Other people will likely respond to this by accusing me of being a Luddite...my response would be to in turn accuse them of being brainless lemmings.
Ah yes, the wonderful attitude of "I don't like it, so nobody else could possibly find it useful." And anyone that disagrees is a brainless lemming? How charming.
A friend of mine works on game development for the GameBoy Advance. Although this device is due to be end-of-lifed soon, from what I've seen it never sold particularly well
No. Just....No. Did you even look at sales figures, or are just assuming that because you don't personally know many people that own one? I hate to sound like a jerk, but your assumption is so far removed from actual facts that it's jaw-dropping.
A person on a train does not want to wait a full minute for a handheld to boot up so that they can play a game.
If you have only a 5-minute train ride, maybe. Personally, I have a 30 minute ride each way, every day, and the GBA's short wait upon turning on doesn't bother me in the slightest. I've seen quite a few other people using GBA's and the odd PSP as well.
If Nintendo and the other companies want to make money from handheld devices
they should remember the KISS principle, and why the Game and Watch sold well for them back in the day. It's because it was simple...
They (or at least Nintendo) already have. There's a reason for the huge sales of the Gameboy's various incarnations, after all.
Why are you making these statements, when you apparently have almost zero experience with what you're talking about?
The benefit isn't great, but I don't see any damage.
If people are hacking the hardware and using free/semi-free/illegal homebrew software, they're not buying the "real" games. If you can explain how that would not lead to lower profits for Sony, i'd love to hear it.
It's not a study or even a very credible source, but out of the probably 50 people I knew of with modded XBoxes while I was still in school a couple years ago, not a single one was used for anything but emulators and illegal copies of games.
It might make you feel better to think otherwise, but outside of Slashdot and some other hard-core Linux/OSS communities, I really don't think much of anyone gives a damn about the non-illegal uses of hacking consoles.
I thought Nintendo claimed that the Revolution would support all of Nintendo's classic games from the NES, SNES, and N64? This controller can't even be used for playing SNES games as it lacks the number of buttons needed to do so.
What happened to supporting their classic SNES and N64 games?
Good thing the Revolution will include 4 Gamecube controller ports then, eh?
"These last two may seem uncomfortably low for your thumb until you turn the controller 90 degrees and it becomes just like an old 8-bit NES joypad, with the D-pad under your left thumb and "a" and "b" under your right. (Don't forget-Nintendo has promised downloadable versions of their classic games for the Revolution's "Virtual Console.")"
But geez.. after i saw the controller i was a bit too impressed (in the weird way). How in the world am i gonna play Pikmin on that thing? 2 sticks anyone? WHERE DAMMIT! I cant think of any NORMAL game coming out for the revo that a person with 2 next-gen consoles will buy over there version for the other (more normal, more familiar console controller)
Maybe....Plug a Gamecube controller into the provided ports on the console?
The new controller makes porting XBOX 360/PS3 games extremely difficult. Don't expect to see Madden for the Revolution.
Yes, surely being able to hold the controller sideways like a normal gamepad, plugging in a Gamecube controller, or any number of other possible alternatives will sink their chances.
I don't know how other kids would be, but I gave up entirely once I turned 20. College has waayyyy too much else going on for games, especially with studying, projects, job (optional), and friends/members of the opposite sex that you would hang out with.
Speak for yourself. Some of us have decent enough time management skills that we can play games and have a social life at the same time. Some people even *gasp* manage to make games a part of their social life.
I for one have managed to finish a degree program at a relatively demanding college, get married, and find a decent job, all while being an avid gamer.
But a question would be, how do you help the child to become mature earlier, so that they can see how stupid those things are, and that there are other things that you can do instead?
Ah, yes. The wonderful mentality of "I don't like something/find it useful, so therefore nobody else could possibly get any value out of it."
Whatever forms of wasting time you enjoy, they are no more or less valid than gaming, when not done to excess.
I've been cycling to work for the last three months and it has been great. Some days I have to use public transport if the weather is really nasty but I am averaging about 80% of my travel by bicycle.
