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Steam has a pretty fantastic return policy. If a game looks good try it. If you pass the 2 hours, you probably like it enough to keep it anyway.

Provided:

• The game isn't the gaming equivalent of a short film, which can be completed in less than two hours. (Source: "14 Steam games that prove Valve's refund policy is broken" by Ric Cowley) Eventually developers of such games will wise up to this and offer them only through channels other than Steam to avoid the risk of players completing it and then seeking a refund.
• The game doesn't open with two hours of something completely different from representative gameplay. In "Could Steam's refund policy have a weird effect on game design?", Tyler Wilde relays the concern of independent game developer Andrew Pellerano of that game design will change to encourage a 2-hour binge before the game becomes no longer refundable. It's suggested that games might even adopt player-hostile patterns currently prevalent in free-to-play mobile gaming, with games giving rapid progress in the first two hours but making the rest of the game an unreasonable grind-fest that can be skipped by buying in-game energy with real money. Or it could open with two hours of cut scenes, for instance, and its publisher may have put that fact under review embargo.
• The game doesn't open with 2 hours of trying and failing to get the game to work on your PC, particularly if it needs a driver update or if a necessary activation or matchmaking server is overloaded. If you want, I can dig up anecdotal reports of this causing problems for other users of the Steam service.

How much of a problem do these cases pose in practice?

And youtube gameplay videos come out very fast

I've read that some video game publishers take these videos down on copyright grounds just as fast, claiming that a playthrough violates the publisher's exclusive right to perform its audiovisual work publicly, particularly for rhythm games and for retail games sold by a retailer that broke street date. (Or is this practice limited to console-centric developers?) And I'm aware of some gaming platforms that include only an HDMI output with HDCP always on, which deters those who aren't willing to point a camera at a monitor from making gameplay videos. The technology to do this exists in Windows, under the name Protected Media Path, but I'll grant that I haven't see it in wide use because of legacy VGA and non-HDCP DVI monitors.

I wasn't saying anything about the need for the calculator hardware itself, but that trying to hack the firmware for Android to become a TI calculator doesn't make any sense (in the end Android firmware is mostly Linux with a particular userspace and libraries/APIs). A hacked "firmware" on a completely unrelated device won't get you any closer to running those TI programs.

You'd be better off emulating the calculator in an app, which was my point. And given all of the emulators out there already, I kind of think emulating a calculator with a 15MHz Z80 isn't going to be as complicated as the PSX, C64, or GBA.

or that people have run out of valid things to complain and now they are complaining of free games with OPTIONAL in game items which cost money.

While spending real money is optional to simply play the game, it's not always optional if you want to actually finish the game. I've played some games like Pumpkins vs Monsters where you'd have to play hundreds of hours to beat the game unless you pay real $$$ because a level will only give you ~100-300 gold but a single upgrade is 10,000+ gold.

It's not impossible to win but almost. Imagine playing Half Life but health, additional lives and weapons cost real money, you're left to run around with whatever health you start with and a crowbar. Could you win? Highly unlikely.

Then you have games like Smurfs' Village and Order & Chaos who have $99 in app purchases (here's another example)

I agree something should be done since these games don't really fall in the "free" category.

Counter-point for you: Samsung's GameHub app.

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/Android/Galaxy+S+II/news.asp?c=27573

You flag the app, and Google will remove the apps from the android market. Why are Google to blame here? iOS has violations too. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/The+Blocks+Cometh/news.asp?c=26696

Ok, that's one iOS example down, 177,499 to go to equal Android ( at 71% of the 250,000 current iPhone apps).

I retract my previous post. I didn't RTFA, and didn't realize the Summary was misleading. Sorry, Androids, I apologize. I guess we're ALL in the license-violation-boat together...

Why did the Android fan-mods feel it necessary to punish-mod my RETRACTION of my previous post? Isn't that just completely unecessarily snarky?!? Afterall, I admitted that I didn't read before posting (!!!), and APOLOGIZED.

FFS, is THAT what slashdot has devolved into? I can understand my original post being downmodded to some extent; but NOT THE RETRACTION OF THAT POST (which I posted like one MINUTE later).

Sheesh! Pretty fuckin' lame, mods. I hope it happens someday to you when you make a mistake.

You flag the app, and Google will remove the apps from the android market. Why are Google to blame here?

iOS has violations too. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/The+Blocks+Cometh/news.asp?c=26696

Ok, that's one iOS example down, 177,499 to go to equal Android ( at 71% of the 250,000 current iPhone apps).

I retract my previous post. I didn't RTFA, and didn't realize the Summary was misleading.

Sorry, Androids, I apologize. I guess we're ALL in the license-violation-boat together...

