A mute function that does not work is actually not a mute function.
Mechassault has absolutely no way of muting anyone except for unplugging you headset, and that doesn't let you hear anyone at all.
The mute function in MechAssault is the exact same as the mute function in all Live games. Go to the player list from the pause menu, then choose them, and choose mute player.
It works fine in MechAssault, it is simply non-functional in Counter-Strike.
Because they made a game for the Xbox and tha went on to sell over 3 million copies in the US alone?
Try worldwide, not just in the US. The biggest percentile of those copies are in the US/Canada, yes, but the rest of the world has also bought quite a few copies (or got them bundled for free ala Australia).
I agree. Microsoft makes excellent mice and keyboards. It's just unfortunate that much of their user interface hardware is intrinsically tied to their software. All these buttons on my Microsoft Natural Keyboard for the WMP, calculator, etc. are pretty worthless if I try to use them on any other OS, or don't use other Microsoft software. In fact, on my keyboard, the only extra button that gets any use is the caculator one.
But, I don't use Internet Explorer, it actually crashes my OS thanks to a corrupted patch from Microsoft; I use Mozilla Firebird. I don't use Outlook Express, because it is an infector just waiting for a virus; I use Mozilla Thunderbird. I don't use Word, because it's just as prone to accidentally infecting my PC as Outlook and I don't feel like purpetuating Microsoft's monopoly in the Office Suite Market; I use OpenOffice.org and have had no problems with learning it (about 5 minutes, and I'm hardly a power user like many people on/.), or using it to the fullest of my needs. I don't use the WMP to play music; I use Sonique or WinAmp (depending on my mood). I only use the WMP to play movie files when they are in WMP-only file formats; otherwise I use anything else I possibly can (I have a lot of media players on here).
I'm also still running Windows 98 SE, not Windows XP; because I have no personal need for any Windows OS beyond what I have. And, since I don't use those programs (and other MS applications) on it, I don't have to worry about the forced upgrade cycle every time MS decides its time for people to switch so they see a huge rise in profits.
I'm picking up my first laptop soon. But, it isn't going to run Windows; It's going to be a Macintosh PowerBook (I found when using my friend's Mac OSX iBook that it was much nicer than Windows in every user respect). And, when I get to needing a new PC, I'm going to make it a Linux and Windows 98 SE (just for games) dual boot... unless I decide to get one of the bazillion Windows XP Pro pirated copies out there... but, I don't know if I'll even bother with them.
Are these people worth protecting when they steal and settle on other peoples land?
I'm sure the native people's of North and South America feel the same way in some respects.
After all, it's not like the Americas were completely unihabitted when the Europeans came over and stole and settled on the native people's land.
I'm American, White, and Half Jewish, with only the tiniest bit of Native American Indian (on my mother's side, my fathers grandparents were originally Jews that came from Russia in the 1920's) in me. Except for the tiny tiny bit of me, none of the originators of my family were born on this continent.
So, if you're American, I ask, are you worth protecting because of how our ancestors stole and settled on the Native American people's land?
Think about it before answering. America was built on the stealing of land, destruction of the native peoples, and rampant settling. In the eyes of the Zionist Jews, Israel was stolen from them by the non-Jewish people there, after the Roman Empire decided to spread the Jews out all over the world so they wouldn't all be located in what is now Israel. In their eyes, they are only taking back what was stolen from them in the first place.
The answer to who is more right than the other, in their case, is not for us to decide, especially by Anonymous Cowards on/. Both sides are right in some cases, and both sides are wrong in some cases; and that's about as good as it's going to currently get.
In order to take advantage, they have to buy a whole new OS.
Actually, they need a whole new PC. Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 isn't compatible with other PCs that run Windows XP Professional.
A detailed piece with the quote from Microsoft's FAQ on WinXP Media Center 2004 about compatibility, as well as price ranges on the PCs/laptops compatible.
One of the main appeals of the XBox to me is that it really, really, really tries to cater to the 18-44 year old male gamer who otherwise would do all his gaming on a PC.
Which, you know, completely explains all the 12-16 year olds on Live games. Really. Listen to some of the people on there, doing most of the trash talking, and the most cursing just because they can. They're kids, and annoying brats at that.
