Oh, and I forgot about my big bro...his is June 14th. No wonder they're alot alike. )
Look, 0064...there is the slimmest of chances you'll get that Xbox 360 and your parents are just trying to throw you off of the path? Speaking as a father, I do it all of the time with mine.
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Oh, and I forgot about my big bro...his is June 14th. No wonder they're alot alike. )
Look, 0064...there is the slimmest of chances you'll get that Xbox 360 and your parents are just trying to throw you off of the path? Speaking as a father, I do it all of the time with mine.
June 13th is St. Anthony's day. In Italian culture, your namesake's day is almost as big a deal as your birthday so I'll be looking to do something fun around that date.
BTW Rogue, Nightshooter is going to try to hook up with me Friday night for some PGR3; if you're around maybe we can try that aborted game of Halo 2 we were talking about...
June 13th is St. Anthony's day. In Italian culture, your namesake's day is almost as big a deal as your birthday so I'll be looking to do something fun around that date.
I know all about this day...I went to Catholic school for awhile growing up in New York courtesy of my uncle's Catholic wife who is half-Italian. {[]
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Tony, I just want to apologize again for blowing you off, twice. Friday, for sure. Hope to see you, too RA!
No apologies necessary Night, stuff happens. Besides, I used the free time to complete some more Oblivion quests. I've unlocked nearly all the achievements; just a few Thieves Guild quests and I'll have a perfect score.
Anyhow, my objective for tonight will be to fire up PGR3 and Halo2 and try to get rid of some of the rust. It's hard work having fun.
This all seems great--downloadable stuff, backward compatibility with GameCube, and at less than half the price of the PS3 or XBox 360? It's definitely got my attention! With the backward compatibility, I won't even have to buy a GameCube to play some of the older games I've been looking into (I never got around to getting a GameCube).
One question, how exactly does this connect to the Internet? Is it by an existing high-speed connection? And will this mean online multiplayer capabilities? Because if it can connect to the cable modem on the computer, I'm all set!
As you may have guessed from my "retro gamer" posts, I rather missed the boat on the last generation of consoles... I'm hoping not to miss it this time! I thought I would be able to keep up without a new console by means of PC games, but video card issues soon got in the way. My video card was only two years old, yet I was supposed to upgrade it for "pixel shader v.1.1" or whatever it was... With the cost of computer upgrades, I might as well go get a console!
One question, how exactly does this connect to the Internet? Is it by an existing high-speed connection? And will this mean online multiplayer capabilities? Because if it can connect to the cable modem on the computer, I'm all set!
The specs don't really make that clear yet. Since it supports 802.11b/g connections you should be able to connect it wirelessly to your existing router. The only question is whether the internet adapter is built in or if you need to buy an external network adapter. Even if it's the latter, as long as Nintendo doesn't incorporate some proprietary technology you can find inexpensive USB network adapters without too much trouble.
As for online multiplayer, that will really depend on the developers. Nintendo has traditionally avoided online multiplayer (they called it a "passing fad" during the last generation) and seems to prefer split-screen style gameplay. A lot of their multiplayer "party games" are also designed for lots of people in the same room. Most of their literature focusses on the Wii's capability to download classic games thru the network rather than playing online. My gut tells me that online multiplayer is not going to be a big component of their strategy, at least not at launch. They really don't have the infrastructure in place yet or the experience of a company like Microsoft at building a large-scale multiplayer network.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
edited June 2006
Although this won't sway my decision to get a 360(it's a given for me), I think this might be something to ponder for those still on the fence about which direction to go when it comes to next-gen consoles. Here's an article I stumbled upon:
Moore: Nobody Cares About Backwards Compatibility
Microsoft's Peter Moore (right) doesn't believe that gamers are concerned about backwards compatibility on Xbox 360 anymore. He said that MS "under promised and over delivered." More Xbox games will be added to the list, but the end result may be less than what many had hoped.
