I don't understand how similar games being released all at once is good for anyone?
One will undoubtedly outsell another causing otherwise good games to get overlooked, next time that company wants to make a new awesome game they'll have a hard time getting funding because their last game didn't sell so hot in the shadow of the slightly more popular competitor.
Even fans of the genre would benefit from having them spread out because it gives them time to complete one title before the release of the next.
Though honestly, if this is a problem for MS I don't see why they can't just release Blue Dragon in the summer instead. It's already done and released in Japan and IIRC it's either been released or will be releasing soon in Asia with Japanese voice acting and English subs/menus... I would think most JRPG fans would be more then happy with the original English voices as opposed to English dubs.
The response to the first question was fantastic, and dare I say after question 2 I gained a shred of respect back for 'ol Philly. The Blu-Ray question he started honestly and ended up with a sales pitch by the end and it was back to the old PR side stepping from then on out with Mr Harrison taking on the role of Michael Flatly.
On one hand it's aggravating not being able to get a straight answer out of these guys. We know he's capable of speaking honestly after reading the first couple of questions. On the other hand, what did we expect? If he really felt that Blu-Ray was a bad idea or that homebrew should be supported do you really think he'd speak his mind on the issues considering his position within Sony?
Arguably, many gamers would be perfectly happy playing a room full of AI players than have to deal with the garbage inherent in online play.
You'll get no argument from me, it's just that it seems the way games are moving more concentration is going to the online portion then the offline. Though when I do play online I only play against friends, very rarely do I play against random people that I've never met before.
With the already ridiculously high cost of development to bring graphics up to modern day standards for "bleeding edge" it's not like they have much time to develop a good system for something they can't show you a screenshot of. Spending the time to develop a real AI as you described doesn't really add much value to the game in terms of marketing.
Another reason AI isn't advancing is because modern games in addition to concentrating on graphics also concentrate heavily on multiplayer and online aspects. Sure the "AI" in an FPS or RTS might not be all that great but how good does it need to be? most people will just breeze through the solo missions in a few short hours and then spend the next 6 months to a year playing online where AI doesn't even factor into it. Once again, some solid multiplayer features are much more valuable use of development time then computer AI.
Honestly I see us moving to a point of being less depend on AI before AI actually gets better... it's just not a cost effective use of development.
As a cyber athlete you should have more political clout with game developers, publishers, and graphics card developers... meaning if this issue is important to you it's your responsibility to push them to make their games and hardware supported on alternative platforms... Start with your sponsors.
Even if I think I know what the problem is I find it best to let tech support decide...
I've never worked in support (thank god) but I find if you're perfectly clear about the problem you're experiencing and treat them with respect (hey, THEY didn't cause the problem) then it generally gets worked out. If you let them run through their idiot scrips and are polite the whole time they're much more likely to just escalate your problem to someone that can actually help you. Screaming at them or telling them you know better (even if you really do) pretty much flips a switch that makes them view you as an idiot. Just be nice and play their game and they'll come to the conclusion on their own that you're not.
Also I've found if you call support during the graveyard shift you'll get much more friendly and intelligent people on the other end. I figure they don't get nearly as many calls so they're a lot less frazzled and a lot more willing to help.
You bring up another part of the problem... the fact that the RIAA controls so much of the industry that it becomes next to impossible for indy bands and labels to find their way into the ears of the average music consumer. With the RIAA paying radio stations across the country to play their music and only their music, paying the MPAA studios to feature RIAA artists in their movies, MTV only playing music backed with millions of dollars worth of video behind it, etc.
I'm not saying that RIAA music is crap and indy is good, but without access to indy music most people don't even have the opportunity to make the comparison.
Rather then trying to beat down the RIAA through boycots and banners. Why not work to help promote indy music. Why doesn't iTunes have an RIAA free section where people can demo songs and download them DRM free? Why isn't there a fund setup to help get indy bands on the radio along side the RIAA stuff?
