Well, I remember reading an interview a while back where Nintendo said that the release date of the next Gameboy would depend on the sales of the DS. So I would imagine you are partially right, but I would still expect to see a new Gameboy within 3 years.
Well, here's a simple overview. Nintendo has previously had 2 major products. A home console and a handheld. They wanted to make something completely different in a handheld form, but they wanted to give the GBA a longer life. So, the DS was born.
Nintendo's OFFICIAL statements regarding the DS all say that the Nintendo DS is not of the Gameboy bloodline, and the GBA and the GameCube will still be supported until their replacements arrive. Personally, I think that the next in the Gameboy line will be released alongside the Revolution (Nintendo's next home console). This would allow Nintendo to provide competition for the PSP in the meantime, and allow for greater freedom and flexibility in integrating the Gameboy Next and the Revolution.
Nintendo DS is NOT a GameBoy. Nintendo has repeeatedly said that the next GameBoy will be out at some point in the future, and Nintendo DS is intended as a 3rd pillar. It's incorrect to describe it as a GameBoy.
And secondly, the Warp Pipe guys aren't the only ones doing this. The Xlink people are also in development of tunneling software.
Ridge Racer's control scheme, from what I heard, is actually taken from the N64 version of the game. But I played neither, so I admit I could be mistaken here.
Actually, I think only Ridge Racer DS uses this scheme... basically, you have a big steering wheel on the touch screen, and you steer by moving that. It sounds incredibly awkward to me, and as a result, I won't buy it. I can easily wait for Mario Kart.;)
But the later sentences of this assertion don't necessarily imply the first one is correct. The PSX still sold a lot more systems and games than the N64 did. I'm not happy about it either, but it's a fact. I don't see how the N64 can be the "big" console of the previous generation if this is true.
Yeah, I realized later that this sentence was quite misleading if taken at face value. I meant when it was first launched. Everyone expected it to be the best, considering what Nintendo did with the SNES. And for the first year, the N64 smoked the competition. But after that year, the lack of good software available for it became apparent, and people started jumping ship to the Playstation. The end result is that the Playstation was the big console of the era, but it wasn't always like that. The Playstation had very humble beginnings.
GBA outsells PS2. I think the handheld market has gotten even bigger, and Nintendo has greater than a 99% marketshare of it. Nintendo as well has only gotten bigger.
Well, I'm quite fond of Metal Gear Solid myself. But then again I stopped thinking that everything Metal Gear was good when MGS2 came out though, and I haven't had a chance to play MGS3 yet. And given Boktai and Zone of Enders, I am far beyond thinking that everything Kojima is good.;-)
Are you serious? Most of the people I know treat that game like a joke... Even the die hard Sony fans I know don't think much of the game. News to me I guess. But it comes out in a couple of days in Japan (Dec 16th), so I guess we'll see what the masses think of it soon.:) (we should get some Famitsu scores soon if nothing else)
PSP's highest rated launch game is Ridge Racers (yep, the one with 10 second load times when changing tracks, and a 20 second load time to start the game). Ridge Racer on DS is NOT a port of the N64 game. It features a new control scheme, and is an entirely new Ridge Racer game with tracks from previous games. I don't care enough about Asphalt Urban GT to even bother looking for it, so I'll just give you that one. No wipeout game (to my knowledge... you can try to prove me wrong) has ever sold a million copies. All the games I listed have sold a million copies with each incarnation.
Gran Turismo 4 Mobile is supposed to be an exactport of the PS2 version. (or close to it).
N64 was the big console of the era. Lots of people held off from the Saturn and the Playstation to wait for it (as the N64 was perpetually delayed, and always just around the corner). In the first year of the N64's life, it outsold the PSX by far.
BTW slashdotters love tech, right? I don't understand why so many are against PSP when it clearly surpasses NDS in engineering quality. If you love nice hack and Mario, buy NDS. If you love PlayStation and serious tech, buy PSP. If you love both and afford both, then buy both!
I love this quote though, so I am going to reply to it directly.:) I love tech, it's true. But there's some tech I dislike. Things such as a Divx player, a Sega Game Gear, an N-Gage, an Xbox, etc. Things like that just aren't worth my time or money.
