Advance Wars is turned based, but if you don't like strategy games, then yeah, you wouldn't like it. What sort of games are you looking for? There is a pretty wide array of games for the DS. Metroid Prime: Hunters, Prince of Persia, Trauma Center, Phoenix Wright, Animal Crossing, New Mario Brothers... these games are all wildly different from each other.
all the games I've paid for so far have not been worth it at all (completed MarioKart/Tony Hawks in a couple of days each
Huh? Mario Kart is basically a multiplayer game, and always has been. You play the single player to open up new tracks, but the game is designed to be played with other people. The game will let you play with up to 3 other people who have DSes, even if they dont have the game. It also has an online mode, so if you don't have friends that have DSes, play online.
For a good, pretty time-consuming game, try Advance Wars - great and the campaigns (especially the second one) are pretty time consuming.
While your second point is very true, the reason DVDs can cost less is that there are more avenues for the studios to make money from a movie than the DVD - theatrical release,foreign distribution rights, pay-per-view, HBO, cable, network TV, airlines, hotels, licensing, product placement, etc... (That and the fact that a movie will give you only 2 hours of entertainment, so the consumers aren't willing to pay more.)
DVDs are highly profitable for the studios because the movie has possibly/probably/hopefully already broke even before the DVD comes out, thus the DVD is a very profitable venture.
"There is nothing 'flattering' about the Sony tilt sensing controller - and complaining that Sony is copying you is like a little kid getting mad that another little kid picked the same colour for their player in some game."
Was he really complaining? And wasn't there a story on here recently where a Sony rep admitted they added the feature because of all the Nintendo buzz for it?
Kind of hypocritical given Nintendo's track record of Mario platformers, racers, beat-em-ups and tennis games, along with the neverending Zelda series and the myriad Pokemon versions.
This discussion keeps getting brought up, and the answer is, as it always is - just because Mario or Link is in a game, doesn't mean it's the same game. The progression of gameplay in, say, the Zelda series, from NES to SNES to 64 to Cube has been pretty impressive. I would say the leap between 64 and Cube is probably more graphical than anything, but compare the game play of Legend of Zelda to A Link To The Past, and you will see a huge leap. Similarly, compare A Link To The Past to Ocarina of Time - it's not like it's the same game with prettier graphics and new maps. Wind Waker was not a huge leap in gameplay over Ocarina/Majorica's Mask, but then again those two are probably among the highest regarded console games ever, so it's a tough act to follow.
Most people I know (including me) didn't get a PS2 until after GTA 3 came out. That's what sold it for me, I played GTA at a friends house and was like "whoa, I gotta get this!". The PS3 will sell well if it has exclusive games that have a similar "must own" factor... though, at the higher price, and more competition, I doubt it will fully replicate the success of the PS2.
I tend to agree with you. I, for one, won't buy the PS3 for $500/600. Not because I can't afford it, but because for those prices I could get a lot of other things that would be more enjoyable... and because I can't justify spending that big of achunk a cash on something I only have time to play maybe 10 hours a week anyway.
Well, if you are only planning to spend a couple hundred on RAM for your laptop in the next five years (how much more ram can you even put in it?), you are saying you don't expect to be able to play the newest, most demanding games in 3-4 years - or at least play them at (what an average gamer would call) acceptable framerates.
the big media empires aren't putting a stop to it now, are they? they are just talking about it.
part of the problem is that the message from the government has always been, and if fact still is, "the NSA has the ability to do these things, but they would never abuse that power"... if they are, in fact, abusing it now - have they abused it before? has anyone from the government ever revealed that publically before?
i also don't agree that "everyone" knew about it. i certainly never thought my phone records were being collected by the government before. i had heard of things like Eschelon, but the government always said that was exaggerated.
It's a business practice that failed, in the console world. The only company in the last 20 years to do it on any major scale was Sega, and look where THEY ended up.
The PS2 did have that hard drive add on, but it was only used for the game that it came with, as I recall - the Final Fantasy MMORPG.
Even 1930s movies (or earlier) have enough resolution to be scanned in HD, I would imagine (and if you could find a good enough print). Films today use the same 35mm film format that has been is use since the 1890s (though the chemistry HAS been improved to make a better image, and there have been innovations such as sound-on-film, color and so forth). Actually, 70mm used to be more prevalant, which has even more detail.
along with all the console games from previous generations.
