I remember when Seinfeld created the concept of product placement on TV - he would open up the cabinet and pull out a box of Cheerios and eat some. It's much more realistic...it's something we would do. We wouldn't pull out a box of Churrios. If done right, in-game advertizing can actually make a game more realistic...if, for example, you pass by a movie theater and see real movies advertized, or go up to a vending machine and see real products, or drive past a McDonalds. So I'm all for it, if they do it right.
I honestly think that it's a little bit of both. Whenever I think of this issue I think of some of the poorer African-American people that live in my area (in DC). At some point in the not-to-distant past, there really weren't opportunities available to African-Americans. And while they could get jobs as janitors and the like, there was no real opportunity to rise above the poverty line because pay was so low.
If you're in a situation like that, what do you tell your kids about why you're poor? "The Man kept me down." And it was TRUE.
Now we fast forward to quite a few years later, and there are still tons of poor African-Americans living in DC. And while some strive to become more wealthy and get educated, others are content to not get jobs and stay poor. Ask them why, and they'll tell you there aren't opportunities out there. Something that was probably passed on to them from previous generations. And while it was once true, now it's just an excuse. It's not too hard to get a job, prove yourself a hard worker, and get a community college education on the side, as was mentioned in another post. Are these people just lazy? Probably. But at one point, the lack of opportunity was also true.
It reminds me of an article I read in the newspaper a few weeks back about a poor guy in the south who couldn't get a job no matter how hard he tried, and he had nothing but the clothes on his back. Then the reporter followed him as he got a job interview and then a job at a garage. It didn't pay that much, but it was enough to get him on his feet. Then the reporter went back to the garage later and the manager said that the guy had never shown up and they had to give the job to someone else. Then the reporter interviewed the guy again, and the guy said there were no opportunities out there. Hmm.
It's probably a little of both.
Although, I've heard bad things about the Intercooler. I've read several experiences around forums that say that the intercooler actually seems to cause it to lock up more often...I don't see how that's possible, but it's a known problem.
I didn't see this mentioned yet, but Microsoft claims that this will be full-HD content. I think I'll probably DL a movie or two, just to see how it will look on my LCD before buying the HD-DVD add-on for the 360. It has the ability to sell as a test...but I don't see it becoming too popular beyond that. If you can't take it off of the Hard Drive, then you'll have to constantly be deleting files to make room. Microsoft has said that you don't have to pay for a file twice, so if you pay once you can DL it again later, but it's a real waste of bandwidth to DL like that.
Just another reason why I don't usually play PC-based games anymore. I'm tired of all the headaches. This is one of the main ones, obviously, but there are others too.
1. The keyboard and mouse control scheme. I've never found it intuitive, just overly complicated. Keep in mind that I'm biased, though, since I'm lefthanded, and I've never been able to get used to remapping controls - when is using A and D for left and right ever convenient? Of course, there's the added issue that, many times, you have to take your finger off of the trigger to perform a complicated movement, like a running jump...I've NEVER been comforatble with that, especially in an FPS. I resorted to using a XBOX360 controller to play FEAR, I wasn't getting anywhere without it (and I didn't buy that one, I borrowed it from a friend).
2. hardware compatability. Computers are constantly upgraded, and it's impossible to stay on the cutting edge of the changes (unless, of course, you work in the industry, have no life, AND have TONS of disposable cash). It seems like every time there's a game out that I want to play, it requires that I get a new video card or processor. I don't have the time or the money to keep up with that. When I buy a console, it's good to go for 3 or 4 years, at least. You're lucky if you get a year out of a computer.
3. console porting. 9 times out of 10, any really popular game ends up on consoles anyways (and no, I don't include WoW, I'm not into that sort of thing - if I want to have friends, I'll go out and make real ones, thank you). And then, you don't have to worry about all this stuff. Take Half-Life 2, for example. It's been ported, was very successful, and didn't have that annoying Steam crap loaded (that's right, despite the article, I HATE being prompted to register for an online service EVERY TIME I boot up a game - and while it doesn't apply to me, thanks for assuming everyone has a high-speed connection on their gaming setup!). Add that to the fact that few console games are ever legally ported to PC.
Now, I do make exceptions for strategy games like AoE...although 3 won't run on my PC with any regularity yet...
You know, for the most part, I actually LIKE product placement, and I usually don't think of it as an ad. The best recent example I can think of is in Mission: Impossible 3, when Tom Cruise is called to meet his handler in a 7-11, and is told to pick up a Kodak instant camera. It just makes the film feel like it's taking place in the real world. Now, I didn't feel any urge to go out amd buy from 7-11 or Kodak, though.
