I clearly stated that I had a pretty large sampling to come up with my numbers and I also clearly stated that the final numbers will most likely be about 30% affected. I gave a single case that I personally know of that I saw firsthand about the 7/12 to show in some places it is over 50%.
You know damn well what I stated, it was pretty clear.
Aww... does somebody have pent up geek rage they need to take out today?
I was making a point about the relatively low release title number, of course there are more than 5 launch titles. Sheesh.
My numbers come from close friends in a number of places, including a manager of an EB a friend at Gamestop, a colleague at MS who is part of the Xbox support team (and gee, he wouldn't know anything), and some early numbers culled from around the internet. I used to be an industry analyst for the PS2, I'm pretty sure I have my shit together.
If you choose to believe different, then do so, by about a week after Christmas the real story/numbers will be out.
Well, I used to be an industry analyst so my contacts and information is still very strong. I do personally have very good relationships with my local gaming stores and as I stated one Gamestop has had 7 returned - they only received 12... now could some be from other Gamestops? Sure. I was just giving the numbers and that is very high for any product.
I actually stated that right now the general consensus is about 30% defective. That is still 3 out of 10 and that is not good.
I get my numbers from a number of sources including right from the horses mouth from the managers of a number of large chains. However you slice it, the truth will be known soon as to the final outcome... if you don't like my numbers or think I'm lying for some reason (lie to make friends FTW!) then just sit tight and wait until a few days after christmas and see what happens.
http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?name=games - Absolutely amazing to watch firsthand. Twitch doesn't even begin to describe the action, and even more amazing is that the announcers do a good job of covering the action! Worth checking out, however it does require IE and MS.
Two defective units to the same person is NOT "dubious" or "B.S." there have been TWO cases just like this at the Gamestop near my home. They had three systems that folks who pre-ordered could not be reached, and have had 7 returned... of the three extras they had two went to people with problems on their first 360... both came back AGAIN. The guys at the store thought it was user error and even swapping power cords/HDD's/and trying brand new games they truely didn't work.
This is a lot bigger than MS is letting on and will only continue to grow especially on Christmas day as many of the current release are still sealed awaiting Christmas day for first use.
But you know as well as I that MS will not appologize, in fact they are already playing the deny and downplay game. With some stores seeing close to 50% defective returns and MS still claiming this is "isolated" and "a small number of defects."
I do, however, believe we will see a full recall afte Christmas of the initial product. This is the only option MS has to save face once more and more problems surface.
Not being rude, but have you turned on a TV or radio today? The 360 hardware problems have been covered ad nauseum on just about every media outlet including print. The average person knows.
I personally have been asked by 3 people at the office today if they should worry about the 360 they bought for their kid for Christmas is affected. These are average joe's not/.'ers. No one wants to spend big money on a highly in-demand product that may turn out to be a massive disappointment on the big day. And if there is a problem, there are no replacement units. This is the type of concerns the average person has, and they are well aware.
With all of the negative press by day 2, imagine how much more will hit on Christmas when more are first used! This is a PR nightmare, and is just one more area that was purposely ignored to rush the product. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a complete recall at some point after Christmas.
If you mean that MS isn't bothered by it... that is purely the face they are putting forward to the media. They know they have lost Japan already and they are scrambling. They really tried to force some "Japanese" content onto the 360, however their efforts have not been even remotely noticed.
I have colleagues in Japan and they even work in the game industry and the response is ice cold. The system is no smaller than an original Xbox in reality, plus now there is the large power brick, no real appealing games, the hardware problems, and the pandering... it isn't cutting it.
MS would never go to the extents they have in Japan if they weren't scared shitless and fully understood the ramifications of failure there. They claimed they really were going to make a big push for Japan, but then the reality was pretty luke-warm.
This has really flopped into a yawner for a lot of folks. Launch titles that can be counted on one hand, and nothing new or exciting except for the token flashy racing title. Add to this the MASSIVE problems, not small scale as MS is stating, and you have a pretty crappy product launch. The average return rate right now of defective units from EB is almost 30% and in some stores nearing 50%... that isn't small scale problems. At a Gamestop near my house they have 7 defective units back right now.
Wow, so maybe people really are starting to realize that it all was just hype and marketing... can you believe it. The funny thing is that no one is touching upon the fact that the Japanese could care even less about the 360... that's a nail in the coffin right there. Also the average Joe is staying away like the plague now with all the coverage of problems. This trumped up "shortage" issue may have been for the best, or else there would be even more pissed off folks and crying kids at Cristmas once they unwrap their broken 360.
