UE3 is a valuable asset to a console if it is exclusive to that console.
The benefits of making it exclusive far outweigh the profits from letting anyone license it.
It's only valuable because a lot of people a using it...
Of course a free UE3 would be a huge boost to the XNA Initiative.
People a always willing to believe that MS is about to swallow up whatever game company is currently "hot" (at the time of Doom3 it was id, then for a while it was Bioware, now its Epic).
However, most of the studios MS bought had financial troubles. Microsoft doesn't doesn't seem to buy studios when they are at their peak, but rather when they are at their low (and probably much cheeper).
The benefits of making it exclusive far outweigh the profits from letting anyone license it.
No they don't. It only matters in whatever fantasy world people who believe that "being in 1st place" is the driving factor being game production live in. Owning the engine which the majority of games out there use, on your console AND on other consoles, is like having your cake and eating it too.
Its not.
Its like having your cake, slicing it in half and giving the other half to your main competitor.
Why not just keep the whole juicy moist cake for yourself?
why keep the whole cake when you can make shit ton of money by selling a piece of the cake?
UE3 is a valuable asset to a console if it is exclusive to that console.
The benefits of making it exclusive far outweigh the profits from letting anyone license it.
It's only valuable because a lot of people a using it...
Of course a free UE3 would be a huge boost to the XNA Initiative.
People a always willing to believe that MS is about to swallow up whatever game company is currently "hot" (at the time of Doom3 it was id, then for a while it was Bioware, now its Epic).
However, most of the studios MS bought had financial troubles. Microsoft doesn't doesn't seem to buy studios when they are at their peak, but rather when they are at their low (and probably much cheeper).
Microsoft to buy Sony confirmed.
I jest.
In the future people will colonize alien worlds and everyone will work for the Microsoft-Sony Corporation.
Axen on
A Capellan's favorite sheath for any blade is your back.
The benefits of making it exclusive far outweigh the profits from letting anyone license it.
No they don't. It only matters in whatever fantasy world people who believe that "being in 1st place" is the driving factor being game production live in. Owning the engine which the majority of games out there use, on your console AND on other consoles, is like having your cake and eating it too.
Its not.
Its like having your cake, slicing it in half and giving the other half to your main competitor.
Why not just keep the whole juicy moist cake for yourself?
why keep the whole cake when you can make shit ton of money by selling a piece of the cake?
because there are 20 million gamers out there who want to buy a console that has cake.
think of it as a cake box.
if your cake box is bigger than the other guys cake box, and you have the cake inside TOO, then you make even more money.
especially when cake boxes sell 5 million at $60 every month for 6 years whereas slices of cake go for 250k once per 6 months.
That reminds me of an Esquire article posted a week or two ago...
Why Microsoft Should Buy Sony Instead
Yahoo!'s a nice thought and all, but if Mister Softie wants to firm up its videogame operation, it needs to make a different acquisition.
By Scott Stein
For decades, bigger was always better in the world of videogames. Nintendo's eight-bit NES replaced Atari's crude 2600. Then Sega's sixteen-bit Genesis took over where the NES left off. Eventually Sony's PlayStation came along and surpassed those. Better processors and better technology made for better graphics, which was virtually the only basis by which gamers bought consoles.
But as Microsoft and Sony are learning, bigger no longer means better. While their Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 both offer incredibly detailed graphics, their opponent, the Nintendo Wii, has been sold out of stores for two years straight, despite the fact its innards are only slightly better than its predecessor, the overlooked Nintendo GameCube.
Why is the Wii so popular? Anyone who owns one will tell you the same story: A friend will come over, notice videogames, and ask to play something "fun." Inevitably, the host will fire up the Wii, because it has more two-player games. Because its controls are easy to understand. Because its controls work well. And because every single game isn’t a hyper complicated shooter that requires months of mastery to learn. (And, let's not forget: The Wii is cheaper by about fifty bucks, at least.)
