Sad thing is, I had no interest in the game Bully until I all these people were upset by it. I think their attempt to kill these games is having the opposite result.
"Is anyone else disappointed that the PS3 is becoming less and less of a game machine and turning more and more in to an all-in-wonder-box?"
It didn't really bother me until the rumored $465 price tag. Then I start thinking about things like "You know, I never got around to playing Metroid Prime..."
Then again, I think launch is a terrible time to buy a system. That's when it's at it's most expensive, most likely to break, and when the fewest games are launched.
"And not as tired as we are of straw-man appologists. Microsoft is a monopoly, the other guys aren't, so of course they are going to get the most flack."
You're just kidding yourself if you think MS is getting all that flack here because of their monopoly. It's cool to hate Microsoft. I don't have a problem with that. I don't have any love for MS either. But the hypocracy that is born from it is ridiculous and sometimes even dangerous.
There's a huge difference between apologizing for MS and showing a little objectivity. The business world is full of evils. Not even Google is exempt from this. But since all of the "sky is falling" attention is focused solely in Redmond's direction, you'll be blissfully unaware of it.
You'll pardon me for not finding your blind hatred of anything MS does admirable.
"When are companies going to realize this type of device (Video, MP3, Gaming) needs a fucking HARD DRIVE?"
Hmm yeah, a CF slot would have been nice. Then again, a $200 PocketPc would get you what you want. At least for the video bit. For gaming and music, 1 gig cards are easily available and affordable. You're only going to get 4x that with a CF card. If you want more, prepare yourself for a less portable and more expensive device. That said, the $700 20 gig Archos unit is pretty neat.
"You mention a dozen esoteric ways to fill a HD-DVD except the obvious one:
Full motion video at 1080p"
Unlikely. We're not seeing much FMV these days. Short of teasers and intros, most of that stuff is done in real time. It's a lot easier and cheaper to let the 3D engine handle that stuff than it is to get high quality CG rendered video at that res and frame rate. In the case of pre-rendered FMV, a simple "move the character a little to the right" operation can be a huge expenediture in time and rendering.
Not saying you're wrong, but I'd be willing to bet that there won't be many (if any) games making realistic use of that many gigs of data for full motion HD video.
"I wonder if Microsoft will make the drives swapable. That way, when the drives change, it'll be easier to cope with for the average gamer. Hope for the best?"
I don't see what the big deal is. The inclusion of HD-DVD is likely there simply to play HD movies. I seriously doubt they're going to switch the format of new games over to it. What game developer would divide their potential market by releasing their game on HD-DVD?
I think a lot of people are forgetting that Microsoft isn't selling just a game machine here, it's a media center. If I were really interested in an XBOX 360 (pffptpbbtbtbt, no thanks) I'd want a cheaper version without the HD and media crap in it. A friend that lives down the street from me would probably spring for the extra doodads. Sony, however, doesn't appear to be giving anybody that choice.
"Then why buy one initially, unless you can't wait a few months?"
Ask the four million jackasses that bought a PS2 after it launched even though there were no real interesting launch titles. A lot of people don't want to wait a few months, they want it now now now.
Okay, it was harsh of me to call them jackasses. I just don't understand why somebody would spend $300-$400 in a system like it's some sort of investment, but not wait until the games you want to play are actually out in stores. I made this mistake early on in my life. Now I can't imagine buying a machine at launch.
Okay, let's pitchfork Microsoft over pulling this. Whatever. But let's be realistic, here. EVERY system launch burns the first round of users. The first run of PSPs in Japan had some silly design defects. (We've all seen the UMD 'ejection' feature.) If I recall, the XBOX had problems with defective hard drives and power cords. GameCube owners had decent launch titles, but there was a significant wait for a decent library to pile in. The PS2, as I mentioned before, had crappy launch titles. (I seem to recall issues with the DVD player, but I may be mistaken.) The N64 had a MAJOR drought of games shortly after the launch. The original Playstations often went defective just after the 90 day warranty. The Saturn launched with a high price tag and didn't have much in terms of must-have games. Etc.