I think we'd do better to help get people off the RIAA koolade more by promoting the alternative rather then trying to tarnish what they're used to today.
I have to seriously question if the RIAA (at least the legal department) is genuinely fighting in the interests of the artists or if they're fighting in the interests of the content owners (rarely the same people).
Excellent advice! I'm not so much of an audiophile as I am a home theater fanatic. My basement is finished off and I have at least $10K worth of Audio and Video equipment, most people who see it think I'm loaded but that's hardly the case. I've been building it for more then a decade. Nice equipment can last a long time, and by setting aside X amount of money each week for your project it affords you lots of time to research the absolute best equipment for what you want out of your system, as well as the ability to watch for good deals on the equipment you've settled on buying as a result of your research. I only "finished" my setup last year and there are one or two things I could probably deal to replace at this point but I'm enormously happy with it, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face whenever I use it.
Of course I don't spend much money on other things either. My PC for example is about 5 years old and it wasn't even state of the art then, nevermind the fact that half of the parts were salvaged out of the PC that I had before it. I don't use it for much more then word processing and web development so it's not like I need a monster PC anyway.
No one has an expensive setup like that right off the bat unless you've got the bankroll, but that doesn't mean someone of average means can't have it either, it just takes time and dedication.
I want song packs... but I don't want them at that price. If no one buys them, and no one says why they aren't buying them then it's likely we'll just get a "the market doesn't want song packs so we wont make anymore".
The problem with these song packs is just that too many people have their hands in the jar. I'm sure the RIAA want's full price for each song (a long the lines of what they get from an iTunes download) despite the fact that they can only be used in a limited capacity (in the game not on your MP3 player). Harmonix, RedOctane, Activition... And then MS gets a cut for selling it in their store.
I fail to see how ticket sales and rental fees factor into blu-ray being a success. While rental discs might end up on blu-ray the cut of the profit goes to the studio that made the movie not the company that owns the disc format (though they'll get pittance for each disc the rental place buys to rent). Similarly the money Sony makes from ticket sales, rentals, and letting the moves go on network TV wont change if BluRay wins or not. BluRay only matters for BluRay disc sales. On the other end of the Spectrum the Success of the PS3 is directly tied to games sales, accessory sales, online subscription sales.
Basically if BluRay fails Sony can still make movies and make lots of money in the movie industry. If PS3 fails Sony's only ticket in the game industry will be the PS2 and PSP neither of which will last them very long considering where they are in their lifespans.
Because decompression algorithms are fast enough that's games load faster. It varies but in general it's faster to transfer compressed data from a disc and decompress it, then it does to transfer from the disc raw. I'm sure there's a point of diminishing returns but the transfer rates of optical discs are probably the biggest bottleneck in modern consoles.
It doesn't matter how much it costs if the platform doesn't offer the games you want to play. though a price of entry AND an uninteresting game line up doesn't do a platform any favors either.
That's because it's not mentioned there... the summary is just assuming that MPEG-4 means support for all MPEG-4 codecs... I highly doubt we'll see Xvid. h.264 is actually mentioned specifically though. This is all the press release has to say about video:
* H.264 video support: Up to 15 Mbps, Baseline, Main, and High (up to level 4.1) Profiles with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.
* Added MPEG-4 Part 2 video support: Up to 8 Mbps, Simple Profile with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.
AFAIK Xvid uses the "Advanced Simple Profile" (ASP) flavor of MPEG-4... not the "Simple Profile" (SP) that will be supported by the update. Most of the worthwhile MPEG-4 based codecs use ASP... SP is typically reserved for really tight compression scenarios like cellphones, iPods and PSPs.
With all the BS legislation trying to censor video games I think we could use all the studies we can get. While it's obvious to gamers that games don't change child behavior, it's not so apparent to the rest of the world. If they wont listen to reason maybe they'll at least listen to some guy in a lab coat with clipboard.
I've still got my Saturn too, I play the occasional game of nights, recently I picked up an Netlink adapter and a copy of Virtual On Netlink Edition. There's actually group that still play Netlink games regularly: The Saturn Netlink League.
