Re:299.00 for the console, 50+ for the games...
on
First Looks At XBox
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· Score: 1
It's just silly to want it to come with wireless controllers out of the box. I'm sure there will be wireless controllers available, just buy some. Not to mention the wireless controller would probably raise the price of the basic package. I personally don't mind wires, since I play console games on my couch which is directly in front of the TV.
Josh Sisk
Re:Innovative, but not new :)
on
"Traffic"
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· Score: 1
I was under the impression it was more "loosely based on", rather than a remake.
Broadcast stations are even cheaper than cable companies... Ever worked for one?
Has any station in the country started giving away converter boxes? It seems unlikely they would do this, especially since, as I said... They can just keep broadcasting in both and not have any problems.
At least a cable company can use the digital as a value added service... For a broadcast station, where's the incentive to them to do this? The only money they make is from advertising, not fees.
Unless the FCC specifically forbids the stations to continue to broadcast in both analog and dgital, I expect to see analog TV signals for some time to come... Ten years, probably.
I'm not saying that it wouldn't be a good thing if they switched... Personally I don't care, I just don't think it's a likely thing.
Why is analog TV obsolete? What does digital TV provide for the average person who just wants to watch 'Friends' with a regular TV provide?
Additionally, why would a TV station not continue to broadcast in analog, especially if it costs very little, seeing as they already have the equipment? Why give out converter boxes when you can just keep doing what you've been doing for 30 years, at the same cost to you? Why spend money when you don't have to? These are the questions these local TV and cable providers will be asking themselves.
In my experience, cable providers don't ever give anything away for free. As I stated before, the cable providers in my area charge very highly for digital services (and they have yet to drop these rates. I had the service almost two years ago and the prices are the same now)... Not to mention the fact that you have to rent the boxes, just like you'd rent a regular cable box. Actually, you have to rent it in addition to your regular cable box and in addition to paying that higher monthly rate for the digital services in the first place. I also know several people (including myself) who complained about various facets of digital service... Poorer picture quality (which came as a suprise to me), insanely long wait times between channel changes, channels randomly going out of service, etc. It's gotten a really bad rap here, so maybe I'm biased against it.
I agree that analog will eventually go away. But i think we have several years of it left.
This is, of course true. But it doesn't change what I said: "They will continue to broadcast in analog for years, simply because they will lock out a large share of their audience if they don't." They will continue to broadcast in analog as long as a significant portion of their audience only has analog.
Middle and Lower Income families generally buy a TV and then keep it for eight or more years or so before buying a new one. My parents (who are very middle class) only recently bought a new TV to replace the 11 or 12 year old one they had. Lower income families,who make up a big chunk of target demographics, will probably buy a new TV even less often. Even when families upgrade, kids generally get the old TV for their rooms. Analog will be continue to be broadcast for some time... Not decades, but most likely past the dates suggested by the FCC. Adaptor boxes may increase the rate of adoption, but, at least in my area, the cable company is charging a signifigantly higher rate for digital service... And virtually everyone I know who has had it has dropped the service (including myself) because of inconvienance and over-pricing.
Another thing that I have already seen happening in my city is smaller stations springing up to cater to people who don't have cable... These stations, I would imagine, will become more widespread and continue to target themselves at the non-digital, non-cable households while the rest of the country moves into digital.
Just because the technology is there, does not mean people will be in a rush to upgrade. No matter how cheap digital or HDTVs (or adaptors) get, the TVs people already have are a much cheaper option.
But, if only 1 or 2 percent of people buy HDTVs, do you really think that they will stop broadcasting in analog and lose most or all of their audience and advertising revenue? They will continue to broadcast in analog for years, simpley because they will lock out a large share of their audience if they don't.
Seriously, I doubt HDTVs have a market penetration of higher than a few percent... Especially among middle or low income families.
I'm sure they realised the problem, but people that designed the problem soft and hardware never thought what they were designing would be still be in use so many years later. I'm sure they fell victim to the common delusions about 2000: Flying cars, Moon colony, etc...
