But there are two Es in teen, that's twice as much E to pass around to everyone. Brawl will be there to knock the socks off the image of Alfred Hitchcock.
I'd like to reiterate I'm ignorant, but make a few points.
What I was trying to point out (poorly) is a gut feeling I have that Microsoft doesn't understand what's going on with the Wii, but that Sony does (to some extent). This is entirely my own opinion based on what I've seen from videos of expos and reading press releases etc. Titles which sport the mass-market potential and spirit we commonly attribute to the Wii do appear on the 360, but they seem more incidental than intentional.
It's just my gut feeling, and I obviously don't know the 360's upcoming line-up well enough to comment further.
I don't think the 360 will need to be upgraded. The Playstation 2 survived with the worst graphics of the three surviving consoles of its generation, I think the 360 will be fine even if its graphics clearly play second fiddle to the PS3.
I'm sure the PS3's graphics will be superior to the 360's by the time 6 years are up, but at the same time we'll probably be looking at the 720, the PS4 and the Snuffleuphagus (to continue Nintendo's strange naming practices). The PS3's graphics, while better than the 360s, won't stand well against what the new systems will be showcasing (except for maybe the Snuffleuphagus).
Just a suggestion, but keep your PS2 after you get a PS3.
Unless you get one of the current 60gb versions in the US, you won't have 100% backwards compatibility. Most titles will work flawlessly, but there are minor details that can go awry on some and a few with major problems. Your best bet is to keep your PS2 to make sure you have full backwards compatibility (nothing like having that one game you love not work); the trade in for the console is probably not worth losing that.
I'm not particularly surprised the PS3 failed to outsell the 360 in North America. While the price cut represented an increase in value it didn't represent a decrease in the minimum amount of money to spend. I'm not an expert, but I'd attribute the increase in PS3 sales to people buying the system for the added value, and the failure to surpass the 360 to the non-interest of people who want/need to spend less money on a console.
If the Wii has passed the 360 worldwide then the next, and possibly last, major milestone will be to beat the 360 on its home turf. Being #1 on a region by region basis as well as worldwide would be indisputable proof of the Wii's dominance.
As it stands, Microsoft and Sony are both in similar situations. They need to take action, or concede this generation to their competitors. Microsoft can, at least, weasel their way out of it by bringing back Nintendo's line that they "aren't competing". It's a cop out, but that's Microsoft.
Despite the insufficient sales boost from the price cut, I am anticipating a resurgence of sorts from Sony. Maybe I'm ignorant, but for the non-FPS inclined population there are few interesting titles coming out for the 360 in the relatively near future. Sony may not be much better, but I get the feeling that they're paying better attention than Microsoft.
Microsoft's answer to the Wii appears to be that Viva Pinata party game/mini-game collection. To me, looks like a clear case of missing the point. The Wii isn't successful because of games like Wario Ware, Rayman and the like. Attempting to duplicate their success in this manner is foolhardy. Sony, at least, appears to have a better inkling of what's going on. LittleBigPlanet is a large step in the right direction, even if it is the only step we can see for now.
I don't expect the current patterns to continue without change. Halo 3 will represent a change in 360 sales, as will SSB: Brawl for the Wii. Personally I'd rather like to see the patterns be more volatile. It's not that interesting when within a year of the generation the outcome is obvious.
Ask anyone who uses 'Linux' what they need to do to get it running on their computer, and you'll get a different answer each time. One will tell you to go grab SuSE, another Ubuntu, someone else will swear by Redhat etc. Each person will say exactly why their preferred implementation is best.
Yes, there's choice in Windows, but it's trivial and intuitive for the average person. They want Windows for their home office? Windows XP Professional. It's right there in the name, 'Professional'. They want Windows on their regular computer? Windows XP Home. There's nothing confusing about how things are named.
We also can't ignore the greater world of business. Many ISPs, services and other computer related products "don't support Linux". The technical can work around these problems, but the nontechnical will complain about how you gave them an operating system that "doesn't work". They don't know that you can probably manually set up the connection information that the ISP man couldn't auto-configure on your system with his magic CD. They just know that they were told they weren't supported, and they don't have anywhere to turn to.
Linux is becoming better everyday, and more viable, but for the everyman there simply isn't enough outside support (and you know they need it).
