What the hell is wrong with you, exactly?

[MattRooney06]

woah woah woah

you think i enjoy paying this much money to playt games????

gaming is a market that wont fail...so they jack up the price

 

[ParkourMcGhee]

I still have a sega mega and blow the dust off it every once in a while.

I have a Spectrum still works, my Master System still works is being held together by Celotape, I'm on my 7th X-box 360 and this one had to be repaired. PS3 and Wii still haven't broke once though.

I'm with the angry man, in that I just think a lot of developers take the piss these days.

And Microsoft really IS taking the piss. I don't know ONE person who has ever had a non breaking 360! I swear they just use it as a way to stop pirates.

I'm waiting till some decent consoles come out (after buying an xbox about a year before the 360 came out) - as for the PS3 it's still to expencive, and it's already decided "no actually we've changed our minds, now you CAN'T have the otheros feature".

Extra rage at consoles and developers: A console controller does have limited functions, but you could put an extra bit of effort to at least separate the controls for PC. Especially for games where "hide" and "jump into enemy fire" is exactly on the same button.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

It's fraud for a company to take money from investors and not make money through selling a product.

What exactly are you saying isn't worth it? Consoles? Console Games? All games? I'm not getting your point here.

This "must serve the shareholders at all costs" thing is bullshit when it comes down to it. I do not believe that there is any law saying that and caveat emptor applies. Companies are run that way mostly because people at the heads of the companies often have a large investment because they started it or have lots of options and are looking for a good time to cash in. At which point they offload their shares. As normal, the ordinary share holders are played for suckers.

If you are looking to invest money for yourself do not invest in companies that are driven by their stock market price. Look for companies who seem to have some corporate goal that has more to do with improving their customers lives or providing a service to society. Good luck identifying them, but if you can find them, like investing in Apple or Toyota at the right time, then you will make more money as their business is not centred around scamming ordinary investors and their customers.

 

[Cgull]

Us hardcore gamers can either get raped by EA/Actibliz/whoever and break down and buy it for 60 freaking bucks, or we can wait for a few weeks until someone gets bored of it (usually the same quality of people who buy sports games...)

I sense an attempt at trolling through broad generalisations here.

Must. Not. Rise. To. It.

No, actually I am frustrated that I as a kid and with a few pieces of ducktape could keep a console running for years,when these days they don't even INTEND to make them durable and reliable.

Minor point; if you had to keep the console running using duct tape (fair play to that by the way, doubt I'd even think of it) then it can't have been all that durable/reliable in the first place?

I do see where you're coming from though, consoles do seem to delight in finding new and interesting ways on killing themselves, I'm the only 360 owner I know that hasn't yet had the RROD happen. Yet.

As for the amount of games coming out in increments or in mildly buggered states, I've always just assumed that the majority of games released now are far more complicated than they used to be, meaning something is bound to get missed either content (hence DLC) or bug-wise.

 

[Thoric485]

Sega Mega Drive II, got it 1995. Still workin'.

 

[xyrafhoan]

I'm inclined to disagree that I'm being horribly ripped off by companies, but then again I don't own a 360 which really seems to be the target of the OP's ire. My cat frequently knocks over my Wii while I'm playing with it and 1. my discs aren't destroyed and 2. my game keeps on playing. Seems pretty durable to me. On the software side of things, games have actually gotten CHEAPER for me, as I suffered through $60 carts for N64 games, whereas I can pick up games for $20-$40 for my DS or my Wii, or I can buy incredibly good console games off of Steam, like Mass Effect for $5. And this isn't even taking into account how much it costs to produce a game with graphics that are deemed acceptable by the masses, how much harder it is to make sure there are no glitches, how much the dev kits cost, and the increased cost of marketing.

Not going to argue that pretty much everything is more fragile than what it used to be in the past, and this problem really cropped up when we started making consoles into multimedia centers. A lot of my friends had loads of problems with their early PS2s since they were doubling them as DVD players. Nintendo skipped over trying to make their consoles home theatres, and it happens to be the most durable console of the current gen. Just something to think about.

 

[manythings]

It's fraud for a company to take money from investors and not make money through selling a product.

What exactly are you saying isn't worth it? Consoles? Console Games? All games? I'm not getting your point here.

