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All Three Next-Gen Consoles at e3 2005
Word is now out that, in all likelyhood, all three next generation consoles will be displayed in some form at this year's e3. Nintendo's Revolution has been rumoured to be making an appearance for a while. Yesterday Sony announced the PS3 would be available in playable form at the convention, and Microsoft was soon to follow regarding the Xbox Next. Game on?
Word is not out that, in all likelyhood, all three next generation consoles will be displayed in some form at this year's e3. Good to know there's no updates on the matter, thanks!
I suppose that in the interest of competition, all three are rushing to put something "showable" together, regaurdless of how close they are to market. I'd take anything I see with a grain of salt, knowing that these consoles were probably go through some big changes between E3 and market.
Here's what I'm hoping:
1) Sony uses a custom Linux distro for PS3
2) PS3 becomes infinitely popular
3) Sony releases cell processor for PCs
4) Cell processor takes over PC world
5) Linux now has hundreds of game titles, thanks to PS3 development
6) People dual boot Linux for games, eventually dump windows
7) No proft!
More
all hail the Revolution!
Well, it is now.
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
Word is not out that, in all likelyhood, all three next generation consoles will be displayed in some form at this year's e3.
It's not? Then what am I reading here? >.>
"Mod, mod, mod...and another troll bites the dust."
And thus begins the 12 month wankfest over which system is superior, based from debates online from people who have only seen press photos of the system in question and have never played it. I hate console -release years on my gaming forums.
Wouldn't that be one big company, and two gi-normous companies? I mean, I'd probably rank them from smallest to largest as Nintendo:Sony:Microsoft....
'Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?'
This will make for quite the interesting year game wise. It will also make for lots of price slashes. Since the current consoles still have lot's of graphics power and a huge install base, it's going to be a good year to be a gamer.
Ah the circle of consoles. Makes my heart warm.
-- I have fans? Wow.
I have nothing but condolences in my heart for those poor devs and designers who just found out with these announcements that they're going to be pulling double or even triple duty for the next year in order to back up the salesmen's promises.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Am I the only gamer that has finally grown tired of the hand-held controller input scheme? Isn't it time we dawn some sort of VR goggles or other similar display and perhaps a new input method? Or is the next generation of consoles going to be identical to the last (and the one before that!) with more ram, processing power, etc?
I know that Nintendo is working on a new type of controller, and that might be enought to persuade me to purchase their console over the other two. But really, I think it's time someone take a larger leap foward than touting it can render toy-story in realtime and has uber magic special online abilities.
Go here for teh [sic] funny.
Three companies all battling with hardware made by IBM.
comeon, those are just vaporware.. I'm holding out for the phantom.
Personally, I'm hoping that Nintendo has a winner on their hands with the Revolution. I've always been a fan of the kinds of games that get released on the Nintendo consoles. They tend to be unique and wonderfully playable. Some may complain that the titles tend towards the younger demographics, but I think that many of them are playable and, most importantly, fun at all ages. Their games tend to be unique whereas PS and Xbox tend to have their catalog dominated by titles that mimic (or are direct ports) of PC games. Sure, the GC has it's share of ported titles, but it also has a ton of exclusives that absolutely rock. Plus, it helps that I've always preferred Nintendo controllers to any others.
*Disclaimer: I would not call myself a Nintendo fanboy. I just bought a GameCube last year (my first console), but have played my friends' PS2s and Xboxes ad nauseam.
Per Square Mile, a blog about density
... I remember reading that the PS3 was debuting at the E3 this May... oh let's call it 4 months ago. I'm glad the only portion of this 'article' that envolves an actual press release is several months old. Too bad the word isn't out anyway... sheesh payAttention(news);
And thus begins the 12 month wankfest over which system is superior, based from debates online from people who have only seen press photos of the system in question and have never played it
The debate continues among gamers even after the consoles have come out and they have been played. People still debate which is better among GameCube vs. PS2 vs. X-Box.
Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
Where is Intel eh? IBM recently sold off it's PC business. Hmmmm, no point in competing it;s own Cell Architecture. Is this IBM trying to take over the PC market again with a few sneaky consoles are a wedge in the door?
the biggest problem that the gaming industries is facing today is diversity in game type, i am sick of playing: A) RPG B) shoot'em up C) Sports faster CPU / RAM is usally better , but i dont care playing nfl2k6 wich will if it will be the same as 2k5 beside a few more details, what we need is new concept, new way of interacting, new styler ( flava flav? ) please Ubisoft/EA impress me !
