I've held a PSP, and it's pretty solid for what it's worth, and the design is noteworthy. So of course, the one picture that stood out the most to me in that article was the picture of the PSP that had the broken screen from being dropped. I wonder what it took to do that kind of damage... maybe a stiletto heel from one of the cheap actresses there?
On another note, I have a new favorite quote: (from the article) "If someone told you that the PSP is a portable gaming device, shoot these people. The PSP is not a portable gaming device, it is really a convergent portable entertainment device." -- SCEA president Kaz Hirai
I manage an video game store, and for one I believe that the preorder system is necessary. It does need some work, but it IS necessary. As it stands right now, the presell system is set up as a bargaining chip to use with vendors for product allocation. It's like the stock market, either you invest in it and the industry flourishes, or you ignore it and it crashes.
When talking preorders, systems are a bit of an anomaly. There's hardly enough supply to cover the demand, and I'm already presold halfway into my second shipment of PSP systems. With systems, you not only need presells on the systems but on the games themselves. In the case of the PSP, Sony communicates this policy to our buyers: The more systems we sell that also contain first-party accessories/games, the more allocation our company is guaranteed when it comes time to purchasing more systems. I don't get it (or much of it) if no one preorders it, so if I'm not selling any copies of Ridge Racer with those PSPs I'm pretty much guaranteeing a shortage in my area, because Sony will sell the systems I could have had to another company.
See, I have no control whatsoever on what comes into my store aside from whatever I can muster from preorders, or from store transfers AFTER the product releases (the latter which cuts into my bottom dollar from shipping costs). Preorders affect product allocation, and if I can't get any preorders I'm probably getting one or two... sometimes none. I didn't get a single copy of Alien Hominid or Painkiller: Battle out of Hell because no one preordered it. However, I had a few reserves for MVP Baseball 2005, so I got my reserves plus a few extra because the company saw that there was demand for it at my store. Because those people preordered it, I had a few to sell to walk-ins. I've learned something since then, and it's that a smart manager will have three or four $5 presells which will float around towards presells on various obscure but sure-to-be-popular titles (Katamari Damacy, any Nippon Ichi title, etc) just to get at least one in the store. I guarantee that it's something I do now, and it works. In short, preordering doesn't only help yourself, it helps out impulse shoppers as well because stores get extras if they get a lot of reserves.
Seventeen minutes after the news breaks, and the site goes boom. You gotta love the/. effect...
Anyway, I managed to grab it before it all went kaput, and I can't really say that the villainess strikes fear in me... mostly because she looks like a pug in a hot dog outfit. Oh I get it now, that's why it's called Revelations... we find out why most sith lords wear face masks of some sort!
Great special effects though, especially the ships.
Two perfect examples of the fact that developers withhold some information about games is Xenogears and Dead or Alive 3.
Xenogears (rated T) contained scenes of implied sexual content, as well as an almost unnoticable scene of pixelated nudity.
Dead or Alive 3, in Christie's ending, very plainly showed her nude backside in the shower.
Both games, according to the ESRB's rating system, should have been rated M. However, both were rated T because someone involved in creating the videos for the ESRB to classify the game with skipped out on those details. Whether or not it was deliberate is unknown.
So the rating system is a two-edged sword, really. While parents can use the rating system to make better choices on what they feel is appropriate for their children, some details apparently get left out. Say a parent (or a reviewer) notices something that should have been brought to the ESRB's attention. Should there be fines for omitting information, or what about a way for a rating to be amended after a game's release? I know that places like Wal-Mart would have a difficult time keeping track of games that went from T to M (or vice versa), but places like Gamestop or EBGames (whose ratings are computerized, and inform the cashier when a game is rated M) could easily keep up with it.
Actually, the game was originally slated to receive a T rating, but when the ESRB caught wind of the game's opening FMV (which features a nude woman diving off a waterfall, and her visible backside as she dives) it was given an M shortly before release. This is interesting as Dead or Alive 3, which in Christie's ending showed a much more visible rear shot, only received a T rating.
Aye, that's very true! I think it's a great thing and I plan on using it to be more active in my government's lawmaking processes. However after thinking of the trolls abound on most political forums you couldn't PAY me to be the admin of that forum. o_O
"'The negative public opinion, fanned by the media, can have real repercussions against the offshore wave,' Mr Gruber said. He added that he would advise the Indian government and IT companies to lobby hard and try and sell the positives to the US public."
You mean like being able to call tech support to reach a person that can barely speak english?
I've got a friend in Dallas that stands on the highway with a cardboard sign listing five years worth of certifications. He's jobless because his IT position was outsourced to India. He's had a great deal of trouble finding a job since then. So in the meantime, why don't the Indian government and the IT companies try to sell the postives to him instead?
