To release a console less powerful and/or more expensive than anything else on the market would be, if not commercial suicide, at least acutely embarrassing for Sony.
Using self-manufactured custom chips will probably work out cheaper for them, as it did with the PS2 and PSP.
Having an extra year to develop, tune and wait for component prices to fall will easily widen the performance gap.
"Sony isn't going to charge fees for on-line play?"
Correct.
I see you've researched this topic closely.
Where by 'researched' I mean, 'typed in some swears without actually stopping to figure out what over half of the items you've quoted above actually meant'.
"Sony's development kits have been notoriously bad and poorly documented."
Yes, that was the case this generation also, and yet the PS2 had more developer support than either of the other (comparitively easy to develop for) formats. Support goes where the money is, not where it's easiest to churn out code.
1. Spend $300 on an Xbox2 with no backwards compatibility, lukewarm developer support, HD functions they can't use, fee-based online play, no hard disk, no chipping (for a while), DRM'ed media functions and probably no decent games for the first year, or
2. Wait a few months and buy a more powerful, cheaper, vastly better-supported Playstation 3.
Still, expect Peter Moore (ex-employee of Dreamcast-era Sega) to cook up plenty more substance-free PR stunts over the next few months.
Most of this list is throw-away jokes, and things from the radio show that either a US audience wouldn't understand or would interrupt the pacing too much. It would be nice to see some of the guide entries re-inserted in some future DVD release, though.
So basically a Japanese developer who has a publishing deal with Microsoft is suggesting that Microsoft have strong ties other big-name developers in Japan (while conveniently not naming anyone)? I'm stunned, no really.
Which then gets posted on/. as "Heavy Japanese Support for Xbox 2". You utter clowns.
"Firefox is not just a browser; it is a religion, a way of life some might say, and for others, like me, a great damn way of reaching the web without all the ugly stuff that comes with it."
"Ugly stuff" such as a few short paragraphs of text drowned in innumerable pages of intrusive god-damned advertisements.
1. Carmack's '4.77 mhz pc' comparison is waaaay out, at least for any reasonably recent J2ME phone. Some of the phones available in Europe and Japan today (and in a couple of cases in the US also, the US market seems to be closing the gap on Europe, slowly) are an order of magnitude faster than some of the ones still shipping on US networks. And this is just phones with software JVMs.
2. Write-once-run-anywhere: Not a problem with Java per se, more like the fault of two dozen handset manufacturers developing their own loosely compatible JVMs for radically different hardware. It's (almost) as platform agnostic as is practical under the circumstances.
Micropayments are a disgustingly cynical idea, that go utterly against the spirit of creating games. Thankfully Microsoft's implementation (whereby they will undoubtedly take the lion's share of the revenue on any transaction) will ward developers off, as has happened with 'premium content' on the current generation Xbox.
Everything in Allard's talk was fanciful pipedream crap that no-one cares about. I'm not going to buy a console over its competitors because it lets me set up a fucking LiveJournal or make my own music playlists.
This time they don't have a raw processing power advantage to beat their chests about, and it's increasingly obvious that apart from reeling off lists of new items to charge to their subscribers' credit cards, their cupboard is bare.
Save your breath. Item after item posted by Zonk are riddled with factual errors or simply links to baseless rumours from the most laughably disreputable 'news' sites. They're never corrected or removed.
Slashdot Games is a joke, and it's only serving to make general/. readers with a casual interest in games MORE ignorant than they were before.
1. Half-Life 2 is a sequel. 2. Katamari Damacy is an original game. 3. Half-Life 2 is still a better game than Katamari Damacy, insofar as they are comparable. It's also more ambitious in scope, more accomplished in design, implementation and artistry, and has a broader appeal.
I don't understand the parent comment. Are there still people left who are culturally literate enough to enter higher education and yet have had such limited contact with games that they are actually surprised at the idea that games (of many kinds, not just CRPGs) can explore complex issues such as morality?
1) Then you released it commercially. 2) This is pretty irrelevent, as a) there are (and were even then) home versions of Puzzle Bobble, and b) you are still making money from plagiarism. The host platform is not an issue. 3) You cannot apply the 'relaxed' attitude to IP of 15 or 20 years ago to the modern world. You can't even claim there's a grey area- unlike Asteroids (a very, very old game, although it still makes money for its IP owners) or Tetris (the rights to which are now being defended heavily by the Tetris Company after an extended period of neglect), Puzzle Bobble is a modern game and a going concern for Taito.
Everyone 'borrows' elements from games they've enjoyed, it's practically a necessity to make something the player will understand easily. But your game is a direct rip-off of Puzzle Bobble. If you make a living out of it you have to expect that no-one working professionally in games is ever going to respect you.
Sick kids could still play the game if you gave it away free and credited the real authors.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, I think you only need one guess.
To release a console less powerful and/or more expensive than anything else on the market would be, if not commercial suicide, at least acutely embarrassing for Sony.
Using self-manufactured custom chips will probably work out cheaper for them, as it did with the PS2 and PSP.
Having an extra year to develop, tune and wait for component prices to fall will easily widen the performance gap.
"Sony isn't going to charge fees for on-line play?"
Correct.
I see you've researched this topic closely.
Where by 'researched' I mean, 'typed in some swears without actually stopping to figure out what over half of the items you've quoted above actually meant'.
"Sony's development kits have been notoriously bad and poorly documented."
Yes, that was the case this generation also, and yet the PS2 had more developer support than either of the other (comparitively easy to develop for) formats. Support goes where the money is, not where it's easiest to churn out code.
"The market will not support 3 consoles."
Where have you been for the last four years?