Then comes along Counter-Strike on Xbox Live, where the goddamn mute function simply doesn't work, so you have to hear all the pre-teen and teend retards the entire time. I'm so glad I only rented that game; it's better on the PC anyway.
The Xbox, and Xbox Live doesn't cater to "the 18-44 year old male gamer crowd" any more than the GameCube caters to kids. If these were true, I'd never hear these annoying 12-16 year olds on XBL, and I wouldn't own a GameCube because I'm 29 with no kids of my own.
Actually, the XBox is a pretty succesful Microsoft experiment. (especially when compared to things like the smartphone and MSN ISP)
It's successful in the fact that it has gotten marketshare, yes. But since the launch of the Xbox to Setpember 30, 2003, the Home and Entertainment Division has LOST $2.135 BILLION dollars. It allowed the Home and Entertainment Division to eclipse MSN as the thing that loses Microsoft the most money.
So, while marketshare is good, The Xbox is hemmoraging money. MSN didn't lose that much money in under 2 years from launch.
MSN, however, seems to now be showing a profit. It made $58 million in profit last quarter, while it lost $147 million in the same quarter last year.
The X Box, while not cost effective at the moment,
And, at the rate they're going, it never will be cost effective. In MS' first fiscal quarter (July 1, 2003- September 30, 2003) the Home and Entertainment Division, where the Xbox is, lost $273 million. Most of that was from the Xbox. In MS' last fiscal year (ended June 31 2003), the Home and Entertainment Division lost $990 million dollars; again, most of that from the Xbox. And in the previous fiscal year (ended June 31 2002) the Home and Entertainment Division lost $866 million; again, mostly from the Xbox. These figures easily found in Microsoft's SEC filings.
It will never become cost efficient at this rate.
Ironically, the division that normally loses the most money, besides the Xbox part of the Home and Entertainment Division, used to be MSN. But, in this last fiscal quarter it actually came out in the black, with $58 million in profit; compared to losing $147 million in the same quarter last year.
Maybe all those dumb butterfly ads actually worked.
My review of DX:IW. I compare the two games throuought the review for people who haven't ever played the first (which you can find, if you can find it, for $10 brand new for the PC).
DX:IW is in no way a bad game, but, it certainly isn't as good as its predecessor.
The first Deus Ex, in case you didn't know, had a lot more RPG elements in it, as well as being a FPS game. Experience points, skill building systems, etc., all made Deus Ex much more than a simple FPS game. If you ever played System Shock 2, Deus Ex was designed by the same people, and improved upon the greatness that was System Shock 2.
DX:IW got rid of the experience points, the skill system, the individual body part health, and actually got rid of of the more outdoor-type areas that permiated the original (which were great, even if they were smaller than they may have looked).
I still gave DX:IW an 8 out of 10. It's a very good game, overall. But, compared to the original, it just isn't quite the same sort of feeling as you go through it. The original Deus Ex is a 10 in my book, even on my shitty PC that barely runs it (more to do with the video card than anything else).
Well, I'd say it gets criticised to downright derided because the game focuses more on graphics than gameplay, always has (original ads on the PSOne were for the 'best looking fighter around'). It's Team Ninja's baby, and with such great gameplay achievements such as 'Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball' to emphasise the point, it's easy to see why the DoA series gets criticised.
For example, the XBOX, the PocketPC, Ultimate TV, Front Page, IIS, Microsoft Network Cards...
While it's true the Xbox and others aren't monopoly positions now, the Xbox is their way into the living room where UltimateTV and MSN TV (formerly WebTV) failed miserably.
Considering the Xbox Music Mixer moves the Xbox away from being 'just a game console', and this new Media Center application will do so even more, it really is apparent that the Xbox is a trojan designed for Microsoft to be able to gain footholds, and to their hope control, in the living room.
Expect the Next Xbox to be a huge feature laden set top box, probably complete with UltimateTV and MSN TV capabilities, as well as even closer ties to connecting to Windows/Longhorn PCs. Games will end up being just part of the focus, instead of the main focus. They'll use the Xbox name to get it into homes where the Xbox already is, and hope to lock people into their control.
Living just a few minutes from Camden, NJ, I had to laugh at this. Madd props.
But, Camden's too small, really. What are you gonna do? Buy/sell the drugs for/to the surburban white kids from West Deptford, Wenonah, and Cherry Hill? Go knock over Village Thrift? Always end up at Our Lady of Lords Hospital when you die? Go knock over a concert at the Tweeter Center before it closes up at 11 PM? Burn down half the city on Mischief Night?
