...I'd be planning every conceivable way to capitalize on Sony's situation. A small, highly advertised price drop, a pack-in game with every console, or whatever it takes.
Yeah, Nintendo wants to create the mass appeal console, but I'm not certain that they'll crack the mainstream market yet. I'd say the Christmas season is Microsoft's to lose.
"What I didn't expect was the heroine's sidekick to be a talking cartoon pig, along with a host of other characters who looked like refugees from Banjo-Kazooie. Kind of a 'WTF?' moment that threw me out of the game to begin with. And I bet I wasn't the only one."
I'm definitely in that boat. I picked up the game cheap on eBay strictly based on its reputation. I'm impressed with its production values and overall quality, but I didn't get into it. The theme that the game is apparently interested in doesn't seem congruent with the visual/character design. And, frankly, nothing that occurred in the window of time I played it was particularly gripping gameplay or story-wise.
I was a lifelong PC user until I switched to Macs around 4 years ago. In that time, I have personally experienced hardware quality issues with an iBook G3, iMac G5, and PowerBook G4. The PowerBook is the most recent and worst of the lot, with hardware problems of multiple kinds. On top of that, they charged a premium price for very outdated hardware (1.67Ghz G4). Now, I've recently constructed my own PC running Windows XP; I'll probably dual-boot Ubuntu on it at some point.
My Mac loving was well known among my social circle, and I even helped some people switch to Macs. But I don't plan on doing Apple any favors in the near future.
The original Metal Gear Solid was already kind of silly - intentionally so. It did everything it could to break the fourth wall and force its audience to notice how absurd it was. The problem was, nobody noticed; the existing gaming audience simply accepted the game at face value and thought it was awesome. For his sequel, therefore, Kojima simply turned up the heat. He put the player in the role of an effete, emasculated "gamer" who yearns to meet up with Snake. He put far more polygons than necessary into Snake's buttocks. He put Snake in a questionable relationship with his scientific advisor Otacon, and turned Otacon into a complete weirdo. Fans screamed bloody murder and stormed out of the building. Kojima began to attract a completely new base of fans.
Uh, I'm sorry? The original offered great characters, (quality) Hollywood action movie story telling, and polished gameplay. The game is actually quite immersive (the only breaking of the "fourth wall" I can think of was the second controller trick for Psycho Mantis).
MGS2, on the other hand, was way over the top at times, convoluted, and wanted so badly to lack immersion. And of course, nobody liked Raiden. For those just looking for great gameplay, the game still had it.
Certainly cost plays a significant role in the continued success of the PS2. The hardware alone is a tremendous value in comparison to the cost of any next-gen console or PC. The laggard/late adopter market segment would be price sensitive, right?
The Jack Thompson is impervious to conventional human weaponry. His control over magnetic fields and superhuman strength mean that we only have one remaining option: Installing Windows on him.
Well said, sir. Honestly, Jack Thompson's claims would fail under even the smallest amount of scientific or rational scrutiny in my mind, and I guess I'm overly hopeful that our legal systems would see things the same way. But then, since when have we been able to rely on the masses?
Jack Thompson is an absurd excuse for a lawyer. The entire gamer Internet community should be well aware of this by now. His actual motivations for his war on video games probably go no further than a quest for power and publicity. Unless, of course, he's actually out of touch with reality to the extent of believing what he says.
So what's our best defense against him? Frankly, I think the last thing Jack Thompson would want is to be ignored. He probably likes the animosity he's building with the gaming community, and he'll like making headlines many times more. Let's just ignore the fellow, and at some point he may start campaigning against diet sodas or the ulterior motives of figure skaters ("Nobody wears blades that sharp...unless they want to kill.").
Thanks for the tip. I played a Xbox demo of SS2, and I got the impression it was LSD-fueled insanity...although unfortunately, not the fun sort of LSD-fueled insanity. Maybe I should give it another shot.
Gamecube sported some of the best graphics last gen (Metroid, Resident Evil, etc)
This is true.
Wii is 2.5 times more powerful than Gamecube.
This is a vague estimation reportedly made by someone in the industry, not fact.
Logical conclusion? Wii graphics are 2 gens old!
