So you've taught them... what exactly? To be monitored by the government (GPS tracks all users) and how to... what... use a digital camera? A skill any child learns with their first camera phone.
Pass. Children have only a set number of years for fun. Let them have it, rather than teaching them useless "skills".
But you just based your entire argument on the older Xbox and PS2. You compare them to this generation, regardless of the fact that the Xbox 360 just came out (barely any have it, so not a lot of informed opinions have been formed). There's next to no details on the PS3 (the picture shown at the E3 was just a plastic case with no ventilation holes.
If you're going to compare the past with the future, you should do it with all systems. Past experiences dictate that Nintendo has good ideas that they don't flesh out. Past experiences also dictate that they have TERRIBLE relationships with most 3rd parties and that the vast majority of quality games for their systems come from Nintendo itself.
Real gamers buy all 3. I see a stellar online system in Xbox 360, some mindblowing visuals with PS3 (which lead to some truly unique games last generation, including Ico), and an innovative controller in the Revolution. $1000 (the total estimated price for all 3) is cheap. Most gamers have that kind of money, as it's equivalent to 20 games (I easily buy that many in a few months). If you don't buy all 3 you're doing yourself a disservice.
"I have all of the dap episodes, and none of them are even close to DVD quality. They're compressed recordings from videotapes, for chrissakes. There may be a couple of exceptions to that fact, but not many."
Actually, the DVD DAP episodes are the direct MPEG stream pulled right off a DirecTV Tivo. It's about the clearest picture you're going to get short of, like you said, buying the episodes (and I too buy them when they come out).
As for the older episodes, what exactly do you expect? I doubt anyone has a digital copy of the KTMA days.
"I don't want to sound like too much of a fanboy, but what can these consoles really give me that my PC can't? I'd rather have a console thats sole focus isn't trying to outpace my PC in terms of graphics... but to push the limits with new controllers, unique games and not costing me my 1st born child or my left arm to acquire."
This "pushing the limits" thing is just an assumption. People said the same thing about the DS: that the stylus and 2 screens would "push the limits" of gaming. Very few games have actually pushed anything (off the top of my head I can think of Kirby's Canvas curse, that surgery game and that lawyer game where you get to yell "objection" into the microphone). Every other game has treated that second screen and stylus like it's a tacked-on feature, and the best games (Mario Kart DS, Castlevania, etc.) barely use the stylus at all, and pretty much stick a map on the second screen.
There have been a million Nintendo "innovations":
Rob the Robot The Power Pad (that DDR-style pad for the NES) The SNES Mouse Super Scope 6 Virtual Boy e-Reader cards GBA connection to GameCube
The list goes on and on. Each device/gimmick only supported a handful of games, and each time it just looked like Nintendo was trying to cash in. (Create hardware on the cheap, create software, bundle the two together and sell at a premium). Revolution looks basically like the same thing.
"Real gamers" buy all 3, regardless. I intend to buy all 3.
"Anyway, there are reports that only one core is availble to intitial game developers, and one of the cores is strictly for M$ bullshit content protection TC such as the hypervisor, etc."
Wow. We get to make up rumors now?
That's totally bunk. The rumor was most early games are only single-threaded. That I'd buy -- when you get the dev kits only 9-12 months before launch and there isn't much time for optimization, you go for broke on code for the GPU, not buying extra cycles through threads.
Besides the fact, the Hypervisor pretty much NEEDS to use all 3 cores. Anytime you do that kind of virtualization you need all the hardware humming at full speed.
Besides, the Hypervisor really isn't a "content protection" scheme. The real content protection is in the hardware keys when you first load software. Now MS just has to make sure they didn't leave any pins open on the board for testing like they did last time.
That brings up a good question. It's old hardware, but you'd be willing to pay $83 for it.
If Nintendo re-released the new NES (the one that doesn't break) would you pay $100 for it? Even if your cell phone has better tech in it, at this point? I might.
www.dapcentral.org All of the episodes that haven't been released by Rhino. Best Brains (the company that made the show) encourages "tape trading" so they don't mind the service (as long as no one makes a quick buck off it).
I currently have about 40-50 downloaded episodes, some near-DVD quality. Great resource.
I actually briefly interned for the law firm that Hasbro uses. One guy had his office filled with toys (Mr. Potato Head and the like). In one corner was a framed check (lawyers often keep fake ones for memorabilia) of a $100,000 victory over some company.
