Re:Nintendo needs to rethink its place in the worl
on
Is the Wii U Already Dead?
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· Score: 4, Interesting
I just traded my Wii U for a comparable Xbox/kinect system. My kids are already getting more enjoyment and use from the Xbox.
The Wii U is half baked. Maybe the hardware gets figured out by developers, and even Nintendo, but right now the shortcomings are to visible. Right from system menu navigation being so slow and frustrating that it made me not want to boot up the system. So yeah, Nintendo doesn't do well with the system software designed for their own System.
I was one of the unfortunate ones to get a system that kept locking up - luckily after over a week being sent from the East to West then back East, I got a working system - but while the system didn't crash anymore, it was still a pain to navigate, and the games were underwhelming.
It actually wasn't an easy decision to trade the system. Nintendo may work everything out... The gamepad was a unique feature, but not so unique now that Microsoft seems committed to "SmartGlass." But my final decision to give up on the Wii U came down to the kids --- do I get a system they can have fun and variety with now, or do I pay $60 - $70 for half baked ports that may or may not play properly and cross my fingers the kids can have a comparable experience 6 months, a year, 2 years down the road... Nintendo dropped the ball on this system...
On the other side of things -- maybe they do work it out. I had an Xbox 360 up until about 3 years ago - and the experience on the one I just traded for is much better than the one I got rid of. But I have a hard time thinking Nintendo can fully recover from this one with the PS4 and the next gen Xbox right around the corner... Add in the Steambox and the explosion of tablet gaming and it doesn't look good for the Wii U.
Because what would be horrible is to be able to build my own storage devices and be able to spend $100 on a hard drive (with overnight shipping), instead of $800 I would pay to Dell or EMC or NetApp when my support contracts go stale because they want exorbitant amounts of money to keep support on older proprietary systems.
It's too bad that publishers just don't start offering games at reasonable prices right from the get-go. I've built my Steam library almost solely on deals on got on games - in fact, the only new release I bought at full price was Skyrim. For the 40 or so titles in my library, I maybe spent $600 - an average of $15 per games. My library has a good cross section of cheaper indie titles (Trine, Limbo) to "premium" titles (Batman AA & AC).. If first run games were offered at say half the price, I think it would cut way down on used games (profit margin would be way to low at that point), and maybe some piracy. Right now, I can't spend $60 on a game just coming out. I wait until they drop the price. Unfortunately I got my kids a Wii U, so bargain shopping may be a ways off...
Steam has great sales - that's usually when I buy most of my games.
A few years back I got Batman: Arkham Asylum with Lego Batman bundled in for $20 - a great steal for myself and my son.
This past holiday sale - I got 12 games, ranging from Trine 2 and Torchlight, to Serious Sam 3 and Arkham City for $65 for everything - that's 12 games for a little over what I just spent on 1 game for the Wii U. And I can access them anywhere... Oh yeah, and a great active gaming community that I have instant visibility to while I'm playing on a proven platform. I don't know how many times I've tried games that come with a "social" component that is more a hindrance rather than something useful. Steam takes care of that problem.
My biggest complaint about steam isn't the fact that I can't resell games - I like my collection in tact. It's the fact that they make it so hard for two people to play. I have a family of 4 - and it becomes a royal pain if my son wants to play Grid racing and I want to play Torchlight. Valve really needs to take a look at introducing a family account. Especially if they are going to start pushing Steam Boxes. What a nightmare it will be to have compartmentalized games for each user that has to be purchased for each individual that wants to play it. Yes, there is offline mode, and yes there are ways around most games for single player mode - but they are band-aides to a much more annoying issue.
That would be a shameless plug, which is a never done on Slashdot... and besides, that post was my attempt at self-deprecating humor. I see it's mostly failed so far.
The Albany-Saratoga metro has about a million people in it. Saratoga is the fastest growing county in the state. Add in Global Foundries in Malta and a proposed Apple plant there, and the population is going to grow even faster. So, it's not just Buffalo, Rochester, NYC - other areas of the state are growing faster.
