I already covered that last portion of my initial message. It wasn't meant to be argumentative, but you've made an excellent attempt at changing that. And my rebuttals have covered most everything but that last bit of my initial post, save saying it was exaggeration, hyperbole, etc. Once I've seemed to adequately defend myself, you let it go, except for this last bit. Why is that?
> No, it makes me feel better to point out assertions that are clearly incorrect,
You offer "proof," I offer rebuttal, you offer ad hominem attack or you target things that have already been taken out of the discussion. You did not comment on my offered alternatives for this lap board. When you comment you offer personal experience as substantial argument. If you do that, then you must accept my personal experience at comprable value. Or are you claiming that your experiences are simply more important than others?
Your awareness of trackball-using gamers is limited. Thus, your claim about the one guy you know sucking does little more than balance out my claim that it can, and has for me, and others, worked well. The claim that trackball users are in the minority is never something i disputed, but I've often found that the only reason that people use regular mice is because they don't want to have to learn to use a different method when the one they have already works. The one I have, granted it isn't designed to be a gaming mouse, has been sufficiently responsive. Ever considered the possibility that the guy you know of just sucks, regardless of equipment? Because if he's saying that its the fault of his equipment, then he should just change it. If you don't use the equipment, let alone on a regular basis, how can you legitimately argue that they aren't responsive enough? They may not be for you, but this goes back to that whole thing on opinions...
More than that, what about non-FPS games? Do those not count in your book? I've yet to find one that needs the "superior" responsiveness that a "gaming" mouse provides.
> and that there's many surfaces on which optical mice won't work well, either because they won't track or because they generate too much friction.
There are many on which they won't work. There are many on which they will. Like I said, YMMV. This still hasn't addressed my comments on rigid mouse pads, which can be used just as well as their "lap board," if not better, because you can place it as close to or far away from your keyboard as you would like. The couch (specifically futon) I'm sitting on right now has worked just fine for friends of mine as a mousing surface, and it isn't like grabbing some random textbook would be all that hard either.
> It's got plenty of use in the mind of consumers. Just not you.
So what do we get, a keyboard / surface / mouse combination. I could come up with such a combination, while possibly not as elegant, in a matter of minutes simply from what I have laying around in my apartment. This works great for people that don't have the capacity to find solutions on their own, or people with money to burn, or people that don't feel like taking the effort. I'm not attacking any of these people (I at least don't intend to,) I just expected most slashdot users to be a bit more resourceful. So I used exaggeration, I apologize. I'm sure you have never done that, and I commend you.
> If you're gonna make an argument against it, I'd be casting a dubious eye on the strength of that hinge, the lack of useable space under it and the fact that there doesn't seem to be any place to tether the mouse to when you're done with it.
All of these are valid arguments. If you had these insights, why not look past the fact that you disagree with where I'm coming from and just post those? Does it make you feel better to try and correct others for not seeing things the same way as you? I'm sorry, mein fuhrer.
You might be surprised. Most people who don't like trackballs don't use trackballs. (That's rather logical, actually.) Those that do, assuming you don't have a roller one and do have an optical one, can become rather proficient with them. Back when I still played FPS games, I became rather good at it. Nowadays it is more than enough to play stuff like WoW with.
I understand that many do not like trackballs. Why else am I going to have to go on eBay and spend upwards of $100, if I'm lucky, for a new (or even used) Microsoft Trackball Explorer. That doesn't make them nonoptimal for, well, anything merely for those that don't find them intuitive. At this point, going back to a standard mouse is likely as problematic for me as a standard mouse user trying to use a trackball.
As for a surface, there are hard mousepads (rigid) that work just fine. And you can use whatever keyboard and whatever mouse you so desire.
As for my comments being off the mark, I disagree. I think my setup works fantastic for me, reclining on my couch. It won't work for everyone. That doesn't make it wrong, merely different. I could turn around and use the same argument against you, that all but your surface argument are off the mark, but they aren't, they're merely differences of opinion. Everyone's got an opinion, just like everyone has an asshole. That doesn't make you unique.
Trackball. Poof, no need for moving that mouse around. No need for a flat surface. No need for a surface that an optical sensor can be happy with.
