I do agree with robinandtami about this innovative crap. We all know microsoft is a classic example but they're NOT the only one. But in the end.. why the hell do you care who copy who?? As consumer you should care about who give u the most bang for your buck entertaiment. Am I a big fan of apple? No, but I got an iPhone. I use windows XP (screw vista!) and my search engine is Google. Lets stop flaming each other and let the company do that, lets enjoy what they give us =)!

johnyeros

aphex242

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

COPY THEM!!!

VakeroRokero

VakeroRokero

rbedi

robinandtami

aphex242

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

The part where you have to be an A-hole about it. I know how the Wii works. I've had one for well over a year. I've TRIED games like Zelda and Metroid Prime. I do not enjoy them. I much prefer the dual analog controls. If you have a problem with that.... here's a tissue for your issue..... DUDE!

robinandtami

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

just saying.

O, there was parantel control in osx 10.4... BEFORE vista. just hard to find.

swartz

and your a 360 fan all you can do is laugh at the Nintendo fans... they basically bought a slimmed Gamecube, with a new remote for full retail price

when my computer doubles in processor speed and gets a completely redesigned GPU i generally consider that a fairly significant improvement. you don't? the PS3 / 360 improved "more"? well... i'm sure whatever computer you have now could be better than it is as well.

i don't see people walking around mocking people nonstop for using a 3GHz machine... when you and i both know that for 90% of the computing public something with half the processor speed would perfectly suffice. why the double standard?

x23

ChaoticLimbs

If I wanted to wave my hands around like an idiot, I'd have bought a Wii.

Since I don't, I didn't.

ZeroCorpse

Ahhhh, I get it! Microsoft is for the individualist. The "think different" types. The "I walk to the beat of my own drum" free spirits who refuse to conform and follow the masses.

Makes perfect sense to me!

*snicker*

P.S. I bought one of my "craptastic" iPods before the Zune was a devious glimmer in Steve Ballmer's eye. 5 years and still going strong. But keep the FUD alive, it's the Microsoft way!

LagunaSol

"oh tac, com tac tac tac, you tac tac tac gtac tac tac"

Yup, button pressing action instead of actually hearing the person talk/scream/insult.

GoodBytes

I just can't believe that microstuff would stoop to this level in the console war. They should just stick to making shitty business applications for the other unoriginal scum-sucking thought police to use while stealing other ideas.

Oh yes, there will be blood.

Tonight we dine in hell.

Regulators, mount up :P

iFlingPoo

Zune is also for the niche market where people don't want to buy another craptastic iPod. Last time I checked, niche doesn't necessarily = larger numbers.
I guess that would make OS X inferior to you, right?

A free firmware is far better than paying up $20 just to add on a few small buttons.

OS and firmwares are 2 completely different things.

I guess Apple "didn't" copy Sony Vaio laptops, "didn't" copy the WiFi feature on Zunes, and "didn't" copy all the other successful ideas of the time. Oh wait, they did.

quikboy

Regarding the iPod thing with my brother, I was responding to a fanboy who claimed that Apple was some kind of deity who had never ripped anyone off, and that the Zune was horrible. When, in fact, the iPod is a complete ripoff of two different products that came to market, in quantity, prior to it. I merely tossed out the story as a way to pile on. Feel free to ignore it if you feel it's confusing or unnecessary, as you have done with several other posts on the thread.

MS isn't perfect, that sure as hell is true, but you don't have to be a follower of Jim Jones to see that sometimes they do stuff right. The Zune situation was certainly one. Was it self-serving in a way? Sure. Does that make it less of a benefit for the consumer? Nope. So what was your point exactly there? And that story is literally the polar opposite of what my brother is dealing with, so I thought it might be relevant.

But no, not for one minute do I believe that MS would do it if they were in the driver's seat, they'd be boning my brother too if they were.

Ooo a Vista jab! And you attack MY post for having portions that are irrelevant?

Again, if you wanna keep those anti-MS goggles so tightly strapped to your face that you can't see it in other companies all the time, that's fine with me. But please don't try to act like it's somehow the high road.

aphex242

Leopard copied a few things from Vista. Parental Controls? Translucent (badly done on Apple's part) menubar?

