Microsoft are EVIL!

[regiebabe]

Hi people. A while ago Microsoft did something to try to monopalise the console war, and by some freak fource of a media blind-spot they never really told the public the story.

Well most of us educated console-gaming-freaks should know anyway that Microsoft did the lowest of all low things low; they bought-out RAREWARE (Nintendo's single most successful third-party game developer). Now in the past Rareware had only ever made games for Nintendo systems (after it's initial PC phase) and Microsoft deceided to really get nasty and buy-out Rareware so they could cancel all the Rareware-Nintendo-games and put them all onto their chunkafied peice of junk.

We no neither Nintendo nor Microsoft see Sony as a threat, and those of us who remember Sega's plumit will remember it as their own fault and not by dirty-buisness from their compedator (Nindendo). However the strangest thing about all this remains that Nintendo has not lifted a finger to say "MICROSOFT BOUGHT OUT RAREWARE AND CANCELED ALL YOUR GAMES, AND THE ONES THEY DIDN'T CANCEL THEY MOVED FROM GAMECUBE TO EKS-BOOCKZ".

We'll also remember how Microsoft marketed their eks boockz at below the cost to make them - something that I feel they did as another dirty tactic. How do you compete with Microsoft if they have the power to hurt YOUR buisness in order to try and make theirs seem bigger becaused yours is suddenly smaller?

Does Nintendo have some sort of plan underway, some sort of counter-strike?

***

What really bothers me is the popularity of the eks boockz, it seems people ignore the fact the system is not very well designed or constructed, it's not optimised for size or for cost-efficiency, or power-efficiency or even game play-efficiency, it's simply designed to be the most powerful console.

Disney often falsely advertises "only to theaters" and in the exact same way Microsoft advertise their eks boockz as being a console/dvd-player in one. This is not so - you are required to buy a stupid add on to allow the playback of DVDs and when you do there's no multizone (now an Australian standard), the remote sensor has to be manually plugged in, there are no controls ON the X-Box to control DVD playback, there is no LCD display on the console.........

.......in short IT IS FAR FROM A DVD PLAYER!! Especially when you remember that it dosen't even play movie discs without their seperate $70 remote-control and sensor. Yes it might be powerful, it might be big, and it might be popular. But it is not well designed, neither are the hand controllers, neither is anything it's a mock of real consoles and yet people accept it. Microsoft are just riding of the success of PS2 and taking "the next step" only in this case it's one step foward and two steps back.





Thankyou for reading this short little mini artical, I hope some of you are enhanced in some way by my writing even if it's poorly spelled (I've been a bit sick of late and I'm not prepared to spell-ckeck and proof-read it).

Regie Babe.

[MrMacabre]

Who really cares? It's not the first time a company has bought out the opposition's supplier.

---------

To be honest, I prefer the X-Box controller over all other controllers. Want to laugh at a controller, check out the Gamecube. LOL - were they on crack when they thought that one up?!

In regards to your comments as it's validity as a DVD player, one would think that it would be purchased primarily for games as DVD players these days can be had for as cheap as $100-200. Also, I used to own a PS2 and used that for a DVD player, but was angered when I discovered it had problems showing 1.78:1 NTSC films anamorphically, giving weird wavy lines in the top 1/10th of the screen.

Overall, from the tone of your article and the topic you've given this thread, it seems obvious that you have something against Microsoft.

[mtp]

Okay just to clarify things for you it was made public that Microsoft purchased Rare and reported on several good gaming sites and technology sites such as IGN and Zdnet to name a few you could get the articles by doing a search. Anyway Nintendo owned a large portion of Rare and quite happily sold their share of the company to Microsoft for quite a large sum. According to the spokesperson in one of the articles from Nintendo he stated Rare was no longer a huge asset to Nintendo and pointed out the small amount of games from Rare in the recent couple of years. They felt they had done all they could and also it was stated most of the people from Rare during their golden run had left. So Nintendo obviously knew they had no use for them they still keep their trademarked characters and get someone else to develop them as simple as that plus they pocket a sh*tload of money in the process

[regiebabe]

Mac, I care. The gamecube controller is cumpftable and functions well, obviously you haven't used one, I've used them both (that guy at Dick Smith even let me play diffrent games and stuff, well me and some friends). My good friend Chris has an X-Box, he bought it so he could put MP3s on it and play DVDs MAINLY, the reason being his CD collection was stolen a while ago. So YES people don't just buy the stupid thing to play games, he hired and borrows games too though (and he HATES the controller).

