Any serious analyst saw this coming for months. They hosted the event in California where any serious hype would simply be reserved for E3 (ever hear of market saturation?) The price of entry was too high ($90 for the weekend? I've been to anime conventions larger than E for All for almost half that price) and lets face it, California is not exactly the easiest place to get around (or cheapest). They managed to get Nintendo and EA and ignored/failed to get everyone else (wheres Ubisoft, Microsoft and Sony?).
I miss the days where I could Beta test something without having to worry about my privacy...
Really now? And when was that? I've been in over a dozen beta tests on and off in the past 10 years and in nearly every single one, the EULA virtually shoved a stick up my ass. I've been in a beta where the EULA stated that any opinions regarding the gameplay balance would become property of the company without reparation.
Seriously, if you think this EULA is draconian, you need to read the fine print on all of the contracts you sign digital or print.
I'm in the Hellgate beta and the NDA clause was really strict with the official forums being for beta testers only, no screenshots or in game videos allowed, and the general catch-all "you cannot talk about in game content" phrases. I say 'was' because the NDS was lifted just last Friday.
That said, there ARE ads in the game, but contrary to popular belief, the ads DO NOT appear after you leave the stations (read: towns). Unlike the Battlefield 2 ads, which were over sized and overly bright in many cases, the ads in Hellgate look like they've been covered in several layers of dirt from sheer disrepair. The ads in Hellgate are roughly the same size as a standard promotional movie poster and not obvious at all. Its not unheard of to find a beta player who simply never noticed them either because their graphics are turned down or because they don't spend much time in town, no thanks to the sheer lack of lighting in some portions.
Bungie and the Microsoft Games Division story is the exception rather than the rule. Bungie essentially "earned" its own freedom with the runaway success of Halo 1, 2 and 3. Love it or hate it, the Halo series MADE the Xbox/Xbox 360 and Microsoft never forgot that. Throw in the fact that the Microsoft Games Division is practically independent thanks to its overall successes and profits (the Microsoft Flight Simulation games, the Age of games, Rise of games, etc) and Microsoft is pretty much content to let them make this judgment call. Finally, theres the fact that Bungie is (for all intents and purposes) a second-party developer for Microsoft so if Microsoft REALLY wants them back in the fold (which, won't happen cause of the Halo success) they can just yank them back in (though that'll hurt relations).
Sure, there should be involvement by the retailer, the ESRB, and the parents, but if that is all failing? What then?
Who says that it is "all failing"? Retailers have basically adopted a policy of "if an employee breaks ESRB rules, hes fired instantly", the ESRB has launched SEVERAL marketing attempts to raise awareness on ESRB rating and parents have... maintained the perception of "video games are for children". Who's failing and what should be done about it?
When it comes to your children, ignorance can only be an excuse for so long. Video games have been around for (more or less) a solid 20 years, if (most) parents haven't educated themselves on the ESRB at the very LEAST, its their own fault.
While I agree that tournament rules are pretty stupid for the masses, but it REALLY shows when you play against more experienced players. Hyrule Temple is obviously unfair for tournament matches cause of the underground area. The F-Zero arenas are pretty questionable since the arenas themselves can be more hazardous than the other opponents. Stages like Kirby Dreamland effectively handicaps or gives an advantage to certain characters (using Jigglypuff's rollout is suicidal there and Bowser's fire attack pretty much covers half the ground platform). The list goes on.
People might complain that without issue numbers, for example, the citations are incomplete.
If people are THAT anal for sources on Wikipedia practically any article about any television series would be deleted. Does Wikipedia cite which episode Captain Kirk first shows his personal hatred for Klingons? What justification is the following line based from, taken from Wikipedia, and can you cite the evidence?
The TV series alone is said to be one of the biggest cult phenomena of modern times.
Or how about a simpler citation, based on the follow line from Wikipedia, where is the citation which proves that the original Star Trek series DID indeed win two Emmys?
In its first two seasons, it was nominated for Emmy Awards as Best Dramatic Series.
After seeing so many MMOs fall flat-out on their faces after launch, if they managed to fix the game (I played a demo at Comic-Con, it was far from completed) then I say keep on delaying it.
So sure, you can buy into the hype, but the reality is, Japanese telecommunications are both anti-competitive and comparitively easy to do.
