I agree with the submitter in spirit, why is it that the lowest payed workers are the ones that need such accurate, high security time clocks? I could understand incorporating such system at say Pfizer, or some other huge company that has very real security concerns regarding product information. But worrying if a minimum wage fry cook is stiffing you for a few minuets clocking in late for a shift? Doesn't this seem a little goofy to you? How much do these people even make per hour? I bet a lot less than what installing system is going to cost. I mean even outside of tinfoil hat territory this just seems excessive.
Some foods are complex, composed of multiple layers of delicate pastry. Others are very simple like a bowl of chicken soup. What the whole thing is about though, is how does it taste?
A good game is a good game. Length, complexity, graphics, sound, none of these things by themselves make a great game, and no single ratio will give you the perfect game either. It's all about if the game is good, or crap.
It doesn't mean that we can then go about selecting prototypes in an effort to defend the quality of our favorite games in this manner:
DOA is simple Warioware is simple and also very good Therefore DOA is better than Soul Calibur
(just an example I pass no judgement on any of these games)
Isn't your own personal enjoyment of a game good enough? I loved Maximo but most people thought it was a boring overly hard action game with crappy camera controls.
Viewtiful Joe comes to mind, though it has been mentioned before it deserves every accolade it has gotten and then some.
Boktai also stands out as an interesting game. While ones first impression may scream "gimmick!" with regards to the sun sensor, it actually adds to the game and gives it a unique twist.
hmmm thinking of a third non-sequel non-franchise game is tough, can we pretend that KOTOR is ok to list? It wasn't based in any of the Lucas or extended universe Starwars storylines, and yet managed to be every bit as much "starwarsy" as any of the films. It had its flaws, but overall was one of the most enjoyable RPGs I have played in years.
He was on the cover of "next Generation" back in 96(90% sure it was summer of 96)). I found the issue when I visited my parents a few months back, and read some of the old articles.
MS's stance on the gaming market at the time was that PCs would eventually take it over, or at least grab a very large portion of the pie. Gates felt that the mature, adult gamer would be more interested in the performance that a high end PC that could be upgraded et cetera would give them as opposed to a console that was thrown out every 5 years or so.
But this is all off topic really
Interstingly enough, one of the biggest motivators of Sony jumping into the market in the first place was the brief partnership they had with Nintendo to produce the SNES cd-rom drive that never happened. The Phillips CD-I had a similar origin though we all know how the story turned out.
Why is MS "failing" in Korea? The same reasons they are "failing" in Japan.
I salivate for this game, and I am not even a big MMORPG gamer. PSO is the closest thing I have to an online RPG obession.
Blizzard is the master of the hype machine, but they are also terrific game designers. What they lack in innovation they more than make up for in refinement.
SDKs? How many gamers really take adavantage of those? I would be willing to bet that far less than 1% actually use the tools. Couple this with the fact that most user created content sucks major ass. This is not to say that all user created content is bad, I am simplly saying that most of the people that try and make their own mods and so forth lack the skill and or patience to make anything worthwhile.
Now as for the content, it goes without saying that some users have produced some really good additions to existing titles, Half-Life, BF1942, and many others have some professional quality stuff that has been authored by people in their spare time. I am not trying to trivialize the roles that some members of the mod community have played in sustaining the PC gaming market. I have bought half-life 3 times now, it seems that right after I lost a copy, something new would come along that made me want to play it again.
What is working against PC gaming, is the proliferation of consoles. Sure, a bazillion people own PCs and Macs but how many of those people are on the cutting edge of hardware? Among slashdot readers I would say quite a few but average Joe PC owner is probably still using that Dell they bought 4 years ago. Many of these potential customers do not posses hardware capable of even running the newest titles. On the otherhand, every console owner can play any title released for that console.
Store chains are just adapting to the situation. The PC market makes them less money, so they expand their console offerings. I don't think it is as much a case of the PC market failing, as much as it is that it isn't doing as well.
