First there are no great games? Where is the Halo? Where is the Mario? Where is the must have? It is sports and FPSes, and that's about it. I want to play PGR3, and Kameo looks interesting (although opinions on it vary wildly). But past that is is all sports and FPSes (Call of Duty 2 is nice, but it isn't original, it was on PC first). Even a copy of Burnout Revenge or SSX: Tricky or something like that with updated graphics would be nice (Sorry, not an Amped fan). There is no game worth the $470 it would cost me to play it right now (game + system). When I bought an X-Box (a few months after the launch) there was Halo, Jet Set Radio Future (AMAZING game), and a few others.
Second is launch problems. Like people in the article said, a world-wide launch is nice, but only if it works. They only had 400k systems for the US and that is a joke. This part was a DISASTER. Why not launch in the US and Japan only (Europe and other countries later)? Why not launch in the US only and then other countries? You don't want to be over stocked, but you don't want this problem of no-one able to buy your system for the next 2 months. Add in the crashing issues (very small, but got tons of press and thus bad) and things are not good.
Core System is by far the biggest mistake of the launch. "Our console is $300!" is not a good message when the $300 version is crippled. The built-in HDD was easily one of the best things of the original XBox. It could be used for caching and such (helps kill load times). It made saving fast (as opposed to the sometimes glacial pace of memory cards). Dropping it was a HUGE mistake. And in the future you will either put games on the HDD or on many DVDs (see next point). So selling without it is a mistake. I think the whole "Core System" thing was just terribly confusing to the public (when something like 20% of people see "In HD where available" at the bottom of a TV show and think they are watching HD on their old 10 year old TV, you can't expect them to get "Core" vs "Full"). And why does a 20 gig HDD cost $100? That's insane. Make the drive a 3.5" instead of 2.5" and sell us 60 gigs for that $100 and still make a nice profit.
HD? Buy our system and you can play games in HD. All you need is a $1500 TV. Yeah, RIGHT. Most games that are out now are not that much better looking than a XBox or 'Cube when you are on an SDTV. The storage issues worries me (I think they will need to move to multi-disk games VERY soon because of all the high-rez content. And anyways, can you really tell me that Resident Evil 4 on the 'Cube doesn't look good enough? What about Gran Turismo 4? Every previous console generation has brought massively improved graphics. 2600->NES was a huge jump. NES->SNES was too. SNES->PS bought us into 3D. PS->PS2 brought higher poly counts so people weren't blocks anymore. PS2->360 brings us... slightly less jaggies. This jump is the first time the graphics are not obviously improved by a large amount. Maybe things will look better in later titles (they always do) but it's not there now (maybe on HDTV, but that is not many people).
I'll probably buy one later, but I don't think they did a very good job with the launch. The massive shortages were easily the biggest problem. Why didn't they wait until December 14th or something like that so they'd have an extra 2 weeks of production to sell? I know they talked about almost holding the launch, and I think they would have been better off if they did (especially in the games arena when they could have had DOA 4 and other big titles).
Now they did some things right, don't get me wrong. The aesthetics of the unit are better, the controller is better, the XBox Live Arcade is ingenious (I can't wait to play Smash TV and such, but I'm not pay $410 for Smash TV). I wish they would open it up (sell a little dev-kit for $50 or $100 that you do on your PC and upload things to your 360 and you can enter competitions and such. Program it in some managed language l
... it's kinda moronic to see the same bullshit modded insightful day in day out.
WINDOWS HAS PROBLEMS. I switched to a Mac about 9 months ago and I love it. I am VERY competent and I never opened that kind of stuff. I kept my system patched and never had any real problems (my computer was well maintained). Yet Windows still had problems. I've never seen a Windows box that never has problems with suspend and resume at least once in a while. I use my Mac daily taking it too and from school and almost never turning it off (just putting it to sleep by closing the lid). I've never had a problem.
Window's ability to freeze never ceases to amaze me. On well maintained computers, even those that are imaged every night and locked down, Windows freezes. Plug in my thumb-drive then login? I've got about a 1/5 chance of it just freezing. Pull the drive out and it finishes logging in fine. Random freezes with IE (if they want to bundle it and tie it in, it counts as the OS) and times Windows seems to run out of memory (despite having a half-gig). Restart the computer and it's zippy as new. The programs that cause this? IE, Visual Studio, AOL, Office, and tons of others. Why does Task Manager always take so long pop up, and force quit processes? Why is Windows Explorer so slow so often (oh, wait, that is basically IE now)?
And I'll just ignore all those other little things that shouldn't be there. Like why when I click a link in an IE window and switch to another, does the first window jump back up and steal focus away from what I was doing in the second window? That is about the most infuriating thing that happens.
