Your rebuttal reeks of as much optimism as the original poster's did of pessimism.
Fair enough.
There are numerous, deep flaws with the PS3 and with Sony's strategy over the last year. No amount of rationalization changes that.
You say that like this is irrefutable; fact is, we just don't know yet. I don't believe I am rationalizing - currently I have no dog in this fight, so to speak.
I am interested in people knowing the problems that the PS3 is having so that they can make informed decisions about their $600 purchase. Is that wrong?
Your selfless concern is touching.
Please refute any of my points and I will listen. Saying "its gonna be fixed soon in a firmware update" is not a refutation.
Not a refutation, but a mitigating point, to be sure. Each new console has issues that will be corrected with firmware updates. This is a good thing.
Ok I'll bite:
Poor backward compatilibity with PS1 and PS2 games
About 98% of previous titles play just fine. Some have sync issues with FMV sequences, which do not affect gameplay (and yes, will be fixed). This is not 'poor compatibility'. Go check Sony's game database if you like, they have a tool for this.
Numerous high def upscaling issues including PS3 BluRay movies not appearing in high definition properly
Again, disingenuous. Some older model HDTVs don't do 720p, and there is an issue with that particular resolution on those particular sets. And fixable. Considering the very small installed base of total HDTVs, this strikes me as a fairly minor problem (although irritating to be sure). And that is the only problem, not 'numerous'.
A very poor online system, as compared to the Xbox Live System
I agree. Both the Wii and PS3 online capabilities are inferior to Microsoft's network.
No high definition cables ship with the system, you are stuck with a composite cable unless you pay extra
While I agree that the high-end SKU bundle should have included these, you surely must agree that most people would end up throwing this cable away. Nintendo doesn't even think you need to buy one from a store. (Or at all, until December.)
Poor graphics on side to side game comparison tests
For that game. Talk about intellectually dishonest, you act like its an exhaustive comparison.
Poor framerates and "tearing" reported on multiple game titles, including Tony Hawk and Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire
Yeah, maybe. Had some slowdown on Gears of War, too. Tony Hawk, being a cross-platform franchise, perhaps had the least amount of time for a PS3 port. Gundam just plain sucks. But point taken.
Poor buggy development tools which make development very hard as compared to other current gen systems
Remind me again, why do we care what Nolan Bushnell thinks of the PS3 dev environment?
Remind me again, why do WE care about the dev environment? How is that warning consumers of the dangers of the PS3?
Multiple launch titles cancelled or delayed due to development issues
Scrapin' the bottom of the barrel, here. Newsflash: software doesn't tend to ship on time. I'm not excusing them but this is hardly anything new.
Tell me, what is it when you remove a title from your previous console's dev roster so you can push it as a launch title for the next console?
With the Xbox 360 already having 7 million units sold worldwide blahblahblah attachrate balhblah (snipped)
The fact is, you are looking at two console launches only a week out. And considering the shortages, the data is skewed anyhow. You cannot project this out in a linear fashion. For instance what do you make of the fact that the PS3 and the DS are in American kids Top 10 Xmas Gifts list and the Wii is no where to be found?
What you are doing is called cherry-picking. You can do this to anything and make it look bad. Hey, what's with the Wii? No component cables for sale until December, and even
Re:Idiot! How dare you bring facts into bush hatre
on
An Inconvenient Truth
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· Score: 1
Personally the Global Warming hoax is far from 'beyond debate'.
I'm happy you are willing to keep your absurd disbelief personal.
The biggest roadblock to "adult" Wii entertainment isn't Nintendo but retailers, your EBGames, BestBuys, and Walmarts refuse to carry any "AO" rated titles meaning if a company did release them they'd get very limited to almost non-existent exposure... in the US at least (most of the rest of the world is a bit less prudish).
Are you sure that's the roadblock? After all, this stuff is all sold in the same places, and this doesn't seem to affect the other two major platforms...? (Bully does not a trend make?)
Those 'citizens' could simply look up the police report from the incident and get badge numbers- how freaking stupid is that "I WANT YOUR BADGE NUMBER" (well, read it dumbass). Protect a total stranger who has refused to show ID and refused to leave and then SHOUTS "HERE"S YOUR FUCKING PATRIOR ACT" HERES YOUR POLICE BRUTALITY"... well, all I've got to say is "You're lucky". Before tasers it would have been a knockdown or a pulled weapon.