One thing he mentioned was the fact thee are SIX buttons all together on the face, what are Microsoft trying to do? Mimic arcade layouts? the spacing of arcade buttons makes it possible to have six buttons like that, and if an arcade game tried to put 8 buttons together for 1 player... you'd have problems as you can imagine.

"In regards to your comments as it's validity as a DVD player, one would think that it would be purchased primarily for games as DVD players these days can be had for as cheap as $100-200."

Yes, why would someone bother paying $70 to upgrade their eks-boockz to a "dvd-player" when for $100 more they can get the real thing?

"Overall, from the tone of your article and the topic you've given this thread, it seems obvious that you have something against Microsoft."

I try to be unbiosed and give an oppinion on the matter. I do have problems with some of micrsofts buisness, but that has not effected my ability to distingish bad buisness when I see it.

mpt yes I know it was made "public" but what I said was the media didn't close in on it, if you think Nintendo selling a large portion of Rare really happened then you have more faith then me, I don't see any real evidence of this (or that Michael Jerkoff has a skin disorder that removes pigmintation from his skin). Still I could and probably am wrong on that maybe it's an area I don't fully understand yet . Still with games like Donkey Kong Racing and Perfect Dark's sequal it's very suspecious that Nintendo would sell BEFORE those games were released.

[Sauceman]

It's a matter od personal preference.
I have no issues with either X-box or GC controllers. At first i thought the XB control was a little to chunky, but after a hearty round of DOA3 as my introduction to the Xbox i didn't mind the controller at all.

Yes, why would someone bother paying $70 to upgrade their eks-boockz to a "dvd-player" when for $100 more they can get the real thing?

Let's play a game.

Which ammount is less?

$70 or $100

That's right, $70 < $100

That way, people who buy an Xbox to play games because they want to and also decide they want to use it as a DVD player can do so for less than the price of a seperate DVD player, which would also mean one more component for them to have plugged in, keeping in mind than not everyone is a home-theater buff and many people are quite happy to plug their console/dvd player straight into their TV and enjoy.

[regiebabe]

Oh I don't think you could say I'm not obsessed with Games, I've dual booted Windows XP with MS-DOS 7.1b (you know the operating system that makes Windows 98 run?) so I can play all my favorate DOS games.

That said if I pud a DVD drive into my PC am I going to say "I have a DVD player here" or "I have a DVD DRIVE here"? Personally I'm reluctant to buy a DVD drive because I don't know if it'll be multizone and as far as I'm concerned region coding can kiss my anus and go to hell.

All the same, who buys those "TV/VCR combo's"? Even though they are usually just that: a TV AND a VCR in one unit. If a console really wants to be a DVD player, then it will EQUALLY be both and have BOTH abilities (and Q is the only one that does this to my satisfaction).

Not that I'd buy Q I prefer to have a DVD player and a Gamecube, but Q would do for both if I so desired. Besides the accessories for X-Box are more expensive then for Gamecube and I hate the fact it has an inbuilt hard disk (because they fail and consoles should be long lasting). I've had GOOD hard disks fail within 4 months and I'm not stupid enough to trust them.

Regie Babe

[skitz]

slightly off topic, but whats with all the huge replies....damn....what ever happened to a simple statement or one word answer.

-skitz

[jokiin]

So is there any purpose to regiebabe's ranting, or are we just being subjected to opinionated views? If you like something, good for you, no need to rant about it.

[dvdude]

Rant rant rant rant...blah blah blah

Build a bridge :P

Be happy with your gamecube. Be happy with your PC.

Now go do some research and find out how to make a dvdrom multi-region and stop being so paranoid.....

