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PlayStation 3 To Debut at E3 2005

Posted by Hemos on from the showing-the-world dept.

Yorrike writes "According to the BBC, Sony are planning to officially reveal the PlayStation 3 at the E3 Expo in May 2005. They're obviously not wanting to be outdone by Nintendo, who announced the same plans for the GameCube successor, as well as Xbox 2's rumored debut around that time. Looks like E3 2005 is going to be a biggy." Worth noting that's not the ship date, but when people will see it.

62 of 327 comments (clear)

  1. I'm beginning to have my doubts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...after they renamed the project Playstation Forever.

  2. Oh yeah? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Slashdot's going to cripple the BBC?

  3. yay.. more linux porting by TheAtomicElec · · Score: 4, Funny

    haha... time to port linux to the next generation Xbox :b

  4. Re:Text (We know what's gonna happen to their serv by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 4, Funny

    Don't they mean 70 million PS2 units SHIPPED, and not sold?

    In other news, Nintendo describes Sony's marketting division as a bunch of mindless jerks who will be the first against the wall when the Revolution comes.

    (sorry, had to.)

  5. Too late by 110010001000 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Microsoft is going to win these wars. Their smooth integration of online technologies and their ability to give the developer a single API to develop to (Xbox AND desktop windows via DirectX) is going to win out eventually. Its only a matter of time.

    1. Re:Too late by LWATCDR · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The best technology does not always win. OS/2, The Amiga , The Atari ST, and the Mac would have killed Microsoft back at MS-DOS 4.
      What matter for consoles is Games. Are they fun. From what I hear from my game nut friends. The PS/2 has the best games followed by the Gamecube. XBox has Halo.
      The Single API might also not be an Advantage for the XBox. If every game that I can get on the XBox. To make such a bold claim sight unseen is foolish at best.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    2. Re:Too late by BorgDrone · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Lots of games nowadays are based on off-the-shelf game engines, this won't be that much of a problem, you'll write the engine once for every platform and the game developers only have to program against the API the game engine exposes.

      Look at games like Quake and Unreal, they are no more than tech-demo's to sell the engine, that's where the real money is to be made.

    3. Re:Too late by Incoherent07 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are two rather large assumptions here.
      1) The console gaming market wants to be like the PC gaming market, or vice versa.
      2) Someone will actually develop for the Xbox.

      The former is only obvious if you've actually followed the two realms. What makes a good PC game does not necessarily make a good console game, and what makes a popular PC game does not necessarily make a popular console game. It's not just the difference in how you control them, but also a difference in what sorts of games you tend to see. Console RPGs and PC RPGs have diverged quite a bit, for example. So the idea of having a single API for PC and console isn't as huge of an advantage as you'd think, simply because the two groups aren't all that alike, and I daresay won't be all that alike for awhile.

      The second is probably a non-issue. Even if Microsoft can't get a dead monkey to develop for Xbox, they have enough cash to keep cranking out new generations for quite some time, or to buy out developers as exclusives (see: Rare).

      --
      This is my sig. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.
    4. Re:Too late by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      PS2 has the MOST games, including many of the best.

      GameCube has less games than PS2, but the ratio of good games to bad ones (particularly regarding exclusives, but applicable across the entire line as well) is the highest of all current consoles. Many GameCube exclusives are cream of the crop, and stay exclusive to the GameCube. Of course, third-party exclusives are an occasional exception, as with the other consoles.

      Microsoft's (*) Xbox has less games than PS2, and a noticeably lower ratio of good games to bad/mediocre games than GameCube. Xbox exclusives don't tend to stay exclusive for long, heading for the Microsoft (*) Windows platform quite often. A lot of exclusives actually turn out to be limited "first version" exclusivity deals on the order of a couple of months, before hitting the PS2 and GameCube.

      I guess it all boils down to this: If you go down to a game store and pick up a random video game, most likely it will be a PS2 game. But if you specifically pick up a random game each from the PS2, GameCube, and Xbox sections of the store, the GameCube game is more likely to be a good game than the PS2 or Xbox games (which is not to say that it's necessarily a better game than the others, just that the likelihood that it's a good game is higher).

    5. Re:Too late by Incoherent07 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Allow me to correct what I said: very few people are developing exclusives for the Xbox. Those that exist tend to be ported to PC. And Microsoft encourages it... after all, they own most of the PC market. End result: why should I get an Xbox, when there's little advantage over the PC and other consoles which I already have?

