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User: Bethor

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Comments · 27

  1. Wii Sports on Wii to Launch Nov. 19th for $250 · · Score: 1

    Accoring to Nintendo's Japanese site, Wii Sports will *not* come bundled with the machine.
    Either the American news sites got it wrong, or its only bundled in the US package.

  2. Better idea on Microsoft to Turn to Driver Quality Ratings System · · Score: 1

    How bout make all the collected data available to the public in a nice website, together with weekly rankings and a Hall of Fame.

    Now that's some motivation to fix your crap =)

  3. Culture on Internet Suicide Pacts Surge in Japan · · Score: 2, Insightful

    (Note: Ive been living in Japan for several years).

    Suicide rates in Japan are high simply because in this culture, some things are considered worse than death. Suicide is a valid solution to many problems, and sometimes even considered a brave and honorable display of self-sacrifice. It has been this way since ancient times - look it up.

    Now, I also wish they would stop, but its silly to blame it on living conditions of the Japanese, which are in fact, among the best in this planet, even for the people living in the country side growing potatoes.

  4. Wont happen on Cisco Eyeing Tivo/Nintendo for Buyout? · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As someone who has been working in Japan for several years, in the game industry, I cant begin to explain how ridiculous this sounds.

    Nintendo is a 107 year old company. It has been lead by the same family for generations, and their mployees are extremely proud. They were there before video games existed, and they most likely will be there long after video games are gone.

    I am not sure if its a cultural thing, but the assumption that everything is for sale is quite irritating.

  5. real reason? on Richard Stallman Accosted For Tinfoil Hat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Are you sure it was the tinfoil?
    I mean, if I was a security guy and got confronted by thisthis, I would be pretty nervous too!

  6. What? on J. Allard Responds to Hard Drive Criticism · · Score: 1

    "So that seems like a win for developers - I'm not sure who's supposed to be disappointed."

    Ah! But you do know:

    "Are there developers who are disappointed? Yeah, sure."

    And then this:

    "You bought a Mini Cooper and you want the Turbo, you're screwed. You buy the Xbox 360 Core system, you can build up to the premium system and you won't be left out of anything along the way."

    Horrible analogy. People will not "upgrade" their Xbox because no games will require it. Developers will not create games that require the hard disk because most people will not have it. Recurse. How many times have we seen this?

    Btw, is being an arrogant fuckwit a prerequisite for working at MS?

  7. misleading headline, as usual. on Virtual Muggings in Lineage II · · Score: 3, Informative

    He was arrested for "hacking", not for mugging people in game.

  8. Reality check on Playstation 3 Not A Video Game Machine · · Score: 2, Informative

    Here is some "insider" info for you (its all obvious anyways):
    - Next-gen games will look only marginally better then current high-end PC games (Doom3, HL2, etc).
    - This will be the *smallest* step between generations we have seen so far. (The current consoles are quite capable!)
    - For devs, the biggest difference is that most games will need to have some sort of online play to remain competitive.
    - Nintendo will distribute low-budget games online (billing service included). Expect Sony and MS to do the same.

  9. dejavu? on PlayStation 3 Unveiled · · Score: 1

    The Xbox360 just got dreamcasted!

    Lets recap, current generation:
    - PS2: Best 3rd party support, most games.
    - Xbox: Most powerful, online play.
    - GC: Best first party games.

    Factoring out online play since they will all have it, the next generation will be something like:
    - PS3: Best 3rd party support, most games, most powerfull.
    - Nintendo: Best first party games, unique UI(maybe).
    - Xbox360: ????

  10. Market Cap? on Infinium Targets Gamers For Stock Purchase After Split · · Score: 1, Insightful

    My company has a market cap of 1 billion dollars, and I havent even announced anything yet!
    $1,000,000,000 times 1 share.
    And yes, I own the share.

  11. Re:Open beta? on World of Warcraft Beta To Begin · · Score: 3, Funny

    WOW looks too good to not at least try for a month or two.

    famous last words.

  12. Re:Splat! on Microsoft Shared Source -- With a Twist · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The embedded market uses Linux

    Linux is a great alternative for embedded. But SymbianOS is what
    Microsoft is really going after here. Symbian is being adopted by most big cell phone manufacturers, and
    the source comes with the license.

  13. who does it mean? on Are We Not Ready For 64-Bit? · · Score: 1

    95% of endusers wouldn't even notice any difference. How could they be "not ready"?
    Seems to me Intel is just trying to conceal their own develppment problems.

    Is this Apple's chance to catch up to wintel's speeds?

