Digital Illusion to be bought by the devil company

[batwinky]

Digital Illusions is gonna be bought up by EA, which i think is sad, and they are paying verry little for it

[Shane R. Monroe]

That's damn sad.

[jamcat]

Hehehe, I always thought the "devil company" to gamers was Microsoft, and that EA was the holy-almighty-do-nothing-wrong game company.

Brings to mind how gamers hated Sony when they came into the game. Saying that Sony hates gamers and only Sega & Nintendo love and care for gamers.

Fact is Sony, Sega, Nintendo, Microsoft, and EA don't "love" gamers. All they really care about is getting as much $$$ out of your wallet as they can.

As long as companies can see they can keep putting $#!t in a box (Doom 3, Halo 2, etc.) and gamers will still buy it, they don't care.

[batwinky]

I think there is much better that we don't have almost one company that owns everything, and it will happen soon if nobody cares.

[jamcat]

Honestly, I wouldn't care if say Sony or Microsoft bought everybody else up.

The best thing from that would be no more multi consoles. With one main company ruling the roost, there would be just one main console to game on. At least this way there could be a universal standard when it comes to consoles.

I think it would be cool if Sony and Microsoft merged into a partnership to produce a ultimate be-all-end-all console.

[batwinky]

Honestly, I wouldn't care if say Sony or Microsoft bought everybody else up.

The best thing from that would be no more multi consoles. With one main company ruling the roost, there would be just one main console to game on. At least this way there could be a universal standard when it comes to consoles.

I think it would be cool if Sony and Microsoft merged into a partnership to produce a ultimate be-all-end-all console.

all i can say is that it would never happen since with one console there is no need for them to make it a be-all-end-all console just be a just-enough-so-people-will-buy-it console, and so they can release a version 2 with better everyting in about 3-4 years

[jamcat]

Ok, maybe so, but it would still be nice to just have one console company.

[Mogwa]

Ladies and gentlemen, I submit to you that only Microsoft corp. itself qualifies to be referred to as Satan. EA is just the devil's cabana boy. At least poor old Trip Hawkins was funny, in a goony sort of way.

[Shane R. Monroe]

BAHAHAHA ... There are always TWO ... A master (MS) and an apprentice (EA).

[Oedipus]

BAHAHAHA ... There are always TWO ... A master (MS) and an apprentice (EA).

LOL, very funny. Now all we need is for the Apprentice to turn on the Master and throw him over a railing.

[Nectar]

I don't know which is worse. EA is a mega corporation whose only interest is money, whereas MS, already having all the money in needs, has turned to more "diabolical" purposes.

I assume their still losing money in their console venture, and am still stumped as to their reasons for it. My best guess was that they were using it as a test to see if current PC technology could be controlled; and their constant persistence in pestering the Xbox homebrew scene strengthened that theory. I know running linux and emulators on it are illegal but they're certainly not costing MS anything, so why were they always going out of their way to shut them down when there are obviously more important things (pirated Xbox games) to worry about?

The Xbox port of MAME was shut down immediately. Now usually these things tend to fly by the big companies for at least a few weeks before they notice but not in this case. They were watching.

The Xbox shows that MS wants total control what we do with our PCs right down to the internet services we use. I wouldn't be surprised if future OS internet capabilities will require an Xbox live type subsciption. Or at least put it to where you can't receive things like updates without MSN or something.

[patman]

Yeah, Microsofts approach with the X-Box is a little scary.

They seem to think that when you go plop your money down for one at Toys-R-Us, you aren't buying a game console outright that you wholly own and are free to do with what you will - you are only purchasing a license to use the X-Box's BIOS and OS software, which just happens to come wrapped in an X-Box.

If they don't want to honor warrantee claims on modded units, that's fine - everyone knows you take your chances when you open up a piece of electronic equippment and start messing with things.

I could even see not allowing modded X-Boxes taken part in X-Box Live if you somehow had some sort of advantage since that's a service you agree to and they're trying to provide a fair, level online playing field, but I don't see how stuffing a larger harddrive in there is giving anyone a leg up in a round of capture the flag in Halo.

I'm not sure why they're so proactive in protecting the X-Box. The only thing I can figure is that they screwed up making it too much like a PC, and therefore too easy to use for things they didn't intend for you to use it for. That gives it a strong appeal that could outlast its normal, planned lifespan. They want everyone ready to move up to an X-box 2 when its time - they don't want people hanging on to their X-Boxes, or worse, people still buying new X-boxes at a steady rate.

Normally, you'd think that'd be good, to keep selling a product, but it's not 'cause:

a) they're probably still losing money on every unit sold (which doesn't bother them right now but will when games stop selling)

b) those people aren't going to be buying games and X-box Live subscriptions, which is how they make money on the X-Box, they're going to turn them into media centers or whatever.

c) they don't want to have to keep supporting a system that they're losing money on and is supposed to be obsolete anyway.


That's the way I see it - they want the X-Box to run the normal course of a console and be replaced by a bigger better machine after its time is up. They don't want them hanging around for years and years after they're no longer viable as a game console so they're trying to squash out anything that could make them useful beyond their life as a game console.

