Let's face it - people don't like great games.. I think what we have here is now that games are at crticial mass, most non-geeks want stupid, pick-up-and-play titles.. Nintendo games (the good ones anyway) have always focused on depth, gameplay, and story. Something that just doesn't jive with most of the market.
I'm 26. I remember back when I was a kid, video games were mostly the domain of the 'geeks.' Any gamer (even at the casual level most are at today) was really not a mainstream non-geek person!:). Looking at the market for sports titles, and the unbelievable sales volume for the PS2, it's obvious that most game players are not geeks. And it's for that reason why PS2 and Xbox are ahead.
I have an Xbox and like it.. But most games for it are generic crap with just a few notable exceptions. When I really want to sit down and play something, my Gamecube is always winning out.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Nintendo is going to settle into a very comfortable niche in the market. Just like Apple, they will appeal to a certain market segment that will eat up every title thrown at them. I don't know why everyone is beating up on Nintendo for producing quality that nobody else seems to be able to match.
I bought a bunch of these cheap for work.. I've never experienced anything more annoying than that center ball, especially when you're scrolling downward. All too often downward becomes diagnal, and the scrolling stops.
I rarely have to scroll side to side since I run my monitor at a fairly high resolution. Just another gimic!
For me, the only way to get anything done is to take my notebook PC to another location. At home I simply have too many distractions.
In College I would usually lock myself in the library for a few hours to get things done. It was quiet and I used to use the closing time as a deadline to complete my work. Unfortunately I didn't discover this until my senior year:).
True, they won't get doom on the Gamecube, but Nintendo is far from its demise. Let's not forget that Nintendo played second fiddle to Sony PS1 for the life of the n64 console.
Frankly, I think Nintendo is the only innovative game maker left in business today. We had a lengthy discussion on/. the other day on this very topic.. Nintendo, time and again, is the innovator in this industry. As we've seen with Apple (the innovator in the PC industry) they've carved out quite a profitable niche in the marketplace, which is where Nintendo may find itself.
Nintendo, like Apple, has some very innovative games, does things nobody else does, but is later copied by everyone else in the industry:). I love my Xbox by and large it's generic crap that I'm playing on it:). The games look great, but I have yet to find a game that immerses me like the Nintendo titles.
On the Gamecube alone, you have great first party titles like Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Zelda, Mario Sunshine, etc. etc. Nintendo knows how to make a great video game, and the Gamecube is by far the best canvas they've ever had to express their innovative approach to video games.
All one needs to do is just play Zelda Wind Waker for an hour or two to see just how amazing these people are. It's just an astounding game.
Whenever I'm in need of a new Mac, I generally purchase them from the 'special deals' link which is generally towards the bottom of the store page. There you'll find a rotating stock of refurbished Apple machines, from desktops to powerbooks, available at a nice discount (with a full 1 year warranty).
If you don't need something absolutely brand new, check it out. I got my girlfriend a 700mhz ibook (with CDRW) last Christmas for about a grand.
WCP is amazing.. Smooth framerates, decent graphics, and a marvel of programming (and to think it only occupies 4 megabytes!!)
I think, however, that this game would appeal to a wider audience if they ported Wing Commander 1.. Wing Commander always depended on strong story elements to negate some of the repetitive gameplay.. Porting over a game that relied heavily upon FMV for its storyline was a mistake. WC1 & 2 had an animated text based storyline that is perfect for the GBA.
It's a shame that such a marvelous technical achievement may be overlooked because they ported the wrong darn game!
Nope, you actually pay LESS for the album. I noticed more than a few full albums for only $9.99.. Much cheaper than the $20 at the mall, and even less than the $12 I pay at Amazon.
This is exactly what people have been waiting for. Too bad the industry couldn't have come up with this rather simple (and unrestrictive) process back in 1998 when mp3's started gaining popularity.
I fear that this new venture is doomed to failure now that people are so accustomed to getting their stuff for free. Too bad the industry didn't come up with this sooner.
In my neck of the woods (Connecticut) I have both DSL and cable service available. Both services offer 1500/256 for about $45 a month. I have the cable service at home, the DSL service at work. There's no difference in speed. Both ramp up to their full potential 24/7. Competition is great!!
However one consideration that may be lacking from this analysis is how Comcast (and many DOCSIS providers) handle capping the connections.
On my Comcast cable modem, the cap is regulated by my local cable modem. So if I'm downloading from an extremely fast host, my connection will momentarily burst into the 3 megabit/second range. The cable modem will then halt all communications for the remainder of that second. So if you have a NAT situation going, and one of the machines is nailing the bandwidth, it will slow down the other machines in the house.
Adobe doesn't hurt its business one bit.. Who else will people switch to? Photoshop is like the Windows of the design world, and I hardly think there's another piece of software as good as After Effects. Further, it probably helps their profitability to have their business narrowed down to one platform anyhow.