  14. The state of the game industry. on Square To Merge With Enix · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As a game developer myself, I am quite worried about the state of the industry, and this merger further aggravates the problem.

    During the 80s and early 90s we had a healthy number of development houses, and lots of them took risks in order to differentiate themselves. The result was of course innovation. Plenty of it.

    Nowadays development costs are absolutely HUGE. Only a few hits actually sell enough to cover their costs. Nobody can afford to take risks, and there is very little innovation going on.

    Here in Japan, I know Nintendo has been funding small development teams that come up with interesting ideas, but I havent seen any fruits yet.

    What else can be done? Is there any hope?
    --

  15. Re:The sad facts on Declan McCullagh On Geek Activism · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    and doesn't reinstall his operating system or upgrade his machine (if he even owns one) frequently

    those sad bastards!

  16. Xbox is in trouble on How Microsoft Tried To Buy Nintendo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think Microsoft will never be a big player in the videogame industry, regardless of how much money they pour into it.
    They need to dominate both the American and Japanese markets to stand a chance.
    Here are some of the things that will stop them:

    - Most important video game developers are Japanese. Those companies have strong relationships with Sony and/or Nintendo. You simply can't buy your way into a closed industry in Japan. I know, I work there.
    - Culture clash. Japanese gamers don't like the Xbox. It's big, ugly and all the exclusive games are very American.
    - Microsoft has absolutely no way to force anyone to buy an Xbox. Their Windows/Office tactics don't apply here.
    - MS actually looses money on each Xbox they sell. If they don't have a big market share a couple years from now (and they wont), they will NOT keep trying. Not even M$ can afford to do this.

    If I was Microsoft, I would make Xbox2 run PC games directly. No porting needed whatsoever.

    Cheers.

  17. Nothing to worry about on Microsoft to Continue Mac Support · · Score: 1

    If microsoft ever closes MBU, Apple will grab all their developers, and probably buy the source code too.

  18. What it really means on PlayOnline Network To Use Dreamcast Technology · · Score: 1

    NetFront is just a web browser for appliances. English info here
    Access also makes the cHTML browser behind NTT-Docomo's popular i-mode phones.

  19. Re:Its SMTP! on Spam Increases Make Things Tough For Companies · · Score: 1

    Then dhy do stores have alarm systems, camera, and hire sercurity personel?
    Spam is just TOO easy to do, so everyone does it. A lot of poeple would steal if they could just walk into the store and take what they want.

  20. Its SMTP! on Spam Increases Make Things Tough For Companies · · Score: 1

    Lets face it, its time to get rid of SMTP. A spam-free protocol shouldn't be too hard to design (maybe someone already did?).

  21. Re:Sorry to everyone thinking MMORPGs are the futu on Square, FFXI, and the MMORPG · · Score: 1

    The genre is not broken. Anarchy Online and WWII Online are broken.
    A persistent online world full of real people is, and will continue to be much more interesting than a static and linear one.

    Those companies were in for quick cash, and they probably got it. They simply do NOT have the resources or the capital to make and maintain an interesting online game.

    Now its time for the big players to move in. Square knows how to tell stories, and they know how to create content (they just made a movie!). Also, being a console company, they know how to make accessible games.

    I say this will be huge.

    Cheers.

  22. Re:Potential danger on Darwin Team Answers & Develop on Darwin · · Score: 1

    I don't see why or how will Apple backstab developers.
    Darwin/BSD developers know that their work, if it's any good, will help Apple make lots of money. Realistically, I don't think anyone is planning to use Darwin separate from OSX. We help out anyways (at least I do) because we see the potential of a really nice OS coming out of this.
    I just want a great OS, not a corporation-free state.
    My 2 cents,

    Rob

  23. Re:3G is vaporware; Ricochet is here today on 3G Phone Trial Started in Japan · · Score: 1

    >Non-surfing on an "interface nightmare" tiny >screen, you mean? ......
    >3G will be fine for talking on the phone.

    There are 34.5 million people in Japan using internet-enabled phones (including myself). Most waiting for 3G.

    Ricochet has about 41,000 subscribers.

    Nuff said.

    Rob

  24. ProjectBuilder on Inprise/Borland Pledge Support For Mac OS X · · Score: 1

    Am I missing something? MacOSX's #1 development tool will be bundled with every copy of the OS.

  25. Re:Is the GeForce really that better? on nVidia Strikes Deal With Apple · · Score: 1

    The Inspiron 7500 comes with a Rage Pro, not a Rage 128. Big difference.