Windows has come a long way from the Windows 95 days, that is a given. But it has barely moved since the Windows 2000 days. OS X is a dream to use and I've experienced basically zero bugs. Linux may not be as user friendly to set up, but once you get it working I never had too many problems and I could at least TRY to fix it myself or change the configuration. Compare that to Windows which seems to fight you tooth and nail to just try to figure out what is going wrong.
Windows is NOT bug free. I get to remember that EVERY SINGLE DAY when I am forced to use Windows computers at school and home.
As with most systems, the problem is the games. What great PSP games are there? Lumines was great, but it launched with the system back in Spring. I liked Hot Shots Golf (not a new title), but it came out in July. There hasn't been much since then. I played Burnout: Revenge when it came out (October?), but it wasn't fresh (just Burnout 3 repackaged). GTA:LCS came out to little fanfare (which suprised me). I've played it, and while it was interesting, the controlls were terrible (they are bad enough on the consoles, but without the second stick things are VERY tough). I still don't see how all the reviews gave it high marks (9 or 10 out of 10) despite some obvious flaws as such (it is a technical marvel, but it had flaws).
So I'm left with my PSP and almost no games. I've played others (Mercury, Twisted Metal, and a few others) but there is no killer game for the PSP in my eyes (Lumines is great, but I don't think it was THAT great); and there doesn't seem to be in anyone else's (I figured it would be GTA:LCS, but I guess I was wrong).
Compare that to the DS. It was slow at first but we got Yoshi's Touch & Go, Wario Ware, Castlevania, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Mr Driller (not new, but the second screen really helped), Phoenix Wright, Kirby: Cursed Canvas, Trauma Center, Mario & Luigi, and I know there are some I'm leaving out. Nintendogs was a massive breakout hit.
The DS has more great games right now, the PSP doesn't. Some of the titles they promoted haven't done well (Death Jr. turned out to be a bit of a dud). The mainstays aren't there (no MGS, Acid doesn't count; GTA didn't have a big impact; a Ratchet & Clank or Jak & Daxter game isn't out yet; we're waiting on Gran Turismo Mobile; etc). A quick look at the release date calendar over at IGN shows nothing I am interested in with a real date, or even a quarter. The next stuff is just "TBA '06". The only thing I can think of that is out now that I want to see is Tokobot which looks interesting but the reviews range from a 50% to a 90% and are all over the map (means it will be a rental at best).
I've had fun with my PSP, but it will be a while before the next game I'm interested in comes out. (Can't even think of what it is). But the DS has those games that just came out I mentioned (Mario & Luigi, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart) plus more comming (Metroid Prime Hunters) in the not to distant future. There is even a title in the Black & White series scheduled to come out in February. And let's not forget the new
There is a difference between a first-gen title (like PGR3) and a port (like most of the 360 games). The games on the 360 are mostly developed for current-gen systems (the sports games), the PC (call of duty 2), or were previously in development for a current-gen system (Kameo was PS2 then XBox, PD0 was a GC title).
Those titles they are talking about aren't "first-gen". They are "last-gen". They are titles from a PS2 or Xbox with higher textures and AA turned on. This isn't a case of not using the hardware to its full potential. We expect that. This is a case of launching with almost no games designed originally for the hardware.
The original was great (I haven't played the sequels because they decided to make it "dark"). However, it was released Dec 4th, 2001. The PS2 was released in the US in September 2000. That game came out a year after the system. Thus, it wasn't a first-gen title for the system.
Believe it or not, there was something called the "Holey Wars" in the last century about electric irons used to iron your clothes.
Irons would only have one hole. Then someone released one with 2. Then 3. Then 4. Etc. Manufactures were jumping all over themselves to offer the iron with the most holes (much like what happened with early transistor radios where extra transisters were just tacked on having no function so they could call it a 6 transister radio).
Seems odd, now that most irons have so many holes on the bottom. You just think that was the way it always was for electric irons.
But it wasn't, and we have the Holey Wars to thank for it.
China is slowly becoming more open and democratic. They may say they are communist, but they are not as communist as they used to be.
As a very big example: they recently allowed people to own land (sometime in the last year).
Personally, I think China will always be "communist". They will just get closer and closer to a market economy and maybe even a democracy until it is almost a meaningless label. In other words, they won't go all at once, it will be slow but steady. To use a Simpsons line: "FOX became a hard-core porn channel so gradually I never even noticed."
Thus, Canada develops the solution to the lack of exercise of a modern person:
Give them the exercise when they try to speed by making them press harder.
