Except people buy games at their favorite electronics store. People buy Wiis whereever they manage to find them. So some stores are not going to sell wii games to wii console buyers.
technically, if you're in the US, you aren't supposed to circumvent any sort of copy protection, such as that DVDs often have. Ethically, obviously you've done nothing wrong. I love that I've got a bunch of DVDs on a 1TB HDD that streams to all my laptops, my PSP, my PS3, my XBOX. It's just freaking cool. I find it a hassle to rip the stuff, but it's just cool to be able to watch a movie instantly, from anywhere in the house.
Does Vista get in the way of doing that? No it does not, except that I assume it's less efficient. I can't rip a bluray on XP either (and that's too much data to stream or store anyway)
you have a right to your backups and to enjoy your media as you want it. It's total BS that the laws are as they are. And yeah, Vista is going down the path of DRM products I won't want to buy, and that sucks. Hopefully you and I keep buying DVDs that we can rip, and the Studios realize that the better biz model is to allow that.
Whether the music industry wants the DRM or not, they pay more for better DRM. They release more stuff under better DRM. Some content is not being released digitally right now because of paranoid owners who are unsatisfied about piracy. It's actually a big deal, and it's been a big deal for a long time.
I don't pay for DRM stuff. So it just doesn't affect me. I don't like Vista, and I totally agree with you that it's not a smart OS to use. But what specifically is Vista keeping me from doing that I actually would intend to do?
I think the old version of DNF would make a terrific playstation 2 game, Nintendo DS game, cell phone game, web app, or just plain old game for crappy computers.
The graphics basically look like something on a PS2, and the game already has voice talent, etc. Why not?
I always thought, due to the title "forever", that this game would never be released and all the trailers, even the awesome one, were jokes. Who knows? Perhaps there's just some bizarre legal problem that got in the way. Perhaps 3D Realms really did screw up.
But that old game, if they could get it working in three months, would obviously be worth the investment. If anything, they could just open source the entire project and let some geeks make a great game.
Anyway, you're right, at $20 bucks a pop, this old game would sell 1 million copies, no problem.
You have failed to demonstrate an actual harm. What precisely is it that Vista does that you are mad about? "impose that DRM on me" sounds like you don't actually know what you can't do on Vista that you would want to do.
I don't use WMP11, so I don't care that the IBX codes are new or whatever. I rip DVDs and TV shows that I believe I am entitled to archive, and I don't see that Vista is going to get in the way. Please follow through on your promise and tell me what your problem is.
I don't like Vista because of the bloat and the inefficiency, etc. Also because Vista offers zero security gains to me, since I have no trouble running XP safely. In short, Vista is for dumbasses who want to blow money on excess computing power to support glassy menus. The DRM thing is a canard, in my opinion.
DRM has more to do with the content producer. By permitted more restrictive DRM, Vista is probably just enabling more content to be sold over the internet. I just won't buy what I don't want. Is this not your plan too?
In other words, if you disagree with a valid criticism because you can think of a single example where that criticism did not apply, you consider moderating that valid criticism "troll."
I don't think the US government would infringe on speech in the way the ggp suggested, but he's right to point out the possibility and the US gov has made many mistakes (not to mention to the rest of the world, which in my view often has a worse record). Governments are run by bureaucrats who screw up all the time.
It certainly is fair to ask how far is it appropriate for the Army to go making domestic media. I don't want my tax dollars fueling propaganda, but I do want smart recruiting for our military. In short, there are many disturbing possibilities associated with this, and like all disturbing things, there has to be a first time. There's an insightful person who realized a valid but novel risk, and there's always some moron to crawl out of the woodwork to accuse the insightful one of being chicken little. If you have nothing to say except "it didn't happen yet" and "I would censor you if I had the power", then you're more the troll than he. You're obviously not adding much to the discussion.
"was Metroid Prime 3 on the Wii really as good as a mouse-and-keyboard PC FPS?" This is an absurd question. The wiimote is twitchy as all get out. I know a bunch of people love Metroid 3, so I have to acknowledge that, even if I hate it, it's a successful and good product, but man that game is just not that good. I prefer the dual analog sticks, slow as they are, for moving about a 3d world, if I can't have a mouse. Also, the graphics on Metroid just seem pretty weak to me (and yeah, I know a lot of people think they are excellent).
I guess I may just have weird tastes in this, and more power to Nintendo for the new ideas, but I own Metroid 3 and most other major wii games (well, my kids do), and I really don't like them that much. They are basically obvious motion adaptations of well worn and nostalgic Nintendo greats. That's a solid biz model, but top design innovation? Well, ok, maybe it is, but only because there aren't many real innovations out there. This is like including the powerglove with all NESs. yeah, it's different.
