You missed the part where I was constructing an "ideal world." Each electronic display is also drinkable, tastes like columbian coffee and makes you fly.
We 1.5 owners have been here on Monkey island for awhile. Welcome, friends, and may I interest you in a "A Found the Secret of Monkey Island and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" shirt?
What you are missing is that it's a niche product that has some useful applications. Stores could use them as signage on pricetags, and not ever have to worry about the extremely laborius task of relabeling everything on a price change. Hook these up via (extremely secure) Wi-Fi and prices can be changed at the press of the button. Once they get color figured out, you can use them as an actual digital picture frame. The probelm with most digital frames today is the battery is constantly driving the display, so it must be plugged in or maintained. If you are only using power on changes, you can have a picture frame that changes every few minutes or hour, and the battery would last quite some time.
Indeed I had not. It's difficult to wade through the mass of PSP software out there. Some bogus, some horribly beta, some incredibly useful. I suppose this is why I still post on slashdot occasionally.:) You have officially made my day.
Yep, GTA is probably going to be the killer app for the PSP. I'll be glad when it finally comes out, so I can play games on the PSP. It will be a sad day though, as it will probably upgrade my firmware.
Thankfully, there are no games out that force a 2.0 upgrade that I want. I shiver as a gamer saying that. The battle may soon be won over 2.0, but the war will inevitably be won buy Sony when 2.1 is released to fix this. Games will require it, and if you want to play games, you will have to play *their* game of firmware upgrades. It's silly, stupid, and I hate it. I still have the DS, but Sony, please, please, just let us run our homebrew apps. It's a better world if we all get along. Go after the pirates aggressively, fine. But leave us that just want to run a file-transfer program and ScummVM alone. I love your product, please stop fugging with it.
I actually agree with the parent. In America, nothing is your fault. That's why we have informative signs like "Do not immerse in water" on your television. And my personal favorite, on my last television "do not attempt to eat or consume."
Cuz you know, sometimes you just gotta grab a bite.
I'm not an engineer but just imagine a "Y" grip in the center (inside) of the slot, that is initially closed to look like an straight beam. The Y has a slight tension that keeps it closed. When you insert a cube disc, you use enough force to spread it open (the disc is now held in the top of the Y) and the machine retracts the disc and loads. If you use a normal DVD disc, the Y simply opens more. When the disc is removed, the tension spring pushes it shut to it's normal beam position.
I remember man, I remember. That was a wonderful experience. It had tons to do and explore. Oddly enough, it was much like other MMOGs today. Lot's of clicking around to find small little 'gems'. As I recall, you could even take off your head and put on a new one. If Habitat/Club Caribe runs on this thing, I'll be there all weekend.
If you are attuned to the gaming-force, you can feel a wave of despair, as if thousands of Sony and MS developers cry out in horror, as they are fired for completely missing the point.
Ah, the same old, "it's not unique because it's been invented" argument. It does not have to be the "first" to be the one that makes an idea viable.
The iPod did not "invent" the mp3 player, is it not unique? Do not answer unless you have used one. You could do wireless networking with a ham radio if you had the right software, way back when. Since 802.11 wireless networking is essentially just a radio, I guess they are just "rip offs". I could get a GPS to tell me where I'm at for years. So selling one that is integrated into my car that allows me to figure out where I'm at and where I'm going is obviously more "me tooism."
So you could have made DS games on a pda eh? But they didn't did they? Because it's the combination of the touch screen, dual screen, microphone, and wifi in a portable gaming console that makes it work. Even if you technically *could* release nintendogs on a blackberry, you don't, because that is not what it is designed for, and people don't buy it.
You are correct that really the innovation is in the peripheral, but first off a little thing about patent law and copyrights will prohibit cloning it. Secondly the market for games using a peripheral that is not 'standard' means little software will be produced for it.
I have no idea what makes you think making a new 'console' has nothing to do with the controller. The inputs to any system designed for interaction are almost the definition of what it is. Did you mean they should put more stuff in the box itself? Like what? What if you could put the entire 'console' in the controller itself? Would it then qualify as a new console in your opinion?
I have seen the revolution, and it is unquestionably good.
If this controller delivers half of what the video promises, it actually will deliver a revolution in gaming. My only sadness comes from the fact that many, many people will be too frightened to accept such a massive change.
If you look at the feature list, it is everything the 'true' gamer could want.
