Are you all ready for the barrage of thousands of comments about how much fundamentalist Christians suck. This obviously leads to conversations about how evil the Bush administration is. Naturally this will lead to a number of non-Americans saying how the States has too much power and is too conceited. And finally, this will be followed up by comments from Americans claiming to be the core of the world anyways so the rest of the world can go stuff it. BR>
Paint by numbers, brought to you by Slashdot.
Why is it that everyone seems to believe all things are cyclical in nature?
Because the game market crashed once doesnt mean its about to happen again. Actually the reality of todays market goes a long way towards preventing a crash. There are three different companies with three different products. That itself is a signifigant difference from the last "crash". Then, there was basically Atari... and... Atari. Yes, Coleco, Intellivision etc existed, but market share wise, it was all Atari. Plus quality controls werent in place... anybody could shovel any crap out for the Atari... and they did. Now ( no matter how hard it is to believe ), the big 3 actually stamp a game to assure a minimum level of quality. Especially in Sonys case, they do appear a bit lax;) but shovel ware is definatly limited.
I also argue that there wasnt a crash. More accuratly, one company imploded, but frankly as a gamer then, the disruption was basically not even felt. 1983, the Atari corporation blows itself up through a series of retarded business moves. 1984, NES is released in North America. Gee... some crash. Not to mention the number of home gaming computer that were popular around this time. The Atari's and Commodores of the day.
Frankly after reading the article I havent got a clue where they came up with the ads part.
However, the gist I got from it is any embeded auto playing content ( heres their example list: Adobe's Reader and Flash, Apple's QuickTime Player, Microsoft's Windows Media Player, RealNetworks' RealPlayer and Sun's JVM ) will require activation before playing.
So for example, if you go to a page that has a stock ticker applet in it, instead of it automatically scrolling the current stock market stats, you will have to click it to start. However, if this is true, it would pretty much make Flash useless, as flash based GUIs would become irritating, flash based start pages wouldnt work right, etc...
Lastly, what I dont understand beyond the above question is... why arent Firefox, Opera, Safari etc... also affected?
No matter what you think of Microsoft, in the end, this is bad for the end user and the web in general. Insert misc active X jokes in your replys all you want, you would be suprised how much of the daily web actually depends on this stuff.
This has very little to do with how Linux is doing at Retail. It has everything to do with if given the chance to pirate an OS, will people do i?
Then again, im not really shocked. I think to some degree people view pirating an OS or pirating from Microsoft in general as a lesser form of pirating.
Ok... I saw Ballmer in person about a year back and let me just say... good luck!
Say whatever bad shit you want about Microsoft, Ballmer etc, but I wouldn't say it to this guys face. Hes like 6'5 and built like a linebacker. Plus this guy looks mean... I think he would still look mean petting a kitten or kissing a baby. He would hand you your ass without breaking a sweat.
Yeah, typical slashdot mentality. Blame Microsoft for everything. This problem is caused by the government ( FCC ) and benefits the telcos only. Microsoft gets just as hurt by this as Google. The only difference I see is back during the dot.com bubble, Microsoft was buying stakes in telcos like mad trying to speed high speed adoption. However, since then I think they have sold off alot of those holdings. ( Meanwhile Google has bought dark fibre like mad. Wonder if Google saw their dependance on the Teclos as a weakness and took prevenative actions??? )
Well, its a good thing you didnt! I recently acquired patents to both the act of falling, and general block shapes! Now that im too old to innovate, I need to switch tracks and start sueing!
Actually this upcoming generation of media benefits the consumer very little. Thanks to draconian measures in HDCP obsoleting a good chunk of consumer electronics out there, it infact pretty much screws the consumer.
Im not one to boycott products, but there is always a first. I will as long as possible, refuse to buy any product built around HDCP. Sadly, that means HD-DVD, BluRay, the PS3, etc... I sure as hell am not going to buy a new monitor and video card to support Vista. This doesnt mean no Vista, but from the sounds of it, it does mean no Media Center.
This is one time where consumers should unite and say a collective "Fuck you!".
As the proud owner of a PS2, Xbox and XBox 360 I can say, atleast IMHO you games are better on the 360 already. I say that subjectively as I prefer certain types of games that you may not, especially racing games. As a result two games im playing to death right now are Project Gotham Racing 3 and Need for Speed Most Wanted.
In every measurably regard, NFS:MW on the 360 is better then the XBox or PS2 versions.