I've been saying it all along, and I was right on the money... I'm also no more optimistic that the PS3 will do any better and most likely will have just as many issues. It really is time for a revolution in gaming, greed, money, and marketing have failed lets get back to fun, excitement, and gameplay.
But you also need to realize that "grandma" today was for the first time alive during the videogame era and most likely owned or at least played an Atari/Intellivision. The old stereotypical grandma doesn't fit now. I know I'm 25, my mother is in her early 50's, and she has grandchildren that are 8 yrs. old. The entire family could enjoy the Revolution with no problem. This is not far fetched. I gurantee my mom (a grandma) could kick your ass in a round or two of "Warlords" in all my years I may have won a handful of times... times are changing.
Simplified control, lower pricing, and cheaper to develop games is actually the biggest boon for real gamers that could happen right now. With the hollywood-ification of the videogame market and it basically in a downward spiral of quality... the revolution is the one glimmer of hope to turn things around and refocus on fun, gameplay, and design.
Except that "support" is mainly clueless folks who do nothing except tell you to reboot it a few times and then remove the hard drive. How useful, I never would have thought of that!
What pisses me off is the relative indifference of this type of thing to young consumers. They are so used to advertising being thrown at them at every turn, they don't even care that one of the last forms of escapism to be semi-untouched by advertising is soon to be ruined.
No, it is not OK to fill my games with ads just because companies want to grow their bottom line, they are a multi-billion dollar industry NOW. Instead, let's bring the focus back to FUN, and GAMEPLAY, and GAME DESIGN... you know, like what games are supposed to be about. Not polygons, ads, and textures.
I was struck the other night when on TV they had an ad for the "new" Atari 2600 game console with 40 built in games. The games were fun, quick, and easy to get into... then even with all the graphic upgrades available we never revisit these favorites and just make them better. Like COMBAT for Atari 2600. Great fun, but imagine if it were still 2D but with lifelike graphics and smooth controls and maybe some new variations... it would be damn fun.
The original Xbox is without a doubt the WORST console lifespan of all time. Even ill fated systems hung on for longer and continued active development. 4 years for a system is not a good value, and just ensures that programmers have YET to even fully tap into the system. When console makers *cough* Sony/MS *cough* only pump out systems based on horsepower, hype and profit, they go stale much quicker. I can't see the 360 or PS3 making any lasting impact either due to the massive development costs and time investments.
Getting back to the games, and opening the doors of the target audience to the average family and regular folks is the real path to success. If Nintendo doesn't drop the ball, they have this one in the bag. There has never been so much demand for a decently priced, family game system. The ages of older NES/Atari gamers are out of PS3/360 demographics and they generally have budding families... could be time for a Revolution.
In fact, Microsoft has helped ENSURE folks will wait and see how things shake out with PS3/Revolution since no regular people can get their hands on one. All the fanboys have had pre-orders since hour 1, and then there is a second and third tier waiting list of just the typical fanboi. The average Joe six-pack won't even have a crack at one until close to the PS3/Revo launches.
I too was at E3 and checked it out and had a laugh or two. I thought it was one of the silliest ideas to begin with, and I held an interview with two of the gentlemen there for the Phantom and I ended up with such useless information that I couldn't even use it. They spoke in such generalities that they really said nothing, which is exactly what it will turn out to be.
The funny thing is that even as long as I've been in this business, there was a point were I truly believed that this product was going to come out. They snookered a lot of very informed folks to differing degrees... but that alone is quite an achievment.
That it really is a sham?!? No way! All those ivestment bankers couldn't be wrong, and the hardware was so revolutionary, and the games... they were going to be so, so, well... there may not even be any games, but if there were any I'm sure they would have been perfectly bland and retreads of crappy PC shareware/flash games.
Damn. My hopes were so high for so long. Guess I'll have to settle for the next best hype-box 360... it will be sooo much better. I mean MS says so, and like on MTV too...
While I agree with all of the PSP is closer to DC arguments, the DS is quite capable in the 3D and processing depts. You have to understand I'm not saying the DS == a DC it is just that when all of its capabilities are considered it is very possible to reproduce a number of DC titles on the DS. Some sacrifices woul dneed to be made in a few areas, but overall it is very doable. Jet Grind Radio, crazy taxi, even Shenmue I could see done easily. There are many more, I obviously don't see Ikaruga happening RIGHT NOW, but the DS is still new to devs. I wouldn't be surprised with how far it progreses in the coming generatins of titles.
