In spite of the swirly that your post degenerated into (do we STILL have to argue about pricing for heaven's sake?), the point of exclusives is to set your system apart from the "rest" when you're not using something else.. Sony (right or wrong) is banking on the success of Blu ray to help the console get an installed base that will eliminate the need for exclusives. The PS2 has a masterfully huge base, yet there were plenty of titles that were fairly mainstream that weren't exclusive (sure the Japanese RPG market was sewn up, but for many folks in the US couldn't care less).
The point is, consoles can be different enough this generation to never need very many exclusives to sell the unit. The machines themselves are approaching maximum density in price (that includes the 360), and the installed base will not reflect the mass-appeal of a console (besides the Wii, which is still in the proper price range to be accessible to people who don't love their hobby quite as much as we do.)
Will the PS3 installed base eclipse the 360? Not really. It'll be more on par with previous generations of console sales.. Will it be successful? Certainly. Will it get more ports than 1st party titles? That's up to Sony. Will it get many exclusives? Beyond FF, not so much.
Will the 360 installed base dwarf the PS3? Not in the long term. Will it be succesful even with competition from a Japanese company? Sure... though I think it'll still struggle in Japan. Will it get more ports than 1st party titles? That's up to Microsoft. Will it get many exlusives? Besides Halo 3, not so much... sure some will come out on the 360 first (as VF5 came out on the PS3 first)... but it won't be an issue for those who have only one of the two "behemoths" this generation.
The real winner? Gamers. There's no feeling "I bought the wrong system" like so many other generations. Good thing too, because with the prices of these systems, you're looking at almost a grand to have both....
We're all just speculating here... so no need to get all hot and bothered... just remember that Sony's size and influence can sometimes make up for mistakes... just like MS's cash reserve can make up for mistakes...:)
If we (more importantly, those who call for boycotts) actually followed through with each corporation that created a problem (or acted like a greedy, robber-baron infested ass), we'd all be living on the street (off the grid), since the depth at which corporations touch us is nearly insurmountable (sometimes scary when you think about it). The permeation of these beasts goes from everything we eat to everything we wear. From every TV show we watch to every computer site we visit we tend to lash out and feel a bit more powerless, and it can get frustrating. So when I see people call for boycotts, it just seems disingenuous. (It may not be). I too have a personal list of companies I refuse to support... but I never fault those who support them. If they ask why I do not, I certainly tell them, but I'm not evangelizing.... or even broadcasting my intent. If it makes someone think and pause for just a moment before giving more money to them, I feel I've done my part. Does it matter in the larger scheme of things? If more people would do so (like the refusal to buy for one day campaigns), we'd send a clearer message. Right now it's "we hate you"..."does this come in red?"
I don't cherry-pick corporations I hate and boycott from time to time when they have nothing interesting to sell me. It's easy to boycott a corporation that sells nothing you need or want. That is what most people calling for the end of these behemoths actually "do" to make themselves feel better.
Boycott on, though.. you've got the right idea.:) Shame most people don't.
We're seeing what a "2nd console" strategy looks like (It's definitely working)... Nintendo didn't try to out-polygon or out-horsepower the other two... the sales reflect that at the price point of $250 (less than the last gen PS2 and Xbox launch price by $50) they can sell tons to younger audiences, a 2nd console to a gamer with a 360 or PS3, and to people who just don't game intently.:) Let's face it, $400 to $600 for a console is moving beyond the "accessible to everyone" strategy and towards the "computer game" category... where it costs you more to play the "best" (using that term loosely) games.:)
I think it's pretty neat that they went this way (it wasn't what I was thinking they would do), but I wonder how long it'll sustain itself... It's going to grow old and passe' as time goes on (for some at least), and with 5 year+ lifespans of consoles (more or less), I wonder if the Wii won't have a Wii-2.0 before we see another XBox or Playstation?
*shrug* I think Gamestop is frustrated... there's a goldmine of sell-through and accessory glob-ons that they're missing out on because they can't get any appreciable stock of Wiis on hand... it's probably driving them nutty..
Which necessarily means that, like the DS shortage at christmas, they're not keeping up with demand. OR, they are and are simply not giving consoles to regions that have taken longer to sell them than others... It's their marketing perogative, of course... I'm not faulting N for getting consoles to priority markets...
Having said that, it's all about moving product, and if Nintendo wants to ride the goodwill of the Wii, they'd best move up some production schedules and turn the factories on 24/7 to meet the demand, because it won't last. No "unprecedented" demand will last... things will distract the great unwashed, the casual gamer will think of something else to do (summer vacations, etc.) and traditionally slow retail sales will creep up and serve to put lots of Wii stock on the shelf so that when they eventually get some more games out for it, there might be another surge in demand...
We'll see this quarter if they can put more boxes on the shelves.:) Because I still want one... But as time goes on, I want one less and less...:)
But in my hatred, I still have room to buy some of their junk, because, well, me alone (or the slashdot readership alone) probably wouldn't make a dent in the great unwashed's hoarding of products....:D
Well J Paul Getty, that was quite the diatribe on Econ 101. Did you miss the part where Microsoft is putting out a 120GB black console for more money? Seems like that is NOT just like an 80GB (no mention of a price increase, btw) version of the PS3... and since Microsoft's putting the word "elite" on theirs and making it "super KEWL!" with HDMI...
