Please don't put words in my mouth. Kameo is not a top-notch title, everywhere reviewers responses are the same as mine. Did you read the/. review of Kameo from the other day by Zonk? Yep. same sentiments as me. PDZ is similarly weak as a total package. COD2 is available on any system and to me that doesn't make it count for much.
PGR3 and Geometry Wars are THE two launch titles in my eyes. Both great, although when a $5 game is one of the only shining stars on a super-powerful next-gen console there should be red flags in anyones mind. I do like a few 360 titles and I would like the Marketplace if it offered a better pricing structure, as would most.
I want to post the quote from the link you gave:
"Even Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved uses all 3 cores! We've obviously tried to max out the power in the time we've had, but like any development, the more you code for a machine, the more you discover.
In two years time, for example, we'll be maxing it out even more - we can't say if that'll be another 10%, 30%, 50% or whatever because we just don't know! But we do the best we can in the time constraints (because games do have to be released, you know!), and continue to push forward with each new game... "
That quote really doesn't prove anything. I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, but there is a BIG difference between using each core and actually using them as intended and for anything meaningful. If any game was truly using the three cores, MS would have highly trumpeted that fact at launch not downplayed it as they did. It just makes sense. A couple games are threading off AI tasks and one game I know is using it for some sound work but that is about it.
I wasn't comparing to Atari, of course it would be harder... I mean we could go back and say that any old hardware would be harder. My point was even the SNES is a hell of a lot easier. The NES is not simple, it's not even remotely considered "easy." It is a system that is moderate to difficult to do anything meaningful with.
Most people who are "developing" for the NES are just hacking existing ROMS, and while that is novel and has some good outcomes, it is not anywhere near a trulky active community.
With that said, however, I was unaware of your group and will look into it, I really applaud any original new NES creations and if you are part of it then more power to you and best of luck!
Armored Core 2 Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore HUGE in Japan Dynasty Warriors 2 ESPN International Track & Field ESPN X Games Snowboarding Eternal Ring Evergrace FantaVision Requisite decent puzzle game Gun Griffon Blaze Kessen Started a massive franchise Madden NFL 2001 Requisite football game Midnight Club: Street Racing Started a massive franchise Moto GP NHL 2001 Ditto Madden comment Orphen Q-Ball Billiards Master Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 Real Pool Ridge Racer V Ditto Japan comment SSX Spawned another franchise Silent Scope Silpheed: The Lost Planet Smuggler's Run Great game, showed some possibilities and sequels Street Fighter EX3 nuff said Surfing H30 Summoner Swing Away Golf Tekken Tag Tournament TimeSplitters Again Franchise starter Top Gear Daredevil Unreal Tournament Wild Wild Racing X-Squad
That's a lot of bold, and not to mention the spread across all genre's including easily accessible games like pool, golf, and some others... plus I forgot Dark Cloud.
Xbox 360:
Amped 3 (2K Games) Call of Duty 2 (Activision) Condemned (Sega) Dead Or Alive 4 (Tecmo) Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda) Final Fantasy XI (Microsoft) Full Auto (Sega) Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft) Gun (Activision) Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft) Madden NFL 06 (EA) NBA 2K6 (2K Games) NHL 2K6 (2K Games) The Outfit (THQ) Perfect Dark LE (Microsoft) Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft) Quake 4 (Activision) Ridge Racer 6 (Namco) Saints Row (THQ) Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision) Top Spin 2 (2K Games)
I know I'm not going to change your mind, but just take a second look.
Why does this have to be such an angry discussion? I'm no fanboy. I actually was PART of the hardware testing of the *MICROSOFT* Xbox 360. I'm no fanboy, calling people "fanboy's" is just an easy way to end a discussion.
My points are valid. My points are also points that were raised a number of times during the hardware testing phase, so I'm not alone nor are these just bullshit points I pulled out of my ass to look smart on/.