[Shane R. Monroe]

Trust me ... Microsoft LOVES you bitches making the Xbox into a Media Center. They are getting MARKET SHARE because of it, and that's going to keep them fed and watered with developers - at least for now. Developers see 'installed user base" as the means for deciding what to develop for and how much time and money to put into it.

Microsoft wants CONTROL. Money really means NOTHING to them. Its about control.

Why did MAME get pinched before they even released a build? Simple. First, Microsoft can see a good potential market for classic gaming; so they need to nip "free versions" in the ass before they can start using classic games to make a killing on Xbox Live and 'treasure' collections. Notice how they are trying to show how "good" they are for GIVING away Ms. Pacman on Xbox Live. That's how you know a service 1) sucks or 2) ain't paying for itself - when you resort to cheap value add items to boost subscribers/users.

Microsoft has to keep the developers developing to make cash. Developers don't want to develop for a box that screams "1 in every 3 units can play pirated games". See Dreamcast for more information. So, to look good for the developers, MS has to go on the bloodbath trail against modders and "illegal software". No developers = no money. But they have to keep the system's appeal as a hacker box to keep the numbers going up .. its a losing game.

Finally, as mentioned, the Jurrasic Park effect. Let me explain. Remember in Jurrassic Park they thought they could control animal population with a lysom deficiency? Same idea. They build "timebombs" so to speak into these products, knowing that if build a certain level of technology into the unit - hence controlling its usefulness over a period of time (I guarentee they have a chart for this somewhere) - that they can control, more or less, when you buy another unit. In console's case - its CLOSED architecture. You don't get to ADD anything. You don't get to UPGRADE. Upgrading means you can EXTEND THE LIFE of the console past that magic 3 or 4 year period where they need to re-assrape developers by restarting the process. So, technology itself, is in effect, the lysom of this Jurrassic Park process in consoles. Sony was smart - everyone for that matter - except Microsoft. They PURPOSEFULLY avoid making consoles expandable - stopping development of homebrew products that could ruin the delicate balance of time vs. cash. Sony doesn't want an open hard drive system on PS2. That would mean that you could get up to 2 or 3 more generations of games out of the system. They don't want that - there is no money in it.

Microsoft's mistake was not understanding that when you take off the shelf components and tell people "you can't use it for anything else" that "nature will find a way", and people will do what they want. Making a console 99% Windows compatible was the biggest .... mistake ... EVER. And they are going to pay for it eventually. I guarentee you - things WILL change on the Xbox2. The Phantom Console is going to be a catastrophy of Biblical Proportions. Thank GOD they can't lose $500 a box on the sales - which will keep the price tag HIGH and the user base SMALL. Goddammit people, if you want a PC on your TV - PUT A PC ON YOUR TV ... stop trying to buck the system.

You could tell MS didn't want the Xbox used as a media center when they charged $30 for the "DVD DONGLE" (aka remote control).

Microsoft is evil - not dumb. If they wanted to, they could have EASILY shut down all the sites, products, etc. that made using your Xbox for anything but CONSOLE GAMING useless. However, they are shrewd evil corporate. They know that PIRACY IS GOOD in some respects. They want marketshare and are willing to TRADE some integrity for it. Trust me - they could stop this ... if they REALLY wanted to. But, as its been said, piracy and "gray use" of Xbox is good for marketshare which means more money to be made on developers. However, the balance is delicate - developers want boxes they can make MONEY on too. So they have to keep control and still give the leash some slack too. They CAN stop the gray market - but how much money and (more importantly) TIME would it take? Hell, maybe the raping of Xbox has gone too far to be turned around - and MS knows it; they will take this cleaning to heart when they do the Xbox2.

The interesting thing about consoles is - the company can easily kill them by simply STOPPING people from making software. Xbox EULA for developers is, apparently, brutal as hell. MS can apparently pull that license ANYTIME. Tell you that you can't release a game - at any time. I'm sure ALL console companies have SOME control - but the Xbox one is even more gruesome than Sony and Nintendo. When Sony wants the PS2 to die - they can kill it. When MS decides they want you to buy an Xbox 2 - they don't have the means, in reality, to stop it; the system has been SO COMPROMISED, they can't. They are ALREADY starting to try to tighten the leash with disabling Xbox Live on pirated copies of Halo 2. My guess is - they will learn how MOD chips are flashed and physically BLOW UP mod chips remotely via Xbox Live (remember when they were remotely blowing up pirate boards in satellite boxes?) ... hell, they have an UMBILICAL cord to your ass - and they can cut it and do nasties to you ANYTIME. This is where I'm damn happy to have a PS2.

MS knows they've lost control. They have to get it back lickety split if they are going to get you media center lovers to buy another box. I'm not sure they can do it in time ...

[patman]

I predict the X-Box 2 will come with a stick of dynamite in it that Microsoft can detonate remotely :D

[Shane R. Monroe]

I predict the X-Box 2 will come with a stick of dynamite in it that Microsoft can detonate remotely :D

Only through Xbox Live ... which will probably be REQUIRED to use the Xbox2 ...

