True, but in an atmospheric game co-op still can be implemented quite interestingly. Imagine this:
Player 1 and Player 2 (lets call them Sam and Bob for simplicity) are making their way through a hallway, with Bob watching the rear. While passing through a doorway, Sam and Bob are suddenly cut off and Sam is suddenly attacked by an infinite number of enemies. While Sam is yelling at the game trying to fend for himself, Bob has to find a switch/key in order to open the door while sounds of gunfire and yelling echo through the hallway.
If Bob takes too long then Sam dies and he has to wait until Bob gets to a "respawn area" (yes cheesy). But if Bob makes it in time, instead of the monsters simply stop coming, some "boss" comes crashing through a wall and they have to take it out. Very atmospheric if a little heavy on the action side.
By that logic, that makes Americans more likely to play FPSes and strategy games. So why do Sports games dwarf every other genre in the game industry? *cough*Madden*cough*
Agreed, but the sad part is there are actually a number of suits where medical staff can be sued over outrageous things.
True story : My mother is a part-time registered nurse at a retirement home. Old guy living in retirement home is obviously dying from age. Result : Family of old guy complains and threatens to sue retirement home for negliance. Side effect : My mom gets called in for more and more hours she didn't sign up for as well as has benefits cut and ends up quitting. End result : Old guy dies from age, and my mom gets a new job.
My mom is just lucky she only does this part time. I can't even imagine the kind of BS nurses and doctors have to put up with at public hospitals.
Three months later Joe Poweruser is out of a job because his company bandwidth was being used up by a hacker preventing him from submitting his project to his boss in time.
Even if you're a extremely careful and make sure your connection isn't compromised, that doesn't mean your company's, co-workers', family's, or friend's connection is safe as well. In the grand scheme of things, this sort of thing hurts EVERYONE. You just don't hear or realize the side effects.
The store I worked at literally had Playstations and Xboxes and Gamecubes stacked up 6 to 8 feet in the employee bathroom for lack of anywhere else to put merchandise.
Thats nothing, at my local EBGames, which my friend works at, they have so many Gamecube's, PS2's, and Xbox's that they stack them in the bathroom up to the ceiling (note : this violates fire ordinance).
Not only that, their new "bargain bin" is a bunch of old used, unbought games and toys in a plastic box... on the floor. They don't even have enough wall/table/floor space to put up all the advertisement they get so they often toss it or give it to me (mmm, pretty art).
Oh and for the PC gamers out there? Never buy a used PC game that requires a CD-key to play online. Why? Simple, they're SUPPOSED to cover up the CD-key with stickers or just don't display them, but they don't. I've gotten about 3 C&C:General CD-keys, 2 Warcraft III CD-keys, a Warcraft III expansion CD-key, and a CD-key for The Sims. I haven't tried them yet though, but I'm willing to bet that they're all legit.
The sad part is people SHOULD care. Everyone from Joe Average to Bob Businessman should take notice of this.
If Joe Average's cable modem bandwidth is getting sucked up by some kiddie script, he should care. Especially when his ISP sends him a warning letter saying hes using up too much bandwidth when the most graphic intense site he's visited that month is CNN.com.
Bob Businessman definately should care as well. That dedicated T3 line he uses at work is being used to get information to his consumers. If the site starts to get slow due to a worm causing him to download hundreds of gigs of pr0n, not only will his consumers get angry but his employees may suffer in effeciency...
why not implement a system to discourage griefers from coming after newbies?
Because theres no effective system currently available at the moment.
Take a step out of the MMORPG scene and just look at standard FPS games, whats to keep people from TKing? A voting system? Can't be done on the MMO scale. A '3 strikes, you're out' system? Can be easily bypassed or ineffective (just get some super monster to follow you and get it to kill the newbie for you). The use of moderators? May damage RPG aspect of game, moderators are FAR outnumbered by players, and can sometimes make bad decisions (I was once banned from a server for killing a teammate who would block the doorway for the entire team in Wolfenstein Enemy Territory. Great...).
Until we get an effective anti-griefers system, let alone an effective anti-TKing system for non-MMO games, griefers will (sadly) be part of the game.
My two cents : IMO, what I think developers need to do is create a game with a "goal" like Lineage or Planetside, but only make it optional. If players (almost) always fight it out with one another in a war like system, griefers could always just into those battles to kill human players without bothering newbies. (Course the problem with this is, some griefers might not want to risk dying and will still stick to killing newbies.)
