Posted by
CmdrTaco
on from the well-they're-just-so-much-cuter dept.
Kamalot writes "JoyStiq is reporting that the new Nintendo DS pre-orders are outselling the new slimmed-down version of the PS2 in Japan as well as the Xbox. Outselling the Xbox is easy though. They sold less than 200 in Japan last month."
Just to clarify
by
AKAImBatman
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· Score: 5, Informative
I know it's often difficult to RTFA, so I'll clarify a point here: The DS did not outsell the Playstation 2. It outsold a new Playstation 2 redesign. Original Playstation 2 sales still remain above that of the Nintendo DS.
As to the X-Box, it only sold 173 units during that period. Seems to me that the Japanese hate Microsoft even more than Slashdot.:-)
Re:Just to clarify
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 5, Funny
The Japanese hate slashdot?
Re:Just to clarify
by
minus_273
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· Score: 2, Interesting
well there is also that factor called NATIONALISM.It is somehting that is a rather alien concept in the west these days. I dont mean it as an insult. I am sure that we have all noticed this in recent years.
-- The war with islam is a war on the beast
The war on terror is a war for peace
Re:Just to clarify
by
DrEldarion
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· Score: 4, Insightful
Let's see, a more powerful dual-screened version of the most popular portable console of all time outsells a revision of the same old hardware where the only real differences are that it's much smaller and has built-in networking. Oh, and if you want to play FFXI on it (which many Japanese do), you're SOL since it's not compatible with the hard drive.
How is this even newsworthy?
Re:Just to clarify
by
be-fan
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· Score: 5, Insightful
Or, it could just be that the XBox's gaming library is heavily biased towards American tastes? I'm an American, and I don't find the XBox's gaming library to be very attractive --- I hate PC games.
-- A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
Re:Just to clarify
by
adisakp
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· Score: 5, Informative
The sales numbers that have been published for that week are as follows:
1. GBASP 35,280
2. PS2 22,470
3. Nintendo DS
4. PS2 Redesign
5. GC 4,368
6. GBA 633
7. Xbox 173
Note: The actual unit numbers for PStwo and NDS aren't listed so NDS is between 4K and 22K which is a fairly large rainge.
Re:Just to clarify
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 2, Insightful
You're nuts.
That's like saying that Utada Hikaru is more more famous than Janet Jackson in Japan because of nationalism.
Perhaps plum riceballs are more popular than cheese curls because of nationalism.
Maybe small, fuel-efficient cars are also more popular in Japan than SUVs because of nationalism.
Or maybe, all of the things mentioned above CATER TO JAPANESE TASTES better than their Western counterparts. Nah, this is American Slashdot (tm), we are all supposed to like the same things, and everybody else is a mindless sheep from some stupid country!
Re:Just to clarify
by
theendlessnow
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· Score: 3, Funny
As to the X-Box, it only sold 173 units during that period. Seems to me that the Japanese hate Microsoft even more than Slashdot.:-)
What's really sad is that 168 of those units are now running Linux.
Re:Just to clarify
by
Lobo42
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· Score: 5, Insightful
But don't take my word for it, go read the reviews at gamespot.com...
Don't take my word for it...go take someone else's word for it!
Re:Just to clarify
by
Knos
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· Score: 3, Insightful
One simple definition of nationalism is the glorification of a nation above all else. Trying to impose a standard of human rights is totally orthogonal to whether it is done in a nationalistic spirit or not. Or even whether the intentions are good or not, as exemplified by the colonial politics of the european countries throughout the 19th and early 20th century. (This was all done under the guise of bringing civilisation to conquered "savages")
The sort of identification between the usa and the "forces of good" is rather nationalistic in principle, establishing the nation as equal to a moral absolute.
I guess it's hard to see when you are bathed in it, but the profusion of symbols (colors, flags) also play a big role in the infusion of the "nation" everywhere. At least it is obvious in the media.
Denial of the promised land mythology is rather interesting when juxtaposed with your last sentence. I think it's not difficult to imagine the concept of promised land without even invoking god.
Is the united states or americans more important in the eyes of the politicians? And those who answer (as it's a valid answer) that the united states and americans are one and the same, are uttering a very nationalistic idea. Denying that the nation can ever diverge or be separated from the people that constitute it.
-- . . . . . . ... . . . . . ..
may u!sh 2 sm!le at dz!z bad nn.!m!tat!ion
... we should hate ourselves and be like the Euros.
we should be like newly minted currency?
the two-toned two-Euro coin looks pretty cool though... much better than those Sacajawea dollars Moe tells me are no good at his bar.
