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http://xbox360.ign.com/index/reviews.html

Doesn't look that way to me. An awful lot of 8+ scores in the recent releases. Could have been more clearly worded I suppose.

http://wii.ign.com/articles/746/746637p1.html

These guys found out another way to dissasemble one also.
http://media.wii.ign.com/articles/745/745202/vid_1 742357.html

There have been several incidents of the remote strap breaking also and it does not seem like a durable piece of line.
http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/20/wiimote-strap-b reaks-controller-destroys-tv/

The OP is close, but the actual problem is that if your TV does 1080i, but not 720p (which is many older HDTVs) then you will end up playing that game, and any other 720p game, in 480p. The PS3 cannot currentally upscale a 720p signal to 1080i.

'Resistance Fall Of Man' is only in 720p, not 1080p.

The 360 apparentally can upscale 720p to 1080i, so this shouldn't be a problem for the 360.

IGN has more details:
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/746/746282p1.html

Your numbers are incorrect. (Probably just out of date.)

The PS3 shipped 80,000 units in Japan, and another 200,000 to 400,000 to the U.S. (No one is entirely sure of the exact number.) The Wii shipped over a million units to the U.S. with some reports saying it was as high as 1.2 million.

According to Sony, the PS3 is expected to ship about 2 million units worldwide by the end of the year. They admit that their figures are "more of a target" though. According to Nintendo, they are committed to bringing at least 4 million units worldwide by the end of the year.

The architecture emphasizes efficiency/watt, prioritizes bandwidth over latency, and favors peak computational throughput over simplicity of program code. For these reasons, Cell is widely regarded as a challenging environment for software development. IBM provides a comprehensive Linux-based Cell development platform to assist developers in confronting these challenges. Software adoption remains a key issue in whether Cell ultimately delivers on its performance potential.

You can see discussion about MMOs and how to "improve" them here:

VNBoards MMORPG Concepts and Design

I would say that pretty much no idea has been left unnoticed there.

I'll probably get modded for OT, but I thought this was a news worthy SW related story:

Star Wars: The Best of PC Deal
http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/746/746254p1.html

November 15, 2006 - LucasArts announced a killer bundle of games called Star Wars: The Best of PC:

        LucasArts today announced that, for the first time ever, five of the greatest Star Wars® games for the personal computer, plus a free 14-day trial of Star Wars Galaxies, will be packaged together in Star Wars: The Best of PC. This exciting new compilation will be released this month, and will be available only for the holiday 2006 season for a suggested price of $39.99.

        Star Wars: The Best of PC features titles from some of the most popular videogame franchises ever released. Combined, the games have sold millions of copies worldwide and, for the first time, are available in one box. Included in Star Wars: The Best of PC are: Star Wars®: Empire at War(TM), Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic®, Star Wars Battlefront(TM), Star Wars Jedi Knight® II: Jedi Outcast(TM), and Star Wars Republic Commando(TM). In addition, a 14-day trial of the popular online experience, Star Wars Galaxies®, is included in the package.

        "Hundreds of hours of Star Wars gameplay, spanning many different genres, can be found in Star Wars: The Best of PC, making it the perfect holiday gift for any Star Wars fan, or any PC gamer," said Nancy MacIntyre, vice president of global sales and marketing for LucasArts. "Every kind of gameplay is available in The Best of PC, from fast-paced action, to tactical, real-time strategy, to engaging role-playing. It's all here, it's all PC, and it's all Star Wars."

I know I'm going to pick it up! Sweet deal and the last SW game I bought for Dark Forces, so it'll be a great way to spend a few hours during the holidays!

Regards,

Sporadic

Correct - it doesn't have online play. They players don't have legs either some of the time - but it's not about game graphics depicting legs - it's about the gameplay:

http://wii.ign.com/articles/745/745708p1.html

Oh you mean like this "revolutionary" controller from Nintendo?:

http://media.wii.ign.com/articles/733/733464/img_3 926199.html

In Wii's defense, I can't stand non-symetrical dual joystick controllers, so it's nice to see them using Sony as a model.