What resolution are you running? My 1.8 with a GF4 is actually fairly decent at 1600*1200, although it will get sluggish when I have a masssive battle on screen.
My brother's P3-933 runs great set to 800*600 @ low detail.
I've played just about every C&C game since the original, and this one takes the cake. Is it true to the series? No.. Does it have cheesy cut scenes? Nope... Are the missions a bit too short, maybe.. but the multiplayer rocks.
Over all the game is a masterpiece. I was one of the 3000 'preview testers' and now finally have my hands on the retail copy. The game doesn't go overboard with the 3D engine - it's really a part of the gameplay. It runs great compared to the beta too! Even my brother, who is running a very lowly P3 933 (with SDRAM no less) is able to get a great frame rate using the low detail setting.
Unit balance is good, and what's nice this time around is the true uniqueness of each army. The scrappy GLA terrorists need to be run as such or you'll get clobbered by the USA and China. China's units are slower, so you need to adjust your strategy accordingly. And the USA needs expensive stuff (and a lot of it) to conquer the other armies.
Multiplayer is where this game really shines.. Although I get my sorry ass schooled day in and day out, it's still fun:). The biggest mistake that EAP has made thus far is the exclusion of support for NAT routers. Their messageboards are chock full of 12 year old ingrates unable to get their game working. Hopefully they'll get this thing fixed so their bitching and moaning will stop once and for all.
I tried out the trial edition of this software and it's just plain boring. My stupid sim couldn't hold its bladder half the time and was peeing all over the place.. So most of your time is spent making the stupid avatar eat, shit, and sleep.
Why should I pay $10 a month for something I do now in real life for free? And I can even get laid in the real world!
The closed nature of their networks mean that independent ISP's (even the monster Earthlink) will no longer be able to compete with phone companies. Here in CT, the nearest competitor to SBC DSL has to charge at least $20 more than the service from the phone company. They rent the DSL services from the telco, making it impossible for them to compete. The days of infinite ISP choices are sadly over.
How does this company expect to suceed when the savior of the market, Nintendo, is running third place in the console wars?
The broadband idea is great on the surface - they can bypass the channel completely.. But let's look at the facts:
1. They still need to sell their hardware through the channel. If they limit themselves to Internet only sales they'll never win..
2. Their system may be more powerful than the others on the market, but it won't be long before Xbox 2, "Gamesphere," and Playstation 3 are out on the market, which I'm sure will trump these guys and everyone else looking to compete.
3. Any of the 'good games' available on the major consoles are at least a gig or two each. Even with a decent broadband connection, I can still run out to my local ebgames and come back with a shiny new game faster than I can download one off the net.. What will the quality of these 32k+ games be like if they are so small in size?
4. I already have an Xbox and a Gamecube in front of my TV.. I don't have room for another one (my girlfriend will kill me!)
These small games are incredibly popular with women.. I caught my girlfriend's mother the other day playing snood, and my mother has a gameboy with only one game (Tetris) that she's been playing for three years now..
In Connecticut I signed up for this list right when I moved into my new place last year. To date I have received not one telemarketing call.
I was impressed, however, in how a nonprofit group I contributed to at my old address was able to track me down relatively quickly:). They still called but that was the only unsolicitated call I received.
It's nice not to have the phone ring at night.. At my old place I was hounded constantly..
I have no doubt our hacker friends will get to the bottom of the Xbox encryption.. Especially if $100k is involved. There's a lot at stake here especially for a guy like Robertson who's trying to make some bucks and bring linux to the desktop at the same time.
And let's not forget this is a Microsoft OS for G-d's sake.. Its base OS is patched nearly every day to fix its gaping security holes. The $199 Xbox based PC will be here this year.
I think it's very simple: Parents who don't want their kids playing violent games should regulate their activities. It's that simple.
I'm reminded of my early years growing up.. Most of what I learned about sex, swears, and every other taboo I learned on the school bus. Regulation of one area is easily nixed by another medium.. The RIAA found this out with Napster.
I don't know why everyone wants to make such intrusions into our lives. If I want my kid to play GTA he'll play it.. If I decide not to, he won't! Sounds pretty simple to me. Parents just need to be more responsible.
I've been playing violent video games my entire life and I haven't killed anyone yet. Haven't even come close.
Mac users are like the homeowners of a beach front mansion with Apple being the 'town.' Eventually the property taxes will kill them.
When they first moved in, property taxes were low.. OS X (the new park) came out for $120, and they paid..Mac (the tennis courts) started to charge an annual fee and they grumbled but still paid. OS X.2 (the fancy new school) came out for another $120 and then they wined (but paid). And now the iApps (the new municipal building) will require an additional $50 a year.. So while the homes and related services are beautiful, perhaps the town is going into debt fast. The next 'town meeting' at MacWorld will be interesting....