Re:Just to clarify
by
mcc
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· Score: 2, Insightful
It is somehting that is a rather alien concept in the west these days.
Umm... so I don't know if you've been paying attention to America lately... but here at least, nationalism has been getting more and more ubiquitous for the last 20 years or so and in the last four has reached a fever pitch.
What I would call rare in America at this point is patriotism, but that's something altogether different and I don't think that's what you're talking about.
Then again I don't think nationalism has too much to do with the XBox's failure in Japan either. I would say that's more due to the game library being heavily biased toward genres that aren't often popular in Japan, the inexplicable decision to release many of the XBox's best titles in Japan either late or not at all, marketing and public relations actions (for example the scratched dvds incident) that can be described as nothing less than incompetent, and a perception among Japanese consumers that Microsoft's XBox division does not care about them.
At some point perhaps Japanese nationalism will start to be a problem for the XBox, but at the moment there are so many other reasons why the XBox is a disaster in Japan that nationalism doesn't even really get the chance to register.
Really? A pre-order is selling out more than a item that's been out for 4 years already? I'm just curious, how is the sale of Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt doing against Halo 2 preorders?
-- When modding "Informative", please make sure it both has a source and IS actually informative.
Not too surprising...
by
chrispyman
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· Score: 3, Insightful
It's really not too surprising that they presales of the Nintendo DS is beating the PS2 and Xbox in Japan. I mean even though the new slim PS2 is nice, who'd want one when they already have a working full sized PS2? You shouldn't compare new products to enhanced old ones.
Re:Not too surprising...
by
SamSim
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Um... how about people like me, who don't own a PS2 but are considering buying one, now that they're smaller, cheaper and have a large proven back catalogue of great games?
Re:Not too surprising...
by
Jace+of+Fuse!
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· Score: 4, Insightful
It does play GBA software...
But it is not a Gameboy. Nintendo has repeatedly stated that the NDS is NOT the successor to the Gameboy Advance.
Yet, even if it were it remains consistant with Nintendo's old practice of maintaining backwards compatibility. I don't even know how many Gameboy games I've had over the years, but even my original Metroid 2 works perfectly fine on my Gameboy Advance SP. Not that I care to replay it, but if I wanted to I could.
I wonder if Nintendo intends to migrate away from the Gameboy Platform or if future Gameboys will remain compatible with the entire prior line and include compatibility with the DS?
It's times like this that I wonder if Nintendo really makes long term goals for themselves or if they just kind of try shit and get lucky most of the time.
--
"Everything you know is wrong. (And stupid.)"
Moderation Totals: Wrong=2, Stupid=3, Total=5.
Re:Not too surprising...
by
tonejava
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· Score: 2, Interesting
There are rumours a new GameBoy is in the works. I can't recall the link (nintendojo.com I think) but apprently DS is a new line of portable gaming and the Gameboy will continue to Advance (no pun intended) in parallel.
Re:Not too surprising...
by
colmore
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· Score: 2, Interesting
They had a dark few years in the middle 90s though.
They were really late getting N64 out, and it turned out to be only a moderate success. And let's not forget Virtual Boy...
Had it not been for Pokemon the company might have been in serious trouble.
-- In Capitalist America, bank robs you!
Re:Interesting.
by
Sc00ter
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· Score: 2, Interesting
How did people get burnt with the purchase of a GBA?
Re:Interesting.
by
hypermike
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· Score: 2, Interesting
ID like to know as well how "people" got burned. Even if you find the games to be too expensive buy a blank GBA cartridge and basically rip all your games to it.
--
How well will it hold on?
by
TJ_Phazerhacki
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· Score: 2, Insightful
I really have to wonder what impact pre-orders have, other than hype. I mean, without even seeing the product first hand, people are putting down money on hardware that is unproven. I wish I were at Nintendo right now - This marathon of slightly-better-than-the-last game boys isn't gonna stop until the company breathes it's last.
Gotta catch 'em all.
That is, until Nintendo falls victim to the same thing that killed SEGA Systems - Rapid Release of Inferior Duplicate Consoles.
-- Physics is nothing like religion. If it was, we'd have an easier time trying to raise money!
Re:How well will it hold on?
by
Babbster
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· Score: 5, Interesting
"Slightly better"? I know they're just screenshots available now, but the graphics upgrade looks pretty serious (and before anyone hits me with "gameplay over graphics," the jump to 3D from 2D is potentially a huge difference in gameplay). In addition, they've added a second LCD with touchscreen capability. Wireless connectivity adds yet another dimension to the beast (a shock frankly with the healthy profit margin on Nintendo's cables).
