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July 19th, 2008 @ 07:27
Like a thief in the night, Microsoft just can’t stop wrapping its grubby mitts around other people’s stuff. According to a rundown of Microsoft’s new MyXbox service over at Gamestop, the Xbox 360 will soon reward players with Medals to compliment their Achievements.
“Microsoft will also institute a new medal system so you can show off your most recent achievements,” the article reads. “Medals are basically graphical representations of achievements, kind of like graphical badges or trophies.”
Even so, we’re not prepping an angry internet petition for Microsoft or anything. After all, at least it hasn’t unveiled a brazen Wii-mote clone.
Yet.
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July 19th, 2008 at 8:45 am
OMG. This is embarrassing …
The only thing Microsoft really created on their own was the 360 dashboard interface and this was conceptually and aesthetically done so bad, it had to be be exchanged 3 years later with something they stole from Apple & Nintendo.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Microsoft created Achievements and gamerscore (since stolen by Sony) for consoles in the first place, they also created a fantasic integrated online serverice (attempted to be copied by Sony who so far are failign badly) which allows seemless cross game/media invites, voice chat and messages. Ontop of the online service they offered the ability to download arcade games and old Xbox games direct to the console (since copied by Sony) and a video rental service (again since copied by Sony). That just to start with.
The console market is built on taking competitors ideas and improving them (think of the whole evolution of the gamepad), every company does it so I dont see why everyone is crying about it.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Because it’s Microsoft.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:59 am
@ Roybott
No, Microsoft did not invent any of those features you are mentioning. They just stole them from independent PC-developers and transfered it to their console.
Same goes for Vista btw: It’s a blunt copy of Mac OS Leopard.
The only thing they “invented” for their online-service is that you have to pay for it!
July 19th, 2008 at 11:01 am
So what? Why do you care? If it works and improves the games why does it matter? You’re the consumer, you get a better experience. You win.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:11 am
@ morriss
Yes, from a consumer standpoint, I agree. I’m looking forward to the new Dashboard.
But I do NOT consider myself just a consumer!
July 19th, 2008 at 11:26 am
What are you then? We’re all consumers.
Everyone copies and steals ideas. Mii’s was a bloody good. An excellent idea. Should no-one copy just because Nintendo invented it even though they think it can help XNA developers and actually be a worthy addition to their service? Should they say, yes it’s brilliant but we won’t touch it because Nintendo thought of it first? That’d be ridiculous.
Nintendo have shown everyone the way to ‘tap-in’ to the casual market. If you, as a company, don’t follow that route and cut your nose off to spite your face saying, “No, that route is too easy, we must spend shitloads more money on R&D and think of a new, original way that might not work,” then you’ll go bust.
I really don’t see why people are so riled up about it. I really don’t.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:27 am
From the description MS already do this. On your gamer card it shows the last few achievements. Doesn’t seem much different to that and not really the same as Trophies. Regardless if an idea is good then use it.
@Morriss
“Because it’s Microsoft”
Bollocks - Nintendo are the only ones immune to criticism of this kind. Not because they don’t do it mind, just because there isn’t the fierce rivalry there as there is between Sony and MS.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Quote:
” … we must spend shitloads more money on R&D and think of a new, original way … ”
YESSS! Exactly! That’s the way to go.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Ok.
July 19th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Nintendo didn’t invent half the stuff they are credited with. They merely popularised it - and even then, they did so by making it the ONLY option available to the consumer. And the notion that they (or anyone) should be “immune to criticism of this kind” only goes to show how much people want to believe in the fantasy than the reality.
I am in agreement with DrDramn - the way the medals have been described sounds as though it’s just going to be a slightly different way of displaying your achievement icons. Like putting them on a gold background or something. I’m not sure it’s actually worth the effort for all the “copycat” comments it’ll earn them.
I do like the claim that Microsoft invented numbers though. Which is all a gamerscore is. It’s a highscore league. It’s implemented very well, but it’s just numbers at the end of the day.
I invented blinking. Once my patent goes through, I’m going to be obscenely rich.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
@Roybott,
That’s called “revisionism” and it’s bollocks.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Well all consoles are just rip-offs of the Magnavox Odyssey anyway!
Small little box with controllers in-front of the TV built for gaming??