I have more affinity for my Dreamcast though, I've got quite a few games for it, just this weekend I played through Space Channel 5.
Heh, thank you. As an engineer I was also going to make this point, I'm glad I'm not the only one who realizes that the number of 0s after a decimal carries with it some hefty implications in the manufacturing and engineering realm. Working for a bearing manufacturer I can tell you that the difference between a part with a diameter of 4.00cm and a part with a diameter of 4.00000cm is a few hundred dollars.
So I think the real answer lies along the lines of what would a database pro do if his application got so big it started to slow down on his existing hardware?
To:
Your explanation is completely contrary to my experience in dealing with DBA's. When dealing with code they did not design or implement...
Nice switch there...
As someone who designs lots and lots of database application, managing nearly 30 years worth of engineering data, as my full time job... I'd be looking for a new job pretty quick if my solution to every performance slowdown was to just throw more hardware at it.
If your saying: How can I get iTunes to run faster then yes, throwing more hardware might be the answer but that's only because you don't have access to the actual code that runs it... there isn't much of anything you can do about it. Chances are when friends and family ask for help getting things to run faster "buy faster hardware" is the only thing a DBA would have to offer because they didn't build any of the applications in question.
Though, you posed the question as if someone was building an new application from scratch, or at least had the ability to modify an existing application, in which case any DBA worth hiring would look for ways to optimize their queries. Nevermind the fact that iTunes uses XML to manage it's data as opposed to a more conventional database.
Sometimes better hardware is the answer, but it's never the first one you go to. More often then not in the business world you're required to build your application within the constrains of existing hardware.
Early early versions didn't have a hard drive slot and required hard drives be attached in an external caddy. About a year and a half into it they also added an IR receiver so that you wouldn't need to waste a controller port when you wanted to use the DVD remote, the software was also built in so you wouldn't waste the memory card space either. The Number of USB ports changed, the removal of fire wire support. I'm sure there were other things too but I never really followed the PS2 that closely. Internally there were a whole lot more changes that would have been completely invisible to your average consumer.
As for SKUs, they really have NOTHING to do with the design of the hardware, you can have 2 SKUs with the same console hardware in the box. Everytime a new bundle came out it was technically a new SKU. So Hardware Rev B + GT3 and Hardware Rev B with no games packed in constitute 2 different SKUs. Presumably a 60GB PS3 is the same hardware as an 80GB PS3 but with a different hard drive included in the box.
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I don't understand how similar games being released all at once is good for anyone?
One will undoubtedly outsell another causing otherwise good games to get overlooked, next time that company wants to make a new awesome game they'll have a hard time getting funding because their last game didn't sell so hot in the shadow of the slightly more popular competitor.
Even fans of the genre would benefit from having them spread out because it gives them time to complete one title before the release of the next.
Though honestly, if this is a problem for MS I don't see why they can't just release Blue Dragon in the summer instead. It's already done and released in Japan and IIRC it's either been released or will be releasing soon in Asia with Japanese voice acting and English subs/menus... I would think most JRPG fans would be more then happy with the original English voices as opposed to English dubs.
Those aren't a list of new games, some of them are new but some of them are also "updates"
The response to the first question was fantastic, and dare I say after question 2 I gained a shred of respect back for 'ol Philly. The Blu-Ray question he started honestly and ended up with a sales pitch by the end and it was back to the old PR side stepping from then on out with Mr Harrison taking on the role of Michael Flatly.
On one hand it's aggravating not being able to get a straight answer out of these guys. We know he's capable of speaking honestly after reading the first couple of questions. On the other hand, what did we expect? If he really felt that Blu-Ray was a bad idea or that homebrew should be supported do you really think he'd speak his mind on the issues considering his position within Sony?
With the already ridiculously high cost of development to bring graphics up to modern day standards for "bleeding edge" it's not like they have much time to develop a good system for something they can't show you a screenshot of. Spending the time to develop a real AI as you described doesn't really add much value to the game in terms of marketing.