It seems odd that GM, which is making money hand over fist in the REST OF THE WORLD, isn't doing so well in the US where the legacy union and contractual cost obligations constitute a greater and greater percentage of their operating budget. (I'm not arguing the legality, morality, or senility of the practice), just that the fact that GM is _NOT_ losing money because they keep making bigger and bigger cars when consumers yell "FUCK" (as you so elegantly put it). Forget the analogy of shrub, that's not even on the same piece of music as corporations... Simply trying to boil down the largest manufacturer of automobiles in the world to their lack of "consumer focus" for "smaller" cars is as ludicrous as it is simplistic and half-baked. Toyota's coming out with a BIGGER and more BEEFY Tundra and Sequoia. Nissan has their Titan and Armada... Guess those Japanese bastards don't get the "CALM THE FUCK DOWN" mantra either, eh?
Please, before you go trumpeting off your Harvard Business School "lite" version of how you'd run GM or Sony, at least get the facts right... and stop thinking Al Gore's answer to GM's problems is "smaller, greener cars."
Ironic, isn't it? "More THINGS" is exactly what Microsoft is doing with their console and the OPPOSITE of what Sony is doing with a larger HDD. Think about that for a moment. "CALM THE FUCK DOWN" doesn't seem to apply to Microsoft? Why not?
I think the load times of the Blu-Ray (for DVD based and CD based games) are phenomenal. I've not noticed any significant difference between the load times between my 360 and PS3.
I would have to disagree with the characterization of the PS1 (which was originally supposed to be a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony) It moved Nintendo out of the "we're going to tell you that you like carts (hence the N64), and it moved Sega "drop this accessory and let's move on!" out of its abandonment of console lines at the drop of a hat (Saturn? 32x? etc. etc.) What Sony did was bring back the NES style stability in consoles (I mean, look at the PS1's lifespan... compare that to any Sega console after the original Genesis (cash cow of their own), and you'll see that it wasn't always so rosy in the pre-Sony console world.) It wasn't horrible either, but waxing nostalgic for the 8 and 16 bit days leaves out some of the very big, and very ugly warts... (not unlike my irrational desire to be using an Amiga again...heheh)
Regardless of Sony's actions as a corporation (they are, after all, beholden to the same shareholders that Nintendo and Microsoft are) the PS1 represented a shift that moved into the PS2 (which is still being sold...) Microsoft got a "free pass" with their early ditching of the XBox 1 system since this is their 2nd foray into gaming... if they do that with the 360, the goodwill it earned will evaporate... just like the people who were stuck with half-baked add-ons to the Genesis and the Saturn....
The PS2's hype wasn't the only thing that killed the Dreamcast. The best game on the console was Soul Calibur... then they had a rash of crap (with a few gems here and there) early on that really didn't expand the brand enough (and made it easier for people to wait)... and really, when people are waiting for the next Sony console, a company in competition with them should pull out all the stops and release as much AAA software as they can to entice people into choosing their console now, rather than wait for unknowns later. It just didn't pan out. Sure the Ps2 was an overhyped console that delivered less than promised... but the sheer installed base (and backwards compatibility) really gave it legs... and allowed for some amazing RPGs and other non-FPS (something I loathe MS for regurgitating ALL the time) titles. Think about the days of the NES/SMS... Did the SNES and Genesis have backwards compatibility? (I don't remember, never owned them) I bet Nintendo wouldn't have built their new console on the Gamecube base if BC hadn't been something consumers wanted... just speculating of course.
I'm just not one to criticize the quality of the PS3 because of the company's past (and sometimes present) conglomerate behavior. It's a solid system... (so is the 360)...but the ps3 has titles I'd rather play (both now and in the future) that will come out for the other consoles, but not with the controller I like, or the de-emphasis on achievements (which distract from the fun of the game for me... too many "unlocked" pieces on the 360...) I see more potential in a non-company paid specific online experience, and I see that MS is gearing everyone for the wonderful world of "perpetual micropayments"... If they don't, I'll be pleasantly surprised... Bug fix? That's an enhancement... $5. (It could happen... I don't have my tinfoil hat on too tightly....)
(I hate sony as a corp too, btw. But I also hate Nintendo and Microsoft as corporations too.)
I probably didn't state it precisely enough... I meant that the VC is charging a bit more for "retro" than is XLBA... that I can see from the outside... Maybe it all works out, but the concept still is more "retro" for VC than XBLA (even though XBLA has quite a few retro titles...)
Are prices are always towards the $10 range for later consoles on the VC, correct? Funny thing is, the mini "retro" titles for the XBLA are not always welcomed (at least in the forums I've read) like Paperboy and the like... Root Beer Tapper was kinda baffling too... Those and equivalent games are 400 pts, and the pricer content runs 800 (have there been any that cost more? I haven't kept up that well...)
I am also baffled that XBLA (which I don't consider to be more or less useful than the VC) has bigger "retro" titles so far... I mean, the very concept of the VC game setup is retro fun.... The XBLA just seems to have them for filler and convenience.
If I could ever find a Wii... I might like to buy one.;) Then I could be a Wii60 owner too.
