Gamerscore Blog

Thanks very much!!!  I will listen to your podcast.  Sorry for all the complaining -- I do appreciate your attention.  It wouldn't bother me if I didn't love my 360 so much~

You complain too much,me? I'm fair & balanced.

:P

GDC is soon here,are you guys gonna be there?

I mean with videos/interviews from GDC.

by the way it was valentines day in europe as well. nice podcast.

@quezcotl - we only tease because we love you.  ;)

Yes, we will be at GDC, and we hope to shoot some video and ask some interesting questions.

You got any site were I can read which developers will be there?

btw one question,why didnt you wait and include NPD figure this week?

You guys usually do that.

Guys...  you're, pimping DD (digital distribution) and VOD (video on demand) a little hard aren't we?  I only expect it to get worse with the demise of HD-DVD making the HD-DVD add-on less and less relevant.

Can you answer a few questions for someone that's never used Xbox Live Video Marketplace or services like Comcast's On Demand?  When you "rent" a movie, are you still limited to some short time period after you start watching that you have to finish watching?  Are the HD shows offered in 1080p?  What are the major studios that do NOT have content available?  Can you take your media from room to room or even someone else's house?

In a perfect world, I could see video on demand being great, but frankly even though DD/VOD is the best it's ever been, it's nowhere near "the answer" yet...  Disc-based movies will be popular for YEARS and YEARS to come... I'm sure progress will be made, but IMO the Comcast offerings are crap (and not the full 1080p that most of the new HDTVs sold support), the viewing windows of most DD/VOD shows are not very flexible...  the prices aren't really any more appealing than traditional rental plans (it should be CHEAPER to view an DD/VOD movie since they've basically got an unlimited stock of movies that never runs out, breaks, or gets lost...  instead we have to pay MORE for the right to wait for download in some case and then having DRM dictate such tight viewing windows that you're simply best off watching it from start to finish in the first 24 hours.

To the guy that said "Netflix or whatever":  Do you have a list of things you have to make sure you don't speak kindly of?  Netflix is generally considered a VERY great service...  It seemed like a blatant "act" that you didn't know or care for Netflix.

I can't help but notice how you guys keep promoting DD/VOD and XBL Video Marketplace and talk about the hassle of disc based video and not needing to see every movie or show in "super high def"...  could this be because Microsoft's own offerings (and comcast's even) aren't in 1080p like both HD-DVD and Blu-ray are?  Are people shelling out money for 1080p sets, super excited to forego that new 1080p ability for 720p content with other strings attached when they could get 1080p content from physical media?

I guess what I'm saying is that listening to this podcast with my Spin Detector turned on, I think it just red-lined and _broke_... you owe me a new one.

@roth, how much does one of those cost?  

No, we don't have any kind of list, or any mandate to downplay disc-based content, it's just that it was an opinion we all shared.  Maybe it's not completely representative (especially worldwide), but since we all have decent Internet access, we all are finding digital content more convenient.  We should maybe do a better job having some of the group take the opposing viewpoint, even if we all agree--you make a good point.

It was me that said "Netflix or whatever" because I don't use the service.  With kids around, they destroy physical media, and I'd be paying to replace discs right and left.  But I don't download a lot of kids movies either, because my kids watch them over, and over, and over.  For the movies/TV that I want to watch (or with my wife), once is enough, and XBL is a great alternative to running to a video store (or especially to buying a disc that costs 4-5X as much).  

Super-high-def is a personal decision, in fact we make more money (with XBL) when people buy HD content--hard to call that marketing spin.

@John Porcaro: but your "HD" video content is 720p, right?

You can get a 42" 720p for under a grand on BestBuy.com, it's not like they're THOUSANDS of dollars anymore.  I'm just saying, the DD/VOD sources you guys are citing are "lower def" than the competing disc-based HD sources.  

I fully agree with kids' videos, the majority of my collection says "Disney" on it, but I can't help but feel (and Chris can vouch for me here) that when I listen to a "seemingly partisan" group such as "Microsoft employees" there is usually a tendancy to _actually_ tow the company line or to _seem_ to tow the company line... the consensus in the Non-Microsoft employed gaming "community" is that now that HD-DVD looks to be dying, Microsoft will _not_ embrace Blu-ray but instead push for DD/VOD.  As it stands, I see detractions from what's offered.  Viewing windows, lower (but still good mind you) fidelity video, inability to move content from room-to-room/player-to-player, your house to a buddy's house...  and the price is not as competitive as I would expect from something that requires no physical manufacturing, no shipping, no shelf space, no inventory management, no supply issues, etc.

DD/VOD isn't the panacea for everything high-def or video in the future and what we've basically been presented is a bunch of guys (and a gal) that work at Microsoft telling us how great DD/VOD is going, how "old and busted" disc-based media is, and (oddly) how high def is good but not _all_ the time and only certain things need to be in "super high def"?  Seems silly.  I've never watched "motorcycle racing" or whatever and thought to myself "You know... this looks _too_ sharp...  they should've put this out in lower definition".  ;)  Sorry, if it's worth my time to watch, I'd appreciate the best quality possible.

I found a 32" or 37", I forget, 1080p Sharp Aquos on Amazon for $900. If I had $900 to spend on a TV I would have nabbed it :)

To offer a third opinion, I prefer upscaled regular DVDs. I don't see too much of a difference between true HD discs and upscaled DVDs. The cost difference just isn't worth it to me. And from the sales numbers, most people agree. All this fuss about Blu-Ray versus HD DVD was about a single digit % of the market.

Pretty good show guys.

As always I have a couple things, don't you find that actually owning the disc is better then just buying a liecense to watch it?  Or the ability to bring it with you where ever you go?  And speaking of bring it with you how about how future blu ray movies will also have a psp version of it, that to me is amazing, you buy one movie and get 2 copies.  This is something the video marketplace should be doing too, buy the movie off of the xbox, also watch it on your zune, this would have been a huge selling point for the 360, the zune and the video marketplace.

What were the shirt sizes again :)

Take is easy guys and sara