That they were using a unofficial Playstation-controller --to-- PC USB dongle in a way it wasn't meant to be used.

Still, Sony should have had an official USB adaptor device upon the PS3's release. Seeing as how this actually worked, surprisingly enough, there is probably a good chance of one getting released.

As for backwards compatibility I am not too disappointed, things seem to be about the same as with the PS2. From back then I had the understanding that games were not 100% backwards compatible, but for the most part the stuff I used on the non-slim worked fine --save for maybe one game not recognizing the memory card once in a while.

Plus with the PS3's online connectivity those issues can easily be fixed unlike the PS2s. And I haven't been paying much attention, but I don't recall any promises that the PS3's backwards compatibility would be 100%....

I have about 20 PS2 titles, and only one is on that list (Devil May Cry, attract mode sometimes freezes) - IGN has a better version of the list listing the games most people would care about, and also with more generic issues (like some USB device support in PS2 games being flaky, like microphones).

As least you don't have older versions of popular games not being supported in order to push newer titles (Ridge Racer was not on that list).

Also noted is that the PS3 does not support the multitap - but it does support multiple controllers directly in PS2 games (since the PS3 can support up to seven wireless controllers at a time).

Based on the euphoric reaction to PS3's flagship launch title Resistance: Fall of Man Sony has nailed this, the PS3 is a guaranteed long term hit. In spite of all the FUD (I wonder who sponsored that) the machine performs to spec and production qualities are top notch. Oh yes, I'm a PS3 fan. After all it is a Linux machine, not to mention a superb piece of engineering.

I personally won't bat an eye about dropping $600 on this box. After all, I'm picking up a $2,500 flat screen tv to go with it. Sony is obviously going to be selling every box it can make for a long time. Now the race to dominate the high end console market comes down to one thing: Sony's manufacturing ramp-up.

I will flat out state I am a nintendo fanboy (I spent about 3 hours online to get to play the Wii last weekend).

For those that don't know:
You can go to the Nintendo World Store at Rockafeler center in NYC to play the Wii (opened last weekend, they have 12 consoles, no redsteel or Zelda sadly)

I got to watch alot of games (including a WWII game I didn't catch the name of) as well as play Exite Truck.

some random notes:
1) The graphics are actualy rather good. They probably are not as good as a 360 on a 50" plasma or anything (these were all on wide screen LCDs), however even the WWII Game looked good! Admitedly I am one of those Gameplay > graphics people, however I will stick to my guns that everything there (including the grity WWII game) LOOKED good.

2) The controller was my one wory, if it didn't respond the way they advertised then it was obviously gona be a crash. It works. Playing exitetruck was awsome. I watched pleanty of people playing wii sports games, the guy I stood in line with played the Rayman game (it is an FPS) and he said it was great. They have a Rampage remake and it is rather amusing (much like the old rampage it is a social game, you look silly thrashing the controller about to make your beastie stop/smack/tailwhip the buildings). And the DBZ game they had runnign actualy looked really nifty (all of your specials and what not were done via controller movements).

3) The games they had up are: Some WWII game, DBZ something or other, Rayman, Maden (I payed no attention to this), Monkeyball (looked good), Exite Truck, Rampage, Wii Sports. I dont' know if this will be rotated or anything.

On another random note:
Even nintendo is not 100% behind the Wiimote. In an interview they flat out said that SSB:B will be ussing a non-motion controll scheam (aka, grab your GC controller, it will work for SSB:B).

So yah, here is a declared fanboy posting to point out a few things going for nintendo.