Wow, a vampire movie inspired by Nosferatu. I wouldn't have guessed that one. Thanks, Jon, for clearing that up for me. I'll rush right out and see what is so obviously a brilliant and original flick about vampires (and inspired by Nosferatu, no less).
The movie's plot takes place on the set of Nosferatu (or, at the very least, a movie that appears to be Nosferatu). That much is obvious from the trailer.
So it's a little more influenced by Nosferatu than, say, the Lost Boys or Fright Night.
Then again, maybe I was just spoiled by watching the amazing Legend of Drunken Master a couple weeks before. IMHO if you're looking for some good fight scenes THAT'S the movie to watch.
I'd have to go on record and say that Legend of Drunken Master is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Yes, the fighting and choreography are both impressive. But there is so much fighting and the fighting is so pointless, that it makes slogging through the movie virtually impossible. I saw this years ago with a group of friends, before we were going to go out on the town. After watching the film, we unanimously voted to all just go back to our dorm rooms and sleep. It just sucked the energy out of us. Incidently the only other movie to do the same was a Bruce Campbell B-movie called, I believe, "Mind Warp".
I just meant to point out that it uses a lot of the same plot elements and themes as SW.
Which, itself took many of it's plot and theme's from Kurosawa's 'Throne of Blood' (So I've heard, but I've never seen the film) and Joseph Campbell's 'the Hero with 1000 Faces' and other writings (Lucas paid Campbell to come and consult with him about the plot to SW). Not to mention the classic hollywood Space Operas.
He seemed changed to me. He makes that statement about how if he had his life do do over again, he knows what he would do differently. Also, before he was stranded, he came off as pushy... Afterwards, quiet and introspective.
This strikes me as just the same propaganda that came out several years back about stores selling used cds... "It will hurt the artists, it must be stopped". Really, come on. If it's a book I think I'll like, I'm going to buy a nice new copy and I think most people feel the same. The ones that don't probably wouldn't buy a new copy anyway, so who does it hurt?
This company is not going to be around much longer, so it doesn't really matter. The Wired article linked above mentions that credit card companies are issuing refunds for PageCreators charges... PageCreators' lawyers may be good, but they are not as good as the ones from the credit card companies.
Free phone service? You probably believe in Santa, too. 800,888 and 877 line charges are paid by the holder of the number... in this case, page creators.
Can you play your Saturn games on your Dreamcast? I DIDN'T THINK SO!!:-)
I dont really understand why this is such a big selling point to people, except cash-strapped parents. I mean, I don't buy a Next Gen system to play my old games (and if I do want to play them, it stands to reason if I have old games, I have a system to play them on already). I guess it's nice to save shelf space... but that's really the only advantage I see.
I beg to differ. Most consoles have traditionally retailed, at launch, at $300 or more. The current consoles continue this trend and the Dreamcast was much lower, at $199, I believe. The PS2 is more expensive, since it comes loaded with a DVD player, but I believe it is no more expensive than the PSX or SNES were at launch.
A cheap PC becomes the hot new console. And that, my friends, is the end of the console era.
Then why, even though entry level pcs have been getting cheaper and cheaper, has the console market, at the same time, grown so fast? And why is the PC market disappearing? Console games are different from PC games. People need to figure this out... The best PC games are the ones that would be no fun on a console (who wants to play a RTS or FPS on a gamepad). The opposite is true, too. Who wants to play Tekken or Madden sitting at your desk? Console games are easy and appeal to the masses where computer games don't. I personally prefer PC gaming, but would never get rid of my consoles.
Even if you are correct and we follow the pattern (and I am old enough to remeber, if just barely), didn't the console industry come back and grow to about 20-30 times its pre-crash size?
It seems to me that the PC market is shrinking... More and more 'value' games, less and less PC-exclusive games... Major PC designers like Warren Spector and Peter Molyneux saying that developers must develop for the console market for projects to be economically feasible... I like consoles, but think I like PC gaming more. I hope neither goes away.
There is a flaw in your thinking as well, though... "By the end of the cycle, it is a dinosaur compared to the current computers."
