I think you miss the point. This is more of a "news clearinghouse." When did Taco last write an article? Or Michael? Or Neal? This is not a news organization - it's a community bringing stories to each other because we all have interests, however broad they may be, that intersect.
Think of this as a high school debate class. One of the guys volleys a topic in the air and starts the debate...
Remember? There is a political track your sim can follow in the game. But, in all, that's a pretty lightweight idea of political simulation.
Speaking as someone who has run (winning) real-life political campaigns: no one who plays in the political arena would want to play a game predicated on getting a candidate elected. None of us would really want to design such a beast, either. Politics is a game already, and it isn't always the idea of "he with the most toys, wins," but it comes close. The tactics and the strategy it takes to run and win a campaign is not something I consider "leisure," and I doubt many people would disagree.
Last I saw,/. does not state that it is a news organization. This is a message board. Michael, Taco, Neal, etc. are merely introducing the topic of discussion. They have every right to insert their views into the postings. You have every right to disagree, but not to slam them for stating their views.
If you want "fair and balanced" reporting, I suggest going here.
Most of the stations, both AM and FM, in my market, Detroit, have weather and regular traffic reports.
Maybe if you live in the boondocks then FM stations may not do reports, but I suspect just about any large market onesthat have been around for a while do...
I don't know of any of the big electronics companies that are located in the US...
(looks around)
We've already established that Zenith is owned by LGE (Korea), Magnavox is owned by Phillips (Dutch), RCA is owned by Thompson (French).
Here's a shocker: Apex Digital is located in Ontario, California (I always thought they were Korean). I can't find any other American companies.
I do think you and I are on the same page because we're talking about driving game development and, therefore, sales, for American companies. Zipper is the example I wanted to use, because, even though it's on the PS2, it's a strong developer with some great experience (SOCOM, SOCOM II, and many of their coders worked on SIMNET, the combat simulation the military uses). The kicker here is that they developed everyone's fav new Xbox game: Crimson Skies.
Now, will CS drive people to buy an Xbox? I don't think so (I would like to play it, but it isn't enough for me to buy the console). But does CS, and the succes it will probably see on the Xbox, coupled with the success SOCOM II is having on the PS2, mean that we have an American developer growing stronger? Yes, I agree with you that it does. And that, definitely, helps the economy (or at least the local and state economies in Redmond and Washington, respectively).
But, really, I don't think buying a PS2 or a GCN hurts the American economy. Just buying Japanese games only might, possibly, dent it because only the developers working on a US localization may be the only US employees involved in the project.
Okay, I'm not here to flame you - I come from a union family and underatand completely where you're coming from with this.
But, I do have to speak up a bit: Not being an Xbox owner, can anyone say where the box is being made? I have to suspect it's somewhere in Asia, not the States.
For the sake of argument, I'm going to assume it is Asia util someone can come up with the answer: Sure, while a chunk of cash goes to Redmond, they still are losing money on the Xbox and still have to pay for the workers in Asia. Thus, is it really helping our economy for that segment of MS to be financially failing?
Arguably, supporting US developers and publishing houses (which MS is, yes, I agree) is a better way to make the claim that you are supporting the US economy, no matter the console manufacturer's country of origin. SOCOM, for example, was published by Sony Computer Entertainment America but was developed by Zipper Interactive, which is an American company (based, ironically enough in an Alanis sense, in Redmond). I would make the argument that this is a better use of our dollars going back into our economy than buying an Xbox over a PS2 or a GCN because MS is located in the States.
And, as a postscript to your final thought:
Zenith is not the paragon of "Made in America" that you might think it is. From zenith.com's "Corporate History" section: In November 1999, Zenith became a wholly owned subsidiary of LGE. LGE is, of course, one of the Korean companies that seems to make everything but the kitchen sink...