This "must serve the shareholders at all costs" thing is bullshit when it comes down to it. I do not believe that there is any law saying that and caveat emptor applies. Companies are run that way mostly because people at the heads of the companies often have a large investment because they started it or have lots of options and are looking for a good time to cash in. At which point they offload their shares. As normal, the ordinary share holders are played for suckers.

If you are looking to invest money for yourself do not invest in companies that are driven by their stock market price. Look for companies who seem to have some corporate goal that has more to do with improving their customers lives or providing a service to society. Good luck identifying them, but if you can find them, like investing in Apple or Toyota at the right time, then you will make more money as their business is not centred around scamming ordinary investors and their customers.

Caveat emptor applies when I am buying a sandwich and it isn't nice. If the sandwich puts me in the hospital caveat emptor is rejected since I was sold a product that actively harmed me. You're going to tell me if you lose 10 million dollars you are going to say "Shucks better luck next time"? Don't be ridiculous. Also it is a legal requirement to make your company as profitable as possible, that is the function of a company, to take your given good or service and make it as profitable as possible. If you don't then you are in breach of the kind of big, fat court approved requirements placed in the contracts of Executive officers in companies.

Also please don't pretend any company as big as Apple or toyota isn't out to fuck you as hard as microsoft ever did. Just don't that's naive to the point of insanity.

 

[Weaver]

The Genesis was 16 bit, not 8 bit.

 

[Miles Tormani]

The Genesis was 16 bit, not 8 bit.

Yeah. We all knew it was 16 bit because it said so right on the system. In your face. Genesis did what Nintendidn't.

 

[Weaver]

The Genesis was 16 bit, not 8 bit.

Yeah. We all knew it was 16 bit because it said so right on the system. In your face. Genesis did what Nintendidn't.

It was so Rad! Sonic was the coolest.

 

[Le_Lisra]

Well.. since I never had enough money not to buy games years after their release companies never ripped me off, so..

Patience, people, is the greatest virtue.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Caveat emptor applies when I am buying a sandwich and it isn't nice. If the sandwich puts me in the hospital caveat emptor is rejected since I was sold a product that actively harmed me. You're going to tell me if you lose 10 million dollars you are going to say "Shucks better luck next time"? Don't be ridiculous. Also it is a legal requirement to make your company as profitable as possible, that is the function of a company, to take your given good or service and make it as profitable as possible. If you don't then you are in breach of the kind of big, fat court approved requirements placed in the contracts of Executive officers in companies.

Also please don't pretend any company as big as Apple or toyota isn't out to fuck you as hard as microsoft ever did. Just don't that's naive to the point of insanity.

You can't sue people just because your investments lose value, no matter how much you have invested. I suppose you could try if you think that they have committed fraud and I don't think that deciding to improve a product is fraud. People have more incentive to commit fraud to increase the profit of the company and take a slice for themselves anyway. They can't be sued for making what looks like a bad decision in hindsight if they thought it was good for the company, not just the shareholders. How would you prove that they knew they were making bad decisions anyway?

I also didn't say that Microsoft never had any goals to improve their customers lives or serve society. Of course they balance that with a lot of competitiveness. Having that sort of goal has more synergy with competitiveness than trying not to do anything that stands out in case a rich investor sues because they lost some of their fortune.

And what do you know about the corporate culture of Toyota? I know a little because I have read a little on the subject.

 

[Miles Tormani]

The Genesis was 16 bit, not 8 bit.

Yeah. We all knew it was 16 bit because it said so right on the system. In your face. Genesis did what Nintendidn't.

It was so Rad! Sonic was the coolest.

Yeah, and then Tails one-upped him by being drawn a lot more frequently and in many more situations.

Wait, what?

 

[gl1koz3]

Communist was the last thing that came to mind. I've been thinking about ways to spread word about this. But came to conclusion most people too dumb to listen.

 

[Booze Zombie]

The companies are always trying to bone us, consumers simply wouldn't stand for stuff breaking back in the old days, though.
Now we're all "I can just send it in and get a new one", no guts.

The sturdiest thing I've got in my house is a PC, it doesn't always work, but I can fix it.

