It seems that everyone has taken the "probably too cheap" statement out of context. By reading the interview it is clear that Ken means that the console is probably too cheap because Sony expects it may not be able to keep up with demand at that price.
From Sony's last quarterly earnings report, it is clear that the company is spending massively on the development and launch of the PS3. By pricing the console as high as the market will bear, they can recoup some of that money.
In other words, it doesn't make sense to sell out of your console at a lower price point when you can make more from the same number of sales by pricing it higher.
What all this means is: Expect availability numbers to be low this November if the PS3 price is very high.
Personally, I don't care about Blue-Ray and I won't care for at least a couple of years (if it makes it at all). In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the Wii and the 360 this holiday season.
> "...but couldn't get nintendo to give him an SDK since he wasn't with a major game firm."
I was going to suggest the same game, since one of Rag Doll Kung Fu's best features is its insanely great multiplayer mayhem, which would be pretty awesome over Wi-Fi.
But if Lionhead is not a major game firm, I'd like to know what Nintendo considers "major", or from where did you get your information from?
Many people here are missing the point to an excellent question: There is obviously a very large untapped audience out there who might like to play an MMORPG, but for one reason or another simply do not have the time to invest in ANY ONE GAME to justify the $15 per month charge. Therefore, is there an alternative and viable payment scheme that would get more casual gamers into the fray?
I believe there is, and there may be more than one answer to this dilemma, but certainly the present pricing structure needs to change before MMORPGs reach mass-market potential.
How about a tiered structure where each month you are charged based on the previous month's usage? For example:
If you did not log on at all, you would not be charged.
Usage up to 10 hours would be charged at 50% standard rate.
Usage over 10 hours would be charged in full.
I don't assume to have the correct solution, but it seems to me that the pricing model does need to change before these online games attract more casual gamers.
I received my DS preordered from EBGames on Monday, and it arrived with one dead pixel. Before even hearing about their support policy, I called up Nintendo and was told that they would send another unit out to me immediately. When I receive the new unit, I am to return the defective one in the UPS return box provided, and ship it back to them. All this at no charge to me as long as they receive the defective one within 21 days.
In the meantime, I have been ignoring that problem pixel. =)
If you think about the placement of the "A" and "B" buttons with respect to where the finger pressing those buttons actually rests, you will understand the logic of the placement. "A" is the first letter, it's also the primary button, "B" is secondary and therefore a stretch from where the finger's primary rest position is. Same goes for the "X" and "Y" buttons.
It's not about reading left to right... it's all about the finger position, primary and secondary, when you've got your hands on a controller.
From a usability standpoint, the Playstation controller leaves a lot to be desired. I would rather see someone adapt one of Nintendo's controllers due to Ninty's adherence to more usability guidelines.
For example, the buttons on the Playstation controller are marked with an X, O, Square, Triangle and are arranged in a cross configuration. One usability guideline says to "Minimize the user's memory load"... now which symbol goes logically on the north, east, south, and west points of the cross? A casual user is unlikely to be able to know unless they have spent a lot of time with it and have memorized the configuration. This is unnecessary user memory load when compared to Nintendo's controllers which use a much more intuitive button labeling scheme and arrangement. Less to remember = easier to use.
"sounds like a cop out to me. Anime is so violent they put disclaimers on it when it shows on American TV."
You are comparing apples to oranges. Anime is a passive form of entertainment, and violence consumed passively is much different than killing someone in a interactive video game.
On the other hand, just look at the statistics for 2002:
Of all video game software sold in 2002:
* 55.7% were rated Everyone (E).
* 27.6% were rated Teen (T).
* 13.2% were rated Mature (M).
* In 2002, 80% of the top 20 best-selling console games were rated E or T, while 90% of the top 20 best-selling computer games were rated either E or T.
(source: IDSA)
So violent games are not necessarily the category which sells the most software, though the GBA makes up a significant portion of those figures.
What is important to consider is that Yamauchi is talking of the Gamecube and its direct console competitors, the PS2 and XBox. So, what was the top title sold for 2001?
1. PS2/Grand Theft Auto III/Rockstar Games
(source Videogame review) ...and it's likely that GTA:Vice City was the #1 selling title of 2002.
So I believe there is truth to Yamauchi's statements with respect to the console market.
Me thinks the other comments are just missing the point. Nintendo wants control over these devices. They do not want these devices available for just anyone since they can be used for illegal purposes as well as for legitimate development. By going after the source of these so-called "backup units" they are making it more difficult for the casual user to be able to use the GBA ROM files that are pervading the net and eating into the profits of their developers.
