I'd never thought about it before, but thinking about it now: I don't know a single PC gamer who hasn't used pirated software. Not one. I had just assumed that it was most of the people I knew, but on reflection, everyone I know who plays games on PC has had at least one pirated game...
Fair enough. It is somewhat accurate. It's just not as black and white as people usually make it out to be. People seem to have this belief that in Asia everything is about conformity, and that America is a paragon of individuality. Living in Japan has shown me that there's a whole lot of individuality here, and there is a whole lot of conformity in America. There is a difference between the two cultures, but it's not as enormous as it's made out to be.
(As an aside, generally, I feel more comfortable with the Japanese approach, as they admit when they're being group oriented and when they're being individualistic, as opposed to the American stance of pretending to always be individualistic when sometimes being blindingly conformist. But that's a personal rant, neither here nor there.)
First, an aside: the US mantra may certainly be "be yourself", but it's just as conformist as Japan or Korea. It just doesn't like to admit it.
On topic: There are many reasons for MMORPG success in Korea; I'll take a stab at mentioning one that hasn't been mentioned so far.
(Although it's a chicken-vs-egg argument), the wide range of people playing means that you are not necessarily playing against the stereotypical l33t h4xx0r or "30 year old in mom's basement" types. This increases the appeal for regular folks, as they realize that they are playing against other regular folks. This removes a lot of the stigma attached to games like this, and also makes it easier to meet up with friends from real-life within the game.
I think everyone's convinced that it's not a hoax, not that it isn't vaporwear.
That is, until recently, people believed that the company never intended to produce anything, ever. Now people believe that the company intends on producing something, though whether they will actually complete the product is still in the air.
Not so much a DOS/Windows wrapper as that it will be running a modified Windows kernel. Dunno how much you know about the Phantom, but it's essentially a supposedly super-DRMed PC. The idea is that by modifying the Windows kernel to prevent user access, glue shut the box, and install self-destruct tamper sensors, they can use it to download PC games from central servers without the risk of those games being copied.
Correct. In fact, they intend to distribute primarily through tie-ins with ISPs, not through sales in stores. Whether that is a valid sales strategy is another issue...
Ah, to this I can agree. Consoles do indeed have a propensity for shallowness. That isn't to say that all of them are shallow, but there is a definite tilt. I would venture to say, though, that the deeper games are starting to come out as the line between PC gamer and console gamer is becoming blurred. Now I'm the one arguing with unrepresentative groups, but I have seen several people around me go from PC to console due to being ground down by the upgrade cycle. If this trend continues, I would not be surprised if more game makers released PC-style RPGs (Morrowind, etc.) on consoles. Who knows, that may have been a one-off, but its commercial success indicates at least that there is a market among console gamers for the PC-RPG style. Only time will tell how big that market is and how well it's addressed.
Sorry, just want to confirm one thing: doesn't CS require Half-Life to play? I remember wanting to try CS once (hearing it was free) only to find out I'd have to buy Half-Life to play it. Was that incorrect?
"I, for one, cranked through Knights of the Old Republic on the Xbox within three days of getting the game and I appear to be the only person on earth who was left wanting."
Don't worry, you're not the only one. We're just not as vocal as the fans of the game.
Converse accident logical fallacy. By the same token, I know 3 people who own and like Morrowind on the XBox. I know none who own it on for the PC. Therefore, Morrowind is far more popular among XBox owners than PC owners.
The reality is that Morrowind on the XBox sold enough copies to be rereleased as part of the Platinum Hits series, and sold enough that the expansions were released with the original game as the Morrowind Game of The Year version. Whether the people around you like it or not bears little on whether it is liked by the majority or not. It may, however, explain why your ideas about console players does not seem to mesh with overall reality.
Understood, but I'd warrant that was a pretty small group to begin with. You could just as likely take my group into account: people who live in an area where local phone calls are not free, so broadband is cheaper than dialup.
If you're going to do your math like THAT, how about $4.17 per month for the XBox Live subscription, $5 a month for electricity, $15.83 for broadband, $10 or so for depreciation, $0.50 for cost of connection cables (monster cable cost / 24 months or so expected use), $20 or so for the TV ($480 divided over 2 years)...Why, I wouldn't be surprised if XBox Live cost over $100 a month! That's $1,200 per year!! Highway robbery!
A few (though they may be of negligible impact): Backwards compatibility means that if, for example, you don't own a PS1, when you buy a PS2 you not only have a library of new titles, but you can find old (and therefore cheap) games for the PS1, you can play your friends' old games, and during dry spells of games you can rent old classics.
