Re:Grammar check please
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SNES Portable
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· Score: 1
The reason I decline to respond to ACs is that they tend to be a lot less polite than those that identify themselves. Going AC myself hardly solves the issue. The only value I see to AC posting is where someone on the 'inside' doesn't want to divulge their identity but does want to add their expertise.
But I'm only going by my 20 years of electronic community participation, I haven't done a study or anything.
I have no idea what you are talking about re: former commonwealth nations.
Re:Grammar check please
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SNES Portable
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· Score: 1
I refuse. Thank you for your input!
Re:Grammar check please
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SNES Portable
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· Score: 1
Wow, you show great spirit! I'd answer your questions but I don't respond to Anonymous Cowards as a matter of policy. =)
Identify yourself and I'd be happy to talk with you.
Don't feed this troll
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SNES Portable
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· Score: 1, Offtopic
Thanks, I stand corrected about CES. Its been a long time since I've been to that show-- at one time they did not have videogame consoles displayed, it may have been the year after the first E3.
My point still stands about the use of this kind of device-- it is a computer, and thank you for agreeing. Zapmedia performs tasks typically and most excellently done by personal computers costing at least $1,000 less. That the software is proprietary does not make it a plus in my book. Maybe yours, great.
I would politely ask you not to assume anything about my computers. I haven't had a crash yet on either of my two Linux boxes. I have had abnormal program exits, as I mentioned. A crash, strictly speaking, unexpectedly halts your computer requiring a reboot. In other words, programs have aborted, but they haven't taken down my OS. My Win2k box crashes all the time-- although to be fair I used a WinNT4 machine for a couple of years without a crash.
Your comment about the display illustrates my point perfectly-- Zapmedia, as well as other manufacturers in the past and present, seem to think that people really want to plug a dumbed-down computer into their living room TV and perform tasks like CD ripping, web surfing, etc. The market has proven that the people who really want to do this sort of thing are a small minority.
One of the reasons for this is because televisions are suboptimal displays compared to computer CRTs or LCDs. They have poor resolution and the distance most people sit from them makes it even more awkward and unusuable.
Think about it-- you want to rip a CD, so you turn on the TV, turn on Zapmedia, put a music CD in Zapmedia, walk over to the couch, and using a remote press a series of buttons? When that is done, you have to get up and walk over to the Zapmedia and pop in another CD. You get to do this as many times as you have CDs, with the added insult than you can't transfer the ripped MP3s to any other device. This is not substantially easier than using a PC. I don't see it happening.
If the device had a decent monochrome LCD, say 5x7 that was readable across a distance I would prefer that to a TV interface. After all, if consumers want to get more sophisticated than pressing one button to rip, they're not in the target market for this device anyway.
FYI, I do not watch television. I killed my television, and my life is orders of magnitude better. =) When I want to watch a DVD once or twice a week, my laptop is just fine for that. I encourage you to try living without a TV for a month and see if it doesn't improve your life too.
The best suggestion is on fatchuck's site:
Every time you go to a CD store, buy one of those broken CDs. Take it home, open it, play it, return it as defective and demand your money back. Just be sure you go to a large outlet, not an indie shop.
Interesting you had access to a pre-release version of the device yet you have no financial interest or ties to Zapmedia. So Zapmedia provides their potential competitors access to their products before shipping? That is an interesting business strategy.
In point of fact, your original comment had nothing to do with the modding of the post, but was specifically directed to my opinion of the quality of the software in the device, sight unseen.
Video game consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Dreamcast aren't at CES either, does that mean they aren't consumer devices? Or computers for that matter? How naive you are. The reason computers aren't exhibited at CES is because there are too many computer manufacturers-- they find it more useful to go to Comdex, just as the Game industry prefers E3.
Your idea of what a computer is does not agree with the dictionary.
(see http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=com puter -remove the space-). Prepackaged and targeted to a specific use? So are Dell systems.
Of course I'm fixated on the components and their street value -- I'm a consumer, not a charity! I need to see value in anything I buy, particulary consumer electronics. The reason I won't buy it, and the reason nobody will buy it, is because of its proprietary nature.