But you are right, the samethe rail system in NY is antiquated - it basically follows pattern the Thruway does - NYC - Albany - Rochester - Buffalo. It's not exactly a meshed rail system - rather point to point.
Politically, there seems to be a Chicken and Egg issue happening with the rail system in NY - ridership doesn't warrant pouring a lot of money into the system - but if they did, their might be more ridership. They've recently started funding the rail system, but most of it seems to been used to update the stations rather than provide better service on the rails.
They already ported the Source engine - so games like LFD2 (which they used for the port), and Portal 1 & 2 were left out (both commercial)... and they left a small test bed of games that they can get good feedback on. The one thing I already see - the Steam Client is far from perfect, but running well - some of the games are not yet... Linux, and OpenGL are still infants as far as game development... But if a few hurdles are overcome --- especially nvidia and amd drivers, then maybe it opens a certain type of floodgate... Once a system is stable and consistent to develop on - and standards actually are standard, it makes development that much easier... That was always a knock on Linux gaming - and I would not be surprised if Steam does come out with their own Linux gaming distribution.... much to the horror of Canonical and the FSF... But hey... open source means open for anyone...
Maybe I have bad drivers, crappy hardware, and my capacity at gaming sucks.. But I feel like the old ladies that used to complain of upgrading from Word Perfect to Office...
Maybe at 40 years old I should just put down my mouse, and order depends..
I bet there is an algorithm out there that will calculate what the density is of the blades of grass, how many feet you need to step, and somewhere throw in velocity, and you have the perfect get of your lawn app for the TI-84....
One last point to my horrid opinion on gaming... Back in the BBS days (yes, those), I used to be able to login and play the same game on my TRS-80 or on my friends Commodore 64 down the street... Tradewars... it's almost like pixels are finally catching up to ASCII in portability terms.
Seen the ti-84 mentioned a lot lately... The only thing I remember was I could program it, and my professor let me for my Calculus 1 class. I still don't know a lot about Calculus, but I know more about programming... Makes me think if calculators are good for learning the subject, or for learning how to program the subject.
Yes, it could change my opinion... Right now the developer mentality on them is write little and make a little.. Something like Witcher 3 on a tablet, or EVE-Online, or any of the mainstream MMORPG's that immerse the user would be key.... Vendetta Online, while a weak desktop game by today's standards found new life on a tablet... No reason other games can't make the jump... But the reason PC gaming still goes strong isn't always the power behind the game, but the way you play it. Keyboard and Mouse... Cosnoles haven't replaced it (how many gamers play WoW with a controller?)... And not saying a controller is bad - but there is a sweet spot to PC gaming. As much as Steam pushes big picture (a 43+" screen is nice), nothing beats the immersion of a good sized monitor (23 or so) and keyboard and mouse... Tablets are good diversions while riding the bus.. or even on the couch for a bit... they leave a lot desired when someone wants to REALLY play a good game that isn't Solitaire on steroids... I don't see PC or Console gaming going away anytime soon... Pong would've never been pong if they made it tablet size...
I know your point though... Bring a tablet --- hook it up to a tv... then hook up the controllers... then hook up blah blah blah... but isn't that what the console already is? My estimation is SteamBox becomes like a Roku box, but with real gaming... they will probably introduce a decent controller for it that crosses over somehow... but somewhere in the corner is the desktop to escape too... There will (should) be always some game that is developed on a creation content machine (as I am now calling desktops) that is meant to be played on the creations content machine... Nethack still feels like a piece of shit on a tablet --- 30 years later...
I never felt Windows was bad enough to cut out for gaming, until I tried Windows 8. I use Linux for a lot of things, even bought all the Loki games when they were around, but never had too much of an issue with Windows Gaming to say I would drop it if Linux caught up.
