Sounds extreme - granted, they could have lost revenue, etc, etc... But if you're a publisher and hire the wrong, incapable hands to publish your next Honky Pooter book, and it bombs, whose fault is it? (generic example, but you get the point)
Granted, there's grounds to sue based on unkept promises and false advertising, but... take that to the BBB or something... it just sounds like someone in the exec. office needed a lawsuit to dodge the blame.
If something works, and if an entire civilization is built around it, it's:
Easier to work with
Cost-effective
It follows the old rule of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." (well, to call it "not broken" would be somewhat inaccurate, though)
But the bottom line... it's simple human nature to not want to change how things are unless we start running low on supplies, or if people start dying in the millions.
Perhaps I'm over-simplifying it, but unless there is something that is clearly "better" (which is not going to be made instantly, because it's competing against nearly 100 years of automotive technology), people aren't going to jump on it.
Excellent point - I always assumed that that would be a sufficient deterrent from people making multiple accounts and buffing up their own accounts. Perhaps not.
My thoughts to this is that eBay probably does not check to see if the credit card is a valid one, and that it belongs to your user information (address, etc.) I may sound harsh, but how hard/unreasonable would it be for eBay to require that you only use credit cards assigned to the same name and address as what you register with, and even initially charge $10.00 to start your account? (which would be refunded upon your first transaction)
Please, no flames, as I'm no merchant, and honestly don't know what troubles/service fees such a process may incurr. I do know, however, that some merchants DO go to this extent to ensure that credit cards are valid.
In short, my point is - I don't think eBay checks to see if your card number is valid, or if it's even assigned to you. (at least when you initially request a UID)
Isn't it also quite (okay, very) possible that the game makers wanted to make something so horribly realistic that it would gather this type of attention? And... I hate to say it, but kids flock to "things that they are not allowed to have," such as smokes and beer...
Well, it wouldn't be the first time someone tried that...
The bulk of the reasoning behind the age limitation to this game seems to be the reaction of the NPC's to pain - human or otherwise.
"For example, Soldier of Fortune depicts the agony and suffering of victims burning to death as the result of the protagonists' use of a flame-thrower. The expressions of this agony are manifested in cries of pain, screaming and physical responses to the injuries, including recoiling, flailing, grimacing and grasping at the wound site. In my opinion, therefore, the depictions of violence in Soldier of Fortune are brutal and contain an element of torture," McCausland said in her written decision.
So... it's better if they don't shriek in pain, but simply blow up into a pool of blood, like they do in Quake? Hmm.
The article in the Vancouver Sun seems to repeatedly mention that (paraphrase) "..this will give people an additional tool to help select..."... Well, if I had a pre-teen son/daughter, I don't think I'd be jumping at games with the "M" (for Mature) symbol anyway... *shrug*
They probably won't do it, but I sure wish I could purchase these game images legitimately from the copyright owners. I'd happily pay $10/pop for those game images...
I guess I'm not too worried about companies like Sega or Nintendo, since I figure they still have their source code and game images, but good grief, what about some of those now-extinct game companies? Hmm.
A semi-me-too message, but just to add a few... This experience is based on my PC, and 3 friends'. (so it's not a wide study, but 4 out of 4 is pretty bad..)
Power supply fan seized (and of course, not easy to replace)
All monitors behaved like (size - 4)" monitors because their controls were very limited.
System configurations didn't make too much sense sometimes. (486/33, 1MB RAM, 40MB Hard Drive, Windows 3.1) Hmm... I can run Notepad.
When I wanted to add a floppy drive, I needed to order custom brackets.
There was no way to add a modem without violating the warranty.
Monitor got dark after 2-3 years of use
Cables (monitor, printer, etc.) were horribly cheap, and often fell apart at the ends
Most of these things can be easily addressed by modern-day upgrades. Of course, the same was true in the early 90's when PackardBell was still making crappy PC's. Basically, no modern-day advance will do them any good unless they start putting in good components in there... So, I shall wish them the best, and if one happens to land on my desk by fate, it can hang out and chat with its 386/16 grandpa.