You could easily argue that the various incarnations of the monochrome Gameboy, and even the Gameboy Color, were weak upgrades. But the Gameboy Advance was a huge step and the GBA SP fixed a serious problem with the original. As above, the DS is another big change.
Short version: Your fingers are typing but your brain might not be keeping up.
Re:How well will it hold on?
by
TheLittleJetson
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· Score: 4, Insightful
I mean, without even seeing the product first hand, people are putting down money on hardware that is unproven. I wish I were at Nintendo right now...
Well, the gameboy is the best selling video game console of all time. Nintendo does a pretty good job of delivering cool hardware with first-party titles that are fun for people of all ages. I don't really think pre-ordering one now would be much of a risk.
Re:How well will it hold on?
by
tonejava
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· Score: 2, Insightful
I mean, without even seeing the product first hand, people are putting down money on hardware that is unproven.
Unproven you say?
How many people out there use a mobile phone with some games that are networkable?
How many people own or have used a PDA?
How many people have played a console game and wished they could take it with them out on the road?
I don't think there is anything unproven about what nintendo are trying to sell. It is built upon ideas that are already a reality in todays world and as well as introducing a new way of gameplay - perhaps the network gaming that everyone is after , free.
i am not sure which is more impressive, the fact XBOX is getting absolutely hammered in Japan or the fact there's a way to track the fact less than 200 units were sold...
nintendo is still a very, very strong brand in japan, more so than in the states. a lot of people (like myself) grew up in japan with famicom being the first video game system they played...
One thing you are forgetting.
by
Anonymous Coward
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· Score: 5, Interesting
I think the majority of you dont know the japanese gamer and why Ps2 has sold gazillions in Japan. Everytime a new color, or special edition PS2 has come out in Japan, it has sold millions. A lot of japanese gamers own more than 1 working Ps2 just for collectors sake. Its not very uncommon over there, and it IS surprising that the new PStwo isn't doing as well.
Re:One thing you are forgetting.
by
CritterNYC
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· Score: 4, Insightful
it IS surprising that the new PStwo isn't doing as well.
1. It won't work with existing mod chips. 2. It won't work with the hard drive for Final Fantasy.
Re:XBox less than 200 units? Is that really accura
by
Glytch
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· Score: 2, Insightful
It's more a matter of there being few Xbox-exclusive titles that get translated to Japanese. In your average Japanese home, space matters. Why have an Xbox and PS2 when the PS2 already has most of the best games in one's native language?
Re:XBox less than 200 units? Is that really accura
by
be-fan
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· Score: 5, Interesting
Um, the Japanese love Americans*. The poor sales of the XBox have nothing to do with the Japanese hating Americans. The biggest problem with with the XBox is two-fold:
1) It was late to the scene, and the PS2 was *very* well established by that time;
2) It's gaming library isn't really what the Japanese like. XBox games are more like PC games and less like console games. It's heavy on sports titles, and light on console style RPGs and platformers.
*) So do people in most other countries, which Americans would realize if they actually traveled abroad. Even in Paris, people couldn't have been nicer as I tried to communicate in my heavily yankee-accented broken French:)
-- A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
Re:XBox less than 200 units? Is that really accura
by
MilenCent
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· Score: 5, Insightful
XBox is superior hardware, and good gaming library, why is it doing so poorly if not the "We hate the USA" argument, "Stupid americans".
I dispute the "good gaming library" bit. Besides Halo (and Halo 2), there is just not that much good for the system that cannot already be found for a different system. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in putting its library at a distant third place in the race. And considering that this is Japan we're talking about, where Sony, Nintendo, Sega and Squareenix *live*... no, it's not at all surprising they're doing poorly.
The hardware is good, but not that good really, I'm not aware of the XBox being a tremendous improvement over the other consoles available this wave, certainly not enough to make a difference at this point.
Not as big a deal as one may think
by
LordZardoz
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· Score: 4, Informative
While this cannot hurt the DS, it is not a huge accomplishment, to my mind. The modified and slimmed down PS2 is only going to really intrest a limited number of people.
1) Lunatics who must buy every Sony Console. 2) People replacing old / broken PS2 consoles. 3) People purchasing their first PS2.
The PS2 is on the downswing of its life cycle. Its still a popular console, but by now, pretty much everyone who wants one already has one. It would be more impressive if it was outselling all versions of the PS2 combined, since the new PS2 does not have the HD support.
END COMMUNICATION
Re:XBox less than 200 units? Is that really accura
by
Gizzmonic
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· Score: 2, Interesting
XBox is superior hardware, and good gaming library, why is it doing so poorly
Superior to what? The Xbox library is made up mostly of games that are ported from another platform (PS2 or Windows).