Even if you use an optical mouse, wired or not, from my experiences I've never really needed to be too picky on the surface for those either.
Look, a product that has a use in the mind of the developers, but little or none in the mind of consumers! Fantastic game plan guys.
It wasn't great, but Mencia wasn't entirely right
on
The Decade of the N64
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Goldeneye, Starfox, Smash Bros, Mario, Mario Kart, Star Wars Pod Racer, the two zelda games, the other star wars game that was good yet I can't remember the name of. It wasn't that there weren't great games, there simply weren't games falling from the sky like rain.
It wasn't a 'meh' console, it was simply one that had had quality and not quantity. I'd still play mine if the controllers weren't prone to get that wobbly joystick feeling after almost no time. I guess that's my only complaint, the controllers sucked in terms of quality.
Anyone want to start a pool on how the rate of downloads of alternative browsers that support Writely and Google Spreadsheets would change if IE7 gets broken?
This article smacks of "My opinion is better than yours, and if you disagree, it is because you are wrong." Sure, the game had flaws. Few games don't. Sure, earlier RPGs are arguably far better, and I'll even agree with him on that. I still have a hard time finding a better game than Chrono Trigger in that sense. And yes, I played that long before I played FFVII. Still have a super nintendo on my living room table (Coffee table? There's more cigarette ash on that thing than anything else... Ash table it is then.) specifically so I can load it up from time to time and relive the good ol' days.
Even with the flaws, there were many good aspects of the game. There were reasons people enjoyed it. The story may not have been as "meaty" as some other game stories, but games are no different than movies in this sense. Everyone has their own reasons for liking or disliking a story, be it content, style, whatever.
That being said, his eloquently written work of self-gratification didn't do too much for me. It was written in a style common to bloggers, one he even commented on, about having their small chunk of the net all to themselves, that they rule with an iron fist. This article seems to be less of an attack on the game itself, and more of an attack on the opinions of anyone who thought anything positive of the game.
Opinions are like assholes, people. We all have one, so don't parade yours around like it is made of gold. Sure, share it, but not in a way that implies that it is unique and superior. Arrogance in that form makes it hard for some people to stomach the message, let alone appreciate it.
"Blizzard is not an artist, it is a co-op of artists. The idea that a co-op can have more rights than an individual is ridiculous -- individuals have rights, co-ops are just groups of individuals trying to market a huge variety of products together."
Corporate entities are basically individuals in the legal sense, with some differences (I think, don't have a law degree, going off of memory and a brief skim of wiki.) Thus, Blizzard is, in fact, a singular artist. It just has many bodies and minds, sort of like a hive mind. Most of their workers likely signed agreements that they do not have ownership of their individual creations. Regardless, I agree with cpt kangarooski, your statement is bizarre. Its simply the law of the land we live in, like it or not. Believe it or not for that matter, it won't change the court's view if you infringe upon the law.
Subject Is Topic
Subject Is Short
Shadexiii Has Free Time
Subject May Not Be Funny To Others
Shadexiii was at least amused during yet another long, drawn out, painful class.
Windows works on lots of hardware. OS X *could* but isn't really suited for it (by design.) So if you need both, isn't Windows the more logical choice for transplanting?
correlation implied causation. Yet it does not. So how can one say that people that play violent video games aren't simply more violent, or aggression prone, to begin with? Or is that simple definition detrimental to the cause of those trying to rid our society of violent games?
I take it that you have some inside information on what exactly the government is doing. Blind trust in the government is just as bad as acute paranoia that the government is "out to get you," or infringing everyone's rights in every way possible. Sure, some of us...them....some people may be doing illegal things, and of course they will be upset to learn they are being spied upon. Not so much that the government is catching them, but how. Would you mind having government stormtroopers busting through your door? Sure, that's not the same as phone tapping, spying, etc, but the principle is the same. I doubt you'd be happy about it if they gave the excuse of "Sorry, our bad, apparently you aren't a terrorist." For some of us...them...some people, that could be followed by "But guess what we found? Come with us."
I'm all for reasonable, legitimate observation of potential threats. I know the government won't be open with all of its activities. Unfortunately, at least at the present, it appears that you have to pick one. You don't have to be happy about it though.