Also, for people who live where space is a premium, you can get rid of your old console and play your old and new games on your new system, you don't have to buy a switch to connect both your old and new systems to the TV/stereo, and you can sell your old system for maybe enough to get a new game.
Like I said, these may not be big issues, but it depends on the person. For me, in Tokyo, the idea of needing both my almost-refrigerator-size XBox and the upcoming XBox Next to play all my games will be a pain in the butt. No space left in the TV stand, and not much space left on my computer table.
"All the Dooms and Quakes concentrated on evil satanic monsters and nothing but mindless killing. As a Christian I have to wonder what this is doing to the children who end up playing these games"
Maybe they'll grow and kill satanic monsters for a living.
As a Christian, it would seem that killing satanic monsters for fun would be a pretty positive playstyle.
Ah, my apologies. Not a troll, a libertarian. I swear, the only libertarian who is not completely wonkers insane is my dad, and I suspect I'm just letting my relationship with him cloud my judgement.
I was 7 years old. 7 year olds are incredibly stupid. Maybe I would have, and maybe not. But I'm pretty sure at least one kid in the school would have tried it.
But if you're arguing that it is right and should be legal to prevent 7 year olds from taking bubblegum by seriously threatening to put a bullet in their brains, I will bow down to you as a troll so smooth I almost believed you were a real poster.
Like I said, that's the (reasonable) cheap end. The flat average apartment price in Tokyo for single folks in their 20s is probably more along the lines of $700 or $800. Of course, the catch is that these places are small. Japanese housing tends to be on the small side, but livable. A $750 apartment in Tokyo, however, is a completely different story. To get an American-sized apartment would easily run you $1500 or more (depending where you live in Tokyo), but it doesn't even occur to people to get apartments that big.
Slashdot Mirror
I'd never thought about it before, but thinking about it now: I don't know a single PC gamer who hasn't used pirated software. Not one. I had just assumed that it was most of the people I knew, but on reflection, everyone I know who plays games on PC has had at least one pirated game...
Fair enough. It is somewhat accurate. It's just not as black and white as people usually make it out to be. People seem to have this belief that in Asia everything is about conformity, and that America is a paragon of individuality. Living in Japan has shown me that there's a whole lot of individuality here, and there is a whole lot of conformity in America. There is a difference between the two cultures, but it's not as enormous as it's made out to be.
(As an aside, generally, I feel more comfortable with the Japanese approach, as they admit when they're being group oriented and when they're being individualistic, as opposed to the American stance of pretending to always be individualistic when sometimes being blindingly conformist. But that's a personal rant, neither here nor there.)
First, an aside: the US mantra may certainly be "be yourself", but it's just as conformist as Japan or Korea. It just doesn't like to admit it.
On topic: There are many reasons for MMORPG success in Korea; I'll take a stab at mentioning one that hasn't been mentioned so far.
(Although it's a chicken-vs-egg argument), the wide range of people playing means that you are not necessarily playing against the stereotypical l33t h4xx0r or "30 year old in mom's basement" types. This increases the appeal for regular folks, as they realize that they are playing against other regular folks. This removes a lot of the stigma attached to games like this, and also makes it easier to meet up with friends from real-life within the game.
I think everyone's convinced that it's not a hoax, not that it isn't vaporwear.
That is, until recently, people believed that the company never intended to produce anything, ever. Now people believe that the company intends on producing something, though whether they will actually complete the product is still in the air.
Not so much a DOS/Windows wrapper as that it will be running a modified Windows kernel. Dunno how much you know about the Phantom, but it's essentially a supposedly super-DRMed PC. The idea is that by modifying the Windows kernel to prevent user access, glue shut the box, and install self-destruct tamper sensors, they can use it to download PC games from central servers without the risk of those games being copied.
Correct. In fact, they intend to distribute primarily through tie-ins with ISPs, not through sales in stores. Whether that is a valid sales strategy is another issue...
Ah, to this I can agree. Consoles do indeed have a propensity for shallowness. That isn't to say that all of them are shallow, but there is a definite tilt. I would venture to say, though, that the deeper games are starting to come out as the line between PC gamer and console gamer is becoming blurred. Now I'm the one arguing with unrepresentative groups, but I have seen several people around me go from PC to console due to being ground down by the upgrade cycle. If this trend continues, I would not be surprised if more game makers released PC-style RPGs (Morrowind, etc.) on consoles. Who knows, that may have been a one-off, but its commercial success indicates at least that there is a market among console gamers for the PC-RPG style. Only time will tell how big that market is and how well it's addressed.