In Japan, apartmetn space comes at a premium, and most are unwilling to give up that space for a huge-ass system like the Xbox, without some great exclusive games. Ninja Gaiden and Halo just aren't good enough.
I'm sure cultural bigotry has a little to do with it, but so does Microsoft's cavalier attitude towards the Japanese market. It has cost them, and I doubt they'll be able to gain a foothold in Japan unless they buy out a huge developer like Konami or Capcom...
-- (-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
The US / West Doesn't Get
by
colonslashslash
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· Score: 5, Insightful
The Japanese gaming market, at least thats how it appears, I'm not a huge gamer, but you take a look at the majority of Japanese-only titles and think how well they would potentially do in the West.
Most of them would fall flat on their faces, and the same is true the other way around, at least in some part. My point is, companies like Nintendo and Sony are Japanese and they have a much better idea of what game content their market wants to see, therefore they are more succesful in producing tailored games for that market, and also find it alot easier to build up a fanbase for their hardware.
Japan as an entity seems to prefer titles like Super Magic Fun Travel Wish Yo-Yo 6 over something with lots of explosions and guns, maybe this is what companies like Microsoft are not realising?
Anyway, as I said, I may be way off, I havn't been a real gamer for years, and don't pay that much attention to it.
-- She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
not too surprising...
by
fireduck
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· Score: 4, Insightful
so the DS presales are outselling the redesigned PS2 presales. perhaps that's because everyone already owns the PS2 and would prefer to pre-order something totally new over something that's just an update? (at least among first adopters.) here's the article that has the statistics. (can't seem to find the original gamespot story that is referred to)
I love the fact that the GBA, which already has an update to it, is selling at about 3 times the rate of the XBOX. I wonder where the IQue would fit on this list...
I think a just as interesting, if not more interesting story is the fact that a Gamecube + Mario Kart bundle will be coming out this holiday season for only $99.99. That's the same price just the console is selling for now.
Re:XBox less than 200 units? Is that really accura
by
thesandtiger
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· Score: 2, Insightful
XBox is superior hardware, and good gaming library, why is it doing so poorly if not the "We hate the USA" argument, "Stupid americans".
Have you ever played a Japanese game? Are you even vaguely familiar with their culture? The XBox's library is so American it's ridiculous. You may like the games, but I assure you, your taste is going to be radically different than the average Japanese gamer.
Saying the XBox has a "good gaming library" is like saying someone who only has summer blockbusters in their DVD collection - good for some, not for all.
And, because I can't resist a little dig, aren't you pretty much proving that you are, indeed, stupid since you're unable to come up with an alternative to the "they hate us" theory?
-- Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
Even Relevant?
by
DanteBlack
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· Score: 5, Interesting
As many people have pointed out this is no surprise. But is it relevant? The DS is a new system, the slim PS2 is a new form factor. The real test will be against the Sony portable system. This here is just smoke and mirrors comparing system sales from different target markets. Pu-shaw.
-- I am invisble, and you can't see me.
Re:XBox less than 200 units? Is that really accura
by
andr0meda
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· Score: 2, Interesting
So do people in most other countries, which Americans would realize if they actually traveled abroad. Even in Paris, people couldn't have been nicer as I tried to communicate in my heavily yankee-accented broken French:)
I knew it! I knew that they still existed. Americans saying positive things about French people! You, sir, make my evening!
(no, I'm not French myself)
-- With great power comes great electricity bills.
When the XBox first came out...
by
lpangelrob2
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· Score: 4, Interesting
...Microsoft stood by Japan as the "must break into" market in order for the product launch to have really been a success... with Europe being a more secondary market.
Does anyone who's kept up with gaming news know if they've retreated from this statement? (Conceding that the Box is a decent threat to Sony stateside).
Re:Conflicting Data
by
DarkGamer20X6
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· Score: 2, Informative
Just to clarify, check your own source. The information you provided was on the wrong week. Going forward a page provides the proper information.
Here's the correct link: http://forum.pcvsconsole.com/viewthread.php ?tid=82 72&page=11
And for those who don't like to follow the links: October 11 - 17, 2004 Game Boy Advance SP - 35,280 PlayStation 2 - 22,470 GameCube - 4,368 Game Boy Advance - 633 Xbox - 173 PSone - 60 Wonder Swan Crystal - 38
To quote the Joystiq article: "Notably, it beat the Playstation 2 redesign and, of course, Microsoft's Xbox (which sold a whopping 173 units)."
So, yes, the Joystiq article was not incorrect in the number of X-Box units shipped that week. I realize that this was an easy mistake to make; please be more cautious in the future.
