Format Wars
I want to create a new game (or a discussion about a new game) it is to be called "Format Wars". This game will be a shooter and is focussed around the release of a new format. We have a new format war which has started raging at the moment. The war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Of course the players behind each format are massive, yet, there is no guarantee that either will be the winner. What do early adopters of technology get except a lighter wallet? These new players retail for well over $1,000 in Australia. That's a lot of money and more than a weeks wage for the average punter. Why would the average punter want to invest in this technology and spend their hard earned dollars only to have the technology dumped at a later date?
What are you getting for this price? Not much. All you are doing is providing Microsoft and Sony a chance to pay their research and development departments for creating the technology in the first place. These inflated prices are all about recouping the R&D costs of the technology. There are still a limited number of movie releases for each format. The irony of the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray war is that it is not just a format war but also a console war. Each format is the sole format behind the PS3 or Xbox 360. The cheapest way to pick up a player of these formats is with either console. The stand alone players are more expensive than the gaming devices.
So, what will happen in the "Format Wars" game? I think that you should have to pick a format and wear the logo of the company which makes it (microsoft or sony) and then you have to shoot down the competing companies format (alla Space Invaders). Rather than create a score you will put more revenue in to the company you support and create an even bigger fat cat of microsoft and Sony. Then at the end of the game no matter what format you have supported you will be called a looser and the other format wins.
It is just a 50/50 chance of which format you choose being the winner. Another twist to this format war is the backers of the formats. Microsoft have the pleasure of literally being in bed with the porn industry (I hope they wear protection and have a good wash afterwards) and Sony are being backed by Hollywood (which gets a lot of its talent from the porn industry). So, you will find out who holds the power in this industry. Crappy porn films or crappy hollywood films.
What are you getting for this price? Not much. All you are doing is providing Microsoft and Sony a chance to pay their research and development departments for creating the technology in the first place. These inflated prices are all about recouping the R&D costs of the technology. There are still a limited number of movie releases for each format. The irony of the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray war is that it is not just a format war but also a console war. Each format is the sole format behind the PS3 or Xbox 360. The cheapest way to pick up a player of these formats is with either console. The stand alone players are more expensive than the gaming devices.
So, what will happen in the "Format Wars" game? I think that you should have to pick a format and wear the logo of the company which makes it (microsoft or sony) and then you have to shoot down the competing companies format (alla Space Invaders). Rather than create a score you will put more revenue in to the company you support and create an even bigger fat cat of microsoft and Sony. Then at the end of the game no matter what format you have supported you will be called a looser and the other format wins.
It is just a 50/50 chance of which format you choose being the winner. Another twist to this format war is the backers of the formats. Microsoft have the pleasure of literally being in bed with the porn industry (I hope they wear protection and have a good wash afterwards) and Sony are being backed by Hollywood (which gets a lot of its talent from the porn industry). So, you will find out who holds the power in this industry. Crappy porn films or crappy hollywood films.
posted by thecynicalgamer @ 2:25 pm
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