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  • Dec 9th, 2009 @ 10:53am

    Re: Re: So the truth comes out!

    But think of the children!
  • Dec 4th, 2009 @ 2:46pm

    Re:

    They're temporary bans, people... it's not that big of a deal and it sends a solid message to the affected players. Personally I think Infinity Ward should be handling these bans, not Microsoft... but that might be a limitation with the LIVE platform. I haven't heard of players being banned on a game-by-game basis.

    That said, the gamers who play the MW2 legitimately are going to want some semblance of justice, and they get it.

    Now if only Microsoft would ban the little homophobic racists that squawk into the mic... then we'd be in business.
  • Oct 23rd, 2009 @ 2:57pm

    Microsoft does have a stated reason

    Microsoft actually has a reason for doing this (sorta). Your gamertag (profile) has achievements associated with it... markers pointing out accomplishments within games. By using some of these third party products, it was possible to install your profile onto an SD card, and in turn modify that profile on your computer. Why do this? Well... you can adjust your profile to say you've gotten difficult achievements without actually doing it. (e.g.: the 10,000 kill "Seriously..." achievement in Gears of War)

    Why do that? Well... you'd have to ask a cheater or someone who really cares about their gamer score.

    All that said, the real reason they're doing this is to make you buy their over-priced proprietary memory unit.
  • Oct 15th, 2009 @ 11:43am

    Re:

    Funny thing is setting your phone to silent still works *shrugs*
  • Oct 15th, 2009 @ 11:42am

    Re:

    I don't know... personally I think it'd be hilarious to watch a Ford Focus go bye with a screeching Tie Fighter sound.

    George Lucas would make a killing licensing "Star Wars Car FX"
  • Aug 27th, 2009 @ 8:32am

    Re: Re: Re:

    Exactly!
  • Jul 31st, 2009 @ 8:39am

    Re:

    Bingo. This is my problem with games going "all digital." If I can't resell it and recoup some of that cost, and the price is the same, what possible incentive do I have to buy the download version instead of a disk version?

    And you know, as Rekrul pointed out, the game prices will not be dropped to reflect this change in distribution method and taking away the used game sale.

    If Microsoft/Sony started selling 360/PS3 games as digital download in competition with brick and mortar stores, Gamestop and the like will have a huge hissy fit. Imagine, if you will, that Microsoft offers Madden 11 as a digital download for $40 while the disk version costs $60. Just imagine the fallout from the game stores. Honestly though... it kinda needs to happen.

    Maybe the track they should be taking is to offer older games as a digital download at prices comparable to the used games. I can drive down to Gamestop and buy Just Cause for $10. Why not offer it up as a download for 800 Microsoft Points?
  • Jul 30th, 2009 @ 10:35am

    Yeah good idea

    When are these guys going to learn? If you start a national campaign against file sharing, guess what's going to happen... you're going to draw even MORE attention to file sharing! Let them start a national "education" campaign... heck, let the RIAA run it for all I care.

    "File Sharing is WRONG! It's illegal and we'll come down on you hard if you do it! And we all know how easy it is... I mean how hard is it to go to lime wire's website, follow the easy installer, create an account, search for your favorite music and download it at no cost?"
  • Jul 23rd, 2009 @ 1:06pm

    Re:

    Only if you video tape it with a pinhole camera
  • Jul 16th, 2009 @ 10:34am

    Re: On the flip side...

    Wait until inflation gives us a massive reality smack down. The future isn't as far away as you think ;)
  • Jul 15th, 2009 @ 3:01pm

    Re:

    You can also go old school on it... Winamp has iPod support these days.
  • Jul 9th, 2009 @ 1:00pm

    Re:

    That's a solid plan and I endorse it, so long as we get flying cars.
  • Jul 9th, 2009 @ 12:59pm

    Re: Okay

    Oh please... most officers I've interacted with forgot the "to protect and to server" thing looooooooong ago.
  • Jul 7th, 2009 @ 7:18am

    Re: The new business model

    On what grounds? Being beaten by a competitor doesn't mean there's an "unfair business advantage." The closest we're getting in this regard is the patent lawsuits, but the FSF and Microsoft butted heads about that a while back and it ended up being a sort of Cold War patent threat standoff (since both sides have impressive patent portfolios).
  • Jul 6th, 2009 @ 4:02pm

    Re: i'll probably never understand the mentality...