I'll flame people. They'll flame me. We'll get into a how long have you been gaming virtual penis measuring contest. We'll all enjoy it and point at each other and laugh. And no opinions will be swayed.
God himself could descend down upon gaming forums populated entirely by evangelicals in console launch years and declare his preference, backed up by Jesus and the holy ghost, and this is still how it would happen.
The key to the enjoyment of pop music is to replace any instance of "love" with "C.H.U.D."
If these use the latest tech, probably not. It looks like these machines will be using more mainstream hardware, so prices will come down quickly, just like the PC world.
Necessary functionality:
1. Networkable
2. Stores data on usb or networked hard disks
3. Plays media (mp3, wav, ogg, mpeg 1, mpeg2, mpeg4, wmf, etc) off of usb hard disk, flash card, networked hard disk
4. Download on demand video, audio content
5. Support for an external usb hardware video encoder (mpeg 4, mpeg 2) with ability to export video to another format
6. DVR with scheduler and program guide
7. HD output
8. Web browser
9. Quiet
10. Ability to boot some sort of end user written code (.net, java, a scripting language, etc).
11. Modular design for low cost (base system has a flash card, external hard disk is extra, external video encoder is extra or third party).
Can we drop the "XBox Next" thing? There is absolutely no way the console will be called that, It's just something some game 'journalist' at IGN or ZD made up one day.
Wait, only three consoles? The Phantom is going to be there, right? I mean, c'mon, it's 2005.
Sony has the Final Fantasy Series, DDR and a shitload of RPGs and fighting games.
GameCube has Mario, Smash Brothers, Zelda, Mario Cart and a whole lotta kids games (some adult ones too).
X-Box has Halo, Max Payne and DOA.
Anything I missed in the series? I'll admit I don't know much about the X-Box games, but based on the low number (that I know of) of series and leading titles, I would say that the X-BOX is going to lose ground. Especially since they can not maintain reverse compatability as easily (if at all) as the PS3 will and the next Nintendo console might.
Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
...that all this processing power will run up.
I mean, if the PS3 does use 4 Cells, that alone will certainly be a power hog in itself, right?
I wonder what portion of energy today is used for CPU power.
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
This is great and really whets the appetite for the next gen of consoles, but where is the current generation? I finally decided to buy a PS2 (or PSTwo) and everywhere I look, stores seem to be out of them (and XBoxs, and GCs). Anyone know what the deal is? Did they sell out of everything over the holidays?
I think the most interesting thing is that will all be using basically the same processor - The Cell from IBM.
I see this as a more difficult transition for Microsoft and Sony than Nintendo - because the Nintendo currently uses a PowerPC G3 variant and an ATI video card - it's not much less than low end iMac CRT from a few years ago.
I wonder if anyone will be able to write emulators that play any game from any console ON ANY console.
This should be easy for coders to come up with an emulator to run discs on Macs and return our ability to play playstation games.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
Saying these consoles might make an appearance at e3 doesn't help if I, a casual gamer, have any idea what e3 is, more importantly, when it is. A simple 'in May' would've sufficed.
*grumbles
Triv
I'm a Nintendo fanboy at heart and I'm pretty proud of it TBH. But I see this being Nintendo's last console, as much as I like them, the market "doesn't". The new generation of... gamers.. (I use the term loosely) perfers quick fixs and short games with the average Hollywood plot.
The Madden 200837394 generation basicly. I just find it bitterly ironic, the shorter games get.. the people have to work to make them. Where as we all hate "it's been pushed back". I'd rather have a game repeatedly pushed back then bug ridden.
I like muppets.
I might actually pass on buying any of these next consoles unless I can get them at a discount (not likely) or a game comes out that is so remarkable that its different from anything I've already got. I've already got a PC with a ton of games and a PS2 and gamecube that I rarely play. Show me something amazing and actually new and then I might be interested.
I heard they'll have using Duke Nukem Forever featuring as the display game - on all three consoles!
Looking trough the net I found this interesting proposed design for the PS3...
Will this be the PS3?
At least, it looks more cool that the tower design... what do you think??
