A Sony spokeswoman has actually admitted they will stop crippling the PSP's RSS functionality if enough customers ask for it.
We ask for it. Then...
A Sony spokesperson admits they will use a better interface for their RSS reader if enough customers ask for it.
So we ask for that. But users notice something strange. And then...
A Sony spokesbot admits they will stop auto-deleting feeds that contain foul language if enough customers ask for it. "In independent polls conducted on Slashdot, we found most users considered the word 'Microsoft' to be foul. We heartily agree, but we'll put it back if enough customers ask for it. Bleep, grhzznt."
So that gets asked for. And then....
A Sony spokesdemon chuckled manically when he admitted, "Yeah, we'll put support for vowels back into our RSS reader if enough customers ask... BY GIVING US THEIR SOULS! MWA-HA-HA-HA!!"
Meanwhile, with each new updated firmware, they close more of those precious security holes that prevent users from running cool, clever, business-model-destroying homebrew software on the devices they paid for. Very interesting, don't you think?
Those were some well-thought-out responses, I thought. Let's see about responding to them:
1. Yep, it's certainly innovative, and a milestone game design. No one's arguing otherwise. Whether it'll be looked back upon, in the future with the kind of intensity that we use to look at classic works of literature, or even movies, is less likely.
2. Chess ancestors and variants. Of course Tetris has value as an ancestor of other games. And whether those games are better than Tetris is a matter of debate, for I find that most of them lose something in their simplicity when compared to Tetris.
The thing here that I think should be considered is that a game's quality is not the same thing as its staying power. Whether some work lasts through the ages (and thus becomes viewed as classic) is more a result of its ability to withstand sustained, focused examination and still bear fruit than whether people simply enjoy it. There are many enjoyable things, so they tend to get washed away when something else enjoyable comes along, but there are far fewer things that'll hold up to intensive study.
3. When you say "the game's value," here, I see you confusing the game's enjoyability with its longevity. (And by longevity, I mean its survivability over centuries, not years). I'm not disputing that Tetris isn't great: I've played quite a lot of it myself. I'm merely saying that, to be viewed as a classic over time, that a work requires a different kind of greatness.
That exhausts Tetris, sorry for not saying this explicitly, because there aren't a large number of possibilities for game within that space. Tetris remains interesting for a while because of its action-oriented nature. Meanwhile in Chess, even relatively minor changes to many positions can have profound consequences for the game, and the game's movespace has never been exhausted even by very powerful computers.
Depth plays the greatest role in the longevity of a game, just as depth (of a different sort) plays the greatest role in the longevity of a work of fiction.
Let me guess, they think appreciatively of Armageddon?
But while it's true that Ebert doesn't have the knowledge to compare a game against another, it is untrue that he is biased against gaming. I myself remember seeing him and Gene Siskel playing NES Tecmo Bowl on a TV special once. Their verdict, if I remember correctly, was thumbs down, because it was too addictive.
Further, he has a right to speak about games, because 1. he is definitely a thinking individual and not a paid shill, and 2. he is a human being, and you can't shut them up over anything, nor would one want to.
But my point about people making money playing Tetris isn't directly about finances, and more about the depth of the game. Chess, which is a closer parallel to a lasting game design achievement than comparing games to movies, does have that depth. Tetris, for all its strengths, does not; it's already been superceded by other Tetris-type games, like Puyo Puyo, as far as competitive play goes.
But the thing about Tetris is that, its richness is largely played out.
Unlike chess (which arguably is a work equal to the classics by virtue of its longevity), Tetris has been mathematically exhausted. We know that, given an infinite time frame, that all players are doomed to fail at Tetris, for there exist block sequences which cannot be survived. Indeed, there are versions of Tetris you can download that purposely try to give you the worst block you can get. Which is an interesting variant, perhaps, but it's still not Tetris.
Tetris is addictive, sure, but it doesn't hold up well to heavy thought. That means it's fairly trifling, as serious works of art go. We may still be playing games of Tetris fifty years from now, but you won't find Tetris grandmasters playing it competitively for large sums of money.