I changed my mind. Windows 8 has been horrid on the desktop for gaming. I've had several crashes due to DirectX driver incompatibility.. Most of them due to having the XBOX 360 Controller plugged in. I have older hardware no longer supported - and no word if it will be. Metro isn't really that intuitive for launching games (although it is for buying them I guess). My AMD Radeon card has been overheating lately because their drivers aren't up to snuff on Windows 8, go figure... It's been overclocking itself. Which I know isn't all Microsoft's fault - but it does seem like PC Gaming is an afterthought over tablet gaming with the newest release. Seriously, bejeweled type games are at the forefront of the metro store.
Gabe got a lot of flack for looking at linux as a platform that steam will run on, but I'm all for it. A game distributor gets all access to the OS that they will be delivering on? I'd be hard pressed to think of real reasons that game producers won't want to jump at it. Definitely like the idea of a SteamBox too... I can play the same game on my laptop, desktop and console? and have all my save games with me to jump right in at the same point I left off on? Sounds damn good to me.
Steam also gets some flack for pricing - but I always wait for the deals. Trine 2 cost me $4, a game I would've never tried unless it was on the Linux Beta, and loving it... so is my son.
I'm not overjoyed.. maybe 8 years ago I would've been... When enlightment kicked Windows XP out of the water... When Linux Desktop was promising some hope... But, I would definitely replace Windows with Linux as my desktop if gaming went that way... Gaming sucks on tablets for me... and tablet OS's suck for gaming.. So maybe it is finally the year of the linux desktop.
They don't just succeed making servers and workstations - while some of their acquisitions have been flops, others have been pretty solid. Equallogic and Compellent on the storage front are two huge markets that cover medium - large business needs. Force 10 in my opinion can be one of their biggest acquisitions as it finally lets them compete in higher end networking. These acquisitions alone allow them to provide complete solutions of their own in the datacenter. I'm interested in seeing what their OpenStack impelementation consists of - I'm guessing they can do everything from SAN to Switch to Servers in house with their own products.
Another interesting acquisition is Wyse - they now have a VDI solution. Can they deliver over the internet at some point? Most VDI implementations are in house right now - can Dell deliver one over the cloud?
Android doesn't make too much sense in the enterprise. Yes, email and scheduling - but from a business app development stand point - it's just not there. It's a great consumer/consumption OS - and entertainment OS. The thing I questions is whether Windows 8 really fills that void either. As a desktop OS, it's clunky at best. The verdict is still out whether it becomes a good consumer OS too. It's stuck in limbo - but never the less, it's being forced on users at this point. Most enterprises looking at windows 8 want to make it behave like Windows 7 before they deploy it. So what's the point?
Dell has spent a lot of money acquiring technology recently. Some have already failed - but others are just ramping up. They even have a software house now. It will be interesting to see if they tie it all together and become what IBM used to be. A one stop shop for enterprise IT.
Support for XP ends April 8th, 2014, not 2013. FYI. We actually had to roll out another phase of XP upgrades to 2014 because of cuts to our operating budget - so I know the date very well.
I definitely agree with Enterprise shops not wanting this - unless there is some type of LTS cycle rolled in (a la Ubuntu). Usual enterprise cycles are 3 to 5 years. Nobody wants to retrain their staff every year on OS changes. Also, there are applications that don't cycle each year and would need to be retested. A lot of shops haven't even phased out Windows XP and are planning upgrades to Windows 7, not Windows 8.
More and more I see Microsoft shooting themselves in the foot with this. They want Apple and Androids market - which is appealing because they are huge markets - but they are distancing themselves from their core strongholds. That could leave them loosing ground in all areas. Even Apple knows you don't but a tablet OS on a desktop. Microsoft has seemed intent on doing that and there still is a huge market for the desktop Market. Don't care how you slice it, spreadsheets, word processing, and content development is still all best done on a traditional desktop. I wouldn't be surprised if some linux distribution pushes to fill in the holes. Too bad Canonical is also trying for a slice of the already stuffed tablet and mobile market (face it, that's where the Unity interface has been headed) as there seems to be a looming gap that could actually make 2013 or 2014 the year of the linux desktop. No joking.
