I'm a 37 year old gamer, and sadly, what you say is true.
I went for about a year where I bought 3-4 games per month. Most of them I would put in for a while, and play for a few hours before I had to get on with my real life. The money part didn't bother me at all, it was just the lack of time that pissed me off.
Finally I wised up, and I've only bought 2 games in the past 6 months (I still played through the old ones). I bought Blackhawk Down, which I put about 45 minutes into before declaring it to be crap, and Burnout Revenge...which I just stopped playing 2 minutes ago because my wife wanted to watch a movie. But I'll get my money out of Burnout.
Sadly, the only way I would buy an Xbox 360 at launch is if Links 2006 (golf) was available. No...Tiger Woods doesn't cut it.
But it's a sad state of affairs to say that I would be willing to drop $600 on a golf game. There are kids out there who would give the left nut to use that money to buy a crapload of current generation stuff.
Youth is wasted on the young...and money is wasted on us old fucks.
I host my site on a commercial service, and previously I was stuck with using Access as my DB, unless I wanted to pay big SQL Server bucks. My site crashed 5 or 6 times a day because of the load on the database.
Finally my hosting service started to offer MySQL, for free...
My site stopped crashing, and now everything loads a lot faster. (I haven't converted the entire thing over to MySQL, but enough to stop the crashing.)
If MySQL were not free, I would not have converted. If it were not on Windows, I would not have converted.
But now I see it as a real possibility for use at work.
"How long until the UN and EU assert control over all of these inventions...and expect the United States to manufacture them for free, under the banner of human rights?"
Many programming jobs out there are basically for monkeys. Very little decision making, just a lot of coding.
A lot of us on the other hand get involved with the business aspect of what we do. The 'why's, the 'how's...all of that. When the program manager or programmer is part of the decision making team, it becomes a very skilled and valuable position.
And by the time you reach that level, you don't care about the language you use, the editor you use, the platform, or anything else. You just use whatever will work for the project.
An employment contract doesn't entitle you to anything more than the pay and benefits (if any) you agree upon. People can whine all they want about "this company makes tons of money..."
Sure, fine...buy stock. But just sitting on your ass in a chair all day doesn't mean that you deserve a cut.
The console whose biggest selling point is that it plays ALL previous Nintendo games?
Yes, the Revolution will have a new controller, but other than that we don't know much. I can only base my opinion on what is out there now- the Xbox vs. Gamecube. It really is the Apple ][ vs. Commodore 64 comparison...
Okay, I don't mean to be a jerk. (Which everyone knows means, "I am going to be a jerk..")
Looking at your username, I am guessing you are a proponent of FOSS.
I've been saying for years here on Slashdot, that FOSS is like shooting yourself in the foot. How a group of professionals ever got it in their head that it would be a good idea to give away the results of their labor for free...I don't know.
Personally, I subscribe to the, "Pay for software because it puts bread in my Viking oven and nice cars on my driveway" theory.
But if people really do believe in the idea that their labor isn't worth charging for (or they are morally against it..) that's fine.
Just don't complain to me when you can't afford to buy the product of someone else's labor who doesn't subscribe to the "I'll work for free" ideal.
But how much will the Xbox 360 cost when the other two consoles launch in the U.S.?
My guess (but I do have my head up my ass, and I like it there...) is that the 360 will get a decent discount when the less expensive revolution is launched.
They've already stated that their means to combat the PS3 was to launch Halo 3. Not a bad plan- go after Sony by attacking their (weak?) launch line-up. Go after Nintendo by attacking their potential drive for the cheap-o customers.
I bought my Xbox, and I wanted an extra controller for my daughter. Of course instead of buying a Controller 'S', she picked out some third party piece of crap...because it was orange.
I hated that controller. Later on I bought two more controllers and I would have Top Spin parties, 4 players. I always wound up with the crap controller because I didn't want to force someone else to play with it.
Finally I bought a new controller and got rid of the orange one. (Actually, I gave it to some poor sap who just bought an Xbox...just passing the problem on to him.)
Not only is a bad controller not worth the money...it keeps you from buying a good one.
