I thought that the very principle of lasing depended on the fact that light gets stimulated and released at a single wavelength in the laser cavity. Can you link to a good source of info on these broadband lasers? I'd love to see how they work!
I dunno... It sounds pretty reasonable to me. The only difference between Laser and DLP technology is the source of colored light. DLP uses white light through a color wheel to produce the RGB colors. Lasers produce the colors directly, and lasers in all three colors are now commercially available, although expensive (been to ThinkGeek lately?).
Laser TV technology is definitely NOT vaporware. The technology is already here. Now, the claims of quality may be a bit hyped at this moment, but given the intensity possible with laser light, I fully expect the laser tv to be an amazing display when all the bugs get worked out.
Uh, what? Why not keep the wings, and use one of these as the primary rearward thrust device? You need less thrust to keep a winged aircraft in the air than you do for keeping a device up off the ground.
Well, from what I gather by reading the article, the reason for not using the microwave engine for primary rearard thrust is that apparently when the device is accellerated along the axis of the generated force, energy is lost from the microwave cavity more quickly than it can be put back in by the microwave generator. Thus, if you move the device forward quickly, the device ceases to thrust. However, if you use the microwave device for lift rather than forward movement, the motion along the axis of thrust is much less, and the microwave input can continue to generate sufficient thrust to keep a vehicle in the air. Theoretically, of course.
While it is true that wings are a very good way to translate forward motion into lift, do you have any alternative ways to generate sufficient forward motion (and thus lift) with only electricity and/or hydrogen as the energy source?
And just a side note, it does sadden me to see so many people on slashdot trying to disprove this device using what little bits of physics they remember from school. Seriously... from reading the article, this guy IS a rocket scientist, he is trying to harness forces that have been observed in other well documented scientific endeavors (forces stretching microwave cavities used in particle accellerators), and he is willing to have his work scrutinized and verified by independent parties. Hardly the behavior of the crackpot ya'll make him out to be. If his theories are flawed, someone with experience in the field will surely disprove him soon enough.
Also checked out your latest blog entry and your take on the situation. You make some good points about MTV at least being interested in the company for more than just the usual corporate rape-and-pillage that happens so often to smaller game companies.
Kutaragi also pretty much confirmed that we won't be seeing a comparative price drop in other territories. According to Ken, the Japanese pricing changes were merely an adjustment to keep the price inline with the market. He argued that the misconception that 1 dollar equals 1 euro equals 100 yen is not a fair comparison. So keep saving, kids. The PlayStation 3 is looking better and better, but still expensive as all get out.
So, it still isn't looking good fro a US price drop.
I wonder if they'll do the same thing in the US...
I'm almost certain that the US will NOT be seeing a price drop. Why? Pricing comparison...
In Japan: Wii --> 25,000 yen PS3 --> now 50,000 yen HD-DVD 360 --> no one buys anyway.
so, PS3 is NOW twice the price of the Wii.
In the US: Wii --> $250 PS3 --> $500 HD-DVD 360 --> approx $480.
PS3 is already twice the Wii price. Why drop the price further in the US when relative pricing is already the same. And the price is already competitive with an HD-DVD enabled 360 so no need to drop it on that account.
From the article: "The Video Gamer Segmentation Report separated gamers into six groups: heavy gamers, avid console gamers, mass market gamers, prefer portable gamers, secondary gamers, and infrequent gamers."
But if we re-name the groups to better describe who they are, the results aren't too surprising.
1) 14-20 year old guys. The only people who can easily fit into the first group are those with large disposable time and incomes, so naturally, this will be skewed towards those in high school. But, at one gender and only a few years of the analysis window, it's not surprising that they are only a few percent of all the gamers overall.
2) Fanboys. They can come in any age, but "avid" console players still need lots of time, so again, the skew towards high school, but not as much so as the "heavy" gamers. Also, the fact that many people mature in college and may lose their fanboyism also drives the skew towards younger kids.
