> The XBox is Microsoft's best bet for a new significant revenue stream, but Sony appears to be taking Microsof to lunch on this front.
Actually, Microsoft's penetration in the very closed, Japanese-centric market of consoles has been impressive. The PS2 rode the wave of the original PS, and entered the market with basically no competition. Neither the Xbox nor the GameCube were going to overthrow the PS2 in those market conditions.
However, this first effort by Microsoft is beating Nintendo's GameCube on many sales fronts. The Xbox also experienced an overwhelmingly successful launch of its online component, Xbox Live.
It's an interesting time, as all three consoles on the market are quite healthy in the US market. There's no Sega Saturn or even Dreamcast in this bunch (ignoring, for a moment, that the Dreamcast was a damn fine piece of hardware, just not a sales monster). The Xbox has been slow but steady in gaining a foothold in the market. Internet Explorer didn't become the most used browser overnight, ya know.;)
> How do you know they are getting a discount when the contract is secret?
Well, the other two options are:
(1) Making a deal to pay what they could pay without any deal.
(2) Making a deal for the privilage to spend MORE than what it costs to get off the shelf.
HMMMM.
Here at Fresno State, we CompSci majors are required to have Visual Studio.NET.
We're also required to have Linux.
Thanks to the cheap availability of Microsoft software (via a deal with the school) and the free availability of Linux software, we learn to develop software on multiple platforms.
> Most MS decision makers are all business and do not understand games at all
Perhaps throughout the company, but those handling the Xbox routinely show that they are tuned into the "hardcore gamer" crowd. One need only track the creation and birth of Xbox Live for evidence.
The Xbox's lone stumbling block is the PlayStation2's "name" status, and the larger installed base (which was in no small part to the PS2's head start). The Xbox is swiftly beginning to outpace Nintendo's GameCube.
Lots of people like to claim "the Xbox is failing", but it's just not true. Microsoft is losing money, but quickly gaining market share in a market where they had 0 presence. Right now, they're doing so with a superior product and aggressive pricing.
The "idiot" part isn't from their acting on camera. It's from statements along the lines of "I looked at a PC and it made my brain explode."
I particularly like the IT guy that tries to convince us that he couldn't figure out a PC. Riiight.
Note that in the above quote, "the program" should be replaced with "the artists using the program" and the headline "open source art" should be replaced with "open source software tools for creating art".
So, "viewers are encouraged to examine the source code of the artists using the program..."?
"Hey baby, would I love to compile the code YOU'RE made of..."
Slashdot Mirror
> The XBox is Microsoft's best bet for a new significant revenue stream, but Sony appears to be taking Microsof to lunch on this front.
;)
Actually, Microsoft's penetration in the very closed, Japanese-centric market of consoles has been impressive. The PS2 rode the wave of the original PS, and entered the market with basically no competition. Neither the Xbox nor the GameCube were going to overthrow the PS2 in those market conditions.
However, this first effort by Microsoft is beating Nintendo's GameCube on many sales fronts. The Xbox also experienced an overwhelmingly successful launch of its online component, Xbox Live.
It's an interesting time, as all three consoles on the market are quite healthy in the US market. There's no Sega Saturn or even Dreamcast in this bunch (ignoring, for a moment, that the Dreamcast was a damn fine piece of hardware, just not a sales monster). The Xbox has been slow but steady in gaining a foothold in the market. Internet Explorer didn't become the most used browser overnight, ya know.
> How do you know they are getting a discount when the contract is secret? Well, the other two options are: (1) Making a deal to pay what they could pay without any deal. (2) Making a deal for the privilage to spend MORE than what it costs to get off the shelf. HMMMM.
Here at Fresno State, we CompSci majors are required to have Visual Studio .NET.
We're also required to have Linux.
Thanks to the cheap availability of Microsoft software (via a deal with the school) and the free availability of Linux software, we learn to develop software on multiple platforms.
Although, I wonder what Ann/Brian/Cathy/Dave do in that laundry room to fill delay slots when nobody's looking.....
How clever. It's not really a difficult concept to understand, but that analogy makes it even easier.
> That's actually hara-kiri, or belly-slitting.
Actually, I think his was a clever way of writing Harry Caray.
That begs the question: which ones have you played?
Neither of those games are.
Actually, he meant Roach. Steve *Roach* is a pioneer of this genre of ambient.
> Most MS decision makers are all business and do not understand games at all Perhaps throughout the company, but those handling the Xbox routinely show that they are tuned into the "hardcore gamer" crowd. One need only track the creation and birth of Xbox Live for evidence. The Xbox's lone stumbling block is the PlayStation2's "name" status, and the larger installed base (which was in no small part to the PS2's head start). The Xbox is swiftly beginning to outpace Nintendo's GameCube. Lots of people like to claim "the Xbox is failing", but it's just not true. Microsoft is losing money, but quickly gaining market share in a market where they had 0 presence. Right now, they're doing so with a superior product and aggressive pricing.
Oh dear, DOOM.
During the sniper incident, someone interviewed by Connie Chung brought up Columbine and DOOM, and called DOOM a "sniper game". (huh?)
The "idiot" part isn't from their acting on camera. It's from statements along the lines of "I looked at a PC and it made my brain explode." I particularly like the IT guy that tries to convince us that he couldn't figure out a PC. Riiight.
Note that in the above quote, "the program" should be replaced with "the artists using the program" and the headline "open source art" should be replaced with "open source software tools for creating art". So, "viewers are encouraged to examine the source code of the artists using the program..."? "Hey baby, would I love to compile the code YOU'RE made of..."