Okay, in all fairness, the idea is great. I'll take that back. And yes, it's not meant to be a consumer product for all, and practicality is out the window. No problems.
I guess my point was... to whomever said this was an "advance"... I guess that's what I was shooting down... If you have an ancient rocket, and you bundle 16 of them together to make more propulsion, is that really an "advance"? Well, technically, it's better than before, so it is, but I hope you see what I was driving at... Stacking tons of less powerful equipment and making something big is not the type of "advance" that would give consumers something to look forward to...
While I wholeheartedly agree that this "Can't play foreign-coded games" idea sucks, admittedly, it's their right to control how their games are released, priced, supported, etc... For you to say that there is a compatability issue when using your mod chip is not really fair.
Put yourself in their (Sony/game-maker's) shoes... I'm sure the game-makers want their products to have the labels, packaging, game content in the correct language, right? I'm sure they would want their customer service staffed correctly, and their webpage, commercials, and on-line store updated and deployed as well... Okay, so most people would probably agree that customer service is a joke, and that you'd rather have the game *now* vs. having the correct documentation... but to them, it's their bread and butter. They would want to present it the best way they can, so that it will do well. The last thing they would want is for 1 million copies of their games making it to the US, but everything written in Japanese... And the phones start ringing...
So... while I admittedly don't know if Sony is truly evil or not (hehe), using the above scenario, I can understand why the game developers would support, (if not demand/plead) that Sony create country codes and limitations...
Okay, so now that I've given my "oh well, we have to be fair" statement above, I will, for the record, say that yes, it sucks to have to have two PSX's in order to play Japanese and US games hassle-free. (by hassle I mean mod-chip, stuff not working, etc..) The cost of two units is not what bothers me.. it's the fact that I could just as easily just have one unit, and half the cables running around... LOL. Alas...
The reference to "don't bother to correct me" was in regards to my word choice of "routines". What I was trying to convey was that whether it be routines, ideas, or a logo - it doesn't matter - please don't go nitpicking about my word choice of "routines" -- stealing proprietary stuff is not something I support, period.
The topic was more of the timing and cost issue, and not about the details of the lawsuit, so I was trying to stay away from it, and my original intent was to encourage others to not talk about it on this particular thread.
Still, I think what I meant to say didn't come out right. It looks like I worded it in a way that sounded stubborn and ignorant, and took away from what I was really trying to say. I shall be more careful in the future. Apologies.
The reference to "don't bother to correct me" was in regards to my word choice of "routines". What I was trying to convey was that whether it be routines, ideas, or a logo - it doesn't matter - it's not something I support.
The topic was more of the timing and cost issue, and not about the details of the lawsuit, so I was trying to stay away from it, and my original intent was to encourage others to not talk about it on this particular thread.
Still, I think what I meant to say didn't come out right. It looks like I worded it in a way that sounded stubborn and ignorant, and took away from what I was really trying to say. Apologies.
Ahh. Many thanks. I thought I was going nuts... Yes, now that you mention it, it was mineral oil... this... was a wee bit more expensive, I see... Thanks =)
Like others have said, the PSX2 kinda makes the PSX-related lawsuits obsolete. But more importantly... I really doubt they lost that much money on the whole emulator deal. Granted, I don't support reverse-engineering and stealing proprietary routines (and don't bother to correct me, as I don't know/care about the details)...
Honestly... do you know anyone who decided to buy the emulator over the "real" unit? Maybe you do, but I, for one, don't. If you're going to spend $30-$50 on an emulator, you might as well go spend $89 at your local Target/Wal-mart and get the darn unit - no compatibility issues, etc... Most of the folks who have the emulator already have the PSX, and they still buy all the games.
So... considering they weren't making (much) money off of the unit sales anyway, and most of their profit probably came off of game sales... I think it makes perfect (financial) sense that they abandon this lawsuit...
Then again, I have to think... if they don't want this to happen again with the PSX2, why not win this lawsuit and set a precedent? Hmm.. maybe they thought they couldn't win this one? Anyone have any further insights?
