Messages

476

General Gaming / RE: Microsoft showing their true colors once again.

« on: June 19, 2007, 11:02:54 AM »

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<comic>

I think 'lemon-flavored dead fetus souls' would be more accurate.

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MS said that they'd enter the market if Sony attempted to take over the "living room" area because MS wanted a piece of that, too.

Both Sony and MS are tolerating the loss of money right now because the eyes on the prize see a living room situation where families sit down and buy their content off of MS/Sony media services, downloaded right to their media box, and both MS and Sony want to be that box (as does Apple).

Neither company sees gaming as a profitable venture, but they both see gaming as a trojan horse to deliver downloadable media to living rooms everywhere and for that reason, they're both willing to endure the losses that come with it.

It's pretty ironic, considering that Nintendo is the one who actually landed the first REAL "mainstream" console with the Wii.

Selling games and making $5-10 off a licensing fee every sale is a pittance, not only compared to the costs of operation for Sony/MS, but also the amount they COULD be making on "owning" the living room.

So yeah, if Sony pulls out of the gaming market and focuses on a different path into the living room, you can probably expect MS to do the same.

Neither of these companies is here for games, what with Sony's declaration of "The PS3 can sell without games" and MS's goal of being the media box.

All that said, the amount of irony in Nintendo being the winner AND having the most mainstream appeal this gen is unbelievable...

I remember people were talking about a possible iTunes channel when the Wii first came out. That being said, I seriously doubt that either MS/Sony will ever be able to 'dominate' the living-room captive-audience market. I don't think either company could have done it even if their respective console had won this generation by a landslide.

Think about it. MS/Sony want you to buy and make their consoles the center of your entertainment life so that eventually they can sell you other things (computers, TVs, media players) that are overpriced but which your 'entertainment hub' is locked into. But that's never going to work. A person might have a Sony TV, a computer running Microsoft Vista, an iPod for listening to music, a Wii gaming system, a HD-DVD player, etc. Neither company is ever going to be able to make a home media hub so compelling that someone will be willing to forgo market choice for compatibility. Period.  

477

General Gaming / RE: Bill Gates taking a page from Sony....

« on: June 18, 2007, 04:25:35 PM »

That countertop computer is actually a really stupid idea when you think about it.

* It's going to be hard to use for any length of time with the current form factor. Are you going to be craned over for hours on end playing a computer game or whatever? If so, carpal tunnel's going to look benign compared to what your back is going to put you through.
* There are no really good applications for that technology. Is a restaurant really going to spend $4000+/apiece on tabletop computers that'll probably get food all over them, just so that people can pay for their own meals? Can you justify that much money and space spent on something that allows you to offload photos- something I can do just as easily by plugging my camera into my computer with a USB cable? What are the killer apps?
* The real applications for that technology are specialist industries like engineering and design studios, and as collaboration tools, all areas that have their own highly-specialized equipment already.

If Bill Gates had anything to do with it, he should leave technological innovation to the young'uns and go back to saving Africa from malaria.

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Picking up my actual tennis racket and swinging it? We have a name for that Bill, and it's called "tennis."

478

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Bloomberg reveals that 56 percent of Wii users over 18

« on: June 10, 2007, 08:57:23 AM »

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Over 18 can mean many things and older people probably aren't interested in "mature" games.

So does that make Wii the geriatric's console now?

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Eight months before Nintendo's first demonstration of the Wii in September 2005, Xbox executives conducted three days of ``war games'' at a Bellevue, Washington, hotel. Sony was the simulated competitor.

Maybe if they had been trying to diversify their game lineup instead of playing Starcraft: Capitalism Wars, they could have produced a console capable of sustaining the brand in the long-term. It sucks being outsold in Japan by unpopular 6-year-old consoles.  

479

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Can the Wii get exclusives from the medium third party developers?

« on: June 06, 2007, 04:31:54 PM »

One more thing: a lot of people though PS3 was going to be #1 again, even after they announced the $600 price point. With PS3 down the tubes and XBox a proven failure in Japan, Nintendo has an opportunity to woo a lot of these developers, especially if sales numbers continue as they have been going.

480

General Gaming / RE: Sony getting hit Hard lately (or How the GBA is the New Next Gen Seller)

« on: May 25, 2007, 11:47:28 AM »

Just about every time a new technology is released on the consumer market, someone files a lawsuit. It happened with the Wii as well. The patent system is really, really badly broken.

481

General Gaming / RE: What if Nintendo made a portable Wii/Gamecube?

« on: May 24, 2007, 04:40:43 AM »

This brings a really big question to mind, actually.

What is Nintendo going to do with their 'second pillar' (GBA line)? Is the next Game Boy going to be a conventional portable with extra power, like the PSP, or is Nintendo going to focus on the DS from now on?

