Comment Re:'enhancing the self-manufacture ratio.'? (Score 1) 66
Sega actually *does* outsource some of its work to the US.
Comment Re:Finally (Score 1) 509
When you play tennis for the first time, you'll get your ass handed to you also. [...] Is it the fact that you might get chewed out by some 15 year old you'll never meet?
I don't mind losing at tennis, even to a 15-year old. It's a fun game and good exercise. But if my opponent is a smart ass, smack talker, I'll take my ball and go home.
I'm a better than average FPS player (and much better at Halo than tennis
Comment Re:Exploitation (Score 1) 383
..If I write a program on a rented laptop the program is OWNED BY ME not by the rental company...
IANAL, but if you signed a contract with the rental company that said they could claim any software developed on their rented equipment, you'd be screwed.
Comment Re:Hope (Score 1) 569
But we already have term limits to solve the problem (maybe because people are already living longer? I honestly don't know). Other laws would get passed to help deal with issues as they come up.
I also wonder how much stagnation is caused by the aging process itself (our bodies and brains slowing down). Imagine the crazy ass shit you could come up with if you lived for 300 years with the body of a 20 year old...
Electronic Arts Offers $2B For Take Two 173
quanticle writes "The New York Times is reporting that EA has offered $2B for Take Two Entertainment. The effort appears to be a move to consolidate the two companies before Take Two releases the next iteration of its blockbuster franchise, Grand Theft Auto 4. Take Two has politely declined the offer."
The Future of MMOs 224
IGN has some interesting coverage of a panel at GDC 2008 that featured some of the top names in the MMO world who got together to discuss the future of the genre. "On hand were Jack Emmert of Cryptic Studios, Mark Miller of NCSoft, Min Kim of Nexon and Rob Pardo of Blizzard Entertainment. MMO newbie Ray Muzyka was also on hand to share his thoughts as BioWare moves into the MMO arena. [...] The conversation got a lot more heated when the subject of micro-transactions was introduced. This is a popular revenue model in Asia, where the games themselves are free to play but charge a premium for a variety of premium extras, from vanity items to additional content or abilities. It's a model that's working well for Korean developer Nexon but hasn't been adopted by many American developers."
Submission + - LittleBigPlanet in September (computerandvideogames.com)
Submission + - Will Wright: Wii is the Only Next-Gen Console
PhoenixOne writes: In an article that will probably piss off a lot of PS3 owners, Will Wright calls the PS3 and 360 "incremental improvement(s)".
As far as the death of PC gaming: "Every generation it's like 'the PC's dead! The PC's dead!'. But it carries on growing when consoles are flat for five years. At the moment I can get better graphics on my PC than I can on the PS3."
As far as the death of PC gaming: "Every generation it's like 'the PC's dead! The PC's dead!'. But it carries on growing when consoles are flat for five years. At the moment I can get better graphics on my PC than I can on the PS3."
Submission + - Wii-mote to come with condom.
PhoenixOne writes: Due to "safety concerns", later this month all new Wii-motes will come with Safety Jackets to reduce the risk of unsafe Wii-play.
Submission + - Sony "Home" slips to 2008
PhoenixOne writes: Sony suffers another setback with the PS3, this time it hits 'Home'.
Submission + - FASA Studio has closed its doors
PhoenixOne writes: In another chapter in its long (an often frustrating) history, FASA Studio has closed its doors.
It is my sad duty to announce that FASA Studio has officially closed its doors. Today was the official last day of employment for those of us who had not moved on to other positions within Microsoft Game Studios. While the rumors have been circulating forever, we chose to wait on an official announcement because we didn't want people's attention distracted from our last product, Shadowrun, a game we love.
Submission + - Fear and Loathing In Carlsbad.
Visceral Monkey writes: A fascinating interview with Brad McQuaid, the man behind EverQuest and the recently launched Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. Nepotism, adultery, incompetence, corruption, and evasion.
Just another day at Sigil games.
Just another day at Sigil games.
Handling Interviews After Being a Fall Guy? 140
bheer asks: "Salon's Since You Asked column is carrying an interesting question right now — what do you say in interviews after getting fired as a fall guy at your last job? Cary Tennis, who writes the column, admits he may not be the best person for this sort of question. So I thought I'd ask others what they thought about this. Software developers are sometimes able to get away blaming the business requirements/analysis process, but anyone with any experience in this business probably has had nightmares about being the fall guy and may even have a strategy or two up their sleeve. How would deal with being in such a crummy position?"
Has Cosmology Been Solved? 315
An anonymous reader writes "In 1998, Dr. Michael Turner published a famous paper titled 'Cosmology Solved? Quite Possibly!' where he outlined seven major issues cosmologists should address in the following ten years. Nine years later, he revisits the list in an interview with the Slackerpedia Galactica podcast. He summarizes progress on each issue, adds some new goals for the next ten years, and even suggests that cosmology is now more interesting than science fiction."
Sony May Try To Stop PS3 Game Resales 423
Next Generation reports on Sony's hopes that it will be able to prevent the resale of PS3 games. The article argues that it is unlikely they'll succeed in this goal. From the article: "One expert in retail law told Next-Gen.Biz, 'Sony can theoretically sell a license to play the game, but the user would have to acknowledge acceptance of the license. You've seen this when you install software on a PC. I'm not sure that the license agreement is enforceable if the licensee doesn't agree to it. Also, even if the agreement is enforceable, it's hard to preclude subsequent sale of the disc. The consumer could theoretically agree that he doesn't own the right to transfer his license, but why couldn't he sell the medium that held the license (the disc)? Sony can't enforce the agreement against a third party, as it lacks privity with the third party.'"