And if I opened the Xbox 360 box and saw an NES I would be pissed.
Of course computers are getting more powerful, and cheaper all the time, so a direct comparison isn't right.
In 1983 or 1984 I bought a Commodore 64. I paid $99 for it at K-Mart. Add in a monochrome monitor for $150 and I had an awesome computer for only $250.
According to the inflation calculator, that would be about $467 in today's money. I *could* go out and buy a computer for $467, and it would be decent- sufficient, and possibly fairly good.
But I don't want that computer. I want an LCD screen, I want lots of RAM, I want a large hard-drive and a DVD burner.
I don't want a modernized version of the NES, with some cheap light-gun and a cartridge based media that doesn't work unless I slam it in 'just right.'
I want the PLUS option, something a little more. The Apple ][...not the Commodore 64. I'll take the $400 Xbox 360 over a $250 Revolution any day.
And besides...the Xbox 360 will already have one price reduction by the time the Revolution comes out...so they won't be cleaning up too much...
I bought the limited edition- which is rare for me, because I don't usually go for that type of thing...but in this case I was so hyped up about Halo that I REALLY needed that DVD that came with it.
The DVD was pretty crappy...it is only the metal case that makes me think I didn't throw the extra $10 away.
Then again, Microsoft is a corporation (as is Apple, and Google). They are trying to make money. The re-organization is really a financial strategy.
And in that case, is Apple really one of their nearest competitors? Microsoft's quarterly reports show that it PROFITS more than Apple SELLS. And that is including all of Apple's hardware.
I really don't think that Microsoft aspires to be the next Apple...or Google...or Linux...COMBINED.
Nothing brings out the real jerks like taking a few dollars from them. Some people really do believe that when they are purchasing software that they are not just buying what you currently offer, but that they have a right to every possible upgrade for the next 10 years. And if you don't deliver, then they will go on and on about the $35 they spent 'for this piece of crap.'
That is where the software subscription comes in. A lot of people (especially here on Slashdot) don't like the idea of the subscription model. But, they need to realize that customers come in all different shapes and sizes. And a subscription license (yearly fee, free upgrades) takes away a lot of your potential customer service problems.
Because it is always a small percentage of your customers (the problems) that take up the greatest amount of your time. I think the rule of thumb always ends up "10% of your customers will take up 90% of your time." So if you can somehow get those people off your back, you just saved a lot of problems...
And telling them, "It will be in the next release, and you'll get that for FREE. (as part of your yearly subscription...)" Would solve a lot of your problems. But if they had to pay for the next release...they'd have a fit.
Yeah, Microsoft wouldn't want to dishonor the Japanese gamer by releasing the console a few weeks later...in a country that still for the most part says it has no interest in a non-Japanese console.
They SHOULD snub Europe...just to screw them over for the support they gave the Xbox already.
I love the business advice given by geeks on Slashdot. The 'screw over your current customers to make your potential customers happy' is something that they don't teach in regular business school. Maybe business schools have it all wrong...they *should* be listening to the techies...
I did a salary.com search for my position in my area. Their report lists the pay as $90,000+. That is a complete joke, because there is only one employer that would hire at that level- and I already work for them and know how much they pay. (at least $20,000 less).
Slashdot Mirror
I'm a 37 year old gamer, and sadly, what you say is true.
I went for about a year where I bought 3-4 games per month. Most of them I would put in for a while, and play for a few hours before I had to get on with my real life. The money part didn't bother me at all, it was just the lack of time that pissed me off.
Finally I wised up, and I've only bought 2 games in the past 6 months (I still played through the old ones). I bought Blackhawk Down, which I put about 45 minutes into before declaring it to be crap, and Burnout Revenge...which I just stopped playing 2 minutes ago because my wife wanted to watch a movie. But I'll get my money out of Burnout.
Sadly, the only way I would buy an Xbox 360 at launch is if Links 2006 (golf) was available. No...Tiger Woods doesn't cut it.
But it's a sad state of affairs to say that I would be willing to drop $600 on a golf game. There are kids out there who would give the left nut to use that money to buy a crapload of current generation stuff.
Youth is wasted on the young...and money is wasted on us old fucks.