And is a wiimote better than a sixaxis (granting that Sony gets no innovation points for knocking off the wiimote)? I guess. If you point it at the TV, it aims and twitches, and that's a feature only teh wii has, but is this a good feature or just a unique feature? Games like HVB are showing that the sixaxis can be pretty damn nice in the hands of a competent programmer (so sad that this is one of the best PS3 games, huh?).
So have you ever watched a movie you liked? If not you're not normal. If so, then you appreciate the type of artform that Square's cutscene heavy games convey. Some RPGs are utterly egotistical, where everything is about gratifying the player. But many japanese games are just telling a story, and you get to act out parts of the story. It's just a matter of taste, but obviously the final fantasy series has contributed a lot to the world. I think it's very weird to be completely put of by the idea of FF games. FF12 didn't even have a main player for you to pretend to be, and that was odd, but kinda cool. I think it's better than the world of warcraft style game, where you pursue bettering your character as though that's worth something. Games should end, stories should revolve around ideas and characters that are unlike the player. At least, that's my preference.
I hate movies, generally, but I also hate the total opposite. FF games aren't super great or anything, but I appreciate the hybrid.
How is secret of mana not a final fantasy series? Hint, what's the name of the first game in the series?
But more to the point, look up "the death trap", which was basically an illustrated text game. I loved that game. That's where Square actually started.
Yeah, that's the easiest way. If you can beat that game with four white mages though, you're a determined little fucker.
I liked three black belts and one Yuna summoner, with the princess outfit collection that you can change to make her match the environment in a most PRETTY way!!!!
you don't understand. Nintendo would be better advised to market games so that these millions of system owners buy more games.
Once one gets a wii and the cheap throw game in to the extra controller, how many games do they then buy? No where near as many as a 360 owner buys.
and I assure you, the wii is not out there on word of mouth alone. Huge amounts of money were spent advertising this system, some in subtle ways. It's a great system in many respects, and there's nothing wrong with marketing , but nintendo certainly did market very much and very well. You sound as though you think nintendo or the wii is super special in some way.
You would not believe how much money the people who develop these stupid ideas to screw you make in a year. 25 years olds with MBAs sitting in rooms thinking of ways to tweak the margins for the benefit of the next quarter. In all reality, you are now a skeptical customer. In the long run, this stuff hurts the seller. But if some kid can boost profits 3% with one idea, he is going to do it even if it's going to come back and bite them in two years.
Just be ready for this to get worse as the world gets more and more digital, and transactions become convoluted as a result.
I wonder why Microsoft cares to give the Dollar so much benefit. If Euros are worth more, they have no reason to devalue them.
I'm afraid MS is very US-centric. Sony is oddly doing much better outside of North America just as the dollar is not worth so much. I wonder if that's deliberate tactics on Sony's part to avoid this softer market. They do not hide values (but you have to have a credit card address in the market you're purchasing from if you buy a game from a different region). Is Microsoft winning the wrong battle?
Actually, I know that credit cards do NOT require a minimum fee per transactions.
And if you are responsible with debt, you should always use a credit card for major purchases. Not only is it easy to track and an additional proof of purchase, I have relied on credit card companies to protect me when a company has tried to screw me. I once had a defective purchase of over $1000, and when I complained, the store told me they just filed for bankruptcy and won't take my product back. One call to my credit card company and I got the product for free.
It's like a union of consumers.
Also, that think you are talking about with "a minimum purchase to use a credit card" is actually illegal breach of contract with all credit card agreements I'm aware of. It's a scam to make you spend more out of guilt. The business has contracted that they must treat credit card users same as cash users. Trust me, that business needs Visa a hell of a lot more than Visa needs that business. And if you see a business doesn't accept credit cards, it's a sign that the business is going to try to screw you.
Credit cards are not evil themselves. There are plenty of practices, such as raising credit limits for poor people to trap them in debt, or variable interest rates, that are evil, but there is no reason to avoid using a credit card if you are responsible with it. In fact, it's kinda stupid not to.
hmmm somehow sony was able to work out a better credit card deal too. "obviously."
Naw, MS is doing what it usually does, bilking you with sleazy lame deals like this. Since I bought my first game online for my 360, I have NEVER had a zero balance again. Since I bought my PS3, I have always had a zero balance.
MS could easily incentivize buying in bulk without screwing customers with useless change. Just give a 5% discount on 100$ "gift cards" and charge 5% more for everything. They don't do that because it would take away that incentive to spend that last little bit of "free" money you have left over from the last transaction, (forcing you to add more money that you might see as "Free" next week). Very clever, very lame, very MS.
