I never said every girl was. But what I've dated, they've always been ok with smaller tv and such, mostly caring about the content and not the technology. Wii fits good into this. That being said, I don't usually date geeky girls or who share the same amount of interest in computers, because even if I hate it, I need someone to drag me out and do other fun things in life.
Of course people are different and so they should be. But some generalizations are true and to certain lengths will always be. If you have a different kind of gf, good for you. But try to go talk to random guys about technology, sports and beers. Now repeat this experience with random girls and see how interested they generally are.
I agree on that somewhat, but Ubisoft is even worse than EA. Ubisoft always puts their always-the-same intro and you cant even skip that. EA usually customizes their intro to fit the game scheme so it's not that boring and you can skip it. Activision one is probably the best, short maybe 1 sec blip and you can skip it too.
Nowadays instead of spending 60$ on a box and get 40 hours of gameplay, we the gamers, want to select our experience. If I only play on my iPhone during my daily commute I can spend a buck once in a while and I'm happy. The freaks that spend their every waking hour in some corner of a virtual world can pay a monthly subscription and be happy.
Well in that case he should probably say that to every publisher on the planet, as everyone does this. In fact, Blizzard charges you for the base game, 2 expansion sets, and a monthly fee. Sure you can buy the earlier ones for $19 now, but that still more than an usual game and with a monthly fee. And lots of people have paid the full prices for those games, because they purchased them on launch.
His main concern is EA's failure to adapt to digital distribution
I think EA has been quite good with this. They sell games on Steam, Direct2Drive and their own direct-download store.
But as he noted in the new post, his blog usually gets 50 visitors who knows him and his background, and in that way directing it at EA isn't so surprising. But now slashdot and other sites picked it up as a rant towards EA, while in fact its more general comment towards whole business.
I remember 3dRealms for Duke, I remember Raven for SoF, I remember Cavedog for TA, and those are all positive memories associated with good games.
I can't think of a single game that EA released, I can probably sit here and recite 50+ game titles, many of which may have been released by EA, but that's not the point.
What you listed were developers of the games, not publishers. It's a lot easier to remember a good developer, because they generally release one game between every 2-3 years and if you like it a lot, you're gonna remember the name. Just the same way as you probably remember what bands or artists you like, but don't remember who is their record label.
This is a business person commenting harshly mostly about how EA is financially ran, and that they haven't been able to grow as fast as Activision Blizzard (which was a one giant merker - like Microsoft and Google getting together). His bashing about the games isn't about gameplay, their originality, or how fun they are for players - it's just seems to be about business. "Hit" would be a game that makes lots of money, not how good it is.
I actually like the way EA has been taking. They're doing a lot more original, new IP and games than some years ago - last year notably Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Dragon Age Origins.
The thing is that Activision Blizzard has grown in to a huge competitor with their World of Warcraft franchise, Modern Warfare 2, and Guitar Hero series. All of them, btw, series that have 6+ released games. Every year a new one. And the cash cow that World of Warcraft is.
It seems he was more happy when EA was the company that didn't create much of new IP or games, but just milked the old ones every year with new versions. Now EA has changed it's route a bit and releasing such new kind of games than Mirror's Edge, and such legends than Bioware's roleplaying games. They don't probably hold such a mass appeal, but they're great games and something new.
So is Activision Blizzard now the ones that are mostly after money, and EA trying to do something new?
Wii has a large userbase of casual gamers. There wouldn't really be anything that new for then. HD sure, but I know many people who really aren't that interested in it. I am, sure, I would love a Wii HD with Motion Capture Plus. But thats probably not the case for majority of people, especially girls who usually don't understand why their boyfriends/husbands want a huge HDTV.
The only thing Wii was missing was the better motion sensors, but it wasn't possible financially at that point, the technology was too costly for competing with better priced console. After that it would be just everything that more hardcore players would want, and that isn't Nintendo's largest market.
I have used it sometimes. Not that often that people working more on things that require it. But that's not the point. If it were a separate key, I could agree that there isn't really a need to have it. But since it's almost always an alt-key of something else, I don't see the need to remove it.
Ever wondered what the SysRq key on your keyboard does?
