Daikatana and DNFs for every Half-Life
It's certainly not a good thing to release incomplete games... but I think I prefer passionate and creative people to have some business pressures.
This device convergence stuff keeps coming up over and over again. I just don't get it.
Am I the only one who doesn't care for the single device that does everything worse than dedicated devices? At this point I'm not even convinced that I would be happy with a convergence device that does everything well. What I've seen of convergence so far is that my cellphone has a calender, my iPod has a calender, my laptop has a calender, my watch has a calender and my wall has a calender. The only ones I use are my laptop calender app and my wall calender (cause it has hot babes). The only thing that feature does on my other devices is clutter up the UI.
I don't understand why the parent post isn't getting modded up because it is right on the money. Luxury features are all well and good but it isn't a replacement for core functionality.
I haven't seen Mercedes talking up in-car DVD and six speaker audio as home entertainment systems or marketing in-dash navigation systems as portable GPS units. What they market is the DRIVE because they sell CARS. Yet these kinds of points keep getting brought up in defense of the PS3. Great, it runs Linux, plays Blu-Ray, let's me shop for music... now tell me how these things enhance my gaming experience.
I think that's backwards. Product development knows exactly what they're doing. They followed the guidelines provided marketing, legal and the executives provided to develop a product. It's not their fault that those guidelines weren't well thought out or that marketing could do a better job by just keeping their mouths shut.
Legal: "We haven't settled the lawsuit yet. No rumble. -> Dev: no rumble -> Marketing: "Oh it's so last gen... blah blah"
Executive: "Use Blu-Ray because we're invested in it." -> Dev: Blu-Ray -> Marketing: "Games are like so massive it blows your mind man! BLUUUU-RAY!"
Executive: "Use Cell... because ?" -> Dev: Cell -> Executive: "IT'S LIKE THE MATRIX, BUT REAL!"
"If the price is such an issue for you, how did you think you were going to afford any games? The PS3 costs as much as another console with an accessory and a couple of games."
This statement makes a pretty bad assumption. The absolute price isn't necessarily the issue. It's the price for value that is really questionable. In my evaluation, the PS3 holds no value over an Xbox360 or a Wii, so I would consider price to be an issue even if it was $1 more. Now, for others it might hold more, even $100-200 more.
Hey, don't worry, I'm pretty sure they have that stuff in the Canadian north as well. We'll need a pretext for the invasion though. Has Celine Dion been classified as a WMD yet?
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, LoadStar, and WingNuts... bring those back too... a rail shooter on the Wii probably works quite well (I haven't tried Rayman yet).
FYI Gears of War isn't played from first person perspective. I also vaguely recall someone from Epic saying it was a relatively cheap game to create.
FYI 1) There are Ranked Matches... which I'm pretty sure qualifies as Ranked Online Play.
2) From what I've played the weapons are incredibly well-balanced. I find myself grabbing a weapon if I see one but never hunting specifically for a weapon or camping any weapon spawn.
So... I'm really not sure what you're trying to say anymore. There's something in there about Gears doing nothing new and how Ranked Online Play and Balanced Weapons are all you need? Apparently those are new and innovative qualities for FPS games?
Hmm... the logical conclusion is the MPAA needs site security in people's homes so they can prevent access to the hardware. They're probably working on it right now. Maybe some sort of USB powered taser would work?
Someone else already said that what you described indicates a management problem rather than an issue specifically to do with offshoring. I would agree with that. I think the scenario you described could have happened even if you replace that offshore team with a contracted domestic team. Either the requirements weren't adequately communicated to the contractor or they didn't have the expertise to perform the job in the first place. It is still up to the company you were working for to meet its obligations to customers and they should have accounted (made contingencies) for the uncertainty of an untested contractor.
Staffing up the local office to handle the project is easier to manage but not necessarily better business.
I don't know how much of a smartphone it really is. It might end up being a device with a limited first-party set of apps. We will have to wait and see. Personally, I don't think it is in the same niche as the Blackberry. Reports will probably want to stick with the ugly keypad to report in from the field.
The iPhone seems like something that could gain wide adoption like the iPod. Just imagine every person on the bus with an iPhone instead of an iPod. Email and internet access on a mobile device should be for everybody not just for the few business users. To me, the iPhone is the portable convergence device we've been promised for a long long time. The 'Oragami' should have been something like this. I think the biggest challenge for Apple is that they need a cellular service provider to catch up to their way of thinking. We have the vision represented in a device from Apple, now we need a cellular provider to realize that data access should be a standard part of every cellphone plan just like calls and it shouldn't cost an arm and a leg. I'm sure the iPhone will enjoy some success but whether or not it becomes a revolutionary device depends on others... and that is quite unfortunate for Apple.
