AndrewTS

They helped him enough to be *just shy* of succeeding. You know, twist the knife a little. Yeah, but "The Playstation Brand " is *dominating* the competition (in other words, their 3 systems' combined sales). Or so Sony claims. Combined US, Canada, and Japanese sales of the PS3 didn't break 100K. Here's the NPD data, BTW: So, actually, Wii and DS sales are f'ing obliterating "The Playstation Brand ." That's not even counting Zelda Playing Machine Jr. still hanging on at 13K, or PS3's tight competition, the Game Boy Advance.

Created to honor the April NPD sales numbers, from NeoGIFs: http://lnx.rc6.it/stuff/ouendan_s.gif

Holy crap. $90 million + difference between #1 and #2.

OMG! Lum (Lamb?) signature. Awesome, Muggy.

I thought it was a generic BMX with a gun design? Halo would still need to either a) become turn based or b) include x-overs to become a hit in Japan. Master Swish attacks with Spartan Laser for 500 HP damage! Goofy jumps in the warthog and runs over the guy, then backs over his corpse to finish. *Victory Fanfare*

Sequels in blockbuster game franchises get major hype. This is because millions of people *played* and *loved* the previous games. There are much more egregious examples out there, like the forthcoming Guitar Hero New Song Edition v. 2007, 2007B etc. Or Madden Roster Update 2008. Tony Hawk Even Prettier Pavement Edition. Halo 3 will be a great game. However, it's a shame this wankfest is over a bunch of multiplayer demos. I hope lots of care and dedication goes into the single-player experience, because some crazy people like me might actually want to try that feature. I'd be quite amused if Master Chief was in the first 20 minutes of Halo 3 and then replaced by a swishy bishonen, though.

Not as retarded as paying $60 to play a beta for a few weeks, bitching a coronary about their precious beta being delayed a day, and dissing to no end the awesome game that they bought (or rented) to play it. Then being *shocked* that the download is going "really, really slow." Gee, why might that be?

You'll get used to it in short order. It's a great controller, except for that POS d-pad (fixable problem).

Confirmed -- Japanese language track is in NA version.

Gee, that's a shock. Microsoft, where quality is none of our business.

A 4th film in the series, and the "star" will only be appearing in stock footage? Well...at least Arnold isn't dead... I call this one a bust unless we end up with a terrific director and screenwriter on the project.

Agreed, but just being helpful.

Mark your calendars--I agree with WWM.

GIYF: http://iadt.elecplay.com/rotr/

Which is why I said "by and large." With optical disc games that have no DLC/expansions, the most that can go wrong is a game breaking glitch that might make you have to restart your game or get a new disc. i.e. the Zelda example I cited earlier, or PoP: Warrior Within's problem with warps. However, when the cure is worse than the disease (the Guitar Hero whammy bar patch), it causes you to lose faith in the system and the publisher. It doesn't matter if it's "rare" or "it affected a small number of users." What if you should happen the win the "Your 360 is ****ed" Lottery? Oh well, sucks for you. I can backup and restore my computer OS myself. With my install discs. I *can't* with my 360. However, what if something like that would happen if I were out of warranty? MS warrants the hardware, not the software, so they should provide a method of recovery to avoid this crap. They don't. I'd really like to know just how the hell it actually works, though. I assume since the Core has no HDD that the OS is built into a separate area of the memory, as naturally the firmware would be. Maybe, as it stands, such a disc isn't possible. So find a way, MS. "Shit breaks" isn't a justification. It's a lame excuse. Unless the hardware itself breaks, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to restore a 360 to working condition if it's just borked SW. I'd have to back up my saves on my own--that's my responsibility. But in a worst case scenario, I should be able to A) wipe my 360 clean, then clean-install the software and update it. B) use purchased XBLA / DLC that's linked to my gamertag/MSN passport, if by some chance my HDD became corrupted. C) Restore my saves to my console D) Have it in 100% working condition again. That's not the way it works, now. I don't care why, just fix it, MS. If I can do it with my computer, I should be able to do it with a 360. Software updates are being put out that, should they screw your system up, the problems cannot by remedied by a user-accessible restore method. That's retarded. Hi, Mr. Moore!

I was having dashboard issues too, WWM. I had to keep re-pairing my wireless pad to the system as well. **** a Halo 3 Beta.

"Hey, don't piss on that old console! Trade it in and SAVE money off on a new system! Your wallet and your wiener will thank you."