I suggested the screens I looked at from those *two specific titles* looked two gens old, if that. Of course games like Zelda will look far better. The Wii Tennis screen(s) I saw looked awful from a graphics standpoint. And yes, I'm fully aware graphics aren't the point of Wii Sports.
Seriously, who cares how crappy games like Tennis and Tony Hawk look? There are some X360 titles that look a lot worse than Metal Gear Solid 3 did.
No, certainly not, but as a primarily visual medium, I think people prefer the immersive properties of well-crafted graphics as opposed to less refined, obtuse graphics. This doesn't necessarily mean X trillion polys per second, but more the whole package of art design/style and technical execution/polish.
Nintendo wants to sell consoles to people who didn't even buy a console in the previous two generations.
I agree, they want to create a new market. But I wouldn't underestimate the impact of a Wii demo sitting next to a Halo 3 demo at Best Buy, not that I'm suggesting that the Wii would always fare poorly.
Duke Nukem 3D, despite its aged visuals, continues to appeal to me even ten years after its initial release. It probably has something to do with its sense of humor and lack of self-importance, something thats a rarity in today's epic FPS.
On the other hand, I think there's a hidden appeal to the higher-quality 2D artwork of yesteryear. The glory days of 16-bit artwork like the stuff featured in Chrono Trigger will always look cool in my eyes, where first-gen 3D console titles will stick out as primitive and likely ugly.
Personally, when I saw screens of Wii Sports (the tennis) and the upcoming Tony Hawk title, I was surprised by how poor the graphics were. Those screens specifically couldn't even compete with previous-generation stuff. To be fair, I haven't looked at Super Mario Galaxy, and I'm certain that there will be some titles that are graphically impressive in standard definition (i.e. Zelda).
Nintendo is wise to not promote the Wii as a direct competitor to the PS3 and 360, but at the same time I'm doubtful sounding like the typical online "OMG gameplay 4 LIFE graphix r 4 NOOBS" thing will win the masses over. Nobody wants to buy a new console sporting graphics from two generations ago.
I must admit, I'd like to see Nintendo regain some of it's former glory here.
When the masses awaken, corporations will listen
on
Death By DMCA
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· Score: 4, Interesting
Crap like this is part of the reason why I avoid television altogether.
For the moment, DRM and all of its related ridiculousness is the concern of geeks. We're the ones who are informed about the problems with DRM and the slippery slope that it's sent us down.
If things continue to get worse (and there's no reason to believe they won't), it will get to the point where the general public will no longer line XYZ Company's pockets. And when you hit the bottom line, you suddenly start speaking that company's language.
To think that sequels are an American trend is a mistake. Street Fighter, Megaman (Rockman there), Pokemon, Tekken, Mario, Sonic, and numerous RPG franchises (if you're willing to count them) are examples of major Japanese franchises that will never die.
Sprite based games are one thing, but how impressed will everybody be when they see blurry N64-era textures blown up into high-def? I'd think a game like Goldeneye would have to be significantly reworked to make it presentable in high resolution, IP rights issues aside.
Slashdot Mirror
"Where is Facebook? Is it safe? Is it alright? Nooooooooooo!"
Yeah, Nintendo wants to create the mass appeal console, but I'm not certain that they'll crack the mainstream market yet. I'd say the Christmas season is Microsoft's to lose.
I suppose they continue to make them because we continue to buy them. There has been Street Fighter 3 and the Alpha series.
I'm definitely in that boat. I picked up the game cheap on eBay strictly based on its reputation. I'm impressed with its production values and overall quality, but I didn't get into it. The theme that the game is apparently interested in doesn't seem congruent with the visual/character design. And, frankly, nothing that occurred in the window of time I played it was particularly gripping gameplay or story-wise.
How about you?
My Mac loving was well known among my social circle, and I even helped some people switch to Macs. But I don't plan on doing Apple any favors in the near future.
Uh, I'm sorry? The original offered great characters, (quality) Hollywood action movie story telling, and polished gameplay. The game is actually quite immersive (the only breaking of the "fourth wall" I can think of was the second controller trick for Psycho Mantis).
