I think MS is still figuring out how best to handle the used game market and until the console launches and their plan goes into effect there really is no reason to complain about it. Consoles are moving towards a Steam like system and that’s good for the industry. Sure there will be some growing pains while they figure it out but we need a system in place that supports the developers better. I get tired of hearing all these people complain like they are entitled to perfect games and consoles but whine when someone makes changes to help get some revenue back to the people making said games.
Maybe it’s because 80 percent of my gaming is done on my PC through Steam but I just don’t see this as a big deal. I can’t lend my games to friends, or sale them at gamestop. However, I can get some great deals on older games when Steam puts them on sale. So how is it that PC gamers have survived this system for so long but console gamers get just a tiny taste they act like the industry is crashing down around them while they scream their ultimatums to the sky? I think they are being a bit over dramatic.
MS has and will get a lot of flak over the decisions they made because people can’t use common sense or they just want to make an issue out of it just for the sake of trying to make MS out like they are destroying gaming.
That’s why you have people complaining about connecting their Xbox to the internet despite the fact that they obviously have internet. So why not just connect it to the internet you have? How often does your internet go out? Mine has gone out maybe 5 times in the last few years and I just got somebody to come out the next day to fix it. For those who can’t get access to internet, there is a system that MS is developing for those people. So what’s the problem?
People complain about kinect being required when they know nothing about what it will be capable of doing and how it could augment games in the future. Kinect is an amazing technology and with a little creativity from the developers it can be used in some really cool ways. Let’s wait and see how it’s utilized before we label it has a useless gimmick. Also, it’s not really fair to compare it to the last gen kinect because not everyone had one, so implementation in games was sporadic plus the tech has been upgraded. Also, it is not watching you in sleep mode and you can change the privacy settings.
The one thing I never understood was the people complaining about all the added features the Xbox has because they are not directly related to gaming. So you hate it because it does more? Regardless of what people say, the systems are very comparable when it comes to tech specs. Neither is light years ahead of the other, and both are just as capable as the other of playing fantastic games. Yet the Xbox adds some additional features and suddenly people start grabbing their pitchforks? I use my Xbox 360 and PS3 for all my entertainment. I rent movies and TV shows through both consoles... I love the idea of having all my entertainment in one place so I don’t have to deal with so many different audio video hookups and controllers.
Bottom line, people are being way too over dramatic about the Xbox one and all the things they are lashing out at MS for will be happening over on Sony’s console eventually. So calm down. If you don’t want an Xbox One then don’t buy one, but don’t act like it’s destroying game or somehow screwing the consumer when things like Steam have been far more restrictive for years. Yet people survived that. :-)
I think people are waay over reacting to what little they know about the new Xbox, and some are trying way too hard to paint it out to be something that it's not. I see all these people ONLINE that are saying.. "it has to check in once a day via the internet.. I am definitely not buying now." Well what's wrong with the internet you are using? Do you have some reason why you wouldn't want your Xbox connected to this internet? When was the last time you lost internet for more than 24 hours that didn't also mean losing power? People also seem to ignore the fact that Microsoft says that there will be options for people who are unable to have access to internet. Let's not talk about that though because that doesn't vibe with the M$ is evil mantra.. I'll just move on now..
"Oh but used games, M$ wants to control everything and drain of us all our money every way they can.." Let's try common sense for a moment. Used games hurts the industry, you can't deny that. This isn't like movies and music that have varying types of distribution, i.e concerts, movie theaters, TV programming.. No,.. game companies make money from selling games. This is something that needs to be addressed. Believe it or not but Sony was even talking about implementing similar things, and I believe that in time they will, because the industry demands it. MS had the balls to step up and try to help developers out. Of course they are now being berated by whiny gamers who have no problem demanding perfection from developers but complain when they are asked to compromise on something like used games. It's pathetic really. The costs to make these games keep rising and it's getting increasingly more difficult to fund them. But you know why should I care about company lay offs or closures as long as they deliver in the end and I can buy it second hand for 10 bucks cheaper?