Re:XBox less than 200 units? Is that really accura
by
falcon5768
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· Score: 2, Insightful
a) Superior hardware, maybe, but since when has that mattered? I can name 10 systems who where superior and did worse than the xBox has.
b) Good gaming library.... not really. Its mostly ports of Nintendo and PS2 games whit the only games being "xbox only" being sports titles and first person shooters which are more in tune to the American male demographic than the rest of the world.
c) We hate America argument..... please they love Apple, Western movies, and all kinds of American products.... The xbox was a poor attempt at Microsoft trying to steal the game market away because Microsoft wants to get their hands into everything.
--
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Re:What PS2?
by
Fred+Or+Alive
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Have you seen any black Xboxes either? Everywhere I look it's the new Crystal Xbox with one controller (rather than the two controller version from earlier this year).
Rather annoying, I bought an Xbox last year, now a fancy better looking one appears to be becomming standard.;-)
-- 10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU "; 20 GOTO 10
Re:XBox less than 200 units? Is that really accura
by
lpp
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Veering wildly off topic here, but... are you serious? I mean, really, the only viewpoints I see here stateside via the media indicate a level of loathing typically reserved for child molesters and people who talk during movies toward anything American.
So you're actually saying statistically significant numbers of people in (at least) France actually like America?
And I'm actually serious here, not trolling.
Other items the DS outsold
by
The-Bus
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· Score: 4, Funny
Some other things which the DS outsold... in Japan. From WhatDsOutsold.net:
Sega 32x
Flight tickets from Rio de Janeiro to Chicago O'Hare (on Pan-Am Airlines)
Wonder Swan
"Adventures in Babysitting" Tiger hand-held game
Duke Nukem Forever III: Forever and a Day (Collector's Edition with 4-ton hourglass)
Sure, but the DVD-drive stops working after about a year. At least it has done so one my two PS2.
Yeah, I've got a couple friends with broken/glitchy PS2s as well. My PS1 started stuttering badly on audio/video streams after about 3 months of light use (and this was a model bought in '99). A friend of mine went through 4 (four) PS1s over 5 years.
I've also got a $200 Sony VCR that's maybe 3 years old, and has been used maybe 3 dozen times, that has gotten very finicky about playing movies.
I've sworn off Sony electronics. Here's hoping that my CD changer doesn't crap out in the next couple months.
If I fail I must buy another PS2 so that I can play San Andreas this weekend
And this is why my boycott won't work. Too many people are content with the idea of disposable hardware, and just accept the fact that they'll have to buy several of the same machine.
Here's a hint: if people would QUIT BUYING CRAP, maybe Sony would be forced to meet some quality standards. Or, maybe if people bought from Nintendo or Microsoft instead, developers would switch to those platforms.
Unfortunately, people KEEP BUYING CRAP.
--Jeremy
-- Jesus was a liberal
Is Microsoft used to selling 200 units?
by
amichalo
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· Score: 2, Interesting
This interesting stat is just the latest thorn in the side of Microsoft and the less than stellar results the Xbox business unit has had in unseeting the industry leading Sony and their PS family of systems.
This is important because it is said whenever discussing on-line music or video for that matter that if Microsoft wants it, it can have it. (Referring of course to the question on many people's mind as to how long Apple can retain a 70% market share in legal music download.)
But if Sony, clearly better capitalized than Netscape, can defend it's turf against the agressor that fell the industry leading Navigator browser from it's #1 market position by simply giving Internet Explorer away for free as the default for the Windows OS, can Apple, or anyone else, defend their industry from MS?
Yeah it's off topic, but CmdrTaco brought it up!
-- I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
GBA screen lighting problems
by
tepples
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· Score: 3, Informative
How did people get burnt with the purchase of a GBA?
"Burnt" in the sense of "Argh... the light... it burns". People who bought the original GBA got burnt by the lights that some people needed to see the screen. First-generation titles such as Castlevania used the low end of the luminance scale that was visible on the initial developer units but black on the production units. GBA palette values for each component range from 0 to 31; production units under normal lighting show black for values 0 through 7, but the first batches of developer units did not reflect this, and developers couldn't change the graphics code quickly enough to get the screen right. Later titles either had a brightness setting or just built their palettes to treat RGB(8, 8, 8) as black.
I'm still looking for the killer app
by
Fiz+Ocelot
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I want to get a DS, but I can't get myself to preorder one if I don't know what game will be worth it. I haven't heard of what "the" must have game is yet....so what is it? Mario 64ds looks kinda cool. Metroid doesn't ship til 05. I don't want pokemon.