We’re now on the verge of a recession, and Sony and Microsoft are in trouble. Games are luxuries. Nobody “needs†them. Nor does anyone need such hi-tech features as the Blu-Ray, HDMI compatibility Sony’s pushing. But there is a solution to Sony and Microsoft’s woes: they should join forces to make one system, for less money. Yes, I’m dreaming big. With this whole Yahoo! merger in play, it will never happen. But both companies have invested too much in video games, and they want to win. So I ask, in case either will listen: why two nearly identical multimedia future-machines? Why not join up and make only one?
A few compelling reasons to do so:
1. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has the most atrocious hardware in consumer electronics history. It's so bad, the company had to extend 360 warranties to three years, spending a billion dollars in the process, just to fix systems that keep breaking on a whim. I’ve had four systems break in only three years. They’re becoming known as a lemon-maker with great games. Meanwhile, Sony makes great hardware but...
2. Sony has the worst software interface in the business. Compared to the Wii, Sony's online friend management and gameplay are an utter mystery, requiring endless navigation of its Byzantine menu structure. Sure, buried inside the PS3 are plenty of amazing “potential technology†features -- like the ability to install Linux, or its wireless connectivity with the PSP -- but who cares? No one needs these features to play games. Even worse, developers can't seem to make games for the PS3, while the 360’s development toolkit is a relative stroll in the park.
3. Cost-cutting. The PS3 still costs more to make than it does on store shelves, which has led to $841 million operating loss for Sony’s games division as of the end of October 2007. Until it pulls a profit, it’s an albatross for all of Sony. Microsoft feels like it’s finally gaining ground on Sony, with a library of titles that are superior, and an online interface that is miles better -- not to mention a larger installed base of sales in the U.S -- but they blew a billion dollars to extend the faulty system’s warranty to three years. Splitting the cost on a next-gen system might be a wise idea.
4. Big in Japan (kinda). Nintendo dominates in Asia, but at least the PS3 sold nearly two million systems... as opposed to the 360, which has yet to break a million units in Asia after three years on the market. Sony can help Microsoft understand that whole “Asia†thing a lot better. The world gaming market is growing to China, Korea, India -- places where Sony still has clout.
5. And now, for the biggest reason of all: maybe, with two brains put together, they can help each other learn what “fun†means.
Ten years from now, Sony will still have hardware engineering expertise on its side. Microsoft will understand software. But making all-in-one media systems isn’t where the money is, because in ten years, everything will be doing that already. Every PC can connect to a TV, or even replace a TV -- with YouTube, streaming video, downloaded rentals, and plenty of games. The Xbox 720, the PS4 -- they’ll be just like your computer. What Sony and Microsoft can’t buy, though, is innovation.
By working so hard to add everything from the ability to play friends online to store your entire music collection, Sony and Microsoft forget the main point of the videogame system: To play videogames! Interfaces like the one the Wii has developed don’t come easily, and when successful, like the iPod, they can dominate for a decade or more. Everything plays games now. Cell phones, laptops, iPods -- and in ten years, your mobile phone will play pretty damn good games. Nintendo’s edge isn’t games -- it’s the fun factor, the unique experience. And it only needs to bump up its graphics to corner the market completely. The Wii’s unique controller, simple games, and easy-to-use feel, those are locked in. If the next Wii decides to become a true HD system, where will that leave Sony and Microsoft then?
Developers go where the money is. Nintendo’s Wii and DS platforms were the top two selling game systems in the country in 2007. That’s what matters to the third-party companies that make most of the games -- not graphics. The biggest market will win. As of this writing, that would be Microsoft, with 9.15 million U.S. consoles sold. Second place in the U.S. is Nintendo, with 7.38 million. But not for long. Nintendo outsold Microsoft handily in 2007, and Microsoft’s reputation for making systems that break is growing daily. Worldwide, Nintendo dominates with 20.64 million systems, ahead of the 360’s 16.71 million. And they did it in less time.