3) Average Joe Consumer. This is the one to blame for all the sports game rehashes, boring sequels, movie tie-ins, and cartoon show tie-ins. Only buys based on what is popular and/or advertised. The article didn't giva a full breakdown as to how many people were in this group, but I'm willing to bet its the second largest behind the casual/non gamers. Of all the demographics this is the one I really wish would go away, because most game publishers ARE aware of this large market, and hence they push more and more mediocre games every year to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
4) Commuters. Either the young children who need something to do in the car while mom drives them all over suburbia, or those who take public transportation to and from work. Portable games are there primarily to alleviate boredom when you can't be home playing games. SO, with more gamers actually getting jobs as they grow up, many will shift from consoles to portables. Hence the surprisingly older ages of those who like portables.
5) People with lives. Gamers who like to play, but don't always have the time or money. Not much was said about this group in the article, so I can't say much here.
6) Non-gamers. They know what games are beacuse they live with gamers or know gamers, but they don't really have an interest. Big market, but good luck cracking it.
Anyway, the bottom line is that this isn't really news to anybody who actually watches what is going on in gaming. It is nice to see that the gaming culture as a whole is getting some consideration though. Of course it still doesn't fix the fact that no matter what category each of us falls into, the others will always be the ones to blame anytime the industry starts to falter or stagnate.
Why bother killing the chip? Couldn't a person just use the rfid technology against the machine? In another post around here, it was mentioned that the player may have a "check" chip embedded somewhere in the case to make sure that the player's rfid reader is working properly, and optical bits on the disc to make sure the reader looks for a chip.
So, what I'm wondering is why not just cut a working rfid tag from a disc and stick it right in the case next to the reader? Then, no matter what disk you put in the player, if the player looks for a chip it will find one.
Even if there is an optical bit on the disc telling the chip reader what specific response to look for, I'm willing to bet that the chip reader will have some sort of generic pass code that can be sent to it (used for debugging or testing purposes) and it will only be a matter of time before some engineers crack the system to make generic rfid chips to place in the player case to bypass the disc-embedded ones.
"How many hours of WoW can you get for the same price?"
The better question here is how many hours are you allowed to play for the same price. I can buy a console game and play as much or as little as I want for as long as I own the game. However, for the price of that one game, I can only get the software for WoW and one additional month of play time.
Games that require subscriptions are the biggest reason that I don't play MMO's nor own an Xbox(360). In general, consoles give the best value because:
1) Most console games don't require constant re-investment of money (although this is unfortunately starting to change with the new systems).
2) If I'm not sure that I would like a console game, I can always go rent it first. Where can I rent PC games from? PC demos are always limited in either content or time allowed to play. With console game rentals, I can rent and beat several titles (whether good or bad) for the price of a single purchase on any system. Then if I decide that a game is worth having around for casual playing, I can buy it. Which goes back to point #1, most games I buy for the reason that they are fun to pull out every once in awhile and play with friends. With a console I don't have to worry about those games not working weeks/months later.
3) Console games are easier to resell. If I do buy a game and later decide I don't need it, reselling it or giving it to a sibling is no problem, and there are lots of places willing to buy (although most give such a small amount I prefer to just give away to friends and family). They don't have to worry about registration or licensing issues. If you have the disc in your posession, you can play the game whenever and however you want. PC games on average are not nearly as transferrable.
Yeah, I know that the Console vs. PC debate has been raging forever and will never go away, the the above are just a few of the reasons that I switched to the console camp years ago, and have never looked back.
Required, no. And very few will give cash back if you don't have a reciept, but many brick and mortar stores will give store credit for anything that their computer system recognizes. Especially in the weeks right after Christmas. Lots of stores relax their return policies for the after-christmas returns, because it's just too much hassle to deal with angry customers who either lost or never had reciepts for their gifts.
I don't think you can file a class action suit over a price drop. To do so would really set a bad precident. It would mean the end of the budget games for one thing. However, many stores (such as wal-mart and target) WILL price-match themselves within a certain time period. That is, if you buy a PSP one day, and the price drops within the following X days (policy varies by store), you can take your reciept back and get a refund of the difference.
What really sucks though, is when the stores play the reverse of this on you. Say you get a gift and try to return it to walmart without a reciept, the store can say that "our computer shows we had this item on sale/clearance for [some value] within the last X days," even if that sale only lasted for a few seconds in the computer, and only give a fraction of the value back.