There is absolutely no reason those cops could not have simply dragged him out of there. I find your analysis disturbing. I've watched the clip (and others) as well, and what you have said simply does not match up. Why is it unreasonable to ask for a badge number? What is this weird authority-figure bias?
you forgot: extremely annoying fanboys who can't help but turn it in a big tribal-identity pissing contest.
here's a hint: when you care about what each company makes on each console, you are a fanboy. WHO FUCKING CARES how they make money, thats their problem.
I was (mostly) trying to point out that his comment about the "main system seller getting bad reviews" was false being that the lowest score is 88% from Gamespot who generally have lower scores than most sites.
Oh don't get me wrong - GP was spewing all sorts of fanboy garbage. You are right.
Yeah its only the best reviewed game of the year with an average review score of 97% after 16 reviews (gamerankings.com); if it can maintain that average over 4 more reviews it will only be the second best reviewed game of all time (second only to The Legend of Zelda:OoT).
Zelda is a good game. Spent all night last night taking turns with a few friends (not my Nintendo but a friend's). But it is not the second best game of all time. Its not even remotely close.
(Obviously this is my opinion.) What Nintendo has shipped is a very respectable GameCube game with a couple of Wiimote add-ons which only work so-so. Art direction is great (although I was more of a Wind Waker fan), music is nice, story is identical of course as pretty much all Zelda games. Honestly I found myself getting a bit pissed off at the controls, they are not as accurate as a regular button sometimes (shield block nunchuk-thrust sucks, half the time it does a spin attack. And you can just wave the thing wildly and usually win. That is just stupid.)
Anyways, don't put a lot of stock in gamerankings.com; after all it is a useful guide to collective impressions, but that's all it is. Zelda has a huge following. Maybe the biggest following of all game franchises - its way up there at any rate. If I'm a raving Nintendo fanboy and I've been waiting for Zelda for years - particularly since it was taken from my previous system, the GameCube, so it could be a launch title for the Wii - well, to come home and admit that the game is just Pretty Good and not OMFG BEst tHiNg eVar... that is a bitter pill for many. Just sayin'.
... that the NY Times review guy is annoyed with the missing/incomplete features that, supposedly, "no one has asked for". Music, browsing, background downloading, that sort of thing. They'll fix a lot of this in firmware (like they did for the X360), so its a bit moot, but he does have the point in saying that Sony originally delayed this launch - the fact that this shit is not polished is bad.
First of all, Microsoft didn't take the lead, Playstation 2 still outsells all versions of XBox combined by a rather large margin.
Wondering if this was Sony's idea all along... the reason the PS3 is so high-end and high-price is because they already have a low-end console with a low price that sells spectacularly well, called.. a PS2...
I'll have a video explaining the entire process in detail, and then nobody really has to worry about me opening my face again. I guess I was better off not posting to blogs.
Don't let the bastards grind you down, man. I was quite interested to see what you did.
Remember a lot of these guys are mad because a) the PS3 is too expensive to buy that AND a Wii/X360 or b) latent Sony-BMG rootkit hate or c) Sony nerfed their Wookiee.
I have other issues with sony, obviously:) I can afford a PS3 when they are available for MSRP although it would be a big financial hit. I do intend to get a Wii. I just blew this month's toy budget on upgrading from my Motorola V555 to a RAZR V3i. Yeah, the reception is mediocre, but this is the one that is a useful mp3 player, and I simply cannot stand nokia. the other credible competitor is sonyericsson... and I'm sure you know how I feel about that...
Heh, I have a SonyEricsson W600i. I like it. (No DRM on that, mind you.)
I really like the RAZR formfactor. Have they improved the UI?
On our original topic: remember it doesn't make a lot of sense to lump them all together; Sony is like a corporation with multiple personality disorder. So, by all means go on boycotting or whatever, but just be sure you know what you are taking a stand against. Sony-BMG: rootkit. Sony Electronics: batteries. SCEA: Playstation and PSP. SonyEricsson: phones. They all make independent decisions. I don't buy from SonyBMG personally speaking. SCEA has done nothing but good things for me. (Although even THEY are schizo: witness PSP vs PS3. PSP is locked down firmware, antihacking tech, weird limitations... but no DRM'd media. PS3 can run linux distros, has all standard ports and connectivity, etc.)
