We there is a reason... survival. When you have a big predator gobbling up every successful independant developer available, if your a rival, you have to act to protect your prize divisions. EA, through their actions, are basically forcing Take2 and Ubi to follow suit to a certain degree. This is also why Pandemic + Bioware merged together with an investment firm. About the only way they could stay independant and successful.
[q]The way you put that is revealing to me. The implication of your statement is that the presence of such games - even if you never purchased one - would weaken the console for you. Presumably this is because you perceive that only a fixed number of strong titles are released for any console and therefore each game in a genre you don't play is bad ? I don't know if this was really true of the XBox or not, but if so it was a weakness indeed.[/q]
In a nutshell, that is exactly true. JRPGs were the focus for the PS2, and perhaps the biggest reason for its success. Therefore, if the market is buying PS2's mostly for their JRPGs, in turn, the developers will cater to this market. Pretty much cause and effect. The same thing kinda happened with the XBox, but in reverse. XBox because focused on more western styled (and thus, PC based ) games, like first person shooters.
Outside of those specializations, there werent too many titles that went outside the norm, or that werent available on both consoles ( I leave GC out of this because 1, I didnt own one, and 2, I think they cater to a different market... and no im not saying kiddy gaming... I think people who buy Nintendo buy for Nintendos first party games more then anything else... plus I think they are more likely to buy a second console ). With some exceptions ( such as Katamary (sp? ) and a few breakout hits, games between the PS2 and XBox outside of their specializations were either cross platform, or have an equivelant on the other system. For every Gran Tourismo there was a Forza, for Metal Gear Solid there was Splinter Cell.
So, when it came time to pick a console... you generally pick based off the type of games you play. This again, leads to more of those games being created. So yes, JRPGs popularity had a profound effect on the library of games for the PS2, just as Halo had a profound effect on the XBox's library.
And, its not that I didnt enjoy my PS2, I did. But in the end, I bought about 5 games for the PS2, and probrably 15 for the XBox ( many of the Xbox titles being simply the better version of a cross platform title ). This speaks volumes to me.
As to the controller, ive played with the new one at an EB store, and frankly, I want the duke controller back. It was by far and away the first controller that didnt give me carpal tunnel. Im kinda disappointed it isnt an option with the 360. The dreamcast controller came close, but for some reason with the button layout it seemed to big. Wasnt a big fan of the S controller ( I think it was called ), it was too small and finally the dual-shock would cramp my hands up within an hours playtime. Never did get a GC, but I heard the wavebird wireless controller kicked ass... cant verify or deny either way.
That said, I watched my 5 year old nephew trying to use the controller to play Forza, and it was too funny. Hey basically had to balance it in his lap, then use one hand to steer, and the other to either press the gas or break. I can see the value in the smaller controllers, just not to western adult males with normal sized hands. Looking back, even as a kid, im not sure how the hell I used the NES controller without bleeding everytime. Genesis had a nice controller though.
Its funny that one of the biggest reasons for XBox's failure ( and most likely true ), is one of the biggest reason its my favorite console of this generation... Japanese RPG's.
To this day, I still dont understand the obsession with these games and how they manage to sell consoles. The most lauded console RPG in the last decade has to be FFVII, which I personally couldnt bring myself to finish. I played a handful of other J-RPG's on my PS2, and always came to the same conclussion, its always the same story/characters across different settings with random and mind numbingly boring combat throw into the mix.
Im sorry, maybe its my age coming into play here ( im 30 ), but the dialogue and especially romantic interests in theses games seem to be written to target a 12 year old. Plots from the games I played were well... um.... I suppose unique is a nice way to say it... non-sensical is probrably a more accurate way to put it. Then again, maybe its because I was raised playing mostly PC based RPGs so I have developed a different mindset and expectations then most console RPG gamers. Then again... I found dragon warrior fun on the Nes/SNES... but hey wait... I was what, 12 at the time? Makes sense.
So, as I said, I choose the XBox exactly because I prefer games outside the JRPG mode. Yet, I know im the minority here.
"DVD and ticket sales are on the decline, Hollywood needs a new source of revenue while they pick up the pieces"
God I hate this little fact people like to bandy about. Tinsel town is not hurting in the slightest, here are yearly box office sales from the last half dozen or so years ( thanks to boxofficemojo.com ).
2004 9.4 billion
2003 9.1 billion
2002 9.1 billion
2001 8.4 billion
2000 7.6 billion
1999 7.4 billion
1998 6.9 billion
See... where I come from, when the number keeps going up and up, we dont call that shrinking... grrr.
And for the record im no fan boy either... I have Dreamcast, Xbox and PS2. Would have a gamecube too, but im a little to image consious to have the fisherprice looking contraption in my entertainment system.
FPS's arent innovative... the first one was. If you read my other posts ive made, I already explained dune is regarded as the first RTS.
Innovation was about the first console, the first FPS, the first RTS, etc... etc... after that, theres a ton of derivitive shit, but thats never been what I was talking about.
I will admit the whole fighting game is pretty much locked by the East. That is an area I will hands down admit they innovate in.
That aside, almost every example you gave isnt actually innovative at all, except of course the ones ive already mentioned. Many of them are damned fine games, but the core almost every one is a refinement of an existing play dynamic. I guess the problem is partially the game media itself, the word innovative is thrown around WAYYYY to much, so people start associating refined with innovative.