Having a launch like the DS isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sure, the first wave of games will feel "gimmicky" because the developers are all trying out the new interface. However, give the system a year, and people will start to build on what features really work. I think that it is safe to say that Christmas 2007 will be the point where the Wii really begins to shine, as we get past the Wow factor, and really get into the creative gameplay. Also, the developers by then will have enough experience and code built up for the system that they can add more focus on tweaking the graphics further to make games that look as good as they play.
So, if the Wii vs. PS3 is anything like DS vs. PSP, then I'll be anxiously waiting in line for a Wii on day one since I know that I will still be playing with it two years later... even if the first few games are gimmicky and rushed out.
Really? I also read something like this at Gamefaqs so I tried focusing on keeping the people alive, but I still failed the mission when time ran out while working on patient #5. I eventually had to put the game down for a few days. Fortunately, when I came back and tried it again, I finished all five patients with almost a minute to spare. I think that somethimes the best strategy is to take a break and not obsess over not being able to complete a task. Getting frustrated only makes it harder.
If that's your only reason for getting Trauma Center, then you'll be pretty disappointed. The way the game plays, deviating from the proper surgical procedure will quickly result in a failed mission and you'll have to restart. There is no "free play" mode where you can just slice and dice in an exploratory surgery doing whatever you want.
Are you using the same TV screen as the store displays? Many stores now have bright, crisp LCD displays for the demo units, while you most likely are using an older CRT television which is not configured to optimally display games. And what cables are you using? standard RCA cables, wheras the PS2 and Xbox demos have component cables? There are many system setup differences that are more likely able to explain your problem other that the difference in gamecube/ps2 hardware.
Now, if your complaint had to do with the rendering quality, or processing speed (games slowing down on one version when the action gets intense), or visual details present/absent, etc., THEN you might have a case to make.
In general, Nintendo titles do NOT quickly drop in price after release. At least not first party titles. This has pretty much been the case with the Gamecube, and will remain to be the case on the Wii. How long did it take for the launch titles you mention to get to the budget price they're at now? It took years, not months! The only thing that tends to make a nintendo title quikly drop in price is when a sequel comes out. Unlike the other consoles, becoming a "players choice" title does not grant an immediate $20 price tag either. It just means that they'll keep making more copies of the game, with small price decreases every now and then.
Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata has said before that he feels the game market is much healthier if games are given an appropriate initial priced based on various development criteria and costs, and then not discounted at all for several years.
While the downside to this philosophy is that you do fork over a lot of money for the AAA titles, the benefit is that you also don't have to risk much on low-budget gems. We've also seen this philosophy being played out in the DS market. There, the AAA titles generally run $30-35, while "cheaply produced" titles such as Brain Age and Big Brain Academy hit the shelves at only $20.
It's called "Summer." Lately, I've been too busy travelling or doing other things outdoors to watch my Netflix rentals in a timely manner. I'm sure that my viewing habits will pick back up in a few months though.
Try importing Daigasso! Band Brothers! for the Nintendo DS... sure, you just press buttons instead of simulating the actual instruments, but it already supports up to 8 "instruments" from a single copy of the game. So, if you have enough friends with DS's, you can play as a band together. Sigle player is neat, but it's even more fun with multiple people. One person (especially if they're on the drum part) can throw the whole group off, but the sense of accomplishment in playing through a song as a group is great.
And, if you're patient you can also write your own music for it, so it has great expandability.
Yes, there is merit in eating at a "Sony" 4 or 5 star restaraunt when the situation calls for it. They are certainly prestegious and beautiful in presentation, and they have some very unique flavors to offer. But, to be honest, I have neither the stomach nor the wallet to sustain such a habit on a daily basis.
Microsoft is now in the position of "Sit-down Casual Dining Chain." That is, MS has become the Applebee's or Olive Garden of the game industry. Everything looks nice and clean, but is still moderately overpriced and entirely predictable. The management counts on a large percentage of customers coming in for a "cheap" entree, but then spending excessively on the appetizers, drinks, and desserts. These restaraunts, like the XBox360, are wildly popular with the upper middle class who are too lazy to cook (or think) for themselves, and tend to follow whatever happens to be popular at the moment. The mixed blessing of this establishment is that while you know exactly what you will get and it is generally satisfying, there really isn't as much variety as you might originally think. Every restaraunt just has a slightly different take on the same generic menu.