I really am glad MS is slipping. They had this console war won, and still have the best variety of games, but if they ever dominated, you can guarantee to see this kind of sleaze in every aspect of their system. Sony may be run by morons, but at least Nintendo and Microsoft obviously were able to thrive in a competitive environment. MS proves, time and time again, that they will take that extra step to screw you and their competition.
I probably sound a bit rabid, but I'm right. MS wants a subscription model for everything. Imagine paying for each game like you pay for WoW. So profitable. Can't happen as long as there is a playstation.
Don't the credit card companies charge a percentage? Isn't Microsoft able to negotiate with these companies?
Sony seems to do a better job here by taking exact change or letting you add as much as you want. Except you can't get a gift card to the playstation network, which I guess is bad for the kiddos.
Microsoft could easily allow you to buy 100$ gift cards at a 5% discount, and also take exact change (but everything in the store is not 5% more expensive). That way, everyone is served. The current scheme is clumsy.
I agree that the wii could very well sell more consoles than Sony, but Sony makes money in many areas.
Fact is, nintendo cannot make much money from huge file downloads, such as games and movies. This is the core of Sony and Microsoft's long term profit model. They want to be in your living room so that you will buy things impulsively when you are bored. Q*Bert or that movie your wife wants to see when you've had a fight. Sony will rake in a hell of a lot of money from this stuff if they get download services working. If Sony were able, I would gladly buy tons of TV shows from their service. XBOX of course has a similar model, but I honestly see a new xbox coming sooner rather than later, and the PS3 staying with us for a long time.
the wii is a great system, and nintendo makes a bit of cash on each one, but compare that profit to a downloaded game. No retailer to take a cut, no packaging, fast and easy updates, carefree purchases being more impulsive.
I'm not pretending Sony hasn't really really screwed up these past years, but they and MS could make profits that simply exceed what nintendo makes. Granted, part of my reasoning is that the wii doesn't have enough appealing games. If you have different tastes, you might think the wii has a great library. Me, I would be happy with the minigames, but won't buy many. I can definitely wait for the price to go down in a way I will not wait for GT5 or MGS4 to go bargain bin.
If the PS3 manages to sell 60 million consoles, I bet they start raking in the profits online. Enough to overcome Nintendo's much more responsible profit model? It's unlikely by any reasonable standard, but I think yeah, Sony will make more money. I just think that PS3 will age well. It's well built, it looks cool (like the wii does), and people around the world think it's a prestigious and cool product. When they get cheaper (and boy, I bet they do), a lot of that prestige will remain. the USA is not as important a market right now, because all profits are badly harmed by the sinking dollar. Sony seems to realize this and is focusing on yen and euro sales. Microsoft may sell more consoles, but in the weaker currency market.
And while I do like my PS3, I freely admit I hardly play it. I love the variety of games and the online quality of the xbox. But I also loved my first XBOX, and I think the PS2, today, still sells more stuff than the XBOX did in its best day. The PS3 will be selling a lot of stuff in 2011, and the XBOX 360, I fear, will be obsolete. This only tangentially relates to nintendo... but Sony will profit from this situation if I'm right (and with the dvd9 and the design flaw of the 360, what is stopping MS from starting anew?)
I didn't mean to insult thw wii by calling its graphics PS2 level. Obviously better graphics have been demonstrated and will be in the future, but if a studio decides to develop one game for both wii and ps2, that will hurt the wii's quality. Oh, and heavenly sword is a bad game with excellent graphics = good (feh) game overall.. to rent. Imagine if heavenly sword, a demo length game, had PS2 graphics?
Pedantic people, "Grammar nazis" as they are being called here, are easy to pull out of the woodwork. They don't understand English, where it came from, and how sometimes it's okay to be conversational, especially on the internet. I'm afraid that my joke wasn't obvious to a lot of people, but my point should be.
Not that people laughing at my post above are grammar nazis, since it is a funny and blatant error. But it's so weird to see those two or three people who are unable to recognize the occasional superiority of language that is semantically improper or grammatically flawed. I'd say it's a "very unique" person who has that dysfunction, but I might catch some flack.
I hate tilt control, but my wife loves it. Thus, she plays warhawk with tilt (and frees that analog stick for the turret). Me? I turn it off.
The wii tilt games get old... except wiisports, which I love, I don't like tilt on the wii either. It's an extremely good gimmic. Nintendo's true genius was giving wiisports away -its best game by far- with new systems. Imagine if every XBOX360 came with Halo, or if every PS3 game with MGS4. It would define how funt he system is, even if there wasn't enough content for a while. Nintendo did real well giving Mario away, though I bet that really hurt sales of games for a while, it paid off.
