Justin Skists wrote: > > From: Gordon Wallis [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > >_If_ PS2 crushes the opposition, it'll be because people didn't learn > >from the original that the games are flash, unplayable crap (apart from > >a few gems). > >_If_ PS2 crushes Dreamcast it'll be because Sega didn't learn that > >obscure ads for a console don't sell games, therefore don't sell > >consoles. > > I said that PS2 will crush the competition. Where in my emails did > I say PS2 /should/ crush the competition? > Sorry for the harsh tone of that! I took exception to the phrase "It was always going to". I have trouble believing it's predestined, even with Sony's best advertising execs on the case. It annoys me that Irimajiri said that Sega had leart from it's past mistakes, only to have Sega Europe waste it's not-inconsiderable advertising budget on a pair of obscure adverts that don't even show screenshots, let alone game sequences.
> >a) DVD compatibility will probably push the price back to the highs of > >the original PS release, and by then Dreamcast will probably have had > >it's price cut by about £50. £150 vs. £300..? > > Probably. > (continued below) Is this more of what you call 'subtle humour'? ;-) > >b) Backwards compatibility? Why bother? Have you seen the prices of a > >new or second hand PS these days? Anyone who's already got a PS would be > >stupid to throw it out to make room for the new one unless it's got that > >common PS CD-skipping problem. Let's face it, with Sony making PS2, it > >it going to be much better in that department? > > And why did you buy your SAM? > Not for the Spectrum compatibility, I can tell you! I still have three fully functional Speccies, and found the emulators far to fernickity. What can I say? I'm an optimist. I truly _believed_ that US Gold would do Sam Strider with a mixture of Atari ST graphics, Spectrum code an a little Sam work to glue it all together. I honestly thought the Sam might encourage a new breed of 'tinkerers'. Sadly, consoles started to take over the world with their Nu-PC-style built-in obsolescence. Sadly, the majority of people only pay attention to flash graphics. My only other excuse for buying a Sam would be 'for the disk drive'. There's nothing worse than spending hours on some graphics only to have them destroyed by a tape loading error. I've only ever lost two or three screens to disk errors on Sam. > >c) You like the reconditioned CD-i look? Why should that mean it'll be a > >success? > > Ever heard of "subtle humour"? > [Sitting behind large oak desk, wearing tweeds and smoking a pipe. The overall effect is... Sepia-toned] "Of course, I understand the _concept_... and _in theory_, I can recognise it from context... but I much prefer to jump to erroneous conclusions" ;-) > Actually, I thought the casing on the PS1 was rather crap - especially > the pop-up disk drive. Currently, I have my printer on top of it and > it's bloody annoying juggling everything to put in a CD. > Yes... Does look rather cheap, doesn't it. Especially compared to, for example, the Sony Discman. Believe it or not, I was in a branch of GAME a week or so ago, where they were demo-ing Dreamcast right at the front of the shop, under the large '@DREAMCAST' banner. Some kid walked in and shouted "Look, Mum! They've got PlayStation2!". Ouch. > >The fact is, most people that bought PS1 were not serious gamers, they > >just added it to their list of in-home entertainment (Sony HiFi, Sony TV > >and video, Sony PlayStation). > > I'm glad I'm not "most people"... (Panasonic portable stereo, Goldstar > TV, Alba video) > > To me, the "few gems" make it all worth it. I only buy a game once in > a blue moon. Actually, 'Metal Gear Solid' was actually the only game I > can think of that I bought after playing the demo. > Amen to that! What really p!$$es me off about these people is that they played FF7 (for example) for a week, traded it in for some crappy license with a soundtrack by an allegedly famous DJ, and act as if they're an authority on contemporary videogames. Most of 'em never owned a computer (but, like, they use one for, like, email at, like, work), and many of 'em refer to their PS games as 'computer games'. May they be consigned to the most pestilent pits of Hell, there to be forever Satan's sexual plaything. > I'll probably buy the PS2 a little while after the UK release (after > the Christmas rush). I don't have a PC at home and, currently, I have > no intention of buying one, so the inbuilt DVD player would be nice. > I might buy the PS2 sooner if it has a decent Elite-style game. > Are we talking Christmas 2000? They reckon to be releasing in May 2000... They'll likely have dropped the price by £50-100 by Christmas. Unless I'm getting confused with the Japanese release... >From what you've said, it sounds like PS2 will be a good choice for ya. Just don't expect another Metal Gear Solid. I've been told that 99% of games released in Japan these days are "unplayable shit", and it seems very much as if the more technology pushes forward, the less effort goes in to taking advantage of it... I'm intrigued by the 'Emotion Engine', but how many UK developers are likely to use it (properly). How many are going to take the easy option and just recreate their PS1 games using the new hardware to improve the look of them. Then again, with folks like Kojima striving to create more innovative games, even if we do only get the top 1%, it'll be something to look forward to. People have been trying to do Elite for ages now... Privateer2, HardWar, that sort of thing. It's a difficult trick to pull off (even Braben messed it up the last time!). Problem is, with the PS market being how it is, it just wouldn't sell. The average user doesn't have the attention span. Elite is in some ways comparable to a Tamagotchi - it has to be nurtured. Have you ever tried explaining Elite to anyone who's never played it?.. "Why can't I just shoot it? Why buy that? Why go there? Why can't I land on the planet? Why isn't my pulse laser destroying that asteroid? Why are the police after me? Nothing ever happens in this f**king game!" > >Nintendo are pretty much out of the game, don't you think? > > Currently, yes... But I'm sure they will announce a new console pretty > soon. > Dunno. Maybe a new Gameboy, but they've been on a real losing streak of late. That having been said, I can't imagine them deciding to fall back on their playing cards... They had the best technology available to them when they were working on N64, but it's been aimed at the wrong market and, for the most part, can't really handle the games people want to play these days. Their days of innovating are almost certainly over. I get the impression that if they do eventually release a CD or DVD console, they'll still be eating everyone else's dust. And it's not as if they develop many of their own games. Gord. (who firmly believes that you can't be a serious gamer in the 'Nineties unless you were born in the 'Seventies. Or earlier.) -- < The HEXdidn't... Homepage: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> < ------ Featuring The U.K. Policenauts Homepage ------ > <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< http://www.hexdidnt.clara.net > \---------- AOL Instant Messenger: 'hexdidnt' ----------/
