Extra controllers are an understandable extra cost.
Memory cards had to come about because of disc based systems but in the case of the N64 they actually helped you save money in the long run because they could be used for numerous games. Carts were expensive to begin with but carts with saving functionality could be anywhere from $5 to $10 more. You only had to buy a couple games with the battery feature to effective pay for a memory card.
Nintendo also was decent enough to effectively give away the rumble pak by including it with Star Fox 64. That is not really ripping people off.
You're living in imaginary land. The Wii is not moe expensive than a PS3 if you buy the system and 3 extra controllers. You even get a game with a controller if you buy Wii Play.
The balance board is in no way required but if you do want, that again comes with a game.
Nintendo will also allow you to use any company's SD card. So you can shop around for the best deal. With the 360 you can only use MS's over priced hard drive add-on.
The 360 is the one that is more expensive than the PS3 just to bring it up to spec with the PS3. There is no reason for the cost of their Wifi adapter when Nintendo can manage to put it into a cheaper system and still make a profit from day one on the hardware. Something MS couldn't achieve.
The problem is that it's a complete rip-off to buy it in chunks and it ends up being more expensive than the PS3. That is definitely taking advantage of people with less money by selling them a handicapped system and then charging and arm and a leg bring it up to spec even with their high-end model.
If you can't afford the difference there is always saving money and waiting as unpopular as that is these days.
Of course it's not totally free but if the game price hasn't changed since the last generation where I got no free games then I'm not really that bothered.
That's because Microsoft gave console developers the ability to patch their games and PC developers are moving into the console space with their "release now, patch later" mentality. There is no reason to wait and fix it because they know they can patch it later. No one will complain. Reviews will no reflect the fact the game is broken.
They might as well just shove the game out and watch people eat up their broken rubbish. If the game fails don't patch it and you've saved some money on testing and development.
Not only do you have to pay for downloadable content but that's on top of having a Gold membership for multi-player content.
No one seems to want to admit it but the business model that Microsoft employs for console gaming is seriously flawed. Sony's is a little better because at least you get onto the network for free.
Microsoft brags about their success but what they don't mention is that they need to over charge you for accessories (ie wifi adapters and hardrives) and they need to charge you for any little thing you do online.
One reason the 360 has no browser (and mouse / keyboard) is to stop them from being accused of trying to make their own closed PC. But I suspect the other reason for a lack of a browser (and therefore a lesser experience than all other consoles online) is to keep the system as closed as possible so they can nickel and dime you to death all so they can eek out tiny profits which they've only just started to do recently.
The Wii is the cheapest system all around and part of the reason for that is because Nintendo makes a profit on the hardware. They don't need to fuck you about to make up for selling unprofitable hardware. The Wii also has a browser which gives you access to free browser-based games. They do charge you to download new games from their shop but that's understandable imo and even then you get to earn points from buying games which result in free games to download. This is despite the fact their games are cheaper and yet they're still making money hand over fist.
The old system, which MS works under, doesn't work well when every system has some success. It relies pretty much on there only being one big success per generation to make great profits. Had Sony not cocked up in a few areas it would probably be worse for both them and MS with numbers being more evenly divided.
It's only going to get worse and that's why they want to move out of physical sales and into downloadable games. It'll make it much easier for them to jerk us around even more.
Physical media isn't the problem. He would like people to think that so they can force people into download only media where they can kill the used games market and even kill off old popular titles if they wanted.
The problem is that the business model for gaming is shit. No one makes profit on the hardware (except Nintendo as they always have) so when MS & Sony ramp up the cost of their hardware to out do each other they have to pass that cost on via licences which will drive prices up. That's why we've gone from $50 to $60 in this generation.
Because 3rd parties need to pay out to develop they need to make sure they make money and they do that by no being very imaginative or experimental so we get a lot of the same old shit but with new graphics. So it's harder for a title to stand out from the crowd and make money.
They need to build profits into the hardware to alleviate some of the pressure on software costs and they need to make games that will appeal to more than teenage males.
The cost of the hardware has to go up either way. If they go with a download only model and stick companies with only selling the hardware they will want a profit. As it is now they make no profit or even a slight loss just sell the thing. This is why retailers have to rely on used games so much. Publishers are giving retailers nothing decent to work with. So that means the price has to go up or you get stuck only being able to buy hardware from the manufacturer directly.
We could let shops mange their own digital sales to account of the shitty way hardware is sold but I don't see the likes of MS giving up control to let places like Best Buy or Wal-Mart mange their software.