Honestly I'm a little surprised it wasn't obvious. Why would android be any different than other software? The android fanboy in me immediately noticed that it was probably unnecessary to single out that one OS. The article is now dead, but from what you say it sounds like I had the right idea.
-Taylor

You flag the app, and Google will remove the apps from the android market. Why are Google to blame here? iOS has violations too. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/The+Blocks+Cometh/news.asp?c=26696

Ok, that's one iOS example down, 177,499 to go to equal Android ( at 71% of the 250,000 current iPhone apps).

I retract my previous post. I didn't RTFA, and didn't realize the Summary was misleading.

Sorry, Androids, I apologize. I guess we're ALL in the license-violation-boat together...

You flag the app, and Google will remove the apps from the android market. Why are Google to blame here? iOS has violations too. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/The+Blocks+Cometh/news.asp?c=26696

Ok, that's one iOS example down, 177,499 to go to equal Android ( at 71% of the 250,000 current iPhone apps).

You flag the app, and Google will remove the apps from the android market. Why are Google to blame here? iOS has violations too. http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/The+Blocks+Cometh/news.asp?c=26696

"So the stats come, our average customer is a woman about 30-s early 40-s, has 2 point 3 children on average. I interrupted him. I said, don't give me the average, give me the extremes, the average will take care of itself naturally"

You do realize that THAT is exactly where N-Gage came from? The very extreme value on the curve representing a normal distribution of mobile phone users.

If you are a gamer enough that you'd want your phone to come with a thick joystick pad, wouldn't you rather go the extra inch, and get yourself a separate PSP, that is the solid experience, and then some phone, as you need.

But if you are a gamer looking for a new "smart" phone, and along comes such a phone by a major manufacturer of phones AND game consoles, and such phone happens to also be a dedicated gaming console...
Yeah... you're absolutely right.
You should instead buy 3 iPhones and an iPad (make that 2 iPads), and 5 iPods and you'd be all set. I mean... we all know that iPad is actually the future of gaming.
And you should always have your gadgets completely separated. One for music, one for video watching, one for video recording, one for storage, one for audio recording, one for audio listening, one for a flashlight, one for a fleshlight...

Many phones make great casual gaming devices. But this poor hybrid will see the same sad destiny as other gaming phones we've seen in the past.

But, but, but... you just said that phones are great casual gaming devices. You mean to say all these phones were actually abysmal failures?

Or are you actually saying that it will be an iPhone killer?

Oh and if you get it, don't get carried away playing for too long, or else you can't make critical calls on a wasted battery. Sucks, I know.

Yeah... I know. I hate when Wi-Fi does that.

"So the stats come, our average customer is a woman about 30-s early 40-s, has 2 point 3 children on average. I interrupted him. I said, don't give me the average, give me the extremes, the average will take care of itself naturally"

You do realize that THAT is exactly where N-Gage came from? The very extreme value on the curve representing a normal distribution of mobile phone users.

If you are a gamer enough that you'd want your phone to come with a thick joystick pad, wouldn't you rather go the extra inch, and get yourself a separate PSP, that is the solid experience, and then some phone, as you need.

But if you are a gamer looking for a new "smart" phone, and along comes such a phone by a major manufacturer of phones AND game consoles, and such phone happens to also be a dedicated gaming console...
Yeah... you're absolutely right.
You should instead buy 3 iPhones and an iPad (make that 2 iPads), and 5 iPods and you'd be all set. I mean... we all know that iPad is actually the future of gaming.
And you should always have your gadgets completely separated. One for music, one for video watching, one for video recording, one for storage, one for audio recording, one for audio listening, one for a flashlight, one for a fleshlight...

Many phones make great casual gaming devices. But this poor hybrid will see the same sad destiny as other gaming phones we've seen in the past.

But, but, but... you just said that phones are great casual gaming devices. You mean to say all these phones were actually abysmal failures?

Or are you actually saying that it will be an iPhone killer?

Oh and if you get it, don't get carried away playing for too long, or else you can't make critical calls on a wasted battery. Sucks, I know.

Yeah... I know. I hate when Wi-Fi does that.

"So how long till it makes its way to Droid - if ever at all? I don't mind exclusive deals, but it'd be nice if they wore off after a few months."

Exclusive deals? Where in the article did it say they signed an exclusive contract with Apple?

The reason you won't find this on the Droid now or ever is number of devices and number of people paying for software. As of Dec 2009 the iPhone has had 78 million sales, and this number does not include millions of iPod Touch out there. Compare that to 800,000 Droids sold and it's obvious why it's unlikely any company would put any effort into developing software for Droids, it's a 100-to-1 ratio, 1%.

Would you make a program for 1% of the platforms, or 99%?

And that's why Droid has failed. Developers see $$$$ in iPhone and Touch, so they make the software, and the consumers see all the software on the iPhone so they buy iPhones.

It's a repeat of the 90s with Gameboy vs Sega Game Gear.

