They have decided that everyone must upgrade their computers to watch HD content. (It's time to purchase shares in Intel, the top PC component suppliers, and the top 10 PC makers -- they'll all be selling more stuff as a result of this.)
How do you figure? Who really gives a crap about watching HD movies on their PC anyway? The average consumer? I think not. Hell, I'm a geek, and I don't even give a rip about that. I just want a nice, plug and play box I can hook up in my living room to my HD-TV that is idiot proof. I certainly don't want to have to run Windows to do it. And you can bet that the average joe sure as hell doesn't want to have to mess with that crap. Buy a new computer just to watch HD? Not in a million years.
Please tell me they're not seriously expecting this to compete with iTunes. Even with MTV and Microsoft pushing it together, I think that the fact that you can't burn the music is going to turn away most of their potential customers. People are stupid, but given the choice between owning DRMed music that you can burn or renting it and watching it all vanish when you stop paying...well, I'd hope that people aren't that stupid.
It has nothing to do with stupidity. For some people, renting is far preferable to owning. I know I'd rather rent my online music, especially if I can use it on a PlaysForSure MP3 player, rather than having to buy it. Then for the rare few songs I actually do want to own, I can either go to iTunes (not) or I can (more likely) buy the CD and rip those songs to MP3 format (or whatever format).
At $10 a month, it's like having my own massively huge CD collection at my fingertips without actually having to own all those CD's. That's well worth the price, if you ask me. BTW I already subscribe to Rhapsody which has been using this model for years. I might consider switching to MTV, however, if their selection is better.
Remember, when the DS first came out not that many third parties "got" the DS either, but now they do, and we're seeing tons of titles coming out for it. Developers will figure Wii out, and since it's such an innovative platform, developers will WANT to develop for it. I can see Wii having much better third party support than the GameCube did, even though it was generally easy for a quick "port" to the cube. We won't see those cheap ports on the Wii, but we'll see some actual games developed specifically with the Wii in mind. Sure, we'll see some gimmicky crap too, but "90% of everything is crap".
Sinking tons of money into a N-GAGE game probabyl wasn't smart either. Does anyone know if it was any good?
I had read that it was cool, I would probably have picked it up had it been released on just about any other platform. But N-Gage certainly wasn't worth buying for one game. And now I guess I'll never know.
I'm sure they're not as similar as they appear on the surface, but basically they seemed to have the same basic premise, which is, a bunch of genres all mixed together. I already had TORG and like it for that, so didn't see a need to get RIFTS. Plus by then I was already disillusioned about Palladium. I think the main event that drove me to quit buying their stuff was when they sued some 3rd party game book makers for including conversion notes for their games in them. I might have felt different if their mechanics weren't basically D&D ripoffs to begin with.
I never got into Rifts because what I saw of it just seemed a bit like a watered-down TORG with bad mechanics, but back in the day I played quite a bit of Palladium Fantasy RPG, which was a lot like D&D but just different enough to attract me to it. In retrospect it really was just a cheap knock-off, but at the time I really enjoyed it.
If magazines, for instance, did not have ads the magazine cost to the reader would be above what it is with ads. It's inevitable that ads get into video games in one form or another. Got a magazine subscription? Do they have ads? Yup.
Do movies have ads in the middle of them? No, not yet, (apart from product placement). So why do games HAVE to have ads? I prefer TV without ads, even though there is TV with ads. I don't even watch TV shows when they air anymore, I just buy the DVD release and watch it without the crap in it. Or I might DVR-it and fast forward through the commercials.
I'm willing to put up with ads in games if I pay less. But I'm not paying $15/mo for a game that has a lot of ads in it. Fuck that, and fuck the people that enable them by putting up with that shit. Shame, too, because the AutoAssault beta was actually pretty fun.
Am I the only one that thinks this whole MMO thing is just a fad that doesn't seem appealing at all?
MMO's are definitely not just a fad. I agree that there's a huge market segment that has no interest in them, and by no means are we at a point where the majority of games are MMO's, but you can't deny the fact that MMO's are here to stay, and that a large segment of the gaming population likes and plays them.
I think we're starting to see the inevitable dilution of the GTA franchise. GTASA was a good game, but I'm not sure really how much further they can go with the same idea over and over. It's not enough to have better graphics and stuff, they need to evolve the gameplay, and not just in minor tweaks. I know the prospect of GTA LCS was not enough to get me to buy a PSP, because it didn't really sound like anything new.
To improve their credibility, the ESRB should have told Take Two that it would no longer rate their games for a period of X years. That would have been a devastating blow to Take Two, but it might have saved the ratings board.
For a console we're supposed to be able to purchase in 9 odd months, you would think by now there would be some buzz about at least a couple of games for it. I guess they're saving all that up for E3.
Dang... we've been using that in israel for movies for years. Just a number in text message, though, no barcode. They type it in and check that the credit card you have with you matches the card that that ticket number is registered under and you're in.
That sounds painfully inefficient. They actually type in numbers and have you get out a CC for each and every person entering the concert? In the USA we generally have paper tickets, be they mailed or e-ticket (printed on home printer), and they just scan them with a barcode reader as you enter. Much faster.
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They have decided that everyone must upgrade their computers to watch HD content. (It's time to purchase shares in Intel, the top PC component suppliers, and the top 10 PC makers -- they'll all be selling more stuff as a result of this.)
How do you figure? Who really gives a crap about watching HD movies on their PC anyway? The average consumer? I think not. Hell, I'm a geek, and I don't even give a rip about that. I just want a nice, plug and play box I can hook up in my living room to my HD-TV that is idiot proof. I certainly don't want to have to run Windows to do it. And you can bet that the average joe sure as hell doesn't want to have to mess with that crap. Buy a new computer just to watch HD? Not in a million years.
