One reason for this could very well be the funding behind the games. Here in the states, even though our economy isn't exactly doing the best, people still find the time/money for games. It's a huge industry, and is still encroaching on the film business. Because of this, those who fund games are willing to put more money behind them, and thus create better, longer, and more 'American Aimed' games.
Meanwhile, in Japan, their economy is doing much much worse than in USA. Worse to the point that people are buying less games, thus the funding is going down. Obviously, with a drop in cash, you take a hit in one way or another (shorter games, less-pretty graphics, etc.).
The other main reason, and this is totally my opinion, is that american game developers have finally caught on. No longer are we limited to the FPS genre. We have become masters of all genres, from RPGs (KOTOR) to inventing our own (GTA3). In part, we have Japan to thank for this, as they pretty much started the industry. We've just taken their ideas, run with them, and we are now beginning to surpass them. Metroid for the GameCube is a great example. A very terrific game, with a new spin on FPS mechanics, created by an American develompent team. What was once Japanese is now American. Maybe it's time that Japan start 'borrowing' some ideas back from us?
Thus the lesson learned is never sign anything similar to a non-compete. Especially in today's job market where job stability is virtually non-existant and no one can afford to wait a year before returning to a similar line of work.
Somehow I've always avoided signing these. It's not that employers have not given them to me to sign, but I usually tell them I need to take it home to look over (with the rest of the paperwork). When I return with the stacks, I bring everything but the non-compete. You'd me amazed at how many companies don't really pay attention to wether or not you really sign. It's only when later down they line that they go to look at your file that they realize that it ain't there.
The problem with Nintendo is not their game sales. If you look at Soul Calibur II sales for example, Nintendo is ahead of the pack. They're outselling the PS2 version 3 to 2. The problem is that game developers are not making games at all for GC because of low number of cubes owned. Nintendo is trying to get more game developers on board (or back on board as some have recently dropped GC support completely) by lowering the hardware prices and making GC development more attractive.
The article was posted at 9:52 am. Between 9 and 10 am SCO's stock was going UP. But since the release, look at at the graph (upper right hand corner)... Correlation? Interesting eh? I wonder how low it'll go between 2pm and 4pm:)
Image searches are really just text searches that limit themselves to image results. What I want is a search where I upload an image, and the engine finds similar images after "looking" at the image. Does anyone know if something like this is in the works by anybody?
Microsoft is internally... developing between 35 and 40 Xbox titles
How can they be developing between 35 and 40 titles? Doesn't it have to be 35, 40, or a number in between? How does Microsoft not know exactly how many games they are developing?
I think Xbox live can support a nice MMO game due to the fact that it has excellent voice communication abilities. I've found that playing a game, then stoping whatever action you're in to type is a horrid thing. It is difficult to communicate and battle at the same time. Even on PC. Gestures don't make it any easier.
I have yet to see any MMO game attempt voice communication, but I think it would be a really cool thing to try. Sure there are things to work out, like who exactly hears you talk? Or how "loud" is your voice. But those are good problems if you ask me. I'd love to see someone take a shot at it.
Anyone know if something like this is planned for True Fantasly online?
I'm sure everyone is tired of the old debate of GNOME vs. KDE, or StarOffice vs. KOffice, but I have a question of sorts...
Wouldn't it be better if theses camps to together? I mean, they're both basically competing with Microsoft (who has massive amounts of money to spend advancing their products), so why compete amongst themsevles? I like bits of both KDE and GNOME really. But I'd be in heaven if they got together to create a single desktop solution with the perks of both.
Based on the wording, I'd say it does not include the network adapter:
Available in March 2004 for $99 suggested retail price (SRP), the internal Hard Disk Drive attaches to the Network Adaptor (Ethernet/modem) (for PlayStation(R)2), which connects to both broadband or dial-up networks, and rests in the expansion bay of the PlayStation 2 console.
Notice it says "attaches to" and not "comes with".
