You're also seeing a lot of games developed by teams that have worked on 360 for a while and are targeting that as the lead platform with the PS3 basically getting a port that happens to launch at the same time.
PS2 sold something like 120 million. Though I have to agree, at the pace 360 is going, they won't hit even 40 million by the four year mark when microsoft retires it to focus on the xbox vista.
While I'm hoping that the GP was just making a joke and blew the delivery, to set the record straight (again!), here is what Gore actually said.
I took the initiative in creating the Internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.
The biggest factor in killing the original xbox is that it was a financial failure that held very little market share. microsoft jumped the gun and released on a 4-year schedule to be first, because they care more about spreading their desktop computing monopoly to the living room than with putting out a good product or anything else.
Of course they're going to be jealous of the PS2 lifespan. It's been a great machine (minus a few hardware difficulties early on) with possibly the deepest lineup of games on any console, ever. Not to mention that it's still killing both "next gen" consoles in sales despite being 7 years old.
Sure, the DRM is a nice bonus for microsoft at this point. But they would have dropped the original xbox cold and rushed 360 to be first regardless of whether or not they could have ramped up the "security" against their own customers.
Well at least hardcoding is slightly better than what tends to happen on consoles when they don't want to build in dynamic tutorials (which is stupid since there are so few buttons). With those they just go, "Now push the [jump] button to jump." or something similarly ridiculous.
As for weird alternatives to WASD, I've always wondered if it'd be possible to learn how to play Vi-style, maybe F for forward, D for backward, and then A/S for left/right, or something like that. Anyone want to learn and tell us how hard it is?
Doesn't it bother your finger that one of the keys has the raised bit though? If it were the middle key I think that might work, but it'd drive me fucking nuts if it were asymmetrical. Please tell me that it's not just me, or I might have to call my shrink again!
They'll just include the Mass Effect conversation engine in Madden 2009 and claim that all the profits from Madden were due to the assets they acquired with Bioware. They're also likely to turn over sequel duty to a third string development team and have them crank out one a year for five or six years while the core teams that they bought work on the next title. Don't count out the "restructuring" they are sure to do to give the games from these teams more "mainstream" appeal to boost sales for the price of losing the hardcore fan support.
If there's one thing I'd never count out it's EA being able to pump out crap and sell a ton of it anyway. Which is not to say that they don't make some good games, FIFA has been pretty fucking sweet the last few years (aside from the horrendous World Cup edition on xbox that was more framey than a picture shop).
Depends on the game, there definitely are games that these stores sell that they make $0 on. A lot of the EA sports games, particularly Madden, were sold like this. Considering how many people buy Madden though, could you imagine EB not carrying it even if they had to lose money on each copy sold to do so?
I've been to the Northgate EB (now with Gamestop signage) and it sucks, but that comic is not funny at all. If we wanted to see something unfunny we all know how to get to penny arcade, so why don't you idiots stop linking that garbage already?
There were some mis-steps with the gameplay that really bothered me. I've never cared about the story in a Zelda game, not even Twilight Princess where they tried to actually give it one. It's about the dungeon-based puzzles and the combat, and Minish Cap just screwed up the formula a little too much for me. Which was a big let down for me as I've otherwise loved every handheld incarnation of the series. I'd have to go back to it to point out what I didn't like about it as I can't remember the specifics right now.
The puzzles in Phantom Hourglass were fantastic though and really made me enjoy the series in a way that I haven't since the release of Ocarina of Time, and in some ways the first time I played A Link to the Past. I hope that it foreshadows some really drastic and entertaining changes for the designed-for-Wii game that is sure to come late in the console's life cycle.
I think that's more him lacking any grasp of technology at all, not uncommon for the wall street journal (or most any news outlet). Out of the box any "gPhone" is going to have about as many security issues related to user-downloadable software as a Blackberry. Just because the operating system is open source in no way implies that the stock firmware shipped by the handset manufacturers or the carriers is going to let the phone do anything that it isn't "supposed" to do. It'll just be another phone running Java apps like all the other phones running Java apps.
Your average user isn't going to know or care about updating the operating system on their phone. What an idiot!
As far as I'm concerned it's more fun to play than ANY of the other Zelda games. The controls are fast and smooth, even with a scratched up screen protector, and the puzzles are really smart. I don't know if it's a better game than all the other Zeldas, but I'd put it above any of the 3D entries and well ahead of Minish Cap, possibly the worst Zelda this side of 1995.
You've got some facts wrong, and have missed any actual understanding of the release schedules in question to make your point that Sony is somehow furthering longer life-cycles for their consoles while Nintendo is pushing the life-cycle down. The fact is that both are on a 5 year cycle and that the only console maker to shorten this time frame, that is still in the game, is microsoft. But even there I believe, despite hating microsoft with a passion, that this is merely an anomaly due to the stumbling of their initial console and if they remain in the business they will settle into a 5 year cycle as well.
First, some facts on Nintendo: Famicom was released in 1983, in Japan. The NES, a retooled Famicom, was not released until 1985, and then only in limited release in the United States. The wide release of the NES did not come until 1986 and included the United States as well as the Canada and the PAL regions.