And the reality is that American telecommunications are both run by monopolies and impossible to break into (we all saw how Apple got bullied around by AT&T). When the bulk of the U.S. is still using dial-up, its hard to say that Japanese telecommunication is a hype.
Yeah, I had the impression that it actually wasn't cutting edge, but given the fact that some corporations can be downright archaic when it comes to adopting new ideas it was pretty impressive. (It was a local branch of about 40 employees, including student workers, so it was pretty small)
As for mobile projector/tablets/laptops, thats not gonna happen anytime soon. The theft concerns alone would scare even the most tech-oriented colleges away from such a concept (I'm sure we've all seen PCs, projectors and even wires locked up on college campuses before.)
I saw this about 2 years ago. I'm not sure how other systems use it, but from what I understood it used a simple whiteboard and marker, and about a dozen or so extra sensors obviously wirelessly connected to a PC nearby. A sensor attachment was put on the marker and the eraser so that when it was being used to write and erase it recognize what to record/erase and what not to record/erase. Sensors on the ceiling and walls were used to triangulate the exact location of where the writing/erasing was done and all the data was recorded. From there it was a simple matter of having the PC, connected to a protector, display what was written/erased and when, exactly in the same order it was done in real life.
The problem with this system is the sensors. Color was recognized only by using 4 differently labeled sensors (red, green, black and blue), installing sensors in the ceilings is not always possible (either too high or the building doesn't allow it) and since the sensors are attached to the markers and erasers, costs would skyrocket when the students/teachers start stealing/breaking/accidentally throwing out the sensors.
And blackboards have been criticized for years about the chalk dust they create if air circulation isn't ample. Whiteboards are a step in the right direction, but projectors that displayed whatever the teacher wrote using a special digital pen (I've seen this kind of technology being prototyped by GE during a business tour, its expensive but easily done) would be even better. Throw in the ability to upload everything the teacher wrote on the "board" to the internet and you'd immediately do away with the "but I didn't get the notes yesterday" excuse.
I still agree addressing students orally and directly is still one of the best methods of education though.
Orangeburg Massacre: Local police != US government.And, rubber bullets != firing an AK-47 into a crowd. Solution: Lets blame Bush even though it took place in the 60's!
As for Waco, good luck trying to use that as an argument post-9/11. The Davidian was an armed religious cult and the U.S. was (still is) a mentally retarded institution following the mass suicides led by Jim Jones. Have fun writing about that.
And zomg! Jails being used as tools of intimidation! Thats never happened before in any nation at any time in the world!
Is Bush going to have to start killing you en masse the way the Burmese government is doing with its' citizens before you'll recognise that, while maybe the magnitude is different, (currently) that he is still cut from the same cloth?
Yeah, when Bush goes from randomly screening our telephone calls and reading our e-mail to gunning down mass demonstrations using the U.S. military then we'll do something about it.
Theres a HUGE difference between the censorship in the U.S. and in many other countries. In many other countries in the world (besides Burma aka Myanmar), publicly speaking out against the government carries jail time or the death sentence. In the U.S., the government may stonewall you but nothing that would stop demonstrators on a SERIOUS topic. (Remember how New York City tried to limit the anti-war rallies in Times Square and the demonstrators ended up getting air time on the news channels for several days afterwards?)
A lot of foreign students are here on a foreign student visa. If they fuck up in school, they get sent back.
Thats nothing, I once worked at the ESL (English as a Second Language) department at my college for a semester and the restrictions were ungodly. The students were REQUIRED to be sponsored by a full-time working U.S. citizen family member, was NOT allowed to work even part-time themselves, and subjected to weekly reviews which would result in his expulsion from the program if his grades slipped too much. This was for green card students already in the U.S., not foreign students applying while still out of the country. Oh and naturally, if you get leave the program for any reason, you don't get your money back.
The difference is that the cost of running a ham shack is maybe power generator, $50 and a some haggling at a flea market. Running a HF radio isn't perfect, but compared to the alternative (that is, word of mouth) its far better than what they have now.
Oh and in a country like Burma (aka Myanmar), violating government spectrum policy probably comes with penalty of death for you any anyone nearby the equipment.
Yeah, please submit your name, address, location of birth, a detailed explanation of how you are gaining access to these images and how you are releasing them to the public as well as the names and addresses of all friends, family, associates, and co-workers.