First of all, I currently drive my car maybe 5 miles a week, as i'm able to use the DC subway and bus system to get to work every day. Worth it in terms of saving on gas/insurance/car wear, but it does mean my commute time is probably at least twice what it would be if I just drove.
That said, it's great that you can do this, but quite a few (maybe even a majority, I don't know exact stats) people in the US either live too far away to get in on a bike/public transport in a reasonable amount of time ( i live 10 miles away from work, and it still takes me almost an hour ), or must take a route that would be life-threatening to ride a bike on (major highways, bad neighborhoods, etc.)
If you look at the picture you'll realize that there is *some* usefulness in this. Take a laptop, pick up a wifi spot, and you can use your cellphone to make free long distance/roaming calls.
Great! Well, except for the fact that my phone plan already has free long distance without using a laptop, wifi, or any other complicated scheme.
Cowboy Bebop is only half as good in the dubbed form that Cartoon Network airs. A lot gets lost in the translation (tone of voice, etc.). IMHO shows should be broadcast in the manner in which they were originally intended.
First, i've watched Bebop through with both English and Japanese audio.
I can read fast enough that the subtitles don't bother me, but I tend to prefer the English audio - apart from some of the more philosophical sections coming across a bit oddly, I would be hard pressed to find any problems with the quality of the dub. Conversely, some of the Japanese voices sound like they match rather badly to the characters (both Faye and Spike's voices sound too deep), and Ed in particular is just plain annoying.
Are people really so illiterate as to prefer an inferior dub over a sub?
Are you really so arrogant as to assume all anime viewers share your viewpoint and likes/dislikes?
Why do the networks insult our intelligence so?
Unless you can provide evidence that the bulk of Adult Swim/Toonami's viewers would prefer subbed instead of dubbed anime, you don't have a case for that. They're just doing what makes the best business sense - catering to the majority opinion.
Even with how they've changed in recent years, I can't say i'm extremely suprised that Sega is ignoring Nintendo for a flagship Sonic game.
Beyond that....With Nintendo's penchant for secrecy and the (mostly) brainwashed graphics-whores of the gaming media tending to ignore them anyway, I wouldn't get too worried.
It still puzzles me why Nintendo refuses to grow up. Since the Sega Genesis, they've been stuck in 'baby game' mode where you play as fruity little stuffed animal characters and use whistles instead of swords.
In my experience, (this may or may not describe you personally as well) people protesting the loudest about Nintendo's 'baby games' tend to be the ones that equate "mature" to really mean "Full of extreme violence, blood, sex, and/or guns".
Some of us aren't afraid of some bright colors and cuteness if it means there's a great game behind it, which Nintendo titles often are.
The comments in the blog article from hardcore players, complaining about the graphics on the last title, bear this out. The world no longer consists of single platform living rooms, and Nintendo needs to face the facts.
Maybe I missed something, but Wind Waker sold very well, was generally thought of as an excellent game, and many people loved the new graphical style.
Comments from "hardcore players" and forum posters don't always reflect the opinions of the larger player base.
Who cares about Nintendo anymore, seriously? Sure, they have a great handheld market...well except for the dismal sales of the DS and lack of titles. The GBA is still strong right?
Where are you getting that the DS is doing dismally? Got any specific numbers to back that up?
I've said it before and I'll say it again..Nintendo, it's time to grow up.
Grow up? Yes, because the world really needs more of the avalanche of cookie-cutter "mature" titles that Sony and Microsoft have for their systems.
I was thinking this the other day... I read a story on CNN that said people in New Orleans were paying "as much as" $5/gallon.
Learn to read before you post again, please. The $5/gallon gouging story you probably read was referring to Atlanta, Georgia.
As if that was a major disaster. Now people are whinging about paying $3 / gallon?
Yes, because we don't pay the huge fuel taxes people in the EU do. If we did, we'd probably be paying even more than you are.
Every country in the EU pays prices near the UK ones (maybe not quite as much). Nobody really moans (except a little if they go up even further), because that's what it always has cost. What does the EU know that America doesn't?
Sounds like they just have you conditioned to believe that the high taxes are normal. You have to decide if that's something you want to be proud of or not, I suppose.
