Who'd ensure you'd get a decent download speed? Quality files? Good user software? Not dissing your comment, just curious as to who is going to provide all the support for this stuff, because somebody will have to. We've already seen what a "free" service can do... Napster was my high watermark and it's gone downhill since. Somebody, whether distributing physical media or files is going to have to assume the role of "the bigs", if not the current bigs.
Didn't you know, the cause of all the world's problems fall on the US. It's the "it couldn't possibly be our fault" syndrome worldwide. And silly me thought it was just videogames.
ANd there you go. Supply and demand. The supply for music is now infinite and easily obtainable and like every other good or service that's plentiful and easy to get, costs far less. One of these days the record industry will recognize basic economics and find other ways to make their money.. Like India. It's no longer off physical media, but the service they provide (ie; cheap, reliable downloads).
I think it's a mixture of short sightedness and greed, honestly. They are making too much money charging $15US for a disk, even though you may like only one or two songs on it. They can't see that they can no longer control what they publish since it's no longer easily confined to a physical medium. I personally think they're still grasping for control when it has already left them in the dust. Too much damage control/scortched earth policy and not enough proactive innovation. And all this idiotic thinking will eventially catch up to them since the net is only growing more apart of everybodies life everyday... Alas...
Once the Labels get over themselves and realize they simply can't control the digital transmission of music, this is the model that will come into use (hopefully). I mean, really, your music is worthless now. It can be obtained anywhere. And what happens to products that can be obtained anywhere? They fall in price. Except in the recording industry. I figure if you make the service you provide better and easier than piracy, you'll have a lot of people more than willing to do the right thing. Yeah, I can get the latest hit off Bearshare or AG, but there are no assurances as to the quality or the service. How many of you out there normally click on 5-10 sources per download and once you have it, find out it's nothing but the same 30sec. looped over and over? I'd pay money for a fair, reliable, fast and easy to use download service service. Maybe charge an "import tax" if your service doesn't have the song you (effectively "importing" it from your competition). Fact is no free service or even advertisement supported will be able to offer the service you'll get by paying for it. BTW; I don't consider any service that, once quit, removes your access to music you've already downloaded fair. That's pretty damn shitty.
One of these days, i hope the record industry will stop labelling all their customers pirates and get a clue about where music is going. It seems everybody realizes it but them. Am I a pirate? Arrgh! You betcha. But I also bought 3 CDs last week, two of which I already have in MP3 format. And of course that huge dip in sales last year didn't have anything to do with the resession the entire economy faced last year, right? Yar! it be all us pirates! Dumbasses.
In this mad dash for pulling hydrogen from the Earth, we seem to be forgetting one very annoying group of people. "Treehuggers". This is a catch-all term applying to anybody who puts animals/trees/geology over their fellow man.
The point? What makes you think that the same tree-huggers that oppose nuclear energy or the safe(r) drilling of Alaskan oil deposits are going to sit idlely by as somebody turns a large strip of land into a giant quarry in their quest for hydrogen? of course, that's assuming there isn't any other way to take it out...
But the real point I'd like to make about our oil dependancy- Regardless of the cost to convert to a new form of energy, we will either pay it now, or pay later. And the price for later is always higher. It's my opinion that one of these days all of our dependancy on Middle Eastern oil will blow up in our faces so badly, it's going to be like another 9-11 wakeup call. The region is far too unstable and anybody who surrenders the stratgic control of their resources severly jepordizes their own security and destiny as a nation. One of these days something very bad will happen, forcing somebody or multiple somebodies to get a clue and develope an alternate energy dependancy so those fools don't have so much influence.
Sorry, it's late, but the above captures my concerns. If tree-huggers cry about nuclear power and lobby against it, how about tearing up huge chunks of land. On the same token, if we don't change, we'll regret it soon enough in a stratigic sense.