Brown was facing 10 counts of felony offenses, including grand theft, computer crime and trafficking in counterfeit products. In August, Brown pleaded guilty to two counts of counterfeit trafficking and today received a one-year sentence, the first 90 days to be spent in prison and the rest in work furlough.
If he was making these copies to SELL, then yeah, I could imagine over 1,000 CDs. At $5~10 USD each (average street vendor price), that adds up to some serious cash fast, especially if you can start running copies of the latest movies and software.
If Heavenly Sword is a killer app, then the Killzone series is the next Half-Life series.
In all seriousness, the game wasn't received (too) well by most reviewers, professional and casual (too short, lack of gameplay, too easy, nothing but eyecandy: take your pick). The game holds its own as a game, but its by no means a "killer app". I've played through and beat the game in a single day and I kept thinking how much the game felt like a God of War clone whenever I wasn't sniping with the crossbow.
If you want to see how a "killer app" really affects the overall success of a console, just watch what happens when Halo 3 is released (or for a more realistic benchmark, MGS4, any Final Fantasy game in the US or Europe or any Dragon Quest game in Japan.)
The game, which uses a mixture of CG and real-time cutscenes, will last roughly 40 to 50 hours.
The game will last roughly 40 to 50 hours and required FOUD DVDs?! Wtf do they need all that space for? Blue Dragon was 3 DVDs long and reviewers were complaining about the game's storyline being slow to unfold.
I thought rumble was supposed to be a last-gen technology fad. Why is Resistance: Fall of Man, the PS3's best first-gen/launch title getting a retroactive modification?
1. Deploying more than 35 peace-keeping missions. There are presently 16 active peace-keeping forces in operation.
So half of the missions have failed and thats a success? Lebanon was failure (and we're back for round 2!), Kosovo (however debatable it was) was a (PR) nightmare, Somalia was hell (for everybody involved) and Darfur (yes, there is peace-keeping force there) is their latest clusterf*ck of to-be-described proportions.
2. Credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts
"Regional conflicts". Not national conflicts. Not regional wars. Not national wars. HUGE difference, especially in the Middle East where theres a "regional conflict" (read: pissing match) every week between some Islamic country and Israel.
3. The UN has enabled people in over 45 countries to participate in free and fair elections
Gee, wow. 45 countries. There are 54 countries in Africa ALONE, let alone Asia, Europe, South America and Australia (depending on how you define which Pacific islands are in which region).
I could go on, but I honestly believe that the U.N. could and is doing some serious good in the world. The only problem is that they could do FAR more than they are now if they'd get their act together.
You bought online from a non-name brand company though. A quick look at Walmart.com shows no DVD box set for the second season set, an average of ~$20 USD for each volume and at 7 volumes for the whole series, its $140. And this is from Walmart, the supposed ultra-cheap megastore of the USA. The XBL version is cheaper and more convenient for the casual XBL buyer. Even the Ghost in the Shell fans could even skip over the filler episode and go straight for the storyline episodes.
Sony should have cut the game down to $30~$40 from the get-go to promote sales. Instead, Sony marketed the game as a full-fledged game and gamers were disappointed when it turned into a movie with button mashing filler.
Its not about shortness/length vs. content (at least in this case), but a matter of interactivity vs. non-interactivity. Games like Halo or Bioshock (not counting the intros or endings, both games have extremely little cutscenes or FMVs) have very high action vs. inaction ratios in this case while games like Metal Gear Solid 2 and Heavenly Sword have very low action vs. inaction ratios (yes, both games have their moments but assuming you go straight forward, both games bogs themselves down with cutscenes and FMVs).
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Any serious analyst saw this coming for months. They hosted the event in California where any serious hype would simply be reserved for E3 (ever hear of market saturation?) The price of entry was too high ($90 for the weekend? I've been to anime conventions larger than E for All for almost half that price) and lets face it, California is not exactly the easiest place to get around (or cheapest). They managed to get Nintendo and EA and ignored/failed to get everyone else (wheres Ubisoft, Microsoft and Sony?).
Really now? And when was that? I've been in over a dozen beta tests on and off in the past 10 years and in nearly every single one, the EULA virtually shoved a stick up my ass. I've been in a beta where the EULA stated that any opinions regarding the gameplay balance would become property of the company without reparation.
