"Don't jump the gun. For all you know, the Revolution controller will function like a floaty, laggy air-joystick."
Fair point. One of the reasons I took it for granted that it'll behave well is that IGN reported that the Metroid Prime demo worked really well. You'd be correct in saying, however, that I should hold off my expectations of the Rev controller until I've tried it.
"but I don't think this is some miracle controller that we'll wonder how ever did without..."
Can't say I agree with that. I just tried to play the XBOX 360 demo game... err.. forget the name but it's a WWII game where ya run around and shoot etc. Couldn't stand trying to aim my gun. I ached badly for the Rev controller.
Anybody who wants to play N64 and GameCube games as well. Don't get me wrong, it's neat you can do that with a DC (may even dust mine off and tinker with that) but the Rev still has value in that arena.
"Now days, the role of the "small guy" is filled by less successful or powerful corporate stores, edging the mom and pop shop from even beging in the "underdog" slot."
Maybe, but I can't say we're seeing a lot of business innovation out of mom and pop either. Funcoland comes to mind. They started as a mom-and-pop store. They became successful and started building more stores. Sooner or later, they popped up all over the place, usually near Walmart. (amusingly, that generated business for them instead of taking it away.) Then they get bought out by a bigger company. I doubt the founders were unsatisfied with how their little business worked out.
"Good luck competing with Amazon, Best Boy, Circuit City, Gamestop/EBGames, BlockBuster and so on."
That wouldn't be all that hard to do. They all have weaknesses.
Amazon -- Much easier to find a game you want if you know specifically what you're looking for. They also have to ship the games to you. No instant gratification.
Best Buy / Circuit City -- Big busy stores that don't sell used games.
GameStop / EB -- Not bad all around. You can get used games and so on. They usually congregate in malls or near Walmart. A more convenient location and a better used games policy could put you against them fairly easily.
Blockbuster -- Erm, maybe I'm just out of touch, but I can't imagine shopping for used games frequently at Blockbuster.
I suppose it'd be nicer if these places didn't exist, but I think somebody could compete if they really set out to do it and thought about what people want or don't want. If he sticks with used games, he's got a good shot.
Have you ever heard of Funcoland? (they were bought up by GameStop I think...) They had a thriving business. They did several things right:
1. They dealt with used as well as new games. Sounds like you're doing that so you're already on good ground there. One of the reasons I liked shopping there was that it was easy to say "Well, I've only got $10, I wonder what Funcoland has today."
2. They had a wonderful warranty system. If you bought a cleaning kit for the system, you got a one year warranty regardless of if it was new or used. I honestly would never have cared for that until Sony hit the market. As a plus, the cleaning kit was great to have around. (as opposed to just handing over some cash just for a piece of paper with 'warranty' written on it.)
3. Funcoland also had a club card. I think this is fairly common these days. Buy the card for $10, get 10% off every used game you buy for a year. Plus it came with a subscription to a magazine. It was definitely a good deal for the customers because it didn't take long to make that $10 back. Again, that encouraged me to come.
4. Funco also had stations set up so people could try the game before they buy them.
5. I don't know if you can pull this off, but I'll mention it anyway: Funco had a number of stores, so it was usually possible to get what you want. They'd make calls for you to find and hold what you're looking for so you can go pick it up. This seems unlikely for you for now, so I have an alternative suggestion: Are there other ma and pop stores nearby? If you are willing to call them and say "do you have this game I don't have?" for the customer, you'll encourage them to make your place the one-stop shop. I know it seems funny to send business other people's way, but customer service is a big bonus. The Funco I frequented had friends over at the local E.B. They'd send business back and forth between them. I liked both those stores a lot because the people were willing to help.
The only thing I'd really ding Funco for was making it hard to tell what games they had in stock. I can't say it was necessarily their fault, but they often had most of their games in drawers. If you can do something to display what you've got, bonus.
"Why? Does being a divorced mother of five make you immune from having to obey the law?"