You may be surprised at what that little bugger can do, I've seen demo work that is jaw dropping.
Actually, the original AC wasn't far off with the DS == DC comment. The DC was 200MHz CPU, the DS uses an ARM9 &ARM 7, the ARM9 alone runs at 200MHz. The DS does have 3D code that can handle full 3D with fog and Cel shading at 60FPS. And if you go through most of the other specs they are pretty comparable.
Now, the DS is not a DC and the DC was tuned for certain things the DS isn't, but on a whole they are comparable. I would tend to believe just about any DC game could be ported to the DS with a very accurate reproduction.
This is without a doubt the most intelligent AC post ever, why wouldn't you log in? I'm assuming you work in the industry, because I do and generally only someone with an in-depth knowledge of the game could nail that info.
Anywho... I totally agree. "Safe" games are all that get made when the costs are as high as they are for these "next-gen" consoles, including the PSP. Safe games are NOT fun, and they do nothing to innovate except work off of popular formulas already established.
3D is not the answer to everything. In fact, I see a return to 2D in the near future as it is much easier for the casual gamer to enjoy and control the action. All that the PSP, 360, PS3 have going for them is poly counts and texture fills which binds them to 3D. The greatest games of all time are primarily 2D, and even after many years of 3D there have been relatively few to make an impact at all on par with 2D titles in just about the same timeframe.
Things have stagnated, and the PSP, 360, PS3 just further the stagnation... the only real hope to break out of this rut is in Nintendo's hands right now, and I think for gamer's everywhere the real heart of gaming rests on its success or failure. No pressure or anything:)
My favorite part of it all is that it was stated by the Gartner group that the entire "protection scheme" can be defeated with a small piece of scotch tape placed on the outer track. Yay, low tech hacks for poorly implemented DRM... I mean come on.
Plus the fact that there was stolen open source code, I think adds up to the fact that Sony "did something wrong." Who the fuck made the RIAA so powerful? I mean seriously, they've positioned themselves as the be all end all... and for some reason we let them become so powerful a force. I think work needs to be done to clip their wings to keep them from becoming even more far reaching and powerful... EEF? Anyone? Buehler?
Not to say this collection won't be cool, but never have I seen a game system with such a lackluster lineup and no real redemption in sight. I would even put the GameGear up against the PSP for overall product, at least it had TV capabilities and a decent library (nothing outstanding, but many very good games).
The PSP is just a preview of what is to come with the PS3 and Xbox 360. Expensive, expensive to design for, difficult to program for consoles never make it. When will people learn. The timetables between release dates stretch onward forever with huge lag times of nothing... Even the 360 indie developed stuff is barely passable in quality and is mostly rehashes of older flash/shareware PC stuff.
Also, many folks only enjoyment from their PSP is in emulation... so most folks don't even need oldschool compilations.
Instead of slightly crippling your product to command top dollar in another, we could just lower the pricing to an average middle point. This has been going on forever and will continue because of the gouging done by the chipmakers.
Especially now with CPU speeds being essentially meaningless to the consumer, the celeron's time has passed. Dig the grave, have the funeral, cut your prices to a normal margin and let's move onward with technology.
But again, why support an blazing fast AMD PC with IDE-100? Also the main thing you miss is that OSX was able to get drivers for all the latest and greatest in almost no time, and Linux could to if you concentrate and support the key hardware and the manufacturer sees this they are going to bend over backwards to get drivers out there. When it is just a hobbyist/backroom product they could care less.
It is a cart and horse issue. If you come out with "OSX style Linux" and it only supports Nvidia/ATi then you better damn well believe that the companies would step up to the plate.
What is already created won't magically disappear... so old hardware *could* be made to be supported with the vast current amount of drivers/info/tools. What I'm saying is cut all the losses and start fresh, fuck backwards compatability and lose all these issues that have plagued us for over 10 years now. Obviously something isn;t working *quite* right if Apple was able to accomplish what they have in a short time and we couldn't with over 10 years head start.
Look, I like Linux, I just see it suffering from a number of core structural issues that just keep getting glossed over. Lack of a central steering committee is basically the main issue.
Slashdot Mirror
I clearly stated that I had a pretty large sampling to come up with my numbers and I also clearly stated that the final numbers will most likely be about 30% affected. I gave a single case that I personally know of that I saw firsthand about the 7/12 to show in some places it is over 50%.
