I don't know if they have the whole thing done yet, but what they have so far looks like it took an insane amount of time.
They have a page saying that there will be real-life videos in the future- I hope they can keep up the quality, and move a step or two beyond Power Rangers.
How is it that they find time to do this stuff, and it seems like all I can do is come home, and make dinner? Oh yeah...I play video games..
I thought the big complaint was that Microsoft could produce the Xbox at a loss because of their monopolistic position. They could set aside the idea of profit now, with the hope of a bigger return in the future (domination).
Maybe that isn't the conspiracy theory that would fit with this particular discussion. Need to look deeper into the X-files (hmm..Xbox, Xfiles). Ever notice that the smoking/cancer man combs his hair the same way as Bill Gates? Must pursue that thread for the next anti-Microsoft rant.
I had this game for the Xbox also- and I hated it.
The good thing is, it is easy to cancel your subscription. With the 2 month free offer, he shouldn't have to pay a dime.
Call 1-800-4MY-XBOX
Hit option #3 from the first menu, then follow the rest. You need to talk to an operator who will verify your name, phone number, address, etc. It will take about 5 minutes total.
Walgreens corporation may be doing well- but their method of scatter-gun building sucks.
They can afford to open new stores, see if they work out, and if not- close them.
This might work good for them- maybe 1/2 of the stores make it, and the other half close. Possibly this makes good business sense. But when you live in an actual 'neighborhood', or small town, it can really be a blight.
I live in a small town now, and it is surprising how many national chains come and go- restaurants, pharmacies, hardware stores, etc. The town I live in just isn't big enough to support some of these businesses. But, I think they look at a map, and like our centralized location, so they decide it is a good place to build. Do we really need an Applebees for every 60 miles of highway?
I've got different opinions on it though. For instance, the Walgreens example- they 'ruined' part of the neighborhood by putting in what is now an empty building.
On the other hand, there is a Standard Brands (or Sherwin Williams, don't remember, but it starts with an 'S') paint store in town. Not a franchise, but a corporate owned store. It's been there a few years. They don't do crap for business- but the corporate office keeps paying the 5 or 6 employees each month. Good, that means money is coming from out of town, and being deposited in our fair city. This is good for us. I've talked to the manager- he makes a decent salary, but is always worried that they will close the store because of lack of sales. This store went into an existing building- so they won't be leaving their corporate litter of shoddy cheap buildings when they leave.
The town I live in is small, but it is thriving. We have an economy based on agriculture and we are a bedroom community for the employees working at a nearby university. Somehow we do support two Starbucks though (and even more oddly, an EB Games, a Gamestop and a Gamecrazy...how long will that last?), and they are always crowded. But, someday if they try to put a Gap store in, I don't think the jeans/flannel/cowboy hats crowd will be rushing in to buy black turtlenecks. Besides, who will work there- yeah, the 'Almond Queen' used to live here, but she moved on...
Lego could probably be a very profitable company for a long, long time. All they need to do is sell plastic blocks (which they price very high). Their move of getting rid of the electronics, tie-ins, etc is a good one. I wonder if they will dump the theme parks too.
20 years ago, someone at Lego thought that they should be a huge powerhouse company, with their hands in everything. Why not just be a medium sized company, making a few million dollars of profit every year with your core business?
Walgreens pharmacy did a similar thing. It seemed like suddenly every single corner had a Walgreens on it- everywhere you looked, another frickin Walgreens. Now, craploads of them have gone out of business, and the corner is left with a VERY cheap building. They didn't do themselves, or anyone else any good by over-expanding. (My old neighborhood had an awesome coffee shop that leased a corner building. Eventually, the landlord sold the corner lot, the coffee shop went out of business, and nice shiny new Walgreens was built. 2 years later, it is an empty building, where once my favorite coffee shop, with a fireplace even, stood.)
What does that have to do with Legos? Over expansion- the urge to be big, instead of concentrating on what works for you.
That's because they want you to buy the next Medal of Honor update- not Doom III. EA Games would actually see Doom III as competition to some of their games.