Even the very blatant product placement in Speed makes it feel more real, although more than one instance of the same product can be a little disarming.
Neilsen ratings, in my impression, are being used to determine advertising, both in terms of pricing and demographics. How does that relate to people who watch shows on their ipod, off of Bittorrent, or on a DVR? We don't watch the commercials anyway. So we're not really part of the demographics. The group that advertisers should be worried about is the people who actually sit down in front of the TV in realtime and watch it the old-fashioned way, which is what Neilsen has been rating all along.
Now, that doesn't help the networks see how many people are interested in the show. But, as noted earlier, seeders and leechers on popular BT sites, as well as iPod downloads, DO indicate that, so that's where they should be looking for data, not at the Neilsens.
That begs the question, though, what does that mean for the future? There's no way that advertisers can MAKE us watch ads. There will always be a Bittorrent or something like that out there that takes the ads out for us. So, as more and more people stop watching TV the old-fashioned way, does that mean that there will be less shows on TV, just because there's no advertisers willing to market to such a small audience, no matter the show? Seems like a scary idea.
that more lefty gamers aren't concerned about the Wiimote control system in general. I mean, sure, the 'mote itself is ambidextrous, but as soon as you add the nunchuck it becomes almost detrimentally right-handed.
Think about it. When a lefty picks up a remote control, he picks it up with his LEFT hand (at least I do). Now look at video games. We've all conditioned ourselves to control an onscreen character's movements with our LEFT hand, as is the standard. So we're used to having a remote in our left AND a controller in our left. So whichever hand you hold the remote in, the nunchuck is going to make for an extreme learning curve.
Personally, I'm planning on trying to learn to play the system as if I was right-handed. That way, it won't screw up my gaming when I switch to a 360 or PS3 controller.
It's been noted before here, but I still find it interesting how many things in this world just don't work right for lefties. While there are obvious ones, like mice and scissors, there's other not-so-obvious ones too. I for one can't get an iron to work comfortably. Now, you're probably thinking that an iron and ironing board is ambidextrous. And looking at it, I'd agree. But for some reason, I just can't use it comfortably in the left hand. Can't tell you why, it just doesn't work.
Being left-handed is a big plus though when it comes to learning to be ambidextrous. I trained myself to be ambidextrous in baseball. So now, when my left arm gets tired from throwing, I just switch gloves, and voila! a completely fresh arm.
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I remember when Seinfeld created the concept of product placement on TV - he would open up the cabinet and pull out a box of Cheerios and eat some. It's much more realistic...it's something we would do. We wouldn't pull out a box of Churrios. If done right, in-game advertizing can actually make a game more realistic...if, for example, you pass by a movie theater and see real movies advertized, or go up to a vending machine and see real products, or drive past a McDonalds. So I'm all for it, if they do it right.
I honestly think that it's a little bit of both. Whenever I think of this issue I think of some of the poorer African-American people that live in my area (in DC). At some point in the not-to-distant past, there really weren't opportunities available to African-Americans. And while they could get jobs as janitors and the like, there was no real opportunity to rise above the poverty line because pay was so low. If you're in a situation like that, what do you tell your kids about why you're poor? "The Man kept me down." And it was TRUE. Now we fast forward to quite a few years later, and there are still tons of poor African-Americans living in DC. And while some strive to become more wealthy and get educated, others are content to not get jobs and stay poor. Ask them why, and they'll tell you there aren't opportunities out there. Something that was probably passed on to them from previous generations. And while it was once true, now it's just an excuse. It's not too hard to get a job, prove yourself a hard worker, and get a community college education on the side, as was mentioned in another post. Are these people just lazy? Probably. But at one point, the lack of opportunity was also true. It reminds me of an article I read in the newspaper a few weeks back about a poor guy in the south who couldn't get a job no matter how hard he tried, and he had nothing but the clothes on his back. Then the reporter followed him as he got a job interview and then a job at a garage. It didn't pay that much, but it was enough to get him on his feet. Then the reporter went back to the garage later and the manager said that the guy had never shown up and they had to give the job to someone else. Then the reporter interviewed the guy again, and the guy said there were no opportunities out there. Hmm. It's probably a little of both.
Although, I've heard bad things about the Intercooler. I've read several experiences around forums that say that the intercooler actually seems to cause it to lock up more often...I don't see how that's possible, but it's a known problem.
I didn't see this mentioned yet, but Microsoft claims that this will be full-HD content. I think I'll probably DL a movie or two, just to see how it will look on my LCD before buying the HD-DVD add-on for the 360. It has the ability to sell as a test...but I don't see it becoming too popular beyond that. If you can't take it off of the Hard Drive, then you'll have to constantly be deleting files to make room. Microsoft has said that you don't have to pay for a file twice, so if you pay once you can DL it again later, but it's a real waste of bandwidth to DL like that.