MGS2, on the other hand, was way over the top at times, convoluted, and wanted so badly to lack immersion. And of course, nobody liked Raiden. For those just looking for great gameplay, the game still had it.
Certainly cost plays a significant role in the continued success of the PS2. The hardware alone is a tremendous value in comparison to the cost of any next-gen console or PC. The laggard/late adopter market segment would be price sensitive, right?
Clearly, the solution is to infect natural disasters with malware before they can strike.
The Jack Thompson is impervious to conventional human weaponry. His control over magnetic fields and superhuman strength mean that we only have one remaining option: Installing Windows on him.
Dude, it was a joke. You know, Phil Harrison or whoever said recently that the PS3 would make the PC no longer necessary.
But upon the release of the PS3, my new PC is going in the garbage.
Well said, sir. Honestly, Jack Thompson's claims would fail under even the smallest amount of scientific or rational scrutiny in my mind, and I guess I'm overly hopeful that our legal systems would see things the same way. But then, since when have we been able to rely on the masses?
So what's our best defense against him? Frankly, I think the last thing Jack Thompson would want is to be ignored. He probably likes the animosity he's building with the gaming community, and he'll like making headlines many times more. Let's just ignore the fellow, and at some point he may start campaigning against diet sodas or the ulterior motives of figure skaters ("Nobody wears blades that sharp...unless they want to kill.").
Thanks for the tip. I played a Xbox demo of SS2, and I got the impression it was LSD-fueled insanity...although unfortunately, not the fun sort of LSD-fueled insanity. Maybe I should give it another shot.
This is true.
Wii is 2.5 times more powerful than Gamecube.
This is a vague estimation reportedly made by someone in the industry, not fact.
Logical conclusion? Wii graphics are 2 gens old!
I suggested the screens I looked at from those *two specific titles* looked two gens old, if that. Of course games like Zelda will look far better. The Wii Tennis screen(s) I saw looked awful from a graphics standpoint. And yes, I'm fully aware graphics aren't the point of Wii Sports.
Seriously, who cares how crappy games like Tennis and Tony Hawk look? There are some X360 titles that look a lot worse than Metal Gear Solid 3 did.
I'll take your word on it.
No, certainly not, but as a primarily visual medium, I think people prefer the immersive properties of well-crafted graphics as opposed to less refined, obtuse graphics. This doesn't necessarily mean X trillion polys per second, but more the whole package of art design/style and technical execution/polish.
Nintendo wants to sell consoles to people who didn't even buy a console in the previous two generations.
I agree, they want to create a new market. But I wouldn't underestimate the impact of a Wii demo sitting next to a Halo 3 demo at Best Buy, not that I'm suggesting that the Wii would always fare poorly.
On the other hand, I think there's a hidden appeal to the higher-quality 2D artwork of yesteryear. The glory days of 16-bit artwork like the stuff featured in Chrono Trigger will always look cool in my eyes, where first-gen 3D console titles will stick out as primitive and likely ugly.
Nintendo is wise to not promote the Wii as a direct competitor to the PS3 and 360, but at the same time I'm doubtful sounding like the typical online "OMG gameplay 4 LIFE graphix r 4 NOOBS" thing will win the masses over. Nobody wants to buy a new console sporting graphics from two generations ago.
I must admit, I'd like to see Nintendo regain some of it's former glory here.
For the moment, DRM and all of its related ridiculousness is the concern of geeks. We're the ones who are informed about the problems with DRM and the slippery slope that it's sent us down.
If things continue to get worse (and there's no reason to believe they won't), it will get to the point where the general public will no longer line XYZ Company's pockets. And when you hit the bottom line, you suddenly start speaking that company's language.
My PS3 will make food, family and games obsolete.
To think that sequels are an American trend is a mistake. Street Fighter, Megaman (Rockman there), Pokemon, Tekken, Mario, Sonic, and numerous RPG franchises (if you're willing to count them) are examples of major Japanese franchises that will never die.
In Soviet Russia, Starforce drops you!
Sprite based games are one thing, but how impressed will everybody be when they see blurry N64-era textures blown up into high-def? I'd think a game like Goldeneye would have to be significantly reworked to make it presentable in high resolution, IP rights issues aside.