As far as Kinect. You can turn it off. You can change it's settings. Really what's the issue here?
It has the potential to augment gaming in some interesting ways. Are you really that paranoid about it or do you just see it as an opportunity to make up conspiracy theories about MS like all those lunatic commentators do to each other on 24 hour news channels? What horrible thing is going to happen you by having a Kinect in you living room?
You can't say that gamers aren't a passionate group. So passionate that they will take anything and everything and make it sound like it's the end of the world. I haven't seen anything come from Xbox that tells me that it's going to be some huge failure and that their trying to screw over gamers. I for one welcome the additional features.
My Xbox 360 and PS3 are my source of all digital entertainment. I rent all my movies, stream all my TV shows, and check out game and movie trailers through my consoles. Having something like integrated TV, especially if they provide a service like Google TV where I can search for programming across my cable TV and the video apps on my console, would be nice. I liked what I could do with my Vizio Co star, unfortunately it was buggy as hell. If my Xbox can do the same thing but better... then more power to them.
They still need to explain the always on some more and they have done a poor job of explaining that in a satisfactory way, but to freak out about now is a little silly. We don't even have all the facts yet. The game industry obviously has had a big beef with the used game market and whether you like it or not they are going to find a way to address it. Sony will eventually make a move in the same direction. MS knows it is coming and took the risk to take the steps the industry wants. People might not like it now, but when MS has a better handle on it down the road and when Developers see the benefit of developing games for the Xbox since they won't lose so much to the second hand market it might cause Sony some issues.
What Xbox is doing isn't new.. I can't sell my Steam games or lend them to friends. PC gamers have survived with not being able to buy and sale used games through gamestop. It isn't the end of gaming and eventually it's going to be the norm for consoles. What will matter is how they handle the used game market with their new system. This is what hasn't been fully revealed by MS and it is an important issue. However, it's probably best to wait until all the details come out before you start throwing temper tantrums.
I think both systems look great and I am excited to see what else have to show at E3. I think the outrage over Xbox's internet connectivity is a bit overblown. I agree that there are probably some that this would be a big problem for, but I find it a bit strange that the people I see freaking out are posting online,.. which means they have internet access.. so what is the issue with keeping your console connected to your internet your using right now? I have lived in 3 different states in the last 7 years and have met countless people through the films I have worked on. I can't remember the last person I met that didn't have some sort of internet access... These days most phones can be used as a hotspot for internet.. Not to say that there aren't those who don't have access... but they are definitely in the minority.
Now I understand that there is more to it than that. There is the issue of renting games, or letting your buddy borrow a game and having to pay a fee. That part needs more clarification from MS. They did a pretty terrible job explaining that and made it even more confusing than it already was. I will wait until all the details emerge about that to make my judgement though. However, I am also a PC gamer and when I buy a game through Steam it's mine and mine only. I can't lend a Steam game to a buddy, or go sale it to gamestop. So what MS is doing isn't new.. just new to consoles.
In the end, MS might win over the developers if they are convinced that they aren't going to lose money on the used game market when they develop for the Xbox. That's the angle nobody is considering. The fact remains that the industry sees the used game market as a big problem and right now it is in a transitional period figuring out how best to deal with it. My guess is that Sony is going to have to make a move in the same direction eventually. So does the fact that MS has taking the first step going to give it the edge long term?
Who knows.. This will be an interesting console generation to watch. I for one will be owning both consoles like I did this current gen. So I have no real loyalty to just one or the other.
I'm a little curious to see what the PS4 looks like but this teaser did absolutely nothing for me....Teasing what console looks like seems kind of silly..... Everyone knows why they did it but if there were really wanting to steal some thunder from Xboxs announcement I think they could have done something more interesting than console vents..
If they were smart they would have kept an exciting first party exclusive for today and released a teaser for it with the tagline "Come see us at E3'.. That would have gotten people talking more than... OOh did you see that vent! Awesome!!