The reality is, you have to be wise when you buy ANY game machine. If you're going to buy one at launch, you're going to pay more for a system that'll undoubtedly be improved either in quality, price, or game availability. Frankly, I'm having a hard time shaking my pitchfork at Microsoft over this. At least we've got a heads up. Nobody buying the original Playstation had any idea it was going to go flakey after a few months.
Please be assured there will be enough of both. Due to popular demand (and because the location allows for it this time) many toilets will be of the water-flushing kind."
Showers will not be available, however, due to lack of demand. We'd like to thank our fine hacker friends for choosing to save water.
"How many people do you know from high school that got pregnant?"
5 come immediately to mind. I'm certain there were more. None, however, were murdered or charged with assault. I know there were also at least a couple of abortions.
"It's more about perception than anything else. I'm not saying I agree that jay walking should be censored, but I can say that I'm far more worried about any kid of mine suffering negative consequences of jay walking than I am about them watching a video game and getting involved with wholly normal sexual behaviour of a teenager."
I have similar feelings. However, there are those that hold the belief that kids will be innocent little angels so long as the idea of sex doesn't percolate into their heads. They have NFI that people are programmed to desire sex regardless of what's actually available or inspirational to them.
BTW, jaywalking is a horrible horrible example, here. Heh.
"Why is blowing people's heads off considered less serious than sex? "
How many people do you know that got pregnant in high school? How many people do you know from high school that were shot in the head or shot somebody in the head?
It's more about perception than anything else. I'm not saying I agree that sexual content should be censored, but I can say that I'm far more worried about any kid of mine suffering negative consequences of sex than I am about them watching a violent video and killing people. It just feels a lot more likely to happen. Kids do stupid stuff with regards to having sex.
That said, I don't think San Andreas is a worthy scapegoat, here. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that the sexual content in the game is a bigger hot button to me than the violent content, but I think these peoples fuses are too short to begin with.
Re:I liked Internet Explorer 7 the first time...
on
IE7 Bugs and Reviews
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· Score: 1
"Or *BSD zealots or Windows zealots or Linux zealots or Mac zealots or Gnome zealots or KDE zealots or religeous zealots or political zealots or envirnomental zealots or rich-envy zealots or mainstream zealots or... everything, anything, zealots. Did I forget anybody?"
None of those zealots sparked this one.
Re:I liked Internet Explorer 7 the first time...
on
IE7 Bugs and Reviews
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
"No more talking from Opera zealots please... you're almost as bad as Gentoo zealots."
Or FireFox zealots. Think about what usually starts this convo.;)
"My theory is that it tried to go toe to toe with Nintendo and the GBA."
They did? Has anybody ever seen an ad for a Zodiac (or even a game review) in the popular game mags out there? Has anybody ever seen one at a store like Walmart or Best Buy? Can anybody point out a must-have killer game for that system?
I've got a dollar that says more people know about Tiger's Game.com system than about Zodiac. If it can't even pass those tests, how could it even think of going toe to toe with Nintendo?
Slashdot Mirror
"...do a national awareness campaign to educate parents of content and possible effects..."
... attending protests and making unreasonable demands
Possible effects include:
- Bitchiness
- Irritability
- Overreactions
-
Sad thing is, I had no interest in the game Bully until I all these people were upset by it. I think their attempt to kill these games is having the opposite result.
Appreciated, thank you! :)
"Is anyone else disappointed that the PS3 is becoming less and less of a game machine and turning more and more in to an all-in-wonder-box?"
It didn't really bother me until the rumored $465 price tag. Then I start thinking about things like "You know, I never got around to playing Metroid Prime..."
Then again, I think launch is a terrible time to buy a system. That's when it's at it's most expensive, most likely to break, and when the fewest games are launched.
"EMEGENCY What the heck is that??"