    Just to play devils advocate on that...

    If the museum is not run by Pez then they're free to do what they want. The affiliation is there by brand, but not by actual legal ties. So what if a scenario plays out where the Pez museum decides to start putting unofficial Pez-like stuff in there? Especially if it's offensive in nature (just to go ahead and Godwin my own argument, a Hitler pez dispenser). They'd end up having to take the sort of legal action they're taking now, but the "brand damage" would have already been done.
  • Jul 6th, 2009 @ 3:26pm

    Re: Immersion factor

    Not a bad point. I'd wager there's a bit more of an understanding with interrupting TV (on the half hour) than video games (by save point) that'll be an ease of conflict thing. It's a lot easier for a parent to know the kid's "show" and tell them to get away from the TV knowing the schedule.

    Honestly what parents should be doing with this is setting time limits and having those limits be hardlined. As in, daddy's going to turn the Wii off at 7:30pm and if you didn't budget your time right to hit a save point that's tough.

    A friend of mine with a couple younglings doesn't allow TV or video games at all from Sunday at 8pm until Friday when they get home from school. Computer usage for school work is naturally exempt. That might be a little draconian for a teenager, but before that the little squirt should just succumb to your rule ;)
  • Jul 6th, 2009 @ 9:22am

    Re: Cuban is spot on

    Mark? Is that you? Well "AC" you made the exact same point that Mark made without even coming close to refuting the point of this blog post.

    Here... let me sum it up for you in a slightly more bite sized portion (maybe you can tweet it):

    1. Just because your service is offered for free does not mean you shouldn't try and make money from some other aspect.

    2. The idea that someone will come along and do what you do better and put you out of business is not new, nor unique to free based business models.

    Twitter and Facebook are good examples of businesses failing to monetize. However, Google is a big ol' example against your point. And if you want to stick to your news aggregation example, I'm fairly certain Fark turns a profit by offering a "premium" membership over the top of the free one.

    If you're going to come in here and refute a point by saying Mark Cuban is the man, at least TRY and address the points made in the blog post.
  • Jul 6th, 2009 @ 9:10am

    Re: The problem with free.

    You set up a straw man and failed to knock it down. I'm impressed, I really am.

    If I'm using a free service like GMail and something better comes along (HMail or whatever) and it is also free then I may switch if the benefit is there. The inertia against is, of course, having to move all my contacts learn a new service etc.

    If, in this example, HMail costs me $5 a month then the fee is added to the inertia against switching.

    Even if you flip that scenario back to your example your point still doesn't hold. If FMail costs $5 a month and I'm using it, and GMail comes along which is free and has more features, the $5 a month savings becomes a force FOR switching (not against). Don't believe me? How many people still have AOL addresses these days? Alright now forget everyone over 50. How many now?

    You're confusing automated payment systems as a way to retain customers with the desire to move to bigger and better things. I agree that having an automatic withdrawal of funds for a service makes you less likely to cancel, but I disagree that it also adds against the will do move to a new (free) service that's also better.
  • Jul 6th, 2009 @ 8:59am

    Re:

    Indeed. I don't know how closely France's system mirrors our executive/legislative/judicial branch system... but this would be a clear case of the executive branch overstepping its bounds here.

    Hopefully the judges have the power to strike this down.
  • Jul 2nd, 2009 @ 10:43am

    Re: Re: Re: But

    It's goofy actually, if you get ticketed by a redlight camera it's a citation, not a moving violation. That's how they get around the face your accuser thing. Running a red light and getting caught by a cop is akin to a speeding ticket... whereas running a red light and getting caught by a camera is more like a parking ticket.

    Stupid crap, eh?

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