You think that is a benefit. It isn't. It is a shortcoming. Even if, as you say, the software runs 'really well'. What if I want to transfer the audio to my 20gig portable MP3 player? What if I think USAToday worse than useless and I want to change to Slashdot? What if I want to watch something more than a cheesy marketing video clip, say a real movie or tv show? I'd have to buy another consumer electronics device, aka a personal computer that gives me this flexibility.
And incidentally, my computer doesn't crash. I run Linux. You should try it sometime. Oh, I get the occasional unexpected program exit, sure, but its more than worth putting up with for the power and flexibility it provides out of the box.
To claim that a consumer doesn't need to know what the internals of a device is in order to make a purchasing decision is patently absurd. Anyone with even the tiniest bit of experience in marketing consumer electronics or even basic observational skills knows that high-end consumer electronics buyers, the kind that might shell out $1,500 for a gadget, are technophiles that drool over every last technical detail. There are many segments of this demographic, but all of them are highly, highly focused on technical details, and, incidentally, value.
Its funny that the reasons you cite for Kerbango's failure (not Audrey, that was something different as I recall) are exactly the same ones that are going to kill the Zapmedia product. Its proprietary (USAToday?? I'd be laughed out of my house if I was doing the geek techno demo of this unit and up popped USAToday. No DivX, no OGG), relies on a suboptimal TV screen for display, which proved a massive failure with WebTV and is certain to do so with this.
Last time it was important to me to look at broadband adoption rates was a year ago. The rate was in the single digits at the time, hardly the kind of penetration one needs for massive success with consumer electronics. This article
(http://www.ecmag.net/Magazine/Editorial/ECedito ri al9_01.html -remove the space-) dated Sept/2001, the first thing that came up on a Google search, backs up my point.
Your argument that the value of the device lies in the software may be correct, I haven't seen the software. However, there is no software meant for personal use worth $1000 that exists today. The reason for this is because people won't pay it. It doesn't matter how much you may think it is worth, people will not pay it.
I'm astounded that you can continue to think this device has a chance at all in the market. Furthermore, I've yet to see anything but hot air to back up your points. I'll take your lack of future response as acknowledgement that you were wrong.
Eventually they probably will release a keyboard and mouse. But like you say, that means you'll have to drag a table into your living room, or hunch over on a coffee table. A sub-optimal solution to say the least, but I'm sure Microsoft has plans to turn every Xbox owner into a MSN subscriber...
I have already made it clear that I am assuming about the software. I believe I'm entitled to an opinion, regardless of how uneducated you think I am.
BTW I assume you already would have disclosed any financial interest you have in the company.
But really, let me get this straight-- you are claiming that this machine *isn't* a computer? Are you telling me that an 800mhz Celeron with 128mb RAM, a 30gb HD, video out, a keyboard, dvd, etc etc is a 'consumer device' simply because it runs proprietary software and has a special case? Come now.
Anyway, last time I checked, computers *were* consumer electronics, and have been for some time. I fail to see your distinction entirely.
Give the device any label you want, call it an Ecosystem for all I care (oh wait, that's already what its called-- reminds me of a quote from the Princess Bride-- 'I do not think that word means what you think it means'). Call it 'Your Gateway to Digital Entertainment.' It still doesn't change it from being an overpriced low-end computer without the benefits typically associated with successful low end computers-- namely expandability, compatibility, and reasonable cost.
Larger companies than this (3Com and Microsoft to name two without pausing) have tried selling low-end, high priced computers marketed as 'dumbed down consumer appliances' and failed miserably. The simple reason is that there is no market for this kind of device.
Who is the target market here anyway? The average consumer? No way. Most people don't even know what MP3s are, and don't give a rat's ass about watching grainy video clips or USA today online. Most people are lucky to have the knowledge it takes to bring up their word processor and check their email on AOL-- not because they are stupid, but because they don't care.
Given the device is suggested for broadband (or it requires a home network), and broadband's extremely low market penetration, there is only one possible target, the technically sophisticated user. This device does not appeal to that segment. Period.