Interestingly, another similarly named company, EB Games may want you to know a more accurate date- so they can sell more copies of Doom III, and share in the profits with the game designers, publishers, etc.
Just yesterday I was talking to a co-worker about the difference between Xbox and Playstation 2.
Yes, the Playstation 2 has tons more games, but I really am not interested in most of them. So the library of games that *I* want is very near equal. If the game box has a picture of someone with very large eyes, and a choppy hair-cut, chances are I don't want to play the game. Nothing to do with xenophobia- everything to do with cultural tastes.
I would much rather play NBA Street than Pokeman. Halo over Final Fantasy, Crimson Skies over (insert some funky Japanese game that I wouldn't understand here).
Somehow the French seem to put out some games I like too- I think it has to do with their Canadian ties. Or the same alphabet as us, or something.
I've tried Japanese games- and maybe I just don't get some of the nuances, or something like that. But I enjoy when my player characters is large, and kills things violently (not a game, but a good idea for one). I don't want to pretend that I am Spritle from Speed Racer.
And I've tried sushi- many times..even pretended to like it for a while- but when it comes down to it, it just isn't my thing.
If they added these features on day 1- they would make the Xbox more complex, and more difficult to support. If there were problems, they would have opened themselves up to a huge shitstorm of negative reviews.
They would have spent money making sure everything worked- possibly delaying the Xbox launch.
Consoles are supposed to 'just work'- and the only way to really make that happen, is to have a tightly controlled environment. (yes, I know there are occasional crashes...)
Microsoft is giving a lot of their customers what they want. The customers they find valuable at least.
If you are looking for DivX, XviD, RealPlayer, Quicktime, OGG/Vorbis, AAC, OGM, Matroska, SRT/VobSub subtitles etc etc etc, are you really one of their valued customers- or did you maybe just buy some of their stuff and mod it?
In a way that many people here might find stomach churning, I'm a Microsoft customers. I own an Xbox, and about 30 legitimate games. 2 Windows computers, with XP/Office (one Media Center edition). I use SQL Server at work...etc, etc, blah blah blah.
I also don't give a flying fuck about a single media format you mentioned, other than Quicktime. I've got my music on Windows Media Player, my videos (movies) are all stored on their original DVDs- my home movies are stored in a.wmv format.
I don't mind at all if their products don't support those other format- because I don't use them. I would guess that the average person who stores their media in an OGG/Vorbis format does NOT purchase Microsoft products, and therefore, Microsoft would be wasting their time trying to support those people. (I don't think there would be a big rush to buy the products if they were available either)
This was not meant to be a rant- I just think that Microsoft IS supporting their customers here. They make my life easier by making all this crap work together as easily as possible. Most of us don't need it to support everything under the sun- just what WE use.
A game does not need to be an Xbox exclusive to be a credit to the Xbox.
Just about every single multi-console game looks/plays best on the Xbox.
KOTOR is multi-platform- but the other platform is Windows. Nintendo can still have an exclusive, it if runs on GBA and GCN.
Well, I guess that makes me happy I don't own a Gamecube.
Basically, you are saying that Nintendo should not do everything they can to support the *current* generation, but make people wait, with bated breath, for the next generation. So they can sell more of those.
I'd be pissed if I owned a Gamecube, and I thought this was their motivation for coming out with a racing game without simple on-line support. I'd prefer to think it was just incompetence.
Well, I better get in a few more games of Top Spin, or Crimson Skies, before everyone else wises up to this.
It is far, far better to play the same computer AI over and over again. So I can learn every nuance of 'okay, there will be a guy over here, and if I throw a grenade right THERE I will kill him.'
Or better yet, I will devote myself to playing single player, so I can be like that guy who can beat Mario Brothers in like 8 minutes.
Let's say every generation had 3 children. You would have over 100,000 great^9 grandchildren, you would really have to put out a public broadcast to get your message out.
(for those who think it is more like 20,000- please think harder)
All my original numbers are round, except for the '1'.
They say this is safe, and secure. The armed guards, video cameras, etc, aren't there in case of a flood, or to keep a group of feral cats from taking up residence- they are there to keep people out.
