Fred Meyer??? Where you at, man? I'm in Fairbanks. I thought Freddy's was limited to Alaska; or is it all of the Pacific Northwest?
Seattle - they're in a number of states nationwide.
I hear they got a shipment of 30 Wiis the other day and they sold out in a matter of a few hours. I've never even seen a nunchuck, VCC, or Wiimote since. It's like launch, but every single day!
I'd heard about how PS3s are being found on shelves in many stores, and I thought that this phenominon was isolated to the lower 48, but I was wrong. The same Freddy's where 30 Wiis are being snatched up in a matter of hours has had about 3 PS3s sitting on the shelf for over 4 days (according to the sales reps).
I've seen quite a few stores in Seattle with PS3 consoles, but doesn't look like people want them - the Wii consoles sell out as soon as they hit the shelves. Luckily, the games are in good supply for both systems.
What peripherals? If you have a Blu-Ray player as part of the PS3, you have no need for another...
Again, check a large number of stories on this issue in the Wall Street Journal (expensive subscription required), as they detail the actual subsidized costs and address many of the same sub-issues you bring up, as well as how many factories are online and where the shortages actually are.
That given, we see neither a large wave of consumers buying Blu-Ray discs (music, movie, or games) in the numbers sufficient to pay for the subsidy level to even break even on the manufacturing costs. Internal short-selling shows that even the Sony people don't buy the hype.
Maybe if Microsoft hadn't already announced their support for HD-DVD format, Sony wouldn't have to worry about it, but it looks like the market is already deciding the format war in the detritus left behind by the PS3 launch.
Nah, I'll just use the estimates reported in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal as to the Sony console losing more than $240 per unit sold (and more for the other version of the PS3) - which requires them to sell that many games, based on license fees and mix of ownership of games.
Note that if they sell movie titles and music in Blu-Ray format, they partially make up that amount in license fees, but all music stores show that demand for these - especially movies - just isn't there, unless you count Taladega Nights, which was shipped in an included bundle with the PS3.
You can rely on the Sony "estimates". I'll rely on the independent financial whizzes.
Well, at least I finally found some spare controllers. At the local Fred Meyer - not on the shelf, but behind the service desk (you had to ask them).
Wasn't there an interactive map of where Wii consoles are (posted on slashdot a week or two ago)? Why not use that? And try places like Best Buy and K-mart too.
With the average PS3 game getting a 1, 2, or 3 on a 5 point star rating scale, and the average PS3 buyer only buying 2-3 games, they're not even close to break even - which would require the average PS3 console owner to buy... 12 to 20 PS3 games.
There's business.
And then there's economics.
Just ask Microsoft's Zune about that... on today's NPR show on the electronics show, they talked about the iPod, not the Zune. You can market - but you won't make people buy.
Whatever you buy, you are free to to what you want with it, as long as you dont violate rights of others. Its MY decision if i lock up the PS3 in a cabinet, burn it in a bonfire or put it on ebay.
I see. There are laws against burning certain devices containing mercury under federal laws, as well as most city and county and state regulations regarding disposal of materials containing hazardous wastes.
This is why you don't see people burning their cars intentionally on the streets when they buy new ones.
The Wii uses SD cards - my son bought a 512MB one, my sister gave him a 1GB card for Xmas, and it's the same type that works in his Palm and Digital Camera.
But you also use the old GameCube memory cards for the GameCube games when you want to play those on the Wii, as well as your old GameCube controllers - so don't throw those out.
The built-in system memory is fairly large though.
Thank you, yes, I meant Guitar Hero 2, which is not just a fun game for the PS2, but is cross-gender in appeal, and is in fact one of the hottest games when rankings by both girls and women are done - quite unusual for a PS2 game.
The actions that Sony took with Blu-Ray and the PS3 have knocked them out of the console dominance market, which has resulted in them losing the format wars to HD-DVD (which will become apparent around mid-year, but is obvious in market data I read in the Wall Street Journal (expensive subscription required, I read the print version).