PS: Kudos to Canada for making them press harder instead of just limiting the speed. Sometimes you need to speed to get out of the way of a dangerous driver (a timer would help with this too). I would hope they would limit the speed when it rains/snows too as around here (Kansas USA) there are many idiots who think a downpour or slush doesn't have any effect on their cars' handling.
Ape Escape made FANTASTIC use of the dual sticks. The left stick was used to move around, while the right stick let you swing your weapon in any direction (instead of just in front of you). This gave you great control. But they also used it for vehicles and other things. For example, when in a little raft the left analog stick controlled the left paddle, the right controlled the right paddle. Same kind of thing when you were in a tank.
They did a masterful job with the control in that game. That can just can't be done without the dual analog sticks (I've read reviews of the PSP version that says this is one of it's achilie's heels).
True. Nintendo introduced the analog stick. They introduced the rumble pack. They introduced the d-pad (before that you only had joysticks and possibly seperate buttons, they put it together in the classic + shape). They added shoulder buttons.
Before Nintendo what did we have? Little joysticks (2600), paddles (2600), and sets of buttons like a telephone pad (Intellivision). Of course, that idea didn't completely die (see the Jaguar pad).
Nintendo seems to bring it all to us. It gets refined by other companies (Sony added the 2nd analog stick, and introduced built in rumble as opposed to an add-on), but Nintendo is the master so far.
Well, I thought a little more and there is one possibility that I should mention.
Both the PS and the Saturn got analog controllers after launch (ostensibly because they saw how good the N64's analog stick helped things). Now both controllers got a lot of use, much more than most add-on peripherals. The fact that those controllers started being bundled with the consoles did help quite a bit.
But the analog stick was obvious, and the control scheme was very close to the old d-pad (just more accurate) so the games didn't suffer as much if you didn't have one as the difference between the Revolution controller and a current controller. Plus the Sega controller had something of a killer app in Knights: Into Dreams.
My point is if they realize early enough and start packing in, they could adapt during the generation, but it would have to be near the later half of the generation (like the analog controllers). Short of a couple of killer-apps each (a new GTA might be able to do it for the PS3), Nintendo will have the lead in the controller area.
PS: Other things: U-Force for NES, any dance pad (and the running mat for the NES), that octagonal controller for the SNES/Genesis that could detected punches and kicks, the SNES mouse, the PS mouse, the Dreamcast keyboard, the power glove, and many others (note: I realize some of these were third party). And, most obvious of all: steering wheels. They have been around forever (arguably the paddle controllers for the 2600) and are obviously useful, but games are forced to allow normal controls because so few people own them.
I can't wait for the Revolution. The PS3 and the 360 are nice, but they are more of the same. The Revolution is the one that really interests me.
However, I just saw a article on Kotaku that says a top guy from Valve is very excited about the Revolution (as is Kojima).
Plus, apparently Miyamoto hinted at that same event that there is still some big feature of the Revolution that is under-wraps. Considering what they've already showed us, I can't wait to see what else they've got up their sleeves.
Now that would be an obvious nod to Nintendo. It would also validate them and help the Revolution get games.
However, doing that will have one serious problem for MS and Sony (unless their version tops Nintendo's). We all know how well "required" accessories sell for consoles. look at anything from the PS2 broadband adapter, to the GC broadband adapter, to the Sega CD, to the PS2 HD, to the Sega 32X, to most any light-gun (Guncon, Menecer, Super Scope, etc), to the N64 memory upgrade. They just don't get the penetration to make them terribly useful. Most companies won't make designs that require them because "nobody owns one". So unless Halo 3 and FF XII require it, it will probably stay as an afterthought on the the PS3 and XBox 360.
This means more than likely games wouldn't support it, would "tack on" support (like some of the early DS games, where it just hurt the experience), it would need the controller but you could play with the regular (thus must people would think it was terrible because the control with the normal controller would be terrible), or you will HAVE to have the controller and you won't be able to use the old one (thus the price of entry is $30 higher and sales will suffer).
Nintendo has the right solution. I think we will see Sony and MS copy them, but it won't be until the PSP 2, PS 4, or XBox 720.
Have you considered running little in-store tournaments or something like that for various games. You can even use it to show off the latest games (PGR3, DOA4, Soul Caliber 3, Madden '06, whatever). You might even charge a nominal (VERY nominal, $1, $2, or $5) to enter and give a prize (copy of the game? Picture in the store as "Champion of the Month"). If you can get some people coming, you may build a loyal base and they will have to spend some time in the store and might decide to buy something.
You could do other contest type things too. Pac-Man high-score board on the wall (bring in a picture of your score to get placed) or something. You could do it with any game that has something you can easily rank like that. Speed records for various games. Whatever.