Didn't most (if not all) of that case get thrown out by the Judge?
Not saying a lot of the stuff didn't happen, but the prosecution definitely exaggerated a lot of their claims, and it was easy to find "witnesses" due to the sheer number of people Henry Nicholas stepped on to get where he is. So as a movie, maybe you have more of Boogie Nights instead of The Departed... of course, I'd watch either one.
I wish there was a party that wasn't so enveloped in special interests. My ideal party would have a main goal of hiring the most qualified people for their positions, regardless of affiliation. It wouldn't get broiled in any special interests at the Federal level. It would promote transparency, campaign finance overhaul, and cut out pork spending and promote 1 policy to 1 bill - without tying in a bunch of other crap.
Just from that starting point, I think things would start to change for the better.
Why just 18-30? I'm 40 and grew up in the 80's --- pretty much when home gaming started. I don't have the time to play like I used to, but I still play once in a while, and have been involved in a few MMORPG's (EVE Online, WoW, LotRO). I tend to play more games with a pause button, or family oriented games now, but I understand the line between gaming and real life. Not that I'm running for office, but I have no problem with the fact that someone that is plays games. There are plenty of people who work at high levels yet still find time for recreation. In fact, I'm willing to bet most people working at high levels need to find some sort of recreation, whether it be Golf or WoW, people need stress relief.
My mother is 75 and still plays super Mario Brothers. Before computer games, people played plenty of board, card and dice games. I understand they are going after this person based on what they are in the game as much as the fact that she plays it, but I know for a fact (based on my own experience) that what you do in a game does not reflect how you handle real life situations. At least for people considered normal, it shouldn't.
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I just traded my Wii U for a comparable Xbox/kinect system. My kids are already getting more enjoyment and use from the Xbox.
The Wii U is half baked. Maybe the hardware gets figured out by developers, and even Nintendo, but right now the shortcomings are to visible. Right from system menu navigation being so slow and frustrating that it made me not want to boot up the system. So yeah, Nintendo doesn't do well with the system software designed for their own System.
I was one of the unfortunate ones to get a system that kept locking up - luckily after over a week being sent from the East to West then back East, I got a working system - but while the system didn't crash anymore, it was still a pain to navigate, and the games were underwhelming.
It actually wasn't an easy decision to trade the system. Nintendo may work everything out... The gamepad was a unique feature, but not so unique now that Microsoft seems committed to "SmartGlass." But my final decision to give up on the Wii U came down to the kids --- do I get a system they can have fun and variety with now, or do I pay $60 - $70 for half baked ports that may or may not play properly and cross my fingers the kids can have a comparable experience 6 months, a year, 2 years down the road... Nintendo dropped the ball on this system...
On the other side of things -- maybe they do work it out. I had an Xbox 360 up until about 3 years ago - and the experience on the one I just traded for is much better than the one I got rid of. But I have a hard time thinking Nintendo can fully recover from this one with the PS4 and the next gen Xbox right around the corner... Add in the Steambox and the explosion of tablet gaming and it doesn't look good for the Wii U.
Because what would be horrible is to be able to build my own storage devices and be able to spend $100 on a hard drive (with overnight shipping), instead of $800 I would pay to Dell or EMC or NetApp when my support contracts go stale because they want exorbitant amounts of money to keep support on older proprietary systems.
It's too bad that publishers just don't start offering games at reasonable prices right from the get-go. I've built my Steam library almost solely on deals on got on games - in fact, the only new release I bought at full price was Skyrim. For the 40 or so titles in my library, I maybe spent $600 - an average of $15 per games. My library has a good cross section of cheaper indie titles (Trine, Limbo) to "premium" titles (Batman AA & AC).. If first run games were offered at say half the price, I think it would cut way down on used games (profit margin would be way to low at that point), and maybe some piracy. Right now, I can't spend $60 on a game just coming out. I wait until they drop the price. Unfortunately I got my kids a Wii U, so bargain shopping may be a ways off...
