I think by "cost money" he meant that that's what Microsoft lost. Unless the situation has changed (and I don't believe it has), they've been losing money on every console sold since release.
That doesn't sound like much of a profit to me.
And did you even read the links you posted? They're both articles about how weak the Xbox 360's backward compatibility feature is. Yes, it's there...but as the last line in the second link tells us, just barely so. "[B]etween five and twenty" working titles at launch isn't very impressive.
You'd be surprised. I know of more than a few college towns that have arcades, and you still see the occasional machines in places like restaurants and movie theaters.
And it's worth remembering that there are hybrid arcades still around. Places like Dave and Buster's (or Chuck E. Cheese, if you're younger) or Laser Quest and its derivatives still have game rooms, and (I'd assume) do decent business with them.
Heck, there are even a few small mall arcades left. Places like the tiny American Fun Center near my parent's house may have more DDR and redemption games than anything else, but they've also got some good old fashioned arcade games left.
Arcades are a dying species, but they aren't gone just yet.
The GameCube's lineup this holiday season is extremely weak...
Say what you will, but I call bull on that. Say what you will about them, but the Mario games are usually very well done, even if we've seen them before. Mario Party 7 may not be all that exciting, but Strikers and Superstar Baseball could both be fun.
I don't think I'd call the Mario DDR a "gimicky" title; it's the first DDR we've seen on a Nintendo console (in America, at least), and odds are it's going to sell. Exclusive songs are always a good thing, and not everyone has a PS2, Xbox, or a DDR setup.
The Pokémon game is the closest we've gotten to a fully 3D version of the series. Even if the series has lost most of its popularity, I still know gamers that are going to jump on this and love every minute of the game.
And Fire Emblem? The first Fire Emblem game we've seen on a console here? It's definitely not a gimmicky Mario title nor a Pokémon rehash; going from the popularity of the GBA versions, it looks like the writer chose to ignore it after his initial mention because it didn't suit his purposes.
Perspective, people. This isn't a bad lineup at all, unless you make it out to be one.
I'd say knowing how kids spend their time, and that old standbys like books and television have dropped so much in popularity is definitely worth knowing.
As for your other suggested surveys? There would be no way to see how M-rated games "negatively affect" children, as it would be easy to lie about it. Beyond that, once you're past a certain age, you aren't really affected by it. You realize that it's just a game.
If you ask me, that survey seems like an even bigger waste of time and money because it'd be damn near impossible to get meaningful results.
"The company's decision to exit the Rio business followed a determination that the mass-market portable digital audio player market was not a strong enough strategic fit with the company's core and profitable premium consumer electronics brands to warrant additional investment in the category."
Translation: We're sick of getting our ass kicked by the iPod. We give up.
"It originally was called ZDTV by its founder, Ziff-Davis, when it debuted on May 11, 1998. It later was owned by Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures. Vulcan Ventures sold TechTV to G4 Media (owned primarily by Comcast), which merged it with the video game channel G4 in May 2004 to form G4techTV. In February 2005, the name was changed back to G4, eliminating TechTV from the name completely."
Comcast basically bought out TechTV to eliminate the competition. I still think that was a stupid move - TechTV had a different audience entirely and did much better ratings-wise - but it's too late to change that now.
Wasn't the original version of Extended Play on TechTV known as GameSpot TV?
I didn't have the channel back then, so I'm just going with what I've heard elsewhere, but I'm about 90% sure that that's what the show was known as before it became Extended Play and, later, X-Play.
One model of iPod definitely doesn't meet that qualification. If this revolution were to happen, Apple would have to use flash memory in everything they produce, and that's not very likely.
Hell, you even said it yourself. Notice how many times you used "every" in your post?
The N64 did use memory cards, and they were required...for some games.
For games that were released early on in the system's life, memory cards were the only way to save. Madden 64 springs to mind; in fact, it seemed that a lot of the sports titles used it as the sole mean of saving data.
I also know that the memory card lasted until the end of the system's lifespan. The Spider-Man port required it, and Perfect Dark had an option of saving your data to the card instead of the cartridge.
