Angry Joe's interview with Major Nelson

[Headdrivehardscrew]

I started out hating Joe back in the day... now I feel nothing but respect for him.

Mostly, he just annoys me.

Aye, he's not beyond annoying me every once in a while, but he's pretty damn consistent in his delivery and he shows dedication as well as some surprising wits.

Also, witnessing him turn from an XBOX fanboy to a PS4 aficionado has something... wickedly satisfactory to it. But that's just my naughty bear me.

I honestly think he's matured into a force to be reckoned with.

 

[Silly Hats]

Though, I'm 100% about appreciating well thought out ideas, applications and technologies. There has been a huge emphasis on getting people to appreciate the console because it utilizes the Cloud and has a Family package almost like they're beating it in the consumers heads with a mallet. I get it, it does that though it certainly isn't a console seller.

All in all, I am completely neutral about this entire Console debate and I am not/wasn't going to purchase one anytime soon. The most fascinating thing to me is the whole social reaction to the console warfare and I'm not sure how I feel about it. I feel like this entire situation is just two companies dangling a carrot over the entire gaming culture. It could just be a pseudo primeval urge to 'Stick It to the man' but I feel like I should try to avoid this sort of thing. Practically every gamer is just vicariously monitoring this unfold looking at anything to be outraged at.

Don't get me wrong, it's shit but surely everyone knows this now.

 

[J Tyran]

Reselling games has never been a consumer "right" its just been a thing consumers did.

First Sale Doctrine disagrees.

US Law is in the United States, plus it doesn't apply as you do not buy a game. You bought a license for some software and "signed" an agreement about how that software can be used.

This whole used games mess would never have gotten started either if these companies hadn't started talking customers into buying a used copy of a game instead of buying a new one. Publishers where never really happy about used games but its business practices like that which have forced the issue.

You're arguing unprovable points to try and make retailers look evil because....Why, exactly? Just admit it, other industries have tried to crack down as well, without an analogue to Gamestop. There's no mystery here: corporations want more money and when they run out of ways to maximise profit internally they will look to external sources.

Simple. Elegant. Honest.

I notice you avoided mentioning the pre order bonuses, I like how you dont try to deny it either. The aggresive marketing of used games over new has been pretty well documented, its not been proven by a large sample size of stores being randomly chosen and then carefully recording which games they try to sell you but its still well documented. Not publicly anyway, the publishers might have done it.

Your best argument is that "others do it so the damage the retailers are causing doesnt exist", erm OK.

 

[the_green_dragon]

Come on, don't play dumb. He was talking about a situation where your son is on the other side of the country, can you give him your disk?
I have many friends who live far from my home, different countries, different continents even. I can't give them shit.
Even a complete idiot would see the benefit from being able to share your entire library with a click of a button.

That is a great feature but the problem is that its not in a vacuum and comes packaged with all the other problems, if Microsoft added the ability to digitally "lend" a game this way to the existing 360 tomorrow it would be awesome. If the Xbone had none of the other problems and worked the same as the 360 does now with its used games and came with a feature to lend games this way it would be an awesome feature.

As it stands though the Xbone has nothing but restrictions with this feature being one of the few good things about this new semi digital future Microsoft have dreamt up.

Lending your game to a friend on the other side of the world is a good idea I must admit BUT it comes packaged with all that other crap.

 

[Bertylicious]

Wait, wait, wait, back up, back up.

*record scratch*

His name is MAJOR Nelson? Why the hell didn't he join the army?

 

[Evil Smurf]

Major Nelson seems like an idiot, this is probably an image though because you'd have to be smart to be a spokesperson. I just don't understand or like his angle.

 

[NightmareExpress]

Wait, wait, wait, back up, back up.

*record scratch*

His name is MAJOR Nelson? Why the hell didn't he join the army?

His name is Larry Hyrb.
Major Nelson was a character from the '60s show I dream of Jeannie that he must of watched at some point and subsequently thought the name sounded cool. No different than if the character Kevin Butler (played by Jerry Lambert) was named Major Tom instead, with the reference more than likely being the David Bowie song.

So...what sounds better to ya?
Major Nelson, or Larry Hyrb?

 

[Something Amyss]

US Law is in the United States, plus it doesn't apply as you do not buy a game. You bought a license for some software and "signed" an agreement about how that software can be used.

Yes, it's a US law. And European countries even go so far as to offer the right to digital resale. Are you really going to try and play the jurisdiction game to pretend you have some semblence of validity here?

Further, if companies want to be software and service providers, they need to stop playing it both ways. I think that's why they (and you) fear Gamestop so much. They know any solid decision there requires them to square off against one element or the other.

I notice you avoided mentioning the pre order bonuses, I like how you dont try to deny it either.