I have no interest in PSP because (as I've repeated already several times), it has no games of interest, the hardware seems fragile, the battery life is absurdly short, and the price is way too high. These are not characteristics of good engineering.
Nope. Those lines of those who line up no matter what represent enthusiast interest & demand.
I also remember extremely long lines for N64. How did that turn out?
Why don't you touch PS1 I mentioned?;) As for PS2, it's now the market leader with the weaker hardware than Xbox/GC. With the superior hardware and the aggressive price, consumer demand (not only 'gamer', general consumer I mean) for the PSP is huge. NDS sold well for the moment, but it's not more than a stopgap solution until GBA2 arrives.
The PSX I didn't touch because I didn't agree with your point. The PSX trailed behind the Saturn for quite a bit before it really took hold due to the 3rd party support it was getting.
And I just got through explaining that the hardware in the PSP is not clearly superior. The DS has the better input device that allows for more types of games, and it clearly has the better battery life. As for pricing... DS is much cheaper, as it's cheaper per unit, and doesn't require accessories such as a carrying case (protected screen), or memory sticks.
Most of the "consumer demand" I have seen is from gamers, granted. But from what I've seen, most people I know are a little leery of the PSP given Sony's hardware reputation and the poor battery life.
But what you fail to realize is that NONE OF THIS MATTERS. What matters most of all is who has the games. And right now, the ball is firmly in Nintendo's court. Nintendo has Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Wario Ware, Pokemon, Mario Kart, and DS Wars. Each of these is GUARANTEED to sell a million copies. The only thing I see in Sony's court that's guaranteed to do well is Gran Turismo 4... and that's a direct port of a PS2 game. How long is this going to last do you think?
DS has sold half a million units in Japan so far, and has sold more than a million worldwide. This is more than double the units than PSP has even shipped. Do you suppose that the long lines for the PSP have anything to do with the fact that the unit is in short supply?
I think it's immediately clear that both handhelds don't have much in the way of games at the moment. I would be hard pressed buying a game for the PSP right now. I own Feel the Magic for DS, but I bought it mainly because I wanted to get a feel for the capabilities of the system.
So really, in absence of good games, it's early adopters who are picking up the consoles. What will determine the winner in the long run is the quality of the hardware and the game selection.
Square-Enix seems firmly entrenched in Nintendo's territory this time around, and Nintendo seems to have RPGs in the bag, boasting a lineup of things such as Xenosaga, Baten Kaitos, Final Fantasy, and others.
Nintendo also has the benefit of being able to supplement DS's weak launch lineup with GBA games. If you have a PSP, you have to make do with the crappy selection of launch games... which honestly won't go far. I wouldn't ever bring my DS with me anywhere if all I had to play was the demo cart and Feel the Magic. My DS still plays my GBA library for the most part.
In terms of hardware quality, PSP has superior graphics, and a bigger screen. To counter that, DS has 2 screens, and a very innovative input device for a handheld console. PSP seems doomed to recieve mostly PS2 ports and never be far from a power plug, while the DS has the stamina to go for a long time without meeting a power plug, and has a library of games that seem to work well on a handheld. (wario ware, pokemon, dragon quest monsters, etc.)
But I would agree with you when you say PS2 all over again. I remember a year of mind numbingly horrible games, and an extremely limited number of consoles at launch so Sony could show how they were selling out so fast and build up hype. I don't think it will work this time though. PS2 took the market anyways, as it's all there was. This time Nintendo is going head to head with Sony. Sony won't have a whole year to get someone to make a decent game.
save yourself. Get Firefox. (I never thought I would have to do this on Slashdot.)
So what does the comet think of this?
on
NASA's Deep Impact
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· Score: 3, Funny
What happens if the comet doesn't like being shot with the world's biggest bullet, and decides to come after us? Has NASA factored this into their plans?
Are you serious? I'm a Canadian myself... and I don't think that the thought ever occured to me that the term Canuck was politically incorrect. That must be some weird thing that you yanks thought up.
In a newspost by Tycho, which I cannot seem to find anymore, Tycho mentioned that your original reviews of Halo, in which playing the game was akin to crucifying your genitilia, was sort of embarassing upon actually meeting the Bungie crew.