With PGR3, graphically and controlwise, it is a much superior game to PGR2. They made some design decisions some people dont like ( car acquisition ) but excluding that, it is a much better game.
Lastly, CoD2 imho, is a better FPS then anything released for either platform, including Halo. Only beef here is online, which is rumoured to be fixed.
So, early on, I can already give you 3 examples of games that are much improved over the current generation, atleast, in my opinion.
Dont get me wrong, some arent going to compare as well ( Gun and 2k sport games come to mind ), but you will see that with every platform launch.
Can you tell Sony subscribes to the belief "Any press is good press". Im already sick of these reports. Frankly, I hope its not delayed so these stories can finally die.
Sadly then, we will have to read story after story about shortages, then manufacturing problems, etc... etc... Even though im a gadget whore and will probrably buy all 3 ( already bought the 360 ), all of this stuff has just burned me out on console gaming.
Gotta disagree with you. RAD neither help nor hinder good coding habits. It generally just makes the tedious stuff easier. Actually if the RAD is in the form of a good code generator, and the programmer follows the pattern the RAD generator outputs, it could actually lead to better organized code. Either way, RAD doesnt really effect sloppy coding habits.
However, SCRIPTING does. Growing up a C/C++ programmer, switching over to python ( which I love sofar ), I notice I have to work especially hard to write good code. Its just way to easy to write sloppy but working code in these languages. Especially when you have a language that can run itself, you suddenly are encouraged to do all kinds of bad things. Then take away the strictness that compiliers minimaly impose, and you got yerself a bomb in the making. Im not bashing on python in general, this applies equally well to javascript, ruby, lua, perl, etc...
Closest a film has come to pulling off neuromancer was probrably lawnmowerman, which really wasnt that bad. If you took a Lawnmowever Man approach to Cyberspace and a Blade Runner type approach to the real world, and updated both using modern CGI ( but not too much ) you could pull of Neuromancer.
Funny thing is, I would figure it could never be adapted to a game either, but there was a C64 game based on Neuromancer that to this day I occasionally dust off and replay.
Incidentally, most compilers have a 'standards mode' which ignores extensions, so you can check easily whether your code uses them. With GCC, for example, you can compile with -std=c99 to enforce the C99 standard without GNU extensions, or -std=c99 for the C99 standard with GNU extensions.
You mean like how VS2K5 has/clr for C++ with CLR extensions, and no/clr for standard C++?
Funny, I sorta figured the opposite. Anyone willing to spend 6-8K on a gaming machine probrably has all the time in the world to spend on it. You know, without having all those hassles, like, say... a girlfriend, or... a life... Plenty of time to spend.
Oh yeah, the click wheel is so much superior to volume up/down controls.
Hmmmm.... I want to turn this song up. Ok, scroll the wheel. WTF, why the Fuck is my song fast forwarding. Oh shit, I must have clicked twice. Lets try again.
Im sorry, the interface on the iPod is pure shit. I hate mine, just off a few simple problems. 1) Volume controls should have had an up/down toogle. Reusing the same UI for fast forward/rewind and volume control is just retarded. If you disagree with me, try using an iPod in your car sometime ( while being a responsible driver and not staring at your iPod ). 2) Worst , most scratch screen ever 3) overly expensive.
Now, I realise that slashdot is currently going through an Apple Wack-Off-Athon(tm) at the moment, and insulting apple is taboo. Yet, frankly the iPod is an over hyped POS. If mine wasnt given to me, I would be right pissed off at the money I (didnt) pay for it.
LOL, Ill see you my premium bundle for $800. I bought it with the intention of ebaying it ( I got two, they are much easier to get where I live ) but have hesitated because I sorta hate ebay.
Sorry about the Sony reference. Yet, what I saw from your post looked more like a veiled Xbox bash then pro Rev or PS3. I made the sony fanboy quip because frankly, its normally the sony camp the is guilty of such crimes.
Wow... Where to start. Im guessing your pro sony eh? Why cant we all just get along. Now, let me correct your either fan-boyism or ignorance, not sure which it is...
Sony - Playstation 3 (confirmed name)
+Lean Mean Sony Company Gaming Machine look
--- um... have you seen it? Dimension wise its the biggest of the bunch. Plus, its got a retarded sloped top so there is NO way to stack other components on it. Form factor is definatly NOT a plus for the PS3.