Ubuntu is an African word meaning 'I can't configure Debian'
I infinitely prefer mouse+keyboard for some game types, especially shooters (first and third person), point-and-click adventures (Myst, old LucasArts adventures, etc.), and RTS. Some game types, though, would benefit only marginally from that setup (standard console RPGs seem like a mouse might help just a little, but not much). Still others, like fighters, action/adventures (e.g. recent EA Lord of the Rings action games), and platformers, really benefit from a console controller.
Honor Among Slackers. A veri
I'm not gonna aim this at slashdot, but rather at these IGN sites it links to. Granted, theres a decent likelyhood that we'll see something on at least one of the new systems at E3, but neither of these articles offer up ANY proof of these "announcements". How bout a little journalistic integrity. Some guy says someone else was on a conference call and they mentioned their nex-gen is gonna appear. I did some quick homework and this far none of the corp sites for either company have any press releases confirming these claims.
Who is more foolish? The fool, or the fool who follows?
They are all using IBM processors but certainly not the cell -- only sony will use that. Others will use more traditional powerpc designs I suspect.
XBox doesn't have Max Payne exclusively. The key is platform exclusivity. Sony and GameCube has been playing that game forever now.
XBox has Halo and Gotham Racing. That's it. And XBox live if you're really into playing with 12 year olds.
Open message to Sony, Nintendo and Xbox: Stop telling us what the chipset is capable of, and start telling us what you're going to do to encourage high-quality development for your platforms.
The Xbox was ultimately a poor investment for anyone who bought it. Sure Halo's 1&2 are system sellers. But then what? There were scant few good titles for Xbox.
Now Xbox and PS2 will be featuring variations of IBM's "Cell-based" computing chipset. Has *anyone* mentioned what its going to take to code for these things? No. Why? Because its going to be like drinking sand. Everythings about polygons per second, antialiasing, etc. Its what investors want to hear. But gamers want to hear about titles -- and that's it.
At the end of the day, what I really want as a consumer is the platform with the "most best" games. Developers want something different though: they are going to choose their platforms based on market size and a time & risk based assessment for building products. (And market size will be determined by quality titles which goes back to time & risk). The potential for Eye-candy will be a secondary factor.
I'm hoping we see the evangelizing begin at e3 -- not to consumers, not to the press, but to developers. Only that will ultimately decide the winning platform.
------ The best brain training is now totally free : )
Very very simple answer.
I cannot sit on my couch and relax with a mouse and keyboard. In addition console gaming is more about the social experience with friends then a single player at a PC. I don't want to have to setup a table for the keyboard and mouse.
Although.. perhaps a trackball where thet joystick goes would be interesting for some games (FPS?)
.plan!! what plan?
XBox has Halo and Gotham Racing.
You forgot Fable.
But I've been trying to since I paid cash for it.
You can try your skill at predicting the release date of the XBox
How about some other predictions:All have hard drive?
All use Blue Ray DVD?
Home entertaininment capability (MythTv like)?
All run Linux?
DRM-disabled, I mean enabled?
Which one out first?
Which one has highest first year sales?
Real name of X-Box next?
X-Box ignored in Japan?
New console manufacturer enters market by 2010?
Existing manufacturer leaves market by 2010?
At least one manufacturer sued by SCO? Place your bets before the window closes!
"Isn't Microsoft X Box the one that we are hoping to fail the only one from America?"
On slashdot, hate for Microsoft always superseeds patriotism.
I'm sure all the machines have parts from different countries.
Tech News, Reviews and Tutorials
IBM recently sold off it's PC business. Hmmmm, no point in competing it;s own Cell Architecture. Is this IBM trying to take over the PC market again with a few sneaky consoles are a wedge in the door?
Or maybe Apple?
In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
Has Sony come out and said the PS3 will be backwards compatible? I think they would have the biggest hurdle seeing as they're doing a complete architecture change. What made backwards compatibility so easy for the PS2 is that they used the original PSX chip for I/O. Unless they plan on dropping the set of processors created for the PS2 into the PS3 they're going to have to do it through emulation, just like Microsoft.