Indeed, simply mentioning that the Xbox Next wouldn't have a hard drive is a bad, bad move. The next-gen console wars have already begun and I'm sure all three companies are holding back on some of their secrets (maybe the PS3 will surf the net, be a TiVo, play PS2, PS1, and PS3 games all in one?).
Shooting off his mouth without confirmation, let alone permission (for all we knows it could be an add-on, a la headset or external transferable memory card, and not actually part of the Xbox Next since theres no real evidence other than his own word.) This guy just commited career suicide.
Indeed, somewhere along the time Godzilla will rise up from the sea again (pun intended) to wreak havoc. The two words in the title "for now" pretty much sum up the situation.
Don't forget people, Valve is gathering this data only from people using Steam. This is only a collection of data based on Steam users. This doesn't necessarily mean the people are playing any games (11 people playing with a processor speed below 200 Mhz? You're kidding me, I couldn't even play singleplay with my old 200 Mhz computer, let alone multiplayer.)
This chart also seems to keep track of clients, not servers either. Only 123 computers running OS systems other than Windows? I think we all know Linux is the perferred OS for running a server.
Actually I talked to my friend about it once. He said that all shipment of used games temporarily get boosted a few weeks before Christmas and then stop until about February. I guess retailers don't want used games filling up the shelves, so the best time to shop for (rare) used games would be around Thanksgiving time.
Take the xbox for example, when it comes down to it, it's nothing more than a glorified PC with some proprietary bits thrown here and there with the dashboard frontend.
True the Xbox is really nothing more than a glorifed closed off PC in a box (unless you mod it of course). But what the Xbox has that makes it so unique is the fact that Microsoft is getting developers to work on games ONLY for that system (Bungie).
If, say IBM, was to build a closed off PC in a box; the market would never accept it without a ton of preplanning done by IBM. It was possible for the Xbox to break into the market with its off the shelf parts, because it BOUGHT its way in. Other companies? Pfft, pocket change compared to what Microsoft spends to keep the Xbox in the game.
If theres anything Sierra adventure games have taught me in the past, its that adventure games gets infinitismly more difficult to get through as more words are put into it. I think it would've been better if Konami included a list of key phrases or words players were to use instead of having them guess what the name of a certain item was.
Forums and getting e-mails from users are nice and all, but face it, most of them are just complaints. There are four main types of people.
One is the guy who likes your game. However, instead of writing an e-mail/posting on the forum saying "DIS GAME IS TEH R0X0RZ!111!!!", he says to himself and/or to his friends "Yeah its a good game and I showed my support by buying their game." This is generally consitutes the majority. Next we have the same type of guy, only he actually e-mails/posts on the forum giving their support. However, these people are few and far between without going to a fan site. (How many people bought Deux Ex 2, and then how many people are even REGISTERED on their forums?)
For the last two we have, of course, the complainers. These are basicly the evil dopplegangers of the people who like the game. Only they're more vocal. A LOT more vocal. Now admittedly some games are REALLY bad and end up deserving most of the criticism, but some of the complaints you can hear are insane.
To be fair though, you have to remember that music in the past was usually limited to about 30 seconds and then constantly looped.
Look at the average length of a Gameboy Advance game music. Each track (sound clips and special moment music like the ending don't count) is roughly a minute and a half in length.
Rewind back to the days of Nintendo games. You could whistle for about 30 seconds and then find yourself repeating yourself... oh wait no, you're just repeating the song. On top of that the sound quality is scratchy, unclear and very basic.
Fast forward to a PS2, Xbox, PC or Gamecube game. For the PS2, any Final Fantasy game soundtrack. End of discussion. Xbox, Halo. Nuff said. PC, some people have setup their PCs to replace their TVs. DVD anyone? Gamecube, Zelda. Crazy looking graphics, but the music is still there.
meaning the company is likely to be harsh in the approval process regarding 'shovelware' PS2 conversions.
What about 'shovelware' from other systems? I know Nintendo and Microsoft would guard their franchises by locking them in the closet or by throwing money at them, but what about PC shovelware and Xbox/Gamecube games made by third party developers?
EA... well I don't think anything needs to be said about them. Konami will probably jump on with the proper incentive (a handheld Contra?) SquareEnix might join, but thats doubtful unless Sony starts shipping them packages of money. Chances are we'll see SOME kind of 'shovelware', even if it isn't from the PS2 library.
Or Sony could be an ass and start making 'shovelware' PS1 games saying "well we said no PS2 shovelware, but we didn't say anything about PS1 shovelware."
Considering the original Nintendo was probably the first major console in in video gaming history, saying they had a shortage with the NES during Christmas isn't saying much.
