Gaucho420

GameStop Director Leonard Riggio Shows Us the Future of Gaming

Dedicated gamers will get their games faster by downloading. I have XBL and if a game came out at midnight online, I'd have XBL downloaded overnight and have it ready for use in the morning. That's much faster than waiting for a retail store to open the next day.

I go to store now, such as this week to pick up NBA2k10, because I wanted the anniversay edition. But had it been a normal non-anniversary year and had the option been there to download it straight to the hard-drive from XBL, I probably would've opted for that.

I think a bigger argument agaisnt downloads is 1) the added cost of a hard drive to store them (especially when you get to the full sized games), 2) the lack of a manual and 3) no trade in value on downloads.

I know quite a few dedicated gamers who don't download that many games, because they dont' feel like wasting money on a hard-drive. And that's the over-riding reason, plus the trade-in value of discs.

For the 360, retailers should thank MSFT for making the hard drives propriatery and super expensive, as it keeps a large number of gamers hooked to retailers, as nobody wants to pay MSFT ridiculous price on its 60 gig or 120 gig drives.

I have paid for the 120 gig drive, because I can afford it, but most can and most simply don't even trie demos, movies or anything else, as the hard-drive on the 360 is cost-prohibitive.

I know the PS3 can use any drive you choose, but even at bottom barrell prices, it still cost money.

So in my humble opinion, online gaming will be restricted (for a tiny while) by the cost of extra storage. I have seen this to be true across my gaming friends and I know a boatload of all ages, sex and income types. Gamers want to play...paying for a hard-drive is simply an unwanted hassle at the current prices.

MarketingVox: Are Gamers Dropping Consoles for Online Gaming?

Terribly shallow article worthy of the local news. If there is any analysis of substance or anything at all worth publishing in that article, that hasn't been said before with more deeper analysis over the last 3 years...let me know.

Sony's PS3 Slim: What Has the Company Achieved?

I'm sure the linked video is real, but why is it filmed like a fake bigfoot video? Can't they stand back a bit so we can get a real look at the console and not swing wildly from side to side, up & down? It looks like a PS2 to me.

I'm just saying, its as grainy & fumbly as all internet videos for sasquatch.

Nintendo DS: Getting Killed Off by Game Theft

I copy games all the time and I have a boatload of copied DS games. HOwever, Nintendo and the publisher aren't missing a dime, as I wouldn't have bought them at any price.

I however, do not copy 360 or Wii games, although I easily could...but I like them, so I pay for them outright. The DS? Nope, I rarely play it and therefore, no money is lost on me getting it for free as I would've never spent a dime on most games.

So there's a point to be made about this...if anything, copying DS games has had me recommend certain games to my father and little brother, who do have a DSi and went out and bougth the games I recommended as they don't have time to mess with those downloads or getting the chip required to play tem. So without me getting them for free (and again, I would never had laid out a dime to buy them, so no loss of sales on my account), my dad would never have bought certain DS games.

And I loved GTA: Chinatown so much, I went out and bought the real thing.

Same with music...I have copied MP3s of a billion tunes that I never would've bought normally, at any price. But after having free MP3s of certain artists that I really liked, I went out and bought actual albums and that's happened quite a bit on the music side.

So its not truly lost sales on every account, as again, I wouldn't have bougth any of the DS games or those MP3s at any price...for free, I'll give them a shot and if I like them, I'll recommend them or buy them next time myself.

I'm not sure how often this happens, but for sure...free things lead to money made at least for some customers.

Just because we take something for free, doesn't mean we would've spent any money on it if we couldn't get it for free.

Are Microsoft and Sony Closing in on Nintendo?

I will add...how come the PS2 still outsells the PS3?

P-R-I-C-E.

Same goes for the DS over the PSP.

The Wiimote will win out over this no-dout cool looking camera, for the exact same reason. And...isn't it more realistic to box, play tennis or drive...with a tennis racquet, steering wheel or gloves?

Just sayin'. How come no ones talked about that? Holding a joystick does make certain games more realistic...good luck with Tiger Woods Golf, for example...not everyon owns a golf club, skateboard or apparently, a steering wheel to "scan" into this item, as the movie suggested.