Anyway, the wii's games look like PS2 games. Technically they should look much better, but they don't. And graphics are important to every gamer. A shitty game is not fun with great graphics, but a good game is a great game if it has great graphics. I think the wii's graphics will hurt it more than people realize in a year or two, and nintendo will not make as much money as Sony in the next five years. I also don't think Microsoft will be able to beat Sony (even though the 360 is the best system). MS will try to outdo the PS3 in a year, screwing 360 owners a bit, and taking a loss on their systems.
Sony might become profitable and dominate by returning to their position of cheap and relatively weak PS3 (compared with MS's next system), but best library (if they can get some of those great games out...finally).
Sony is the most flexible system, and in a few years, could be a cheap one too.
Yeah, it would be nice to through a "; is it" in the place of that comma.
But I find that those who abbreviate English in a space saving and understanding way are more intelligent than those who never do. Not that it isn't messy or ugly, but it's not a sign of stupidity.
There is a type of English screw-up that does indicate stupidity. For example, using "ironic" a lot, or screwing up "they're," or completely screwing up commas in a consistent manner, or most obvious are blatant misspellings all indicate an inability to learn. But this is a title (note the capitalization), and the second clause is like a colloquial subtitle. I think he's just trying to sound as informal as possible.
Like genetics, English is evolving as it moves from generation to generation. This generation is seeing the written language used colloquially in ways it never did before, because of how much content people generate in a short period of time. Face it: it hasn't made it to the textbooks yet, but this is legitimate and normal English in our world, and it's not the egregious ignorant stuff that might dillute or confuse our language
We're going to see so many changes to language as foreign speakers require simplified verbage and people make more and more content. You will be able to trace the words to the English you consider proper, but that will eventually be a totally different language, much as twelfth century English would be nearly useless today.
Why wouldn't Apple want to do this... even if it had no beef with ATT?
Most ATT customers who wanted an iphone have one. Some people are stuck on other networks for other reasons (family plans, etc). So now let's get all T-Mobile customers who really want an iphone signed up. A year later, move on again.
Except that ATT is paying Apple a lot of money. I wonder if there's something else on the horizon from google or others that makes ATT think the iphone won't be a good investment in the future.
However, the same could be said of people trusting American banks before reforms were enacted. You didn't have to use then and they were not associated with the government of the US. Of course, many did and were screwed, and eventually the people demanded the US government do what it had the power to do: reform the banks. And everyone was happier.
Linden makes a fortune off these shams. By screwing with the currency they are making money, pure and simple. Are these banks thieves? No. Is Linden a thief? No.
But they would be a better company if they helped their customers more here. They know what you know about how many people are losing money.
Is it illegal for Linden to do nothing about it? Nope. And I am not inclinced to really feel much sympathy for the people who make stupid decisions, but as these stupid decisions pile on and on, it affects society negatively.
I don't like when Casinos get some old lady's pension. Happens all the time and it affects society, so casinos support gambling addiction assistance efforts. Because they don't want feel too much wrath and because it's the decent thing to do.
Is Linden going to do the decent thing here? Probably not. Instead, they will insult their customers for Linden's shoddy product.
But one day, I think the US will have no trouble getting back to respecting liberty.
We have lost a lot/ A lot of respect, a lot of freedom, and a lot of business to people like you.
However, history shows that even the most wretched abuses (far beyond what is going on here) are quickly forgiven. I doubt you would mind traveling to Germany or Japan. And perhaps not Britain, which no longer fully recognizes human rights (in my opinion), but doesn't impact the world like the USA does.
So I hope you're right and we Americans realize what it's costing us. On the other hand, the war we're in is not fictitious. There really is a danger out there. The restrictions have very little ability to protect us (and are largely based on a misunderstanding of who our enemy is), but it's kinda natural for people to freak out and for government to do bad stuff in these times.
We are not killing all the Jews, raping the Chinese, giving smallpox to the natives, or rounding up the Japanese. We are totally in the wrong, but it's not something we can't come away from.
Largely, the improvement in abuses (that they are historically minor) gives me faith that mankind, as ugly, selfish, and clumsy as it is, can truly improve over time. Civilization is actually better now than ever.
But feel free to travel to Canada instead of the USA. I love Canada, but I hope you reconsider the States in several years when we are reacting less to fear. We're good people, and we've got a lot to be proud of.