MAGNAVOX INVENTED IT and ATARI stole it… then NINTENDO barged in… then SEGA jumped on the bandwagon… then SONY decided to HIJACK the market… then MICROSOFT muscled its way in!
Lets face it. Neither Nintendo, MS OR Sony have really invented anything original here… They’ve just tweaked and bolted on to the way the original system should have worked in the first place, but what the technology didn’t allow for.
But WHO CARES!?
Just play the games and stop whining!
July 19th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
People fucking hate the avatars because MS is forcing them. Its not an option. You have to make one of the horrible little life-style fucks to pretend to be you.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
@ G1GAHURTZ
Actually, if you happen to be a GUI- or CI (Corporate Identity)-designer, like me, you DO CARE to some extent.
July 19th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
@ absolutezero
” … horrible little life-style fucks … ”
LOL! Nice post!
July 19th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
ab0: that’s my only gripe, really. An option to deactivate them from my dash would be great.
July 19th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
roundandroundandroundandround
July 20th, 2008 at 2:46 am
Achievements are cool. This influx in Dead Rising news has made me realize how clever they are. I don’t think too highly of gamer scores though. But virtual trinkets are nice. So all in all this is good news.
Woa! I totally missed the way this conversation was going. I agree that nicking others great ideas is a good thing for the end user. It must sting if you are the inventor but hey. Steal something back. Hopefully Nintendo will start doing achievements on the Wii now.
July 20th, 2008 at 3:57 am
Not sure I can see what’s different between medals and achievements.
As for all the copying, personally I want PSN to match or better Live’s feature set, I’d be happy if Microsoft made a Wii remote style pointing device for RTS on my tele , and I’d quite like my Wii to have hi def output, and a unified easy to use friends list.
I want the companies to learn from each others successes and failures, not sure it matters greatly who did what first. Without the competition MS perhaps wouldn’t be trying to make it possible to play games on a quiet 360, or make games my family might play, Sony might not have cross game messaging yet, and Nintendo might not have bothered with any online at all.
July 20th, 2008 at 9:34 am
SO we all agree I win?
Excellent.
July 20th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
@ morriss
Sure! Why not?
July 20th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I don’t know what you people are on about, it’s common knowledge that I invented everything
July 21st, 2008 at 4:30 am
DAMN EVERYBODY HATES MS WHY BECAUSE THEY PUT UP A GREAT FIGHT WITH SONY
July 21st, 2008 at 8:06 am
I don’t see a reason not to hate multiple sclerosis.
July 21st, 2008 at 8:37 am
Ah! So much hate!
/bathes
July 21st, 2008 at 9:41 am
No mention of VGA support for 50Hz backwards compatible games, therefore the Autumn update fails.
absolutezero, if you don’t like the avatars then subvert them.
http://kotaku.com/346371/these-miis-are-not-suitable-for-work
Oh, and I predicted this whole MS medal thing, therefore I win, or something.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:04 am
everybody is hating on M$ because of the manner in which they answer to their competition. Sony doesn’t imitate or copy. They take a CONCEPT and make something based on the CONCEPT. I’ll use the trophy system as an example. Sony took the CONCEPT of awarding gamers. They didn’t use points, they used trophies. Not only that but they put levels in which one could easily distinguish and compare gamers’ achievements. Now M$ making medals on the other hand, a visual representation of achievements is and obvious backlash at Sony, considering it was announced right after Sony came with trophies. Now onto the avatars. Most people can agree that avatars copied Nintendo’s Mii’s. They’re crappy representations of yourself which look childish and not for the core audience which is what the 360 is all about. Not only that but these avatars will be integrated into games. Nintendo did the SAME EXACT THING. As far as the onine service goes, Sony took a CONCEPT and made something of their own. The interface of everything the ps3 has is completely original, especially the XMB, something not even M$ could copy. This allows for easy access to pretty much everything in one’s system, all in the same thing(XMB). As far as arcade games go, ps3s downloadable games seem nothing like an “arcade game”. PSN games are far more original than 360s arcade games. There are games like PAIN, pixel junk eden, fat princess, ECHOCHROME, to name a few. Oh and one thing M$ definitely copied from sony was the eyetoy. Anybody even M$ fanboys can agree on that.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:16 am
OMG M$ RITE?
July 21st, 2008 at 10:19 am
yup
July 21st, 2008 at 10:21 am
lol