You don't get to use a monopoly in one area to manipulate the market in another.
Well, I'd say that's what Microsoft is doing. Or... trying to do.
Obviously this is hardly a matter of trust, although that's what eBay will want us to think probably. eBay may be afraid of Google and their market potential. Clearly they're not afraid of any of the other hundred sites you've never heard of outdoing Paypal (the ones on the list of Paypal-esque sites you can use), but this is Google. People trust Google, maybe even enough to switch them from Paypal. Of course, Paypal is still an excellent service, so I'm not sure if people would be like "Oh man, Google!" and switch over. eBay wouldn't like that if too many people did though.
So what happens if you're the first guy to upload the Numa Numa video?
Just looking at the front page (where they show the PBJ Time flash) made me think people getting money off popular videos. It'd almost be like eBaum's World, but now it's more than one person making money off other people's work. Heck, it even looks like they're _encouraging_ it. Look at "step 2" on their front page: "Why let someone else find it and reap the rewards?"
I mean, of course, there would be plenty of original content to go on the site, but every video site has reposted stuff (obviously). Plus, I have to wonder how much you actually get for uploading a popular video. I see the screenshot in "step 3," but come on.
Oh, and where are the ads on the site? I don't see any. I might be looking in the wrong place, I dunno.
Yeah, basically everything you said exsists, except the approved versions (currently refered to as stable versions, an idea in progress) and the karma system. A karma system was discussed, but eventually turned down as it may encourage competition among editors (it'd be just like here on/.).
Alright, so we're basically seeing a kinda N64 thing going on here.. kind of. Basically, in the future, some games on the PS3 will be "expansion required or something" (like how they had Expansion Pak N64 games). Now is where I see Sony shooting themselves in the foot... again.
Six hundred is already a lot of money, at least when we're talking consoles. But it's not gonna stop there. Alright, so most people will have to hold off on the PS3, accounting for its outrageous price. Right?
Then it escallates. Sony releases a PS3 expansion Nov. of 2007 (in who knows what form). Some games, taking advantage of new hardware, will become "expansion only." So, even if the price _is_ dropped at _all_ before the new expansion comes out, the new price of this hardware is tacked on.
And we can all guess what the price range may be, considering Sony's past in the industry.
So what I'm saying is, extra things will just make more price problems. Especially if some of the "upgraded" games are those killer app, Halo-kinda things. The game that you're a loser for not having. The game that's hyped at three E3s before its launch and gets like a 9.5 on Gamespot.
But, of course, this is all assuming they're going to actually be upgrading core components of the machine. But hey, with this stupid computer analogy tacked on, it's seems that way. It's not like they're going to just pull out new hard drives every year... 8GB was enough on the Xbox.
Oh, and if people are going to be screwing around _inside_ the machine, boy it better be easy. I mean Power Mac G5 easy... not like a beige boxed Win 3.1 machine. Or everyone will start breaking their expensive console/computer/Linux/blah.
I like how Microsoft is doing this. Like, I can buy the HD add-on if I want, and if I don't, I can just ignore it and not care and save some money. Expensive prices are going to keep back plenty of people. Fortunetly for Sony however, they've got legions of fans just waiting to have their pockets emptied by Sony for a console that'll "replace PCs."
Sony also likes to point out that games in the future may be upwards of 50 and 60 gig. I'm not quite familiar with console game sizes these days, but what games will be on three DVDs? (as Hirai puts it) And besides, even if a game does take up multiple discs, whats the big deal in changing them? One of three discs should give a solid 15+ hours of gameplay, right? Maybe more... I have no idea. Or less.
It's almost like Sony is acting like Microsoft in a way. They convince themselves (and try to convince everyone else) that what they're doing is right, and that any other way is wrong.
Oh, and the last two paragraphs I find hilarious. In response to Sony's being accused of "arrogance," Hirai points to how "awesome" Sony and the PlayStation are.
Franchises? You mean the console? From what I can tell, the Xbox 360 is going to be a media box that happens to play games. It does TV, DVDs, streams movies and music, lets you buy music, wire into a PC, and all this other stuff that could pretty much remove every other piece of media hardware in your basement. Well, it probably could. Oh, did I mention it plays games too? That's pretty neat. Sony appears to be taking the same route, being a media company at heart anyway. And as for Nintendo, they don't appear to be taking much of an interest in media-tising the Revolution.