My informants tell me you've been harboring spies.
on
e-Denounce
·
· Score: 1
It's probably already been brought up, but this would be so easy to abuse it's pathetic. "I DON'T LIKE THE SCORE SLASHDOT GAVE MY LAST COMMENT!!!" *hits the F-Key numerous times* Oooh, yeah, can see this really working out 9_9
Maybe it's just me, but this is the first time I've heard of FAST. Besides providing "legal assistance", what weight do they have behind them? It's gonna be like crank-calling 911 without any consequences. Do they have the super-human ability to call in a Gestapo-esque strike on your business or home? "Hmmm... Slashdot has recieved 12,000 "alerts"... We'll have to...?" But Officer, I swear Slashdot is pirating software! What a freaking mess...
"Opinions are like armpits; Everybody has two and they stink."
Um, if I'm reading that argument correctly (there's a lot there and it winds across all sorts of metaphorical topics, no offense), your taking Sony's side because it does not accurately reflect the owners property.
I agree with your example. The Church would have a right to complain.... BUT. The property in question is basically an advertisement medium whose message can and will change from month to month. (I'm sure somebody got a score of 5 early in the thread for that point). Does that mean I can sue now just because the advertisments, even if faithfully portrayed at the time, no longer reflects the state in which I'm paying for them years down the road? Yeah, it's accuarate then, but 6 months later I'm advertising "Boogers Candy" on that board. According to that argument and Sony's, I now have a legitiment lawsuit even after the fact.
And why don't we take it one step further... We can no longer "destroy" that piece of property when the script calls for the demolision of a city block because Sony doesn't want there sign portrayed in a less than pristine condition. Yeah, right.
I would agree, if the image on the property were to remain static, representing a specific business or entitiy. But facts are it doesn't. The most they would be able to grab for is ensuring the billboard is accurately represented as far as who owns the property. Add this to the fact that it's a work of fiction anyway and I'm concluding somebody with a tie is too anal for their own good.
"Opinions are like armpits. Everybody has two and they stink."
Y'know, there are some things that should be regulated while your still under your parents roof. I know, it pains me to say it, but it's true. And through all this Ever-crack/Heroin-ware BS, I have to ask myself "Where are the parents?!" You simply can't expect a kid to know what's good for them. I sure as hell didn't (Heh, I may be the exception). But how you could just blindly ignore that aspect of your child's developement is beyond me. I would think somewhere parents would be noticing a problem developing and intervene. "Hey, little Jimmy's seems to withdrawing from the world, spending a lot of time playing Q3/Everquest. You think there might be a problem?"
It's not a problem with our games. It's a problem with our families. Especially if they're at work a good chunk of the time. Yeah, they're making a living for the family while Jimmy's brain is dissolving on "acid-ware" or any of the innumerable activities a kid can get in trouble at. Just one example. I'm not Dr. Spock here, but kids need supervision and some form of regulation in their activities... ~sigh~
All good points and I certainly didn't mean them as absolutes. What I intend to illustrate was the fact that MS is serious about what it's doing and will make the project succeed. The degree of that success, however, is a huge unknown admittedly. It could range anywhere from playing second fiddle to Sony and Nintendo, all the way to total living room domination (doubt that). The point I was trying to make was I just don't think it will be the Atari jaguar or 3do that people seem to think it will be. Finally, Money by no means guarantees success, but it will improve your odds if you know how to use it.
Even I have to admit the "running better on the X-Box" is debatable... Ports are only what you put into em. Everything says they should run better, but it's been screwed up more than once on every concole in existance.
I'll agree every mechwarrior through 3 has sucked, but I have to draw the line at 4. MW4 is acually fun to play. And lo and behold, it didn't get good until Microsoft bough the licence... Hmmm...
Even this XBox gamer knows that Japan is where 90% of the good console games come from. Gaming isn't a sub-culture there; It's a lifestyle. It's been the capital of gaming for 20-odd years. To say they aren't important would be an understatment of the highest order.
The sad fact is that until it becomes an accepted culture here in the US, any help we can get in the Japanese arena would be highly benefical. Ignoring japan as a market and source for games would be suicide since the US doesn't have a devoted following like they do. If we did, then we could say "screw japan". It still wouldn't be a good idea, but native consoles could at least survive.