Unless something magical happens, at this point they've lost the synergistic marketing push needed to succeed, and need to revisit their strategies sooner rather than later, based on reality and not current wishing.
I don't think people who like curling are that interested in other sports, frankly. Maybe Canadian Football League (CFL) football or Canadian Hockey League (CHL) hockey - and there are two games for the latter, one of which rocks. Doing an online team play and championship episodic play, with the ability to play specific historic players and teams as your opponents (or team) is more likely to do well. And a lot easier to add in dribs and drabs, based on consumer response. You can also use it to test out new features to be in the next release.
According to a number of detailed articles I read in the print edition of the Wall Street Journal (expensive subscription required, ain't paying), it's not just the actual console sales of Wii consoles, but the actual purchase of Wii controllers, games, and memory cards, that made the Wii the blockbuster seller this Christmas season.
Unlike the PS3, where most people bought the one really good game (Resistance Fall of Man), or the existing game purchases by xBox360 owners of Gears of War, the Wii console buyers ended up buying a lot of games and extra controllers, leading to situations where controllers were usually only found in back rooms and behind counters, as they were snapped up the second they appeared. Games were in reasonable supply, but most console owners bought quite a few games - probably affected by the MSRP of $50 for Wii games, compared to $60 for 360 and PS3 games.
However, sales of the PS2 games were fairly strong, especially that rock guitar thing (forgot the name) and a number of other strong titles.
Just looking at it, and considering the expanded market of people who are actually using the Wii console to play games that are easier to just get into, I am thinking that the market for this is incredibly huge - and will dwarf that of most PC games. In addition, if the online capabilities include being able to visit friends towns, it will do very well indeed.
Count me in for that, as well as for Spore on the Wii.
Well, making it episodic is fairly easy. You just have to add a story line based on great curling events, like the Olympics, but start people off at the home games, work up to the regional tryoffs, and then the nationals.
A friend of mine once did very well and got to the national tryoffs, but failed to get on the Olympic team. Back when I lived in Canada.
Flat-screen TVs pass CRT sales. 2007 will be the year Joe Sixpack gets a flat screen. Look for low-end units with fewer cables and connectors.
According to my print edition of the Wall Street Journal (expensive subscription required), flat screen TVs already passed CRT sales in the Christmas 2006 season. In fact, the two big winners in the November to December Christmas season were the Nintendo Wii and HDTV-capable flat screen TVs.
No, because fewer than 17 percent of businesses have any plans to rollout Vista this year, and it's even less popular with consumers.
This is the year of the Linux Laptop - at least for me it is. If my games don't work on my new Wii console, or my son's mid-2006 Mac Mini, they darn well better work on Linux or WinXP, cause many of us including myself aren't going to shell out $2000 or more for a new laptop that offers features that Mac OS has had for years, when our current WinXP laptops work fine for everything else.
This disruption, however, may cause Open Office to take off, as people ditch MSFT Office which won't work on their Linux laptops, and isn't supported on Mac laptops after this year (unless I heard that last part wrong...)
Is that because it's now in the mandatory passports we need to travel to Mexico and Canada starting this year, or because it's embedded in our underpants and tube socks?
I have to say, I agree for the most part. I've been kind of amazed at how good the Wii games have been.
My ranking of top 5 games would be:
1. Rayman's Raving Rabbids for the Wii - OMFG this is fun! 2. Sims 2: Pets - but only because I've been playing it since I bought it on Wii launch day - I think you can play the GameCube version right now, I'm using the PC version. 3. Legend of Zelda for the Wii - cool! 4. Wii Sports - cause I keep playing this and so does everyone else. 5. Elebits for the Wii - but I just got it, so I have a feeling I'm biased, everytime I get a new game I freak.
I'm surprised. I thought I'd be chomping at the bit for Mario Galaxy, but right now there's just not enough time and too many games.
