Posts by Izuno

Ubi gets my vote for publisher of the year. Don't forget about Prince of Persia: Warrior Within. I'm dabbling in that now and really like it.

enough to pay for the whole trip

Quote from Fletch

HOORAY FOR 4 QUEENS!!!!![Blocked Image: http://bluechairs.com/images/draggrilrscropped.jpg]

omg that's exactly what each card looked like.

Quote from Lurker

I already have one, so I'm bloody giddy over Xbox2. Microsoft really seems to have their act together, and as much as I love to hate them, they do do certain things very well, consoles seems to be one of them.

Remember, Microsoft has a history of improving their products with each generation. The original Windows 1.0 was garbage. 2.0 was semi usable. 3.x was about as good as they could do for 16 bit computing.

Windows 95 (first attempt at 32 bit OS) was better than Win 3.1 but still shitty.

Windows 98 (second attempt at 32 bit OS) was way better.

Windows XP (thrid attempt at 32 bit OS) blows away 95/98 despite its flaws.

Anyway, I am grossly simplifying this, but everyone who follows MS knows they have this pattern that their 3rd generation of each product seems to be the best.

So I was in Vegas Saturday night. I avoided blackjack entirely. I think I am done with that for a while. I played poker at a 3/6 limit Texas Hold'em table at the Aladdin. Was down a little until my last hand when I hit 4 queens. Not only did i rake the pot, I also won a jackpot bonus!!! Wasn't like 1000s of bucks or anything, but it paid for the rest of the trip, then some.

wow nice pics. makes me want a new camera.

Quote from Tequila

Seriously, just give me Project Gotham 3 and Live at launch and I'll be the happiest man alive.Race on!

Since MS will officially announce the 1st party launch lineup at E3 you won't have to wait much longer to find out.

That said, every major console launch in recent history has had a big time racing game. For the Xbox it was the original PGR. I would bet that MS will have a kick ass racing game for the 360 launch, the question is, will it be PGR3 or a new franchise? Given PGR is to MS Xbox as GT is to PS1/2, my money is on PGR3, but than again most industry wags, pundits and analysts would predict that as well.

So the real question is, will you buy an HD TV if you don't already have one?

Quote from Lee3dee

I think Bungie owes everyone including me, Halo 2 - Part 2 as a launch title

uh....

ok first of all we didn't see a live unit, only blown up high res pictures. it is an improvement over the xbox for sure. the thing about it is that microsoft is taking it way more seriously than the xbox launch in 2001 and we were blown away by just how much time they have put into their online strategy and xbox live network for the 360. from a business point of view, it should be much more appealing to the mass market, plus there are many features that core gamers will appreciate. we're under nda not to discuss, but doesn't matter because come E3 all will be made public.

as for physical descriptions, i can't really say anything about that except i was not blown away or anything, but it does look nicer than the bulky xbox and it looks closer to something Apple might have designed than Microsoft. we did get to see and touch an actual controller, and that was pretty cool. i really like the S-controller, and the 360 felt about as good in my hands so it's not much of a stretch from what we're used to with xbox. one thing is for sure, don't worry about having it tucked away in your media cabinet beneath your tv with it's glass doors shut...you'll still be able to play....

oh did i mention the standard HD support? i think that's public info already. all 360 games must at least support 720 p, 16x9 and 5.1 surround. not sure how much higher into HD some games will go.

they did not confirm or deny backwards compatibility yet. i have to believe they are working on that and will include it. we'll see.

they will continue to support the Xbox even after the 360 launches, for whatever that's worth. so if you give your old xbox to a younger sibling there should still be at least some new content for a few years to come.

right now the specs on the 360 are higher than the typical high end PC, so games currently in development for the PC should port fairly easily to 360. Porting native 360 code to PCs will be more difficult. They did not discuss the PlayStation 3 at all or how Sony's strategy is impacting theirs.

the big deal on the live support will be the "microtransactions"...basically if you have broadband youc an be on a free version of xbox live all the time if you want, an online portal you connect to through the console that allows you to download and play demos for free, see game trailers, check out what's available for download for all 360, not just what's in the disc tray at the moment. you will also be able to buy addon content in the forms of maps, levels, vehicles, weapons or other small bits of content. prices will typcially be very very small like 10 cents for a custom decal if you really want it or maybe a buck for a new multiplayer map, 5 bucks for a new single player episode. pricing on mini content is not final, and it's designed to be cheap enough so you don't have to get screwed on value. plus you don't need a credit card to buy stuff. you can buy prepaid cards at a retailer like bestbuy and input the code and store up points in your account....then you spend points accordingly. if you are a developer/publisher, Microsoft will take care of billing and send you the profits after they take their cut. they seemed to realize their cut won't be that big which is good because it will encourage developers to keep making additional content for popular games. that way consumers can pick and choose what additional content they are willing to pay for or not.

oh...it should be able to detect your windows PC if you want it to...and thereby it will be able to play MP3s from your computer in custom playlists in any 360 game. i think they said you can pause in the middle of any game and alter your playlist.

online multlplayer is only available with full paid subscriptions to the live system, however they predict many games will have "free weekends" to let people try multiplayer for specific games to see if they like before buying a subscription. also, i think they may end up selling weekend passes for small fees. the possibilities for that are pretty big.

they did not tell us what other 3rd party publishers were developing for the 360 launch, and that's really the missing link here. no matter how cool the 360 is, no matter how powerful it is, no matter how good the online and live support is, if the system does not have good games at launch it won't be as good as a product overall. that said, it does seem like Microsoft is spending a lot more time and money in supporting 3rd party publishers to make better games for this launch relative to the xbox launch. and that's really what it comes down to. if there are great games and great capabilities, than it will be a great product. so far I believe the capabilities will be there...now it's up to Microsoft and 3rd party pubs/studios to deliver great content.

bottom line: everything is ready to go to make the 360 the best console to date, all we need now are kick ass games.