You know, I'd take the report more seriously if I knew the name of the Swedish group. Out of the entire news report, there was only one Swede quoted and/or even referred to.
"But it has been proved beyond dispute that people who watch a lot of violence on television develop aggressive behavior," said Frank Lindblad, a child psychiatrist at Sweden's Karolinska Institute university hospital.
So is he or is he not part of the group? He could've just been an guest speaker or a commentor on the topic.
Saying Sony sold out every PS2 unit with their shipments isn't saying much, considering the fact that ALL OF THOSE WERE SOLD BY PRE-ORDERS. If you can't even supply units to those who don't pre-order (yes some people don't pre-order), you have a management problem. Basic supply and demand; everyone knew demand was gonna be insanely high, yet Sony failed to supply the numbers.
On the contrary, Nintendo is very good at meeting supply and demand better than some other company *cough*PS2launch*cough*.
Nintendo is simply trying to avoid manufacturing costs since they already have enough units manufactured as it is. Its cheaper to do a little supply juggling than to start production of a few thousand units only to find out no one wants to buy them. Nintendo is simply trying to finish off selling what they already have out in the market instead of glutting it.
I've said it in a previous post but heres the short form...
The Gameboy's biggest competitors in the handheld gaming history (lite) :
Game Gear : Color screen. Nuff said. Wonderswan : Received Final Fantasy remakes (basicly selling an instant 5000+ units just for that). Again, had color screen and better resolution. NeoGeo Pocket Color : The little system that should've but didn't. A little joystick instead of a D-pad (FINALLY, lets see this happen some more), top notch SNK games like Metal Slug, and a battery life which outdid the Gameboy Advance's (not the SP's though.)
Just because Sony is trying its hand at the handheld business doesn't mean they'll succeed either. So far the score is something like 5+ wins - 0 losses - 1 tie with Game Gear which did "fairly" well (debatable).
Unless Sony can fit powerful hardware (a la Xbox sans the size), a SERIOUS gaming library (having all the third-party developer support in the world is useless if all the games are crappy and come out late), and a good launch success (the PS2 launch(es) couldn't have gotten worse) while fitting everything in a slick, cool handheld (ie. not N-Gage looking) yeah they have a CHANCE. Oh and, don't forget Tetris.
Indeed, digital 'trust' is something that cannot be easily handed to, let alone established. Not counting real life relationships, anybody who meets another person online immediately (should) distrust that person. In a sense, this is destroying the foundation of the internet (the sharing of information openly and freely) but it not only works, it is also necessary (sadly). Why? Simple.
When you play a game online, would you rather trust "HarryGoatDeezNtz" who has an absolutely offensive name but you've seenen play online and play well for over 3 months, "UnnamedNewbie(6)" who you've never seenen before and is asking how to play in the chat, or "KingofSpades" who is an absolute asshole with no skills but has been playing the game longer than anyone other than the developers?
The same thing is true with businesses trying to estabish themselves online.
Would you trust Microsoft's Windows which is virus/bug/hack/etc prone, Linux which would require you to hire a full time IT staff just to keep your servers and computers working, or Macs and have your staff constantly ask 'wheres the right mouse button?'
So the question remains? Do you trust the 'veteran' of the three? The 'pro' or take a chance and give the 'newbie' a try?
Slashdot Mirror
Player 1 and Player 2 (lets call them Sam and Bob for simplicity) are making their way through a hallway, with Bob watching the rear. While passing through a doorway, Sam and Bob are suddenly cut off and Sam is suddenly attacked by an infinite number of enemies. While Sam is yelling at the game trying to fend for himself, Bob has to find a switch/key in order to open the door while sounds of gunfire and yelling echo through the hallway.
If Bob takes too long then Sam dies and he has to wait until Bob gets to a "respawn area" (yes cheesy). But if Bob makes it in time, instead of the monsters simply stop coming, some "boss" comes crashing through a wall and they have to take it out. Very atmospheric if a little heavy on the action side.
Everything? Damn thats a lotta quick always available pr0n then.
Should we expect a Hyrulian shield being forged? Or maybe a Mirror Shield? (though the Majora's Mask one was ugly) Maybe a simple Kokiri Shield?
By that logic, that makes Americans more likely to play FPSes and strategy games. So why do Sports games dwarf every other genre in the game industry? *cough*Madden*cough*
True story : My mother is a part-time registered nurse at a retirement home. Old guy living in retirement home is obviously dying from age. Result : Family of old guy complains and threatens to sue retirement home for negliance. Side effect : My mom gets called in for more and more hours she didn't sign up for as well as has benefits cut and ends up quitting. End result : Old guy dies from age, and my mom gets a new job.