If I had a PS3, or xBox360, I'd probably have that alien WWII game (PS3) or the Gears of War (360) on my list. But I'm still using PS2 and xBox games and haven't heard anything that makes me want to get one of those consoles - one game does not a console make. Wake me when they have five really great games.
Why would people continue to want a PS3 given the complete shortage of games for it.
Not only that, but even the Wall Street Journal, had a main fold front page story (in print) on how the Christmas shopping season was dissapointing, with the exception of the Nintendo Wii and HDTV sales.
And, in the G4 TV program, they have only given one 5 star rating for the entire PS3 lineup - the PSP is doing much better, of course.
I agree, but the reality is that most people who bought Wii consoles have been buying more games, and a lot of the purchasers are dads (like me) who are buying more Wiimotes and nunchuks and more games for their kids and other relatives.
The problem as I see it for the PS3 is that teh number of good games out there is pretty small. That may change in the next year, but it's not changing for this Xmas season, so they miss out on a massive buying surge that the Wii is picking up.
Plus, we've been buying GameCube games too, since those work in the Wii. I noticed this even down here on vacation in Santa Barbara - where people have been buying new and used GameCube games if they ran out of Wii games they wanted.
As I understand you could use a Wiimote plus nunchuk and it should translate into the standard GC controller, but I've never tried that. It's an interesting question.
No, I used to be in the Army, and one of the main problems for any surface to air missile is lockon - if the cell site is near the tail, that's a pretty good area to hit, as you take out the fins and sometimes an engine or two. You just need a cheap cell signal lockon that uses fire and forget to follow the mobile target - probably as cheap as those JATO units we added to dumb bombs to turn them into smart bombs for $1000 (my guess is this upgrade would be around $100 max, worth it).
Slashdot Mirror
Fred Meyer??? Where you at, man? I'm in Fairbanks. I thought Freddy's was limited to Alaska; or is it all of the Pacific Northwest?
Seattle - they're in a number of states nationwide.
I hear they got a shipment of 30 Wiis the other day and they sold out in a matter of a few hours. I've never even seen a nunchuck, VCC, or Wiimote since. It's like launch, but every single day!
I'd heard about how PS3s are being found on shelves in many stores, and I thought that this phenominon was isolated to the lower 48, but I was wrong. The same Freddy's where 30 Wiis are being snatched up in a matter of hours has had about 3 PS3s sitting on the shelf for over 4 days (according to the sales reps).
I've seen quite a few stores in Seattle with PS3 consoles, but doesn't look like people want them - the Wii consoles sell out as soon as they hit the shelves. Luckily, the games are in good supply for both systems.
No, as I indicated, license fees were included.
...
What peripherals? If you have a Blu-Ray player as part of the PS3, you have no need for another
Again, check a large number of stories on this issue in the Wall Street Journal (expensive subscription required), as they detail the actual subsidized costs and address many of the same sub-issues you bring up, as well as how many factories are online and where the shortages actually are.
That given, we see neither a large wave of consumers buying Blu-Ray discs (music, movie, or games) in the numbers sufficient to pay for the subsidy level to even break even on the manufacturing costs. Internal short-selling shows that even the Sony people don't buy the hype.
Maybe if Microsoft hadn't already announced their support for HD-DVD format, Sony wouldn't have to worry about it, but it looks like the market is already deciding the format war in the detritus left behind by the PS3 launch.
Nah, I'll just use the estimates reported in the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal as to the Sony console losing more than $240 per unit sold (and more for the other version of the PS3) - which requires them to sell that many games, based on license fees and mix of ownership of games.
Note that if they sell movie titles and music in Blu-Ray format, they partially make up that amount in license fees, but all music stores show that demand for these - especially movies - just isn't there, unless you count Taladega Nights, which was shipped in an included bundle with the PS3.
You can rely on the Sony "estimates". I'll rely on the independent financial whizzes.
Well, at least I finally found some spare controllers. At the local Fred Meyer - not on the shelf, but behind the service desk (you had to ask them).
