Retail has become as less viable place to work steadily over the last decade as online shopping has slowly eaten away at their market. Sadly, there's nothing game shops can offer over online retailers apart from the chance to try out your games and checking out the pre-owned range. As the market has become tighter, retail has become increasinly more competitive to the point where they are working their front-line staff to breaking point to make a profit. I've seen this happen in stores everywhere, less staff working harder and harder. It's a real shame because it's the dedication and the hard work put in by your staff in the shops that make that money.
The sad thing is that if you're unwilling to do the work, you're easily replaced by another sucker who desperately wants a job working with games. I guess this goes to show how meaningless customer service, product knowledge and personality is to game shops today. The only important thing is subordination.
There's no wonder that retail is going downhill if managers continue to pursue profit margins as guages of performance. In reality, customers are looking for good customer service and product knowledge. This is something that online stores can never offer.
The only problem I can see here is with the inability to hire & fire their own staff and the compulsory overtime without pay. As a chain of stores, having a uniform layout, range and price is very important. It allows customers to pick out what they want to buy easily because they've been to another branch before. The price uniformity means that customers are more likely to shop at their local store more often than saving their purchases up to visit a prefered store.
However, the inability to control their own staff and compulsory overtime is an insult to shop manager's inteligence. The responsibilities are becoming increasingly top heavy as area managers take more credit and get paid more. Many of the area managers I've met in my time don't deserve half the money they're paid considering the amount of credit they take for working their subordinates to unrealistic levels.
Every time I visit a retail store I'm met with increasingly stiff customer service and little enthusiasm. There's little wonder given the way they are treated when actually they are the most important people in the company. It's made even worse when you get an opportunity to talk to a genuinely interested shop assistant, who is truely passionate about introducing you to the games they love. It makes you realise how many people have the capability and the intelligence to make a difference when they're being stifled by greedy middle management. They're being exploited, and I expect there are many that don't have the opportunity to get a better job, and many that don't want another job that just want to earn a reasonable wage and be treated like human beings. You know who you are, the industry needs more people like you.
This is a superb article that answers any questions you have about the CPU options available to Apple for the MacPro. Indeed, Core2Duo and Core2Extreme only have support for a single CPU socket. If Apple wanted to stick with it's quad-core, god-machine heritage, it would have to go with the Woodcrest Xeon. However, Apple to have a history of providing a similarly-speced Powermac to the top-of-the-range iMac, so it could be possible to see a Core 2 Duo at the low end.
@10: The Core 2 Duo CPUs are dual-core like the Core Duos, however, they are 64bit whereas the latter are 32bit. This article doesn't go into detail on the differences between Merom and Yonah, but it does look like upgrading existing Intel Macs with the Merom will provide a performance boost.
Tomb Raider wasn't that badly done. There are much worse examples of 3D games on the Saturn, and I think that it's safe to say it looks enough like the Playstation and PC version to say that it's one of the best versions of any game that spanned the two formats. There's obvious glitches, but they're not on the scale of some of the other games the saturn had.
As for the reason that Tomb Raider 2 was never released on the Saturn, didn't you ever hear about the exclusivity deal that Sony signed with Eidos? It tied Eidos into an agreement with Sony that the Playstation would be the only console platform that would see a Tomb Raider game until the year 2000, I believe.
Many Sega fans anticipated this date with the advent of the Dreamcast, and were rewarded with Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation and Tomb Raider: Chronicals.
I don't have any time to find some sources, but most articles I've read on the subject name the Saturn as the format that Core designed Tomb Raider for. It's likely that during development the Playstation became popular enough for the game to be ported. The fact that the Saturn version being released first, and the added handstand animation in the Playstation version seem to support this.
Psygnosis were bought out by Sony after Wipeout, I think. After this they became Sony of Liverpool. I would assume that this was after Wipeout 2097, as I can't see Sony warranting a release of their breakthrough UK game being released on their rival format.
#8: It's research into the gaming demographic to attempt to determine what percentage of gamers are gay, their gender and their likes and dislikes.
In my case, they'll find out that sexual orientation in games will not make more or less likely to play a game, that I just like good games and I've seldom encounted homophobia in games (apart from the rampant bigotry at the WoW forums in January).