American companies feel much safer when their data is being stored in the United States. A lot of this information is sensitive- not just the 'I want to pass it on to my children' stuff.
These companies don't want to store it in a country where something like a coup is possible. Then the local population may go plunder the big safe that the Americans use to store their information. "They use our sacred land to store their money, which they made off the sweat from our worker's backs, and now they hire our countrymen to guard it, and they expect them to give their lives to guard their money. Let's go take it!"
That scenario, no matter how far-fetched, would not go over well when the board is trying to figure out a place to put important stuff. They'd feel a whole lot better about putting it in Utah, next to the Mormon's records of in-breeding.
As the article says- it would be amazing if the Xbox was not a success in Korea, due to their huge broadband penetration. (Really- why do we use the word 'penetration' here?)
From the article, it was difficult to determine if Xbox Live is already up and running in Korea- I think 'yes' (with 4,000 subscribers).
I wonder how much the service costs in comparison to the U.S.- is it the equivalent of $50?
Do they like games where you fly airplanes, and shoot at each other? Or tennis? Do they know the concept of a voodoo doll?
You know what the killer title would probably be for the South Korean market- the one they could really get into?
Freakin' Missle Command...If I was Microsoft, I'd release that one right away.
I have some relatives who are in the very-rich category ($100 million plus)
I do not envy them at all. I'm not saying that I wouldn't like to be rich, but it is not the be-all and end-all. I am not suggesting that you feel you are better than the rest of us, or you feel that being rich is the most important thing- this just seemed like a good place to post this.
My rich relatives:
- Spend(and spent) most of their lives thinking about money. Thinking about how to make more- where I feel that even a tenth of what they have is 'enough'. This is one of the primary reasons they are rich, and I am not (luck and talent being others). Being rich is their primary desire. (Me? Good sex, comfortable shoes, and a warm place to go to the bathroom)
- Still get sick, have colds, and get constipated. Having really good doctors just gives them better access to pharmaceuticals. But when you are lying in bed feeling miserable, having a shit-load of money really doesn't help.
- They watch the same crappy TV shows, but on bigger screens.
- Read the same books, see the same movies, play the same video games. Once again, they may do it a few weeks sooner than me, and in nicer places, but in the end it is all the same.
- They see more live entertainment. Most of it, I hate, and the only thrill of going with them for the yearly 'Nutcracker Suite' performance is checking out the other people in the audience.
- They go on rocking vacations, and spend most of their time complaining about bad service, bad food, etc. I go on the same vacation (or on my own crappy vacations), and think everything is fantastic. I enjoy it much more. Their money just raises their expectations much higher.
- They are afraid to die. Hell, with all that money, dying would seem like a real waste. "But I haven't spent all of it yet!" I've never met people who feared death more than any very rich people. Why not just enjoy life now?
So- I don't hate rich people. I wouldn't mind being rich, but it isn't my dream. I'd love to be able to quit working, but then again, I get bored on a long 5-day weekend. So what the hell do I want...I guess it all comes back to the good sex, comfortable shoes thing...
These are just my own ramblings- I was not the intial person with the 'eat the rich' attitude.
Slashdot Mirror
True-
Just about any game that is multi-console will look best on the Xbox.
But, just about any game that is multi-console will look worse on an Xbox, than an exclusive title will.
Sony is whining about stuff that all of the consoles experience- they're just pissed because it always looks the worst on their system.
I don't know if they have the whole thing done yet, but what they have so far looks like it took an insane amount of time.
They have a page saying that there will be real-life videos in the future- I hope they can keep up the quality, and move a step or two beyond Power Rangers.
How is it that they find time to do this stuff, and it seems like all I can do is come home, and make dinner? Oh yeah...I play video games..
I thought the big complaint was that Microsoft could produce the Xbox at a loss because of their monopolistic position. They could set aside the idea of profit now, with the hope of a bigger return in the future (domination).
Maybe that isn't the conspiracy theory that would fit with this particular discussion. Need to look deeper into the X-files (hmm..Xbox, Xfiles). Ever notice that the smoking/cancer man combs his hair the same way as Bill Gates? Must pursue that thread for the next anti-Microsoft rant.