If you really want, im willing to break down the evolution of almost every game you've listed and illustrate the game is just a refinement on something that has already been done. Hey, dont get me wrong, its just as true in the west anymore... I think innovation on both sides of the pond is pretty stagnant. I have hype hopes the revolution is as advertised. But I doubt it:(
I have a feeling though, no matter what is said, you and I will disagree on this point. Your definition of innovation seems to be of a much smaller grain then mine.
You mean like how Henry Ford invented the automobile? Actually no. Henry Fords contribution to *INNOVATION* was the automated assembly line, not the automobile. The car had existed before he was born. But yes, once your acknowledge his proper innovation its actually a fairly good parallel.
We are talking about INNOVATION, im getting pretty sick of repeating that, as pretty much everyone that has responded seems to be missing that fact.
Here for quick reference... or incase you simply dont understand, here is the definition of innovation.
innovation ( P ) Pronunciation Key (n-vshn)
n.
The act of introducing something new.
Something newly introduced.
Bold emphasis added by me. SOMETHING NEW. A refinement of an existing concept isnt innovation, its refinement. Thats why we have to different words in the first place.
I am not arguing that Japan makes bad games... I am not arguing that Western games dont have sequels aswell. I am simply arguing that the majority of innovation in the gaming industry actually happened in the West, not in Japan.
Starcraft is one of the first real time strategy games? Hey kid, you're way too young to pretend to know anything about games.
Um... actually I used StarCraft as an example of an RTS game, not as the first RTS. That is up for argument... most people whoever claim that Dune was the first true RTS. Considering I grew up with gaming, starting with the intellivision on up, I think im plenty old enough to understand it.
Point blank, there really isnt alot of innovation left in the industry or atleast not major innovation. Its just the way it happens... when a media is new, hell not being innovative is a bloody hard thing to do. Now, draw a parallel to movies, and how many "innovative" concepts do you see anymore? In the last 20 years... Maybe a dozen or so new techniques, and evolutionary changes to the technology behind it. Video gaming is hitting that point now.
1 - We also created a console that nearly destroyed the market and it took a Japanese console to revive it. Japanese also invented the D-pad, a controller concept that still lives to this day on any video game console that is not a PC.
Hey... I never said that North Americans are better at the business... this conversation is about Innovation, remember.
2 - Japanese players, for the most part, don't play FPS games.
3 - Japanese players, for the most part, don't play Western oriented sports games.
4 - Most "physics" engines revolve around FPS games. See 2.
All of those points, while greatly over-generalizing the Japanese people, are most true. Thing is, they arent relevant. Or do we now measure innovation exclusively off what the japanese market thinks??? Those three things... sports games, fps and physics have all been sources of innovation... who gives a fuck if the Eastern markets dont like to play them. They were still innovative.
Please note that the ORIGINAL Final Fantasy, Super Mario, Zelda, Megaman, Street Fighter 2, were VERY original games for their time. All from Japan. Oh wait, were you trying to say that those games originally came from the West?
Where did I ever say those games came from the west? However, honestly... those games were all good... but really, with the exception of Street Fighter 2 ( which ironically is a sequel ), what was really innovative about any of them. You seem to be mixing quality with innovative. Innovative != Quality && Quality != Innovative. I never once said *GOOD* or *EXCELLENT* games dont come from Japan, they really do. Ive just said that Japan isnt the source of all innovation people like to portray it as.
Maybe if you looked at THEIR market, and not the FPS, sports-filled Western market, you wouldn't sound so much like a jackass.
Funny... maybe if you had slightly better reading comprehension skills, you may be able to form a response to the *actual* argument being put forth.
No, my argument was dead on. You however are ignorant to "innovation" outside of the realm of traditional Japanese video games. These are the things I pointed out to you.
hehe, yeah lump in Canada, Europe, etc. to claim *AMERICA* is where innovation comes from. Christ, flawed logic spews forth from your post like a waterfall. Umm, Molyneux is not American by the way... but again, in your made up world he is.
Lumping Canada, Europe and Western Europe is pretty much a requirement in todays market. Basically there are two "types" of developers. Eastern (Korea and Japan mostly), and Western. Look at the publisher Dynamic. EA for example... EA NHL2006 and Need For Speed are made in Vancouver for EA, who are based out of California. Our how about UBISoft, based out of France but a lot of their flagship games are developed in Montreal ( Splinter Cell & Prince of Persia ). I know Molyneux is based out of the UK yet hmmm who publishes Lionheads games? Hmmmm? Oh, a North American publisher. Hell, the Tomb Raider series has been developed in 3 different countries already. So, if you used a few cells in that tiny fucking brain of yours maybe, just maybe you would realize why indeed you do have to clump Western games into one group... what an asshat. You now must revoke your geek license and go sit in the corner because everyone now sees the sheer stupidity you have created in your mind..
Btw I never once claimed America is the source of innovation fuck, Im very happily NOT an American.
Yeah, you must be right, "pet" games and "party" games that's all the Japanese have contributed
Ok, Sir Clusterfuck I call you. Give me say 5 other unique games that came out of Japan. I promise you I can find prior art in almost every case. They do a damned good job of refining existing games and some bloody good games come from Japan but so say it is driving innovation is delusional. I may have missed one or two genres, I admit that but I doubt theres much more. You feel like backing up your insults with an actual tangible argument then maybe just maybe you are onto something. Until then, Ill continue with my assumption that youre a hopeless Japanese game fanboy.
I wouldnt say that. What you saw from the XBox was at E3, with marketing targeted at North American gamers. They showed what they figured there target audience wanted to see ( sports games and shooters mostly ).