And the other companies are minorities? With the GTA games, Halo, Street Fighter, Sonic, EA sports games, Final Fantasy, more Megaman games than I can even count, etc.?
Between that and the actual article, it's just another example of people singling Nintendo out for something that everyone else does just as badly, if not worse.
At least Nintendo's franchises remain fun to play (with a scant few exceptions) in each iteration, which is more than I can say for a lot of games.
While that sounds nice, remember ChronoCross for PlayStation? It was certainly an okay game, but it was no where near as good as ChronoTrigger.
If you think of Chrono Cross as a sort of side story, rather than a direct sequel, I find that it's really a pretty good game. If you're expecting "Chrono Trigger 2", then you need to modify your expectations a bit.
I peronally think that they should leave CT alone and let it bask in the limelight as the greatest RPG ever made, rather than cheapen its legacy by pushing out shoddy sequals.
Considering what was left open regarding all the original characters besides Robo, i'd say there's plenty of room for one more game.
And meanwhile, the DS isn't exactly doing bad, and has a game lineup that has been improving as of late - I would think that Sony can't afford to wait much longer.
Meatspace retailers will sell the two core bundles and rest assured, normal people will be able to put a 360 and perfect dark 0 under the tree for $350.
Maybe i'm just a cheap bastard, but $350 for a system and one game is still about $100 too expensive.
Slashdot Mirror
Other people will likely respond to this by accusing me of being a Luddite...my response would be to in turn accuse them of being brainless lemmings.
Ah yes, the wonderful attitude of "I don't like it, so nobody else could possibly find it useful." And anyone that disagrees is a brainless lemming? How charming.
A friend of mine works on game development for the GameBoy Advance. Although this device is due to be end-of-lifed soon, from what I've seen it never sold particularly well
No. Just....No. Did you even look at sales figures, or are just assuming that because you don't personally know many people that own one? I hate to sound like a jerk, but your assumption is so far removed from actual facts that it's jaw-dropping.
A person on a train does not want to wait a full minute for a handheld to boot up so that they can play a game.
If you have only a 5-minute train ride, maybe. Personally, I have a 30 minute ride each way, every day, and the GBA's short wait upon turning on doesn't bother me in the slightest. I've seen quite a few other people using GBA's and the odd PSP as well.
If Nintendo and the other companies want to make money from handheld devices
they should remember the KISS principle, and why the Game and Watch sold well for them back in the day. It's because it was simple...
They (or at least Nintendo) already have. There's a reason for the huge sales of the Gameboy's various incarnations, after all.
Why are you making these statements, when you apparently have almost zero experience with what you're talking about?
I feel somewhat the same way, except I keep getting flashbacks to Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop.
The benefit isn't great, but I don't see any damage.
If people are hacking the hardware and using free/semi-free/illegal homebrew software, they're not buying the "real" games. If you can explain how that would not lead to lower profits for Sony, i'd love to hear it.
It's not a study or even a very credible source, but out of the probably 50 people I knew of with modded XBoxes while I was still in school a couple years ago, not a single one was used for anything but emulators and illegal copies of games.
It might make you feel better to think otherwise, but outside of Slashdot and some other hard-core Linux/OSS communities, I really don't think much of anyone gives a damn about the non-illegal uses of hacking consoles.
Just my opinion, though.
How many people are really using this stuff, vs. the total user base?
The mainstream market isn't even aware hacks like this exist (much less where to find or how to use them), for the most part.
I thought Nintendo claimed that the Revolution would support all of Nintendo's classic games from the NES, SNES, and N64? This controller can't even be used for playing SNES games as it lacks the number of buttons needed to do so.
What happened to supporting their classic SNES and N64 games?
Good thing the Revolution will include 4 Gamecube controller ports then, eh?
Try actually reading the article.
"These last two may seem uncomfortably low for your thumb until you turn the controller 90 degrees and it becomes just like an old 8-bit NES joypad, with the D-pad under your left thumb and "a" and "b" under your right. (Don't forget-Nintendo has promised downloadable versions of their classic games for the Revolution's "Virtual Console.")"