No, I'm afraid it is you and some non-technical investors who unfortunately threw their money away who are missing the point.
There is something to be said for integration with a home system, but not $1000. No way. $50 certainly. $100 maybe. >$100 forget it.
And they may release software updates, but do you seriously think they're going to update codecs to include DivX and OGG anytime soon? There is no way to guarantee that unless end users have that power, and that is not present on this device.
Let's say that it is really superb software, which again I doubt. But let's say you're right. Say the software is just the cat's meow and somehow improves on the one or two clicks it takes me to rip with CDDB or burn from MP3 using the free software already on my PC. That still doesn't make it worth the extra $750-$1000.
Furthermore, if I don't like the software I have no choice-- I can't swap it out for better or even different stuff.
A closed-architecture 800mhz Celeron with 128mb of RAM, a 30gb hd, 10baseT, soundcard, video out, DVD and CDRW, wireless keyboard and remote, and some cruddy software that almost certainly pales in comparison to existing free software.
Sounds like about $500 in hardware so far.
You can't record TV shows with it. Can't upgrade to new codecs unless they release updates, so forget OGG. I doubt it supports DivX.
FWIW, I've played all of the major shooters from Wolfenstein through today's HLCS/UT/Q3/Wolf2. I'm not a PC-only type, either, I have also spent hundreds of hours in front of consoles.
I spent an hour at e3 playing Halo. Not looking, playing. First off, it is truly beautiful. Nothing I've seen compares with the look of the game. Driving around in a car adds something I've wanted to do (and failed with mods) for a long time.
Know anyone who plays Counterstrike with a Sidewinder? There is a reason people use mice and keyboards for FPS games-- it evolved over years of trial, research, and all sorts of goofy 'solutions' from joysticks to headbands.
Halo is simply unplayable on the Xbox. Anyone who has tried Doom or Quake or UT on any console will attest to this. Yes, you can spend 20 hours learning how to cope with the lack of a mouse, and you can get close to the speed required to play a FPS. But not close enough.
I'll wait for the PC version on this one, and it looks to kick ass. As an added bonus, I can't wait to pound fool Xbox users who join PC multiplayer games. You'll be able to spot them easily, they'll be the ones with no points.
That Microsoft is making Halo their launch title really shows Microsoft's lack of knowledge about consoles and gaming. FPS games on consoles are about the worst-selling type of console game-- they aren't even a category. Treating a console like a PC does not make it one.
When I look a historic come from nowhere successful launches, say, PlayStation, I see awesome console games and strong differentiation from competition at launch. PlayStation had kick-ass console games at launch - Toshinden, Ridge Racer, Tekken. Saturn was a very weak contender. The only thing I see that *might* be worth a look is Oddworld, but that isn't worth buying a console. I'll just wait for the PC version, or the Gamecube version.
I just don't see strong differentiation for Xbox. I don't see powerful, must-have titles that are exclusive on the Xbox.
OTOH, Gamecube has some awesome games that I won't be able to get anywhere but Gamecube. Rogue Squadron, Luigi's Mansion, etc. Those games are sweet.
I've done all those simulators too, but the flight sim crowd has been and always will be a fraction of the market. Its the same thing with racing.
The problem isn't the size of the screens, although that does make for a more immersive experience.
What is lacking is G-forces. Even the full-on 'tilt and whirl' sims aren't good enough.
*Maybe* if a Star Tours type of pod is developed inexpensively enough, this kind of experience will flourish, but I doubt it. Economies of scale being what they are, full on sims like that are going to cost big bucks, and that means high prices to play a short amount of time, and that means less people playing. Not to mention that mechanical stuff like this breaks down frequently.
The real reason Sega is doing this is that they are strapped for cash, and see a way to slash arcade machine costs. Its a desperation move. It has nothing to do with innovation.
We won't see any PC games in the arcade for the simple reason that it won't work. Incidentally, this is also why Xbox will fail as a console-- porting games works one way:
Arcade --> Console --> PC.