The Super Famicom was released in 1990, again in Japan. The Super NES, again a refactoring of the Japanese model, was released in North America in 1991 and the PAL regions in 1992.
The Nintendo 64 was released in Japan and North America in 1996, and the PAL regions in 1997. GameCube followed in 2001 with the PAL releases in 2002. Wii hit basically all regions in 2006.
What you are seeing here is the convergence towards a staggered global release separated by months rather than years, perhaps towards an eventual simultaneous world-wide release at some point in the future?
Second, some facts on Sony: Playstation was released in 1994, in Japan. Everyone else got it in 1995. Playstation 2 released basically everywhere in 2000. Playstation 3, despite your claims to the contrary, released world-wide in 2006, not 2007.
Again you see a convergence toward a tighter release schedule world-wide. Just as with Nintendo's releases they are normalizing on the North American release, adjusting the Japanese and PAL releases as necessary. This has been less apparent with Sony because a) they have released fewer consoles, and b) they were pushing a closer world-wide release from the start.
Kind of agree that we may be seeing a longer console life-cycle this time around, but not exactly with your reasoning. But I've written way too much already so I'll just have to agree to agree on the points that I agree with.
Here's some reading to get you started. You might also check out Game Over by David Sheff. It's a pretty entertaining read and will give you some decent insight into the release schedules of the early Nintendo consoles.
Well Mortal Kombat is kind of misleading in that way. Yeah the Genesis version had red blood instead of sweat, but it also played a hell of a lot better.
I have to agree, though, censorship on Wii seems to be much more in the hands of the ESRB than Nintendo these days. If Manhunt 2 "Uncensored" had received an M-Rating I'm sure it'd be in stores right now, and probably selling more copies as well.
Don't be fooled by the anti-globalization rhetoric. It's the only sane thing Ron Paul has likely ever said, and even then probably for all the wrong reasons. If you think that he is someone who would, even if he could, fix any of the ills of this world you have much more immediate problems than someone at the FBI reading your email.
Slashdot Mirror
You're also seeing a lot of games developed by teams that have worked on 360 for a while and are targeting that as the lead platform with the PS3 basically getting a port that happens to launch at the same time.
PS2 sold something like 120 million. Though I have to agree, at the pace 360 is going, they won't hit even 40 million by the four year mark when microsoft retires it to focus on the xbox vista.
Or maybe he just went back to work at ESPN.
The biggest factor in killing the original xbox is that it was a financial failure that held very little market share. microsoft jumped the gun and released on a 4-year schedule to be first, because they care more about spreading their desktop computing monopoly to the living room than with putting out a good product or anything else.
Of course they're going to be jealous of the PS2 lifespan. It's been a great machine (minus a few hardware difficulties early on) with possibly the deepest lineup of games on any console, ever. Not to mention that it's still killing both "next gen" consoles in sales despite being 7 years old.
Sure, the DRM is a nice bonus for microsoft at this point. But they would have dropped the original xbox cold and rushed 360 to be first regardless of whether or not they could have ramped up the "security" against their own customers.
Next you're going to be asking them not to post dupes. I ask you, sir, where will this insanity end?
Well at least hardcoding is slightly better than what tends to happen on consoles when they don't want to build in dynamic tutorials (which is stupid since there are so few buttons). With those they just go, "Now push the [jump] button to jump." or something similarly ridiculous.
As for weird alternatives to WASD, I've always wondered if it'd be possible to learn how to play Vi-style, maybe F for forward, D for backward, and then A/S for left/right, or something like that. Anyone want to learn and tell us how hard it is?
Odama used it pretty extensively, though the recognition wasn't always that great if reviews are to be trusted.
Doesn't it bother your finger that one of the keys has the raised bit though? If it were the middle key I think that might work, but it'd drive me fucking nuts if it were asymmetrical. Please tell me that it's not just me, or I might have to call my shrink again!
They'll just include the Mass Effect conversation engine in Madden 2009 and claim that all the profits from Madden were due to the assets they acquired with Bioware. They're also likely to turn over sequel duty to a third string development team and have them crank out one a year for five or six years while the core teams that they bought work on the next title. Don't count out the "restructuring" they are sure to do to give the games from these teams more "mainstream" appeal to boost sales for the price of losing the hardcore fan support.
If there's one thing I'd never count out it's EA being able to pump out crap and sell a ton of it anyway. Which is not to say that they don't make some good games, FIFA has been pretty fucking sweet the last few years (aside from the horrendous World Cup edition on xbox that was more framey than a picture shop).
Don't you mean $55 used? I thought the current practice was to take off $5 from new, at least that's the case with Wii games.
Depends on the game, there definitely are games that these stores sell that they make $0 on. A lot of the EA sports games, particularly Madden, were sold like this. Considering how many people buy Madden though, could you imagine EB not carrying it even if they had to lose money on each copy sold to do so?
