Setzer

No, he didn't. I was just stating that MS was able to get the #2 spot last round w/o having any support in Japan and I think the 360 will be in the same position this round unless they can miraculously get people in Japan to start buying 360s. The point of this whole thread is who's going to win the console war NOT about who's making money. In fact, no one but maybe Nintendo will be making any money. Right now MS is losing money on every 360 it sells and Sony will lose money on every PS3 it sells. Nintendo's Wii, which is basically a glorified GameCube, will probably sell for around $250 and it wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo profited from it.

That assumes M$ is going to invest A LOT of money in trying to get the Xbox 360 to take off in Japan. Sony and M$ don't treat JP and NA the same way... Sony needs the console to take off in both regions, while M$ can really do without the JP support (Xbox eventually made money correct? Even with the lousy JP sales). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> My point is, Sony & Nintendo have always been able to get support in both regions while MS hasn't been able to get support in Japan and that's why MS won't win the console war. I agree, MS can still make money off the 360 w/o JP support but it needs JP support to get to the top, imo. I believe Xbox narrowly outsold the GameCube, I don't have the exact figures but that was mainly due to the lack of 2nd & 3rd party support Nintendo had. In fact, it's last 2 consoles have had lousy support and they've relied heavily on it's 1st party games(zelda, mario, metroid, etc.).

I find it pretty damn funny that a majority of you think the 360 will win the console war. Microsoft practically has ZERO support in Japan and that's where a good chunk of your sales is going to come from. If Microsoft can't get support in Japan then it's not going to stand a chance against Sony and Nintendo. I have nothing against the 360, I think it's a great console but I won't spend $400 on a console thats library of games is limited to FPS and Sports titles. I think Microsoft has a good shot at placing #2 but that's only if Sony fails.

I read a post earlier in this thread that mentions a combat mod of some sort? Anyways, if it doesn't play in XP then I can cross that one off. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yea I wouldn

Btw, no radial menu in NWN 2. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thank God! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Read here http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewt...475550&forum=95 <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks!

Fixed that for ya.

Btw, no radial menu in NWN 2. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thank God!

I read a post earlier in this thread that mentions a combat mod of some sort? Anyways, if it doesn't play in XP then I can cross that one off.

Good thread! I'm just about ready to uninstall this Oblivion crap off my HD and was going to ask suggestions on what I should try next. Wizardry 8 - I've actually heard lots of good things about this game and since I enjoyed the Might & Magic series(except IX) I might have to check this one out. Neverwinter Nights - I've only played a Sorcerer to 10 in the OC and while I don't mind the OC's story I absolutely hate the interface and camera. The radial menu sucks and "click to move" with the crappy camera makes controlling your character frustrating. If NWN2 controls anything likes this then I'm probably going to pass. Probably the only reason I would suffer through playing this is if the story continues in the second game. Ones I would recommend.... Planescape Torment - Great story! Easily in my top 5 rpg's. Might & Magic VI & VII - I second Eldar on these 2 games. Good stories and an excellent mix of fantasy/sci-fi. Heroes of Might & Magic V - if you enjoyed the previous installments in the series then pick this one up.

They vary. Some have few as 5-6 pages and some can get pretty lengthy, up to 80 pages. There are probably some with more than that but I haven't found them yet. When it's all said and done I'll probably have more time examining books than actually fighting badies.

More than your local Library has.

Thanks but Enoch already filled me in on that part.

If a book gives you a bonus, it'll do so the instant you open it. So there's no reason to read a single word, or turn past page 1. I only click on books with interesting titles (i.e., not "A Brief History of the Empire, v. 4." "The Biography of Babayaga, v. 3," etc.). The only book I found with useful information in the text is the one that describes the varieties of daedra. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks for that information! I was unsure how it worked so I would open each book and quickly turn the pages to the end - didn't care to read 'em but I didn't know if you had to flip through all the pages or what because I've yet to find a book to give me a skill or attribute point. LadyCrimson, I think I'll take your advice and see if I can find a list of where those books are so I'm not bothering myself with them. Thanks.

I agree with you about Oblivion not being anything special beyond eye-candy but what a beautiful game world it is! As far as the books go, I read somewhere that you can get increases to skills or attributes by reading certain books - that's why I'm going through each house reading every book I come across. So, if that's not the case then I won't bother with them. That should free up alot more time for gaming.

I don't know how that relates to someone who just wants to maximize their gaming experience by getting everything possible out of a game? Seems like there others here who feel the same way I do - I guess they must have ADHD & OCD too? I think Oblivion can be overwhelming to alot of gamers but feel free to ASSume what you want because that's all you're doing.

I wouldn't consider the 360 considerably cheaper. If you get the $500 PS3 model you're getting a better system, blue ray and a 20gb HD. That's only $100 more than the 360. The Wii will easily be 1/2 the cost of a PS3 and a 360 and that's where Nintendo has the advantage. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> But you're looking at the deluxe version of one console, versus, the stripped down ghetto version of another. Most people know that the deluxe version of a console is the one to buy, thanks to features, and the differences there is clearly $200. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The so called deluxe version of the 360 is practically equivalent to the $500 PS3 model, that's why I compared the two.

I wouldn't consider the 360 considerably cheaper. If you get the $500 PS3 model you're getting a better system, blue ray and a 20gb HD. That's only $100 more than the 360. The Wii will easily be 1/2 the cost of a PS3 and a 360 and that's where Nintendo has the advantage.