Sorry, just want to confirm one thing: doesn't CS require Half-Life to play? I remember wanting to try CS once (hearing it was free) only to find out I'd have to buy Half-Life to play it. Was that incorrect?
"I, for one, cranked through Knights of the Old Republic on the Xbox within three days of getting the game and I appear to be the only person on earth who was left wanting."
Don't worry, you're not the only one. We're just not as vocal as the fans of the game.
Converse accident logical fallacy. By the same token, I know 3 people who own and like Morrowind on the XBox. I know none who own it on for the PC. Therefore, Morrowind is far more popular among XBox owners than PC owners.
The reality is that Morrowind on the XBox sold enough copies to be rereleased as part of the Platinum Hits series, and sold enough that the expansions were released with the original game as the Morrowind Game of The Year version. Whether the people around you like it or not bears little on whether it is liked by the majority or not. It may, however, explain why your ideas about console players does not seem to mesh with overall reality.
As Morrowind is an XBox Platinum Hit game, I'll take it this was an attempt at trolling?
Understood, but I'd warrant that was a pretty small group to begin with. You could just as likely take my group into account: people who live in an area where local phone calls are not free, so broadband is cheaper than dialup.
If you're going to do your math like THAT, how about $4.17 per month for the XBox Live subscription, $5 a month for electricity, $15.83 for broadband, $10 or so for depreciation, $0.50 for cost of connection cables (monster cable cost / 24 months or so expected use), $20 or so for the TV ($480 divided over 2 years)...Why, I wouldn't be surprised if XBox Live cost over $100 a month! That's $1,200 per year!! Highway robbery!
A few (though they may be of negligible impact): Backwards compatibility means that if, for example, you don't own a PS1, when you buy a PS2 you not only have a library of new titles, but you can find old (and therefore cheap) games for the PS1, you can play your friends' old games, and during dry spells of games you can rent old classics.
Also, for people who live where space is a premium, you can get rid of your old console and play your old and new games on your new system, you don't have to buy a switch to connect both your old and new systems to the TV/stereo, and you can sell your old system for maybe enough to get a new game.
Like I said, these may not be big issues, but it depends on the person. For me, in Tokyo, the idea of needing both my almost-refrigerator-size XBox and the upcoming XBox Next to play all my games will be a pain in the butt. No space left in the TV stand, and not much space left on my computer table.
Why the hell is this moderated as "troll"? Just because the mod didn't agree with the author??
"All the Dooms and Quakes concentrated on evil satanic monsters and nothing but mindless killing. As a Christian I have to wonder what this is doing to the children who end up playing these games"
Maybe they'll grow and kill satanic monsters for a living.
As a Christian, it would seem that killing satanic monsters for fun would be a pretty positive playstyle.
Sorry, just being flippant.
Ah, my apologies. Not a troll, a libertarian. I swear, the only libertarian who is not completely wonkers insane is my dad, and I suspect I'm just letting my relationship with him cloud my judgement.
*bow*
I was 7 years old. 7 year olds are incredibly stupid. Maybe I would have, and maybe not. But I'm pretty sure at least one kid in the school would have tried it.
But if you're arguing that it is right and should be legal to prevent 7 year olds from taking bubblegum by seriously threatening to put a bullet in their brains, I will bow down to you as a troll so smooth I almost believed you were a real poster.
Like I said, that's the (reasonable) cheap end. The flat average apartment price in Tokyo for single folks in their 20s is probably more along the lines of $700 or $800. Of course, the catch is that these places are small. Japanese housing tends to be on the small side, but livable. A $750 apartment in Tokyo, however, is a completely different story. To get an American-sized apartment would easily run you $1500 or more (depending where you live in Tokyo), but it doesn't even occur to people to get apartments that big.
So when I stole that bubblegum when I was 7 or so, they should have had to right to shoot me in the head?
You'd be in the right for killing teenage shoplifters?
Darn newspeak: "in the right". Back in the old days, we used to pronounce it "insane".
Yeah, whenever you get in a wreck you should just roll to disbelieve instead.
Read the parent:
"I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad thing because that's usually how space projects get more funding"
Conclusion: Yes, the parent poster does. Look before you snark.
It's for cla,rity.