Errr... I don't think taking a single store's sales is enough to declare a trend. Heck, the Wii and the 360 are not available right now at a store near where I live and there are PS3's lying around. Oh my god, Microsoft still can't meet demand...
Keep in mind that MS Points are not on a 100:$1 ratio Well, considering the 360 sells worldwide, your 100:1US$ ratio doesn't mean anything for someone who lives in Japan, Canada or anywhere else, so what's the big deal if it doesn't relate to the US either?
I was just pointing out the fact that the other poster said that you were bound to find a game you like on the DS, which was simply not true, if the DS didn't have your kind of games.
I don't ike JRPGs on the DS that much nowadays, since most of it is tongue in cheek and doesn't take itself seriously. FF3 is the prime example of that. FF3 to me is deeply flawed game whose original on the NES was much better. Combat ia boring as hell (2or 3 enemies per battle, wtf?) and the silliness of the story was ok when it was 2D but in 3D it`s just painful to me. That's the cutesy factor rigt there. I normally don't deal in absolutes wen talking about opinions, but in this case, I hae yet to meet someone in my circle of friends who liked FF3 DS. And those who played the original translated NES version preferred it over the remake.
I've tried looking for good DS gamesfor a while. Ultimately, I resigned myself to the fact that the kind of games I want to play (stuff like Mass Effect, Fable, God of War, Ninja Gaiden, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon) weren't going to appear on the DS and I might as well enjoy it for the Final Fantasy GBA ports and Elite Beat Agents.
The problem with the DS for me is that there's nothing really "involving". I haven't seen the kind of game that's going to suck me in for hours on end, like a PS2 or a 360 can. Everything seems bite-sized and tailored for quick bursts of play (which makes sense, since it's a portable). I guess I'm not in the DS demographics, just like I got bored with the Wii quickly because of the gimmicky mini-games. Apart from Zelda, where is the, once again, deep stuff? The stuff that makes you care? Or the stuff that sucks you in? Paper Mario came out yesterday, I might give that a spin whe I finally can find a Wii in store. In the mean time, playing Wii Sports once a month at a friend's place is enough for me.
This may be a shock to you but not everyone likes DS games. I have a DS too and nothing on it really stands out for me except Elite Beat Agents which I still play once in a while after 4 months, even tough I still can't beat the last level at 3 stars. Otherwise I only play the Final Fantasy remakes for the GBA on it.
Where are the good RPGs? The ones where I'm not playing some 13 year old idiot and his 11 year old sister. Where is the deep stuff, the stories that make me think? Oh sure, there's two or three, but the DS certainly doesn't have every kind of games. Where are the Gears of War, the Resident Evils, the Xenosagas (the crappy port doesn't count), the God of Wars for the DS? Oh right. Those kind of games are on other consoles, not the DS.
they've published a massively popular 3rd party game for the console, Except that, you know, Gears of War is published by Microsoft, marketed with Microsoft's money and financed by Microsoft Game Studios. Also, they own the IP. This is not Unreal, this is Gears of Wars, and Microsoft can do damn well what they want to do with the game. Doesn't make it right, but it's their call to make. Epic and Microsoft can argue about the decision, but in the end, Microsoft makes the decision.
Well, I'm used to taking leap of faiths in those books. The whole red shoes stuff and parallel with the Wizard of Oz in 'Wizards and Glass' was pretty over the top. Classic King.:)
I don't have problem with cutesy RPGs, but this one is just too much. I felt retarded playing this game. Also, the combat is bland, since it's most of the time 1 or 2 enemies and there's no real challenge. FF battles have never been too complex or clever, but in this case I could play the game doing the exact same spell and weapon sequence over and over again. That's true of most RPGs towards the end of the game, where the characters have a few very powerful and usefull skills. In the case of FF3, you start doing this early on and there's no need to change your tactics throughout the whole game really (not that I have finished it, I've suffered 15 hours of it and that was enough). So I switched back to the GBA ports, which, apart from FF2 (the Japanese version, not FF2 ka FF4), were pretty good.
unless they say "screw the graphics" and go for the easy cash that might blemish the entire franchise. That's called "making Final Fantasy DS games". FF3 port was horrible. I haven't met a person yet who didn't regret the purchase, seriously. And they are releasing a FF12 snip-off which looks childish at best.