 

[manythings]

Caveat emptor applies when I am buying a sandwich and it isn't nice. If the sandwich puts me in the hospital caveat emptor is rejected since I was sold a product that actively harmed me. You're going to tell me if you lose 10 million dollars you are going to say "Shucks better luck next time"? Don't be ridiculous. Also it is a legal requirement to make your company as profitable as possible, that is the function of a company, to take your given good or service and make it as profitable as possible. If you don't then you are in breach of the kind of big, fat court approved requirements placed in the contracts of Executive officers in companies.

Also please don't pretend any company as big as Apple or toyota isn't out to fuck you as hard as microsoft ever did. Just don't that's naive to the point of insanity.

You can't sue people just because your investments lose value, no matter how much you have invested. I suppose you could try if you think that they have committed fraud and I don't think that deciding to improve a product is fraud. People have more incentive to commit fraud to increase the profit of the company and take a slice for themselves anyway. They can't be sued for making what looks like a bad decision in hindsight if they thought it was good for the company, not just the shareholders. How would you prove that they knew they were making bad decisions anyway?

I also didn't say that Microsoft never had any goals to improve their customers lives or serve society. Of course they balance that with a lot of competitiveness. Having that sort of goal has more synergy with competitiveness than trying not to do anything that stands out in case a rich investor sues because they lost some of their fortune.

And what do you know about the corporate culture of Toyota? I know a little because I have read a little on the subject.

I know it is a corporate giant and not a wish granting unicorn. Those two things have several distinct differences. Toyota does the exact same things other companies do like the risk assessment of vehicles. If the cost of getting sued over the fact that their faulty product killed you is less than the profit they made from selling that faulty product they're selling it.

A faulty investment is, by definition, a fault. I'm going to point again at that 10 million dollars. You lose 10 million dollars and gain it back but definitively devaluing your own company to the tune of ten million? Literally damaging it to the point where that money isn't coming back? You aren't going to call bullshit on that and try to get it investigated? No matter how good the intentions that is 10 million dollars.

 

[Uncreation]

...This is why I don't really play new games anymore.

Yeah, me too. They cost way to much for the crappy quality they have. It's okay though. There are still plenty of old games i have yet to play. I have been wanting to play Dark Sun, for example, for some time now.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

I know it is a corporate giant and not a wish granting unicorn. Those two things have several distinct differences. Toyota does the exact same things other companies do like the risk assessment of vehicles. If the cost of getting sued over the fact that their faulty product killed you is less than the profit they made from selling that faulty product they're selling it.

A faulty investment is, by definition, a fault. I'm going to point again at that 10 million dollars. You lose 10 million dollars and gain it back but definitively devaluing your own company to the tune of ten million? Literally damaging it to the point where that money isn't coming back? You aren't going to call bullshit on that and try to get it investigated? No matter how good the intentions that is 10 million dollars.

Toyota's mission statement is, "To sustain profitable growth by providing the best customer experience and dealer support." And by all reports that is not just bullshit to them and they think about it often. They also have a strong corporate culture of continual improvement and staff welfare. Do they always get everything right and does the share price only go up? No. Are they one of the leaders in their field? Yes.

Not sure what is going on with this ten million dollars? Someone has invested 10 million and lost it all? If that is the case then the company is probably not there any more. Not sure what sort of legal case you are going to take and if you will get any money back. If the company has poorly invested ten million dollars and the company loses value you are saying that you are going to sue? On what grounds?

 

[Tsunimo]

I have a N64 that is missing its power button and has had coffee spilled on it...
Still works great

 

[Racthoh]

I've gone through two monitors in the past three years, one died after 10 months the other after about 2.5 years. It's been away being serviced as it was still under warranty for two weeks now and I fear I may never get it back since a) the first time I spoke with the service rep on the phone they didn't send me the shipping label and b) they delivered my LCD monitor to their camera department (who assured us when we called them that they do not do anything with monitors).

So there's that. Then there's also the fact that I have more games on my virtual console than wii and 360 total. I'm not spending $60 on something that I'll beat in a week tops with the only replay value coming in the forms of higher difficulty levels. That or this achievement/leaderboard nonsense that I blame solely on the popularity of FPS/multiplayer heavy titles that encourage competition.

Technology just fails all around.