Understandable, but big. I remember when it came online (yes, Virginia, it was a big thing in the college student Internet community). I checked in on her from time to time and I actually knew an English graduate student who was studying JenniCam as a sort of dynamic autobiography (English students want to see the "textual" in a lot of things... books, poetry, video, toast... I know, I was one). The argument made sense, though, as JenniCam is (or, soon will be, was) an almost completely exposed private life unfolding in front of the viewers' eyes.
And, yes, I was one of the ones who thoguh she was cute. Still do, too.:D
As a collector of the (now ancient) Kenner Micro Collection toys, I'm intrigued to see what they look like...
The D&D Minatures don't look too bad from the pictures at Wizards. Hopefully the SW ones will be a little more detailed, but close to the scale of the old Micro Collection...
Hmmm... do I dare add another line to my already crowded SW collection. Too many decisions, I tell you, too many decisions!
You're a sad, sorry fellow, you realize that? I'm sure, if you really felt the pressing need to be right in this one little area of your life, that you could contact Taco & crew. I am always signed in... I'm sure they have logs for the ACs who are actually logged in.
Continue living in your fantasy world. There's no sense in trying to get you to act like a rational adult, obviously.
I'm playing Final Fantasy X (which I bought at Target for $15) as we speak. I was showing Jak & Daxter off to a friend earlier tonight.
Those are two examples of the solid games that the PS2 has in its library. Sure, the GTA games are on the Xbox now, but GTA 4 won't. The Xbox has a hard drive, but a lot of casual gamers could care less about that. And, the PS2 has games that support dial-up... which is big because of the fact that broadband is still not in a majority of connected households. And, in the end, it's a DVD player immediately - no need for a $30 remote.
I suspect that the PS3 will look a lot like today's Xbox... and may even be less powerful than the Xbox Next... but it will have a host of PS1 and PS2 games to call back to. That won't be an easy thing for MS or Nintendo to compete with.
My karma has been in "Excellent" for years now and a "Troll" or "Flamebait" here or there will do nothing to me... I have no need to ever go AC, nor do I want to. I believe in standing by what I say, even if I later am proven wrong.
You, however, seem to think you needed to go AC. Hmmmm...
Pikmin isn't innovative? Ignore the plushes (cross-marketing is nothing new or surprising... I for one, tend to buy plushes for my wife... the kodama from Princess Mononoke are overrunning one of our bookshelves... no Nintendo ones, yet, though) and focus on the game.
What, pray tell, does Pikimin draw so heavily from that it isn't innovative? I don't think I've ever seen a game so simple, yet so difficult, than that one. And, while they weren't developed in-house, Eternal Darkness and Metroid Prime are great examples of innovation. Maybe Metroid Prime is mostly an FPS, but it's an innovative mixture of an FPS and a platformer that just plain works. It is, quite possibly, the strongest game of the current generation.
As for my take on Amped: big deal. SSX is still more fun in my mind, as simulations are rarely something I find enthralling or innovative (The Sims is an exception, but even that lost my interest once my main sim got married and had a kid... I did enjoy Yoot Tower from a few years back, though). All IMHO, of course.
Oh, and maybe you might want to see who is making the plushes... I doubt Nintendo has a plush factory in Taiwan churning those out. So the question really is: Who is the licensee and how much of a cut does Nintendo actually get? Speaking as a Star Wars collector, I can tell you that it is Hasbro that makes the call on what Star Wars toys are made, not Lucasfilm. I suspect that, after granting a license, Nintendo has about as much say in those products as Lucasfilm does on the action figures.
You can't just look at the "market value," but you have to look at the performance of the company. Apple, in its niche, does outperform just about everyone else - save Dell. Of course, one could argue that Dell is overextending itself... but I'll wait for that to happen instead of saying it will..
Just as Apple isn't going away any time soon, Nintendo isn't, either.
If they're using a Mac, then.Mac is the best thing I can suggest. Publishing photos from iPhoto is a breeze, and Apple is even offering iBlog for free and $20 off of Macromedia Contribute right now to.Mac members (and Contribute is a great way to handle editing to people you may be less than excited about giving that type of access to). In all, a great package. Of course, $99/year for just web publishing is possibly cost-prohibitive, especially if your parents wouldn't be inclined to use the other features of the service.