Anyway, this was back in the day when the internet was still taking off. I was working on this guy's computer and, seeing I knew about them, he asked me "Are there any games online that are similar to what Hasbro makes?" Without thinking, I mentioned Download.com and all its shareware.
A couple of days later, I see him walking by with a huge stack of printouts -- screenshots of webpages. They were every little piece of shareware he could find that bared the faintest resemblance to a Hasbro title. He mentioned, "That was a great site you told me about." and walked off. A couple of months later I saw a number of those games disappear forever.
To this day, I'm kicking myself over telling him about it. Moral of the story: unless they're defending you, don't ever talk to a lawyer, even in passing.
Considering most people turn off their computers every night, this feature wasn't really needed. If you ask the average Mom/teenager/grandparent, they turn off their machine every night. When asked why, they say "Why not?" The concept of having a machine running for months on end doesn't appeal to them at all.
Microsoft took their time with this because they could. Whereas, with Windows XP going forward, they've emphasized startup times -- because that's what Joe User looks at.
Um, ACTUALLY, I've played every Mario Kart that has every existed, because I own all available Nintendo systems.
By far the best was the SNES version because it pretty much revolutionized what you could do with Mode 7. The Gameboy Advance one was fun as well. The N64 and Gamecube ones were pretty lacking.
-Drafting (which you speed up when directly behind your opponent, passing them by.)
The power slide (which wasn't even really intended to be in the original game) far supercedes this).
-Sixteen brand new tracks. How one can say that Waluigi Pinball, Tick Tock Clock, or Airfortress are 'similiar' to the SNES (or other mario kart) tracks must be smoking something.
All the games have new tracks. New tracks a better game.
-New twists to battlemode where you blow up your balloons and can steal other people's balloons with speed boost mushrooms.
I'd still prefer the coin-based system.
-Bots so you can play battlemode or vs mode in single player.
I don't know if you've noticed, but the bots aren't terribly intelligent. A few time I've knocked them into a corner on the pipe level and they've never come out.
-16 Retro tracks so if you are like me and missed the later incarnations of Mario Kart, those tracks will seem new to you.
Which goes to show that you're basing your comments only on the newer (inferior) games.
-More than eight racers to choose from where you can mix and match from many many various karts (once you unlock them).
Actually, it's over a dozen in the DS version.
-Of course, the Wi-fi mode. Mario Kart DS plays very well online.
That's debatable. I'm seeing a ton of warping. The best online Mario Kart experience so far has been on GameCube.
-The only reason why one would prefer the SNES version is that you were a GOD playing that game but now, with the game becoming a more complicated racer, you have to re-train yourself. And then you go online and find out that you AREN'T the best racer ever. Alas, childhood.
Actually, I was never a god at that or any other game (well, maybe Unreal Tournament). The reason I say the SNES version was the best was because it was. It completely broke all boundaries of what a racer could be, had killer graphics (for the time) and was perfectly balances. None of the Mario Kart games have matched this, including the DS version.
Last I checked, that many sports games doesn't really pander to the hardcore market at all...
Re:"Several posts" on a few boards = "very" unstab
on
Xbox 360 Very Unstable
·
· Score: 1
It's likely bad game programming, as all the games essentially dump the OS when loading.
Same thing happened with GTA: Vice City (among others). Rockstar didn't do the sound code right, so all the pedestrians would stop talking after a few minutes of playing. Everyone blamed MS. It had nothing to do with MS -- it was Rockstar's crappy code.
Given that Nintendo's remakes have cost anywhere from $20-40 (look up SMB3 for GBA), I'd venture it'll be a decent cost. Think $10 a game. That adds up if I want to match all the games already in my emulation collection (many of which I owned carts for at one point).
1. No HD-DVD or Blu-Ray - I agree this is a flaw, but not an earth-shattering one. The number of HD-DVD/Blu-Ray titles are initially going to be extremely slim, due to the fact that HDTV (*still*) hasn't made much penetration in the marketplace. Maybe in 2-3 years it'll be another story -- but MS has already said they'd release a new HD DVD version of the console if there was demand.
2. Future Version Product Confusion/Backlash - I don't see the problem here. This happens with every generation. Backward compatibility has always been a sore spot, and even the PS2 didn't fully support EVERY PS1 game out there.