The thing about Citizen Kane is that, in addition to being an amazing technical and creative achievement, is that it's actually a damn fine movie. By anyone's standards, or anyone who isn't predisposed to be against it by its reputation. It's not some (f|shm)ancy art house flick, it was seriously made to be entertaining, and it is.
It's told with energy, style, and it's got a surprising number of laughs too. That musical number at the party was stuck in my head for a week. And if you watch it again, you'll catch something else. And if you watch it a third time, something else.
Ebert's seen the movie dozens of times, he sometimes watches it with film classes, and he's always finding new things in it.
I can't think of a movie that better deserves its reputation. I wouldn't part with my DVD of it for the world.
Come on now. Are the X-Box 360 titles truly "next gen?" Depends on what your definition of "next gen" is.
Improved graphics? Sure as hell.
Improved gameplay? Wellll... no. Consider that, of what are widely considered to be the two best non-sports games, one is a sequel to an N64 game, and the other was shown at previous E3s in an N64 incarnation. One could thus say, indeed, that the best X-Box 360 games are last gen.
But by the definition of improved gameplay, just how many games are next gen from their era? Not a whole lot. Indeed, the games with the most engaging gameplay (I'm thinking most especially of Katamari) seem to be those that purposely recall previous generations.
Actually, I've noticed a good number of ZIP codes attached to addresses that contain P.O. boxes have plus-four extensions that match the box number. I've seen it so often that I had assumed that they all worked that way....
I'm sure it's a lot what with their market-leading position, but after the PSP discrepency between units-shipped and units-sold, I think it's a valid question.
And, 1.86 BILLION pieces of hardware? How many of those are consoles, and how many are things like memory cards?
Don't forget the episode Schitzoid Man, in which he pretended to be the guy pretending to be him. They blindfolded him, put him on a helicopter, sent him up... then took him right back down again. D'oh!
You are correct sir. My bad... although in a way, I think Fire Emblem games are almost their own separate category, since the play dynamics are so different.
I hate to reply to your message with what's rapidly becoming conventional wisdom on Slashdot, but these points aren't entirely accurate (although mostly you're on the money):
Very few games which appeal outside of the pre-teen or retro-gamer demographics.
Not true, there's actually been a good number of these, but Nintendo has failed to play up on them well enough.
- Serious under-representation in many genres, particularly driving games and RPGs.
Gamecube actually has five high-quality RPGs: Skies of Arcadia, Baiten Kaitos, Tales of Phantasia, Paper Mario Thousand Year Door and FF: Crystal Chronicles, as well as a couple of less-than-stellar examples (Evolution, those Pokemon things). PS2 has more, but then, it has more of most things.
Driving games are less represented, but one could argue that, in the industry as a whole, the genre is overrepresented.
Note that both players must add the other's codes to their system for it to work. Also, note that your friend code collection is tied to both your copy of the game and your DS itself.
Friend codes don't seem to do much unless both players have entered each other, alas.
Although Nintendo's own forums explicitly prohibit the exchange of friend codes for some reason, many Nintendo-specific fansites have code-related message boards. Remember though, you can only have up to 60 names on your list!
My friends have an annoying one, in MK64, where, when fighting on Block Fort, you're not to go up to the middle level until someone has lost one balloon, and not the top level until someone's on their last hit. They have a similar rule for Double Deck.
Slashdot Mirror
A Sony spokeswoman has actually admitted they will stop crippling the PSP's RSS functionality if enough customers ask for it.
We ask for it. Then...
A Sony spokesperson admits they will use a better interface for their RSS reader if enough customers ask for it.
So we ask for that. But users notice something strange. And then...
A Sony spokesbot admits they will stop auto-deleting feeds that contain foul language if enough customers ask for it. "In independent polls conducted on Slashdot, we found most users considered the word 'Microsoft' to be foul. We heartily agree, but we'll put it back if enough customers ask for it. Bleep, grhzznt."