Why does it matter how 'high end' the hardware your game is running on is? Are PC games are just glorified benchmark demos? This is exactly the reason why I gave up on PC games. I don't want game developers deciding when I should upgrade my PC. Is that new graphics card going to make my wordprocessor process words faster?
Two of the real strengths of PC gaming are online play and user created content. We are going to start seeing that on consoles this generation. That's a far bigger threat to PC gaming than Vista.
Don't know about 'FLY of the shelves', the 1G iPod was pretty pricey and didn't 'FLY of the shelves'.
Oddly, I don't think the iPhone is in the same segment as the Blackberry. I have absolutely zero desire to get a Blackberry but I want one of these iPhones right now. Also, I think the keypad on the Blackberry is very valuable to journalists and whatnot for filling reports from the field so the iPhone probably isn't right for that application.
The iPhone seems like the device that delivers on the promises of convergence. We have heard so much about convergence and finally here is a convergence device I can buy into. The problem now is the cellular providers. We have the device now we need the network providers to realize that they would be far better served by reducing fees and letting cellular data access go mainstream. Imagine if every teenager with an iPod now, had one of these in the near future...
What are you talking about... they have plenty of substance. They even teach valuable life skills like how to click really fast through dialog and how to juggle school, work and multiple girl friends.
I am inclined to agree with you about sex in media. It's related to the general problem that ratings are arbitrary. It seems pretty silly that a movie can get a lower age rating by reducing the number of swear words. That's why parental participation is still the best way to deal with sex and violence in media. However, that might not be a realistic solution for all families. It's certainly not a clear cut issue.
I have to agree that there is no "iPod Generation" and, even accepting that there is one, it is still a very poor label for the demographic they picked. I'm a member of this 18-25 group and I remember the end of the Cold War. I remember the growth of computers and technology in our everyday lives. My generation is defined by transition. It is not by some product that was only created 5 years ago (the same year 9/11 happened but of course that's far less of a defining moment than the launch of the iPod earlier in the year).
I have to respond to this because it's a criticism of the iPod that comes up over and over again and it really isn't justified. I'm the kind of person who reads up extensively on a product before buying anything. When I got my 3rd gen iPod I looked at several alternatives and at the time the iPod was quite clearly the best product of its type.
A while after that, Apple's competitors released a slew of iPod-killer products and I suffered quite a bit from buyers remorse. There were all these players from Creative and iRiver that had superior features and cost less. I pretty much felt that anyone who bought an iPod at that point was a tool... until I got my hands on an iRiver HP20 or whatever. Boy did the interface on that thing ever suck; it was just pathetic how many controls were on the thing just so you could browse a few menus. I'm sure it was a great MP3 player for some people. It had FM tuner, better audio quality, manage your own music instead of using iTunes, etc. I have tried a few other hd players as well, Rio, Creative, etc. and they all had areas that were weaker than iPods and areas that were stronger.
I guess my point is don't dismiss the iPod as the inferior but trendy product. The iPod's popularity is deserved. It has the best controls and interface in the market and for the vast majority of people it is a better product. It may not be the best product for you but that doesn't make you any more savvy.
While looking for a Wii, I overheard some Best Buy employees saying that they were selling a lot of Xbox360s simply because parents looking for a console for their kids can't get their hands on anything else. I don't know that people are rabid for the 360 but it is pretty good product and it seems a significant group of consumers are simply looking for any next-gen console rather than a specific one.
Personally, I bought a Xbox360 last couple of months and I'm getting a Wii (hopefully this week).
This doesn't particularly sound like a social science study. It sounds like they were examining the neurological effects of playing a video game. It's a little hard to criticize a study for its methodology when we have no real idea of what their methodology was.
I agree that average games sold per console sold would be a better metric. However, that's partially clouded by what the early buyers are getting the console for. It seems that a larger percentage of PS3 buyers are reselling them. So that metric is quite likely tainted against PS3.
I would rather see a more in depth examination of the top 3~5 launch titles for the different consoles. It's only the best and most unique games for any console I am interested in anyways. I think ultimately that's what most people judge consoles on rather than some abstract 'average' game construct.
If you actually bothered reading my comment you will see that all I was saying is that neither math nor religion looks to empirical evidence for truth. It's rather hypocritical to resort to ridicule in the same post you claim religion is illogical.
This is almost right but maybe not worded so well. It's more like "Science requires empirical evidence to show something is true but empirical evidence is not the only way to show something is true."