Microsoft's head of the Interactive Entertainment business, Peter Moore, typically chooses his words carefully, and rarely makes the kind of outlandish statements that Sony's Ken Kutaragi seems to provide on a regular basis. However, in a recent interview on U.K. site Kikizo Moore issued some comments regarding the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility that immediately caused gamers to stir.
"Nobody is concerned anymore about backwards compatibility. We under promised and over delivered on that. It's a very complicated thing... very complex work. I'm just stunned that we have hundreds of games that are backwards compatible," he said.
Initially MS only promised that "top selling" Xbox titles would be playable on 360, but as time went on MS reps have stated that the ultimate goal would be to provide full backwards compatibility—something that competitor Sony seems to strive for in each console generation.
Moore's comments shouldn't be misunderstood. MS will be adding to its backwards compatibility list, but it hardly seems like a priority now that the 360 is hitting its stride and the original Xbox is getting less and less support. Moore added, "More [updates] are coming, but at some point, you just go, there's enough, let's move on, or people aren't as worried about a game being backwards compatible - and I like to think we've upheld our end of the bargain in making at least two or maybe three hundred games backwards compatible."
If MS isn't able to provide backwards compatibility for the majority of the original Xbox library, the advantage in this area almost certainly will go to Sony. Currently Sony is promising more than 99 percent backwards compatibility and PS3 users will be able to play both PS2 and PSone software. Meanwhile Moore thinks MS "over delivered" but there are a number of popular first- and third-party Xbox games that are still not playable on the 360.
In the interview Moore also addressed concerns over the Xbox business not yet being profitable. "Profits will come, but investing in making things work, work well, and having a competitive advantage is what's important now," he said. "We're a long-term thinking company; we make big bets. I think [shareholders] may challenge our execution, but they know this is a monstrous growth opportunity for Microsoft, and we need to do it."
And if there was any doubt that Moore is now the "face of Xbox," replacing J Allard, he had this to say: "J is busy... poor old J! [laughs] J still runs platform development for all of the stuff that we're doing, [but] has a different role than he had in the past. This whole idea of 'J, Robbie, Peter'... it's easier if they just push me up front and I do it, it's my responsibility to do it. J is a very busy guy."
In the rest of the interview, Moore discusses PS3, Blu-ray, HD-DVD, Live Anywhere, and more.
by James Brightman
Comments or questions? Send them to editor@gamedaily.com
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
I read that too. I was really disappointed by Moore's attitude. It's very presumptuous of him to just write off interest in Backwards Compatibility the way he does. Clearly, implementing BC has been harder than Microsoft thought it would be and you can tell that they're trying to shift focus to other topics.
Also, I don't think MS has held up it's end of the bargain as he says. There are still some classic, great selling games on Xbox that deserve to be made BC, especially Doom3.
In the end his attitude would not have affected my decision to by a 360 (I love that console) but it is nonetheless disappointing. Still, there will be at least one other round of BC games announced and hopefully there will be some good titles in the mix.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
Yes, I thought that it was a bit crass to say.
I'm not ashamed to say from time to time that I pull out the ol' Sega Genesis to play NBA Jam and X-men among others so I for one, never get tired of the old classics.
I grew up on Robotron; therefore I am old school. Why would I suddenly lose interest in BC games once I graduate to the next level? Microsoft should take this issue a bit more literally.
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
One question for Msoft- Why have the not made Jet Set Radio Future backwards compatible???
A little more info on the Xbox 360 backward compatibility situation. Apparently the article RogueAgent posted got a lot of attention. It now looks like there will be another update in the next few weeks and about a dozen more games will be made BC. Hopefully, there will be some good ones in the mix...
A little more info on the Xbox 360 backward compatibility situation. Apparently the article RogueAgent posted got a lot of attention. It now looks like there will be another update in the next few weeks and about a dozen more games will be made BC. Hopefully, there will be some good ones in the mix...
I can almost assure you that someone in the "Nose-Bleed Department" tore that guy a new one. On the coming dawn of what I believe will be the Console Wars this holiday, I highly doubt that Microsoft wants to lose any steam in the race; especially from boneheads that don't know when to shut up.