#12: There is, in actual fact no conclusive proof that sexual orientation or gender identity is caused genetically or socially. Experts believe it is caused by a subtle blend of the two factors, but none of the evidence so far gathered can offer even a vague explanation. Expect a lot of sensationalist press around any kind of scientific study.
I'll admit that a lot of the gripes I have with the list inparticular are problems I have with the idea of modelling and celebrity in general. I simply don't believe that to have energy and dynamism that sexual imagery has to be used. Would it be hard to have more of the stylistic art to include girls and guys actually playing games?
The difference that, say, Violet Berlin offers is that she is a very tallented games journalist and is in the public focus because she is also very dynamic and likable for the camera.
I'm pleased to see that some of the girls are posting on your forums and showing that they do know their stuff on games, but I don't believe that modelling is the best showcase for girls in gaming. If the mainstream press did do an article on your models, do you think it would accurately represent the thousands of girl gamers world-wide? Do you think that it would create a good role-model for young girls who are growing up with games? Do you think it is suitable for you to be assuming that modelling, beauty and fasion is universally a "dream" job for girls?
I'd like to think of gaming as a sanctuary from popular media that sends the message that you have to look sexy or glamourous to be successful. Thousands of girls play games because most games generally have no pre-requisite for who you are, or what you look like. More and more games and the media surrounding gaming are surrendering to the pressure to tailor games for teenage boys, with indentikit characters with large breasts and suggestive poses, and chat-lines in the back of magazines. Do you think that photographing girl gamers in ideal conditions, with makeup and suggestive poses for exposure in the mass media will creat a positive environment for more girls to approach gaming? Absolutely not. Of course, it's about making money out of them. FHM will bring a lot of business, and they want attractive, slim, young girls who are pleasant to look at. The business will only be yours though, and most of it will be men, of course, if you are planning to persue FHM.
How can you argue that this will be "good"? You're clearly not trying to create a long-term positive picture of gaming for girls, and you're trying to sell to lad's magazines for profit because pretty girls interested in boyish things sells. By all means, you're entitled to make money, but please don't even try to say that this will encourage diversity of gender in the games industry.
Thanks for the offer regarding the conference, but I would hate to think that I've earned it by making childish jibes at silly things on teh internet.
I can assure you that I've met enough girls into gaming to treat them with respect when I meet them, but personally I can't respect girls who use the fact that they enjoy gaming to gain status and attention. I would relish the opportunity to write to Carmell to discuss Burning Rangers, Nights and Radiant Silvergun, and the tales of the Saturn's early development :-P This is always the tried at tested school-ground way a gamer has fought for respect from other gamers!
I disagree with your opinion that games have to follow Hollywood and the fasion industry to improve it's status. As I've said, it's come a very long way from the arcades without blanket coverage of celebrities and stars. I dislike the suggestion that buying into certain games or brands makes me a better kind of person. Take the XBOX 360 lifestyle photos showing various faces of different, cool people with the circular pattern overlayed on top of them. Microsoft is trying to place it's market with the socialable, twenty-something people and suggesting that if you buy their product you can be just like them too. I hate this suggestion. Why do I need to know about these people? Why would I like to be more like them? I'm perfectly happy with who I am and don't want to be anything like the image that Microsoft is associating with their product. I don't want to be one of the "cool" girls that MS or yourself is using to market their products, I want to play good, fun games.
I see this happening in the images you use on your website. The image of the guy and the two girls in your gaming teeshirts springs to mind. The girls are clearly portrayed to be sexually attracted to the guy. Is this how you wish to market your games to me? Am I supposed to think that if I buy into your clothing I will become more sexually involved with men?
I think gaming has it's own path. I think people play games because they are fun to play, and because games don't require you to be popular, rich, atheletic or beautiful to play. I also know that there are a lot of beautiful girls out there who are into gaming and have no interest in glamour or becoming a model. I know because they are my friends. Gaming doesn't need stars or personalities because the experiences in gaming place the person playing in the centre. They are the most important person, you can be the hero, not a wealthy celebrity from Hollywood.
You can try and put gaming or computer personalities in the limelight, and what do you get? John Romero, Fatal1ty, Steve Jobs. People who are painfully ordinary who are trying desperately to be cool. In my opinion the best gaming celebrities are the ones who happen to rise to the surface through reputation. Aleks (of the Guardian games blog), Violet Berlin (from Bad Influence and Digitiser), Mr Biffo (Digitiser and Edge), hell even Patrick Moore!