My mom is just lucky she only does this part time. I can't even imagine the kind of BS nurses and doctors have to put up with at public hospitals.
Even if you're a extremely careful and make sure your connection isn't compromised, that doesn't mean your company's, co-workers', family's, or friend's connection is safe as well. In the grand scheme of things, this sort of thing hurts EVERYONE. You just don't hear or realize the side effects.
Thats nothing, at my local EBGames, which my friend works at, they have so many Gamecube's, PS2's, and Xbox's that they stack them in the bathroom up to the ceiling (note : this violates fire ordinance).
Not only that, their new "bargain bin" is a bunch of old used, unbought games and toys in a plastic box... on the floor. They don't even have enough wall/table/floor space to put up all the advertisement they get so they often toss it or give it to me (mmm, pretty art).
Oh and for the PC gamers out there? Never buy a used PC game that requires a CD-key to play online. Why? Simple, they're SUPPOSED to cover up the CD-key with stickers or just don't display them, but they don't. I've gotten about 3 C&C:General CD-keys, 2 Warcraft III CD-keys, a Warcraft III expansion CD-key, and a CD-key for The Sims. I haven't tried them yet though, but I'm willing to bet that they're all legit.
If Joe Average's cable modem bandwidth is getting sucked up by some kiddie script, he should care. Especially when his ISP sends him a warning letter saying hes using up too much bandwidth when the most graphic intense site he's visited that month is CNN.com.
Bob Businessman definately should care as well. That dedicated T3 line he uses at work is being used to get information to his consumers. If the site starts to get slow due to a worm causing him to download hundreds of gigs of pr0n, not only will his consumers get angry but his employees may suffer in effeciency...
Because theres no effective system currently available at the moment.
Take a step out of the MMORPG scene and just look at standard FPS games, whats to keep people from TKing? A voting system? Can't be done on the MMO scale. A '3 strikes, you're out' system? Can be easily bypassed or ineffective (just get some super monster to follow you and get it to kill the newbie for you). The use of moderators? May damage RPG aspect of game, moderators are FAR outnumbered by players, and can sometimes make bad decisions (I was once banned from a server for killing a teammate who would block the doorway for the entire team in Wolfenstein Enemy Territory. Great...).
Until we get an effective anti-griefers system, let alone an effective anti-TKing system for non-MMO games, griefers will (sadly) be part of the game.
My two cents : IMO, what I think developers need to do is create a game with a "goal" like Lineage or Planetside, but only make it optional. If players (almost) always fight it out with one another in a war like system, griefers could always just into those battles to kill human players without bothering newbies. (Course the problem with this is, some griefers might not want to risk dying and will still stick to killing newbies.)
Shooting off his mouth without confirmation, let alone permission (for all we knows it could be an add-on, a la headset or external transferable memory card, and not actually part of the Xbox Next since theres no real evidence other than his own word.) This guy just commited career suicide.
Indeed, somewhere along the time Godzilla will rise up from the sea again (pun intended) to wreak havoc. The two words in the title "for now" pretty much sum up the situation.
This chart also seems to keep track of clients, not servers either. Only 123 computers running OS systems other than Windows? I think we all know Linux is the perferred OS for running a server.
Actually I talked to my friend about it once. He said that all shipment of used games temporarily get boosted a few weeks before Christmas and then stop until about February. I guess retailers don't want used games filling up the shelves, so the best time to shop for (rare) used games would be around Thanksgiving time.
True the Xbox is really nothing more than a glorifed closed off PC in a box (unless you mod it of course). But what the Xbox has that makes it so unique is the fact that Microsoft is getting developers to work on games ONLY for that system (Bungie).
If, say IBM, was to build a closed off PC in a box; the market would never accept it without a ton of preplanning done by IBM. It was possible for the Xbox to break into the market with its off the shelf parts, because it BOUGHT its way in. Other companies? Pfft, pocket change compared to what Microsoft spends to keep the Xbox in the game.
The 7 CD version or the special edition 2 DVD pack?
If theres anything Sierra adventure games have taught me in the past, its that adventure games gets infinitismly more difficult to get through as more words are put into it. I think it would've been better if Konami included a list of key phrases or words players were to use instead of having them guess what the name of a certain item was.
Forums and getting e-mails from users are nice and all, but face it, most of them are just complaints. There are four main types of people.
One is the guy who likes your game. However, instead of writing an e-mail/posting on the forum saying "DIS GAME IS TEH R0X0RZ!111!!!", he says to himself and/or to his friends "Yeah its a good game and I showed my support by buying their game." This is generally consitutes the majority. Next we have the same type of guy, only he actually e-mails/posts on the forum giving their support. However, these people are few and far between without going to a fan site. (How many people bought Deux Ex 2, and then how many people are even REGISTERED on their forums?)