You know damn well what I stated, it was pretty clear.
Aww... does somebody have pent up geek rage they need to take out today?
I was making a point about the relatively low release title number, of course there are more than 5 launch titles. Sheesh.
My numbers come from close friends in a number of places, including a manager of an EB a friend at Gamestop, a colleague at MS who is part of the Xbox support team (and gee, he wouldn't know anything), and some early numbers culled from around the internet. I used to be an industry analyst for the PS2, I'm pretty sure I have my shit together.
If you choose to believe different, then do so, by about a week after Christmas the real story/numbers will be out.
Well, I used to be an industry analyst so my contacts and information is still very strong. I do personally have very good relationships with my local gaming stores and as I stated one Gamestop has had 7 returned - they only received 12... now could some be from other Gamestops? Sure. I was just giving the numbers and that is very high for any product.
I actually stated that right now the general consensus is about 30% defective. That is still 3 out of 10 and that is not good.
I get my numbers from a number of sources including right from the horses mouth from the managers of a number of large chains. However you slice it, the truth will be known soon as to the final outcome... if you don't like my numbers or think I'm lying for some reason (lie to make friends FTW!) then just sit tight and wait until a few days after christmas and see what happens.
http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?name=games - Absolutely amazing to watch firsthand. Twitch doesn't even begin to describe the action, and even more amazing is that the announcers do a good job of covering the action! Worth checking out, however it does require IE and MS.
Two defective units to the same person is NOT "dubious" or "B.S." there have been TWO cases just like this at the Gamestop near my home. They had three systems that folks who pre-ordered could not be reached, and have had 7 returned... of the three extras they had two went to people with problems on their first 360... both came back AGAIN. The guys at the store thought it was user error and even swapping power cords/HDD's/and trying brand new games they truely didn't work.
This is a lot bigger than MS is letting on and will only continue to grow especially on Christmas day as many of the current release are still sealed awaiting Christmas day for first use.
But you know as well as I that MS will not appologize, in fact they are already playing the deny and downplay game. With some stores seeing close to 50% defective returns and MS still claiming this is "isolated" and "a small number of defects."
I do, however, believe we will see a full recall afte Christmas of the initial product. This is the only option MS has to save face once more and more problems surface.
Not being rude, but have you turned on a TV or radio today? The 360 hardware problems have been covered ad nauseum on just about every media outlet including print. The average person knows.
/.'ers. No one wants to spend big money on a highly in-demand product that may turn out to be a massive disappointment on the big day. And if there is a problem, there are no replacement units. This is the type of concerns the average person has, and they are well aware.
I personally have been asked by 3 people at the office today if they should worry about the 360 they bought for their kid for Christmas is affected. These are average joe's not
With all of the negative press by day 2, imagine how much more will hit on Christmas when more are first used! This is a PR nightmare, and is just one more area that was purposely ignored to rush the product. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a complete recall at some point after Christmas.
If you mean that MS isn't bothered by it... that is purely the face they are putting forward to the media. They know they have lost Japan already and they are scrambling. They really tried to force some "Japanese" content onto the 360, however their efforts have not been even remotely noticed.
I have colleagues in Japan and they even work in the game industry and the response is ice cold. The system is no smaller than an original Xbox in reality, plus now there is the large power brick, no real appealing games, the hardware problems, and the pandering... it isn't cutting it.
MS would never go to the extents they have in Japan if they weren't scared shitless and fully understood the ramifications of failure there. They claimed they really were going to make a big push for Japan, but then the reality was pretty luke-warm.
This has really flopped into a yawner for a lot of folks. Launch titles that can be counted on one hand, and nothing new or exciting except for the token flashy racing title. Add to this the MASSIVE problems, not small scale as MS is stating, and you have a pretty crappy product launch. The average return rate right now of defective units from EB is almost 30% and in some stores nearing 50%... that isn't small scale problems. At a Gamestop near my house they have 7 defective units back right now.
Wow, so maybe people really are starting to realize that it all was just hype and marketing... can you believe it. The funny thing is that no one is touching upon the fact that the Japanese could care even less about the 360... that's a nail in the coffin right there. Also the average Joe is staying away like the plague now with all the coverage of problems. This trumped up "shortage" issue may have been for the best, or else there would be even more pissed off folks and crying kids at Cristmas once they unwrap their broken 360.