Offering expertise (like a sign in the window: "We'll help you pick out what your kids will want") could help you a lot during this season too. While people at Best Buy or GameStop may be able to do that (usually depends on the employee), if you make it obvious that you can do that that may help.
Best advice besides the above? You need word of mouth. Tell your friends and get them to buy there (probably not a problem). Ask them to tell their friends, etc. Offer a discount card (someone already suggested one on used games like Funcoland used to have) and offer to give them $5 credit if they get someone to come in and buy something and say they were recommended to come by the person with the card.
I have recently thought about getting into D&D. Does anyone have suggestions on how to get into this game? Is there anything I should do other than "buy the basic set and start playing"?
Check out Ramsey Kits. They now have a digital FM stereo transmitter kit for sale (very cool). Specifically look at this page. I see three FM broadcast kits other than the one mentioned above. They cost $45, $140, and $270.
Nobody votes on copyright. Almost no one understands it. Most people vote straight ticket (or even worse: some personal system like choose women over men, choose the people with the most interesting names, etc). People only vote on issues if they see the issue as big enough. While we on/. may see that, your average joe doesn't. It takes an issue the size of Abortion, Civil Rights, Death Penalty, etc. to get most people to be a "one-issue-voter".
The voters aren't evil. They're ignorant. They are also stupid for voting when so ignorant. But it isn't evil unless it is gross negligence or intentional.
Most people would rather vote for the congressman who agrees with them on the war and abortion that the one who agrees with the on copyright. You have to rank issues, and for most people copyright is WAY THE HELL DOWN THERE.
Why don't we just blame YOU? If you know so much about it, go start a campaign. Go tell people. Don't just sit back and whine about people don't looking at this issue. Make them look at it. Local news stations and papers are often short on material. Try to get one of them to run a piece on these crazy laws. Get some outrage going.
But don't just sit back and decide the voters are evil. How useful do you think that really is?
On your first point, it basically means the same thing (this is why we need to change "single mom" to mean "never married' and use divorced mom/widowed mom to refer to other possibilities, it is clearer).
But on your second point, I agree completely. The RIAA didn't decide to sue this lady. They sued EVERYONE they thought they could extort (and with 2400 settled lawsuits, I think extortion fits). It just happens to be this lady that is standing up for and not some white 40 year old single guy with no kids (or whatever). Now it may be that because of her situation her lawyer advised her she'd have a better chance at sympathy than the aforementioned white guy.
The RIAA didn't have a choice of who they were taking to court (short of only suing a certain category of person).
Whatever you think of her (guilty, innocent, random extortion target, etc) I think it will be nice to finally get this into a court to see just what kind of "case" the RIAA has (my guess? "The IP address was xxx.yy.zzz.qqq and we have found that pointed to her computer at one point") and maybe even get some kind of precedent (or at least a warning from the Judge along the lines of "Don't try this again with evidence like...").
Tape adapters work great, especially for the price. My brother uses one every day for his iPod in his car and my father used one every day for satellite radio in his car. The only problem we ever had was the wheels in the tape (I don't know why they are even there since they don't do anything) started squeeking. These are the parts that would be where the axle would go on the tape reels. A little WD40 and that was solved.
If you can use one, do it. I want to listen to my iPod in my car but I don't have a cassette deck, have a navigation system (prevents iPod->factory head unit adapters), and can't afford a new stereo ($150-$250 for stereo, $50 for iPod adapter, $100 to make the steering wheel buttons work, and I think it would disable the nav system, and that doesn't include installation).
I am forced to use FM transmitters. I have used the Belkin TuneCast II (not bad, eats batteries) and I currently use a Monster iCarPlaly. It is powerful enough and charges the iPod (Even puts it in pause when you turn the car off!), but it has a little bit of distortion (like playing music too loud with a line-in into a computer, you get a little static/noise some times on some songs, but since the volume out is fixed I can't "turn it down"). I like it, but I would rather have a tape adapter (especially since that would have cost me $60+ less).
I've never heard of the problems with tape adapters, and since they have been used since CD players first appeared I would think if that was a common problem you'd hear more of it. They are used for MP3 players, CD players, satellite radios, etc.
I've got a PSP with firmware 2 or 2.5. Let's see if I care. Here is what they offer me to upgrade:
RSS Support - Don't care
Improved Browser - Don't care
WMA Support - Don't care
Why should I care? I have a computer for web-browsing, a iPod for music, and that same computer for RSS support. I'll get the upgrade when it is forced on me by some game.
How about fixing what I see as the PSP's biggest problem (that can be fixed with firmware): WPA SUPPORT. Why can't it support WPA? It can! I don't see why it shouldn't be able to. Why should I have to run WEP? This is the same complaint I have with Nintendo and the DS.