Boy I'd hate to be in the same room with you when Wheel-of-Fortune's on.
"I heard this at least two days ago. If you're a real enthusiast you'd go someplace else for this kind of news."
Think about how Slashdot gets its 'news', then file this under D for Derrrrrr.
"I'm sorry, but I use software to get things done, not gloat about how I'm using an open source program."
Gloating about OSS software maxed out my karma!
"Apple licensed the relevant technology."
No, they didn't, and they were sued for it.
"Making weak excuses for the more-immoral than average conduct of Microsoft is not "objectivity"."
Funny. You preach objectivity and then put words into my mouth. Amusingly enough, you illustrated my point. Thank you.
"And not as tired as we are of straw-man appologists. Microsoft is a monopoly, the other guys aren't, so of course they are going to get the most flack."
You're just kidding yourself if you think MS is getting all that flack here because of their monopoly. It's cool to hate Microsoft. I don't have a problem with that. I don't have any love for MS either. But the hypocracy that is born from it is ridiculous and sometimes even dangerous.
There's a huge difference between apologizing for MS and showing a little objectivity. The business world is full of evils. Not even Google is exempt from this. But since all of the "sky is falling" attention is focused solely in Redmond's direction, you'll be blissfully unaware of it.
You'll pardon me for not finding your blind hatred of anything MS does admirable.
"When are companies going to realize this type of device (Video, MP3, Gaming) needs a fucking HARD DRIVE?"
Hmm yeah, a CF slot would have been nice. Then again, a $200 PocketPc would get you what you want. At least for the video bit. For gaming and music, 1 gig cards are easily available and affordable. You're only going to get 4x that with a CF card. If you want more, prepare yourself for a less portable and more expensive device. That said, the $700 20 gig Archos unit is pretty neat.
"Is any one else tired of hearing this shit about how Apple ripped off Xerox?"
Not as tired as we are about hearing how Microsoft stole everybody blind while everybody else was completely innocent and lovable and did no wrong.
"get laptop sheeesh" ... at only 4x the price!
"You mention a dozen esoteric ways to fill a HD-DVD except the obvious one:
Full motion video at 1080p"
Unlikely. We're not seeing much FMV these days. Short of teasers and intros, most of that stuff is done in real time. It's a lot easier and cheaper to let the 3D engine handle that stuff than it is to get high quality CG rendered video at that res and frame rate. In the case of pre-rendered FMV, a simple "move the character a little to the right" operation can be a huge expenediture in time and rendering.
Not saying you're wrong, but I'd be willing to bet that there won't be many (if any) games making realistic use of that many gigs of data for full motion HD video.
"I wonder if Microsoft will make the drives swapable. That way, when the drives change, it'll be easier to cope with for the average gamer. Hope for the best?"
I don't see what the big deal is. The inclusion of HD-DVD is likely there simply to play HD movies. I seriously doubt they're going to switch the format of new games over to it. What game developer would divide their potential market by releasing their game on HD-DVD?
I think a lot of people are forgetting that Microsoft isn't selling just a game machine here, it's a media center. If I were really interested in an XBOX 360 (pffptpbbtbtbt, no thanks) I'd want a cheaper version without the HD and media crap in it. A friend that lives down the street from me would probably spring for the extra doodads. Sony, however, doesn't appear to be giving anybody that choice.
"Then why buy one initially, unless you can't wait a few months?"
Ask the four million jackasses that bought a PS2 after it launched even though there were no real interesting launch titles. A lot of people don't want to wait a few months, they want it now now now.
Okay, it was harsh of me to call them jackasses. I just don't understand why somebody would spend $300-$400 in a system like it's some sort of investment, but not wait until the games you want to play are actually out in stores. I made this mistake early on in my life. Now I can't imagine buying a machine at launch.
