I will say, the vita is a lot more solidly built and responsive than most any smartphone I've touched, and it obviously has nice hard controls (the proper analog sticks in particular are the draw here). Even the touchscreen is much nicer than any smartphone I've seen.

But, you are probably right in the unfortunate reality that most will not care enough to buy a new device to gain these things, which is why, again, software must exist as a differentiator or there is no reason for most to want a vita.

Also, on the pricing line - they've been pricing the games surprisingly low, compared to what they had been charging, but still high enough that it will have trouble competing with smartphones on that end. Though it seems few smartphone users are willing to pay for games at all, so it may end up being irrlevant anyway. The vita also has a few free (and at least one freemium) games already, so if that trend continues it may compete on that front, but weather it will really matter is a different question.

I guess in the end, I wish someone that wasn't sony would make a nice piece of hardware like this, with software that actually works decently well.

I have a vita. I like it a lot. It's a very solid piece of hardware, lots of interesting features.

However, it'll have to be a decent bit cheaper and have a lot more interesting games to bring in too many outside of the core fan gamer crowd and jrpg fans. As is, it has few interesting games that aren't just portable versions of existing franchises. It has gravity rush, which is a great game, but it'll need something with a bit more exposure to pull people in.

So developers are wary of making games for a console that doesn't have too many owners, that's not too surprising.

With the slowly churning unrest in lower classes these days, it seems quite possible that it will end up going somewhere.

It's too bad it's unlikely that a revolution could come of it, in the us at least. It's equally too bad that I would probably disagree with whomever would end up in charge, were that to happen.

It seems that often these days there are fewer and fewer single-console multiplayer games. Though, in theory I agree with you.

I play a lot of PC and console games, and they each have their merits.

Honestly, I think talking about keyboards vs controllers is a bit of a red herring, since for the most part the PC gamer cares more about the mouse. For example, I use a logitech G13 for a lot of games, since it's a bit more comfortable and effective than a normal keyboard, if similar. And I would probably be fine with a wide variety of devices with buttons on them for similar uses, assuming they were adequately comfortable and responsive. It's just buttons. The debate here is weather the mouse is more accurate/effective than a single-thumb analog joystick. I, like most PC gamers, would argue that a mouse is more effective for a variety of reasons. And I use a trackball. Heck, replace the joysticks on a controller with trackballs and you would make my day. Joysticks are just too finicky.

It would be interesting if this could be leveraged to enable boycotting of games that are slated to use nasty drm or are made by less liked companies. I doubt it would end up seriously happening, but it would be interesting to see how things go, if all games go through this for initial approval. The vocal people tend to be those with strong opinions, after all.

It also occurs to me that it is quite possible for some form of neural input could potentially supersede the keyboard within this timeframe, though it would still likely be comparatively primitive.

I can't help but think that most people are looking at this the wrong way. I definitely think that the classic pc form factor will be around for a while yet, though it will likely become more niche with time. There are jobs that will need the raw computing power of the desktop for some time yet, there is no doubt there. But I definitely think that over time form factors will get smaller, and eventually, surely within the next 20-50 years, you will generally have enough computing power to do whatever is needed in a device that sits in your pocket. Will all desktop-style input and output devices go away? probably not, at least not the keyboard. Though it may change drastically.

It seems likely that monitors will be superseded in large part by high-resolution ar glasses, once they become practical. Why have a physical monitor when you can have as many virtual ones floating in front of you? I think that they may persist for design if color accuracy and etc in glasses lags, but past that there seems little reason for them to.

I think all of this will take a bit longer than people think, but it is a definite eventuality. I just don't think we'll be going all-mobile with today's technology just yet.

I've used iGoogle for years as my base place for reading news and checking up on things when i get to my computer, and always keep it open as my first browser tab..

Does anyone have any good suggestions for a replacement? I have a good while to find one so I suppose I might even be able to write one by then, but might as well see what exists already.

I meant more in general, though in this case that seems appropriate as well.

This. Punishment should scale so it doesn't just become a slap on the wrist.

Wrong isn't quite the word to use there. None of their damn business though, definitely. It's not law enforcement's job to know what the law should be, but to know what it is and ensure it is executed.

Well, there are already vocaloids. They were originally intended just for vocal synth, but they've basically become popular in their own right.

As a designer, i recognize the importance of being pixel perfect (it can matter quite a bit in the flow of something), however, most of it just depends on avoiding aliasing and keeping certain things consistent. It is completely possible with some simple rendering/rounding rules and the like to make a vector interface that knows how to stay pixel-perfect in most use cases. People are just too lazy to implement it.

This. This is what so many people seem to miss when discussing piracy. Most people can agree that it's not the thing itself it's evil, it's the implementation and enforcement. And that's what's being abused. It's no about weather it's theft. It's not about how okay it is, it's about what's in the public's interest.