I'll agree that the PS2 has a big edge on them, simply because of their massively library. I almost bought one for the same reason. They have tons of good games and decent hardware. Even this X-Box owner will admit that.
But everything about consoles, no matter who makes them, is non-standard. It's VHS vs. Betamax all day long when it comes to competing platforms. So much so it's not an issue. It's not even about quality. And what's this about "the Xbox team wanted to deliver a machine for the most enthusiastic gamers who don't really care how much they have to pay"... Oh, you mean like the Nintendo which is similarly priced? Or the PS2 when it first came out? Again, these aren't issues. Did I mention wads of cash MS has that can buy quality games/3rd parties?
Fail? No. Even if you disagree with all of the above, you can't disagree with the fact that MS wants your living room and will stop at nothing to have a piece of it. They didn't jump blindly into the market, ignoring gamer statistics or what sells and doesn't. They know they won't be profiting off the box until a later date. If you think they didn't do the research, then you're a fool. They know exactly what they are getting into. MS didn't become a multi-billion dollar company for being careless or ignoring the facts. Plainly put, the Xbox is MS's foot in the door and it will do anything to keep it there. If they can't make it better, they'll hire the expertise that will so people will buy it. Money does a lot of things like that.
Ok, it's getting so I can't stand this anymore. I can only hear people whining about their phobea of Microsoft dominating the console market AND how the XBox sucks in the same sentance for so long.
For said domination to occur, your competition either needs to be non-existant, disorganized, doesn't have capital, fields an inferior product, or you're plain smarter. Microsoft was more than just lucky taking the PC market because at least one or more of these came into play.
So which one of these are you willing to admit to for the console industry? Sony and Nintendo exist as established competition, they are organized, have capital, field good products and have experience in the market. Which one of these are you saying MS is so much better at?
None of them!? That can't be...! You must be paranoid for some reason! I realize this is flame bate, espicailly here on Slashdot, but come on, it's getting pathetic. Either admit one of these or quit whining about MS and console domination. Fact is that Sony and Nintendo would love to do the exact same thing, and complete domination by any one party isn't a good thing, regardless of how much you hate MS.
1) Ok, external appearance does matter, but I really don't see a problem with it. I wouldn't call it ugly, but admittedy they could have done more. Personally, I think part of the design was so that it would have to go on top of all your components (nothing will balance on top of the XBox). Kinda like the move to associate it's games with your DVD movie library. Notice the similarities? It's heavy. So? To me this isn't a real factor or a point against it. It's bascally basically a PC for cryin out loud. It has the AC adaptor inside as well. Of course it's heavier, but unless it's your grandmother or small child lifting it, what's the prob here?
2) The controller. It could have been better. I would have liked bigger buttons personally. But it works, and unless you have no coordination whatsoever, I wouldn't consider it enough not to buy the system. But then, that's my opinion.
3) "The games suck" First, you hear that about every console. You know why? Most of the time (unless you're a 3DO or Jaguar) it's because the system's new!!!. In the humble opinion of somebody who's played a good number of the titles, it's launch is nearly the same as everybody elses platform. It has it's good games, it has it's bad games and it has the "wow, that's pretty" games. I agree, games are limited. No F%@$@#$ duh.
I was so close to buying a PS2 just because of the sheer number of games it already has for it (backwards compatible!). It's a good product. I won't/can't diss it. But I think the XBox has has a far brighter future and that's what I was willing to invest in.
And if your saying "but it's microsoft!" in a high, whiney little voice, grow up. I know I'm surrounded by a bunch of Linux-gnomes and Microsoft isn't my favorite company either, but this is the console market. I don't think it's in any fear of MS domination unless your willing to admit it really is that good or does have that much potential. Heck, you should have been worried about Nintendo doing that.
Not blacklisted.. Heck, I was heavily considering buying one. Got an Xbox though got Christmas ^__^ The only problem is lack of titles, but that's any new machine.
Well, no shit it's sucking in Japan. It's been the home of videogameing for the last 20-odd years. Not exactly friendly territory. Go find out how well Ford does in Japan compared to Toyota. Oh yeah... Did anybody mention it's new while the PS2 and DC have had time to build up a consumer base? Could those two items have anything to do with sales? Nah....