Now, if they don't use a Mac... well, I'm out of suggestions at that point.;)
You're under a major misconception if you think the Bungie of old is that same as the MS Mungie. It ain't.
Losing Peter Tamte during the merger was a major shock to Bungie. Let's not forget that there were plenty of Bungie coders who didn't leave Chicago when the studio moved to Redmond, and there are still others who chose to quit. Another shock. There goes a lot of the insight and work that went into the series you mention above.
If you're trying to say that the two Bungies are the same, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree.
Well, it is on the Mac next month (last I saw, Halo won't run on an Apple), and that has net play. Xbox? No, didn't think so. And Halo 2? When is that coming out? Steve Jobs did say Hell froze over, so maybe it will come soon...
Did Bungie sell out? Yes. Peter Tamte left, remember? Numerous employees left after Bungie sold out. It's not like everyone went smiling off to Redmond.
In the end, Halo is rather boring. Yes, I've played it. No, I'm not impressed and no, I won't get it if I eventually buy an Xbox.
One game does not make a game studio. If Halo is the only thing, other than KOTOR, for the Xbox to trumpet, then I expect to see clearence Xboxes soon.
And, of course, Halo and KOTOR are no longer exclusive to the Xbox. So that means the $179 paperweight near your TV is good for what, exactly?
Even if it's just anecdotal, remember that Al Capone was jailed for tax evasion - and that was well before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Try this for a primer. And, trust me, there are other ways to tax than just income tax. I don't know about your state, but my income taxes don't go to schools; my property tax does. Just because the US hasn't had income tax for its entire history doesn't mean the govenrent wasn't collecting other forms. How do you think we paid for, let's say, defending ourselves in the War of 1812? What do you think Jefferson used for the Louisana Purchase? And do you think the Russians just gifted Alaska to us? All of that is due to tax dollars that were sitting in the government's coffers.
Remember, the main crux of our revolution was not that we were being taxed. The Founding Fathers did not disagree with taxation in, and of, itself. It was the lack of representation while being overly taxed (much more than British citizens) that angered them, not taxation.
Obviously, your schools are some of the ones in question. Again: think about what you are speaking of before saying something.
RTFA, dude. Dayton says it's a possible solution - he hasn't actually proposed it. ANYTHING, technically, is a possible solution.
Something I will say for taxes: it sure is nice to have a freeway system, isn't it? Street lights are a good thing, I would think. Garbage collection - that helps out a lot. I also happen to live in a great public school district (but that's a debatable use of taxes if you don't). Fire fighters (definitely like them). Sounds like a few solved problems right there...
So, before you shoot off your big mouth and start sounding like Reg in Life of Brian ("Other than education, roads, security and the aquaducts, what have the Romans ever done for us?"), perhaps you sould introduce an intelligent parent before asking for intelligent rebuttals.
Slashdot Mirror
Don't try to "shame" people into doing things because you don't like what they say. You have to learn how to work with them.
Hmmm... speaking as a moderator, I suggest easing up on the rhetoric.
Think of this as a high school debate class. One of the guys volleys a topic in the air and starts the debate...
This just isn't a news outlet.
Speaking as someone who has run (winning) real-life political campaigns: no one who plays in the political arena would want to play a game predicated on getting a candidate elected. None of us would really want to design such a beast, either. Politics is a game already, and it isn't always the idea of "he with the most toys, wins," but it comes close. The tactics and the strategy it takes to run and win a campaign is not something I consider "leisure," and I doubt many people would disagree.
Last I saw, /. does not state that it is a news organization. This is a message board. Michael, Taco, Neal, etc. are merely introducing the topic of discussion. They have every right to insert their views into the postings. You have every right to disagree, but not to slam them for stating their views.
If you want "fair and balanced" reporting, I suggest going here.
Maybe if you live in the boondocks then FM stations may not do reports, but I suspect just about any large market onesthat have been around for a while do...
