IIRC it was about the government electronically hijacking a plane to ram it into the WTC because arms sales hit a low that year and "terrorist activity" would boost them again. Even funnier, 2001 had a low in arms sales.
I hate Sony's controller design (though the sig is just a joke about Sony's battery recall) and pricing but I would most likely buy a PS3 if it was the console where all the games ome out. However, considering the first two factors I hope it doesn't come that far because I'd prefer playing those games on other hardware that doesn't cause my hands to cramp as easily and doesn't cost as much as ten games (and possibly has games that are even more expensive than they currently are, 60€ is already enough for a console game). Hate towards Sony is mostly to avoid paying that much for a console but I think Sony really is steering towards a major loss of marketshare. The price is too high for a console but those comments from their execs make me wonder if Ken Kutaragi's insanity has infected the rest of their staff. What spokesman right in their mind would tell people to get a second job to afford your console? Their PR blunders arebecoming far too numerous. Others would go into damage control mode, these guys are dancing on top of the burning house and yelling insults at bystanders. Given the attitude of their execs, the number of bad news and the number of formerly Sony-favouring developers giving increased support to other platforms those 500-600€ for the system seem like a gamble that's not likely to pay off.
Secondly, it doesn't matter what "most people do" - the reason they haven't before is because the option wasn't available before. Just like "most people don't move their game controller around".
Funnily Microsoft had products offering both of these quite some time ago and both failed. Probably the reason the 360 does neither. Sure, they didn't have a Wiimote but they did have a SIXAXIS-like controller (MS Freestyle Pro).
Since when was adding a feature considered a negative?
When that feature greatly increases the cost of the product while adding little value, that's when.
Over the course of the console's lifetime, that's roughly $250. So in the end, you're paying more for an XBox 360 than a PS3.
Yes but you have the choice of not paying for it if you don't want it.
Gears of War came out a year after the XBox 360 was launched. Other than that, there hasn't been any compelling games on it. At least Resistance: Fall of Man is better than any game before Gears of War.
Maybe. Metroid Prime was better than any game the PS2 offered (according to GameRankings) but the PS2 offered a much larger number of slightly less great titles. Additionally, GameRankings (I consider them more impartial than either of us) says the 360 has 4 titles that are better than Resistance.
I, like probably 90% of console gamers out there, will buy one in a year or so when it hits $400AU or less
That's a big problem for Sony, consoles don't fall in price that quickly so they'd either have to drop prices faster or wait at least two years until reaching the 90% you're talking of. Meanwhile the Wii already is at that pricepoint and the 360 is in a position where MS could cut the price low enough soon (I'm using the ~300USD your 400AUD amount to, not the actual pricing in Australia) which means they can start soaking up that 90% market long before the PS3 is ready to take a shot at it. If there are no hasty drops the PS3 will be ready in two years which probably exceeds the patience of most publishers by far. What sane person would okay an exclusive game for a platform that won't take off for a while when you need to sell almost a million copies just to break even? That means the PS3's library (especially the exclusive parts) will grow much slower than the 360's and Wii's. This would leave Sony with the smallest library by then which really isn't enough to gain dominance again.
All sony can offer to publishers wanting to recoup their money is promises that the PS3 will do as well as the PS2 (though I doubt Sony even promises that, they see the PS3 as a high-end machine which obviously translates to a smaller market) and Sony's behaviour lately makes the trust publishers have in Sony slowly break away. I do think it's highly likely that the PS3 will fail to secure publisher support in sufficient numbers which leaves it with a smaller library than the 360 and ultimately prevents Sony from taking first place again.
I disagree. The 360 is not a hodgepodge of the Wii and PS3, the only area where it's the middle ground is the price. In every other respect it's a direct competitor to the PS3. The PS3 is more expensive but the only thing it offers over the 360 is Bluray playback and I don't think people will buy their GAMING system just because it's more expensive or plays movies that won't be widely used for years. The PS3 hardware is not significantly better than the 360's outside of Sony's imagination (some, including developers, claim it's worse) and it's aimed at the same demographic as the 360. In this case it's two basically equal systems with one costing 400* (usually even including a game or two by now) and having a year's worth of games already and the other costing 500-600 with just a handful of titles available so far. The PS3 isn't a high-end replacement for the 360, it's a high-priced equal.
*=I consider the Core system to be a bad investment and therefore don't include it here, it's the only next-gen console that requires a memory card to be bought in order to save FFS!
I assume the firmware is trying to keep it simple so people won't get confused by basic settings. A game that needs correct aim could always add those calibration options (of course it'd be better if the firmware could store that config so you don't have to redo it for every game, maybe once the lightgun games come out Nintendo will consider adding it to the firmware).
How DARE they not make sure that their new console is compatible with an unlicensed product used to circumvent the regional lockout system for their previous console!