And then there is Nintendo. They are positioning their Wii console to be the corner bar and/or family-run "hole in the wall" ethnic restaraunt. Sure, the quality may vary wildly from place to place, and the "interface" may be lacking (or take some time to get used to)at some restaraunts. However, taken as a whole, it is this class of eating establishments where one is most likely going to find the places that have the best -- that is, the most authentic in a given genre -- food, and more often than not, it will be at a very reasonable price, because these restaraunts don't have to worry about all the overhead and expenditures on image.
So, I don't know about you, but most of my favorite restaraunts fall into the latter category, just as I suspect that most of my favorite games in the next generation will turn out on the Nintendo Wii.
Yes, I know that more sequels aren't the "innovation" that everyone wants to see on the Wii, but it would work because it's simple enough that you don't have to worry about a lot of the issues already raised here. And depending on the character used, the wii remote can be either a saber or a blaster (or whatever weapon).
I definitely agree with Sonic. As someone mentioned below, we could finally settle the 8/16 bit mascot grudge for good.
Bonk is another good choice. Pac man is a little more questionable. Without any limbs, it severely limits the possible attacks ha can do. Seriously, how many ways could one character eat another? Same goes for Q-bert. His only original move is the hop, and touching anything killed him, I just don't see him as a brawler.
Megaman, though, would be a lot of fun. While his arm cannon may make him too much like Samus, it would be great to give him a dozen or so "stolen" weapons to work with as well.
I would guess that this game WILL be online. After all, what is the point of having the Nintendog block the view of everyone? In past SSB games, items with large area effects (eg, pokeballs) typically didn't affect the person that initiated them.
I'm guessing that the nintendog will be an item that only comes up during online play, obscuring the screens of your opponents, so that people don't get ticked off by accidentally killing themselves every time they let one loose.
Slashdot Mirror
broadband white laser?? Do these exist?
I thought that the very principle of lasing depended on the fact that light gets stimulated and released at a single wavelength in the laser cavity. Can you link to a good source of info on these broadband lasers? I'd love to see how they work!
I dunno... It sounds pretty reasonable to me. The only difference between Laser and DLP technology is the source of colored light. DLP uses white light through a color wheel to produce the RGB colors. Lasers produce the colors directly, and lasers in all three colors are now commercially available, although expensive (been to ThinkGeek lately?).
Laser TV technology is definitely NOT vaporware. The technology is already here. Now, the claims of quality may be a bit hyped at this moment, but given the intensity possible with laser light, I fully expect the laser tv to be an amazing display when all the bugs get worked out.
Well, from what I gather by reading the article, the reason for not using the microwave engine for primary rearard thrust is that apparently when the device is accellerated along the axis of the generated force, energy is lost from the microwave cavity more quickly than it can be put back in by the microwave generator. Thus, if you move the device forward quickly, the device ceases to thrust. However, if you use the microwave device for lift rather than forward movement, the motion along the axis of thrust is much less, and the microwave input can continue to generate sufficient thrust to keep a vehicle in the air. Theoretically, of course.
While it is true that wings are a very good way to translate forward motion into lift, do you have any alternative ways to generate sufficient forward motion (and thus lift) with only electricity and/or hydrogen as the energy source?
And just a side note, it does sadden me to see so many people on slashdot trying to disprove this device using what little bits of physics they remember from school. Seriously... from reading the article, this guy IS a rocket scientist, he is trying to harness forces that have been observed in other well documented scientific endeavors (forces stretching microwave cavities used in particle accellerators), and he is willing to have his work scrutinized and verified by independent parties. Hardly the behavior of the crackpot ya'll make him out to be. If his theories are flawed, someone with experience in the field will surely disprove him soon enough.
Thanks for the clarification.
Also checked out your latest blog entry and your take on the situation. You make some good points about MTV at least being interested in the company for more than just the usual corporate rape-and-pillage that happens so often to smaller game companies.