Don't allow another person to dictate, either through orders or actions, how you choose to vote next year.
Your vote should reflect your thoughts, not because you got pissed off at another person on /., right?
(looks around)
We've already established that Zenith is owned by LGE (Korea), Magnavox is owned by Phillips (Dutch), RCA is owned by Thompson (French).
Here's a shocker: Apex Digital is located in Ontario, California (I always thought they were Korean). I can't find any other American companies.
I do think you and I are on the same page because we're talking about driving game development and, therefore, sales, for American companies. Zipper is the example I wanted to use, because, even though it's on the PS2, it's a strong developer with some great experience (SOCOM, SOCOM II, and many of their coders worked on SIMNET, the combat simulation the military uses). The kicker here is that they developed everyone's fav new Xbox game: Crimson Skies.
Now, will CS drive people to buy an Xbox? I don't think so (I would like to play it, but it isn't enough for me to buy the console). But does CS, and the succes it will probably see on the Xbox, coupled with the success SOCOM II is having on the PS2, mean that we have an American developer growing stronger? Yes, I agree with you that it does. And that, definitely, helps the economy (or at least the local and state economies in Redmond and Washington, respectively).
But, really, I don't think buying a PS2 or a GCN hurts the American economy. Just buying Japanese games only might, possibly, dent it because only the developers working on a US localization may be the only US employees involved in the project.
This is getting complicated. :)
But, I do have to speak up a bit: Not being an Xbox owner, can anyone say where the box is being made? I have to suspect it's somewhere in Asia, not the States.
For the sake of argument, I'm going to assume it is Asia util someone can come up with the answer: Sure, while a chunk of cash goes to Redmond, they still are losing money on the Xbox and still have to pay for the workers in Asia. Thus, is it really helping our economy for that segment of MS to be financially failing?
Arguably, supporting US developers and publishing houses (which MS is, yes, I agree) is a better way to make the claim that you are supporting the US economy, no matter the console manufacturer's country of origin. SOCOM, for example, was published by Sony Computer Entertainment America but was developed by Zipper Interactive, which is an American company (based, ironically enough in an Alanis sense, in Redmond). I would make the argument that this is a better use of our dollars going back into our economy than buying an Xbox over a PS2 or a GCN because MS is located in the States.
And, as a postscript to your final thought:
Zenith is not the paragon of "Made in America" that you might think it is. From zenith.com's "Corporate History" section: In November 1999, Zenith became a wholly owned subsidiary of LGE. LGE is, of course, one of the Korean companies that seems to make everything but the kitchen sink...
And, yes, I was one of the ones who thoguh she was cute. Still do, too. :D
Good-bye, Jenni.
The D&D Minatures don't look too bad from the pictures at Wizards. Hopefully the SW ones will be a little more detailed, but close to the scale of the old Micro Collection...
Hmmm... do I dare add another line to my already crowded SW collection. Too many decisions, I tell you, too many decisions!
Continue living in your fantasy world. There's no sense in trying to get you to act like a rational adult, obviously.
Those are two examples of the solid games that the PS2 has in its library. Sure, the GTA games are on the Xbox now, but GTA 4 won't. The Xbox has a hard drive, but a lot of casual gamers could care less about that. And, the PS2 has games that support dial-up... which is big because of the fact that broadband is still not in a majority of connected households. And, in the end, it's a DVD player immediately - no need for a $30 remote.
I suspect that the PS3 will look a lot like today's Xbox... and may even be less powerful than the Xbox Next... but it will have a host of PS1 and PS2 games to call back to. That won't be an easy thing for MS or Nintendo to compete with.
My karma has been in "Excellent" for years now and a "Troll" or "Flamebait" here or there will do nothing to me... I have no need to ever go AC, nor do I want to. I believe in standing by what I say, even if I later am proven wrong.
You, however, seem to think you needed to go AC. Hmmmm...