Slightly off-topic, but I could have *sworn* I already saw this site/page via a link in slashdot. It's very rare that I see something before I see it on slashdot, so maybe I just can't believe it...
But yes... amusing, but anything having to deal with a liquid is just too much of a hassle. Although I can envision future cases being water-tight and of high-quality, I just don't think the average consumer would care to have that stuff leaking in their den/office/living room....which is too bad, because liquid cools better in most applications. Now, if I lived in my garage, oooh....
Oh well. I work with so so many things that give off heat, and it just sucks how water always comes into play, and it always manages to find a way to leak. Bah. Stupid Murphy.
As others have mentioned, the key difference is the fact that you can RUN... Hehe. Other than that, that you can train in different disciplines - for example, in beta, the Barbarian could choose between weapon skills, proc skills, or other combat skills when allocating skill points. That was quite fun, and quite a challenge... Several of my level 15 beta characters just had the *wrong* skills, and it was hilarious.
The other highlight is the fact that you can hire "help" (hired NPC chars that help you) and have two-way portals that let you jump to the next waypoint. Well, the original Diablo had something like this via different entrances, but I still like the idea of everything being planar, and being able to jump from one region to another.
So.. how good/bad is it? Well, I installed Diablo I just to see how much better Diablo II was. Well, I can say this - I would never play Diablo I again. Now... is Diablo II "great" for a game released in 2000? Honestly, I don't think so. The main concept of hack-and-slash hasn't changed, and while you have alternate tactics and skills to work with now, it's still just a hack and slash game.
I find it odd saying this, but I would rather have named NPC's die off completely once they die... It's just too weird running through the whole continent killing all the boss NPC's you've killed 50 times already... oh well... maybe it's just me...
Am I the only one who finds these "advances" to be completely silly? By the time one can implement this cost-effectively, a newer technology with 40 times the bandwidth will be in place.
Diamond's Shotgun technology comes to mind... "Get ISDN speed with 2 modems!" (or just get DSL for the same cost.)
Never mind that Japan already has enough bandwidth on their mobiles to send video, and they're thinking of providing DSL-speed access to PSX 2 users via mobiles...
Not that I ridicule them for trying... But it's really just a "cool, we did it" type of project, and unless there is a revolutionary, cost-effective way to minimize hardware, it's just going to remain as it is - a "cool project"... Oh well.
In other news, I've found a way to stick 16 M&M's together and eat them more efficiently -- the only problem is that the labor involved to stick them together is insanely expensive....
Sorry, I guess I'm just overly jealous of my cousin's new video-phone in Japan... drool
Didn't know about the act. How insightful. =) I guess the individuals can keep on releasing software without any promises. Good. As for the warranty, I'm sure the software firms will figure out a way to include their 'patches' as part of their warranty program. Of course, promises are promises... until the company goes belly-flop... I'm really curious to see how this turns out..
Excellent point. My typical American self-centeredness shows, not thinking about the rest of the world. But... how odd - most of the articles made it sound like the European committees would have approved. Hmm. Odd.
Writing software is hard enough. Having to write software on someone else's foundation (hardware, OS) is harder. Having to do it for free is even harder still. And... now they want a warranty? Hmm... kiss open-source good-bye if this goes through. What morons think of these things? Sigh. It's only Tuesday, too. They must be still recovering from a bad hangover. Hey, I think we need to provide a warranty on the sun, since it can hurt my eyes if I stare right at it. Help! (*boggle*)
I noticed this about 3 years ago, when all my searches from different search engines just kept pulling up the same pages over and over. As for Yahoo! using other services... that kinda makes sense, since Yahoo! has evolved (or degraded, if you prefer) from a pure search engine to an Internet portal. It's a great portal, and home page... the searches? Ehhh... Well, I, for one, am happy to see Yahoo dump Inktomi... Yahoo! was already famous for having dead links by then, and ever since they switched to Inktomi, their "web page match" has been somewhat useless in finding relative matches. Hopefully this will add to their users' search experience. I really like the whole idea of cached pages, too. At least you get to see some of the page without having to rely on remote servers being dead. =p
The government is perfectly fine with AT&T's 44% share of the market, but does not want another company to hold 30% of the market? What's the point? In most areas - even in decently large metropolitan cities, you don't really have much of a choice when it comes to reliable, high-speed connectivity or web hosting. You can either buy your stuff from #1, or the 'other companies with limited access/bandwidth'. Not like a truly fair market exists.. (and it shouldn't, really)
Slashdot Mirror
Sounds extreme - granted, they could have lost revenue, etc, etc... But if you're a publisher and hire the wrong, incapable hands to publish your next Honky Pooter book, and it bombs, whose fault is it? (generic example, but you get the point)
Granted, there's grounds to sue based on unkept promises and false advertising, but... take that to the BBB or something... it just sounds like someone in the exec. office needed a lawsuit to dodge the blame.