[craptest]

Wish I owned an XBOX. That's the importanat thing at the end of the day.

You can knock the XBOX for a number of things, but criticizing the hardware would be the last place I'd start. Sure, it's not the best DVD player. But hey, neither is the PS2. Some lower end stand alone DVD players aren't too hot.

BUT IT IS a great gaming platform. Comparing all three next gen consoles I'd say Microsofts is the least hardware compromised. There's a reason its big 'n ugly and expensive to manufacture (in comparison to the Cube and PS2). You're getting the best hardware on the block.

The only people who should be complaining about the hardware direction that Microsoft took is Microsoft. They're the ones losing large amounts of cash with each unit they sell. Us gamers (you are a gamer right?) have nothing to complain about. Great hardware great price.

Rare's move was in Rare's best interests. There was no victim. If you want to blame anyone for the lost GameCube titles blame Nintendo. They sold Rare and lost those exclusive titles as a result.

[regiebabe]

CrapTest it's not how powerful the hardware is it's how you use it. Heck I'd rather have a 12MHz Arcage machne with a few cards like Super Street Fighter II then a 700MHz X-Box!

PS2 is junk, I never once said it's any better. Q on the other hand if you've bothered to look him up is both a DVD player AND a GameCube and he's both quite convincingly. Besides Nintend and Matsushita have joined forces and Matsushita is the largest consumer electronics company in the world.

[MrMacabre]

Originally posted by regiebabe
CrapTest it's not how powerful the hardware is it's how you use it. Heck I'd rather have a 12MHz Arcage machne with a few cards like Super Street Fighter II then a 700MHz X-Box!

That doesn't make your opinion the majority.

It's almost like you're trying to discount the X-Box due to lack of games.

At first I did that, then I realised that PS2 has had much longer to release games and that in time X-Box will do the same. Another thing is that whilst PS2 has oodles of games; a lot of them are crap.

And no, this is not me trying to put words in your mouth.

[HoundsOfLove]

Ok guys everyone has their own choice when it comes to consoles, lets not try and get all hot and flustered.

[regiebabe]

I hate PS2. Sony let anyone put games on it, whereas Nintendo are strict and selective. Microsoft on the other hand don't care much either. PS2 has the problem of backward-compatability, something that Sega added to their consoles and as you know it was part of their downfall.

Regie Babe

[snapper]

Originally posted by regiebabe
I hate PS2. Sony let anyone put games on it, whereas Nintendo are strict and selective. Microsoft on the other hand don't care much either. PS2 has the problem of backward-compatability, something that Sega added to their consoles and as you know it was part of their downfall.

Regie Babe

Hi,

What's wrong with letting anyone put a game on a system, everyone wins, Sony gets more games, consumers get more choice, developers get more experience, developer companies get more cash.

Sony release demo CDs and consumers can get these of off PS2 mags and test out many games before buying. There are many reviews available as well as forums to discuss all games so an informed consumer won't lose money by buying a crap game. If all this forces the consumer to do more research I am all for it. I also believe XBox do the same, do Nintendo?

I don't hear a lot of fuss about gamecube perhaps its because they don't have enough games?

Why is backward compatibility a problem? I think that was a very wise move for Sony, consumers get 2 consoles for the price of 1. Some PS1 games won't work because the developers didn't stick to spec and yes this is a problem. If anything I do beleive Sony should be more restrictrive on the developers to ensure they stick to the PS2 specs but let em release what ever they like. The more the merrier.

Having said all this I do agree with you that MS didn't play nice, but it is a war for the consumers cash and in a war your not expected to play nice. At the end of the day I beleive the consumer is getting the better end of the stick they have lots of choice.

P.S I do not own a console these are just my thoughts on the topic.

My choice is a PC yes it costs more but I use it for everything and games can move with the tech unlike consoles with an fixed set of equipment.