Nintendo has the finger on the mainstream. And with upcoming games like Wii Fit, they’ve understood that many people like the idea of getting off their asses and being active. They’re the party company, while Sony and Microsoft are selling hard-core gamers hard-core online experiences that require HDTVs for maximum appreciation -- HDTVs that most of the U.S. population still do not own, despite Best Buy ad campaigns suggesting the contrary.
I pray Sony and Micrsoft will figure it out. Right now, I mainly use one (the PS3) as a DVD player, and the other (the Xbox 360) as a paperweight until it gets fixed. Meanwhile, the Wii gives me a reason to throw parties, instead of being antisocial. Who cares about going online in tournaments, when all anyone really wants to do is have some friends over and play games, like they did when they were seven?
I’m sick and tired of trying to decide which game system is “the best.†And I’m even more sick of having my consoles break on me, going through system updates that take forever…the industry needs an Apple-style simplification, and Nintendo’s onto it.
It’s not too late to catch up, Sony and Microsoft. But time’s ticking.
You heard him, Microsoft should buy out one of the largest conglomerates on the planet so they can fix what's wrong with the Xbox 360. Sony BMG? Sony Pictures? Sony Electronics? Throw that shit in a bin, right?
The benefits of making it exclusive far outweigh the profits from letting anyone license it.
No they don't. It only matters in whatever fantasy world people who believe that "being in 1st place" is the driving factor being game production live in. Owning the engine which the majority of games out there use, on your console AND on other consoles, is like having your cake and eating it too.
Its not.
Its like having your cake, slicing it in half and giving the other half to your main competitor.
Why not just keep the whole juicy moist cake for yourself?
why keep the whole cake when you can make shit ton of money by selling a piece of the cake?
because there are 20 million gamers out there who want to buy a console that has cake.
think of it as a cake box.
if your cake box is bigger than the other guys cake box, and you have the cake inside TOO, then you make even more money.
especially when cake boxes sell 5 million at $60 every month for 6 years whereas slices of cake go for 250k once per 6 months.
erm... im hungry.
The cake is a li....... ah fucking shit, that Portal meme is worn the fuck out.
Is this rumour going to show up in the April issue of GamePro?
Just asking.
If it is an april fools joke, it's kinda lame. You're supposed to get people to believe far-fetched stuff... MS offering to buy another company for a bunch of dollars isn't far fetched by any stretch of the imagination.
if its plausible, people get pissed off when it turns out to be a 'joke'.
to avoid this scenario you have to make up stupid shit like nintendo to buy scotland in five years or some shit and everyone hates the magazine for lazy jokes.
I’ll tell you what happens in Demon’s Souls when you die. You come back as a ghost with your health capped at half. And when you keep on dying, the alignment of the world turns black and the enemies get harder. That’s right, when you fail in this game, it gets harder. Why? Because fuck you is why.
KageraImitating the worst people. Since 2004Registered Userregular
edited February 2008
Oh yeah let's not forget Epic and MS had a little spat when Epic wanted to give free DLC over XBox Live but MS was like 'fuck your shit' and made them charge for it.
The trick is to get a balance between plausible and unlikely.
MS to buy Epic? Way too plausible.
MS to buy Epic to have them make Halo 4? Now that's a less plausible, but still believable. Throw up a fake screenshot and you're good to go.
'course April Fools is a piece of shit and everyone will be expecting a trick that day anyway, so it's a waste of time.
The best April Fools jokes reveal themselves over the article. Starting with a somewhat plausible idea and driving it into silly town. The articles where most readers, by the end, will have understood it's a joke.
I recall a fake aonuma interview last year on thehylia.net, posted days before april fools, with nothing within to indicate it was a joke. It was just mean spirited and got peoples hopes up for no reason.
There is nothing substantial on the rumor nets to verify this claim. Gamepro? Ya, Bullshit unless other supporting evidence is located.
I'm not going to outright call it bullshit until this week is over. Or perhaps just after Wednesday. But yeah, because it's from Gamepro, I'm not expecting much, if anything, to pan out from this.