Take two friends. On the same day one buys a decent PC, the other buys the best console. In four or five years (one life cycle), the PC friend 1 bought will be a dinosaur compared to the current machines as well, unless he upgrades (and generally, after five years I think it's time to buy a new machine anyway, or upgrade to the point where it is basically a new machine).
Both friends have to upgrade to play the newest games. I do not support one type of gaming over the other- indeed, I try and keep up with both. But I can see the reason why many people, who aren't die hard gamers, would simply choose to go the console route. it's just easier, no upgrades, no boot times, etc. The games ARE simpler, but many see that as a strength.
3)The film industry will be no more, as it will be subsumed into the games industry. This will bring gaming to the mainstream.
Movies will always be around. You are misguided if you think otherwise. People sometimes enjoy being told a story and not having to be a part of it. I agree that as the graphics increase, games will become more like interactive movies... Deus Ex felt like one to me, at times. And gaming will be brought into the mainstream by gaming, not by integrating with movies. I'd say, at least among youth markets, it is pretty mainstream now.
The days of playing a game by yourself and with 4 of your bodies on a tv with the screen chopped into 4 tiny boxes is over.
No offense man, I'd prefer to do that, and actually hang out with friends than play a online game. Online multiplay games have their place and are quite fun, but the play experience is still very similar to playing a single player game... The AI is just better, since it's not artificial. Console games are fun, and always will be, because it's just damn awesome when you bust out that killer combo in Tekken and beat your friend down. And when he's sitting right next to you, you can laugh at him and talk trash. Typing "I skewled j00!!" is just not the same.
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It's just silly to want it to come with wireless controllers out of the box. I'm sure there will be wireless controllers available, just buy some. Not to mention the wireless controller would probably raise the price of the basic package. I personally don't mind wires, since I play console games on my couch which is directly in front of the TV.
Josh Sisk
I was under the impression it was more "loosely based on", rather than a remake.
Josh Sisk
Broadcast stations are even cheaper than cable companies... Ever worked for one?
Has any station in the country started giving away converter boxes? It seems unlikely they would do this, especially since, as I said... They can just keep broadcasting in both and not have any problems.
At least a cable company can use the digital as a value added service... For a broadcast station, where's the incentive to them to do this? The only money they make is from advertising, not fees.
Unless the FCC specifically forbids the stations to continue to broadcast in both analog and dgital, I expect to see analog TV signals for some time to come... Ten years, probably.
I'm not saying that it wouldn't be a good thing if they switched... Personally I don't care, I just don't think it's a likely thing.
Josh Sisk
Why is analog TV obsolete? What does digital TV provide for the average person who just wants to watch 'Friends' with a regular TV provide?
Additionally, why would a TV station not continue to broadcast in analog, especially if it costs very little, seeing as they already have the equipment? Why give out converter boxes when you can just keep doing what you've been doing for 30 years, at the same cost to you? Why spend money when you don't have to? These are the questions these local TV and cable providers will be asking themselves.
In my experience, cable providers don't ever give anything away for free. As I stated before, the cable providers in my area charge very highly for digital services (and they have yet to drop these rates. I had the service almost two years ago and the prices are the same now)... Not to mention the fact that you have to rent the boxes, just like you'd rent a regular cable box. Actually, you have to rent it in addition to your regular cable box and in addition to paying that higher monthly rate for the digital services in the first place. I also know several people (including myself) who complained about various facets of digital service... Poorer picture quality (which came as a suprise to me), insanely long wait times between channel changes, channels randomly going out of service, etc. It's gotten a really bad rap here, so maybe I'm biased against it.
I agree that analog will eventually go away. But i think we have several years of it left.
Josh Sisk
This is, of course true. But it doesn't change what I said: "They will continue to broadcast in analog for years, simply because they will lock out a large share of their audience if they don't." They will continue to broadcast in analog as long as a significant portion of their audience only has analog.