Trick is, it's a Playstation. Playstation is now synonymous with 'games' they way Nintendo is. You could print in big block letters "THIS THING DOES NOT PLAY GAMES" and people would still buy the PS3 to play games and nothing more.
That's the crux of it all right there, branding.
Sony's could have changed the name, but didn't. The Playstation name, and the clout it carried, was probably too alluring. However, as is self-evident from your comment, this move was actually more destructive to what they hoped to accomplish (expansion of Blu-ray) than helpful.
If Sony had been brave enough to let their own name be the brand, and come up with a different name there wouldn't have been all of the gaming baggage attached to the Playstation name. Certainly some expectations would remain, but it probably would have been the media center Sony set out to create. As it stands, the PS3 will always be a game console with secondary functions.
I think the problem is for a lot of people this is their first cycle where they were on board from the beginning. Many people became gamers in the latter half the last generation, and are thus used to the plethora of available options. Having not been particularly interested during the first half, they never caught on that systems don't have as many games at launch.
Thus, they made assumptions and are now befuddled. At least that's a possibility.
The two statements aren't, at face value, mutually exclusive. However, the implication of your first statement (and as common sense would dictate) is that you (not being a Sony employee) have no knowledge or authority regarding Sony's hardware practices (and neither does Fross). You are, however, our only source for the second statement; a statement concerning Sony's hardware practices. Hence, a potential conflict.
The implication is probably not intentional, but it is amusing.
I bought a PS2 instead of a PS3. I figure it was only $100, and it saves me the effort of being concerned about PS3 backwards compatibility. I can wait another 2 years until the number of worthwhile games has greatly increased, and the price has dropped.
You get the hardware at a steal, stop complaining.
I think the basis of many complaints is that they got one half of a complete package very cheap, but are still waiting for the other half.
The PS3, by itself, is worthless. It requires games or movies and controllers to be worthwhile. For a number of genres of games the PS3 has yet to receive any substancial titles. For people who are not fans of the genres that are represented on the PS3, they bought hardware and are still waiting to use it.
It doesn't particularly matter that the PS3 is sold at a loss if you spent $600+ dollars on something that doesn't fulfill its purpose.
As for the rest of your post, gaming is a leisure activity, therefore you should only be spending expendable income on it. If you have the means to game, you can probably afford the 1080p TV anyways since it will go nicely with your HDTV and surround sound system. If you are making a choice between a new game and eating this week you should probably get some sort of help or get your priorities straight.
Emphasis mine.
"The means to game" is a highly subjective measure, and you appear to imply that having the means requires one have enough expendable income to purchase a number of expensive consumer items that are arguably out of range for many people who would otherwise be classified as "gamers".
"The means to game" is not a black and white, boolean variable. There is greater range and variety in disposable income and interests than $0 and $infinite. It is possible that one's disposable income per month is $30, or $300, or $3000. While the first might make the "choice between a game and eating next week", and the last be able to purchase a complete home theatre system every month, the middle is in a grey medium you don't seem to account for.
In short, some people who aren't able to afford (quoting the GP) "the 46 inch 1080p TV, half a dozen games in as many months, multiple consoles, AND a large collection of Blu-ray movies" are not living paycheck to paycheck. They have enough disposable income to buy consoles and games, but not to purchase expensive home theatre systems.
This is a nitpick, but I found the following two statements interesting. I realize they are one right after the other anyway, but I wanted to emphasize them better.
You and I have no idea and the article says nothing.
Sony does not have a habitof selling things at a loss.
I'll keep things short. You clearly state, intelligently, that neither you nor the person you replied to are in any position to discern Sony's margins on their consoles, positive or negative. Next, you make a statement claiming something concerning Sony's margins on their consoles.
I find this an amusing case of discrediting one's own statements. It may be the case that Sony doesn't make a habit of selling at a loss; but as you yourself said none of us are in a position to say one way or the other.
I'd have to agree. It's rather silly when a console $100 cheaper has the feature, which should by no means be anything more than a simple task to include.
I'm fortunate enough to have a 20 meter ethernet cable, which is enough to go from my hub to the 360. However, it does mean there's this long gray wire running past the kitchen and in all sorts of places one might trip.
"The fact that we have been able to keep our launch price longer than any other console while retaining our leadership position demonstrates that consumers believe in the value of Xbox 360," said Mitch Koch
Yeah right and it has nothing to do with the fact that the Xbox 360 was the only next-gen console available for about a year, which makes the leadership thing sorta automatic...