Alternatively: How can a juror expect a woman to pay tens of thousands of dollars in damages? I'd have trouble with that. That makes me a bad juror, but it's not something I'd want to live with.
"That they really didn't offer any advances useable in more sophisticated AI or such? Bigger and better graphics are nice, don't get me wrong, but are we really going to actually see anything fresh and new until the hardware is capable of doing more than eye candy?"
Though I agree that the 360 is pretty mediochre, I think your statement is a little misleading. Yes, it has more doodads for throwing polygons and texels on the screen, but it also has a lot more number crunching power needed to have more sophisticated AI. One of the buzzwords being thrown around a lot with the next generation of games is use of the Havoc physics system so stuff falls realistically. I've also read developer statements saying they have more complex AI governing NPCs and such. In simpler terms, I would expect the next-gen GTA game to be considerably more diverse in terms of what the character can do. There's even some hints of that in the games coming up down the road.
All that said, those idiots at Sony and Microsoft seriously dropped the ball by making their controllers virtually identical to their previous generation systems. Thanks a lump, guys. San Andreas was fun so long as I didn't actually have to aim my gun. Now you want me to play WWII games with the same hinderance. But at least it's prettier! Maybe the added AI will make my team-mates fight the battles for me.
"No, Slashdotters are just singularly skilled at beating jokes down into the earth, then beating them furthur into the earth, followed by furthur beating. Eventually, the jokes emerge in China, are executed for being Not Funny, and are used in the manufacture of a variety of skin care products."
I didn't realize so many geeks aspired to be SNL writers!
"I for one welcome our new ISP Controlling Overlords"
In recent weeks I've noticed this joke has been getting a lot of positive moderations. Is the 10 year anniversary of its first use coming up or something?
" Think about all of the in-game radio ads that, instead of trying make you laugh, will be trying to separate you from your money."
Um, those ads in the game do that, too. Don't believe me? Go read any review of the last 3 GTA games and notice the comments made about the sound track in that game. It's also worth noting that the Serenity trailer had the exact goal that you're mentioning. Why not the picthforks over that? For the simple reason that entertainment was achieved. Even TV ads can be entertaining. "This'll be the best prom ever!"
On the surface, I don't mind in-game advertising. If Carl Johnson drank Sprite instead of (whatever the made up name of a soda was), I'd actually prefer that. Vice City would have been more interesting if they could have used billboards from the 80's etc in it. (Although I must say, their parodies were pretty darned funny.)
Just like anything else in this world, it can be taken to a silly degree. One of the reasons I don't like going to IGN.com is because they INSIST on occasionally loading a full-page commercial instead of taking me straight to the news. I can understand that they need to make money, but when it makes me think twice about heading on over, it's not working right.
Truth be told, I don't think advertising in video games is an issue at all. The issue is whether or not the game is entertaining. Being forced to watch a 30 second ad during a game is hardly any different than a game with a 30 second load time or irritating control. Why aren't they that different? Games are measured by 'fun'. Advertising can be a good element or a bad element. Imagine running around Liberty City, passing a TV show, and running across that ad of the Jack in the Box ball with his hole xeroxed.
Slashdot Mirror
"Don't jump the gun. For all you know, the Revolution controller will function like a floaty, laggy air-joystick."
Fair point. One of the reasons I took it for granted that it'll behave well is that IGN reported that the Metroid Prime demo worked really well. You'd be correct in saying, however, that I should hold off my expectations of the Rev controller until I've tried it.
"Extreme pressure" my ass."
Sadly, Terrance and Phillip were unavailable for comment.
"So what did the I-pod select then? "Under pressure"? Something from the Crash Test Dummies?"
The Bad Touch.
"I can picture it now... "Why is that man playing with his crotch?" "I'm just typing, honest!"
"I'm playing a fightin game!"
"FINISH HIM"
"....."
"but I don't think this is some miracle controller that we'll wonder how ever did without..."