The choice the consumer faces is a tough one.
1. Spend $300 on an Xbox2 with no backwards compatibility, lukewarm developer support, HD functions they can't use, fee-based online play, no hard disk, no chipping (for a while), DRM'ed media functions and probably no decent games for the first year, or
2. Wait a few months and buy a more powerful, cheaper, vastly better-supported Playstation 3.
Still, expect Peter Moore (ex-employee of Dreamcast-era Sega) to cook up plenty more substance-free PR stunts over the next few months.
Most of this list is throw-away jokes, and things from the radio show that either a US audience wouldn't understand or would interrupt the pacing too much. It would be nice to see some of the guide entries re-inserted in some future DVD release, though.
So basically a Japanese developer who has a publishing deal with Microsoft is suggesting that Microsoft have strong ties other big-name developers in Japan (while conveniently not naming anyone)? I'm stunned, no really.
/. as "Heavy Japanese Support for Xbox 2". You utter clowns.
Which then gets posted on
Zonk, you post shit every day. Now you're posting unfunny shit. Please, just stop.
"Firefox is not just a browser; it is a religion, a way of life some might say, and for others, like me, a great damn way of reaching the web without all the ugly stuff that comes with it."
"Ugly stuff" such as a few short paragraphs of text drowned in innumerable pages of intrusive god-damned advertisements.
1. Carmack's '4.77 mhz pc' comparison is waaaay out, at least for any reasonably recent J2ME phone. Some of the phones available in Europe and Japan today (and in a couple of cases in the US also, the US market seems to be closing the gap on Europe, slowly) are an order of magnitude faster than some of the ones still shipping on US networks. And this is just phones with software JVMs.
2. Write-once-run-anywhere: Not a problem with Java per se, more like the fault of two dozen handset manufacturers developing their own loosely compatible JVMs for radically different hardware. It's (almost) as platform agnostic as is practical under the circumstances.
"Because there aren't bazillions of other fighting games that are every bit as good and cross-platform."
Name one. VF4 isn't cross-platform last time I checked.
"This is the number one reason I am interested in creating video games."
Then please save everyone a lot of trouble and go and make films instead.
Well?
They're already on version 3.0 on Xbox 1. But I think I know what you really mean.
/. story) that this (ridiculous) rumour is sourced from the US Official Xbox Magazine.
/. games. Sigh.
And no mention (in the
Oh look, *yet another* unsubstantiated rumour on
The back page blurb suggests that at some level they 'get it'. Unfortunately the content seems to be the same old overblown, obvious fanzine crap.
I'm trying to remember if I've ever read anything interesting that contained a question along the lines of "But what do we mean by 'X'?"
Zonk, slightly rewording the transcript does not amount to 'commentary'.
(Oh, and there has already been at least one 20M+ selling title. A Nintendo title.)
Micropayments are a disgustingly cynical idea, that go utterly against the spirit of creating games. Thankfully Microsoft's implementation (whereby they will undoubtedly take the lion's share of the revenue on any transaction) will ward developers off, as has happened with 'premium content' on the current generation Xbox.
Everything in Allard's talk was fanciful pipedream crap that no-one cares about. I'm not going to buy a console over its competitors because it lets me set up a fucking LiveJournal or make my own music playlists.
This time they don't have a raw processing power advantage to beat their chests about, and it's increasingly obvious that apart from reeling off lists of new items to charge to their subscribers' credit cards, their cupboard is bare.
Save your breath. Item after item posted by Zonk are riddled with factual errors or simply links to baseless rumours from the most laughably disreputable 'news' sites. They're never corrected or removed.
/. readers with a casual interest in games MORE ignorant than they were before.
Slashdot Games is a joke, and it's only serving to make general
1. Half-Life 2 is a sequel.
2. Katamari Damacy is an original game.
3. Half-Life 2 is still a better game than Katamari Damacy, insofar as they are comparable. It's also more ambitious in scope, more accomplished in design, implementation and artistry, and has a broader appeal.
Originality isn't a silver bullet.
I don't understand the parent comment. Are there still people left who are culturally literate enough to enter higher education and yet have had such limited contact with games that they are actually surprised at the idea that games (of many kinds, not just CRPGs) can explore complex issues such as morality?
Ultima IV would be a good starting point.
It's a Zonk story. Reading the article or performing any kind of competent editorial function aren't on the menu.
This is just jaw-droppingly idiotic.
Games should be awarded as games, not for pretending to be films. See the Bafta games awards (www.bafta.com) for a more competent attempt at the idea.
1) Then you released it commercially.
2) This is pretty irrelevent, as a) there are (and were even then) home versions of Puzzle Bobble, and b) you are still making money from plagiarism. The host platform is not an issue.
3) You cannot apply the 'relaxed' attitude to IP of 15 or 20 years ago to the modern world. You can't even claim there's a grey area- unlike Asteroids (a very, very old game, although it still makes money for its IP owners) or Tetris (the rights to which are now being defended heavily by the Tetris Company after an extended period of neglect), Puzzle Bobble is a modern game and a going concern for Taito.
Everyone 'borrows' elements from games they've enjoyed, it's practically a necessity to make something the player will understand easily. But your game is a direct rip-off of Puzzle Bobble. If you make a living out of it you have to expect that no-one working professionally in games is ever going to respect you.
Sick kids could still play the game if you gave it away free and credited the real authors.
"Nintendo Revolution Rumours Emerge"
"EA's Plans for Xbox 2"
"Cultural Blinders Lead to Nintendo Fallacy"
Fuck sake, Zonk, find some actual news to report or quit. I don't think anyone would blame you at this point.