It DOES NOT and NEVER WILL work the other way:
PC --> Console --> Arcade. PC games are just too complex for a console, and require too much time to play for arcade operators to make any money.
The golden rule of an arcade game is reasonable excitement in 30 seconds to two minutes. PC games are made to be played for hours straight. The two don't mix.
Successful arcade games all make use of new and innovative input devices, which is where most of the production cost goes, anyway. There won't be any addtional saving on production, games are already made using PCs and have been for years.
So in the end, Sega gets to shave some dollars from machine cost, maybe, and the slow death of arcades is prolonged a bit longer.
I go to arcades all the time and all I see are DDR clones, bad fighting games, bad driving games, goofy games like Namco's horsie ride, and variations on Time Crisis. I see no renaissance of the arcade, not for gamers at least.
Here in Los Angeles, arcades are not doing well. The last arcade opened years ago. Speedzone out in City of Industry used to have maybe 100 games. Now they have 25 and a lot of prize machines.
Its a tragedy, but arcades are dead, and Microsoft can't save them.
People who complain about paying for software and yet demand perfect bug free constantly updated programs ALWAYS seem to forget a critical detail:
Most people still have to work to support themselves.
Any 'pro-bono' effort by an individual or team will always have to take a back seat to earning a living.
Most free software advocates forget this. These idealistic profit-bashers are also rampant in the OSS community, and it may well lead to its downfall. Several fine companies have died because not enough people have ponied up cash to support them. How many of you are using store-bought distros?
Anyone who thinks that updated DirectX compatibility can be provided that keeps up with the frenzied pace of the game industry and STILL be free is smoking crack.
A subscription model like the one Transgaming is suggesting strikes me as a perfect solution. If enough people are willing to pay a certain amount per month to play DirectX games under Linux, the people involved don't have to seek other ways of sustaining themselves.
I for one am going to support these guys, because I believe that the main reason most people stick with Windows because of the games.
Couldn't agree more, except for the never meeting f2f. I met friends on local BBSes fifteen years ago that are my some of my most enduring and close friends to this day. The Internet doesn't have a decent mechanism for that.
Hey JERK OFF, before you make assumptions, maybe you should ASK.
As it happens, I know perfectly well what it means to be HUNGRY AS HELL and totally BROKE. I used to live in a car and sell shit on the side of the road so I could scrape enough money to eat dinner Taco Bell. SO SCREW YOU!
Not only that, I'm self-made. Nobody handed me anything. I've started several companies FROM NOTHING, each with less than $1000. The turnover rates in my companies have always been in the low single digit, so I know what it takes to keep people happy. I also know a whining loser when I see one, and THAT WOULD BE YOU. What idiot said you had to shit on people to get the most out of them? Oh, that was you. I said do your job and you'll be taken care of. Play Dilbert and go nowhere.
So stop blaming other people for your cowardice. That bull about STRUGGLE is just that. Don't blame me because you work harder, not smarter.
JonKatz writes: "Companies have betrayed their workers by making efficiency their paramount concerns."
Wake up, johnnie boy. Here is some business 101: Companies are in business to MAKE MONEY. Companies MAKE MONEY by being PRODUCTIVE. Companies are not in business to coddle their employees.
Workers exchange their time for a paycheck and whatever benefits come with the job. That's the way it works. Good companies take care of their employees and offer flextime and other benefits. But they also demand high productivity in exchange for that. How else are they supposed to pay for you? Or do you poor Dilberts believe you are entitled to raises and cush jobs?
Last time I checked, nobody is forced to work anywhere this site is likely to be read.
If you don't like your job, or feel like 'the man' doesn't understand your job, GO START YOUR OWN COMPANY and shut the hell up.
Then you can see what a nightmare it can be dealing with your own lame-ass whining slacker Dilbert followers.
Otherwise GET BACK TO WORK.
Who knows, you may actually get a raise and a promotion if you do your job instead of posting on/. all the time.
