(logged in at home again). Shall I summarise where I think we agree and disagree?
We both agree that Jeff is not important in the great scheme of things. But you think ad hominum attacks are invalid, and it is the points he/you/I make that are important:-)
We disagree that Jeff is not famous. He was one of the most famous british developers in the 1980s, and the "legend" label reflects that (legend can be a polite way of saying has-been). It allows the possibility of a comeback (c.f. Pete Burns) I think of the legend label as being permanent. From that I think your article calling him a nobody was provocative.
We disagree about the ethics of the originality of his games. Intellectual Property was a different beast back in the 1980s. I guess that makes me sound like an apologist, but the early 1980s saw a great mix of game mechanics coupled with free "borrowing" from one game to another. The idea of a software patent on a game mechanic is anathema to me. On a personal note, the biggest selling game I have written was the least original (being the closest port) and the ones with the most prideworthy code were the worst selling, so I am coming to the opinion that originality does not pay the mortgage.
We agree that Phil Harrison is famous. I can't remember if he is a decisionmaker or not though (I am not so up on Sony politics as some of my coworkers).
We agree that Phil Harrison was entitled to hope for better questions from an interviewer. I think it is rare for even a professional journalist to do that however (just look at the questions politicians get asked - very often "do you hate politician X's guts" rather than about actual policies). They are often after stories, not facts.
We agree that the PS3 will be very powerful.
We disagree that the PS3 will sell extraordinarily well. I think the Wii will outsell it globally (by units, not necessarily by dollars). Whether it has reasonable sales will depend on how cheap they can make later versions.
We disagree that the PS3 price will seriously affect sales.
We disagree that Sony is making some arrogant statements. I don't think Phil is arrogant, but perhaps Sony Japan's statements have not been translated in the most favourable light. The label of "arrogant" once acquired can stick in the media's mind.
We both think we are in the games industry but neither of us has Ferraris:-(
Hey, he is a much-loved industry figure from the 1980s. I remember with fondness disassembling GridRunner on the VIC-20 by hand...
Your blog does not immediately say what authority you speak from. Which top-selling games have you written?
Admittedly when I said hi to phil harrison on wednesday night he blanked me, so i guess I won't get any sony party invites soon unless I tag on with someone else.
So why don't you put a water filter on your kitchen tap? They are fairly cheap aren't they? I know "Brita" advertises on TV a lot, but they are mainly to get rid of limescale from your water.
As for bottled water IIRC the coca cola company attempted to market a product called "Dasani" water, but it was taken off the market after the government found out it was worse quality than the (London) tap water it was made from (some chemicals they used to make it with were contaminated perhaps).
Sounds like the (former) Sunday Trading Laws in the UK - hardware stores would open on sundays and pay the fines as a (relatively small) cost of business.
I think you will find that a lot of producers were originally testers. The promotion path tester-assistant producer-producer-head of development-studio head is well-trodden path. Whereas many programmers and artists are still doing the same job they were doing 15 years ago when they got into the industry out of college, since the whole suit thing didn't appeal. OK, some programmers and artists are studio heads too, if they prefer managing people.
Getting a testing job with a developer offers the chance of controlling the feel of a product much more than testing at a publisher (who are often temps). Internal producers get to shape the product more day-by-day than external producers.
C64 basic came from microsoft and altered by Commodore. Much as I love the C64, its BASIC sucked. Other versions (such as BBC BASIC) had a much better reputation at the time and were not written by Microsoft. And IIRC Microsoft BASIC was a port from open source software anyway.
Well when I got into the industry I moved country, let alone state, by buying a one-way ticket to Australia. I did have a letter from a games company though. Apparently a return flight from Fort Wayne to Seattle costs $376+tax (cheapflights.com), and you should claim that against the interviewing company anyway. We've refunded people their train tickets for interviews when they come in (from Scotland to London) - that should be standard practice, but you're much more likely to get that agreed if you submit decent working games or demos as examples. And gamedevmap shows there are closer cities to you anyway: St Louis, Minneapolis, Iowa City, sheesh Chicago.
The Schengen agreement means that UK-Eire is one area and continental europe another area where routine ID checks are not expected for internal movement. I have been checked once though, going from the netherlands to germany on a small branch line. The (armed) custom officers let me continue after much discussion about my (valid) passport, but kicked a family of Iraqis off the train (they only had permission to be in the netherlands, not germany).
Yeah right. Most americans are named after each other. E.g. george foreman's kids are all called george foreman. And bill gates' dad and grandad are both bill gates. Sheesh there are dozens of Steve Wozniaks in the phone book...