Try again. Plenty of PS2 games are made on CD-ROMs. Look at the underside (readable part) of the PS2 disks. If they're silver, they're DVD-ROMs, if they're blue, they're CD-ROMs.
Thus, the correct thing to say is: PSOne = CD-ROM PS2 = CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
please link to an example or two or ten, in order to assure me that there is a conspiracy.
It seems to come more from the non-gaming media than the gaming media.
Personally, I find this article from Time Magazine to be exceptionally funny. The first sentence of the second paragraph states: "But the company's latest console, the GameCube, has proved to be an unmitigated disaster, giving this holiday season the potential to become the Winter of Iwata's Discontent."
There's a few others here on Slashdot you can find, linking to the Washigton Post, and some others.
Gotta love people who don't have a clue about something writing about it...you know, like most posts on/.
In fact, it sounds quite foolish to think that a video game console was designed with something other than gaming in mind.
Except that Microsoft, themselves, have pretty much said that the Xbox is a trojan, designed to get the Microsoft name into the living room. The Xbox is far more successful than their previous attempts at controlling the living room: Ultimate TV and WebTV (now MSN TV).
Look at the Xbox Music Mixer, which allows karoke use; file sharing of music and movie files from a PC and Xbox; etc. That's not meant for gaming in the least; but it is probably hoped to be the tojan that gets the Xbox into Japanese homes (where karoke is very popular).
But, the Xbox Music Mixer shows that Microsoft never intended the Xbox to be just a game machine, even though they originally said it was just a game machine. The Xbox is designed to be their gateway into controlling the 'Digital Entertainment Lifestyle' (hey, they coined the phrase, not me).
I fully expect the next Xbox to have Ultimate TV built in, as well as possibly MSN TV. Games will end up being the byproduct, not the main focus. The main focus will be in controlling the living room like they control the PC OS industry.
The anime, Perfect Blue shows how small Japanese apartments are as well. The main character is a fairly successful pop singer who tries to get into acting, and her apartment is still super tiny.
Still, even though the GC sold the least of the three consoles, it was the only one in the UK to actually see an increase in sales over the previous year.
Xbox sales were -5% over last year, according to the article, and PS2 sales were nearly -33.3% over the same period last year, according ot the article. The GC sales were up almost 33.3% over last year.
Sorry, I'll go back in time to before Live came out (you know, when I was using the tunnels for Halo), and figure it out more thoroughly for you.
But, a lot of XBL games do allow for system link games as well. Tunneling software allows you to play system linked games online. The XBL titles can also be played online through XBL.
I've heard, but haven't used to confirm, that some of the tunnels now allow the voice communicator to work as well.
Take an Xbox Live game with system link capabilities, set it up for system link, and play with someone online and able to use the voice communicator through a tunnel....and you have a Live game, being played online, but not on Live.
It may not be the same, but if the game supports both system link and Xbox Live, then according to how Microsoft wants people to play them online, going through tunnels is a no-no.
I think what he means is that if it allows Xbox Live games to be played, as if they were on Live but not on Live, Microsoft might have something to say about it. It may not be illegal, but Microsoft might be able to pull up contractual issues or something against them if they so desired (IE publishers agree to use Live, and Live only for their Xbox online games, or something, and by offering tunnels for Live games, they would force Microsoft's hand in order for Microsoft to continue to uphold its end of the contract; or other such).
I don't know, though. I use Live, myself, not tunneling software, since the tunnels were genrally too laggy when I tried them.
so I'd say if MS is selling more games than Nintendo, regardless of quality, then by the arguments here it must be a good thing.
Except, it appears they AREN'T selling more games than Nintendo. Most charts show a higher attach rate of games to the GC than to the Xbox. And most of Microsoft's first party games don't sell a whole lot (Kakuto Chojin got recalled, which didn't hurt Microsoft, really, as the game hadn't sold worth a shit anyway).
Add into this that the GC has over twice as many million plus selling games (9, with the appearance of a 10th with Mario Kart Double Dash!!'s current sales), worldwide, than the Xbox does (4), worldwide, and it looks like Microsoft isn't selling as many games as you think.