      In other words: if there are three consoles of comparable power, I'll buy the one with the best games that I can't get on any of the others. (Example: a number of RPGs on Playstation, and Nintendo's first party series on Gamecube.) Multiplayer isn't a big deal because I can get that on PC. In my estimation, that puts Xbox a distant third... your mileage may vary.

      You also misunderstand what I said about the console/PC distinction. The games that come out for each are different. They've evolved to that point. Even if, say, tomorrow, all PCs magically used the exact same hardware configuration (like a console), I'm not convinced the two portions of the gaming industry would combine as much as you seem to think.

      --
      This is my sig. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.
    6. Re:Too late by spike+hay · · Score: 2

      The argument of xbox not having any good games is trite and untrue. Due to the fact that the platform is easy to develop for, there have been many excellent games ported to the system. It is now rivalling PS2 in its extent of quality games.

      We've got Ninja Gaiden, Morrowind, Splinter Cell:PT, Panzer Dragoon, Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR, Rainbow Six, Prince of Persia:ST, Project Gotham Racing, and unnumerable other big games. The days of XBOX only having Halo and Mechassault to its name are long gone. Now any big title released on the PS2 is usually released on the xbox, but often with much improved graphics. Likewise, many PC titles make it to the xbox, at the exclusion of other consoles.

      --
      If you don't understand any of my sayings, come to me in private and I shall take you in my German mouth.
    7. Re:Too late by parryr · · Score: 2

      > The PS/2 has the best games followed by the Gamecube.

      No, that's not right. I've got a PC, PS/2, GameCube, and an Xbox.

      I have one game for the 'Cube - Metroid Prime.

      I have, I think, five for the PS/2.

      My Xbox library holds something like 25 titles.

      If you like Japanese RPGs, the PS/2 has the best games. If you like having a Hello Kitty shitting yellow flowers on your screen, then get a 'Cube. If you want superior controls, graphics, sound, and games, then you want an Xbox.

      Exclusives aside, it's a better console. If you include exclusives, it's got more of what I want to play.

      Although - it's worth mentioning my PC library is huge, because I've been collecting games on that platform since Prince of Persia (the original).

    8. Re:Too late by rspress · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The only way Microsoft can win the war is that they have yet to make a profit from the xbox. They fact that they can absorb those losses is what is keeping the xbox alive.

      Since the new xbox will not run the old xbox games that had better make sure to have new, killer titles ready to go when they launch. If not they are going to crash and burn hard. If they blow it they will have fewer sales than Ballmer has hair.

      Hey, since both the xbox and playstation will be running PowerPC chips from IBM maybe this will mean easily ported games to the Mac and maybe even a directx API for the Mac.

  6. Oh fun by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So we're what two years away from another FF game, another DDR series with erm.. better graphics?

    Nah, I don't think I'll bother with the PS3, it won't be hugely different to the PS2 and well I'd rather support someone like Nintendo who can make a console which doesn't die after a year (I'm sure everyone has seen or heard of a bad PS2 like that).

    Sony can make fine TVs, DVDs, VHS and whatever else you wish to name. But the PS systems after the first just need alot of work.. we're on what the 10th model now and they still don't run right...

    --
    I like muppets.
    1. Re:Oh fun by th1ckasabr1ck · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So we're what two years away from another FF game, another DDR series with erm.. better graphics? I understand if you have a problem with PS2s breaking down, but if you buy the next Nintendo console and don't expect the big games to be MarioX, ZeldaX, and MetroidX you're fooling yourself.

    2. Re:Oh fun by PainKilleR-CE · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'll just do the same thing I did with this generation of consoles:

      1) Buy games for previous generation console dirt cheap when new console is released.

      2) Wait for new console to have 3 or more games that I must have.

      3) Buy the new console and the 3 or more games.

      4) Repeat.

      Gee, I wonder why I have 4 consoles and am considering buying a PSOne for the PS1 games I own that won't play on the PS2. This is what taught me:

      5) Don't sell the old system until I've tested every single game I already have on the new system (if the new system makes any claims of backwards compatability).

      I can buy switches to handle as many consoles as I could possibly collect. I can buy ports (or sequels that manage to replace the games they follow) to reduce my need for older consoles. When I don't play a console very much I can even box it up and store it in a closet until I just need to play that game. I can't get my old games and systems back if I sell them, though, and I see no reason not to preserve these old games for my daughter should she ever show any interest in retro gaming later in her life (though by then she may just be able to zap them all into some VR rig for pennies a ROM).

