me, personally, is that Sony has yet to develop any original ideas as to what to do with this industry. To an extent, the company is still flogging its original point from a decade ago - which again at least made sense back then, as non-constructive as it was. That it is still playing the "too cool for you" game strikes me as a little pathetic, and gives me the impression that Sony never really had anything to contribute. That on a practical level all Sony has ever done is play one-upsmanship with other people's ideas (shoulder buttons, analog sticks, analog triggers, motion control) pretty much confirms the perception that this is a company without much, if anything, constructive to say.

At DICE this year, Chris Taylor of Gas Powered Games (developer of the Dungeon Siege games and the just-released Supreme Commander title) had a very intersting talk regarding improving work/life balance at his company. It appears that you don't really need a "work-till-you-drop" work schedule to ship big games after all.

I think it's an interesting, and necessary, shift in the game development culture. As the industry matures, so does its business practices. Understandably, there are lots of passionate folks who prefer to stay up late to work on their game, but that doesn't mean everyone wants to. Additionally, those who stay up late may actually be contributing negatively to the product (decisions and code generated at 2 AM may not be the best).

So yeah, I agree that the typical hardcore work development schedules need to change ... but that doesn't mean you have to move your studio East to achieve them.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=4628&Itemid=2

Unreal 3 engine, but the game name is Unreal Tournament 3. Note the added word, Tournament.

re:"Why shouldn't I be able to watch my dvd/hd movie on my ipod OR computer OR TV"

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=4513&Itemid=2

With Blu-Ray you can. You're a fucking moron. Got any other fud moron?

re:"Xbox360 is selling"

Not in Japan - oh and they like games there - might be an important market if you want to secure Japanese titles overall:

For the week of Jan 14th "The Xbox 360 sold just 9,035 units" - or about 35% of what Sony sold.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=4570&Itemid=2

Fixed the link.

Here ya go dipshit:

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=4530&Itemid=2

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=4513&Itemid=2

HD-DVD is less open. You're a dumbfuck. Please die now, we need the air you're wasting.