Later this month, they have their unveiling in Japan. This is most likely where the new announced Square game is going to shown. This is where Mistwalker studios games will be shown... The markets are different and the games those markets want to see are different. I would want until after the Japan specific event has happenned before judging XBox2's appeal to that market.
To be fair, there is one area I missed that the japanese are big at. The party game. the donkey cong drum game, and Dance Dance revolutions come to mind.
I wont bother with my personal opinion on these games, but I will admit, for reasons I dont understand other people seem to enjoy them. Then again... other people enjoy Karaoke... probrably the same group.
So I suppose net result, I can think of two Japanese contributions to the world of gaming..
1- the pet game
2- the party game
I give the Japanese credit for Pokemon too... but that isnt so much a video game topic. Its a completely different form of gaming that got implemented as a game. Also, Im not sure pokemon is the first CCG out there. I think it is, but wont say with authority either way.
Hmmmm.... lets see... innovations out of the "west" as there isnt alot of difference between Western European, Canadian and American developers to make a distinction.
1) CREATED THE FIRST COMMERICALLY SUCCESSFUL CONSOLES!!!! Hmmm... thats a pretty big one isnt it? The Atari and Intellivision basically invented the market. Not to mention the games on those systems pioneered most of the concepts that are cloned today.
2) Created the first 1st person shooter. Thats a pretty big deal, no?
3) Basically created every innovation in sports games.
4) Pioneered physics in games.
5) The entire line of SIM games. Hell, basically Will Wright has ever done.
6) The god game genre. Aka, Populous
7) The first real time strategy games. Aka, Star Craft
8) Computer RPGs. Yeah, the thing everyone thinks Japanese do so well refined from North American games.
9) FMV in video games. Hmmm you think the final fantasy series really started it? HAHA, no.
Innovation is slowing down, because frankly a lot of ideas have been implemented. We are in an age of refinement now.
Frankly what have the Japanese game companies done thats really that mind blowingly innovative. Pretty much every Final Fantasy game is formulaic drivel that sports dialogue I cant help but think an angst filled 12 year old wrote. Gran Turismo is basically just a very good implementation of something thats been done in hundreds of games. Really, when it comes down to it, I can only think of a handful of really original games coming from Japan. The whole pet genre ( think Nintendogs or that weird fish game for the dreamcast ) but really how much different from SimX is that? Super Mario XXII? Zelda XV? Megaman XXXII? Super Ultimate Street Final Mega 2 Turbo Extreme Subversion 3b?
They are no more innovative then any western developers. In fact, I would have to argue the opposite based of reliance on sequels to the point of nausea.
Ironically, the most innovative game Ive seen from Japan in a good five years was for the Xbox. Steel Battalion. Plus, it isnt so much the game thats impressive, but the control. I do appreciate the bold risk they took to make it though.
Actually, the "staring into a lightbulb" part is a big part of an ebook's appeal. Ive actually read a half dozen ebooks on my Treo cell phone, which form factor wise, is perhaps the worst device you could imagine to read a book on.
That said, there are some pretty big advantages... the two biggest being.
1) Its crisper to read then a book for people with less than 20/20 vision but are too damned stuborn to wear glasses.
2) This one is the biggy. Reading at night is no big deal. I can sit in bed at night and read an ebook without having to turn a lamp on. To someone thats single that may seem pretty damned petty... but to someone that shares a bed, you will instantly know the advantage!:)
If you work in a corporate environment, you would start to see the power of InfoPath.
Where I currently work, IT isnt the main focus but sadly database's are needed everwhere. The end result is a oodle of Access databases end up being developed that serve as stop gap measures. They work for a time and solve the problem at hand. Unfortunatly they all eventually hit the same barriers... limited ability to have multiple users connected at once, performance, you name it.
Ideally IT would provide all of these systems ourselves, and save the headache of supporting really badly designed databases down the road. However, man power limitations hinder this effort. However... creating a database takes limited amount of time, and wrapping it in a web service takes barely more time.
However, front end GUI work is a waste of time for IT. That is the power of Infopath. IT still has the ability to dictate data integrity but can still offload that shitty UI work to the people that will actually be using the UI.
So dont look at infopath as a HTML/forms replacement. Its more of a Access database form replacement, allowing IT to still develop schemas that actully work, but also being able to offload the painful and time consuming UI aspects to the every day worker. There is a lot of power in that concept.
Hahaha... modded to troll on a joke in less then 5 seconds... You people take your space race very seriously, dont you?:)
Fuck it, ive got karma to burn... mod this a troll too!
Thats pretty much the entire point of my earlier conversation. 99.9999% of Islamic people arent terrorists or in suicide cults ( or atleast were before the iraq invasion... that number may be more like 99.9998% now ). Just like the vast majority of Christians are murderers and war criminals. Dont judge a group by its zealots.
I think there are certain religious groups that are in fact dangerous to have around. Islam being one.
Frankly, right now President Bush and his religous views scare me alot more the Osahma's. Since he is such a dangerous man, should he christianity be done away with? Wasnt the unibomber catholic... wasnt just about every mobster from the 30's on catholic? Well... lets get rid of em! ( Hey, being agnostic... this isnt sounding like such a bad idea...:) ).
Zealots are zealots, regardless to faith. Oh and dont worry, I wasnt calling you a crazy racist( Again... another type of zealotry... )... if I got that impression from you, I wouldnt have responded to you at all. I was merely calling you ignorant!:)
Why dont you hear only hear about the evils that Islamics do? Its called fear mongering and scape goating. The US press is absolutely pathetic and uses fear and focus groups to drive ratings. Besides, how often do you hear about "good deeds" on the news in general?