I'm considering picking up a Wii. But I need to play it first. The controller is intriguing. I like the haptics. But I have no idea what it'll be like for, say, an hour. And honestly the game lineup is totally boring to me, with the exception of Zelda. PS3 lineup looks totally boring as well, with the exception of Resistance. One thing I can say in favour of the PS3, is that the March 2007 titles look much stronger to me on the Sony unit. But thats a subjective thing. Cheers.
no one gets fucked over by capitalism in this case. if you aren't willing to pay as much as the guy standing next to you, why do you think you deserve to have a game sold to you? its not food, shelter, health care, etc. so why whine that the richer gamers get to play it first?
First of all, its not ME we're talking about. I don't care.
I had HOPED the lineup was not 99% scalpers, but it seems to be the case. My phrase 'fucked over' sounds a little strong, I'm certainly not shedding any tears, but it does bother me somewhat that there is some kid out there who is dying to play Resistance or whatever and raw profiteering (i.e. capitalism) will keep that kid unhappy till well after christmas (and the parents, consequently). Its not a big deal, I'd just like to have seen a healthier ratio of gamers-to-scalpers, is all.
Assuming one's just picked up a PS3 at retail price, it'd be foolish to keep it.
Its unprofitable to keep it, but like I said in another post, I do believe some people want to play the thing. Buying a console at all is foolish by nature - its a toy!
Was just hoping to hear some honest impressions of the system. I guess its all scalpers right now.
I find the profiteering understandable, what bothers me is that there are actually some people who want to, you know, PLAY a PS3, and they get fucked over by all this 'capitalism'.
yeah, if your playback hardware is a cheap MP3 player with cheap earbuds, or worse, played through an FM modulator into your car stereo, you can't tell much of a difference. but if you have a decent stereo system, the difference is obvious.
My experience has been, you play a blind test of an AAC and the 'original' for laypeople, 9 times out of 10 they cannot discern the difference at all. You may be that last 1, but you are definitely in the minority.
Peak Oil is a nonsense theory, and deserves to be exposed for what it is. There've been dozens of predictions since Hubbert, and not a one has been correct.
But Hubbert was correct...?
Rei, was tempted to flame you but I think you're a thoughtful writer and a smart person. I disagree with your assessment, though. I would invite you to read the Hirsch Report. Huge, funded studies have been undertaken on this problem (by the US Energy Dept., no less - the Army wanted it). Unfortunately most of the alternative methods you have listed are fairly easy to poke holes in at the moment (thermal depolymerization? come on...)
Anyways, I hope you read it. Was an eye opener for me.
The Hirsch report, written by Robert Hirsch of SAIC, was commissioned by the Department of Energy in 2005. To try and avoid some of the controversy around the exact date of 'peak', he sidestepped it, and rather tried to perform an objective analysis of what effort would be required to mitigate such a peak, in three scenarios.
"I don't like what they're saying. Is there a way we can slur them with a phony conflict-of-interest implication or some other kind of ad hominem? Dealing with arguments on their merits is too hard."
If you want to go on being completely uncritical of some/all of your informational sources, that's your prerogative. Chastising someone else for it is idiotic.
CERA basically exists to advocate for in-place technological fixes, such as hydrogen cars. They are extremely pro-business and these days they seem to exist specifically to debunk Peak Oil.
Yergin is well-spoken, but frankly I've heard him have his ass kicked so many ways already, I don't really bother with him anymore. His standard tactic is to basically question his opponent's data in a debate. He doesn't question the idea of an oil peak, but puts that date in the very distant future, "when it won't matter anymore".
Do a search for Yergin on EnergyBulletin.net and you'll see what I mean.
Its also worth noting that CERA is now owned by IHS Energy.
Slashdot Mirror
Fair enough.
You say that like this is irrefutable; fact is, we just don't know yet. I don't believe I am rationalizing - currently I have no dog in this fight, so to speak.
Your selfless concern is touching.
Not a refutation, but a mitigating point, to be sure. Each new console has issues that will be corrected with firmware updates. This is a good thing.
Ok I'll bite:
About 98% of previous titles play just fine. Some have sync issues with FMV sequences, which do not affect gameplay (and yes, will be fixed). This is not 'poor compatibility'. Go check Sony's game database if you like, they have a tool for this.