Are Microsoft and Sony Closing in on Nintendo?

I follow both analysts comments on this and then regular people's...the reactions are quite different. I have yet to find a single Xbox player who has any significant interest in the camera...however, Wall Street loves it.

I beleive it is because Wall Street analysts make a ton of dough and simply fail to understand that for the average person or household, a $200 attachment to an already pricey console simply isn't excitting.

If I were you, I'd look back to see what these so called experts thought of the Wii out the gate vs. the PS3, as the over-riding sentiment on Wall Street was the PS3 was going to run all over the 360 & the Wii. I beleive the key factor in their terrible analysis is the fact that either they don't play games or they get them for free or they make so much money, it might as well be free.

So I disagree...I can tell you my survey of young & old gamers has shown no great interest in this due to the cost, the bad reputation MSFT has in putting out a weak product in the 1st gen and the simply fact that many already own a Wii and even with a camera, it didn't look that impressive.

So until I hear its $199 with two free games and one year free of Xbox Live...this product is dead in the water. It'll have a few users ready to grab it out the gate, but unless things change radically as to its price and offering, it won't have many users due to the pink elephant in the room all videogame analysts seem to forget about (until weak sales show up)...THE PRICE, on top of the price for an Xbox, Xbox Live subscription, WIFI antenna and of course, the dreaded RRoD.

Microsoft Xbox Natal: A Leap Forward in Gaming

And for racing, project natal will stink...holding out your hands with no steering wheel to support them it is quite tiring and is not reflective of how your drive. Which is why MarioKart Wii works best with the Gamecube controller.

Microsoft Xbox Natal: A Leap Forward in Gaming

Its too little too late for this generation, when one particular console (The Wii) has already wrapped up a huge amount of the audience that would be interested in Project Natal and when that particular audience (non core gamers) are highly unlikely to upgrade to something new, this soon and for this cost. In addition, the reaction from hard core gamers I know has been one giant MEH...as in, if we wanted this, we'd own a Wii. So its too little, too late in terms of marketing & making money, not the technology, which clearly is very cool.

I may pick it up as I've got money to burn and I love gaming, but other than me, who's apparently in a very small category who owns a Wii & 360, most of the remaining audience falls on one side of the tracks and either owns a Wii or wouldn't be interested in a motion capture camera...people tend to forget that the hard core gamers usually sit on a couch and don't move...it'll be hard to break those gamers out of their habits and disdain for physical activity. IE- know any hard core gamers that play Gears, Halo or COD4 and also own Wii Fit? I don't and I know quite a few gamers.


On Jun 02 11:46 PM melante wrote:

> To Gaucho420:
> no, this is not "too little, too late" but, on the contrary, "too
> much, too early"! If it really works as shown, this will be amazing
> and opening countless new possibilities. Anyway, as long as I don't
> see and try it personally, I'll remain a little doubtful on its real
> robustness and effectiveness.

Nintendo's in Poor Position Amongst Competitors

I agree, the Big N is in poor position, tech wise and game wise, except for price. But that is a big, big issue or if it wasn't, how do you explain the PS2 routinely outselling the PS3? Why is it that consumers go to the store to pick up a 10-year old console over its super duper brethen? P-R-I-C-E.

Perhaps in another language, you will understand...Cest le prix!!!!

So until we all grow money trees, price will always be the top decision maker at this price level...the TurboGraphx16, NeoGeo, and now PS3 are all superb points of videogame history that show that price trumps over top tech, nearly all the time.

So while the motion conrol camera is cool, its price certainly isn't and while the PS3 has Blue-Ray, its price is absolutly ridiculous.

Let's no forget the sting of the 360 failing 2-3 years into its life as another sting that current 360 owners may avoid and probably feel a bit gipped about.

So while I agree that if was a brand new launch, Nintendo would be in trouble (if MSFT and SNE priced it right)...but with the Wii already sold in 50 million homes, with the 360 being way too expensive when you add in Xbox Live, the WIFI antenna, extra controllers, etc...and with the PS3 already an utter failure...I beleive Nintendo will still be ahead, as I don't see mom & pops who already own a Wii going out and spending nearly $500 on a 360, only to then hear little timmy's contact use the N word, call Jews terrible names, and be as racist as racist can be...for $500. Hearing ethic disparities over Xbox Live gets pretty old, folks...I'm going on over 3 years of it now and I simply hate getting on there and having to put up with that crap after putting in a hard days work...I certainly wouldn't want my kids exposed to it.

