Rumors of Xbox 360 launch games

what content needs to be downloaded thats not somerthing to be sold?

hard drives barely benefit the consumer

Originally posted by mm
what content needs to be downloaded thats not somerthing to be sold?

You, being a PC gamer, don\'t need to be told this.  Episodic content, expansion packs, etc.  Not to mention customizing the games that MS has been talking about, and the microtransactions that both Sony and MS have now confirmed to be part of their plans.

This is where games are headed, they are changing.

hard drives barely benefit the consumer

I\'ll just mention the Hurricane Packs for Ninja Gaiden and the upcoming 9 new multiplayer maps being released for Halo 2.  HD required.

Originally posted by Rikku
You, being a PC gamer, don\'t need to be told this.  Episodic content, expansion packs, etc.  Not to mention customizing the games that MS has been talking about, and the microtransactions that both Sony and MS have now confirmed to be part of their plans.

This is where games are headed, they are changing.

 

I\'ll just mention the Hurricane Packs for Ninja Gaiden and the upcoming 9 new multiplayer maps being released for Halo 2.  HD required.

all something to be sold, that can be in media form

Originally posted by mm
all something to be sold, that can be in media form

It\'s going to be sold then downloaded.  

As transferable data capabilities increase you\'ll see more and more media being distributed online.  Episodic content, expansion packs, etc.  We already have music being distributed online, in the coming years it will be the same with movies and entire games. (Half-Life 2 anyone?)  

Why go through the mess of having to get the content on a selected medium, package it, market it, and sell it in different venues when you could do it all in one place?  Online.

So we\'ve established why the online component is necessary.  The HD component is simple enough, but I\'ll go ahead and spell it out for you.  When you download something you need a place to store it.  

You probably don\'t like it, but keep in mind that\'s entirely irrelevant.

EDIT: The Hurricane Packs and the expansion pack for Halo 2 would not be possible without the HD.  THe Halo 2 expansion pack is giving people the option to download it or buy it on a disc.

so how does this benefit the gamer above the company?

the hard drive is not needed when all this extra crap (and thats normally what it is) can be distributed on media.

what happens when the hard drive crashes?  restore from media?  wait....oh noes!

and please don\'t compare consoles to PC\'s.
i\'ve been thru the PC > console argument too many times

Originally posted by Rikku
I\'m not pointing the finger, just making an arguement.

But, since you mentioned it...

Why shouldn\'t we blame Sony for the HDD\'s failure?  They were the ones who released it with such little support behind it.  If they couldn\'t get the developers behind it then it\'s common sense that it wouldn\'t last for too long.

Ahm....MS didnt do anything about XBOX\'s HD either.It just came with a HD.And the only major game that exploited certain HD possibilities was Molyneux\'s RPG.

Originally posted by Unicron!
Ahm....MS didnt do anything about XBOX\'s HD either.It just came with a HD.And the only major game that exploited certain HD possibilities was Molyneux\'s RPG.

Xbox Live is the reason.  Microsoft\'s plan from the beginning was to offer an online service for Xbox gamers, one function of which was to offer downloadable content.  Now, you don\'t go and try to sell the service of downloadable content unless you have the storage for it.

The HD has been used in different ways.  It\'s been used for the custom soundtrack feature found in some games, as well as a data and texture cache for others.  And, as I already mentioned, used to store the content from the Hurricane Packs for Ninja Gaiden, and will be used to store the expansion for Halo 2.

Of course, there are people who don\'t care for any of it so the online service and hard drive is completely lost on them.  I think MS is being smart selling them seperately.  Sony will do something similar, count on it.

so how does this benefit the gamer above the company?

I see two different ways of getting the same product.  In what ways does this not benefit the gamer?

the hard drive is not needed when all this extra crap (and thats normally what it is) can be distributed on media.

Call it what you want.

Where would you store the data from that extra media?  A memory card?  What happens when a number of developers start releasing extra content?  

How do you propose that Sony and MS carry out their microtransactions without an online service and HD?  

what happens when the hard drive crashes? restore from media? wait....oh noes!

You should ask Sony, MS, and Nintendo what they have in mind.  My Xbox HD has been just fine since launch, so I\'m not that worried.

and please don\'t compare consoles to PC\'s.
i\'ve been thru the PC > console argument too many times

I didn\'t compare the hardware so you can step down off that soap box.

You\'d be short sighted, and a little ignorant, to think that we are not heading into downloadable content.  As I said, it\'s already happened with music, and with an entire game, and soon it will happen with movies.  

Will it replace mediums like DVD, Blu-Ray, or what have you? No, at least not for a long time.  But if you\'re going to have downloadable content (or extra), and it seems we will, then you need a place to store it.

ugh, your quoting makes my eyes bleed
this aint the IGN forums, bro

and you\'re being naive if you think "downloadable content" is a win for the gamer.  
we\'ll see when you are being nickel\'d and dime\'d to death

why not go as far as to have the games on dvd-rw\'s then?

Originally posted by mm
ugh, your quoting makes my eyes bleed
this aint the IGN forums, bro

Sorry, I won\'t bold them any more.

and you\'re being naive if you don\'t think "downloadable content" is a win for the gamer.  
we\'ll see when you are being nickel\'d and dime\'d to death

That poses a problem, but it also remains to be seen whether we\'ll be taken advantage of or not.  I say if the developers abuse us then they\'ll have a hard time selling their product, and the whole thing will go bust.  I think most developers will be good about it, giving away some freebies, and then charging us for bigger content.

Take Bungie\'s Halo 2 for example.  You can download two maps for free I believe, then you must purchase the remaining seven.  Or you can wait until August or September to download them for free.  I\'m okay with that, but being the tight ass that I am I\'d wait for it to be free.

As for downloading entire games, movies, etc.  Bring it.

why not go as far as to have the games on dvd-rw\'s then?

That\'s a great solution for adding game content to existing games, however it doesn\'t solve the storage dilemma for soundtracks, customizable content downloaded from your PC (J. Allard said it, don\'t ask), and handling microtransactions of many games at a time.

[Living-In-Clip]

Originally posted by mm
can\'t blame sony for that

Yes you can. It was their dumbass launch of the add-on that killed support.

noone really launches an addon (well, aside from sega and look where they are)

the HD is out there for purchase, it\'s just not needed

[Living-In-Clip]

It was an add-on. It was released. It was launched, for goodness sakes. You can try and wiggle out of this all you want, but te add-on was pointless and delayed constantly by Sony because of that reason.

wiggle?

sony felt the hard drive wasn\'t necesarry (like i do)

[Living-In-Clip]

If they did not feel it was necesarry , they would of never launched it. They only came up with a HD to counter act MS\'s move on including a HD. I remember this discussion years ago and I was right then, the add-on was a complete failure. Back peddle, wiggle, do whatever you want. Sony released the HD. They released a complete failure.

i really hate to break this to you, but you have never been "right"

define "failure"

as in xbox "never make 1$ of profit till ovcer 4 years after launch"

or do you mean as in "dreamcast" failure.

perhaps "LIC\'s attempt at wit, and creative insults" type failure.

i  doubt the HD lost sony any money at all, and it was Square who was pushing for the HD and not the user.  does everquest online adventures need the HD?