Introduced by IBM with the PC/AT, it was intended to be available as a special key to directly invoke low-level operating system functions with no possibility of conflicting with any existing software.
In Linux, the kernel can be configured to provide functions for system debugging and crash recovery.[4] This use is known as the "Magic SysRq key".
Microsoft has used SysRq for various OS- and application-level debuggers. In the CodeView debugger, it was sometimes used to break into the debugging during program execution.[5] For the Windows NT remote kernel debugger, it can be used to force the system into the debugger.[6]
So it's a handy debugger key for those who need one, functioning in the same key as print screen, but you need to hold alt key. What's the harm having it there, since it already is? It's not like it's an extra button on your keyboard.
Different cultures and people have different values. Just because you think something is more moral doesn't mean everyone does so. Your mentality and thinking mostly comes from the culture you grow in. So does theirs. Yes, they protest. So do people in the US - just see all the battle about patents, MPAA/RIAA and other issues here on slashdot.
Now I do not either think it's the same thing. But trying to force the same kind of thinking you have to other people, especially to people in other cultures, just sickens me. And US is particularly known for forcing their laws to other places in the world, even forcefully.
If it doesn't bring profit, Google just isn't doing it correctly. Baidu and other companies can work on bringing profit there too. Like I mentioned in the earlier story, Google's business model is extremely easy to make work in different countries and market areas (even more so because their largest infrastructure costs would still be there)
And Google is working hard in other countries trying to gain marketshare. Google is spending millions trying to gain marketshare in Russia and paying the most popular local sites to drop yandex and use themself instead (microsoft's tactics anyone?)
Exactly. They do in USA too, just look at the "x number of results were removed because of DMCA laws". It's basically the same thing, just different area. It's something US government see important, just like Chinese government see important the areas they're censoring. You can argue that "it's not the same thing", but really, it is. Different culture, different people. Remember that Chinese probably think some of your laws and censorship is weird and hilarious.
What do you think US courts would say if a company would come to operate in US but wouldn't work under US laws because they think differently on the issues? Exactly the same.
I guess its more like some kind of licensing deal with Microsoft and Sony. The first game was also released exactly the same way, 2-3 months later on PC (and leaked on the internet months before it was available in stores). Same stupid thing like with GTA series, which really sucks, but I would think they do the same thing with the third version again.
You're thinking it too simply. Instead of fighting against each other, why not have the assassins work together? More like co-opping. A few players could be going near the target on street and other players assisting from the roofs. Someone making sure that if the target gets away, they're near to block his way. Gameplay that needs simultaneous action from several players. Or two assassins groups trying to assasinate the same target, while trying to protect themself from the other group, the target and his guards and simultaneously trying to execute the job perfectly.
Also Assassins Creed's usual running, jumping and climbing in a large city would make a great races with other players. You have to choose the right ways and know shortcuts and think if you get there faster by climbing to roofs and jumping there over streets.
I love it how more and more games have gone in to this kind of playing, left4dead and borderlands pioneering (and mmo's of course). It's not anymore the counter-strike like two teams or some players against each other.
Well if they file for a patent, they obviously think its worth the cost. You can't always directly measure the return either, since you don't know if you holding the patent lowers competition.
Also remember that because the system is like this, companies that aren't patent trolls still need to file for the patents if they want to defend their technology. Blame the system, not those who have to play by its rules.
And more to that point, many companies now a days start to be multinationals and for tax or legal purposes registered offshore. It could still be an "US company" or do majority of its business in US. Even Google plays that tax game
At those levels, the taxes the company pays for its operations are also significant, so much that choosing the right country to pay those taxes for its international revenue can save it several hundred million pounds a year
Outside of its US operations, the UK market is the biggest revenue earner for Google, yet the company doesn't pay any taxes whatsoever in the country. Instead it reports all revenue from the UK, from all over Europe in fact, in Ireland where the company has its headquarters for the continent. Thanks to the much lower corporation tax levels, Google can avoid paying as much as £450 million in the UK alone. And the savings can be significant, taxes are as two to three times lower in Ireland.