Slashdot Mirror
The reason I decline to respond to ACs is that they tend to be a lot less polite than those that identify themselves. Going AC myself hardly solves the issue. The only value I see to AC posting is where someone on the 'inside' doesn't want to divulge their identity but does want to add their expertise.
But I'm only going by my 20 years of electronic community participation, I haven't done a study or anything.
I have no idea what you are talking about re: former commonwealth nations.
I refuse. Thank you for your input!
Wow, you show great spirit! I'd answer your questions but I don't respond to Anonymous Cowards as a matter of policy. =)
Identify yourself and I'd be happy to talk with you.
check out his posting history first.
Last word of the article should be "...nice too."
Thanks, I stand corrected about CES. Its been a long time since I've been to that show-- at one time they did not have videogame consoles displayed, it may have been the year after the first E3.
My point still stands about the use of this kind of device-- it is a computer, and thank you for agreeing. Zapmedia performs tasks typically and most excellently done by personal computers costing at least $1,000 less. That the software is proprietary does not make it a plus in my book. Maybe yours, great.
I would politely ask you not to assume anything about my computers. I haven't had a crash yet on either of my two Linux boxes. I have had abnormal program exits, as I mentioned. A crash, strictly speaking, unexpectedly halts your computer requiring a reboot. In other words, programs have aborted, but they haven't taken down my OS. My Win2k box crashes all the time-- although to be fair I used a WinNT4 machine for a couple of years without a crash.
Your comment about the display illustrates my point perfectly-- Zapmedia, as well as other manufacturers in the past and present, seem to think that people really want to plug a dumbed-down computer into their living room TV and perform tasks like CD ripping, web surfing, etc. The market has proven that the people who really want to do this sort of thing are a small minority.
One of the reasons for this is because televisions are suboptimal displays compared to computer CRTs or LCDs. They have poor resolution and the distance most people sit from them makes it even more awkward and unusuable.
Think about it-- you want to rip a CD, so you turn on the TV, turn on Zapmedia, put a music CD in Zapmedia, walk over to the couch, and using a remote press a series of buttons? When that is done, you have to get up and walk over to the Zapmedia and pop in another CD. You get to do this as many times as you have CDs, with the added insult than you can't transfer the ripped MP3s to any other device. This is not substantially easier than using a PC. I don't see it happening.
If the device had a decent monochrome LCD, say 5x7 that was readable across a distance I would prefer that to a TV interface. After all, if consumers want to get more sophisticated than pressing one button to rip, they're not in the target market for this device anyway.
FYI, I do not watch television. I killed my television, and my life is orders of magnitude better. =) When I want to watch a DVD once or twice a week, my laptop is just fine for that. I encourage you to try living without a TV for a month and see if it doesn't improve your life too.
The best suggestion is on fatchuck's site:
Every time you go to a CD store, buy one of those broken CDs. Take it home, open it, play it, return it as defective and demand your money back. Just be sure you go to a large outlet, not an indie shop.
No lawsuit is needed, just simple economics.
-B
Interesting you had access to a pre-release version of the device yet you have no financial interest or ties to Zapmedia. So Zapmedia provides their potential competitors access to their products before shipping? That is an interesting business strategy.
m puter -remove the space-). Prepackaged and targeted to a specific use? So are Dell systems.
o ri al9_01.html -remove the space-) dated Sept/2001, the first thing that came up on a Google search, backs up my point.
In point of fact, your original comment had nothing to do with the modding of the post, but was specifically directed to my opinion of the quality of the software in the device, sight unseen.
Video game consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Dreamcast aren't at CES either, does that mean they aren't consumer devices? Or computers for that matter? How naive you are. The reason computers aren't exhibited at CES is because there are too many computer manufacturers-- they find it more useful to go to Comdex, just as the Game industry prefers E3.
Your idea of what a computer is does not agree with the dictionary.
(see http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=co
Of course I'm fixated on the components and their street value -- I'm a consumer, not a charity! I need to see value in anything I buy, particulary consumer electronics. The reason I won't buy it, and the reason nobody will buy it, is because of its proprietary nature.