5GB Hotmail is awesome. I never go past 1%. Exactly how much storage does Google exactly offer?

Live.com came out before what's considered iGoogle. In some ways, both have their pros and cons. So Google copied?

Soapbox offers more better coding, and the site's almost a blast to use. I love how you can search for videos, while the video player stays stationary, and the video keeps on playing while your searching for more. Plus instant playlists are also another innovation.

Xbox 360 launched before the Wii. Are you an idiot?

So I proved you WRONG. I guess "everything's [NOT] true".

quikboy

japFA

Gonzie

rodsky

This is a philosophy that has existed in gaming since the beginning of things.

Were there hordes of Pong fans blasting the creators and fans of Asteroids because they copied the idea of video games? No.

Was there a spirit of ownership behind the FPS when Doom arrived? No.

As gamers and consumers, we shouldn't condemn companies for utilizing and innovating upon good ideas. We should praise them.

TedTheShred

now read: [en.wikipedia.org]
maybe, just maybe, they're code-naming their motion-sensitive device after a guy who came up with 3 little things called THE LAWS OF MOTION.

stupid mac fanboys always have to find SOME way to make microsoft sound like it's copying apple.

willyolio

So you illustrate your point that Apple is a copycat just like everyone else by pointing out that Samsung copied...Apple? Hmm.

And I can't see the correlation between your brother's new iPod "woes" and your justification of Microsoft's "Me Too" R&D practices (which is what this thread is all about).

And are you seriously implying that if Microsoft were in the catbird seat in the DAP market that they still would have been so generous with their Zune firmware update? Hilarious! Truly Steve Ballmer is the most benevolent of dictators! Have another glass of kool-aid.

Hey, maybe Microsoft should give me a free copy of Vista to replace my copy of XP. Since they're such nice guys and all. (Wait - strike that - I don't want a copy of Vista, free or otherwise).

Your "hey, everyone is doing it!" defense of Microsoft is absurd. And sad.

I knew a MSWiimote360 was just a matter of time. It's the Microsoft way. I just didn't think it would happen as quickly as it did.

Redmond, start your copiers.

(Note: I can't wait to see the inevitable ZunePhone. I'm sure it will be a masterpiece of original thinking.)

LagunaSol

Tiger-Fever

SuperMekman

sephiroth58

@LagunaSol: Wow, you got me. On Planet Redmond, one of your 'Earth' years are a zillion of ours.

All kidding aside, I'm not an MS hack, comments in my profile aside. Seriously, I see a fairly substantial lack of innovation in a wide variety of areas, as competitors just blatantly rip each other off. Samsung's new version of the iPhone comes to mind. There's a general lack of ideas and an inability to really add features in a lot of products, it's just rehashed garbage.

My brother's iPod just crapped the bed a couple days ago, he went and bought an iPod classic to replace it, and now his Apple laptop won't work with it because it's stamping it's feet and screaming that he needs to install OSX. Why? Because Apple says so. There's nothing 'better' about the iPod, it's just the same thing he had before, only he's boned into upgrading.

My point? The Zune, while unquestionably flawed by crappy battery life, was upgraded by MS, even the ancient old ones, to the newest feature set. Say what you want about MS, but they took care of their customers there. I've rarely, if ever, seen Apple do the same. The mantra of Apple has been overpriced products, proprietary systems, and forcible upgrading. For decades. Anyone watching would agree.

I was merely trying to provide a counterpoint to the obvious fanboyish ranting of "OMG MS AM R STEELING MOAR STUFFZ" that litters this thread. Home computing companies do it, automakers do it, homebuilders do it, cities do it, countries do it, politicians do it, etc.

There are very few original ideas, and if you can't see that fact, and continue to hold MS up as some symbol of the theft of I.P. and fail to recognize it everywhere else, you're doing yourself a serious disservice. Not saying it's right, I'm just saying it's how things ARE.

aphex242

mrlokievil

Your arguments that Microsoft's blatant ripoffs of everyone else are simply the standard business practice echoed across the industry are hilariously naive and ridiculous.

Microsoft is the gold standard for shamelessly "innovating" off the work of competitors, just before running over those competitors with a bulldozer.

