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| Megacorps are bad for gaming; Sony, EA, Activision, MS, and their ilk | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 24 2006, 09:29 AM (6,743 Views) | |
| sheath | Jun 22 2010, 06:16 PM Post #301 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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"Kevin Butler" is the silly character that has apparently won the hearts of Sony fans everywhere since the release of the PS3 slim last year. He was the blond dorky actor who gave the "Core is gaming" speech at the Sony E3 conference. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| DarcSeven | Jun 22 2010, 08:02 PM Post #302 |
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I'm gonna sing the DOOM Song.
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He's pretty much one of the very few parts of the conference I liked. Honestly, I wish Sony had hired him for ad's sooner. We could've avoided the fucking PSP squirrels. Oh wait no, someone had to intentionally think that was a good idea.
Edited by DarcSeven, Jun 22 2010, 08:03 PM.
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Just call me Steve. ;) Twitter Page http://ds7gamestalk.blogspot.com/ | |
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| sheath | Jun 23 2010, 06:28 AM Post #303 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Either way, he's got more character and attitude than any of the execs that were speaking but he's a pill, and one that I find difficult to swallow. Sony's main argument is that PS2 generation games, which swallowed whole my favorite genres and developers, are the best games out there. I also don't understand why Sony fans like to be made fun of by their favorite company, that is something I've wondered since the 90s actually. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Jul 5 2010, 01:55 PM Post #304 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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70% of Japan not interested in 3D TV 31 per cent of Japanese consumers are considering purchasing a 3D TV, according to a survey by Kakaku.com. 67 per cent of the 8957 people asked claimed to not be interested in buying a 3D-capable set, in a survey which ran during the week of Sony's various 3D gaming and movie reveals ahead of and at E3. The survey was purely online, which may suggest it only reached technologically-inclined consumers. "Television makers' expectations for 3D are high but looking at the degree of interest among consumers, there is a big gap with the enthusiasm of manufacturers," said Tsuyoshi Kamada, head of Kakaku.com's media-creative section. Of those who did not plan to acquire a 3D TV, some 70 per cent bemoaned the hassle of 3D glasses, 57 per cent the price, and 40 per cent a perceived lack of content. The 31 per cent figure tallies roughly with a CEA survey suggesting that 27 per cent of US 'avid gamers' were considering the purchase of a 3D TV. A prior survey, highlighted by Sony at its recent 3D press events, claimed 40 per cent of TVs will be 3D by 2014. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Jul 14 2010, 10:29 AM Post #305 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Activision ought to be ashamed.... http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/schafer-unleashes-verbal-attack-on-kotick Double Fine's Tim Schafer has unleashed a verbal assault on Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision, calling him "a dick" and stating that his business attitude is bad for the industry. Activision filed a suit against Double Fine over the release of Brutal Legend, which ended up in the hands of Electronic Arts after Activision dropped the title – a heavy-handed practice that Schafer is still clearly furious about. "His obligation is to his shareholders. Well, he doesn't have to be as much of a dick about it, does he? I think there is a way he can do it without being a total prick. It seems like it would be possible. It's not something he's interested in," said Schafer in an interview with our sister site Eurogamer.net. Schafer suggested Kotick's attitude to creating games – taking a popular form of entertainment and 'squeezing the life out of it' for profit – won't help the industry grow in the longer term. "He makes a big deal about not liking games, and I just don't think that attitude is good for games in general," said Schafer. "I don't think we're an industry of widgets. I don't think we can approach it like we approach bars of soap, where you're just trying to make the cheapest bar of soap. "He definitely has that that kind of widget-maker attitude. I don't think he's great for the industry, overall. You can't just latch onto something when it's popular and then squeeze the life out of it and then move on to the next one. You have to at some point create something, build something." "He could go to an industry that makes more money. Ball bearings... Something that suits his passions more. Weapons manufacturing?" he joked. Schafer was unapologetic in his attitude towards Kotick, stating: "You don't want to burn any bridge because you never know. But once somebody sues you... Maybe that bridge is pretty burned." |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| DarcSeven | Jul 14 2010, 05:02 PM Post #306 |
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I'm gonna sing the DOOM Song.