Remember that Microsoft has lowered their shipments targets form 15 to 12 million. Maybe they are trying to bleed the market dry out of Premium 360s so they can replace that model with this new one, which could still launch at 400$ dollars. I mean, a bigger hard drive is not going to cost them a lot more per unit and HDMI output could actually cost LESS than analog component output. Factor in the fact that they are shrinking the processor die (which implies lower cost), and they might actually be able to offer a refresh on the Premium model for the exact same price and still break-even (last reports show Microsoft breaking even on Premium bundles).
every eletronic rpg is linear. and the story is dull.
Dealing in absolutes will get you nowhere and only shows your ignorance of the medium.
It's true that a lot of RPGs are pretty straighforward and extra quests are only meant to make your character a lot stronger toward the end of the game.
But take a game like KOTOR for example. There were a lot of optional side quests that helped define your character better (by leaning him or her more toward light or dark side) and by furthering the side-story of many people part of your group.
A game like the Elder Scroll series has very little main narrative (what I mean by this is that the main story isn't too complicated and pretty short) but have a lot of optional side quests that are compelling and define what you are in this universe.
I haven't played Fable but I think it also had a somewhat non-linear gameplay that encouraged you to experience different ways to do things and rewarded the player with a different view of the world.
Generally, I'd say that western RPGs are more based around choice while Japanese RPGs are more about a single strong narrative, tough I'm sure there are some very interresting exceptions each side of the pond.
First of all, dismissing this as Sony copying what Nintendo is doing is just stupid here. Considering this is very Sims like and seems to be pretty polished, this is not Sony ripping Nintendo Miis after the Wii launch. This has been in the works for quite a while now. No for those who think that Sony ripped Nintendo off, remove your fanboy cap please.
As for the actual usefulness of this service, I can see how it might be interresting to Sim loves (and there are a LOT of them), but this looks more like Sims Online, and I don't think that game did nearly as well as the sims. Playing yourself in a virtual dollhouse to meet people seems weird to me. But that's just me.
But seriously, cost being free??? I doubt buy this at all. Let's suppose PS3 minimum 30 million units (and I bet they will sell more after this), and then 1 out of 2 people use the service (based on the recent news that more than half people use Live in the 360) that means a MMO community of MINIMUM FIFTEEN MILLION USERS. And probably a lot more unless Sony does something really stupid again with their console. Seriously. Free? It's either going to cost you or end up reeeeeeeaaalllllllyyy sssslllllloooooowwwww.
As for any usefulness this has to gaming, time will tell, but personally, I couldn't care less. I'll buy a PS3 only when it's about 400$ and I'll be able to play God of War 3, Heavenly and White Knight Story (and assuming these games end up being good too). Meanwhile, I'll stick with the 360, PS2 and DS game.
I wonder if a lot of people will be change their decision from 'wait' to 'buy' a 500$-600$ console based on "Home". Personnaly, I don't think so, but then, I never got into "The Sims" games, so I might not be the target of this move.
I bought a a launch unit and it wouldn't play games one time out of two. Instead of launching the game, it would read the DVD-movie part of the disk that says "This is a 360 game, put this in a 360" or something to that effect. So I returned my unit, got a complete refund (except for the game, got 40$ of my 70$ back... stupid store policy). Then I waited for GRAW to come out in March, walked into a store and bought one from the shelves. Has been working fine since then, tough I did experience a couple of disk errors while playing GRAW and Oblivion, but not from other games, so I blame the disks, not the console.
I've had a handful of freezes while playing games on disks, but the Ninety Nine Nights demo would almost ALWAYS lock up after 10-30 minutes of play, regardless of how long the console had been turned off. Tried clearing the 360 game/patch cache, but it didn't fix the problem. The retail version of the game doesn't have this problem, tough it did hang once or twice during the whole compaign (Can't beat that stupid last boss tough. grrrr...)