The company is, by far, not the only one doing this, all large corporations, even smaller ones with an international presence, will try to find the market with the most flexible tax system to set up shop. The practice in itself isn't illegal, but it certainly isn't viewed very well, especially with the economy being what it is.
I'm actually surprised they haven't moved their US operations.
It would be a good amount for a single person for a few pizzas, but how long would wikileaks survive with it? Slashdot UID is still only running somewhere around 1 700 000. It's not an once and for all solution.
They don't drive down the value per click, because its usually different in different countries based on competition in that country. The price is already at the exact value advertisers are willing to pay off them in that country.
The ads are almost always localized and hence also have different click prices in different countries, based on competition. That's why the per capita GDP doesn't matter as much, it's all just scaled down lower. You also have to remember that Google needs to crawl all those websites anyway, and they don't have to do it in China. Also Google can almost endlessly optimize their ad systems for different markets. Not profitable enough? Show more ads or try to raise click prices in China until it's profitable enough.
The only thing that matters is that if Google doesn't understand how chinese market and culture work and how people have got used to things, which can be quite different from US and Europe.
I'm always up for a good bashing, but eh what? It was already decided in court that MS was violating the patent (which imo is stupid, btw). They were required to stop selling Word, and now they comply. Whats the news here? That MS complied to laws and judge orders?
Also, how is that "downplaying the move"? They probably worked on non-infringing Word version for long time already and are replacing it soon. In fact;
Microsoft has posted updates for both Word 2003 and Word 2007 to its download site and told customers in accompanying support documents that those updates are mandatory "only if you have been instructed to do so in a separate communication from Microsoft." The company has also committed to revamping Word 2008 for Mac and Word 2004 for Mac, even though those versions were not named in the injunction.
In the meantime, Microsoft also told potential customers that they can download the free beta of Office 2010, the next-generation suite slated for a June release.
Slashdot Mirror
Wii fit and its platform is really popular with moms.
Well.. Thank you!
Nobody neither took something you've created off you without giving a compensation back.
I never said every girl was. But what I've dated, they've always been ok with smaller tv and such, mostly caring about the content and not the technology. Wii fits good into this. That being said, I don't usually date geeky girls or who share the same amount of interest in computers, because even if I hate it, I need someone to drag me out and do other fun things in life.
Of course people are different and so they should be. But some generalizations are true and to certain lengths will always be. If you have a different kind of gf, good for you. But try to go talk to random guys about technology, sports and beers. Now repeat this experience with random girls and see how interested they generally are.
I agree on that somewhat, but Ubisoft is even worse than EA. Ubisoft always puts their always-the-same intro and you cant even skip that. EA usually customizes their intro to fit the game scheme so it's not that boring and you can skip it. Activision one is probably the best, short maybe 1 sec blip and you can skip it too.
Nowadays instead of spending 60$ on a box and get 40 hours of gameplay, we the gamers, want to select our experience. If I only play on my iPhone during my daily commute I can spend a buck once in a while and I'm happy. The freaks that spend their every waking hour in some corner of a virtual world can pay a monthly subscription and be happy.
Well in that case he should probably say that to every publisher on the planet, as everyone does this. In fact, Blizzard charges you for the base game, 2 expansion sets, and a monthly fee. Sure you can buy the earlier ones for $19 now, but that still more than an usual game and with a monthly fee. And lots of people have paid the full prices for those games, because they purchased them on launch.
His main concern is EA's failure to adapt to digital distribution
I think EA has been quite good with this. They sell games on Steam, Direct2Drive and their own direct-download store.
But as he noted in the new post, his blog usually gets 50 visitors who knows him and his background, and in that way directing it at EA isn't so surprising. But now slashdot and other sites picked it up as a rant towards EA, while in fact its more general comment towards whole business.
I remember 3dRealms for Duke, I remember Raven for SoF, I remember Cavedog for TA, and those are all positive memories associated with good games.
I can't think of a single game that EA released, I can probably sit here and recite 50+ game titles, many of which may have been released by EA, but that's not the point.
What you listed were developers of the games, not publishers. It's a lot easier to remember a good developer, because they generally release one game between every 2-3 years and if you like it a lot, you're gonna remember the name. Just the same way as you probably remember what bands or artists you like, but don't remember who is their record label.