Middle and Lower Income families generally buy a TV and then keep it for eight or more years or so before buying a new one. My parents (who are very middle class) only recently bought a new TV to replace the 11 or 12 year old one they had. Lower income families,who make up a big chunk of target demographics, will probably buy a new TV even less often. Even when families upgrade, kids generally get the old TV for their rooms. Analog will be continue to be broadcast for some time... Not decades, but most likely past the dates suggested by the FCC. Adaptor boxes may increase the rate of adoption, but, at least in my area, the cable company is charging a signifigantly higher rate for digital service... And virtually everyone I know who has had it has dropped the service (including myself) because of inconvienance and over-pricing.
Another thing that I have already seen happening in my city is smaller stations springing up to cater to people who don't have cable... These stations, I would imagine, will become more widespread and continue to target themselves at the non-digital, non-cable households while the rest of the country moves into digital.
Just because the technology is there, does not mean people will be in a rush to upgrade. No matter how cheap digital or HDTVs (or adaptors) get, the TVs people already have are a much cheaper option.
Josh Sisk
But, if only 1 or 2 percent of people buy HDTVs, do you really think that they will stop broadcasting in analog and lose most or all of their audience and advertising revenue? They will continue to broadcast in analog for years, simpley because they will lock out a large share of their audience if they don't.
Seriously, I doubt HDTVs have a market penetration of higher than a few percent... Especially among middle or low income families.
Josh Sisk
I think Galileo comparisons are a little extreme, in this circumstance.
I'm sure they realised the problem, but people that designed the problem soft and hardware never thought what they were designing would be still be in use so many years later. I'm sure they fell victim to the common delusions about 2000: Flying cars, Moon colony, etc...
Josh Sisk
Wow, a vampire movie inspired by Nosferatu. I wouldn't have guessed that one. Thanks, Jon, for clearing that up for me. I'll rush right out and see what is so obviously a brilliant and original flick about vampires (and inspired by Nosferatu, no less).
The movie's plot takes place on the set of Nosferatu (or, at the very least, a movie that appears to be Nosferatu). That much is obvious from the trailer.
So it's a little more influenced by Nosferatu than, say, the Lost Boys or Fright Night.
Josh Sisk
Then again, maybe I was just spoiled by watching the amazing Legend of Drunken Master a couple weeks before. IMHO if you're looking for some good fight scenes THAT'S the movie to watch.
I'd have to go on record and say that Legend of Drunken Master is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Yes, the fighting and choreography are both impressive. But there is so much fighting and the fighting is so pointless, that it makes slogging through the movie virtually impossible. I saw this years ago with a group of friends, before we were going to go out on the town. After watching the film, we unanimously voted to all just go back to our dorm rooms and sleep. It just sucked the energy out of us. Incidently the only other movie to do the same was a Bruce Campbell B-movie called, I believe, "Mind Warp".
Josh Sisk
Ooops, someone else pointed it.. the film I'm thinking of is Hidden Fortress, not Throne of Blood. Sorry.
Josh Sisk
I just meant to point out that it uses a lot of the same plot elements and themes as SW.
Which, itself took many of it's plot and theme's from Kurosawa's 'Throne of Blood' (So I've heard, but I've never seen the film) and Joseph Campbell's 'the Hero with 1000 Faces' and other writings (Lucas paid Campbell to come and consult with him about the plot to SW). Not to mention the classic hollywood Space Operas.
Everything is, to a point, derivative.
Josh Sisk
He seemed changed to me. He makes that statement about how if he had his life do do over again, he knows what he would do differently. Also, before he was stranded, he came off as pushy... Afterwards, quiet and introspective.
Josh Sisk
This strikes me as just the same propaganda that came out several years back about stores selling used cds... "It will hurt the artists, it must be stopped". Really, come on. If it's a book I think I'll like, I'm going to buy a nice new copy and I think most people feel the same. The ones that don't probably wouldn't buy a new copy anyway, so who does it hurt?
Josh Sisk
This company is not going to be around much longer, so it doesn't really matter. The Wired article linked above mentions that credit card companies are issuing refunds for PageCreators charges... PageCreators' lawyers may be good, but they are not as good as the ones from the credit card companies.