WPA has been out for years, why won't you let me USE it game companies?
I don't know how common all that is (sounds like me too) among people (or even introverts) but that is how I see it. I could be that only a fraction of introverts are like that. If you take a personality test (like a Myers Brigs test) you can get the description of the kind of person you are and while there are always things that don't fit, there are some that are just spookily accurate. Your type changes over time (I've been an INTP, ISTP, INTJ and ISTJ for example), but the test will tell you how strong each trait is. My "I" (Introvert vs Extrovert) is only mild. The N and P (or S and J) are mild to low. However, my T (Thinking vs Feeling) is WAY up there (and I wouldn't be surprised if yours was too). It can be interesting insight (or just some fun navel-contemplation).
I agree with your last statement though. Every once in a while I get the feeling that I could be some genius or invert some mega-successful-help-the-world type thing if I could just get the right idea to start, instead of the random little things I think of.
I don't know if any of history's great geniuses or important people did this same thing. I've never read about it, but I don't really read biographies. Of course, they may never have written something like that down or discussed it. If I become famous or invent that thing, what are the chances someone would find these "moments of brilliance" (as they may call them:) that I post to Slashdot. Another thing only a time machine will solve.
Of course I know I won't be a Newton, for example. By my age he had basically invented optics, single-handedly created Calculus, made the then most powerful telescope known to man (that out performed telescopes 12x it's size by leaps and bounds), and more. Einstein had some of his major work in place by 25.
But maybe I could be another Philo T. Farnsworth. History will see.
Slashdot Mirror
First there are no great games? Where is the Halo? Where is the Mario? Where is the must have? It is sports and FPSes, and that's about it. I want to play PGR3, and Kameo looks interesting (although opinions on it vary wildly). But past that is is all sports and FPSes (Call of Duty 2 is nice, but it isn't original, it was on PC first). Even a copy of Burnout Revenge or SSX: Tricky or something like that with updated graphics would be nice (Sorry, not an Amped fan). There is no game worth the $470 it would cost me to play it right now (game + system). When I bought an X-Box (a few months after the launch) there was Halo, Jet Set Radio Future (AMAZING game), and a few others.
Second is launch problems. Like people in the article said, a world-wide launch is nice, but only if it works. They only had 400k systems for the US and that is a joke. This part was a DISASTER. Why not launch in the US and Japan only (Europe and other countries later)? Why not launch in the US only and then other countries? You don't want to be over stocked, but you don't want this problem of no-one able to buy your system for the next 2 months. Add in the crashing issues (very small, but got tons of press and thus bad) and things are not good.
Core System is by far the biggest mistake of the launch. "Our console is $300!" is not a good message when the $300 version is crippled. The built-in HDD was easily one of the best things of the original XBox. It could be used for caching and such (helps kill load times). It made saving fast (as opposed to the sometimes glacial pace of memory cards). Dropping it was a HUGE mistake. And in the future you will either put games on the HDD or on many DVDs (see next point). So selling without it is a mistake. I think the whole "Core System" thing was just terribly confusing to the public (when something like 20% of people see "In HD where available" at the bottom of a TV show and think they are watching HD on their old 10 year old TV, you can't expect them to get "Core" vs "Full"). And why does a 20 gig HDD cost $100? That's insane. Make the drive a 3.5" instead of 2.5" and sell us 60 gigs for that $100 and still make a nice profit.
HD? Buy our system and you can play games in HD. All you need is a $1500 TV. Yeah, RIGHT. Most games that are out now are not that much better looking than a XBox or 'Cube when you are on an SDTV. The storage issues worries me (I think they will need to move to multi-disk games VERY soon because of all the high-rez content. And anyways, can you really tell me that Resident Evil 4 on the 'Cube doesn't look good enough? What about Gran Turismo 4? Every previous console generation has brought massively improved graphics. 2600->NES was a huge jump. NES->SNES was too. SNES->PS bought us into 3D. PS->PS2 brought higher poly counts so people weren't blocks anymore. PS2->360 brings us... slightly less jaggies. This jump is the first time the graphics are not obviously improved by a large amount. Maybe things will look better in later titles (they always do) but it's not there now (maybe on HDTV, but that is not many people).
I'll probably buy one later, but I don't think they did a very good job with the launch. The massive shortages were easily the biggest problem. Why didn't they wait until December 14th or something like that so they'd have an extra 2 weeks of production to sell? I know they talked about almost holding the launch, and I think they would have been better off if they did (especially in the games arena when they could have had DOA 4 and other big titles).
