Here's another one that's rather interesting:

quote:

Wii for $170? Financial report anticipates lower price point for upcoming system. by Anoop Gantayat August 15, 2006 - Nintendo's new Wii console could be yours later this year for less than expected. Tokyo-based Nikko Citigroup has issued a report on Nintendo's rising stock price, and between all the jargon is the financial institution's forecast that the Wii will carry a Japanese price point of 19,800 yen. Current exchange rates would put an equivalent US price at $170.00. However, console prices rarely convert according to exchange rates. At most, we can probable take this report to indicate an anticipated US price of under $200. Nikko Citigroup previously forecast a 25,000 yen price for the Wii. The firm arrived at the new, lower price point based on its expectation that Nintendo will be able to procure the Wii's CPU for less than expected. This report is just another prediction by a financial institution and shouldn't be taken as confirmation of the Wii's price. For now, the official Nintendo word is that the system will be sold for under 25,000 yen in Japan and $250 in America. Final details are expected in September.

Source: http://wii.ign.com/articles/725/725645p1.html

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I am nobody. Nobody is perfect. Therefore I am perfect.

quote:

Originally posted by malek Microsoft not a gaming company ?? hehe what the hell are you talking about? They were making the flight sims way back in the days. Why have they put enormous amounts of monies and time into the development of DirectX? to make Word better? Not really. Everyone knows that the whole revolution behind windows 95 was to make Windows a gaming plateform. I love Nintendo's games, Zelda, Mario, Starfox, Mario Kart, ... but my best experiences are on a Microsoft Windows based machine. And now with the xbox360, Microsoft wants to take out the hassle of keeping up to date with hardware, drivers, os updates, etc of your computer and package it in a neat format called the xbox (which is just an optimized windows machine).

Flight sims? Are those even games? I don't know anyone under the age of 30 that even attempted to play those things back in the day. And just because a company makes a game or two in between operating systems doesn't make then a videogame company. Sony is an electronics company, and Microsoft is a computer software giant. Of the 3 current-gen console gaming companies, Nintendo is the only 'pure' one that exists.

Why have they put enormous amounts of money and time into DirectX? Simply put, they have to, or it opens the door for another company to develop it and make money based on an incredibly popular money-making medium... computer games (which, by the way, are on a completely different universe than console games, because RTS and FPS games are teh win on computer, while other genres work much better on a console).

Windows 95 was developed for gaming so that Microsoft could keep up with the trend of computers being used for more than just office-work. It wasn't some brand new innovation that suddenly turned them into a gaming company. They haven't made a single good game other than their sub-par computer sim-games. Even Sony's made better games than Microsoft.

With the X-Box, Microsoft did what they do best. Jump on the bandwagon and try to compete in a growing market. The only reason they do well is because they have TONS and TONS of money to blow on hardware and advertising (and buying out the competition). Microsoft's entire goal is to make money. There's no attempt to remove the 'hassle of keeping up to date with hardware, drivers, os updates, etc of your computer". That's what consoles DO, that's what they've been doing for the last 30 years! Giving gamers a medium to play great games without that hassle.

I'm not denying that X-Box 360 is a powerful machine or anything like that. But as far as the actual games go (you know, the things that actually make money for the company), the X-Box is still just the Halo Box with good sports games.

___________________
Captain Planet is gey.
Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Heart???
These forces are supposed to combine to create Captain Planet?
Bullshit.
Those forces combine to create a soaking, boiling mudstorm on Valentine's Day.

Exactly. MS isn't a video games company like Nintendo or Ubi-Soft or EA or Sega. They're in the software business, which video games happen to fall under. I doubt they have their own in-house game development team though, unlike Ubi-Soft or Nintendo.

and btw, ultimately, the motive for MS to put so much effort in DirectX is to keep gamers using Windows and keep their primary source of income flowing: Windows and its applications. Not to be a gaming company, which they are not, at least not the same way Nintendo, Sega, Activision, EA, etc. are

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[alk]

quote:

Originally posted by Spam

on most points agreed.

generally a company the size of microsoft has difficulties being as innovative as smaller and/or more targetted companies.

however looking across such a broad spectrum doesn't do MS justice.

in the great scheme of themes, they suck, yes.

however this is due to one of the basic principles of economics and evolution: competition.

you will find that microsoft is a very innovative company in markets where they do have fierce competition, and is a stagnant leviathan when in markets where it can afford to sit back and reap the profits.

examples.

windows/windows media player/IE and the office suite:

same old shit they've been releasing for years, revamped, rebadged and more expensive. also, typically has more problems.