Never underestimate the laziness of a gamer. BAD Nintendo, BAD BAD BAD!
Its good to know that our language is being protected by these companies.
What's the big deal anyway? Microsoft and Electronics Arts have never done anything evil before, why shouldn't we trust them implicitly now?
I didn't see the most coveted item on their list... SPOCK'S BRAIN!!!!!!!
Please tell me they're not seriously expecting this to compete with iTunes. Even with MTV and Microsoft pushing it together, I think that the fact that you can't burn the music is going to turn away most of their potential customers. People are stupid, but given the choice between owning DRMed music that you can burn or renting it and watching it all vanish when you stop paying...well, I'd hope that people aren't that stupid.
It has nothing to do with stupidity. For some people, renting is far preferable to owning. I know I'd rather rent my online music, especially if I can use it on a PlaysForSure MP3 player, rather than having to buy it. Then for the rare few songs I actually do want to own, I can either go to iTunes (not) or I can (more likely) buy the CD and rip those songs to MP3 format (or whatever format).
At $10 a month, it's like having my own massively huge CD collection at my fingertips without actually having to own all those CD's. That's well worth the price, if you ask me. BTW I already subscribe to Rhapsody which has been using this model for years. I might consider switching to MTV, however, if their selection is better.
Remember, when the DS first came out not that many third parties "got" the DS either, but now they do, and we're seeing tons of titles coming out for it. Developers will figure Wii out, and since it's such an innovative platform, developers will WANT to develop for it. I can see Wii having much better third party support than the GameCube did, even though it was generally easy for a quick "port" to the cube. We won't see those cheap ports on the Wii, but we'll see some actual games developed specifically with the Wii in mind. Sure, we'll see some gimmicky crap too, but "90% of everything is crap".
Sinking tons of money into a N-GAGE game probabyl wasn't smart either. Does anyone know if it was any good?
I had read that it was cool, I would probably have picked it up had it been released on just about any other platform. But N-Gage certainly wasn't worth buying for one game. And now I guess I'll never know.
Rifts is nothing like TORG.
I'm sure they're not as similar as they appear on the surface, but basically they seemed to have the same basic premise, which is, a bunch of genres all mixed together. I already had TORG and like it for that, so didn't see a need to get RIFTS. Plus by then I was already disillusioned about Palladium. I think the main event that drove me to quit buying their stuff was when they sued some 3rd party game book makers for including conversion notes for their games in them. I might have felt different if their mechanics weren't basically D&D ripoffs to begin with.
I never got into Rifts because what I saw of it just seemed a bit like a watered-down TORG with bad mechanics, but back in the day I played quite a bit of Palladium Fantasy RPG, which was a lot like D&D but just different enough to attract me to it. In retrospect it really was just a cheap knock-off, but at the time I really enjoyed it.
If magazines, for instance, did not have ads the magazine cost to the reader would be above what it is with ads. It's inevitable that ads get into video games in one form or another. Got a magazine subscription? Do they have ads? Yup.
Do movies have ads in the middle of them? No, not yet, (apart from product placement). So why do games HAVE to have ads? I prefer TV without ads, even though there is TV with ads. I don't even watch TV shows when they air anymore, I just buy the DVD release and watch it without the crap in it. Or I might DVR-it and fast forward through the commercials.
I'm willing to put up with ads in games if I pay less. But I'm not paying $15/mo for a game that has a lot of ads in it. Fuck that, and fuck the people that enable them by putting up with that shit. Shame, too, because the AutoAssault beta was actually pretty fun.
Am I the only one that thinks this whole MMO thing is just a fad that doesn't seem appealing at all?
MMO's are definitely not just a fad. I agree that there's a huge market segment that has no interest in them, and by no means are we at a point where the majority of games are MMO's, but you can't deny the fact that MMO's are here to stay, and that a large segment of the gaming population likes and plays them.
bada bing!
I already pay for a fucking email account. It's called ISP.
Does EVE Online have 6 million players? No? Then STFU.
Warning - The link in the parent is totally NSFW.
I think we're starting to see the inevitable dilution of the GTA franchise. GTASA was a good game, but I'm not sure really how much further they can go with the same idea over and over. It's not enough to have better graphics and stuff, they need to evolve the gameplay, and not just in minor tweaks. I know the prospect of GTA LCS was not enough to get me to buy a PSP, because it didn't really sound like anything new.
To improve their credibility, the ESRB should have told Take Two that it would no longer rate their games for a period of X years. That would have been a devastating blow to Take Two, but it might have saved the ratings board.
And the only sound to be heard for miles was the sound of crickets chirping.
Isn't this an invasion of privacy?
Only the guilty need to be concerned. For all of use who do not use Google to search for kiddie porn, we have nothing to fear.
For a console we're supposed to be able to purchase in 9 odd months, you would think by now there would be some buzz about at least a couple of games for it. I guess they're saving all that up for E3.
Dang... we've been using that in israel for movies for years. Just a number in text message, though, no barcode. They type it in and check that the credit card you have with you matches the card that that ticket number is registered under and you're in.
That sounds painfully inefficient. They actually type in numbers and have you get out a CC for each and every person entering the concert? In the USA we generally have paper tickets, be they mailed or e-ticket (printed on home printer), and they just scan them with a barcode reader as you enter. Much faster.
What annoys me is people that think taking the time to rephrase what someone else wrote amounts to doing anything remotely creative.
$500!! What a bargain!! For a console that can not only play games on twin 1080p displays at 200fps, but can also be used to grill tasty steaks!
O RLY?