      --
      -PainKilleR-[CE]
    3. Re:Oh fun by hawkbug · · Score: 5, Informative

      Well, I know 3 people with PS2s that ended up not working, and it has nothing to do with modding. It has to do with watching dvds on them. The damn lasers in the PS2 are worthless, the new models are better, but the old ones are horrible. First gen PS2 was a huge pile of crap in a lot of ways (it was noisy and the laser sucked to name a few). After a while, these PS2s quit loading DVD based PS2 games and DVD movies. The still seem to load CD based (blue backed games) without issue in most cases, even though the laser is extremely noisy when loading blue games. Enough evidence for you? Don't get me wrong - I own a PS2, and will also own a PS3. Why? Backwards compatibility. Xbox won't have it, Nintendo never has it, so PS3 it is.

    4. Re:Oh fun by king-manic · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Well, I know 3 people with PS2s that ended up not working, and it has nothing to do with modding. It has to do with watching dvds on them. The damn lasers in the PS2 are worthless, the new models are better, but the old ones are horrible. First gen PS2 was a huge pile of crap in a lot of ways (it was noisy and the laser sucked to name a few). After a while, these PS2s quit loading DVD based PS2 games and DVD movies. The still seem to load CD based (blue backed games) without issue in most cases, even though the laser is extremely noisy when loading blue games. Enough evidence for you? Don't get me wrong - I own a PS2, and will also own a PS3. Why? Backwards compatibility. Xbox won't have it, Nintendo never has it, so PS3 it is.

      This is called an anecdote, statistical value : little.

      Now grab a set of 1000 users and find how many of those untis failed. Adhear to standard data collection methodology. Otherwise it's just a story.

      --
      "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
  7. Ars Technica by strictnein · · Score: 5, Interesting

    claims that Nintendo will not be showcasing its nextgen unit next E3. It will just be discussing its "vision" for its nextgen unit.

    I couldn't find links showing official info either way. Who's right?

    --
    Casual Games/Downloads
    1. Re:Ars Technica by SilentChris · · Score: 4, Interesting

      "I couldn't find links showing official info either way."

      You must be new to E3. Companies often don't have a set plan until a few weeks before the show. Even price changes are often laid down spur of the moment (although people at the company generally have some idea what price they will go to, they often wait for a competitor to ante up first). Considering demos are often burned the night before the show, and hardware that arrives with a curtain sometimes stays that way (Google both), I'm not surprised there's no official info.

    2. Re:Ars Technica by strictnein · · Score: 2, Interesting

      No, I'm not new to E3. It's just that I've now seen pretty official news from Sony and Microsoft about their next-gen stuff, but not Nintendo.

      --
      Casual Games/Downloads
  8. Re::P by dangerburger · · Score: 3, Funny

    "SOUTHFIELD, MIBored with scaring elderly misers, the Ghost of Christmas Future is spending the holiday season taunting modern children with visions of Christmas 2016's hottest toy: the Sony PlayStation 5, a 2,048-bit console featuring a 45-Ghz trinary processor, CineReal graphics booster with 2-gig biotexturing, and an RSP connector for 360-degree online-immersion play."
    now if i just had the time to play one

    --
    Non-System foot or foot error. remove from mouth and strike any key when ready
  9. Also the Jaguar 2 by sjonke · · Score: 4, Funny

    Atari will also return to form with their new 128-bit Jaguar 2 & Jaguar 2 CD, now more toilet-like than ever!

    --
    --- What?
  10. Development? by gr8_phk · · Score: 3, Funny

    I was wondering how to contact them about doing some development for it. I've got this really neat ray tracer that should be fantastic on all those processors....

    1. Re:Development? by nkh · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The official SDKs for gaming consoles have always been overpriced (like a multiple of $1000) and don't count on buying your own CD burner (more like $10,000). You'll have to wait for some kind of GNU cross compiling tools...

  11. Well, they're on track... by ajservo · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They said it was going to be like 2064 before the PS9 was coming out right? That's what the TV ads from 3 years ago told me. That and the (PS9) console was an implant... Seriously, I'm disappointed that no console outside of the portables has tried an innovation pushing on how we play games. All these consoles for the last 20 years have been tied to a TV. Only the GB/A/SP, The Nomad, and Virtual Boy have tried to innovate in these areas. I'd seriously consider buying a console that made some intelligent use of the 3D computer montior technology that's out on PC. Console manufacturers are too reticent to try something like this, but that'd be a true innovation over the current generation, without a loss on graphic capabilities.