If it didn't work on the US Wii either I'd attribute that to incomplete backwards compatibility but since it's limited to the European Wii and given NoE's attitude towards importing and their behaviour close to the Wii launch (NoA states that the Wii will not have a region lock, a few hours later NoE starts screaming how it does have) it seems likely that they made sure their firmware locks the Freeloader out (system claims the disc is unreadable).
I'm sure you have your reasons for believing that Nintendo products are overpriced, but the market seems to disagree with you, if an entire month of people camping out in front of stores overnight hoping to get a chance to buy their product is any indicator.
We don't have people camping out for Wiis in MY country. In fact you can get a Wii at pretty much retail price on eBay here.
I've got the game for the Gamecube and I have to thoroughly disagree with you since it's an awesome game even on that system. The improvements over previous Zeldas are more subtle than the Wii remote, stuff like being able to swing your sword while running makes the game a lot nicer to play.
Not all Gamecube games work, if you're European your Freeloader will no longer work which means you still need your Gamecube for those imported games. AFAIK US gamers don't have that problem which leads me to believe NoE is a bunch of idiots again. Well, what do you expect from a company that overcharges by 25-50%, releases games a quarter or two late and can't even prevent its website from dying from normal load (never mind the stupid Javascript scrollbars that don't even work in Opera, the very browser they've put on the Wii)?
Me too but I'm going for the games I didn't have (especially on systems I didn't have which means NES, N64, Turbografx and Megadrive). Back when the SNES was on the market I was a kid with too little money so I'm missing MANY of the classics.
I'm seeing plenty of Wiis going at retail price at Ebay Germany. Plus a few "buy now" deals that are above 300€ and only a few minutes left (haha, suckers).
The fact remains, they're throwing a controller at their TV. I don't think it requires much brain capacity to notice that the Wii Sports games don't require much force and often will only care about a small part of your motion.
Slashdot Mirror
It does but it lacks the I.D. 10-T correction module.
IIRC it was about the government electronically hijacking a plane to ram it into the WTC because arms sales hit a low that year and "terrorist activity" would boost them again. Even funnier, 2001 had a low in arms sales.
Crap, what am I supposed to use as fireworks then?
I hate Sony's controller design (though the sig is just a joke about Sony's battery recall) and pricing but I would most likely buy a PS3 if it was the console where all the games ome out. However, considering the first two factors I hope it doesn't come that far because I'd prefer playing those games on other hardware that doesn't cause my hands to cramp as easily and doesn't cost as much as ten games (and possibly has games that are even more expensive than they currently are, 60€ is already enough for a console game). Hate towards Sony is mostly to avoid paying that much for a console but I think Sony really is steering towards a major loss of marketshare. The price is too high for a console but those comments from their execs make me wonder if Ken Kutaragi's insanity has infected the rest of their staff. What spokesman right in their mind would tell people to get a second job to afford your console? Their PR blunders arebecoming far too numerous. Others would go into damage control mode, these guys are dancing on top of the burning house and yelling insults at bystanders. Given the attitude of their execs, the number of bad news and the number of formerly Sony-favouring developers giving increased support to other platforms those 500-600€ for the system seem like a gamble that's not likely to pay off.
Secondly, it doesn't matter what "most people do" - the reason they haven't before is because the option wasn't available before. Just like "most people don't move their game controller around".
Funnily Microsoft had products offering both of these quite some time ago and both failed. Probably the reason the 360 does neither. Sure, they didn't have a Wiimote but they did have a SIXAXIS-like controller (MS Freestyle Pro).
Since when was adding a feature considered a negative?
When that feature greatly increases the cost of the product while adding little value, that's when.
Over the course of the console's lifetime, that's roughly $250. So in the end, you're paying more for an XBox 360 than a PS3.
Yes but you have the choice of not paying for it if you don't want it.
Gears of War came out a year after the XBox 360 was launched. Other than that, there hasn't been any compelling games on it. At least Resistance: Fall of Man is better than any game before Gears of War.
Maybe. Metroid Prime was better than any game the PS2 offered (according to GameRankings) but the PS2 offered a much larger number of slightly less great titles. Additionally, GameRankings (I consider them more impartial than either of us) says the 360 has 4 titles that are better than Resistance.
I, like probably 90% of console gamers out there, will buy one in a year or so when it hits $400AU or less
That's a big problem for Sony, consoles don't fall in price that quickly so they'd either have to drop prices faster or wait at least two years until reaching the 90% you're talking of. Meanwhile the Wii already is at that pricepoint and the 360 is in a position where MS could cut the price low enough soon (I'm using the ~300USD your 400AUD amount to, not the actual pricing in Australia) which means they can start soaking up that 90% market long before the PS3 is ready to take a shot at it. If there are no hasty drops the PS3 will be ready in two years which probably exceeds the patience of most publishers by far. What sane person would okay an exclusive game for a platform that won't take off for a while when you need to sell almost a million copies just to break even? That means the PS3's library (especially the exclusive parts) will grow much slower than the 360's and Wii's. This would leave Sony with the smallest library by then which really isn't enough to gain dominance again.