Thanks

[ministry]

Well i own a ps2 (for the kids) and a gamecube (imported for me). i have no intention of buying an xbox as i think it is just a pc in a box with a couple of mediocre titles. I really do think that the big n needs to step up its advertising and deals like xbox has, as it will sorely lose to a console wich i think will just churn out pc ports. I love my cube for AAA titles, resident evil 0, resident evil remake, eternal darkness, metroid fusion, super mario, rogue squadron. i really hope that the cube stays in the race, as its would be terrible to be run by two companies wich just churn out
average and shocking titles, i think macbre said that yeah they have a lot of games for ps2 and the xbox will only catch up....but tell me how many of those games are good on either console? So much crap to wade through to get to a decent game! give me nintendo any day!

[regiebabe]

Death that was the most ignorant babble I've read on the subject. Nintendo and Sega never did dirty buisness to one another.

The problem with designing a system to accept another systems' game is more complicated then you might think, Arcade Machines (for instance) are not backwards compatable with older system games. From a certain perspective you could think "but it plays more games", however the point is HOW it plays them. For a start PS2 still only had 2 controller ports with PS1 multitaps NOT being compatable. The game system to run PS2 games is pretty much the same as the PSX except that it's got a faster CPU, more ram and the Disc holds more data.

On the other hand if you compare SNES to N64 or N64 to GameCube you realaise the game system engines are compleatly diffrent and are optimised to take full advantage of the hardware available.

This is something Microsoft didn't do either, they just thought making a fast system with good specs will mean good gameplay. See Nintendo's top priority is to the consumer, whereas Microsoft's is to its image and Sony is to themselves. Nintendo designes their systems for gameplay whereas Sony and Microsoft design it to be powerful. When you actually compare an X-Box side-by-side to a GameCube you do notice things like load times which are far faster on GC. And you wonder how the hell the Eks Boockz can have a faster CPU and perform no better in any way then a GameCube.

Now why dosen't GameCube play DVDs (unless you buy Q)? The answers are:

* Q requires are bigger disc drive.
* Q requires hardware components for a DVD player including the remote sensor and abilities to function as both seperate units would even though it's combined.
* Q then requires software to read DVDs and CDs and the software that will put him into diffrent modes.
* Q requires an LCD display and some playback buttons on the unit.

I know someone who imported a GameCube Q even though he had a normal GC and a PS2. He's that fool I told you about who works at Dick Smith!!

[snapper]

Originally posted by regiebabe
Death that was the most ignorant babble I've read on the subject. Nintendo and Sega never did dirty buisness to one another.

The problem with designing a system to accept another systems' game is more complicated then you might think

Nintendo and Sega may not have. I am not condoning MS tactics but in a war you must play dirty to win or you go home crying to your mummy. Sega are dead and Nintendo is next, face reality.

Backward compatibility is difficult I never said it was easy.

Sony can and did provide backward compatibility in the form a PS1 chip added to the PS2 hardware, it is that chip that handles PS1 games.

What backward compatibility can Nintendo offer? NONE, all I said was I thought it was a good move. Sony still have a good crack at this and I hope they release a decent PS3 before XBox2 to keep MS off thier ass.

MS could have offered PC game support on the XBox since internally it still runs Windows. This would not be an easy thing to do as the OS is a stripped down version. Who knows maybe they will do it for XBox2 maybe not.

I am not that well read on this topic but I do have eyes and ears and I can see the death of Nintendo just around the corner.

thanks

[Scott.H.]

Actually x box dvd remotes are 39 bucks at k mart after chrissy.

But ill weigh in here and say that xbox sells itself first as a gameing console and second as a dvd player.

I tried all 3 consoles before finally buying one and xbox won it for me.Yes gamecube has certain titles availabe that are not available on the others but i am still alive and enjoying my x box without them.
I have a dvd remote but have never used it,will be getting it chipped soon so i can watch r1s on it at some later stage.

As for load times well once i stick a bigger hd in my xbox and load the games to hd then i will be saying what load times?

[snapper]

Originally posted by Scott.H.

As for load times well once i stick a bigger hd in my xbox and load the games to hd then i will be saying what load times?

I didn't realize you could copy entire games to the HDD. If this is the case why isn't 8GB enough? Should be able to store 5 games at least.

thanks