Okay, let's pitchfork Microsoft over pulling this. Whatever. But let's be realistic, here. EVERY system launch burns the first round of users. The first run of PSPs in Japan had some silly design defects. (We've all seen the UMD 'ejection' feature.) If I recall, the XBOX had problems with defective hard drives and power cords. GameCube owners had decent launch titles, but there was a significant wait for a decent library to pile in. The PS2, as I mentioned before, had crappy launch titles. (I seem to recall issues with the DVD player, but I may be mistaken.) The N64 had a MAJOR drought of games shortly after the launch. The original Playstations often went defective just after the 90 day warranty. The Saturn launched with a high price tag and didn't have much in terms of must-have games. Etc.
The reality is, you have to be wise when you buy ANY game machine. If you're going to buy one at launch, you're going to pay more for a system that'll undoubtedly be improved either in quality, price, or game availability. Frankly, I'm having a hard time shaking my pitchfork at Microsoft over this. At least we've got a heads up. Nobody buying the original Playstation had any idea it was going to go flakey after a few months.
"This will make fewer people buy the 1st gen, and instead wait for the 2nd gen."
So will a higher price and a later launch date.
"Showers and toilets
Please be assured there will be enough of both. Due to popular demand (and because the location allows for it this time) many toilets will be of the water-flushing kind."
Showers will not be available, however, due to lack of demand. We'd like to thank our fine hacker friends for choosing to save water.
"What's the difference? Are not slashvertisements much older?"
I'd answer that if I had ever actually recieved an RSS Slashvertisement without getting banned for 72 hours by looking at it funny.
"...they have cracked the mystery of Dinosaur development."
It's nice to see that graduates of the Bob Saget School of Comedy are still finding time to work on their art form.
If I were posting a fantasy about being a rich guy with a pony and no law enforcement, I'd post it anonymously.
"How many people do you know from high school that got pregnant?"
5 come immediately to mind. I'm certain there were more. None, however, were murdered or charged with assault. I know there were also at least a couple of abortions.
"It's more about perception than anything else. I'm not saying I agree that jay walking should be censored, but I can say that I'm far more worried about any kid of mine suffering negative consequences of jay walking than I am about them watching a video game and getting involved with wholly normal sexual behaviour of a teenager."
I have similar feelings. However, there are those that hold the belief that kids will be innocent little angels so long as the idea of sex doesn't percolate into their heads. They have NFI that people are programmed to desire sex regardless of what's actually available or inspirational to them.
BTW, jaywalking is a horrible horrible example, here. Heh.
"Why is blowing people's heads off considered less serious than sex? "
How many people do you know that got pregnant in high school? How many people do you know from high school that were shot in the head or shot somebody in the head?
It's more about perception than anything else. I'm not saying I agree that sexual content should be censored, but I can say that I'm far more worried about any kid of mine suffering negative consequences of sex than I am about them watching a violent video and killing people. It just feels a lot more likely to happen. Kids do stupid stuff with regards to having sex.
That said, I don't think San Andreas is a worthy scapegoat, here. It seems perfectly reasonable to me that the sexual content in the game is a bigger hot button to me than the violent content, but I think these peoples fuses are too short to begin with.
"Or *BSD zealots or Windows zealots or Linux zealots or Mac zealots or Gnome zealots or KDE zealots or religeous zealots or political zealots or envirnomental zealots or rich-envy zealots or mainstream zealots or ... everything, anything, zealots. Did I forget anybody?"
None of those zealots sparked this one.
"No more talking from Opera zealots please... you're almost as bad as Gentoo zealots."
;)
Or FireFox zealots. Think about what usually starts this convo.
"My theory is that it tried to go toe to toe with Nintendo and the GBA."
They did? Has anybody ever seen an ad for a Zodiac (or even a game review) in the popular game mags out there? Has anybody ever seen one at a store like Walmart or Best Buy? Can anybody point out a must-have killer game for that system?
I've got a dollar that says more people know about Tiger's Game.com system than about Zodiac. If it can't even pass those tests, how could it even think of going toe to toe with Nintendo?