These are the gaming personalities (as far as Great Britain goes, at least) that I respect and listen to. They've gained their gaming wings through the the hard work they do around the games industry, not by appearing in magazines. Mr Biffo worked under his silly sudoname for over a decade, and yet is one of the most respected opinions in the industry.
Gaming offers more than celebrities and Hollywood ever could. What other media lets you BE Solid Snake, Gordon Freeman, Lara Croft, Ico, Morrigan, Bub or Bob or Cloud Strife? Gamers can come together in a unique way when they share their experiences when they put themselves in the shoes of these characters.
Why exactly should gamers have to be glamorous? As far as I remember, games are played for fun. People who play for status and prestige are routinely ridiculed by the gaming public because they are shallow people and their intentions are so transparent.
The games industry has evolved to a status comparable to Hollywood without the aid of a glamourous stereotype dictating the person you can become if you spent money buying games.
The best way to get the mass market into games is to get them to try. If the game is accessible enough and fun to play, they will buy more games.
Of course you're trying to market your clothing, but doing so by exploiting girl gamers as stereotypes and novelties is wrong, and cannot benefit the wider industry in any way.
"What will be cool is if we can get the girls in places like FHM and other big media that currently couldn't give a monkeys about gaming.What will be cool is if we can get the girls in places like FHM and other big media that currently couldn't give a monkeys about gaming."
FHM? Wow, they'll do a brilliant job of quashing the girl gamer stereotype. Forgive me if I sound a little underwhelmed at that prospect.
Additionally, it is true that gaming performance on OS X does suffer due to lack of Direct X. Direct X is the most supported API in the industry and offers an instant advantage to games wherever the technology is present.
I'd imagine that Apple are indeed looking into the probablem, and hoping to improve performance for games using OpenGL. If you've got an Intel iMac like me, you'll run the graphically intensive (and usually Windows only) games in Windows, and run everything else in OS X. I'm not bothered about World of Warcraft, it does run exceptionally well in OS X, and the loading times are excelent. The time it takes to switch applications and open and close WoW seem much shorter, and there is much less maintenance required in OS X than Windows.
GameStop sued by Louisiana store managers
Aug 12th 2006 3:28AM (Joystiq)As the market has become tighter, retail has become increasinly more competitive to the point where they are working their front-line staff to breaking point to make a profit. I've seen this happen in stores everywhere, less staff working harder and harder. It's a real shame because it's the dedication and the hard work put in by your staff in the shops that make that money.
The sad thing is that if you're unwilling to do the work, you're easily replaced by another sucker who desperately wants a job working with games. I guess this goes to show how meaningless customer service, product knowledge and personality is to game shops today. The only important thing is subordination.
There's no wonder that retail is going downhill if managers continue to pursue profit margins as guages of performance. In reality, customers are looking for good customer service and product knowledge. This is something that online stores can never offer.
The only problem I can see here is with the inability to hire & fire their own staff and the compulsory overtime without pay.
As a chain of stores, having a uniform layout, range and price is very important. It allows customers to pick out what they want to buy easily because they've been to another branch before. The price uniformity means that customers are more likely to shop at their local store more often than saving their purchases up to visit a prefered store.
However, the inability to control their own staff and compulsory overtime is an insult to shop manager's inteligence. The responsibilities are becoming increasingly top heavy as area managers take more credit and get paid more. Many of the area managers I've met in my time don't deserve half the money they're paid considering the amount of credit they take for working their subordinates to unrealistic levels.
Every time I visit a retail store I'm met with increasingly stiff customer service and little enthusiasm. There's little wonder given the way they are treated when actually they are the most important people in the company. It's made even worse when you get an opportunity to talk to a genuinely interested shop assistant, who is truely passionate about introducing you to the games they love. It makes you realise how many people have the capability and the intelligence to make a difference when they're being stifled by greedy middle management. They're being exploited, and I expect there are many that don't have the opportunity to get a better job, and many that don't want another job that just want to earn a reasonable wage and be treated like human beings. You know who you are, the industry needs more people like you.
