The Gamer's Quarter

[Wilkes]

Today I went to my English class, see. The class is small and sort of pathetic; it involves looking up some prose or some play or some poetry or some other timeless work typically written by some dead man.

The fat tome that has all these seminal works was no less than $200. Likely higher.

Now, contrary to popular belief, Mama didn't raise no fool. I bring my DS lite with the Opera browser to class and look everything up. Halfway gone I've yet to need the book for a damn thing. Just aced the mid-term today.

My Playstation 2 is a small thing. I've got that slimline model and it's my primary DVD player with a remote that turns the thing of and off.

Both play the past generation's games with more or less unexceptional compatibility.

Each of those systems also represents the largest or, at least, fastest growing section of my library.

Because I'm not a goddamn sociopath, this makes a lot of sense to me.

In the interest of stirring conversation I'll stop typing and let people depress keyboard keys in the general direction of Microsoft/Nintendo. Oh, and game.com. That was really more feigned utility, right? (no.)

topic(?)
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[a_plus]

but then there's the whole idea of the xbox/ps3 being the CENTER of your MEDIA HOUSE, which, really, who has all their music and movies on their console? there was that short-lived PSX, too -- not the ps1 -- and I don't even know what the purpose of that was. and then the psp!

so, uh, i guess i'm being just as rambly: there's a line between being utile and being overwhelming, or something. where the sucessful ones seem to have a main function with some bonuses (the ds just plays games and you can get a browser, if you'd like) and the less successful ones just throw a bunch of features into one box and hope it all works (the psp plays games! music! movies! something else!). one of you people better at writing and with more facts than i can probably say that all more better.

[Sushi d]

what i never liked about some of the more utile aspects (media-wise) of consoles is how they were implemented in a half-assed sort of fashion.

take, for example, the PSP and the PS3. Both systems are made to be media powerhouses with the ability to put many types of files into it with ease but both seem to lack the ability to play common media formats like "avi" and "divx". the extra work involved in getting my films into the machine, thereby extending the life of my collection, makes me not want to use it for such. i really don't see much use of my psp these days for media purposes. it has gained a few layers of dust since i used it to fool around with shiren a while back.


I enjoy the DS though. but it seriously needs a set of official PDA tools. I have been using some unofficial home brewed ones and I've been enjoying them greatly. my ds has really become my digital companion. all i need is a graphic calculator, and I'm set. my only complaint is that the method i currently use to "enable" home brewed applications is clunky. i may have to upgrade to the current kits that are more compact.


seriously though..
why hasn't nintendo put out some decent first party tools?
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X_X

[Nana Komatsu]

They don't want people to realize that Palm handhelds have had touchscreen games for years now?

[dhex]

palm gaming sucks.

but i really like mine, and it is tremendously helpful. i can take notes in longhand, doodle, keep appointments, have all my phone numbers and addys on hand, a subway map, practice powerpoint presentations, play solitaire and noize, and i have a little acid synth/sequencer combo that's pretty fun if totally useless..
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[Lockeownzj00]

[Dracko]

Media centres are probably the smartest marketing decisions companies could undertake with such projects at the time. There's a far bigger family appeal in a console which has familiar elements of other media than one simply designed around play alone.
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"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[OtakupunkX]