After saying that I'm interested in seeing what Sony will come out with. I like that they're using nVidia, because I'm still a little biased against ATi, but I have this sneaking suspicion that Cell either isn't going to perform the way Sony expects it to, or that it will be way behind schedule. Historically Sony doesn't innovate worth a shit, they just take what other people have done and make evolutionary changes to it. If they can use IBM's technology (notice how they didn't even *try* to do it themselves this time) and produce a solid consumer product (something they are very good at), I can see it being a nice machine.
Of course it all has to do with the games, and there hasn't been a PS2 game since Xenosaga: Espisode 1 that hasn't also been released on XBox that I had any interest in. Of course most people disagree with me if sales numbers are any indication.
Sorry, maybe it's in the article, but I've heard some people don't read those.
Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, GTA (usually ported to others later, so not strictly an exclusive) in the Sony camp.
If consoles were shaped like other consumer electronics - longish rectangles. I've always found it annoying that you can't stack your consoles with the rest of your stuff. Plus maybe they could benefit from the extra size.
So yeah, you would think it wouldn't be that big of a deal to put together new kits for sale, but the kit itself is far from being an "intangible".
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
I'd rather have a game repeatedly pushed back then bug ridden.
That's exactly what I'd rather not have. I would prefer they neither push it back, NOR have it bug-ridden. But if I must have a choice, then I'd rather have it pushed back than bug ridden.
You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
I'm rooting for Dreamcast.
Nintendto will make it easy to load Linux onto the console hd. Making a huge sales surge by geeks that want to tbe the first to have a Nintendo Firewall with Mario Bros stickers on it. I think that would be a pretty pimp idea and this is coming from a window user :(
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
and Fable, and Voodoo Vince, and Dead or Alive.
Of course these are only the ones I remember off the top of my head and I enjoyed the hell out of. One other thing to mention is that if a game came out on PS2 and Xbox 90%* of the time the Xbox port was better (at least visually).
* Data fabricated.
mmm... yeah, PCs have dropped, but what about PCs that can produce the same graphics as one of these new consoles? I think the price for one of those is still going to be AT LEAST $500...
I think consoles can go as high as $300, maybe $350 before they they need to worry about PC competition.
Final Fantasy exists on the Gamecube and Gameboy Advance platforms. As a matter of fact, I've been sorta playing FF:Crystal Chronicles on the GC with a buddy and two GBA:SPs, it's pretty fun, but I wish they'd release an FF6-style game with multiplay support... Oh, and FF1 and FF2 for the GBA were a lifesaver during jury duty.
Slashdot is proof that Sturgeon's Law applies to mankind.
With IBM and Sony gathering on Feb 9th to spread out the hype technical details about the PS3 and E3 in mid-May It won't be too long before we have an accurate picture of how the next year will be shaping up.
Sony has a lot of karma to make up for their consistant overstating the real-world capabilities of thier consoles, but they aren't the only one with something to proove.
Will MS's offering be strong enough to win dominiance over the adult gaming market? Will Nintendo's Revelotion expand the gaming market to non-gamers?
In two months we'll have a good idea
Go Gusties
I don't think it will be possible to write emulators for a same-generation console. Sure, they might use similar processors, but their buses (and possibly other things) will probably have some significant differences, and it would be hard to emulate all that AND keep the game running at speed.
When you look at the state of the world, how can you not become a radical, liberal anarchist?
In other news, the Phantom Game Console will make it's first physical apperance.
Maybe they'll call it XBox XP..
but then again, the whole XP thing is wearing off..
Maybe it'll be XBOX VIIV
=)
Or... not. Just an idea... but maybe you shouldn't just pull stuff out of your ass to sound like you know something. PlayStation 3 chip will go easy on developers
If they want to sell these things in 2006, they HAVE to have them at the 2005 e3. That is the business. This is not news.
As to "playable" vs. "non-playable". Playable doesn't mean much. That means playable demo. If it were fully featured and playable in may, production would be ramped and we would see them in stores in june. The first to market will get a big boost in sales and title count.
Did you buy a Neuros today?
And please, those retro VCS game-in-a-joysticks -- why bastardize classics like Circus Atari and Kaboom! with a joystick rather than an analog positioner?
Seriously, though, I do think we will see more games in the future that sense body position and movement -- more than just Dance Dance Revolution. However, as TV did not completely replace radio, neither will whole body VR dislodge recidivist couch potatoes from their handheld controllers (or perhaps in the future mind-reading or simply eye-tracking controllers -- that way they can succumb to an obese stasis).