    1. Re:Well, they're on track... by inkdesign · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Well, when you're a billionaire, and can afford to finance the R&D required to bring innovative technology to console gaming, you'll be able to solve that problem. Until then, the order of the marketplace dictates that we'll be sticking with what is profitable, not possible.

  12. Does it still run on love? by FleaPlus · · Score: 5, Funny

    I remember seeing a preview interview of the Playstation 3 a few years ago.

    Sony: Dreamcast? Ha ha, funny stupid yankee! You dishonor me with your mention of this Dreamcast. The Praystation 3 does not connect to internet, Praystation 3 CONTAIN the internet. You prugga in the computer to the port, the internet isa all there. We copy it inside machine for fast access.

    mis: Wait, so you're saying that you copied every single file on the internet into this box? That doesn't even make any sense! The internet is a constantly changing network of millions of individual machines. How does the PS3 update its so called "internet" if it has no connections to the real network?

    Sony: Thasa right. No connections. Praystation 3 get internet from outerspace.

    mis: And its power?

    Sony: It run on love.

  13. Re::P by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny
    Okay, so the Onion has a pay service required for old articles, couldn't you do a google search?
    [T]he Ghost of Christmas Future is spending the holiday season taunting modern children with visions of Christmas 2016's hottest toy: the Sony PlayStation 5, a 2,048-bit console featuring a 45-Ghz trinary processor, CineReal graphics booster with 2-gig biotexturing, and an RSP connector for 360-degree online-immersion play.
    "You know how kids are--a year is an eternity to them," the wraithlike specter said Monday during a visit to the Southfield home of 13-year-old Josh Kuehn. "So just imagine showing them something they'll have to wait 14 years for. Teasing them with a glimpse of the PS5 is the ultimate torture. They absolutely lose their minds. It's like saying, 'Hey, kid, you'll be an old man before you ever get to touch this.'"...
    "I like to appear in the living room with a PS5 hooked up to 2016's most popular TV, the 4'x8' Hi-Def Sony Titania," the Ghost said. "Then, I'll say in my best spooky voice, 'Jimmy! Behold what your kids will be playing while you're slaving away at an office job to support them!'"...
    The Ghost said he then likes to show Airsledz, a racing game in which jet-powered sleds whoosh through a four-dimensional racing course in the sky. The game, he said, enables the player to compete online against dozens of other players all around the world.
    "They always ask if you can play it on the Internet--it's so cute how they still call it 'the Internet'--and I tell them, 'Hey, you can play this against 63 other PS5 owners simultaneously. At least you can in 14 years,'" the Ghost said. "And you should see their jaws hit the floor when they learn about the add-on accessories that enable users to actually fly around the room during gameplay."
  14. Re:New Gamecube? by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Nintendo is alive and well. They are keeping the specs of the Revolution close to their heart for the time being. (although there are rumors to the effect of a dual processor G5, or something like that... but I personally think those are bogus). Reports of Nintendo's death were greatly exaggerated.

    Nintendo seems to have something up their sleeve though. They are talking about it like they were before they announced the DS. I am expecting something very strange that will have people going WTF.

    I am also curious how the next Gameboy is going to factor into this. It seems to me that the DS is the perfect complement to a console, connectivity-wise but I am sure Nintendo will try to leverage the Gameboy more... Not sure how that will pan out.

    For Nintendo console news, check out these sites:
    www.planetgamecube.com
    www.gcadvanced.com
    www.gametabs.com

  15. Rambus scuttlebutt? by Exmet+Paff+Daxx · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I never bought a Playstation 2 because I didn't want to support the thieves at Rambus by buying their memory. Any word on whether they've replaced that vendor for PS3? I think I've beaten "Gauntlet Legends Dreamcast" one time too many by now...

    --
    If guns kill people, then CmdrTaco's keyboard misspells words.
    1. Re:Rambus scuttlebutt? by inkdesign · · Score: 5, Informative

      Fraid not brother,as PS3 will use RAMBUS memory.
      http://www.ps3insider.com/modules.php?nam e=News&fi le=article&sid=122
      (XDR on Schedule for Mid-2005)

    2. Re:Rambus scuttlebutt? by IdleTime · · Score: 4, Funny

      Looks like your boycott was a huge success!

      Only 70 million PS2 boxes was sold! Way to go!

      --
      If you mod me down, I *will* introduce you to my sister!
  16. The Gamecube successor... by Unnngh! · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...the Ninentendo GameHyperCube? For all your 4D tesseract gameplaying needs?