Tech isn't the only thing that goes into a consumer's decision! You'd all be much wiser remembering this, we don't live in a tech vacuum where price, culture of the entertainment and perceived value suddenly disappear due to a fancy camera.

Microsoft Xbox Natal: A Leap Forward in Gaming

What about pricing? Is everyone off their kilter still, that no one is remembering that oh so distant failure called the PS3???

So a 360 is $299...this add on is $600 at retail right now and most beleive it will be $200 when it comes out. Xbox Live is $50/year. So combined, that's $550. What about a game for this peripheral?

I beleive this is too little, too late...given how many PS2 units still sell, suggesting many households are not that impressed with the Wii/360/PS3 and the fact that so many mom & pop households have a Wii already, meaning they'll need to invest in a new system all together to enjoy this new type of gaming??? I don't see the typical Wii crowd re-investing yet again on a new system...I see this launch by MSFT to be very cool indeed, but to be limited in success by its price and the fact that most Wii households already own a Wii and will not dish out yet more money for another console and its game...there's no way this will happen.

So I disagree completly with your analysis...its easy to say this is going to be a big hit when your a techy & where price simply has no weight on your tech decisions, as tech is your life, but 90% of the country considers price first and foremost, the success of the PS2/Wii/DS over the PS3/360/PSP shows that technology just doesn't matter as much at this particular price range.

So very cool, but unless the 360 and the peripheral combined sells for $250 or less, it'll be dead in the water, as the existing hardcores on the 360 don't exactly get up off the couch much and will not go out and buy this in droves. Analysis has shown that barely any households have both a 360/PS3 & Wii and I expect this to continue. I own both and enjoy them both, but I am a rare hard-core gamer and most of my 360 friends don't like the Wii much outside of get-together parties...so no, I don't see this having much success, at all. In fact, no one 360 gamer I know and I know quite a few, females, males all ages...is very much interested in this at all. In fact, I'd say its turn them off more than anything.

Its the wrong product, at the wrong price, on the wrong system and its late 2010 date really does shoot it in the foot even more, as that's more Wii households who'll never upgrade to this product.

Additionaly, my small survey of gamers also suggest all 360 gamers are very apprehensive about this add-on, given that most have had their 360s die once, including one person I know who's had his die three times and is now weighing going to the Wii, due solely to the poor reliability of the 360 and its high costs. And finallly, I will state most are very weary of anything MSFT puts out as 1st gen, as let's face it...its always a work in progress.

So outside of the gaming techies who make this their life...in the real world, in Los Angeles, with hard-cores...the reception is chilly and apprehensive, as we're all waiting to see just how MSFT will F'd it up and $200 additional to spend on the 360, when most of us already spent $90 on a WIFI antenna...is a bit much to swallow.

So no...cool tech, wrong console, wrong audience, wrong timing and wrong price.

Will OnLive Kill the Console Gaming Business?

"Since October, the industry in the United States, October through February, is up about 11 percent dollar growth. Over that same time period, Nintendo is up over 50 percent. Let me put it a different way: the total industry has grown just over $1 billion during that time frame. Nintendo has grown over $3 billion, so do the math. We're accounting for more than 100 percent of the industry growth, so certainly our share is growing. Other people are losing share. Those are the facts."

Reggie-Fils-Aimee at Nintendo. Again...why invest in a shrinking pie that now will have THREE competitors fighting for it...Onlive will have zero effect on the Wii market as Nintendo will never release its games for it and a Wii mote is no-where in site. Hence, game over as an investment...the bigger pie is elswhere.

Will OnLive Kill the Console Gaming Business?

Who cares...you're all missing the boat, the paradigm shift has happened and continues to happen away from hard-core gaming.