From what I remember they have said the reverse compatibility will be maintained. They did this the same way the maintained the PS1 compatability in the PS2. There is a PS1 & PS2 chip inside the PS3. There is a PS1 chip inside the PS2. No emulation. And by refering to emulation, have you heard news the MS is going to try to keep the compatability using it? I haven't heard much.
Fly me to the moon Let me sing among those stars Let me see what spring is like On jupiter and mars
Sony and Nintendo had both already confirmed they would be demoing their consoles at E3 as far back as last July; we were just waiting on Microsoft. The only thing that's changed now is Microsoft, and that Sony's confirmed they'll have playable demos at E3 rather than playable demos around E3.
Irritable, left-wing and possibly humorous bumper stickers and t-shirts
You mean IBM taking over APPLE? If the Cell architecture could spread from consoles into "digital home" PCs and then onto all PC's. The IBM iMac Cell coming to stores soon!!
I hear Xbox Next will be endorsed by Michael Jackson
The HD/network part was the same, however a drive formatted for the linux distro would not work with games, and vice versa.
GP's "intangible" is that they could have presold 12, made 11, then announced that it was "so popular we can't fill all the orders"... Preorders are intangible until they actually build the units to sell.
If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
The real question will be will they be able to mod-chip the "Xbox-Next".
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american values such as freedom and democracy
Excuse me, but you own freedom to the french and democracy to the greek.
I shot the sheriff
Others have mentioned things like the Virtua Boy (that'll cure you of the desire for 3D goggle right quick) and the venerable Powerglove... gaming history is littered with devices like these (remember all the 3-D PC controllers out 8-10 years ago).
However there still are interesting alternative input devices being explored. Steering wheel controls survive and are doing pretty well. But one of the more interesting ideas is the EyeToy and it's use in games.
Sure it's mostly been dance stuff so far, but there is a game called AntiGrav now that uses your body motions to control a virtual hoverboard. It even got half-decent reviews.
Personally I think the EyeToy approach (parsing visual data) might be the only feasable control alternative to hand operated controls. The things humans have going for them is dexterity of the hands, so it's very hard to come up with a controller that's more flexible or natural that makes use of one of our best features. Even the EyeToy style input will probably always be a bit more limited than hand controls - though eventually it should be able to interpret hand signals like sign language, which would be interesting.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
xBox also has the KotoR series, which is a big deal right now. I've found that if you're a western (D&D style) RPG fan, the xBox is the way to go. In general, the xBox excels in the genres traditionally dominated by the PC, which fits in with its chosen market segment (older gamers).
The new M$ console will fail in Japan, of course, but in the US it should do at least as well as the xBox. If it really is MCE in a cheaper package, it may even do better.
The only thing keeping Nintendo alive is Mario and a couple of other never-ending nostalgia franchises, plus their kid-friendly image. Unless the Revolution really changes things, look for Nintendo to lose even more ground.
Sony inhabits the middle ground, which happens to be the standard console market of yore. They'll be fine whatever they do. Even tying themselves to yet another proprietary format (BluRay) won't topple Sony's gaming empire.
Grand Theft Auto and Gran Turismo... Question answered. Of course I would like to pick up a game cube at some point for Mario Kart and Super Monkey Ball.
Jack Valenti and Orrin Hatch will be first up against the wall when the revolution comes.
stupid eurotrash.
BC
The Gamecube does not use a "G3" variant. It uses a PPC variant in the 4xx line. The 4xx line was designed for embedded devices, like a PLC or a game console.
For reference, the "G3" is a PPC750. The 750 was designed as a desktop CPU, and has been used almost exclusively for that purpose.
"Apple" isn't an acronym, so it isn't capitalized.
And, no, I meant IBM partnering with Apple to sell Macs, with IBM processors. Teaming up to conquer the personal computer market.
In Repressive Burma, it's not just your connection that dies. slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=314547&cid=20819199
(Thanks, Simpsons!)
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
Let's never mention that game again.
The only thing keeping Nintendo alive is Mario and a couple of other never-ending nostalgia franchises, plus their kid-friendly image
Nintendo is 2nd consoles.
Nintendo is 1st in portable consoles.