I'm dissapointed about the hangs, but they are so few and far appart that I'm just not going to bother with returning the unit now and wait until my 2 year extra warranty (on top of the 1 year) is almost over. Then I'll call support and get a replacement. By then I suppose the hardware will have all the problems fixed. Maybe I'll be lucky and get one of those with the silent DVD drives, who knows?
I was more thinking in the line of some devices like VCRs, PVRs and set top boxes, that maintain some state and therefore aren't completely off and use power even though they are "off". I mean, I've heard of some TV's that do draw some noticable power while turned "off". Mine doesn't.
Actually, my Sony tube TV when turned off consumes 0 watt according to a Kill-a-watt. So either it's using to little that it's not registering or it's really completely off.
As for my Scientific Atlanta HD PVR, it consumes as much power on as off, recording or not. Go figure.
I did a complete audit of my entertainment center with a Kill-a-watt recently. The 360, when off and nothing plugged in the USB ports consumes around 3 watts of power. Interestingly, if you plug a USB device in (like my Sensa media player), it does provide power to the device. That's my favorite way to charge the Sansa battery, since I don't have to turn on my computer and I don't have a USB-hub for my PC. I didn't try plugging my Sansa in the 360 and read the wattage tough to see if it consummed more. It probably would have.
So the absolute minimum the 360 can consume when turned off is roughly 3 watts.
Slashdot Mirror
Errr... I don't think taking a single store's sales is enough to declare a trend. Heck, the Wii and the 360 are not available right now at a store near where I live and there are PS3's lying around. Oh my god, Microsoft still can't meet demand...
I read this on TeamXbox's forums:
:)
"if they're dropping it due to poor demand, they should drop the 60GB model too:P"
Right on!
Keep in mind that MS Points are not on a 100:$1 ratio
Well, considering the 360 sells worldwide, your 100:1US$ ratio doesn't mean anything for someone who lives in Japan, Canada or anywhere else, so what's the big deal if it doesn't relate to the US either?
I was just pointing out the fact that the other poster said that you were bound to find a game you like on the DS, which was simply not true, if the DS didn't have your kind of games.
I don't ike JRPGs on the DS that much nowadays, since most of it is tongue in cheek and doesn't take itself seriously. FF3 is the prime example of that. FF3 to me is deeply flawed game whose original on the NES was much better. Combat ia boring as hell (2or 3 enemies per battle, wtf?) and the silliness of the story was ok when it was 2D but in 3D it`s just painful to me. That's the cutesy factor rigt there. I normally don't deal in absolutes wen talking about opinions, but in this case, I hae yet to meet someone in my circle of friends who liked FF3 DS. And those who played the original translated NES version preferred it over the remake.
I've tried looking for good DS gamesfor a while. Ultimately, I resigned myself to the fact that the kind of games I want to play (stuff like Mass Effect, Fable, God of War, Ninja Gaiden, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon) weren't going to appear on the DS and I might as well enjoy it for the Final Fantasy GBA ports and Elite Beat Agents.
The problem with the DS for me is that there's nothing really "involving". I haven't seen the kind of game that's going to suck me in for hours on end, like a PS2 or a 360 can. Everything seems bite-sized and tailored for quick bursts of play (which makes sense, since it's a portable). I guess I'm not in the DS demographics, just like I got bored with the Wii quickly because of the gimmicky mini-games. Apart from Zelda, where is the, once again, deep stuff? The stuff that makes you care? Or the stuff that sucks you in? Paper Mario came out yesterday, I might give that a spin whe I finally can find a Wii in store. In the mean time, playing Wii Sports once a month at a friend's place is enough for me.
This may be a shock to you but not everyone likes DS games. I have a DS too and nothing on it really stands out for me except Elite Beat Agents which I still play once in a while after 4 months, even tough I still can't beat the last level at 3 stars. Otherwise I only play the Final Fantasy remakes for the GBA on it.