Here is a list of the best selling games of all time:
"Super Mario Bros." for NES: 40 Million Units
"Tetris" for Gameboy: 33 Million Units
"Super Mario Bros. 3" for NES: 18 Million Units
"Super Mario World" for SNES: 17 Million Units
"Super Mario Land" for Gameboy: 14 Million Units
"Super Mario 64" for N64: 11 Million Units
"The Sims" for PC: 10 Million Units
"Super Mario Bros. 2" for NES: 10 Million Units
"Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" for PS2: 8.5 Million Units
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for PSX: 8 Million Units
"GoldenEye" for N64: 8 Million Units
"Donkey Kong Country" for SNES: 8 Million Units
"Super Mario Kart" for SNES: 8 Million Units
"Pokemon Red/Blue" for Gameboy: 8 Million Units
"Half-Life" for PC: 8 Million Units
"Tomb Raider II" for PSX: 8 Million Units
"Final Fantasy VII" for PSX: 7.8 Million Units
"Myst" for PC: 7 Million Units
"Gran Turismo 3" for PS2: 7 Million Units
"Dragon Warrior VII" for PS2: 6 Million Units
Of these twenty games, only four could really be considered "original" (imho). So based on this data I would conclude that most gamers do not want original content. They want improved versions of games they've already played.
Now for my opinion.
I don't think that it is necessary to make a game orignal solely for the sake of. Most of the games I own and regularly play these days are not original. However, eventually rehashes do become tired and old. Final Fantasy comes to mind. It has been a beautiful series that has taken many twists and turns. But, the last few iterations have been without innovation, simply substituting one battle system for another [similar] one. Eventually this series will die without radically changing direction. I know it is on the verge of losing my interest.
Usually every year there is at least one good original title released. And, inevitably, it is copied until it is no longer unique. But for every one good original title (Grand Theft Auto III), there are dozen's of bad ones(Star Wars Rebellion).
This is why innovation is not the most important thing in the world to the gaming industry. It's all about fun factor. Wether or not something is truely unique/original/whatever is not so relevant to wether or not it is fun.
So I leave you with this. Half-life was not the first FPS, but it was (and perhaps still is) the most fun.
"It's not spyware, it's a fucking anti-theft system."
Not so. If you remember a few years ago, a judge ruled against Blizzard using spyware in their software even though all it was doing was helping them to squash bugs and prevent cheating.
So the transmission of even benign data without permission by the user is against the law.
A number of gaming sites out there are carrying word of an alleged Half-Life 2 delay according to some folks at Vivendi Universal who are publishing the title retail for Valve Software. However word doesnt seem to have traveled down to Valve according to an email pulled from the Steam forums. (We havent been able to directly confirm or deny with anyone at Valve yet) who might know a thing or two about that. timm of Shacknews comments fame already pointed out this Gabe Newell response:
I've only seen the movie once, perhaps I need to see it again, but I'll probably wait for DVD.
Anyway, in the middle of the film when they're discussing the future, and how John dies. Arnold tells him that he kills him, in like, 2032 or something. Did anyone understand that? Why does he kill him? If he does, why do they send the Terminator that actually killed John back in time?
Based on this information, I'd assume that Arnold will once again be the bad guy in the next movie.
If Skynet has no "central core", then what exactly is it that they were agonizing over hooking up to the internet when Kate's father finally typed 'Y'? And if this was the first access Skynet had to the internet, how did it manage to start some massive computer virus in the first place?
I have some thoughts on this... At one point in the movie, at the end before Robert Brewster gets shot, John tells him that they need to shut Skynet down. Robert says something like "yea but what about the virus." Connor replies "skynet is the virus." My theory on this is that Skynet (the incarnation from T3) sent the TX back to not only kill, but to also distribute a virus that would motivate the military to activate Skynet.
Slashdot Mirror
One reason for this could very well be the funding behind the games. Here in the states, even though our economy isn't exactly doing the best, people still find the time/money for games. It's a huge industry, and is still encroaching on the film business. Because of this, those who fund games are willing to put more money behind them, and thus create better, longer, and more 'American Aimed' games.
Meanwhile, in Japan, their economy is doing much much worse than in USA. Worse to the point that people are buying less games, thus the funding is going down. Obviously, with a drop in cash, you take a hit in one way or another (shorter games, less-pretty graphics, etc.).
