Little Things That Make You Smile 7: The Joy Department

[Anpanman]

That's nice congratulations BK.

[gunrock]

Received a 1000 CHF bonus for ten years at the current company

Are you a swiss banker or a watch maker?

[briareos_kerensky]

Are you a swiss banker or a watch maker?

Nah, lowly 3D artist.

[Cepp]

Finally got my credit refund from Shell Energy after kicking up a fuss. They took over Pure Energy's account last year when they went bust. I had just moved to a different provider so ended up a bit in limbo with it. Happy enough to get it all back anyway

[Blobcat]

Managed to drag back some money after taking several unpaid days off the last few months (our Disney trip used up most of my holiday time at work) as a way to see my mother who's become a bit frailer the last couple of years. Worth the time off, hit me financially a bit but now recovered with careful saving.

Sold some stuff on Ebay, my boss kindly re-reimbursed a course I had to pay for they promised to years ago (I delayed signing up for it as they dragged their feet paying so paid for it myself last year) and I've been careful to use what I have than be tempted to buy new craft and books unless I use some up. I've managed to save up pretty much what I spent on the holiday now ready to start thinking about Christmas.

Treated myself to a couple of new books, some manga volumes which are becoming harder to find. I plan to sell some more things quite soon, including my beloved NES when I decide what I should do with it. Need more space, less clutter and space for more books if I can but likely to go on winter bills. Gonna try and make more gifts this year.

[Cepp]

The Xbox 360 controller. I've been using the PS5 controller via USB on my PC but it keeps disconnecting. I tried Bluetooth but it wasn't playing ball so dragged out the old 360 pad and it just reminded me how comfortable and ergonomic the controller is. I just need to pick up some new rechargeable batteries to swap in once the current lot dies and I'm good to go.

[Cassius_Smoke]

The 360 was an absolute milestone in console gaming. Somewhere in me is a long article about the 360 and what it changed about gaming. That controller is still probably the best designed ever.

[Cepp]

The 360 was an absolute milestone in console gaming. Somewhere in me is a long article about the 360 and what it changed about gaming. That controller is still probably the best designed ever.

I'd give it a read!

I find myself getting more and more nostalgic for the 360. It's up there with the best.

[Cassius_Smoke]

I'd give it a read!

I find myself getting more and more nostalgic for the 360. It's up there with the best.

I might give it a go. Depends if its any good to land in the Articles on here. I can't think of anywhere else I'd put it.

[wakka]

The 360 was a gamechanger in so many ways. It's the last real quantum leap forward we've had in consoles, I feel. The introduction of a proper operating system and digital downloads of software was amazing. And that was only part of it what it brought to the table.

[Neon Ignition]

The digital element was a big moment, otherwise for me the 360 felt like it worked because MS finally learnt what to ape rather than innovate

[wakka]

Yeah, I mean, I think you have to see the original Xbox as really a prototype in many ways. It lasted such a short time that they must have been working on the 360 from the moment the original machine started shipping, and instantly had a whole laundry list of things they wanted to change and improve.

I'd argue the 360 was the first modern console, really. In my mind there are kind of roughly four phases of consoles, and we're still in the phase that the 360 started.

Phase 1

Atari 2600 and various early pre-NES machines

Phase 2

NES/MD/PCE/SNES/etc

Phase 3

PS1/N64/DC/PS2/GC/XBOX

Phase 4

360/PS3 onwards

Using a PS5 is not really all that different from using a 360, which is kind of extraordinary considering it's been 17 years. In the same time frame we previously went from the SNES to the PS3!

[Neon Ignition]

Yep, definitely the first in the mould of how we see consoles now. It's good it turned out so well as it was so frustrating to see the original Xbox kneecapped by MS so quickly back in the day.

[fuse]

I was just thinking the other day about how regularly they were pushing out video content (like "SentUAMessage") and how effective it was at keeping people up to date with what was coming out. Promos like 'Summer of Arcade' felt like a really big deal - like games were actually being curated, scheduled, and promoted mindfully, which feels miles away from today where even if you know what you want, you often have to dig through piles of shovelware (£2 games with hundreds of trophies that unlock in seconds being the current plague) on whichever store you're going to.

[wakka]

Summer of Arcade was a huge deal, and brilliantly innovative. As we all know, back in those days summer droughts of new games were a big thing, and so and it was a great response to that, enabling indie devs to get more attention.