+Backwards compatible with PS2/PS1 games
--- still not confirmed at this point. Rumour suggest backward compatibility has been axed. Then again, it has never formally been announced that the PS3 is backward compatible
+Games: Final Fantasy series, GTA series (first serve, anyway)
Again, this is conjecture at this point. Both Square and Rockstar have announced support for the XBox 360 and the extent of that support has never been announced. Additionally, it has never been announced that Final Fantasy will be an exclusie. Thats doubly true for GTA.
-Lock out technology to make sure that when a review says a game has no replay value, that means no one else can replay it, either
--- Again, conjecture based on a patent application that could have NOTHING to do with the PS3.
-Probably makes lousy burgers
The one point I will give you. I safely assume it will suck at steaks and milkshakes even more.
-Expensive
--- Again, no price formally announced, but this is probrably true, based off interviews with SCEA's CEO.
-Same controller
Im assuming by this you are saying same controller technology ( and not gyro based like the rev ). Well, to that degree it is true. However, the controllers are announced to be wireless, and from the E3 demo look to be alot of fun for a pair of lesbians to emm... enjoy.
Now the things you missed
- Mostly hype and speculation at this momment
+ More ports and connections that god knows what to do with ( although, this is stupid imho, raises price for features nobody is going to use... dual 1080P video outs?!?!? )
- Poor prerelease developer support. Supposed to be much harder and more expensive to develop for then the XBox 360. Have heard nothing positive in this regard from developers.
Microsoft - XBox 360 (confirmed name)
+First to launch
--- true, may be a positive or a negative
+XBox Live features
--- very true
+Games: Halo,... Halo.
---... Kameo, Oblivion, PGR3, countless PC FPS's. Thats on launch or near too it. The launch lineup is actually pretty impressive.
+It's white?
--- Off topic, but I dont like that part. Also, removable face plates... personally I think its queer, but then I think buying iPod condoms is queer, but the damned this sell like mad
-Plain old DVD drive (no advanced drive- what is their's, HD-DVD?)
--- I suppose you could call this a negative. Time will tell, especially once we know what the PS3 price point is. I do know that throughput is better on the DVD then BR, so it does have some pluses.
-Only partial backwards compatibility
--- Still not known to what extent... this is a wait and see thing
-Same old controllers
--- Ditto the ps3 comment re controllers. Wireless redesigned controller. Controller actually seems pretty nice
Hmmmm.... now what you missed ( and these are selling points and not necisarrily things I like
+ Free XBox live silver
+ Microtransactions, buying games online, trailers and demos, etc
+ hard drive option
+ integration with existing media devices
+ media center ( this one is huge with some people, no biggy for me )
Oh... and the biggest plus of all for the 360...
++++++ IT EXISTS!
Nintendo im not even going to bother getting into, because at this point only two things are known
+ New controller design. Could be *sorry* revolutionary. Could flop,
It isnt going to end up hurting future companies, it already has. What you are seeing now is a result of that hurt. More and more risk is being offloaded on the indy developers, while the ROI for that risk is going down and down. Thats why you saw a mass exodus to the "casual" webpublished games a few years back. Ironically, that mass exodus killed that industry aswell, where the major portals replace the major developers in the traditional sense. Where as real used to say take 20%, they take 50 or 60% now. Just the nature of industry in my opinion.
What I predict now, as you are going to see cycles. New dev teams will come out with innovative products because the big publishers were too risk adverse to try it. If that products succeed, one of the big guys will buy out the company and turn that origonal property into a sequel factory. Then dev's bought out by one of those big publishers get the itch to do something origonal, so they branch off and make a new dev house that releases a successful title that some uber publishers buys them out. Repeat adnaseum.
The S controller may be fine, my experiences with it are limited to play time at friends. I bought my xbox and extra controller within a month of it being released when the S didnt exist, so its what I got used to. The damned thing fit like a glove ( except the black and white button placement, they were pretty bad ), so when I use an S, it feels small. That said, it doesnt cause me pain like the DualShock does.
Part that sucks, is the new controller seems smaller then the S. I hope its just the wierd angle the display units had them on, but sofar I dont like the trend.
Slashdot Mirror
CERN?
...atleast initially.
Are you all ready for the barrage of thousands of comments about how much fundamentalist Christians suck. This obviously leads to conversations about how evil the Bush administration is. Naturally this will lead to a number of non-Americans saying how the States has too much power and is too conceited. And finally, this will be followed up by comments from Americans claiming to be the core of the world anyways so the rest of the world can go stuff it.