One last thing to keep in mind... the press is racist as fuck. Im a middle class white male... its not exactly like im sensitive to these things... but listen to the news instead of just absorbing it. You will hear emphasis put on ethnicity or religion in any news story, especially when there is a villian. You always here "the 23 year old Islamic male" or "the 24 year old black man"... you never hear "the 20 year old jew" or "the 35 year old white male", unless the jew or white male is the victim. Its the way of the press.
As to condeming islam based off the actions of a few zealots, thats fucked. Again, im agnostic myself, so I dont much have a stake in this either... Want me to condemn Christians off their actions during the crusades? Or the inquisition? Or catholics for their actions in Ireland? Its zealotry that needs to be stamped out ( both here, like the government in power and those of terrorists around the world ). Want to know something though... you cant. Zealots are just wired differently... if it wasnt religion, they would find a completely different reason to focus their obsessiveness. So, since we cant stop terrorism by getting rid of the zealots... what can we do? Well, there is one thing...
Learn. Starting in the western countries would probrably be a pretty good way to go. Learn something about foreign countries... learn something about other religions. Once you have the ability to see the world through another mans eyes, you will be amazed at how much it changes you. Then, perhaps once a certain amount of enlightenment has been reached, then maybe, just maybe the west will be able to change the mid-easts perceptions aswell.
The part that depresses me the most is, frankly, 9/11 was the BEST chance of causing soceity to do this. The world was supporting America, not just paying lip service. The world went together to Afghanistan, which I believe the vast majority would agree was "a good thing", even most Afghani's. For a few days there I think a great many Americans ( and other westerners ) were actually asking things like "why would they do this to us?" For a few days ( months even ), the western world was united in a way that has never happened. Too bad that the president-almost-elect milked the sentement for all it was worth to push his own war mongering agenda. Even more sadly, to bad so many people went along with it and supported him for another 4 years:(. Sad sad times we live in.
So here is my recommendation to you as to how you can do your part to stop terrorism. Learn about a foreign culture, read up about Islam and what they truly believe in. Once you have done that, reflect on the comments you made today. Once you realize just how misguided you were, then convince one other such misguided soul to learn about the world around them aswell. Think of it as a viral solution. Will it stop terrorism by becoming more informed? No! Will it be more effective then bombing poor innocents in the middle east? Your bet your ass it will!
[i]I haven't bought the Office suite from Microsoft for close to five years now with the introduction of free alternatives like Open Office.
What originally got me started was the inablity to open an old MS Works file in Office 2003[/i]
Ok... I may be really bad at math... but... If you havent bought an office suite from MS in 5 years, but what prompted you to take that stance was a product from 2003.... umm............. ummmm.......
I think you are looking at the wrong indicators. In many ways, Mexico has an incredibly free market and had such a system in place with various neighboring countries long before being included in NAFTA. Also, a great many of your free markets such as Western Europe and especially Japan have a number of Byzantine and protectionist laws in place. The free ness of a market has very little to do with economic trade success, wages or standard of living.
The biggest things that causes a low standard of living in this world can probably be summarized in three items. 1) Over population 2) Available natural resources 3) infrastructure ( both physical and in terms of education system ). These are the determining factors. One could argue there is a forth which would be political infrastructure but that just opens up a huge can of worms I frankly to want to get into. (Cuba would be a good example here).
Over Population Point blank, if you have so many people that you arent going to be able to find work for all of them you have a problem. This frankly isnt an easy one to get around and explains the unemployment rates in many of these countries. Even with a good education system in place and a high tech infrastructure India just isnt going to be able to gainfully employee even the majority of their population. This is a good part of the reason why people saying Outsourcing to India is going to cause their populations standard of living to rise, which in turn will lead to higher wages and less outsourcing. Hey that may be true, but in Indias case, its going to take a very very long time. Even if only 1% of Indias population is capable of working a high tech outsourced job, thats still 10,000,000 people! This one kinda pisses me off too as it is one of the few areas where you can look at a poor country and see a lot of self inflicted wounds caused by too high of a birth rate.
Natural Resources This one is simple. The less you rely on foreign natural resources the better of you will be. Or, if you are sitting on a very valuable resource it will do a hell of a lot for your economy. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are very good examples here. Without oil, or with a massively greater population both of these countries would be third world nations right now.
Infrastructure This one is a chicken egg problem without money ( via skilled trades/middle class or natural resource exploitation ) you cant afford to build up a solid infrastructure. That said, without a solid infrastructure your not going to be able to form a solid middle class. Obviosuly this isnt impossible as India has been able to build up a decent infrastructure in atleast parts of India. Ditto with South Korea, but I have to assume both were funded by Western Interests.
These factors ( and probably dozens im missing, plus politics, which im avoiding ) define how a market works. All the free-ness in the world aint going to do a damned thing if you havent got something to sell. However, if you have something extremely valuable to sell you can be as closed as OPEC and still make a killing.
Slashdot Mirror
We there is a reason... survival. When you have a big predator gobbling up every successful independant developer available, if your a rival, you have to act to protect your prize divisions. EA, through their actions, are basically forcing Take2 and Ubi to follow suit to a certain degree. This is also why Pandemic + Bioware merged together with an investment firm. About the only way they could stay independant and successful.