Lets all face the facts here. Microsoft doesn't take risks. Yeah, they make stupid desisions sometimes (some would say all the time),but really.
The only reson I even considered buying an X-Box is because of Microsoft itself. Not only do they have gobs and gobs of money to buy 3rd parties hardware, etc., but they also have this unnerving habit of either buying out or crushing the competition. Even if the console sucked balls at first, I'm willing to bet that MS would do anything it takes to keep that foothold in the living room. Anything. Fact is, whether you like them or not, they make stuff work... Forcibly if nessisary. Given the capital they had to work with and the mentality they had with their past projects, I can hardly see any notable risk involved on their part. I'm sure Blackley was under pressure to make it work, but I'm also sure they researched the gaming market, profit and loss potentials and competition before getting involved. Risk? No a lot of it when you know most of the variables and have wads of cash to throw at them (again, cash = good talent, advertising, hardware contrary to popular gamer belief)
I'm a gamer. Microsoft isn't my favorite company in the whole wide world. But when I considered whether to buy a PS2 or and XBox, I had to figure in MS's track record. It may suck now (in your opinion; I happen to like Halo, Gotham, Rally and JSRF) but like the artical said- This is a battle over your livingroom and I think they will do whatever it takes to secure that holy grail. And that is good for gamers everywhere.
Gasaraki was Ok, but man it was slow as molassus getting anywhere, and when it did, it wasn't that exciting, frankly.
I think that's why it Evangelion edges it out in my opinion. EVA keeps an even pace between action and plot. And it has confused teenagers in tight outfits (though I so wanted to kick Shinji's ass throughout most of the series... One of the most hatable anime characters I've stumbled across). Not to say it's my fav by any stretch of the imagination, just entertaining.
Slashdot Mirror
Who'd ensure you'd get a decent download speed? Quality files? Good user software? Not dissing your comment, just curious as to who is going to provide all the support for this stuff, because somebody will have to. We've already seen what a "free" service can do... Napster was my high watermark and it's gone downhill since. Somebody, whether distributing physical media or files is going to have to assume the role of "the bigs", if not the current bigs.
Didn't you know, the cause of all the world's problems fall on the US. It's the "it couldn't possibly be our fault" syndrome worldwide. And silly me thought it was just videogames.
ANd there you go. Supply and demand. The supply for music is now infinite and easily obtainable and like every other good or service that's plentiful and easy to get, costs far less. One of these days the record industry will recognize basic economics and find other ways to make their money.. Like India. It's no longer off physical media, but the service they provide (ie; cheap, reliable downloads).
I think it's a mixture of short sightedness and greed, honestly. They are making too much money charging $15US for a disk, even though you may like only one or two songs on it. They can't see that they can no longer control what they publish since it's no longer easily confined to a physical medium. I personally think they're still grasping for control when it has already left them in the dust. Too much damage control/scortched earth policy and not enough proactive innovation. And all this idiotic thinking will eventially catch up to them since the net is only growing more apart of everybodies life everyday... Alas...
Once the Labels get over themselves and realize they simply can't control the digital transmission of music, this is the model that will come into use (hopefully). I mean, really, your music is worthless now. It can be obtained anywhere. And what happens to products that can be obtained anywhere? They fall in price. Except in the recording industry. I figure if you make the service you provide better and easier than piracy, you'll have a lot of people more than willing to do the right thing. Yeah, I can get the latest hit off Bearshare or AG, but there are no assurances as to the quality or the service. How many of you out there normally click on 5-10 sources per download and once you have it, find out it's nothing but the same 30sec. looped over and over? I'd pay money for a fair, reliable, fast and easy to use download service service. Maybe charge an "import tax" if your service doesn't have the song you (effectively "importing" it from your competition). Fact is no free service or even advertisement supported will be able to offer the service you'll get by paying for it. BTW; I don't consider any service that, once quit, removes your access to music you've already downloaded fair. That's pretty damn shitty.