So that gets asked for. And then....
A Sony spokesdemon chuckled manically when he admitted, "Yeah, we'll put support for vowels back into our RSS reader if enough customers ask... BY GIVING US THEIR SOULS! MWA-HA-HA-HA!!"
Meanwhile, with each new updated firmware, they close more of those precious security holes that prevent users from running cool, clever, business-model-destroying homebrew software on the devices they paid for. Very interesting, don't you think?
Those were some well-thought-out responses, I thought. Let's see about responding to them:
1. Yep, it's certainly innovative, and a milestone game design. No one's arguing otherwise. Whether it'll be looked back upon, in the future with the kind of intensity that we use to look at classic works of literature, or even movies, is less likely.
2. Chess ancestors and variants. Of course Tetris has value as an ancestor of other games. And whether those games are better than Tetris is a matter of debate, for I find that most of them lose something in their simplicity when compared to Tetris.
The thing here that I think should be considered is that a game's quality is not the same thing as its staying power. Whether some work lasts through the ages (and thus becomes viewed as classic) is more a result of its ability to withstand sustained, focused examination and still bear fruit than whether people simply enjoy it. There are many enjoyable things, so they tend to get washed away when something else enjoyable comes along, but there are far fewer things that'll hold up to intensive study.
3. When you say "the game's value," here, I see you confusing the game's enjoyability with its longevity. (And by longevity, I mean its survivability over centuries, not years). I'm not disputing that Tetris isn't great: I've played quite a lot of it myself. I'm merely saying that, to be viewed as a classic over time, that a work requires a different kind of greatness.
That exhausts Tetris, sorry for not saying this explicitly, because there aren't a large number of possibilities for game within that space. Tetris remains interesting for a while because of its action-oriented nature. Meanwhile in Chess, even relatively minor changes to many positions can have profound consequences for the game, and the game's movespace has never been exhausted even by very powerful computers.
Depth plays the greatest role in the longevity of a game, just as depth (of a different sort) plays the greatest role in the longevity of a work of fiction.
You've heard people say Citizen Kane is BORING?
Let me guess, they think appreciatively of Armageddon?
But while it's true that Ebert doesn't have the knowledge to compare a game against another, it is untrue that he is biased against gaming. I myself remember seeing him and Gene Siskel playing NES Tecmo Bowl on a TV special once. Their verdict, if I remember correctly, was thumbs down, because it was too addictive.
Further, he has a right to speak about games, because 1. he is definitely a thinking individual and not a paid shill, and 2. he is a human being, and you can't shut them up over anything, nor would one want to.
But my point about people making money playing Tetris isn't directly about finances, and more about the depth of the game. Chess, which is a closer parallel to a lasting game design achievement than comparing games to movies, does have that depth. Tetris, for all its strengths, does not; it's already been superceded by other Tetris-type games, like Puyo Puyo, as far as competitive play goes.
If there was ever a game that I would call artistic, Katamari Damacy is it. THAT is, ultimately, what the future of games should be.
But the thing about Tetris is that, its richness is largely played out.
Unlike chess (which arguably is a work equal to the classics by virtue of its longevity), Tetris has been mathematically exhausted. We know that, given an infinite time frame, that all players are doomed to fail at Tetris, for there exist block sequences which cannot be survived. Indeed, there are versions of Tetris you can download that purposely try to give you the worst block you can get. Which is an interesting variant, perhaps, but it's still not Tetris.
Tetris is addictive, sure, but it doesn't hold up well to heavy thought. That means it's fairly trifling, as serious works of art go. We may still be playing games of Tetris fifty years from now, but you won't find Tetris grandmasters playing it competitively for large sums of money.
Citizen Kane is overrated. (...)
No.