It seems to me that owning a Mac is an expensive proposition.. So much for the new 'Open Source' mentality at our favorite computer company.
The 'iApps' are selling Apple computers. People who want a word processor, emailer, and web browser are buying cheap $299 PCs at Wal-Mart . People who want a complete multimedia development machine for the kids are buying Macs.. All it will take now is for the Dell's of the world to come out with some killer software as part of the purchase price and we can kiss Apple's days goodbye.
Apple's been seriously nickel and diming their bread and butter.. I think they take loyalty for their product for granted.
As seen here, Apple once experimenting with a 'media PC' which did not meet with much success.. When will these corporate types realize that people don't want to watch TV on their computers? I'd much rather sit in front of my 36" Panasonic HDTV:)
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I'm 26. I remember back when I was a kid, video games were mostly the domain of the 'geeks.' Any gamer (even at the casual level most are at today) was really not a mainstream non-geek person! :). Looking at the market for sports titles, and the unbelievable sales volume for the PS2, it's obvious that most game players are not geeks. And it's for that reason why PS2 and Xbox are ahead.
I have an Xbox and like it.. But most games for it are generic crap with just a few notable exceptions. When I really want to sit down and play something, my Gamecube is always winning out.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Nintendo is going to settle into a very comfortable niche in the market. Just like Apple, they will appeal to a certain market segment that will eat up every title thrown at them. I don't know why everyone is beating up on Nintendo for producing quality that nobody else seems to be able to match.
I bought a bunch of these cheap for work.. I've never experienced anything more annoying than that center ball, especially when you're scrolling downward. All too often downward becomes diagnal, and the scrolling stops.
I rarely have to scroll side to side since I run my monitor at a fairly high resolution. Just another gimic!
In College I would usually lock myself in the library for a few hours to get things done. It was quiet and I used to use the closing time as a deadline to complete my work. Unfortunately I didn't discover this until my senior year :).
Frankly, I think Nintendo is the only innovative game maker left in business today. We had a lengthy discussion on /. the other day on this very topic.. Nintendo, time and again, is the innovator in this industry. As we've seen with Apple (the innovator in the PC industry) they've carved out quite a profitable niche in the marketplace, which is where Nintendo may find itself.
Nintendo, like Apple, has some very innovative games, does things nobody else does, but is later copied by everyone else in the industry :). I love my Xbox by and large it's generic crap that I'm playing on it :). The games look great, but I have yet to find a game that immerses me like the Nintendo titles.
On the Gamecube alone, you have great first party titles like Pikmin, Animal Crossing, Zelda, Mario Sunshine, etc. etc. Nintendo knows how to make a great video game, and the Gamecube is by far the best canvas they've ever had to express their innovative approach to video games.
All one needs to do is just play Zelda Wind Waker for an hour or two to see just how amazing these people are. It's just an astounding game.
If you don't need something absolutely brand new, check it out. I got my girlfriend a 700mhz ibook (with CDRW) last Christmas for about a grand.
I think, however, that this game would appeal to a wider audience if they ported Wing Commander 1.. Wing Commander always depended on strong story elements to negate some of the repetitive gameplay.. Porting over a game that relied heavily upon FMV for its storyline was a mistake. WC1 & 2 had an animated text based storyline that is perfect for the GBA.
It's a shame that such a marvelous technical achievement may be overlooked because they ported the wrong darn game!
Nope, you actually pay LESS for the album. I noticed more than a few full albums for only $9.99.. Much cheaper than the $20 at the mall, and even less than the $12 I pay at Amazon.
This is exactly what people have been waiting for. Too bad the industry couldn't have come up with this rather simple (and unrestrictive) process back in 1998 when mp3's started gaining popularity.
I fear that this new venture is doomed to failure now that people are so accustomed to getting their stuff for free. Too bad the industry didn't come up with this sooner.
However one consideration that may be lacking from this analysis is how Comcast (and many DOCSIS providers) handle capping the connections.
On my Comcast cable modem, the cap is regulated by my local cable modem. So if I'm downloading from an extremely fast host, my connection will momentarily burst into the 3 megabit/second range. The cable modem will then halt all communications for the remainder of that second. So if you have a NAT situation going, and one of the machines is nailing the bandwidth, it will slow down the other machines in the house.
There's a more indepth discussion Here.
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The hierarchal model - which incidently emulates a low tech FILING CABINET which everybody uses - still cannot be figured out by most users.
It's astounding but true.. So any 'new thinking' is likely to be met with new confusion.
Hmmm.. The German as pacifists. Now that could have spared the world some trouble! Too little too late I say!