Now they did some things right, don't get me wrong. The aesthetics of the unit are better, the controller is better, the XBox Live Arcade is ingenious (I can't wait to play Smash TV and such, but I'm not pay $410 for Smash TV). I wish they would open it up (sell a little dev-kit for $50 or $100 that you do on your PC and upload things to your 360 and you can enter competitions and such. Program it in some managed language l
... it's kinda moronic to see the same bullshit modded insightful day in day out.
WINDOWS HAS PROBLEMS. I switched to a Mac about 9 months ago and I love it. I am VERY competent and I never opened that kind of stuff. I kept my system patched and never had any real problems (my computer was well maintained). Yet Windows still had problems. I've never seen a Windows box that never has problems with suspend and resume at least once in a while. I use my Mac daily taking it too and from school and almost never turning it off (just putting it to sleep by closing the lid). I've never had a problem.
Window's ability to freeze never ceases to amaze me. On well maintained computers, even those that are imaged every night and locked down, Windows freezes. Plug in my thumb-drive then login? I've got about a 1/5 chance of it just freezing. Pull the drive out and it finishes logging in fine. Random freezes with IE (if they want to bundle it and tie it in, it counts as the OS) and times Windows seems to run out of memory (despite having a half-gig). Restart the computer and it's zippy as new. The programs that cause this? IE, Visual Studio, AOL, Office, and tons of others. Why does Task Manager always take so long pop up, and force quit processes? Why is Windows Explorer so slow so often (oh, wait, that is basically IE now)?
And I'll just ignore all those other little things that shouldn't be there. Like why when I click a link in an IE window and switch to another, does the first window jump back up and steal focus away from what I was doing in the second window? That is about the most infuriating thing that happens.
Windows has come a long way from the Windows 95 days, that is a given. But it has barely moved since the Windows 2000 days. OS X is a dream to use and I've experienced basically zero bugs. Linux may not be as user friendly to set up, but once you get it working I never had too many problems and I could at least TRY to fix it myself or change the configuration. Compare that to Windows which seems to fight you tooth and nail to just try to figure out what is going wrong.
Windows is NOT bug free. I get to remember that EVERY SINGLE DAY when I am forced to use Windows computers at school and home.
So I'm left with my PSP and almost no games. I've played others (Mercury, Twisted Metal, and a few others) but there is no killer game for the PSP in my eyes (Lumines is great, but I don't think it was THAT great); and there doesn't seem to be in anyone else's (I figured it would be GTA:LCS, but I guess I was wrong).
Compare that to the DS. It was slow at first but we got Yoshi's Touch & Go, Wario Ware, Castlevania, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Mr Driller (not new, but the second screen really helped), Phoenix Wright, Kirby: Cursed Canvas, Trauma Center, Mario & Luigi, and I know there are some I'm leaving out. Nintendogs was a massive breakout hit.
The DS has more great games right now, the PSP doesn't. Some of the titles they promoted haven't done well (Death Jr. turned out to be a bit of a dud). The mainstays aren't there (no MGS, Acid doesn't count; GTA didn't have a big impact; a Ratchet & Clank or Jak & Daxter game isn't out yet; we're waiting on Gran Turismo Mobile; etc). A quick look at the release date calendar over at IGN shows nothing I am interested in with a real date, or even a quarter. The next stuff is just "TBA '06". The only thing I can think of that is out now that I want to see is Tokobot which looks interesting but the reviews range from a 50% to a 90% and are all over the map (means it will be a rental at best).
I've had fun with my PSP, but it will be a while before the next game I'm interested in comes out. (Can't even think of what it is). But the DS has those games that just came out I mentioned (Mario & Luigi, Animal Crossing, Mario Kart) plus more comming (Metroid Prime Hunters) in the not to distant future. There is even a title in the Black & White series scheduled to come out in February. And let's not forget the new
Those titles they are talking about aren't "first-gen". They are "last-gen". They are titles from a PS2 or Xbox with higher textures and AA turned on. This isn't a case of not using the hardware to its full potential. We expect that. This is a case of launching with almost no games designed originally for the hardware.
The original was great (I haven't played the sequels because they decided to make it "dark"). However, it was released Dec 4th, 2001. The PS2 was released in the US in September 2000. That game came out a year after the system. Thus, it wasn't a first-gen title for the system.
Irons would only have one hole. Then someone released one with 2. Then 3. Then 4. Etc. Manufactures were jumping all over themselves to offer the iron with the most holes (much like what happened with early transistor radios where extra transisters were just tacked on having no function so they could call it a 6 transister radio).
Seems odd, now that most irons have so many holes on the bottom. You just think that was the way it always was for electric irons.
