Not always, Nintendo say that the GameCube was never sold at a loss, which is quite impressive considering it was never very expensive to begin with. Also I remember reading that Sony only sold the PS2 for a loss for a couple of months, that was only in the US and had something to do with relative strengths of the yen and the dollar.
Software has to be written to take advantage of dual cores. Now that the ability to scale the clock of a CPU is slowing down it seems like the best way to increase performance is to finally force multithreaded applications on the consumer. You only need the OS to be dual CPU aware to see a benefit however, one core for the OS and one for apps.
Of course it sucks that their are people in world who are so poor that working under awful conditions is a step up for them. But denying them this step up does not help their poverty - instead it locks out their societies from the prospect of economic development.
Good point, the british empire was at its most powerful when 10 year old boys were sent to work in coalmines.
Which, also is why there are age limits on other things, for the most part. Parents are supposed to decide what is ok for their kids. If they don't want you to have alcohol, you can't get around them and go get it yourself. I think this is good.
If an age restriction is needed to make child and parent communicate then the kid has bigger problems than being corrupted by violent video games.
Call me an optomist if you liek but I really think there is potential for a linux based live cd that specifically targets games. If implemented in the right way it could some respects start to rival not only windows but also consoles. It woudl probably involve some emulation of DirectX though.
Now that ATI have finally got some linux drivers there is no technical reason why linux couldn't become a serious gaming platform.
Of course, any programmer knows that if you can write the decoded video stream to the screen device, you can write it to a disk device just as easily. However, you can pretty well count on the fact that the law (DCMA and others) will be used to criminilize any software which can be used to work around the broadcast flag.
If you add TCPA to the mix then it seems like the media companies are trying to either seriously cripple, or get rid of, the PC platform as we know it.
As everyone knows while non-DRM media formats exist you only need to break the encryption or protection once and then the cat is out of the bag. It seems like the media companies goal is to not allow content to be accessed or decoded on any device that is aslo capable of decoding, or encoding, non-DRM formats.
Erm yeah, XBox owners, Playstation Owners, GameCube Owners, anyone who might buy a handheld basically...
Meanwhile, the DS is targeting new groups of its own in the same sense. Did you actually read any of the mainstream media coverage when the DS was released? And no, I don't mean EGM or whatever, I mean the real mainstream, like USA Today. Almost all of them reacted in a very interesting way-- they said, "oh, ok, it's a PDA crossed with a game boy".
I wasn't aware the DS had any PDA features...
As for the 20 somethings versus the 30 somethings, who do you think is goign to be more willing to plonk down $250 for a handheld games console ?. Sony are smart by targeting the 20 something demographic.
For the $250 price of a PSP you could get a $150 Nintendo DS and a $100 iPod Shuffle-- and if you did, you'd actually be able to play mp3s, which you wouldn't with the PSP value pack (you'd have to shell out a nontrivial amount more for a memory stick, the value pack's 32MB stick won't cut it). I do not think the general market will fail to notice this.
Except that a DS and an Ipod Shuffle won't let you watch movies. Personally this isn't something which appeals to me, I would much rather listen to music on a train than watch a movie. However those portable DVD players are supposedly selling very well...
It plays Game Boy games, it's killer launch title is Mario 64. It's Nintendo which people associate with a "for kids" image. Bearing all that in mind it's fanbase is likely to be made up largely of former GB and GBA owners.
The biggest reason the 15-25 male demographic has been the "big" demographic in video games has more to do with the relatively short history of video gaming in general than anything. You're seeing so many 15-25 year-old males because they're the ones who were playing Nintendo and Sega Master System back when video games really were considered toys for little boys--and by and large the only people playing them were little boys. Now that video games are becoming more mainstream--now that they're no longer seen as the exclusive domain of small children and nerds--you're going to see a much broader market for this kind of thing. Heck, we're seeing it already.
So ?, it doesn't why this demographic became open to video games, what matters is that it was Sony that managed to exploit it with the Playstation, undermining Nintendo and forcing Sega out of the business (note: I am not a Sony fanboy, if anything my loyalty lies with the big N).
And nothing you have said changes the fact that the Game Boy has always been very kid friendly. Usually when I see a GB or a GBA out in public its a little kid that is holding it.
I'm not saying that PSP isn't going to become a serious force--it may yet, I honestly don't know--all I'm saying is that you're making some erroneous assumptions.
Where ?
The world of video games looks radically different today than it did ten years ago, and a lot of the old assumptions really aren't valid anymore.
Agreed, the handheld market is not the same as the one that the playstation one shook up a decade ago. However there are parallels. Sony are taking more of a risk than Nintendo but the pay off could be huge, also Nintendo's prominence in the handheld market is so strong that Sony will not be able to walk in undermine them in the same way as they did with consoles (at least not with this generation of consoles). But just destroying Nintendo's market share will be good enough for Sony.
I'm not convinced that the "playstation-style games" are going to go over as well on a handheld-sized screen.
Again I agree, I don't like the idea of playing 3D games with a D pad and on a small screen. Having played tomb raider on a friends N-Gage I was even more sceptical. However I have been hearing good things about Mario 64 on the DS and the racing games on the PSP. I can't afford any new consoles this year so I can take the time will tell attitude.