1) Controller makes completely new types of *genres* possible. 2) Backwards compatibility with 'Cube games 3) Wifi Downloadable content for all the good games of yore. 4) The design is a beautiful example of form following function 5) DVD playback you don't pay for unless you want to. 6) Cost of the hardware is probably only minimally affected by the controller. This isn't like Sony's extra $100 (or whatever) cost to include the Blu-ray drive. This is taking simple pieces and making a much better whole.
It is *almost* perfect. However, the obstacles to overcome are not insignificant, and most are brought on by the fact that the 'true' gamer wants things that Joe Six-Pack does not. There is unfortunately room for quite a bit of doubt:
1) Studios will have to throw out almost everything regarding game design that they know. This will require an entire reworking of our fundamental concepts of gaming. Read this as "huge cost of time and money, with a significant risk of loss" 2) The hardware has to work right, and not be plagued by sensor issues and bad logic. 3) Pretty sure Nintendo said no 1080i support. This is not as huge as #1 & #2, but prices on Hi-Def displays continue to creep downward. 4) Graphics, although unimportant in my eye, must be taken into consideration. Sony and MS have sold billions of consoles on screenshots alone. The public still loves teh shiny, so we can't have any moments where people think "but the XBox makes it look *real*!" 5) Adults. Nintendo, I beg of you, do not forget us. We have loved your games for years, but we've grown together. I have happily followed you into dangerous waters before, and games like Nintendogs and Animal crossing have made the journey fun. For the love of god though, can we have some games that actually cater to adults with unique challenge *and* themes? 6) Net gaming is here to stay. Can you please join us at the table of the internets? We have saved you a seat, but you missed the hors doeuvres . It's ok though, make sure you're here when the main course arrives and we'll fill you in on what you missed.
Can we get any help with this? I would play Space Ace to death. I have seen Daphne, of course, but finding the actual laser discs has been rough. Even if I did, the setup looks complicated. I used to have various DVD and PC versions, but they just weren't the same.
Is there some list somewhere that I can tell what may upgrade my firmware? My 1.5 firmware is precious to me. Thank god there are no games out that I want, then I might have to consider an update.
However, how does this firmware update work? Does it tell you? Does it say it on the box? Is there a list on the net?
"And explain again what's so "innovative" about the DS."
We have to explain it *again*? Ok, but I swear this is the last time.
1) It's a portable console with built-in wifi. Yeah, sony has it too, and there is even better support for infrastructure mode on the PSP, but you know that's a me-too after seeing the DS. 2) It does not have a d-pad as it's main source of input. It has a stylus used on a touch screen. This is unheard of in the set-top console world, let alone for a handheld. 3) It has a microphone and a decent speech api which enables simple recognition. Again, even set-top boxes aren't there yet. 4) It has *two* screens. What the developer does with them is up to them, for better or worse. Name one system, ever, that had two screens. Some obscure arcade game? Possibly. A *console*? Never. A portable console? Why that sounds insane! 5) It still has good 'ol GBA battery life. This is arguably not 'innovative' but damn impressive. 6) It's still backwards compatible with the GBA. Not really innovative again, but come on, you have to give some credit.
You may not like these features, and I agree there have been some silly uses of them, but to not call nintendo innovative for trying this out is ridiculous. Many have already called nintendo's demise when the DS was announced.
**Disclaimer, I own every current gen set-top console, a DS, a PSP and a GBA. Try not to call me a fanboy. I know it hurts not to, but just try. If it helps, check my user name.
They were thinking cost. That 19" TV was probably a good $100 less than another 19" with a normal human number of inputs. My girlfriend has a Toshiba TV with an absolutely stellar picture. I was shocked that it was a good $150 less than my television, which is the same size. Then I realize my television has 5 inputs, from component down to RF, while heres as a measly two composite. You get what you pay for is the moral here.
"How many times do we need to say it - its not the hardware that makes great games - its the gameplay!"
We have to keep saying it until people stop buying crap. Which they will not for awhile. Games are still new to the overwhelming majority. They still see shiny and cannot avoid the instinct to buy. Just like every other technology at it's beginnings, most people are uneducated about what to look for. So the market droids dumb things down and drawn in people who do not realize an informed decision is beneficial.
Add to this the PS3 and XBox 360 are almost exactly identical in feature sets. Before you flame me, think about the consumer.
Pretty Graphics - XBox & PS3
Pretty Casing - They both look purty in their own way.