Ridge Racer 2 (portable ridge racer is awesome...) Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins (fun!) Metal Slug anthology Platypus Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony (for everyone's slash/hack fix) Generation of Chaos (very fun for those who like turn based strategy) Gradius Collection (THIS is how you pass the time in the car!) Wipeout Pure (fun fun... but hard!) Valkyrie Profile (great game) Legend of Heroes Untold Legends (both hack and slash fun) Tekken: Dark Resurrection (very nice... haven't noticed any smearing or anything...) Capcom Puzzle World (Puzzle fighter!) Namco Museum (the "reimagined" Galaga is dang fun) SF3:Alpha Max Sid Meier's Pirates (who wouldnt want to take that with you? )
Those are just off the top of my head. STILL not enough of a gaming device for you? You MUST be hard to please then... because there's more where those came from.... FF:tactics is getting a turn on the PSP... sounds like it'll be fun....
For the DS: (My DS)
FF 3, Tetris, Mario (of course) Advance Wars, Castlevania, and thats about all I've had time for...;)
Eh.. I like 'em both.. but the sheer # of RPGs coming to the PSP, I'm more happy with that purchase....
I think the only way that Nintendo can keep the momentum going is to avoid the "game drought" that plagued the Gamecube. Any huge delay will be a repeat of last gen's mistakes. I think they know this (I've read interviews where the brass admitted games need to keep flowing) and with the Virtual Arcade (albeit a slightly higher priced alternative to XBLA and PS Store, but with more titles, IIRC) I think they're on the way to alleviating the problems of the Gamecube. That being said... I can't seem to find a Wii anywhere.:-)
Fortunes could change, however, and it's up to Nintendo to make sure they remain on track.
When the games grow to the size of multiple DVDs (isn't Blue Dragon 3 DVD's on the 360?), you'll probably enjoy the capacity of the Blu-Ray disc.
Sure it's overkill now, but at least there's room to grow in storage... We seem to (as a collective group) spend lots of time wondering why something admittedly far-reaching is put in a device when there's little use for it initially (and sometimes drives up cost)... but as time goes on, we get a better perspective.
I hate Sony too. But the PS3 is a good product. I hate Microsoft more than Sony (LOATHE Windows and all things associated with it), yet I have a 360. A hypocrite? Probably... but I'm too old to care. I'd rather enjoy myself in my ever-shrinking spare time than spend too much time worrying about corporate greed and misconduct (since most corporations fit that mold.. I'd be more of a hypocrite to cherry-pick companies I "boycott"...)
I just think it's funny that the vitriol towards Sony this generation is reminiscent of (insert company X, generation Y)... It's cyclical. Sony will not dominate this generation as they did the PS2, but they won't die off either... and then next generation, we'll be decrying the ludicrous cost and lack of features that MS put in the Xbox 720...;)
If we live long enough, we see things "come back around" far too often....
That's why you stay within the tool's recommended settings (the tool should say so, iirc in the help screen of the web interface). I boosted my output (with bigger antennas) a few milliwatts and got connectivity in my backyard... it's well below the "threshold" set by the FCC and it helps with connectivity around the house and yard. (Go 80 feet to the fence, and you're out of range...)
But you're right... people pumping up their output power has the potential to piss off some people, and piss enough of them off, and they'll come visit you..;)
Besides, if I want to use WiFi outside my yard, I can just use the 7 unencrypted spots near me.:)
COPYRIGHT infringement is a TORT... it's a CIVIL matter. Look it up. Google's your friend....
You grow up and stop parroting the party line and read some more about it before you spout nonsense.
Morals have nothing to do with it. It's been less about morals since the government keeps extending "for a limited time" out to infinity with the court's consent. Checks and balances don't work when everyone's in on it.
In the case of the 360, it's pretty much got all the BC it's going to get... They have publicly said so on several occasions (downplaying the BC thing...) or at least once or twice when it's come up in interviews.
But the Sony BC (which we haven't seen as better or worse yet... though it's bound to be a little less than having an actual PS2 inside the unit) is not "you get what you get"... as Sony will improve the emulator and release patches (I imagine... they haven't said otherwise... but it's rather vague...)
It just depends... perhaps the BC on the Euro PS3's will allow scaling and other niceities... *shrug* Sony's never been one to make a coherent press release.;)
I still have my PS2 set up for the few games even the HW BC doesn't like on my PS3. It'll fade when I get around to buying a few more games;)
Criminal Copyright infringement (as defined by law) is not taking a fake CD key and using the program without paying for it. Nor is it copying a CD for a friend (or 10 friends.. or even 100 friends). THAT is a TORT. It's CIVIL. Not CRIMINAL. Filesharing is a CIVIL offense, not a CRIMINAL ONE. Though the *AA's and Microsoft would love it to be criminal. No one has dared to put forth that sort of anti-constitutional statute into existence.
BUT, deleting someone's files from their computer as a vigilante (hoax or not) is destruction of private property, and that IS criminal.
I'll leave it to you to decide if your home directory going away (provided you keep REALLY regular backups) is a MAJOR crime to you. If it was/is your livelihood, and you happened to accidentally transpose the key and this program (hoax or not) caught it as a "pirate key" and your home directory was wiped out... even if you do daily backups, you're going to lose a day's work. What's that worth to you? It might be worth quite a bit to someone who makes a living with their computer....
This might be unpopular to say, but damnit... I was thinking of those VERY same things when reading the letter. Call me crass, call me a dinosaur... I really don't care. Suffice to say, I had a father, and a grandfather for that matter who would tan my hide if I had done 1/10000th of the things this kid did... and when I got old enough, I would've lost some teeth.
Sometimes it takes that to prove to a person that the world doesn't revolve around you, and if you insist on taking things that aren't yours, abusing others, and generally being a waste of air... someone's gonna come along who is badder, bigger, and tougher than you and show you that you aren't as tough as you THINK you are.
