SciFiCat's forum posts

Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#1 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts
Ad supported devises work on the premise that these platforms provide a free service and/or are subsidized in exchange of the user consent to relinquish some of their personal data for advertisement purposes. Xbone costs $500, has a $60 a year for multiplayer plus other services and Kinect will collect unprecedented amounts of data for advertisers that MS will profit from it as well. Where exactly does the "value to the consumer" enter into this equation?
Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#2 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts
http://adage.com/article/special-report-ana-annual-meeting-2013/xbox-reshape-marketing/244605/ This article quotes Yusuf Mehdi, corporate VP-marketing and strategy for Microsoft basically stating that Microsoft will work closely with their commercial partners to "potentially" offer information they collect from people's living rooms and how people react to advertisements. Here is a particular extract form the article that is quite telling: Xbox One can essentially work like TV that watches you, bringing marketers a huge new trove of data about what's going on in living rooms, including, as one marketer put it after the speech, unprecedented information about how people engage with TV advertising. Microsoft, it seems, it is so confident that Xbox One buyers are so blind/stupid/complacent that they don't even bother to hide the fact that indeed the Kinect is there to make of Xbox One users a source for marketers to mine data from. It does seem rather abusive that Xbox users will nevertheless have to pay an annual fee to MS to play games online and enjoy other services despite the fact that MS will profit from collecting data the consumer is "giving away" for free.
Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#3 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts
As someone that plays most of my PC games on the HDTV in my living room using a 360 controller it feels this is a perfect fit for me. Not only that, I have also a wonderful companion to my 360 controller, program called Xpadder that allow me to "fool" PC games that have no gamepad support to function with the 360 no problem and it works like a charm for me. Seeing that this new controller does that out of the box and Steam will use an interface to customize even further the mapping of said controls is everything I could hope for. After reading some of the comments in the news section and some on this forum thread I can't believe the level of hostility directed at this controller. This controller could represent the next step in the evolution of game controller due to the use of advanced haptics that not only allow for features such as force feedback such as rumble like never experienced before, down to the simulation of textured surfaces and even the capacity to produce sound waves. Valve changed the face of FPS genre when Half-Life came out, (there is literally a before and after in the way other developers created FPS shooters from that point on) , it is the company that created and innovated in the implementation of a digital storefront that has revolutionized PC gaming in the last decade, now other companies are following in their footsteps. Why do people think that Valve is going to release a poorly produced, inaccurate controller, some even outright dismissing the design on looks alone, calling it "ugly" (right, who looks down at the controller while playing a game, I don't.) and saying it is "uncomfortable" or "it will not work". How the hell do these people would even know that? Have they held it in their hands, use it, saw how it functioned? No on all accounts. Save your judgement AFTER you have had a chance to actually test the controller and see how it works in RL scenarios instead, then if it doesn't work go ahead and talk trash about it all you want, until then please don't make foregone conclusions about it.
Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#4 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts

[QUOTE="SciFiCat"] There are a lot of people out there that don't have gaming PCs nor the knowledge to deal with building one or could not be bothered by it. I guess this is a method for Valve to reach a lot of people and make PC gaming that much more accessible, lowering the barrier of entry sort of speak. They have even hinted at having a proprietary controller for these machines in the works. Of course, for people that already have gaming PCs and are knowledgeable about hardware, then this is not for them. The big picture (no pun intended) we have to see here is that one of the most respected game developers in the industry, which also happens to be the owner of the most important digital distribution platform in the world has basically drawn a line in the sand sending a message to the game developer community as a whole. Valve is saying, "Linux is our gaming platform of choice, here, have this custom OS made exclusively for gaming for free, try it out and if you like the results, develop your games for it and then sell it in our distribution service that is fully integrated into it". This initiative may not mean much right now but Steam was no much to talk about when it started 10 years ago, now it completely has change the landscape of PC gaming. Who knows what will this initiative take PC gaming in the next decade.dvader654

So again this is for people that have no gaming PC... but why would you spend money on this when you should just spend money on a PC and you get to still play your games and get a fully operational PC. How much cheaper will this thing be from a high end gaming PC?  Plus not all the games work so whats the point.

I dont get who this is being marketed to and why anyone should spend money on it. Are people really that lazy that they cant move their PC near their TV to hook it up with a cable, they rather spends $400 to stream it, its ridiculous.

It is still too early to tell, this is and experiment Valve is conducting. No prices have been announced, no more than a brief press released has been put out. For all we know these are full fledged PC with a "Steam Certified" logo on it, your guess is as good as mine. Why do people spend money on overpriced "insert name brand devise" when they can get the same or even more functional "insert competing brand name devise" I don't know, people are weird like that and part ways with their money in the strangest stuff, I'm not here to judge that, especially when we know so little at this point. To me it is a very interesting proposition because it is coming from Valve, these people are smart and should be given a bit of leeway and see how this "proposal" pans out. Never underestimate the never ending search for convenience in people's everyday lives. That is like saying in the 1950s "Are people that lazy that they cannot get up to change the channel on the TV, they rather spend more money on a TV set with a remote just not to get out of the sofa, ridiculous! Fun fact: The first TV remote invented by Zenith was connected by a wire and was called "Lazy Bones" :lol:
Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#5 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts
[QUOTE="dvader654"][QUOTE="SciFiCat"][QUOTE="dvader654"]So why should I get this over a gaming PC? And it says a bunch of games work on the OS and the others need to be streamed, meaning I still need a PC that can run it so what is the point?