*THAT'S* what's keeping Nintendo not only alive, but very profitable.
to contract with XBOX:
Microsoft is 3rd in consoles.
Microsoft has no portable console.
XBOX is only alive because of monopoly rents charged by Microsoft for Windows XP and Office.
Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.
FPS are all the same except for the costumes. Why play the same game again and again (Unreal Tournament). Besides, with a console, you never have to upgrade to the lastest vidoe card that costs hundreds of $$ and that gives FPS fanboys hardons.
Yea it's a bit OT but with all the talk of the various controllers here's a nice page listing a lot of the sticks we used back in the day. http://www.classicgaming.com/gamingmuseum/2600p.ht ml
Speaking of innovation check out the Joyboard on that page. Built for the Amiga it was a surf board type controller. The weirdest idea conceived for a video game might be the Zen meditation game. You had to stand on the Joyboard and remain as motionless as possible. If you moved you would lose. Can't imagine why that one never caught on with the kids.
wake me up when there is actual news on the gaming consoles, and not rumors on some fanboy site.
Remember, Slashdot does not have a -1 disagree moderation, and no, troll, flamebait, and overrated are not substitutes.
The game consoles ate 2005? That's sad - I was hoping it'd be a decent year.
But what's the deal with the "3" at the end of "ate"? Is that some sort of 'leet-speak or something?
People seem to be so infatuated with PowerPC that IBM is merely riding the wave. At least it's a better arch than x86, so it isn't all bad. I just wish it wasn't IBM holding all the cards. This could backfire big-time in the long term (just like Microsoft and Intel are showing signs of peaking--Longhorn and Itanium...good luck, guys).
-- Microsoft is the most expensive commodity operating system and office suite vendor in the marketplace.
Other then commiting the sin of mentioning Microsoft in a position light... the origional poster has a point. I dont think it should have been modded down as a troll.
First off, the MS console fosters more North American jobs. The console is supported by Western developers, with Western style games. Sony is almost exactly the opposite. Yes, I know there are exceptions on both sides, but predominatly the majority of developers for the Xbox are Western, the majority on the PS2 are Japanese. So, beyond the chips and bits inside, there is a very big reason for supporting a console from your area. The japanese do it, the North Americans dont, for the most part.
Secondly, and this one is huge! Japenese culture is massively bigoted. The XBox was doomed to failure there because it wasnt japanese. They have an odd culture that way... they assimilate the hell out of foreign culture, but they have there core values, that they hold to in a fierce pride most Americans wouldnt understand. And yes, XBox 2 is going to do probrably just as poorly in Japan.
Oh... and if you dont believe me about the culture bigotry in Japan... ask a Chinese person what Japanese think of them. Or, what most Japanese think of the chinese, vietness, or even Americans.
** note. Im talking about the society as a whole, not the individual. I am not saying that all Japanese people are bigots.
Heh.. You seem to be forgetting that sony owns more of the world than Microsoft can ever hope to. Sony is not just Sony Computer Entertainment; it's Sony Online, Sony Pictures, Sony Televisions... you get the idea.
Microsoft is the much larger company.
As far as market cap goes, all of Sony is worth $34 billion, while Microsoft is worth $285 billion. It's not even close.
As far as profit goes, Microsoft brought in almost 10x the net profit last year.
Some may call me a "luddite" of sorts for this comment, but I'm of the belief that the current input devices of choice (gamepads, joysticks, etc.) are just fine.
There's usually a degree of backlash towards any peripheral for entertainment systems that completely immerses the user in the environment. For example, look at the headphones that completely seal out any outside sounds. Sure, they have their place and their advocates - but by and large, they didn't really catch on. Instead, all the portable music players come with a default of earbud headphones, and even back in the "Walkman" days, light headphones that didn't completely cover one's ears. As another example, look at the telephone. Despite year after year of predictions that we'd "have a video phone in the future", all the home phones I see still only offer rather low-quality mono voice receiption/transmission. Similar predictions were made about such things as 3D movies. (Soon, most programming on TV will be in 3D, and work with something much nicer than those cheap red and blue glasses!) Never panned out....