One of these days, i hope the record industry will stop labelling all their customers pirates and get a clue about where music is going. It seems everybody realizes it but them. Am I a pirate? Arrgh! You betcha. But I also bought 3 CDs last week, two of which I already have in MP3 format. And of course that huge dip in sales last year didn't have anything to do with the resession the entire economy faced last year, right? Yar! it be all us pirates! Dumbasses.
In this mad dash for pulling hydrogen from the Earth, we seem to be forgetting one very annoying group of people. "Treehuggers". This is a catch-all term applying to anybody who puts animals/trees/geology over their fellow man.
The point? What makes you think that the same tree-huggers that oppose nuclear energy or the safe(r) drilling of Alaskan oil deposits are going to sit idlely by as somebody turns a large strip of land into a giant quarry in their quest for hydrogen? of course, that's assuming there isn't any other way to take it out...
But the real point I'd like to make about our oil dependancy- Regardless of the cost to convert to a new form of energy, we will either pay it now, or pay later. And the price for later is always higher. It's my opinion that one of these days all of our dependancy on Middle Eastern oil will blow up in our faces so badly, it's going to be like another 9-11 wakeup call. The region is far too unstable and anybody who surrenders the stratgic control of their resources severly jepordizes their own security and destiny as a nation. One of these days something very bad will happen, forcing somebody or multiple somebodies to get a clue and develope an alternate energy dependancy so those fools don't have so much influence.
Sorry, it's late, but the above captures my concerns. If tree-huggers cry about nuclear power and lobby against it, how about tearing up huge chunks of land. On the same token, if we don't change, we'll regret it soon enough in a stratigic sense.
It's probably already been brought up, but this would be so easy to abuse it's pathetic. "I DON'T LIKE THE SCORE SLASHDOT GAVE MY LAST COMMENT!!!" *hits the F-Key numerous times* Oooh, yeah, can see this really working out 9_9
Maybe it's just me, but this is the first time I've heard of FAST. Besides providing "legal assistance", what weight do they have behind them? It's gonna be like crank-calling 911 without any consequences. Do they have the super-human ability to call in a Gestapo-esque strike on your business or home? "Hmmm... Slashdot has recieved 12,000 "alerts"... We'll have to...?" But Officer, I swear Slashdot is pirating software! What a freaking mess...
"Opinions are like armpits; Everybody has two and they stink."
Um, if I'm reading that argument correctly (there's a lot there and it winds across all sorts of metaphorical topics, no offense), your taking Sony's side because it does not accurately reflect the owners property.
I agree with your example. The Church would have a right to complain.... BUT. The property in question is basically an advertisement medium whose message can and will change from month to month. (I'm sure somebody got a score of 5 early in the thread for that point). Does that mean I can sue now just because the advertisments, even if faithfully portrayed at the time, no longer reflects the state in which I'm paying for them years down the road? Yeah, it's accuarate then, but 6 months later I'm advertising "Boogers Candy" on that board. According to that argument and Sony's, I now have a legitiment lawsuit even after the fact.
And why don't we take it one step further... We can no longer "destroy" that piece of property when the script calls for the demolision of a city block because Sony doesn't want there sign portrayed in a less than pristine condition. Yeah, right.
I would agree, if the image on the property were to remain static, representing a specific business or entitiy. But facts are it doesn't. The most they would be able to grab for is ensuring the billboard is accurately represented as far as who owns the property. Add this to the fact that it's a work of fiction anyway and I'm concluding somebody with a tie is too anal for their own good.
"Opinions are like armpits. Everybody has two and they stink."
Y'know, there are some things that should be regulated while your still under your parents roof. I know, it pains me to say it, but it's true. And through all this Ever-crack/Heroin-ware BS, I have to ask myself "Where are the parents?!" You simply can't expect a kid to know what's good for them. I sure as hell didn't (Heh, I may be the exception). But how you could just blindly ignore that aspect of your child's developement is beyond me. I would think somewhere parents would be noticing a problem developing and intervene. "Hey, little Jimmy's seems to withdrawing from the world, spending a lot of time playing Q3/Everquest. You think there might be a problem?"