I didn't compare to the PS2/GC launches because they don't compare. The PS2 and the GC launches were more successful. Sorry for the length but here are the launches you are trying to compae to:
PS2: Armored Core 2 Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore Dynasty Warriors 2 ESPN International Track & Field ESPN X Games Snowboarding Eternal Ring Evergrace FantaVision Gun Griffon Blaze Kessen Madden NFL 2001 Midnight Club: Street Racing Moto GP NHL 2001 Orphen Q-Ball Billiards Master Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 Real Pool Ridge Racer V SSX Silent Scope Silpheed: The Lost Planet Smuggler's Run Street Fighter EX3 Surfing H30 Summoner Swing Away Golf Tekken Tag Tournament TimeSplitters Top Gear Daredevil Unreal Tournament Wild Wild Racing X-Squad
GC: Luigi's Mansion Wave Race: Blue Storm Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader Super Monkey Ball Sonic Adventure 2: Battle Batman: Vengeance Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Bloody Roar: Primal Fury Burnout Extreme G3 Crazy Taxi 2002 FIFA World Cup Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 Cel Damage NHL Hitz 2002 Driven Disney's Tarzan Freeride Donald Duck Quack Attack ESPN International Winter Sports Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure Pikmin Super Mario Sunshine Star Fox Adventures Super Smash Bros. Melee (arguably)
oh, yes, I'm fully aware of this... which is another reason I'm not really a UT fan any longer. At this point the games should basically be free or low cost (like $19.99) since they are essentially just tech. demo's. That way the technology gets out there in many hands and people look for games utilizing the engine.
I can probably pick out 2 UT's that I enjoyed and were worthwhile, but after that they are just more of the same. I'm not a graphics guy, I like games that have artistic style over realism... I'll take realism too, but just not at the expense of everything else.
I was absolutely not flamebaiting, and you are completely wrong with your facts.
PGR3 does NOT use all three cores, some launch titles are using 2 cores but only in limited capacity such as a second thread for AI. I'd love for you to show a link proving your outrageous claim.
If you honestly think the Marketplace pricing structure is good then you are a fool. There are no price breaks for buying more points and the cost in points on certain downloads is just insane. There should be tiered price-breaks in buying points to give some reward to those who buy more.
The launch titles were pretty weak overall, again, I'm not debating this... it is very apparent.
So basically out of all of the ACCURATE pros/cons I listed you tried to pick apart only three of them and of those you were wrong on all accounts. Now, who's holding that flamethrower?
I have been following this device and its creators for some time now, and they had been stating a Christmas release and at least online they have hit their mark (more than can be said of a number of others). While the novelty and the retro gamers will love it I believe it is ill-fated for a couple major reasons.
1.) Poor timing with the upcoming Revolution release and the backwards compatability.
2.) The NES is one of the hardest consoles to program for EVER. It is a major pain in the ass, I've worked on two NES titles and they are not fun. Without an active community of developers it will not really have a niche.
The DC was a cake-walk in comparison and that is why there are still commercial releases coming out for it.
Nevertheless, I wish them the best and I hope that these little buggers sell like crazy... me, my original 1st run NES still runs as great as the day I bought it and is still hooked up and operational.
The biggest thing to me is how much potential Microsoft has each time with its consoles and how they manage to not even come close to fulfilling any of it. They have hands-down the best online system, they have the raw power, they have the money, they have the marketing, they have the glitz and glamour... yet they fall flat on their face and have a pitiful pricing structure for the marketplace, poor launch lineup (with Kameo way too overhyped), design issues/flaws, no titles supporting the multiple threads (not even 1st party title or even just ONE game), barely shipping any units, hassling customers about defective units (and now not giving shipping dates even), basically lying about shipping every week up to Christmas, Lying about the power supply issues, the preposterous claims about the "best launch lineup ever," the unknown number of complaints AFTER Christmas once they are all opened, the confusion that will be had over two different versions of the 360, the piss-poor backwards compatability issues, and on and on...
11 flaws is being kind, no matter what your stance on the 360 is.
