Xbox Live was what I played most when I first got my 360 on it's release day ( well that and PGR3)and I still continue to play it a lot.
Initially, for some reason I got heavily addicted to a diet of Bejeweled 2, Gauntlet and Smash TV ( I blame Per, he made me buy it when he was over ).
What's great about Live is that it lets you get the cool shit you often grab from the net without the tedious ordeal of finding a decent server, finding that every site and its dog wants you to signup and subscribe with your email, hoping the connection doesnt time out, hoping you don't have to wait too long in line, tracking down the best site with the download, finding a fast mirror ... sheesh.
Oh and then finding its got some new weird codec and won't run until you go through the same tedium to track that down.
Live makes getting previews and demos fun and easy for all, like the net was meant to be. Theres no spammers, there's no email spam, theres no virus, but still, the access to movies ( in 720p!), games, demos, trailers of games, little tech movies, industry news is right there at the click of a button.
I'd never really bought into all the smart talk about the future plans of MS and sony et al about making 'entertainment centers' that do music, games, movies, demos etc.... but now it makes sense to me.
It's really conveniant and it doesn't require me to sit hunched over a complicated uncomfortable unsociable pc setup like I do all day at work, I can just sit with the family on a comfy chair and we can switch between all the stuff we like through one system.
And yeah, its great being able to grab some fun wee games for wee amount of money instead of having to fork over a shedload of money to some tosser with delusions of grandeur looking to trot out his latest magnum opus which is in fact mutton dressed up as veal.
I hope that this trend continues far enough that we can just do away with publishers and suits and decision by committee a good bit and get back to a small group of people often clubing together to make something neat and fun and then distributing it through a medium like Live.
My next half-alread-written post is how it can be good for certain delelopers - small teams making small games in a short period of time, releasing them with tiny publishing costs.
I thinking that without the financial risk being so massive, there might be more risk taking where IP and gameplay and visual style is concerned.
Perhaps another on where they have failed to capitalise - like movie trailer downloads. What are there, 7 or so? If they ran somthing like Apples movie trailers then they'd glu more people to their seats.
Ror - sure copy and post that into my comments - it's feeling a bit lonely.
Replies
Initially, for some reason I got heavily addicted to a diet of Bejeweled 2, Gauntlet and Smash TV ( I blame Per, he made me buy it when he was over ).
What's great about Live is that it lets you get the cool shit you often grab from the net without the tedious ordeal of finding a decent server, finding that every site and its dog wants you to signup and subscribe with your email, hoping the connection doesnt time out, hoping you don't have to wait too long in line, tracking down the best site with the download, finding a fast mirror ... sheesh.
Oh and then finding its got some new weird codec and won't run until you go through the same tedium to track that down.
Live makes getting previews and demos fun and easy for all, like the net was meant to be. Theres no spammers, there's no email spam, theres no virus, but still, the access to movies ( in 720p!), games, demos, trailers of games, little tech movies, industry news is right there at the click of a button.
I'd never really bought into all the smart talk about the future plans of MS and sony et al about making 'entertainment centers' that do music, games, movies, demos etc.... but now it makes sense to me.
It's really conveniant and it doesn't require me to sit hunched over a complicated uncomfortable unsociable pc setup like I do all day at work, I can just sit with the family on a comfy chair and we can switch between all the stuff we like through one system.
And yeah, its great being able to grab some fun wee games for wee amount of money instead of having to fork over a shedload of money to some tosser with delusions of grandeur looking to trot out his latest magnum opus which is in fact mutton dressed up as veal.
I hope that this trend continues far enough that we can just do away with publishers and suits and decision by committee a good bit and get back to a small group of people often clubing together to make something neat and fun and then distributing it through a medium like Live.
r.
I thinking that without the financial risk being so massive, there might be more risk taking where IP and gameplay and visual style is concerned.
Perhaps another on where they have failed to capitalise - like movie trailer downloads. What are there, 7 or so? If they ran somthing like Apples movie trailers then they'd glu more people to their seats.
Ror - sure copy and post that into my comments - it's feeling a bit lonely.