The subject line may seem misleading at first, but bear with me, insomnia makes it difficult for me to keep things concise.
There seem to be two major camps on this issue: Those that think any delay to their precious Zelda game is either bad in that it keeps the game out of their hands or could hurt Nintendo financially, and those that are hoping that more time equates to better game.
In all honesty, the last game that a marketing department has managed to get me interested in far in advance was probably Fable. We were promised the (free-roaming) world, and we got a rail system.
Were it a game by any other company that didn't already have several great games that had come before it, I would write Zelda off as another example of developers biting off more than they could chew, and then realizing it isn't polite to spit out some of it at the table. At least with the big N, I can somewhat believe that one of their main objectives is making games that consumers enjoy, not just buy and then later feel ripped off by once the "new hot title" lost its marketing hype along with its shrink-wrap. If that's only due to Nintendo's marketing department, well, consider this my congrats on a job well done.
The only thing that concerns me is the statement that more time is needed so that more content can be added. Are more levels being added merely to make the game feel bigger, or because they will actually add to the story, and the game as a whole? Again, having the Nintendo branding helps ease my fears slightly, and the good looking graphics definitely distract me from that as well, but I'm hoping that the "additional content" will be more of an expansion of the game as a whole rather than an afterthought that is forced to mesh with what has already been completed. I know that I've played games that are "great" examples of the latter....but my memory is about as good as a fire extinguisher that tries to put out flames with gasoline.
To think that the majority of posts that were made (including ones by me) were merely due to quite possibly intentional omissions from the article is frustrating at best. Granted, I still haven't taken the (enormous...hah) effort of actually reading the article, and yes, articles from t3h intraweb shouldn't be immediately accepted as fact, but hopefully issues such as this will dissuade people from "giving a shit" about careless and/or intentionally inaccurate websites such as GI.
That's right, GI, I'm calling you and others like you out. Is reliable information that much to ask for? If not, why should I (and others) bother going to your site after something like this happens? (No, I don't expect a response, and yes, this post is worth little more than a time-waster for me as I try to exhaust myself enough so that I can sleep, but I still think it is an at least mildly valid question. Yeah, mistakes happen in all aspects of the world, but I haven't used all of my bitching and moaning points for this month)
That would be a smart move for Microsoft, even beyond iPod "competition." Having an "important" part of your gaming system also be portable would create all sorts of situations in which you could break or lose it. Only thing to do then would be buy another one. So long as they were making even a slight profit per sale on these things, that much more would be made on replacements alone.
I'm somewhat surprised more companies haven't been trying to think up new and creative ways to make the consumer more likely to need to purchase a replacement. Works well enough with products such as earbud headphones with (easily lost) silicon tips, games with more than one installation cd, and a variety of others.
Everyone seems shocked by this, but it all makes perfect sense. First Microsoft breaks the hardware apart a bit, and makes you buy it piecemeal. That's to get the consumer comfortable with a new way of buying consoles. When the third generation XBox comes out, it will be a lot easier for Microsoft to start selling the system's OS (and upgrades/revisions...of course....) seperately as well. I can already imagine the lines we'd be fed.
"By selling the system hardware and software seperately, we are allowing the system a much longer lifespan, so you don't have to buy a new console every year! Instead, you can just buy the hardware and software upgrades and have a "brand new" system!"
This isn't that different from the DVD playback "add-on" for the original XBox. Microsoft's merely seeing how far they can take it one generation at a time.
I hate to have to remind you, but few companies these days legitimately ask you, the consumer, what you want. Most companies believe that they already know what you want, and if you don't want it, well, you're mistaken. Here's some examples off the top of my head:
Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom, not only made the XBox incapable of playing DVD movies out of the box, but also charged a good amount for a remote and receiver package. Many of us thought that we would want a remote bundled with the unit, or at least the ability to use a controller as a remote....sort of like the PS2. We were clearly wrong.
Nintendo realized that us gamers were misled in wanting a Zelda game with realistic graphics. They reminded us by giving us Windwaker. (Granted, Nintendo appears to have given in to the will of the consumers on this one for the next game, and many people said that Windwaker's style grew on them with time, was appropriate, etc, but this insomnia-fueled rant wouldn't be complete if I didn't bitch and moan enough about industry tyrants.)