What, pray tell, does Pikimin draw so heavily from that it isn't innovative? I don't think I've ever seen a game so simple, yet so difficult, than that one. And, while they weren't developed in-house, Eternal Darkness and Metroid Prime are great examples of innovation. Maybe Metroid Prime is mostly an FPS, but it's an innovative mixture of an FPS and a platformer that just plain works. It is, quite possibly, the strongest game of the current generation.
As for my take on Amped: big deal. SSX is still more fun in my mind, as simulations are rarely something I find enthralling or innovative (The Sims is an exception, but even that lost my interest once my main sim got married and had a kid... I did enjoy Yoot Tower from a few years back, though). All IMHO, of course.
Oh, and maybe you might want to see who is making the plushes... I doubt Nintendo has a plush factory in Taiwan churning those out. So the question really is: Who is the licensee and how much of a cut does Nintendo actually get? Speaking as a Star Wars collector, I can tell you that it is Hasbro that makes the call on what Star Wars toys are made, not Lucasfilm. I suspect that, after granting a license, Nintendo has about as much say in those products as Lucasfilm does on the action figures.
I'm also assuming you aren't a GCN owner, since you've no idea what a spectacular and innovative game Pikmin is, for one.
I would say that you should stop posting on /. and return to your Xbox, but then I would be as insulting as you are...
Just as Apple isn't going away any time soon, Nintendo isn't, either.
Now, if they don't use a Mac... well, I'm out of suggestions at that point. ;)
Silly me. And here I thought I would play DVDs on my DVD player... and not pay MS $30 extra when they could have thrown it in to begin with.
Losing Peter Tamte during the merger was a major shock to Bungie. Let's not forget that there were plenty of Bungie coders who didn't leave Chicago when the studio moved to Redmond, and there are still others who chose to quit. Another shock. There goes a lot of the insight and work that went into the series you mention above.
If you're trying to say that the two Bungies are the same, I'm going to have to respectfully disagree.
You have Halo 2 and Fable?
Right. Online games. Right.
So, I again repeat: without halo and KOTOR exclusives, what draws someone to an Xbox?
Did Bungie sell out? Yes. Peter Tamte left, remember? Numerous employees left after Bungie sold out. It's not like everyone went smiling off to Redmond.
In the end, Halo is rather boring. Yes, I've played it. No, I'm not impressed and no, I won't get it if I eventually buy an Xbox.
One game does not make a game studio. If Halo is the only thing, other than KOTOR, for the Xbox to trumpet, then I expect to see clearence Xboxes soon.
And, of course, Halo and KOTOR are no longer exclusive to the Xbox. So that means the $179 paperweight near your TV is good for what, exactly?
Even if it's just anecdotal, remember that Al Capone was jailed for tax evasion - and that was well before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Try this for a primer. And, trust me, there are other ways to tax than just income tax. I don't know about your state, but my income taxes don't go to schools; my property tax does. Just because the US hasn't had income tax for its entire history doesn't mean the govenrent wasn't collecting other forms. How do you think we paid for, let's say, defending ourselves in the War of 1812? What do you think Jefferson used for the Louisana Purchase? And do you think the Russians just gifted Alaska to us? All of that is due to tax dollars that were sitting in the government's coffers.
Remember, the main crux of our revolution was not that we were being taxed. The Founding Fathers did not disagree with taxation in, and of, itself. It was the lack of representation while being overly taxed (much more than British citizens) that angered them, not taxation.
Obviously, your schools are some of the ones in question. Again: think about what you are speaking of before saying something.
Something I will say for taxes: it sure is nice to have a freeway system, isn't it? Street lights are a good thing, I would think. Garbage collection - that helps out a lot. I also happen to live in a great public school district (but that's a debatable use of taxes if you don't). Fire fighters (definitely like them). Sounds like a few solved problems right there...
So, before you shoot off your big mouth and start sounding like Reg in Life of Brian ("Other than education, roads, security and the aquaducts, what have the Romans ever done for us?"), perhaps you sould introduce an intelligent parent before asking for intelligent rebuttals.