And let's not forget hardware failures like the Droid only having 256mb for apps. 1999 called, they want their storage size back. iPhone started with a minium of 4gb, and the latest 3GS is only offered in 16 or 32gb varieties, which is needed when games like The Settlers want 300+ mb.

I'm sorry I didn't mean to turn this into a anti-Droid rant, but when you see everyone and their 1 yr old baby with an iPhone and you stubbornly turn around and buy the opposite, don't be surprised when the developers create software for the phone that everyone and their baby bought.

I don't know what causes touch screen drift, but my DS systems haven't suffered from it, as far as I can tell.

It does happen.

the article says

The premise now revolves around the abolition of candy in 2040 to combat the obesity epidemic sweeping across the world.

but from the screenshot (same link) it seems these are just slang for drugs.

• Sour Tarts = acid?
• Sugar Sticks = Ecstacy
• Chocolate = ?
• Raw Sugar = cocain?
• Lollipops = ?
• Brownies = Amphetamine - though I'd have gone with the obvious magic brownies
• Jelly Beans = Crack Cocaine
• Rock Candy = Crack

what would be sweet of course is if all these weren't common slang terms, but only become so because of the iPhone game!

the article says

The premise now revolves around the abolition of candy in 2040 to combat the obesity epidemic sweeping across the world.

but from the screenshot (same link) it seems these are just slang for drugs.

• Sour Tarts = acid?
• Sugar Sticks = Ecstacy
• Chocolate = ?
• Raw Sugar = cocain?
• Lollipops = ?
• Brownies = Amphetamine - though I'd have gone with the obvious magic brownies
• Jelly Beans = Crack Cocaine
• Rock Candy = Crack

what would be sweet of course is if all these weren't common slang terms, but only become so because of the iPhone game!

Quite a few years ago I wrote a J2ME Bluetooth racing game (along with an artist friend). We secured a popular license and publisher for it, and the previews and reviews were good (in real printed magazines!). We then sat back waiting for the mountains of cash to be delivered to our doors. It didn't happen. The game didn't get the exposure we were expecting, for whatever reason.

Not to be deterred, we took an improved version of the game engine (since the license was tied to the publisher) and developed something new. Our previous lesson learned (don't tie yourself into stupid deals) we found a new publisher. A small one, but one who assured us premium placement on a popular brand of handsets. The testing period dragged out, much frustration ensued, but the game finally launched. Again, to good reviews (not as good as before, since this time the game was starting to show its age).

It didn't really sell. Never mind, we said, we can take the it elsewhere. So we took it to one of the bigger publishers, who would give us less of a cut but a lot more exposure. The game by this time was no longer cutting edge. In 2004, when it was originally created, the renderer was impressive. Fast forward to 2007 and it looks shabby next to the other hi-end racing titles.

Anyway, reviews were still okay and the game sold in decent numbers. That smaller cut, when going through multiple aggregators doesn't amount to much per unit, but the rise in sales make up for it. Or they would have done if we'd managed to get any of it from the distributor, who a year after the deal was signed went into receivership without ever paying a penny.

Developing games anonymously for the big guys made money. Pushing our own stuff never did.

For the curious, you can grab the game's source code here

A long while back I remember reading online about how in England Sony had struck a deal to make the PSP do phone calls, and I wondered the same thing. Were they adding a mic to the PSP in Europe or what?

http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/PSP/news.asp?c=3139

Apparently that was in May.

Probably the same guy who thinks "all I want for christmas is a psp".

Well, let's see... Are you the Ryan Fenton that likes to hunt with a black powder muzzle loader? ATF might be interested in putting that into your file, just for reference. Or maybe you're Ryan Fenton of Winter Haven, Florida, or hmm... seems fairly likely you might be Coach Fenton of Clifton, NY, he maintains his own webpage. A good slashdot reader kind of activity. Does the Shenendehowa school board know you are a hunter? Or maybe you are Ryan Fenton the paranormal investigator with a M.S. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Connecticut? You are probably the non-Mac Sketch Fighter fanboy and looking at your resume it looks like you probably are the Ryan from Winter Haven, Florida, with full home address and phone number given.

Now you have no idea who I am, or who anyone is reading this post, or what any of us might do with any of this information. Doesn't that make you at least a little bit uncomfortable?

Perhaps, the 360 and PC get more posts because they actually exist in the hands of consumers

As opposed to the PS2 and DS?

And the 360 may be in the hands of consumers, but most of the things we read about in news stories aren't in the hands of consumers-- Portal (which does look legitmately quite neat) or Fable 2 or the 360 HD-DVD won't be out until after the PS3 or Wii. Gaming news is naturally more often about upcoming products than extant ones.

Meanwhile Zonk does manage to publish PS3 articles with pretty good regularity... it's just... he only posts one particular kind of news...