Adobe doesn't hurt its business one bit.. Who else will people switch to? Photoshop is like the Windows of the design world, and I hardly think there's another piece of software as good as After Effects. Further, it probably helps their profitability to have their business narrowed down to one platform anyhow.
My brother's P3-933 runs great set to 800*600 @ low detail.
Over all the game is a masterpiece. I was one of the 3000 'preview testers' and now finally have my hands on the retail copy. The game doesn't go overboard with the 3D engine - it's really a part of the gameplay. It runs great compared to the beta too! Even my brother, who is running a very lowly P3 933 (with SDRAM no less) is able to get a great frame rate using the low detail setting.
Unit balance is good, and what's nice this time around is the true uniqueness of each army. The scrappy GLA terrorists need to be run as such or you'll get clobbered by the USA and China. China's units are slower, so you need to adjust your strategy accordingly. And the USA needs expensive stuff (and a lot of it) to conquer the other armies.
Multiplayer is where this game really shines.. Although I get my sorry ass schooled day in and day out, it's still fun :). The biggest mistake that EAP has made thus far is the exclusion of support for NAT routers. Their messageboards are chock full of 12 year old ingrates unable to get their game working. Hopefully they'll get this thing fixed so their bitching and moaning will stop once and for all.
I don't think this is the case. The Sims online is a separate, stand alone piece of software.
Why should I pay $10 a month for something I do now in real life for free? And I can even get laid in the real world!
The closed nature of their networks mean that independent ISP's (even the monster Earthlink) will no longer be able to compete with phone companies. Here in CT, the nearest competitor to SBC DSL has to charge at least $20 more than the service from the phone company. They rent the DSL services from the telco, making it impossible for them to compete. The days of infinite ISP choices are sadly over.
1. They still need to sell their hardware through the channel. If they limit themselves to Internet only sales they'll never win..
2. Their system may be more powerful than the others on the market, but it won't be long before Xbox 2, "Gamesphere," and Playstation 3 are out on the market, which I'm sure will trump these guys and everyone else looking to compete.
3. Any of the 'good games' available on the major consoles are at least a gig or two each. Even with a decent broadband connection, I can still run out to my local ebgames and come back with a shiny new game faster than I can download one off the net.. What will the quality of these 32k+ games be like if they are so small in size?
4. I already have an Xbox and a Gamecube in front of my TV.. I don't have room for another one (my girlfriend will kill me!)
These small games are incredibly popular with women.. I caught my girlfriend's mother the other day playing snood, and my mother has a gameboy with only one game (Tetris) that she's been playing for three years now..
In Connecticut I signed up for this list right when I moved into my new place last year. To date I have received not one telemarketing call. I was impressed, however, in how a nonprofit group I contributed to at my old address was able to track me down relatively quickly :). They still called but that was the only unsolicitated call I received.
It's nice not to have the phone ring at night.. At my old place I was hounded constantly..
And let's not forget this is a Microsoft OS for G-d's sake.. Its base OS is patched nearly every day to fix its gaping security holes. The $199 Xbox based PC will be here this year.
I think it's very simple: Parents who don't want their kids playing violent games should regulate their activities. It's that simple. I'm reminded of my early years growing up.. Most of what I learned about sex, swears, and every other taboo I learned on the school bus. Regulation of one area is easily nixed by another medium.. The RIAA found this out with Napster. I don't know why everyone wants to make such intrusions into our lives. If I want my kid to play GTA he'll play it.. If I decide not to, he won't! Sounds pretty simple to me. Parents just need to be more responsible. I've been playing violent video games my entire life and I haven't killed anyone yet. Haven't even come close.
When they first moved in, property taxes were low.. OS X (the new park) came out for $120, and they paid. .Mac (the tennis courts) started to charge an annual fee and they grumbled but still paid. OS X.2 (the fancy new school) came out for another $120 and then they wined (but paid). And now the iApps (the new municipal building) will require an additional $50 a year.. So while the homes and related services are beautiful, perhaps the town is going into debt fast. The next 'town meeting' at MacWorld will be interesting....
It seems to me that owning a Mac is an expensive proposition.. So much for the new 'Open Source' mentality at our favorite computer company.
The 'iApps' are selling Apple computers. People who want a word processor, emailer, and web browser are buying cheap $299 PCs at Wal-Mart . People who want a complete multimedia development machine for the kids are buying Macs.. All it will take now is for the Dell's of the world to come out with some killer software as part of the purchase price and we can kiss Apple's days goodbye.
Apple's been seriously nickel and diming their bread and butter.. I think they take loyalty for their product for granted.
They rock.. And they even gave me a free xbox! :)
As seen here, Apple once experimenting with a 'media PC' which did not meet with much success.. When will these corporate types realize that people don't want to watch TV on their computers? I'd much rather sit in front of my 36" Panasonic HDTV :)