482

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

« on: May 22, 2007, 07:12:20 PM »

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Hey, you originally said "beat on" and I replied based on that. I can see where you're coming from. There is a possibility of backlash. At the same time, punching your teacher in the face repeatedly presents the same kind of "problem" and is far more realistic when you think about it. Wii Sports, as a pack-in game, has a 100% tie-in ratio with Wii in North America whereas Brawl will not. If no one said anything about Wii Boxing by now, I don't expect a major outcry if Brawl utilizes Miis.

I think part of the reason there's been no backlash is that the introverted, dark, violent type of gaming personality who would be most likely to do that kind of thing probably isn't playing the Wii, but shooting up aliens in his parent's basement while questioning the masculinity of his teammates over TeamSpeak. After all, Wii, playing games with a motion-sensitive controller, and having fun with friends are things that only 'gay-ass n00bs' do.

483

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

« on: May 22, 2007, 03:32:14 PM »

Just to be the token cynic/pessimist, I hope the very impressive composer ensemble isn't the only impressive portion of their repertoire >_>.

484

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Super Smash Bros. Brawl

« on: May 20, 2007, 08:24:07 PM »

Way, way, way too generic. Even if it is the real deal (which it most definitely is not), it doesn't tell us anything notably new.

485

General Gaming / RE: Blizzard is doing their big shindig in Korea right now [StarCraft 2 announced!]

« on: May 19, 2007, 08:10:08 AM »

The fact that they focused on the Protoss innovations was intentional...apparently they want to reveal the new Terran and Zerg innovations closer to the release date. I wouldn't judge the game as a whole at this point, probably later on when they reveal more of the new stuff. The first-impressions are pretty good. The graphics are sharp and colorful...apparently some people don't like it, but then again photorealism is overrated. I'd rather have the graphics look like what they do now at release, and have a game that runs well on a decent computer and is balanced and fun to play.

As to overhype, a lot of other companies would probably drop the ball...not saying that Blizzard won't, but they'll take their time to get it right. After all, they have a lot more riding on Starcraft 2, reputation-wise, than EA has riding on...say, C&C3 or Nintendo on the next Zelda game (they only have 3 franchises!). Still, there will always be people who will be disappointed when it comes out.

486

General Gaming / RE: Blizzard is doing their big shindig in Korea right now [StarCraft 2 announced!]

« on: May 18, 2007, 07:16:38 PM »

It's about time.

(The fact that the lead designer is a former EALA employee explains why some of the game's descriptions sound so much like C&C3 units )

487

Nintendo Gaming / RE: Non-Gaming Publications Support the Wii

« on: May 18, 2007, 05:30:40 AM »

I guess this means that Microsoft is the only company without a socially responsible console.

488

General Gaming / RE: X-Box Live for Windows

« on: May 16, 2007, 12:30:41 PM »

Bah. #1 and #2 are things that publishers do anyways- nobody is going to buy your game if it's total crap or buggers every machine it runs on. And for those who think it means that only outstanding games will get this 'certification', look at all the crappy titles for all three consoles that were supposedly vetted by a very similar process.

#3 is something I really couldn't care about less.

#4 is really non-relevant. When was the last time you purchased a PC game that made you do anything more complicated than entering a code and pressing a button labeled 'next' a couple of times?

Granted, the XBox connectivity is a nice touch, but I think it goes far beyond that. Note that the new Civilization 4 expansion boxart (you can see it here: http://www.civfanatics.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=1117&c=24) has the logo on it. When was the last time any Civilization game came out for a console?  

489

General Gaming / RE: X-Box Live for Windows

« on: May 15, 2007, 05:59:28 PM »

I really hope 'Games for Windows' doesn't take off. Publishers ranging from Blizzard to EA have been making lots of money and quality titles (yes, there were some good EA PC games) without the need for some innovation-stifling, profit-grubbing standards hegemony that allows Microsoft to dictate arbitrary 'standards' that aren't needed or wanted.

It's like Vista. First product activation, then DRM built into the high-definition interfaces. Once Microsoft perfects remote consciousness-stealing technologies, they'll be able to end their reliance on the souls of dead babies and slowly drain the life-force out of the citizenry of the industrialized world.  

490

TalkBack / RE: Nintendo Dominates Japanese Sales Charts

« on: May 13, 2007, 04:28:37 AM »

I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

Good riddance. At least we can be assured that the future of video gaming is not a dreary mass of sci-fi FPS games, each looking more similar to the last.

491

TalkBack / RE: Wii Not as Powerful as the Xbox?

« on: May 10, 2007, 05:32:17 PM »

If I wanted to see PURTY PIKTURZ® while shooting alien humanoids with plasma rifles, I'd boot up my PC.

