What are the chinks in XB360's armour?

[Sonic]

Good old art. People in art departments should get paid more. Alas, maybe one day it shall be so.

$20 for 10 maps sounds fine to me, because it ooffers quite a few maps. Are these multiplayer only or both multi and single player?

 

[Kesler]

I would spend as little as $0.25 for a new map or weapons, just not much north of that. 10 cents for a new map sound fine by me.

You'll be lucky to get 30 rounds of ammo for that much

 

[pc999]

I would spend as little as $0.25 for a new map or weapons, just not much north of that. 10 cents for a new map sound fine by me.

I think you'll be very disappointed with microtransactions then. Current Xbox games with maps for sale on average are around $2.00 per map. (ex. 10 Halo maps for $20) I bought some other content earlier this gen but I dont remember exact price. With next gen I see those prices atleast staying the same. We can't go back to the quake1-2 days where 1 person makes a map in a few hours. The art involved of making something of quality is incredibly time consuming now and will only increase exponentially. So save those quarters for a cup a coffee.

Well but today there is only ~2M of costumers, if live as free (like it will), they would have 20M (and next time they should increase very,very much that numbers) so it could be 6M, and if games become cheaper they could even get more games sold and more later proffit, if I got a new map each 1-2 week(s) @10-25cents how will not buy

And make each week 600K-2500k$, that would be great for them and for us.
But it is a strategy with a lot of risck?

 

[pc999]

The big question is, how much they want to win, per map, and what is easier for (e.g.) 500k

sell 500k maps at 1$

or

sell 2000k at 0,25$

or

5000k at 0,1$

(anyway after 10 weeks they would make 5-10M$)

 

[jvd]

Hey I would prefer to have the HDD too. But it's not a deal-breaker for me.

The one thing I wonder is has a console HDD ever failed?

If microtransactions become a big deal and people are storing gigs of stuff you purchase or win, is there a way to back it up in case of HDD failure or damage?

I remember reading an article once about how disk makers were looking for growth in consumer electronics, as opposed to the traditional computer market.

I believe they were designing simpler drives, with fewer platters and other limitations. These limitations were probably for cost-reduction but maybe they result in greater reliablity?

Would be nice if you could at least write CD-Rs so that you can back up the HDD.

Live should keep track of your purchases . So i wouldn't see why you couldn't get the data back in case of a hardrive failure . Sort of like steam. I can delete everything off my hardrive and then resinstall it all because steam has the info tied into my account

 

[jvd]

The memcards for PS3 IMO are a good addition. You can take media on memory card (pictures from a digital camera, music from an MP3 player, etc) and play it for public viewing, which is where Sony are positioning their 'entertainments computer'.

Mem costs are dropping dramatically. SD is available at 128 megs for £8 in the UK (c. $14), a gig for £50 ($90). In a couple years time we'll be looking at half this. For save games and media I don't think memcards a bad idea. £8 for 128mb is plenty for saves, and in the future £25 for a gig is definitely accomodatable.

I can hook up any digital camera to a usb port on my x360 (or ps3 for that matter ) and save to my hardrive or stream it off my pc .

As for sd costs . Yes its getting down in price , 1 gig in the states can be had for 50-80$ . But even factoring that 50$ price right now your still spending around 1 thousand for the same capacity as the x360 hardrive. So i would assume most people would buy 1 memory card and then just buy the hardrive for the ps3 as its more cost effective .


I don't really understand all the memory card inputs . I think it would have been wiser for sony to just sell a usb reader to keep the costs down. As we saw with the ps2 alot of connectors came on the system and by the time we got to the pstwo they were almost all removed .

 

[jvd]

I'm not spending $5.00 on two new weapons and a new outfit for a game.

I would love to pay upwards of $20 for something that adds real value to a game in terms of overall experience and not something minor. Sort of how MMORPG's bring out new worlds or locations and you buy this and there you go. That would be somewhat feasible.

Well most expansion packs for the pc are 20-30$ and they are basicly 10 or so maps with a small story and mabye a new weapon and some new skins for monsters .