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Obviously this is hardly a matter of trust, although that's what eBay will want us to think probably. eBay may be afraid of Google and their market potential. Clearly they're not afraid of any of the other hundred sites you've never heard of outdoing Paypal (the ones on the list of Paypal-esque sites you can use), but this is Google. People trust Google, maybe even enough to switch them from Paypal. Of course, Paypal is still an excellent service, so I'm not sure if people would be like "Oh man, Google!" and switch over. eBay wouldn't like that if too many people did though.
So what happens if you're the first guy to upload the Numa Numa video?
Just looking at the front page (where they show the PBJ Time flash) made me think people getting money off popular videos. It'd almost be like eBaum's World, but now it's more than one person making money off other people's work. Heck, it even looks like they're _encouraging_ it. Look at "step 2" on their front page: "Why let someone else find it and reap the rewards?"
I mean, of course, there would be plenty of original content to go on the site, but every video site has reposted stuff (obviously). Plus, I have to wonder how much you actually get for uploading a popular video. I see the screenshot in "step 3," but come on.
Oh, and where are the ads on the site? I don't see any. I might be looking in the wrong place, I dunno.
Yeah, basically everything you said exsists, except the approved versions (currently refered to as stable versions, an idea in progress) and the karma system. A karma system was discussed, but eventually turned down as it may encourage competition among editors (it'd be just like here on /.).
Giving Google my passwords and browser history? Who knows what evil they could do with them?
Alright, so we're basically seeing a kinda N64 thing going on here.. kind of. Basically, in the future, some games on the PS3 will be "expansion required or something" (like how they had Expansion Pak N64 games). Now is where I see Sony shooting themselves in the foot... again.
Six hundred is already a lot of money, at least when we're talking consoles. But it's not gonna stop there. Alright, so most people will have to hold off on the PS3, accounting for its outrageous price. Right?
Then it escallates. Sony releases a PS3 expansion Nov. of 2007 (in who knows what form). Some games, taking advantage of new hardware, will become "expansion only." So, even if the price _is_ dropped at _all_ before the new expansion comes out, the new price of this hardware is tacked on.
And we can all guess what the price range may be, considering Sony's past in the industry.
So what I'm saying is, extra things will just make more price problems. Especially if some of the "upgraded" games are those killer app, Halo-kinda things. The game that you're a loser for not having. The game that's hyped at three E3s before its launch and gets like a 9.5 on Gamespot.
But, of course, this is all assuming they're going to actually be upgrading core components of the machine. But hey, with this stupid computer analogy tacked on, it's seems that way. It's not like they're going to just pull out new hard drives every year... 8GB was enough on the Xbox.
Oh, and if people are going to be screwing around _inside_ the machine, boy it better be easy. I mean Power Mac G5 easy... not like a beige boxed Win 3.1 machine. Or everyone will start breaking their expensive console/computer/Linux/blah.
I like how Microsoft is doing this. Like, I can buy the HD add-on if I want, and if I don't, I can just ignore it and not care and save some money. Expensive prices are going to keep back plenty of people. Fortunetly for Sony however, they've got legions of fans just waiting to have their pockets emptied by Sony for a console that'll "replace PCs."
Sony also likes to point out that games in the future may be upwards of 50 and 60 gig. I'm not quite familiar with console game sizes these days, but what games will be on three DVDs? (as Hirai puts it) And besides, even if a game does take up multiple discs, whats the big deal in changing them? One of three discs should give a solid 15+ hours of gameplay, right? Maybe more... I have no idea. Or less.
It's almost like Sony is acting like Microsoft in a way. They convince themselves (and try to convince everyone else) that what they're doing is right, and that any other way is wrong.
Oh, and the last two paragraphs I find hilarious. In response to Sony's being accused of "arrogance," Hirai points to how "awesome" Sony and the PlayStation are.
Fascinating.
What I find hilarious is that you aren't kidding. They actually want you to "spread the word" about this automatic update.
Franchises? You mean the console? From what I can tell, the Xbox 360 is going to be a media box that happens to play games. It does TV, DVDs, streams movies and music, lets you buy music, wire into a PC, and all this other stuff that could pretty much remove every other piece of media hardware in your basement. Well, it probably could. Oh, did I mention it plays games too? That's pretty neat. Sony appears to be taking the same route, being a media company at heart anyway. And as for Nintendo, they don't appear to be taking much of an interest in media-tising the Revolution.