Sony decided that a hard drive and network card were best sold seperate from the PS2, so the consumer could buy them later if they wanted. Wait....the hard drive bit sounds familiar.... (Again, in all fairness there aren't too terribly many games...that I'm aware of....that use the network adapter, and fewer still (FFXI? Is that all?) that actually need the HDD.)
Console makers aren't the only ones who know better than consumers, this kind of attitude seems to be running rampant these days.
And as for the 12-13 year old kids? No, they may not have the money to buy the console, but mommy and daddy, assuming they can afford it, will buy one of these consoles as a gift at some point to shut the child up/ make the child love them/ make the child happy/(The list continues...enough examples.) Convince the child your system is the best, and the child will convince the parent. Thus the hype. Children like shiny things.
Oh, and hopefully Sony doesn't suddenly follow suit with Microsoft. If the only two options are to buy an upgradeable console or buy no console, most people that would like a new console will eventually give in. The money flow to the console giants won't stop....and anyone who believes they care about much more than that needs to be slapped with some sort of ridiculous object or another. I can't think of a good one, so I'll leave that to the reader's imagination.
I'm not saying I like/agree with any of these problems, but then again, Microsoft, Sony, or any other corporation for that matter, hasn't told me that I should yet. Hold on...someone's at the door.....
You wasted time pointing out that someone possibly had a finger slip while typing, resulting in a missed character, you illogical clod.
Oh...wait....I just wasted time pointing out how you wasted time....guess that makes me an illogical clod too.
People buy cell phones for the sake of having a mobile telephone. That will never change. The issue is the targeted market. All of these gadgets and gizmos added on to a phone are nothing more than ways for someone to claim their phone is superior to (insert another person)'s phone to some people. To others (gadget fetishists like myself) having a phone that can do fifty other things only marginally well is far "cooler" than fifty-one things that can each fulfill their intended purpose exceptionally well. I'm sure I've left out plenty of other groups, but hitting them all isn't necessary. Everyone wants the ideal phone you've outlined, but since none are avilable (for a reasonable price, to my knowledge, please point me in the correct direction if I'm wrong), well, they go for the shiniest. People like shinies. I'm not saying any of these reasons are logical, but are people usually logical?
If you can afford it, you upgrade.
If you need it, a need is a responsibility you must fulfill as an adult, so you upgrade. (Thanks to Meatwad for that logic...)
If you can go without food for a while (assuming you DON'T consider Ramen to be food...) then you upgrade.
A better question would be "When do you NOT upgrade?"
Slashdot Mirror
So how long until the North Korean Sam Fischer drops by and laughs with (silent) glee as the bot is turned against its masters?
I already covered that last portion of my initial message. It wasn't meant to be argumentative, but you've made an excellent attempt at changing that. And my rebuttals have covered most everything but that last bit of my initial post, save saying it was exaggeration, hyperbole, etc. Once I've seemed to adequately defend myself, you let it go, except for this last bit. Why is that?
You offer "proof," I offer rebuttal, you offer ad hominem attack or you target things that have already been taken out of the discussion. You did not comment on my offered alternatives for this lap board. When you comment you offer personal experience as substantial argument. If you do that, then you must accept my personal experience at comprable value. Or are you claiming that your experiences are simply more important than others?
More than that, what about non-FPS games? Do those not count in your book? I've yet to find one that needs the "superior" responsiveness that a "gaming" mouse provides.
> and that there's many surfaces on which optical mice won't work well, either because they won't track or because they generate too much friction.
There are many on which they won't work. There are many on which they will. Like I said, YMMV. This still hasn't addressed my comments on rigid mouse pads, which can be used just as well as their "lap board," if not better, because you can place it as close to or far away from your keyboard as you would like. The couch (specifically futon) I'm sitting on right now has worked just fine for friends of mine as a mousing surface, and it isn't like grabbing some random textbook would be all that hard either.
> It's got plenty of use in the mind of consumers. Just not you.