Way back in the day, FFVII sold me the PS1, Mario64 sold the N64, and gameboy advance sp was great because it still played my favorite game boy games. But I still don't know what to expect on the DS, hm. I'll probably get one anyway:P
OT:Just to clarify
by
rossifer
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· Score: 5, Insightful
us in the U.S. have had it beaten over our heads that thinking America is a good country is a bad way to think
Actually, I only hear that from Bush supporters who feel that any criticism of the US government (present or historical) or US foreign policy is the same as bashing the whole country.
It's not. You don't have to be proud of everything the US has done to be a patriot. You just have to keep an eagle eye out to make sure that what you can make better you do make better. I've got a lot of problems with how native Americans were treated in the days of westward expansion. I've got a lot of problems with how the CIA has been willing to kill to support autocratic dictactors over democratically elected leaders as long as the dictator is friendly to US interests. But I still love this country.
In fact, that love is the reason why I'm so upset about the actions of the government that claims to represent me. If I didn't give a damn about the US, I probably wouldn't give a damn about what Bush does to the rest of the world.
The right wing really lives in a strange universe of their own construction. To rationalize the 50% of the country that completely disagrees with them, they've invented beliefs for the opposition that don't even make sense in their world view. Don't let me interrupt your strawman creation, but the opposition doesn't hate America, they (and I) just don't think it's being all it can be. But we're hopeful for the future.
Regards, Ross
Not too surprising.
by
tigress
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· Score: 3, Funny
The insightful posts are being outmodded by the rehashing-something-already-stated-before-and-gett ing-insightful-modded posts?
Not too surprising when you consider that the insightful posts are a new design and... errr... yeah, something like that.:)
Slashdot Mirror
I know it's often difficult to RTFA, so I'll clarify a point here: The DS did not outsell the Playstation 2. It outsold a new Playstation 2 redesign. Original Playstation 2 sales still remain above that of the Nintendo DS.
:-)
As to the X-Box, it only sold 173 units during that period. Seems to me that the Japanese hate Microsoft even more than Slashdot.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Really not that impressive. Lots of people already own PS2s and don't feel a need to upgrade.
Hardly news. The gaming population already have PS2s and don't need a cosmeticly different version.
http://twitter.com/onion2k
Really? A pre-order is selling out more than a item that's been out for 4 years already? I'm just curious, how is the sale of Super Mario Brothers/Duck Hunt doing against Halo 2 preorders?
When modding "Informative", please make sure it both has a source and IS actually informative.
It's really not too surprising that they presales of the Nintendo DS is beating the PS2 and Xbox in Japan. I mean even though the new slim PS2 is nice, who'd want one when they already have a working full sized PS2? You shouldn't compare new products to enhanced old ones.
Free Mac Mini
I'm not the only one who found this title slightly misleading
There is no replacement for displacement.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
ID like to know as well how "people" got burned. Even if you find the games to be too expensive buy a blank GBA cartridge and basically rip all your games to it.
Gotta catch 'em all.
That is, until Nintendo falls victim to the same thing that killed SEGA Systems - Rapid Release of Inferior Duplicate Consoles.
Physics is nothing like religion. If it was, we'd have an easier time trying to raise money!
nintendo is still a very, very strong brand in japan, more so than in the states. a lot of people (like myself) grew up in japan with famicom being the first video game system they played...
I think the majority of you dont know the japanese gamer and why Ps2 has sold gazillions in Japan. Everytime a new color, or special edition PS2 has come out in Japan, it has sold millions. A lot of japanese gamers own more than 1 working Ps2 just for collectors sake. Its not very uncommon over there, and it IS surprising that the new PStwo isn't doing as well.
It's more a matter of there being few Xbox-exclusive titles that get translated to Japanese. In your average Japanese home, space matters. Why have an Xbox and PS2 when the PS2 already has most of the best games in one's native language?
Um, the Japanese love Americans*. The poor sales of the XBox have nothing to do with the Japanese hating Americans. The biggest problem with with the XBox is two-fold:
:)
1) It was late to the scene, and the PS2 was *very* well established by that time;
2) It's gaming library isn't really what the Japanese like. XBox games are more like PC games and less like console games. It's heavy on sports titles, and light on console style RPGs and platformers.
*) So do people in most other countries, which Americans would realize if they actually traveled abroad. Even in Paris, people couldn't have been nicer as I tried to communicate in my heavily yankee-accented broken French
A deep unwavering belief is a sure sign you're missing something...
XBox is superior hardware, and good gaming library, why is it doing so poorly if not the "We hate the USA" argument, "Stupid americans".