Yes, Windows brought MySQL to me.
I host my site on a commercial service, and previously I was stuck with using Access as my DB, unless I wanted to pay big SQL Server bucks. My site crashed 5 or 6 times a day because of the load on the database.
Finally my hosting service started to offer MySQL, for free...
My site stopped crashing, and now everything loads a lot faster. (I haven't converted the entire thing over to MySQL, but enough to stop the crashing.)
If MySQL were not free, I would not have converted. If it were not on Windows, I would not have converted.
But now I see it as a real possibility for use at work.
Actually, I think the real question is:
"How long until the UN and EU assert control over all of these inventions...and expect the United States to manufacture them for free, under the banner of human rights?"
That's what I wonder...
But why would an MP3 Player company release new computers?
Try Burnout (3 or Revenge) online.
Your friends are schmucks if they aren't even willing to try it.
Burnout Revenge does have a nice Halo 2-like ladder system. So you play against other people who are somewhere in the same realm as you skill-wise.
Actually, in the review when Zonk says that this 'isn't really a racing game' I totally agree with him.
I tell people it's a lot like Halo...but with cars.
I'm glad you used the modifier 'most.'
Many programming jobs out there are basically for monkeys. Very little decision making, just a lot of coding.
A lot of us on the other hand get involved with the business aspect of what we do. The 'why's, the 'how's...all of that. When the program manager or programmer is part of the decision making team, it becomes a very skilled and valuable position.
And by the time you reach that level, you don't care about the language you use, the editor you use, the platform, or anything else. You just use whatever will work for the project.
I agree wholeheartedly.
An employment contract doesn't entitle you to anything more than the pay and benefits (if any) you agree upon. People can whine all they want about "this company makes tons of money..."
Sure, fine...buy stock. But just sitting on your ass in a chair all day doesn't mean that you deserve a cut.
I'm surprised that Fisher-Price isn't doing more to help this problem. Just think of all the potential customers they are losing.
Tobacco companies too...how can you keep life-long customers if they die before they even start smoking.
In the name of capitalism, we should do more.
Not if they just use the ATM...
Hmm...what is more fun- sex toys or office equipment?
Hmmm...which one is more of a re-hash?
The console whose biggest selling point is that it plays ALL previous Nintendo games?
Yes, the Revolution will have a new controller, but other than that we don't know much. I can only base my opinion on what is out there now- the Xbox vs. Gamecube. It really is the Apple ][ vs. Commodore 64 comparison...
Okay, I don't mean to be a jerk. (Which everyone knows means, "I am going to be a jerk..")
Looking at your username, I am guessing you are a proponent of FOSS.
I've been saying for years here on Slashdot, that FOSS is like shooting yourself in the foot. How a group of professionals ever got it in their head that it would be a good idea to give away the results of their labor for free...I don't know.
Personally, I subscribe to the, "Pay for software because it puts bread in my Viking oven and nice cars on my driveway" theory.
But if people really do believe in the idea that their labor isn't worth charging for (or they are morally against it..) that's fine.
Just don't complain to me when you can't afford to buy the product of someone else's labor who doesn't subscribe to the "I'll work for free" ideal.
But how much will the Xbox 360 cost when the other two consoles launch in the U.S.?
My guess (but I do have my head up my ass, and I like it there...) is that the 360 will get a decent discount when the less expensive revolution is launched.
They've already stated that their means to combat the PS3 was to launch Halo 3. Not a bad plan- go after Sony by attacking their (weak?) launch line-up. Go after Nintendo by attacking their potential drive for the cheap-o customers.
Having a crappy controller is a problem...
I bought my Xbox, and I wanted an extra controller for my daughter. Of course instead of buying a Controller 'S', she picked out some third party piece of crap...because it was orange.
I hated that controller. Later on I bought two more controllers and I would have Top Spin parties, 4 players. I always wound up with the crap controller because I didn't want to force someone else to play with it.
Finally I bought a new controller and got rid of the orange one. (Actually, I gave it to some poor sap who just bought an Xbox...just passing the problem on to him.)
Not only is a bad controller not worth the money...it keeps you from buying a good one.