Just think of mathematics. When asked to present mathematical proof you wouldn't go looking for empirical evidence (well you might but you won't get a very good mark). It's somewhat similar in religion.
'God exists' is an underlying assumption in religion. Truths in religion are based fundamental assumptions + scripture + canon.
Science has assumptions as well: We can know our world. We can gain knowledge of the world empirically. etc.
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Daikatana and DNFs for every Half-Life It's certainly not a good thing to release incomplete games... but I think I prefer passionate and creative people to have some business pressures.
Umm... automotive engineers are blue-collar folk now?
This device convergence stuff keeps coming up over and over again. I just don't get it.
Am I the only one who doesn't care for the single device that does everything worse than dedicated devices? At this point I'm not even convinced that I would be happy with a convergence device that does everything well. What I've seen of convergence so far is that my cellphone has a calender, my iPod has a calender, my laptop has a calender, my watch has a calender and my wall has a calender. The only ones I use are my laptop calender app and my wall calender (cause it has hot babes). The only thing that feature does on my other devices is clutter up the UI.
I don't understand why the parent post isn't getting modded up because it is right on the money. Luxury features are all well and good but it isn't a replacement for core functionality.
I haven't seen Mercedes talking up in-car DVD and six speaker audio as home entertainment systems or marketing in-dash navigation systems as portable GPS units. What they market is the DRIVE because they sell CARS. Yet these kinds of points keep getting brought up in defense of the PS3. Great, it runs Linux, plays Blu-Ray, let's me shop for music... now tell me how these things enhance my gaming experience.
Sony is leveraging synergies. :p
"If the price is such an issue for you, how did you think you were going to afford any games? The PS3 costs as much as another console with an accessory and a couple of games." This statement makes a pretty bad assumption. The absolute price isn't necessarily the issue. It's the price for value that is really questionable. In my evaluation, the PS3 holds no value over an Xbox360 or a Wii, so I would consider price to be an issue even if it was $1 more. Now, for others it might hold more, even $100-200 more.
Hey, don't worry, I'm pretty sure they have that stuff in the Canadian north as well. We'll need a pretext for the invasion though. Has Celine Dion been classified as a WMD yet?
FYI: Those are all games by Rocket Science, the studio that made Rocket Jockey.
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, LoadStar, and WingNuts... bring those back too... a rail shooter on the Wii probably works quite well (I haven't tried Rayman yet).
FYI Gears of War isn't played from first person perspective. I also vaguely recall someone from Epic saying it was a relatively cheap game to create.
FYI 1) There are Ranked Matches... which I'm pretty sure qualifies as Ranked Online Play.
2) From what I've played the weapons are incredibly well-balanced. I find myself grabbing a weapon if I see one but never hunting specifically for a weapon or camping any weapon spawn.
So... I'm really not sure what you're trying to say anymore. There's something in there about Gears doing nothing new and how Ranked Online Play and Balanced Weapons are all you need? Apparently those are new and innovative qualities for FPS games?
Hmm... the logical conclusion is the MPAA needs site security in people's homes so they can prevent access to the hardware. They're probably working on it right now. Maybe some sort of USB powered taser would work?
Someone else already said that what you described indicates a management problem rather than an issue specifically to do with offshoring. I would agree with that. I think the scenario you described could have happened even if you replace that offshore team with a contracted domestic team. Either the requirements weren't adequately communicated to the contractor or they didn't have the expertise to perform the job in the first place. It is still up to the company you were working for to meet its obligations to customers and they should have accounted (made contingencies) for the uncertainty of an untested contractor. Staffing up the local office to handle the project is easier to manage but not necessarily better business.
I don't know how much of a smartphone it really is. It might end up being a device with a limited first-party set of apps. We will have to wait and see. Personally, I don't think it is in the same niche as the Blackberry. Reports will probably want to stick with the ugly keypad to report in from the field. The iPhone seems like something that could gain wide adoption like the iPod. Just imagine every person on the bus with an iPhone instead of an iPod. Email and internet access on a mobile device should be for everybody not just for the few business users. To me, the iPhone is the portable convergence device we've been promised for a long long time. The 'Oragami' should have been something like this. I think the biggest challenge for Apple is that they need a cellular service provider to catch up to their way of thinking. We have the vision represented in a device from Apple, now we need a cellular provider to realize that data access should be a standard part of every cellphone plan just like calls and it shouldn't cost an arm and a leg. I'm sure the iPhone will enjoy some success but whether or not it becomes a revolutionary device depends on others... and that is quite unfortunate for Apple.
Why does it matter how 'high end' the hardware your game is running on is? Are PC games are just glorified benchmark demos? This is exactly the reason why I gave up on PC games. I don't want game developers deciding when I should upgrade my PC. Is that new graphics card going to make my wordprocessor process words faster?