I laughed as well. They're technically correct in calling themselves the leader, but this isn't a "If you can just hold on a little longer you'll win the race" situation. This is a "The race isn't even half over and our lead is almost gone" situation.
For all their talk about being the leaders, it'll be amusing to see what they say when they drop to 2nd place.
Given this is the games section, I think I can understand his hostility to business lingo. Actually, I think most nerds have an innate malice towards business lingo. Most programmers are probably familiar with words and phrases that have lost all their practical meaning at the hands of business lingo.
It's a shame, because SKU is at its heart a technical term; later appropriated for business/marketing speak.
That's arguably a hardware disaster and not a marketing one. If I remember correctly, the Virtual Boy generated a fair amount of excitement up until the point it was released and everyone realized it wasn't as great as it was made out to be.
The game I am excited about is Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and I believe the effective and ingenious hype-machine Nintendo has created is a part of that. I have thus posited that Brawl may have the best hype ever constructed, especially if it delivers.
To this, someone cited Spore, and I stated that Spore may be hyped an analogous amount but not as effectively. Your waning excitement is clear evidence of this.
Hence, I am confused as to where you are coming from. Your tone insinuates skepticism at some point that I obviously didn't make about Spore. You may wish to clarify.
All I can say is Nintendo has the best marketing of the big three. Smash Brothers fans are practically dehydrated from drooling over the blog.
Seriously, what other game in history has successfully maintained news updates every weekday? There hasn't been a weekday since it started where there wasn't something new, however small.
I remember when the site first opened and I read the text "I will be updating this site periodically". I thought "Oh, I can expect some random news every few weeks/months". I was stunned to find that it was literally every weekday.
I don't think there's a single game hyped as well as this one.
In the text there was a similar statement concerning generalizations. Specifically: All generalizations are false/flawed. It was noted that because this was a generalization in and of itself, it must also be false/flawed. This was used as an example of bad logic.
However, I argued that it depended on how one defines a generalization. The statement "all generalizations are false/flawed" could just as easily be a universal truth and not a generalization. In which case the statement itself isn't false or flawed, although generalizations continue to be.
I then found out there aren't a lot of people who enjoy delving into the wonderous facet of human communication known as semantics.
Slashdot Mirror
But there are two Es in teen, that's twice as much E to pass around to everyone. Brawl will be there to knock the socks off the image of Alfred Hitchcock.
I'd like to reiterate I'm ignorant, but make a few points.
What I was trying to point out (poorly) is a gut feeling I have that Microsoft doesn't understand what's going on with the Wii, but that Sony does (to some extent). This is entirely my own opinion based on what I've seen from videos of expos and reading press releases etc. Titles which sport the mass-market potential and spirit we commonly attribute to the Wii do appear on the 360, but they seem more incidental than intentional.
It's just my gut feeling, and I obviously don't know the 360's upcoming line-up well enough to comment further.
This expo will be entirely worth it so long as Super Smash Brothers Brawl has a playable demo present.
All those other companies are stepping out because they know there will be, and they know they cannot repel firepower of that magnitude.
I don't think the 360 will need to be upgraded. The Playstation 2 survived with the worst graphics of the three surviving consoles of its generation, I think the 360 will be fine even if its graphics clearly play second fiddle to the PS3.
I'm sure the PS3's graphics will be superior to the 360's by the time 6 years are up, but at the same time we'll probably be looking at the 720, the PS4 and the Snuffleuphagus (to continue Nintendo's strange naming practices). The PS3's graphics, while better than the 360s, won't stand well against what the new systems will be showcasing (except for maybe the Snuffleuphagus).
Just a suggestion, but keep your PS2 after you get a PS3.
Unless you get one of the current 60gb versions in the US, you won't have 100% backwards compatibility. Most titles will work flawlessly, but there are minor details that can go awry on some and a few with major problems. Your best bet is to keep your PS2 to make sure you have full backwards compatibility (nothing like having that one game you love not work); the trade in for the console is probably not worth losing that.
I'm not particularly surprised the PS3 failed to outsell the 360 in North America. While the price cut represented an increase in value it didn't represent a decrease in the minimum amount of money to spend. I'm not an expert, but I'd attribute the increase in PS3 sales to people buying the system for the added value, and the failure to surpass the 360 to the non-interest of people who want/need to spend less money on a console.