Slashdot Mirror
Except people buy games at their favorite electronics store. People buy Wiis whereever they manage to find them. So some stores are not going to sell wii games to wii console buyers.
technically, if you're in the US, you aren't supposed to circumvent any sort of copy protection, such as that DVDs often have. Ethically, obviously you've done nothing wrong. I love that I've got a bunch of DVDs on a 1TB HDD that streams to all my laptops, my PSP, my PS3, my XBOX. It's just freaking cool. I find it a hassle to rip the stuff, but it's just cool to be able to watch a movie instantly, from anywhere in the house.
Does Vista get in the way of doing that? No it does not, except that I assume it's less efficient. I can't rip a bluray on XP either (and that's too much data to stream or store anyway)
you have a right to your backups and to enjoy your media as you want it. It's total BS that the laws are as they are. And yeah, Vista is going down the path of DRM products I won't want to buy, and that sucks. Hopefully you and I keep buying DVDs that we can rip, and the Studios realize that the better biz model is to allow that.
Whether the music industry wants the DRM or not, they pay more for better DRM. They release more stuff under better DRM. Some content is not being released digitally right now because of paranoid owners who are unsatisfied about piracy. It's actually a big deal, and it's been a big deal for a long time.
I don't pay for DRM stuff. So it just doesn't affect me. I don't like Vista, and I totally agree with you that it's not a smart OS to use. But what specifically is Vista keeping me from doing that I actually would intend to do?
No idea why you got downvoted, man.
I think the old version of DNF would make a terrific playstation 2 game, Nintendo DS game, cell phone game, web app, or just plain old game for crappy computers.
The graphics basically look like something on a PS2, and the game already has voice talent, etc. Why not?
I always thought, due to the title "forever", that this game would never be released and all the trailers, even the awesome one, were jokes. Who knows? Perhaps there's just some bizarre legal problem that got in the way. Perhaps 3D Realms really did screw up.
But that old game, if they could get it working in three months, would obviously be worth the investment. If anything, they could just open source the entire project and let some geeks make a great game.
Anyway, you're right, at $20 bucks a pop, this old game would sell 1 million copies, no problem.
You have failed to demonstrate an actual harm. What precisely is it that Vista does that you are mad about? "impose that DRM on me" sounds like you don't actually know what you can't do on Vista that you would want to do.
I don't use WMP11, so I don't care that the IBX codes are new or whatever. I rip DVDs and TV shows that I believe I am entitled to archive, and I don't see that Vista is going to get in the way. Please follow through on your promise and tell me what your problem is.
I don't like Vista because of the bloat and the inefficiency, etc. Also because Vista offers zero security gains to me, since I have no trouble running XP safely. In short, Vista is for dumbasses who want to blow money on excess computing power to support glassy menus. The DRM thing is a canard, in my opinion.
DRM has more to do with the content producer. By permitted more restrictive DRM, Vista is probably just enabling more content to be sold over the internet. I just won't buy what I don't want. Is this not your plan too?
In other words, if you disagree with a valid criticism because you can think of a single example where that criticism did not apply, you consider moderating that valid criticism "troll."
I don't think the US government would infringe on speech in the way the ggp suggested, but he's right to point out the possibility and the US gov has made many mistakes (not to mention to the rest of the world, which in my view often has a worse record). Governments are run by bureaucrats who screw up all the time.
It certainly is fair to ask how far is it appropriate for the Army to go making domestic media. I don't want my tax dollars fueling propaganda, but I do want smart recruiting for our military. In short, there are many disturbing possibilities associated with this, and like all disturbing things, there has to be a first time. There's an insightful person who realized a valid but novel risk, and there's always some moron to crawl out of the woodwork to accuse the insightful one of being chicken little. If you have nothing to say except "it didn't happen yet" and "I would censor you if I had the power", then you're more the troll than he. You're obviously not adding much to the discussion.
I completely disagree, my friend.
"was Metroid Prime 3 on the Wii really as good as a mouse-and-keyboard PC FPS?" This is an absurd question. The wiimote is twitchy as all get out. I know a bunch of people love Metroid 3, so I have to acknowledge that, even if I hate it, it's a successful and good product, but man that game is just not that good. I prefer the dual analog sticks, slow as they are, for moving about a 3d world, if I can't have a mouse. Also, the graphics on Metroid just seem pretty weak to me (and yeah, I know a lot of people think they are excellent).
I guess I may just have weird tastes in this, and more power to Nintendo for the new ideas, but I own Metroid 3 and most other major wii games (well, my kids do), and I really don't like them that much. They are basically obvious motion adaptations of well worn and nostalgic Nintendo greats. That's a solid biz model, but top design innovation? Well, ok, maybe it is, but only because there aren't many real innovations out there. This is like including the powerglove with all NESs. yeah, it's different.