All sony can offer to publishers wanting to recoup their money is promises that the PS3 will do as well as the PS2 (though I doubt Sony even promises that, they see the PS3 as a high-end machine which obviously translates to a smaller market) and Sony's behaviour lately makes the trust publishers have in Sony slowly break away. I do think it's highly likely that the PS3 will fail to secure publisher support in sufficient numbers which leaves it with a smaller library than the 360 and ultimately prevents Sony from taking first place again.
I disagree. The 360 is not a hodgepodge of the Wii and PS3, the only area where it's the middle ground is the price. In every other respect it's a direct competitor to the PS3. The PS3 is more expensive but the only thing it offers over the 360 is Bluray playback and I don't think people will buy their GAMING system just because it's more expensive or plays movies that won't be widely used for years. The PS3 hardware is not significantly better than the 360's outside of Sony's imagination (some, including developers, claim it's worse) and it's aimed at the same demographic as the 360. In this case it's two basically equal systems with one costing 400* (usually even including a game or two by now) and having a year's worth of games already and the other costing 500-600 with just a handful of titles available so far. The PS3 isn't a high-end replacement for the 360, it's a high-priced equal.
*=I consider the Core system to be a bad investment and therefore don't include it here, it's the only next-gen console that requires a memory card to be bought in order to save FFS!
From the complaints I heard from developers it's doubtful if the PS3 is indeed more powerful than the 360.
I don't understand why they wouldn't give you that option *at all* in the OS.
Oh that's easy: They're Nintendo. The company that decided friend codes were good enough for everyone.
I assume the firmware is trying to keep it simple so people won't get confused by basic settings. A game that needs correct aim could always add those calibration options (of course it'd be better if the firmware could store that config so you don't have to redo it for every game, maybe once the lightgun games come out Nintendo will consider adding it to the firmware).
How DARE they not make sure that their new console is compatible with an unlicensed product used to circumvent the regional lockout system for their previous console!
If it didn't work on the US Wii either I'd attribute that to incomplete backwards compatibility but since it's limited to the European Wii and given NoE's attitude towards importing and their behaviour close to the Wii launch (NoA states that the Wii will not have a region lock, a few hours later NoE starts screaming how it does have) it seems likely that they made sure their firmware locks the Freeloader out (system claims the disc is unreadable).
I'm sure you have your reasons for believing that Nintendo products are overpriced, but the market seems to disagree with you, if an entire month of people camping out in front of stores overnight hoping to get a chance to buy their product is any indicator.
We don't have people camping out for Wiis in MY country. In fact you can get a Wii at pretty much retail price on eBay here.
I've got the game for the Gamecube and I have to thoroughly disagree with you since it's an awesome game even on that system. The improvements over previous Zeldas are more subtle than the Wii remote, stuff like being able to swing your sword while running makes the game a lot nicer to play.
I know the CD key shipped with Gunman Chronicles activates a copy of HL1.
Careful, I've seen TV's marked as "HD ready" that did 800x600 native.
Not all Gamecube games work, if you're European your Freeloader will no longer work which means you still need your Gamecube for those imported games. AFAIK US gamers don't have that problem which leads me to believe NoE is a bunch of idiots again. Well, what do you expect from a company that overcharges by 25-50%, releases games a quarter or two late and can't even prevent its website from dying from normal load (never mind the stupid Javascript scrollbars that don't even work in Opera, the very browser they've put on the Wii)?
Me too but I'm going for the games I didn't have (especially on systems I didn't have which means NES, N64, Turbografx and Megadrive). Back when the SNES was on the market I was a kid with too little money so I'm missing MANY of the classics.
I'm seeing plenty of Wiis going at retail price at Ebay Germany. Plus a few "buy now" deals that are above 300€ and only a few minutes left (haha, suckers).
Add water cooling!
"Well, that sucks. Guess we have to charge you with destruction of evidence and assume it was incriminating".
Wiki lists 14 games for the Eye Toy with numerous others including optional functionality for it so the 1-2 estimate isn't correct there either.
The fact remains, they're throwing a controller at their TV. I don't think it requires much brain capacity to notice that the Wii Sports games don't require much force and often will only care about a small part of your motion.
Needs a warning label: "Do not spill coffee on remaining skin".
What is McDonalds supposed to do, make the coffee and let it stand around for two minutes before handing it to the customer?
And if Nintendo had made it strong enough to rip your wrist off rather than breaking? They could call that a safety feature.
"Hot coffee lawsuit" makes me think of Jack Thompson.