Slashdot Mirror
The Next-Gen Odd Couple
1up.com is running a lengthy piece talking to Microsoft VP J. Allard and Sony Computers of America President Kaz Hirai about what exactly the 'next generation' of consoles are about. The article is informative and varied, with talk about Xbox Live, the launch of the Xbox and PSX, and what past efforts from Sony and Microsoft will mean as the newest front in the console war heats up. From the article: "OPM: What are the benefits of being first to market, much like the Dreamcast was? What are the pitfalls? JA: Good question. I'd say one of the pitfalls from a competitive point of view is that you don't know what the other guys are doing, and to be frank, the guys over at Sony have been very good at not telling anyone what they're doing. It's tough to tell where they're going with the PS3. The other tough thing is that you're under the microscope [when you're first]. [Sony] shows two movies and a product that you can't touch behind a piece of glass, and that's what you get to write about on them."
I'm just wondering what the general opinion on this is - I got the feeling that the interviewer asked J. Allard a lot of easy questions, almost putting words in his mouth for most of them. By contrast, Kaz Hirai seemed to get quite a grilling on Sony's rather more megar online offerings, among other things. PlayStation magazine certainly couldn't be accused of pro-PS bias anyway.
It looked like a Playstation and a Nintendo machine had mated. And the controller was terrible.
"Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
You talk a lot about the "sense of immersion".
About knowing what a battle is about.
So yeah, Medal of Honor and Call of Duty look like REAL battles alright. Are they re-enactments of 18-year olds shitting their pants, barely out from their mother's arms and into an indiscriminate rain of bullets coming from other 16-to-18 year olds? Being bombed upon by your own army to force you to go forward? And any other ACTUAL tactics used in both world wars? No, eh? But hey, look at the constant glorification of slaying your fellow man. Actually, I'm pretty harsh, because usually the devs throw in a touching scene in which a rookie pulls out a photograph of his girlfriend, and swears he will marry her after this war is over. Yeah, that's pretty original, too.
But it certainly looks badass. Throw grenade this, dodge that. "Immersion", my ass. LOL WAR HAS NEVER BEEN SO COOL!
Enjoy your mindless drone brainwashing, and sign up for the army today, my young lad! A golden future awaits you!
I'm not a "let's censor violent games" drone, it's just that asshats who speak about "immersion" in a WARGAME, but know as much about the army as Rambo told them make me laugh.
tl;dr : Can't you use a sports game to exemplify the immersion effect? At least you'll know what the fuck you're talking about, and you'll have less nightmares.