And Microsoft isn't making any money on the Xbox. The quarterly losses for its division are steadily above $100 million. Losing over $100 million per quarter certainly isn't making any money.
For example, it wasn't that long ago that Nintendo tried to sue cheat guide publishers for printing screenshots of their games so that they could monopolize the strategy guide market.
Wrong. They sued for uses of their trademarked logos, screenshots they released for news/review media (which is NOT the same as unofficial strategy guides), and in a very particular case that got Slashdotted (where Daily Radar's parent company, Imagine Media, was sued), the company used the Pokemon trading cards for their pics of the Pokemon, as well as using the actual trademarked Pokemon logo on the unnoficial book.
Funny thing is, when the Daily Radar thing happened, most/. people didn't read what was up, and instantly rallied behind the 'little guy' of Daily Radar (which Nintendo denied screenshots and other products because of their parent comapny's use of Pokemon stuff), and proclaimed Nintendo as the new Satan.
Unofficial stategy guides can be fine... but they need to make their own artwork, not use trademarked logos, etc. In the cases of suing unofficial strategy guide publishers, it is normally because they violate copyright/trademark laws, normally while the game company suing has their own official guide out, or licenses the properties to a publisher. Unofficial guides that rip off the properties steal sales from those actually licensed, and, as such, should be sued out of existance. If they use no screenshots, official artwork, trademarked logos, etc (IE make their own art (costs money), don't have released screenshots (have to make themselves), and use normal letters for trademarked names (people won't notice them)). then fine, but many of the 'unnoficial' guides did use such things without permission, and deserved to be sued.
While Nintendo claims that the proprietary GC disc size is to prevent piracy, the more likely reason (since piracy is as rampant now as it is for the other two systems)
Really? While I've heard that ISOs are found here and there, there's no way to replicate the media, or force a full sized burned DVD into a GC. Piracy is all about ease of use. To pirate GC games is a wee bit harder than the other two, and as such is nowhere near as widespread as PS2 and Xbox piracy.
is that Nintendo owns the manufacturing factory for the discs
Um, and Sony outsources for the PS2 (Sony is one of the largest DVD disk manufacturers in the world)? Or Microsoft for the Xbox's prorpietary DVD disks? How is this different for Nintendo, then? That's like saying it's wrong for Warner Bros. to have a DVD making factory or a CD music disk making factory for their respective divisions.
Game publishers don't press their own disks for any console. The consiole manufacturers do. This goes for the Xbox and PS2 as well. Sony and Microsoft own the factories that press their disks; yet its bad that Nintendo does?
Grow a brain.
they make more first party games than even Nintendo for their main console.
They release more Microsoft published games for their console. But, 90% of them suck a nut. Quanitity doesn't matter if the quality is shit, after all. But, please, by all means enjoy the XSN sports titles (although Top Spin is supposed to be good, the rest suck, and have since the console's launch), Azurik, Nightcaster, Kakuto Chojin, Kung Fu Chaos, Sneakers, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Whacked!, etc. The rest of us will simply realize the games suck and not think that the fact that just because Microsoft puts out more games for the Xbox, that that automatically makes them good games.
True, but some don't. In the case that the game case says it is progressive scan capable, but it doesn't ask, just hold down the B button when the GC starts up, it will then ask. Normally, after this first time asking, it will ask from then on (since it knows you have the component cables, presumably stored in the memory card save file for the game).
Slashdot Mirror
I wonder if uses it as a tax write off?
A mute function that does not work is actually not a mute function.
Mechassault has absolutely no way of muting anyone except for unplugging you headset, and that doesn't let you hear anyone at all.
The mute function in MechAssault is the exact same as the mute function in all Live games. Go to the player list from the pause menu, then choose them, and choose mute player.
It works fine in MechAssault, it is simply non-functional in Counter-Strike.
Try worldwide, not just in the US. The biggest percentile of those copies are in the US/Canada, yes, but the rest of the world has also bought quite a few copies (or got them bundled for free ala Australia).
I agree. Microsoft makes excellent mice and keyboards. It's just unfortunate that much of their user interface hardware is intrinsically tied to their software. All these buttons on my Microsoft Natural Keyboard for the WMP, calculator, etc. are pretty worthless if I try to use them on any other OS, or don't use other Microsoft software. In fact, on my keyboard, the only extra button that gets any use is the caculator one.
