|
|
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=15692 |  BubbaT (160) May 29, 2007 - 04:06 pm
| | Be honest - when you say "keyboard and mouse" you really mean mouse because an analog stick stomps all over a keyboard in terms of movement. Moving the stick slightly to walk and all the way to run is about a thousand times better than pressing Shift+W. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=15675 | BubbaT (160) May 25, 2007 - 03:41 pm
| Empire at War and Lego Star Wars 2 are laughably over-rated. Not to say they're necessarily bad games, but they aren't better than any of the other games on the list, not to mention:
Super Star Wars, SNES
Super Empire Strikes Back, SNES
Super Return of the Jedi, SNES
Star Wars Trilogy Arcade, Arcade (not the 32X one) Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=15644 | BubbaT (160) May 24, 2007 - 12:59 pm
| Nintendo made the most profit in the PS2-XB-GC generation, and they finished 3rd in sales and had relatively weak 3rd party support compared to the other 2. This gen they're going to sell more consoles and they have stronger 3rd party support. There's no way either PS3 or 360 is going to out-profit Wii.
Don't forget that Nintendo spent basically $0 in R&D for the console itself. They just had to do the controller, not integrate Cell and Blu-Ray or embed DRAM on the GPU daughter die. Nintendo will break even and start profiting from Wii earlier than MS or Sony since they had lower initial costs. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=15118 | BubbaT (160) Apr 18, 2007 - 12:23 pm
| It is a sad freaking day for American media when Rush Limbaugh of all people is the voice of reason.
As for guns. Finland has a higher rate of gun ownership than the US, yet only a fraction of the gun crime the US has. Finland also has a fraction of the non-gun violent crime the US has.
With or without guns, the US is simply a more violent, dangerous place than most other industrialized nations. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=15102 | BubbaT (160) Apr 17, 2007 - 10:23 am
| Why stop with video games?
The shooter probably had:
- Just finished watching Beavis & Butthead.
- Been an innocent seduced by violent comics.
- Reefer Madness!
- Gotten overexcited after listening to "race music." He was probably planning to rape some white women after the shooting. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=15000 | BubbaT (160) Apr 10, 2007 - 02:01 pm
| They don't need to know how it works, just that it does. I don't know how a car engine works, but I can drive.
My mom is completely computer illiterate - I once told her a computer had 512 megs of RAM and she asked how many megs of ROM it had - and she's a Tivo master. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14938 | BubbaT (160) Apr 05, 2007 - 09:54 am
| If Apple had dominant market share they'd be getting flak for their bundled apps too. The solution ends up being either: 1) No one gives out any free stuff ever because giving away free stuff undermines competitors; or 2) realizing that getting stuff for free is a good deal and if you don't like it you don't have to use it.
I don't see why anyone should have to pay for a web browser, but nothing was stopping people from buying Netscape if they wanted to. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14938 | BubbaT (160) Apr 04, 2007 - 03:36 pm » Edited on Apr 04, 2007 - 03:32 pm
| | This lawsuit is so stupid. It's like seeing a car dealer advertise "Mercedes Benz cars as low as $30,000" and then suing Daimler-Chrysler because the it's a C-class at that price and not a CL. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14886 | BubbaT (160) Apr 02, 2007 - 10:28 am
| When did NYC become the "safest city in America"? Just because you're safer than Detroit doesn't mean you're the safest.
Let me know when Honolulu gets equally packed with terrorists, mobsters, crooked cops, and old-fashioned street thugs, Councilman. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14655 | BubbaT (160) Mar 14, 2007 - 04:52 pm
| Um, he has Everquest right there. I'd say it's a tossup whether to put Ultima Online or Everquest on there. UO proved the viability of online-based gaming, but EQ had such a massive impact.
Doom goes over Quake, as its impact extended beyond gaming into the socio-political realm. You never heard about Lieberman ranting against Quake, whereas Doom is still used by game-haters over a decade later. The first fight against censorship is an important moment in the development of any medium.
Pong is also a must. Even though Magnavox had a home console out years before, Pong was the key title that started the push for home gaming.
ET might also qualify. A game doesn't have to be good for it to be important. ET is the symbol of one of the most important events in gaming history - the Crash of 1983 - and arguably the main cause of it. Flag this | Edit this post |
| Matrix Blog Link » /matrix/blog.asp/62408/180 | BubbaT (160) Feb 28, 2007 - 08:53 am
| Actually, studies show a correlation between violent media and aggressive impulses, not aggressive actions. There is no study that shows a link between exposure to aggressive media and violent action. Your example of growing up in an abusive home is totally different than simply playing a violent game.
You also underestimate the ability of people from a very early age to understand the difference between fantasy and reality. Studies show that exposure to real violence, such as a nature documentary of a lion killing a gazelle, impacts children far more than fictional "play" violence. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14407 | BubbaT (160) Feb 21, 2007 - 09:33 am
| By the time PS3 is down into the sweet spot (for PS2 it was $150-200 US) there will be cheap Chinese Blu-Ray/HD-DVD hybrid players all over Walmart and Best Buy, basically negating the point of PS3-as-Blu-Ray player.