BR> Paint by numbers, brought to you by Slashdot.
Why is it that everyone seems to believe all things are cyclical in nature?
;) but shovel ware is definatly limited.
Because the game market crashed once doesnt mean its about to happen again. Actually the reality of todays market goes a long way towards preventing a crash. There are three different companies with three different products. That itself is a signifigant difference from the last "crash". Then, there was basically Atari... and... Atari. Yes, Coleco, Intellivision etc existed, but market share wise, it was all Atari. Plus quality controls werent in place... anybody could shovel any crap out for the Atari... and they did. Now ( no matter how hard it is to believe ), the big 3 actually stamp a game to assure a minimum level of quality. Especially in Sonys case, they do appear a bit lax
I also argue that there wasnt a crash. More accuratly, one company imploded, but frankly as a gamer then, the disruption was basically not even felt. 1983, the Atari corporation blows itself up through a series of retarded business moves. 1984, NES is released in North America. Gee... some crash. Not to mention the number of home gaming computer that were popular around this time. The Atari's and Commodores of the day.
Frankly after reading the article I havent got a clue where they came up with the ads part.
However, the gist I got from it is any embeded auto playing content ( heres their example list: Adobe's Reader and Flash, Apple's QuickTime Player, Microsoft's Windows Media Player, RealNetworks' RealPlayer and Sun's JVM ) will require activation before playing.
So for example, if you go to a page that has a stock ticker applet in it, instead of it automatically scrolling the current stock market stats, you will have to click it to start. However, if this is true, it would pretty much make Flash useless, as flash based GUIs would become irritating, flash based start pages wouldnt work right, etc...
Lastly, what I dont understand beyond the above question is... why arent Firefox, Opera, Safari etc... also affected?
No matter what you think of Microsoft, in the end, this is bad for the end user and the web in general. Insert misc active X jokes in your replys all you want, you would be suprised how much of the daily web actually depends on this stuff.
This has very little to do with how Linux is doing at Retail. It has everything to do with if given the chance to pirate an OS, will people do i?
Then again, im not really shocked. I think to some degree people view pirating an OS or pirating from Microsoft in general as a lesser form of pirating.
Ok... I saw Ballmer in person about a year back and let me just say... good luck!
Say whatever bad shit you want about Microsoft, Ballmer etc, but I wouldn't say it to this guys face. Hes like 6'5 and built like a linebacker. Plus this guy looks mean... I think he would still look mean petting a kitten or kissing a baby. He would hand you your ass without breaking a sweat.
When has Smarthouse.com.au steered you wrong in the past????
Seriously, some of the shit that gets posted on Slashdot is the geek equivelant of a tabloid.
Yeah, typical slashdot mentality. Blame Microsoft for everything. This problem is caused by the government ( FCC ) and benefits the telcos only. Microsoft gets just as hurt by this as Google. The only difference I see is back during the dot.com bubble, Microsoft was buying stakes in telcos like mad trying to speed high speed adoption. However, since then I think they have sold off alot of those holdings. ( Meanwhile Google has bought dark fibre like mad. Wonder if Google saw their dependance on the Teclos as a weakness and took prevenative actions??? )
Well, its a good thing you didnt! I recently acquired patents to both the act of falling, and general block shapes! Now that im too old to innovate, I need to switch tracks and start sueing!
I would but I just turned 30, so im no longer allowed.
Actually this upcoming generation of media benefits the consumer very little. Thanks to draconian measures in HDCP obsoleting a good chunk of consumer electronics out there, it infact pretty much screws the consumer.
Im not one to boycott products, but there is always a first. I will as long as possible, refuse to buy any product built around HDCP. Sadly, that means HD-DVD, BluRay, the PS3, etc... I sure as hell am not going to buy a new monitor and video card to support Vista. This doesnt mean no Vista, but from the sounds of it, it does mean no Media Center.
This is one time where consumers should unite and say a collective "Fuck you!".
As the proud owner of a PS2, Xbox and XBox 360 I can say, atleast IMHO you games are better on the 360 already. I say that subjectively as I prefer certain types of games that you may not, especially racing games. As a result two games im playing to death right now are Project Gotham Racing 3 and Need for Speed Most Wanted.
In every measurably regard, NFS:MW on the 360 is better then the XBox or PS2 versions.