But, I don't use Internet Explorer, it actually crashes my OS thanks to a corrupted patch from Microsoft; I use Mozilla Firebird. I don't use Outlook Express, because it is an infector just waiting for a virus; I use Mozilla Thunderbird. I don't use Word, because it's just as prone to accidentally infecting my PC as Outlook and I don't feel like purpetuating Microsoft's monopoly in the Office Suite Market; I use OpenOffice.org and have had no problems with learning it (about 5 minutes, and I'm hardly a power user like many people on /.), or using it to the fullest of my needs. I don't use the WMP to play music; I use Sonique or WinAmp (depending on my mood). I only use the WMP to play movie files when they are in WMP-only file formats; otherwise I use anything else I possibly can (I have a lot of media players on here).
I'm also still running Windows 98 SE, not Windows XP; because I have no personal need for any Windows OS beyond what I have. And, since I don't use those programs (and other MS applications) on it, I don't have to worry about the forced upgrade cycle every time MS decides its time for people to switch so they see a huge rise in profits.
I'm picking up my first laptop soon. But, it isn't going to run Windows; It's going to be a Macintosh PowerBook (I found when using my friend's Mac OSX iBook that it was much nicer than Windows in every user respect). And, when I get to needing a new PC, I'm going to make it a Linux and Windows 98 SE (just for games) dual boot... unless I decide to get one of the bazillion Windows XP Pro pirated copies out there... but, I don't know if I'll even bother with them.
I'm sure the native people's of North and South America feel the same way in some respects.
After all, it's not like the Americas were completely unihabitted when the Europeans came over and stole and settled on the native people's land.
I'm American, White, and Half Jewish, with only the tiniest bit of Native American Indian (on my mother's side, my fathers grandparents were originally Jews that came from Russia in the 1920's) in me. Except for the tiny tiny bit of me, none of the originators of my family were born on this continent.
So, if you're American, I ask, are you worth protecting because of how our ancestors stole and settled on the Native American people's land?
Think about it before answering. America was built on the stealing of land, destruction of the native peoples, and rampant settling. In the eyes of the Zionist Jews, Israel was stolen from them by the non-Jewish people there, after the Roman Empire decided to spread the Jews out all over the world so they wouldn't all be located in what is now Israel. In their eyes, they are only taking back what was stolen from them in the first place.
The answer to who is more right than the other, in their case, is not for us to decide, especially by Anonymous Cowards on /. Both sides are right in some cases, and both sides are wrong in some cases; and that's about as good as it's going to currently get.
Actually, it's green, not black. Take a close look to see.
Actually, they need a whole new PC. Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 isn't compatible with other PCs that run Windows XP Professional.
A detailed piece with the quote from Microsoft's FAQ on WinXP Media Center 2004 about compatibility, as well as price ranges on the PCs/laptops compatible.
Which, you know, completely explains all the 12-16 year olds on Live games. Really. Listen to some of the people on there, doing most of the trash talking, and the most cursing just because they can. They're kids, and annoying brats at that.
Then comes along Counter-Strike on Xbox Live, where the goddamn mute function simply doesn't work, so you have to hear all the pre-teen and teend retards the entire time. I'm so glad I only rented that game; it's better on the PC anyway.
The Xbox, and Xbox Live doesn't cater to "the 18-44 year old male gamer crowd" any more than the GameCube caters to kids. If these were true, I'd never hear these annoying 12-16 year olds on XBL, and I wouldn't own a GameCube because I'm 29 with no kids of my own.
It's successful in the fact that it has gotten marketshare, yes. But since the launch of the Xbox to Setpember 30, 2003, the Home and Entertainment Division has LOST $2.135 BILLION dollars. It allowed the Home and Entertainment Division to eclipse MSN as the thing that loses Microsoft the most money.
So, while marketshare is good, The Xbox is hemmoraging money. MSN didn't lose that much money in under 2 years from launch.
MSN, however, seems to now be showing a profit. It made $58 million in profit last quarter, while it lost $147 million in the same quarter last year.