It follows the old rule of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." (well, to call it "not broken" would be somewhat inaccurate, though)
But the bottom line... it's simple human nature to not want to change how things are unless we start running low on supplies, or if people start dying in the millions.
Perhaps I'm over-simplifying it, but unless there is something that is clearly "better" (which is not going to be made instantly, because it's competing against nearly 100 years of automotive technology), people aren't going to jump on it.
Excellent point - I always assumed that that would be a sufficient deterrent from people making multiple accounts and buffing up their own accounts. Perhaps not.
My thoughts to this is that eBay probably does not check to see if the credit card is a valid one, and that it belongs to your user information (address, etc.) I may sound harsh, but how hard/unreasonable would it be for eBay to require that you only use credit cards assigned to the same name and address as what you register with, and even initially charge $10.00 to start your account? (which would be refunded upon your first transaction)
Please, no flames, as I'm no merchant, and honestly don't know what troubles/service fees such a process may incurr. I do know, however, that some merchants DO go to this extent to ensure that credit cards are valid.
In short, my point is - I don't think eBay checks to see if your card number is valid, or if it's even assigned to you. (at least when you initially request a UID)
Isn't it also quite (okay, very) possible that the game makers wanted to make something so horribly realistic that it would gather this type of attention? And... I hate to say it, but kids flock to "things that they are not allowed to have," such as smokes and beer...
Well, it wouldn't be the first time someone tried that...
The bulk of the reasoning behind the age limitation to this game seems to be the reaction of the NPC's to pain - human or otherwise.
"For example, Soldier of Fortune depicts the agony and suffering of victims burning to death as the result of the protagonists' use of a flame-thrower. The expressions of this agony are manifested in cries of pain, screaming and physical responses to the injuries, including recoiling, flailing, grimacing and grasping at the wound site. In my opinion, therefore, the depictions of violence in Soldier of Fortune are brutal and contain an element of torture," McCausland said in her written decision.
So... it's better if they don't shriek in pain, but simply blow up into a pool of blood, like they do in Quake? Hmm.
The article in the Vancouver Sun seems to repeatedly mention that (paraphrase) "..this will give people an additional tool to help select..."... Well, if I had a pre-teen son/daughter, I don't think I'd be jumping at games with the "M" (for Mature) symbol anyway... *shrug*
They probably won't do it, but I sure wish I could purchase these game images legitimately from the copyright owners. I'd happily pay $10/pop for those game images...
I guess I'm not too worried about companies like Sega or Nintendo, since I figure they still have their source code and game images, but good grief, what about some of those now-extinct game companies? Hmm.
Most of these things can be easily addressed by modern-day upgrades. Of course, the same was true in the early 90's when PackardBell was still making crappy PC's. Basically, no modern-day advance will do them any good unless they start putting in good components in there... So, I shall wish them the best, and if one happens to land on my desk by fate, it can hang out and chat with its 386/16 grandpa.
Okay, in all fairness, the idea is great. I'll take that back. And yes, it's not meant to be a consumer product for all, and practicality is out the window. No problems.
I guess my point was... to whomever said this was an "advance"... I guess that's what I was shooting down... If you have an ancient rocket, and you bundle 16 of them together to make more propulsion, is that really an "advance"? Well, technically, it's better than before, so it is, but I hope you see what I was driving at... Stacking tons of less powerful equipment and making something big is not the type of "advance" that would give consumers something to look forward to...