It's not a problem with our games. It's a problem with our families. Especially if they're at work a good chunk of the time. Yeah, they're making a living for the family while Jimmy's brain is dissolving on "acid-ware" or any of the innumerable activities a kid can get in trouble at. Just one example. I'm not Dr. Spock here, but kids need supervision and some form of regulation in their activities... ~sigh~
All good points and I certainly didn't mean them as absolutes. What I intend to illustrate was the fact that MS is serious about what it's doing and will make the project succeed. The degree of that success, however, is a huge unknown admittedly. It could range anywhere from playing second fiddle to Sony and Nintendo, all the way to total living room domination (doubt that). The point I was trying to make was I just don't think it will be the Atari jaguar or 3do that people seem to think it will be. Finally, Money by no means guarantees success, but it will improve your odds if you know how to use it.
Even I have to admit the "running better on the X-Box" is debatable... Ports are only what you put into em. Everything says they should run better, but it's been screwed up more than once on every concole in existance.
I'll agree every mechwarrior through 3 has sucked, but I have to draw the line at 4. MW4 is acually fun to play. And lo and behold, it didn't get good until Microsoft bough the licence... Hmmm...
No comments on Armoured Core. I liked that too =p
Even this XBox gamer knows that Japan is where 90% of the good console games come from. Gaming isn't a sub-culture there; It's a lifestyle. It's been the capital of gaming for 20-odd years. To say they aren't important would be an understatment of the highest order.
The sad fact is that until it becomes an accepted culture here in the US, any help we can get in the Japanese arena would be highly benefical. Ignoring japan as a market and source for games would be suicide since the US doesn't have a devoted following like they do. If we did, then we could say "screw japan". It still wouldn't be a good idea, but native consoles could at least survive.
Preach it brotha!
OMG... I saw that... Soooo tasty!
Ok, I'm tired of being the X-box martyer ;) Somebody else can convince the ignorant and unwashed masses that MS knows what it's doing ^__^
I'll agree that the PS2 has a big edge on them, simply because of their massively library. I almost bought one for the same reason. They have tons of good games and decent hardware. Even this X-Box owner will admit that.
But everything about consoles, no matter who makes them, is non-standard. It's VHS vs. Betamax all day long when it comes to competing platforms. So much so it's not an issue. It's not even about quality. And what's this about "the Xbox team wanted to deliver a machine for the most enthusiastic gamers who don't really care how much they have to pay"... Oh, you mean like the Nintendo which is similarly priced? Or the PS2 when it first came out? Again, these aren't issues. Did I mention wads of cash MS has that can buy quality games/3rd parties?
Fail? No. Even if you disagree with all of the above, you can't disagree with the fact that MS wants your living room and will stop at nothing to have a piece of it. They didn't jump blindly into the market, ignoring gamer statistics or what sells and doesn't. They know they won't be profiting off the box until a later date. If you think they didn't do the research, then you're a fool. They know exactly what they are getting into. MS didn't become a multi-billion dollar company for being careless or ignoring the facts. Plainly put, the Xbox is MS's foot in the door and it will do anything to keep it there. If they can't make it better, they'll hire the expertise that will so people will buy it. Money does a lot of things like that.
Ok, it's getting so I can't stand this anymore. I can only hear people whining about their phobea of Microsoft dominating the console market AND how the XBox sucks in the same sentance for so long.
For said domination to occur, your competition either needs to be non-existant, disorganized, doesn't have capital, fields an inferior product, or you're plain smarter. Microsoft was more than just lucky taking the PC market because at least one or more of these came into play.
So which one of these are you willing to admit to for the console industry? Sony and Nintendo exist as established competition, they are organized, have capital, field good products and have experience in the market. Which one of these are you saying MS is so much better at?
None of them!? That can't be...! You must be paranoid for some reason! I realize this is flame bate, espicailly here on Slashdot, but come on, it's getting pathetic. Either admit one of these or quit whining about MS and console domination. Fact is that Sony and Nintendo would love to do the exact same thing, and complete domination by any one party isn't a good thing, regardless of how much you hate MS.