Another reason AI isn't advancing is because modern games in addition to concentrating on graphics also concentrate heavily on multiplayer and online aspects. Sure the "AI" in an FPS or RTS might not be all that great but how good does it need to be? most people will just breeze through the solo missions in a few short hours and then spend the next 6 months to a year playing online where AI doesn't even factor into it. Once again, some solid multiplayer features are much more valuable use of development time then computer AI.
Honestly I see us moving to a point of being less depend on AI before AI actually gets better... it's just not a cost effective use of development.
As a cyber athlete you should have more political clout with game developers, publishers, and graphics card developers... meaning if this issue is important to you it's your responsibility to push them to make their games and hardware supported on alternative platforms... Start with your sponsors.
Even if I think I know what the problem is I find it best to let tech support decide...
I've never worked in support (thank god) but I find if you're perfectly clear about the problem you're experiencing and treat them with respect (hey, THEY didn't cause the problem) then it generally gets worked out. If you let them run through their idiot scrips and are polite the whole time they're much more likely to just escalate your problem to someone that can actually help you. Screaming at them or telling them you know better (even if you really do) pretty much flips a switch that makes them view you as an idiot. Just be nice and play their game and they'll come to the conclusion on their own that you're not.
Also I've found if you call support during the graveyard shift you'll get much more friendly and intelligent people on the other end. I figure they don't get nearly as many calls so they're a lot less frazzled and a lot more willing to help.
You bring up another part of the problem... the fact that the RIAA controls so much of the industry that it becomes next to impossible for indy bands and labels to find their way into the ears of the average music consumer. With the RIAA paying radio stations across the country to play their music and only their music, paying the MPAA studios to feature RIAA artists in their movies, MTV only playing music backed with millions of dollars worth of video behind it, etc.
I'm not saying that RIAA music is crap and indy is good, but without access to indy music most people don't even have the opportunity to make the comparison.
Rather then trying to beat down the RIAA through boycots and banners. Why not work to help promote indy music. Why doesn't iTunes have an RIAA free section where people can demo songs and download them DRM free? Why isn't there a fund setup to help get indy bands on the radio along side the RIAA stuff?
I think we'd do better to help get people off the RIAA koolade more by promoting the alternative rather then trying to tarnish what they're used to today.
I have to seriously question if the RIAA (at least the legal department) is genuinely fighting in the interests of the artists or if they're fighting in the interests of the content owners (rarely the same people).
Excellent advice! I'm not so much of an audiophile as I am a home theater fanatic. My basement is finished off and I have at least $10K worth of Audio and Video equipment, most people who see it think I'm loaded but that's hardly the case. I've been building it for more then a decade. Nice equipment can last a long time, and by setting aside X amount of money each week for your project it affords you lots of time to research the absolute best equipment for what you want out of your system, as well as the ability to watch for good deals on the equipment you've settled on buying as a result of your research. I only "finished" my setup last year and there are one or two things I could probably deal to replace at this point but I'm enormously happy with it, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face whenever I use it.
Of course I don't spend much money on other things either. My PC for example is about 5 years old and it wasn't even state of the art then, nevermind the fact that half of the parts were salvaged out of the PC that I had before it. I don't use it for much more then word processing and web development so it's not like I need a monster PC anyway.
No one has an expensive setup like that right off the bat unless you've got the bankroll, but that doesn't mean someone of average means can't have it either, it just takes time and dedication.
EXACTLY
I want song packs... but I don't want them at that price. If no one buys them, and no one says why they aren't buying them then it's likely we'll just get a "the market doesn't want song packs so we wont make anymore".
The problem with these song packs is just that too many people have their hands in the jar. I'm sure the RIAA want's full price for each song (a long the lines of what they get from an iTunes download) despite the fact that they can only be used in a limited capacity (in the game not on your MP3 player). Harmonix, RedOctane, Activition... And then MS gets a cut for selling it in their store.