    1. Re:The Gamecube successor... by b0r0din · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yep. They could show you what it looks like, but your puny mortal brain wouldn't possibly be able to comprehend.

      I imagine it'd be hard to box up.

      "Hey Frank, where'd you put that last one?"

      "Damnit, slipped into the fucking fourth dimension again. That's the tenth one today!"

      "42."

      "Who said that?"
      (sound of laughing mice)

  17. Re:New Gamecube? by Wild+Bill+TX · · Score: 5, Informative

    I thought Nintendo was going the same route as Sega which was not to release any more consols?

    A while back, Nintendo's Satoru Iwata declared, "When we withdraw from the home game console, that's when we withdraw from the video game business."

    --
    Audioscrobbler
  18. I would use a different term... by oofoe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...Sony are planning to officially reveal the PlayStation 3 at the E3 Expo in May 2005. They're obviously not wanting to be outdone by Nintendo, who announced the same plans for the GameCube successor, as well as Xbox 2's rumored debut around that time. Looks like E3 2005 is going to be a biggy.

    Hmmm... All that new hardware. I suspect that it's more likely that E3 2005 is going to be a buggy...

    --
    Curse you plastic mold maker!
    1. Re:I would use a different term... by maggeth · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Seriously.

      I want Sony to take their damn time and make PS3 absolutely rock-solid and expandable without any bugs. I don't care if I have to wait an extra year, I don't feel like plopping down another $300 because Xbox, Nintendo, and PS are getting into a pissing contest of "who can beat the other guy to market."

      *shakes fist at the world*

      --
      Slashdot in 5 Paragraphs
  19. Could be a crapfest by grunt107 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Seems to be a rush to be the first and the big question is what features and quality reviews will be skipped to accomplish this feat? Plus, depending on the offering, one of those 3 seems doomed (from current momentum it seems to be Nintendo). PS3 seems to be the world fave, but the 'X' is huge in the USA, so only the backward-compatible question would cripple the successor's debut. ... Still slobberin' for Halo2

    1. Re:Could be a crapfest by AuMatar · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Based on worldwide numbers, if one of them is doomed its the Xbox. Remember that gaming is a much bigger inustry in Asia than in US, and gamecube kills it there.

      --
      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
  20. Misleading, it's sooner than that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative
    News from Dengeki including a powerpoint slide from the actual presentation:
    link

    Sony is planning on announcing its new system before the end of (FY) 2004, and unveiling a playable prototype at E3. Looking forward to it!

  21. Good for the marketplace? by lacrymology.com · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I was a wee lad when the early console wars happened (8-bit, handheld, and 16-bit), and didn't give a toss about anything but the NES system. After a time I grew older and missed the most recent wars. However, now that I have some time to indulge in gameplay, it's become increasingly irrtating to keep up. Is this massive turnover killing the industry? I realize that it has been quite a while since the PS2, GC, and XBox came out, but they only recently seem to have acquired widespread acceptance. Perhaps I am wrong, but it seems that unless each company plans on making their new consoles backwards compatible they are setting themselves up for a huge fall in this mad race to get the latest greatest technology out the door. To mee it seems that gameplay is the greatest draw, and technology is secondary. As far as gameplay goes, no one can touch Nintendo (although they tend to lean far to heavily on their franchises), but perhaps I am biased. There is something to be said for developer apis as companies are more inclined to develop for a platform that allows them to create and distribute games with the least amount of overhead... and it seems that M$ wins in that arena.
    -m

    --

    #
    # Modus Ponens
    #
    1. Re:Good for the marketplace? by chrismcdirty · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I would like to believe that gameplay is the #1 draw, but the sad fact is graphics are pushed over gameplay. Look at a lot of Xbox games. So many of them have terrific graphics with bad gameplay. Sony has even gone as far as to not give the greenlight to 2D games because they "aren't as pretty" as 3D games. Nintendo seems to be the only one to push gameplay over graphics, but their gameplay idea is for everyone to be able to pick up and play it, which sometimes draws the more hardcore gamers away from them.

      --
      It's like sex, except I'm having it!
  22. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  23. Re:New Gamecube? by ArekRashan · · Score: 2, Informative

    Looking at Nintendo's fundamental financial position, I can with almost complete certainty guarantee _another_ console after the next. The next console, codenamed 'Revolution', will probably ship in 2006. While little is known about this machine, I have heard that you will be able to display its video output on a computer monitor. Nintendo is currently involved with IBM and ATI, and while no-one has explicitly confirmed anything about the hardware for the next console, it is safe to assume that Big Blue & Big Red are providing it. nVidia must surely be Green with envy that their competition is providing graphics for the mass-market consoles.