This is a business person commenting harshly mostly about how EA is financially ran, and that they haven't been able to grow as fast as Activision Blizzard (which was a one giant merker - like Microsoft and Google getting together). His bashing about the games isn't about gameplay, their originality, or how fun they are for players - it's just seems to be about business. "Hit" would be a game that makes lots of money, not how good it is.
I actually like the way EA has been taking. They're doing a lot more original, new IP and games than some years ago - last year notably Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Dragon Age Origins.
The thing is that Activision Blizzard has grown in to a huge competitor with their World of Warcraft franchise, Modern Warfare 2, and Guitar Hero series. All of them, btw, series that have 6+ released games. Every year a new one. And the cash cow that World of Warcraft is.
It seems he was more happy when EA was the company that didn't create much of new IP or games, but just milked the old ones every year with new versions. Now EA has changed it's route a bit and releasing such new kind of games than Mirror's Edge, and such legends than Bioware's roleplaying games. They don't probably hold such a mass appeal, but they're great games and something new.
So is Activision Blizzard now the ones that are mostly after money, and EA trying to do something new?
Wii has a large userbase of casual gamers. There wouldn't really be anything that new for then. HD sure, but I know many people who really aren't that interested in it. I am, sure, I would love a Wii HD with Motion Capture Plus. But thats probably not the case for majority of people, especially girls who usually don't understand why their boyfriends/husbands want a huge HDTV.
The only thing Wii was missing was the better motion sensors, but it wasn't possible financially at that point, the technology was too costly for competing with better priced console. After that it would be just everything that more hardcore players would want, and that isn't Nintendo's largest market.
I have used it sometimes. Not that often that people working more on things that require it. But that's not the point. If it were a separate key, I could agree that there isn't really a need to have it. But since it's almost always an alt-key of something else, I don't see the need to remove it.
Ever wondered what the SysRq key on your keyboard does?
Introduced by IBM with the PC/AT, it was intended to be available as a special key to directly invoke low-level operating system functions with no possibility of conflicting with any existing software.
In Linux, the kernel can be configured to provide functions for system debugging and crash recovery.[4] This use is known as the "Magic SysRq key".
Microsoft has used SysRq for various OS- and application-level debuggers. In the CodeView debugger, it was sometimes used to break into the debugging during program execution.[5] For the Windows NT remote kernel debugger, it can be used to force the system into the debugger.[6]
So it's a handy debugger key for those who need one, functioning in the same key as print screen, but you need to hold alt key. What's the harm having it there, since it already is? It's not like it's an extra button on your keyboard.
Did you even read what I said?
Different cultures and people have different values. Just because you think something is more moral doesn't mean everyone does so. Your mentality and thinking mostly comes from the culture you grow in. So does theirs. Yes, they protest. So do people in the US - just see all the battle about patents, MPAA/RIAA and other issues here on slashdot.
Now I do not either think it's the same thing. But trying to force the same kind of thinking you have to other people, especially to people in other cultures, just sickens me. And US is particularly known for forcing their laws to other places in the world, even forcefully.
If it doesn't bring profit, Google just isn't doing it correctly. Baidu and other companies can work on bringing profit there too. Like I mentioned in the earlier story, Google's business model is extremely easy to make work in different countries and market areas (even more so because their largest infrastructure costs would still be there)
And Google is working hard in other countries trying to gain marketshare. Google is spending millions trying to gain marketshare in Russia and paying the most popular local sites to drop yandex and use themself instead (microsoft's tactics anyone?)
This isn't about profit margin.
Exactly. They do in USA too, just look at the "x number of results were removed because of DMCA laws". It's basically the same thing, just different area. It's something US government see important, just like Chinese government see important the areas they're censoring. You can argue that "it's not the same thing", but really, it is. Different culture, different people. Remember that Chinese probably think some of your laws and censorship is weird and hilarious.
What do you think US courts would say if a company would come to operate in US but wouldn't work under US laws because they think differently on the issues? Exactly the same.