Intel's Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme chips
Jul 31st 2006 1:20PM (TUAW.com)http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/promacs.ars
This is a superb article that answers any questions you have about the CPU options available to Apple for the MacPro. Indeed, Core2Duo and Core2Extreme only have support for a single CPU socket. If Apple wanted to stick with it's quad-core, god-machine heritage, it would have to go with the Woodcrest Xeon. However, Apple to have a history of providing a similarly-speced Powermac to the top-of-the-range iMac, so it could be possible to see a Core 2 Duo at the low end.
@10: The Core 2 Duo CPUs are dual-core like the Core Duos, however, they are 64bit whereas the latter are 32bit. This article doesn't go into detail on the differences between Merom and Yonah, but it does look like upgrading existing Intel Macs with the Merom will provide a performance boost.
The rise and fall of Sega
Jun 20th 2006 2:10PM (Joystiq)There's obvious glitches, but they're not on the scale of some of the other games the saturn had.
As for the reason that Tomb Raider 2 was never released on the Saturn, didn't you ever hear about the exclusivity deal that Sony signed with Eidos? It tied Eidos into an agreement with Sony that the Playstation would be the only console platform that would see a Tomb Raider game until the year 2000, I believe.
Many Sega fans anticipated this date with the advent of the Dreamcast, and were rewarded with Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation and Tomb Raider: Chronicals.
I don't have any time to find some sources, but most articles I've read on the subject name the Saturn as the format that Core designed Tomb Raider for. It's likely that during development the Playstation became popular enough for the game to be ported. The fact that the Saturn version being released first, and the added handstand animation in the Playstation version seem to support this.
Psygnosis were bought out by Sony after Wipeout, I think. After this they became Sony of Liverpool. I would assume that this was after Wipeout 2097, as I can't see Sony warranting a release of their breakthrough UK game being released on their rival format.
Univ of Illinois conducts "Gaymer" survey
Jun 19th 2006 3:08PM (Joystiq)In my case, they'll find out that sexual orientation in games will not make more or less likely to play a game, that I just like good games and I've seldom encounted homophobia in games (apart from the rampant bigotry at the WoW forums in January).
#12: There is, in actual fact no conclusive proof that sexual orientation or gender identity is caused genetically or socially. Experts believe it is caused by a subtle blend of the two factors, but none of the evidence so far gathered can offer even a vague explanation. Expect a lot of sensationalist press around any kind of scientific study.
Booth babes eat your heart out
Jun 18th 2006 5:48PM (Joystiq)Would it be hard to have more of the stylistic art to include girls and guys actually playing games?
The difference that, say, Violet Berlin offers is that she is a very tallented games journalist and is in the public focus because she is also very dynamic and likable for the camera.
I'm pleased to see that some of the girls are posting on your forums and showing that they do know their stuff on games, but I don't believe that modelling is the best showcase for girls in gaming. If the mainstream press did do an article on your models, do you think it would accurately represent the thousands of girl gamers world-wide? Do you think that it would create a good role-model for young girls who are growing up with games? Do you think it is suitable for you to be assuming that modelling, beauty and fasion is universally a "dream" job for girls?
I'd like to think of gaming as a sanctuary from popular media that sends the message that you have to look sexy or glamourous to be successful. Thousands of girls play games because most games generally have no pre-requisite for who you are, or what you look like. More and more games and the media surrounding gaming are surrendering to the pressure to tailor games for teenage boys, with indentikit characters with large breasts and suggestive poses, and chat-lines in the back of magazines. Do you think that photographing girl gamers in ideal conditions, with makeup and suggestive poses for exposure in the mass media will creat a positive environment for more girls to approach gaming?
Absolutely not. Of course, it's about making money out of them. FHM will bring a lot of business, and they want attractive, slim, young girls who are pleasant to look at. The business will only be yours though, and most of it will be men, of course, if you are planning to persue FHM.
How can you argue that this will be "good"? You're clearly not trying to create a long-term positive picture of gaming for girls, and you're trying to sell to lad's magazines for profit because pretty girls interested in boyish things sells. By all means, you're entitled to make money, but please don't even try to say that this will encourage diversity of gender in the games industry.
Thanks for the offer regarding the conference, but I would hate to think that I've earned it by making childish jibes at silly things on teh internet.