It really depended on what the developers wanted to use it for, though. If the publishers were willing to pay a bit more for the battery-backed carts, the card wasn't really needed. As a general rule, the first party titles tended to use the cart saves; third party games were more likely to require the memory card.
And come to think of it? It's actually called a controller pak. Shame on you for making me forget that.:)
Knights of the Old Republic isn't a classic game. It's two years
old. You can't make a "comeback" when the franchise hasn't vanished.
The game was praised for its storyline. Taking it MMO would rob the
game of that, causing it to lose what might have been its strongest point.
Star Wars Galaxies is still active, with another expansion pack on the
way. Lucasarts won't compete with that, as there's no need to.
And finally, saying that something "sucks" when you haven't experienced it is
a sign of stupidity. Your opinion isn't valid because you don't know what
you're talking about, so please don't share it.
That's what monitors are for, my friend. Who wants to use their hands to hold a PSP and flip through pics that way when you've got other, better uses for them?:)
The UMD usage isn't surprising; who wants to pay that much for a movie when you can get it on DVD with more features, better quality, and a price that's equal to or lower than the cost of the UMD?
The same goes for pictures; I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd ever have any need to look at pictures on a PSP. The screen on digital cameras fulfills that need nicely.
The games are a bigger issue. Lack of interesting or good games seems to be the problem here, although Sony has time to change that.
Bottom line? We've heard all of this before, and what we haven't is common sense.
I don't know about anyone else, but my district's Acceptable Use Policy said that I'd have computer access yanked if I broke the rules.
It's probably been answered before, but why didn't the school just take the laptops from the kids after the first offenses? If they were really that bothered by their actions, then why let them keep the school's hardware?
The delay leaves Nintendo without a major holiday release on GameCube.
Does this mean that they're going to be pushing the DS more heavily?
The GBA is on its way out; look at the drop in releases this year. Nintendo's either going to have to push its newest portable or to find a new way to promote the Cube. I'm not sure what that's going to entail - price drop, perhaps? - but they'll have to get creative to sell this year.
Slashdot Mirror
That doesn't sound like much of a profit to me.
And did you even read the links you posted? They're both articles about how weak the Xbox 360's backward compatibility feature is. Yes, it's there...but as the last line in the second link tells us, just barely so. "[B]etween five and twenty" working titles at launch isn't very impressive.
Gabe Newell, anyone?
And it's worth remembering that there are hybrid arcades still around. Places like Dave and Buster's (or Chuck E. Cheese, if you're younger) or Laser Quest and its derivatives still have game rooms, and (I'd assume) do decent business with them.
Heck, there are even a few small mall arcades left. Places like the tiny American Fun Center near my parent's house may have more DDR and redemption games than anything else, but they've also got some good old fashioned arcade games left.
Arcades are a dying species, but they aren't gone just yet.
The good news: This one isn't on Google.
In all seriousness, I hope that this doesn't happen. I'm kind of fond of the climates we've got now.
Plastics make it possible?
Say what you will, but I call bull on that. Say what you will about them, but the Mario games are usually very well done, even if we've seen them before. Mario Party 7 may not be all that exciting, but Strikers and Superstar Baseball could both be fun.
I don't think I'd call the Mario DDR a "gimicky" title; it's the first DDR we've seen on a Nintendo console (in America, at least), and odds are it's going to sell. Exclusive songs are always a good thing, and not everyone has a PS2, Xbox, or a DDR setup.
The Pokémon game is the closest we've gotten to a fully 3D version of the series. Even if the series has lost most of its popularity, I still know gamers that are going to jump on this and love every minute of the game.
And Fire Emblem? The first Fire Emblem game we've seen on a console here? It's definitely not a gimmicky Mario title nor a Pokémon rehash; going from the popularity of the GBA versions, it looks like the writer chose to ignore it after his initial mention because it didn't suit his purposes.
Perspective, people. This isn't a bad lineup at all, unless you make it out to be one.
I'd say knowing how kids spend their time, and that old standbys like books and television have dropped so much in popularity is definitely worth knowing.