3. Debut game lineup-What lineup? - See, now, here's where you and I differ. I see a console built for 21-34 somethings with an 18-game launch. Those 18 games more or less cater to that demographic: shooters, sports and racing. The only thing really missing from the launch is platformers, and that usually only covered well by Nintendo's launches. Kameo looks to be a good game for the kids, and that's all I really need to justify the purchase for the family: one good game for them.
4.All they are competing with is heresay and conjecture - This happens with EVERY launch with EVERY console. It's a part of the entertainment industry. From the beginning of the first medieval jester's appearance, likely announced with "this'll be the funniest thing you see ever", there's been hype. That "bubble of undecided" always exists, and it's always negated by market whims.
In short, don't read too much into this. If you're a gamer you'll get all 3 regardless. I'm a gamer: I'm getting all 3.
How often do fans question your results? Have you had any diehard science/physics freaks tell you you're wrong? Have the "redone mythbustings" occured because of these?
Great fan of the show, by the way.:) Keep up the good work.
I bought the game when it came out and I've got to say I haven't been too impressed. Before a phalanx of fanboys swoops down, let me say I spent countless hours playing the original on SNES. While the throwback tracks are welcome (using the same textures was a nice touch) there's nothing really new here.
Like most Nintendo games, it takes an established franchise and runs with it. Unlike most Nintendo games, it has added nothing really to the franchise. Online play? I could do that earlier. That leaves octopusses squirting ink on one screen for "originality".
Also, what was up with ditching WAP functionality? Why do I need to unsecure my access point to play? (And don't tell me to buy a Nintendo adapter -- I already have an access point).
So while it's a good game, it's not a great game. I'm heading back to Advance Wars DS.
Slashdot Mirror
So you've taught them... what exactly? To be monitored by the government (GPS tracks all users) and how to... what... use a digital camera? A skill any child learns with their first camera phone.
Pass. Children have only a set number of years for fun. Let them have it, rather than teaching them useless "skills".
But you just based your entire argument on the older Xbox and PS2. You compare them to this generation, regardless of the fact that the Xbox 360 just came out (barely any have it, so not a lot of informed opinions have been formed). There's next to no details on the PS3 (the picture shown at the E3 was just a plastic case with no ventilation holes.
If you're going to compare the past with the future, you should do it with all systems. Past experiences dictate that Nintendo has good ideas that they don't flesh out. Past experiences also dictate that they have TERRIBLE relationships with most 3rd parties and that the vast majority of quality games for their systems come from Nintendo itself.
Real gamers buy all 3. I see a stellar online system in Xbox 360, some mindblowing visuals with PS3 (which lead to some truly unique games last generation, including Ico), and an innovative controller in the Revolution. $1000 (the total estimated price for all 3) is cheap. Most gamers have that kind of money, as it's equivalent to 20 games (I easily buy that many in a few months). If you don't buy all 3 you're doing yourself a disservice.
"I have all of the dap episodes, and none of them are even close to DVD quality. They're compressed recordings from videotapes, for chrissakes. There may be a couple of exceptions to that fact, but not many."
Actually, the DVD DAP episodes are the direct MPEG stream pulled right off a DirecTV Tivo. It's about the clearest picture you're going to get short of, like you said, buying the episodes (and I too buy them when they come out).
As for the older episodes, what exactly do you expect? I doubt anyone has a digital copy of the KTMA days.
Real gamers buy all 3. $300 for a console is not exactly "expensive".
Nintendo has done this a million times and they've failed to create much of anything "revolutionary". See http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=17097 8&cid=14246520
"I don't want to sound like too much of a fanboy, but what can these consoles really give me that my PC can't? I'd rather have a console thats sole focus isn't trying to outpace my PC in terms of graphics... but to push the limits with new controllers, unique games and not costing me my 1st born child or my left arm to acquire."
This "pushing the limits" thing is just an assumption. People said the same thing about the DS: that the stylus and 2 screens would "push the limits" of gaming. Very few games have actually pushed anything (off the top of my head I can think of Kirby's Canvas curse, that surgery game and that lawyer game where you get to yell "objection" into the microphone). Every other game has treated that second screen and stylus like it's a tacked-on feature, and the best games (Mario Kart DS, Castlevania, etc.) barely use the stylus at all, and pretty much stick a map on the second screen.
