Re:it's just a commercialization
on
Remember The Wizard?
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· Score: 4, Interesting
"Compare it to videos that exist in their own right, rather than just to sell toys. Examples include Power Rangers, Transformers, Pokemon... "
Commercialization? Sure. Bad? Not necessarily. The Transformers universe in particular was rather rich with creative ideas. Have a peek at the Transformers FAQ. You'll be surprised at how the mythos of that series developed.
No doubt that the original purpose of this cartoon was to sell toys. That doesn't mean it can't be appreciated on some levels.
" price seems a little steep for something that contradicts the purpose of a gameboy (presumably people who buy gameboy use it places where a console would not go, hence portable gaming system)"
Just because it's a portable system doesn't necessarily mean we always want it to be portable. If you have a game you really enjoy playing, (Metroid Fusion for example...) having a device like this as an extra way of playing it is a good thing. Save the GBA (plus batteries) for when you can't be near your TV, like when you're on the bus or something.
Don't mistake it as a GBA replacement, but rather an addition.
"m I the only one that reset every time I got busted or killed? Why would I want to refind all my weapons? "
Actually, I'd reset it too. GTA 3 and the earlier versions of GTA taught me that you had to have a huge stash of money in order to win. Vice City was no exception. Though I want to play it again now without resetting. Should be interesting.;)
"A nitpick: the A button is green. Isn't Zelda an amazing game, though?"
Oh yeah. Duh. ehheh Pretty sad considering I have a GameCube.
And yes, Wind Waker is awesome. I didn't enjoy Ocarina that much, but Wind Waker's really entertaining me. I like the semi 'real-world' solutions to the problems to get through the dungeon.
"So now I can look like a god in the game without playing it from the comfort of vi and a nice little php script. Thanks! Does anyone see a point in this? Kinda cool... but uh... easily changed?"
Troll? He's got a good point! Once I saw it was a.TXT file, I wanted to find it and fiddle with it in Notepad just to do it. I seriously doubt I'm the first who thought of that. (well obviously I'm not, parent poster beat me to it...)
In any case, Troll is not how I'd moderate this post.
". The only possible reason I can think of that they might decide not to do this was because they thought it would make the machine too complicated."
Actually, I think it had to do more with the little room they had for them. As it is, people find the unit too small. Gotta admit, tho, it's damn mobile. I think Nintendo's the only company that's ever made a true pocket-sized portable system. I haven't messed with a GP32 or Neo Geo pocket before... More buttons would have been nice, but I'd want a bigger system if they did that.
One other possibilty comes to mind, which touches on your point: Nintendo's lately been focusing on making games more direct. The Game Cube is a good example. It has a bunch of buttons, but it's got that big red A button smack in the middle. Zelda, for example, stopped using a jump button back in Ocarina of Time. Why make the user jump in an adventure game? Just have the system know where to jump. Mario Sunshine was all about jumping, and that's what the A button did. The rest were secondary functions.
I don't think it's because Nintendo's assuming people are idiots, but rather because they'd rather the games be more enjoyable by demanding less from the user. That sorta make sense? Game design really affects Nintendo's controller designs. (as opposed to making a controller with a lot of buttons and hoping developers make good use of them. *cough*Jaguar*cough*)
"These gamespy people are pretty smarmy. They make it look like they are true business experts and were more or less able to tell the future. "
I know what you mean. I'm a little surprised they felt that the GBA shoudln't have been launched without a light. They obviously don't understand that Sega, Atari, and NEC all learned lessons about that. All four systems had backlights (Sega had two, the Game Gear and Nomad), and all of them ate 6 AA's like they were candy. They also cost a good hunk of cash each. Game Gears ran $160. Lynx was $180. The Turbo Express was... what, $400 I think? (That was a niche item, though) And the Nomad was launched at $200.
My point? The GBA, as it stood, ran for $99 when it was launched. It only takes two AA batteries and it lasts for ages on it. Yes, the screen was the weak part. Nobody's arguing that. However, What if Nintendo had changed that? What would the rechargable battery plus the backlit screen have run if it had launched back in 2001? How many people would have paid $150ish for it?
Yes, it would have been nice if Nintendo had launched the SP and skipped the original GBA. I doubt that many people would have paid the extra price for it. If sales weren't good, you can bet that the game selection that makes everybody glad to have a GBA would have suffered.
I wouldn't consider that one of the 25 bad moments in gaming history, especially when there are plenty of other unsuccessful portable gaming systems that sported dumb designs.
"The past two thanksgivings have seen kernels released (2.4.15 and 2.4.20) with serious data-corruption-on-umount bugs."
Ah!! Thank you.:)
Well, it's neat and all...
on
150 Mbit/s DSL.
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· Score: 3, Interesting
..but for the home user it's impractical until the internet catches up to it. I wonder what'll come along where 150mb becomes a must have?
Anybody read up on the Internet 2? If memory serves, they've been dishing out 100mbs or so. I can't remember what they were doing with that bandwidth, though.