So what do we get, a keyboard / surface / mouse combination. I could come up with such a combination, while possibly not as elegant, in a matter of minutes simply from what I have laying around in my apartment. This works great for people that don't have the capacity to find solutions on their own, or people with money to burn, or people that don't feel like taking the effort. I'm not attacking any of these people (I at least don't intend to,) I just expected most slashdot users to be a bit more resourceful. So I used exaggeration, I apologize. I'm sure you have never done that, and I commend you.
> If you're gonna make an argument against it, I'd be casting a dubious eye on the strength of that hinge, the lack of useable space under it and the fact that there doesn't seem to be any place to tether the mouse to when you're done with it.
All of these are valid arguments. If you had these insights, why not look past the fact that you disagree with where I'm coming from and just post those? Does it make you feel better to try and correct others for not seeing things the same way as you? I'm sorry, mein fuhrer.
I understand that many do not like trackballs. Why else am I going to have to go on eBay and spend upwards of $100, if I'm lucky, for a new (or even used) Microsoft Trackball Explorer. That doesn't make them nonoptimal for, well, anything merely for those that don't find them intuitive. At this point, going back to a standard mouse is likely as problematic for me as a standard mouse user trying to use a trackball.
As for a surface, there are hard mousepads (rigid) that work just fine. And you can use whatever keyboard and whatever mouse you so desire.
As for my comments being off the mark, I disagree. I think my setup works fantastic for me, reclining on my couch. It won't work for everyone. That doesn't make it wrong, merely different. I could turn around and use the same argument against you, that all but your surface argument are off the mark, but they aren't, they're merely differences of opinion. Everyone's got an opinion, just like everyone has an asshole. That doesn't make you unique.
Even if you use an optical mouse, wired or not, from my experiences I've never really needed to be too picky on the surface for those either.
Look, a product that has a use in the mind of the developers, but little or none in the mind of consumers! Fantastic game plan guys.
It wasn't a 'meh' console, it was simply one that had had quality and not quantity. I'd still play mine if the controllers weren't prone to get that wobbly joystick feeling after almost no time. I guess that's my only complaint, the controllers sucked in terms of quality.
Anyone want to start a pool on how the rate of downloads of alternative browsers that support Writely and Google Spreadsheets would change if IE7 gets broken?
This article smacks of "My opinion is better than yours, and if you disagree, it is because you are wrong." Sure, the game had flaws. Few games don't. Sure, earlier RPGs are arguably far better, and I'll even agree with him on that. I still have a hard time finding a better game than Chrono Trigger in that sense. And yes, I played that long before I played FFVII. Still have a super nintendo on my living room table (Coffee table? There's more cigarette ash on that thing than anything else... Ash table it is then.) specifically so I can load it up from time to time and relive the good ol' days.
Even with the flaws, there were many good aspects of the game. There were reasons people enjoyed it. The story may not have been as "meaty" as some other game stories, but games are no different than movies in this sense. Everyone has their own reasons for liking or disliking a story, be it content, style, whatever.
That being said, his eloquently written work of self-gratification didn't do too much for me. It was written in a style common to bloggers, one he even commented on, about having their small chunk of the net all to themselves, that they rule with an iron fist. This article seems to be less of an attack on the game itself, and more of an attack on the opinions of anyone who thought anything positive of the game.
Opinions are like assholes, people. We all have one, so don't parade yours around like it is made of gold. Sure, share it, but not in a way that implies that it is unique and superior. Arrogance in that form makes it hard for some people to stomach the message, let alone appreciate it.
"Blizzard is not an artist, it is a co-op of artists. The idea that a co-op can have more rights than an individual is ridiculous -- individuals have rights, co-ops are just groups of individuals trying to market a huge variety of products together."
Blizzard is a business, a corporation.
Corporations according to Wikipedia
Corporate entities are basically individuals in the legal sense, with some differences (I think, don't have a law degree, going off of memory and a brief skim of wiki.) Thus, Blizzard is, in fact, a singular artist. It just has many bodies and minds, sort of like a hive mind. Most of their workers likely signed agreements that they do not have ownership of their individual creations. Regardless, I agree with cpt kangarooski, your statement is bizarre. Its simply the law of the land we live in, like it or not. Believe it or not for that matter, it won't change the court's view if you infringe upon the law.