Booth babes eat your heart out
Jun 18th 2006 1:53PM (Joystiq)I can assure you that I've met enough girls into gaming to treat them with respect when I meet them, but personally I can't respect girls who use the fact that they enjoy gaming to gain status and attention.
I would relish the opportunity to write to Carmell to discuss Burning Rangers, Nights and Radiant Silvergun, and the tales of the Saturn's early development :-P This is always the tried at tested school-ground way a gamer has fought for respect from other gamers!
I disagree with your opinion that games have to follow Hollywood and the fasion industry to improve it's status. As I've said, it's come a very long way from the arcades without blanket coverage of celebrities and stars. I dislike the suggestion that buying into certain games or brands makes me a better kind of person. Take the XBOX 360 lifestyle photos showing various faces of different, cool people with the circular pattern overlayed on top of them.
Microsoft is trying to place it's market with the socialable, twenty-something people and suggesting that if you buy their product you can be just like them too. I hate this suggestion. Why do I need to know about these people? Why would I like to be more like them? I'm perfectly happy with who I am and don't want to be anything like the image that Microsoft is associating with their product.
I don't want to be one of the "cool" girls that MS or yourself is using to market their products, I want to play good, fun games.
I see this happening in the images you use on your website. The image of the guy and the two girls in your gaming teeshirts springs to mind. The girls are clearly portrayed to be sexually attracted to the guy. Is this how you wish to market your games to me? Am I supposed to think that if I buy into your clothing I will become more sexually involved with men?
I think gaming has it's own path. I think people play games because they are fun to play, and because games don't require you to be popular, rich, atheletic or beautiful to play. I also know that there are a lot of beautiful girls out there who are into gaming and have no interest in glamour or becoming a model. I know because they are my friends.
Gaming doesn't need stars or personalities because the experiences in gaming place the person playing in the centre. They are the most important person, you can be the hero, not a wealthy celebrity from Hollywood.
You can try and put gaming or computer personalities in the limelight, and what do you get? John Romero, Fatal1ty, Steve Jobs. People who are painfully ordinary who are trying desperately to be cool. In my opinion the best gaming celebrities are the ones who happen to rise to the surface through reputation. Aleks (of the Guardian games blog), Violet Berlin (from Bad Influence and Digitiser), Mr Biffo (Digitiser and Edge), hell even Patrick Moore!
These are the gaming personalities (as far as Great Britain goes, at least) that I respect and listen to. They've gained their gaming wings through the the hard work they do around the games industry, not by appearing in magazines. Mr Biffo worked under his silly sudoname for over a decade, and yet is one of the most respected opinions in the industry.
Gaming offers more than celebrities and Hollywood ever could. What other media lets you BE Solid Snake, Gordon Freeman, Lara Croft, Ico, Morrigan, Bub or Bob or Cloud Strife? Gamers can come together in a unique way when they share their experiences when they put themselves in the shoes of these characters.
The appeal in games is that you can be the star.
Booth babes eat your heart out
Jun 18th 2006 10:24AM (Joystiq)The games industry has evolved to a status comparable to Hollywood without the aid of a glamourous stereotype dictating the person you can become if you spent money buying games.
The best way to get the mass market into games is to get them to try. If the game is accessible enough and fun to play, they will buy more games.
Of course you're trying to market your clothing, but doing so by exploiting girl gamers as stereotypes and novelties is wrong, and cannot benefit the wider industry in any way.
Booth babes eat your heart out
Jun 18th 2006 5:54AM (Joystiq)FHM? Wow, they'll do a brilliant job of quashing the girl gamer stereotype. Forgive me if I sound a little underwhelmed at that prospect.
2D's glory -- in top five form
Jun 17th 2006 12:56PM (Joystiq)I can't think of many that has not been mentioned, But Dragon Force was a visual orgy of sprite action.
Pointing out the obvious regarding the MacBook and gaming
Jun 5th 2006 1:46PM (Joystiq)I'd imagine that Apple are indeed looking into the probablem, and hoping to improve performance for games using OpenGL. If you've got an Intel iMac like me, you'll run the graphically intensive (and usually Windows only) games in Windows, and run everything else in OS X. I'm not bothered about World of Warcraft, it does run exceptionally well in OS X, and the loading times are excelent. The time it takes to switch applications and open and close WoW seem much shorter, and there is much less maintenance required in OS X than Windows.