We have lost that in society today... sometimes a good ass-whipping straightens out the most crooked of lives. I'm not talking about killing, shooting, or whatever "tough" is called these days. I'm talking about a real wake-up call that cost you a broken jaw or some teeth. Don't think it happened in the past? Well, it did. Even in my not-so-distant path... there is ALWAYS a person bigger, badder, meaner, and tougher than you. That's a fact.
This kid obviously will meet the person who's bigger, badder, and tougher than he in prison... but then it's too late. I feel sorry for him when he does meet the man who will trade him around for cigarettes... But he wanted this... now he can reap the consequences... It's a shame a person had to die for him to realize this.
Mod me down as insensitive, reactionary, stupid, out-of-touch, whatever. You kids get off my lawn!
Ok... that's fine. They can use the money they're making on the subscriptions to pay the royalties... My guess is they don't have much to pay out, considering the industry in general is not the nicest bunch of jackals you'll run across....
Then they'll score a HUGE PR win in terms of "no drm" look how "nice we are to consumers!!"
That's the kicker, isn't it? Their back catalog of artists that were not exactly barn-burners is huge. What does it profit them to sit on the music and not let it be heard? They could start an "emusic" like service that gave, for $10 a month, 40 downloads of old, crufty music that has been out of print for decades... (drm-free of course... why in the hell would they protect it? They're not making any money off it as it is...)
Why don't they? Because they're stupid profiteering criminals who desire to screw innovation and progress so they can continue to exist. I've no sympathy for their whiny "we're losing money" "CD's should cost more" bull. They are clinging to a dead business model and cannot be bothered to travel with the rest of humanity into the future. Let's put them on an iceberg and be done with this fiasco. The Movie industry isn't far behind in terms of stupid... but at least they recognize where their profit lies... and it ain't putting their product in a vault and hiding it underground for 100 years. (well not as much of it...)
May their collective death be painful.... It's closer than they think...
We had that once before... and the personal computer shattered that model.... Ever since then, companies, governments, and people who crave control have been trying to push us back to that model.
I'll use a pad and paper before I'll go back to dinosaur computing.... I don't have to be connected to the internet to use my computer/game console/phone... But it does add convenience... I don't know if I want to trade autonomy and 100% control of my computing devices for the ubiquity of "scaling purpose". That's just me....
Of course, I'm not the target market for such changes... and you hit the nail on the head regarding who will be most likely to embrace this shift in technology... Ah crap... I'm such a dinosaur...:)
I doubt the "end of the world is nigh" as you put it. What we're seeing is the same thing we saw in the age of the VCR, and before that, TV. First they fear it. Then they try to eradicate it. Then they adapt to the changing climate. Then they innovate and assimilate it and make more money than God.
Someone downloading a crappy 700mb copy of "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" is not going to send the entertainment economy spiraling down into a swirly of unemployment and destitution. Hell, 500 people doing so won't.
What will bring them down is their failure to adapt to a changing technology. And if they don't get out of the "eradicate it" mode, they're going to be left behind like so many other industries that tried to stall progress. Progress happens with or without them. The sooner they realize that and stop treating their customers like criminals... things will be alright.
I'm not justifying downloading movies for free as some sort of social protest, nor am I condoning certain segments of the population *cough*spoiled children*cough* and their self-centered entitlement mentality. I'm just seeing the same thing happening over and over again when technology outruns the greedy hands of people who wish to perpetually make money off copyrights (something the Founding Fathers NEVER intended to happen.)
Trying to stifle technology's march forward is like standing in front of a tank. At some point, you either move or get crushed. No laws, police-state attitudes, or pleading will stop it.
It was indeed an attempt to come in at the price-point that was palatable for newcomers to the Xbox lineup, and those parents who remember last-gen's prices being lower.:) Still, though... I think the lack of a hard drive in every system is going to hamper games in the long term, if the possibility exists that people will not have an HDD, game companies won't want to target the demographic of "Premium only" users. Even if the premium sold more...
But along comes Sony with a $600 and $500 console respectively.:) So now Microsoft's plan on the surface looks like it was a calculated success, if you dig a bit deeper, it shows a weakness in Microsoft's pricing. The hard drive is user-upgradeable for the PS3. That leaves the user able to buy the 20GB system (as I did), and leaves the option of upgrading later. I don't know if it will matter much, but considering the lack of a 1-2 AAA title punch this holiday (No Halo 3, Bioshock, etc.) the Sony system might catch up... and of course it will outsell the 360 in Japan.:) It appears foot powder has better market penetration than the 360 over in Japan.
That's not to say I don't like both consoles... I do. I have them for very different reasons, though. As both matures market-wise, we'll begin to see the differences come out... It might not be as pronounced as previous generations, but it will still be there (and not the obvious ones like BluRay v. HDDVD)
Slashdot Mirror
You're looking for a Penfield Mood Organ.. ;)
I smell bitter "can't afford a PS3" syndrome.
:)
:)
It's okay... I can't afford a ferrari either, but when one of them goes 200mph on a freeway, I still think it's neat.
It's funny... laugh.
In spite of the swirly that your post degenerated into (do we STILL have to argue about pricing for heaven's sake?), the point of exclusives is to set your system apart from the "rest" when you're not using something else.. Sony (right or wrong) is banking on the success of Blu ray to help the console get an installed base that will eliminate the need for exclusives. The PS2 has a masterfully huge base, yet there were plenty of titles that were fairly mainstream that weren't exclusive (sure the Japanese RPG market was sewn up, but for many folks in the US couldn't care less).