XBOX

learned so much from the orig. (some lessons that sony has obv. forgotten). why was 360 the first new gen console out, because of the strategic value of first strike. the interface and the manner in which the console is set up is great for gamers. the live setup, the access to the live marketplace. and the achievements setup is absolute genius. (in order to increase your score and your rank you have to buy and play more titles)

all of that being said,

im really looking forward to the Wii.

im hoping for another FZero.

quote:

Originally posted by lexclu im hoping for another FZero.

Motion sensetive steering would be so much fun!

quote:

Originally posted by Cosmic Fur *Patiently waits for the day Nintendo is going to go out of business.* I hope that wasn't a real commercial. Cause even PS2 is better than Wii. And did Nintendo just try to criticise Sony on their selection of games? AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. HEY NINTENDO, WHEN I FEEL LIKE PLAYING ANOTHER ADAPTATION OF MARIO BROS FOR THE GAJILLIONTH TIME, I'LL GIVE YOU A CALL! For now, sit down, stfu, and continue appealing to first-graders.

well put, well put. i just like the one gimic wii has to offer, that is the motion sensing controller thingy. thats it though

quote:

Originally posted by lexclu

Agreed, It's nice to see SOME people in here who understand business and know their shit about videogames. I thought we were all drugged-up trance-ners!

Microsoft made a mistake when they did that crummy 3-controller setup for the 360. but otherwise they have indeed learned a lesson from the X-Box. You have to be first, or you have to be different.

Of course, SEGA already learned that lesson with the Dreamcast.

Sony on the other hand, has apparently gotten cocky in the VG market and thinks they can pull a rabbit outa their ass with the release of PS3, which will ultimately be overshadowed by the release of Wii. Since Wii isn't going for direct competition with X-Box OR PS3, people will want both types of systems, and this will work to Nintendo's advantage. I fully expect X-Box and PS3 to split sales while Nintendo's sales soar.

___________________
Captain Planet is gey.
Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Heart???
These forces are supposed to combine to create Captain Planet?
Bullshit.
Those forces combine to create a soaking, boiling mudstorm on Valentine's Day.

quote:

Originally posted by Spam Agreed, It's nice to see SOME people in here who understand business and know their shit about videogames. I thought we were all drugged-up trance-ners!

i did write in the great scheme of themes,

so im not making such a good case for not being a drugged up trance-ner.

i was kinda disapointed when SEGA backed out of the console race, but they got thoroughly beaten by everyone else. and as much fun as you can make about the mario bros. franchise, the sonic franchise had even less ability to be upgraded and adapted. and i loved those games.

however, for whatever reason, SEGA and nintendo forged some affinity after years and years of direct and brutal competition, SEGA did mention when it had backed out that it would be focusing primarily on video game production, and im excited about what SEGA will be able to do with the motion sensitive technology.

Wii + SEGA games = hours of stoned entertainment.

Coffee, Tea, SEGA

what the fuck have I done with my day?

I too was a little saddened by the SEGA dropout, but it's understandable considering the big mistake they made in waiting so long before making the dreamcast. They released it at the end of an era, just before everyone was waiting for the next. That's never a good call

Mario is a franchise that can be updated greatly, the only problem is that the Gamecube is just an N64 with better graphics, that's the whole problem the current-gen systems have had all along. Better graphics are good and all, but you need something new to truly update a game. Mario made the jump from 2d to 3d with flying colours (as did Zelda). But without something new, it turned into Mario Sunshine on the gamecube (fun, but ick).

Sonic has always had the problem of being a step behind Mario. Sonic was great when it came out because of it's blazing speed, but even back then it was just Mario on crack. But by the time dreamcast was released, it was just a super-speed Mario, but with less imaginative worlds and less fun.

I'm actually not that excited about Sega making games... other than Sonic they've never really had much to bank on as far as quality gaming is concerned. They were always a console company that relied on 3rd-party software.

___________________
Captain Planet is gey.
Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Heart???
These forces are supposed to combine to create Captain Planet?
Bullshit.
Those forces combine to create a soaking, boiling mudstorm on Valentine's Day.

quote:

Originally posted by Spam Microsoft made a mistake when they did that crummy 3-controller setup for the 360. but otherwise they have indeed learned a lesson from the X-Box. You have to be first, or you have to be different.

3 controller setup?