I use a credit/debit card for everything, I seldom have more than $40 in cash on me. In place of a signature on the back of the card I have always put down "Check ID" To me this is the least that a store can do to reduce the chances that my stollen card might be used to purchase things for the thief. In recent years though I have noticed that many stores now have card swipes that the customer uses as opposed to the clerk. This looks like a time saving thing but really what it does is make it a lot easier to use a stollen card since there is no check. Why? because it saves time and many people seem to be more willing to save 10 seconds on a checkout than they are willing to take even a tiny step to protect their money. many stores now don't even require signatures for purchases under $25 or $50. I think that PIN numbers might help protect these radio cards, but I really don't think that retailers are going to bother with them. Time = money and faster checkouts mean having to pay fewer cashiers.
Perhaps I am just ignorant but why are we so damn set on shaving another 10 seconds off our checkout time at the local meijers? Its not like they ever have more than 2 cashiers for the 2000 people all trying to make purchases at once anyway.
Maybe, but I think it is more about egos. Some people don't like other people that don't agree with them. If they inflict harm on Rockstar, then they feel good about themselves, and their little special interest group now has power (if the world bends once it will bend again sort of thing). Money may play into it eventually, but the real struggle here is power. Look at prohibition in the U.S. Most of the protesters and common citizens campaigning and crusading against liquor did not stand to gain any monetary compensation for their efforts. The only reward was the forcing of their beliefs on other people. Sure some people made loads of dough on the situation when it came to fruition, but not Joe activist.
Do not be so quick to assume that money is the only thing people are after, you have to remember what the money represents.
I think what they (those that are offended) want, is for Rockstar to recall and drop the title from production.
I am not saying that this is even a realistic option, but honestly I don't see any way to appease the offended mob at this point. A lot of people have been against GTA3 from day one and this out of context hate thing is just a cause to champion before the neutral public. I think that the anti-"Kilographic" (those are quotes of disdain BTW) games people are just drooling over the marketing potential of games as hate speech.
Maybe, this is pretty early in the game. Nintendo's hype machine wouldn't want to start talking too much now while they are still trying to sell gamecubes.
The PS2 on the other hand is already in virtually any home that is going to buy a console of this generation. Talking about thier future plans isn't going to hurt their growth because they don't have nearly as much to do anymore. MS will likely stay tight-lipped regarding the X-box2 until we get closer to the launch dates as well. I would imagine all 3 of the big players are testing/well into designing something right now.
I second Starscape. Very fun little game with just the right level of depth to make it more than just a simple shooter, but not so deep that it turns into frustrating exercise in resource management. I had no problem shelling out the cash to register the game, and I look forward to moonpod's future releases.
I must check out these other games you mention, they look pretty decent.
I may live in the minority on this issue, but I sort of like that concrete separation of games and reality. I don't have any interest in the feelings or lives of my various avatars; I just want to play the game. That doesn't mean though that I don't find this interesting on a sort of passive level. I don't think I am ready to have vomiting induced when I get poisoned in game though. (Actually that sounds sort of cool)
This is going to be a big deal (assuming they can get consumers to bite on it, seems like one of those things that various watchdog groups are going to get uppity about) but I suspect that it will be embraced the same way that rumble technology has been; it will eventually get included in everything, even those things in which it does not fit or seem appropriate and eventually many gamers are just going to leave it turned off.
Usually with console FPS, all of the other players are going to be in the same boat control and interface wise, so once again it boils down to how well you can manipulate your given controller. (on x-box anyway, I don't have the PS2 BBA so i really can't say how many PS2 gamers are using mouse/keyboards)
If I had to play against mixed company, I would definately go mouse, the thumb sticks can't even come close for accuracy, but for comfort, leaning back in an easy-chair with a console controller beats the computer desk anyday of the week.
WBC2 is a little rough around the edges, but a very fun game multiplayer. Your hero (WBC beat WC3 to the "hero" units by over a year) levels up and can be carried over from battle to battle. Its not unlike having a Diablo character leading your armies into battle. You have 12 races to pick from, and about 14 or so character classes. Stats are bought with skill points so there is a fair bit of freedom to customize your character. All units in game can level up through combat, and after the battle, your best few can be added to your hero's retainers and carried into other battles.