As for your other suggested surveys? There would be no way to see how M-rated games "negatively affect" children, as it would be easy to lie about it. Beyond that, once you're past a certain age, you aren't really affected by it. You realize that it's just a game.
If you ask me, that survey seems like an even bigger waste of time and money because it'd be damn near impossible to get meaningful results.
Nintendogs can simulate most of what's in the slightly disturbing blurb, but then there's this...
The moist soft tongue running up and down the back of your feet.
If the DS can simulate a moist, soft tongue, I'm never, ever going to touch one again. There's realism, and then there's just downright creepy...
"You bought a used DS? Just think about where it's mouth has been!"
Translation: We're sick of getting our ass kicked by the iPod. We give up.
"It originally was called ZDTV by its founder, Ziff-Davis, when it debuted on May 11, 1998. It later was owned by Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures. Vulcan Ventures sold TechTV to G4 Media (owned primarily by Comcast), which merged it with the video game channel G4 in May 2004 to form G4techTV. In February 2005, the name was changed back to G4, eliminating TechTV from the name completely."
Comcast basically bought out TechTV to eliminate the competition. I still think that was a stupid move - TechTV had a different audience entirely and did much better ratings-wise - but it's too late to change that now.
I didn't have the channel back then, so I'm just going with what I've heard elsewhere, but I'm about 90% sure that that's what the show was known as before it became Extended Play and, later, X-Play.
You be quiet, mister. >_>
One model of iPod definitely doesn't meet that qualification. If this revolution were to happen, Apple would have to use flash memory in everything they produce, and that's not very likely.
Hell, you even said it yourself. Notice how many times you used "every" in your post?
Thinking for yourself won't kill you, you know. If you believe everything that you're told, then you're a fool.
Whether or not the opinion is actually his, there still isn't much grounds to talk about it when you haven't played the game yourself.
For games that were released early on in the system's life, memory cards were the only way to save. Madden 64 springs to mind; in fact, it seemed that a lot of the sports titles used it as the sole mean of saving data.
I also know that the memory card lasted until the end of the system's lifespan. The Spider-Man port required it, and Perfect Dark had an option of saving your data to the card instead of the cartridge.
It really depended on what the developers wanted to use it for, though. If the publishers were willing to pay a bit more for the battery-backed carts, the card wasn't really needed. As a general rule, the first party titles tended to use the cart saves; third party games were more likely to require the memory card.
And come to think of it? It's actually called a controller pak. Shame on you for making me forget that. :)
You forgot Grim Fandango.
:)
And Maniac Mansion.
And Sam and Max.
And...hell, let's just give them ALL sequels!
And finally, saying that something "sucks" when you haven't experienced it is a sign of stupidity. Your opinion isn't valid because you don't know what you're talking about, so please don't share it.
That's what monitors are for, my friend. Who wants to use their hands to hold a PSP and flip through pics that way when you've got other, better uses for them? :)
The same goes for pictures; I don't know about you, but I don't think I'd ever have any need to look at pictures on a PSP. The screen on digital cameras fulfills that need nicely.
The games are a bigger issue. Lack of interesting or good games seems to be the problem here, although Sony has time to change that.
Bottom line? We've heard all of this before, and what we haven't is common sense.
You never know when you'll need something like that for reference. It may not happen often (or ever), but the day could very well come.
Other than that, I'd have to agree with your point. Books are a nice thing to have in the library. :)
Hey! I'd like to see you try to kill something in Tetris!
It's probably been answered before, but why didn't the school just take the laptops from the kids after the first offenses? If they were really that bothered by their actions, then why let them keep the school's hardware?
Are we going to see an AO rated Lineage II?
Of course, it's a bit easier to tell in a pub than in a game, but the point remains the same.
Does this mean that they're going to be pushing the DS more heavily?
The GBA is on its way out; look at the drop in releases this year. Nintendo's either going to have to push its newest portable or to find a new way to promote the Cube. I'm not sure what that's going to entail - price drop, perhaps? - but they'll have to get creative to sell this year.