Disruptive Technology - PS3, the Wii, and Coasters

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Jeff said:
You don't really think people are bidding on eBay for their kids, do you?

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I know of plenty of people who have sold theirs to peoeple who intended to give them to their kids, yes.

And Chitown - despite the PS2's obvious success, Sony does more than build game consoles. The PS2 has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise pretty much disasterous decade or so.

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Rob Ascough said:
I've done a great job of keeping my old gaming systems alive. My collection doesn't include a Jaguar (I've actually never met anyone that owned/owns one) but I do have my Sega Genesis with original Sega CD, Sega Saturn and 3DO, along with about a dozen others.

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I have a Jaguar. Two of them, actually (bought a second as a spare when they went on clearance). Two of the CD attachments, too, for the same reason.

Granted, I own a LOT of systems -- gets to be a strange hobby.

i'm sure i'll eventually buy all three, but definatly not anywhere near the prices they cost right now (not talking about ebay, just the retail prices) i LOVE psp but i plan on buying a DS as well, and a GBA SP (i have the old GBA without the light-up screen and PSP has spolied me there!) *** Edited 11/22/2006 2:21:58 AM UTC by neilpeart***

Yeah, it is a strange hobby. Unfortunately it's a lot like coasters in the way that when you tell people you're into video games, they flash you a disturbing look. Not that it really matters to me- I enjoy what I enjoy to satisfy myself, not control what others think of me.

I wish I had bought a Jaguar because that version of Tempest looked really good. Thing is, at the time the Jaguar was competing with the 3DO and after dropping $500 on the latter (after the price was cut from $700), I couldn't justify spending money on the Atari system. By the time I had some money, the original PS, Sega Saturn an Nintendo 64 hit the market and I ended up getting all of them.

bsr241: I guarantee that Rare won't be updating Goldeneye for a Nintendo system. Microsoft now owns the company and they make games exclusively for Xbox and 360 (probably just 360 now). Besides, Perfect Dark was sort of a sequel to Goldeneye so you might want to check out Perfect Dark Zero.

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Chitown said:
I am confused on you saying they have made mistakes in the past 10 years. The PS2 has dominated the game console market (70%) and it's been around 5 or 6 years old.

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Sony doesn't just make video game counsels. While up untill now, the video game market in particular has been going well for them. On the other hand, bad business decisions on their other products have plauged Sony for years.

I'm currently on a Sony boycott because of the digital rights managment (DRM). For a while, they put rootkit software in their music and other digital media. It had quite the negative impact since the rootkit was used to hide their backdoor virus. When virus programmers found out about this, they were able to hide their own software easily by adding $sys$ before the file name. You can grab say notpad and rename it $sys$notepad and watch it disappear with the rootkit. There is no way to actually see it unless you use a discrepancy detector.

So far they are clean of such software, but for now I'm staying away from any Sony product. If they don't try to pull any crap like that again, then I might buy a PS3 when the price is reduced in the future.

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Chitown said:
While I agree that the PS3 isn't worth the price, I am confused on you saying they have made mistakes in the past 10 years. The PS2 has dominated the game console market (70%) and it's been around 5 or 6 years old.

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As someone else mentioned, that's the only bright spot they've had, and even that was largely because of market share from the PS1. Developers were reluctant to code for the thing, and did so more because they had to. With Microsoft doing an amazing job supporting developers, and Nintendo realizing they need strong 3rd-party support (the only real flaw in the Gamecube), it's a different scene this time.

Meanwhile, Sony was oblivious to the market's needs in terms of TV's, quality issues have crept into everything they do, especially the Vaio computers and laptops, everyone was beating them on cheap surround sound systems while they pushed traditional receivers, they've insisted on holding on to formats like miniDisc and MemoryStick (not to mention their music player and disastrous store)... I could go on. It's a damn shame that they got so out of touch.

I stand corrected. I assumed you were just referring to the gaming market.

Actually, while Sony in general HAS been sucking, their Grand Wega line of LCD and SXRD rear projection TVs are absolutely amazing, as are their new "Pearl" SXRD front projectors.

But yes, between the PS3, the rootkit fiasco, and the massive battery recall (all those exploding Dell laptops where traced back to Sony batteries), Sony is hurting these days.

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Rob Ascough said:
I wish I had bought a Jaguar because that version of Tempest looked really good. Thing is, at the time the Jaguar was competing with the 3DO and after dropping $500 on the latter (after the price was cut from $700), I couldn't justify spending money on the Atari system.