Thankfully, those days are fading fast. The last time I checked, the Zune isn't exactly becoming a market dominator. Welcome to the social.

And "the Xbox 360 came out a zillion years before the Wii???" Really? There must be another time standard on Planet Redmond, where you apparently dwell.

LagunaSol

I do realize the nunchuk is there for movement, but sometimes you want to move in one direction while looking in another.

@dry-roasted-peanuts:

I should have said hardcore CONSOLE FPS player. I've never been a fan of sitting and playing ANY game at a PC. k+m may be superior, but not if you've never used them. I've been playing Shadowrun for about a year now. IMO, it's the best multiplayer FPS that you can play right now because not only is it one of the most perfectly balanced shooters of all time; all of the races magics and techs allow everyone to create a character that is perfectly suited to their personal play style. This is the first, and to date, only cross platform game where console players can compete with and against PC players. I've played it almost daily for at least an hour, for over a year now. The ONLY way I can tell a PC player from a console player from within the game is when a PC player does what we call the "Vista Twist" (a little jump and spin in the air kind of deal.) The Vista players most definitely do not PWNZ AWL TEH KONSOLE NUBZ with ease.

@emag: Yes I have played Metroid Prime and I still much prefer the dual analog sticks.

@fallenturtle: I hated the action parts of Mass Effect. The movement was sticky and the aiming system was indeed very bad. I wouldn't use that as a comparison model. Instead you should look at other console FPS's that were coded much better like Halo I, Bioshock, Shadowrun, Ghost Recon, etc.

robinandtami

@lafond66: Your Xbox 360 before Wii comment? Have you forgotten what this post was all about?

Mrrix32

LagunaSol

IE exsisted before Firefox. The features in IE7 are similar to firefox, opera, safari, etc.

I'm ignore the windows / osx comment.

Ohh upping their older webmail to match the competition, that's such a sin.

Live.com is the remake of MSN which existed before Google.

Soapbox = stupid.

Right, so we're going to start hating on a technologically superior in ALL aspects platform because they're creating a similar controller to your precious gamecube in a new wrapper's controller. But wait, having button in a controller was atari! I guess every console since then has copied them, what posers. And a D-pad! that was totally the Famicom. Lets sue Sega, Sony and Microsoft for using a D-pad!

lafond66

pharago

The Mac, and frankly the whole idea for a GUI-based operating system was developed by Xerox.

Hotmail came out before Gmail. If you're saying that competitors can't add features to stay current in the marketplace then every car manufacturer is ripping each other off, for example. That's just silly.

The Xbox360 came out a zillion years before the Wii. So, I fail to see your point.

The iPod was a ripoff of this: [reviews.cnet.com] and later, the Diamond Rio.

Firefox didn't exist when IE was created, the closest thing was Mozilla.

So... in the future, please just PLEASE just consider what you're saying before you say it.

Everyone rips everyone off. You catching that point yet?

aphex242

lafond66

Zune -> iPod
IE -> Firefox
Windows -> Mac
5GB Hotmail -> Gmail
Live.com -> Google.com
SoapBox -> YouTube
Xbox 360 -> Wii

Yes OK I'm a Nintendo/Google/Firefox Fanboi and I'm Anti-M$FT, but It's all true!!

Mrrix32

I would elaborate but I don't think it's really needed.
They need to just get a clue.

fosho4

As for ruling with an iron fist, I think I'll be turning on my laptop now so I can dry those tears of mine. Tears of laughter.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

twilight-arc

twilight-arc

andrelix

So M$ is ripping off 2 companies on this one?

uberfu

I'm waiting for the same sort of game as The Island (the huge Xbox simulation room for fighting they had).

That would be awesome.

Jud

Darrone

Juggrnott

mtopper

@emag: Really. Try to picture your thumb on the round disk. Your palm and the area at the bottom of your thumb would be over the X and B buttons. Well, maybe you have tiny girly hands.

LoganSix

draiko... someone that mentions gay 2 times in the first 4 words of a comment is.... gay

@Monty: and your a 360 fan all you can do is laugh at the Nintendo fans... they basically bought a slimmed Gamecube, with a new remote for full retail price ... crap graphics, basically the same games... with a new upgraded controller... the question bares... why didnt they just release the wiimote as a gamecube addon?

