360 director: Xbox One lacks the wow factor

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/co ... or-1155377

Liked that

Some sensible comments there. Particularly wrt tablets/phones becoming more powerful year on year whereas the console remains unchanged. It can't be upgraded or modified, and if it were to do so, it'd be more like a desktop computer.

Heh, I remember Sony trying to claim the PS2 was a computer for tax purposes

Though without resolving those issues the games are a side show. Yes the games are important, but if the DRM kills the second hand market then the console might struggle anyway. What will they blame?

IIRC it was an import duty on devices which could play or record video but that didn't apply to computers. Basically a fairly transparent attempt at protectionism as the Japanese were eating Phillips's lunch in the video market. I think they abandoned it a few years back. It also meant for ages if you bought a handycam in the EU it couldn't transmit the footage recorded through the firewire port (making said port next to useless), whereas if you bought one in the US it could. There was a small cottage industry in firmware patching the export function back in..

Who makes money off second hand games at the moment. Its not MS, Sony or the game publishers. All the money is made from those who buy the original copy. That's why DLC content is now charged for, micro transactions are becoming the norm. Monetizing the ownership of the game now and in the future.
Let's face it when the next CoD, Battlefield, GTA etc are launched they will sell like hot cakes. If MS and Sony get the launch titles right and the odd exclusive the consoles will sell like hot cakes.

That sort of stupid made-up subtle distinctions drives me nuts, the video input is blanked off on my old Sony camcorder.

Is it still true that a monitor with a digital input is classified as a TV and charge higher duty, leading to cheaper monitors being VGA only?

I do not object to DLC as long as it applies to all buyers. If new buyers had to buy DLC to play the game they would also factor that into their purchase decision. If it were a matter of needing a paid online account to play online multiplayer, then that suits everyone. Though if the game were useless to second hand buyers the first time buyer also suffers and the amount of money returning back into new titles shrinks, which will hit developers hard. If a new game costs £50 and a re-activation fee is £45 then would the first buyer get more than a couple of quid on the second hand market? If that were the case then they might simply restrict purchases to games that they can resell. Lots of young gamers recycle the money back into new games anyway. If they have Xbox live accounts then maybe the developers should get a fee for each online player from Microsoft Xbox Live as they are the ones getting paid for their online accounts. If you have a game that cannot be sold then once the initial buzz of the game has worn off then maybe they terminate their online account. At least a second hand player with an account would have a reason to still play. The problem I have is that the second hand market is pretty crucial to the viability of new games. If they cannot be resold then people will not keep playing online buying DLC if they do not play it. At least with second hand buyers coming into the market they can keep the online games going to some extent.

Take-Two CEO: games must 'delight' consumers to avoid secondhand market

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/40 ... nd-market/

MS say they've talked to retailers about secondhand games, but not someone as big as TT on the product side?
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Microsoft: 'Keep your 360 if you want to play XBLA games'

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/40 ... bla-games/

I predict there'll be a 'retro' section for One users soon enough.
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Xbox One video: designing the console, Kinect and controller

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/40 ... ontroller/

Lol'd at the whole 'reflecting what's happening' bit.

This comment is very good



From what I gather is that many kids will play a game to death for a few weeks and then resell it as soon as possible when they can get the best price for it as a secondhand game. If they can release DLC for a few weeks to keep them interested so that they can minimise the resales during that crucial initial launch, before too many games end up on the second hand market and before gamers get bored with the game. This seems a better strategy than "taxing" second hand games.

So basically, by making the game more interesting you're making players more likely to keep it.

You'd have thought that they would have learnt this stuff when designing games.

Once I've played a game, I don't think I've ever gone back to play again. The only exceptions were flightsims where you were playing campaigns and would carry out and end differently, and the Splinter Cell series (well #2 and #3 anyway). The rest have been played, completed (or sometimes not) and shelved away.

I still play Quake 3 when I feel like a monster mash.

I am surprised that you have not sold them if you never play them again. I am lucky in that I can forget that I have played a game and can return to it again and again. Though I am not that common amongst game players.

I've lost track of the number of times I've played Baldur's Gate II and Far Cry.