Well, it's a stupid point, to be fair. There have been digital deals for the same since the dawn of digital, so pretending this is a retail thing is ridiculous. So I didn't address it. If you really want me to stomp on this, though, incentives have been a long-standing part of commerce, something that well predates video games and is utterly pointless to bring up here.

Are you satisfied, or should I educate you some more?

The aggresive marketing of used games over new has been pretty well documented, its not been proven by a large sample size of stores being randomly chosen and then carefully recording which games they try to sell you but its still well documented. Not publicly anyway, the publishers might have done it.

Your conspiracy theories don't matter. It's either been documented or it hasn't. If it's been documented, then the evidence is readily available, which you yourself are saying is not the case as there's no public...What's the word? Oh yeah, documentation. Even in that case, it doesn't change the irrelevance of this point I already mentioned: industries pull the same thing without a Gamestop. If you an remove Gamestop from the equation and have the same results, Gamestop is not the problem.

Look, I see this confuses you, so let me give you a demonstrative example. Say you have a solution of orange juice and bleach. Drinking the solution will kill you. Do you complain about the orange juice, a superfluous element in the lethal cocktail, or do you just stop drinking bleach? Right now, you're blaming the orange juice; it may have some health concerns in its own right, but it isn't the reason people get sick when they consumer Draino-Made brand fruit cleaner.

Honestly, should Gamestop die, they will find another scapegoat. Probably piracy. Piracy will magically go up by the same numbers they attributed to gamestop.

Your best argument is that "others do it so the damage the retailers are causing doesnt exist", erm OK.

Hopefully now that you've been properly educated, you will rephrase this false statement and profess the lack of understanding that led to it.

You know, that show Fappy said I should make is starting to sound good. Maybe I'll consult him on it.

 

[Something Amyss]

His name is MAJOR Nelson? Why the hell didn't he join the army?

Because they made him a private, and it got even more confusing.

Major Nelson seems like an idiot, this is probably an image though because you'd have to be smart to be a spokesperson. I just don't understand or like his angle.

To be fair, he's one of their big PR guys (de facto, even if not in title) and has been put on the defensive by the sheer amount of "dumb" and "fail" Microsoft has dropped in his lap. I'm surprised he can form coherent sentences at this point. I'd have drunk myself into a coma by now.

His name is Larry Hyrb.
Major Nelson was a character from the '60s show I dream of Jeannie that he must of watched at some point and subsequently thought the name sounded cool.

Hryb. And he's acknowledged the source of his name is "I Dream of Jeannie." Apparently, he even did a tribute to the late Larry Hagman at some point. Just to clarify and all.

 

[J Tyran]

stuff

Missed the part where you "educated" me, all I see its lots of white knighting a parasitic and dying business. You didn't even get the part about European nations trying to force resale of digital games right. A law was passed and so far it has gone absolutely nowhere because its legalities are rather tenuous.

Once again we have the "others do it so it must be OK" thing, most people learn that excuse doesn't wash after primary school. As for what the hell the orange juice and bleach thing is supposed to be about...

 

[Something Amyss]

Missed the part where you "educated" me, all I see its lots of white knighting a parasitic and dying business.

I like how you misuse the term "white knighting."

I'm sorry my explanation flew over your head, but as I've explained it as simple as humanly possible, the fault appears to be yours.

Once again we have the "others do it so it must be OK" thing, most people learn that excuse doesn't wash after primary school. As for what the hell the orange juice and bleach thing is supposed to be about...

Oh dear, how on earth can you come up with something like that despite being corrected in plain English?

EDIT: You know, there's a chance people might read this and actually think I said what J Tyran is claiming. That would be unfortunate, so allow me to explain:

The argument is not "other people do it, so it's okay." The argument is "blaming Gamestop is spurious because this exact same practice exists in other industries with no Gamestop analogue." Gamestop is not responsible for the way business chooses to do business. Businesses did this before and without Gamestop and similar retailers, so blaming Gamestop is utterly ridiculous. Nowhere did I say "other people did it, so the practice is okay."

I do think that the practice is a logical extension of the shitty way game companies treat retail, but that's a different story, and it's still not saying it's okay. It's similar to saying that it's logical that a dog will bite people who abuse it routinely.

I'm sure that, despite this information, J will continue to reassert the same talking point that anyone who's actually read my explanations will know to be false, but if even one person is actually spared misinformation, then good.

 

[J Tyran]

The argument is not "other people do it, so it's okay." The argument is "blaming Gamestop is spurious because this exact same practice exists in other industries with no Gamestop analogue."

Really? This is false and you know it. Sure there are small second hand book and DVD-BD markets but as a large retail chain do they have a policy of pushing second hand products over new ones one? Nope. Do they make publishers chop out bits of their own product so they get an exclusive bit? Don't think so (might be wrong on this).

So not only are you still pumping the "other people do it, so it's okay." shtick its based on a completely false premise as well.