But geez.. after i saw the controller i was a bit too impressed (in the weird way). How in the world am i gonna play Pikmin on that thing? 2 sticks anyone? WHERE DAMMIT! I cant think of any NORMAL game coming out for the revo that a person with 2 next-gen consoles will buy over there version for the other (more normal, more familiar console controller)
Maybe....Plug a Gamecube controller into the provided ports on the console?
The new controller makes porting XBOX 360/PS3 games extremely difficult. Don't expect to see Madden for the Revolution.
Yes, surely being able to hold the controller sideways like a normal gamepad, plugging in a Gamecube controller, or any number of other possible alternatives will sink their chances.
I don't know how other kids would be, but I gave up entirely once I turned 20. College has waayyyy too much else going on for games, especially with studying, projects, job (optional), and friends/members of the opposite sex that you would hang out with.
Speak for yourself. Some of us have decent enough time management skills that we can play games and have a social life at the same time. Some people even *gasp* manage to make games a part of their social life.
I for one have managed to finish a degree program at a relatively demanding college, get married, and find a decent job, all while being an avid gamer.
But a question would be, how do you help the child to become mature earlier, so that they can see how stupid those things are, and that there are other things that you can do instead?
Ah, yes. The wonderful mentality of "I don't like something/find it useful, so therefore nobody else could possibly get any value out of it."
Whatever forms of wasting time you enjoy, they are no more or less valid than gaming, when not done to excess.
Use a bike
I've been cycling to work for the last three months and it has been great. Some days I have to use public transport if the weather is really nasty but I am averaging about 80% of my travel by bicycle.
First of all, I currently drive my car maybe 5 miles a week, as i'm able to use the DC subway and bus system to get to work every day. Worth it in terms of saving on gas/insurance/car wear, but it does mean my commute time is probably at least twice what it would be if I just drove.
That said, it's great that you can do this, but quite a few (maybe even a majority, I don't know exact stats) people in the US either live too far away to get in on a bike/public transport in a reasonable amount of time ( i live 10 miles away from work, and it still takes me almost an hour ), or must take a route that would be life-threatening to ride a bike on (major highways, bad neighborhoods, etc.)
High prices! Sheesh. You should look at the price we pay in the UK (and have done for a while now).
The reason for your prices is not the same. If we in the US had to pay the huge taxes you do, i'd wager our prices would be even higher.
If you look at the picture you'll realize that there is *some* usefulness in this. Take a laptop, pick up a wifi spot, and you can use your cellphone to make free long distance/roaming calls.
Great! Well, except for the fact that my phone plan already has free long distance without using a laptop, wifi, or any other complicated scheme.
Cowboy Bebop is only half as good in the dubbed form that Cartoon Network airs. A lot gets lost in the translation (tone of voice, etc.). IMHO shows should be broadcast in the manner in which they were originally intended.
First, i've watched Bebop through with both English and Japanese audio.
I can read fast enough that the subtitles don't bother me, but I tend to prefer the English audio - apart from some of the more philosophical sections coming across a bit oddly, I would be hard pressed to find any problems with the quality of the dub. Conversely, some of the Japanese voices sound like they match rather badly to the characters (both Faye and Spike's voices sound too deep), and Ed in particular is just plain annoying.
Are people really so illiterate as to prefer an inferior dub over a sub?
Are you really so arrogant as to assume all anime viewers share your viewpoint and likes/dislikes?
Why do the networks insult our intelligence so?
Unless you can provide evidence that the bulk of Adult Swim/Toonami's viewers would prefer subbed instead of dubbed anime, you don't have a case for that. They're just doing what makes the best business sense - catering to the majority opinion.
Even with how they've changed in recent years, I can't say i'm extremely suprised that Sega is ignoring Nintendo for a flagship Sonic game.
Beyond that....With Nintendo's penchant for secrecy and the (mostly) brainwashed graphics-whores of the gaming media tending to ignore them anyway, I wouldn't get too worried.
It still puzzles me why Nintendo refuses to grow up. Since the Sega Genesis, they've been stuck in 'baby game' mode where you play as fruity little stuffed animal characters and use whistles instead of swords.