I fail to see how ticket sales and rental fees factor into blu-ray being a success. While rental discs might end up on blu-ray the cut of the profit goes to the studio that made the movie not the company that owns the disc format (though they'll get pittance for each disc the rental place buys to rent). Similarly the money Sony makes from ticket sales, rentals, and letting the moves go on network TV wont change if BluRay wins or not. BluRay only matters for BluRay disc sales. On the other end of the Spectrum the Success of the PS3 is directly tied to games sales, accessory sales, online subscription sales.
Basically if BluRay fails Sony can still make movies and make lots of money in the movie industry. If PS3 fails Sony's only ticket in the game industry will be the PS2 and PSP neither of which will last them very long considering where they are in their lifespans.
Who did we find that was qualified enough to exchange for this guy? Or did we just screw em?
It doesn't matter how much it costs if the platform doesn't offer the games you want to play. though a price of entry AND an uninteresting game line up doesn't do a platform any favors either.
Perhapse the list should have been labeled the "50 most Influential Tech Products of All Time".
Even still I would say that something like the cell phone, or ethernet is more important than Netscape Navigator.
You're likely to see Battletoads on Xbox Live rather then the Virtual Console, the IP is owned by Rare... and MS owns Rare now.
Whoa why the hostility?
With all the BS legislation trying to censor video games I think we could use all the studies we can get. While it's obvious to gamers that games don't change child behavior, it's not so apparent to the rest of the world. If they wont listen to reason maybe they'll at least listen to some guy in a lab coat with clipboard.
I've still got my Saturn too, I play the occasional game of nights, recently I picked up an Netlink adapter and a copy of Virtual On Netlink Edition. There's actually group that still play Netlink games regularly: The Saturn Netlink League.
I have more affinity for my Dreamcast though, I've got quite a few games for it, just this weekend I played through Space Channel 5.
Heh, thank you. As an engineer I was also going to make this point, I'm glad I'm not the only one who realizes that the number of 0s after a decimal carries with it some hefty implications in the manufacturing and engineering realm. Working for a bearing manufacturer I can tell you that the difference between a part with a diameter of 4.00cm and a part with a diameter of 4.00000cm is a few hundred dollars.
Right because Rockstar and 2K Sports don't sell anything...
As someone who designs lots and lots of database application, managing nearly 30 years worth of engineering data, as my full time job... I'd be looking for a new job pretty quick if my solution to every performance slowdown was to just throw more hardware at it.
If your saying: How can I get iTunes to run faster then yes, throwing more hardware might be the answer but that's only because you don't have access to the actual code that runs it... there isn't much of anything you can do about it. Chances are when friends and family ask for help getting things to run faster "buy faster hardware" is the only thing a DBA would have to offer because they didn't build any of the applications in question.
Though, you posed the question as if someone was building an new application from scratch, or at least had the ability to modify an existing application, in which case any DBA worth hiring would look for ways to optimize their queries. Nevermind the fact that iTunes uses XML to manage it's data as opposed to a more conventional database.
Sometimes better hardware is the answer, but it's never the first one you go to. More often then not in the business world you're required to build your application within the constrains of existing hardware.
Early early versions didn't have a hard drive slot and required hard drives be attached in an external caddy. About a year and a half into it they also added an IR receiver so that you wouldn't need to waste a controller port when you wanted to use the DVD remote, the software was also built in so you wouldn't waste the memory card space either. The Number of USB ports changed, the removal of fire wire support. I'm sure there were other things too but I never really followed the PS2 that closely. Internally there were a whole lot more changes that would have been completely invisible to your average consumer.
As for SKUs, they really have NOTHING to do with the design of the hardware, you can have 2 SKUs with the same console hardware in the box. Everytime a new bundle came out it was technically a new SKU. So Hardware Rev B + GT3 and Hardware Rev B with no games packed in constitute 2 different SKUs. Presumably a 60GB PS3 is the same hardware as an 80GB PS3 but with a different hard drive included in the box.