You think that is a benefit. It isn't. It is a shortcoming. Even if, as you say, the software runs 'really well'. What if I want to transfer the audio to my 20gig portable MP3 player? What if I think USAToday worse than useless and I want to change to Slashdot? What if I want to watch something more than a cheesy marketing video clip, say a real movie or tv show? I'd have to buy another consumer electronics device, aka a personal computer that gives me this flexibility.
And incidentally, my computer doesn't crash. I run Linux. You should try it sometime. Oh, I get the occasional unexpected program exit, sure, but its more than worth putting up with for the power and flexibility it provides out of the box.
To claim that a consumer doesn't need to know what the internals of a device is in order to make a purchasing decision is patently absurd. Anyone with even the tiniest bit of experience in marketing consumer electronics or even basic observational skills knows that high-end consumer electronics buyers, the kind that might shell out $1,500 for a gadget, are technophiles that drool over every last technical detail. There are many segments of this demographic, but all of them are highly, highly focused on technical details, and, incidentally, value.
Its funny that the reasons you cite for Kerbango's failure (not Audrey, that was something different as I recall) are exactly the same ones that are going to kill the Zapmedia product. Its proprietary (USAToday?? I'd be laughed out of my house if I was doing the geek techno demo of this unit and up popped USAToday. No DivX, no OGG), relies on a suboptimal TV screen for display, which proved a massive failure with WebTV and is certain to do so with this.
Last time it was important to me to look at broadband adoption rates was a year ago. The rate was in the single digits at the time, hardly the kind of penetration one needs for massive success with consumer electronics. This article
(http://www.ecmag.net/Magazine/Editorial/ECedit
Your argument that the value of the device lies in the software may be correct, I haven't seen the software. However, there is no software meant for personal use worth $1000 that exists today. The reason for this is because people won't pay it. It doesn't matter how much you may think it is worth, people will not pay it.
I'm astounded that you can continue to think this device has a chance at all in the market. Furthermore, I've yet to see anything but hot air to back up your points. I'll take your lack of future response as acknowledgement that you were wrong.
-B
Eventually they probably will release a keyboard and mouse. But like you say, that means you'll have to drag a table into your living room, or hunch over on a coffee table. A sub-optimal solution to say the least, but I'm sure Microsoft has plans to turn every Xbox owner into a MSN subscriber...
-B
Always glad to impress. ;)
I have already made it clear that I am assuming about the software. I believe I'm entitled to an opinion, regardless of how uneducated you think I am.
BTW I assume you already would have disclosed any financial interest you have in the company.
But really, let me get this straight-- you are claiming that this machine *isn't* a computer? Are you telling me that an 800mhz Celeron with 128mb RAM, a 30gb HD, video out, a keyboard, dvd, etc etc is a 'consumer device' simply because it runs proprietary software and has a special case? Come now.
Anyway, last time I checked, computers *were* consumer electronics, and have been for some time. I fail to see your distinction entirely.
Give the device any label you want, call it an Ecosystem for all I care (oh wait, that's already what its called-- reminds me of a quote from the Princess Bride-- 'I do not think that word means what you think it means'). Call it 'Your Gateway to Digital Entertainment.' It still doesn't change it from being an overpriced low-end computer without the benefits typically associated with successful low end computers-- namely expandability, compatibility, and reasonable cost.
Larger companies than this (3Com and Microsoft to name two without pausing) have tried selling low-end, high priced computers marketed as 'dumbed down consumer appliances' and failed miserably. The simple reason is that there is no market for this kind of device.
Who is the target market here anyway? The average consumer? No way. Most people don't even know what MP3s are, and don't give a rat's ass about watching grainy video clips or USA today online. Most people are lucky to have the knowledge it takes to bring up their word processor and check their email on AOL-- not because they are stupid, but because they don't care.
Given the device is suggested for broadband (or it requires a home network), and broadband's extremely low market penetration, there is only one possible target, the technically sophisticated user. This device does not appeal to that segment. Period.
No, I'm afraid it is you and some non-technical investors who unfortunately threw their money away who are missing the point.