Personally, the UT games have grown stale as far as gameplay... however, there is no denying the graphical prowess of UT2k7. I have seen the engine demos in person twice and both times I was left in awe of what I was seeing. To imagine a console pumping out those graphics at a silky smooth frame-rate is pretty amazing, now if only some more substance and gameplay would get mixed in... I just might actually play an FPS on a console.
I'm not sure if you are aware or not but here in PA, A "Waste Engineer" - read garbage man - makes a comparable salary as me... a Network Administrator for a mid-sized bank. They even have better benefits. You'd be surprised at the average garbage man pay, I know I was when a buddy of mine went into the business straight out of High School and is a rich bastard while I have student loans and a stressful job.
I know in some of my college classes at Penn State the rare female CS student would be in class and the oogling and 6th grade antics were in full force by the oh-so-suave geeks surrounding her. No wonder no chic wants to be in CS.
Could it be the sound of a crash? This is not meant to be inflamatory or anything, just my humble opinion. I know a few of us journalists have been predicting the next videogame crash, and I have been one of them that has been pretty vocal about it. I see the PS3 and the 360 completely failing over the lifespan of the product. A number of factors contribute to it, such as low number of releases over the system's life due to costs and timeframes, very limited spectrum of titles across genre's, long dry periods between releases, and a few more issues that are a bit too length to discuss here.
The Nintendo Revolution is a console that I am embracing, and not out of any devotion to Nintendo, but instead out of my true love of games and gaming. I honestly feel that EVERY real gamer should be pouring out support of the Revolution, ESPECIALLY the Slashdot crowd. Sony and MS stand for everything we don't. Nintendo not only has already stated they will be working to gain small/indie developers but they have basically done every single thing that the/. crowd would want in a console. Innovation, value, openness, backwards compatability, low levels of DRM/restrictions, and solid technology.
He basically mirrored my comments and experiences in this industry, and ultimately it led to me leaving. This whole gaming business is one of the biggest shams in the world, and people - intelligent people - get suckered time and time again. Take a trip to E3 sometime to see a glimpse of the real "professionals" who work in this industry... you will lose all respect instantly.
Dan Hsu is one of the few journalists I ever had a respect for and could talk to intelligently... and I know he has left jobs to keep his integrity. Good for him to bring it to light in the media... this whole industry needs a shakedown and I'm truly hoping the Revolution is the start of a pardigm shift away from Sony/MS and graphics.
You made absolutely NO sense with your response. The Gameboy Light is very rare in the US... that would classify it as RARE, like I originally said. All I was saying is that I wasn't talking about the afterburner GBA mod.. but the original Japanese gameboy backlight.
You then go on to snip my reply to make it seem as if I was talking solely about my videogame collection, when clearly I stated in the sentence you FORGOT to include that my collection includes many rare, unreleased, demo, beta, and other titles and items.
Then you actually quote "On at least 10 occasions I had to go to the pawn shop with police and get my stuff back during the course of my freshman year." and state I shoudl have called the cops... ummm, no shit Dick Tracy. I DID.
You seem to think that the average inner-city pawn shop gives a flying fuck about legality... newsflash! they don't! They care about making money and they gave a lame excuse each and every time to the police and nothing was done about it.
Umm, I'm not sure you understand. I actually own a Nintendo made Japanese prototype Gameboy that came with a backlight in it. They are rare, this isn;t some mod I did to a Gameboy.
Also I own a collection of almost every game from Atari 2600 through PS1 COMPLETE! Meaning NES, SNES, Gameboy, GBA, and Genesis. Not ROMS either, a complete collection. Including many rare and unreleased playtest copies of games, beta's, and proof of concept work. These are original RARE releases that are not available to be purchased. My collection spans over 20 years and even includes original working Pong systems.
On at least 10 occasions I had to go to the pawn shop with police and get my stuff back during the course of my freshman year. I used to kick his ass daily, it was affectionately known as "Fight Night" in my dorm. He was a crackhead and stole anything he could, he was arrested for taking my shit and selling it numerous times.