Josh Sisk
YOU IDIOT!
888 is toll free
Free phone service? You probably believe in Santa, too. 800,888 and 877 line charges are paid by the holder of the number... in this case, page creators.
Josh Sisk
Well, most people these days do have a newer TV. I imagine including the RF modulator with their consoles would raise the price for the rest of us.
Josh Sisk
Can you play your Saturn games on your Dreamcast? I DIDN'T THINK SO!! :-)
I dont really understand why this is such a big selling point to people, except cash-strapped parents. I mean, I don't buy a Next Gen system to play my old games (and if I do want to play them, it stands to reason if I have old games, I have a system to play them on already). I guess it's nice to save shelf space... but that's really the only advantage I see.
Josh Sisk
Yeah, you are probably right. The computer user will definitely have more power.. but they are paying for that power, so that makes sense.
Because the consoles are getting more expensive
I beg to differ. Most consoles have traditionally retailed, at launch, at $300 or more. The current consoles continue this trend and the Dreamcast was much lower, at $199, I believe. The PS2 is more expensive, since it comes loaded with a DVD player, but I believe it is no more expensive than the PSX or SNES were at launch.
A cheap PC becomes the hot new console. And that, my friends, is the end of the console era.
Then why, even though entry level pcs have been getting cheaper and cheaper, has the console market, at the same time, grown so fast? And why is the PC market disappearing? Console games are different from PC games. People need to figure this out... The best PC games are the ones that would be no fun on a console (who wants to play a RTS or FPS on a gamepad). The opposite is true, too. Who wants to play Tekken or Madden sitting at your desk? Console games are easy and appeal to the masses where computer games don't. I personally prefer PC gaming, but would never get rid of my consoles.
Josh Sisk
Even if you are correct and we follow the pattern (and I am old enough to remeber, if just barely), didn't the console industry come back and grow to about 20-30 times its pre-crash size?
It seems to me that the PC market is shrinking... More and more 'value' games, less and less PC-exclusive games... Major PC designers like Warren Spector and Peter Molyneux saying that developers must develop for the console market for projects to be economically feasible... I like consoles, but think I like PC gaming more. I hope neither goes away.
Josh Sisk
There is a flaw in your thinking as well, though... "By the end of the cycle, it is a dinosaur compared to the current computers."
Take two friends. On the same day one buys a decent PC, the other buys the best console. In four or five years (one life cycle), the PC friend 1 bought will be a dinosaur compared to the current machines as well, unless he upgrades (and generally, after five years I think it's time to buy a new machine anyway, or upgrade to the point where it is basically a new machine).
Both friends have to upgrade to play the newest games. I do not support one type of gaming over the other- indeed, I try and keep up with both. But I can see the reason why many people, who aren't die hard gamers, would simply choose to go the console route. it's just easier, no upgrades, no boot times, etc. The games ARE simpler, but many see that as a strength.
Josh Sisk
3)The film industry will be no more, as it will be subsumed into the games industry. This will bring gaming to the mainstream.
Movies will always be around. You are misguided if you think otherwise. People sometimes enjoy being told a story and not having to be a part of it. I agree that as the graphics increase, games will become more like interactive movies... Deus Ex felt like one to me, at times. And gaming will be brought into the mainstream by gaming, not by integrating with movies. I'd say, at least among youth markets, it is pretty mainstream now.
Josh Sisk
The days of playing a game by yourself and with 4 of your bodies on a tv with the screen chopped into 4 tiny boxes is over.
No offense man, I'd prefer to do that, and actually hang out with friends than play a online game. Online multiplay games have their place and are quite fun, but the play experience is still very similar to playing a single player game... The AI is just better, since it's not artificial. Console games are fun, and always will be, because it's just damn awesome when you bust out that killer combo in Tekken and beat your friend down. And when he's sitting right next to you, you can laugh at him and talk trash. Typing "I skewled j00!!" is just not the same.
Josh Sisk
People have been gaming since the cave man days. The games have just changed.
Josh Sisk