Don't worry, we are working on some advanced ballistics capabilities of our own!
Steam has great sales - that's usually when I buy most of my games.
A few years back I got Batman: Arkham Asylum with Lego Batman bundled in for $20 - a great steal for myself and my son.
This past holiday sale - I got 12 games, ranging from Trine 2 and Torchlight, to Serious Sam 3 and Arkham City for $65 for everything - that's 12 games for a little over what I just spent on 1 game for the Wii U. And I can access them anywhere... Oh yeah, and a great active gaming community that I have instant visibility to while I'm playing on a proven platform. I don't know how many times I've tried games that come with a "social" component that is more a hindrance rather than something useful. Steam takes care of that problem.
My biggest complaint about steam isn't the fact that I can't resell games - I like my collection in tact. It's the fact that they make it so hard for two people to play. I have a family of 4 - and it becomes a royal pain if my son wants to play Grid racing and I want to play Torchlight. Valve really needs to take a look at introducing a family account. Especially if they are going to start pushing Steam Boxes. What a nightmare it will be to have compartmentalized games for each user that has to be purchased for each individual that wants to play it. Yes, there is offline mode, and yes there are ways around most games for single player mode - but they are band-aides to a much more annoying issue.
I haven't used it recently, but doesn't Steam Offline Mode allow for games to be played while offline?
That would be a shameless plug, which is a never done on Slashdot... and besides, that post was my attempt at self-deprecating humor. I see it's mostly failed so far.
My band went from 72 views to 5. Damn you Google!
The Albany-Saratoga metro has about a million people in it. Saratoga is the fastest growing county in the state. Add in Global Foundries in Malta and a proposed Apple plant there, and the population is going to grow even faster. So, it's not just Buffalo, Rochester, NYC - other areas of the state are growing faster.
But you are right, the samethe rail system in NY is antiquated - it basically follows pattern the Thruway does - NYC - Albany - Rochester - Buffalo. It's not exactly a meshed rail system - rather point to point.
Politically, there seems to be a Chicken and Egg issue happening with the rail system in NY - ridership doesn't warrant pouring a lot of money into the system - but if they did, their might be more ridership. They've recently started funding the rail system, but most of it seems to been used to update the stations rather than provide better service on the rails.
Take down the website the easy way - post a link to it on Slashdot.
My guess... They are in beta..
They already ported the Source engine - so games like LFD2 (which they used for the port), and Portal 1 & 2 were left out (both commercial)... and they left a small test bed of games that they can get good feedback on. The one thing I already see - the Steam Client is far from perfect, but running well - some of the games are not yet... Linux, and OpenGL are still infants as far as game development... But if a few hurdles are overcome --- especially nvidia and amd drivers, then maybe it opens a certain type of floodgate... Once a system is stable and consistent to develop on - and standards actually are standard, it makes development that much easier... That was always a knock on Linux gaming - and I would not be surprised if Steam does come out with their own Linux gaming distribution.... much to the horror of Canonical and the FSF... But hey... open source means open for anyone...
Maybe I have bad drivers, crappy hardware, and my capacity at gaming sucks.. But I feel like the old ladies that used to complain of upgrading from Word Perfect to Office...
Maybe at 40 years old I should just put down my mouse, and order depends..
I bet there is an algorithm out there that will calculate what the density is of the blades of grass, how many feet you need to step, and somewhere throw in velocity, and you have the perfect get of your lawn app for the TI-84....
One last point to my horrid opinion on gaming... Back in the BBS days (yes, those), I used to be able to login and play the same game on my TRS-80 or on my friends Commodore 64 down the street... Tradewars... it's almost like pixels are finally catching up to ASCII in portability terms.
Seen the ti-84 mentioned a lot lately... The only thing I remember was I could program it, and my professor let me for my Calculus 1 class. I still don't know a lot about Calculus, but I know more about programming... Makes me think if calculators are good for learning the subject, or for learning how to program the subject.