I like Xbox, but a required internet connection isn't a good idea. Apart from the obvious scenario of having your internet disrupted for whatever reason and suddenly not being able to play because of it,... people like flexibility. What if you want to take your Xbox to another part of the house that doesn't get internet, or another place entirely. If I am staying in a hotel do I have to pay their daily internet fee so I can play my games? What about my Dad's ranch that doesn't have internet? Of course, Xbox hasn't officially announced that this is a feature so anything is possible.
Why isn't anyone talking about mental illness? If movies/music/games truly had the power to push someone so far past the threshold of decency and make them into mass murderers we would be seeing school shootings everyday and everywhere. It would be a major epidemic.
Games are not the problem. Home life, mental illness, bullying... these are just a few of the major contributors. Yet nobody talks about this... why? How about instead of pursuing an agenda to demonize media, let's educate everyone about what type of psychological problems that are capable of making someone so detached from reality. What kind of signs should we look for in someone who may be suffering from different mental illnesses? What things can we do to help kids with troubled home lives or that are bullied at school? What can we do to keep this nation mentally stable?
I have played shooter games for almost 2 decades and I have absolutely no desire to injure or kill anybody. Games to not create killers, things that are much more serious and personal do. Yet these things get swept under the rug to make room for political agendas. It's a sad sad world.
Blaming video games diverts attention from the core issues that we fail to address properly time and time again. There are parents all around the country who are scared to death that their kids are going to injure them or someone else because of their violent tendencies. Unfortunately, it is incredibly difficult to get help because no one will listen until the kid actually does something. I believe this issue is at least partially a direct cause of the fact that mental issues in kids have been on the rise.
Things like autism have increased a hundred fold over the years and studies have shown it to be caused by the ridiculous number of shots given to children by doctors when they are young. These shots contain mercury which is used to preserve the contents of the shot in case you didn't know.
However, I doubt you have heard much about this because people would rather blame movies and video games and use tragedies like the shooting in Newtown to push their personal agendas.
For the record, I have played violent video games for 18 years since I was in middle school and have never had even the slightest desire to kill anyone much less hurt anyone. I have never even started a fight. A good friend of mine who plays even more violent video games than I was a Ministry major and now a loving father of two kids.
Games and movies may influence how someone commits violence but it is far from being the cause.
I have to agree with the over dramatic bit. The whole time I was reading the article I was thinking, "Is it really that big of a deal man?" I tried Windows 8 Beta for a while and you can still access a normal traditional windows desktop. Not sure why he would want to limit his potential distribution.
I can't say that I am a real big fan of Apple these days. Steve Wozniak was amazing, but Jobs was more ego than anything. I agree that Jobs could look around the world and find really cool ideas and combine them into extremely polished products, and that is exactly what he has done all these years. H looked at what other people were doing and did it better. As soon as someone did the same to him he became irate and said he was going to go Thermonuclear on them.
The thing about Apple is that it pretends that it is so different from other technology companies when it's really not. They just had Jobs who was like the James Cameron of gadgets who would push his people to extremes to achieve the highest level of polish and perfection. However, Apple has only invented a handful of things and most of their greatest Innovations were either bought, borrowed, or stolen. Now they are fighting to keep their market share using lawsuits on mostly silly dress patents and gestures that probably shouldn't be upheld by patent law. The silver lining is that all these courtroom attacks by Apple may finally make people realize how badly we need patent reform in this country.
I have owned Apple products for years including 2 I Phones, 2 Macbooks, and 1 IMac. However, I recently traded in my IPhone 4 for a Galaxy S III after really liking my Nexus 7 Tablet. I never realized how restrictive Apple was with their products until I started messing around with Android. It's crazy the features Apple stripped out of applications like Google maps amongst other things. My google maps on my Galaxy has the best voiced turn by turn navigation I have ever used and yet I lacked this feature in my IPhone because Apple in all it's wisdom decided it shouldn't be included. So instead you have to go buy a $60 GPS app. I think Apple needs to simmer down, quit bullying other companies, and get back to the old spirit they displayed so proudly back in the 80s.
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