I had this game for the Xbox also- and I hated it.
The good thing is, it is easy to cancel your subscription. With the 2 month free offer, he shouldn't have to pay a dime.
Call 1-800-4MY-XBOX
Hit option #3 from the first menu, then follow the rest. You need to talk to an operator who will verify your name, phone number, address, etc. It will take about 5 minutes total.
Okay- maybe I am a moron...or I simply don't understand the setup they had there.
It seems like the Valve/Steam stuff had to use the Internet to get out, and download the Counterstrike stuff.
But couldn't the other games just use internal networks, not attached to the outside, and their own servers?
A few times at work we've used our development servers (completeley isolated from the rest of the world) to run Americas Army games. No cheaters!
Walgreens corporation may be doing well- but their method of scatter-gun building sucks.
They can afford to open new stores, see if they work out, and if not- close them.
This might work good for them- maybe 1/2 of the stores make it, and the other half close. Possibly this makes good business sense. But when you live in an actual 'neighborhood', or small town, it can really be a blight.
I live in a small town now, and it is surprising how many national chains come and go- restaurants, pharmacies, hardware stores, etc. The town I live in just isn't big enough to support some of these businesses. But, I think they look at a map, and like our centralized location, so they decide it is a good place to build. Do we really need an Applebees for every 60 miles of highway?
I've got different opinions on it though. For instance, the Walgreens example- they 'ruined' part of the neighborhood by putting in what is now an empty building.
On the other hand, there is a Standard Brands (or Sherwin Williams, don't remember, but it starts with an 'S') paint store in town. Not a franchise, but a corporate owned store. It's been there a few years. They don't do crap for business- but the corporate office keeps paying the 5 or 6 employees each month. Good, that means money is coming from out of town, and being deposited in our fair city. This is good for us. I've talked to the manager- he makes a decent salary, but is always worried that they will close the store because of lack of sales. This store went into an existing building- so they won't be leaving their corporate litter of shoddy cheap buildings when they leave.
The town I live in is small, but it is thriving. We have an economy based on agriculture and we are a bedroom community for the employees working at a nearby university. Somehow we do support two Starbucks though (and even more oddly, an EB Games, a Gamestop and a Gamecrazy...how long will that last?), and they are always crowded. But, someday if they try to put a Gap store in, I don't think the jeans/flannel/cowboy hats crowd will be rushing in to buy black turtlenecks. Besides, who will work there- yeah, the 'Almond Queen' used to live here, but she moved on...
Lego could probably be a very profitable company for a long, long time. All they need to do is sell plastic blocks (which they price very high). Their move of getting rid of the electronics, tie-ins, etc is a good one. I wonder if they will dump the theme parks too.
20 years ago, someone at Lego thought that they should be a huge powerhouse company, with their hands in everything. Why not just be a medium sized company, making a few million dollars of profit every year with your core business?
Walgreens pharmacy did a similar thing. It seemed like suddenly every single corner had a Walgreens on it- everywhere you looked, another frickin Walgreens. Now, craploads of them have gone out of business, and the corner is left with a VERY cheap building. They didn't do themselves, or anyone else any good by over-expanding. (My old neighborhood had an awesome coffee shop that leased a corner building. Eventually, the landlord sold the corner lot, the coffee shop went out of business, and nice shiny new Walgreens was built. 2 years later, it is an empty building, where once my favorite coffee shop, with a fireplace even, stood.)
What does that have to do with Legos? Over expansion- the urge to be big, instead of concentrating on what works for you.
That's because they want you to buy the next Medal of Honor update- not Doom III. EA Games would actually see Doom III as competition to some of their games.
Interestingly, another similarly named company, EB Games may want you to know a more accurate date- so they can sell more copies of Doom III, and share in the profits with the game designers, publishers, etc.
Except I have *tried* a lot of these games- I just don't like them.
Some people don't like sports games, some people don't like FPS. I just don't enjoy the Japanese RPGs...