Can't say I agree with that. I just tried to play the XBOX 360 demo game... err.. forget the name but it's a WWII game where ya run around and shoot etc. Couldn't stand trying to aim my gun. I ached badly for the Rev controller.
Anybody who wants to play N64 and GameCube games as well. Don't get me wrong, it's neat you can do that with a DC (may even dust mine off and tinker with that) but the Rev still has value in that arena.
"...is this in any way News for Nerds?"
But for some people, Slashdot just isn't entertaining enough on a Saturday night.
Anybody else notice that in the credits of that episode, everybody was named John or Jane Smith? *scratches head*
"Now days, the role of the "small guy" is filled by less successful or powerful corporate stores, edging the mom and pop shop from even beging in the "underdog" slot."
Maybe, but I can't say we're seeing a lot of business innovation out of mom and pop either. Funcoland comes to mind. They started as a mom-and-pop store. They became successful and started building more stores. Sooner or later, they popped up all over the place, usually near Walmart. (amusingly, that generated business for them instead of taking it away.) Then they get bought out by a bigger company. I doubt the founders were unsatisfied with how their little business worked out.
"Good luck competing with Amazon, Best Boy, Circuit City, Gamestop/EBGames, BlockBuster and so on."
That wouldn't be all that hard to do. They all have weaknesses.
Amazon -- Much easier to find a game you want if you know specifically what you're looking for. They also have to ship the games to you. No instant gratification.
Best Buy / Circuit City -- Big busy stores that don't sell used games.
GameStop / EB -- Not bad all around. You can get used games and so on. They usually congregate in malls or near Walmart. A more convenient location and a better used games policy could put you against them fairly easily.
Blockbuster -- Erm, maybe I'm just out of touch, but I can't imagine shopping for used games frequently at Blockbuster.
I suppose it'd be nicer if these places didn't exist, but I think somebody could compete if they really set out to do it and thought about what people want or don't want. If he sticks with used games, he's got a good shot.
Have you ever heard of Funcoland? (they were bought up by GameStop I think...) They had a thriving business. They did several things right:
:)
1. They dealt with used as well as new games. Sounds like you're doing that so you're already on good ground there. One of the reasons I liked shopping there was that it was easy to say "Well, I've only got $10, I wonder what Funcoland has today."
2. They had a wonderful warranty system. If you bought a cleaning kit for the system, you got a one year warranty regardless of if it was new or used. I honestly would never have cared for that until Sony hit the market. As a plus, the cleaning kit was great to have around. (as opposed to just handing over some cash just for a piece of paper with 'warranty' written on it.)
3. Funcoland also had a club card. I think this is fairly common these days. Buy the card for $10, get 10% off every used game you buy for a year. Plus it came with a subscription to a magazine. It was definitely a good deal for the customers because it didn't take long to make that $10 back. Again, that encouraged me to come.
4. Funco also had stations set up so people could try the game before they buy them.
5. I don't know if you can pull this off, but I'll mention it anyway: Funco had a number of stores, so it was usually possible to get what you want. They'd make calls for you to find and hold what you're looking for so you can go pick it up. This seems unlikely for you for now, so I have an alternative suggestion: Are there other ma and pop stores nearby? If you are willing to call them and say "do you have this game I don't have?" for the customer, you'll encourage them to make your place the one-stop shop. I know it seems funny to send business other people's way, but customer service is a big bonus. The Funco I frequented had friends over at the local E.B. They'd send business back and forth between them. I liked both those stores a lot because the people were willing to help.
The only thing I'd really ding Funco for was making it hard to tell what games they had in stock. I can't say it was necessarily their fault, but they often had most of their games in drawers. If you can do something to display what you've got, bonus.
Good luck.
Heh. I thought my version was catchier.
"Why? Does being a divorced mother of five make you immune from having to obey the law?"
Alternatively: How can a juror expect a woman to pay tens of thousands of dollars in damages? I'd have trouble with that. That makes me a bad juror, but it's not something I'd want to live with.