And is a wiimote better than a sixaxis (granting that Sony gets no innovation points for knocking off the wiimote)? I guess. If you point it at the TV, it aims and twitches, and that's a feature only teh wii has, but is this a good feature or just a unique feature? Games like HVB are showing that the sixaxis can be pretty damn nice in the hands of a competent programmer (so sad that this is one of the best PS3 games, huh?).
So have you ever watched a movie you liked? If not you're not normal. If so, then you appreciate the type of artform that Square's cutscene heavy games convey. Some RPGs are utterly egotistical, where everything is about gratifying the player. But many japanese games are just telling a story, and you get to act out parts of the story. It's just a matter of taste, but obviously the final fantasy series has contributed a lot to the world. I think it's very weird to be completely put of by the idea of FF games. FF12 didn't even have a main player for you to pretend to be, and that was odd, but kinda cool. I think it's better than the world of warcraft style game, where you pursue bettering your character as though that's worth something. Games should end, stories should revolve around ideas and characters that are unlike the player. At least, that's my preference.
I hate movies, generally, but I also hate the total opposite. FF games aren't super great or anything, but I appreciate the hybrid.
How is secret of mana not a final fantasy series? Hint, what's the name of the first game in the series?
But more to the point, look up "the death trap", which was basically an illustrated text game. I loved that game. That's where Square actually started.
Yeah, that's the easiest way. If you can beat that game with four white mages though, you're a determined little fucker.
I liked three black belts and one Yuna summoner, with the princess outfit collection that you can change to make her match the environment in a most PRETTY way!!!!
you don't understand. Nintendo would be better advised to market games so that these millions of system owners buy more games.
Once one gets a wii and the cheap throw game in to the extra controller, how many games do they then buy? No where near as many as a 360 owner buys.
and I assure you, the wii is not out there on word of mouth alone. Huge amounts of money were spent advertising this system, some in subtle ways. It's a great system in many respects, and there's nothing wrong with marketing , but nintendo certainly did market very much and very well. You sound as though you think nintendo or the wii is super special in some way.
I don't think many people think windows is cool or fashionable so much as they think they need it to run that cool laptop or program.
MS had some bling factor when Win95 came out, but since then we sort of expect the hype and overlook it as marketing.
You would not believe how much money the people who develop these stupid ideas to screw you make in a year. 25 years olds with MBAs sitting in rooms thinking of ways to tweak the margins for the benefit of the next quarter. In all reality, you are now a skeptical customer. In the long run, this stuff hurts the seller. But if some kid can boost profits 3% with one idea, he is going to do it even if it's going to come back and bite them in two years.
Just be ready for this to get worse as the world gets more and more digital, and transactions become convoluted as a result.
That's a pretty neat little point.
I wonder why Microsoft cares to give the Dollar so much benefit. If Euros are worth more, they have no reason to devalue them.
I'm afraid MS is very US-centric. Sony is oddly doing much better outside of North America just as the dollar is not worth so much. I wonder if that's deliberate tactics on Sony's part to avoid this softer market. They do not hide values (but you have to have a credit card address in the market you're purchasing from if you buy a game from a different region). Is Microsoft winning the wrong battle?
Actually, I know that credit cards do NOT require a minimum fee per transactions.
And if you are responsible with debt, you should always use a credit card for major purchases. Not only is it easy to track and an additional proof of purchase, I have relied on credit card companies to protect me when a company has tried to screw me. I once had a defective purchase of over $1000, and when I complained, the store told me they just filed for bankruptcy and won't take my product back. One call to my credit card company and I got the product for free.
It's like a union of consumers.
Also, that think you are talking about with "a minimum purchase to use a credit card" is actually illegal breach of contract with all credit card agreements I'm aware of. It's a scam to make you spend more out of guilt. The business has contracted that they must treat credit card users same as cash users. Trust me, that business needs Visa a hell of a lot more than Visa needs that business. And if you see a business doesn't accept credit cards, it's a sign that the business is going to try to screw you.
Credit cards are not evil themselves. There are plenty of practices, such as raising credit limits for poor people to trap them in debt, or variable interest rates, that are evil, but there is no reason to avoid using a credit card if you are responsible with it. In fact, it's kinda stupid not to.
hmmm somehow sony was able to work out a better credit card deal too. "obviously."
Naw, MS is doing what it usually does, bilking you with sleazy lame deals like this. Since I bought my first game online for my 360, I have NEVER had a zero balance again. Since I bought my PS3, I have always had a zero balance.
MS could easily incentivize buying in bulk without screwing customers with useless change. Just give a 5% discount on 100$ "gift cards" and charge 5% more for everything. They don't do that because it would take away that incentive to spend that last little bit of "free" money you have left over from the last transaction, (forcing you to add more money that you might see as "Free" next week). Very clever, very lame, very MS.