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Wait, Schafer is just now calling Kotick a dick? I've been doing that for years. |
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Just call me Steve. ;) Twitter Page http://ds7gamestalk.blogspot.com/ | |
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| sheath | Jul 14 2010, 10:02 PM Post #307 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Well, I've been calling megacorps a bad thing for decades, but who's counting. ;) |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Aug 3 2010, 07:46 AM Post #308 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Like begets like. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/ea-sued-by-6000-sports-players EA sued by 6000 sports players 6000 retired American football players have filed a class action lawsuit against EA, concerning the alleged use of their likeness in Madden NFL 09. The veterans claim that EA altered their names and uniforms, but based player models for the game's 140 'historic teams' on their appearance whilst still active sportsmen. The suit is demanding damages for deprivation and violation of publicity rights, accusing EA of "blatant and prolific" infringement. "EA has purposefully chosen to use the unauthorised likenesses of retired NFL players," read the lawsuit, made to a California court and going on to allege that the publisher had earned significant revenue from the NFL series. "The only significant detail that EA changes from the real-life retired NFL players is their jersey number. Despite EA's 'scrambling' of the retired NFL players' numbers, the games are designed so that consumers of the Madden NFL video game franchise will have no difficulty identifying who the 'historic' players are." It claims in addition that players can very easily recreate the correct names and uniform numbers. EA has refused comment requested by IGN, stating that it does not release statements about pending litigation. This is not the first time that the publisher has been involved in legal complications regarding player likenesses. Last year, the NFL Players Association forked over $26 million to 2000 retired players demanding lost royalties from the use of their likeness in multiple fields – including EA's Madden NFL games. The complete lawsuit (in PDF format) may be read here. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Aug 4 2010, 10:34 AM Post #309 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Megacorps are even bad for PC gaming, how about that? http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2010-08-04-intel-anti-trust-cast-settled Processor manufacturer Intel has been blocked from employing excessive tactics to hinder rivals, including threats and bundled prices, as part of an agreement with the FTC to halt impending antitrust proceedings. The Federal Trade Commission had alleged the Intel used anti-competitive measures to secure a stranglehold on the market, creating huge problems for microprocessor firms such as ATI-AMD and NVIDIA. Intel controls roughly 80 per cent of the processor market, with the FTC alleging that this had partially resulted from aggressive measures to dissuade the likes of Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and IBM from buying AMD processors. Dell has previously been subject to a $100 million Securities and Exchange Commission fine for the receipt of clandestine payments from Intel. The trial-halting agreement makes a number of stipulations intended to help competitors achieve more market traction, including the right to use contract manufacturers to increase chip production, to allow graphics cards open access to the PCI Express BUS and for chip-makers to merge with other companies without being barred from making Intel-compatible components. "We are all looking forward to a more competitive landscape," said FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz in a press call attended by VentureBeat. In the words of Doug Melamed, Intel senior vice president, "This agreement provides a framework that will allow Intel to continue to compete and to provide customers with the best possible products at the best prices. "The settlement enables Intel to put an end to the expense and distraction of the FTC litigation. The settlement agreement is not an admission that any law has been violated or that the allegations in the complaint are true." Intel's arch-rival AMD, which had been awarded $1.25 billion in a previous Intel antitrust case, said in a statement "The FTC has acted firmly in the interest of American consumers to safeguard the competitive process in the critically important microprocessor and graphics markets. "In our settlement with Intel, AMD's critical remaining concern was Intel's use of all-or-nothing discounts to deny competitors' access to the marketplace. The FTC's order clearly and firmly prohibits such abuse and guarantees ongoing monitoring of Intel's conduct." Intel has already paid an additional $1.45 billion antitrust settlement in Europe, though later this year it must weather a suit by NVIDIA over the right to create Intel-compatible motherboard chipsets. Edited by sheath, Aug 4 2010, 10:42 AM.
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| Belpowerslave | Aug 4 2010, 05:32 PM Post #310 |
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Administrator
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Makes you wonder where the FTC was when the BDA paid Warner Bros half a billion dollars to kill HD DVD... Bel |
| Whip Ass Gaming | |
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| sheath | Aug 5 2010, 08:44 PM Post #311 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Well, according to the kiddos over at Sega-16, Sony never gets sued and thus nobody can build up enough legal momentum to get the FTC or SEC on them. I'd say that the only companies that do win lawsuits against Sony are money grubbing leachers who patent things they never had any intention of actually making. Thus Sony actually looks like a victim in most lawyer's minds. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Aug 27 2010, 06:43 AM Post #312 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Now this is funny. http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/27/ids-todd-hollenshead-3d-gaming-will-probably-have-to-wait/ So there we were at the wedding last weekend -- our cousin Video Gaming and his fiancée 3D were all set to tie the knot, when Uncle Todd stood up at the rehearsal dinner table and said what most of us were thinking. "Maybe we're getting to the point," he said loudly while spilling a little champagne, "where the people who have been pushing 3D, or are pushing 3D now, have figured out a way to make it cool and not so nerdy that nobody wants to do it." The rest of the room gasped, gaming looked really confused, and 3D ran out the back door, her eyes filling with tears. Hollenshead had a point, though -- it's been a really quick romance, and while gaming's certainly attracted to 3D (who wouldn't be -- Avatar made her look super hot), the couple's definitely been pushed together by the two families. But maybe Uncle Todd was right when he said that the relationship "has to be more pervasive and more widely adopted before it makes sense for videogame development companies to invest." We talked it over with Video Gaming, and he agreed that maybe they should take it a little slower -- spend some more development time together, sell a few more solid titles and then we'd talk about an actual marriage. 3D was kind of bummed out by the whole thing, but everyone agreed that as much it would cost to lose the deposit on the reception hall, the cost of going through with a troubled marriage would be even worse. As Uncle Todd put it, "the TVs are f***ing expensive. Is there enough content to justify?" |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| Belpowerslave | Sep 14 2010, 12:07 AM Post #313 |