I've been saying it all along, and I was right on the money... I'm also no more optimistic that the PS3 will do any better and most likely will have just as many issues. It really is time for a revolution in gaming, greed, money, and marketing have failed lets get back to fun, excitement, and gameplay.
But you also need to realize that "grandma" today was for the first time alive during the videogame era and most likely owned or at least played an Atari/Intellivision. The old stereotypical grandma doesn't fit now. I know I'm 25, my mother is in her early 50's, and she has grandchildren that are 8 yrs. old. The entire family could enjoy the Revolution with no problem. This is not far fetched. I gurantee my mom (a grandma) could kick your ass in a round or two of "Warlords" in all my years I may have won a handful of times... times are changing.
Simplified control, lower pricing, and cheaper to develop games is actually the biggest boon for real gamers that could happen right now. With the hollywood-ification of the videogame market and it basically in a downward spiral of quality... the revolution is the one glimmer of hope to turn things around and refocus on fun, gameplay, and design.
Except that "support" is mainly clueless folks who do nothing except tell you to reboot it a few times and then remove the hard drive. How useful, I never would have thought of that!
What pisses me off is the relative indifference of this type of thing to young consumers. They are so used to advertising being thrown at them at every turn, they don't even care that one of the last forms of escapism to be semi-untouched by advertising is soon to be ruined.
No, it is not OK to fill my games with ads just because companies want to grow their bottom line, they are a multi-billion dollar industry NOW. Instead, let's bring the focus back to FUN, and GAMEPLAY, and GAME DESIGN... you know, like what games are supposed to be about. Not polygons, ads, and textures.
I was struck the other night when on TV they had an ad for the "new" Atari 2600 game console with 40 built in games. The games were fun, quick, and easy to get into... then even with all the graphic upgrades available we never revisit these favorites and just make them better. Like COMBAT for Atari 2600. Great fun, but imagine if it were still 2D but with lifelike graphics and smooth controls and maybe some new variations... it would be damn fun.
Jeez, I posted about this early yesterday: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=168923&cid=140 82164 and the original story was in the mainstream news close to two days ago. You're slipping /.
Maybe wipe the xbox 360 hype from your eyes for a couple minutes and realize that there is a whole world out there besides 40 360 stories in a week.
The original Xbox is without a doubt the WORST console lifespan of all time. Even ill fated systems hung on for longer and continued active development. 4 years for a system is not a good value, and just ensures that programmers have YET to even fully tap into the system. When console makers *cough* Sony/MS *cough* only pump out systems based on horsepower, hype and profit, they go stale much quicker. I can't see the 360 or PS3 making any lasting impact either due to the massive development costs and time investments.
Getting back to the games, and opening the doors of the target audience to the average family and regular folks is the real path to success. If Nintendo doesn't drop the ball, they have this one in the bag. There has never been so much demand for a decently priced, family game system. The ages of older NES/Atari gamers are out of PS3/360 demographics and they generally have budding families... could be time for a Revolution.
In fact, Microsoft has helped ENSURE folks will wait and see how things shake out with PS3/Revolution since no regular people can get their hands on one. All the fanboys have had pre-orders since hour 1, and then there is a second and third tier waiting list of just the typical fanboi. The average Joe six-pack won't even have a crack at one until close to the PS3/Revo launches.
I too was at E3 and checked it out and had a laugh or two. I thought it was one of the silliest ideas to begin with, and I held an interview with two of the gentlemen there for the Phantom and I ended up with such useless information that I couldn't even use it. They spoke in such generalities that they really said nothing, which is exactly what it will turn out to be.
The funny thing is that even as long as I've been in this business, there was a point were I truly believed that this product was going to come out. They snookered a lot of very informed folks to differing degrees... but that alone is quite an achievment.
That it really is a sham?!? No way! All those ivestment bankers couldn't be wrong, and the hardware was so revolutionary, and the games... they were going to be so, so, well... there may not even be any games, but if there were any I'm sure they would have been perfectly bland and retreads of crappy PC shareware/flash games.
Damn. My hopes were so high for so long. Guess I'll have to settle for the next best hype-box 360... it will be sooo much better. I mean MS says so, and like on MTV too...