With PGR3, graphically and controlwise, it is a much superior game to PGR2. They made some design decisions some people dont like ( car acquisition ) but excluding that, it is a much better game.
Lastly, CoD2 imho, is a better FPS then anything released for either platform, including Halo. Only beef here is online, which is rumoured to be fixed.
So, early on, I can already give you 3 examples of games that are much improved over the current generation, atleast, in my opinion.
Dont get me wrong, some arent going to compare as well ( Gun and 2k sport games come to mind ), but you will see that with every platform launch.
Can you tell Sony subscribes to the belief "Any press is good press". Im already sick of these reports. Frankly, I hope its not delayed so these stories can finally die.
Sadly then, we will have to read story after story about shortages, then manufacturing problems, etc... etc... Even though im a gadget whore and will probrably buy all 3 ( already bought the 360 ), all of this stuff has just burned me out on console gaming.
Gotta disagree with you. RAD neither help nor hinder good coding habits. It generally just makes the tedious stuff easier. Actually if the RAD is in the form of a good code generator, and the programmer follows the pattern the RAD generator outputs, it could actually lead to better organized code. Either way, RAD doesnt really effect sloppy coding habits.
However, SCRIPTING does. Growing up a C/C++ programmer, switching over to python ( which I love sofar ), I notice I have to work especially hard to write good code. Its just way to easy to write sloppy but working code in these languages. Especially when you have a language that can run itself, you suddenly are encouraged to do all kinds of bad things. Then take away the strictness that compiliers minimaly impose, and you got yerself a bomb in the making. Im not bashing on python in general, this applies equally well to javascript, ruby, lua, perl, etc...
... and a bleach!
Closest a film has come to pulling off neuromancer was probrably lawnmowerman, which really wasnt that bad. If you took a Lawnmowever Man approach to Cyberspace and a Blade Runner type approach to the real world, and updated both using modern CGI ( but not too much ) you could pull of Neuromancer.
Funny thing is, I would figure it could never be adapted to a game either, but there was a C64 game based on Neuromancer that to this day I occasionally dust off and replay.
Incidentally, most compilers have a 'standards mode' which ignores extensions, so you can check easily whether your code uses them. With GCC, for example, you can compile with -std=c99 to enforce the C99 standard without GNU extensions, or -std=c99 for the C99 standard with GNU extensions.
/clr for C++ with CLR extensions, and no /clr for standard C++?
You mean like how VS2K5 has
Funny, I sorta figured the opposite. Anyone willing to spend 6-8K on a gaming machine probrably has all the time in the world to spend on it. You know, without having all those hassles, like, say... a girlfriend, or... a life... Plenty of time to spend.
Oh yeah, the click wheel is so much superior to volume up/down controls. Hmmmm.... I want to turn this song up. Ok, scroll the wheel. WTF, why the Fuck is my song fast forwarding. Oh shit, I must have clicked twice. Lets try again. Im sorry, the interface on the iPod is pure shit. I hate mine, just off a few simple problems. 1) Volume controls should have had an up/down toogle. Reusing the same UI for fast forward/rewind and volume control is just retarded. If you disagree with me, try using an iPod in your car sometime ( while being a responsible driver and not staring at your iPod ). 2) Worst , most scratch screen ever 3) overly expensive. Now, I realise that slashdot is currently going through an Apple Wack-Off-Athon(tm) at the moment, and insulting apple is taboo. Yet, frankly the iPod is an over hyped POS. If mine wasnt given to me, I would be right pissed off at the money I (didnt) pay for it.
LOL, Ill see you my premium bundle for $800. I bought it with the intention of ebaying it ( I got two, they are much easier to get where I live ) but have hesitated because I sorta hate ebay.
PGR is no sim. The would be Forza. PGR is a balls-out racer that if it comes down to a decision between being realistic and being fun, fun wins.
:)
I own PGR, and GT3/4 and Forza ( what can I say... I like racing games ), and the handling in PGR is nothing like reality. Still fun though
Sorry about the Sony reference. Yet, what I saw from your post looked more like a veiled Xbox bash then pro Rev or PS3. I made the sony fanboy quip because frankly, its normally the sony camp the is guilty of such crimes.
Wow...
... Halo. ... Kameo, Oblivion, PGR3, countless PC FPS's. Thats on launch or near too it. The launch lineup is actually pretty impressive.