The other main reason, and this is totally my opinion, is that american game developers have finally caught on. No longer are we limited to the FPS genre. We have become masters of all genres, from RPGs (KOTOR) to inventing our own (GTA3). In part, we have Japan to thank for this, as they pretty much started the industry. We've just taken their ideas, run with them, and we are now beginning to surpass them. Metroid for the GameCube is a great example. A very terrific game, with a new spin on FPS mechanics, created by an American develompent team. What was once Japanese is now American. Maybe it's time that Japan start 'borrowing' some ideas back from us?
Thus the lesson learned is never sign anything similar to a non-compete. Especially in today's job market where job stability is virtually non-existant and no one can afford to wait a year before returning to a similar line of work.
Somehow I've always avoided signing these. It's not that employers have not given them to me to sign, but I usually tell them I need to take it home to look over (with the rest of the paperwork). When I return with the stacks, I bring everything but the non-compete. You'd me amazed at how many companies don't really pay attention to wether or not you really sign. It's only when later down they line that they go to look at your file that they realize that it ain't there.
If you watch the entire sequence, it is because they are flying above the clouds that make up the scortched sky.
The problem with Nintendo is not their game sales. If you look at Soul Calibur II sales for example, Nintendo is ahead of the pack. They're outselling the PS2 version 3 to 2. The problem is that game developers are not making games at all for GC because of low number of cubes owned. Nintendo is trying to get more game developers on board (or back on board as some have recently dropped GC support completely) by lowering the hardware prices and making GC development more attractive.
The article was posted at 9:52 am. Between 9 and 10 am SCO's stock was going UP. But since the release, look at at the graph (upper right hand corner)... Correlation? Interesting eh? I wonder how low it'll go between 2pm and 4pm :)
Image searches are really just text searches that limit themselves to image results. What I want is a search where I upload an image, and the engine finds similar images after "looking" at the image. Does anyone know if something like this is in the works by anybody?
Microsoft is internally... developing between 35 and 40 Xbox titles
How can they be developing between 35 and 40 titles? Doesn't it have to be 35, 40, or a number in between? How does Microsoft not know exactly how many games they are developing?
I'm confused...
I think Xbox live can support a nice MMO game due to the fact that it has excellent voice communication abilities. I've found that playing a game, then stoping whatever action you're in to type is a horrid thing. It is difficult to communicate and battle at the same time. Even on PC. Gestures don't make it any easier.
I have yet to see any MMO game attempt voice communication, but I think it would be a really cool thing to try. Sure there are things to work out, like who exactly hears you talk? Or how "loud" is your voice. But those are good problems if you ask me. I'd love to see someone take a shot at it.
Anyone know if something like this is planned for True Fantasly online?
I'm sure everyone is tired of the old debate of GNOME vs. KDE, or StarOffice vs. KOffice, but I have a question of sorts...
Wouldn't it be better if theses camps to together? I mean, they're both basically competing with Microsoft (who has massive amounts of money to spend advancing their products), so why compete amongst themsevles? I like bits of both KDE and GNOME really. But I'd be in heaven if they got together to create a single desktop solution with the perks of both.
What do you think?
Based on the wording, I'd say it does not include the network adapter:
Available in March 2004 for $99 suggested retail price (SRP), the internal Hard Disk Drive attaches to the Network Adaptor (Ethernet/modem) (for PlayStation(R)2), which connects to both broadband or dial-up networks, and rests in the expansion bay of the PlayStation 2 console.
Notice it says "attaches to" and not "comes with".
Freeman isn't a character. He never says anything.
By that logic, neither is Link, most Final Fantasy main characters (Cloud, Squall, etc.), Crono, the list goes on.
Just something to think about.