I really am glad MS is slipping. They had this console war won, and still have the best variety of games, but if they ever dominated, you can guarantee to see this kind of sleaze in every aspect of their system. Sony may be run by morons, but at least Nintendo and Microsoft obviously were able to thrive in a competitive environment. MS proves, time and time again, that they will take that extra step to screw you and their competition.
I probably sound a bit rabid, but I'm right. MS wants a subscription model for everything. Imagine paying for each game like you pay for WoW. So profitable. Can't happen as long as there is a playstation.
Don't the credit card companies charge a percentage? Isn't Microsoft able to negotiate with these companies?
Sony seems to do a better job here by taking exact change or letting you add as much as you want. Except you can't get a gift card to the playstation network, which I guess is bad for the kiddos.
Microsoft could easily allow you to buy 100$ gift cards at a 5% discount, and also take exact change (but everything in the store is not 5% more expensive). That way, everyone is served. The current scheme is clumsy.
I agree that the wii could very well sell more consoles than Sony, but Sony makes money in many areas.
Fact is, nintendo cannot make much money from huge file downloads, such as games and movies. This is the core of Sony and Microsoft's long term profit model. They want to be in your living room so that you will buy things impulsively when you are bored. Q*Bert or that movie your wife wants to see when you've had a fight. Sony will rake in a hell of a lot of money from this stuff if they get download services working. If Sony were able, I would gladly buy tons of TV shows from their service. XBOX of course has a similar model, but I honestly see a new xbox coming sooner rather than later, and the PS3 staying with us for a long time.
the wii is a great system, and nintendo makes a bit of cash on each one, but compare that profit to a downloaded game. No retailer to take a cut, no packaging, fast and easy updates, carefree purchases being more impulsive.
I'm not pretending Sony hasn't really really screwed up these past years, but they and MS could make profits that simply exceed what nintendo makes. Granted, part of my reasoning is that the wii doesn't have enough appealing games. If you have different tastes, you might think the wii has a great library. Me, I would be happy with the minigames, but won't buy many. I can definitely wait for the price to go down in a way I will not wait for GT5 or MGS4 to go bargain bin.
If the PS3 manages to sell 60 million consoles, I bet they start raking in the profits online. Enough to overcome Nintendo's much more responsible profit model? It's unlikely by any reasonable standard, but I think yeah, Sony will make more money. I just think that PS3 will age well. It's well built, it looks cool (like the wii does), and people around the world think it's a prestigious and cool product. When they get cheaper (and boy, I bet they do), a lot of that prestige will remain. the USA is not as important a market right now, because all profits are badly harmed by the sinking dollar. Sony seems to realize this and is focusing on yen and euro sales. Microsoft may sell more consoles, but in the weaker currency market.
And while I do like my PS3, I freely admit I hardly play it. I love the variety of games and the online quality of the xbox. But I also loved my first XBOX, and I think the PS2, today, still sells more stuff than the XBOX did in its best day. The PS3 will be selling a lot of stuff in 2011, and the XBOX 360, I fear, will be obsolete. This only tangentially relates to nintendo... but Sony will profit from this situation if I'm right (and with the dvd9 and the design flaw of the 360, what is stopping MS from starting anew?)
I didn't mean to insult thw wii by calling its graphics PS2 level. Obviously better graphics have been demonstrated and will be in the future, but if a studio decides to develop one game for both wii and ps2, that will hurt the wii's quality. Oh, and heavenly sword is a bad game with excellent graphics = good (feh) game overall.. to rent. Imagine if heavenly sword, a demo length game, had PS2 graphics?
haha, it was a good joke, two.
Pedantic people, "Grammar nazis" as they are being called here, are easy to pull out of the woodwork. They don't understand English, where it came from, and how sometimes it's okay to be conversational, especially on the internet. I'm afraid that my joke wasn't obvious to a lot of people, but my point should be.
Not that people laughing at my post above are grammar nazis, since it is a funny and blatant error. But it's so weird to see those two or three people who are unable to recognize the occasional superiority of language that is semantically improper or grammatically flawed. I'd say it's a "very unique" person who has that dysfunction, but I might catch some flack.
I was joking, dude. That wasn't obvious?
I guess not. My bad.
I hate tilt control, but my wife loves it. Thus, she plays warhawk with tilt (and frees that analog stick for the turret). Me? I turn it off.