I guess its more like some kind of licensing deal with Microsoft and Sony. The first game was also released exactly the same way, 2-3 months later on PC (and leaked on the internet months before it was available in stores). Same stupid thing like with GTA series, which really sucks, but I would think they do the same thing with the third version again.
You're thinking it too simply. Instead of fighting against each other, why not have the assassins work together? More like co-opping. A few players could be going near the target on street and other players assisting from the roofs. Someone making sure that if the target gets away, they're near to block his way. Gameplay that needs simultaneous action from several players. Or two assassins groups trying to assasinate the same target, while trying to protect themself from the other group, the target and his guards and simultaneously trying to execute the job perfectly.
Also Assassins Creed's usual running, jumping and climbing in a large city would make a great races with other players. You have to choose the right ways and know shortcuts and think if you get there faster by climbing to roofs and jumping there over streets.
I love it how more and more games have gone in to this kind of playing, left4dead and borderlands pioneering (and mmo's of course). It's not anymore the counter-strike like two teams or some players against each other.
Since the linked article just returns 404, here's EuroGamer's one.
Also note "Update: In related news, Sony Europe has said that the delay is "only applicable for the Japanese market"."
Well if they file for a patent, they obviously think its worth the cost. You can't always directly measure the return either, since you don't know if you holding the patent lowers competition.
Also remember that because the system is like this, companies that aren't patent trolls still need to file for the patents if they want to defend their technology. Blame the system, not those who have to play by its rules.
And more to that point, many companies now a days start to be multinationals and for tax or legal purposes registered offshore. It could still be an "US company" or do majority of its business in US. Even Google plays that tax game
At those levels, the taxes the company pays for its operations are also significant, so much that choosing the right country to pay those taxes for its international revenue can save it several hundred million pounds a year
Outside of its US operations, the UK market is the biggest revenue earner for Google, yet the company doesn't pay any taxes whatsoever in the country. Instead it reports all revenue from the UK, from all over Europe in fact, in Ireland where the company has its headquarters for the continent. Thanks to the much lower corporation tax levels, Google can avoid paying as much as £450 million in the UK alone. And the savings can be significant, taxes are as two to three times lower in Ireland.
The company is, by far, not the only one doing this, all large corporations, even smaller ones with an international presence, will try to find the market with the most flexible tax system to set up shop. The practice in itself isn't illegal, but it certainly isn't viewed very well, especially with the economy being what it is.
I'm actually surprised they haven't moved their US operations.
FilePlanet too.
And the cowards like yourself.
It would be a good amount for a single person for a few pizzas, but how long would wikileaks survive with it? Slashdot UID is still only running somewhere around 1 700 000. It's not an once and for all solution.
They don't drive down the value per click, because its usually different in different countries based on competition in that country. The price is already at the exact value advertisers are willing to pay off them in that country.
The ads are almost always localized and hence also have different click prices in different countries, based on competition. That's why the per capita GDP doesn't matter as much, it's all just scaled down lower. You also have to remember that Google needs to crawl all those websites anyway, and they don't have to do it in China. Also Google can almost endlessly optimize their ad systems for different markets. Not profitable enough? Show more ads or try to raise click prices in China until it's profitable enough.
The only thing that matters is that if Google doesn't understand how chinese market and culture work and how people have got used to things, which can be quite different from US and Europe.
Did you also think that food stores pay off the stealing users from their own pockets, and don't increase prices to get it back from users?
I'm always up for a good bashing, but eh what? It was already decided in court that MS was violating the patent (which imo is stupid, btw). They were required to stop selling Word, and now they comply. Whats the news here? That MS complied to laws and judge orders?
Also, how is that "downplaying the move"? They probably worked on non-infringing Word version for long time already and are replacing it soon. In fact;
Microsoft has posted updates for both Word 2003 and Word 2007 to its download site and told customers in accompanying support documents that those updates are mandatory "only if you have been instructed to do so in a separate communication from Microsoft." The company has also committed to revamping Word 2008 for Mac and Word 2004 for Mac, even though those versions were not named in the injunction.
In the meantime, Microsoft also told potential customers that they can download the free beta of Office 2010, the next-generation suite slated for a June release.