Again, disingenuous. Some older model HDTVs don't do 720p, and there is an issue with that particular resolution on those particular sets. And fixable. Considering the very small installed base of total HDTVs, this strikes me as a fairly minor problem (although irritating to be sure). And that is the only problem, not 'numerous'.
I agree. Both the Wii and PS3 online capabilities are inferior to Microsoft's network.
While I agree that the high-end SKU bundle should have included these, you surely must agree that most people would end up throwing this cable away. Nintendo doesn't even think you need to buy one from a store. (Or at all, until December.)
For that game. Talk about intellectually dishonest, you act like its an exhaustive comparison.
Yeah, maybe. Had some slowdown on Gears of War, too. Tony Hawk, being a cross-platform franchise, perhaps had the least amount of time for a PS3 port. Gundam just plain sucks. But point taken.
Remind me again, why do we care what Nolan Bushnell thinks of the PS3 dev environment?
Remind me again, why do WE care about the dev environment? How is that warning consumers of the dangers of the PS3?
Scrapin' the bottom of the barrel, here. Newsflash: software doesn't tend to ship on time. I'm not excusing them but this is hardly anything new.
Tell me, what is it when you remove a title from your previous console's dev roster so you can push it as a launch title for the next console?
The fact is, you are looking at two console launches only a week out. And considering the shortages, the data is skewed anyhow. You cannot project this out in a linear fashion. For instance what do you make of the fact that the PS3 and the DS are in American kids Top 10 Xmas Gifts list and the Wii is no where to be found?
What you are doing is called cherry-picking. You can do this to anything and make it look bad. Hey, what's with the Wii? No component cables for sale until December, and even
I'm happy you are willing to keep your absurd disbelief personal.
Are you sure that's the roadblock? After all, this stuff is all sold in the same places, and this doesn't seem to affect the other two major platforms...? (Bully does not a trend make?)
There is absolutely no reason those cops could not have simply dragged him out of there. I find your analysis disturbing. I've watched the clip (and others) as well, and what you have said simply does not match up. Why is it unreasonable to ask for a badge number? What is this weird authority-figure bias?
you forgot: extremely annoying fanboys who can't help but turn it in a big tribal-identity pissing contest.
here's a hint: when you care about what each company makes on each console, you are a fanboy. WHO FUCKING CARES how they make money, thats their problem.
Oh don't get me wrong - GP was spewing all sorts of fanboy garbage. You are right.
Zelda is a good game. Spent all night last night taking turns with a few friends (not my Nintendo but a friend's). But it is not the second best game of all time. Its not even remotely close.
(Obviously this is my opinion.) What Nintendo has shipped is a very respectable GameCube game with a couple of Wiimote add-ons which only work so-so. Art direction is great (although I was more of a Wind Waker fan), music is nice, story is identical of course as pretty much all Zelda games. Honestly I found myself getting a bit pissed off at the controls, they are not as accurate as a regular button sometimes (shield block nunchuk-thrust sucks, half the time it does a spin attack. And you can just wave the thing wildly and usually win. That is just stupid.)
Anyways, don't put a lot of stock in gamerankings.com; after all it is a useful guide to collective impressions, but that's all it is. Zelda has a huge following. Maybe the biggest following of all game franchises - its way up there at any rate. If I'm a raving Nintendo fanboy and I've been waiting for Zelda for years - particularly since it was taken from my previous system, the GameCube, so it could be a launch title for the Wii - well, to come home and admit that the game is just Pretty Good and not OMFG BEst tHiNg eVar... that is a bitter pill for many. Just sayin'.
... that the NY Times review guy is annoyed with the missing/incomplete features that, supposedly, "no one has asked for". Music, browsing, background downloading, that sort of thing. They'll fix a lot of this in firmware (like they did for the X360), so its a bit moot, but he does have the point in saying that Sony originally delayed this launch - the fact that this shit is not polished is bad.
Wondering if this was Sony's idea all along... the reason the PS3 is so high-end and high-price is because they already have a low-end console with a low price that sells spectacularly well, called.. a PS2...
Don't let the bastards grind you down, man. I was quite interested to see what you did.
Remember a lot of these guys are mad because a) the PS3 is too expensive to buy that AND a Wii/X360 or b) latent Sony-BMG rootkit hate or c) Sony nerfed their Wookiee.