[q]The way you put that is revealing to me. The implication of your statement is that the presence of such games - even if you never purchased one - would weaken the console for you. Presumably this is because you perceive that only a fixed number of strong titles are released for any console and therefore each game in a genre you don't play is bad ? I don't know if this was really true of the XBox or not, but if so it was a weakness indeed.[/q]
In a nutshell, that is exactly true. JRPGs were the focus for the PS2, and perhaps the biggest reason for its success. Therefore, if the market is buying PS2's mostly for their JRPGs, in turn, the developers will cater to this market. Pretty much cause and effect. The same thing kinda happened with the XBox, but in reverse. XBox because focused on more western styled (and thus, PC based ) games, like first person shooters.
Outside of those specializations, there werent too many titles that went outside the norm, or that werent available on both consoles ( I leave GC out of this because 1, I didnt own one, and 2, I think they cater to a different market... and no im not saying kiddy gaming... I think people who buy Nintendo buy for Nintendos first party games more then anything else... plus I think they are more likely to buy a second console ). With some exceptions ( such as Katamary (sp? ) and a few breakout hits, games between the PS2 and XBox outside of their specializations were either cross platform, or have an equivelant on the other system. For every Gran Tourismo there was a Forza, for Metal Gear Solid there was Splinter Cell.
So, when it came time to pick a console... you generally pick based off the type of games you play. This again, leads to more of those games being created. So yes, JRPGs popularity had a profound effect on the library of games for the PS2, just as Halo had a profound effect on the XBox's library.
And, its not that I didnt enjoy my PS2, I did. But in the end, I bought about 5 games for the PS2, and probrably 15 for the XBox ( many of the Xbox titles being simply the better version of a cross platform title ). This speaks volumes to me.
As to the controller, ive played with the new one at an EB store, and frankly, I want the duke controller back. It was by far and away the first controller that didnt give me carpal tunnel. Im kinda disappointed it isnt an option with the 360. The dreamcast controller came close, but for some reason with the button layout it seemed to big. Wasnt a big fan of the S controller ( I think it was called ), it was too small and finally the dual-shock would cramp my hands up within an hours playtime. Never did get a GC, but I heard the wavebird wireless controller kicked ass... cant verify or deny either way.
That said, I watched my 5 year old nephew trying to use the controller to play Forza, and it was too funny. Hey basically had to balance it in his lap, then use one hand to steer, and the other to either press the gas or break. I can see the value in the smaller controllers, just not to western adult males with normal sized hands. Looking back, even as a kid, im not sure how the hell I used the NES controller without bleeding everytime. Genesis had a nice controller though.
Um... not really irony, just a really bad typo :)
Its funny that one of the biggest reasons for XBox's failure ( and most likely true ), is one of the biggest reason its my favorite console of this generation... Japanese RPG's.
To this day, I still dont understand the obsession with these games and how they manage to sell consoles. The most lauded console RPG in the last decade has to be FFVII, which I personally couldnt bring myself to finish. I played a handful of other J-RPG's on my PS2, and always came to the same conclussion, its always the same story/characters across different settings with random and mind numbingly boring combat throw into the mix.
Im sorry, maybe its my age coming into play here ( im 30 ), but the dialogue and especially romantic interests in theses games seem to be written to target a 12 year old. Plots from the games I played were well... um.... I suppose unique is a nice way to say it... non-sensical is probrably a more accurate way to put it. Then again, maybe its because I was raised playing mostly PC based RPGs so I have developed a different mindset and expectations then most console RPG gamers. Then again... I found dragon warrior fun on the Nes/SNES... but hey wait... I was what, 12 at the time? Makes sense.
So, as I said, I choose the XBox exactly because I prefer games outside the JRPG mode. Yet, I know im the minority here.
Yeah. We are part of the Canada. We are important. They don't want us to leave but we can't even participate to Mozilla contests. WTF?
Who says we dont want you to leave?
"DVD and ticket sales are on the decline, Hollywood needs a new source of revenue while they pick up the pieces"
God I hate this little fact people like to bandy about. Tinsel town is not hurting in the slightest, here are yearly box office sales from the last half dozen or so years ( thanks to boxofficemojo.com ).
2004 9.4 billion
2003 9.1 billion
2002 9.1 billion
2001 8.4 billion
2000 7.6 billion
1999 7.4 billion
1998 6.9 billion
See... where I come from, when the number keeps going up and up, we dont call that shrinking... grrr.
Don't worry, was just joking :)
And for the record im no fan boy either... I have Dreamcast, Xbox and PS2. Would have a gamecube too, but im a little to image consious to have the fisherprice looking contraption in my entertainment system.
Was the email response something like this?
From:autoreply@sega.com
To:madmoses@somewhere.com
RE: Sega is the suxxor!!!
Dear Sir or Madam,
Please pissoff and stop wasting our executives valuable time with your meaningless emails!
Yours truly,
The office of Peter Moore
Argh... same bloody thing.
FPS's arent innovative... the first one was. If you read my other posts ive made, I already explained dune is regarded as the first RTS.
Innovation was about the first console, the first FPS, the first RTS, etc... etc... after that, theres a ton of derivitive shit, but thats never been what I was talking about.
I will admit the whole fighting game is pretty much locked by the East. That is an area I will hands down admit they innovate in.
:(
That aside, almost every example you gave isnt actually innovative at all, except of course the ones ive already mentioned. Many of them are damned fine games, but the core almost every one is a refinement of an existing play dynamic. I guess the problem is partially the game media itself, the word innovative is thrown around WAYYYY to much, so people start associating refined with innovative.