EDIT: NM

Ok, must have been somebody else then. Anya's first one just crapped out--no updates done. Her replacement 360 was DOA. "Ok, that's one person for Crackdown and from Guitar Hero I remember it being very few (in the grand scheme of things). I never debated that the title updates can brick a system, however the most likely causes are usually system related updates. The patch for the HD DVD drive probably gave someone out there a 3R too. .... I think you are losing the point of my assertion that while the software updates have caused issues, they have been few and usually aren't widespread like say a WOW patch borking people that you are forced to download and causes problems for various people everytime. It may not bring the computer to it's knees since you can still do other things but until an updated patch comes out, those people are unable to run the game. Unfortunately we are arguing something we have no real knowledge of because like you said, MS doesn't say what exactly causing the 3Rs but from what I generally see, the title/system updates cause very few in relation to the install base and generally enhance the gamers experience. Would you deny that?" I'm a console gamer that has gotten used to the fact that, by and large, console games will *work right every time*, so I'm a bit grumpy about the way things are being done this gen. I don't have concrete numbers, naturally. That doesn't mean there's no problems. It's not even how many people for a particular update have a problem (and for the Crackdown save erasing--it was a *lot*, but that doesn't affect the system's functionality). It's just that these "software updates", "title updates," "downloadable content" etc. *themselves* are very, very frequently produced and released. And nearly every single one of them has the potential to cause problems (and tends to do just that). However, MS doesn't seem to actually care. They don't seem to be investigating why. They don't provide steps/tips for preventing the problems. They don't specify what an update does or what it can affect. It seems like every time an exciting new update! comes out for the 360 / a game, you're risking your game data and/or your system to get it. And that sucks.

"I also personally know people who have had to get 3 coffins from MS to send back various 360s, but unfortunately we don't know if it's a software related or hardware related issue since they get refurbs back." Currently MS has stated that, if at all possible, they'll try to send you your original 360 back. Lots of Red Ringers have reported they have and they were. That points to lots of SW issues to me. Or more accurately, firmware. "The only software updates that will have the most potential to screw up your system is going to be something like the Spring Update but I have not heard of any 3Rs relating to that." The Guitar Hero patch has bricked systems. Somebody on the Crackdown official forums has reported that the DLC RedRinged his system, not just erased his save. "How many people here have had to get a coffin from MS? I haven't heard of any." Anya's on her 3rd 360. Matt Young I think has had to send his in. I'm fairly sure there were others. I'd like to note that there is a known bug in the Wii Zelda: TP that will prevent you from leaving the cannon room if you save there. Nintendo took care of it by sending out new discs to the folks who reported it. A backasswards, stone-age way of handling it? Maybe. However, I guarantee you that they not only had their issue resolved 100%, but that the new discs didn't **** their Wiis up.

True, but on the Mac, when an OS X update screws things up, it's Archive and Install, DiskWarrior, or Erase and Install (and hopefully you backed up anything important). On a 360, yeah you might lose those saves (although you can buy a memory card to back *just* the saves up), but you also might get Red Ringed, and have to *mail in your 360 to Microsoft*. There's no re-install/restore disc for it. Although, it seems you're saying pretty much "Stuff breaks. Get used to it." I think that something, somewhere is fundamentally flawed in MS' system that allows this to happen. Something like a power outage or hard-booting a computer off while an OS update is in progress? Or never ever using the Disk Utility? Well, no duh. However, MS refuses to publish any preventative measures to perhaps help people avoid this. They also never tell you what the title updates are for. You can either accept it or refuse it, that's it.

So it comes full circle! Body Harvest was made by a lot of the GTA3 staff. Who of course went on to make the other 3D GTAs. Then one of the main guys behind those left, and, fed up with all of the excesses of the GTAs, made Crackdown. I'm pretty much sold on Crackdown 2 no matter what weird stuff they add, as long as the juicy core goodness remains. Just include all the cool bonus modes in the DLC, but on the disc and bugtest everything a little better. Bah, it's really annoying. Especially considering the game is "Point A ---- Point B ---- Cutscene ---- Point C ---- Cutscene" so far.

A minor inconvenience I'd like to see MS correct in a future dashboard update: you can only eject the tray with the controller if it is empty, otherwise you have to manually press the button the system. No, the issue will come though with authentication such as with XBOX Live Arcade titles. If you buy one, and say your XBOX needs to be repaired and you send it in, you can download the game with no charge but you are unable to play it offline. You have to be connected to Live. Supposedly MS is exploring a fix for this. I meant more because of firmwares, jury-rigged console OSes, expansion downloads and glitchy installers. But that was at the back of my mind, too. DRM--the gigantic cockblock of the digital age. I never played Vice City on PS2, so I dunno. I know PS2 GTA3 and San Andreas didn't look like that, though. Are you saying it was a R* design decision to make the game look like you were playing it through a thick cloud of pot smoke?

Does anyone else have serious, serious doubts that digital distribution is teh furture for major releases?

Invictus: I see you have EDF2017. I've been meaning to play it, but the price is steep for a "budget" release. However, the concept and stuff intrigues me. Plus this quote has piqued my interest: