100°

Please explain prices: Parliament subpoenas Apple, Microsoft, Adobe

Federal Parliament has issued documents formally compelling major technology vendors Apple, Microsoft and Adobe to compulsorily appear before its committee investigating price hikes on technology products sold in Australia, in a move that finally ends months of stalling by the vendors, who have proven unwilling to voluntary discuss their pricing strategies in public.

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delimiter.com.au
joab7774084d ago

They shouldnt have to...this is absurd. Government doesnt answer to us. They are not transparent. If the prices are too high, dont buy it. Though, if they want an answer they only have to look to themselves as the dollar and pound become more and more worthless each day

calis4084d ago

You must live in a wonderful fantasy world.

joab7774084d ago

Actually I don't. I am not happy that prices are high and I wouldn't buy it and I would be pissed but the issue at hand is whether they should be forced to change them by government or even more importantly to explain pricing strategy. The problem is much more complex than this. I just love how we now live in a world where we want what we want, we don't want to pay much (which is fine) but we support crushing regulations and blame all problems on industry while letting government's skate. I know this is a broader issue but it's the reason everything is how it is today. The video game industry, just like almost every industry in the world (maybe Apple excluded for the moment) is in financial trouble. But we have no patience to let the market work. Complain, sign petitions etc., force them to change the pricing but government involvement should be a very rare occurrence. I guess I am crazy...we will see.

Hydralysk4084d ago (Edited 4084d ago )

Except when technology vendors mark up the price for reasons they don't explain, and there aren't alternative vendors for the product you want, you're SOL, which is a pretty legitemate reason for people to be pissed.

Just because you don't buy the product doesn't mean things will change. I don't buy CoD but that doesn't stop it from outselling everything year after year, and more games trying to copy it as a result.

If these companies are charging more money for the same products/services in AU than other locales for no observable reason, then the people deserve an answer as to why they're the ones being price gouged.

BitbyDeath4084d ago

You want our support you do.

nukeitall4084d ago (Edited 4084d ago )

I believe in a free country to, where I am free to markup the price of my product as I see fit. There is no reason why the government should be meddling in with my business.

It's not communism, and as long as I pay my taxes and there is real competition then I see no reason why the government should be able to say, you are forced to sell this at that price?

This is the equivalent of the government putting inquiring on why the working man's salary is so high!

All I can say is I is free market and supply/demand!

parkerpeters4084d ago

It isn't about capitalism, it isn't about freedom. It is about unethical business practices. Monopolies controlling you wallet. You want freedom? Adobe has your freedom on lockdown.

joab7774084d ago

Freedom isn't strengthened by running to government. We can both agree that the prices may be absurd but it is our responsibility to battle them. Yeah, it's unfortunate because we have lost our nerve and with past government intrusion, corporations have had to move factories and raise prices to maximize profits. I say it's great to get angry and fight back. It just isn't OK for government to be able to compel Corp to act except in rare instances. This isn't one!

nukeitall4084d ago (Edited 4084d ago )

@parkerpeters:

"It is about unethical business practices. Monopolies controlling you wallet."

You really need to go back *re-read* my comment. There is nothing unethical about having a large profit margin.

The question shouldn't be why are you charging so much, but rather why isn't there more competition between these companies?

Currently there is no monopoly in the video game industry, so the government need to stimulate competition and not meddle in business affairs.

"Adobe has your freedom on lockdown."

Adobe has practically been an industry standard now so they are pretty much a monopoly. However, that doesn't stop me from using a different competing product. The higher the profit margins, the bigger room for more competitors.

So no, Adobe doesn't have my freedom on lockdown, but they do make some darn good products.

Most consumers don't know how it is to run a business, so all they see is huge profit margins, but they never see the cost of running a business, nor do they see the fat tax bill you get stuck with.

That is why I love the US, despite all it's problems. If I work hard, I get to profit. If I do nothing, I earn almost nothing as it should be!

I don't want a bunch of lazy compadres hanging out getting high wages for doing almost nothing.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4084d ago
parkerpeters4084d ago

I for one, think this is a fantastic turn of events!

calis4084d ago

if anything happens. Our government is pretty soft on this stuff.

BanBrother4084d ago

Yes it is fantastic. They were talking about this ages ago, but obviously the big companies declined to comment (I think Apple had a BS excuse).

I doubt that our government will get anything done, they are utterly useless when it comes to technology. Too many old Christian men in Australian politics (not hitting at Christians, just that the old ones have that olden day thinking).

Too all those saying it is because of the dollar differences, you are wrong. The Australian dollar is currently at around 102.5 U.S cents, which dropped recently as it usually hovered around 104-105 US cents.
What about shipping? There is no way it costs $400 per iPad, unless they are flown overhere individually in golden wrapping.

I understand that things will be more expensive here, to to isolation and small market, but what about digital items? If we have to pay more for digital items (we do) than that is unfair. Robbery.

Tzuno4084d ago

you want your answer don't buy at high prices they will lower them :)

annus4084d ago

I don't want to pay $900 for an iPhone, yet many do, so the prices never drop. If it were that easy it would already be done. The way the world works is magical.

4lc4pon34084d ago

good its about time for aussies to get a cut. Prices in AUS are insane and they need someone to step in.

cl19834084d ago

I wonder if there's something more to this story from their lat paragraph, "If nothing else, at least seeing some more honest evidence in this case will help fuel a wider debate about how the Australian Government can create a more favourable environment for major technology companies to operate in Australia."

calis4084d ago

They're only doing it because companies realise we're going overseas to buy tech and they're losing money.

It's not for the peoples benefit.

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280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple1016d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref5d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde5d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander19725d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville5d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff21835d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos5d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5d ago
isarai6d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref5d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan5d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis0074d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander19726d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

6d ago Replies(3)
Einhander19726d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

6d ago
5d ago
Zeref5d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde5d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander19725d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander19725d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier5d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto5d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff21835d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto5d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5d ago
Hofstaderman5d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts5d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts4d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic5d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

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150°

Apple officially allows retro game emulators on the App Store

Retro gaming console emulator apps are now welcome on the Apple App Store and can even offer downloadable games.

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engadget.com
-Foxtrot13d ago

Nintendo is probably preparing their battle stations as we speak.

purple10113d ago (Edited 13d ago )

Yep most probably
Definitely infact

It’s just since apple got official dualsense support a while ago, (ios 14.5, it was 2 years ago now) I thought it useful to post here

fsfsxii12d ago

Lmao imagine thinking nintendo has a chance against Apple

Profchaos12d ago

The beaten quite a few prolific companies the past like universal so it's not unwinable

H913d ago

Nintendo be like: we were supposed to bully them together

120°

10 Weirdest Game Consoles of All Time

From systems that could keep your beer cool, to oddities trying to get in on the popularity of VHS and laserdisc, you’ve got some very, very weird video game consoles out there.

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culturedvultures.com
darthv7215d ago

I had the LaserActive... it was a nice collectors piece but not very practical. Especially when it came to needing recapping. I think i paid all of about $50 for the floor model from an incredible Universe back in the day. I ended up selling it many years later for $300 at the time due to it needing a new laser and the aforementioned recapping.

An honorable mention not on the list would be the VM Labs Nuon. It basically looked like any regular DVD player but it had ports on it for controllers to play specific games. one of which is still exclusive to it with Tempest 3000. It also offered nuon enhanced DVD movies with extra content not accessible by regular players.

_Decadent_Descent15d ago

Wasn't there some KFC console, or am I mistaken?

CoNn3rB14d ago

It was announced but it never actually came out as far as I know