29th March 2007, 12:19 PM
First: Obviously, I accidentally switched the 'online' and 'local' labels in that last post. Fixed. :)
First, price. The STAND ALONE 180GB HDD is $120. $180! You can get a 120GB HDD for $80! Where is that other $100 going? Straight to Microsoft's coffers, obviously...
Really, you don't get the point... $400 is the 'sweet spot' for gamers? $400? You really think that? That's insane! $400 is way too expensive for most people to afford. Add on wi-fi and the online fees and it's quite expensive... there's no way MS will hit the mass market it wants with those prices. Maybe it'd work in Europe (420 pounds for the PS3 and it sells decently well in England? Yeah.), we'll see, but not so much here... really, if they want to succeed on the level they desire, and knock Nintendo out of the top spot, the prices have to go DOWN, not up. Microsoft, as I said, seems to want to lose... lose to Nintendo in marketshare, and lose to Sony in public perception if Sony manages to show people what you get for your money from a PS3 compared to an X360.
And the thing is, MS could drop their price so easily... Sony can't for some time, but MS easily could. I know they want to finally make money off of their gaming business, but seriously... are we going to get TWO YEARS into the new console cycle with NO price drops? Has that ever happened before? Ridiculous.
It's not fun for very long when you can't actually DO anything in the online network! Why in the world should I care about their online network when you can't talk to the other people, go into a lobby system where you can communicate with other players, create custom games with specific rules people can join, add people you meet in games to your friends list, and have stats the game keeps track of that you can hopefully access through a website as well as in the game (to mention just some of the great features of Battle.net, the service that, I would say, is still the gold standard for online networks)
Yup. Castlevania online got boring really fast... of course, the local multiplayer got boring too, since it's boss-rush only and not the full game, but at least you can talk to the other person, try to get time records, work together (pretty much impossible without communication, which you can't do through the DS because Nintendo is stupid), use any of the characters, choose which map to play, etc...
(And as for Metroid... well, "everyone either cheats or is really good" is the general consensus as far as I know (only played online once, wasn't fun at all...). Both of these (Metroid & Castlevania) are good single player games, though, making up for the online modes.)
Seriously, GR, what you should be saying is "I really wish that Nintendo would put the effort into developing an online network, because with such online games they deserve it." With Nintendo's online network as unbelievably bad as it is, it doesn't matter how good the games are. When virtually every single thing you would actually want to do online isn't allowed, the service isn't worth using much, good games or no!
It's fun for a few minutes, but not much beyond that.
And I think the public agrees with me. Remember how early on Nintendo talked about how many people were connecting to the service, etc? Haven't heard much of THAT in quite a while, have we... and I'd bet that the reason why is because people abandoned it in boredom.
Quote:They really aren't raising the price, ABF, just introducing a new model to sit along side the already existing two models. Microsoft said it isn't replacing anything, and it is a permanent sku. They predict the Premium will still be the sweet spot for gamers. Besides, you do get an HDD with six times the storage capacity for only $80 more. I believe the Elite comes with component and HDMI cables, and a headset.
lol @ dmiller. It will be years before Sony's online network reaches the fidelity of Xbox Live. Hurdles include the fact that it's not built in to the PS3 like Live is to the 360, and the fact that developers aren't required to use it.
Anyone implying that consumers are going to be confused by all this is simply not giving people enough credit. Especially in a day when there are multiple configurations of mp3 players, cell phones, and TVs. Those markets seem to be doing just fine, no?
First, price. The STAND ALONE 180GB HDD is $120. $180! You can get a 120GB HDD for $80! Where is that other $100 going? Straight to Microsoft's coffers, obviously...
Really, you don't get the point... $400 is the 'sweet spot' for gamers? $400? You really think that? That's insane! $400 is way too expensive for most people to afford. Add on wi-fi and the online fees and it's quite expensive... there's no way MS will hit the mass market it wants with those prices. Maybe it'd work in Europe (420 pounds for the PS3 and it sells decently well in England? Yeah.), we'll see, but not so much here... really, if they want to succeed on the level they desire, and knock Nintendo out of the top spot, the prices have to go DOWN, not up. Microsoft, as I said, seems to want to lose... lose to Nintendo in marketshare, and lose to Sony in public perception if Sony manages to show people what you get for your money from a PS3 compared to an X360.
And the thing is, MS could drop their price so easily... Sony can't for some time, but MS easily could. I know they want to finally make money off of their gaming business, but seriously... are we going to get TWO YEARS into the new console cycle with NO price drops? Has that ever happened before? Ridiculous.
Quote:Who needs options when it's FUN?
It's not fun for very long when you can't actually DO anything in the online network! Why in the world should I care about their online network when you can't talk to the other people, go into a lobby system where you can communicate with other players, create custom games with specific rules people can join, add people you meet in games to your friends list, and have stats the game keeps track of that you can hopefully access through a website as well as in the game (to mention just some of the great features of Battle.net, the service that, I would say, is still the gold standard for online networks)
Quote:ABF's right. I want all the frills of PC online gaming in my consoles. It isn't enough just to, if I chant just right over the proper channeling circle, play an online game now and again when I can find others willing to put up with that interface.
Usability is everything.
Yup. Castlevania online got boring really fast... of course, the local multiplayer got boring too, since it's boss-rush only and not the full game, but at least you can talk to the other person, try to get time records, work together (pretty much impossible without communication, which you can't do through the DS because Nintendo is stupid), use any of the characters, choose which map to play, etc...
(And as for Metroid... well, "everyone either cheats or is really good" is the general consensus as far as I know (only played online once, wasn't fun at all...). Both of these (Metroid & Castlevania) are good single player games, though, making up for the online modes.)
Seriously, GR, what you should be saying is "I really wish that Nintendo would put the effort into developing an online network, because with such online games they deserve it." With Nintendo's online network as unbelievably bad as it is, it doesn't matter how good the games are. When virtually every single thing you would actually want to do online isn't allowed, the service isn't worth using much, good games or no!
It's fun for a few minutes, but not much beyond that.
And I think the public agrees with me. Remember how early on Nintendo talked about how many people were connecting to the service, etc? Haven't heard much of THAT in quite a while, have we... and I'd bet that the reason why is because people abandoned it in boredom.
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