And, at the rate they're going, it never will be cost effective. In MS' first fiscal quarter (July 1, 2003- September 30, 2003) the Home and Entertainment Division, where the Xbox is, lost $273 million. Most of that was from the Xbox. In MS' last fiscal year (ended June 31 2003), the Home and Entertainment Division lost $990 million dollars; again, most of that from the Xbox. And in the previous fiscal year (ended June 31 2002) the Home and Entertainment Division lost $866 million; again, mostly from the Xbox. These figures easily found in Microsoft's SEC filings.
It will never become cost efficient at this rate.
Ironically, the division that normally loses the most money, besides the Xbox part of the Home and Entertainment Division, used to be MSN. But, in this last fiscal quarter it actually came out in the black, with $58 million in profit; compared to losing $147 million in the same quarter last year.
Maybe all those dumb butterfly ads actually worked.
DX:IW is in no way a bad game, but, it certainly isn't as good as its predecessor.
The first Deus Ex, in case you didn't know, had a lot more RPG elements in it, as well as being a FPS game. Experience points, skill building systems, etc., all made Deus Ex much more than a simple FPS game. If you ever played System Shock 2, Deus Ex was designed by the same people, and improved upon the greatness that was System Shock 2.
DX:IW got rid of the experience points, the skill system, the individual body part health, and actually got rid of of the more outdoor-type areas that permiated the original (which were great, even if they were smaller than they may have looked).
I still gave DX:IW an 8 out of 10. It's a very good game, overall. But, compared to the original, it just isn't quite the same sort of feeling as you go through it. The original Deus Ex is a 10 in my book, even on my shitty PC that barely runs it (more to do with the video card than anything else).
Oh, I forgot: She Kicks High...
While it's true the Xbox and others aren't monopoly positions now, the Xbox is their way into the living room where UltimateTV and MSN TV (formerly WebTV) failed miserably.
Considering the Xbox Music Mixer moves the Xbox away from being 'just a game console', and this new Media Center application will do so even more, it really is apparent that the Xbox is a trojan designed for Microsoft to be able to gain footholds, and to their hope control, in the living room.
Expect the Next Xbox to be a huge feature laden set top box, probably complete with UltimateTV and MSN TV capabilities, as well as even closer ties to connecting to Windows/Longhorn PCs. Games will end up being just part of the focus, instead of the main focus. They'll use the Xbox name to get it into homes where the Xbox already is, and hope to lock people into their control.
But, Camden's too small, really. What are you gonna do? Buy/sell the drugs for/to the surburban white kids from West Deptford, Wenonah, and Cherry Hill? Go knock over Village Thrift? Always end up at Our Lady of Lords Hospital when you die? Go knock over a concert at the Tweeter Center before it closes up at 11 PM? Burn down half the city on Mischief Night?
Try again. Plenty of PS2 games are made on CD-ROMs. Look at the underside (readable part) of the PS2 disks. If they're silver, they're DVD-ROMs, if they're blue, they're CD-ROMs.
Thus, the correct thing to say is: PSOne = CD-ROM PS2 = CD-ROM or DVD-ROM
It seems to come more from the non-gaming media than the gaming media.
Personally, I find this article from Time Magazine to be exceptionally funny. The first sentence of the second paragraph states: "But the company's latest console, the GameCube, has proved to be an unmitigated disaster, giving this holiday season the potential to become the Winter of Iwata's Discontent."
There's a few others here on Slashdot you can find, linking to the Washigton Post, and some others.
Gotta love people who don't have a clue about something writing about it...you know, like most posts on /.
Except that Microsoft, themselves, have pretty much said that the Xbox is a trojan, designed to get the Microsoft name into the living room. The Xbox is far more successful than their previous attempts at controlling the living room: Ultimate TV and WebTV (now MSN TV).
Look at the Xbox Music Mixer, which allows karoke use; file sharing of music and movie files from a PC and Xbox; etc. That's not meant for gaming in the least; but it is probably hoped to be the tojan that gets the Xbox into Japanese homes (where karoke is very popular).
But, the Xbox Music Mixer shows that Microsoft never intended the Xbox to be just a game machine, even though they originally said it was just a game machine. The Xbox is designed to be their gateway into controlling the 'Digital Entertainment Lifestyle' (hey, they coined the phrase, not me).
I fully expect the next Xbox to have Ultimate TV built in, as well as possibly MSN TV. Games will end up being the byproduct, not the main focus. The main focus will be in controlling the living room like they control the PC OS industry.