:)
The point is, consoles can be different enough this generation to never need very many exclusives to sell the unit. The machines themselves are approaching maximum density in price (that includes the 360), and the installed base will not reflect the mass-appeal of a console (besides the Wii, which is still in the proper price range to be accessible to people who don't love their hobby quite as much as we do.)
Will the PS3 installed base eclipse the 360? Not really. It'll be more on par with previous generations of console sales.. Will it be successful? Certainly. Will it get more ports than 1st party titles? That's up to Sony. Will it get many exclusives? Beyond FF, not so much.
Will the 360 installed base dwarf the PS3? Not in the long term. Will it be succesful even with competition from a Japanese company? Sure... though I think it'll still struggle in Japan. Will it get more ports than 1st party titles? That's up to Microsoft. Will it get many exlusives? Besides Halo 3, not so much... sure some will come out on the 360 first (as VF5 came out on the PS3 first)... but it won't be an issue for those who have only one of the two "behemoths" this generation.
The real winner? Gamers. There's no feeling "I bought the wrong system" like so many other generations. Good thing too, because with the prices of these systems, you're looking at almost a grand to have both....
We're all just speculating here... so no need to get all hot and bothered... just remember that Sony's size and influence can sometimes make up for mistakes... just like MS's cash reserve can make up for mistakes...
If we (more importantly, those who call for boycotts) actually followed through with each corporation that created a problem (or acted like a greedy, robber-baron infested ass), we'd all be living on the street (off the grid), since the depth at which corporations touch us is nearly insurmountable (sometimes scary when you think about it). The permeation of these beasts goes from everything we eat to everything we wear. From every TV show we watch to every computer site we visit we tend to lash out and feel a bit more powerless, and it can get frustrating. So when I see people call for boycotts, it just seems disingenuous. (It may not be). I too have a personal list of companies I refuse to support... but I never fault those who support them. If they ask why I do not, I certainly tell them, but I'm not evangelizing.... or even broadcasting my intent. If it makes someone think and pause for just a moment before giving more money to them, I feel I've done my part. Does it matter in the larger scheme of things? If more people would do so (like the refusal to buy for one day campaigns), we'd send a clearer message. Right now it's "we hate you"..."does this come in red?"
:) Shame most people don't.
I don't cherry-pick corporations I hate and boycott from time to time when they have nothing interesting to sell me. It's easy to boycott a corporation that sells nothing you need or want. That is what most people calling for the end of these behemoths actually "do" to make themselves feel better.
Boycott on, though.. you've got the right idea.
We're seeing what a "2nd console" strategy looks like (It's definitely working)... Nintendo didn't try to out-polygon or out-horsepower the other two... the sales reflect that at the price point of $250 (less than the last gen PS2 and Xbox launch price by $50) they can sell tons to younger audiences, a 2nd console to a gamer with a 360 or PS3, and to people who just don't game intently. :) Let's face it, $400 to $600 for a console is moving beyond the "accessible to everyone" strategy and towards the "computer game" category... where it costs you more to play the "best" (using that term loosely) games. :)
I think it's pretty neat that they went this way (it wasn't what I was thinking they would do), but I wonder how long it'll sustain itself... It's going to grow old and passe' as time goes on (for some at least), and with 5 year+ lifespans of consoles (more or less), I wonder if the Wii won't have a Wii-2.0 before we see another XBox or Playstation?
*shrug* I think Gamestop is frustrated... there's a goldmine of sell-through and accessory glob-ons that they're missing out on because they can't get any appreciable stock of Wiis on hand... it's probably driving them nutty..
Which necessarily means that, like the DS shortage at christmas, they're not keeping up with demand. OR, they are and are simply not giving consoles to regions that have taken longer to sell them than others... It's their marketing perogative, of course... I'm not faulting N for getting consoles to priority markets...
:) Because I still want one... But as time goes on, I want one less and less... :)
Having said that, it's all about moving product, and if Nintendo wants to ride the goodwill of the Wii, they'd best move up some production schedules and turn the factories on 24/7 to meet the demand, because it won't last. No "unprecedented" demand will last... things will distract the great unwashed, the casual gamer will think of something else to do (summer vacations, etc.) and traditionally slow retail sales will creep up and serve to put lots of Wii stock on the shelf so that when they eventually get some more games out for it, there might be another surge in demand...
We'll see this quarter if they can put more boxes on the shelves.
I know what you mean... I hate them all. :)
:D
But in my hatred, I still have room to buy some of their junk, because, well, me alone (or the slashdot readership alone) probably wouldn't make a dent in the great unwashed's hoarding of products....
Buddha...
Well J Paul Getty, that was quite the diatribe on Econ 101. Did you miss the part where Microsoft is putting out a 120GB black console for more money? Seems like that is NOT just like an 80GB (no mention of a price increase, btw) version of the PS3... and since Microsoft's putting the word "elite" on theirs and making it "super KEWL!" with HDMI...