If you're a legitimate developer, there are proper channels to go through to obtain these devices to facilitate your development. Nintendo just wants some degree of control over their distribution, and rightly so.
It's not a backlit screen, it's a front lighted screen which means the light is in front of the LCD display. And who cares about the friggin headphone jack. Not even once have i actually thought of using it.
Slashdot Mirror
It seems that everyone has taken the "probably too cheap" statement out of context. By reading the interview it is clear that Ken means that the console is probably too cheap because Sony expects it may not be able to keep up with demand at that price.
From Sony's last quarterly earnings report, it is clear that the company is spending massively on the development and launch of the PS3. By pricing the console as high as the market will bear, they can recoup some of that money.
In other words, it doesn't make sense to sell out of your console at a lower price point when you can make more from the same number of sales by pricing it higher.
What all this means is: Expect availability numbers to be low this November if the PS3 price is very high.
Personally, I don't care about Blue-Ray and I won't care for at least a couple of years (if it makes it at all). In the meantime, I'll be enjoying the Wii and the 360 this holiday season.
> "...but couldn't get nintendo to give him an SDK since he wasn't with a major game firm."
I was going to suggest the same game, since one of Rag Doll Kung Fu's best features is its insanely great multiplayer mayhem, which would be pretty awesome over Wi-Fi.
But if Lionhead is not a major game firm, I'd like to know what Nintendo considers "major", or from where did you get your information from?
- If you did not log on at all, you would not be charged.
- Usage up to 10 hours would be charged at 50% standard rate.
- Usage over 10 hours would be charged in full.
I don't assume to have the correct solution, but it seems to me that the pricing model does need to change before these online games attract more casual gamers.I received my DS preordered from EBGames on Monday, and it arrived with one dead pixel. Before even hearing about their support policy, I called up Nintendo and was told that they would send another unit out to me immediately. When I receive the new unit, I am to return the defective one in the UPS return box provided, and ship it back to them. All this at no charge to me as long as they receive the defective one within 21 days.
In the meantime, I have been ignoring that problem pixel. =)
If you think about the placement of the "A" and "B" buttons with respect to where the finger pressing those buttons actually rests, you will understand the logic of the placement. "A" is the first letter, it's also the primary button, "B" is secondary and therefore a stretch from where the finger's primary rest position is. Same goes for the "X" and "Y" buttons.
It's not about reading left to right... it's all about the finger position, primary and secondary, when you've got your hands on a controller.
From a usability standpoint, the Playstation controller leaves a lot to be desired. I would rather see someone adapt one of Nintendo's controllers due to Ninty's adherence to more usability guidelines.
For example, the buttons on the Playstation controller are marked with an X, O, Square, Triangle and are arranged in a cross configuration. One usability guideline says to "Minimize the user's memory load"... now which symbol goes logically on the north, east, south, and west points of the cross? A casual user is unlikely to be able to know unless they have spent a lot of time with it and have memorized the configuration. This is unnecessary user memory load when compared to Nintendo's controllers which use a much more intuitive button labeling scheme and arrangement. Less to remember = easier to use.
"sounds like a cop out to me. Anime is so violent they put disclaimers on it when it shows on American TV."
You are comparing apples to oranges. Anime is a passive form of entertainment, and violence consumed passively is much different than killing someone in a interactive video game.
On the other hand, just look at the statistics for 2002:
Of all video game software sold in 2002:
* 55.7% were rated Everyone (E).
* 27.6% were rated Teen (T).
* 13.2% were rated Mature (M).
* In 2002, 80% of the top 20 best-selling console games were rated E or T, while 90% of the top 20 best-selling computer games were rated either E or T.
(source: IDSA)
So violent games are not necessarily the category which sells the most software, though the GBA makes up a significant portion of those figures.
What is important to consider is that Yamauchi is talking of the Gamecube and its direct console competitors, the PS2 and XBox. So, what was the top title sold for 2001?
1. PS2/Grand Theft Auto III/Rockstar Games(source Videogame review)
So I believe there is truth to Yamauchi's statements with respect to the console market.
If you're a legitimate developer, there are proper channels to go through to obtain these devices to facilitate your development. Nintendo just wants some degree of control over their distribution, and rightly so.
It's not a backlit screen, it's a front lighted screen which means the light is in front of the LCD display. And who cares about the friggin headphone jack. Not even once have i actually thought of using it.
Correct spelling is Noam Chomsky.