While I wholeheartedly agree that this "Can't play foreign-coded games" idea sucks, admittedly, it's their right to control how their games are released, priced, supported, etc... For you to say that there is a compatability issue when using your mod chip is not really fair.
Put yourself in their (Sony/game-maker's) shoes... I'm sure the game-makers want their products to have the labels, packaging, game content in the correct language, right? I'm sure they would want their customer service staffed correctly, and their webpage, commercials, and on-line store updated and deployed as well... Okay, so most people would probably agree that customer service is a joke, and that you'd rather have the game *now* vs. having the correct documentation... but to them, it's their bread and butter. They would want to present it the best way they can, so that it will do well. The last thing they would want is for 1 million copies of their games making it to the US, but everything written in Japanese... And the phones start ringing...
So... while I admittedly don't know if Sony is truly evil or not (hehe), using the above scenario, I can understand why the game developers would support, (if not demand/plead) that Sony create country codes and limitations...
Okay, so now that I've given my "oh well, we have to be fair" statement above, I will, for the record, say that yes, it sucks to have to have two PSX's in order to play Japanese and US games hassle-free. (by hassle I mean mod-chip, stuff not working, etc..) The cost of two units is not what bothers me.. it's the fact that I could just as easily just have one unit, and half the cables running around... LOL. Alas...
The reference to "don't bother to correct me" was in regards to my word choice of "routines". What I was trying to convey was that whether it be routines, ideas, or a logo - it doesn't matter - please don't go nitpicking about my word choice of "routines" -- stealing proprietary stuff is not something I support, period.
The topic was more of the timing and cost issue, and not about the details of the lawsuit, so I was trying to stay away from it, and my original intent was to encourage others to not talk about it on this particular thread.
Still, I think what I meant to say didn't come out right. It looks like I worded it in a way that sounded stubborn and ignorant, and took away from what I was really trying to say. I shall be more careful in the future. Apologies.
The reference to "don't bother to correct me" was in regards to my word choice of "routines". What I was trying to convey was that whether it be routines, ideas, or a logo - it doesn't matter - it's not something I support.
The topic was more of the timing and cost issue, and not about the details of the lawsuit, so I was trying to stay away from it, and my original intent was to encourage others to not talk about it on this particular thread.
Still, I think what I meant to say didn't come out right. It looks like I worded it in a way that sounded stubborn and ignorant, and took away from what I was really trying to say. Apologies.
Ahh. Many thanks. I thought I was going nuts... Yes, now that you mention it, it was mineral oil... this... was a wee bit more expensive, I see... Thanks =)
Like others have said, the PSX2 kinda makes the PSX-related lawsuits obsolete. But more importantly... I really doubt they lost that much money on the whole emulator deal. Granted, I don't support reverse-engineering and stealing proprietary routines (and don't bother to correct me, as I don't know/care about the details)...
Honestly... do you know anyone who decided to buy the emulator over the "real" unit? Maybe you do, but I, for one, don't. If you're going to spend $30-$50 on an emulator, you might as well go spend $89 at your local Target/Wal-mart and get the darn unit - no compatibility issues, etc... Most of the folks who have the emulator already have the PSX, and they still buy all the games.
So... considering they weren't making (much) money off of the unit sales anyway, and most of their profit probably came off of game sales... I think it makes perfect (financial) sense that they abandon this lawsuit...
Then again, I have to think... if they don't want this to happen again with the PSX2, why not win this lawsuit and set a precedent? Hmm.. maybe they thought they couldn't win this one? Anyone have any further insights?
Slightly off-topic, but I could have *sworn* I already saw this site/page via a link in slashdot. It's very rare that I see something before I see it on slashdot, so maybe I just can't believe it...
...which is too bad, because liquid cools better in most applications. Now, if I lived in my garage, oooh....
But yes... amusing, but anything having to deal with a liquid is just too much of a hassle. Although I can envision future cases being water-tight and of high-quality, I just don't think the average consumer would care to have that stuff leaking in their den/office/living room.