It seems odd that GM, which is making money hand over fist in the REST OF THE WORLD, isn't doing so well in the US where the legacy union and contractual cost obligations constitute a greater and greater percentage of their operating budget. (I'm not arguing the legality, morality, or senility of the practice), just that the fact that GM is _NOT_ losing money because they keep making bigger and bigger cars when consumers yell "FUCK" (as you so elegantly put it). Forget the analogy of shrub, that's not even on the same piece of music as corporations... Simply trying to boil down the largest manufacturer of automobiles in the world to their lack of "consumer focus" for "smaller" cars is as ludicrous as it is simplistic and half-baked. Toyota's coming out with a BIGGER and more BEEFY Tundra and Sequoia. Nissan has their Titan and Armada... Guess those Japanese bastards don't get the "CALM THE FUCK DOWN" mantra either, eh?
Please, before you go trumpeting off your Harvard Business School "lite" version of how you'd run GM or Sony, at least get the facts right... and stop thinking Al Gore's answer to GM's problems is "smaller, greener cars."
Ironic, isn't it? "More THINGS" is exactly what Microsoft is doing with their console and the OPPOSITE of what Sony is doing with a larger HDD. Think about that for a moment. "CALM THE FUCK DOWN" doesn't seem to apply to Microsoft? Why not?
Like the 360's that only upscales DVDs over VGA?
I think the load times of the Blu-Ray (for DVD based and CD based games) are phenomenal. I've not noticed any significant difference between the load times between my 360 and PS3.
...but the ps3 has titles I'd rather play (both now and in the future) that will come out for the other consoles, but not with the controller I like, or the de-emphasis on achievements (which distract from the fun of the game for me... too many "unlocked" pieces on the 360...) I see more potential in a non-company paid specific online experience, and I see that MS is gearing everyone for the wonderful world of "perpetual micropayments"... If they don't, I'll be pleasantly surprised... Bug fix? That's an enhancement... $5. (It could happen... I don't have my tinfoil hat on too tightly....)
I would have to disagree with the characterization of the PS1 (which was originally supposed to be a joint venture between Nintendo and Sony) It moved Nintendo out of the "we're going to tell you that you like carts (hence the N64), and it moved Sega "drop this accessory and let's move on!" out of its abandonment of console lines at the drop of a hat (Saturn? 32x? etc. etc.) What Sony did was bring back the NES style stability in consoles (I mean, look at the PS1's lifespan... compare that to any Sega console after the original Genesis (cash cow of their own), and you'll see that it wasn't always so rosy in the pre-Sony console world.) It wasn't horrible either, but waxing nostalgic for the 8 and 16 bit days leaves out some of the very big, and very ugly warts... (not unlike my irrational desire to be using an Amiga again...heheh)
Regardless of Sony's actions as a corporation (they are, after all, beholden to the same shareholders that Nintendo and Microsoft are) the PS1 represented a shift that moved into the PS2 (which is still being sold...) Microsoft got a "free pass" with their early ditching of the XBox 1 system since this is their 2nd foray into gaming... if they do that with the 360, the goodwill it earned will evaporate... just like the people who were stuck with half-baked add-ons to the Genesis and the Saturn....
The PS2's hype wasn't the only thing that killed the Dreamcast. The best game on the console was Soul Calibur... then they had a rash of crap (with a few gems here and there) early on that really didn't expand the brand enough (and made it easier for people to wait)... and really, when people are waiting for the next Sony console, a company in competition with them should pull out all the stops and release as much AAA software as they can to entice people into choosing their console now, rather than wait for unknowns later. It just didn't pan out. Sure the Ps2 was an overhyped console that delivered less than promised... but the sheer installed base (and backwards compatibility) really gave it legs... and allowed for some amazing RPGs and other non-FPS (something I loathe MS for regurgitating ALL the time) titles. Think about the days of the NES/SMS... Did the SNES and Genesis have backwards compatibility? (I don't remember, never owned them) I bet Nintendo wouldn't have built their new console on the Gamecube base if BC hadn't been something consumers wanted... just speculating of course.
I'm just not one to criticize the quality of the PS3 because of the company's past (and sometimes present) conglomerate behavior. It's a solid system... (so is the 360)
(I hate sony as a corp too, btw. But I also hate Nintendo and Microsoft as corporations too.)
I probably didn't state it precisely enough... I meant that the VC is charging a bit more for "retro" than is XLBA... that I can see from the outside... Maybe it all works out, but the concept still is more "retro" for VC than XBLA (even though XBLA has quite a few retro titles...)
;) Then I could be a Wii60 owner too.
Are prices are always towards the $10 range for later consoles on the VC, correct? Funny thing is, the mini "retro" titles for the XBLA are not always welcomed (at least in the forums I've read) like Paperboy and the like... Root Beer Tapper was kinda baffling too... Those and equivalent games are 400 pts, and the pricer content runs 800 (have there been any that cost more? I haven't kept up that well...)
I am also baffled that XBLA (which I don't consider to be more or less useful than the VC) has bigger "retro" titles so far... I mean, the very concept of the VC game setup is retro fun.... The XBLA just seems to have them for filler and convenience.
If I could ever find a Wii... I might like to buy one.
Ridge Racer 2 (portable ridge racer is awesome...)
;)
Ultimate Ghosts and Goblins (fun!)
Metal Slug anthology
Platypus
Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony (for everyone's slash/hack fix)
Generation of Chaos (very fun for those who like turn based strategy)
Gradius Collection (THIS is how you pass the time in the car!)
Wipeout Pure (fun fun... but hard!)
Valkyrie Profile (great game)
Legend of Heroes
Untold Legends (both hack and slash fun)
Tekken: Dark Resurrection (very nice... haven't noticed any smearing or anything...)