[jamcat]

Hahahah.... If the Master is Microsoft, and the Apprentice is Electronic Arts, then Jar Jar Binks must be.... Nintendo!!!!! :)

[jamcat]

Man, the way Shane talks about Microsoft, you'd think Bill Gates killed his family. I don't see the reason for the massive dislike for Microsoft. They want to be top dog in the business, so what's the problem. Every company wants to be the top dog. You think Sony is playing "fair" as well? I'm sure Sony wants to rule your entertainment center as well as Microsoft, so what is the difference?

Hell I even remember Nintendo doing dirty tactics back in the day, forcing game makers to only make games for the NES and not other systems. Now that was evil. If game makers were not chained by Nintendo, I think the fate of the Sega Master System would have been different indeed.

It's one thing to hate a company if you have been burned by them, like I despise Sega for being burned by the Sega CD & 32X. And NOBODY will ever change my opinion of the Dreamcast. But to hate a company because it wants to do everything it can to be top dog doesn't make sense. If Microsoft wants to own the console world like they own the PC world, I say more power to them. And if Sony wants to dominate the console world, I say more power to them too. The goal of any business is to be top dog. Coca Cola wants to be the only cola you drink. McDonalds wants to be the only fast food joint you go to. Starbucks wants to be the only coffee place you go to. Again, what's the big deal? There are other things in life worth worrying about more than how Microsoft runs it's business.

[Shane R. Monroe]

You must've not been with the show since the beginning .. You'd have a better overview of my hatred of Microsoft.

Have you seen THE NET? Resident Evil? Demolition Man? That's Microsoft ... and its coming. If you're not afraid, you should be. People laugh and say "Oh, that can never happen - you're just jealous of MS's money." Wrong. I'm afraid. The LAST thing I want is MS controlling everything - and that is EXACTLY what they intend to do. Since the government PROVED they can't stop them - I will go so far as to say only the IGNORANT don't fear and hate Microsoft. Its not an impossibility. Don't let the impossible sounding argument sway you into thinking "they are just good business". They aren't. They flagrantly break the law - over and over - and they repeatedly get out of it.

Sony doesn't want to own the computer. Sony doesn't want to own your workplace. Sony doesn't want to own your news channel. Sony may want in on the living room - and thank GOD ... otherwise there would be NO ONE to stop MS.

The difference is .. MS is in the position of control. That makes them RESPONSIBLE for their actions.

Besides - I'm not alone. MILLIONS hate MS. They are sued EVERY DAY for something. Good companies aren't hated by the masses. They aren't sued every day. There is a REASON for the hatred. There is a reason for the fear. There are reasons for the lawsuits.

No ... I have plenty of reason to smack MS around any chance I get.

[jamcat]

No, I haven't been with RGR from the beginning. I heard about RGR only recently while finding and looking through an issue of Retro Gamer magazine.

I don't know. It just seems kinda paranoid to worry about Microsoft taking over the world.

If there is anything to worry about, it is our own government, corrupt as it is. With George Bush leading his "holy crusade" against terror, that doesn't seem to have an end in sight.

Hey, I love America. But I don't like that the government feels we should be the watch dog for the rest of the world. That is why we are in the mess we are in. Maybe if we minded our own business and kept our nose out of other peoples business, we wouldn't be in this war.

If those wacked out, religious crazy bastards in the Middle East want to kill each other over their little holy wars, let them. Let's take care of our people first. It is sick that the US can send millions in aid to elsewhere, yet there are thousands of homeless, unemployed, and needy people here.

Compared to this, worrying about Microsoft controlling everything is kind of petty.

It just seems your dislike of Miscrosoft was a bit extreme.

Even if Microsoft did control everything, I don't really think things would be as bad as you'd paint them to be.

[Shane R. Monroe]

Microsoft is one step above terrorism. Forcing you to use certain products. Heavy handing suppliers and OEM. Forcing GOOD FAIR business modeled companies out on their ass by using illegal product dumping techniques (which, btw, the govenment is supposed to protect against).

You're right - the government is the root of the evil - but I am not about to let MS exploit that evil for their own personal gain and the reduction of choice and market for the consumer which NEEDS to be protected.

Microsoft steals or buys into what they want. They then outweight the field by product dumping their product into Windows or giving it away FREE to ruin the competition. Its not fair and used to be illegal (god only knows now - as long as Windows starts shipping with the King James bible instead of a manual, the government will leave them alone). I could cite incident after incident (there are HUNDREDS of websites dedicated to it - Bryan posted a nice list on here somewhere about all the "microsoft innovations" that they stole/borrowed/bought.

Why should I support or even like a company like this?

Search Google for "if microsoft ruled the world" or something to that effect and check out the lists ... some are goofy and intentionally so, but some things will REALLY make you wonder.

I don't believe that consumers are "better off" with "just one choice" (as mentioned - there should only be one console). As dumbass sheep as they are, consumers still benefit from choice and good, healthy, legal competition.

When you own 95% of any market - there isn't good, health, legal competition going on...