Yes, it could change my opinion... Right now the developer mentality on them is write little and make a little.. Something like Witcher 3 on a tablet, or EVE-Online, or any of the mainstream MMORPG's that immerse the user would be key.... Vendetta Online, while a weak desktop game by today's standards found new life on a tablet... No reason other games can't make the jump... But the reason PC gaming still goes strong isn't always the power behind the game, but the way you play it. Keyboard and Mouse... Cosnoles haven't replaced it (how many gamers play WoW with a controller?)... And not saying a controller is bad - but there is a sweet spot to PC gaming. As much as Steam pushes big picture (a 43+" screen is nice), nothing beats the immersion of a good sized monitor (23 or so) and keyboard and mouse... Tablets are good diversions while riding the bus.. or even on the couch for a bit... they leave a lot desired when someone wants to REALLY play a good game that isn't Solitaire on steroids... I don't see PC or Console gaming going away anytime soon... Pong would've never been pong if they made it tablet size...
I know your point though... Bring a tablet --- hook it up to a tv... then hook up the controllers... then hook up blah blah blah... but isn't that what the console already is? My estimation is SteamBox becomes like a Roku box, but with real gaming... they will probably introduce a decent controller for it that crosses over somehow... but somewhere in the corner is the desktop to escape too... There will (should) be always some game that is developed on a creation content machine (as I am now calling desktops) that is meant to be played on the creations content machine... Nethack still feels like a piece of shit on a tablet --- 30 years later...
I never felt Windows was bad enough to cut out for gaming, until I tried Windows 8. I use Linux for a lot of things, even bought all the Loki games when they were around, but never had too much of an issue with Windows Gaming to say I would drop it if Linux caught up.
I changed my mind. Windows 8 has been horrid on the desktop for gaming. I've had several crashes due to DirectX driver incompatibility.. Most of them due to having the XBOX 360 Controller plugged in. I have older hardware no longer supported - and no word if it will be. Metro isn't really that intuitive for launching games (although it is for buying them I guess). My AMD Radeon card has been overheating lately because their drivers aren't up to snuff on Windows 8, go figure... It's been overclocking itself. Which I know isn't all Microsoft's fault - but it does seem like PC Gaming is an afterthought over tablet gaming with the newest release. Seriously, bejeweled type games are at the forefront of the metro store.
Gabe got a lot of flack for looking at linux as a platform that steam will run on, but I'm all for it. A game distributor gets all access to the OS that they will be delivering on? I'd be hard pressed to think of real reasons that game producers won't want to jump at it. Definitely like the idea of a SteamBox too... I can play the same game on my laptop, desktop and console? and have all my save games with me to jump right in at the same point I left off on? Sounds damn good to me.
Steam also gets some flack for pricing - but I always wait for the deals. Trine 2 cost me $4, a game I would've never tried unless it was on the Linux Beta, and loving it... so is my son.
I'm not overjoyed.. maybe 8 years ago I would've been... When enlightment kicked Windows XP out of the water... When Linux Desktop was promising some hope... But, I would definitely replace Windows with Linux as my desktop if gaming went that way... Gaming sucks on tablets for me... and tablet OS's suck for gaming.. So maybe it is finally the year of the linux desktop.
They don't just succeed making servers and workstations - while some of their acquisitions have been flops, others have been pretty solid. Equallogic and Compellent on the storage front are two huge markets that cover medium - large business needs. Force 10 in my opinion can be one of their biggest acquisitions as it finally lets them compete in higher end networking. These acquisitions alone allow them to provide complete solutions of their own in the datacenter. I'm interested in seeing what their OpenStack impelementation consists of - I'm guessing they can do everything from SAN to Switch to Servers in house with their own products.
Another interesting acquisition is Wyse - they now have a VDI solution. Can they deliver over the internet at some point? Most VDI implementations are in house right now - can Dell deliver one over the cloud?