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Tempest 2000 is THE reason I bought a Jaguar, and is still the reason I keep it hooked up. The author, Jeff Minter, is now working on a title for the XBox 360, which I'm very much looking forward to.

I passed on a 3D0 at the time due to the cost -- much like the PS3 these days.
*** Edited 11/22/2006 3:52:25 AM UTC by GregLeg***

Rob, I didn't like Perfect Dark. The graphics push and subsequent fps slowdown made the game worse to me. Perfect Dark Zero=no Xbox in the house.

Jaguar is still hooked up for the rare excursion into Tempest and AVP. If I feel like a 2D challenge I might play Zool or Rayman(which still looks great many years later). *** Edited 11/22/2006 4:26:14 AM UTC by bsr241***

O.K.........

Jeff, Chitown, Matt and Rob, how does this all tie up with coasters? Inlighten me will ya. :)

great to see some poeple with jaguars out there lol, i have a bunch of games I still play today. One of my favorits is AVP and another is Tempest of course, and Battlemorph. Any advice on my eye situation?? It plays cds, and takes everything and reads it as a cd, or doesnt spin them at all. I love my Jaguar cd and would like to play it more except this problem. Im hoping its something thats fixable.

My list of games though (all new in box except marked with a * then its just cart with booklet)

Carts:
Jaguar System (complete with box)
Cybermorph*
Val De isere Skiing and Snowboarding*
Kasumi Ninja*
Trevor Mc Fur In The Crescent Galaxy*
Zool 2
Zoop
Doom
Alien Vs Predator
Iron Soldier
Tempest 2000
Pitfall: Mayan Adventure*
Checkered Flag
Memory Track (for cd games, like a memory cartridge to save)

CDs:
CD System (came barely used complete in box)
Primal Rage
Hilander
Hover Strike II: Unconquered Lands
Vid Grid
Battlemorph (sequel to Cybermorph)
Braindead 13
Dragon's Lair
Baldies
MYST
Blue Lightening

Always expanding as well, I want to get Iron Solder II SO BAD but its pretty rare.

Sorry about all the Jaguar talk but its rare i ever come across anyone whose heard of it let alone has it

Perfect Dark Zero was too short as a single-player game, but the online multiplayer is a ton of fun. Nice big maps there with large numbers of people launching stuff at you. Good times.

You know, I picked up PDZ ages ago, and never really played it. I should dig some of these things out over the upcoming 4-day "avoid going out as much as possible" holiday weekend.

The single-player game was a little short but the multiplayer kicked a$$. My friends and I had a lot of fun with that, just like we had a blast with the original N64's Perfect Dark multiplayer mode. Actually, PDZ's multiplayer comes close to Halo 2's, and that's saying something.

Greg, I know what you're saying about the 3DO being rather pricey... I was going to pass but when I played Crash and Burn on a demo unit at Macy's, I knew I had to have it. Also, Electronic Arts was planning a lot of games for the system- that was back when EA was a small software publisher that specialized in oddball, not-so-mainstream stuff (imagine that!). I've never made an official list of my ten all-time favorite games but if I did, Road Rash 3DO would definitely be on it. That game rocked and still does if you look past the dated graphics.

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Rob Ascough said:
Yeah, it is a strange hobby. Unfortunately it's a lot like coasters in the way that when you tell people you're into video games, they flash you a disturbing look.

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Imagine the look you'd get if they knew you were a gamer AND a coaster enthusiast. :)

you get a "pssh.. eh.. " look for the gamer part and a "wtf... ewwwwww" for the coaster part, so in the end the look is pretty much like if one had constipation... Ive been there lol. The gamer part is somewhat forgivable to the average person, its the coaster part thrown in as a combo that just throws a monkey wrench into any convo.

^^ Tell them your a gamer, coaster enthusiast and a computer nerd. People would drop dead everywhere.

Nah, by that point it's just kind of assumed you're a geek. I also collect comics (not nearly as much as I used to though), CDs, and DVDs, but by that point it just doesn't phase anyone...

I collect CD's and DVD's too. I'm also really into Disney. Maybe my "geekiness" is countered by my sports and cars hobbies? ;)

I kinda collect comics? like, those limited edition classic spider man re-issues in the sunday paper, I have every one of them saved and keeping them safe (all except #2 i have to get ahold of that), and have around 200-300 cds (origionals not a fan of burned cds much) and starting a dvd collection. I have a crap load of systems and video games though. Nintendo, SNES, N64, Gamecube, Gameboy color,Nintendo DS, Sega Genises, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Atari 2600, Atari Jaguar, Xbox, Playstation 2 with 10 or more games for each.