While I agree with all of the PSP is closer to DC arguments, the DS is quite capable in the 3D and processing depts. You have to understand I'm not saying the DS == a DC it is just that when all of its capabilities are considered it is very possible to reproduce a number of DC titles on the DS. Some sacrifices woul dneed to be made in a few areas, but overall it is very doable. Jet Grind Radio, crazy taxi, even Shenmue I could see done easily. There are many more, I obviously don't see Ikaruga happening RIGHT NOW, but the DS is still new to devs. I wouldn't be surprised with how far it progreses in the coming generatins of titles.
You may be surprised at what that little bugger can do, I've seen demo work that is jaw dropping.
Actually, the original AC wasn't far off with the DS == DC comment. The DC was 200MHz CPU, the DS uses an ARM9 &ARM 7, the ARM9 alone runs at 200MHz. The DS does have 3D code that can handle full 3D with fog and Cel shading at 60FPS. And if you go through most of the other specs they are pretty comparable.
Now, the DS is not a DC and the DC was tuned for certain things the DS isn't, but on a whole they are comparable. I would tend to believe just about any DC game could be ported to the DS with a very accurate reproduction.
This is without a doubt the most intelligent AC post ever, why wouldn't you log in? I'm assuming you work in the industry, because I do and generally only someone with an in-depth knowledge of the game could nail that info.
:)
Anywho... I totally agree. "Safe" games are all that get made when the costs are as high as they are for these "next-gen" consoles, including the PSP. Safe games are NOT fun, and they do nothing to innovate except work off of popular formulas already established.
3D is not the answer to everything. In fact, I see a return to 2D in the near future as it is much easier for the casual gamer to enjoy and control the action. All that the PSP, 360, PS3 have going for them is poly counts and texture fills which binds them to 3D. The greatest games of all time are primarily 2D, and even after many years of 3D there have been relatively few to make an impact at all on par with 2D titles in just about the same timeframe.
Things have stagnated, and the PSP, 360, PS3 just further the stagnation... the only real hope to break out of this rut is in Nintendo's hands right now, and I think for gamer's everywhere the real heart of gaming rests on its success or failure. No pressure or anything
My favorite part of it all is that it was stated by the Gartner group that the entire "protection scheme" can be defeated with a small piece of scotch tape placed on the outer track. Yay, low tech hacks for poorly implemented DRM... I mean come on.
Plus the fact that there was stolen open source code, I think adds up to the fact that Sony "did something wrong." Who the fuck made the RIAA so powerful? I mean seriously, they've positioned themselves as the be all end all... and for some reason we let them become so powerful a force. I think work needs to be done to clip their wings to keep them from becoming even more far reaching and powerful... EEF? Anyone? Buehler?
Not to say this collection won't be cool, but never have I seen a game system with such a lackluster lineup and no real redemption in sight. I would even put the GameGear up against the PSP for overall product, at least it had TV capabilities and a decent library (nothing outstanding, but many very good games).
The PSP is just a preview of what is to come with the PS3 and Xbox 360. Expensive, expensive to design for, difficult to program for consoles never make it. When will people learn. The timetables between release dates stretch onward forever with huge lag times of nothing... Even the 360 indie developed stuff is barely passable in quality and is mostly rehashes of older flash/shareware PC stuff.
Also, many folks only enjoyment from their PSP is in emulation... so most folks don't even need oldschool compilations.
Instead of slightly crippling your product to command top dollar in another, we could just lower the pricing to an average middle point. This has been going on forever and will continue because of the gouging done by the chipmakers.
Especially now with CPU speeds being essentially meaningless to the consumer, the celeron's time has passed. Dig the grave, have the funeral, cut your prices to a normal margin and let's move onward with technology.
No, I wouldn't.
But again, why support an blazing fast AMD PC with IDE-100? Also the main thing you miss is that OSX was able to get drivers for all the latest and greatest in almost no time, and Linux could to if you concentrate and support the key hardware and the manufacturer sees this they are going to bend over backwards to get drivers out there. When it is just a hobbyist/backroom product they could care less.
It is a cart and horse issue. If you come out with "OSX style Linux" and it only supports Nvidia/ATi then you better damn well believe that the companies would step up to the plate.
What is already created won't magically disappear... so old hardware *could* be made to be supported with the vast current amount of drivers/info/tools. What I'm saying is cut all the losses and start fresh, fuck backwards compatability and lose all these issues that have plagued us for over 10 years now. Obviously something isn;t working *quite* right if Apple was able to accomplish what they have in a short time and we couldn't with over 10 years head start.
Look, I like Linux, I just see it suffering from a number of core structural issues that just keep getting glossed over. Lack of a central steering committee is basically the main issue.