I'm trying to get into this game but it just overwhelms me. I hear all the time from friends and co-workers what a great RPG this is...blah blah blah and so on. I love RPG's for their storylines and gameplay depth but for some reason, with Oblivion, I'm drawn to it's eye candy and it's expansiveness and don't really care about the weak storyline since the game's focus is not just on one main storyline. I guess the overwhelmness of it all comes from being to interact with practically everything in the game world. I'm one of those guys who's a "completest", if there is such a thing, which basically means that in every RPG I play I want to do and see everything possible so that I don't miss something at the end and then end up with something like, "oh ****, I finished with 99.9% of the moogles found and I missed one I can't get now so I don't get the extra cool ending". If I'm going to invest 50 hours or more into a game then I'm going to do everything it has to offer because I'm not going to play it again. With Oblivion I'm going into town and into each shop searching, reading, talking to everything. If I don't open everything possible, read every freakin book, and talk to all the NPC's I feel like I'm going to miss out on something. I spent 2 hours playing last night and I'm still not out of the Market district in the Imperial City. I know I'm just ranting but can any of you give me some advice on where to go and what to do first? Maybe I need to just give up. To think I spent $300 to upgrade my video card just so I could play this frickin' game. Oh well, at least it'll come to good use when NWN 2 comes out.

Are you getting paid?

Sony might be in trouble this generation and it's not because of what Nintendo or Microsoft is doing, it'll be their own doing. I like the fact Sony is truly trying to make a next-gen console unlike what Nintendo and Microsoft have done but that decision is going to price themselves out of the average consumer's home. Come this Holiday season people would rather spend $250 on a Wii or $300 on a 360 than laying down $600 on a PS3. Hell, you could buy both a 360 and a Wii and save $50. I think Sony needs to seriously consider dropping the blue ray drive and going with DVD-HD, that way they can price themselves at the same price of a 360 and still have a more powerful system. Even though having a more powerful system isn't going to win you the console war. Did Sony forget that the PS2, which was released in 2000, outsold the Xbox and GameCube and it was not as poweful as either of those consoles? Why? Games, it's all about games. I think Nintendo has the best chance to win this next-gen war. They have strong support in Japan and here. I think the Wii will have better 2nd and 3rd party software support than the Cube did because of the possibilities with the Wii controller. Nintendo has a strong line-up of 1st party games which includes Zelda at launch and the price of the Wii is affordable for the average consumer. I think the Wii has the potential to get non-gamers and casual gamers to go out and buy one simply because of the controller. Nintendo may not have the most powerful console on the market but they realize they don't need one and the focus should be on the games. As for Microsoft, if Sony fails with the PS3 then the 360 will be #2 but if that doesn't happen then I look for the 360 to come in at #3. The 360 is basically a glorified Xbox and really not much of an upgrade if you ask me. I thought the Xbox was a good system hardware wise and it should have been supported for 2 more years before MS released their next console. Honestly, the games don't look that much better on the 360 than they do on an Xbox. I was not impressed with MS at E3 - they have ONE game to look forward to this year - Gears of War and their other "big" games won't be out until late 2007. MS still hasn't learned from it's failures with the Xbox - you have to have a strong game selection for people to rush out and buy your system. I loved it when all those people ate up a 360 at launch and then 1-2 months later were selling it on ebay because of the lack of games. Maybe it's too early to tell. I know the Xbox didn't have any support from Japan but the 360 is starting to get a little even though the console sales over there suck. I think in order for the 360 to be #1 they have to have strong support and sales in Japan and that's not going to happen. Personally, I'm getting a PS3 because one, it's a PlayStation and the PS has been home to some of the best games the last 10 years and two, the cost of a stand alone blue ray drive is going to be $1000 and I'll be able to get that plus a gaming machine for $600 - a freakin' steal.

How do you like it compared to WoW? I recently cancelled my WoW account and went back to Dark Age because I wanted some good PvP and didn't like waiting hours in a que. Plus, the game basically gives the casual gamer the middle finger once you hit 60. I don't have time to spend 5-6 hrs a day going on raids just so I can fight with other players over loot. I really didn't want to leave WoW because I enjoyed the PvE immensley but the whole focus on raiding at 60, the complete joke that is the PvP honor system, faction grinding and the immature player base really took the fun out of the game, for me anyways. I've been meaning to try EQ2 but I didn't want to invest time in a PvE only MMO. I heard they've added some form of PvP or are going to in an expansion. I see you played/play WoW too so I'm interested to know how you would compare the two.

Well, it's been a while for me but I've played through all of them except FF III, which I'll finally get to do later this year on the DS. Probably the one constant in all FF games, up until now, is random battles. There have been significant changes in each of the games though, from D&D style magic system to learning abilities from weapons/armor you equipped, to removing the leveling system all together, to gaining magic by drawing it from your enemies, etc. Square managed to add something new with each installment in the series and while they were criticized for some things I give them props for mixing it up.

Graphically it won't come close to Oblivion but it'll easliy beat it in the story department. Well, practically any other RPG out there has a better story than Oblivion. I still gotta give props to Bethseda for making it look good graphically. I'm sure it made nVidia and ATI happy too with all the people out there who had to upgrade in order to play the damn game. What a shame.

That's right. FFXII is one of the Greats with a capital G, right next to epics like Nintendogs. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> True. They really know how to pick the Great ones, don't they? I thought Zelda: OOT was another laughable 40 score, didn't you?