Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Might want to brush up on some homework before you talk to the bloke from Nintendo. The DSi is NOT the latest version of the Wii. They're completely different products.

One good way to galvanise the industry would be to get rid of the ridiculous and intrusive security measures manufacturers use to protect their games on the PC.

Sure, some steps need to be taken but I've yet to see any security system that hasn't been broken so is there any real need to go totally over the top?

GTA IV is a particularly horrible example.

Please think about storylines in games, and not just the actual tech. With tighter budgets, many of us may want to keep our current console or platform, but buy innovative titles.

But is gameplay really moving on? Will facial recognition etc. simply be another way to interact with the same old re-branded FPS?

Are there any signs of innovation in game concept, structure or storylines?

The DSi is the latest version of the Nintendo DS handheld console, not the Wii :)

Yeah could you have a gander in the direction of SONY and give us a brief taster of what you find in terms of the PS3?

Cheers

Given that you clearly:
- don't know what you're talking about, and
- can't be bothered to spend thirty seconds online finding out,
then why are we paying you to write about this stuff?

hi, great post. you might as well check a small belgian start up, Softkinetic. They are specialised more on a 3d gesture recognition software which can be used not only in games but in many different areas. No more need of consoles, a 3d camera picks up your movements in 3d. What they do is amazing.

Have to agree with _Ewan_ - you clearly have no idea what you're talking about and have simply skimmed all your info off the GDC itinerary leaflet.

I'd much rather someone with a real passion for gaming went; asking a question from your user base is all well and good but what about the follow-up? If you don't know your material you may as well courier over a dictaphone and stay at home.

In hard times games companies need to do more than pump out sequel after sequel with minor changes (EA for example) and produce titles that are not scaled down versions of previous titles with bits borrowed from other franchises (DoW 2 from Relic (published by THQ) for example).

Buyers are being short changed imo as they are increasingly paying for games at full price (often Β£40+ in the case of console games) for what amounts to little more than a rehash of an existing title and doesn't last more than 12 hrs over a week.

On the other hand we have companies like Bethesda who have made Fallout 3, whilst it is based on the engine used in their previous title Oblivion they have created a different feel to the game and it is still very large in terms of the number of hours of gameplay.

I also think that DRM measures (including the much lauded Steam) should be re-thought, the games companies may find that PC game sales might increase. DRM (including Steam) does nothing to deter pirates and only inconveniences the end user (especially when Steams servers decide they are "down" and won't allow you to play a game that would otherwise have been playable had the game been a standalone version).

However in the age of the "casual console gamer" with disposable income I fear that nothing will change...

Oh an Maggie, while you're talking to Hal Haplin you might want to ask him why PC gamers are not being consulted on the use of Steam, and the real reasons why Steam is being forced upon us (because I'm fairly sure it's not piracy), and why games companies are allowed to use EULAs which dictate to us what we can and cannot do with a product we the gamers paid for, that and why companies with products on Steam seem to be able to get away with selling their products at an inflated price compared to other online retailers for what is essentially less of a product in terms of packaging, manual etc., certainly here in the UK at least...

I never spend more than Β£25 on a game these days. I always wait a month a buy it second hand. The cost of a new release averages on Β£40, that is madness.

Can you find out if the industry are worried about people trading games and not buying them new? Will future consoles have some sort of DRM to prevent this? It seems likely, or will they look at how DRM limited music sales and decide against it?

Ewan: It's easy to make a mistake. Stop acting like a little kid, unless of course you are, in which case you should be at school!

Agree on comments regarding DRM and Steam. Take a look at Spore to see just how bad an idea DRM is. "How to cripple your game in 1 easy step."

Steam looks somewhat better on paper, especially with all the anti-cheat and patching stuff there. Unfortunately, it makes offline play rather difficult (though not entirely impossible). Bad news if you want to play CSS at a LAN.

1/ Try putting up the right link to the conference. The one have leads no-where.

2/ A few people have touched on your highly likley lack of knowledge on gaming in general, I suppose all journalists are laypeople that try their best to report subjects but nowadays people specialise and we can get very detailed news from virutal 'experts' in their field. What can you offer that they cannot?

3/ To the commentators adding to this. Maggie probably thinks steam comes out of a kettle so I would stick to more general stuff like 'what colour is it, and when can we expect it?'

4/ Wii and DS are not the same (I see you've corrected it.)

5/ Gamers can sniff out a 'non gamer' from 100 yards away.

Although I was going to cut Maggie some slack here I just read her article on the iPhone becoming the dominant gaming platform.

My word. That's a pretty special thing to say considering that most of the games on the iPhone are, frankly, rubbish.

Having read a couple of the replies I'm starting to think I should take up a position such as Maggie Shiels has, at least I would be better informed.

iPhone as the dominant gaming platform. lol. PSP/DS ftw. Apple marketing BS not ftw...

I wanted to give Maggie some credit with actually knowing what she was talking about, hence my point about Steam (which in this case does not come from a kettle) but Maggie would do well to do some actual research and perhaps venture out of her probably sudoku on the train gaming habit...

Can we actually get a response from Maggie on this apparent lack of knowledge?

My problem with Steam is they force updates.

Take Team Fortress 2 for example. They've added a load of "achievements" that let you power up. This rewards people who play all the time, which goes against the whole team fortress ethos of balanced teams.

When I bought the game it didn't have any of this, it's just an attempt by Valve to check all the boxes so they can compare to other rivals.

What are customers who disapprove suppose to do? if you bought a book, a CD or a film, it won't suddenly change. Games shouldn't be any different.

What I like about Steam is that when I get a new PC, I install Steam and leave it downloading over night, and all my games are there. No CDs or CD keys to worry about.

I don't mind security updates, patches to increase performance, and new maps - but changing the fundamental way the game works is wrong.