Two of the real strengths of PC gaming are online play and user created content. We are going to start seeing that on consoles this generation. That's a far bigger threat to PC gaming than Vista.
Don't know about 'FLY of the shelves', the 1G iPod was pretty pricey and didn't 'FLY of the shelves'. Oddly, I don't think the iPhone is in the same segment as the Blackberry. I have absolutely zero desire to get a Blackberry but I want one of these iPhones right now. Also, I think the keypad on the Blackberry is very valuable to journalists and whatnot for filling reports from the field so the iPhone probably isn't right for that application. The iPhone seems like the device that delivers on the promises of convergence. We have heard so much about convergence and finally here is a convergence device I can buy into. The problem now is the cellular providers. We have the device now we need the network providers to realize that they would be far better served by reducing fees and letting cellular data access go mainstream. Imagine if every teenager with an iPod now, had one of these in the near future...
What are you talking about... they have plenty of substance. They even teach valuable life skills like how to click really fast through dialog and how to juggle school, work and multiple girl friends.
I am inclined to agree with you about sex in media. It's related to the general problem that ratings are arbitrary. It seems pretty silly that a movie can get a lower age rating by reducing the number of swear words. That's why parental participation is still the best way to deal with sex and violence in media. However, that might not be a realistic solution for all families. It's certainly not a clear cut issue.
I have to agree that there is no "iPod Generation" and, even accepting that there is one, it is still a very poor label for the demographic they picked. I'm a member of this 18-25 group and I remember the end of the Cold War. I remember the growth of computers and technology in our everyday lives. My generation is defined by transition. It is not by some product that was only created 5 years ago (the same year 9/11 happened but of course that's far less of a defining moment than the launch of the iPod earlier in the year).
I have to respond to this because it's a criticism of the iPod that comes up over and over again and it really isn't justified. I'm the kind of person who reads up extensively on a product before buying anything. When I got my 3rd gen iPod I looked at several alternatives and at the time the iPod was quite clearly the best product of its type.
A while after that, Apple's competitors released a slew of iPod-killer products and I suffered quite a bit from buyers remorse. There were all these players from Creative and iRiver that had superior features and cost less. I pretty much felt that anyone who bought an iPod at that point was a tool... until I got my hands on an iRiver HP20 or whatever. Boy did the interface on that thing ever suck; it was just pathetic how many controls were on the thing just so you could browse a few menus. I'm sure it was a great MP3 player for some people. It had FM tuner, better audio quality, manage your own music instead of using iTunes, etc. I have tried a few other hd players as well, Rio, Creative, etc. and they all had areas that were weaker than iPods and areas that were stronger.
I guess my point is don't dismiss the iPod as the inferior but trendy product. The iPod's popularity is deserved. It has the best controls and interface in the market and for the vast majority of people it is a better product. It may not be the best product for you but that doesn't make you any more savvy.
While looking for a Wii, I overheard some Best Buy employees saying that they were selling a lot of Xbox360s simply because parents looking for a console for their kids can't get their hands on anything else. I don't know that people are rabid for the 360 but it is pretty good product and it seems a significant group of consumers are simply looking for any next-gen console rather than a specific one.
Personally, I bought a Xbox360 last couple of months and I'm getting a Wii (hopefully this week).
This doesn't particularly sound like a social science study. It sounds like they were examining the neurological effects of playing a video game. It's a little hard to criticize a study for its methodology when we have no real idea of what their methodology was.
I agree that average games sold per console sold would be a better metric. However, that's partially clouded by what the early buyers are getting the console for. It seems that a larger percentage of PS3 buyers are reselling them. So that metric is quite likely tainted against PS3.
I would rather see a more in depth examination of the top 3~5 launch titles for the different consoles. It's only the best and most unique games for any console I am interested in anyways. I think ultimately that's what most people judge consoles on rather than some abstract 'average' game construct.
If you actually bothered reading my comment you will see that all I was saying is that neither math nor religion looks to empirical evidence for truth. It's rather hypocritical to resort to ridicule in the same post you claim religion is illogical.
This is almost right but maybe not worded so well. It's more like "Science requires empirical evidence to show something is true but empirical evidence is not the only way to show something is true." Just think of mathematics. When asked to present mathematical proof you wouldn't go looking for empirical evidence (well you might but you won't get a very good mark). It's somewhat similar in religion. 'God exists' is an underlying assumption in religion. Truths in religion are based fundamental assumptions + scripture + canon. Science has assumptions as well: We can know our world. We can gain knowledge of the world empirically. etc.