In my experience, (this may or may not describe you personally as well) people protesting the loudest about Nintendo's 'baby games' tend to be the ones that equate "mature" to really mean "Full of extreme violence, blood, sex, and/or guns".
Some of us aren't afraid of some bright colors and cuteness if it means there's a great game behind it, which Nintendo titles often are.
The comments in the blog article from hardcore players, complaining about the graphics on the last title, bear this out. The world no longer consists of single platform living rooms, and Nintendo needs to face the facts.
Maybe I missed something, but Wind Waker sold very well, was generally thought of as an excellent game, and many people loved the new graphical style.
Comments from "hardcore players" and forum posters don't always reflect the opinions of the larger player base.
Who cares about Nintendo anymore, seriously? Sure, they have a great handheld market...well except for the dismal sales of the DS and lack of titles. The GBA is still strong right?
Where are you getting that the DS is doing dismally? Got any specific numbers to back that up?
I've said it before and I'll say it again..Nintendo, it's time to grow up.
Grow up? Yes, because the world really needs more of the avalanche of cookie-cutter "mature" titles that Sony and Microsoft have for their systems.
I was thinking this the other day... I read a story on CNN that said people in New Orleans were paying "as much as" $5/gallon.
Learn to read before you post again, please. The $5/gallon gouging story you probably read was referring to Atlanta, Georgia.
As if that was a major disaster. Now people are whinging about paying $3 / gallon?
Yes, because we don't pay the huge fuel taxes people in the EU do. If we did, we'd probably be paying even more than you are.
Every country in the EU pays prices near the UK ones (maybe not quite as much). Nobody really moans (except a little if they go up even further), because that's what it always has cost. What does the EU know that America doesn't?
Sounds like they just have you conditioned to believe that the high taxes are normal. You have to decide if that's something you want to be proud of or not, I suppose.
... $3 for a gallon is nothing.
In Europe, the prices are twice as high.
If we in the US had to pay the exorbitant taxes you do, I imagine it'd likely be just as high (or higher) here.
from the mostly-nintendo dept.
And the other companies are minorities? With the GTA games, Halo, Street Fighter, Sonic, EA sports games, Final Fantasy, more Megaman games than I can even count, etc.?
Between that and the actual article, it's just another example of people singling Nintendo out for something that everyone else does just as badly, if not worse.
At least Nintendo's franchises remain fun to play (with a scant few exceptions) in each iteration, which is more than I can say for a lot of games.
While that sounds nice, remember ChronoCross for PlayStation? It was certainly an okay game, but it was no where near as good as ChronoTrigger.
If you think of Chrono Cross as a sort of side story, rather than a direct sequel, I find that it's really a pretty good game. If you're expecting "Chrono Trigger 2", then you need to modify your expectations a bit.
I peronally think that they should leave CT alone and let it bask in the limelight as the greatest RPG ever made, rather than cheapen its legacy by pushing out shoddy sequals.
Considering what was left open regarding all the original characters besides Robo, i'd say there's plenty of room for one more game.
And meanwhile, the DS isn't exactly doing bad, and has a game lineup that has been improving as of late - I would think that Sony can't afford to wait much longer.
Yet another reason why I didn't buy one of those either :)
Bought a Gamecube when it was at $150, with a free game, and a used PS2 with a couple games for $130.
Planning on buying a Revolution so far, especially with (among other things) the far more sane price point that has been rumored.
The people I would love to hurt are the ones at Square-Enix. If I understand right, Final Fantasy is now 360-exclusive. So much for Final Fantasy. :\
Where in the world did you get that idea? FF XI is going to be ported, but that's pretty much it for the moment.
There's another "main" FF game coming out for the PS2, as well.
Meatspace retailers will sell the two core bundles and rest assured, normal people will be able to put a 360 and perfect dark 0 under the tree for $350.
Maybe i'm just a cheap bastard, but $350 for a system and one game is still about $100 too expensive.
I just read somewhere that the price is going to be dropped from $150 to $130.
It already has been. Gotta love how Nintendo stories around here seem to have a mysterious effect stopping people from doing any pre-post fact-checking.