There have been a million Nintendo "innovations":
Rob the Robot
The Power Pad (that DDR-style pad for the NES)
The SNES Mouse
Super Scope 6
Virtual Boy
e-Reader cards
GBA connection to GameCube
The list goes on and on. Each device/gimmick only supported a handful of games, and each time it just looked like Nintendo was trying to cash in. (Create hardware on the cheap, create software, bundle the two together and sell at a premium). Revolution looks basically like the same thing.
"Real gamers" buy all 3, regardless. I intend to buy all 3.
"Anyway, there are reports that only one core is availble to intitial game developers, and one of the cores is strictly for M$ bullshit content protection TC such as the hypervisor, etc."
Wow. We get to make up rumors now?
That's totally bunk. The rumor was most early games are only single-threaded. That I'd buy -- when you get the dev kits only 9-12 months before launch and there isn't much time for optimization, you go for broke on code for the GPU, not buying extra cycles through threads.
Besides the fact, the Hypervisor pretty much NEEDS to use all 3 cores. Anytime you do that kind of virtualization you need all the hardware humming at full speed.
Besides, the Hypervisor really isn't a "content protection" scheme. The real content protection is in the hardware keys when you first load software. Now MS just has to make sure they didn't leave any pins open on the board for testing like they did last time.
That brings up a good question. It's old hardware, but you'd be willing to pay $83 for it.
If Nintendo re-released the new NES (the one that doesn't break) would you pay $100 for it? Even if your cell phone has better tech in it, at this point? I might.
How on earth did you get an +1 Insightful moderation for that one?
"Microsoft makes operating systems. They run software." Quick, someone throw me a +1 Informative.
www.dapcentral.org All of the episodes that haven't been released by Rhino. Best Brains (the company that made the show) encourages "tape trading" so they don't mind the service (as long as no one makes a quick buck off it).
I currently have about 40-50 downloaded episodes, some near-DVD quality. Great resource.
I actually briefly interned for the law firm that Hasbro uses. One guy had his office filled with toys (Mr. Potato Head and the like). In one corner was a framed check (lawyers often keep fake ones for memorabilia) of a $100,000 victory over some company.
Anyway, this was back in the day when the internet was still taking off. I was working on this guy's computer and, seeing I knew about them, he asked me "Are there any games online that are similar to what Hasbro makes?" Without thinking, I mentioned Download.com and all its shareware.
A couple of days later, I see him walking by with a huge stack of printouts -- screenshots of webpages. They were every little piece of shareware he could find that bared the faintest resemblance to a Hasbro title. He mentioned, "That was a great site you told me about." and walked off. A couple of months later I saw a number of those games disappear forever.
To this day, I'm kicking myself over telling him about it. Moral of the story: unless they're defending you, don't ever talk to a lawyer, even in passing.
Considering most people turn off their computers every night, this feature wasn't really needed. If you ask the average Mom/teenager/grandparent, they turn off their machine every night. When asked why, they say "Why not?" The concept of having a machine running for months on end doesn't appeal to them at all.
Microsoft took their time with this because they could. Whereas, with Windows XP going forward, they've emphasized startup times -- because that's what Joe User looks at.
Um, ACTUALLY, I've played every Mario Kart that has every existed, because I own all available Nintendo systems.
By far the best was the SNES version because it pretty much revolutionized what you could do with Mode 7. The Gameboy Advance one was fun as well. The N64 and Gamecube ones were pretty lacking.
-Drafting (which you speed up when directly behind your opponent, passing them by.)
The power slide (which wasn't even really intended to be in the original game) far supercedes this).
-Sixteen brand new tracks. How one can say that Waluigi Pinball, Tick Tock Clock, or Airfortress are 'similiar' to the SNES (or other mario kart) tracks must be smoking something.
All the games have new tracks. New tracks a better game.
-New twists to battlemode where you blow up your balloons and can steal other people's balloons with speed boost mushrooms.
I'd still prefer the coin-based system.
-Bots so you can play battlemode or vs mode in single player.
I don't know if you've noticed, but the bots aren't terribly intelligent. A few time I've knocked them into a corner on the pipe level and they've never come out.
-16 Retro tracks so if you are like me and missed the later incarnations of Mario Kart, those tracks will seem new to you.
Which goes to show that you're basing your comments only on the newer (inferior) games.
-More than eight racers to choose from where you can mix and match from many many various karts (once you unlock them).
Actually, it's over a dozen in the DS version.