The wii tilt games get old... except wiisports, which I love, I don't like tilt on the wii either. It's an extremely good gimmic. Nintendo's true genius was giving wiisports away -its best game by far- with new systems. Imagine if every XBOX360 came with Halo, or if every PS3 game with MGS4. It would define how funt he system is, even if there wasn't enough content for a while. Nintendo did real well giving Mario away, though I bet that really hurt sales of games for a while, it paid off.
Anyway, the wii's games look like PS2 games. Technically they should look much better, but they don't. And graphics are important to every gamer. A shitty game is not fun with great graphics, but a good game is a great game if it has great graphics. I think the wii's graphics will hurt it more than people realize in a year or two, and nintendo will not make as much money as Sony in the next five years. I also don't think Microsoft will be able to beat Sony (even though the 360 is the best system). MS will try to outdo the PS3 in a year, screwing 360 owners a bit, and taking a loss on their systems.
Sony might become profitable and dominate by returning to their position of cheap and relatively weak PS3 (compared with MS's next system), but best library (if they can get some of those great games out...finally).
Sony is the most flexible system, and in a few years, could be a cheap one too.
Yeah, it would be nice to through a "; is it" in the place of that comma.
But I find that those who abbreviate English in a space saving and understanding way are more intelligent than those who never do. Not that it isn't messy or ugly, but it's not a sign of stupidity.
There is a type of English screw-up that does indicate stupidity. For example, using "ironic" a lot, or screwing up "they're," or completely screwing up commas in a consistent manner, or most obvious are blatant misspellings all indicate an inability to learn. But this is a title (note the capitalization), and the second clause is like a colloquial subtitle. I think he's just trying to sound as informal as possible.
Like genetics, English is evolving as it moves from generation to generation. This generation is seeing the written language used colloquially in ways it never did before, because of how much content people generate in a short period of time. Face it: it hasn't made it to the textbooks yet, but this is legitimate and normal English in our world, and it's not the egregious ignorant stuff that might dillute or confuse our language
We're going to see so many changes to language as foreign speakers require simplified verbage and people make more and more content. You will be able to trace the words to the English you consider proper, but that will eventually be a totally different language, much as twelfth century English would be nearly useless today.
Why wouldn't Apple want to do this... even if it had no beef with ATT?
Most ATT customers who wanted an iphone have one. Some people are stuck on other networks for other reasons (family plans, etc). So now let's get all T-Mobile customers who really want an iphone signed up. A year later, move on again.
Except that ATT is paying Apple a lot of money. I wonder if there's something else on the horizon from google or others that makes ATT think the iphone won't be a good investment in the future.
Well, I agree with you to an extent.
However, the same could be said of people trusting American banks before reforms were enacted. You didn't have to use then and they were not associated with the government of the US. Of course, many did and were screwed, and eventually the people demanded the US government do what it had the power to do: reform the banks. And everyone was happier.
Linden makes a fortune off these shams. By screwing with the currency they are making money, pure and simple. Are these banks thieves? No. Is Linden a thief? No.
But they would be a better company if they helped their customers more here. They know what you know about how many people are losing money.
Is it illegal for Linden to do nothing about it? Nope. And I am not inclinced to really feel much sympathy for the people who make stupid decisions, but as these stupid decisions pile on and on, it affects society negatively.
I don't like when Casinos get some old lady's pension. Happens all the time and it affects society, so casinos support gambling addiction assistance efforts. Because they don't want feel too much wrath and because it's the decent thing to do.
Is Linden going to do the decent thing here? Probably not. Instead, they will insult their customers for Linden's shoddy product.
Your reaction is legitimate and reasonable.
But one day, I think the US will have no trouble getting back to respecting liberty.
We have lost a lot/ A lot of respect, a lot of freedom, and a lot of business to people like you.
However, history shows that even the most wretched abuses (far beyond what is going on here) are quickly forgiven. I doubt you would mind traveling to Germany or Japan. And perhaps not Britain, which no longer fully recognizes human rights (in my opinion), but doesn't impact the world like the USA does.
So I hope you're right and we Americans realize what it's costing us. On the other hand, the war we're in is not fictitious. There really is a danger out there. The restrictions have very little ability to protect us (and are largely based on a misunderstanding of who our enemy is), but it's kinda natural for people to freak out and for government to do bad stuff in these times.
We are not killing all the Jews, raping the Chinese, giving smallpox to the natives, or rounding up the Japanese. We are totally in the wrong, but it's not something we can't come away from.
Largely, the improvement in abuses (that they are historically minor) gives me faith that mankind, as ugly, selfish, and clumsy as it is, can truly improve over time. Civilization is actually better now than ever.
But feel free to travel to Canada instead of the USA. I love Canada, but I hope you reconsider the States in several years when we are reacting less to fear. We're good people, and we've got a lot to be proud of.