Three handhelds will be with us this year, the DS, the PSP and an outsider, the Gizmondo.
Out of the three I think the PSP is the most likely to succeed. Sony's strategy is very similar to that of the first playstation, they don't want Nintendo's market, they want to open up handheld to a new more mainstream demographic. The Game Boy, while succesful, has always been seen as a childs toy. The PSP with its sexy design, playstation type games and ability to play movies will appeal to the same 15 - 25 male demographic that has made the playstation so successful.
The DS will also be succesful due to the current large Game Boy fanbase. However I predict that as Sony open the market up Nintendo's dominant share of that market will decline an they may well lose customers to the PSP if it gains enough momentum.
It would be easy to write the Gizmondo off but its GPS features (cheap for its price) mean it could well find a market amongst older people. It could open up a new 25 - 35 year old market, people who use its navigation functions but also want games, music and film. However I do think there is a risk of the Nintendo and Sony marketing machines making the Gizmondo seem invisible.
There are other factors which could affect the outcome of this handheld war. Most notably there are question marks over the PSP's battery life and loading times, these are things that shouldn't be underestimated.
The purpose of this, of course, is so that the operating system can be verified not to have it's DRM functions cracked, so that the RIAA and MPAA can send you data and make sure that they get to decide what you do with it.....
(Cisco is already talking about systems to have ISPs demand remote attestation when TCPA is in place). TCPA and Linux can be combined in theory, but only in theory - in reality they cannot ever coexist.
Lets be clear about what it is that you are saying here, even Linux OS's that are TCPA enabled are unlikely to be approved for use with media services provided bye the RIAA and MPAA. This is probably true, but saying that TCPA and linux can never co-exist is, I think, an exageration, TCPA by itself will not kill Linux.
Slashdot Mirror
"Captain, I can compensate using *strange word* to modulate *strange word* ...".
Whats strange about using a neutrino generator to modulate a tachyon field to create a holographic reconstruction ?
I love that daily show line...
Occasionally newsworthy events happen elsewhere in the world, and periodically we care.
New consoles are sold at a loss,
Not always, Nintendo say that the GameCube was never sold at a loss, which is quite impressive considering it was never very expensive to begin with. Also I remember reading that Sony only sold the PS2 for a loss for a couple of months, that was only in the US and had something to do with relative strengths of the yen and the dollar.
Software has to be written to take advantage of dual cores. Now that the ability to scale the clock of a CPU is slowing down it seems like the best way to increase performance is to finally force multithreaded applications on the consumer. You only need the OS to be dual CPU aware to see a benefit however, one core for the OS and one for apps.
Honestly can't tell if your joking or not, and thats sad.
He does a pretty good job of answering a lot of hard questions.
/.
Thats quite a brave comment to make on
Of course it sucks that their are people in world who are so poor that working under awful conditions is a step up for them. But denying them this step up does not help their poverty - instead it locks out their societies from the prospect of economic development.
Good point, the british empire was at its most powerful when 10 year old boys were sent to work in coalmines.
The consortium say that a HVD disc could hold about 200 standard DVD's,
That means nothing to me, can someone covert that into a more practical measurement like Libraries Of Congress (LoC) ?.
Which, also is why there are age limits on other things, for the most part. Parents are supposed to decide what is ok for their kids. If they don't want you to have alcohol, you can't get around them and go get it yourself. I think this is good.
If an age restriction is needed to make child and parent communicate then the kid has bigger problems than being corrupted by violent video games.
If it's illegal to buy it, I guess we'll have to just download the games for free.
If its illegal for me to drink I guess I'll just have to go and steal some beer.
Call me an optomist if you liek but I really think there is potential for a linux based live cd that specifically targets games. If implemented in the right way it could some respects start to rival not only windows but also consoles. It woudl probably involve some emulation of DirectX though.
Now that ATI have finally got some linux drivers there is no technical reason why linux couldn't become a serious gaming platform.
I'm tired of the industry trying to use technology to solve a social problem.
Double plus insightful.
Of course, any programmer knows that if you can write the decoded video stream to the screen device, you can write it to a disk device just as easily. However, you can pretty well count on the fact that the law (DCMA and others) will be used to criminilize any software which can be used to work around the broadcast flag.
If you add TCPA to the mix then it seems like the media companies are trying to either seriously cripple, or get rid of, the PC platform as we know it.
As everyone knows while non-DRM media formats exist you only need to break the encryption or protection once and then the cat is out of the bag. It seems like the media companies goal is to not allow content to be accessed or decoded on any device that is aslo capable of decoding, or encoding, non-DRM formats.
Specifically, XBox owners.
Erm yeah, XBox owners, Playstation Owners, GameCube Owners, anyone who might buy a handheld basically...
Meanwhile, the DS is targeting new groups of its own in the same sense. Did you actually read any of the mainstream media coverage when the DS was released? And no, I don't mean EGM or whatever, I mean the real mainstream, like USA Today. Almost all of them reacted in a very interesting way-- they said, "oh, ok, it's a PDA crossed with a game boy".