Capcom Puzzle World (Puzzle fighter!)
Namco Museum (the "reimagined" Galaga is dang fun)
SF3:Alpha Max
Sid Meier's Pirates (who wouldnt want to take that with you? )
Those are just off the top of my head. STILL not enough of a gaming device for you? You MUST be hard to please then... because there's more where those came from.... FF:tactics is getting a turn on the PSP... sounds like it'll be fun....
For the DS: (My DS)
FF 3, Tetris, Mario (of course) Advance Wars, Castlevania, and thats about all I've had time for...
Eh.. I like 'em both.. but the sheer # of RPGs coming to the PSP, I'm more happy with that purchase....
I think the only way that Nintendo can keep the momentum going is to avoid the "game drought" that plagued the Gamecube. Any huge delay will be a repeat of last gen's mistakes. I think they know this (I've read interviews where the brass admitted games need to keep flowing) and with the Virtual Arcade (albeit a slightly higher priced alternative to XBLA and PS Store, but with more titles, IIRC) I think they're on the way to alleviating the problems of the Gamecube. That being said... I can't seem to find a Wii anywhere. :-)
Fortunes could change, however, and it's up to Nintendo to make sure they remain on track.
When the games grow to the size of multiple DVDs (isn't Blue Dragon 3 DVD's on the 360?), you'll probably enjoy the capacity of the Blu-Ray disc.
;)
Sure it's overkill now, but at least there's room to grow in storage... We seem to (as a collective group) spend lots of time wondering why something admittedly far-reaching is put in a device when there's little use for it initially (and sometimes drives up cost)... but as time goes on, we get a better perspective.
I hate Sony too. But the PS3 is a good product. I hate Microsoft more than Sony (LOATHE Windows and all things associated with it), yet I have a 360. A hypocrite? Probably... but I'm too old to care. I'd rather enjoy myself in my ever-shrinking spare time than spend too much time worrying about corporate greed and misconduct (since most corporations fit that mold.. I'd be more of a hypocrite to cherry-pick companies I "boycott"...)
I just think it's funny that the vitriol towards Sony this generation is reminiscent of (insert company X, generation Y)... It's cyclical. Sony will not dominate this generation as they did the PS2, but they won't die off either... and then next generation, we'll be decrying the ludicrous cost and lack of features that MS put in the Xbox 720...
If we live long enough, we see things "come back around" far too often....
That's why you stay within the tool's recommended settings (the tool should say so, iirc in the help screen of the web interface). I boosted my output (with bigger antennas) a few milliwatts and got connectivity in my backyard... it's well below the "threshold" set by the FCC and it helps with connectivity around the house and yard. (Go 80 feet to the fence, and you're out of range...)
;)
:)
But you're right... people pumping up their output power has the potential to piss off some people, and piss enough of them off, and they'll come visit you..
Besides, if I want to use WiFi outside my yard, I can just use the 7 unencrypted spots near me.
CRIMINAL copyright infringement is ILLEGAL.
COPYRIGHT infringement is a TORT... it's a CIVIL matter. Look it up. Google's your friend....
You grow up and stop parroting the party line and read some more about it before you spout nonsense.
Morals have nothing to do with it. It's been less about morals since the government keeps extending "for a limited time" out to infinity with the court's consent. Checks and balances don't work when everyone's in on it.
Peddle your morals elsewhere, troll.
It's been said before, and probably a bazillion times in this thread alone, but it bears repeating:
PIRACY != THEFT. (It's not even "PIRACY"... it's COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT. BIIIG difference.) I can't believe we're still having to go over this...
It's a TORT. You copy something, you're not depriving the owner of their copy...
If you take a game out of the store without paying for it... THAT is a different story.
So stop toeing the party line and giving the *AA's (etc.) more voices to spread FUD.
Well... sort of. ;)
;)
;)
In the case of the 360, it's pretty much got all the BC it's going to get... They have publicly said so on several occasions (downplaying the BC thing...) or at least once or twice when it's come up in interviews.
But the Sony BC (which we haven't seen as better or worse yet... though it's bound to be a little less than having an actual PS2 inside the unit) is not "you get what you get"... as Sony will improve the emulator and release patches (I imagine... they haven't said otherwise... but it's rather vague...)
It just depends... perhaps the BC on the Euro PS3's will allow scaling and other niceities... *shrug* Sony's never been one to make a coherent press release.
I still have my PS2 set up for the few games even the HW BC doesn't like on my PS3. It'll fade when I get around to buying a few more games
Criminal Copyright infringement (as defined by law) is not taking a fake CD key and using the program without paying for it. Nor is it copying a CD for a friend (or 10 friends.. or even 100 friends). THAT is a TORT. It's CIVIL. Not CRIMINAL. Filesharing is a CIVIL offense, not a CRIMINAL ONE. Though the *AA's and Microsoft would love it to be criminal. No one has dared to put forth that sort of anti-constitutional statute into existence.
BUT, deleting someone's files from their computer as a vigilante (hoax or not) is destruction of private property, and that IS criminal.
I'll leave it to you to decide if your home directory going away (provided you keep REALLY regular backups) is a MAJOR crime to you. If it was/is your livelihood, and you happened to accidentally transpose the key and this program (hoax or not) caught it as a "pirate key" and your home directory was wiped out... even if you do daily backups, you're going to lose a day's work. What's that worth to you? It might be worth quite a bit to someone who makes a living with their computer....
