i've had to go a few times and i hate it. but i've only been when it's been extremely busy and it is certainly not designed for the amount of custom it does get. it looks nice and all when i've seen through the windows when it's closed but it's terrible when full.
for a start it has no signage (you'd think apple would have good signage, but it has non) and *everything* is kept below head level which means that when it's crowded knowing what people are crowded around is impossible without forcing your way to the front. (I still have no idea what's on those tables near the entrance) I don't think the table layout helps those busy times either. From my experience, the first time you go there, if it's busy, you have to ask where stuff is.
If you've never been there before how would you know that software (or anything else for that matter) is upstairs, there's nothing to tell you.
Plus if you're upstairs trying to find the tills is difficult, what with no signage pointing you downstairs and the two 'genius' bars upstairs looking like they might be payment points with nothing to differentiate them esp. when they're surrounded by all the people they have had when i've been there.
Personally i think it's poorly designed for the amount of people they have in there. People i've spoken to have agreed with me so i can't be that crazy :S :D
i've not been to any other apple store but i think the apple store on regent street is a terrible shopping experience. You would think that apple would get shopping right, it was so disappointing.
I would just like to say that I was at his keynote speech and I've never seen so much spin on a presentation as in that gamesindustry.biz article. Clearly his headline is more catchy than 'Developer rambles on in a bizarre, zen-like presentation'. Or maybe he had a bit of writer's block trying to write something tangible about what was a very abstract(in a good way) keynote speech.
Keita mentioned about the environment what was essentially in passing and in a completely different context than most people in the comments assume from that dishonest article. In fact, most of it comes from when a snooty member of the audience asked him why he bothered to make games if he cared about the environment? why doesn't he do something more worthwhile.
It's a shame so many people have formed what seems to be a negative image of such an enigmatic developer simply from this trashy gamesindustry.biz news article.
personally i like the idea of these nega-reviews. It's very easy, especially on hyped games, to find out what people like but very hard to find what people dislike. And gathering all those critical comments together, in my view, gives me a much clearer picture of the game.
When I look at a game I might want to purchase in a shop it's very easy to answer the question "why will i like this game" but harder to answer the "why might i regret purchasing this game", and these compilations help me as a consumer without having to pour over hundreds of reviews.
They're also quite useful as someone interested in game-design, in seeing what things gather negative reviews.
"Here's my logic: when a body rates a game, they are saying that it is unsuitable for most people below X years of age. By not classifying a game, they are saying that it is unsuitable for anyone of any age, which I find insulting."
That's a non-sequitur. surely by not rating a game the only thing you can be sure of them "saying" is that they don't think it's suitable for the youngest ages of the highest age-group. ie: 18 yr olds. Because 18 is the highest restriction all it need take is for something to be unsuitable for 18 year olds for it not to get a rating.
"I don't feel oppressed by the ratings system, just disrespected. The question here is hat if Act of Violence X is acceptable in a film (which is clearly marked as for adults) why is Act of Violence X not acceptable in a video game (which is clearly marked as for adults)? I feel that this double standard is a result of a disparity in the respect afforded to films, as opposed to games. And to me, this carries over into a lack of respect for gamers."
Are you so sure that this is disrespect for games or simply different perspectives. I'm acutely aware that the way I view games, being someone who's played games since the inception of home computing, is very different from someone who's only started with the PSone, or the PS2 or even the PS3. I know from watching tv that my mum cowers behind a cushion to content I would consider tame and contains no actual on-screen depiction of violence. I think it's arrogant that so many people are so willing to accuse others of double-standards simply because they have a different perspective on the issues.
I'm really glad someone has finally got the BBFC to talk about the progress. Throughout this news topic the media has simply printed the same phrase "Banned" over-and-over with no exploration of the issues and the public has regurgitated it with no questioning of the processes involved in rating games. Journalists are in a privileged position to ask such questions on behalf of those they disseminate the news to and so far they have failed dismally. And it's telling that it's not the traditional news media finally giving us the insight but IGN and bloggers.
How many people here work at the BBFC or know how the ratings system works with regards for video games? Also look at the language used, everyone is throwing around the word "ban" which has a very pejorative bias. While they essentially have banned it, did they "ban" it in a fit of moral outrage or did they find that they could not fit it into the available ratings using the criteria they have. The former certainly sounds like it's bad while the latter hardly conjours up an image of a fascist UK. Like it or not I'm sure most people would agree that things need to be rated and in extreme cases prevented from being distributed. snuff films anyone? there has to be a line and some people will think it's too high and some will think it's too low. And with all this comes beurocracy... the ratings available finish at 18!! 18 years old (only 18, that is young!!!) is the upper threshold and clearly this has shown that it has an upper boundary in their criteria. Has anyone stopped and asked "if there was a higher rating above 18, would this game have successfully got a rating?". perhaps we do need a higher rating for games like Manhunt 2! Anyway all I can say is at least the BBFC haven't made companies re-rate games because a third party user hacks nipple textures into the game
"I'm glad that Manhunt 2 was banned in the UK and I hope it spreads because it's so damn funny. Those people love their nanny-state governments so they should all should sit down and shut. After all, their nanny-state government has declared it "harmful"! You can't have it both ways eurolefties: either you can live like an animal in a zoo or you can be an individual. You can't pick and choose when you want to be a collectivist and when you want to be an individual, and this situation proves it."