Wasn't there an interactive map of where Wii consoles are (posted on slashdot a week or two ago)? Why not use that? And try places like Best Buy and K-mart too.
With the average PS3 game getting a 1, 2, or 3 on a 5 point star rating scale, and the average PS3 buyer only buying 2-3 games, they're not even close to break even - which would require the average PS3 console owner to buy ... 12 to 20 PS3 games.
... on today's NPR show on the electronics show, they talked about the iPod, not the Zune. You can market - but you won't make people buy.
There's business.
And then there's economics.
Just ask Microsoft's Zune about that
It's also illegal and will get you into jail for a period of 3 to 6 months. Burning toxic substances is a felony in many areas.
is to install the latest Ubuntu build.
Whatever you buy, you are free to to what you want with it, as long as you dont violate rights of others.
Its MY decision if i lock up the PS3 in a cabinet, burn it in a bonfire or put it on ebay.
I see. There are laws against burning certain devices containing mercury under federal laws, as well as most city and county and state regulations regarding disposal of materials containing hazardous wastes.
This is why you don't see people burning their cars intentionally on the streets when they buy new ones.
The Wii uses SD cards - my son bought a 512MB one, my sister gave him a 1GB card for Xmas, and it's the same type that works in his Palm and Digital Camera.
But you also use the old GameCube memory cards for the GameCube games when you want to play those on the Wii, as well as your old GameCube controllers - so don't throw those out.
The built-in system memory is fairly large though.
Thank you, yes, I meant Guitar Hero 2, which is not just a fun game for the PS2, but is cross-gender in appeal, and is in fact one of the hottest games when rankings by both girls and women are done - quite unusual for a PS2 game.
The actions that Sony took with Blu-Ray and the PS3 have knocked them out of the console dominance market, which has resulted in them losing the format wars to HD-DVD (which will become apparent around mid-year, but is obvious in market data I read in the Wall Street Journal (expensive subscription required, I read the print version).
Unless something magical happens, at this point they've lost the synergistic marketing push needed to succeed, and need to revisit their strategies sooner rather than later, based on reality and not current wishing.
I don't think people who like curling are that interested in other sports, frankly. Maybe Canadian Football League (CFL) football or Canadian Hockey League (CHL) hockey - and there are two games for the latter, one of which rocks. Doing an online team play and championship episodic play, with the ability to play specific historic players and teams as your opponents (or team) is more likely to do well. And a lot easier to add in dribs and drabs, based on consumer response. You can also use it to test out new features to be in the next release.
According to a number of detailed articles I read in the print edition of the Wall Street Journal (expensive subscription required, ain't paying), it's not just the actual console sales of Wii consoles, but the actual purchase of Wii controllers, games, and memory cards, that made the Wii the blockbuster seller this Christmas season.
Unlike the PS3, where most people bought the one really good game (Resistance Fall of Man), or the existing game purchases by xBox360 owners of Gears of War, the Wii console buyers ended up buying a lot of games and extra controllers, leading to situations where controllers were usually only found in back rooms and behind counters, as they were snapped up the second they appeared. Games were in reasonable supply, but most console owners bought quite a few games - probably affected by the MSRP of $50 for Wii games, compared to $60 for 360 and PS3 games.
However, sales of the PS2 games were fairly strong, especially that rock guitar thing (forgot the name) and a number of other strong titles.
Just looking at it, and considering the expanded market of people who are actually using the Wii console to play games that are easier to just get into, I am thinking that the market for this is incredibly huge - and will dwarf that of most PC games. In addition, if the online capabilities include being able to visit friends towns, it will do very well indeed.
Count me in for that, as well as for Spore on the Wii.
Wii Curling for $5, anyone?
Well, making it episodic is fairly easy. You just have to add a story line based on great curling events, like the Olympics, but start people off at the home games, work up to the regional tryoffs, and then the nationals.
A friend of mine once did very well and got to the national tryoffs, but failed to get on the Olympic team. Back when I lived in Canada.