So what I am curious about, is that it seems to me as if as your friendship with the developers increases, it becomes more difficult to express your true viewpoints of the games that you review. Since Microsoft and Bungie treat Penny Arcade with such high regard, it's very difficult to produce the comics of old that genuinely criticized the console and its games.
To what extent does Penny Arcade plan to take this? I realize that it would not be on any gamers to-do list to pass up a chance at exclusive happenings going on in your area... but I also know from news posts of old that Penny-Arcade does not ever wish to "sell out", and just repeat blindly the big kudos to every popular game out there. (Such as IGN or Gamespy). Is there any thought given to a situation like this?
As someone who has been "planning" to break into the game industry for the last 3 years of his University program... I have to say that I thought it was common knowledge that game developers would be put to a great deal of work with little compensation other than to simply create a good game.
I mean, I know that myself, as well as like minded people would probably be willing to work insane hours at minimum wage if it meant that we got to create some worthy games.
I am not really a big fan of EA either, and I really have a bad taste in my mouth regarding large corporations, but I have to accept them as a kindred spirit, given that they DO make games, and they DO try their best to make their games good. (My dream job would be with a smallish game developer, such as Silicon Knights). But that being said, I would still accept a job with them in a heartbeat. And it's actually my intention to apply for an internship next summer. These stories have done little for me except to make me feel sorry for EA and the other developers that are going to feel backlash over this.
ever play Timesplitters 2 on console? Or Battlefield Vietnam on PC?
Re:Looks like Slashdotters Loves Microsoft
on
Halo 2 Reviews
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· Score: 1
Nintendo makes a small profit on their hardware. Sony takes a breaks even (or a slight profit... it may have changed since I last checked). Microsoft still loses money on each console sold.
Nintendo won 2 console wars in a row. (NES, SNES).
Sony won 2 console wars in a war. (PSX, PS2)
Microsoft takes a HUGE loss on Xbox. As a shareholder, I would not approve of that. I don't have the slightest clue why anyone would. I suppose if it pays off for Microsoft, they have an anti-trust lawsuit to worry about, but we know how well the American legal system works.
Check your facts kiddo, and come back and try again.
Re:Looks like Slashdotters Loves Microsoft
on
Halo 2 Reviews
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· Score: 3, Insightful
My thought regarding the parent and the general Slashdot situation was the same.
I'm sure someone will reply to you saying that it doesn't matter who makes it, if it's a good quality thing... blah blah blah.
My personal opinion regarding Halo is almost exactly the same as yours and the parent's. Halo to me seemed like more of the same, with boring uninspired gameplay that somehow became hugely popular based solely on hype. (And yes, I've played it on both PC and Xbox).
But honestly, regarding Slashdot's love of Xbox? I haven't the first idea. The hive mind around here dislikes Windows because of it's lack of innovation, the monopolistic business practices behind it, and the shoddy quality. The same holds true of Xbox. Microsoft's sole business strategy is to lose money like a sieve by buying up every big name in the gaming industry that they can get their hands on, until there's no more competition. Microsoft has created a machine that doesn't seem well fit to play games from an architectural point of view, and touts hugely overinflated specs that they used to convince people that Xbox was more powerful. (which is a highly inconclusive statement). And the gaming library on Xbox consists pretty much entirely of ports, be it from PC or other consoles. (but mostly from PC).
I personally haven't the slightest desire for an Xbox (speaking as a gamer), as its only claim to fame is Halo, which I honestly don't care a lick about. I don't have desire for an Xbox (speaking as a geek) because I highly disagree with the business practices behind the Xbox, and the future of the gaming industry if left unchecked.
I already used my last mod point, or I would mod you up. There's nothing really new or interesting about this story. For one, the online components just kinda bite. For another, they've been done before. For another, the game is coming out on 4 systems, and I highly doubt that the Xbox version is going to be the one most people want.
Re:exclusivity is only temporary these days
on
Resident Evil 4 for PS2
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· Score: 4, Interesting
But you see, the problem is that the creator of Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami, absolutely HATES the PS2, and has publicly stated that he was trying to keep Resident Evil off of it. I think he's going to be quitting pretty quick now because of this.
Also, Nintendo has been very good to Capcom. They have even allowed Capcom to develop THREE Zelda games. Capcom has responded to all of this by stabbing Nintendo right in the back.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, I remember reading an interview a while back where Nintendo said that the release date of the next Gameboy would depend on the sales of the DS. So I would imagine you are partially right, but I would still expect to see a new Gameboy within 3 years.