If the Wii has passed the 360 worldwide then the next, and possibly last, major milestone will be to beat the 360 on its home turf. Being #1 on a region by region basis as well as worldwide would be indisputable proof of the Wii's dominance.
As it stands, Microsoft and Sony are both in similar situations. They need to take action, or concede this generation to their competitors. Microsoft can, at least, weasel their way out of it by bringing back Nintendo's line that they "aren't competing". It's a cop out, but that's Microsoft.
Despite the insufficient sales boost from the price cut, I am anticipating a resurgence of sorts from Sony. Maybe I'm ignorant, but for the non-FPS inclined population there are few interesting titles coming out for the 360 in the relatively near future. Sony may not be much better, but I get the feeling that they're paying better attention than Microsoft.
Microsoft's answer to the Wii appears to be that Viva Pinata party game/mini-game collection. To me, looks like a clear case of missing the point. The Wii isn't successful because of games like Wario Ware, Rayman and the like. Attempting to duplicate their success in this manner is foolhardy. Sony, at least, appears to have a better inkling of what's going on. LittleBigPlanet is a large step in the right direction, even if it is the only step we can see for now.
I don't expect the current patterns to continue without change. Halo 3 will represent a change in 360 sales, as will SSB: Brawl for the Wii. Personally I'd rather like to see the patterns be more volatile. It's not that interesting when within a year of the generation the outcome is obvious.
As a Christian, this is the most hilarious description of my religion ever. It was all I could do to stop from falling out of my chair at work.
Do you have an encore for any others?
Yes, choice.
Ask anyone who uses 'Linux' what they need to do to get it running on their computer, and you'll get a different answer each time. One will tell you to go grab SuSE, another Ubuntu, someone else will swear by Redhat etc. Each person will say exactly why their preferred implementation is best.
Yes, there's choice in Windows, but it's trivial and intuitive for the average person. They want Windows for their home office? Windows XP Professional. It's right there in the name, 'Professional'. They want Windows on their regular computer? Windows XP Home. There's nothing confusing about how things are named.
We also can't ignore the greater world of business. Many ISPs, services and other computer related products "don't support Linux". The technical can work around these problems, but the nontechnical will complain about how you gave them an operating system that "doesn't work". They don't know that you can probably manually set up the connection information that the ISP man couldn't auto-configure on your system with his magic CD. They just know that they were told they weren't supported, and they don't have anywhere to turn to.
Linux is becoming better everyday, and more viable, but for the everyman there simply isn't enough outside support (and you know they need it).
That's the crux of it all right there, branding.
Sony's could have changed the name, but didn't. The Playstation name, and the clout it carried, was probably too alluring. However, as is self-evident from your comment, this move was actually more destructive to what they hoped to accomplish (expansion of Blu-ray) than helpful.
If Sony had been brave enough to let their own name be the brand, and come up with a different name there wouldn't have been all of the gaming baggage attached to the Playstation name. Certainly some expectations would remain, but it probably would have been the media center Sony set out to create. As it stands, the PS3 will always be a game console with secondary functions.
I think the problem is for a lot of people this is their first cycle where they were on board from the beginning. Many people became gamers in the latter half the last generation, and are thus used to the plethora of available options. Having not been particularly interested during the first half, they never caught on that systems don't have as many games at launch.
Thus, they made assumptions and are now befuddled. At least that's a possibility.
The two statements aren't, at face value, mutually exclusive. However, the implication of your first statement (and as common sense would dictate) is that you (not being a Sony employee) have no knowledge or authority regarding Sony's hardware practices (and neither does Fross). You are, however, our only source for the second statement; a statement concerning Sony's hardware practices. Hence, a potential conflict.
The implication is probably not intentional, but it is amusing.
I bought a PS2 instead of a PS3. I figure it was only $100, and it saves me the effort of being concerned about PS3 backwards compatibility. I can wait another 2 years until the number of worthwhile games has greatly increased, and the price has dropped.
I think the basis of many complaints is that they got one half of a complete package very cheap, but are still waiting for the other half.
The PS3, by itself, is worthless. It requires games or movies and controllers to be worthwhile. For a number of genres of games the PS3 has yet to receive any substancial titles. For people who are not fans of the genres that are represented on the PS3, they bought hardware and are still waiting to use it.