For a game like Halo on Xbox 360 to really lure in users who will go ahead and buy the downloadable content then it should be something that is worthwhile. A few levels isn't enough to get most people in on it. An additional 5 or 6 levels that are just as good as what comes packed in with the game and a continuing storyline seems like a much better deal as far as I'm concernd. I would pay $20 for something like that. I can keep it on my hard drive and play them offline.

well for me 10-20$ for another 10 or so good multiplayer maps would sell well . Who knows what the future holds . I may love pdz and if it comes with 4 multiplayer maps (the current rumor ) i may opt to buy more maps for it instead of halo 3 which may end up not apealing to me .

What am I getting at? Micropayments are something that are a nice addition, but they don't really bring a lot of reason to continue playing a game. A large payment for downloadable content (even if it takes 1 hour to download) is more than worth it for what you get out of it. Maybe I'm a cheap bastard.

I played unreal tourny for 3 years because of the constant supply of maps . If i only have 10 maps no matter how fun they are after awhile they will get dull .



Personaly it will be nice that devs have the options of micropayments but the real blessing is the player comunity .

Look at it this way. You can make a map for pdz . And sell it at the market place. Mabye a dime a person or give it away for free. As more people get into it there will be communitys like there are for counter strike or unreal 2k4 or half life 2 and that way for my original 50$ and mabye 5$ a year the game will keep giving me enjoyment .

 

[Acert93]

Re: some HD stuff

Hello to all,

As this is my first post let me get some things out of the way, for sake of full disclosure. I absolutely love my xbox so you could definitely say I am biased, I also skipped the entire Sony generations (I choose Dreamcast). Having said that I consider myself fair and reasonable. .

Welcome to the forums! My component cable for my GCN gives a great image; although comparing the DVI and Analog on my LCD does tend to show the DVI with a slightly better image. I think most people's concern is that a lot of new models are aimed at DVI/HDMI and so they see not supporting those as "archaic" although you are right, it seems component is the "baseline". HD TV has taken forever to get market penetration and it seems to be a fairly messed up standard. A lot of inputs, different resolutions, etc... Better than nothing but it can be confusing to the mainstream consumer. Sadly I have found Walmart selling EDTVs as HDTVs

 

[Sonic]

$5 a year is no problem. I am not against a subscription service for games being played online against other people. I am against exorbitant prices for individual items that barely add to the overall experience of the game.

Some may like the little things here and there and pay for it that way. I'd rather have one big package for $20 or so that has all the little things in it. That way I get it all at once.

I'm confused now!

 

[jvd]

$5 a year is no problem. I am not against a subscription service for games being played online against other people. I am against exorbitant prices for individual items that barely add to the overall experience of the game.

i doubt u will see jerseys and other stupid things for more than 10 or 15 cents . I think you will see them in packs most likely where u get like 15 jerseys for a dollar or something. Things like maps will prob be 1 -2 dollars per map .

Some may like the little things here and there and pay for it that way. I'd rather have one big package for $20 or so that has all the little things in it. That way I get it all at once.

I'm sure they will do that also. I'm sure you will be able to buy packs of collected maps for a certian price like they did with halo 2

 

[pc999]

$5 a year is no problem. I am not against a subscription service for games being played online against other people. I am against exorbitant prices for individual items that barely add to the overall experience of the game.

Some may like the little things here and there and pay for it that way. I'd rather have one big package for $20 or so that has all the little things in it. That way I get it all at once.

I'm confused now!

But it is easier to pay 5$ for 4 times than 20 at once, specialy if you have few money to spend.

Anyway 2$for just a map is way too much.

 

[Sis]

Anyway 2$for just a map is way too much.

You know, I would have though so too. A quick side-story, if I may: A couple weeks back I installed MSN Messenger on my mom's machine and showed her the basics of IM. Within a week she was sending me "winks" and smilies that she had purchased, each about 1-2 dollars but totalling about 15 bucks overall.

It turns out, in her mind the amount was so low--and it was being subtracted through a monetary abstraction, the credit card--that she just didn't mind spending a dollar for a stupid animation.

.Sis

 

[Bobbler]

Anyway 2$for just a map is way too much.

You know, I would have though so too. A quick side-story, if I may: A couple weeks back I installed MSN Messenger on my mom's machine and showed her the basics of IM. Within a week she was sending me "winks" and smilies that she had purchased, each about 1-2 dollars but totalling about 15 bucks overall.

It turns out, in her mind the amount was so low--and it was being subtracted through a monetary abstraction, the credit card--that she just didn't mind spending a dollar for a stupid animation.