The 360 will have 360 graphics, true next gen... coupled with xbox live support, and now their adding motion sensing as an option...

atleast its an option ... i mean every ps3 owner has sixaxis control and out of 11 people i know locally with a ps3, none use the tilt control... EVER! Yet they gave up dual shock on day 1 for a useless gimmick.

if your into the tilt controls and microsoft gets games to start implementing patches and new games get the motion support then it will be perfect for those people that actually want motion sensing... most dont in my experience.

phantam

draiko

draiko

maven2k

"Cairo... that's in Egypt..."

MasterYong

Monty

HeartBurnKid, creepy morbid freak

nutbastard

to be honest, i don't really care if MS is copying nintendo... as long as their version is an IMPROVEMENT. the wiimote definitely has room for improvement, especially the motion sensing. things like being able to calibrate to screen size, better tilt/spin sensing, more comfortable "sideways" configuration...

willyolio

MrBlahBlah

dry-roasted-peanuts

If XBox development can bring something that does what you were wishing for, then the ball's totally in their court, but I don't imagine that it will matter too much, because the Wii's still much cheaper, and every goddamn kid out there will still want one.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

Neoistheone2000

solareclipse2

Look, for some apps it's great. I agree maybe not this one.
Possible, but more problematic than problem-solving.

strider_mt2k

solareclipse2

If this Xiimote lacks the plug-in nunchuck with the toggle, I don't see how it can be any more functional than the Wii's, microphone be damned.

Kaiser-Machead's Chips Ahoy!

Joseph

emag

blackwand

lpranal

BaseVilliN

[www.wii-volution.com]

highfloydelity

If i move my hand ONE INCH to the right, I want that mimicked precisely. If all they're going to do is preprogrammed button-press activating motions, color me unimpressed.

Now i know it works reasonably well for "Duck Hunt" style games, but that's nothing new. The other issue is - WHY IR? WHY DEPEND ON A LINE OF SIGHT FOR A DEVICE THATS BEING WAVED AROUND CONSTANTLY???

My interest in this stuff was wiitired immediately after discovering this scripted-ness in a wii boxing game. I MIGHT AS WELL PUSH BUTTONS IF IT'S NOT GOING TO ACTUALLY MIMIC WHAT I'M DOING!

nutbastard

Well knock me over with a feather, Rare having a hard time meeting deadlines. Dinosaur Planet only took them what, 8 years and the lifespan of 2 systems. Kameo was even worse, spanning the N64, and Gamecube before it was finally released on the xbox.

Rest assured Wii fanboys, this project is in sufficiently incapable hands. Worry about the xbox 720.

Optimus-Prime

MisterSleep

Hiphopopotamus

fallenturtle

fallenturtle

itchytooth

I disagree. I think the Wii control system is abyssmal for FPS's. I'm a hardcore FPS player. It's really the only kind of game I play. I always say, no gun = no fun. The Wii aiming is nice in a Duck Hunt arcade type shooting game, but there is far more to a good FPS than just the aiming. That's where the Wii control system falls far short. You just can't beat the dual analog stick system for controlling movement and point of view simultaneously.

robinandtami

nightsky

Loserface

nightsky

nightsky

nightsky

@ripfire4:
Of course, there are precious few worthwhile 3rd party Wii games (Zack & Wiki, Resident Evil 4, No More Heroes). Nintendo's not about to port its own games (Zelda, Paper Mario, Battalion Wars, Fire Emblem, Mario Galaxy, Mario Kart, Metroid Prime, Smash Bros.) over to Microsoft's system.

@LoganSix: You've got messed up hands, man.

emag

Hiphopopotamus

Jimbuck

Darrone

DeCerbo

LoganSix

edicius

mrxcel

MisterSleep

ripfire

Darrone

LoganSix

Microsoft actually does pretty well with peripheral hardware so there should be something cool there.

I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.

strider_mt2k

LoganSix

Darrone

Well they sure got me with...WHHAAAAAAAAA????

Nintendo gets a cut, right?

strider_mt2k

LoganSix