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Administrator
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http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/23021/Book-to-Explore-How-to-Establish-Successful-Video-Game-Companies/ Just throwing it out there for you and Ben... Bel |
| Whip Ass Gaming | |
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| sheath | Sep 14 2010, 07:54 AM Post #314 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Not a single former Sega exec, but I bet they talk about Sega plenty. I'll make sure to pick up this book if it becomes available. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Sep 15 2010, 09:52 PM Post #315 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Not exactly inline with the topic, but it has come up before. Apparently journalists don't even realize that "Kevin Butler" is a marketing ploy. http://www.joystiq.com/2010/09/15/sony-kevin-butler-isnt-real-cant-give-interviews/ Sadly, Sony pitchman Kevin Butler is not a real person, but SCEA VP Peter Dille says word may not have gotten around. "We've gotten contact from media people that aren't aware that he's a character, asking for an interview!" he told Industry Gamers ... Well, you can't blame us for trying, can you? |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| benstylus | Sep 16 2010, 03:23 AM Post #316 |
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Taster's Choice
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The funny thing is this isn't the first time Sony's used fake people. I still laugh about the whole David Manning fiasco. |
| Electronic Arts - We put the 'suc' in success! | |
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| sheath | Sep 19 2010, 03:00 PM Post #317 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Well, for all of those forum posters out there who claimed Sony didn't directly cause Sega to go out of business. I have two things for you. and... Sony Celebrates Playstation's 15th Birthday Quote: " "We sold more than 130 million PS1s, went on to sell more than 146 million PS2s, put Sega out of the hardware business, established us as a household brand, [and] created a huge profit center for Sony Corporation," announced Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment at the event. " Aint it wonderful how things finally come together? Isn't it? No? Hmm... |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| benstylus | Sep 19 2010, 04:47 PM Post #318 |
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Taster's Choice
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just because Sony makes a claim about it doesn't make it true. Yes, they were a big contributor, but Sega shot themselves in the foot more than a few times to help them out. |
| Electronic Arts - We put the 'suc' in success! | |
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| sheath | Sep 19 2010, 06:40 PM Post #319 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Naw, this is just true. Sony and their conglomerate were more about crushing Sega than they were about gaming from mid 1999 until they succeeded. When that included the biggest megacorp in gaming, the biggest publisher in gaming, and the loudest bastard child in gaming (WD) it weighed much more than Sega's supposed missteps. On the topic of mistakes though, I have a few relatively new observations that reinforce my older less informed ones oddly enough. The mantra is that Sega should never have released hardware x-y/y-z or some combination thereof. Well, this popular shifty theory lacks an important aspect, company culture. Company culture defines an organization and needs to be maintained or the organization declines and falls or becomes irrelevance. Sega, as an organization, loved to change things. We've talked about Sega's, and various developers', love for whatever they did best before. Well, innovative hardware was one of Sega's first loves. Not profit, not "smart business" (whatever that is), and not dominating an industry into submission. So, take ideas like the Genesis having SMS compatibility, or the Genesis having a CD-ROM attachment with its own CPU plus "helper chips", or the Genesis having a 32-bit adapter away from Sega, and Sega no longer exists. Similarly, make the "ultimate 2D with modest to medium-high 3D" system that is the Saturn and turn it into a PS1 or N64, and say hello to Nintendo, EA and Sony. The only way this war was going to play out was whether innovation and creativity would prevail over the same garbage that the movie industry fell to over sixty years ago. "What makes money" versus "what is the direction creativity demands" are almost never in agreement. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Oct 26 2010, 06:51 AM Post #320 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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So, not only has EA been reduced to third place by Zynga the evil Facebook company, but all of its gobbled up franchises are underperforming? Oh happy day. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2010-10-26-ea-sports-mma-is-dead-on-arrival-at-retail EA Sports MMA is 'dead on arrival' at retail The latest sports game from EA is dead on arrival at retail, according to Doug Creutz of Cowan & Company, who also comes down hard on the performance of a number of recent releases from the publisher. While the company is likely to meet expectations for the full year, Creutz pointed to lacklustre performances of EA Sports MMA, Medal of Honor and Madden 11 - with FIFA 11 the only positive seller from a pack of high-profile releases. "Medal of Honor earned weak reviews, and we expect sales post the launch period to decline precipitously (particularly once Call of Duty: Black Ops hits retail)," noted Creutz. "EA's recently released MMA appears to be more or less DOA at retail, while UFC recently announced an extension of its license with THQ, likely putting an end to EA's efforts to expand into the mixed martial arts genre." EA Sports MMA entered the UK charts this week at number 23. The first iteration of THQ's rival UFC franchise sold very well, but the most recent release hasn't lived up to expectations, with the publisher deciding against annual updates. Earlier this month EA announced that FIFA 11 sold over 2.6 million units in its first week, while Medal of Honor sold 1.5 million units in five days. |
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