It will be interesting to see what comes of this.
So, if Harmonix is busy working on MTV's internal projects and properties, does that me no more music related console games from them?
Or does it mean that any new games franchises will lean very heavily on MTV's "popular" content?
Either way, this makes me sad.
So, it still isn't looking good fro a US price drop.
I'm almost certain that the US will NOT be seeing a price drop. Why? Pricing comparison...
In Japan:
Wii --> 25,000 yen
PS3 --> now 50,000 yen
HD-DVD 360 --> no one buys anyway.
so, PS3 is NOW twice the price of the Wii.
In the US:
Wii --> $250
PS3 --> $500
HD-DVD 360 --> approx $480.
PS3 is already twice the Wii price. Why drop the price further in the US when relative pricing is already the same. And the price is already competitive with an HD-DVD enabled 360 so no need to drop it on that account.
Actually, He's saying that he is excited about the prospect of having MANY PEOPLE play with his Wii IN PUBLIC.
From the article: "The Video Gamer Segmentation Report separated gamers into six groups: heavy gamers, avid console gamers, mass market gamers, prefer portable gamers, secondary gamers, and infrequent gamers."
But if we re-name the groups to better describe who they are, the results aren't too surprising.
1) 14-20 year old guys. The only people who can easily fit into the first group are those with large disposable time and incomes, so naturally, this will be skewed towards those in high school. But, at one gender and only a few years of the analysis window, it's not surprising that they are only a few percent of all the gamers overall.
2) Fanboys. They can come in any age, but "avid" console players still need lots of time, so again, the skew towards high school, but not as much so as the "heavy" gamers. Also, the fact that many people mature in college and may lose their fanboyism also drives the skew towards younger kids.
3) Average Joe Consumer. This is the one to blame for all the sports game rehashes, boring sequels, movie tie-ins, and cartoon show tie-ins. Only buys based on what is popular and/or advertised. The article didn't giva a full breakdown as to how many people were in this group, but I'm willing to bet its the second largest behind the casual/non gamers. Of all the demographics this is the one I really wish would go away, because most game publishers ARE aware of this large market, and hence they push more and more mediocre games every year to appeal to the lowest common denominator.
4) Commuters. Either the young children who need something to do in the car while mom drives them all over suburbia, or those who take public transportation to and from work. Portable games are there primarily to alleviate boredom when you can't be home playing games. SO, with more gamers actually getting jobs as they grow up, many will shift from consoles to portables. Hence the surprisingly older ages of those who like portables.
5) People with lives. Gamers who like to play, but don't always have the time or money. Not much was said about this group in the article, so I can't say much here.
6) Non-gamers. They know what games are beacuse they live with gamers or know gamers, but they don't really have an interest. Big market, but good luck cracking it.
Anyway, the bottom line is that this isn't really news to anybody who actually watches what is going on in gaming. It is nice to see that the gaming culture as a whole is getting some consideration though. Of course it still doesn't fix the fact that no matter what category each of us falls into, the others will always be the ones to blame anytime the industry starts to falter or stagnate.
Why bother killing the chip? Couldn't a person just use the rfid technology against the machine? In another post around here, it was mentioned that the player may have a "check" chip embedded somewhere in the case to make sure that the player's rfid reader is working properly, and optical bits on the disc to make sure the reader looks for a chip.
So, what I'm wondering is why not just cut a working rfid tag from a disc and stick it right in the case next to the reader? Then, no matter what disk you put in the player, if the player looks for a chip it will find one.
Even if there is an optical bit on the disc telling the chip reader what specific response to look for, I'm willing to bet that the chip reader will have some sort of generic pass code that can be sent to it (used for debugging or testing purposes) and it will only be a matter of time before some engineers crack the system to make generic rfid chips to place in the player case to bypass the disc-embedded ones.
"How many hours of WoW can you get for the same price?"
The better question here is how many hours are you allowed to play for the same price. I can buy a console game and play as much or as little as I want for as long as I own the game. However, for the price of that one game, I can only get the software for WoW and one additional month of play time.
Games that require subscriptions are the biggest reason that I don't play MMO's nor own an Xbox(360). In general, consoles give the best value because:
1) Most console games don't require constant re-investment of money (although this is unfortunately starting to change with the new systems).