Well, here's a simple overview. Nintendo has previously had 2 major products. A home console and a handheld. They wanted to make something completely different in a handheld form, but they wanted to give the GBA a longer life. So, the DS was born.
Nintendo's OFFICIAL statements regarding the DS all say that the Nintendo DS is not of the Gameboy bloodline, and the GBA and the GameCube will still be supported until their replacements arrive. Personally, I think that the next in the Gameboy line will be released alongside the Revolution (Nintendo's next home console). This would allow Nintendo to provide competition for the PSP in the meantime, and allow for greater freedom and flexibility in integrating the Gameboy Next and the Revolution.
Nintendo DS is NOT a GameBoy. Nintendo has repeeatedly said that the next GameBoy will be out at some point in the future, and Nintendo DS is intended as a 3rd pillar. It's incorrect to describe it as a GameBoy.
And secondly, the Warp Pipe guys aren't the only ones doing this. The Xlink people are also in development of tunneling software.
Ridge Racer's control scheme, from what I heard, is actually taken from the N64 version of the game. But I played neither, so I admit I could be mistaken here.
;)
Actually, I think only Ridge Racer DS uses this scheme... basically, you have a big steering wheel on the touch screen, and you steer by moving that. It sounds incredibly awkward to me, and as a result, I won't buy it. I can easily wait for Mario Kart.
But the later sentences of this assertion don't necessarily imply the first one is correct. The PSX still sold a lot more systems and games than the N64 did. I'm not happy about it either, but it's a fact. I don't see how the N64 can be the "big" console of the previous generation if this is true.
Yeah, I realized later that this sentence was quite misleading if taken at face value. I meant when it was first launched. Everyone expected it to be the best, considering what Nintendo did with the SNES. And for the first year, the N64 smoked the competition. But after that year, the lack of good software available for it became apparent, and people started jumping ship to the Playstation. The end result is that the Playstation was the big console of the era, but it wasn't always like that. The Playstation had very humble beginnings.
GBA outsells PS2. I think the handheld market has gotten even bigger, and Nintendo has greater than a 99% marketshare of it. Nintendo as well has only gotten bigger.
Well, I'm quite fond of Metal Gear Solid myself. But then again I stopped thinking that everything Metal Gear was good when MGS2 came out though, and I haven't had a chance to play MGS3 yet. And given Boktai and Zone of Enders, I am far beyond thinking that everything Kojima is good. ;-)
Are you serious? Most of the people I know treat that game like a joke... Even the die hard Sony fans I know don't think much of the game. News to me I guess. But it comes out in a couple of days in Japan (Dec 16th), so I guess we'll see what the masses think of it soon. :) (we should get some Famitsu scores soon if nothing else)
PSP's highest rated launch game is Ridge Racers (yep, the one with 10 second load times when changing tracks, and a 20 second load time to start the game). Ridge Racer on DS is NOT a port of the N64 game. It features a new control scheme, and is an entirely new Ridge Racer game with tracks from previous games. I don't care enough about Asphalt Urban GT to even bother looking for it, so I'll just give you that one. No wipeout game (to my knowledge... you can try to prove me wrong) has ever sold a million copies. All the games I listed have sold a million copies with each incarnation.
:) I love tech, it's true. But there's some tech I dislike. Things such as a Divx player, a Sega Game Gear, an N-Gage, an Xbox, etc. Things like that just aren't worth my time or money.
Gran Turismo 4 Mobile is supposed to be an exact port of the PS2 version. (or close to it).
N64 was the big console of the era. Lots of people held off from the Saturn and the Playstation to wait for it (as the N64 was perpetually delayed, and always just around the corner). In the first year of the N64's life, it outsold the PSX by far.
BTW slashdotters love tech, right? I don't understand why so many are against PSP when it clearly surpasses NDS in engineering quality. If you love nice hack and Mario, buy NDS. If you love PlayStation and serious tech, buy PSP. If you love both and afford both, then buy both!
I love this quote though, so I am going to reply to it directly.
I have no interest in PSP because (as I've repeated already several times), it has no games of interest, the hardware seems fragile, the battery life is absurdly short, and the price is way too high. These are not characteristics of good engineering.