People always make excuses about it being "cost prohibitive" or promise it's still coming as soon as factor X or Y is overcome. But I think the truth is something entirely different. As a whole, we're somehow a little disturbed and/or guilty about our entertainment becoming so encompassing that the real world is "shut out" from us. We want to be "sucked in" to a good story line in a movie, or "hooked" on a good game, but we also want to feel like we're reasonably in touch with our surroundings the whole time. (EG. If there's an emergency and someone's yelling to you for help, you want to know you won't accidently tune it out.)
I think people saw VR Goggles as "cool technolgy" and fine for some 5 minute long arcade game you're paying to play - but most of us would rather just grab a hand-held controller and fire up a game on the good old, comfortable television screen in front of us - knowing we can still turn our head and see what's happening in the next room.
NT
Trix are for kids!
Let us, for the sake of arguement, say there are 3 grades of titles.
Grade A: These games move systems, and are platform exclusive. Halo, Super Smash Brothers, Gran Turismo, Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy.
Grade B: A grade B title is a great game that does not quite move a system, or would if it were not multi-platform. EA's sports titles, Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe, Pikmin, etc.
Grade C: A grade C title is a pure average game, most often available on many platforms.
The X-Box is a collection of a small number of A titles and a large number of C titles.
The Gamecube has a large number of A titles, and a small number of B games and an average number of C titles.
The PS2 has a merely average number of A titles, but a staggering number of B and C titles.
Grade A games do move consoles, but you actually have to like the game to buy the console. Mario Sunshine is a grade A title. But if you think its a kiddie game, then it wont move you to buy a cube. The quantity of B class titles is what makes a console a good investment. This is because there will be more B class games on a given platform then A class games, and while you may not find many 'A' games, you probably will find enough 'B' games to make a difference.
Multi-Platform games, like Activisions Spiderman 2 game and EA's sports games, are qualified as B titles because they are multi-platform. But multi-platoform games only really help the platform that already has the larger installed base. It does not matter if it looks better on the X-Box if you dont own an X-box.
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Halo 2
Halo 1
Ninja Gaiden (live enabled)
Fable
KOTOR
KOTOR 2
Splinter Cell pandora tomorrow(online)
Burnout 3 (online)
Doa ultimate (online)
Mercenaries
Mechassault (online)
MechAssault 2 (online)
Project Gotham Racing 2
Forza Fotorsport
Def Jam verdetta 2
Prince of persia 1
Prince of persia 2: warrior within
THUG
THUG 2
Oddworld Stranger
GTA: double pack
Mortal Kombat deception (online)
Punisher
Rainbow six 3
Call of duty
Crimson skies
Sw:Battlefront(online)
Full Spectrum Warrior
SoulCalibur 2 (with spawn)
Morrowind: GOTY
Just to mention some of the best..
Hdd from the go capacity and the option to mod it with a big hdd to save your games in it, so you dont have to worry about the dvd scratching, xbox live and tunneling services to play online with voice comm (which is incredibly addictive in halo 2).
Oh yes definetily Xbox was a bad buy, thanks for the advice popo
btw: Im a developer and I can tell you this, if you place a game in a shelf same topic, same gameplay one with superior graphics and one with regular graphics, the one with best graphics gets picked. Actually Im pretty sure if halo 1 and 2 had the same features (dual handling, online and all) and were released on the same time but just had different graphics, halo 2 would get picked.
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
...after the first time their windoze box got so infected it was unusable in the middle of something important, and they thought, hey, I can go down to my PS3 and browse the web.
Would they spend the time/effort to get their PC running, or would they just buy the PS3 "desktop edition," were one to come out?
There's a lot to be said for the business sense of tricking people into buying a fully Internet/productivity capable non-MS box under a different product category. So the parent's point could be valid, if Sony were to play its cards right and make it really easy for Joe sixpack to convert it into a functional desktop. Not that I think Sony will, but it is a plausible scenario.
Someone had to do it.
I agree that configuring and upgrading a PC for gaming is a bitch, and that for the most part console games are more cost effective. I also agree that the ergonomics/location of gamepads and a TV are often better for gaming. But I disagree that PC gaming is generally unpleasant compared to console gaming.
Once you have your gamepad situation sorted out, a decent video card and stable drivers you are good to go on modern games for at least a couple of years. Most modern games have default settings that are equivalent to a console; you only need change them if you want even better graphics.
PCs also have the mouse/keyboard combo, which is the best controller interface for many types of games. With good PC hardware you can run high-res graphics on a big monitor a couple of feet from your face, which is more immersive than an console can ever be. Add in decent surround speakers and a game with 3d sound and the level of immersion steps up another notch.