Where to start. Im guessing your pro sony eh? Why cant we all just get along. Now, let me correct your either fan-boyism or ignorance, not sure which it is...
Sony - Playstation 3 (confirmed name)
+Lean Mean Sony Company Gaming Machine look
--- um... have you seen it? Dimension wise its the biggest of the bunch. Plus, its got a retarded sloped top so there is NO way to stack other components on it. Form factor is definatly NOT a plus for the PS3.
+Backwards compatible with PS2/PS1 games
--- still not confirmed at this point. Rumour suggest backward compatibility has been axed. Then again, it has never formally been announced that the PS3 is backward compatible
+Games: Final Fantasy series, GTA series (first serve, anyway)
Again, this is conjecture at this point. Both Square and Rockstar have announced support for the XBox 360 and the extent of that support has never been announced. Additionally, it has never been announced that Final Fantasy will be an exclusie. Thats doubly true for GTA.
-Lock out technology to make sure that when a review says a game has no replay value, that means no one else can replay it, either
--- Again, conjecture based on a patent application that could have NOTHING to do with the PS3.
-Probably makes lousy burgers
The one point I will give you. I safely assume it will suck at steaks and milkshakes even more.
-Expensive
--- Again, no price formally announced, but this is probrably true, based off interviews with SCEA's CEO.
-Same controller
Im assuming by this you are saying same controller technology ( and not gyro based like the rev ). Well, to that degree it is true. However, the controllers are announced to be wireless, and from the E3 demo look to be alot of fun for a pair of lesbians to emm... enjoy.
Now the things you missed
- Mostly hype and speculation at this momment
+ More ports and connections that god knows what to do with ( although, this is stupid imho, raises price for features nobody is going to use... dual 1080P video outs?!?!? )
- Poor prerelease developer support. Supposed to be much harder and more expensive to develop for then the XBox 360. Have heard nothing positive in this regard from developers.
Microsoft - XBox 360 (confirmed name)
+First to launch
--- true, may be a positive or a negative
+XBox Live features
--- very true
+Games: Halo,
---
+It's white?
--- Off topic, but I dont like that part. Also, removable face plates... personally I think its queer, but then I think buying iPod condoms is queer, but the damned this sell like mad
-Plain old DVD drive (no advanced drive- what is their's, HD-DVD?)
--- I suppose you could call this a negative. Time will tell, especially once we know what the PS3 price point is. I do know that throughput is better on the DVD then BR, so it does have some pluses.
-Only partial backwards compatibility
--- Still not known to what extent... this is a wait and see thing
-Same old controllers
--- Ditto the ps3 comment re controllers. Wireless redesigned controller. Controller actually seems pretty nice
Hmmmm.... now what you missed ( and these are selling points and not necisarrily things I like
+ Free XBox live silver
+ Microtransactions, buying games online, trailers and demos, etc
+ hard drive option
+ integration with existing media devices
+ media center ( this one is huge with some people, no biggy for me )
Oh... and the biggest plus of all for the 360...
++++++ IT EXISTS!
Nintendo im not even going to bother getting into, because at this point only two things are known
+ New controller design. Could be *sorry* revolutionary. Could flop,
It isnt going to end up hurting future companies, it already has. What you are seeing now is a result of that hurt. More and more risk is being offloaded on the indy developers, while the ROI for that risk is going down and down. Thats why you saw a mass exodus to the "casual" webpublished games a few years back. Ironically, that mass exodus killed that industry aswell, where the major portals replace the major developers in the traditional sense. Where as real used to say take 20%, they take 50 or 60% now. Just the nature of industry in my opinion.
What I predict now, as you are going to see cycles. New dev teams will come out with innovative products because the big publishers were too risk adverse to try it. If that products succeed, one of the big guys will buy out the company and turn that origonal property into a sequel factory. Then dev's bought out by one of those big publishers get the itch to do something origonal, so they branch off and make a new dev house that releases a successful title that some uber publishers buys them out. Repeat adnaseum.
The S controller may be fine, my experiences with it are limited to play time at friends. I bought my xbox and extra controller within a month of it being released when the S didnt exist, so its what I got used to. The damned thing fit like a glove ( except the black and white button placement, they were pretty bad ), so when I use an S, it feels small. That said, it doesnt cause me pain like the DualShock does.
Part that sucks, is the new controller seems smaller then the S. I hope its just the wierd angle the display units had them on, but sofar I dont like the trend.