Can you imagine the flood of responses that they must've received?
Mrs. Man Face: "You wouldn't hit a lady? Would you?"
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice isUNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Hm... personally, I think backwards compatibilityis a good thing, but thats just me...
When BC works, it's a great thing. The Xbox games Microsoft has made BC for the 360 actually look better because they are upscaled to hi-def resolutions. So, if you have a hi-def TV, games like Halo2 and Black look almost as sharp as native 360 games. BC is also nice so that you don't have to have too many consoles hooked up to your TV.
And as Rogue said, I'm sure Peter Moore got a tongue-lashing from the higher ups at MS. You don't alienate your consumer base like that ( unless of course, you work for EON :v )
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
I don't know, guys, Peter Moore is PRETTY high up. He's the Xbox head, so he knows what he's talking about where Msoft is concerned.
RogueAgentSpeeding in the Tumbler...Posts: 3,676MI6 Agent
I don't know, guys, Peter Moore is PRETTY high up. He's the Xbox head, so he knows what he's talking about where Msoft is concerned.
That may be true but even he has someone that he has to answer to. Way of the world I'm afraid.
Well, he still has power. I'm sure that his boss would let himdo some things that he wants if they MAKE MONEY. If Microsoft makes money, they'll do anything.
I don't know, guys, Peter Moore is PRETTY high up. He's the Xbox head, so he knows what he's talking about where Msoft is concerned.
That may be true but even he has someone that he has to answer to. Way of the world I'm afraid.
Well, he still has power. I'm sure that his boss would let himdo some things that he wants if they MAKE MONEY. If Microsoft makes money, they'll do anything.
Peter Moore does have clout, but ultimately he answers to Bill Gates, grand poobah of all things Microsoft. And it's not like Moore hasn't left companies before. He was at Sega when they launched the Dreamcast and left under dubious circumstances right before it was released. While the Xbox360 has done well in America and Europe, it absolutely flopped in Japan (a market Microsoft dearly covets) and Moore took a lot of the heat for that as he was one of the big proponents of the simultaneous worldwide launch. His comments on backward compatibility created a lot of bad blood for Microsoft, especially as Nintendo and Sony are both touting BC as a major feature in their consoles. The last thing MS wants is to lose what momentum it has and the current leader in the next gen console wars. If he has a few more screwups, I'm sure Gates won't hesitate to "reassign" him somewhere else.
NightshooterIn bed with SolitairePosts: 2,917MI6 Agent
Tony, Moore isn't to fault for the atrocious sales in Japan, it was the lack of DOA4 at launch! At least that is why it started.
Well Night, the way I see it (and this is just my opinion), when all the games that were going to likely be popular to the Japanese audience (DOA4, 99 Nights, Final Fantasy Online, etc.) got delayed (and the delays were common knowledge), Microsoft really had nothing for Japan and was setting themselves up for failure. At that point, the prudent thing would have been to focus on America and Europe (where demand was phenomenal and the games available better fit the culture) and give the developers a chance get the games important for the Japanese launch ready to go.
MS kept going on and on about how important it was to have a strong debut but instead they made a lousy first impression and have never recovered. I really think that in their zeal to be the first company to launch something like this worldwide they lost sight of the big picture.
Anyhow, I think the important thing here is that Moore really underestimated the importance of BC and that other areas of Microsoft have moved quickly to diffuse his comments. Here's a link to the Microsoft Developers' Blog. Check out the comments on each story. The BC story has generated by far the most interest.
Comments
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
What a coincidence...my little brother's on the 17th.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Oh, and I forgot about my big bro...his is June 14th. No wonder they're alot alike.
Look, 0064...there is the slimmest of chances you'll get that Xbox 360 and your parents are just trying to throw you off of the path? Speaking as a father, I do it all of the time with mine.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
June 13th is St. Anthony's day. In Italian culture, your namesake's day is almost as big a deal as your birthday so I'll be looking to do something fun around that date.