I'm not asking from a cynical perspective. I'm really curious what happens when 150mbs can be served up. The first thing that pops into my mind is setting up a server at home (assuming 150 up as well as down. I can dream!) and remotely accessing it anywhere. Fun stuff. Wish I was more imaginitive tho.
" To a mathematical equation, chaos is the end of the system. With Neo free to do what he will, flouting the rules, people who ordinarily wouldn't question the matrix are. "
Anybody else feel like this interpretation of the Matrix implies that the system was really really badly designed? These machines never heard of error trapping? They don't know how to stop the system and roll it back?
Maybe that's why I have so much trouble enjoying this concept. I can't imagine the technology would be that fallible. They obviously understand humans well enough to know that they're not always going to side with logic, so they create a mechanism that's dependent on them making the right choice? Right.
"Where were the suprises and tragedys? It was nearly constant action."
With no suspense I might add. Nobody watched that scene on top of the semi and thought "how will he get out of this?"
The big problem with Matrix Reloaded is that you can cut out all but two scenes of the movie and not miss anything important. That's why nobody cares about them.
... that a lot of people will come up with some kind of unlikely fictional tale about how this media setup from MS will be really really awful for everybody. "Soon you'll have to have Borg-style implants in order to turn on your computer. M$ is trying to own the world, man!
"That is why at times I hate using metaphors, some people don't understand them and then try to stretch them too far..."
The point is that in your metaphor, McDonald's still paid for the ingredients + preparation of the extra fries, whether the customer bought and ate them or not. Activision put money and time into making those map levels.
That help a little? I'd go into more detailed, but I'm on meds right now and am worried that if I type much longer I'll be really confusing.;)
"The fact is that most were more than satisfied without these extra levels, and are just looking for a reason to be the martyr o' the day."
It's also a fact that the 130 or so KB that were transferred could easily have held a map. The textures were probably on the disc. Why it's more likely that the 130KB was spent telling the XBOX it's okay to open a map on the disc escapes me.
Slashdot Mirror
"Compare it to videos that exist in their own right, rather than just to sell toys. Examples include Power Rangers, Transformers, Pokemon... "
Commercialization? Sure. Bad? Not necessarily. The Transformers universe in particular was rather rich with creative ideas. Have a peek at the Transformers FAQ. You'll be surprised at how the mythos of that series developed.
No doubt that the original purpose of this cartoon was to sell toys. That doesn't mean it can't be appreciated on some levels.
" price seems a little steep for something that contradicts the purpose of a gameboy (presumably people who buy gameboy use it places where a console would not go, hence portable gaming system)"
Just because it's a portable system doesn't necessarily mean we always want it to be portable. If you have a game you really enjoy playing, (Metroid Fusion for example...) having a device like this as an extra way of playing it is a good thing. Save the GBA (plus batteries) for when you can't be near your TV, like when you're on the bus or something.
Don't mistake it as a GBA replacement, but rather an addition.
"m I the only one that reset every time I got busted or killed? Why would I want to refind all my weapons? "
;)
Actually, I'd reset it too. GTA 3 and the earlier versions of GTA taught me that you had to have a huge stash of money in order to win. Vice City was no exception. Though I want to play it again now without resetting. Should be interesting.
"A nitpick: the A button is green. Isn't Zelda an amazing game, though?"
Oh yeah. Duh. ehheh Pretty sad considering I have a GameCube.
And yes, Wind Waker is awesome. I didn't enjoy Ocarina that much, but Wind Waker's really entertaining me. I like the semi 'real-world' solutions to the problems to get through the dungeon.
"So now I can look like a god in the game without playing it from the comfort of vi and a nice little php script. Thanks! Does anyone see a point in this? Kinda cool... but uh... easily changed?"
.TXT file, I wanted to find it and fiddle with it in Notepad just to do it. I seriously doubt I'm the first who thought of that. (well obviously I'm not, parent poster beat me to it...)
Troll? He's got a good point! Once I saw it was a
In any case, Troll is not how I'd moderate this post.
". The only possible reason I can think of that they might decide not to do this was because they thought it would make the machine too complicated."
Actually, I think it had to do more with the little room they had for them. As it is, people find the unit too small. Gotta admit, tho, it's damn mobile. I think Nintendo's the only company that's ever made a true pocket-sized portable system. I haven't messed with a GP32 or Neo Geo pocket before... More buttons would have been nice, but I'd want a bigger system if they did that.
One other possibilty comes to mind, which touches on your point: Nintendo's lately been focusing on making games more direct. The Game Cube is a good example. It has a bunch of buttons, but it's got that big red A button smack in the middle. Zelda, for example, stopped using a jump button back in Ocarina of Time. Why make the user jump in an adventure game? Just have the system know where to jump. Mario Sunshine was all about jumping, and that's what the A button did. The rest were secondary functions.