  24. Re:New Gamecube? by Donoho · · Score: 2, Funny

    From the same article mentioned above 'The new console from Nintendo is codenamed "Revolution"'

    Although no official statement has been given, this codename does give credence to runors that all games on this console will carry the Revolution moniker and be manipulated via dancepad controllers. As expressed by the promotional video for the Nintendo DS at the 2004 E3, Nintendo wants to improve the quality of life of it's consumers. The "Revolutiion" console will do so by ensuring the physical fitness of it's users.

    One of the first peripherals on tap for this new system is a ceiling mounted harness to allow for real time super and double jumps...

    --
    Michalangelo Progr
  25. Don't know how true this is, apparently. by Hamster+Lover · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Friend of mine lived in Japan for two years teaching and brought back many fascinating and hilarious stories about the cultural differences between Japan and North America.

    I recall that he mentioned that at any trade show or convention they will have an assortment of lovely ladies that when asked questions about the products will give ridiculous answers. It's part of the show, he said.

    Some of the weirdest shit comes out of Japan, I swear.

  26. Re:New Gamecube? by NanoGator · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "I thought Nintendo was going the same route as Sega which was not to release any more consols?"

    Somehow I doubt you heard that from a news site. Ever since the Playstation came out, everybody's tried to be the first to pass off a prediction of Nintendo's death as a sign of intelligence.

    Sega scrapped the DC when they scraped broke. Nintendo has several billion cold hard cash in the bank. This fall/winter/next spring they're releasing the Nintendo DS, which sounds pretty darned cool so far. Nintendo's 'Revolution' system is another year or two away. It's supposed to be really snazzy. Not so much in terms of processor specs, but something's supposed to be revolutionary about it. After seeing the DS, I think Nintendo will pull it off.

    --
    "Derp de derp."
  27. News Update? March 2005 release date by WebGangsta · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Well, now the news is that the timeline has been accelerated.

    They're saying that the PS3 is coming out in March 2005.

    If confirmed, that timeline would mean Sony's new game console will be out before the E3 convention in Los Angeles, scheduled for May. Sony and other video game makers have used E3, which draws game developers, fans and industry officials, for major product launches.

    If this isn't accurate, I'm sure it will be corrected here shortly.

  28. Re:Real question... by cybrthng · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The XBOX has better HDTV support but both are on par for DVD playback.

    DVD players are a dime a dozen these days.. may as well make your selection on games and what you want.

    Obviously if you have HDTV i would suggest that you get the appropriate equipment to really enjoy HDTV content - like a Bravo D1 upconverting DVD player or similar product or wait a few months until the HD DVD standards are finished.

    A console works best as a console :)

  29. We need better games, not better consoles by c0d3h4x0r · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The current consoles are more than powerful enough already. We need better games, not better consoles. All this focus on newer fancier (and more expensive) hardware is misplaced effort. It's just going to turn the video game industry into the same mess that the PC industry has been for years: perpetual upgrade cycle with no time for developers to make software that truly utilizes the current generation of capabilities well.

    --
    Moderator hint: a comment is neither "Flamebait" nor "Troll" if it is true.
  30. This is why you are wrong by neflite · · Score: 3, Informative

    I think you forgot to mention that those games 90% of the time ARE the best games of their time. Of course, this is only opinion. But, if you go to gamestats and check Highest Rated top 10 list, three of them are ZeldaX and MarioX, and two are in the top three. This has to show for something. Oh and also look at Most Wanted top 10.. Is it that hard to believe that Zelda (as of reading it now) is #1?

  31. Re:News Update? March 2005 release date by maddogjt · · Score: 3, Informative

    Check your article again, PSP not PS3. They will have their new handheld out by March 2005, but I would be very suprised if we saw PS3 before mid-2006, especially in the US.

  32. XBox Response by WebGangsta · · Score: 4, Interesting

    And in related news, rumors are that Microsoft may introduce XBox2 at the X04 trade show in September 2004, with their launch in October 2005.

  33. Re:Real question... by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Obviously, GC is off the table since it doesn't play DVDs.
    A gamecube and a dvd player can be had for roughly the same price as a PS2 or XBox, and the standalone DVD player will probably do a better job of it than the consoles. Besides, if you can afford to buy an HDTV, you're not hurting for cash so much that you couldn't afford to buy an extra DVD player.