.Sis

It is the same reasons pop/candy machines and dollar stores work so well. Nobody really feels bad spending a dollar (even if what you are paying isn't anywhere near the worth of the product) -- even multiple times; spending 10 dollars once hurts a bit more than spending 1 dollar 10 times. Sub 5 dollar market is kinda silly -- people will rationalize anything at that price. Often you'll find yourself doing it too, knowing full well you aren't getting your money's worth.

 

[jvd]

I dunno i downloaded a cs source map last month and i've logged about 20 hours onto it . So if that cost 2$ that is equal to seeing 10 movies which would be 6.50 each around here or 65$ . It really depends on what u think

 

[pc999]

Well, as I said

But it is easier to pay 5$ for 4 times than 20 at once, specialy if you have few money to spend.

But really even 1$ is too much, , it is just 1 map they already have the engine/tools/caracters..., 1 map dont cost much to produce.

 

[mckmas8808]

Am with pc999 even 1 dollar for 1 map is too much. They should give you like 5 maps for a dollar. The devs can still make a lot of money for that price.

 

[jvd]

Am with pc999 even 1 dollar for 1 map is too much. They should give you like 5 maps for a dollar. The devs can still make a lot of money for that price.

have you made a map yet ? Its actually alot of work and very time consuming

 

[Bobbler]

Am with pc999 even 1 dollar for 1 map is too much. They should give you like 5 maps for a dollar. The devs can still make a lot of money for that price.

I would imagine there being map packs where you get several maps (some crap, some good) for ~5 dollars. Developers can get away with charging more per map (or per good map in the packs), and they will do it -- no reason not to as far as I'm concerned (as long as the point in the next paragraph also happens). Some devs will probably make maps cheap and others will use their franchise/developer name to keep the price at a premium(Halo3 maps I could see being more expensive than other games, for example). It'll vary per developer probably (I can easily see some company having free maps just to cause them to look better -- "company xxx gives their maps for free, why can't company yyy do the same!", etc).

The real strength of this system is letting people make maps and selling them (at least it was my understanding that the system would allow this type of thing). Normal players will make tons of maps and when they realize they can make suitable money for the time spent making it just charging a quarter or less they'll do it (competition between map makers will cause this to happen real fast also).

If they don't let normal people make maps in games than the system will have gone to waste in my opinion (at least it won't be near as cool/useful a feature as it could be). The player made maps is where its at -- they'll be cheap and a few of them might be real gems.

I also agree with what jvd said -- the enjoyment you'll get out of a good map may last quite a while, so paying a dollar or two (or ~5 if it was in a map pack, lets say) is sort of negated by the fact that you spent so much time playing it.

 

[passby]

I can hook up any digital camera to a usb port on my x360 (or ps3 for that matter ) and save to my hardrive or stream it off my pc .

I filled 3 pieces of flash-based media in my last 4-day trip. I know I'll be really happy that I can just plug in the media directly without having to go thru the camera on/off, camera/PC sync, change media so on/off re-sync again blah blah blah. This is added convenience for me and I appreciate it.

I don't really understand all the memory card inputs . I think it would have been wiser for sony to just sell a usb reader to keep the costs down.

Not having to buy a usb reader and having another piece of small gadget to clutter up my place is added convenience for me too.

As we saw with the ps2 alot of connectors came on the system and by the time we got to the pstwo they were almost all removed .

1 Firewire and 1 HDD connections are gone. The 2 USB ports remain.

The flash-media ports are good. I only don't understand the 6 usb ports. At this time it just feels like ammo for PR pimping.

 

[jvd]

I filled 3 pieces of flash-based media in my last 4-day trip. I know I'll be really happy that I can just plug in the media directly without having to go thru the camera on/off, camera/PC sync, change media so on/off re-sync again blah blah blah. This is added convenience for me and I appreciate it.

To me its going to be the same time diffrence. I only have to plug the card into my camera once its hooked up to the pc (which takes about 2 seconds ) and then transfer the data off it which takes the same time even if it was a dedicated port. So i don't really see a diffrence.

I also don't see where your going to put the data . So you hae your card. I guess you can view it now on your tv . But now where do u put it ? keep it on the card ? stream it over to your pc ? walk over to your pc and do what i just did but waste even more time ?

1 Firewire and 1 HDD connections are gone. The 2 USB ports remain.

Half of what they had on the system are gone . That is cutting out alot of things to me . 50$ pecent actually .