Subject Is Topic Subject Is Short Shadexiii Has Free Time Subject May Not Be Funny To Others Shadexiii was at least amused during yet another long, drawn out, painful class.
You have to use Windows for the vast majority of computer games, and for certain other software applications. You don't have to like it.
Windows works on lots of hardware. OS X *could* but isn't really suited for it (by design.) So if you need both, isn't Windows the more logical choice for transplanting?
correlation implied causation. Yet it does not. So how can one say that people that play violent video games aren't simply more violent, or aggression prone, to begin with? Or is that simple definition detrimental to the cause of those trying to rid our society of violent games?
I take it that you have some inside information on what exactly the government is doing. Blind trust in the government is just as bad as acute paranoia that the government is "out to get you," or infringing everyone's rights in every way possible. Sure, some of us...them....some people may be doing illegal things, and of course they will be upset to learn they are being spied upon. Not so much that the government is catching them, but how. Would you mind having government stormtroopers busting through your door? Sure, that's not the same as phone tapping, spying, etc, but the principle is the same. I doubt you'd be happy about it if they gave the excuse of "Sorry, our bad, apparently you aren't a terrorist." For some of us...them...some people, that could be followed by "But guess what we found? Come with us." I'm all for reasonable, legitimate observation of potential threats. I know the government won't be open with all of its activities. Unfortunately, at least at the present, it appears that you have to pick one. You don't have to be happy about it though.
The subject line may seem misleading at first, but bear with me, insomnia makes it difficult for me to keep things concise.
There seem to be two major camps on this issue: Those that think any delay to their precious Zelda game is either bad in that it keeps the game out of their hands or could hurt Nintendo financially, and those that are hoping that more time equates to better game.
In all honesty, the last game that a marketing department has managed to get me interested in far in advance was probably Fable. We were promised the (free-roaming) world, and we got a rail system.
Were it a game by any other company that didn't already have several great games that had come before it, I would write Zelda off as another example of developers biting off more than they could chew, and then realizing it isn't polite to spit out some of it at the table. At least with the big N, I can somewhat believe that one of their main objectives is making games that consumers enjoy, not just buy and then later feel ripped off by once the "new hot title" lost its marketing hype along with its shrink-wrap. If that's only due to Nintendo's marketing department, well, consider this my congrats on a job well done.
The only thing that concerns me is the statement that more time is needed so that more content can be added. Are more levels being added merely to make the game feel bigger, or because they will actually add to the story, and the game as a whole? Again, having the Nintendo branding helps ease my fears slightly, and the good looking graphics definitely distract me from that as well, but I'm hoping that the "additional content" will be more of an expansion of the game as a whole rather than an afterthought that is forced to mesh with what has already been completed. I know that I've played games that are "great" examples of the latter....but my memory is about as good as a fire extinguisher that tries to put out flames with gasoline.
NT
Relatively OT, but....
To think that the majority of posts that were made (including ones by me) were merely due to quite possibly intentional omissions from the article is frustrating at best. Granted, I still haven't taken the (enormous...hah) effort of actually reading the article, and yes, articles from t3h intraweb shouldn't be immediately accepted as fact, but hopefully issues such as this will dissuade people from "giving a shit" about careless and/or intentionally inaccurate websites such as GI.
That's right, GI, I'm calling you and others like you out. Is reliable information that much to ask for? If not, why should I (and others) bother going to your site after something like this happens? (No, I don't expect a response, and yes, this post is worth little more than a time-waster for me as I try to exhaust myself enough so that I can sleep, but I still think it is an at least mildly valid question. Yeah, mistakes happen in all aspects of the world, but I haven't used all of my bitching and moaning points for this month)
That would be a smart move for Microsoft, even beyond iPod "competition." Having an "important" part of your gaming system also be portable would create all sorts of situations in which you could break or lose it. Only thing to do then would be buy another one. So long as they were making even a slight profit per sale on these things, that much more would be made on replacements alone.
I'm somewhat surprised more companies haven't been trying to think up new and creative ways to make the consumer more likely to need to purchase a replacement. Works well enough with products such as earbud headphones with (easily lost) silicon tips, games with more than one installation cd, and a variety of others.