As a note, I am not a raving fanboy, I dont' want to see Sony or MS fail in the gaming market. I don't think that Sony is goign to do to well with the PS3 (based on current track record), but I am open to suprises. I am glad that the 360 is shaping up to be a good system, and they are getting some exelent games on it, and a VARIETY! This was my big gripe about the XBox, few games I was honestly interested in, most of the big games were sports/racing, the only game I am still really interested in on the xbox is Ninja Gaiden.

I also have MS to thank for honestly bringing online play to consoles (yes, the DC, PS2, and NGC all had it, but XBox really craked the market open). I don't think their subscription bassed service is the correct model (I am glad that Nintendo is promising all first party games will be free online), however they still started it up.

I tihnk you are right. We will see the technologicly bleeding edge games go to the 360 and the PS3, and we will not see many of them on the Wii. I was honestly suprised to see Madden on the Wii as normaly they do everytinh they can to make the game look purdy (I hate sports games, pardon my bias). However, I think the graphics are good enough to make an offering from any genre, any playstyle, and any "mood".

[/fanboy]

those are in-game graphics? That's actually pretty impressive, maybe we will finally have the Toy Story graphics Sony promised for the ps2:
"...we could see worlds that could equal what was in use in the movie Toy Story."

I'm still not buying a PS3, but a Xbox360 may be in my future depending on what the new games look like.

Sony's got lines of 1,200 in Japan, at least according to Reuters.

http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx? type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-11-11T074306Z_01_ NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-275847-1.xml

According to IGN, however, the Wii lines are already bigger:

http://au.wii.ign.com/articles/744/744970p1.html

What sort of person sinks so low as to make his own ridiculous anecdotes? Cite some sources, and have them be unreliable as heck. That's the way to go about it.

That article has some old information. New games were posted just yesterday:
        * Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES; rated E for Everyone)
        * Kirby's Super Star (Super NES; rated E for Everyone)
        * Mario Kart 64 (Nintendo 64; rated E for Everyone)
        * Starfox 64 (Nintendo 64; rated E for Everyone)
        * Super Metroid (Super NES; rated E for Everyone)
        * Kirby's Dream Land 3 (Super NES; rated E for Everyone)
        * The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64; rated E for Everyone)
        * Excitebike (NES; rated E for Everyone)
        * Ice Climber (NES; rated E for Everyone)
        * Dr. Mario (NES; rated E for Everyone)
        * Mario Brothers (NES; rated E for Everyone)
        * Ice Hockey (NES; rated E for Everyone)
        * Soccer (NES; rated E for Everyone)

Source: IGN http://wii.ign.com/articles/744/744751p1.html

(Although they are lining up for DS Lites!)

10 Graphics A PS2 technical accomplishment in every sense. Slowdown is a non-factor, model detail is incredible, facial and skeletal animation is stellar, and the artistic design kicks ass.

The latest issue of Famitsu contains a first report on the cables that will be included with the Japanese version of the PS3. Purchasers of either the 60 Gig or 20 Gig models will get a power cord, USB cable, Ethernet cable, and standard composite AV cable.

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=204065&cid=166 86579
http://wii.ign.com/articles/733/733464p7.html
This should then also be wrong?

Then what about this screen?

It's from this video

I recently read that the Wii actually can output 720p. However, it lacks the processing power to do so decently.
Here are the specifications from IGN, which have been online for several days: http://wii.ign.com/launchguide/hardware1.html
Here's the part about HD: http://wii.ign.com/articles/733/733464p7.html
"Q: Can Wii do high-definition graphics?
A: Technically, it's possible, but it's also implausible. Wii is more powerful than Xbox, a console whose library included a handful of games that ran in 720p HD. Furthermore, Wii features a multi-audio/video port with the option for component out, meaning that 480p through 720p/1080i resolutions are attainable, at least where wiring is concerned. However, due to both a miniscule amount of system RAM and less computing power when compared to HD-ready consoles like Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the chance that most Wii games will break the 480p visual barrier is slim. In fact, Nintendo executives have gone so far as to comment on the record that Wii does not support high-definition. The company wants Wii to be "quiet, small and affordable," and has thus focused its attention on the system's innovative new controller. Nintendo's leaders have indicated that high-definition graphics are the future. But unlike Sony and Microsoft, which believe that the "HD era" has begun, the Big N asserts that widespread HD adoption will take years. The company's successor to Wii will support high-definition visuals. "