I dispute the "good gaming library" bit. Besides Halo (and Halo 2), there is just not that much good for the system that cannot already be found for a different system. I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in putting its library at a distant third place in the race. And considering that this is Japan we're talking about, where Sony, Nintendo, Sega and Squareenix *live*... no, it's not at all surprising they're doing poorly.
The hardware is good, but not that good really, I'm not aware of the XBox being a tremendous improvement over the other consoles available this wave, certainly not enough to make a difference at this point.
While this cannot hurt the DS, it is not a huge accomplishment, to my mind. The modified and slimmed down PS2 is only going to really intrest a limited number of people.
1) Lunatics who must buy every Sony Console.
2) People replacing old / broken PS2 consoles.
3) People purchasing their first PS2.
The PS2 is on the downswing of its life cycle. Its still a popular console, but by now, pretty much everyone who wants one already has one. It would be more impressive if it was outselling all versions of the PS2 combined, since the new PS2 does not have the HD support.
END COMMUNICATION
XBox is superior hardware, and good gaming library, why is it doing so poorly
Superior to what? The Xbox library is made up mostly of games that are ported from another platform (PS2 or Windows).
In Japan, apartmetn space comes at a premium, and most are unwilling to give up that space for a huge-ass system like the Xbox, without some great exclusive games. Ninja Gaiden and Halo just aren't good enough.
I'm sure cultural bigotry has a little to do with it, but so does Microsoft's cavalier attitude towards the Japanese market. It has cost them, and I doubt they'll be able to gain a foothold in Japan unless they buy out a huge developer like Konami or Capcom...
(-1, Raw and Uncut is the only way to read)
Most of them would fall flat on their faces, and the same is true the other way around, at least in some part. My point is, companies like Nintendo and Sony are Japanese and they have a much better idea of what game content their market wants to see, therefore they are more succesful in producing tailored games for that market, and also find it alot easier to build up a fanbase for their hardware.
Japan as an entity seems to prefer titles like Super Magic Fun Travel Wish Yo-Yo 6 over something with lots of explosions and guns, maybe this is what companies like Microsoft are not realising?
Anyway, as I said, I may be way off, I havn't been a real gamer for years, and don't pay that much attention to it.
She's built like a steak house, but she handles like a bistro....
so the DS presales are outselling the redesigned PS2 presales. perhaps that's because everyone already owns the PS2 and would prefer to pre-order something totally new over something that's just an update? (at least among first adopters.) here's the article that has the statistics. (can't seem to find the original gamespot story that is referred to)
I love the fact that the GBA, which already has an update to it, is selling at about 3 times the rate of the XBOX. I wonder where the IQue would fit on this list...
I think a just as interesting, if not more interesting story is the fact that a Gamecube + Mario Kart bundle will be coming out this holiday season for only $99.99. That's the same price just the console is selling for now.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Have you ever played a Japanese game? Are you even vaguely familiar with their culture? The XBox's library is so American it's ridiculous. You may like the games, but I assure you, your taste is going to be radically different than the average Japanese gamer.
Saying the XBox has a "good gaming library" is like saying someone who only has summer blockbusters in their DVD collection - good for some, not for all.
And, because I can't resist a little dig, aren't you pretty much proving that you are, indeed, stupid since you're unable to come up with an alternative to the "they hate us" theory?
Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
As many people have pointed out this is no surprise. But is it relevant? The DS is a new system, the slim PS2 is a new form factor. The real test will be against the Sony portable system. This here is just smoke and mirrors comparing system sales from different target markets. Pu-shaw.
I am invisble, and you can't see me.
So do people in most other countries, which Americans would realize if they actually traveled abroad. Even in Paris, people couldn't have been nicer as I tried to communicate in my heavily yankee-accented broken French
I knew it! I knew that they still existed. Americans saying positive things about French people! You, sir, make my evening!
(no, I'm not French myself)
With great power comes great electricity bills.
Does anyone who's kept up with gaming news know if they've retreated from this statement? (Conceding that the Box is a decent threat to Sony stateside).
-Rob
Marriage doesn't have to suck!
Heeheehee. Just imagine how funny a list of all the things that outsold the xbox in Japan would be:
- sony laptops
- toshiba laptops
- lots of other brands of computers
- iPods
- Aibos
- vibrators
- etc. feel free to add more...
A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
According to http://forum.pcvsconsole.com/viewthread.php?tid=82 72&page=10 Xbox sales were somewhat higher. But it's the WWW -- don't believe half of what you read, and none of what you read.
b) Good gaming library.... not really. Its mostly ports of Nintendo and PS2 games whit the only games being "xbox only" being sports titles and first person shooters which are more in tune to the American male demographic than the rest of the world.
c) We hate America argument..... please they love Apple, Western movies, and all kinds of American products.... The xbox was a poor attempt at Microsoft trying to steal the game market away because Microsoft wants to get their hands into everything.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Have you seen any black Xboxes either? Everywhere I look it's the new Crystal Xbox with one controller (rather than the two controller version from earlier this year).