Where are the good RPGs? The ones where I'm not playing some 13 year old idiot and his 11 year old sister. Where is the deep stuff, the stories that make me think? Oh sure, there's two or three, but the DS certainly doesn't have every kind of games. Where are the Gears of War, the Resident Evils, the Xenosagas (the crappy port doesn't count), the God of Wars for the DS? Oh right. Those kind of games are on other consoles, not the DS.
Mod parent up. I was about to post the same thing : the ATSC standard for broadcasting doesn't permit 1080p signals.
they've published a massively popular 3rd party game for the console,
Except that, you know, Gears of War is published by Microsoft, marketed with Microsoft's money and financed by Microsoft Game Studios. Also, they own the IP. This is not Unreal, this is Gears of Wars, and Microsoft can do damn well what they want to do with the game. Doesn't make it right, but it's their call to make. Epic and Microsoft can argue about the decision, but in the end, Microsoft makes the decision.
or maybe I slept through "Marketroid Bullshit 101,"
I think you meant |Marketdroid Bullshit 9.1".
Well, I'm used to taking leap of faiths in those books. The whole red shoes stuff and parallel with the Wizard of Oz in 'Wizards and Glass' was pretty over the top. Classic King. :)
Great Dark Tower reference, I'd mod you up if I had points. I gotta start book 6 soon. :)
I don't have problem with cutesy RPGs, but this one is just too much. I felt retarded playing this game. Also, the combat is bland, since it's most of the time 1 or 2 enemies and there's no real challenge. FF battles have never been too complex or clever, but in this case I could play the game doing the exact same spell and weapon sequence over and over again. That's true of most RPGs towards the end of the game, where the characters have a few very powerful and usefull skills. In the case of FF3, you start doing this early on and there's no need to change your tactics throughout the whole game really (not that I have finished it, I've suffered 15 hours of it and that was enough). So I switched back to the GBA ports, which, apart from FF2 (the Japanese version, not FF2 ka FF4), were pretty good.
unless they say "screw the graphics" and go for the easy cash that might blemish the entire franchise.
That's called "making Final Fantasy DS games". FF3 port was horrible. I haven't met a person yet who didn't regret the purchase, seriously. And they are releasing a FF12 snip-off which looks childish at best.
Any chance of Xbox 360/GRAW2 bundles?
If Oblivion and Crackdown could fit on standard DVD's, I don't see why GTA 4 should be any different.
As for the lowest common denominator, you are aware that the PS2 WAS the lowest common denominator performance wise last generation, are you?
Exactly
Remember that Microsoft has lowered their shipments targets form 15 to 12 million. Maybe they are trying to bleed the market dry out of Premium 360s so they can replace that model with this new one, which could still launch at 400$ dollars. I mean, a bigger hard drive is not going to cost them a lot more per unit and HDMI output could actually cost LESS than analog component output. Factor in the fact that they are shrinking the processor die (which implies lower cost), and they might actually be able to offer a refresh on the Premium model for the exact same price and still break-even (last reports show Microsoft breaking even on Premium bundles).
every eletronic rpg is linear.
and the story is dull.
Dealing in absolutes will get you nowhere and only shows your ignorance of the medium.
It's true that a lot of RPGs are pretty straighforward and extra quests are only meant to make your character a lot stronger toward the end of the game.
But take a game like KOTOR for example. There were a lot of optional side quests that helped define your character better (by leaning him or her more toward light or dark side) and by furthering the side-story of many people part of your group.
A game like the Elder Scroll series has very little main narrative (what I mean by this is that the main story isn't too complicated and pretty short) but have a lot of optional side quests that are compelling and define what you are in this universe.
I haven't played Fable but I think it also had a somewhat non-linear gameplay that encouraged you to experience different ways to do things and rewarded the player with a different view of the world.
Generally, I'd say that western RPGs are more based around choice while Japanese RPGs are more about a single strong narrative, tough I'm sure there are some very interresting exceptions each side of the pond.
you'll usually end up with one choice that is still better than the other, so that choice will get picked as the 'right' one anyway.