And if I opened the Xbox 360 box and saw an NES I would be pissed.
Of course computers are getting more powerful, and cheaper all the time, so a direct comparison isn't right.
In 1983 or 1984 I bought a Commodore 64. I paid $99 for it at K-Mart. Add in a monochrome monitor for $150 and I had an awesome computer for only $250.
According to the inflation calculator, that would be about $467 in today's money. I *could* go out and buy a computer for $467, and it would be decent- sufficient, and possibly fairly good.
But I don't want that computer. I want an LCD screen, I want lots of RAM, I want a large hard-drive and a DVD burner.
I don't want a modernized version of the NES, with some cheap light-gun and a cartridge based media that doesn't work unless I slam it in 'just right.'
I want the PLUS option, something a little more. The Apple ][...not the Commodore 64. I'll take the $400 Xbox 360 over a $250 Revolution any day.
And besides...the Xbox 360 will already have one price reduction by the time the Revolution comes out...so they won't be cleaning up too much...
I bought the limited edition- which is rare for me, because I don't usually go for that type of thing...but in this case I was so hyped up about Halo that I REALLY needed that DVD that came with it.
The DVD was pretty crappy...it is only the metal case that makes me think I didn't throw the extra $10 away.
Maybe $9, but not all 10.
Then again, Microsoft is a corporation (as is Apple, and Google). They are trying to make money. The re-organization is really a financial strategy.
And in that case, is Apple really one of their nearest competitors? Microsoft's quarterly reports show that it PROFITS more than Apple SELLS. And that is including all of Apple's hardware.
I really don't think that Microsoft aspires to be the next Apple...or Google...or Linux...COMBINED.
You make a very good point at the end....
Nothing brings out the real jerks like taking a few dollars from them. Some people really do believe that when they are purchasing software that they are not just buying what you currently offer, but that they have a right to every possible upgrade for the next 10 years. And if you don't deliver, then they will go on and on about the $35 they spent 'for this piece of crap.'
That is where the software subscription comes in. A lot of people (especially here on Slashdot) don't like the idea of the subscription model. But, they need to realize that customers come in all different shapes and sizes. And a subscription license (yearly fee, free upgrades) takes away a lot of your potential customer service problems.
Because it is always a small percentage of your customers (the problems) that take up the greatest amount of your time. I think the rule of thumb always ends up "10% of your customers will take up 90% of your time." So if you can somehow get those people off your back, you just saved a lot of problems...
And telling them, "It will be in the next release, and you'll get that for FREE. (as part of your yearly subscription...)" Would solve a lot of your problems. But if they had to pay for the next release...they'd have a fit.
My console (Xbox) is my primary DVD player.
Why mess around with two devices? The Xbox is a fairly decent (interlaced only) DVD player that will actually play all of my scratched DVDs.
Hmm...
Was that message fake engrish, real engrish, or just a completely illiterate native english speaker?
Yeah, Microsoft wouldn't want to dishonor the Japanese gamer by releasing the console a few weeks later...in a country that still for the most part says it has no interest in a non-Japanese console.
They SHOULD snub Europe...just to screw them over for the support they gave the Xbox already.
I love the business advice given by geeks on Slashdot. The 'screw over your current customers to make your potential customers happy' is something that they don't teach in regular business school. Maybe business schools have it all wrong...they *should* be listening to the techies...
Are you kidding?
If every claim on Slashdot had to be substantiated, and proven...we'd all sit around doing research, and creating bibliographies.
This isn't a peer-reviewed publication. We don't need to prove anything.
Especially to an anonymous coward.
(By the way- I know that AC. And his mom sleeps with anonymous men she meets in chat rooms.)
Absolutely...correct. Yes...I agree.
If you use Microsoft products at all, then using the entire 'vertical solution' is a good way to go.
It would be the same if you went with an all Apple solution - or a LAMP solution.
Who the heck thought that the cole-slaw approach was a good one?
I did a salary.com search for my position in my area. Their report lists the pay as $90,000+. That is a complete joke, because there is only one employer that would hire at that level- and I already work for them and know how much they pay. (at least $20,000 less).