I own an X box. that said...
1) Ok, external appearance does matter, but I really don't see a problem with it. I wouldn't call it ugly, but admittedy they could have done more. Personally, I think part of the design was so that it would have to go on top of all your components (nothing will balance on top of the XBox). Kinda like the move to associate it's games with your DVD movie library. Notice the similarities? It's heavy. So? To me this isn't a real factor or a point against it. It's bascally basically a PC for cryin out loud. It has the AC adaptor inside as well. Of course it's heavier, but unless it's your grandmother or small child lifting it, what's the prob here?
2) The controller. It could have been better. I would have liked bigger buttons personally. But it works, and unless you have no coordination whatsoever, I wouldn't consider it enough not to buy the system. But then, that's my opinion.
3) "The games suck" First, you hear that about every console. You know why? Most of the time (unless you're a 3DO or Jaguar) it's because the system's new!!!. In the humble opinion of somebody who's played a good number of the titles, it's launch is nearly the same as everybody elses platform. It has it's good games, it has it's bad games and it has the "wow, that's pretty" games. I agree, games are limited. No F%@$@#$ duh.
I was so close to buying a PS2 just because of the sheer number of games it already has for it (backwards compatible!). It's a good product. I won't/can't diss it. But I think the XBox has has a far brighter future and that's what I was willing to invest in.
And if your saying "but it's microsoft!" in a high, whiney little voice, grow up. I know I'm surrounded by a bunch of Linux-gnomes and Microsoft isn't my favorite company either, but this is the console market. I don't think it's in any fear of MS domination unless your willing to admit it really is that good or does have that much potential. Heck, you should have been worried about Nintendo doing that.
Not blacklisted.. Heck, I was heavily considering buying one. Got an Xbox though got Christmas ^__^ The only problem is lack of titles, but that's any new machine.
Well, no shit it's sucking in Japan. It's been the home of videogameing for the last 20-odd years. Not exactly friendly territory. Go find out how well Ford does in Japan compared to Toyota. Oh yeah... Did anybody mention it's new while the PS2 and DC have had time to build up a consumer base? Could those two items have anything to do with sales? Nah....
Lets all face the facts here. Microsoft doesn't take risks. Yeah, they make stupid desisions sometimes (some would say all the time),but really.
The only reson I even considered buying an X-Box is because of Microsoft itself. Not only do they have gobs and gobs of money to buy 3rd parties hardware, etc., but they also have this unnerving habit of either buying out or crushing the competition. Even if the console sucked balls at first, I'm willing to bet that MS would do anything it takes to keep that foothold in the living room. Anything. Fact is, whether you like them or not, they make stuff work... Forcibly if nessisary. Given the capital they had to work with and the mentality they had with their past projects, I can hardly see any notable risk involved on their part. I'm sure Blackley was under pressure to make it work, but I'm also sure they researched the gaming market, profit and loss potentials and competition before getting involved. Risk? No a lot of it when you know most of the variables and have wads of cash to throw at them (again, cash = good talent, advertising, hardware contrary to popular gamer belief)
I'm a gamer. Microsoft isn't my favorite company in the whole wide world. But when I considered whether to buy a PS2 or and XBox, I had to figure in MS's track record. It may suck now (in your opinion; I happen to like Halo, Gotham, Rally and JSRF) but like the artical said- This is a battle over your livingroom and I think they will do whatever it takes to secure that holy grail. And that is good for gamers everywhere.
"Fist of the North Star Live action"
Yeah, I'm real hopeful about Akira... ~sigh~
Gasaraki was Ok, but man it was slow as molassus getting anywhere, and when it did, it wasn't that exciting, frankly.
I think that's why it Evangelion edges it out in my opinion. EVA keeps an even pace between action and plot. And it has confused teenagers in tight outfits (though I so wanted to kick Shinji's ass throughout most of the series... One of the most hatable anime characters I've stumbled across). Not to say it's my fav by any stretch of the imagination, just entertaining.
That's probably what I ment to say to begin with ;)