Heh, I have a SonyEricsson W600i. I like it. (No DRM on that, mind you.)
I really like the RAZR formfactor. Have they improved the UI?
On our original topic: remember it doesn't make a lot of sense to lump them all together; Sony is like a corporation with multiple personality disorder. So, by all means go on boycotting or whatever, but just be sure you know what you are taking a stand against. Sony-BMG: rootkit. Sony Electronics: batteries. SCEA: Playstation and PSP. SonyEricsson: phones. They all make independent decisions. I don't buy from SonyBMG personally speaking. SCEA has done nothing but good things for me. (Although even THEY are schizo: witness PSP vs PS3. PSP is locked down firmware, antihacking tech, weird limitations... but no DRM'd media. PS3 can run linux distros, has all standard ports and connectivity, etc.)
I'm considering picking up a Wii. But I need to play it first. The controller is intriguing. I like the haptics. But I have no idea what it'll be like for, say, an hour. And honestly the game lineup is totally boring to me, with the exception of Zelda. PS3 lineup looks totally boring as well, with the exception of Resistance. One thing I can say in favour of the PS3, is that the March 2007 titles look much stronger to me on the Sony unit. But thats a subjective thing. Cheers.
Yeah, I can tell :)
Its all about gameplay man, all about gameplay.
(Or wait.. its Friday. Do we like high resolution graphics again today on Slahdot? I forget.)
Fair enough. I reserve my right to be mildly irritated at the situation.
First of all, its not ME we're talking about. I don't care.
I had HOPED the lineup was not 99% scalpers, but it seems to be the case. My phrase 'fucked over' sounds a little strong, I'm certainly not shedding any tears, but it does bother me somewhat that there is some kid out there who is dying to play Resistance or whatever and raw profiteering (i.e. capitalism) will keep that kid unhappy till well after christmas (and the parents, consequently). Its not a big deal, I'd just like to have seen a healthier ratio of gamers-to-scalpers, is all.
Its unprofitable to keep it, but like I said in another post, I do believe some people want to play the thing. Buying a console at all is foolish by nature - its a toy!
Was just hoping to hear some honest impressions of the system. I guess its all scalpers right now.
I find the profiteering understandable, what bothers me is that there are actually some people who want to, you know, PLAY a PS3, and they get fucked over by all this 'capitalism'.
We know the lineups were mad, we read about that yesterday.
Who has a PS3? Surely one of you can give us a mini-review? Impressions? Anything?
My experience has been, you play a blind test of an AAC and the 'original' for laypeople, 9 times out of 10 they cannot discern the difference at all. You may be that last 1, but you are definitely in the minority.
But Hubbert was correct...?
Rei, was tempted to flame you but I think you're a thoughtful writer and a smart person. I disagree with your assessment, though. I would invite you to read the Hirsch Report. Huge, funded studies have been undertaken on this problem (by the US Energy Dept., no less - the Army wanted it). Unfortunately most of the alternative methods you have listed are fairly easy to poke holes in at the moment (thermal depolymerization? come on...)
Anyways, I hope you read it. Was an eye opener for me.
I see this a lot.
You know, there are two lessons to be learned from the story of 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf'.
One, that one should not issue false warnings.
Two - often overlooked - the wolf actually did show up at the end.*
No go read the Hirsch Report, and compare it to the science in the CERA report.
(I'd like to apologize to the wolves, who constantly get an unfair rap, considering they never kill people, ever.)
Its the best rebuttal to Yergin and CERA.
The Hirsch report, written by Robert Hirsch of SAIC, was commissioned by the Department of Energy in 2005. To try and avoid some of the controversy around the exact date of 'peak', he sidestepped it, and rather tried to perform an objective analysis of what effort would be required to mitigate such a peak, in three scenarios.
If you want to go on being completely uncritical of some/all of your informational sources, that's your prerogative. Chastising someone else for it is idiotic.
Yergin is well-spoken, but frankly I've heard him have his ass kicked so many ways already, I don't really bother with him anymore. His standard tactic is to basically question his opponent's data in a debate. He doesn't question the idea of an oil peak, but puts that date in the very distant future, "when it won't matter anymore".
Do a search for Yergin on EnergyBulletin.net and you'll see what I mean.
Its also worth noting that CERA is now owned by IHS Energy.