Well it is "free" to use but not totally. To believe any company would pay $485 million dollars to GIVE AWAY anything for free is just silly. There is profit to be had, and that profit comes from the sellers. Now if the business model is based solely on income from the sites queried then that means the site is not centered around getting YOU the best deal, but getting the most money from the listed seller sites. So this means that they are going to posture those higher paying sites to seem like they have the best deal when in reality there are others lower. And if the company becomes desperate to boost profits, that means YOU get raped... maybe not directly, and you may not even know it happened, but with this business model the consumer is NOT #1.
Working as a game reviewer through college always landed me cool swag and games... like my fairly rare original backlit Japanese Gameboy. I think I spent more time at the local pawn shop trying to get my stuff back my freshman year than studying.
This seems to be a pretty accurate review of this title and it is also becoming a pretty accurate reflection on what Peter Molyneux and co. have been putting out... highly ambitious games that come out crippled and lacking fit and finish.
While I can respect innovation and trying new things, I can't respect half-assed games based on a multitude of unfulfilled promises from Lionhead Studios anymore.
Obviously they are if there is $400+ million dollars in interest by the purchaser... but I know that these sites poll only a select few online stores and the prices are rarely all that great.
Occasionally I will check out what pricegrabber or mysimon has to say, but most likely it will point me to Amazon.com and a moderate price as my best bet. These types of sites really just seem like the *worst* possible place to compare prices due to their discretion of the included stores, this system just seems to ooze opportunities for corruption. Constantly pit two big sites against sites they know have higher prices and collect a nice kickback from the big sites.
A trustworthy and all-inclusive (or at least as close as possible) price comparison site would be very welcomed though. Maybe this will be it... heh, who am I kidding, if they are shelling out $485 mil they plan on raping folks for everything they got in any way they can.
Come on now, seriously. Oh, no the cut of over 50% is all due to bundling... yeah right! I have never seen such B.S. in all my life.
They barely sold a quarter of their limited shipment in a WEEK and that was in basically the only two areas of Japan where the 360 had even a remote chance. I'd venture to guess that even the 28% sold number is inflated. With friends and colleagues in Japan, this is no surprise to me.. in fact I had been saying it all along on/. (and I even submitted the 360 in Japan launch story on/.) everyone said I was full of shit, and that my evidence was anecdotal and blah, blah, blah... well guess what? The Japanese could truly care less about the 360... believe me now?
What I can't wait for is the next price drop and when they STILL can't move them, what will their excuse be then? The 360 is a dog, it was rushed, has a terrible launch library, high defect rate, and a true mess from production to retail. No matter how you try to polish this turd, it's still just a shiny turd.
I've received some of the nastiest threats, including death threats, over simple reviews. I once received a death threat over the score of 3/10 for MGS3 that I mentioned above. But they are just hollow threats from little fat kids in mom's basement so I just brush them off. Plus I wrestled/boxed/hockey for some years so I'd *love* for some fanboy to try to actually make good on a threat:).
I also had received a death threat over my panning of the PSP in a preview I did. While I didn't bash the device itself, I was not happy with all of the limitations in place that crippled the device's use. I also covered the fact that development costs were way too high for a handheld and that it would not see many titles released over it's lifespan. I also touched on Sony's mistake in marketing UMD's. People were outraged and I drew fire from every angle... a couple years later... guess who was spot-on? Yep. In fact I pretty much nailed it.
While I've never worried or even given second thought to hate mail, I actually love it because it means I'm telling the story people aren't getting anywhere else... and most likely it is the true story.
Actually, this is one year when this will not hold true. Profits are down and will stay down for some many months to come. There are many factors contributing to it, but companies like EA are going to be turning in some low numbers even at year end.
The DS and the GC have been at the forefront for the past month in sales in the US amazingly, the $99 GC/ Mario Party 7 bundle is selling like crazy and the DS took off like a rocket and has a steady stream of must haves coming soon.
Slashdot Mirror
Please don't put words in my mouth. Kameo is not a top-notch title, everywhere reviewers responses are the same as mine. Did you read the /. review of Kameo from the other day by Zonk? Yep. same sentiments as me. PDZ is similarly weak as a total package. COD2 is available on any system and to me that doesn't make it count for much.