Controller - Most don't care, but other than shape and possible wireless options, mostly identical
Sound - Again no one cares, the difference is not discernable by most people.
Internet Options - XBox Live is proven, but the PS2 worked for many also. Possible advantage XBox
Sports Games - Both get same titles
FPS Games - Both get mostly same titles with occasionaly exclusive
Racing Games - Different exclusives on both sides
High Definition - Specs aren't finalized, but both support some version of high-def, which again a large portion of the market doesn't even use.
"Media Features" - Believe it or not, this is a larger selling point to most then the games. People *assume* that their $299+ super-console will *eventually* get super-awesome games, but if it doesn't play my DVDs now, it never will. HD-DVD/Blu-Ray battle may play a role later, but the tech won't catch on for at least another year, if that.
Brand Loyalty - Huge benefit for either company. If their console treated them well, and most belive their choice was correct <cough>fanboys<cough>, they will have an inclination to trust the company again. Possible advantage Sony, for their PS2 user base.
When you look at these, it's obvious that the only major difference will be in those rare blockbuster exclusives. The key is you have to do the math, and most people would rather just whip out the cash card.
Exercise to the reader:Does what we know about the Nintendo Revolution fit into this?
I need to be able to read my email with WinZip. Someone brighter than I stated that "all applications grow until the point at which they can read email." This is when you know you've gone too far.
Don't get me wrong, added functionality is nice, but why not integrate with other apps? Like have a plugin that works with my Nero/EZCD/WhateverBurn so we can all focus on our own specialized tasks?
Although I cannot remember the original, there are other virtualschizophrenia devices. These are designed to either help others understand the disease, or to help those with it understand their own psychosis
Extra special bonus points to someone who finds the one I remember, which showed spooky faces coming out of nowhere and taunting you
Hey, if it helps those with the disease, and gives me a freaky good time to boot, that's good stuff
Something I thought about too. I assume MS has a plan. We shall see what that is though. I thoroughly suspect that MS would like to see the original XBox die a quiet death. They have learned a lot, but their first lesson was extremely painful.
Yeah knock off the Paint Shop jokes, they are old. However, your other list is good, but you forget the PSX. The PSX was the common name for the PS1 when then PS2 came out. A kind of retronym. Then Sony launched the PSX in Japan, a PS2 with more media features. In my memory anyway.
This is known as the "dirty little secret" of HDDs, that MS learned a bit too late. HDDs do not get cheaper anymore, they just get bigger. I suspect that this is probably going to be a laptop 2.5" HDD though, which you can stil buy in smaller sizes. For now...
Slashdot Mirror
You missed the part where I was constructing an "ideal world." Each electronic display is also drinkable, tastes like columbian coffee and makes you fly.
Anyway, point taken.
We 1.5 owners have been here on Monkey island for awhile. Welcome, friends, and may I interest you in a "A Found the Secret of Monkey Island and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt" shirt?
What you are missing is that it's a niche product that has some useful applications. Stores could use them as signage on pricetags, and not ever have to worry about the extremely laborius task of relabeling everything on a price change. Hook these up via (extremely secure) Wi-Fi and prices can be changed at the press of the button.
Once they get color figured out, you can use them as an actual digital picture frame. The probelm with most digital frames today is the battery is constantly driving the display, so it must be plugged in or maintained. If you are only using power on changes, you can have a picture frame that changes every few minutes or hour, and the battery would last quite some time.
Indeed I had not. It's difficult to wade through the mass of PSP software out there. Some bogus, some horribly beta, some incredibly useful. I suppose this is why I still post on slashdot occasionally. :) You have officially made my day.
Yep, GTA is probably going to be the killer app for the PSP. I'll be glad when it finally comes out, so I can play games on the PSP. It will be a sad day though, as it will probably upgrade my firmware.
Thankfully, there are no games out that force a 2.0 upgrade that I want. I shiver as a gamer saying that. The battle may soon be won over 2.0, but the war will inevitably be won buy Sony when 2.1 is released to fix this. Games will require it, and if you want to play games, you will have to play *their* game of firmware upgrades. It's silly, stupid, and I hate it. I still have the DS, but Sony, please, please, just let us run our homebrew apps. It's a better world if we all get along. Go after the pirates aggressively, fine. But leave us that just want to run a file-transfer program and ScummVM alone. I love your product, please stop fugging with it.