- "Super Mario Bros." for NES: 40 Million Units
- "Tetris" for Gameboy: 33 Million Units
- "Super Mario Bros. 3" for NES: 18 Million Units
- "Super Mario World" for SNES: 17 Million Units
- "Super Mario Land" for Gameboy: 14 Million Units
- "Super Mario 64" for N64: 11 Million Units
- "The Sims" for PC: 10 Million Units
- "Super Mario Bros. 2" for NES: 10 Million Units
- "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" for PS2: 8.5 Million Units
- "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for PSX: 8 Million Units
- "GoldenEye" for N64: 8 Million Units
- "Donkey Kong Country" for SNES: 8 Million Units
- "Super Mario Kart" for SNES: 8 Million Units
- "Pokemon Red/Blue" for Gameboy: 8 Million Units
- "Half-Life" for PC: 8 Million Units
- "Tomb Raider II" for PSX: 8 Million Units
- "Final Fantasy VII" for PSX: 7.8 Million Units
- "Myst" for PC: 7 Million Units
- "Gran Turismo 3" for PS2: 7 Million Units
- "Dragon Warrior VII" for PS2: 6 Million Units
Of these twenty games, only four could really be considered "original" (imho). So based on this data I would conclude that most gamers do not want original content. They want improved versions of games they've already played.Now for my opinion.
I don't think that it is necessary to make a game orignal solely for the sake of. Most of the games I own and regularly play these days are not original. However, eventually rehashes do become tired and old. Final Fantasy comes to mind. It has been a beautiful series that has taken many twists and turns. But, the last few iterations have been without innovation, simply substituting one battle system for another [similar] one. Eventually this series will die without radically changing direction. I know it is on the verge of losing my interest.
Usually every year there is at least one good original title released. And, inevitably, it is copied until it is no longer unique. But for every one good original title (Grand Theft Auto III), there are dozen's of bad ones(Star Wars Rebellion). This is why innovation is not the most important thing in the world to the gaming industry. It's all about fun factor. Wether or not something is truely unique/original/whatever is not so relevant to wether or not it is fun.
So I leave you with this. Half-life was not the first FPS, but it was (and perhaps still is) the most fun.
Here is some media I found, although some may or may not be real.
"It's not spyware, it's a fucking anti-theft system."
Not so. If you remember a few years ago, a judge ruled against Blizzard using spyware in their software even though all it was doing was helping them to squash bugs and prevent cheating.
So the transmission of even benign data without permission by the user is against the law.
For screenshots, check out this.
I don't own BF (crappy PC), but I'd love to see screenshots of this mod. Anyone got a second to spare posting them so I can check it out?
Thanks in advance.
From ShackNews:
A number of gaming sites out there are carrying word of an alleged Half-Life 2 delay according to some folks at Vivendi Universal who are publishing the title retail for Valve Software. However word doesnt seem to have traveled down to Valve according to an email pulled from the Steam forums. (We havent been able to directly confirm or deny with anyone at Valve yet) who might know a thing or two about that. timm of Shacknews comments fame already pointed out this Gabe Newell response:
First time I've heard about this.
See the whole post here.
Doesn't this kinda go in the duh category?
This game was mostly financed by Microsoft, so there will be no other ports besides the PC version. (Windows only.)
Spoilers:
I've only seen the movie once, perhaps I need to see it again, but I'll probably wait for DVD.
Anyway, in the middle of the film when they're discussing the future, and how John dies. Arnold tells him that he kills him, in like, 2032 or something. Did anyone understand that? Why does he kill him? If he does, why do they send the Terminator that actually killed John back in time?
Based on this information, I'd assume that Arnold will once again be the bad guy in the next movie.
If Skynet has no "central core", then what exactly is it that they were agonizing over hooking up to the internet when Kate's father finally typed 'Y'? And if this was the first access Skynet had to the internet, how did it manage to start some massive computer virus in the first place?
I have some thoughts on this... At one point in the movie, at the end before Robert Brewster gets shot, John tells him that they need to shut Skynet down. Robert says something like "yea but what about the virus." Connor replies "skynet is the virus." My theory on this is that Skynet (the incarnation from T3) sent the TX back to not only kill, but to also distribute a virus that would motivate the military to activate Skynet.
Too late for Microsoft. It's been released. No way of stopping it. Just like Nintendo had no way of stopping UltraHLE.
I think the Xbox version will get that 'extra planet' per xbox live. Such has been suggested, but not confirmed.
For those who don't want to buy a book, here's a nice page with pre-built regexps for doing all sorts of things: RegexLib.
Soldering not required. Check out The Matrix.