Well that is just the thing, it is not meant to replace your gaming PC, it is just a piece of hardware to have in your living room to complement your gaming PC as you say to stream to the living room. You can just as well buy a gaming PC to have exclusively in your living room and install SteamOS and Windows and switch to whichever one you want. The advantage is that the games that are compatible with the SteamOS (basically a custom version of Linux targeted for gaming) will run smoother and far more stable because the game won't have to deal with the bloated, multi-purposed resource hogging nature of Windows. Basically at this stage it is just test hardware with multiple configurations to try out the concept of SteamOS and to make of Steam as living room companion to your entertainment and media. It won't "compete" with traditional console hardware but it sure will make Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo work a bit harder to please consumers seeing how another company vies for people's attention, money and free time.

Didnt they just say Steam OS will run on TV apps and stuff, so what is the point of this then?

SteamOS is just that, an OS. It will run in just about anything with a CPU. In their press release they state is as : " (a) stand-alone operating system for living room machines." like smart TVs, in that case you would only need to run Steam on your PC and then stream it to your living room without having any other PC hardware per say in between. I wouldn't be surprise if Valve announces that it is signing partnerships with TV manufacturers to have SteamOS as the default firmware of such devises and since it is a free OS, the more incentive for other companies to adopt it. The whole "Steam machines" is just more choices for consumers. There are a lot of people out there that don't have gaming PCs nor the knowledge to deal with building one or could not be bothered by it. I guess this is a method for Valve to reach a lot of people and make PC gaming that much more accessible, lowering the barrier of entry sort of speak. They have even hinted at having a proprietary controller for these machines in the works. Of course, for people that already have gaming PCs and are knowledgeable about hardware, then this is not for them. The big picture (no pun intended) we have to see here is that one of the most respected game developers in the industry, which also happens to be the owner of the most important digital distribution platform in the world has basically drawn a line in the sand sending a message to the game developer community as a whole. Valve is saying, "Linux is our gaming platform of choice, here, have this custom OS made exclusively for gaming for free, try it out and if you like the results, develop your games for it and then sell it in our distribution service that is fully integrated into it". This initiative may not mean much right now but Steam was no much to talk about when it started 10 years ago, now it completely has change the landscape of PC gaming. Who knows what will this initiative take PC gaming in the next decade.
Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#6 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts
Reviews of Kinect games on Xbox One can't come soon enough.
Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#7 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts
"They took everything away from me" --- Says the guy with the $4.000.000 Bugatti Veyron. :lol:
Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#8 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts
[QUOTE="dvader654"]So why should I get this over a gaming PC? And it says a bunch of games work on the OS and the others need to be streamed, meaning I still need a PC that can run it so what is the point?

Well that is just the thing, it is not meant to replace your gaming PC, it is just a piece of hardware to have in your living room to complement your gaming PC as you say to stream to the living room. You can just as well buy a gaming PC to have exclusively in your living room and install SteamOS and Windows and switch to whichever one you want. The advantage is that the games that are compatible with the SteamOS (basically a custom version of Linux targeted for gaming) will run smoother and far more stable because the game won't have to deal with the bloated, multi-purposed resource hogging nature of Windows. Basically at this stage it is just test hardware with multiple configurations to try out the concept of SteamOS and to make of Steam as living room companion to your entertainment and media. It won't "compete" with traditional console hardware but it sure will make Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo work a bit harder to please consumers seeing how another company vies for people's attention, money and free time.
Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#9 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts
Each medium takes ideas and concepts from one another, the experience each offer is completely different to the end audience. No point trying to say that one beats the other. Video games have been around for 40 years, movies for over 100 years, and literature for 4600 years and no one medium has replaced the other because of some vague, abstract concept of "value".
Avatar image for SciFiCat
SciFiCat

1750

Forum Posts

0

Wiki Points

224

Followers

Reviews: 10

User Lists: 0

#10 SciFiCat
Member since 2006 • 1750 Posts
So I've been thinking a while about her whole reveal and ludicrous design and something just seemed off about the whole thing. Looking back at the trailer there is a strange phenomenon that is on display, particularly this moment: TLXusbE.gif We can see how the black "balm" to cut down sun glare, an useful piece of equipment for a sniper to have, vanishes into her skin. This is just a theory I have, based on MGS antecedents. Could it be that "Quiet" is really not wearing what we "see" she is wearing? Kojima likes to play with player's perceptions of reality as exemplified in the way he uses tricks and misdirection to confuse the player and break the 4th wall, so could it be that "Quiet" is actually wearing some sort of advanced full body optical camouflage? A suit that has optical properties to simulate and change in a chameleon like way creating the illusion that she is wearing a bikini when in reality she is not? For all we know this suit can as easily give her black balm around the eyes as it could take on the appearance of any piece of clothing, imitate any environmental pattern or even take on the appearance of other people. I can speculate even further and venture to hypothesize that "Quiet" may not even be a woman, that it is just an elaborate disguise to unsettle or awe the adversary? I don't know, I just can't buy the whole "it is for cosplay" argument given by Kojima.