    Look at what games you'd like, and buy based on that. But counting the GC out just because it doesn't double as a DVD player is a bit silly.

    --

    How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
  34. Nintendo Nintendo Revolution by drwiii · · Score: 4, Funny
    It'll probably play DVD Video and come with a universal cartridge adapter. Nintendo will claim universal compatibility with all Nintendo console titles.

    Then Nintendo will fuck it up, right on schedule:

    Nintendo hardware design team will somehow manage to make the console look like yet another cheap toy. Packaging team, eager to leave GCN handle debacle behind them, will suggest shipping the console to retailers in a commemorative bookbag with Pokemon all over it.

    Some designer on his lunch break will manage to relocate the Z button directly on the left circular edge of the analog stick and shrink the d-pad by another 50%. The d-pad is laid out such that you have to flip the controller over and rotate it at a 45 degree angle even have access to the d-pad. Since Nintendo invented the d-pad, his co-workers do not question him.

    Console shipping color will be purple, pink, or bright orange, and it will not have any Certified-Badass blue status LEDs. Don't worry: true to Nintendo form, the only accessories available in your local EB will be colored differently than your console.

    System's flash memory cards/drives will be 16 times too small. Nintendo will bitch about how developers are getting too lazy, and how they should strive to fit 20 encyclopedias worth of data in 3 memory blocks. (will not be remedied until 4 years after console launch.) Sony takes note and evolves PS3's units of storage from "kilobytes" to "encyclopedias".

    Sony will outbid Nintendo for exclusive "GTA4" to be released at PS3 launch, and no Mario game will be ready at 'Revolution' launch. To make up for it, Nintendo releases four games that are only 25% fun.

    Console will have 8+ ports on the bottom that will never be used for anything, just so you know it's a Nintendo system. Will be left unlabeled, since "SP" acronym was already taken for something other than "Speculation Ports". Fucking idiots will lose port covers, causing console to sit unbalanced. Nintendo, sensing a new market for mismatched-colored accessories, starts selling replacement port covers.

    Network adapter not integrated and no wireless connectivity except to the portable Dual Boy (which was released two years ago at Christmas). Simplicity-oriented Nintendo will hand the plug-and-play Internet gaming market to Sony and Microsoft on a silver platter.

    Third parties, already scared away during the N64 and GCN iterations, go with Sony.

    Nintendo will ship Ultra Mario Bros. a whole 8 months after system launch, which just happens to be in May, a nice safe 6 to 7 months away from the lucrative Christmas shopping season.

    Ultra Mario Bros. will have some stupid goddamned gimmick, like Mario wearing (oh, I don't know..) toasters instead of shoes. He won't punch blocks or collect coins, though. God forbid he should punch blocks or collect fucking coins. Nobody born prior to 1993 will like the game, and everyone will bitch.

    Similar bullshit happens with the next Zelda pre-post-post-pre-post-prequel. Oh, by the way, Link's a kid in this one again. And get this, he's got a musical instrument. There's an option available to turn off cel-shading, but only if you beat the game twice on the same save.

    Miyamoto will surface from his underground bunker 3 weeks later to insist that the players are wrong and that Nintendo's new batch of artists and programmers are innovators and that toaster shoes improve gameplay and that Link was always a kid. Suddenly, noticing the Mushroom Signal in the skies high over Kyoto, he hurriedly leaves in order to urgently not-supervise the next Mario game.

    Dual Boy SP will be released 3 years and 1 month (December 26th) after complaints surface about the screens on the original Dual Boy acting as a black hole. Upon finding that shining light from both screens cancels out any external light, thereby darkening the space around it and making it impossible to see much less play, Nintendo proudly proclaims that, hey, it worked in R&D!

    Jak

  35. A Biggy? by superultra · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Looks like E3 2005 is going to be a biggy.

    Not really. Can you name one title from any of this generation's launch titles that was great, save perhaps Halo? There aren't any, or they're few in number, because the end of a hardware cycle is a thin time for software. If anything, E3 2003/2004 were the best conferences for gamers. Developers have mastered each system's nuances and have reached a plateau in graphics and started to focus more on gameplay. Games released now are refined, honed. Games released for the new systems will be choppy, rushed, and extremely rough around the edges, and in some cases little more than graphical show off stunts.