But it wasn't, and we have the Holey Wars to thank for it.
As a very big example: they recently allowed people to own land (sometime in the last year).
Personally, I think China will always be "communist". They will just get closer and closer to a market economy and maybe even a democracy until it is almost a meaningless label. In other words, they won't go all at once, it will be slow but steady. To use a Simpsons line: "FOX became a hard-core porn channel so gradually I never even noticed."
Give them the exercise when they try to speed by making them press harder.
PS: Kudos to Canada for making them press harder instead of just limiting the speed. Sometimes you need to speed to get out of the way of a dangerous driver (a timer would help with this too). I would hope they would limit the speed when it rains/snows too as around here (Kansas USA) there are many idiots who think a downpour or slush doesn't have any effect on their cars' handling.
Ape Escape made FANTASTIC use of the dual sticks. The left stick was used to move around, while the right stick let you swing your weapon in any direction (instead of just in front of you). This gave you great control. But they also used it for vehicles and other things. For example, when in a little raft the left analog stick controlled the left paddle, the right controlled the right paddle. Same kind of thing when you were in a tank.
They did a masterful job with the control in that game. That can just can't be done without the dual analog sticks (I've read reviews of the PSP version that says this is one of it's achilie's heels).
Before Nintendo what did we have? Little joysticks (2600), paddles (2600), and sets of buttons like a telephone pad (Intellivision). Of course, that idea didn't completely die (see the Jaguar pad).
Nintendo seems to bring it all to us. It gets refined by other companies (Sony added the 2nd analog stick, and introduced built in rumble as opposed to an add-on), but Nintendo is the master so far.
Both the PS and the Saturn got analog controllers after launch (ostensibly because they saw how good the N64's analog stick helped things). Now both controllers got a lot of use, much more than most add-on peripherals. The fact that those controllers started being bundled with the consoles did help quite a bit.
But the analog stick was obvious, and the control scheme was very close to the old d-pad (just more accurate) so the games didn't suffer as much if you didn't have one as the difference between the Revolution controller and a current controller. Plus the Sega controller had something of a killer app in Knights: Into Dreams.
My point is if they realize early enough and start packing in, they could adapt during the generation, but it would have to be near the later half of the generation (like the analog controllers). Short of a couple of killer-apps each (a new GTA might be able to do it for the PS3), Nintendo will have the lead in the controller area.
PS: Other things: U-Force for NES, any dance pad (and the running mat for the NES), that octagonal controller for the SNES/Genesis that could detected punches and kicks, the SNES mouse, the PS mouse, the Dreamcast keyboard, the power glove, and many others (note: I realize some of these were third party). And, most obvious of all: steering wheels. They have been around forever (arguably the paddle controllers for the 2600) and are obviously useful, but games are forced to allow normal controls because so few people own them.
However, I just saw a article on Kotaku that says a top guy from Valve is very excited about the Revolution (as is Kojima).
Plus, apparently Miyamoto hinted at that same event that there is still some big feature of the Revolution that is under-wraps. Considering what they've already showed us, I can't wait to see what else they've got up their sleeves.
Now that would be an obvious nod to Nintendo. It would also validate them and help the Revolution get games.
However, doing that will have one serious problem for MS and Sony (unless their version tops Nintendo's). We all know how well "required" accessories sell for consoles. look at anything from the PS2 broadband adapter, to the GC broadband adapter, to the Sega CD, to the PS2 HD, to the Sega 32X, to most any light-gun (Guncon, Menecer, Super Scope, etc), to the N64 memory upgrade. They just don't get the penetration to make them terribly useful. Most companies won't make designs that require them because "nobody owns one". So unless Halo 3 and FF XII require it, it will probably stay as an afterthought on the the PS3 and XBox 360.
This means more than likely games wouldn't support it, would "tack on" support (like some of the early DS games, where it just hurt the experience), it would need the controller but you could play with the regular (thus must people would think it was terrible because the control with the normal controller would be terrible), or you will HAVE to have the controller and you won't be able to use the old one (thus the price of entry is $30 higher and sales will suffer).
Nintendo has the right solution. I think we will see Sony and MS copy them, but it won't be until the PSP 2, PS 4, or XBox 720.
You could do other contest type things too. Pac-Man high-score board on the wall (bring in a picture of your score to get placed) or something. You could do it with any game that has something you can easily rank like that. Speed records for various games. Whatever.
Offering expertise (like a sign in the window: "We'll help you pick out what your kids will want") could help you a lot during this season too. While people at Best Buy or GameStop may be able to do that (usually depends on the employee), if you make it obvious that you can do that that may help.