The single player campaign is also cool. It plays like risk, where you attack territories, and then play through the battle on a random map. if you conquor other races, you can then use their armies in other battles if you so choose. There are even a few hidden units that can only be used used if you unlock them through the single player campaign.
I rent from Gamefly and am for the most part happy with the service.
Game turnaround is about 6 days from when i drop it in the box, which isn't a big deal for me since I usually play the games for a week or more. About the time I get tired of one game, another is arriving in the mail. If you don't see yourself playing the rented game for more than a couple days on average, You would be better off with something on the order of a freedom pass from Blockbuster.
The biggest advantage I see with gamefly as opposed to renting from a local store, is that Gamefly typically gets all new releases within a day or two of release. My local Blcokbusters and Hollywood videos get big name titles quickly, but skip or wait on a lot of other lesser hyped games. They also usually only have one or two copies of the lesser titles which can make it near impossible to actually rent them. The "buy it" option isn't bad either. If you like the game you can keep it, they mail you the box and rest of the junk it came with. The price is usually right around what a used copy would run you in a store.
Cool, these are perfect for throwing when your favorite game has frustrated you to the point of seething rage. I can finally chuck a Gamecube at someone without fearing legal retaliation!
Or stuff your plush dreamcast with catnip and now even the cat can come to appretiate Sega.
It looks to have promise, and while i am tempted to grab one quickly, I think i am going to wait it out and see how well it gets supported. The Sony handheld is just a bit over the horizon, and I am totally happy with my GBA SP right now so I just don't feel the need to own one. If I was in need of a PDA though, I think this would be my first choice.
The arcade emulation is the one feature that most draws me to this, I love old arcade games from the 80s through early 90s.
THis is just a guess, but I would think that the games that SOny is throwing over to China are titles that have already made back their overheads and turned respectable profits in the Europeon, Japanese and North American markets. Sending them to China is just bonus money. For this reason they can afford to let them go for costs very close to what the pirates are (Arrrr!) going to charge.
THis is a foot in the door tactic anyway. by establishing a legit user base, Sony probably hopes that they may in the future be able to send newer software and hardware into the open arms of consumers hungry for the latest releases.
I don't think piracy hurts as much as the RIAA, MPAA and the software moguls claim it does, but think about it for a second, If I can sell your product for material cost alone, and your company has to foot the dev costs who is going to be able to offer the better deal? Every copy I sell is a copy you won't sell. I sell enough and you can no longer recover expenses, and its chapter 11 time for you. Lower your prices all you want, but as a blood thirsty pirate I can always undercut you.
I was refering to their next console, though perhaps I wasn't as clear as i could have been. Nintendo's biggest sin with the broadband adapter of this generation is the relatively modest quantities of them that have been produced. When I bought PSO last January, I speant weeks looking in stores for a BBA, I was however able to order it direct from their website. I am not sure if they are easier to find now or not.
I want on-line play too, but at least Nintendo's thinking about their gamers here.
Well maybe, I applaud them for not rushing into some half-assed online service that sucks as well as it blows. What worries me though, is from everything that I have heard about the next Nintendo console, The big N has no intention of pursuing any sort of online plan. This might be ok, but they need to leave the option available to their 3rd party developers.
I say include a broadband/modem option(or sell them seperately) and let the 3rd parties forge the online services. Even if Nintendo themselves don't want to make online games they are going to regret it if they castrate the online possiblity entirely.
Having said this, If Nintendo does go after the warppipe developers they are making a very grave mistake. As pigheaded as they can be about some things, I doubt they would do anything that stupid.
Slashdot Mirror
Intersting, but sort boring
Create a machine that will lie and cheat or partake in other acts of self-preservation and I will be impressed.
I agree with the submitter in spirit, why is it that the lowest payed workers are the ones that need such accurate, high security time clocks? I could understand incorporating such system at say Pfizer, or some other huge company that has very real security concerns regarding product information. But worrying if a minimum wage fry cook is stiffing you for a few minuets clocking in late for a shift? Doesn't this seem a little goofy to you? How much do these people even make per hour? I bet a lot less than what installing system is going to cost. I mean even outside of tinfoil hat territory this just seems excessive.