;-)
Rather annoying, I bought an Xbox last year, now a fancy better looking one appears to be becomming standard.
10 PRINT "LOOK AROUND YOU ";
20 GOTO 10
Veering wildly off topic here, but... are you serious? I mean, really, the only viewpoints I see here stateside via the media indicate a level of loathing typically reserved for child molesters and people who talk during movies toward anything American.
So you're actually saying statistically significant numbers of people in (at least) France actually like America?
And I'm actually serious here, not trolling.
Honestly...
Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.
Sure, but the DVD-drive stops working after about a year. At least it has done so one my two PS2.
Yeah, I've got a couple friends with broken/glitchy PS2s as well. My PS1 started stuttering badly on audio/video streams after about 3 months of light use (and this was a model bought in '99). A friend of mine went through 4 (four) PS1s over 5 years.
I've also got a $200 Sony VCR that's maybe 3 years old, and has been used maybe 3 dozen times, that has gotten very finicky about playing movies.
I've sworn off Sony electronics. Here's hoping that my CD changer doesn't crap out in the next couple months.
If I fail I must buy another PS2 so that I can play San Andreas this weekend
And this is why my boycott won't work. Too many people are content with the idea of disposable hardware, and just accept the fact that they'll have to buy several of the same machine.
Here's a hint: if people would QUIT BUYING CRAP, maybe Sony would be forced to meet some quality standards. Or, maybe if people bought from Nintendo or Microsoft instead, developers would switch to those platforms.
Unfortunately, people KEEP BUYING CRAP.
--Jeremy
Jesus was a liberal
This interesting stat is just the latest thorn in the side of Microsoft and the less than stellar results the Xbox business unit has had in unseeting the industry leading Sony and their PS family of systems.
This is important because it is said whenever discussing on-line music or video for that matter that if Microsoft wants it, it can have it. (Referring of course to the question on many people's mind as to how long Apple can retain a 70% market share in legal music download.)
But if Sony, clearly better capitalized than Netscape, can defend it's turf against the agressor that fell the industry leading Navigator browser from it's #1 market position by simply giving Internet Explorer away for free as the default for the Windows OS, can Apple, or anyone else, defend their industry from MS?
Yeah it's off topic, but CmdrTaco brought it up!
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
How did people get burnt with the purchase of a GBA?
"Burnt" in the sense of "Argh ... the light ... it burns". People who bought the original GBA got burnt by the lights that some people needed to see the screen. First-generation titles such as Castlevania used the low end of the luminance scale that was visible on the initial developer units but black on the production units. GBA palette values for each component range from 0 to 31; production units under normal lighting show black for values 0 through 7, but the first batches of developer units did not reflect this, and developers couldn't change the graphics code quickly enough to get the screen right. Later titles either had a brightness setting or just built their palettes to treat RGB(8, 8, 8) as black.
Way back in the day, FFVII sold me the PS1, Mario64 sold the N64, and gameboy advance sp was great because it still played my favorite game boy games. But I still don't know what to expect on the DS, hm. I'll probably get one anyway :P
us in the U.S. have had it beaten over our heads that thinking America is a good country is a bad way to think
Actually, I only hear that from Bush supporters who feel that any criticism of the US government (present or historical) or US foreign policy is the same as bashing the whole country.
It's not. You don't have to be proud of everything the US has done to be a patriot. You just have to keep an eagle eye out to make sure that what you can make better you do make better. I've got a lot of problems with how native Americans were treated in the days of westward expansion. I've got a lot of problems with how the CIA has been willing to kill to support autocratic dictactors over democratically elected leaders as long as the dictator is friendly to US interests. But I still love this country.
In fact, that love is the reason why I'm so upset about the actions of the government that claims to represent me. If I didn't give a damn about the US, I probably wouldn't give a damn about what Bush does to the rest of the world.
The right wing really lives in a strange universe of their own construction. To rationalize the 50% of the country that completely disagrees with them, they've invented beliefs for the opposition that don't even make sense in their world view. Don't let me interrupt your strawman creation, but the opposition doesn't hate America, they (and I) just don't think it's being all it can be. But we're hopeful for the future.
Regards,
Ross
The insightful posts are being outmodded by the rehashing-something-already-stated-before-and-gett ing-insightful-modded posts?
:)
Not too surprising when you consider that the insightful posts are a new design and... errr... yeah, something like that.