    The changing of the guard is a purgatory for developers. Games released on older systems will be expected to have lower prices, and therefore will result in lower profits. On the other side of the fence, gamers will have just spent $300 on a new system, not including money towards needed periphereals or forced bundles. In the least, that's six games that they could have bought otherwise. What's more is that it will incite rabid fanboyism in the press, and we'll see a barrage of articles over-evaluating the systems. ("The Xbox2 has 8 vertices to it. The PS3 also has 8 vertices to it. EVALUATION: Corners are great to a system, and always add to the stackability. They're keeping with the console tradition of not using pyramids or spherical shapes. WINNER: Tie.")

    If anything, E3 2005 will be a great year for PC gamers if only because the engines (Doom 3 & Half Life 2), which are the PC industry's equivalent to consoles and follow a similar cyclical pattern, will have been released and leased out to developers.

    But yeah, I guess if you're excited about seeing graphical demos or launch titles that will never actually see the light of day on the new systems, or will look dated within six months of the system's release, sure. E3 2005 will be a biggy. Have fun at E3'05. Go get your hard on. Hardware on, that is.

  36. Re:HDTV by c0d3h4x0r · · Score: 3, Insightful

    But most people aren't going to upgrade to HDTV sets over the next five years. Well-off home theater geeks will, but not most others.

    Even if HDTV set prices drop to the same price as today's non-HDTV sets, there's not enough incentive (in most people's minds) to purchase one. Okay, the picture is a little sharper. To tech heads this may be a big deal, but to most people it's a minor improvement. Certainly not enough of an improvement to justify throwing $500 or more at a new TV when your current one still works fine. Plus you have to then sign up for something more (expensive) than analog cable service to actually see anything in HDTV.

    I predict HDTV won't really take hold for about 15 years, because that's probably about how long, on average, today's non-HDTV sets will last before dying and needing replacement. Replacing a dead TV is the biggest incentive most people have for buying something better at similar prices.

    --
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  37. Re:Games do matter, but... by unclethursday · · Score: 2, Interesting
    While DirectX may be a decent API, the fact that it takes somewhere along the lines of 3x as much code to do the same things that OpenGL does makes it bloated.

    Besides, DirectX is tied to Windows. Other methods of doing the same things exist, at the same level or maybe even superior levels, for a lot less bloat. Unreal Tournament 2004 looks and runs fantastic on a PowerMac G5, and not a hint of DirectX to be seen; it's all OpenGL.

    The reason more and more PC developers use DirectX over OpenGL and others is the simple fact that Microsoft integrated DirectX into Windows, and thus, the developers know that most of the people playing the games have the correct software to run it. Being in a monopoly position tends to do that, ya know.

  38. Re:backwards compatibility? by unclethursday · · Score: 2, Informative
    No home console before the PS2 had backwards compatibility.

    *cough* Atari 5200 *cough*, *cough* Atari 7800 *cough* *cough* both played the previous gen's games, and 7800 also played 2600 games *cough*

    Sorry, something caught in my throat there.

  39. Re:Console Wars and people's opinions by forkboy · · Score: 2, Informative

    That's exactly the point. The games make the system. The fanciest new-fangledest system in the world will fail unless it has great high-quality games in a variety of genres.

    Why'd Dreamcast fail? Sega didn't have the titles it needed to succeed. The Atari Jaguar? Way ahead of its time technologically but again no decent games. The Neo-Geo was semi-successful but it was way too expensive to be within price range of the typical family.

    Playstation and X-box succeed because they have a LOT of good titles available for them. Gamecube succeeds because it has many of the cross-platform titles as well as a few popular game franchises that are exclusive. (Zelda, Metroid, Mario etc)

    But basically I agree with you, predicting success or failure before the system ever comes out is foolish. However, Sony does have a good trackrecord with the previous 2 Playstation systems.

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  40. satisfying gameplay vs. attention to graphics? by 1ntegral · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This is in no way mean to be inflammatory. I have a PS2 and an 8-bit Nintendo. I find myself having a lot more fun playing some of the old school Nintendo games, and it's not just nostalgia. A lot of people I know (nerds who also play a lot of console games) feel the same way. I think that games for the recent systems have devolved, at least in terms of the means by which they engage the player with an interesting story and puzzles that don't rely on how fast you can push a sequence of buttons within a given interval of time. Obviously the gameplay for an old school sidescroller is going to be vastly different from a complex 3d rendered PS2 game, but gameplay aside, I wish that developers would spend more time on making the games fun to play and less time on making scantily-clad women who look like omg real girls. There was a paradigm shift at some point, I don't know when, and from my perspective, gameplay suddenly became harder to for developers to make well than did graphics. Basically, I'd be happy with the current systems, if only they could make some fun games for them.