PGR3 and Geometry Wars are THE two launch titles in my eyes. Both great, although when a $5 game is one of the only shining stars on a super-powerful next-gen console there should be red flags in anyones mind. I do like a few 360 titles and I would like the Marketplace if it offered a better pricing structure, as would most.
I want to post the quote from the link you gave:
"Even Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved uses all 3 cores! We've obviously tried to max out the power in the time we've had, but like any development, the more you code for a machine, the more you discover.
In two years time, for example, we'll be maxing it out even more - we can't say if that'll be another 10%, 30%, 50% or whatever because we just don't know! But we do the best we can in the time constraints (because games do have to be released, you know!), and continue to push forward with each new game... "
That quote really doesn't prove anything. I'm not trying to be a smart-ass, but there is a BIG difference between using each core and actually using them as intended and for anything meaningful. If any game was truly using the three cores, MS would have highly trumpeted that fact at launch not downplayed it as they did. It just makes sense. A couple games are threading off AI tasks and one game I know is using it for some sound work but that is about it.
I wasn't comparing to Atari, of course it would be harder... I mean we could go back and say that any old hardware would be harder. My point was even the SNES is a hell of a lot easier. The NES is not simple, it's not even remotely considered "easy." It is a system that is moderate to difficult to do anything meaningful with.
Most people who are "developing" for the NES are just hacking existing ROMS, and while that is novel and has some good outcomes, it is not anywhere near a trulky active community.
With that said, however, I was unaware of your group and will look into it, I really applaud any original new NES creations and if you are part of it then more power to you and best of luck!
Not significant?!
Armored Core 2
Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore HUGE in Japan
Dynasty Warriors 2
ESPN International Track & Field
ESPN X Games Snowboarding
Eternal Ring
Evergrace
FantaVision Requisite decent puzzle game
Gun Griffon Blaze
Kessen Started a massive franchise
Madden NFL 2001 Requisite football game
Midnight Club: Street Racing Started a massive franchise
Moto GP
NHL 2001 Ditto Madden comment
Orphen
Q-Ball Billiards Master
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
Real Pool
Ridge Racer V Ditto Japan comment
SSX Spawned another franchise
Silent Scope
Silpheed: The Lost Planet
Smuggler's Run Great game, showed some possibilities and sequels
Street Fighter EX3 nuff said
Surfing H30
Summoner
Swing Away Golf
Tekken Tag Tournament
TimeSplitters Again Franchise starter
Top Gear Daredevil
Unreal Tournament
Wild Wild Racing
X-Squad
That's a lot of bold, and not to mention the spread across all genre's including easily accessible games like pool, golf, and some others... plus I forgot Dark Cloud.
Xbox 360:
Amped 3 (2K Games)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
Condemned (Sega)
Dead Or Alive 4 (Tecmo)
Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda)
Final Fantasy XI (Microsoft)
Full Auto (Sega)
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft)
Gun (Activision)
Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft)
Madden NFL 06 (EA)
NBA 2K6 (2K Games)
NHL 2K6 (2K Games)
The Outfit (THQ)
Perfect Dark LE (Microsoft)
Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft)
Quake 4 (Activision)
Ridge Racer 6 (Namco)
Saints Row (THQ)
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision)
Top Spin 2 (2K Games)
I know I'm not going to change your mind, but just take a second look.
1. Become powerful politician 2. Rail on company until stock prices drop 3. Buy now lower priced stock 4. Profit! 5. ???
Why does this have to be such an angry discussion? I'm no fanboy. I actually was PART of the hardware testing of the *MICROSOFT* Xbox 360. I'm no fanboy, calling people "fanboy's" is just an easy way to end a discussion.
/.