That's because you play RPGs to win. Personally, I play them to experience a story. In that case, any path you choose is valid.
First of all, dismissing this as Sony copying what Nintendo is doing is just stupid here. Considering this is very Sims like and seems to be pretty polished, this is not Sony ripping Nintendo Miis after the Wii launch. This has been in the works for quite a while now. No for those who think that Sony ripped Nintendo off, remove your fanboy cap please.
As for the actual usefulness of this service, I can see how it might be interresting to Sim loves (and there are a LOT of them), but this looks more like Sims Online, and I don't think that game did nearly as well as the sims. Playing yourself in a virtual dollhouse to meet people seems weird to me. But that's just me.
But seriously, cost being free??? I doubt buy this at all. Let's suppose PS3 minimum 30 million units (and I bet they will sell more after this), and then 1 out of 2 people use the service (based on the recent news that more than half people use Live in the 360) that means a MMO community of MINIMUM FIFTEEN MILLION USERS. And probably a lot more unless Sony does something really stupid again with their console. Seriously. Free? It's either going to cost you or end up reeeeeeeaaalllllllyyy sssslllllloooooowwwww.
As for any usefulness this has to gaming, time will tell, but personally, I couldn't care less. I'll buy a PS3 only when it's about 400$ and I'll be able to play God of War 3, Heavenly and White Knight Story (and assuming these games end up being good too). Meanwhile, I'll stick with the 360, PS2 and DS game.
I wonder if a lot of people will be change their decision from 'wait' to 'buy' a 500$-600$ console based on "Home". Personnaly, I don't think so, but then, I never got into "The Sims" games, so I might not be the target of this move.
cannot always be guessed in 3 tries.
Unless you are getting a blowjob. Then all bets are off.
Maybe they'll take a cue from those guys.
I bought a a launch unit and it wouldn't play games one time out of two. Instead of launching the game, it would read the DVD-movie part of the disk that says "This is a 360 game, put this in a 360" or something to that effect. So I returned my unit, got a complete refund (except for the game, got 40$ of my 70$ back... stupid store policy). Then I waited for GRAW to come out in March, walked into a store and bought one from the shelves. Has been working fine since then, tough I did experience a couple of disk errors while playing GRAW and Oblivion, but not from other games, so I blame the disks, not the console.
I've had a handful of freezes while playing games on disks, but the Ninety Nine Nights demo would almost ALWAYS lock up after 10-30 minutes of play, regardless of how long the console had been turned off. Tried clearing the 360 game/patch cache, but it didn't fix the problem. The retail version of the game doesn't have this problem, tough it did hang once or twice during the whole compaign (Can't beat that stupid last boss tough. grrrr...)
I'm dissapointed about the hangs, but they are so few and far appart that I'm just not going to bother with returning the unit now and wait until my 2 year extra warranty (on top of the 1 year) is almost over. Then I'll call support and get a replacement. By then I suppose the hardware will have all the problems fixed. Maybe I'll be lucky and get one of those with the silent DVD drives, who knows?
Okay well... hum.. yeah. Silly me. :)
I was more thinking in the line of some devices like VCRs, PVRs and set top boxes, that maintain some state and therefore aren't completely off and use power even though they are "off". I mean, I've heard of some TV's that do draw some noticable power while turned "off". Mine doesn't.
Actually, my Sony tube TV when turned off consumes 0 watt according to a Kill-a-watt. So either it's using to little that it's not registering or it's really completely off.
As for my Scientific Atlanta HD PVR, it consumes as much power on as off, recording or not. Go figure.
I did a complete audit of my entertainment center with a Kill-a-watt recently. The 360, when off and nothing plugged in the USB ports consumes around 3 watts of power. Interestingly, if you plug a USB device in (like my Sensa media player), it does provide power to the device. That's my favorite way to charge the Sansa battery, since I don't have to turn on my computer and I don't have a USB-hub for my PC. I didn't try plugging my Sansa in the 360 and read the wattage tough to see if it consummed more. It probably would have.
So the absolute minimum the 360 can consume when turned off is roughly 3 watts.