I find Javascript boring, PHP is fun too but it's ugly. Python is fun but I dislike the lack of braces and how it has to be formatted so I only it for small CLI stuff. But I think that comes down to how I learned programming as is the case with a lot of people. Their learning experiences will determine what they like.
There is a lot more than games that tie people to windows, som eof which come from 3rd parties which may have no interest in porting the new version of Windows..
Idea storm covers everything and in fact the Open Office & firefox suggestions are for Windows PCs. The deal is that Dell, as a whole, isn't as good as they used to be and they need ideas to improve everything.
To be fair out of all my ISP and freebie email accounts Gmail has been by far the best. I'm positive I could count all the spam I've received on my fingers with no legit email showing up in my spam folder.
the Games for Windows BS was all about bring live to the PC and there were talks about bringing it to Win Mobile devices too. As far as I know, no Win mobile device is live capable and Games for Windows failed and I don't expect that to change.
I'm not sure if this is still common but last time I lived in the states it was common to pay to receive a call. The companies made out from both people. That is such a scam and combine that, at the time, with the lack of sim cards so your phone is tied to your provider and there seems to be no such thing as a good phone for free on a contract. You have to wonder why anyone would want to own a mobile in the states.
Yet some people defended this model because that's apparently how capitalism works.
I'll enjoy my £29 per month contract with my free Android phone, unlimited texts, unlimited internet and 800 anytime/any network minutes which, for me is more or less unlimited.
Linux has no marketing and no brands that consumers know about.. While I think google will still struggle I could see them easily out pacing Linux and, if handled properly eat into MS' market enough to get near apple's numbers. Having two competitors at that level would change thing enough to concern MS.
You mean like Linux? That is a dumb comment. It would be up to MS to develop IE for chrome and only if google attempt to block them would it be a problem.
Slashdot Mirror
Extra controllers are an understandable extra cost.
Memory cards had to come about because of disc based systems but in the case of the N64 they actually helped you save money in the long run because they could be used for numerous games. Carts were expensive to begin with but carts with saving functionality could be anywhere from $5 to $10 more. You only had to buy a couple games with the battery feature to effective pay for a memory card.
Nintendo also was decent enough to effectively give away the rumble pak by including it with Star Fox 64. That is not really ripping people off.
You're living in imaginary land. The Wii is not moe expensive than a PS3 if you buy the system and 3 extra controllers. You even get a game with a controller if you buy Wii Play.
The balance board is in no way required but if you do want, that again comes with a game.
Nintendo will also allow you to use any company's SD card. So you can shop around for the best deal. With the 360 you can only use MS's over priced hard drive add-on.
The 360 is the one that is more expensive than the PS3 just to bring it up to spec with the PS3. There is no reason for the cost of their Wifi adapter when Nintendo can manage to put it into a cheaper system and still make a profit from day one on the hardware. Something MS couldn't achieve.
The problem is that it's a complete rip-off to buy it in chunks and it ends up being more expensive than the PS3. That is definitely taking advantage of people with less money by selling them a handicapped system and then charging and arm and a leg bring it up to spec even with their high-end model.
If you can't afford the difference there is always saving money and waiting as unpopular as that is these days.
Of course it's not totally free but if the game price hasn't changed since the last generation where I got no free games then I'm not really that bothered.
Which is why it'll be ironic if they end up buying Time Warner.
That's because Microsoft gave console developers the ability to patch their games and PC developers are moving into the console space with their "release now, patch later" mentality. There is no reason to wait and fix it because they know they can patch it later. No one will complain. Reviews will no reflect the fact the game is broken.
They might as well just shove the game out and watch people eat up their broken rubbish. If the game fails don't patch it and you've saved some money on testing and development.
Because Microsoft paid out so you won't be getting it any time soon. Same goes for PS3 owners.
Not only do you have to pay for downloadable content but that's on top of having a Gold membership for multi-player content.
No one seems to want to admit it but the business model that Microsoft employs for console gaming is seriously flawed. Sony's is a little better because at least you get onto the network for free.
Microsoft brags about their success but what they don't mention is that they need to over charge you for accessories (ie wifi adapters and hardrives) and they need to charge you for any little thing you do online.
One reason the 360 has no browser (and mouse / keyboard) is to stop them from being accused of trying to make their own closed PC. But I suspect the other reason for a lack of a browser (and therefore a lesser experience than all other consoles online) is to keep the system as closed as possible so they can nickel and dime you to death all so they can eek out tiny profits which they've only just started to do recently.