The thing about Citizen Kane is that, in addition to being an amazing technical and creative achievement, is that it's actually a damn fine movie. By anyone's standards, or anyone who isn't predisposed to be against it by its reputation. It's not some (f|shm)ancy art house flick, it was seriously made to be entertaining, and it is.
It's told with energy, style, and it's got a surprising number of laughs too. That musical number at the party was stuck in my head for a week. And if you watch it again, you'll catch something else. And if you watch it a third time, something else.
Ebert's seen the movie dozens of times, he sometimes watches it with film classes, and he's always finding new things in it.
I can't think of a movie that better deserves its reputation. I wouldn't part with my DVD of it for the world.
Come on now. Are the X-Box 360 titles truly "next gen?" Depends on what your definition of "next gen" is.
Improved graphics? Sure as hell.
Improved gameplay? Wellll... no. Consider that, of what are widely considered to be the two best non-sports games, one is a sequel to an N64 game, and the other was shown at previous E3s in an N64 incarnation. One could thus say, indeed, that the best X-Box 360 games are last gen.
But by the definition of improved gameplay, just how many games are next gen from their era? Not a whole lot. Indeed, the games with the most engaging gameplay (I'm thinking most especially of Katamari) seem to be those that purposely recall previous generations.
Remind me to NOT tell you about WEBoggle...
Dammit.
Wow... that entire list can be viewed as an argument for intellectual property reform!
Eee, you're right. That's funny.
Actually, I've noticed a good number of ZIP codes attached to addresses that contain P.O. boxes have plus-four extensions that match the box number. I've seen it so often that I had assumed that they all worked that way....
"Discriminating balrogs ask for it by name!"
Ladies and gentlement, the parent post contains the words Gandalf juice.
We can all go home now. There can't be anything left in the universe to say, after that.
I'm sure it's a lot what with their market-leading position, but after the PSP discrepency between units-shipped and units-sold, I think it's a valid question.
And, 1.86 BILLION pieces of hardware? How many of those are consoles, and how many are things like memory cards?
Well...
Don't forget the episode Schitzoid Man, in which he pretended to be the guy pretending to be him. They blindfolded him, put him on a helicopter, sent him up... then took him right back down again. D'oh!
(I can geek out about The Prisoner too, heh.)
"I am not a number, I am a free man!"
"Waaaah-hahahaha! AAAH-ha ha ha... hey, stop flying! Rover can't follow you! Get back here! No!"
Right on the money, and nicely stated!
So, when can we expect a first draft?
You are correct sir. My bad... although in a way, I think Fire Emblem games are almost their own separate category, since the play dynamics are so different.
I hate to reply to your message with what's rapidly becoming conventional wisdom on Slashdot, but these points aren't entirely accurate (although mostly you're on the money):
Very few games which appeal outside of the pre-teen or retro-gamer demographics.
Not true, there's actually been a good number of these, but Nintendo has failed to play up on them well enough.
- Serious under-representation in many genres, particularly driving games and RPGs.
Gamecube actually has five high-quality RPGs: Skies of Arcadia, Baiten Kaitos, Tales of Phantasia, Paper Mario Thousand Year Door and FF: Crystal Chronicles, as well as a couple of less-than-stellar examples (Evolution, those Pokemon things). PS2 has more, but then, it has more of most things.
Driving games are less represented, but one could argue that, in the industry as a whole, the genre is overrepresented.
I would pay the $399, plus the extra $126, just to be able to run my own software on the damn thing!
Mine's 189038 099797.
Note that both players must add the other's codes to their system for it to work. Also, note that your friend code collection is tied to both your copy of the game and your DS itself.
Friend codes don't seem to do much unless both players have entered each other, alas.
Although Nintendo's own forums explicitly prohibit the exchange of friend codes for some reason, many Nintendo-specific fansites have code-related message boards. Remember though, you can only have up to 60 names on your list!
My friends have an annoying one, in MK64, where, when fighting on Block Fort, you're not to go up to the middle level until someone has lost one balloon, and not the top level until someone's on their last hit. They have a similar rule for Double Deck.