BTW Rogue, Nightshooter is going to try to hook up with me Friday night for some PGR3; if you're around maybe we can try that aborted game of Halo 2 we were talking about...
Can you guys have Dashboard talk on Live with me or do I need the upgrade still for that?
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
I know all about this day...I went to Catholic school for awhile growing up in New York courtesy of my uncle's Catholic wife who is half-Italian. {[]
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Good question; don't have an answer though. I'll have my headset on and look for you online.
No apologies necessary Night, stuff happens. Besides, I used the free time to complete some more Oblivion quests. I've unlocked nearly all the achievements; just a few Thieves Guild quests and I'll have a perfect score.
Anyhow, my objective for tonight will be to fire up PGR3 and Halo2 and try to get rid of some of the rust. It's hard work having fun.
http://wii.nintendo.com/home.html
This all seems great--downloadable stuff, backward compatibility with GameCube, and at less than half the price of the PS3 or XBox 360? It's definitely got my attention!
One question, how exactly does this connect to the Internet? Is it by an existing high-speed connection? And will this mean online multiplayer capabilities? Because if it can connect to the cable modem on the computer, I'm all set!
As you may have guessed from my "retro gamer" posts, I rather missed the boat on the last generation of consoles... I'm hoping not to miss it this time!
The specs don't really make that clear yet. Since it supports 802.11b/g connections you should be able to connect it wirelessly to your existing router. The only question is whether the internet adapter is built in or if you need to buy an external network adapter. Even if it's the latter, as long as Nintendo doesn't incorporate some proprietary technology you can find inexpensive USB network adapters without too much trouble.
As for online multiplayer, that will really depend on the developers. Nintendo has traditionally avoided online multiplayer (they called it a "passing fad" during the last generation) and seems to prefer split-screen style gameplay. A lot of their multiplayer "party games" are also designed for lots of people in the same room. Most of their literature focusses on the Wii's capability to download classic games thru the network rather than playing online. My gut tells me that online multiplayer is not going to be a big component of their strategy, at least not at launch. They really don't have the infrastructure in place yet or the experience of a company like Microsoft at building a large-scale multiplayer network.
Moore: Nobody Cares About Backwards Compatibility
Microsoft's Peter Moore (right) doesn't believe that gamers are concerned about backwards compatibility on Xbox 360 anymore. He said that MS "under promised and over delivered." More Xbox games will be added to the list, but the end result may be less than what many had hoped.
Microsoft's head of the Interactive Entertainment business, Peter Moore, typically chooses his words carefully, and rarely makes the kind of outlandish statements that Sony's Ken Kutaragi seems to provide on a regular basis. However, in a recent interview on U.K. site Kikizo Moore issued some comments regarding the Xbox 360's backwards compatibility that immediately caused gamers to stir.
"Nobody is concerned anymore about backwards compatibility. We under promised and over delivered on that. It's a very complicated thing... very complex work. I'm just stunned that we have hundreds of games that are backwards compatible," he said.
Initially MS only promised that "top selling" Xbox titles would be playable on 360, but as time went on MS reps have stated that the ultimate goal would be to provide full backwards compatibility—something that competitor Sony seems to strive for in each console generation.
Moore's comments shouldn't be misunderstood. MS will be adding to its backwards compatibility list, but it hardly seems like a priority now that the 360 is hitting its stride and the original Xbox is getting less and less support. Moore added, "More [updates] are coming, but at some point, you just go, there's enough, let's move on, or people aren't as worried about a game being backwards compatible - and I like to think we've upheld our end of the bargain in making at least two or maybe three hundred games backwards compatible."
If MS isn't able to provide backwards compatibility for the majority of the original Xbox library, the advantage in this area almost certainly will go to Sony. Currently Sony is promising more than 99 percent backwards compatibility and PS3 users will be able to play both PS2 and PSone software. Meanwhile Moore thinks MS "over delivered" but there are a number of popular first- and third-party Xbox games that are still not playable on the 360.