If you really want, im willing to break down the evolution of almost every game you've listed and illustrate the game is just a refinement on something that has already been done. Hey, dont get me wrong, its just as true in the west anymore... I think innovation on both sides of the pond is pretty stagnant. I have hype hopes the revolution is as advertised. But I doubt it
I have a feeling though, no matter what is said, you and I will disagree on this point. Your definition of innovation seems to be of a much smaller grain then mine.
You mean like how Henry Ford invented the automobile? Actually no. Henry Fords contribution to *INNOVATION* was the automated assembly line, not the automobile. The car had existed before he was born. But yes, once your acknowledge his proper innovation its actually a fairly good parallel.
We are talking about INNOVATION, im getting pretty sick of repeating that, as pretty much everyone that has responded seems to be missing that fact.
Here for quick reference... or incase you simply dont understand, here is the definition of innovation.
innovation ( P ) Pronunciation Key (n-vshn)
n.
The act of introducing something new.
Something newly introduced.
Bold emphasis added by me. SOMETHING NEW. A refinement of an existing concept isnt innovation, its refinement. Thats why we have to different words in the first place.
I am not arguing that Japan makes bad games... I am not arguing that Western games dont have sequels aswell. I am simply arguing that the majority of innovation in the gaming industry actually happened in the West, not in Japan.
Starcraft is one of the first real time strategy games? Hey kid, you're way too young to pretend to know anything about games.
Um... actually I used StarCraft as an example of an RTS game, not as the first RTS. That is up for argument... most people whoever claim that Dune was the first true RTS. Considering I grew up with gaming, starting with the intellivision on up, I think im plenty old enough to understand it.
Point blank, there really isnt alot of innovation left in the industry or atleast not major innovation. Its just the way it happens... when a media is new, hell not being innovative is a bloody hard thing to do. Now, draw a parallel to movies, and how many "innovative" concepts do you see anymore? In the last 20 years... Maybe a dozen or so new techniques, and evolutionary changes to the technology behind it. Video gaming is hitting that point now.
1 - We also created a console that nearly destroyed the market and it took a Japanese console to revive it. Japanese also invented the D-pad, a controller concept that still lives to this day on any video game console that is not a PC.
Hey... I never said that North Americans are better at the business... this conversation is about Innovation, remember.
2 - Japanese players, for the most part, don't play FPS games.
3 - Japanese players, for the most part, don't play Western oriented sports games.
4 - Most "physics" engines revolve around FPS games. See 2.
All of those points, while greatly over-generalizing the Japanese people, are most true. Thing is, they arent relevant. Or do we now measure innovation exclusively off what the japanese market thinks??? Those three things... sports games, fps and physics have all been sources of innovation... who gives a fuck if the Eastern markets dont like to play them. They were still innovative.
Please note that the ORIGINAL Final Fantasy, Super Mario, Zelda, Megaman, Street Fighter 2, were VERY original games for their time. All from Japan. Oh wait, were you trying to say that those games originally came from the West?
Where did I ever say those games came from the west? However, honestly... those games were all good... but really, with the exception of Street Fighter 2 ( which ironically is a sequel ), what was really innovative about any of them. You seem to be mixing quality with innovative. Innovative != Quality && Quality != Innovative. I never once said *GOOD* or *EXCELLENT* games dont come from Japan, they really do. Ive just said that Japan isnt the source of all innovation people like to portray it as.
Maybe if you looked at THEIR market, and not the FPS, sports-filled Western market, you wouldn't sound so much like a jackass.
Funny... maybe if you had slightly better reading comprehension skills, you may be able to form a response to the *actual* argument being put forth.
No, my argument was dead on. You however are ignorant to "innovation" outside of the realm of traditional Japanese video games. These are the things I pointed out to you.
... what an asshat. You now must revoke your geek license and go sit in the corner because everyone now sees the sheer stupidity you have created in your mind..
hehe, yeah lump in Canada, Europe, etc. to claim *AMERICA* is where innovation comes from. Christ, flawed logic spews forth from your post like a waterfall. Umm, Molyneux is not American by the way... but again, in your made up world he is.
Lumping Canada, Europe and Western Europe is pretty much a requirement in todays market. Basically there are two "types" of developers. Eastern (Korea and Japan mostly), and Western. Look at the publisher Dynamic. EA for example... EA NHL2006 and Need For Speed are made in Vancouver for EA, who are based out of California. Our how about UBISoft, based out of France but a lot of their flagship games are developed in Montreal ( Splinter Cell & Prince of Persia ). I know Molyneux is based out of the UK yet hmmm who publishes Lionheads games? Hmmmm? Oh, a North American publisher. Hell, the Tomb Raider series has been developed in 3 different countries already. So, if you used a few cells in that tiny fucking brain of yours maybe, just maybe you would realize why indeed you do have to clump Western games into one group
Btw I never once claimed America is the source of innovation fuck, Im very happily NOT an American.
Yeah, you must be right, "pet" games and "party" games that's all the Japanese have contributed
Ok, Sir Clusterfuck I call you. Give me say 5 other unique games that came out of Japan. I promise you I can find prior art in almost every case. They do a damned good job of refining existing games and some bloody good games come from Japan but so say it is driving innovation is delusional. I may have missed one or two genres, I admit that but I doubt theres much more. You feel like backing up your insults with an actual tangible argument then maybe just maybe you are onto something. Until then, Ill continue with my assumption that youre a hopeless Japanese game fanboy.