It's like food really.
Some foods are complex, composed of multiple layers of delicate pastry. Others are very simple like a bowl of chicken soup. What the whole thing is about though, is how does it taste?
A good game is a good game. Length, complexity, graphics, sound, none of these things by themselves make a great game, and no single ratio will give you the perfect game either. It's all about if the game is good, or crap.
It doesn't mean that we can then go about selecting prototypes in an effort to defend the quality of our favorite games in this manner:
DOA is simple
Warioware is simple and also very good
Therefore DOA is better than Soul Calibur
(just an example I pass no judgement on any of these games)
Isn't your own personal enjoyment of a game good enough? I loved Maximo but most people thought it was a boring overly hard action game with crappy camera controls.
Welcome to Wal-mart!
You did ask didn't you?
Look at it this way, in 10 years your degree will be needed to even get min wage jobs in the service industry.
Viewtiful Joe comes to mind, though it has been mentioned before it deserves every accolade it has gotten and then some.
Boktai also stands out as an interesting game. While ones first impression may scream "gimmick!" with regards to the sun sensor, it actually adds to the game and gives it a unique twist.
hmmm thinking of a third non-sequel non-franchise game is tough, can we pretend that KOTOR is ok to list? It wasn't based in any of the Lucas or extended universe Starwars storylines, and yet managed to be every bit as much "starwarsy" as any of the films. It had its flaws, but overall was one of the most enjoyable RPGs I have played in years.
He was on the cover of "next Generation" back in 96(90% sure it was summer of 96)). I found the issue when I visited my parents a few months back, and read some of the old articles.
MS's stance on the gaming market at the time was that PCs would eventually take it over, or at least grab a very large portion of the pie. Gates felt that the mature, adult gamer would be more interested in the performance that a high end PC that could be upgraded et cetera would give them as opposed to a console that was thrown out every 5 years or so.
But this is all off topic really
Interstingly enough, one of the biggest motivators of Sony jumping into the market in the first place was the brief partnership they had with Nintendo to produce the SNES cd-rom drive that never happened. The Phillips CD-I had a similar origin though we all know how the story turned out.
Why is MS "failing" in Korea? The same reasons they are "failing" in Japan.
I loved Nightwatch, though I still think that Fifth Elephant is my favorite Sam Vimes novel. Even a bad Partchett novel is a decent read.
Or maybe I'm just being a moron, I really don't know
Lets be honest with ourselves here, can you really go wrong with Pirates?
Hell no.
I would sign up for your game.
Well the DK rap actually goes bak to one of the N64 DKs, so if i am not mistaken we can blame it on Rare.
Did you say drinking game? I like how you think.
I'm with you.
I salivate for this game, and I am not even a big MMORPG gamer. PSO is the closest thing I have to an online RPG obession.
Blizzard is the master of the hype machine, but they are also terrific game designers. What they lack in innovation they more than make up for in refinement.
SDKs? How many gamers really take adavantage of those? I would be willing to bet that far less than 1% actually use the tools. Couple this with the fact that most user created content sucks major ass. This is not to say that all user created content is bad, I am simplly saying that most of the people that try and make their own mods and so forth lack the skill and or patience to make anything worthwhile.
Now as for the content, it goes without saying that some users have produced some really good additions to existing titles, Half-Life, BF1942, and many others have some professional quality stuff that has been authored by people in their spare time. I am not trying to trivialize the roles that some members of the mod community have played in sustaining the PC gaming market. I have bought half-life 3 times now, it seems that right after I lost a copy, something new would come along that made me want to play it again.
What is working against PC gaming, is the proliferation of consoles. Sure, a bazillion people own PCs and Macs but how many of those people are on the cutting edge of hardware? Among slashdot readers I would say quite a few but average Joe PC owner is probably still using that Dell they bought 4 years ago. Many of these potential customers do not posses hardware capable of even running the newest titles. On the otherhand, every console owner can play any title released for that console.