In the interview Moore also addressed concerns over the Xbox business not yet being profitable. "Profits will come, but investing in making things work, work well, and having a competitive advantage is what's important now," he said. "We're a long-term thinking company; we make big bets. I think [shareholders] may challenge our execution, but they know this is a monstrous growth opportunity for Microsoft, and we need to do it."
And if there was any doubt that Moore is now the "face of Xbox," replacing J Allard, he had this to say: "J is busy... poor old J! [laughs] J still runs platform development for all of the stuff that we're doing, [but] has a different role than he had in the past. This whole idea of 'J, Robbie, Peter'... it's easier if they just push me up front and I do it, it's my responsibility to do it. J is a very busy guy."
In the rest of the interview, Moore discusses PS3, Blu-ray, HD-DVD, Live Anywhere, and more.
by James Brightman
Comments or questions? Send them to editor@gamedaily.com
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Also, I don't think MS has held up it's end of the bargain as he says. There are still some classic, great selling games on Xbox that deserve to be made BC, especially Doom3.
In the end his attitude would not have affected my decision to by a 360 (I love that console) but it is nonetheless disappointing. Still, there will be at least one other round of BC games announced and hopefully there will be some good titles in the mix.
I'm not ashamed to say from time to time that I pull out the ol' Sega Genesis to play NBA Jam and X-men among others so I for one, never get tired of the old classics.
I grew up on Robotron; therefore I am old school. Why would I suddenly lose interest in BC games once I graduate to the next level? Microsoft should take this issue a bit more literally.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/711/711060p1.html
I can almost assure you that someone in the "Nose-Bleed Department" tore that guy a new one. On the coming dawn of what I believe will be the Console Wars this holiday, I highly doubt that Microsoft wants to lose any steam in the race; especially from boneheads that don't know when to shut up.
Can you imagine the flood of responses that they must've received?
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
When BC works, it's a great thing. The Xbox games Microsoft has made BC for the 360 actually look better because they are upscaled to hi-def resolutions. So, if you have a hi-def TV, games like Halo2 and Black look almost as sharp as native 360 games. BC is also nice so that you don't have to have too many consoles hooked up to your TV.
And as Rogue said, I'm sure Peter Moore got a tongue-lashing from the higher ups at MS. You don't alienate your consumer base like that ( unless of course, you work for EON :v )
That may be true but even he has someone that he has to answer to. Way of the world I'm afraid.
Batman: "The Hammer Of Justice is UNISEX!"
-Batman: The Brave & The Bold -
Well, he still has power. I'm sure that his boss would let himdo some things that he wants if they MAKE MONEY. If Microsoft makes money, they'll do anything.
Peter Moore does have clout, but ultimately he answers to Bill Gates, grand poobah of all things Microsoft. And it's not like Moore hasn't left companies before. He was at Sega when they launched the Dreamcast and left under dubious circumstances right before it was released. While the Xbox360 has done well in America and Europe, it absolutely flopped in Japan (a market Microsoft dearly covets) and Moore took a lot of the heat for that as he was one of the big proponents of the simultaneous worldwide launch. His comments on backward compatibility created a lot of bad blood for Microsoft, especially as Nintendo and Sony are both touting BC as a major feature in their consoles. The last thing MS wants is to lose what momentum it has and the current leader in the next gen console wars. If he has a few more screwups, I'm sure Gates won't hesitate to "reassign" him somewhere else.
MS kept going on and on about how important it was to have a strong debut but instead they made a lousy first impression and have never recovered. I really think that in their zeal to be the first company to launch something like this worldwide they lost sight of the big picture.
Anyhow, I think the important thing here is that Moore really underestimated the importance of BC and that other areas of Microsoft have moved quickly to diffuse his comments. Here's a link to the Microsoft Developers' Blog. Check out the comments on each story. The BC story has generated by far the most interest.
http://gamerscoreblog.com/team/default.aspx