I wouldnt say that. What you saw from the XBox was at E3, with marketing targeted at North American gamers. They showed what they figured there target audience wanted to see ( sports games and shooters mostly ).
Later this month, they have their unveiling in Japan. This is most likely where the new announced Square game is going to shown. This is where Mistwalker studios games will be shown... The markets are different and the games those markets want to see are different. I would want until after the Japan specific event has happenned before judging XBox2's appeal to that market.
To be fair, there is one area I missed that the japanese are big at. The party game. the donkey cong drum game, and Dance Dance revolutions come to mind.
I wont bother with my personal opinion on these games, but I will admit, for reasons I dont understand other people seem to enjoy them. Then again... other people enjoy Karaoke... probrably the same group.
So I suppose net result, I can think of two Japanese contributions to the world of gaming.. 1- the pet game
2- the party game
I give the Japanese credit for Pokemon too... but that isnt so much a video game topic. Its a completely different form of gaming that got implemented as a game. Also, Im not sure pokemon is the first CCG out there. I think it is, but wont say with authority either way.
Hmmmm.... lets see... innovations out of the "west" as there isnt alot of difference between Western European, Canadian and American developers to make a distinction.
1) CREATED THE FIRST COMMERICALLY SUCCESSFUL CONSOLES!!!! Hmmm... thats a pretty big one isnt it? The Atari and Intellivision basically invented the market. Not to mention the games on those systems pioneered most of the concepts that are cloned today.
2) Created the first 1st person shooter. Thats a pretty big deal, no?
3) Basically created every innovation in sports games.
4) Pioneered physics in games.
5) The entire line of SIM games. Hell, basically Will Wright has ever done.
6) The god game genre. Aka, Populous
7) The first real time strategy games. Aka, Star Craft
8) Computer RPGs. Yeah, the thing everyone thinks Japanese do so well refined from North American games.
9) FMV in video games. Hmmm you think the final fantasy series really started it? HAHA, no.
Innovation is slowing down, because frankly a lot of ideas have been implemented. We are in an age of refinement now.
Frankly what have the Japanese game companies done thats really that mind blowingly innovative. Pretty much every Final Fantasy game is formulaic drivel that sports dialogue I cant help but think an angst filled 12 year old wrote. Gran Turismo is basically just a very good implementation of something thats been done in hundreds of games. Really, when it comes down to it, I can only think of a handful of really original games coming from Japan. The whole pet genre ( think Nintendogs or that weird fish game for the dreamcast ) but really how much different from SimX is that? Super Mario XXII? Zelda XV? Megaman XXXII? Super Ultimate Street Final Mega 2 Turbo Extreme Subversion 3b?
They are no more innovative then any western developers. In fact, I would have to argue the opposite based of reliance on sequels to the point of nausea.
Ironically, the most innovative game Ive seen from Japan in a good five years was for the Xbox. Steel Battalion. Plus, it isnt so much the game thats impressive, but the control. I do appreciate the bold risk they took to make it though.
Actually, the "staring into a lightbulb" part is a big part of an ebook's appeal. Ive actually read a half dozen ebooks on my Treo cell phone, which form factor wise, is perhaps the worst device you could imagine to read a book on.
:)
That said, there are some pretty big advantages... the two biggest being.
1) Its crisper to read then a book for people with less than 20/20 vision but are too damned stuborn to wear glasses.
2) This one is the biggy. Reading at night is no big deal. I can sit in bed at night and read an ebook without having to turn a lamp on. To someone thats single that may seem pretty damned petty... but to someone that shares a bed, you will instantly know the advantage!
If you work in a corporate environment, you would start to see the power of InfoPath.
Where I currently work, IT isnt the main focus but sadly database's are needed everwhere. The end result is a oodle of Access databases end up being developed that serve as stop gap measures. They work for a time and solve the problem at hand. Unfortunatly they all eventually hit the same barriers... limited ability to have multiple users connected at once, performance, you name it.
Ideally IT would provide all of these systems ourselves, and save the headache of supporting really badly designed databases down the road. However, man power limitations hinder this effort. However... creating a database takes limited amount of time, and wrapping it in a web service takes barely more time.
However, front end GUI work is a waste of time for IT. That is the power of Infopath. IT still has the ability to dictate data integrity but can still offload that shitty UI work to the people that will actually be using the UI.
So dont look at infopath as a HTML/forms replacement. Its more of a Access database form replacement, allowing IT to still develop schemas that actully work, but also being able to offload the painful and time consuming UI aspects to the every day worker. There is a lot of power in that concept.
Hahaha... modded to troll on a joke in less then 5 seconds... You people take your space race very seriously, dont you? :)
Fuck it, ive got karma to burn... mod this a troll too!
look forward to a nation finally putting a man on the moon, instead of faking it! :)
Again im not. Islam != Terrorist.
:) ). :)
Thats pretty much the entire point of my earlier conversation. 99.9999% of Islamic people arent terrorists or in suicide cults ( or atleast were before the iraq invasion... that number may be more like 99.9998% now ). Just like the vast majority of Christians are murderers and war criminals. Dont judge a group by its zealots.
I think there are certain religious groups that are in fact dangerous to have around. Islam being one.
Frankly, right now President Bush and his religous views scare me alot more the Osahma's. Since he is such a dangerous man, should he christianity be done away with? Wasnt the unibomber catholic... wasnt just about every mobster from the 30's on catholic? Well... lets get rid of em! ( Hey, being agnostic... this isnt sounding like such a bad idea...