I recently read that the Wii actually can output 720p. However, it lacks the processing power to do so decently.
Here are the specifications from IGN, which have been online for several days: http://wii.ign.com/launchguide/hardware1.html
Here's the part about HD: http://wii.ign.com/articles/733/733464p7.html
"Q: Can Wii do high-definition graphics?
A: Technically, it's possible, but it's also implausible. Wii is more powerful than Xbox, a console whose library included a handful of games that ran in 720p HD. Furthermore, Wii features a multi-audio/video port with the option for component out, meaning that 480p through 720p/1080i resolutions are attainable, at least where wiring is concerned. However, due to both a miniscule amount of system RAM and less computing power when compared to HD-ready consoles like Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the chance that most Wii games will break the 480p visual barrier is slim. In fact, Nintendo executives have gone so far as to comment on the record that Wii does not support high-definition. The company wants Wii to be "quiet, small and affordable," and has thus focused its attention on the system's innovative new controller. Nintendo's leaders have indicated that high-definition graphics are the future. But unlike Sony and Microsoft, which believe that the "HD era" has begun, the Big N asserts that widespread HD adoption will take years. The company's successor to Wii will support high-definition visuals. "

Could a Japanese developer releasing a launch title in Japan exclusively even break even on development costs with that limited amount of consoles?

After New Zealand and Australia found Sony and other DVD player makers guilty of competition law violations through the DVD region coding system, and likely for other reasons as well, Sony has decided to make games on the PLAYSTATION 3 console region-free. This gives Japanese publishers greater incentive to sell games that don't involve a lot of text to gaijin like us.

Yep, you and I agree on that one. Now with two consoles having significantly more processing power and far better graphics than the Wii, which one do you think will be better?

I'll jump in on that one. In particular The Wii version of Madden looks to be Hella fun, and from a gameplay perspective alot better than the other versions. Though the 360 version is prettier, it is missing many modes still found in the PS2, X-box or GameCube version. The Wii version retained all of them, is prettier than the xbox version and the control scheme sounds great. More power =! better games. Sony won the last 2 generations with the weakest console on the market*. Clearly it isn't all about processing power.

*Ok, the order for weakest to strongest this generation was "Dreamcast->PS2->GameCube->Xbox", but I discount the Dreamcast since it never made it to the end of the generation.

Actually, Marvel did not win against Cryptic on that case, After a few months in court, both parties reach a settlement which resulted in... nothing against Cryptic (or maybe a payment) and absolutly no incidence on the costume creator. They just started to hit on replica costumes (ie: if you create a costume close to a Marvell character with a similar name, expect a name change from the Game Masters).

You can read more here:
http://pc.ign.com/articles/675/675667p1.html

So, I would not expect him to win. There is no precedent that a feature allowing to create custom characters that *could* look like someone real or copyrighted is illegal, as it has *MANY* legal uses.

I don't know where you got your numbers but MS had over 5 Million SOLD in June and they're expecting 10 million by this holiday. So yes in it's first year is is outselling the PS2, for whatever reason, be it supply or demand.

Also I believe the GP is refering to the Austrailian market who figures show that the Xbox 360 is currently the fastest selling console in Austrailia.

Perhaps the next time youhave the urge to make up words to describe a product instead of using what is in an article you will know better

An excerpt:

"It's still a little too light for my taste, especially because I have big hands and it barely felt like I was holding anything at times...ut the L2 and R2 buttons now have much better resistance to them, and the shell of the controller feels a bit more solid."

See? Light, plasticy - and solid. Pretty obvious for anyone reading the article (or who has used a Lego brick), as I said before.