Best advice besides the above? You need word of mouth. Tell your friends and get them to buy there (probably not a problem). Ask them to tell their friends, etc. Offer a discount card (someone already suggested one on used games like Funcoland used to have) and offer to give them $5 credit if they get someone to come in and buy something and say they were recommended to come by the person with the card.
I have recently thought about getting into D&D. Does anyone have suggestions on how to get into this game? Is there anything I should do other than "buy the basic set and start playing"?
Check out Ramsey Kits. They now have a digital FM stereo transmitter kit for sale (very cool). Specifically look at this page. I see three FM broadcast kits other than the one mentioned above. They cost $45, $140, and $270.
The voters aren't evil. They're ignorant. They are also stupid for voting when so ignorant. But it isn't evil unless it is gross negligence or intentional.
Most people would rather vote for the congressman who agrees with them on the war and abortion that the one who agrees with the on copyright. You have to rank issues, and for most people copyright is WAY THE HELL DOWN THERE.
Why don't we just blame YOU? If you know so much about it, go start a campaign. Go tell people. Don't just sit back and whine about people don't looking at this issue. Make them look at it. Local news stations and papers are often short on material. Try to get one of them to run a piece on these crazy laws. Get some outrage going.
But don't just sit back and decide the voters are evil. How useful do you think that really is?
But on your second point, I agree completely. The RIAA didn't decide to sue this lady. They sued EVERYONE they thought they could extort (and with 2400 settled lawsuits, I think extortion fits). It just happens to be this lady that is standing up for and not some white 40 year old single guy with no kids (or whatever). Now it may be that because of her situation her lawyer advised her she'd have a better chance at sympathy than the aforementioned white guy.
The RIAA didn't have a choice of who they were taking to court (short of only suing a certain category of person).
Whatever you think of her (guilty, innocent, random extortion target, etc) I think it will be nice to finally get this into a court to see just what kind of "case" the RIAA has (my guess? "The IP address was xxx.yy.zzz.qqq and we have found that pointed to her computer at one point") and maybe even get some kind of precedent (or at least a warning from the Judge along the lines of "Don't try this again with evidence like...").
If you can use one, do it. I want to listen to my iPod in my car but I don't have a cassette deck, have a navigation system (prevents iPod->factory head unit adapters), and can't afford a new stereo ($150-$250 for stereo, $50 for iPod adapter, $100 to make the steering wheel buttons work, and I think it would disable the nav system, and that doesn't include installation).
I am forced to use FM transmitters. I have used the Belkin TuneCast II (not bad, eats batteries) and I currently use a Monster iCarPlaly. It is powerful enough and charges the iPod (Even puts it in pause when you turn the car off!), but it has a little bit of distortion (like playing music too loud with a line-in into a computer, you get a little static/noise some times on some songs, but since the volume out is fixed I can't "turn it down"). I like it, but I would rather have a tape adapter (especially since that would have cost me $60+ less).
I've never heard of the problems with tape adapters, and since they have been used since CD players first appeared I would think if that was a common problem you'd hear more of it. They are used for MP3 players, CD players, satellite radios, etc.
Note: That movie is being remade. I wonder if the same thing applies to it :)
Thanks for the info. I haven't had a reason to try to use my PSP online recently, so I haven't tried it.
Oh, that's right. It supports it, it just didn't work with my airport express. I guess I should try again after this update.
Why should I care? I have a computer for web-browsing, a iPod for music, and that same computer for RSS support. I'll get the upgrade when it is forced on me by some game.
How about fixing what I see as the PSP's biggest problem (that can be fixed with firmware): WPA SUPPORT. Why can't it support WPA? It can! I don't see why it shouldn't be able to. Why should I have to run WEP? This is the same complaint I have with Nintendo and the DS.
WPA has been out for years, why won't you let me USE it game companies?
Come on Nintendo! Give it to us! Sony just announce they will announce details at CES (Jan 6th). We'll see what happens.
I agree with your last statement though. Every once in a while I get the feeling that I could be some genius or invert some mega-successful-help-the-world type thing if I could just get the right idea to start, instead of the random little things I think of.
I don't know if any of history's great geniuses or important people did this same thing. I've never read about it, but I don't really read biographies. Of course, they may never have written something like that down or discussed it. If I become famous or invent that thing, what are the chances someone would find these "moments of brilliance" (as they may call them :) that I post to Slashdot. Another thing only a time machine will solve.
Of course I know I won't be a Newton, for example. By my age he had basically invented optics, single-handedly created Calculus, made the then most powerful telescope known to man (that out performed telescopes 12x it's size by leaps and bounds), and more. Einstein had some of his major work in place by 25.
But maybe I could be another Philo T. Farnsworth. History will see.