Zealots are zealots, regardless to faith. Oh and dont worry, I wasnt calling you a crazy racist( Again... another type of zealotry... )... if I got that impression from you, I wouldnt have responded to you at all. I was merely calling you ignorant!
Jesus christ your small minded.
:(. Sad sad times we live in.
Why dont you hear only hear about the evils that Islamics do? Its called fear mongering and scape goating. The US press is absolutely pathetic and uses fear and focus groups to drive ratings. Besides, how often do you hear about "good deeds" on the news in general?
One last thing to keep in mind... the press is racist as fuck. Im a middle class white male... its not exactly like im sensitive to these things... but listen to the news instead of just absorbing it. You will hear emphasis put on ethnicity or religion in any news story, especially when there is a villian. You always here "the 23 year old Islamic male" or "the 24 year old black man"... you never hear "the 20 year old jew" or "the 35 year old white male", unless the jew or white male is the victim. Its the way of the press.
As to condeming islam based off the actions of a few zealots, thats fucked. Again, im agnostic myself, so I dont much have a stake in this either... Want me to condemn Christians off their actions during the crusades? Or the inquisition? Or catholics for their actions in Ireland? Its zealotry that needs to be stamped out ( both here, like the government in power and those of terrorists around the world ). Want to know something though... you cant. Zealots are just wired differently... if it wasnt religion, they would find a completely different reason to focus their obsessiveness. So, since we cant stop terrorism by getting rid of the zealots... what can we do? Well, there is one thing...
Learn. Starting in the western countries would probrably be a pretty good way to go. Learn something about foreign countries... learn something about other religions. Once you have the ability to see the world through another mans eyes, you will be amazed at how much it changes you. Then, perhaps once a certain amount of enlightenment has been reached, then maybe, just maybe the west will be able to change the mid-easts perceptions aswell.
The part that depresses me the most is, frankly, 9/11 was the BEST chance of causing soceity to do this. The world was supporting America, not just paying lip service. The world went together to Afghanistan, which I believe the vast majority would agree was "a good thing", even most Afghani's. For a few days there I think a great many Americans ( and other westerners ) were actually asking things like "why would they do this to us?" For a few days ( months even ), the western world was united in a way that has never happened. Too bad that the president-almost-elect milked the sentement for all it was worth to push his own war mongering agenda. Even more sadly, to bad so many people went along with it and supported him for another 4 years
So here is my recommendation to you as to how you can do your part to stop terrorism. Learn about a foreign culture, read up about Islam and what they truly believe in. Once you have done that, reflect on the comments you made today. Once you realize just how misguided you were, then convince one other such misguided soul to learn about the world around them aswell. Think of it as a viral solution. Will it stop terrorism by becoming more informed? No! Will it be more effective then bombing poor innocents in the middle east? Your bet your ass it will!
[i]I haven't bought the Office suite from Microsoft for close to five years now with the introduction of free alternatives like Open Office. What originally got me started was the inablity to open an old MS Works file in Office 2003[/i]
.... .... ummmm.......
Ok... I may be really bad at math... but... If you havent bought an office suite from MS in 5 years, but what prompted you to take that stance was a product from 2003.... umm.....
Ok.... ummm....
I think you are looking at the wrong indicators. In many ways, Mexico has an incredibly free market and had such a system in place with various neighboring countries long before being included in NAFTA. Also, a great many of your free markets such as Western Europe and especially Japan have a number of Byzantine and protectionist laws in place. The free ness of a market has very little to do with economic trade success, wages or standard of living.
The biggest things that causes a low standard of living in this world can probably be summarized in three items. 1) Over population 2) Available natural resources 3) infrastructure ( both physical and in terms of education system ). These are the determining factors. One could argue there is a forth which would be political infrastructure but that just opens up a huge can of worms I frankly to want to get into. (Cuba would be a good example here).
Over Population Point blank, if you have so many people that you arent going to be able to find work for all of them you have a problem. This frankly isnt an easy one to get around and explains the unemployment rates in many of these countries. Even with a good education system in place and a high tech infrastructure India just isnt going to be able to gainfully employee even the majority of their population. This is a good part of the reason why people saying Outsourcing to India is going to cause their populations standard of living to rise, which in turn will lead to higher wages and less outsourcing. Hey that may be true, but in Indias case, its going to take a very very long time. Even if only 1% of Indias population is capable of working a high tech outsourced job, thats still 10,000,000 people! This one kinda pisses me off too as it is one of the few areas where you can look at a poor country and see a lot of self inflicted wounds caused by too high of a birth rate.
Natural Resources This one is simple. The less you rely on foreign natural resources the better of you will be. Or, if you are sitting on a very valuable resource it will do a hell of a lot for your economy. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are very good examples here. Without oil, or with a massively greater population both of these countries would be third world nations right now.
Infrastructure This one is a chicken egg problem without money ( via skilled trades/middle class or natural resource exploitation ) you cant afford to build up a solid infrastructure. That said, without a solid infrastructure your not going to be able to form a solid middle class. Obviosuly this isnt impossible as India has been able to build up a decent infrastructure in atleast parts of India. Ditto with South Korea, but I have to assume both were funded by Western Interests.
These factors ( and probably dozens im missing, plus politics, which im avoiding ) define how a market works. All the free-ness in the world aint going to do a damned thing if you havent got something to sell. However, if you have something extremely valuable to sell you can be as closed as OPEC and still make a killing.