Another excerpt (from second page):

"I was initially surprised at how light the SIXAXIS is (surely due to the removal of dual shock), but I didn't think it made the controller feel "cheap." It really does feel like the same old PlayStation controller."

Which just goes to show exactly what I said based on the original story - the controller feels a lot like the PS2 controller, and thus the reviewers in that story were dissapointed it had not changed more.

I figured I might as well followup the article since you'd never see this story on Slashdot. I also feel it's important to note that original article was from IGN as well, just the UK branch.

Truns out perhaps some of those words were not as accurate as you thought.

An excerpt:

"It's still a little too light for my taste, especially because I have big hands and it barely felt like I was holding anything at times...ut the L2 and R2 buttons now have much better resistance to them, and the shell of the controller feels a bit more solid."

See? Light, plasticy - and solid. Pretty obvious for anyone reading the article, as I said before.

Another excerpt (from second page):

"I was initially surprised at how light the SIXAXIS is (surely due to the removal of dual shock), but I didn't think it made the controller feel "cheap." It really does feel like the same old PlayStation controller."

Which just goes to show exactly what I said based on the original story - the controller feels a lot like the PS2 controller, and thus the reviewers in that story were dissapointed it had not changed more.

I figured I might as well followup the article since you'd never see this story on Slashdot. I also feel it's important to note that original article was from IGN as well, just the UK branch.

Perhaps the next time you think you can simply make up words to describe a product instead of using what is in an article you will know better

An excerpt:

"It's still a little too light for my taste, especially because I have big hands and it barely felt like I was holding anything at times...ut the L2 and R2 buttons now have much better resistance to them, and the shell of the controller feels a bit more solid."

See? Light, plasticy - and solid. Pretty obvious for anyone reading the article, as I said before.

Another excerpt (from second page):

"I was initially surprised at how light the SIXAXIS is (surely due to the removal of dual shock), but I didn't think it made the controller feel "cheap." It really does feel like the same old PlayStation controller."

Which just goes to show exactly what I said based on the original story - the controller feels a lot like the PS2 controller, and thus the reviewers in that story were dissapointed it had not changed more.

I figured I might as well folloup the article since you'd never see this story on Slashdot. I also feel it's important to note that original article was from IGN as well, just the UK branch. Also people doing research in the future may be able to learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others who failed to grasp what the article was saying.

The hat is back!

Perhaps the next time you think you can simply make up words to describe a product instead of using what is in an article you will know better

An excerpt:

"It's still a little too light for my taste, especially because I have big hands and it barely felt like I was holding anything at times...ut the L2 and R2 buttons now have much better resistance to them, and the shell of the controller feels a bit more solid."

See? Light, plasticy - and solid. Pretty obvious for anyone reading the article, as I said before.

Another excerpt (from second page):

"I was initially surprised at how light the SIXAXIS is (surely due to the removal of dual shock), but I didn't think it made the controller feel "cheap." It really does feel like the same old PlayStation controller.

Which just goes to show exactly what I said based on the original story - the controller feels a lot like the PS2 controller, and thus the reviewers in that story were dissapointed it had not changed more.

I figured I might as well folloup the article since you'd never see this story on Slashdot. I also feel it's important to note that original article was from IGN as well, just the UK branch.

Perhaps the next time you think you can simply make up words to describe a product instead of using what is in an article you will know better

An excerpt:

"It's still a little too light for my taste, especially because I have big hands and it barely felt like I was holding anything at times...ut the L2 and R2 buttons now have much better resistance to them, and the shell of the controller feels a bit more solid."

See? Light, plasticy - and solid. Pretty obvious for anyone reading the article, as I said before.

Another excerpt (from second page):

"I was initially surprised at how light the SIXAXIS is (surely due to the removal of dual shock), but I didn't think it made the controller feel "cheap." It really does feel like the same old PlayStation controller.