Store chains are just adapting to the situation. The PC market makes them less money, so they expand their console offerings. I don't think it is as much a case of the PC market failing, as much as it is that it isn't doing as well.
This is the thing:
I use a credit/debit card for everything, I seldom have more than $40 in cash on me. In place of a signature on the back of the card I have always put down "Check ID" To me this is the least that a store can do to reduce the chances that my stollen card might be used to purchase things for the thief. In recent years though I have noticed that many stores now have card swipes that the customer uses as opposed to the clerk. This looks like a time saving thing but really what it does is make it a lot easier to use a stollen card since there is no check. Why? because it saves time and many people seem to be more willing to save 10 seconds on a checkout than they are willing to take even a tiny step to protect their money. many stores now don't even require signatures for purchases under $25 or $50. I think that PIN numbers might help protect these radio cards, but I really don't think that retailers are going to bother with them. Time = money and faster checkouts mean having to pay fewer cashiers.
Perhaps I am just ignorant but why are we so damn set on shaving another 10 seconds off our checkout time at the local meijers? Its not like they ever have more than 2 cashiers for the 2000 people all trying to make purchases at once anyway.
Maybe, but I think it is more about egos. Some people don't like other people that don't agree with them. If they inflict harm on Rockstar, then they feel good about themselves, and their little special interest group now has power (if the world bends once it will bend again sort of thing). Money may play into it eventually, but the real struggle here is power. Look at prohibition in the U.S. Most of the protesters and common citizens campaigning and crusading against liquor did not stand to gain any monetary compensation for their efforts. The only reward was the forcing of their beliefs on other people. Sure some people made loads of dough on the situation when it came to fruition, but not Joe activist.
Do not be so quick to assume that money is the only thing people are after, you have to remember what the money represents.
And thanks for not being at all hostile.
I think what they (those that are offended) want, is for Rockstar to recall and drop the title from production.
I am not saying that this is even a realistic option, but honestly I don't see any way to appease the offended mob at this point. A lot of people have been against GTA3 from day one and this out of context hate thing is just a cause to champion before the neutral public. I think that the anti-"Kilographic" (those are quotes of disdain BTW) games people are just drooling over the marketing potential of games as hate speech.
Maybe, this is pretty early in the game. Nintendo's hype machine wouldn't want to start talking too much now while they are still trying to sell gamecubes.
The PS2 on the other hand is already in virtually any home that is going to buy a console of this generation. Talking about thier future plans isn't going to hurt their growth because they don't have nearly as much to do anymore. MS will likely stay tight-lipped regarding the X-box2 until we get closer to the launch dates as well. I would imagine all 3 of the big players are testing/well into designing something right now.
I second Starscape. Very fun little game with just the right level of depth to make it more than just a simple shooter, but not so deep that it turns into frustrating exercise in resource management. I had no problem shelling out the cash to register the game, and I look forward to moonpod's future releases.
I must check out these other games you mention, they look pretty decent.
I may live in the minority on this issue, but I sort of like that concrete separation of games and reality. I don't have any interest in the feelings or lives of my various avatars; I just want to play the game. That doesn't mean though that I don't find this interesting on a sort of passive level. I don't think I am ready to have vomiting induced when I get poisoned in game though. (Actually that sounds sort of cool)
This is going to be a big deal (assuming they can get consumers to bite on it, seems like one of those things that various watchdog groups are going to get uppity about) but I suspect that it will be embraced the same way that rumble technology has been; it will eventually get included in everything, even those things in which it does not fit or seem appropriate and eventually many gamers are just going to leave it turned off.
Usually with console FPS, all of the other players are going to be in the same boat control and interface wise, so once again it boils down to how well you can manipulate your given controller. (on x-box anyway, I don't have the PS2 BBA so i really can't say how many PS2 gamers are using mouse/keyboards)
If I had to play against mixed company, I would definately go mouse, the thumb sticks can't even come close for accuracy, but for comfort, leaning back in an easy-chair with a console controller beats the computer desk anyday of the week.
