Wii-U thoughts so far

[ZeroAX]

Yeah, when I was interviewing the various groups at Amazon to see what group I'd want to be in (they'd already extended an offer) we had a dinner with a bunch of employees, and I ended up sitting across from one of the tax guys. He gave me a run down of just how much his job sucks :p

Wouldn't it make sense to just tax all the customers with the tax of the place Amazon is located at? That's how all the European sites (play.com, zavvi ect.) work.

[MrPopo]

Yeah, when I was interviewing the various groups at Amazon to see what group I'd want to be in (they'd already extended an offer) we had a dinner with a bunch of employees, and I ended up sitting across from one of the tax guys. He gave me a run down of just how much his job sucks :p

Wouldn't it make sense to just tax all the customers with the tax of the place Amazon is located at? That's how all the European sites (play.com, zavvi ect.) work.

It definitely would. Too bad that's not how US tax law works. Everyone wants their cut. I'm really hoping that Amazon's lobbying can get the federal government to standardize internet sales tax law, instead of this horrible hodge-podge we have today.

[ZeroAX]

It definitely would. Too bad that's not how US tax law works. Everyone wants their cut. I'm really hoping that Amazon's lobbying can get the federal government to standardize internet sales tax law, instead of this horrible hodge-podge we have today.

I'm starting to understand why you guys hate taxes so much (......please don't pay attention to my country of origin and any stereotypes the media may have spread )

[MrPopo]

It definitely would. Too bad that's not how US tax law works. Everyone wants their cut. I'm really hoping that Amazon's lobbying can get the federal government to standardize internet sales tax law, instead of this horrible hodge-podge we have today.

I'm starting to understand why you guys hate taxes so much (......please don't pay attention to my country of origin and any stereotypes the media may have spread )

I'm still pissed at you guys for coming up with democracy.

[ZeroAX]

It definitely would. Too bad that's not how US tax law works. Everyone wants their cut. I'm really hoping that Amazon's lobbying can get the federal government to standardize internet sales tax law, instead of this horrible hodge-podge we have today.

I'm starting to understand why you guys hate taxes so much (......please don't pay attention to my country of origin and any stereotypes the media may have spread )

I'm still pissed at you guys for coming up with democracy.

Blame those fucking Athenians. It's their fault this shit was invented. I'm a Sparta supporter. Oligarchy FTW

[elmagicochrisg]

Democracy doesn't work because politicians don't do what we want...

[MrPopo]

Democracy doesn't work because politicians don't do what we want...

No, it doesn't work because they DO do what we want. It's fundamental flaw is that it assumes that the average person knows something.

[D.D.D.]

So I've been watching some of the NewSuperMarioBrosU videos and I'm definitely gonna get that at launch.
And I'm about 80% sure I'm getting the premium pack...

[equalsign]

I have stayed completely clear of the XBox 360 because of all the proprietary stuff (HDD, headsets, wifi dongles, ect). When I wanted an HD system I bought a PS3, even though the 360 has more exclusives I want to play.

yeah microsoft was full of shit in this generation about how much you are really paying for the console.....not to mention xbox live subscription

The Wii was not exactly a non-accessorized console either. There was a lot to add on to the base price, especially with the questionable Wiimote + acccessory thing for a lot of games, and Motion+ later.

360 accessorizing was a lot more a matter of buying the "right" model from the start. Mine is an Elite (was a gift), and came with tons of cables and things. All I've bought for it after the fact is an extra controller.

I disagree. The Wii's accessories were not part of the core experience. Very few games required anything besides the Wii remote and nun-chuck that came with the system. Motion+ is only used in a couple decent games. Even then, it is cheap. The balance board wasn't used for anything worth playing. Nintendo didn't really have an online service, so voice chat was a non-issue.


My friend bought an Pro at launch.

-The HDD was 20Gb, but 8Gb was used for backwards compatibility software. The remaining 12Gb was not enough. The cost of upgrading was terrible from a price per Gb perspective, even in 2005.
-The Xbox 360 was the only console this gen to not have built-in wifi. The dongle did not come with the original Pro bundle. I can't remember exactly how much those stupid dongles were at launch, but I remember it was crazy expensive for a wireless receiver. Running a 100 ft. ethernet cable through his house was not an option.
-The headset that launched with the Pro bundle was a really bad corded model. I remember it being uncomfortable, and having an ridiculously long cord.
-The original pro did not come with an HDMI cable.
-Did not come standard with rechargeable controllers, although rechargeable batteries could be easily replaced.


I think that wireless internet, HD output, and HDD space are things that are really crucial to the core of the Xbox360 experience. I do not think the original system shipped with its core experience intact regardless of the bundle chosen. That really bugged me and ended up turning me off of the system.

The PS3 60gb model at launch (I think):

-Did not require a proprietary HDD for upgrades.
-Came with a built-in wireless receiver.
-Had full hardware backwards compatibility.
-Was compatible with any bluetooth headset.
-Did not come with an HDMI cable.
-Came standard with rechargeable controllers, although the battery was not easily changed.

I think that the 60Gb PS3 shipped with much more of its core experience intact. I appreciate that Sony was more up front about the true cost of the true PS3 experience. I prefer and respect that approach to the one Microsoft took with its Pro bundle.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I think that wireless internet, HD output, and HDD space are things that are really crucial to the core of the Xbox360 experience. I do not think the original system shipped with its core experience intact regardless of the bundle chosen. That really bugged me and ended up turning me off of the system.

Since when did people complain about long cables?

The headset wasn't great but it's better than none at all. (The cord connected to the controller as well, so like the Wii's nunchuck, it's wireless, but it's not)

Anyways, the Pro DID come with HD cables. At the time it came with component and composite cables. HDMI wasn't added in till later. (Keep in mind, no PS3 came with any HD cables, and still don't to my knowledge)

When the 360 launched, all XBLA games had a size limit, 8gb was more than enough at the time. Patching wasn't really a thing, and neither was DLC. Though upgrading was a bit of a ripoff.

It should have came with wifi, however, basically any wireless bridge worked as well. It did come with an ethernet cable at least.

At the time of it's launch, the 360 came with just about everything needed. The PS3 and 360 have had a huge amount of features and services added, so while now it seems kind of insane it didn't come with a 120gb hard drive or HDMI, it wasn't really necessary when they were launched. The 360 has been out now about 7 years. In tech terms that's honestly pretty bonkers when you think about it.