Oh well. I work with so so many things that give off heat, and it just sucks how water always comes into play, and it always manages to find a way to leak. Bah. Stupid Murphy.
As others have mentioned, the key difference is the fact that you can RUN... Hehe. Other than that, that you can train in different disciplines - for example, in beta, the Barbarian could choose between weapon skills, proc skills, or other combat skills when allocating skill points. That was quite fun, and quite a challenge... Several of my level 15 beta characters just had the *wrong* skills, and it was hilarious.
The other highlight is the fact that you can hire "help" (hired NPC chars that help you) and have two-way portals that let you jump to the next waypoint. Well, the original Diablo had something like this via different entrances, but I still like the idea of everything being planar, and being able to jump from one region to another.
So.. how good/bad is it? Well, I installed Diablo I just to see how much better Diablo II was. Well, I can say this - I would never play Diablo I again. Now... is Diablo II "great" for a game released in 2000? Honestly, I don't think so. The main concept of hack-and-slash hasn't changed, and while you have alternate tactics and skills to work with now, it's still just a hack and slash game.
I find it odd saying this, but I would rather have named NPC's die off completely once they die... It's just too weird running through the whole continent killing all the boss NPC's you've killed 50 times already... oh well... maybe it's just me...
Am I the only one who finds these "advances" to be completely silly? By the time one can implement this cost-effectively, a newer technology with 40 times the bandwidth will be in place.
Diamond's Shotgun technology comes to mind... "Get ISDN speed with 2 modems!" (or just get DSL for the same cost.)
Never mind that Japan already has enough bandwidth on their mobiles to send video, and they're thinking of providing DSL-speed access to PSX 2 users via mobiles...
Not that I ridicule them for trying... But it's really just a "cool, we did it" type of project, and unless there is a revolutionary, cost-effective way to minimize hardware, it's just going to remain as it is - a "cool project"... Oh well.
In other news, I've found a way to stick 16 M&M's together and eat them more efficiently -- the only problem is that the labor involved to stick them together is insanely expensive....
Sorry, I guess I'm just overly jealous of my cousin's new video-phone in Japan... drool
Didn't know about the act. How insightful. =) I guess the individuals can keep on releasing software without any promises. Good.
As for the warranty, I'm sure the software firms will figure out a way to include their 'patches' as part of their warranty program. Of course, promises are promises... until the company goes belly-flop...
I'm really curious to see how this turns out..
Excellent point. My typical American self-centeredness shows, not thinking about the rest of the world. But... how odd - most of the articles made it sound like the European committees would have approved. Hmm. Odd.
Writing software is hard enough. Having to write software on someone else's foundation (hardware, OS) is harder. Having to do it for free is even harder still. And... now they want a warranty? Hmm... kiss open-source good-bye if this goes through. What morons think of these things? Sigh. It's only Tuesday, too. They must be still recovering from a bad hangover. Hey, I think we need to provide a warranty on the sun, since it can hurt my eyes if I stare right at it. Help! (*boggle*)
I noticed this about 3 years ago, when all my searches from different search engines just kept pulling up the same pages over and over. As for Yahoo! using other services... that kinda makes sense, since Yahoo! has evolved (or degraded, if you prefer) from a pure search engine to an Internet portal. It's a great portal, and home page... the searches? Ehhh... Well, I, for one, am happy to see Yahoo dump Inktomi... Yahoo! was already famous for having dead links by then, and ever since they switched to Inktomi, their "web page match" has been somewhat useless in finding relative matches. Hopefully this will add to their users' search experience. I really like the whole idea of cached pages, too. At least you get to see some of the page without having to rely on remote servers being dead. =p
The government is perfectly fine with AT&T's 44% share of the market, but does not want another company to hold 30% of the market? What's the point? In most areas - even in decently large metropolitan cities, you don't really have much of a choice when it comes to reliable, high-speed connectivity or web hosting. You can either buy your stuff from #1, or the 'other companies with limited access/bandwidth'. Not like a truly fair market exists.. (and it shouldn't, really)