My points are valid. My points are also points that were raised a number of times during the hardware testing phase, so I'm not alone nor are these just bullshit points I pulled out of my ass to look smart on
I didn't compare to the PS2/GC launches because they don't compare. The PS2 and the GC launches were more successful. Sorry for the length but here are the launches you are trying to compae to:
PS2:
Armored Core 2
Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore
Dynasty Warriors 2
ESPN International Track & Field
ESPN X Games Snowboarding
Eternal Ring
Evergrace
FantaVision
Gun Griffon Blaze
Kessen
Madden NFL 2001
Midnight Club: Street Racing
Moto GP
NHL 2001
Orphen
Q-Ball Billiards Master
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
Real Pool
Ridge Racer V
SSX
Silent Scope
Silpheed: The Lost Planet
Smuggler's Run
Street Fighter EX3
Surfing H30
Summoner
Swing Away Golf
Tekken Tag Tournament
TimeSplitters
Top Gear Daredevil
Unreal Tournament
Wild Wild Racing
X-Squad
GC:
Luigi's Mansion
Wave Race: Blue Storm
Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
Super Monkey Ball
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle
Batman: Vengeance
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Bloody Roar: Primal Fury
Burnout
Extreme G3
Crazy Taxi
2002 FIFA World Cup
Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2
Cel Damage
NHL Hitz 2002
Driven
Disney's Tarzan Freeride
Donald Duck Quack Attack
ESPN International Winter Sports
Universal Studios Theme Park Adventure
Pikmin
Super Mario Sunshine
Star Fox Adventures
Super Smash Bros. Melee (arguably)
oh, yes, I'm fully aware of this... which is another reason I'm not really a UT fan any longer. At this point the games should basically be free or low cost (like $19.99) since they are essentially just tech. demo's. That way the technology gets out there in many hands and people look for games utilizing the engine.
I can probably pick out 2 UT's that I enjoyed and were worthwhile, but after that they are just more of the same. I'm not a graphics guy, I like games that have artistic style over realism... I'll take realism too, but just not at the expense of everything else.
I was absolutely not flamebaiting, and you are completely wrong with your facts.
PGR3 does NOT use all three cores, some launch titles are using 2 cores but only in limited capacity such as a second thread for AI. I'd love for you to show a link proving your outrageous claim.
If you honestly think the Marketplace pricing structure is good then you are a fool. There are no price breaks for buying more points and the cost in points on certain downloads is just insane. There should be tiered price-breaks in buying points to give some reward to those who buy more.
The launch titles were pretty weak overall, again, I'm not debating this... it is very apparent.
So basically out of all of the ACCURATE pros/cons I listed you tried to pick apart only three of them and of those you were wrong on all accounts. Now, who's holding that flamethrower?
mmmmmmmm...
I have been following this device and its creators for some time now, and they had been stating a Christmas release and at least online they have hit their mark (more than can be said of a number of others). While the novelty and the retro gamers will love it I believe it is ill-fated for a couple major reasons.
1.) Poor timing with the upcoming Revolution release and the backwards compatability.
2.) The NES is one of the hardest consoles to program for EVER. It is a major pain in the ass, I've worked on two NES titles and they are not fun. Without an active community of developers it will not really have a niche.
The DC was a cake-walk in comparison and that is why there are still commercial releases coming out for it.
Nevertheless, I wish them the best and I hope that these little buggers sell like crazy... me, my original 1st run NES still runs as great as the day I bought it and is still hooked up and operational.
The biggest thing to me is how much potential Microsoft has each time with its consoles and how they manage to not even come close to fulfilling any of it. They have hands-down the best online system, they have the raw power, they have the money, they have the marketing, they have the glitz and glamour... yet they fall flat on their face and have a pitiful pricing structure for the marketplace, poor launch lineup (with Kameo way too overhyped), design issues/flaws, no titles supporting the multiple threads (not even 1st party title or even just ONE game), barely shipping any units, hassling customers about defective units (and now not giving shipping dates even), basically lying about shipping every week up to Christmas, Lying about the power supply issues, the preposterous claims about the "best launch lineup ever," the unknown number of complaints AFTER Christmas once they are all opened, the confusion that will be had over two different versions of the 360, the piss-poor backwards compatability issues, and on and on...
11 flaws is being kind, no matter what your stance on the 360 is.