People remember that DVD helped sell PS2, but there was no format war with DVD. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14392 | BubbaT (160) Feb 21, 2007 - 09:27 am
| They don't talk about burning calories specifically, but all the commercials show people flailing their arms and otherwise being very active. Don't get me wrong - I think that jumping around stuff makes some of the games more fun, but it's not necessary to play the games. People do it because the commercials say the games are supposed to be played while jumping around and swinging your arms.
It's kinda like jumping around like a rock star while playing Guitar Hero. It can add to the fun, and it burns more calories than sitting down, but it's not necessary to play the game. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14392 | BubbaT (160) Feb 20, 2007 - 03:33 pm
| The Wii remote isn't accurate enough that you have to move, really. My brother plays all the Wii Sports games laying down, in the same position he plays Zelda TP in. All you need is a quick flick of the wrist for most of the movements. That's not much more movement than quickly moving a mouse around in a PC game. Ironically, he'll also be leaning to the side and otherwise moving around while playing Mario Kart, which is done with a standard gamepad.
Basically, people will move around when they're told they're supposed to move around. Wii's media campaign has been all about telling people they should be taking full rips in wii Sports Baseball, with the results of people burning more calories and Nintendo having to do their strap recall. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14321 | BubbaT (160) Feb 15, 2007 - 12:05 pm
| The Brownback - President thing was a joke, hence the smilie thing at the end. He's not even a serious contender for the Repub nomination.
And the federal govt does not have oversight powers over the ESRB right now. The ESRB, like the MPAA, is a voluntary self-ratings system. Publishers decide on their own to have their games rated, and retailers decide on their own whether they will stock M or AO games. Some do (Best Buy) and some don't (Wal-mart).
According to gamepolitics:
"The bill would also direct the FTC to define parameters for describing video game content as well as defining what kind of behavior by the game industry would break those rules.
Brownback also would have the Government Accountability Office (GAO) evaluate the efficiency of the ESRB system as well as the potential for establishing an independent rating body with no ties to the industry."
FTC = federal govt. GAO = federal govt.
FTC defining parameters of game content = federal govt regulating content of speech. This is not present in any other media - film, TV, music, etc. - except pornography, and what constitutes pornography is vague. Games != porn.
GAO evaluating ESRB as well as planning to replace it with "independent" ratings body = govt oversight. And the govt doesn't have this power yet - if they did they wouldn't need a new law to give it to them.
GAO replacing ESRB = regulation of games by govt-appointed body. Since the new ratings board's existence would be subject to govt approval, the board is essentially an extension of the govt itself. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14321 | BubbaT (160) Feb 14, 2007 - 03:06 pm
| You're all missing the important part. It's not about making the ESRB play the games before rating them. It's about giving the federal government oversight powers over the ESRB, including the power to replace it by instituting an "independent rating system...controlled by parties with no financial interest in the industry."
Let's see, who has no financial interest in gaming, but is still interested enough to serve on a potential Senate Committee on Interactive Entertainment? Why look, it's Senator Lieberman! And Senator Clinton, thank you for volunteering! You come highly recommended by a certain Mr. Thompson.
I'm sure they'll be unbiased, as their interest isn't financial - it's only political.
This bill isn't about whether the ESRB plays games - it's about the government getting their foot in the door of regulating games. Flag this | Edit this post |
| News Link » /news/newsarticle.asp?searchid=14227 | BubbaT (160) Feb 07, 2007 - 10:59 am » Edited on Feb 07, 2007 - 11:00 am
| A standard gamepad might not be the best controller for any one genre, but it's as versatile as they come. The Wii-mote is great for aiming, yes. It's also terrible for say, driving, even with the steering wheel attachment. The over-accuracy (edit: oversensitivity is probably a better term) is fine in Excitetruck, which is designed for loose controls. It's frustrating in games like Monkey Ball which rely on quick, precise movements. Not many people can hold their hands perfectly still while gaming.
The Wii-mote is great for passing in Madden. It's terrible for playing defense. That pretty much sums up the Wii-mote currently - very hit and miss. It'll work great in some scenarios and be absolutely useless in others.
And even worse - it can break games. In Super Swing Golf, you're likely to do better by simply rotating your wrist then by doing anything that resembles a golf swing. In Wii Sports Bowling, my brother does nothing but flick his wrist 90 degrees to bowl - no backswing or anything like that.
Now, the Wii-mote still has great potential. Don't forget it took about a year for developers to figure out how to use the DS' touchscreen effectively. I have no doubt that there will be games that use the motion sensing to enhance the game experience. But the nature of the Wii-mote and motion sensing - the way it's perfectly suited for some things and perfectly unsuited for others - I think prevents it from becoming the standard. While the gamepad isn't as great as the Wii-mote at some things, it also isn't bad at anything. Flag this | Edit this post |
|