I wasn't aware the DS had any PDA features...
As for the 20 somethings versus the 30 somethings, who do you think is goign to be more willing to plonk down $250 for a handheld games console ?. Sony are smart by targeting the 20 something demographic.
For the $250 price of a PSP you could get a $150 Nintendo DS and a $100 iPod Shuffle-- and if you did, you'd actually be able to play mp3s, which you wouldn't with the PSP value pack (you'd have to shell out a nontrivial amount more for a memory stick, the value pack's 32MB stick won't cut it). I do not think the general market will fail to notice this.
Except that a DS and an Ipod Shuffle won't let you watch movies. Personally this isn't something which appeals to me, I would much rather listen to music on a train than watch a movie. However those portable DVD players are supposedly selling very well...
It plays Game Boy games, it's killer launch title is Mario 64. It's Nintendo which people associate with a "for kids" image. Bearing all that in mind it's fanbase is likely to be made up largely of former GB and GBA owners.
The biggest reason the 15-25 male demographic has been the "big" demographic in video games has more to do with the relatively short history of video gaming in general than anything. You're seeing so many 15-25 year-old males because they're the ones who were playing Nintendo and Sega Master System back when video games really were considered toys for little boys--and by and large the only people playing them were little boys. Now that video games are becoming more mainstream--now that they're no longer seen as the exclusive domain of small children and nerds--you're going to see a much broader market for this kind of thing. Heck, we're seeing it already.
So ?, it doesn't why this demographic became open to video games, what matters is that it was Sony that managed to exploit it with the Playstation, undermining Nintendo and forcing Sega out of the business (note: I am not a Sony fanboy, if anything my loyalty lies with the big N).
And nothing you have said changes the fact that the Game Boy has always been very kid friendly. Usually when I see a GB or a GBA out in public its a little kid that is holding it.
I'm not saying that PSP isn't going to become a serious force--it may yet, I honestly don't know--all I'm saying is that you're making some erroneous assumptions.
Where ?
The world of video games looks radically different today than it did ten years ago, and a lot of the old assumptions really aren't valid anymore.
Agreed, the handheld market is not the same as the one that the playstation one shook up a decade ago. However there are parallels. Sony are taking more of a risk than Nintendo but the pay off could be huge, also Nintendo's prominence in the handheld market is so strong that Sony will not be able to walk in undermine them in the same way as they did with consoles (at least not with this generation of consoles). But just destroying Nintendo's market share will be good enough for Sony.
I'm not convinced that the "playstation-style games" are going to go over as well on a handheld-sized screen.
Again I agree, I don't like the idea of playing 3D games with a D pad and on a small screen. Having played tomb raider on a friends N-Gage I was even more sceptical. However I have been hearing good things about Mario 64 on the DS and the racing games on the PSP. I can't afford any new consoles this year so I can take the time will tell attitude.
Three handhelds will be with us this year, the DS, the PSP and an outsider, the Gizmondo.
Out of the three I think the PSP is the most likely to succeed. Sony's strategy is very similar to that of the first playstation, they don't want Nintendo's market, they want to open up handheld to a new more mainstream demographic. The Game Boy, while succesful, has always been seen as a childs toy. The PSP with its sexy design, playstation type games and ability to play movies will appeal to the same 15 - 25 male demographic that has made the playstation so successful.
The DS will also be succesful due to the current large Game Boy fanbase. However I predict that as Sony open the market up Nintendo's dominant share of that market will decline an they may well lose customers to the PSP if it gains enough momentum.
It would be easy to write the Gizmondo off but its GPS features (cheap for its price) mean it could well find a market amongst older people. It could open up a new 25 - 35 year old market, people who use its navigation functions but also want games, music and film. However I do think there is a risk of the Nintendo and Sony marketing machines making the Gizmondo seem invisible.
There are other factors which could affect the outcome of this handheld war. Most notably there are question marks over the PSP's battery life and loading times, these are things that shouldn't be underestimated.
Your saying that working at Miscrosoft is a bit like working at MacDonalds ?
....
....
The purpose of this, of course, is so that the operating system can be verified not to have it's DRM functions cracked, so that the RIAA and MPAA can send you data and make sure that they get to decide what you do with it.
(Cisco is already talking about systems to have ISPs demand remote attestation when TCPA is in place). TCPA and Linux can be combined in theory, but only in theory - in reality they cannot ever coexist.
Lets be clear about what it is that you are saying here, even Linux OS's that are TCPA enabled are unlikely to be approved for use with media services provided bye the RIAA and MPAA. This is probably true, but saying that TCPA and linux can never co-exist is, I think, an exageration, TCPA by itself will not kill Linux.
Then EvilCorp won't be able to lobby making Linux illegal
Sillier things have happened.
There's a number of other interesting notes in the entry about the new search engine. Also, Britney.
But what does "Also Britney" mean ?
know of any for winamp ?
How does that work ?, doesn't the solar wind travel in one direction only (away from the sun).
I installed OO on my mums computer and she did notice and asked to put Office on instead.
Why ?