The Wii is the cheapest system all around and part of the reason for that is because Nintendo makes a profit on the hardware. They don't need to fuck you about to make up for selling unprofitable hardware. The Wii also has a browser which gives you access to free browser-based games. They do charge you to download new games from their shop but that's understandable imo and even then you get to earn points from buying games which result in free games to download. This is despite the fact their games are cheaper and yet they're still making money hand over fist.
The old system, which MS works under, doesn't work well when every system has some success. It relies pretty much on there only being one big success per generation to make great profits. Had Sony not cocked up in a few areas it would probably be worse for both them and MS with numbers being more evenly divided.
It's only going to get worse and that's why they want to move out of physical sales and into downloadable games. It'll make it much easier for them to jerk us around even more.
Physical media isn't the problem. He would like people to think that so they can force people into download only media where they can kill the used games market and even kill off old popular titles if they wanted. The problem is that the business model for gaming is shit. No one makes profit on the hardware (except Nintendo as they always have) so when MS & Sony ramp up the cost of their hardware to out do each other they have to pass that cost on via licences which will drive prices up. That's why we've gone from $50 to $60 in this generation.
Because 3rd parties need to pay out to develop they need to make sure they make money and they do that by no being very imaginative or experimental so we get a lot of the same old shit but with new graphics. So it's harder for a title to stand out from the crowd and make money.
They need to build profits into the hardware to alleviate some of the pressure on software costs and they need to make games that will appeal to more than teenage males.
The cost of the hardware has to go up either way. If they go with a download only model and stick companies with only selling the hardware they will want a profit. As it is now they make no profit or even a slight loss just sell the thing. This is why retailers have to rely on used games so much. Publishers are giving retailers nothing decent to work with. So that means the price has to go up or you get stuck only being able to buy hardware from the manufacturer directly.
We could let shops mange their own digital sales to account of the shitty way hardware is sold but I don't see the likes of MS giving up control to let places like Best Buy or Wal-Mart mange their software.
Except for the fact that what business would want to rely on fixes by a hacker to keep Office as it was?
I would agree with him.
I find Javascript boring, PHP is fun too but it's ugly. Python is fun but I dislike the lack of braces and how it has to be formatted so I only it for small CLI stuff. But I think that comes down to how I learned programming as is the case with a lot of people. Their learning experiences will determine what they like.
Some videos but not that one.
Let them own the pictures and everything else. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence should move on to another even tor start their own.
Adobe and ARM Accelerate Flash and AIR for ARM Platforms
http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200811/111708ARMAdobeFlash.html
There is a lot more than games that tie people to windows, som eof which come from 3rd parties which may have no interest in porting the new version of Windows..
Windows Mobile isn't even a contender for phones.
Idea storm covers everything and in fact the Open Office & firefox suggestions are for Windows PCs. The deal is that Dell, as a whole, isn't as good as they used to be and they need ideas to improve everything.
To be fair out of all my ISP and freebie email accounts Gmail has been by far the best. I'm positive I could count all the spam I've received on my fingers with no legit email showing up in my spam folder.
And you probably never will unless you charge people for mass mailing and all botnets. If they at least stop it showing up in my inbox I'll be happy.
the Games for Windows BS was all about bring live to the PC and there were talks about bringing it to Win Mobile devices too. As far as I know, no Win mobile device is live capable and Games for Windows failed and I don't expect that to change.
I'm not sure if this is still common but last time I lived in the states it was common to pay to receive a call. The companies made out from both people. That is such a scam and combine that, at the time, with the lack of sim cards so your phone is tied to your provider and there seems to be no such thing as a good phone for free on a contract. You have to wonder why anyone would want to own a mobile in the states.
Yet some people defended this model because that's apparently how capitalism works.
I'll enjoy my £29 per month contract with my free Android phone, unlimited texts, unlimited internet and 800 anytime/any network minutes which, for me is more or less unlimited.
Linux has no marketing and no brands that consumers know about.. While I think google will still struggle I could see them easily out pacing Linux and, if handled properly eat into MS' market enough to get near apple's numbers. Having two competitors at that level would change thing enough to concern MS.
You mean like Linux? That is a dumb comment. It would be up to MS to develop IE for chrome and only if google attempt to block them would it be a problem.
Tis' better to be in the woods with worms than babies, clearly.
Chuck the baby and the puppy out in the woods, come back in a week and see who is better off. ;)