Just another reason why I don't usually play PC-based games anymore. I'm tired of all the headaches. This is one of the main ones, obviously, but there are others too.
1. The keyboard and mouse control scheme. I've never found it intuitive, just overly complicated. Keep in mind that I'm biased, though, since I'm lefthanded, and I've never been able to get used to remapping controls - when is using A and D for left and right ever convenient? Of course, there's the added issue that, many times, you have to take your finger off of the trigger to perform a complicated movement, like a running jump...I've NEVER been comforatble with that, especially in an FPS. I resorted to using a XBOX360 controller to play FEAR, I wasn't getting anywhere without it (and I didn't buy that one, I borrowed it from a friend).
2. hardware compatability. Computers are constantly upgraded, and it's impossible to stay on the cutting edge of the changes (unless, of course, you work in the industry, have no life, AND have TONS of disposable cash). It seems like every time there's a game out that I want to play, it requires that I get a new video card or processor. I don't have the time or the money to keep up with that. When I buy a console, it's good to go for 3 or 4 years, at least. You're lucky if you get a year out of a computer.
3. console porting. 9 times out of 10, any really popular game ends up on consoles anyways (and no, I don't include WoW, I'm not into that sort of thing - if I want to have friends, I'll go out and make real ones, thank you). And then, you don't have to worry about all this stuff. Take Half-Life 2, for example. It's been ported, was very successful, and didn't have that annoying Steam crap loaded (that's right, despite the article, I HATE being prompted to register for an online service EVERY TIME I boot up a game - and while it doesn't apply to me, thanks for assuming everyone has a high-speed connection on their gaming setup!). Add that to the fact that few console games are ever legally ported to PC.
Now, I do make exceptions for strategy games like AoE...although 3 won't run on my PC with any regularity yet...
You know, for the most part, I actually LIKE product placement, and I usually don't think of it as an ad. The best recent example I can think of is in Mission: Impossible 3, when Tom Cruise is called to meet his handler in a 7-11, and is told to pick up a Kodak instant camera. It just makes the film feel like it's taking place in the real world. Now, I didn't feel any urge to go out amd buy from 7-11 or Kodak, though. Even the very blatant product placement in Speed makes it feel more real, although more than one instance of the same product can be a little disarming.
Neilsen ratings, in my impression, are being used to determine advertising, both in terms of pricing and demographics. How does that relate to people who watch shows on their ipod, off of Bittorrent, or on a DVR? We don't watch the commercials anyway. So we're not really part of the demographics. The group that advertisers should be worried about is the people who actually sit down in front of the TV in realtime and watch it the old-fashioned way, which is what Neilsen has been rating all along. Now, that doesn't help the networks see how many people are interested in the show. But, as noted earlier, seeders and leechers on popular BT sites, as well as iPod downloads, DO indicate that, so that's where they should be looking for data, not at the Neilsens. That begs the question, though, what does that mean for the future? There's no way that advertisers can MAKE us watch ads. There will always be a Bittorrent or something like that out there that takes the ads out for us. So, as more and more people stop watching TV the old-fashioned way, does that mean that there will be less shows on TV, just because there's no advertisers willing to market to such a small audience, no matter the show? Seems like a scary idea.
that more lefty gamers aren't concerned about the Wiimote control system in general. I mean, sure, the 'mote itself is ambidextrous, but as soon as you add the nunchuck it becomes almost detrimentally right-handed. Think about it. When a lefty picks up a remote control, he picks it up with his LEFT hand (at least I do). Now look at video games. We've all conditioned ourselves to control an onscreen character's movements with our LEFT hand, as is the standard. So we're used to having a remote in our left AND a controller in our left. So whichever hand you hold the remote in, the nunchuck is going to make for an extreme learning curve. Personally, I'm planning on trying to learn to play the system as if I was right-handed. That way, it won't screw up my gaming when I switch to a 360 or PS3 controller. It's been noted before here, but I still find it interesting how many things in this world just don't work right for lefties. While there are obvious ones, like mice and scissors, there's other not-so-obvious ones too. I for one can't get an iron to work comfortably. Now, you're probably thinking that an iron and ironing board is ambidextrous. And looking at it, I'd agree. But for some reason, I just can't use it comfortably in the left hand. Can't tell you why, it just doesn't work. Being left-handed is a big plus though when it comes to learning to be ambidextrous. I trained myself to be ambidextrous in baseball. So now, when my left arm gets tired from throwing, I just switch gloves, and voila! a completely fresh arm.