Re:more proof the RIAA/MPAA are insane
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Death By DMCA
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· Score: 2, Insightful
If the networks can no longer count on people watching at least some ads, how are they to pay for content?
Doesn't bother the BBC:-)
There is enough content on there to keep me busy for a while anyway...
Sheesh, my hard drive recorder was out by an hour for a week. Obviously the BBC (who broadcast freeview) haven't heard of daylight saving time (british summer time) because if I fixed the clock, it would get set back by the broadcast signal. It was also a pain since for some days some tv channels were an hour ahead of others, and recordings were all screwed up.
You can get "Nationality: British Citizen" in your passport even if you have never been in the country (e.g. when you apply because your parents were born there). You couldn't really claim to be English or Scots though!
A lot of that is due to a few news agencies (Reuters and Associated Press) giving feeds to hundreds of newspapers, websites etc. Few organisations (e.g. the BBC) actually have their own reporters on the ground everywhere.
These days there are several programs where the newer releases take away features, and add DRM for example. So if the new version is slower and less functional, users might not want to "upgrade" to it.
Hmm, odd! It does seem that you don't sell cheap front-loaders in the USA. $2000 for a meile on the internet? That's steep!
By comparison, look at www.currys.co.uk under washers and you will find the cheapest frontloader is £160 ($278) which includes 17% tax (rated ABC for efficiency). Their cheapest Meile is $860 equivalent (rated better though at A Energy A Wash B Spin). Their most expensive washing machine is a $2050 equivalent meile which is AAA rated.
Hmm, even the New Zealand company Fisher and Paykel makes their USA models top-loading to account for local sensitivities.
"Ecosmart - GWL11. North Americas Most Energy Efficient Top Load Washer uses only 24% of the energy of a traditional washer. Complete the laundry in up to half the time of a frontloader, 1000rpm spin saves up to 30% time and energy in the dryer."
$529.99 - $659.00 on froogle.
And that's just looking at New Zealand washing machines - surely european manufacturers must be similarly energy conscious.
On the other hand, UK shops sell "upright" style vacuum cleaners, which are heavy to move and useless if you have new-fangled "wall-to-wall" carpet instead of a few mats that are not near any walls.
It probably still works as well as it did on the day you first got it.
You must have bought yours from the Sony in the advertising hype. Mine comes from the Sony that makes disc drives out of bits of recycled wet cereal packets held together by blutack. Shake rattle and roll! I don't know how much longer my box will last alas.
...my kids have moved on. Now all they want is a PS3.
Well I suppose it saves money if they don't want actual extant presents. With any luck when the PS3 is released in a year or so they will just want the PS4 instead:-)
Slashdot Mirror
We both agree that Jeff is not important in the great scheme of things. But you think ad hominum attacks are invalid, and it is the points he/you/I make that are important :-)
We disagree that Jeff is not famous. He was one of the most famous british developers in the 1980s, and the "legend" label reflects that (legend can be a polite way of saying has-been). It allows the possibility of a comeback (c.f. Pete Burns) I think of the legend label as being permanent. From that I think your article calling him a nobody was provocative.
We disagree about the ethics of the originality of his games. Intellectual Property was a different beast back in the 1980s. I guess that makes me sound like an apologist, but the early 1980s saw a great mix of game mechanics coupled with free "borrowing" from one game to another. The idea of a software patent on a game mechanic is anathema to me. On a personal note, the biggest selling game I have written was the least original (being the closest port) and the ones with the most prideworthy code were the worst selling, so I am coming to the opinion that originality does not pay the mortgage.
We agree that Phil Harrison is famous. I can't remember if he is a decisionmaker or not though (I am not so up on Sony politics as some of my coworkers).
We agree that Phil Harrison was entitled to hope for better questions from an interviewer. I think it is rare for even a professional journalist to do that however (just look at the questions politicians get asked - very often "do you hate politician X's guts" rather than about actual policies). They are often after stories, not facts.
We agree that the PS3 will be very powerful.
We disagree that the PS3 will sell extraordinarily well. I think the Wii will outsell it globally (by units, not necessarily by dollars). Whether it has reasonable sales will depend on how cheap they can make later versions.
We disagree that the PS3 price will seriously affect sales.
We disagree that Sony is making some arrogant statements. I don't think Phil is arrogant, but perhaps Sony Japan's statements have not been translated in the most favourable light. The label of "arrogant" once acquired can stick in the media's mind.
We both think we are in the games industry but neither of us has Ferraris :-(
Admittedly when I said hi to phil harrison on wednesday night he blanked me, so i guess I won't get any sony party invites soon unless I tag on with someone else.