I'm just tired of those misinformed.
lol.
Nope. Those lines of those who line up no matter what represent enthusiast interest & demand. I also remember extremely long lines for N64. How did that turn out? Why don't you touch PS1 I mentioned? ;) As for PS2, it's now the market leader with the weaker hardware than Xbox/GC. With the superior hardware and the aggressive price, consumer demand (not only 'gamer', general consumer I mean) for the PSP is huge. NDS sold well for the moment, but it's not more than a stopgap solution until GBA2 arrives.
The PSX I didn't touch because I didn't agree with your point. The PSX trailed behind the Saturn for quite a bit before it really took hold due to the 3rd party support it was getting.
And I just got through explaining that the hardware in the PSP is not clearly superior. The DS has the better input device that allows for more types of games, and it clearly has the better battery life. As for pricing... DS is much cheaper, as it's cheaper per unit, and doesn't require accessories such as a carrying case (protected screen), or memory sticks.
Most of the "consumer demand" I have seen is from gamers, granted. But from what I've seen, most people I know are a little leery of the PSP given Sony's hardware reputation and the poor battery life.
But what you fail to realize is that NONE OF THIS MATTERS. What matters most of all is who has the games. And right now, the ball is firmly in Nintendo's court. Nintendo has Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Wario Ware, Pokemon, Mario Kart, and DS Wars. Each of these is GUARANTEED to sell a million copies. The only thing I see in Sony's court that's guaranteed to do well is Gran Turismo 4... and that's a direct port of a PS2 game. How long is this going to last do you think?
That it is.
DS has sold half a million units in Japan so far, and has sold more than a million worldwide. This is more than double the units than PSP has even shipped. Do you suppose that the long lines for the PSP have anything to do with the fact that the unit is in short supply?
I think it's immediately clear that both handhelds don't have much in the way of games at the moment. I would be hard pressed buying a game for the PSP right now. I own Feel the Magic for DS, but I bought it mainly because I wanted to get a feel for the capabilities of the system.
So really, in absence of good games, it's early adopters who are picking up the consoles. What will determine the winner in the long run is the quality of the hardware and the game selection.
Square-Enix seems firmly entrenched in Nintendo's territory this time around, and Nintendo seems to have RPGs in the bag, boasting a lineup of things such as Xenosaga, Baten Kaitos, Final Fantasy, and others.
Nintendo also has the benefit of being able to supplement DS's weak launch lineup with GBA games. If you have a PSP, you have to make do with the crappy selection of launch games... which honestly won't go far. I wouldn't ever bring my DS with me anywhere if all I had to play was the demo cart and Feel the Magic. My DS still plays my GBA library for the most part.
In terms of hardware quality, PSP has superior graphics, and a bigger screen. To counter that, DS has 2 screens, and a very innovative input device for a handheld console. PSP seems doomed to recieve mostly PS2 ports and never be far from a power plug, while the DS has the stamina to go for a long time without meeting a power plug, and has a library of games that seem to work well on a handheld. (wario ware, pokemon, dragon quest monsters, etc.)
But I would agree with you when you say PS2 all over again. I remember a year of mind numbingly horrible games, and an extremely limited number of consoles at launch so Sony could show how they were selling out so fast and build up hype. I don't think it will work this time though. PS2 took the market anyways, as it's all there was. This time Nintendo is going head to head with Sony. Sony won't have a whole year to get someone to make a decent game.
save yourself. Get Firefox. (I never thought I would have to do this on Slashdot.)
What happens if the comet doesn't like being shot with the world's biggest bullet, and decides to come after us? Has NASA factored this into their plans?
Canada is doing its part. I fail to see why it would be such a huge crisis if the US decided to sign the treaty.
I usually refer to myself as a Canuckistani. (From the People's Republic of Canuckistan). ;)
In the text summary, I was picturing something like this in robotic form, and with this sort of weather. But sadly, I find that the robot was manufactured by an American, rather than a Japanese team, and the weather was an American definition of a blizzard, rather than a Canadian one. :(
It's actually Team America: World Police. That scene had me splitting my side. ;)
Are you serious? I'm a Canadian myself... and I don't think that the thought ever occured to me that the term Canuck was politically incorrect. That must be some weird thing that you yanks thought up.