I have not seen the actual GamePro article but if they're going to make predictions about us selling Epic we would prefer if they started at $2 billion. Because we don't want anyone thinking that we're cheap.
I have not seen the actual GamePro article but if they're going to make predictions about us selling Epic we would prefer if they started at $2 billion. Because we don't want anyone thinking that we're cheap.
Mmmhmm girlfren', you tell that no-good scrub you ain't no cheap ho.
Posts
Microsoft to buy Sony confirmed.
why keep the whole cake when you can make shit ton of money by selling a piece of the cake?
PSN: super_emu
Xbox360 Gamertag: Emuchop
In the future people will colonize alien worlds and everyone will work for the Microsoft-Sony Corporation.
because there are 20 million gamers out there who want to buy a console that has cake.
think of it as a cake box.
if your cake box is bigger than the other guys cake box, and you have the cake inside TOO, then you make even more money.
especially when cake boxes sell 5 million at $60 every month for 6 years whereas slices of cake go for 250k once per 6 months.
erm... im hungry.
That reminds me of an Esquire article posted a week or two ago...
You heard him, Microsoft should buy out one of the largest conglomerates on the planet so they can fix what's wrong with the Xbox 360. Sony BMG? Sony Pictures? Sony Electronics? Throw that shit in a bin, right?
The cake is a li....... ah fucking shit, that Portal meme is worn the fuck out.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Just asking.
If it is an april fools joke, it's kinda lame. You're supposed to get people to believe far-fetched stuff... MS offering to buy another company for a bunch of dollars isn't far fetched by any stretch of the imagination.
if its plausible, people get pissed off when it turns out to be a 'joke'.
to avoid this scenario you have to make up stupid shit like nintendo to buy scotland in five years or some shit and everyone hates the magazine for lazy jokes.
MS to buy Epic? Way too plausible.
MS to buy Epic to have them make Halo 4? Now that's a less plausible, but still believable. Throw up a fake screenshot and you're good to go.
'course April Fools is a piece of shit and everyone will be expecting a trick that day anyway, so it's a waste of time.
I think GamePro makes it really obvious what part of the magazine is an April Fools joke.
Front cover to back?
I like the new thread title better.
I don't mind the new title is awesome.
Let me tell you about Demon's Souls....
I converted backwards
EDIT: no I didn't what are you talking about
It is accurate. an 800 point game costs $10.00, so a $1,000,000,000 would translate to 800,000,000 MS points
EDIT: Nevermind, K fixed it before I double-checked it.
EDIT2: No, K was right in the first place...
Also don't forget magazines have the april fools shit out in the like December edition
I never asked for this!
Also, let's not derail this thread bickering about who killed who. This is supposed to be a happy occasion!
At least they did about 8 years ago, when I last received a magazine from them.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
:insert GamePro has a LamePro section every issue, it's called the whole magazine, joke here:
So much mathfail.
800 : 10 = x : 1,000,000,000
800,000,000,000=10x
x= 80,000,000,000
80 billion MS points.
Haha owned.
The best April Fools jokes reveal themselves over the article. Starting with a somewhat plausible idea and driving it into silly town. The articles where most readers, by the end, will have understood it's a joke.
I recall a fake aonuma interview last year on thehylia.net, posted days before april fools, with nothing within to indicate it was a joke. It was just mean spirited and got peoples hopes up for no reason.
Wow.. yeah, I fail...
PSN: Infinity_Prime
Exactly Five. Which is right when Nintendo is in line to be DOOOOMED.
I'm not going to outright call it bullshit until this week is over. Or perhaps just after Wednesday. But yeah, because it's from Gamepro, I'm not expecting much, if anything, to pan out from this.
hahaha, I'd rather have Jazz the Jackrabbit 3
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Mmmhmm girlfren', you tell that no-good scrub you ain't no cheap ho.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
Well. At least not your own cock.