I've been to the Northgate EB (now with Gamestop signage) and it sucks, but that comic is not funny at all. If we wanted to see something unfunny we all know how to get to penny arcade, so why don't you idiots stop linking that garbage already?
I definitely prefer round blocks.
There were some mis-steps with the gameplay that really bothered me. I've never cared about the story in a Zelda game, not even Twilight Princess where they tried to actually give it one. It's about the dungeon-based puzzles and the combat, and Minish Cap just screwed up the formula a little too much for me. Which was a big let down for me as I've otherwise loved every handheld incarnation of the series. I'd have to go back to it to point out what I didn't like about it as I can't remember the specifics right now.
The puzzles in Phantom Hourglass were fantastic though and really made me enjoy the series in a way that I haven't since the release of Ocarina of Time, and in some ways the first time I played A Link to the Past. I hope that it foreshadows some really drastic and entertaining changes for the designed-for-Wii game that is sure to come late in the console's life cycle.
By that logic, how is mac a priority for anyone either?
I think that's more him lacking any grasp of technology at all, not uncommon for the wall street journal (or most any news outlet). Out of the box any "gPhone" is going to have about as many security issues related to user-downloadable software as a Blackberry. Just because the operating system is open source in no way implies that the stock firmware shipped by the handset manufacturers or the carriers is going to let the phone do anything that it isn't "supposed" to do. It'll just be another phone running Java apps like all the other phones running Java apps.
Your average user isn't going to know or care about updating the operating system on their phone. What an idiot!
As far as I'm concerned it's more fun to play than ANY of the other Zelda games. The controls are fast and smooth, even with a scratched up screen protector, and the puzzles are really smart. I don't know if it's a better game than all the other Zeldas, but I'd put it above any of the 3D entries and well ahead of Minish Cap, possibly the worst Zelda this side of 1995.
You've got some facts wrong, and have missed any actual understanding of the release schedules in question to make your point that Sony is somehow furthering longer life-cycles for their consoles while Nintendo is pushing the life-cycle down. The fact is that both are on a 5 year cycle and that the only console maker to shorten this time frame, that is still in the game, is microsoft. But even there I believe, despite hating microsoft with a passion, that this is merely an anomaly due to the stumbling of their initial console and if they remain in the business they will settle into a 5 year cycle as well.
First, some facts on Nintendo: Famicom was released in 1983, in Japan. The NES, a retooled Famicom, was not released until 1985, and then only in limited release in the United States. The wide release of the NES did not come until 1986 and included the United States as well as the Canada and the PAL regions.
The Super Famicom was released in 1990, again in Japan. The Super NES, again a refactoring of the Japanese model, was released in North America in 1991 and the PAL regions in 1992.
The Nintendo 64 was released in Japan and North America in 1996, and the PAL regions in 1997. GameCube followed in 2001 with the PAL releases in 2002. Wii hit basically all regions in 2006.
What you are seeing here is the convergence towards a staggered global release separated by months rather than years, perhaps towards an eventual simultaneous world-wide release at some point in the future?
Second, some facts on Sony: Playstation was released in 1994, in Japan. Everyone else got it in 1995. Playstation 2 released basically everywhere in 2000. Playstation 3, despite your claims to the contrary, released world-wide in 2006, not 2007.
Again you see a convergence toward a tighter release schedule world-wide. Just as with Nintendo's releases they are normalizing on the North American release, adjusting the Japanese and PAL releases as necessary. This has been less apparent with Sony because a) they have released fewer consoles, and b) they were pushing a closer world-wide release from the start.
To sum it up:
NES: 1985/1986, SNES: 1991 (+5/6), N64: 1996 (+5), GameCube: 2001 (+5), Wii: 2006 (+5)
Playstation: 1995, Playstation2: 2000 (+5), Playstation3: 2006 (+5)
Kind of agree that we may be seeing a longer console life-cycle this time around, but not exactly with your reasoning. But I've written way too much already so I'll just have to agree to agree on the points that I agree with.
Here's some reading to get you started. You might also check out Game Over by David Sheff. It's a pretty entertaining read and will give you some decent insight into the release schedules of the early Nintendo consoles.
Nintendo Entertainment System
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo 64
Wii
Playstation
Playstation 2
Playstation 3
How exactly did you read this to mean that anyone at Google would in any way know where you were?
Will this be called JavaXP?
Of course, it allows for windows clients, right?
Well Mortal Kombat is kind of misleading in that way. Yeah the Genesis version had red blood instead of sweat, but it also played a hell of a lot better.
I have to agree, though, censorship on Wii seems to be much more in the hands of the ESRB than Nintendo these days. If Manhunt 2 "Uncensored" had received an M-Rating I'm sure it'd be in stores right now, and probably selling more copies as well.
Don't be fooled by the anti-globalization rhetoric. It's the only sane thing Ron Paul has likely ever said, and even then probably for all the wrong reasons. If you think that he is someone who would, even if he could, fix any of the ills of this world you have much more immediate problems than someone at the FBI reading your email.
Everyone knows by now that they don't resort "courts" or "laws" in those kind of cases.