I actually agree with the parent. In America, nothing is your fault. That's why we have informative signs like "Do not immerse in water" on your television. And my personal favorite, on my last television "do not attempt to eat or consume."
Cuz you know, sometimes you just gotta grab a bite.
I'm not an engineer but just imagine a "Y" grip in the center (inside) of the slot, that is initially closed to look like an straight beam. The Y has a slight tension that keeps it closed. When you insert a cube disc, you use enough force to spread it open (the disc is now held in the top of the Y) and the machine retracts the disc and loads. If you use a normal DVD disc, the Y simply opens more. When the disc is removed, the tension spring pushes it shut to it's normal beam position.
I remember man, I remember. That was a wonderful experience. It had tons to do and explore. Oddly enough, it was much like other MMOGs today. Lot's of clicking around to find small little 'gems'. As I recall, you could even take off your head and put on a new one. If Habitat/Club Caribe runs on this thing, I'll be there all weekend.
If you are attuned to the gaming-force, you can feel a wave of despair, as if thousands of Sony and MS developers cry out in horror, as they are fired for completely missing the point.
Ah, the same old, "it's not unique because it's been invented" argument. It does not have to be the "first" to be the one that makes an idea viable.
The iPod did not "invent" the mp3 player, is it not unique? Do not answer unless you have used one. You could do wireless networking with a ham radio if you had the right software, way back when. Since 802.11 wireless networking is essentially just a radio, I guess they are just "rip offs". I could get a GPS to tell me where I'm at for years. So selling one that is integrated into my car that allows me to figure out where I'm at and where I'm going is obviously more "me tooism."
So you could have made DS games on a pda eh? But they didn't did they? Because it's the combination of the touch screen, dual screen, microphone, and wifi in a portable gaming console that makes it work. Even if you technically *could* release nintendogs on a blackberry, you don't, because that is not what it is designed for, and people don't buy it.
You are correct that really the innovation is in the peripheral, but first off a little thing about patent law and copyrights will prohibit cloning it. Secondly the market for games using a peripheral that is not 'standard' means little software will be produced for it.
I have no idea what makes you think making a new 'console' has nothing to do with the controller. The inputs to any system designed for interaction are almost the definition of what it is. Did you mean they should put more stuff in the box itself? Like what? What if you could put the entire 'console' in the controller itself? Would it then qualify as a new console in your opinion?
"Basically break a PS controller in two."
What an odd coincidence. After watching the video I went and did just that.
I have seen the revolution, and it is unquestionably good.
If this controller delivers half of what the video promises, it actually will deliver a revolution in gaming. My only sadness comes from the fact that many, many people will be too frightened to accept such a massive change.
If you look at the feature list, it is everything the 'true' gamer could want.
1) Controller makes completely new types of *genres* possible.
2) Backwards compatibility with 'Cube games
3) Wifi Downloadable content for all the good games of yore.
4) The design is a beautiful example of form following function
5) DVD playback you don't pay for unless you want to.
6) Cost of the hardware is probably only minimally affected by the controller. This isn't like Sony's extra $100 (or whatever) cost to include the Blu-ray drive. This is taking simple pieces and making a much better whole.
It is *almost* perfect. However, the obstacles to overcome are not insignificant, and most are brought on by the fact that the 'true' gamer wants things that Joe Six-Pack does not. There is unfortunately room for quite a bit of doubt:
1) Studios will have to throw out almost everything regarding game design that they know. This will require an entire reworking of our fundamental concepts of gaming. Read this as "huge cost of time and money, with a significant risk of loss"
2) The hardware has to work right, and not be plagued by sensor issues and bad logic.
3) Pretty sure Nintendo said no 1080i support. This is not as huge as #1 & #2, but prices on Hi-Def displays continue to creep downward.
4) Graphics, although unimportant in my eye, must be taken into consideration. Sony and MS have sold billions of consoles on screenshots alone. The public still loves teh shiny, so we can't have any moments where people think "but the XBox makes it look *real*!"
5) Adults. Nintendo, I beg of you, do not forget us. We have loved your games for years, but we've grown together. I have happily followed you into dangerous waters before, and games like Nintendogs and Animal crossing have made the journey fun. For the love of god though, can we have some games that actually cater to adults with unique challenge *and* themes?
6) Net gaming is here to stay. Can you please join us at the table of the internets? We have saved you a seat, but you missed the hors doeuvres . It's ok though, make sure you're here when the main course arrives and we'll fill you in on what you missed.