I agree wholeheartedly.
Just yesterday I was talking to a co-worker about the difference between Xbox and Playstation 2.
Yes, the Playstation 2 has tons more games, but I really am not interested in most of them. So the library of games that *I* want is very near equal. If the game box has a picture of someone with very large eyes, and a choppy hair-cut, chances are I don't want to play the game. Nothing to do with xenophobia- everything to do with cultural tastes.
I would much rather play NBA Street than Pokeman. Halo over Final Fantasy, Crimson Skies over (insert some funky Japanese game that I wouldn't understand here).
Somehow the French seem to put out some games I like too- I think it has to do with their Canadian ties. Or the same alphabet as us, or something.
I've tried Japanese games- and maybe I just don't get some of the nuances, or something like that. But I enjoy when my player characters is large, and kills things violently (not a game, but a good idea for one). I don't want to pretend that I am Spritle from Speed Racer.
And I've tried sushi- many times..even pretended to like it for a while- but when it comes down to it, it just isn't my thing.
Adding this capability does cost money-
Support
If they added these features on day 1- they would make the Xbox more complex, and more difficult to support. If there were problems, they would have opened themselves up to a huge shitstorm of negative reviews.
They would have spent money making sure everything worked- possibly delaying the Xbox launch.
Consoles are supposed to 'just work'- and the only way to really make that happen, is to have a tightly controlled environment. (yes, I know there are occasional crashes...)
Xbox
Microsoft is giving a lot of their customers what they want. The customers they find valuable at least.
.wmv format.
If you are looking for DivX, XviD, RealPlayer, Quicktime, OGG/Vorbis, AAC, OGM, Matroska, SRT/VobSub subtitles etc etc etc, are you really one of their valued customers- or did you maybe just buy some of their stuff and mod it?
In a way that many people here might find stomach churning, I'm a Microsoft customers. I own an Xbox, and about 30 legitimate games. 2 Windows computers, with XP/Office (one Media Center edition). I use SQL Server at work...etc, etc, blah blah blah.
I also don't give a flying fuck about a single media format you mentioned, other than Quicktime. I've got my music on Windows Media Player, my videos (movies) are all stored on their original DVDs- my home movies are stored in a
I don't mind at all if their products don't support those other format- because I don't use them. I would guess that the average person who stores their media in an OGG/Vorbis format does NOT purchase Microsoft products, and therefore, Microsoft would be wasting their time trying to support those people. (I don't think there would be a big rush to buy the products if they were available either)
This was not meant to be a rant- I just think that Microsoft IS supporting their customers here. They make my life easier by making all this crap work together as easily as possible. Most of us don't need it to support everything under the sun- just what WE use.
Well, it's only $50. The $70 is the starter kit that comes with a headset, and MechAssault.
Yes, it is worth the $50.
Just like cable (or satellite) TV is worth paying for (for a lot of people) even though you can get stuff free over the airwaves.
Actually, if we want to get technical...
Yes, games do run on both systems.
They even have a connector cable
But of course, I meant the names of the game were the same.
A game does not need to be an Xbox exclusive to be a credit to the Xbox. Just about every single multi-console game looks/plays best on the Xbox. KOTOR is multi-platform- but the other platform is Windows. Nintendo can still have an exclusive, it if runs on GBA and GCN.
I agree- (although you may have had different things in mind).
I had an N64, and I hated it. Probably my least favorite game console ever. After that, it would be difficult for me to go back to Nintendo.
Well, I guess that makes me happy I don't own a Gamecube.
Basically, you are saying that Nintendo should not do everything they can to support the *current* generation, but make people wait, with bated breath, for the next generation. So they can sell more of those.
I'd be pissed if I owned a Gamecube, and I thought this was their motivation for coming out with a racing game without simple on-line support. I'd prefer to think it was just incompetence.
Well, I better get in a few more games of Top Spin, or Crimson Skies, before everyone else wises up to this.
It is far, far better to play the same computer AI over and over again. So I can learn every nuance of 'okay, there will be a guy over here, and if I throw a grenade right THERE I will kill him.'