492

General Gaming / RE: Ken Kutaragi "Retires"

« on: May 04, 2007, 05:06:50 PM »

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In all honesty I wouldn't mind seeing Ken being added to Nintendo's hardware department, specifically designing the internal components of Nintendo's next system.

I know it's Gamespot, but they had an article which mentioned that very scenario:

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6170115.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newscallout&tag=newscallout;callout

Last paragraph:

"Iwata was also asked if Nintendo might hire Ken Kutaragi, Sony Computer Entertainment's ex-chairman and CEO, in light of his stepping down last week to "pursue other projects." "I don't think we will do that," Iwata said. "  

493

General Gaming / RE: Ken Kutaragi "Retires"

« on: April 29, 2007, 05:57:39 PM »

I don't see how Sony is going to pull out of its rut anytime soon, or ever. A lot of people say that PS3 will regain momentum later on, when developers learn to 'harness the console's full power' (whatever that's supposed to mean). Unfortunately, good graphics != good game, or even bestselling game. A lot of the stuff that has come out on PS3 is already much 'better-looking' (read: photorealistic) than anything that will ever come out on Wii. Has that stopped Sony from sinking into the quicksand? Are better graphics really going to stem the PS3's decline?

A gaming console is really nothing but a tool- a paintbrush, a canvas, a sculpting tool. It's up to the developers to make use of that power and create compelling games. Just because I go from fifteen to twenty (or twenty thousand) tubes of oil paint on my pallet does not make me a better painter. Going from 10 to 100 different paints might allow me to better express my creative vision...going from 100,000 to 1,000,000 different tubes is not going to help any artist in real life. Sony's mistake was to lose the big picture and create a mile-high canvas with billions of little tubes of paint, sitting there for artists (game developers) to take advantage of. Eventually, you come to a point where more tools result in smaller increases in opportunity: you could theoretically do a lot with the resources (the PS3's hardware assets) at your disposal, but the resources aren't going to paint pictures (make compelling games) by themselves.  

494

General Gaming / RE: Analyst: "Gaming has been a disastrous endeavor for Microsoft"

« on: April 24, 2007, 07:26:38 PM »

Right now, the heart of XBox Live really fits into its 'core competency' game types. The matchmaking type of online offered by Live is really most suited for games where there are large numbers of discrete matches, such as RTS and FPS games. Seeing as how RTS will probably never find more than a niche market among console owners (the nature of real-time strategy gameplay almost requires a mouse and keyboard), FPS and related-style games are the ones that XBox Live is most suited for (as well as the sports games and maybe the adventure games, not sure whether there has been multiplayer GTA). Games like Zelda or any non-MMO role-playing game really don't benefit very much from Live, and MMORPGs are usually going to be run in-house anyways. So, Live's gaming features are great, but they're not going to really expand the XBox's breadth. If Microsoft wants to drive growth and diversify its games portfolio, it really shouldn't be focusing on Live, which plays into the XBox's most popular game types to begin with.

I personally feel that paying to play online is pretty terrible. Blizzard's b.net didn't become popular by charging a monthly fee- when you purchased Starcraft or Warcraft III or Diablo II, you were getting unlimited multiplayer online right out of the box for your $25 or whatever. Then again, Live's big innovation is providing a unified interface that's easy to use for all these different games that are online-capable.

Is there really a point to making super-powerful consoles? I'm pretty sure Sony screwed up big-time. The PS2 was $300 when it launched, and had good graphics for its time. It had a controller and the prospect of fun, exclusive games. $300 really isn't a lot for a graphically-impressive dedicated gaming machine. Now Sony's PS3 is $600 or so, which brings it within the price range of a really cheap computer. What can it do? It plays games with good graphics (like the PS2), it has a controller (which is almost the same as the PS2's), and you can watch movies on it. The problem is that consoles can't really compete with computers based on the criterion of pure processing power or online play, two things which the computer will almost always have the long-term advantage (seriously, do you think PS3's graphics will still compare favorably to those of a high-end PC in '6 or 7 years'?). They need to do things that computers can't. They need to have same-room multiplayer games, games which require the special controller, etc.

I'm not sure the direction that these two companies are taking is the right one. For $500, I could buy upgrades for a relatively new computer (graphics card, RAM, etc) that would turn it into a high-end gaming PC. And all those shooters that are on XBox right now? They're coming to PC eventually, and there are lots of PC-exclusive shooters. GTA is on PC, and you can get the sports games for PC as well. And you can't really argue the control angle, because mouse-keyboard is at least as effective as a gamepad (if not much more so) for FPS gameplay. So, what are the incentives for me to buy the console? If Sony and Microsoft really want to make a compelling case, they'd better have more than 'it's easier to hook up to a HDTV than a computer'.