Slashdot Mirror
I've held a PSP, and it's pretty solid for what it's worth, and the design is noteworthy. So of course, the one picture that stood out the most to me in that article was the picture of the PSP that had the broken screen from being dropped. I wonder what it took to do that kind of damage... maybe a stiletto heel from one of the cheap actresses there?
On another note, I have a new favorite quote: (from the article) "If someone told you that the PSP is a portable gaming device, shoot these people. The PSP is not a portable gaming device, it is really a convergent portable entertainment device." -- SCEA president Kaz Hirai
I manage an video game store, and for one I believe that the preorder system is necessary. It does need some work, but it IS necessary. As it stands right now, the presell system is set up as a bargaining chip to use with vendors for product allocation. It's like the stock market, either you invest in it and the industry flourishes, or you ignore it and it crashes.
When talking preorders, systems are a bit of an anomaly. There's hardly enough supply to cover the demand, and I'm already presold halfway into my second shipment of PSP systems. With systems, you not only need presells on the systems but on the games themselves. In the case of the PSP, Sony communicates this policy to our buyers: The more systems we sell that also contain first-party accessories/games, the more allocation our company is guaranteed when it comes time to purchasing more systems. I don't get it (or much of it) if no one preorders it, so if I'm not selling any copies of Ridge Racer with those PSPs I'm pretty much guaranteeing a shortage in my area, because Sony will sell the systems I could have had to another company.
See, I have no control whatsoever on what comes into my store aside from whatever I can muster from preorders, or from store transfers AFTER the product releases (the latter which cuts into my bottom dollar from shipping costs). Preorders affect product allocation, and if I can't get any preorders I'm probably getting one or two... sometimes none. I didn't get a single copy of Alien Hominid or Painkiller: Battle out of Hell because no one preordered it. However, I had a few reserves for MVP Baseball 2005, so I got my reserves plus a few extra because the company saw that there was demand for it at my store. Because those people preordered it, I had a few to sell to walk-ins. I've learned something since then, and it's that a smart manager will have three or four $5 presells which will float around towards presells on various obscure but sure-to-be-popular titles (Katamari Damacy, any Nippon Ichi title, etc) just to get at least one in the store. I guarantee that it's something I do now, and it works. In short, preordering doesn't only help yourself, it helps out impulse shoppers as well because stores get extras if they get a lot of reserves.
Seventeen minutes after the news breaks, and the site goes boom. You gotta love the /. effect...
Anyway, I managed to grab it before it all went kaput, and I can't really say that the villainess strikes fear in me... mostly because she looks like a pug in a hot dog outfit. Oh I get it now, that's why it's called Revelations... we find out why most sith lords wear face masks of some sort!
Great special effects though, especially the ships.
Two perfect examples of the fact that developers withhold some information about games is Xenogears and Dead or Alive 3. Xenogears (rated T) contained scenes of implied sexual content, as well as an almost unnoticable scene of pixelated nudity. Dead or Alive 3, in Christie's ending, very plainly showed her nude backside in the shower. Both games, according to the ESRB's rating system, should have been rated M. However, both were rated T because someone involved in creating the videos for the ESRB to classify the game with skipped out on those details. Whether or not it was deliberate is unknown. So the rating system is a two-edged sword, really. While parents can use the rating system to make better choices on what they feel is appropriate for their children, some details apparently get left out. Say a parent (or a reviewer) notices something that should have been brought to the ESRB's attention. Should there be fines for omitting information, or what about a way for a rating to be amended after a game's release? I know that places like Wal-Mart would have a difficult time keeping track of games that went from T to M (or vice versa), but places like Gamestop or EBGames (whose ratings are computerized, and inform the cashier when a game is rated M) could easily keep up with it.
Actually, the game was originally slated to receive a T rating, but when the ESRB caught wind of the game's opening FMV (which features a nude woman diving off a waterfall, and her visible backside as she dives) it was given an M shortly before release. This is interesting as Dead or Alive 3, which in Christie's ending showed a much more visible rear shot, only received a T rating.
Your take on bill proposal #32-A?
Yes -- 11%
No -- 7%
DIE!! -- 26%
Cowboy Neal for president!! -- 56%
Aye, that's very true! I think it's a great thing and I plan on using it to be more active in my government's lawmaking processes. However after thinking of the trolls abound on most political forums you couldn't PAY me to be the admin of that forum. o_O
"'The negative public opinion, fanned by the media, can have real repercussions against the offshore wave,' Mr Gruber said. He added that he would advise the Indian government and IT companies to lobby hard and try and sell the positives to the US public."
You mean like being able to call tech support to reach a person that can barely speak english?
I've got a friend in Dallas that stands on the highway with a cardboard sign listing five years worth of certifications. He's jobless because his IT position was outsourced to India. He's had a great deal of trouble finding a job since then. So in the meantime, why don't the Indian government and the IT companies try to sell the postives to him instead?