Seriously, if you think this EULA is draconian, you need to read the fine print on all of the contracts you sign digital or print.
That said, there ARE ads in the game, but contrary to popular belief, the ads DO NOT appear after you leave the stations (read: towns). Unlike the Battlefield 2 ads, which were over sized and overly bright in many cases, the ads in Hellgate look like they've been covered in several layers of dirt from sheer disrepair. The ads in Hellgate are roughly the same size as a standard promotional movie poster and not obvious at all. Its not unheard of to find a beta player who simply never noticed them either because their graphics are turned down or because they don't spend much time in town, no thanks to the sheer lack of lighting in some portions.
Bungie and the Microsoft Games Division story is the exception rather than the rule. Bungie essentially "earned" its own freedom with the runaway success of Halo 1, 2 and 3. Love it or hate it, the Halo series MADE the Xbox/Xbox 360 and Microsoft never forgot that. Throw in the fact that the Microsoft Games Division is practically independent thanks to its overall successes and profits (the Microsoft Flight Simulation games, the Age of games, Rise of games, etc) and Microsoft is pretty much content to let them make this judgment call. Finally, theres the fact that Bungie is (for all intents and purposes) a second-party developer for Microsoft so if Microsoft REALLY wants them back in the fold (which, won't happen cause of the Halo success) they can just yank them back in (though that'll hurt relations).
Does the name Will Wright mean anything to you?
Who says that it is "all failing"? Retailers have basically adopted a policy of "if an employee breaks ESRB rules, hes fired instantly", the ESRB has launched SEVERAL marketing attempts to raise awareness on ESRB rating and parents have... maintained the perception of "video games are for children". Who's failing and what should be done about it?
When it comes to your children, ignorance can only be an excuse for so long. Video games have been around for (more or less) a solid 20 years, if (most) parents haven't educated themselves on the ESRB at the very LEAST, its their own fault.
While I agree that tournament rules are pretty stupid for the masses, but it REALLY shows when you play against more experienced players. Hyrule Temple is obviously unfair for tournament matches cause of the underground area. The F-Zero arenas are pretty questionable since the arenas themselves can be more hazardous than the other opponents. Stages like Kirby Dreamland effectively handicaps or gives an advantage to certain characters (using Jigglypuff's rollout is suicidal there and Bowser's fire attack pretty much covers half the ground platform). The list goes on.
If people are THAT anal for sources on Wikipedia practically any article about any television series would be deleted. Does Wikipedia cite which episode Captain Kirk first shows his personal hatred for Klingons? What justification is the following line based from, taken from Wikipedia, and can you cite the evidence?
The TV series alone is said to be one of the biggest cult phenomena of modern times.
Or how about a simpler citation, based on the follow line from Wikipedia, where is the citation which proves that the original Star Trek series DID indeed win two Emmys?
In its first two seasons, it was nominated for Emmy Awards as Best Dramatic Series.
After seeing so many MMOs fall flat-out on their faces after launch, if they managed to fix the game (I played a demo at Comic-Con, it was far from completed) then I say keep on delaying it.
And the reality is that American telecommunications are both run by monopolies and impossible to break into (we all saw how Apple got bullied around by AT&T). When the bulk of the U.S. is still using dial-up, its hard to say that Japanese telecommunication is a hype.
As for mobile projector/tablets/laptops, thats not gonna happen anytime soon. The theft concerns alone would scare even the most tech-oriented colleges away from such a concept (I'm sure we've all seen PCs, projectors and even wires locked up on college campuses before.)
The problem with this system is the sensors. Color was recognized only by using 4 differently labeled sensors (red, green, black and blue), installing sensors in the ceilings is not always possible (either too high or the building doesn't allow it) and since the sensors are attached to the markers and erasers, costs would skyrocket when the students/teachers start stealing/breaking/accidentally throwing out the sensors.
I still agree addressing students orally and directly is still one of the best methods of education though.
Orangeburg Massacre: Local police != US government.And, rubber bullets != firing an AK-47 into a crowd. Solution: Lets blame Bush even though it took place in the 60's!
As for Waco, good luck trying to use that as an argument post-9/11. The Davidian was an armed religious cult and the U.S. was (still is) a mentally retarded institution following the mass suicides led by Jim Jones. Have fun writing about that.