-Of course, the Wi-fi mode. Mario Kart DS plays very well online.
That's debatable. I'm seeing a ton of warping. The best online Mario Kart experience so far has been on GameCube.
-The only reason why one would prefer the SNES version is that you were a GOD playing that game but now, with the game becoming a more complicated racer, you have to re-train yourself. And then you go online and find out that you AREN'T the best racer ever. Alas, childhood.
Actually, I was never a god at that or any other game (well, maybe Unreal Tournament). The reason I say the SNES version was the best was because it was. It completely broke all boundaries of what a racer could be, had killer graphics (for the time) and was perfectly balances. None of the Mario Kart games have matched this, including the DS version.
Last I checked, that many sports games doesn't really pander to the hardcore market at all...
It's likely bad game programming, as all the games essentially dump the OS when loading.
Same thing happened with GTA: Vice City (among others). Rockstar didn't do the sound code right, so all the pedestrians would stop talking after a few minutes of playing. Everyone blamed MS. It had nothing to do with MS -- it was Rockstar's crappy code.
If it's a software issue, it's patchable. Has always been for Xbox.
If it's something more severe, like a busted drive or mispressed DVDs, they have a problem.
Also, for the record: MS has not had the same problems with Xbox software as Windows software. The stuff rarely ever crashed outside a dirty disc.
Given that Nintendo's remakes have cost anywhere from $20-40 (look up SMB3 for GBA), I'd venture it'll be a decent cost. Think $10 a game. That adds up if I want to match all the games already in my emulation collection (many of which I owned carts for at one point).
1. No HD-DVD or Blu-Ray - I agree this is a flaw, but not an earth-shattering one. The number of HD-DVD/Blu-Ray titles are initially going to be extremely slim, due to the fact that HDTV (*still*) hasn't made much penetration in the marketplace. Maybe in 2-3 years it'll be another story -- but MS has already said they'd release a new HD DVD version of the console if there was demand.
2. Future Version Product Confusion/Backlash - I don't see the problem here. This happens with every generation. Backward compatibility has always been a sore spot, and even the PS2 didn't fully support EVERY PS1 game out there.
3. Debut game lineup-What lineup? - See, now, here's where you and I differ. I see a console built for 21-34 somethings with an 18-game launch. Those 18 games more or less cater to that demographic: shooters, sports and racing. The only thing really missing from the launch is platformers, and that usually only covered well by Nintendo's launches. Kameo looks to be a good game for the kids, and that's all I really need to justify the purchase for the family: one good game for them.
4.All they are competing with is heresay and conjecture - This happens with EVERY launch with EVERY console. It's a part of the entertainment industry. From the beginning of the first medieval jester's appearance, likely announced with "this'll be the funniest thing you see ever", there's been hype. That "bubble of undecided" always exists, and it's always negated by market whims.
In short, don't read too much into this. If you're a gamer you'll get all 3 regardless. I'm a gamer: I'm getting all 3.
How often do fans question your results? Have you had any diehard science/physics freaks tell you you're wrong? Have the "redone mythbustings" occured because of these?
:) Keep up the good work.
Great fan of the show, by the way.
WPA I mean. You know, the secure version. Not WEP -- the horrifically unsecure one.
And $20 is too much to pay if you already have a wi-fi infrastructure around your house. I already have 2 range extenders. Why do I need to buy a 3rd?
That was my comment. I forgot I hadn't logged in.
WEP isn't secure. At all.
I bought the game when it came out and I've got to say I haven't been too impressed. Before a phalanx of fanboys swoops down, let me say I spent countless hours playing the original on SNES. While the throwback tracks are welcome (using the same textures was a nice touch) there's nothing really new here.
Like most Nintendo games, it takes an established franchise and runs with it. Unlike most Nintendo games, it has added nothing really to the franchise. Online play? I could do that earlier. That leaves octopusses squirting ink on one screen for "originality".
Also, what was up with ditching WAP functionality? Why do I need to unsecure my access point to play? (And don't tell me to buy a Nintendo adapter -- I already have an access point).
So while it's a good game, it's not a great game. I'm heading back to Advance Wars DS.
Core gamers buy all 3. And every retro console/game they can get their hands on. If you have the LEAST bit favoritism, you're not a core gamer.
Given the alternative, the brick is the best solution. Get the heat and size away from the rest of the machine.