In a newspost by Tycho, which I cannot seem to find anymore, Tycho mentioned that your original reviews of Halo, in which playing the game was akin to crucifying your genitilia, was sort of embarassing upon actually meeting the Bungie crew.
So what I am curious about, is that it seems to me as if as your friendship with the developers increases, it becomes more difficult to express your true viewpoints of the games that you review. Since Microsoft and Bungie treat Penny Arcade with such high regard, it's very difficult to produce the comics of old that genuinely criticized the console and its games.
To what extent does Penny Arcade plan to take this? I realize that it would not be on any gamers to-do list to pass up a chance at exclusive happenings going on in your area... but I also know from news posts of old that Penny-Arcade does not ever wish to "sell out", and just repeat blindly the big kudos to every popular game out there. (Such as IGN or Gamespy). Is there any thought given to a situation like this?
As someone who has been "planning" to break into the game industry for the last 3 years of his University program... I have to say that I thought it was common knowledge that game developers would be put to a great deal of work with little compensation other than to simply create a good game.
I mean, I know that myself, as well as like minded people would probably be willing to work insane hours at minimum wage if it meant that we got to create some worthy games.
I am not really a big fan of EA either, and I really have a bad taste in my mouth regarding large corporations, but I have to accept them as a kindred spirit, given that they DO make games, and they DO try their best to make their games good. (My dream job would be with a smallish game developer, such as Silicon Knights). But that being said, I would still accept a job with them in a heartbeat. And it's actually my intention to apply for an internship next summer. These stories have done little for me except to make me feel sorry for EA and the other developers that are going to feel backlash over this.
ever play Timesplitters 2 on console? Or Battlefield Vietnam on PC?
Nintendo makes a small profit on their hardware. Sony takes a breaks even (or a slight profit... it may have changed since I last checked). Microsoft still loses money on each console sold.
Nintendo won 2 console wars in a row. (NES, SNES).
Sony won 2 console wars in a war. (PSX, PS2)
Microsoft takes a HUGE loss on Xbox. As a shareholder, I would not approve of that. I don't have the slightest clue why anyone would. I suppose if it pays off for Microsoft, they have an anti-trust lawsuit to worry about, but we know how well the American legal system works.
Check your facts kiddo, and come back and try again.
My thought regarding the parent and the general Slashdot situation was the same.
I'm sure someone will reply to you saying that it doesn't matter who makes it, if it's a good quality thing... blah blah blah.
My personal opinion regarding Halo is almost exactly the same as yours and the parent's. Halo to me seemed like more of the same, with boring uninspired gameplay that somehow became hugely popular based solely on hype. (And yes, I've played it on both PC and Xbox).
But honestly, regarding Slashdot's love of Xbox? I haven't the first idea. The hive mind around here dislikes Windows because of it's lack of innovation, the monopolistic business practices behind it, and the shoddy quality. The same holds true of Xbox. Microsoft's sole business strategy is to lose money like a sieve by buying up every big name in the gaming industry that they can get their hands on, until there's no more competition. Microsoft has created a machine that doesn't seem well fit to play games from an architectural point of view, and touts hugely overinflated specs that they used to convince people that Xbox was more powerful. (which is a highly inconclusive statement). And the gaming library on Xbox consists pretty much entirely of ports, be it from PC or other consoles. (but mostly from PC).
I personally haven't the slightest desire for an Xbox (speaking as a gamer), as its only claim to fame is Halo, which I honestly don't care a lick about. I don't have desire for an Xbox (speaking as a geek) because I highly disagree with the business practices behind the Xbox, and the future of the gaming industry if left unchecked.
I already used my last mod point, or I would mod you up. There's nothing really new or interesting about this story. For one, the online components just kinda bite. For another, they've been done before. For another, the game is coming out on 4 systems, and I highly doubt that the Xbox version is going to be the one most people want.
Watch Bush's speeches?
But you see, the problem is that the creator of Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami, absolutely HATES the PS2, and has publicly stated that he was trying to keep Resident Evil off of it. I think he's going to be quitting pretty quick now because of this.
Also, Nintendo has been very good to Capcom. They have even allowed Capcom to develop THREE Zelda games. Capcom has responded to all of this by stabbing Nintendo right in the back.