-B
There is something to be said for integration with a home system, but not $1000. No way. $50 certainly. $100 maybe. >$100 forget it.
And they may release software updates, but do you seriously think they're going to update codecs to include DivX and OGG anytime soon? There is no way to guarantee that unless end users have that power, and that is not present on this device.
-B
Let's say that it is really superb software, which again I doubt. But let's say you're right. Say the software is just the cat's meow and somehow improves on the one or two clicks it takes me to rip with CDDB or burn from MP3 using the free software already on my PC. That still doesn't make it worth the extra $750-$1000.
Furthermore, if I don't like the software I have no choice-- I can't swap it out for better or even different stuff.
-B
You're probably right, I was giving them the extreme benefit of the doubt. Drop off $50 from my price estimate, and now I'll be amazed if they sell 5.
-B
So what am I getting for $1,500?
A closed-architecture 800mhz Celeron with 128mb of RAM, a 30gb hd, 10baseT, soundcard, video out, DVD and CDRW, wireless keyboard and remote, and some cruddy software that almost certainly pales in comparison to existing free software.
Sounds like about $500 in hardware so far.
You can't record TV shows with it. Can't upgrade to new codecs unless they release updates, so forget OGG. I doubt it supports DivX.
If they sell 10 I will be amazed.
-B
FWIW, I've played all of the major shooters from Wolfenstein through today's HLCS/UT/Q3/Wolf2. I'm not a PC-only type, either, I have also spent hundreds of hours in front of consoles.
I spent an hour at e3 playing Halo. Not looking, playing. First off, it is truly beautiful. Nothing I've seen compares with the look of the game. Driving around in a car adds something I've wanted to do (and failed with mods) for a long time.
Know anyone who plays Counterstrike with a Sidewinder? There is a reason people use mice and keyboards for FPS games-- it evolved over years of trial, research, and all sorts of goofy 'solutions' from joysticks to headbands.
Halo is simply unplayable on the Xbox. Anyone who has tried Doom or Quake or UT on any console will attest to this. Yes, you can spend 20 hours learning how to cope with the lack of a mouse, and you can get close to the speed required to play a FPS. But not close enough.
I'll wait for the PC version on this one, and it looks to kick ass. As an added bonus, I can't wait to pound fool Xbox users who join PC multiplayer games. You'll be able to spot them easily, they'll be the ones with no points.
That Microsoft is making Halo their launch title really shows Microsoft's lack of knowledge about consoles and gaming. FPS games on consoles are about the worst-selling type of console game-- they aren't even a category. Treating a console like a PC does not make it one.
When I look a historic come from nowhere successful launches, say, PlayStation, I see awesome console games and strong differentiation from competition at launch. PlayStation had kick-ass console games at launch - Toshinden, Ridge Racer, Tekken. Saturn was a very weak contender. The only thing I see that *might* be worth a look is Oddworld, but that isn't worth buying a console. I'll just wait for the PC version, or the Gamecube version.
I just don't see strong differentiation for Xbox. I don't see powerful, must-have titles that are exclusive on the Xbox.
OTOH, Gamecube has some awesome games that I won't be able to get anywhere but Gamecube. Rogue Squadron, Luigi's Mansion, etc. Those games are sweet.
-B
Now if we could only convince Microsoft to do the same thing!
I've done all those simulators too, but the flight sim crowd has been and always will be a fraction of the market. Its the same thing with racing.
The problem isn't the size of the screens, although that does make for a more immersive experience.
What is lacking is G-forces. Even the full-on 'tilt and whirl' sims aren't good enough.
*Maybe* if a Star Tours type of pod is developed inexpensively enough, this kind of experience will flourish, but I doubt it. Economies of scale being what they are, full on sims like that are going to cost big bucks, and that means high prices to play a short amount of time, and that means less people playing. Not to mention that mechanical stuff like this breaks down frequently.
The real reason Sega is doing this is that they are strapped for cash, and see a way to slash arcade machine costs. Its a desperation move. It has nothing to do with innovation.