If we are talking about illegal/questionable ROMz content, my $100 (used) Xbox with a $30 modchip can play all the console games from previous generations, also. Quite a bit cheaper than a $1500 PC.
The Nintendo Wii, which is supposed to be around $250 will also be able to play the games of the previous generations.
I guess I could pay $500 every five years for a new console that plays only a small selection of games, but that seems silly.
So, in 5 years, how much will you have invested in PC upgrades/new PC(s)?
I think most people have the opposite opinion. I gave up on upgrading my PC to play the newest games, and I think many other people also prefer not to have to try and keep up.
With a console, you know that when you buy, you can play all the games for it.
And do you need an HDTV to play these new systems? I don't think any of them require it.
The flipside is that if both Blu Ray and the PS3 flop, then they are out untold billions.
The reason Sony is in the position it is in now is because the games division was immensely profitable during an span of years where the other divisions were languishing. Sir Stringer has done a pretty good job of making those divisions bounce back, but if Blu Ray and the PS3 both tank? Well... Sony wouldn't go out of business, but it would be a pretty big hit for them to take.
That said, I doubt the PS3 will tank. I can't see it being as big as the PS2, but it doesn't need to succeed that wildly to be a hit.
Slashdot Mirror
Advance Wars is turned based, but if you don't like strategy games, then yeah, you wouldn't like it. What sort of games are you looking for? There is a pretty wide array of games for the DS. Metroid Prime: Hunters, Prince of Persia, Trauma Center, Phoenix Wright, Animal Crossing, New Mario Brothers... these games are all wildly different from each other.
all the games I've paid for so far have not been worth it at all (completed MarioKart/Tony Hawks in a couple of days each
Huh? Mario Kart is basically a multiplayer game, and always has been. You play the single player to open up new tracks, but the game is designed to be played with other people. The game will let you play with up to 3 other people who have DSes, even if they dont have the game. It also has an online mode, so if you don't have friends that have DSes, play online.
For a good, pretty time-consuming game, try Advance Wars - great and the campaigns (especially the second one) are pretty time consuming.
I wouldn't say that Pikmin, Eternal Darkness, Wind Waker, or RE4 are mindless.
While your second point is very true, the reason DVDs can cost less is that there are more avenues for the studios to make money from a movie than the DVD - theatrical release,foreign distribution rights, pay-per-view, HBO, cable, network TV, airlines, hotels, licensing, product placement, etc... (That and the fact that a movie will give you only 2 hours of entertainment, so the consumers aren't willing to pay more.)
DVDs are highly profitable for the studios because the movie has possibly/probably/hopefully already broke even before the DVD comes out, thus the DVD is a very profitable venture.
"There is nothing 'flattering' about the Sony tilt sensing controller - and complaining that Sony is copying you is like a little kid getting mad that another little kid picked the same colour for their player in some game."
Was he really complaining? And wasn't there a story on here recently where a Sony rep admitted they added the feature because of all the Nintendo buzz for it?
Kind of hypocritical given Nintendo's track record of Mario platformers, racers, beat-em-ups and tennis games, along with the neverending Zelda series and the myriad Pokemon versions.
This discussion keeps getting brought up, and the answer is, as it always is - just because Mario or Link is in a game, doesn't mean it's the same game. The progression of gameplay in, say, the Zelda series, from NES to SNES to 64 to Cube has been pretty impressive. I would say the leap between 64 and Cube is probably more graphical than anything, but compare the game play of Legend of Zelda to A Link To The Past, and you will see a huge leap. Similarly, compare A Link To The Past to Ocarina of Time - it's not like it's the same game with prettier graphics and new maps. Wind Waker was not a huge leap in gameplay over Ocarina/Majorica's Mask, but then again those two are probably among the highest regarded console games ever, so it's a tough act to follow.
"How did Perl Jam try to fight them?"
look here. Scroll down to 1994.
Thus why I said "exclusive" games in my post... multiplatform games don't sell systems. At least, not as fast.
Audiolunchbox, also.
Most people I know (including me) didn't get a PS2 until after GTA 3 came out. That's what sold it for me, I played GTA at a friends house and was like "whoa, I gotta get this!". The PS3 will sell well if it has exclusive games that have a similar "must own" factor... though, at the higher price, and more competition, I doubt it will fully replicate the success of the PS2.