495

General Gaming / RE: Analyst: "Gaming has been a disastrous endeavor for Microsoft"

« on: April 22, 2007, 06:47:45 PM »

I think it's still too early to count Microsoft out of the race just yet. They have a decent number of units in the market right now, and are holding their own in the short-term (although in all fairness, the XBox was released significantly earlier than either the Wii or the PS3). We'll have to wait at least until the next generation before we can get a real clear feeling as to how viable the XBox is going to be in the long run.

Still, I'm not sure MS really has the 'killer IPs' necessary for long-term XBox growth. I mean, the biggest XBox exclusive game franchise right now is easily 'Halo', which is entering its third incarnation. Gears of War is also pretty popular. The issue is that most of the XBox's most prominent IPs are first-person shooters, and this doesn't really look like it's going to change very much: look at the failure of 'Kameo', and the dearth of RPGs. The success of the XBox up to this point is, I feel, predominantly due to Halo (which was an extremely well-received game) and XBox Live (which is a well-received online service). The XBox Live type of online service is really most useful for action games such as FPSes (like Halo 2 and Gears), after all.

The XBox isn't popular in Japan because Japanese gamers don't seem to be as infatuated with FPS games as American gamers, and because of the dearth of the genres that the Japanese market has traditionally favored (such as name-brand RPGs and stuff). Right now, the XBox has kind of been 'pigeonholed' as the console for the American gamer who likes shooting stuff up and perhaps playing sports games. While there's nothing inherently wrong with that, it doesn't really leave much room for growth. There are only so many consumers who are willing to play FPSes, car racing games, and sports simulators. Unless they can break out of that rut, there's really not that much hope for them taking over the industry, let alone becoming a perennial market leader. I mean, yes, the XBox is a media center, but it's primarily a gaming machine, has been promoted as such, and exists in the public consciousness as such. I doubt a significant number of people are going to buy XBoxes because they want to watch HD-DVD movies or surf the web on their TVs- unless MS realigns the public perception of the XBox as primarily a media center (a move fraught with risks and ill-advised in its own right), people are going to buy XBoxes for the games, and the media center functionality is going to remain strictly ancillary.

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General Gaming / RE: Sony (and Friends) getting hit Hard lately (or How Bad Decisions can Make any Business go Sour)

« on: April 15, 2007, 04:19:18 PM »

They can ship enough PS3s to fill the Grand Canyon, for all MS or Nintendo could care; if the demand isn't there, it won't matter.

497

TalkBack / RE: Datel Reveals My Mii Manager for PC

« on: April 12, 2007, 06:35:35 AM »

But "it's a doddle to use"! Surely that makes up for all of this open-source skulduggery or whatever...

498

Nintendo Gaming / RE: The Wii is a "mistake"...

« on: April 11, 2007, 05:08:16 PM »

I think it was easier for Nintendo to throw convention out the window when developing their new systems, seeing as how they had relatively little to lose compared to Sony (who had a decisive lead with the PS2) or the XBox (which was still trying to establish its reputation as the relative newcomer). If Nintendo had been in Sony's position last generation, I seriously doubt they would have risked as much with a radical paradigm shift that could have potentially tanked the system.

Even so, Nintendo is probably the company best-suited for innovating their way out of ruts. If Sony really does fall to last place this generation, I really cannot see them coming back to the top anytime soon, especially through the development of a revolutionary new innovation in technology (as opposed to gradual improvements to existing hardware).

"New, for 2015! The PS4! $13,000, with optional gold trim and built-in leather seats! Graphics indistinguishable from real life! DualShock XVIII controller included (now wireless!) Hurry now, we're only making 15,000 of them before the lines CLOSE FOREVER!!!"

499

General Gaming / RE: PSP Price Cut

« on: April 04, 2007, 04:26:01 PM »

The next PSP will be awesome. It will incorporate new Motion-Sensing Technology® that will be even better than the Wii's. Instead of simply swinging the unit around to control the game, you can actually hurl the PSP in a particular direction in order to simulate actions like tossing a grenade or throwing a discus! Super-sensitive accelerometers can sense the tremendous impulse created when the unit smashes into a concrete wall, and adjust the in-game experience accordingly! It also goes online! Sony will also be selling a Lifetime Replacement Plan for $500, which doesn't cover 'negligent abuse'.

500

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Wii to feature same online structure as the DS

« on: March 30, 2007, 01:53:36 AM »

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The reality is that that appeasing parents and politicians is only part of why WFC is as it is.

I'm going to agree with you and say (along with a lot of people here already) that there's probably a very pragmatic reason why Nintendo is doing this: they may not have the expertise required to implement a more extensive system and ensure that it functions correctly. I really do kind of wish that they had subsidized online gaming with the Cube (supported/encouraged devs and took advantage of itself) instead of just disavowing it: they might not have earned too much (or even anything) through online, but they would have the expertise that has become so critical now.