It doesn't particularly matter that the PS3 is sold at a loss if you spent $600+ dollars on something that doesn't fulfill its purpose.
Emphasis mine.
"The means to game" is a highly subjective measure, and you appear to imply that having the means requires one have enough expendable income to purchase a number of expensive consumer items that are arguably out of range for many people who would otherwise be classified as "gamers".
"The means to game" is not a black and white, boolean variable. There is greater range and variety in disposable income and interests than $0 and $infinite. It is possible that one's disposable income per month is $30, or $300, or $3000. While the first might make the "choice between a game and eating next week", and the last be able to purchase a complete home theatre system every month, the middle is in a grey medium you don't seem to account for.
In short, some people who aren't able to afford (quoting the GP) "the 46 inch 1080p TV, half a dozen games in as many months, multiple consoles, AND a large collection of Blu-ray movies" are not living paycheck to paycheck. They have enough disposable income to buy consoles and games, but not to purchase expensive home theatre systems.
I'll keep things short. You clearly state, intelligently, that neither you nor the person you replied to are in any position to discern Sony's margins on their consoles, positive or negative. Next, you make a statement claiming something concerning Sony's margins on their consoles.
I find this an amusing case of discrediting one's own statements. It may be the case that Sony doesn't make a habit of selling at a loss; but as you yourself said none of us are in a position to say one way or the other.
I'd have to agree. It's rather silly when a console $100 cheaper has the feature, which should by no means be anything more than a simple task to include.
I'm fortunate enough to have a 20 meter ethernet cable, which is enough to go from my hub to the 360. However, it does mean there's this long gray wire running past the kitchen and in all sorts of places one might trip.
I laughed as well. They're technically correct in calling themselves the leader, but this isn't a "If you can just hold on a little longer you'll win the race" situation. This is a "The race isn't even half over and our lead is almost gone" situation.
For all their talk about being the leaders, it'll be amusing to see what they say when they drop to 2nd place.
Given this is the games section, I think I can understand his hostility to business lingo. Actually, I think most nerds have an innate malice towards business lingo. Most programmers are probably familiar with words and phrases that have lost all their practical meaning at the hands of business lingo.
It's a shame, because SKU is at its heart a technical term; later appropriated for business/marketing speak.
Actually, I need to learn to proofread. I was thinking "sounds" but mised... er.. missed the ever important "s".
That's arguably a hardware disaster and not a marketing one. If I remember correctly, the Virtual Boy generated a fair amount of excitement up until the point it was released and everyone realized it wasn't as great as it was made out to be.
I believe you misunderstand.
The game I am excited about is Super Smash Brothers Brawl, and I believe the effective and ingenious hype-machine Nintendo has created is a part of that. I have thus posited that Brawl may have the best hype ever constructed, especially if it delivers.
To this, someone cited Spore, and I stated that Spore may be hyped an analogous amount but not as effectively. Your waning excitement is clear evidence of this.
Hence, I am confused as to where you are coming from. Your tone insinuates skepticism at some point that I obviously didn't make about Spore. You may wish to clarify.
Someone needs to read a dictionary.
Repugnant
Now someone needs to understand the subtle humor in using a word that sound similar to redundant, but is obviously the wrong word.
You will be a happier man when you have done both.
Note: "As well" not "As much". I don't think the quality of Spore's hype is comparable.
All I can say is Nintendo has the best marketing of the big three. Smash Brothers fans are practically dehydrated from drooling over the blog.
Seriously, what other game in history has successfully maintained news updates every weekday? There hasn't been a weekday since it started where there wasn't something new, however small.
I remember when the site first opened and I read the text "I will be updating this site periodically". I thought "Oh, I can expect some random news every few weeks/months". I was stunned to find that it was literally every weekday.
I don't think there's a single game hyped as well as this one.
Reminds me of Philosophy class.
In the text there was a similar statement concerning generalizations. Specifically: All generalizations are false/flawed. It was noted that because this was a generalization in and of itself, it must also be false/flawed. This was used as an example of bad logic.
However, I argued that it depended on how one defines a generalization. The statement "all generalizations are false/flawed" could just as easily be a universal truth and not a generalization. In which case the statement itself isn't false or flawed, although generalizations continue to be.
I then found out there aren't a lot of people who enjoy delving into the wonderous facet of human communication known as semantics.