Android doesn't make too much sense in the enterprise. Yes, email and scheduling - but from a business app development stand point - it's just not there. It's a great consumer/consumption OS - and entertainment OS. The thing I questions is whether Windows 8 really fills that void either. As a desktop OS, it's clunky at best. The verdict is still out whether it becomes a good consumer OS too. It's stuck in limbo - but never the less, it's being forced on users at this point. Most enterprises looking at windows 8 want to make it behave like Windows 7 before they deploy it. So what's the point?
Dell has spent a lot of money acquiring technology recently. Some have already failed - but others are just ramping up. They even have a software house now. It will be interesting to see if they tie it all together and become what IBM used to be. A one stop shop for enterprise IT.
I was actually thinking of Stripes ...
Man I wanted that bad ass RV when I was a kid.
Support for XP ends April 8th, 2014, not 2013. FYI. We actually had to roll out another phase of XP upgrades to 2014 because of cuts to our operating budget - so I know the date very well.
According to the Microsoft Lifecycle page, you will have support for Windows 7 until 2020.
I definitely agree with Enterprise shops not wanting this - unless there is some type of LTS cycle rolled in (a la Ubuntu). Usual enterprise cycles are 3 to 5 years. Nobody wants to retrain their staff every year on OS changes. Also, there are applications that don't cycle each year and would need to be retested. A lot of shops haven't even phased out Windows XP and are planning upgrades to Windows 7, not Windows 8.
More and more I see Microsoft shooting themselves in the foot with this. They want Apple and Androids market - which is appealing because they are huge markets - but they are distancing themselves from their core strongholds. That could leave them loosing ground in all areas. Even Apple knows you don't but a tablet OS on a desktop. Microsoft has seemed intent on doing that and there still is a huge market for the desktop Market. Don't care how you slice it, spreadsheets, word processing, and content development is still all best done on a traditional desktop. I wouldn't be surprised if some linux distribution pushes to fill in the holes. Too bad Canonical is also trying for a slice of the already stuffed tablet and mobile market (face it, that's where the Unity interface has been headed) as there seems to be a looming gap that could actually make 2013 or 2014 the year of the linux desktop. No joking.
I'm pretty sure that statistical analysis will show more accidents involving intoxicated drivers than soccer moms..
Intoxicated Soccer Moms on the other hand....
Didn't most (if not all) of that case get thrown out by the Judge?
Not saying a lot of the stuff didn't happen, but the prosecution definitely exaggerated a lot of their claims, and it was easy to find "witnesses" due to the sheer number of people Henry Nicholas stepped on to get where he is. So as a movie, maybe you have more of Boogie Nights instead of The Departed... of course, I'd watch either one.
I wish there was a party that wasn't so enveloped in special interests. My ideal party would have a main goal of hiring the most qualified people for their positions, regardless of affiliation. It wouldn't get broiled in any special interests at the Federal level. It would promote transparency, campaign finance overhaul, and cut out pork spending and promote 1 policy to 1 bill - without tying in a bunch of other crap.
Just from that starting point, I think things would start to change for the better.
Why just 18-30? I'm 40 and grew up in the 80's --- pretty much when home gaming started. I don't have the time to play like I used to, but I still play once in a while, and have been involved in a few MMORPG's (EVE Online, WoW, LotRO). I tend to play more games with a pause button, or family oriented games now, but I understand the line between gaming and real life. Not that I'm running for office, but I have no problem with the fact that someone that is plays games. There are plenty of people who work at high levels yet still find time for recreation. In fact, I'm willing to bet most people working at high levels need to find some sort of recreation, whether it be Golf or WoW, people need stress relief.
My mother is 75 and still plays super Mario Brothers. Before computer games, people played plenty of board, card and dice games. I understand they are going after this person based on what they are in the game as much as the fact that she plays it, but I know for a fact (based on my own experience) that what you do in a game does not reflect how you handle real life situations. At least for people considered normal, it shouldn't.