And zomg! Jails being used as tools of intimidation! Thats never happened before in any nation at any time in the world!
Yeah, when Bush goes from randomly screening our telephone calls and reading our e-mail to gunning down mass demonstrations using the U.S. military then we'll do something about it.
Theres a HUGE difference between the censorship in the U.S. and in many other countries. In many other countries in the world (besides Burma aka Myanmar), publicly speaking out against the government carries jail time or the death sentence. In the U.S., the government may stonewall you but nothing that would stop demonstrators on a SERIOUS topic. (Remember how New York City tried to limit the anti-war rallies in Times Square and the demonstrators ended up getting air time on the news channels for several days afterwards?)
Thats nothing, I once worked at the ESL (English as a Second Language) department at my college for a semester and the restrictions were ungodly. The students were REQUIRED to be sponsored by a full-time working U.S. citizen family member, was NOT allowed to work even part-time themselves, and subjected to weekly reviews which would result in his expulsion from the program if his grades slipped too much. This was for green card students already in the U.S., not foreign students applying while still out of the country. Oh and naturally, if you get leave the program for any reason, you don't get your money back.
Oh and in a country like Burma (aka Myanmar), violating government spectrum policy probably comes with penalty of death for you any anyone nearby the equipment.
Non-Burmese citizens need not apply.
If he was making these copies to SELL, then yeah, I could imagine over 1,000 CDs. At $5~10 USD each (average street vendor price), that adds up to some serious cash fast, especially if you can start running copies of the latest movies and software.
In all seriousness, the game wasn't received (too) well by most reviewers, professional and casual (too short, lack of gameplay, too easy, nothing but eyecandy: take your pick). The game holds its own as a game, but its by no means a "killer app". I've played through and beat the game in a single day and I kept thinking how much the game felt like a God of War clone whenever I wasn't sniping with the crossbow.
If you want to see how a "killer app" really affects the overall success of a console, just watch what happens when Halo 3 is released (or for a more realistic benchmark, MGS4, any Final Fantasy game in the US or Europe or any Dragon Quest game in Japan.)
The game will last roughly 40 to 50 hours and required FOUD DVDs?! Wtf do they need all that space for? Blue Dragon was 3 DVDs long and reviewers were complaining about the game's storyline being slow to unfold.
I thought rumble was supposed to be a last-gen technology fad. Why is Resistance: Fall of Man, the PS3's best first-gen/launch title getting a retroactive modification?
So half of the missions have failed and thats a success? Lebanon was failure (and we're back for round 2!), Kosovo (however debatable it was) was a (PR) nightmare, Somalia was hell (for everybody involved) and Darfur (yes, there is peace-keeping force there) is their latest clusterf*ck of to-be-described proportions.
2. Credited with negotiating 172 peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts
"Regional conflicts". Not national conflicts. Not regional wars. Not national wars. HUGE difference, especially in the Middle East where theres a "regional conflict" (read: pissing match) every week between some Islamic country and Israel.
3. The UN has enabled people in over 45 countries to participate in free and fair elections
Gee, wow. 45 countries. There are 54 countries in Africa ALONE, let alone Asia, Europe, South America and Australia (depending on how you define which Pacific islands are in which region).
I could go on, but I honestly believe that the U.N. could and is doing some serious good in the world. The only problem is that they could do FAR more than they are now if they'd get their act together.
You bought online from a non-name brand company though. A quick look at Walmart.com shows no DVD box set for the second season set, an average of ~$20 USD for each volume and at 7 volumes for the whole series, its $140. And this is from Walmart, the supposed ultra-cheap megastore of the USA. The XBL version is cheaper and more convenient for the casual XBL buyer. Even the Ghost in the Shell fans could even skip over the filler episode and go straight for the storyline episodes.
Its not about shortness/length vs. content (at least in this case), but a matter of interactivity vs. non-interactivity. Games like Halo or Bioshock (not counting the intros or endings, both games have extremely little cutscenes or FMVs) have very high action vs. inaction ratios in this case while games like Metal Gear Solid 2 and Heavenly Sword have very low action vs. inaction ratios (yes, both games have their moments but assuming you go straight forward, both games bogs themselves down with cutscenes and FMVs).