LOL at simplistic, binary thinking. watch out for all the strawmen! :)
"We don't know if movies like Hostel or the other hardcore horror movies have been banned in the UK, but if they haven't, that feels like a double standard."
C'mon. How on earth is it double standards??? they clearly have a specific set of criteria for videogames and another set of criteria for films. Just because the two don't match your own criteria for both it doesn't logically follow that there's any double standards at play at all.
Apple preparing another large London store?
Mar 6th 2008 11:46AM (TUAW.com)for a start it has no signage (you'd think apple would have good signage, but it has non) and *everything* is kept below head level which means that when it's crowded knowing what people are crowded around is impossible without forcing your way to the front. (I still have no idea what's on those tables near the entrance) I don't think the table layout helps those busy times either. From my experience, the first time you go there, if it's busy, you have to ask where stuff is.
If you've never been there before how would you know that software (or anything else for that matter) is upstairs, there's nothing to tell you.
Plus if you're upstairs trying to find the tills is difficult, what with no signage pointing you downstairs and the two 'genius' bars upstairs looking like they might be payment points with nothing to differentiate them esp. when they're surrounded by all the people they have had when i've been there.
Personally i think it's poorly designed for the amount of people they have in there. People i've spoken to have agreed with me so i can't be that crazy :S :D
Apple preparing another large London store?
Mar 6th 2008 5:04AM (TUAW.com)The changing life and times of Leopard
Feb 14th 2008 4:38AM (TUAW.com)only, i haven't upgraded to .5.2 yet! i'm still running .5.1.
haven't there always been reports of flakey networking on the mbp
Katamari creator downplays importance of video games
Oct 30th 2007 8:23PM (Joystiq)Clearly his headline is more catchy than 'Developer rambles on in a bizarre, zen-like presentation'. Or maybe he had a bit of writer's block trying to write something tangible about what was a very abstract(in a good way) keynote speech.
Keita mentioned about the environment what was essentially in passing and in a completely different context than most people in the comments assume from that dishonest article. In fact, most of it comes from when a snooty member of the audience asked him why he bothered to make games if he cared about the environment? why doesn't he do something more worthwhile.
It's a shame so many people have formed what seems to be a negative image of such an enigmatic developer simply from this trashy gamesindustry.biz news article.
Nega-review: The Orange Box
Oct 19th 2007 9:46PM (Joystiq)It's very easy, especially on hyped games, to find out what people like but very hard to find what people dislike. And gathering all those critical comments together, in my view, gives me a much clearer picture of the game.
When I look at a game I might want to purchase in a shop it's very easy to answer the question "why will i like this game" but harder to answer the "why might i regret purchasing this game", and these compilations help me as a consumer without having to pour over hundreds of reviews.
They're also quite useful as someone interested in game-design, in seeing what things gather negative reviews.
look forward to seeing more.
IGN provides BBFC primer for non-Brits
Jun 28th 2007 6:29PM (Joystiq)That's a non-sequitur. surely by not rating a game the only thing you can be sure of them "saying" is that they don't think it's suitable for the youngest ages of the highest age-group. ie: 18 yr olds. Because 18 is the highest restriction all it need take is for something to be unsuitable for 18 year olds for it not to get a rating.
"I don't feel oppressed by the ratings system, just disrespected. The question here is hat if Act of Violence X is acceptable in a film (which is clearly marked as for adults) why is Act of Violence X not acceptable in a video game (which is clearly marked as for adults)? I feel that this double standard is a result of a disparity in the respect afforded to films, as opposed to games. And to me, this carries over into a lack of respect for gamers."
Are you so sure that this is disrespect for games or simply different perspectives. I'm acutely aware that the way I view games, being someone who's played games since the inception of home computing, is very different from someone who's only started with the PSone, or the PS2 or even the PS3. I know from watching tv that my mum cowers behind a cushion to content I would consider tame and contains no actual on-screen depiction of violence. I think it's arrogant that so many people are so willing to accuse others of double-standards simply because they have a different perspective on the issues.
I'm really glad someone has finally got the BBFC to talk about the progress. Throughout this news topic the media has simply printed the same phrase "Banned" over-and-over with no exploration of the issues and the public has regurgitated it with no questioning of the processes involved in rating games. Journalists are in a privileged position to ask such questions on behalf of those they disseminate the news to and so far they have failed dismally. And it's telling that it's not the traditional news media finally giving us the insight but IGN and bloggers.
No political influence in Manhunt decision says BBFC
Jun 20th 2007 2:51PM (Joystiq)Anyway all I can say is at least the BBFC haven't made companies re-rate games because a third party user hacks nipple textures into the game
No political influence in Manhunt decision says BBFC
Jun 20th 2007 2:18PM (Joystiq)LOL at simplistic, binary thinking. watch out for all the strawmen! :)
No political influence in Manhunt decision says BBFC
Jun 20th 2007 2:14PM (Joystiq)C'mon. How on earth is it double standards??? they clearly have a specific set of criteria for videogames and another set of criteria for films. Just because the two don't match your own criteria for both it doesn't logically follow that there's any double standards at play at all.
Lumines clone Luminator sliding to DS
Jun 15th 2007 11:32AM (Joystiq)i remember that guy who recently got a cease and desist for making a geometry wars clone and he wasn't even making any money