We won't see any PC games in the arcade for the simple reason that it won't work. Incidentally, this is also why Xbox will fail as a console-- porting games works one way:
Arcade --> Console --> PC.
It DOES NOT and NEVER WILL work the other way:
PC --> Console --> Arcade. PC games are just too complex for a console, and require too much time to play for arcade operators to make any money.
The golden rule of an arcade game is reasonable excitement in 30 seconds to two minutes. PC games are made to be played for hours straight. The two don't mix.
Successful arcade games all make use of new and innovative input devices, which is where most of the production cost goes, anyway. There won't be any addtional saving on production, games are already made using PCs and have been for years.
So in the end, Sega gets to shave some dollars from machine cost, maybe, and the slow death of arcades is prolonged a bit longer.
I go to arcades all the time and all I see are DDR clones, bad fighting games, bad driving games, goofy games like Namco's horsie ride, and variations on Time Crisis. I see no renaissance of the arcade, not for gamers at least.
Here in Los Angeles, arcades are not doing well. The last arcade opened years ago. Speedzone out in City of Industry used to have maybe 100 games. Now they have 25 and a lot of prize machines.
Its a tragedy, but arcades are dead, and Microsoft can't save them.
Actually there was at least one comment from a person who seemed to think that $5 flat was fair, but $5/mo was unreasonable.
-B
People who complain about paying for software and yet demand perfect bug free constantly updated programs ALWAYS seem to forget a critical detail:
Most people still have to work to support themselves.
Any 'pro-bono' effort by an individual or team will always have to take a back seat to earning a living.
Most free software advocates forget this. These idealistic profit-bashers are also rampant in the OSS community, and it may well lead to its downfall. Several fine companies have died because not enough people have ponied up cash to support them. How many of you are using store-bought distros?
Anyone who thinks that updated DirectX compatibility can be provided that keeps up with the frenzied pace of the game industry and STILL be free is smoking crack.
A subscription model like the one Transgaming is suggesting strikes me as a perfect solution. If enough people are willing to pay a certain amount per month to play DirectX games under Linux, the people involved don't have to seek other ways of sustaining themselves.
I for one am going to support these guys, because I believe that the main reason most people stick with Windows because of the games.
Couldn't agree more, except for the never meeting f2f. I met friends on local BBSes fifteen years ago that are my some of my most enduring and close friends to this day. The Internet doesn't have a decent mechanism for that.
As it happens, I know perfectly well what it means to be HUNGRY AS HELL and totally BROKE. I used to live in a car and sell shit on the side of the road so I could scrape enough money to eat dinner Taco Bell. SO SCREW YOU!
Not only that, I'm self-made. Nobody handed me anything. I've started several companies FROM NOTHING, each with less than $1000. The turnover rates in my companies have always been in the low single digit, so I know what it takes to keep people happy. I also know a whining loser when I see one, and THAT WOULD BE YOU. What idiot said you had to shit on people to get the most out of them? Oh, that was you. I said do your job and you'll be taken care of. Play Dilbert and go nowhere.
So stop blaming other people for your cowardice. That bull about STRUGGLE is just that. Don't blame me because you work harder, not smarter.
come get some
Wake up, johnnie boy. Here is some business 101: Companies are in business to MAKE MONEY. Companies MAKE MONEY by being PRODUCTIVE. Companies are not in business to coddle their employees.
Workers exchange their time for a paycheck and whatever benefits come with the job. That's the way it works. Good companies take care of their employees and offer flextime and other benefits. But they also demand high productivity in exchange for that. How else are they supposed to pay for you? Or do you poor Dilberts believe you are entitled to raises and cush jobs?
Last time I checked, nobody is forced to work anywhere this site is likely to be read.
If you don't like your job, or feel like 'the man' doesn't understand your job, GO START YOUR OWN COMPANY and shut the hell up.
Then you can see what a nightmare it can be dealing with your own lame-ass whining slacker Dilbert followers.
Otherwise GET BACK TO WORK.
Who knows, you may actually get a raise and a promotion if you do your job instead of posting on /. all the time.