Personally, the UT games have grown stale as far as gameplay... however, there is no denying the graphical prowess of UT2k7. I have seen the engine demos in person twice and both times I was left in awe of what I was seeing. To imagine a console pumping out those graphics at a silky smooth frame-rate is pretty amazing, now if only some more substance and gameplay would get mixed in... I just might actually play an FPS on a console.
I'm not sure if you are aware or not but here in PA, A "Waste Engineer" - read garbage man - makes a comparable salary as me... a Network Administrator for a mid-sized bank. They even have better benefits. You'd be surprised at the average garbage man pay, I know I was when a buddy of mine went into the business straight out of High School and is a rich bastard while I have student loans and a stressful job.
I know in some of my college classes at Penn State the rare female CS student would be in class and the oogling and 6th grade antics were in full force by the oh-so-suave geeks surrounding her. No wonder no chic wants to be in CS.
Could it be the sound of a crash? This is not meant to be inflamatory or anything, just my humble opinion. I know a few of us journalists have been predicting the next videogame crash, and I have been one of them that has been pretty vocal about it. I see the PS3 and the 360 completely failing over the lifespan of the product. A number of factors contribute to it, such as low number of releases over the system's life due to costs and timeframes, very limited spectrum of titles across genre's, long dry periods between releases, and a few more issues that are a bit too length to discuss here.
/. crowd would want in a console. Innovation, value, openness, backwards compatability, low levels of DRM/restrictions, and solid technology.
The Nintendo Revolution is a console that I am embracing, and not out of any devotion to Nintendo, but instead out of my true love of games and gaming. I honestly feel that EVERY real gamer should be pouring out support of the Revolution, ESPECIALLY the Slashdot crowd. Sony and MS stand for everything we don't. Nintendo not only has already stated they will be working to gain small/indie developers but they have basically done every single thing that the
What a douche.
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=170711&c id=14222701
He basically mirrored my comments and experiences in this industry, and ultimately it led to me leaving. This whole gaming business is one of the biggest shams in the world, and people - intelligent people - get suckered time and time again. Take a trip to E3 sometime to see a glimpse of the real "professionals" who work in this industry... you will lose all respect instantly.
Dan Hsu is one of the few journalists I ever had a respect for and could talk to intelligently... and I know he has left jobs to keep his integrity. Good for him to bring it to light in the media... this whole industry needs a shakedown and I'm truly hoping the Revolution is the start of a pardigm shift away from Sony/MS and graphics.
You made absolutely NO sense with your response. The Gameboy Light is very rare in the US... that would classify it as RARE, like I originally said. All I was saying is that I wasn't talking about the afterburner GBA mod.. but the original Japanese gameboy backlight.
You then go on to snip my reply to make it seem as if I was talking solely about my videogame collection, when clearly I stated in the sentence you FORGOT to include that my collection includes many rare, unreleased, demo, beta, and other titles and items.
Then you actually quote "On at least 10 occasions I had to go to the pawn shop with police and get my stuff back during the course of my freshman year." and state I shoudl have called the cops... ummm, no shit Dick Tracy. I DID.
You seem to think that the average inner-city pawn shop gives a flying fuck about legality... newsflash! they don't! They care about making money and they gave a lame excuse each and every time to the police and nothing was done about it.
Umm, I'm not sure you understand. I actually own a Nintendo made Japanese prototype Gameboy that came with a backlight in it. They are rare, this isn;t some mod I did to a Gameboy.
Also I own a collection of almost every game from Atari 2600 through PS1 COMPLETE! Meaning NES, SNES, Gameboy, GBA, and Genesis. Not ROMS either, a complete collection. Including many rare and unreleased playtest copies of games, beta's, and proof of concept work. These are original RARE releases that are not available to be purchased. My collection spans over 20 years and even includes original working Pong systems.
On at least 10 occasions I had to go to the pawn shop with police and get my stuff back during the course of my freshman year. I used to kick his ass daily, it was affectionately known as "Fight Night" in my dorm. He was a crackhead and stole anything he could, he was arrested for taking my shit and selling it numerous times.