Which just goes to show exactly what I said based on the original story - the controller feels a lot like the PS2 controller, and thus the reviewers in that story were dissapointed it had not changed more.

I figured I might as well folloup the article since you'd never see this story on Slashdot. I also feel it's important to note that original article was from IGN as well, just the UK branch.

Another possible missing game is Extreme PaintBrawl; as far as I know, it got the lowest rating ever on IGN in 1998 (0.7 out of 10) and since then has never been topped (uhm, "topped" doesn't seem the right word for such games...).

Another possible missing game is Extreme PaintBrawl; as far as I know, it got the lowest rating ever on IGN in 1998 (0.7 out of 10) and since then has never been topped (uhm, "topped" doesn't seem the right word for such games...).

When the general population has greater access to high end 3d cards.
All of this has already happened w/ EverCrack, more than 4 years ago
We knew of all the problems back then, no one cared

EverCrack Addiction: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/05/28/earlysho w/living/caught/main510302.shtml

http://pc.ign.com/articles/356/356673p1.html

A tame title, like, say, Table Tennis?

Half-Life 2 was a great game, and looked great too. But if you want to see what a console can do, take a look at Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfare on the 360 sometime - better than HL2 IMHO.

Half-Life 2 was a great game, and looked great too. But if you want to see what a console can do, take a look at Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfare on the 360 sometime - better than HL2 IMHO.

On the second page of this review they describe the controller like so:

the SIXAXIS feels cheap, plasticky, uncomfortable and disconcertingly light

They don't use the actual word flimsy, but it sure isn't a positive description.

Compared to Microsoft's uber-comfortable Xbox 360 pad, the SIXAXIS feels cheap, plasticky, uncomfortable and disconcertingly light - almost as if it's going to fly out of your hands during those more extreme gaming moments. Playstation 3 Hands-on

PS3 controller functional.

It seems the Wii controller is still having problems working in a room with sunlight, or fluorescent or halogen lighting.

I think I'd rather have a controller that worked properly and could be change if desired.

Says who? What does "final" mean anyway in a system which will upgrade its firmware over time? What does it mean to developers who expect and will receive updated versions of the SDK over time?

- Final hardware have not been shipped to developers yet

Says who? A quick google of "final developers kit ps3" yields an article from August that says otherwise. Interestingly it says "Speaking of LAN play, all eight dev kits were connected over the PlayStation Network in real time, which exhibited no lag whatsoever." which leads on to...

- Final online specs have not been shipped to developers yet

Again, says who? Just because YOU don't know what the PS3 has in the way of online goodies, doesn't mean developers don't. Clearly its enough for Insomniac to offer multiplayer in Resistance Fall of Man, but multiplayer titles it is clear that the PS3 doesn't have many online multiplayer launch titles. Neither does the Wii.

Will either system offer a 1:1 mapping with XBox Live? I don't know. The list for the PNP system as shown on Wikipedia seems fairly comprehensive. I have no idea what Wii offers.

And even if either system is lacking something, does that mean it will be lacking it forever? Tell me any kind of online service that has offered absolutely everything from day 1 without a single incremental improvement or new feature.

Yet the developers are supposed to be producing games based on these shaky specifications? How are they possibly going to have time to beta test before manufacturing? How would they know how to add online support if the service isn't up yet?

So describe the network gaming on the Wii please. The fact is that Nintendo hasn't said exactly what it is yet, not even to 3rd party developers. And if you don't know, why are you slagging off Sony for not revealing details to your satisfaction when Nintendo hasn't either? Perhaps Sony & Nintendo know how disastrous it would be if their online system went down on day 1. In that regard, Microsoft had an advantage since their XBox Live service had years of development and experience to build on. Perhaps both Sony and Nintendo have in their own ways chosen to restrict online play until they have a few months to iron out any glitches in their respective systems.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/738/738858p2.html

You carefully position the disc-based media of your choice against the PS3's front-loading drive slot and the magic fairies deep inside suck it up like a particularly enthusiastic four-quid whore.

o_Ô

Actually...