As for bottled water IIRC the coca cola company attempted to market a product called "Dasani" water, but it was taken off the market after the government found out it was worse quality than the (London) tap water it was made from (some chemicals they used to make it with were contaminated perhaps).
Sounds like the (former) Sunday Trading Laws in the UK - hardware stores would open on sundays and pay the fines as a (relatively small) cost of business.
I think you will find that a lot of producers were originally testers. The promotion path tester-assistant producer-producer-head of development-studio head is well-trodden path. Whereas many programmers and artists are still doing the same job they were doing 15 years ago when they got into the industry out of college, since the whole suit thing didn't appeal. OK, some programmers and artists are studio heads too, if they prefer managing people.
Getting a testing job with a developer offers the chance of controlling the feel of a product much more than testing at a publisher (who are often temps). Internal producers get to shape the product more day-by-day than external producers.
C64 basic came from microsoft and altered by Commodore. Much as I love the C64, its BASIC sucked. Other versions (such as BBC BASIC) had a much better reputation at the time and were not written by Microsoft. And IIRC Microsoft BASIC was a port from open source software anyway.
Well when I got into the industry I moved country, let alone state, by buying a one-way ticket to Australia. I did have a letter from a games company though. Apparently a return flight from Fort Wayne to Seattle costs $376+tax (cheapflights.com), and you should claim that against the interviewing company anyway. We've refunded people their train tickets for interviews when they come in (from Scotland to London) - that should be standard practice, but you're much more likely to get that agreed if you submit decent working games or demos as examples. And gamedevmap shows there are closer cities to you anyway: St Louis, Minneapolis, Iowa City, sheesh Chicago.
The Schengen agreement means that UK-Eire is one area and continental europe another area where routine ID checks are not expected for internal movement. I have been checked once though, going from the netherlands to germany on a small branch line. The (armed) custom officers let me continue after much discussion about my (valid) passport, but kicked a family of Iraqis off the train (they only had permission to be in the netherlands, not germany).
And don't forget David Copeland (the Soho bomber).
Yeah right. Most americans are named after each other. E.g. george foreman's kids are all called george foreman. And bill gates' dad and grandad are both bill gates. Sheesh there are dozens of Steve Wozniaks in the phone book...
Doesn't bother the BBC :-)
There is enough content on there to keep me busy for a while anyway...
Surely the US revolutionary war was caused for the same thing as the war against mexico, and the civil war - for the right to keep slaves.
Dang house surveys! I'm looking forward to the introduction of home-buyers information packs.
Sheesh, my hard drive recorder was out by an hour for a week. Obviously the BBC (who broadcast freeview) haven't heard of daylight saving time (british summer time) because if I fixed the clock, it would get set back by the broadcast signal. It was also a pain since for some days some tv channels were an hour ahead of others, and recordings were all screwed up.
You can get "Nationality: British Citizen" in your passport even if you have never been in the country (e.g. when you apply because your parents were born there). You couldn't really claim to be English or Scots though!
A lot of that is due to a few news agencies (Reuters and Associated Press) giving feeds to hundreds of newspapers, websites etc. Few organisations (e.g. the BBC) actually have their own reporters on the ground everywhere.
These days there are several programs where the newer releases take away features, and add DRM for example. So if the new version is slower and less functional, users might not want to "upgrade" to it.
Well it does last for several months :-)
By comparison, look at www.currys.co.uk under washers and you will find the cheapest frontloader is £160 ($278) which includes 17% tax (rated ABC for efficiency). Their cheapest Meile is $860 equivalent (rated better though at A Energy A Wash B Spin). Their most expensive washing machine is a $2050 equivalent meile which is AAA rated.
"Ecosmart - GWL11. North Americas Most Energy Efficient Top Load Washer uses only 24% of the energy of a traditional washer. Complete the laundry in up to half the time of a frontloader, 1000rpm spin saves up to 30% time and energy in the dryer."
$529.99 - $659.00 on froogle.
And that's just looking at New Zealand washing machines - surely european manufacturers must be similarly energy conscious.
On the other hand, UK shops sell "upright" style vacuum cleaners, which are heavy to move and useless if you have new-fangled "wall-to-wall" carpet instead of a few mats that are not near any walls.
You don't go to racy enough parties :-)
Are you referring to SecuROM, sony's attempt at sabotaging windows games sales by making them not work on common cd-rom drives?
You must have bought yours from the Sony in the advertising hype. Mine comes from the Sony that makes disc drives out of bits of recycled wet cereal packets held together by blutack. Shake rattle and roll! I don't know how much longer my box will last alas.
Well I suppose it saves money if they don't want actual extant presents. With any luck when the PS3 is released in a year or so they will just want the PS4 instead :-)