Quote from GrayFox

Are you being sarcastic or serious?

serious.

HOLY SHIT the Xbox360 is going to kill. The entire experience of console gaming is going to be a lot different come November.

not surprised Valve got out of the deal with Vivendi for upcoming products.

[speculation]

Obviously for the Xbox version will require a publishing partner, lest Valve is willing to front the per unit royalty to Microsoft thereby establishing itself as an independent publisher. But that would be difficult and expensive as Valve would need a sales force to at least execute sales deals with retailerl. Sure, Xbox version of HL2 is probably an easy sell, however it still takes effort to manufacture, distribute and market the product, something Valve may not have the capacity, time or expertise to do so. HOWEVER, if I were Valve I would take a long look at it and explore the economics. If there is a way, then it would be worth it in the long run because then Valve would be in a much stronger position to make what they want, when they want and distribute however the hell they want. It wouldn't be the first small developer/publisher, but it would be the most concentrated in terms of product quality to number of products ratio.

[/speculation]

Ghostbusters

Old School

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

South Park: The movie

Ghostbusters is a classic...such a well structured movie that balances funny with creepy.

The other three are the only movies i've laughed so hard at that i cried and almost peed myself. Old School had me fall out of my chair.

Quote from -Stratesiz-

Product/technology standardization is a win-win situation for both companies and customers. There are some key factors, such as backward compatibility, that facilitate standardization. The problem is that companies want first-mover advantages by creating their own technology, hoping it would be the next standard. They would then sell licenses of these copyrighted/patented products/processes to competitors. They would also have a cost advantage because of greater experience.

word. however there is such a thing as Second Mover Advantage. Basically, the first mover makes a mistake so big that it leaves a gaping hole in the market for a second mover to come in and capitalize. Microsoft Excel was certainly not the first GUI driven spreadsheet. We all know Windows was not the first GUI OS for a home computer...now look at it.

Further, sometimes inferior technology becomes the better whole product solution due to strategic moves and market conditions...which is a real bummer. I mean, anyone here remember the Windows 3.1 and earlier days? If you have problems with Win 98, 2000, ME, or XP...WHOLY SHIT you should have seen the problems with Windows in the 80s and early 90s.

One thing I don't like is this "omg the sky is falling" mindset. Sure Sony is trying to push proprietary technology and go after our wallets. I say let them try. Do you know how many times Sony has tried that? Remember Beta vs VHS? Sony actually had superior technology in the Beta format, but they failed get enough market support because they wanted to keep exclusive rights and ...well the rest is history. Oh yeah, remember the first Macs? Even though they were vastly superior for home computing than competing IBM and clone machines Apple would not license its operating system. Lack of 3rd party hardward and software support followed outside of core graphics and publishing...now look at the Mac marketshare. How many gamers here play on Macs? You know the score.

Ok i'm starting an angry rant. If you want some more history that is specific to the gaming industry read this:

http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hov/

In it you'll see how these very issues have plagued the video game industry since its inception. Also note how Atari has been the industry's whipping boy.

Quote from Holeman

im guessing it was a six flags in texas? how is that? because the one back in california is awsome, but the one here in georgia blows...

you mean Magic Mountain. Yeah it's pretty cool...though it's best to go early or late in the season on a weekday.

nice shirt, mike. someone should chase you and try to drag you off like american gladiators. that would be cool.

Quote from Backslider

What about S.T.A.L.K.E.R ?

[hijack]

They're working on it. April 25/26 was the 19th anniveray of the original Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

[/hijack]

as soon as they finish prey they'll finish DNF....right?

sorry i don't really have much relic swag lying aboot.

i did just get to watch the E3 presentation demo...not fully polished yet but it looked really good. hopefully it will go online right around E3 so everyone here can see it and provide feedback.

omg pls...this is all CG and it's all marketing hype right now. I'm sure EA will have a Madden game for the Xbox360 launch...if they didn't they'd be idiots. But they will, and I'm sure it will sell a lot. I'm sure it will look better than anything they've done on PS2 or Xbox, but it won't look like CG in game.

anyway...it's all hype right now so we'll just have to wait till E3 at earliest to see it.

Quote from insta

I'll be happy if it's basically a Dawn of War expansion pack with new ww2 models for the units.

no it's an entirely new engine from Dawn of War. the AI is designed around WWII units/technology rather than modified Warhammer 40k units/technology.

Quote from kleinluka

Not exactly sure. I got in with just a highschool degree, others got in with a few months of uni experience but no degree, and others got in with a degree. The official requirement is a 2-year degree but the consulates tend to make exceptions every now and then. Your best bet is to give it a try.

You had a high school degree + mod->retail product experience, so that helped a lot. ...plus rec letters from people in the industry.