Everyone seems shocked by this, but it all makes perfect sense. First Microsoft breaks the hardware apart a bit, and makes you buy it piecemeal. That's to get the consumer comfortable with a new way of buying consoles. When the third generation XBox comes out, it will be a lot easier for Microsoft to start selling the system's OS (and upgrades/revisions...of course....) seperately as well. I can already imagine the lines we'd be fed.
"By selling the system hardware and software seperately, we are allowing the system a much longer lifespan, so you don't have to buy a new console every year! Instead, you can just buy the hardware and software upgrades and have a "brand new" system!"
This isn't that different from the DVD playback "add-on" for the original XBox. Microsoft's merely seeing how far they can take it one generation at a time.
I hate to have to remind you, but few companies these days legitimately ask you, the consumer, what you want. Most companies believe that they already know what you want, and if you don't want it, well, you're mistaken. Here's some examples off the top of my head:
Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom, not only made the XBox incapable of playing DVD movies out of the box, but also charged a good amount for a remote and receiver package. Many of us thought that we would want a remote bundled with the unit, or at least the ability to use a controller as a remote....sort of like the PS2. We were clearly wrong.
Nintendo realized that us gamers were misled in wanting a Zelda game with realistic graphics. They reminded us by giving us Windwaker. (Granted, Nintendo appears to have given in to the will of the consumers on this one for the next game, and many people said that Windwaker's style grew on them with time, was appropriate, etc, but this insomnia-fueled rant wouldn't be complete if I didn't bitch and moan enough about industry tyrants.)
Sony decided that a hard drive and network card were best sold seperate from the PS2, so the consumer could buy them later if they wanted. Wait....the hard drive bit sounds familiar.... (Again, in all fairness there aren't too terribly many games...that I'm aware of....that use the network adapter, and fewer still (FFXI? Is that all?) that actually need the HDD.)
Console makers aren't the only ones who know better than consumers, this kind of attitude seems to be running rampant these days.
And as for the 12-13 year old kids? No, they may not have the money to buy the console, but mommy and daddy, assuming they can afford it, will buy one of these consoles as a gift at some point to shut the child up/ make the child love them/ make the child happy/(The list continues...enough examples.) Convince the child your system is the best, and the child will convince the parent. Thus the hype. Children like shiny things.
Oh, and hopefully Sony doesn't suddenly follow suit with Microsoft. If the only two options are to buy an upgradeable console or buy no console, most people that would like a new console will eventually give in. The money flow to the console giants won't stop....and anyone who believes they care about much more than that needs to be slapped with some sort of ridiculous object or another. I can't think of a good one, so I'll leave that to the reader's imagination.
I'm not saying I like/agree with any of these problems, but then again, Microsoft, Sony, or any other corporation for that matter, hasn't told me that I should yet. Hold on...someone's at the door.....
You wasted time pointing out that someone possibly had a finger slip while typing, resulting in a missed character, you illogical clod. Oh...wait....I just wasted time pointing out how you wasted time....guess that makes me an illogical clod too.
At least the phone would be waterproof, and therefore washable.
People buy cell phones for the sake of having a mobile telephone. That will never change. The issue is the targeted market. All of these gadgets and gizmos added on to a phone are nothing more than ways for someone to claim their phone is superior to (insert another person)'s phone to some people. To others (gadget fetishists like myself) having a phone that can do fifty other things only marginally well is far "cooler" than fifty-one things that can each fulfill their intended purpose exceptionally well. I'm sure I've left out plenty of other groups, but hitting them all isn't necessary. Everyone wants the ideal phone you've outlined, but since none are avilable (for a reasonable price, to my knowledge, please point me in the correct direction if I'm wrong), well, they go for the shiniest. People like shinies. I'm not saying any of these reasons are logical, but are people usually logical?
If you can afford it, you upgrade. If you need it, a need is a responsibility you must fulfill as an adult, so you upgrade. (Thanks to Meatwad for that logic...) If you can go without food for a while (assuming you DON'T consider Ramen to be food...) then you upgrade. A better question would be "When do you NOT upgrade?"