Uhhhh.... this story is about APRIL. The link you posted is about March.
The April Charts look a bit different.
Also, let's check the front page:
Games: Everyone Still Rumbling About PS3
Posted by Zonk on Tue May 16, '06 02:04 PM
IT: Wireless Security Attacks and Defenses
Posted by Zonk on Tue May 16, '06 11:49 AM
Science: Baby Meets Big Brother For Science
Posted by Zonk on Tue May 16, '06 11:23 AM
IT: Microsoft to Become Mobile DRM Standard?
Posted by Zonk on Tue May 16, '06 10:38 AM
Your Rights Online: U.S. Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Patent Trolls
Posted by Zonk on Tue May 16, '06 09:39 AM
Linux: Microsoft Flirts with Open Source
Posted by Zonk on Tue May 16, '06 09:02 AM
Apple: Apple Unveils New Macbook
Posted by Zonk on Tue May 16, '06 08:23 AM
All of those were user submission except this one. Which is about Games, Zonk's editorial specialty.
Perhaps it's because he is /.'s GAMING editor? Could that be why?
It's not the same machine. It has a larger hard drive.
I tend to agree with you. I, for one, won't buy the PS3 for $500/600. Not because I can't afford it, but because for those prices I could get a lot of other things that would be more enjoyable... and because I can't justify spending that big of achunk a cash on something I only have time to play maybe 10 hours a week anyway.
Well, if you are only planning to spend a couple hundred on RAM for your laptop in the next five years (how much more ram can you even put in it?), you are saying you don't expect to be able to play the newest, most demanding games in 3-4 years - or at least play them at (what an average gamer would call) acceptable framerates.
and you believed them? why? because CBS told you to?
I haven't had a tv that was hooked up to get channels since the mid 90s (and then i was young and uninterested in current events), so no.
A friend in college actually had this. I think he used it to make samples for his band.
the big media empires aren't putting a stop to it now, are they? they are just talking about it.
part of the problem is that the message from the government has always been, and if fact still is, "the NSA has the ability to do these things, but they would never abuse that power"... if they are, in fact, abusing it now - have they abused it before? has anyone from the government ever revealed that publically before?
i also don't agree that "everyone" knew about it. i certainly never thought my phone records were being collected by the government before. i had heard of things like Eschelon, but the government always said that was exaggerated.
It's a business practice that failed, in the console world. The only company in the last 20 years to do it on any major scale was Sega, and look where THEY ended up.
The PS2 did have that hard drive add on, but it was only used for the game that it came with, as I recall - the Final Fantasy MMORPG.
Even 1930s movies (or earlier) have enough resolution to be scanned in HD, I would imagine (and if you could find a good enough print). Films today use the same 35mm film format that has been is use since the 1890s (though the chemistry HAS been improved to make a better image, and there have been innovations such as sound-on-film, color and so forth). Actually, 70mm used to be more prevalant, which has even more detail.
along with all the console games from previous generations.
If we are talking about illegal/questionable ROMz content, my $100 (used) Xbox with a $30 modchip can play all the console games from previous generations, also. Quite a bit cheaper than a $1500 PC.
The Nintendo Wii, which is supposed to be around $250 will also be able to play the games of the previous generations.
I guess I could pay $500 every five years for a new console that plays only a small selection of games, but that seems silly.
So, in 5 years, how much will you have invested in PC upgrades/new PC(s)?
Does it matter whose "baby" it was? If something is wrong, you put a stop to it, not say "well, it was this other guy who started it, so it's okay!"
I think most people have the opposite opinion. I gave up on upgrading my PC to play the newest games, and I think many other people also prefer not to have to try and keep up.
With a console, you know that when you buy, you can play all the games for it.
And do you need an HDTV to play these new systems? I don't think any of them require it.
The flipside is that if both Blu Ray and the PS3 flop, then they are out untold billions.
The reason Sony is in the position it is in now is because the games division was immensely profitable during an span of years where the other divisions were languishing. Sir Stringer has done a pretty good job of making those divisions bounce back, but if Blu Ray and the PS3 both tank? Well... Sony wouldn't go out of business, but it would be a pretty big hit for them to take.
That said, I doubt the PS3 will tank. I can't see it being as big as the PS2, but it doesn't need to succeed that wildly to be a hit.