Americans don't care about the moon. Whether it is a been there, done that attitude or a real understanding that much of what we can gain from the moon is a brief enrichment of a few select already-rich government contractors, I think the public wants manned space missions to Mars. Not sand burning on the moon, not space elevators made out of nano-tubes. I realize that there is a void of political clout in the industry, which make any progress towards Mars impossible but it seems somewhat self-inflicted.
So my question: why don't the industry wonks realize that 'projects' like this don't build support, they erode support?
Well bias usually results in inaccurate analysis, I think the MS haters are not off-target here.
Background facts:
1. I run Windows (horrors!)
2. I own an xbox and a ps2. The ps2 lives in a box in the garage. I use the xbox, even to play dvds!
3. I also use linux sometimes.
4. My housemate and I were amped up about the xbox 360 in November. Ready to buy buy buy.
5. Now we have zero interest. Limited title releases, shoddy xbox 360 verions (madden), overheating PSUs. This is why the launch was a failure. I believe that the pool of potential buyers in November is much smaller than the pool of potential buyers now and that the maximum # of xbox 360s that they can sell has declined since release.
Sidepoint: I agree that Sony is evil. I recently bought a new tv and it pained me to buy a Sony but it really was the best tv in the class at the best price in the class. Evil evil evil corporation. Worse than MS? (start the hate!)
But the reality that you are ignoring is that everything you would want in a successful release is absent from the xbox 360 release:
Here's an hypothetical release wishlist:
1. Knockdown title that will never be available on another system (e.g. Halo 3).
2. A hardware unit that performs beyond expectations, people should rave about the new graphics. Sure, they are better but not in a vastly compelling way (for example, the textures in Madden look plastic)
3. A stream of new releases over the 6 months following release to convince people who wait until after xmas to go ahead and get one.
4. A sufficiently limited supply to pump up enthusiasm and commitment to the platform but not so limited that you get nearly zero market penetration (how many people own xboxs, how many own ps2s, how many own xbox 360s).
5. A re-release of an existing title that knocks the socks off the old version (e.g. "You are still playing Madden on the xbox? Dude, you have to get a 360, it's so much better!).
None of these things are present.
Here's an hypothetical list of things you don't want in a release:
1. Availability so limited that buyers committed to purchasing (at nearly any price) can't get a unit
2. A lack of titles overall, with no grand slam new title and no grand-slam re-release
3. Faulty hardware reports BEFORE xmas.
4. A continuing limited supply of titles
5. A *dramatic* decline in demand as your market penetration increases.
Basically, I'm wondering what you think MS did right with 360. Don't say: sold all available units before xmas.
I was planning to buy a seagate drive this week.
Now I won't.
I also fired off an email telling Seagate why it will be awhile before I buy their stuff again.
I actively try to punish companies that I think misbehave, although I think I am often unaware of the misbehavior of a given company and in some industries no company is particularly nice.
So am I alone in thinking: "hey 2 years is too long. I think I'll buy Western Digital instead." or do other slashdotters make commerce choices based on political/legal opinions?
Slashdot Mirror
Interesting post, although admittedly smells a little with all that stinky troll meat in it.
Americans don't care about the moon. Whether it is a been there, done that attitude or a real understanding that much of what we can gain from the moon is a brief enrichment of a few select already-rich government contractors, I think the public wants manned space missions to Mars. Not sand burning on the moon, not space elevators made out of nano-tubes. I realize that there is a void of political clout in the industry, which make any progress towards Mars impossible but it seems somewhat self-inflicted.
So my question: why don't the industry wonks realize that 'projects' like this don't build support, they erode support?
Well bias usually results in inaccurate analysis, I think the MS haters are not off-target here. Background facts: 1. I run Windows (horrors!) 2. I own an xbox and a ps2. The ps2 lives in a box in the garage. I use the xbox, even to play dvds! 3. I also use linux sometimes. 4. My housemate and I were amped up about the xbox 360 in November. Ready to buy buy buy. 5. Now we have zero interest. Limited title releases, shoddy xbox 360 verions (madden), overheating PSUs. This is why the launch was a failure. I believe that the pool of potential buyers in November is much smaller than the pool of potential buyers now and that the maximum # of xbox 360s that they can sell has declined since release. Sidepoint: I agree that Sony is evil. I recently bought a new tv and it pained me to buy a Sony but it really was the best tv in the class at the best price in the class. Evil evil evil corporation. Worse than MS? (start the hate!) But the reality that you are ignoring is that everything you would want in a successful release is absent from the xbox 360 release: Here's an hypothetical release wishlist: 1. Knockdown title that will never be available on another system (e.g. Halo 3). 2. A hardware unit that performs beyond expectations, people should rave about the new graphics. Sure, they are better but not in a vastly compelling way (for example, the textures in Madden look plastic) 3. A stream of new releases over the 6 months following release to convince people who wait until after xmas to go ahead and get one. 4. A sufficiently limited supply to pump up enthusiasm and commitment to the platform but not so limited that you get nearly zero market penetration (how many people own xboxs, how many own ps2s, how many own xbox 360s). 5. A re-release of an existing title that knocks the socks off the old version (e.g. "You are still playing Madden on the xbox? Dude, you have to get a 360, it's so much better!). None of these things are present. Here's an hypothetical list of things you don't want in a release: 1. Availability so limited that buyers committed to purchasing (at nearly any price) can't get a unit 2. A lack of titles overall, with no grand slam new title and no grand-slam re-release 3. Faulty hardware reports BEFORE xmas. 4. A continuing limited supply of titles 5. A *dramatic* decline in demand as your market penetration increases. Basically, I'm wondering what you think MS did right with 360. Don't say: sold all available units before xmas.
When I installed the firefox extension, it imposed a background cpu load of ~30-60% on an AMD XP 3200+. Guess it isn't beta yet.
I was planning to buy a seagate drive this week. Now I won't. I also fired off an email telling Seagate why it will be awhile before I buy their stuff again. I actively try to punish companies that I think misbehave, although I think I am often unaware of the misbehavior of a given company and in some industries no company is particularly nice. So am I alone in thinking: "hey 2 years is too long. I think I'll buy Western Digital instead." or do other slashdotters make commerce choices based on political/legal opinions?