Or better yet, I will devote myself to playing single player, so I can be like that guy who can beat Mario Brothers in like 8 minutes.
Mario Bros. Movies
Playing against humans on-line is just stupid! Why would I want to play a game against something as unpredictable as a people?
Let's say every generation had 3 children. You would have over 100,000 great^9 grandchildren, you would really have to put out a public broadcast to get your message out.
(for those who think it is more like 20,000- please think harder)
All my original numbers are round, except for the '1'.
They say this is safe, and secure. The armed guards, video cameras, etc, aren't there in case of a flood, or to keep a group of feral cats from taking up residence- they are there to keep people out.
American companies feel much safer when their data is being stored in the United States. A lot of this information is sensitive- not just the 'I want to pass it on to my children' stuff.
These companies don't want to store it in a country where something like a coup is possible. Then the local population may go plunder the big safe that the Americans use to store their information. "They use our sacred land to store their money, which they made off the sweat from our worker's backs, and now they hire our countrymen to guard it, and they expect them to give their lives to guard their money. Let's go take it!"
That scenario, no matter how far-fetched, would not go over well when the board is trying to figure out a place to put important stuff. They'd feel a whole lot better about putting it in Utah, next to the Mormon's records of in-breeding.
As the article says- it would be amazing if the Xbox was not a success in Korea, due to their huge broadband penetration. (Really- why do we use the word 'penetration' here?)
From the article, it was difficult to determine if Xbox Live is already up and running in Korea- I think 'yes' (with 4,000 subscribers).
I wonder how much the service costs in comparison to the U.S.- is it the equivalent of $50?
Do they like games where you fly airplanes, and shoot at each other? Or tennis? Do they know the concept of a voodoo doll?
You know what the killer title would probably be for the South Korean market- the one they could really get into?
Freakin' Missle Command...If I was Microsoft, I'd release that one right away.
I'm not rich- but I'm not poor either.
I have some relatives who are in the very-rich category ($100 million plus)
I do not envy them at all. I'm not saying that I wouldn't like to be rich, but it is not the be-all and end-all. I am not suggesting that you feel you are better than the rest of us, or you feel that being rich is the most important thing- this just seemed like a good place to post this.
My rich relatives:
- Spend(and spent) most of their lives thinking about money. Thinking about how to make more- where I feel that even a tenth of what they have is 'enough'. This is one of the primary reasons they are rich, and I am not (luck and talent being others). Being rich is their primary desire. (Me? Good sex, comfortable shoes, and a warm place to go to the bathroom)
- Still get sick, have colds, and get constipated. Having really good doctors just gives them better access to pharmaceuticals. But when you are lying in bed feeling miserable, having a shit-load of money really doesn't help.
- They watch the same crappy TV shows, but on bigger screens.
- Read the same books, see the same movies, play the same video games. Once again, they may do it a few weeks sooner than me, and in nicer places, but in the end it is all the same.
- They see more live entertainment. Most of it, I hate, and the only thrill of going with them for the yearly 'Nutcracker Suite' performance is checking out the other people in the audience.
- They go on rocking vacations, and spend most of their time complaining about bad service, bad food, etc. I go on the same vacation (or on my own crappy vacations), and think everything is fantastic. I enjoy it much more. Their money just raises their expectations much higher.
- They are afraid to die. Hell, with all that money, dying would seem like a real waste. "But I haven't spent all of it yet!" I've never met people who feared death more than any very rich people. Why not just enjoy life now?
So- I don't hate rich people. I wouldn't mind being rich, but it isn't my dream. I'd love to be able to quit working, but then again, I get bored on a long 5-day weekend. So what the hell do I want...I guess it all comes back to the good sex, comfortable shoes thing...
These are just my own ramblings- I was not the intial person with the 'eat the rich' attitude.
This is actually what drove me to learn how to do an OS reinstall.
How many times did you have to hit 'Next'?
I don't think this was a troll at all-
Getting an Xbox has solved just about all of the problems I used to have on my PC. Now the computers run like they should, and the games don't crash.
I think his suggestion was right-on.