I don't think it's because Nintendo's assuming people are idiots, but rather because they'd rather the games be more enjoyable by demanding less from the user. That sorta make sense? Game design really affects Nintendo's controller designs. (as opposed to making a controller with a lot of buttons and hoping developers make good use of them. *cough*Jaguar*cough*)
"These gamespy people are pretty smarmy. They make it look like they are true business experts and were more or less able to tell the future. "
I know what you mean. I'm a little surprised they felt that the GBA shoudln't have been launched without a light. They obviously don't understand that Sega, Atari, and NEC all learned lessons about that. All four systems had backlights (Sega had two, the Game Gear and Nomad), and all of them ate 6 AA's like they were candy. They also cost a good hunk of cash each. Game Gears ran $160. Lynx was $180. The Turbo Express was... what, $400 I think? (That was a niche item, though) And the Nomad was launched at $200.
My point? The GBA, as it stood, ran for $99 when it was launched. It only takes two AA batteries and it lasts for ages on it. Yes, the screen was the weak part. Nobody's arguing that. However, What if Nintendo had changed that? What would the rechargable battery plus the backlit screen have run if it had launched back in 2001? How many people would have paid $150ish for it?
Yes, it would have been nice if Nintendo had launched the SP and skipped the original GBA. I doubt that many people would have paid the extra price for it. If sales weren't good, you can bet that the game selection that makes everybody glad to have a GBA would have suffered.
I wouldn't consider that one of the 25 bad moments in gaming history, especially when there are plenty of other unsuccessful portable gaming systems that sported dumb designs.
"The past two thanksgivings have seen kernels released (2.4.15 and 2.4.20) with serious data-corruption-on-umount bugs."
:)
Ah!! Thank you.
..but for the home user it's impractical until the internet catches up to it. I wonder what'll come along where 150mb becomes a must have?
Anybody read up on the Internet 2? If memory serves, they've been dishing out 100mbs or so. I can't remember what they were doing with that bandwidth, though.
I'm not asking from a cynical perspective. I'm really curious what happens when 150mbs can be served up. The first thing that pops into my mind is setting up a server at home (assuming 150 up as well as down. I can dream!) and remotely accessing it anywhere. Fun stuff. Wish I was more imaginitive tho.
"Friday the 13th means nothing to Linux. The day you want to avoid upgrading to a new kernel is thanksgiving. "
I'm not familiar enough with Linux to understand this joke. Somebody please explain it?
(sorry to be a spoilsport!)
" To a mathematical equation, chaos is the end of the system. With Neo free to do what he will, flouting the rules, people who ordinarily wouldn't question the matrix are. "
Anybody else feel like this interpretation of the Matrix implies that the system was really really badly designed? These machines never heard of error trapping? They don't know how to stop the system and roll it back?
Maybe that's why I have so much trouble enjoying this concept. I can't imagine the technology would be that fallible. They obviously understand humans well enough to know that they're not always going to side with logic, so they create a mechanism that's dependent on them making the right choice? Right.
"Can you imagine Neo being somebody else than Reeves?"
I vote for Bill Pullman.
"Where were the suprises and tragedys? It was nearly constant action."
With no suspense I might add. Nobody watched that scene on top of the semi and thought "how will he get out of this?"
The big problem with Matrix Reloaded is that you can cut out all but two scenes of the movie and not miss anything important. That's why nobody cares about them.
... that a lot of people will come up with some kind of unlikely fictional tale about how this media setup from MS will be really really awful for everybody. "Soon you'll have to have Borg-style implants in order to turn on your computer. M$ is trying to own the world, man!
" but why does red blood in America turn green in Australia? Have our neighbors down under become infested with Klingons?"
That was a VERY clever troll intended to lure out the Star Trek fanatics. Kudos!
Before long, I'll need both hands to count how many games Linux has. Kudos!
... hacking into the system and changing the grades for those who can cough up the dough?
"Sounds suspiciously like V could have been predicting Microsoft's rise to power...I think I may go live in a cave..."
"...crash" +5, Funny
"...untimely bsod" +5, Funny
"...that sounds like Microsoft" +5, Funny
"...I bet that....Bill Gates....something embarrasing" +5, Funny
"Linux: light years ahead of Windows. Literaly!"
Good thing they didn't plan a return trip!
"That is why at times I hate using metaphors, some people don't understand them and then try to stretch them too far..."
;)
The point is that in your metaphor, McDonald's still paid for the ingredients + preparation of the extra fries, whether the customer bought and ate them or not. Activision put money and time into making those map levels.
That help a little? I'd go into more detailed, but I'm on meds right now and am worried that if I type much longer I'll be really confusing.
'An OS can provide the thrust for rocket engines and then some!'
Mind the -f command.
"...MS-built engine"
It'll never get off the ground - too much bloat! "
"...Linux-built engine"
It'll never get off the ground - nobody wrote the man page for the launch command!
...2...1.... LAUNCH!
Oh shit... sorry guys, gotta start over. I had the caps-lock on.
" As for networking like 'directplay' (I think)"
I was referring to Joysticks, mice, kb's, etc. I may not have gotten the right terminology for MS's product in that area, though...
"The fact is that most were more than satisfied without these extra levels, and are just looking for a reason to be the martyr o' the day."
It's also a fact that the 130 or so KB that were transferred could easily have held a map. The textures were probably on the disc. Why it's more likely that the 130KB was spent telling the XBOX it's okay to open a map on the disc escapes me.