Changes…changes…changes….was looking at my stack of XBOX360 games and thinking about the conversations 8+ years ago about ‘the battle for the living room’ that PCs were going to face. “How could the PC ever get in beyond the hardcore hobbyists?” Recall the conversations of how futile it would be for Microsoft to even try to get a Windows machine into the sacred living room. I now have 2 xbox 360’s, 10+ titles purchased at $60 each, a number of online transactions for movies or the yearly XBOX live accounts renewed for the third time recently (approx $600+$600+$150+$50 > $1400). They consume a significant portion of my entertainment dollars as well as my time for relaxation in every form: alone and with friends in both meatspace and cyberspace. When we have parties, some portion of the guests end up on the xbox for some portion of time, typically playing guitar hero style or trivia style games. While it may not have reached its full financial payoff yet for shareholders, I think this XBOX thing has been a monumental success, 25 million units in living rooms throughout the world and growing. A more interesting analysis would put together the amount of money made per title, avg. # titles purchased per year in each geography as well as online content amortized over the 5-10 year life cycle of the console and get a number that I think more than justifies their decision to enter this ecosystem. Way to go Microsoft. Might be good lesson for other large companies to learn from when entering entirely new ecosystems, seems their persistence and bringing in the right talent allowed this battle to be won. I appreciate, as both an investor and consumer, Microsoft’s permission to let the inmates run the asylum. In many cases, this would have been a catastrophy, but in this case created a more interesting world for us all.
I’ve heard people say ‘the wii has won’, as if that was a competitor. Sure, people split their dollars between these devices, but ultimately they also compliment and reinforce the acceptance of similar play metaphors for the living room. Similarly with the playstation’s of the world, they will compete for the split of consumer’s wallets but validate the battle because they all can be successful in this space. In this round, Sony seems to not have gotten the numbers MS did, but this will reinforce their vigor to get it right the next time around. In the end, humanity benefits in this competition, despite the Orwellian oligopoly this ecosystem has become.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Gears of War 2: Insane checkpoint glitch in Act III
On insane mode, in Chapter 3 Act 3, when you have reached the entrance to the temple at the top of the mountain, it seems there is a bug in the checkpoint system. When you go through the temple entrance, it does not register the checkpoint. To address the issue, go backwards to the start of the chapter. There will be a giant tree fallen across the path, drive to this point, then turn around and go back to the temple entrance adn the checkpoint will clear. I hear this also affects hardcore mode.
Gears of War 2: Killing Bloodmounts
The Gears of War fest continues. Yesterday 5 of us managed to hit the 50 horde levels achievement. So, the bloodmounts, how to kill?
Two relevant facts: a well placed shutgun shot will dismount the rider on the mount. Additionally, shots at the head of the mount itself will cause it to pause to knock off its metal facemask. while the mount is performing this action, one can continue to pump rounds into its head. If you haven't dismounted the rider yet, he will fall off, then get back up but a quick chainsaw will take care of him. If you have dismounted the rider, remember he's still alive, just knocked off, so he will come after you, but he's relatively weaker and less of a threat than the szhizophrenic mount, so take care of the mount first.
What best to shoot the mount in the head? We've varied through just about every weapon here, pick your favorite. Typically the Lancer is good because you can leverage the chainsaw when the rider jumps off.
Two relevant facts: a well placed shutgun shot will dismount the rider on the mount. Additionally, shots at the head of the mount itself will cause it to pause to knock off its metal facemask. while the mount is performing this action, one can continue to pump rounds into its head. If you haven't dismounted the rider yet, he will fall off, then get back up but a quick chainsaw will take care of him. If you have dismounted the rider, remember he's still alive, just knocked off, so he will come after you, but he's relatively weaker and less of a threat than the szhizophrenic mount, so take care of the mount first.
What best to shoot the mount in the head? We've varied through just about every weapon here, pick your favorite. Typically the Lancer is good because you can leverage the chainsaw when the rider jumps off.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Gears of War 2
Been online for several nights this week with friends blasting away through Horde mode on Gears of War 2. We're through 48 stages, 50 we get an achievement. Its been an awesome awesome trip.
Kim P. also recommended Left 4 Dead...have to check that out as well. But first, we get through 50 levels of Horde!
Kim P. also recommended Left 4 Dead...have to check that out as well. But first, we get through 50 levels of Horde!
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