Xbox sales were -5% over last year, according to the article, and PS2 sales were nearly -33.3% over the same period last year, according ot the article. The GC sales were up almost 33.3% over last year.
But, a lot of XBL games do allow for system link games as well. Tunneling software allows you to play system linked games online. The XBL titles can also be played online through XBL.
I've heard, but haven't used to confirm, that some of the tunnels now allow the voice communicator to work as well.
Take an Xbox Live game with system link capabilities, set it up for system link, and play with someone online and able to use the voice communicator through a tunnel....and you have a Live game, being played online, but not on Live.
It may not be the same, but if the game supports both system link and Xbox Live, then according to how Microsoft wants people to play them online, going through tunnels is a no-no.
I don't know, though. I use Live, myself, not tunneling software, since the tunnels were genrally too laggy when I tried them.
Except, it appears they AREN'T selling more games than Nintendo. Most charts show a higher attach rate of games to the GC than to the Xbox. And most of Microsoft's first party games don't sell a whole lot (Kakuto Chojin got recalled, which didn't hurt Microsoft, really, as the game hadn't sold worth a shit anyway).
Add into this that the GC has over twice as many million plus selling games (9, with the appearance of a 10th with Mario Kart Double Dash!!'s current sales), worldwide, than the Xbox does (4), worldwide, and it looks like Microsoft isn't selling as many games as you think.
And Microsoft isn't making any money on the Xbox. The quarterly losses for its division are steadily above $100 million. Losing over $100 million per quarter certainly isn't making any money.
Wrong. They sued for uses of their trademarked logos, screenshots they released for news/review media (which is NOT the same as unofficial strategy guides), and in a very particular case that got Slashdotted (where Daily Radar's parent company, Imagine Media, was sued), the company used the Pokemon trading cards for their pics of the Pokemon, as well as using the actual trademarked Pokemon logo on the unnoficial book.
Funny thing is, when the Daily Radar thing happened, most /. people didn't read what was up, and instantly rallied behind the 'little guy' of Daily Radar (which Nintendo denied screenshots and other products because of their parent comapny's use of Pokemon stuff), and proclaimed Nintendo as the new Satan.
Unofficial stategy guides can be fine... but they need to make their own artwork, not use trademarked logos, etc. In the cases of suing unofficial strategy guide publishers, it is normally because they violate copyright/trademark laws, normally while the game company suing has their own official guide out, or licenses the properties to a publisher. Unofficial guides that rip off the properties steal sales from those actually licensed, and, as such, should be sued out of existance. If they use no screenshots, official artwork, trademarked logos, etc (IE make their own art (costs money), don't have released screenshots (have to make themselves), and use normal letters for trademarked names (people won't notice them)). then fine, but many of the 'unnoficial' guides did use such things without permission, and deserved to be sued.
While Nintendo claims that the proprietary GC disc size is to prevent piracy, the more likely reason (since piracy is as rampant now as it is for the other two systems)
Really? While I've heard that ISOs are found here and there, there's no way to replicate the media, or force a full sized burned DVD into a GC. Piracy is all about ease of use. To pirate GC games is a wee bit harder than the other two, and as such is nowhere near as widespread as PS2 and Xbox piracy.
is that Nintendo owns the manufacturing factory for the discs
Um, and Sony outsources for the PS2 (Sony is one of the largest DVD disk manufacturers in the world)? Or Microsoft for the Xbox's prorpietary DVD disks? How is this different for Nintendo, then? That's like saying it's wrong for Warner Bros. to have a DVD making factory or a CD music disk making factory for their respective divisions.
Game publishers don't press their own disks for any console. The consiole manufacturers do. This goes for the Xbox and PS2 as well. Sony and Microsoft own the factories that press their disks; yet its bad that Nintendo does? Grow a brain.
They release more Microsoft published games for their console. But, 90% of them suck a nut. Quanitity doesn't matter if the quality is shit, after all. But, please, by all means enjoy the XSN sports titles (although Top Spin is supposed to be good, the rest suck, and have since the console's launch), Azurik, Nightcaster, Kakuto Chojin, Kung Fu Chaos, Sneakers, Grabbed by the Ghoulies, Whacked!, etc. The rest of us will simply realize the games suck and not think that the fact that just because Microsoft puts out more games for the Xbox, that that automatically makes them good games.