Just something to think about.
This might be unpopular to say, but damnit... I was thinking of those VERY same things when reading the letter. Call me crass, call me a dinosaur... I really don't care. Suffice to say, I had a father, and a grandfather for that matter who would tan my hide if I had done 1/10000th of the things this kid did... and when I got old enough, I would've lost some teeth.
Sometimes it takes that to prove to a person that the world doesn't revolve around you, and if you insist on taking things that aren't yours, abusing others, and generally being a waste of air... someone's gonna come along who is badder, bigger, and tougher than you and show you that you aren't as tough as you THINK you are.
We have lost that in society today... sometimes a good ass-whipping straightens out the most crooked of lives. I'm not talking about killing, shooting, or whatever "tough" is called these days. I'm talking about a real wake-up call that cost you a broken jaw or some teeth. Don't think it happened in the past? Well, it did. Even in my not-so-distant path... there is ALWAYS a person bigger, badder, meaner, and tougher than you. That's a fact.
This kid obviously will meet the person who's bigger, badder, and tougher than he in prison... but then it's too late. I feel sorry for him when he does meet the man who will trade him around for cigarettes... But he wanted this... now he can reap the consequences... It's a shame a person had to die for him to realize this.
Mod me down as insensitive, reactionary, stupid, out-of-touch, whatever. You kids get off my lawn!
Ok... that's fine. They can use the money they're making on the subscriptions to pay the royalties... My guess is they don't have much to pay out, considering the industry in general is not the nicest bunch of jackals you'll run across....
Then they'll score a HUGE PR win in terms of "no drm" look how "nice we are to consumers!!"
Of course they'd rather sue us.....
That's the kicker, isn't it? Their back catalog of artists that were not exactly barn-burners is huge. What does it profit them to sit on the music and not let it be heard? They could start an "emusic" like service that gave, for $10 a month, 40 downloads of old, crufty music that has been out of print for decades... (drm-free of course... why in the hell would they protect it? They're not making any money off it as it is...)
Why don't they? Because they're stupid profiteering criminals who desire to screw innovation and progress so they can continue to exist. I've no sympathy for their whiny "we're losing money" "CD's should cost more" bull. They are clinging to a dead business model and cannot be bothered to travel with the rest of humanity into the future. Let's put them on an iceberg and be done with this fiasco. The Movie industry isn't far behind in terms of stupid... but at least they recognize where their profit lies... and it ain't putting their product in a vault and hiding it underground for 100 years. (well not as much of it...)
May their collective death be painful.... It's closer than they think...
We had that once before... and the personal computer shattered that model.... Ever since then, companies, governments, and people who crave control have been trying to push us back to that model.
:)
I'll use a pad and paper before I'll go back to dinosaur computing.... I don't have to be connected to the internet to use my computer/game console/phone... But it does add convenience... I don't know if I want to trade autonomy and 100% control of my computing devices for the ubiquity of "scaling purpose". That's just me....
Of course, I'm not the target market for such changes... and you hit the nail on the head regarding who will be most likely to embrace this shift in technology... Ah crap... I'm such a dinosaur...
I doubt the "end of the world is nigh" as you put it. What we're seeing is the same thing we saw in the age of the VCR, and before that, TV. First they fear it. Then they try to eradicate it. Then they adapt to the changing climate. Then they innovate and assimilate it and make more money than God.
Someone downloading a crappy 700mb copy of "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" is not going to send the entertainment economy spiraling down into a swirly of unemployment and destitution. Hell, 500 people doing so won't.
What will bring them down is their failure to adapt to a changing technology. And if they don't get out of the "eradicate it" mode, they're going to be left behind like so many other industries that tried to stall progress. Progress happens with or without them. The sooner they realize that and stop treating their customers like criminals... things will be alright.
I'm not justifying downloading movies for free as some sort of social protest, nor am I condoning certain segments of the population *cough*spoiled children*cough* and their self-centered entitlement mentality. I'm just seeing the same thing happening over and over again when technology outruns the greedy hands of people who wish to perpetually make money off copyrights (something the Founding Fathers NEVER intended to happen.)
Trying to stifle technology's march forward is like standing in front of a tank. At some point, you either move or get crushed. No laws, police-state attitudes, or pleading will stop it.
It was indeed an attempt to come in at the price-point that was palatable for newcomers to the Xbox lineup, and those parents who remember last-gen's prices being lower. :) Still, though... I think the lack of a hard drive in every system is going to hamper games in the long term, if the possibility exists that people will not have an HDD, game companies won't want to target the demographic of "Premium only" users. Even if the premium sold more...
:) So now Microsoft's plan on the surface looks like it was a calculated success, if you dig a bit deeper, it shows a weakness in Microsoft's pricing. The hard drive is user-upgradeable for the PS3. That leaves the user able to buy the 20GB system (as I did), and leaves the option of upgrading later. I don't know if it will matter much, but considering the lack of a 1-2 AAA title punch this holiday (No Halo 3, Bioshock, etc.) the Sony system might catch up... and of course it will outsell the 360 in Japan. :) It appears foot powder has better market penetration than the 360 over in Japan.
But along comes Sony with a $600 and $500 console respectively.
That's not to say I don't like both consoles... I do. I have them for very different reasons, though. As both matures market-wise, we'll begin to see the differences come out... It might not be as pronounced as previous generations, but it will still be there (and not the obvious ones like BluRay v. HDDVD)