I will assume this question is rhetorical.
Can we get any help with this? I would play Space Ace to death. I have seen Daphne, of course, but finding the actual laser discs has been rough. Even if I did, the setup looks complicated. I used to have various DVD and PC versions, but they just weren't the same.
Is there some list somewhere that I can tell what may upgrade my firmware? My 1.5 firmware is precious to me. Thank god there are no games out that I want, then I might have to consider an update.
However, how does this firmware update work? Does it tell you? Does it say it on the box? Is there a list on the net?
Help! Don't let me lose SCUMMVM!
"And explain again what's so "innovative" about the DS."
We have to explain it *again*? Ok, but I swear this is the last time.
1) It's a portable console with built-in wifi. Yeah, sony has it too, and there is even better support for infrastructure mode on the PSP, but you know that's a me-too after seeing the DS.
2) It does not have a d-pad as it's main source of input. It has a stylus used on a touch screen. This is unheard of in the set-top console world, let alone for a handheld.
3) It has a microphone and a decent speech api which enables simple recognition. Again, even set-top boxes aren't there yet.
4) It has *two* screens. What the developer does with them is up to them, for better or worse. Name one system, ever, that had two screens. Some obscure arcade game? Possibly. A *console*? Never. A portable console? Why that sounds insane!
5) It still has good 'ol GBA battery life. This is arguably not 'innovative' but damn impressive.
6) It's still backwards compatible with the GBA. Not really innovative again, but come on, you have to give some credit.
You may not like these features, and I agree there have been some silly uses of them, but to not call nintendo innovative for trying this out is ridiculous. Many have already called nintendo's demise when the DS was announced.
**Disclaimer, I own every current gen set-top console, a DS, a PSP and a GBA. Try not to call me a fanboy. I know it hurts not to, but just try. If it helps, check my user name.
They were thinking cost. That 19" TV was probably a good $100 less than another 19" with a normal human number of inputs. My girlfriend has a Toshiba TV with an absolutely stellar picture. I was shocked that it was a good $150 less than my television, which is the same size. Then I realize my television has 5 inputs, from component down to RF, while heres as a measly two composite. You get what you pay for is the moral here.
"How many times do we need to say it - its not the hardware that makes great games - its the gameplay!"
We have to keep saying it until people stop buying crap. Which they will not for awhile. Games are still new to the overwhelming majority. They still see shiny and cannot avoid the instinct to buy. Just like every other technology at it's beginnings, most people are uneducated about what to look for. So the market droids dumb things down and drawn in people who do not realize an informed decision is beneficial.
Add to this the PS3 and XBox 360 are almost exactly identical in feature sets. Before you flame me, think about the consumer.
When you look at these, it's obvious that the only major difference will be in those rare blockbuster exclusives. The key is you have to do the math, and most people would rather just whip out the cash card.
Exercise to the reader:Does what we know about the Nintendo Revolution fit into this?
I need to be able to read my email with WinZip. Someone brighter than I stated that "all applications grow until the point at which they can read email." This is when you know you've gone too far.
Don't get me wrong, added functionality is nice, but why not integrate with other apps? Like have a plugin that works with my Nero/EZCD/WhateverBurn so we can all focus on our own specialized tasks?
Although I cannot remember the original, there are other virtual schizophrenia devices. These are designed to either help others understand the disease, or to help those with it understand their own psychosis
Extra special bonus points to someone who finds the one I remember, which showed spooky faces coming out of nowhere and taunting you
Hey, if it helps those with the disease, and gives me a freaky good time to boot, that's good stuff
Something I thought about too. I assume MS has a plan. We shall see what that is though. I thoroughly suspect that MS would like to see the original XBox die a quiet death. They have learned a lot, but their first lesson was extremely painful.
Yeah knock off the Paint Shop jokes, they are old. However, your other list is good, but you forget the PSX. The PSX was the common name for the PS1 when then PS2 came out. A kind of retronym. Then Sony launched the PSX in Japan, a PS2 with more media features. In my memory anyway.
Does anyone have the slightest clue what you are talking about? Please someone drop me a line if you do.
This is known as the "dirty little secret" of HDDs, that MS learned a bit too late. HDDs do not get cheaper anymore, they just get bigger. I suspect that this is probably going to be a laptop 2.5" HDD though, which you can stil buy in smaller sizes. For now...