I second this
WBC2 is a little rough around the edges, but a very fun game multiplayer. Your hero (WBC beat WC3 to the "hero" units by over a year) levels up and can be carried over from battle to battle. Its not unlike having a Diablo character leading your armies into battle. You have 12 races to pick from, and about 14 or so character classes. Stats are bought with skill points so there is a fair bit of freedom to customize your character. All units in game can level up through combat, and after the battle, your best few can be added to your hero's retainers and carried into other battles.
The single player campaign is also cool. It plays like risk, where you attack territories, and then play through the battle on a random map. if you conquor other races, you can then use their armies in other battles if you so choose. There are even a few hidden units that can only be used used if you unlock them through the single player campaign.
I rent from Gamefly and am for the most part happy with the service.
Game turnaround is about 6 days from when i drop it in the box, which isn't a big deal for me since I usually play the games for a week or more. About the time I get tired of one game, another is arriving in the mail. If you don't see yourself playing the rented game for more than a couple days on average, You would be better off with something on the order of a freedom pass from Blockbuster.
The biggest advantage I see with gamefly as opposed to renting from a local store, is that Gamefly typically gets all new releases within a day or two of release. My local Blcokbusters and Hollywood videos get big name titles quickly, but skip or wait on a lot of other lesser hyped games. They also usually only have one or two copies of the lesser titles which can make it near impossible to actually rent them. The "buy it" option isn't bad either. If you like the game you can keep it, they mail you the box and rest of the junk it came with. The price is usually right around what a used copy would run you in a store.
Cool, these are perfect for throwing when your favorite game has frustrated you to the point of seething rage. I can finally chuck a Gamecube at someone without fearing legal retaliation!
Or stuff your plush dreamcast with catnip and now even the cat can come to appretiate Sega.
It looks to have promise, and while i am tempted to grab one quickly, I think i am going to wait it out and see how well it gets supported. The Sony handheld is just a bit over the horizon, and I am totally happy with my GBA SP right now so I just don't feel the need to own one. If I was in need of a PDA though, I think this would be my first choice.
The arcade emulation is the one feature that most draws me to this, I love old arcade games from the 80s through early 90s.
THis is just a guess, but I would think that the games that SOny is throwing over to China are titles that have already made back their overheads and turned respectable profits in the Europeon, Japanese and North American markets. Sending them to China is just bonus money. For this reason they can afford to let them go for costs very close to what the pirates are (Arrrr!) going to charge.
THis is a foot in the door tactic anyway. by establishing a legit user base, Sony probably hopes that they may in the future be able to send newer software and hardware into the open arms of consumers hungry for the latest releases.
I don't think piracy hurts as much as the RIAA, MPAA and the software moguls claim it does, but think about it for a second, If I can sell your product for material cost alone, and your company has to foot the dev costs who is going to be able to offer the better deal? Every copy I sell is a copy you won't sell. I sell enough and you can no longer recover expenses, and its chapter 11 time for you. Lower your prices all you want, but as a blood thirsty pirate I can always undercut you.
I was refering to their next console, though perhaps I wasn't as clear as i could have been. Nintendo's biggest sin with the broadband adapter of this generation is the relatively modest quantities of them that have been produced. When I bought PSO last January, I speant weeks looking in stores for a BBA, I was however able to order it direct from their website. I am not sure if they are easier to find now or not.
I want on-line play too, but at least Nintendo's thinking about their gamers here.
Well maybe, I applaud them for not rushing into some half-assed online service that sucks as well as it blows. What worries me though, is from everything that I have heard about the next Nintendo console, The big N has no intention of pursuing any sort of online plan. This might be ok, but they need to leave the option available to their 3rd party developers.
I say include a broadband/modem option(or sell them seperately) and let the 3rd parties forge the online services. Even if Nintendo themselves don't want to make online games they are going to regret it if they castrate the online possiblity entirely.
Having said this, If Nintendo does go after the warppipe developers they are making a very grave mistake. As pigheaded as they can be about some things, I doubt they would do anything that stupid.