For the last two we have, of course, the complainers. These are basicly the evil dopplegangers of the people who like the game. Only they're more vocal. A LOT more vocal. Now admittedly some games are REALLY bad and end up deserving most of the criticism, but some of the complaints you can hear are insane.
Look at the average length of a Gameboy Advance game music. Each track (sound clips and special moment music like the ending don't count) is roughly a minute and a half in length.
Rewind back to the days of Nintendo games. You could whistle for about 30 seconds and then find yourself repeating yourself... oh wait no, you're just repeating the song. On top of that the sound quality is scratchy, unclear and very basic.
Fast forward to a PS2, Xbox, PC or Gamecube game. For the PS2, any Final Fantasy game soundtrack. End of discussion. Xbox, Halo. Nuff said. PC, some people have setup their PCs to replace their TVs. DVD anyone? Gamecube, Zelda. Crazy looking graphics, but the music is still there.
What about 'shovelware' from other systems? I know Nintendo and Microsoft would guard their franchises by locking them in the closet or by throwing money at them, but what about PC shovelware and Xbox/Gamecube games made by third party developers?
EA... well I don't think anything needs to be said about them. Konami will probably jump on with the proper incentive (a handheld Contra?) SquareEnix might join, but thats doubtful unless Sony starts shipping them packages of money. Chances are we'll see SOME kind of 'shovelware', even if it isn't from the PS2 library.
Or Sony could be an ass and start making 'shovelware' PS1 games saying "well we said no PS2 shovelware, but we didn't say anything about PS1 shovelware."
Considering the original Nintendo was probably the first major console in in video gaming history, saying they had a shortage with the NES during Christmas isn't saying much.
"But it has been proved beyond dispute that people who watch a lot of violence on television develop aggressive behavior," said Frank Lindblad, a child psychiatrist at Sweden's Karolinska Institute university hospital.
So is he or is he not part of the group? He could've just been an guest speaker or a commentor on the topic.
Saying Sony sold out every PS2 unit with their shipments isn't saying much, considering the fact that ALL OF THOSE WERE SOLD BY PRE-ORDERS. If you can't even supply units to those who don't pre-order (yes some people don't pre-order), you have a management problem. Basic supply and demand; everyone knew demand was gonna be insanely high, yet Sony failed to supply the numbers.
Nintendo is simply trying to avoid manufacturing costs since they already have enough units manufactured as it is. Its cheaper to do a little supply juggling than to start production of a few thousand units only to find out no one wants to buy them. Nintendo is simply trying to finish off selling what they already have out in the market instead of glutting it.
The Gameboy's biggest competitors in the handheld gaming history (lite) :
Game Gear : Color screen. Nuff said.
Wonderswan : Received Final Fantasy remakes (basicly selling an instant 5000+ units just for that). Again, had color screen and better resolution.
NeoGeo Pocket Color : The little system that should've but didn't. A little joystick instead of a D-pad (FINALLY, lets see this happen some more), top notch SNK games like Metal Slug, and a battery life which outdid the Gameboy Advance's (not the SP's though.)
Just because Sony is trying its hand at the handheld business doesn't mean they'll succeed either. So far the score is something like 5+ wins - 0 losses - 1 tie with Game Gear which did "fairly" well (debatable).
Unless Sony can fit powerful hardware (a la Xbox sans the size), a SERIOUS gaming library (having all the third-party developer support in the world is useless if all the games are crappy and come out late), and a good launch success (the PS2 launch(es) couldn't have gotten worse) while fitting everything in a slick, cool handheld (ie. not N-Gage looking) yeah they have a CHANCE. Oh and, don't forget Tetris.
When you play a game online, would you rather trust "HarryGoatDeezNtz" who has an absolutely offensive name but you've seenen play online and play well for over 3 months, "UnnamedNewbie(6)" who you've never seenen before and is asking how to play in the chat, or "KingofSpades" who is an absolute asshole with no skills but has been playing the game longer than anyone other than the developers?
The same thing is true with businesses trying to estabish themselves online.
Would you trust Microsoft's Windows which is virus/bug/hack/etc prone, Linux which would require you to hire a full time IT staff just to keep your servers and computers working, or Macs and have your staff constantly ask 'wheres the right mouse button?'
So the question remains? Do you trust the 'veteran' of the three? The 'pro' or take a chance and give the 'newbie' a try?