Flat-screen TVs pass CRT sales. 2007 will be the year Joe Sixpack gets a flat screen. Look for low-end units with fewer cables and connectors.
According to my print edition of the Wall Street Journal (expensive subscription required), flat screen TVs already passed CRT sales in the Christmas 2006 season. In fact, the two big winners in the November to December Christmas season were the Nintendo Wii and HDTV-capable flat screen TVs.
Is Windows Vista on that list?
...)
No, because fewer than 17 percent of businesses have any plans to rollout Vista this year, and it's even less popular with consumers.
This is the year of the Linux Laptop - at least for me it is. If my games don't work on my new Wii console, or my son's mid-2006 Mac Mini, they darn well better work on Linux or WinXP, cause many of us including myself aren't going to shell out $2000 or more for a new laptop that offers features that Mac OS has had for years, when our current WinXP laptops work fine for everything else.
This disruption, however, may cause Open Office to take off, as people ditch MSFT Office which won't work on their Linux laptops, and isn't supported on Mac laptops after this year (unless I heard that last part wrong
Is that because it's now in the mandatory passports we need to travel to Mexico and Canada starting this year, or because it's embedded in our underpants and tube socks?
I have to say, I agree for the most part. I've been kind of amazed at how good the Wii games have been.
My ranking of top 5 games would be:
1. Rayman's Raving Rabbids for the Wii - OMFG this is fun!
2. Sims 2: Pets - but only because I've been playing it since I bought it on Wii launch day - I think you can play the GameCube version right now, I'm using the PC version.
3. Legend of Zelda for the Wii - cool!
4. Wii Sports - cause I keep playing this and so does everyone else.
5. Elebits for the Wii - but I just got it, so I have a feeling I'm biased, everytime I get a new game I freak.
I'm surprised. I thought I'd be chomping at the bit for Mario Galaxy, but right now there's just not enough time and too many games.
If I had a PS3, or xBox360, I'd probably have that alien WWII game (PS3) or the Gears of War (360) on my list. But I'm still using PS2 and xBox games and haven't heard anything that makes me want to get one of those consoles - one game does not a console make. Wake me when they have five really great games.
Why would people continue to want a PS3 given the complete shortage of games for it.
Not only that, but even the Wall Street Journal, had a main fold front page story (in print) on how the Christmas shopping season was dissapointing, with the exception of the Nintendo Wii and HDTV sales.
And, in the G4 TV program, they have only given one 5 star rating for the entire PS3 lineup - the PSP is doing much better, of course.
He says "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance".
Sorry, old SMOG here, can't keep track of games.
I agree, but the reality is that most people who bought Wii consoles have been buying more games, and a lot of the purchasers are dads (like me) who are buying more Wiimotes and nunchuks and more games for their kids and other relatives.
The problem as I see it for the PS3 is that teh number of good games out there is pretty small. That may change in the next year, but it's not changing for this Xmas season, so they miss out on a massive buying surge that the Wii is picking up.
Plus, we've been buying GameCube games too, since those work in the Wii. I noticed this even down here on vacation in Santa Barbara - where people have been buying new and used GameCube games if they ran out of Wii games they wanted.
As I understand you could use a Wiimote plus nunchuk and it should translate into the standard GC controller, but I've never tried that. It's an interesting question.
Correction, RPGs weren't designed to shoot down things like F-16s. They were designed for slow low flying aircraft (like helicopters).
Which is one reason this mod would be good. Unless they turn off the cell site for takeoff/landing.
No, I used to be in the Army, and one of the main problems for any surface to air missile is lockon - if the cell site is near the tail, that's a pretty good area to hit, as you take out the fins and sometimes an engine or two. You just need a cheap cell signal lockon that uses fire and forget to follow the mobile target - probably as cheap as those JATO units we added to dumb bombs to turn them into smart bombs for $1000 (my guess is this upgrade would be around $100 max, worth it).
Having a dedicated signal is key.