In Europe, the UK (Isn't the UK in Europe?) and Australia, It's being called "Canis Canem Edit", which is Latin for "Dog Eat Dog."

Sure.

Unless, that is the kids are wanting to play it in a room with sunlight, or fluorescent or halogen lighting.

Or they want to play any decent game other than Zelda's Revenge XXVI for that matter.

It does, and Nintendo announced that 'the majority' of all 1st party games will support both (and Dolby Prologic II). Also it is possible For the Wii to do 720p, or 1080i just as the X-box did for some games.

Sony and Linux. So was Sony ever confirmed?

"the wii is just a slightly higher clocked gamecube with a minimal ram and memory card upgrade"
That statement by itself has no value, as Wii processing power has already been officially released for some time, now.

However, if you are implying that to accurately assess the value of a gaming system is to base it purely on its technical specs or a "dollars/PPM (polygons pushed/minute)" comparison, go buy a PC and be done with it.

But you know and I know that processing speed alone does not a gaming console make. Please, do some reasearch. Check out http://wii.ign.com/articles/733/733464p1.html for a run down of the things that the Wii, by itself, will be able to do. Not your cup of tea? That's great--it's a free country--don't buy it.


"...plus new gimmick controller."
A "gimmick" has an understanding (at least in our culture) as being something that services only a small, shallow niche purpose, usually designed to be the "hook" used to draw people to use or purchase a product, but is largely irrelevant to the utilization of saids product. Or even perhaps something that just ends up having relatively limited application but was not designed with that in mind. Good Nintendo examples of this are the Power Glove (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Glove) and U-Force (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-Force). These devices were created in the traditional Nintendo spirit of radically changing the way people interface with video games. Unfortunately, technology was not up to the task of manifesting their visions in a way that captured public interest (or even in a way that worked). They both had one or two games that showcased its ability. The Power Glove had gloveball, the U-Force had Mike Tyson's Punch Out!. These accessories were developed with every intention of being a commercial success, but ultimately flopped.

However, the Wii remote (or wiimote, the de facto name) does not have such limited application. It was developed as the prime way for a user to interface with the Wii. Any number of articles written by people who have used the wiimote have greatly impressed with its application to not only games that would be logical for such an accessory (like the simple Wii Sports suite, or Monkeyball, or racing games), but also to games like Madden Football, Metroid Prime, even Twilight Princess. An unprecidently-large number of developers can't wait to make games that take advantage of the unique interaction that the Wii offers. Even Playstation caught on enough to add limited motion-sensing technology to their controller. And moreover, the Wii has been so wildly successful in foraging ahead in heretofor largely untapped game interface possibilities that both Sony and Microsoft have publically encouraged people who buy their new consoles to buy the Wii as well because it compliments their system so well. What better advertising do you need than that your former direct competitors are now saying that not only is your system pretty cool, but that you should buy it in addition to theirs.

"thats why they can churn them out at such high volume, its old and simple tech theyre already familiar with."
I am missing where that makes this a bad thing.


"theres no way im paying $250 for this thing, and the only thing revolutionary about the controller is the ridiculous $60 price tag it carries." Check your figures. The wiimote is $39 (wii.ign.com, www.wiiprice.com). Also coming in at $39 is the Xbox 360 controller.

Xbox 360: Force feedback, 12 buttons (X,A,B,Y, back, start, L trigger+bumper, R trigger+bumper), 2 analog sticks and a d-pad; wireless via Bluetooth.
Wiimote: 7 buttons (On/off power switch, D-Pad, A and B buttons, 1 and 2 buttons, home, plus and minus buttons), digital rumble (only 1 setting, on or off), speaker, 4k memory, built-in accelerometer and other motion detection hardware to judge motion, pitch, tilt and depth inside a 3D space. Wi