Downloadable Contempt – 11/25/09

With this new generation of game consoles, Downloadable Content (DLC) has become popular and is now a viable way to extend the life of games, on both entertainment and financial values.

Usually, DLC comes out months after the original game and adds content to the game. However, there are a handful of game developers that abuse the system by charging people for content that is actually on the disc they purchased those months ago. Usually, these are 108 KB keys that claim to be content but the file is so small that it’s physically impossible. Many gamers, including myself, find this practice abhorrent.

The complaint stems from the idea of ownership I touched on in the DRM post. When I spend $60 on a game, I feel that I just funded the development of all the content on the disc. Then when “extra” content comes out that is obviously on the disc, it creates the impression that I bought an incomplete package previously.

This outrage has such an easy fix. Don’t put it on the disc first. That’s all developers have to do to not create the impression of being ripped off. Whether it was done before the game launched or not, keep the content off the disc so when you download it, you get the impression that it’s brand new content.

Natal, Pronounced “Nuh-tall” not “Nay-tull” – 11/25/09

In June of this year, Microsoft announced the new peripheral for the Xbox 360, codenamed Project Natal. It’s designed to allow for controller-less motion control on the Xbox 360.

As an Xbox 360 gamer, I’m really intrigued by the possibilities of the device. Unlike the Wii or the PS3’s Sphere Controller, Natal does not require you to only use motion control because it is not based around a motion controller. This allows for opportunities in games where the motion controls are combined with traditional controllers.

Also, unlike the Wii and Sphere, it maps the body’s motion to in-game motion. The Wii essentially boils down its motion control actions to motion-equivalents of button actions. That’s not revolutionary. However, moving around in front of the TV and doing the actions that the in-game character will use exactly, is revolutionary.

The biggest potential hanging point for Natal is its price. The rumor is that Natal will be $80 or less. The best way to get the device in as many houses as possible to is to make it $100 or less. As the article I linked to suggests, a cheap price may create connotations of cheap-ness as opposed to value, but a lower price is better if they can bundle it with a good game or two.

@Twitter Writing a Blog Post About You – 11/25/09

@Mannheimer I'm thinking I'm going to make my blog post entirely out of tweets for this one.

@Mannheimer Twitter is an amazing networking tool. It lets users follow people they're interested in and be followed by people that like

@Mannheimer them. Unfortunately, the 140 character limit puts some constraints on what a person can say or do

@Mannheimer However, the short size has the potential of forcing users to say exactly what they need to say and nothing more

@Mannheimer I don't understand the purpose of the new lists feature either. I guess it lets users track other users they don't follow but

@Mannheimer why not just follow them? Much like Twitter itself, Twitter's lists solve a problem that doesn't necessarily exist.

@Mannheimer I discovered the mystery of the 140-char limit. It was done to support SMS messaging, according to Wikipedia http://bit.ly/JVsI

@Mannheimer The ability to customize profile page is a nice concept but runs the risks of creating Geocities or MySpace style pages

@Mannheimer Overall, I find it to be an interesting service, but can't shake the feeling of it just being one huge fad.

It’s a Store… to buy Zunes – 11/25/09

Yup, another Zune post. This time, it’s zunestore.net. The Zune Store is Microsoft’s direct-purchase solution for buying and customizing Zune HDs, Zune 80s, and Zune 120s. Why do I care about it? It has the greatest feature for a customization-based store I’ve found.

Zune Store has a fully rotatable image of your customized Zune HD. You can turn 360 degrees, and it updates with any choices you make. For instance, my screenshot above is a blue Zune HD with an inscription.

The only flaw I found with the store is that Zune HDs are not sent with earbuds, though I can now no longer find evidence that on the site itself. It’s possible that they’ve fixed that flaw. However, it’s not a big problem because the standard earbuds that come with MP3 players are always terrible and uncomfortable.

No Relationship to Koopa Troopas – 11/25/09

Wakoopa is a cool little piece of software. When you sign up, you download a small tracking program to your computer. The tracker collects usage data of all your programs. The website shows you an over-time graph of your usage by type of application or a by-application graph.

A stroke of brilliance with the system is that they’ve made it into a simple game. As the Wakoopa program detects more new programs, it awards your account points that will be used to automatically level up your profile. You start as a novice and can work your way up to fanatic or even higher. Along with awarding points, the web site will recommend other pieces of software.

That’s where the system shows some flaws. Your ability to filter results is highly restricted, letting you only hide webapps or program type. I would like to be able to tell Wakoopa not to show me Anti-Virus programs as I’m quite happy with Avast!. Also, as someone who has never used a Virtual Machine, I don’t want to see Virtualization solutions.

It’s a cool site, with cool concepts, and is a great time-waster for people who like graphs.