2) If I'm not sure that I would like a console game, I can always go rent it first. Where can I rent PC games from? PC demos are always limited in either content or time allowed to play. With console game rentals, I can rent and beat several titles (whether good or bad) for the price of a single purchase on any system. Then if I decide that a game is worth having around for casual playing, I can buy it. Which goes back to point #1, most games I buy for the reason that they are fun to pull out every once in awhile and play with friends. With a console I don't have to worry about those games not working weeks/months later.
3) Console games are easier to resell. If I do buy a game and later decide I don't need it, reselling it or giving it to a sibling is no problem, and there are lots of places willing to buy (although most give such a small amount I prefer to just give away to friends and family). They don't have to worry about registration or licensing issues. If you have the disc in your posession, you can play the game whenever and however you want. PC games on average are not nearly as transferrable.
Yeah, I know that the Console vs. PC debate has been raging forever and will never go away, the the above are just a few of the reasons that I switched to the console camp years ago, and have never looked back.
The character that really needs to be added is Phoenix Wright and his Index Finger of Doom!
"Take That!"
Required, no. And very few will give cash back if you don't have a reciept, but many brick and mortar stores will give store credit for anything that their computer system recognizes. Especially in the weeks right after Christmas. Lots of stores relax their return policies for the after-christmas returns, because it's just too much hassle to deal with angry customers who either lost or never had reciepts for their gifts.
I don't think you can file a class action suit over a price drop. To do so would really set a bad precident. It would mean the end of the budget games for one thing. However, many stores (such as wal-mart and target) WILL price-match themselves within a certain time period. That is, if you buy a PSP one day, and the price drops within the following X days (policy varies by store), you can take your reciept back and get a refund of the difference.
What really sucks though, is when the stores play the reverse of this on you. Say you get a gift and try to return it to walmart without a reciept, the store can say that "our computer shows we had this item on sale/clearance for [some value] within the last X days," even if that sale only lasted for a few seconds in the computer, and only give a fraction of the value back.
Having a launch like the DS isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sure, the first wave of games will feel "gimmicky" because the developers are all trying out the new interface. However, give the system a year, and people will start to build on what features really work. I think that it is safe to say that Christmas 2007 will be the point where the Wii really begins to shine, as we get past the Wow factor, and really get into the creative gameplay. Also, the developers by then will have enough experience and code built up for the system that they can add more focus on tweaking the graphics further to make games that look as good as they play.
So, if the Wii vs. PS3 is anything like DS vs. PSP, then I'll be anxiously waiting in line for a Wii on day one since I know that I will still be playing with it two years later... even if the first few games are gimmicky and rushed out.
Really? I also read something like this at Gamefaqs so I tried focusing on keeping the people alive, but I still failed the mission when time ran out while working on patient #5. I eventually had to put the game down for a few days. Fortunately, when I came back and tried it again, I finished all five patients with almost a minute to spare. I think that somethimes the best strategy is to take a break and not obsess over not being able to complete a task. Getting frustrated only makes it harder.
If that's your only reason for getting Trauma Center, then you'll be pretty disappointed. The way the game plays, deviating from the proper surgical procedure will quickly result in a failed mission and you'll have to restart. There is no "free play" mode where you can just slice and dice in an exploratory surgery doing whatever you want.
Are you using the same TV screen as the store displays? Many stores now have bright, crisp LCD displays for the demo units, while you most likely are using an older CRT television which is not configured to optimally display games. And what cables are you using? standard RCA cables, wheras the PS2 and Xbox demos have component cables? There are many system setup differences that are more likely able to explain your problem other that the difference in gamecube/ps2 hardware.
Now, if your complaint had to do with the rendering quality, or processing speed (games slowing down on one version when the action gets intense), or visual details present/absent, etc., THEN you might have a case to make.
In general, Nintendo titles do NOT quickly drop in price after release. At least not first party titles. This has pretty much been the case with the Gamecube, and will remain to be the case on the Wii. How long did it take for the launch titles you mention to get to the budget price they're at now? It took years, not months! The only thing that tends to make a nintendo title quikly drop in price is when a sequel comes out. Unlike the other consoles, becoming a "players choice" title does not grant an immediate $20 price tag either. It just means that they'll keep making more copies of the game, with small price decreases every now and then.
Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata has said before that he feels the game market is much healthier if games are given an appropriate initial priced based on various development criteria and costs, and then not discounted at all for several years.
While the downside to this philosophy is that you do fork over a lot of money for the AAA titles, the benefit is that you also don't have to risk much on low-budget gems. We've also seen this philosophy being played out in the DS market. There, the AAA titles generally run $30-35, while "cheaply produced" titles such as Brain Age and Big Brain Academy hit the shelves at only $20.
It's called "Summer." Lately, I've been too busy travelling or doing other things outdoors to watch my Netflix rentals in a timely manner. I'm sure that my viewing habits will pick back up in a few months though.
Try importing Daigasso! Band Brothers! for the Nintendo DS... sure, you just press buttons instead of simulating the actual instruments, but it already supports up to 8 "instruments" from a single copy of the game. So, if you have enough friends with DS's, you can play as a band together. Sigle player is neat, but it's even more fun with multiple people. One person (especially if they're on the drum part) can throw the whole group off, but the sense of accomplishment in playing through a song as a group is great.
And, if you're patient you can also write your own music for it, so it has great expandability.
I really like the restaraunt analogy...
Yes, there is merit in eating at a "Sony" 4 or 5 star restaraunt when the situation calls for it. They are certainly prestegious and beautiful in presentation, and they have some very unique flavors to offer. But, to be honest, I have neither the stomach nor the wallet to sustain such a habit on a daily basis.
Microsoft is now in the position of "Sit-down Casual Dining Chain." That is, MS has become the Applebee's or Olive Garden of the game industry. Everything looks nice and clean, but is still moderately overpriced and entirely predictable. The management counts on a large percentage of customers coming in for a "cheap" entree, but then spending excessively on the appetizers, drinks, and desserts. These restaraunts, like the XBox360, are wildly popular with the upper middle class who are too lazy to cook (or think) for themselves, and tend to follow whatever happens to be popular at the moment. The mixed blessing of this establishment is that while you know exactly what you will get and it is generally satisfying, there really isn't as much variety as you might originally think. Every restaraunt just has a slightly different take on the same generic menu.
And then there is Nintendo. They are positioning their Wii console to be the corner bar and/or family-run "hole in the wall" ethnic restaraunt. Sure, the quality may vary wildly from place to place, and the "interface" may be lacking (or take some time to get used to)at some restaraunts. However, taken as a whole, it is this class of eating establishments where one is most likely going to find the places that have the best -- that is, the most authentic in a given genre -- food, and more often than not, it will be at a very reasonable price, because these restaraunts don't have to worry about all the overhead and expenditures on image.
So, I don't know about you, but most of my favorite restaraunts fall into the latter category, just as I suspect that most of my favorite games in the next generation will turn out on the Nintendo Wii.
LEGO Star Wars!
Yes, I know that more sequels aren't the "innovation" that everyone wants to see on the Wii, but it would work because it's simple enough that you don't have to worry about a lot of the issues already raised here. And depending on the character used, the wii remote can be either a saber or a blaster (or whatever weapon).
I definitely agree with Sonic. As someone mentioned below, we could finally settle the 8/16 bit mascot grudge for good.
Bonk is another good choice. Pac man is a little more questionable. Without any limbs, it severely limits the possible attacks ha can do. Seriously, how many ways could one character eat another? Same goes for Q-bert. His only original move is the hop, and touching anything killed him, I just don't see him as a brawler.
Megaman, though, would be a lot of fun. While his arm cannon may make him too much like Samus, it would be great to give him a dozen or so "stolen" weapons to work with as well.
I would guess that this game WILL be online. After all, what is the point of having the Nintendog block the view of everyone? In past SSB games, items with large area effects (eg, pokeballs) typically didn't affect the person that initiated them.
I'm guessing that the nintendog will be an item that only comes up during online play, obscuring the screens of your opponents, so that people don't get ticked off by accidentally killing themselves every time they let one loose.