"That they really didn't offer any advances useable in more sophisticated AI or such? Bigger and better graphics are nice, don't get me wrong, but are we really going to actually see anything fresh and new until the hardware is capable of doing more than eye candy?"
Though I agree that the 360 is pretty mediochre, I think your statement is a little misleading. Yes, it has more doodads for throwing polygons and texels on the screen, but it also has a lot more number crunching power needed to have more sophisticated AI. One of the buzzwords being thrown around a lot with the next generation of games is use of the Havoc physics system so stuff falls realistically. I've also read developer statements saying they have more complex AI governing NPCs and such. In simpler terms, I would expect the next-gen GTA game to be considerably more diverse in terms of what the character can do. There's even some hints of that in the games coming up down the road.
All that said, those idiots at Sony and Microsoft seriously dropped the ball by making their controllers virtually identical to their previous generation systems. Thanks a lump, guys. San Andreas was fun so long as I didn't actually have to aim my gun. Now you want me to play WWII games with the same hinderance. But at least it's prettier! Maybe the added AI will make my team-mates fight the battles for me.
"I would never acknowledge and participate in such a degrading method of showing my abilities."
Proving your abilities by answering a challenge not unlike one you would recieve at the job you'd apply for is degrading?
"So do you think BioWare is motivated by trying to recruit someone, or is this mainly an exercise in promoting their games?"
Digital artists have to have a demo reel in order to score an interview. Why would writing be any different?
"No, Slashdotters are just singularly skilled at beating jokes down into the earth, then beating them furthur into the earth, followed by furthur beating. Eventually, the jokes emerge in China, are executed for being Not Funny, and are used in the manufacture of a variety of skin care products."
I didn't realize so many geeks aspired to be SNL writers!
"I for one welcome our new ISP Controlling Overlords"
In recent weeks I've noticed this joke has been getting a lot of positive moderations. Is the 10 year anniversary of its first use coming up or something?
" Think about all of the in-game radio ads that, instead of trying make you laugh, will be trying to separate you from your money."
Um, those ads in the game do that, too. Don't believe me? Go read any review of the last 3 GTA games and notice the comments made about the sound track in that game. It's also worth noting that the Serenity trailer had the exact goal that you're mentioning. Why not the picthforks over that? For the simple reason that entertainment was achieved. Even TV ads can be entertaining. "This'll be the best prom ever!"
"its, not it's. Sorry."
"You killed Anne L. Retentive with a typo?!"
"Nah, she's just in a comma."
"Starting with a flawed analogy usually leads to a flawed article --as it did in this case."
Unless we really are living in the Matrix, it's doubtful there is an unflawed analogy that could be used in this context.
"Oh come on... Why keep up the pretence of being 'editors' if you don't even fix stupid mistakes like it's versus its?"
I was all excited about the virus protection in GMail until you pointed that out.
On the surface, I don't mind in-game advertising. If Carl Johnson drank Sprite instead of (whatever the made up name of a soda was), I'd actually prefer that. Vice City would have been more interesting if they could have used billboards from the 80's etc in it. (Although I must say, their parodies were pretty darned funny.)
Just like anything else in this world, it can be taken to a silly degree. One of the reasons I don't like going to IGN.com is because they INSIST on occasionally loading a full-page commercial instead of taking me straight to the news. I can understand that they need to make money, but when it makes me think twice about heading on over, it's not working right.
Truth be told, I don't think advertising in video games is an issue at all. The issue is whether or not the game is entertaining. Being forced to watch a 30 second ad during a game is hardly any different than a game with a 30 second load time or irritating control. Why aren't they that different? Games are measured by 'fun'. Advertising can be a good element or a bad element. Imagine running around Liberty City, passing a TV show, and running across that ad of the Jack in the Box ball with his hole xeroxed.
"I don't want a Star Trek MMO."
"I just thought I'd wander into a topic that doesn't interest me and spend 20 seconds posting that I don't care about the topic."
"Then I read on... oh, that's when more information is going to be out...yippee?"
I'd expect it roughly a year from last week.