As an investor, why would anyone invest in a technology aimed at the old way of doing business? Its great & all, but besides the very obvious technical difficulties of assuming someone's computer at home will be capable (well DUH!, that's obvious), the bottom line is growth in the videogame world is fueled solely by Nintendo, the Wii and the DS. Had Nintendo not come out with the Wii, this column wouldn't exist as the industry would be shrinking or be flat in size.

So again, who cares? I'm more interested as to WHOM exactly will step up first to challenge the Wii, as that's where the Dollars are.

I have a PC, a 360, A Wii and I game all the time and have for decades...however, I'm not going to let my gaming tastes affect what I invest in and to me, the hardcore market is flat outside of accessory spending and the fact the hard-core have grown up and can afford more items...but the amount of hard core gamers out there is less than before.

The sales of the 360/PS3 don't even come close to the PS2, even combined...but the Wii outsells the 360/PS3 combined, every single month and the top sellers are mostly DS/Wii games.

Invest in the Otakus if you'd like...I'll choose the mass market and the publishers who address that need.

Will OnLive Kill the Console Gaming Business?

Where's Nintendo? Of course, not anywhere near Onlive...and that's its major problem. This will cause the already shrinking hardcore market to be even more competitive, while Nintendo will just sit back and laugh...as no one has a Wiimote (yet) and the Wii is mostly succesfull due to its OWN NINTENDO GAMES. And its not like Guitar Hero/Rock Band is going to be on Onlive.

Once again, the genius of Nintendo, at least in this generation...shines on. Their product, which is completly exclusive to them, the Wii, will look even more exclusive now that you can get GTAIV on a download service. Its not like a motion controlled wand, coupled with the QUALITY of Nintendo is coming out anytime soon for a PC.

And the family market will never sit in front of a 20 inch computer monitor to do family gaming...only the existing hard cores will. So to me, Onlive is cool...but no game changer as the game changing is the Wii, DS and family gaming.

Too bad, so sad for Sony and MSFT...for everyone else, consumers included, this should make the other products cheaper and more competitive.

Nintendo's Wii: A 'Must Have' Appliance?

Good Article Bruce...I think you're finally coming around to see that the Wii, while perhaps not becoming the appliance it could be, is certainly running circles around the competition. If the bubble of the Wii is going to deflate, it would've already.

As a side note, the videogame reviewers are all hard-core gamers who completly miss the boat on the Wii and their reviews are worthless, for the most part. I beleive these "critics" are actually angry males who cannot understand or fathom that good ol' Nintendo beat the pants of their companies by doing the most obvious of things and include everyone in the fun.

Good for Nintendo and great for the industry.

A New Era of Video Games: The End of Shovelware

I beleive you mean massmarket as oppossed to shovelware. Some would say movies are quality and TV is shovelware....but its just called TV, not shovelware. The Hard core crowd needs to get over itself and realize its playground is now everyone's playground.

I have a Wii & 360, and while I love my 360 games, MSFT poor customer service & horrible quality have me thinking that if the shovelware buyer is the fool...then all 360 owners are those fools, myself included. Almost everyone I know has had their 360 break down and some up to three times. The hard-cores are hard-core, that's for sure...some would say hard-core stubborn.

My Damn Super Nintendo from 1991 still works, but my 360 only made 2.5 years? Shovelware is perhaps a kind word to use...thank god the games are good, as the 360 is perhaps the least reliable machine in history.

And this year's top seller, my good man, is not GTAIV (I own TTWO), its MarioKart.

Wait until the end of the year and you'll see.

The future will be with the first machine that does Wii motion controls coupled standard hardcore gaming graphics with Gears of War style, but clearly the days of the joystick rulling the roost are numbered. I'm not sure why people don't get this, the average person has 0 interest in 16 buttons. Again, I love hardcore gaming, GTAIV is the best game this year and perhaps ever...but the future lies in non-traditional joysticks that will take GTAV and put it to good use.

As far as stocks, I am long TTWO (waiting for another ride up to cash in once again), THQI has they could be taken over and I would avoid ATVI and ERTS. I would also not be suprised in seeing Japanese companies buy out or merger with one these, maybe Capcom or Konami to give it more weight and depth worldwide.

UBISoft I would say now is the 2nd largest in the world and I too would recommend them. Paris Stock exchange.