What fun college memories.
Well it is "free" to use but not totally. To believe any company would pay $485 million dollars to GIVE AWAY anything for free is just silly. There is profit to be had, and that profit comes from the sellers. Now if the business model is based solely on income from the sites queried then that means the site is not centered around getting YOU the best deal, but getting the most money from the listed seller sites. So this means that they are going to posture those higher paying sites to seem like they have the best deal when in reality there are others lower. And if the company becomes desperate to boost profits, that means YOU get raped... maybe not directly, and you may not even know it happened, but with this business model the consumer is NOT #1.
Working as a game reviewer through college always landed me cool swag and games... like my fairly rare original backlit Japanese Gameboy. I think I spent more time at the local pawn shop trying to get my stuff back my freshman year than studying.
This seems to be a pretty accurate review of this title and it is also becoming a pretty accurate reflection on what Peter Molyneux and co. have been putting out... highly ambitious games that come out crippled and lacking fit and finish.
While I can respect innovation and trying new things, I can't respect half-assed games based on a multitude of unfulfilled promises from Lionhead Studios anymore.
Obviously they are if there is $400+ million dollars in interest by the purchaser... but I know that these sites poll only a select few online stores and the prices are rarely all that great.
Occasionally I will check out what pricegrabber or mysimon has to say, but most likely it will point me to Amazon.com and a moderate price as my best bet. These types of sites really just seem like the *worst* possible place to compare prices due to their discretion of the included stores, this system just seems to ooze opportunities for corruption. Constantly pit two big sites against sites they know have higher prices and collect a nice kickback from the big sites.
A trustworthy and all-inclusive (or at least as close as possible) price comparison site would be very welcomed though. Maybe this will be it... heh, who am I kidding, if they are shelling out $485 mil they plan on raping folks for everything they got in any way they can.
Come on now, seriously. Oh, no the cut of over 50% is all due to bundling... yeah right! I have never seen such B.S. in all my life.
/. (and I even submitted the 360 in Japan launch story on /.) everyone said I was full of shit, and that my evidence was anecdotal and blah, blah, blah... well guess what? The Japanese could truly care less about the 360... believe me now?
They barely sold a quarter of their limited shipment in a WEEK and that was in basically the only two areas of Japan where the 360 had even a remote chance. I'd venture to guess that even the 28% sold number is inflated. With friends and colleagues in Japan, this is no surprise to me.. in fact I had been saying it all along on
What I can't wait for is the next price drop and when they STILL can't move them, what will their excuse be then? The 360 is a dog, it was rushed, has a terrible launch library, high defect rate, and a true mess from production to retail. No matter how you try to polish this turd, it's still just a shiny turd.
I've received some of the nastiest threats, including death threats, over simple reviews. I once received a death threat over the score of 3/10 for MGS3 that I mentioned above. But they are just hollow threats from little fat kids in mom's basement so I just brush them off. Plus I wrestled/boxed/hockey for some years so I'd *love* for some fanboy to try to actually make good on a threat :).
I also had received a death threat over my panning of the PSP in a preview I did. While I didn't bash the device itself, I was not happy with all of the limitations in place that crippled the device's use. I also covered the fact that development costs were way too high for a handheld and that it would not see many titles released over it's lifespan. I also touched on Sony's mistake in marketing UMD's. People were outraged and I drew fire from every angle... a couple years later... guess who was spot-on? Yep. In fact I pretty much nailed it.
While I've never worried or even given second thought to hate mail, I actually love it because it means I'm telling the story people aren't getting anywhere else... and most likely it is the true story.
Actually, this is one year when this will not hold true. Profits are down and will stay down for some many months to come. There are many factors contributing to it, but companies like EA are going to be turning in some low numbers even at year end.
The DS and the GC have been at the forefront for the past month in sales in the US amazingly, the $99 GC/ Mario Party 7 bundle is selling like crazy and the DS took off like a rocket and has a steady stream of must haves coming soon.
As always, slow and steady wins the race.
Cromulent? That's Unpossible!