There are definitely more games for consoles than PCs, but the "90% of everything is crap" rule definitely applies. I only have enough time for a handful of games each year anyway.
As an added bonus many great console titles end up on the PC anyway, so if I'm willing to wait a few months I can play the same games.
I have an xbox. I like the hardware and graphics quality. I just can't find many xbox games that I like. The last one that I really liked was Oddworld: Munch's Odyssey.
If I had to rank the consoles by the number of quality games (by my weird standards), it would be ps2, gamecube, and xbox (distant third).
Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
Go tell it on the mountain, brother!
The last FPS I greatly enjoyed was Goldeneye (the N64 game, not the recent EA travesty). It has really good costumes, and a few other minor things to recommend it. Since then, it's been difficult for me to get back into the genre (though I did have some fun playing Serious Sam for a while).
Anyone who can say that the company who created Super Mario 64 Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros, Mario Party (ALL genre defining and CREATING games in their own rights) isn't innovative is just plain blind.
Just because Mario's the little guy Racing, Running around a 3d World for the first time and beating the crap out of other characters in a Platform fighter doesn't mean the games aren't innovative.
Animal Crossing is ALSO an amazing revolutionary game (although some might say it has its routes in the significantly poorer Harvest Moon).
Yes they use the same characters but if you just put brightly coloured blobs in their places in all those games you'd have the most innovative titles in console gaming history. That's just in the past few years - before that Donkey Kong (made by Rare, then a Nintendo Subsidiary) broke new ground in the platform market by using pre-rendered 3D graphics that set the standard for how games ought to look for the coming years.
If you can't see past the characters you're not performing a very detailed analysis of the games.
I've found that if you're a western (D&D style) RPG fan, the xBox is the way to go.
You may be on to something here, though the big Xbox RPGs of which I'm aware also have PC versions.
The only thing keeping Nintendo alive is Mario and a couple of other never-ending nostalgia franchises, plus their kid-friendly image. Unless the Revolution really changes things, look for Nintendo to lose even more ground.
You discount Nintendo's design strengths too much I think, but are not wholly wrong. It would be nice to see Nintendo do something new and startling again.
You, sir, are just as much a moron as the writer post you are replying to.
Becauses Sony caters to the hip sheeple, not the gamers.
Not that this much matters to the performence of the systems, but I can't help but notice the unoriginal names that the Sony and Microsoft systems have.
"Playstation 3" - that's VERY original.
"X-Box Next" - there's the X-Box word in the next console again.
"Revolution" - That's something new, original; much better than "Gamecube 2" or whatever.
I mean, come on guys, pick a good name for your creation!
Is that why Apple's iPod has sold more than Sony's MP3 players in Japan?
american values such as freedom and democracy
Excuse me, but you own freedom to the french and democracy to the greek.
That doesn't mean they're not American values. It also doesn't mean we owe the French anything, it wasn't a exactly selfless act.
I also like how your pointed out that our government followed the Greek's example, then the French followed ours. The French have done plenty for us in the past, and we have done plenty for them. Stop saying one side owes the other, because they don't. Our countries are like close friends, no one keeps score of favors.
Bugs are just features that have been fixed.
The Gamecube uses "Gekko", a customized 750.
BluRay is proprietary...since when?
For anyone who still doesn't understand, its not "ate 3 2005", its "at e3 2005". E3 is the Electronic Entertainment Expo (see?, the initials are EEE, so its just called E3 for short). It is where vendors of interactive products (i.e. video game companies like Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, second and third party developers, and anyone else into interactive entertainment products) show off their new stuff like new consoles and games and usually make big announcements. The show is in Los Angeles every May, and you usually have to be either in the industry or a journalist to get in the door. Try http://www.e3expo.com/ for more information.
ummmm, yeah, how about GTA San Andreas? Reviewed by pretty much every person I know, and half the game magazines as "Greatest Game EVER!"?!?
I hold very few opinions. I hold information based on observation and fact. If you wish to disagree, please use facts.
I don't see where you get your numbers: 100,000 if Microsoft didn't exist. At 1 million a year, you'd need a lot of small companies to equal the money that MS brings in. I'm sure they avoid as much tax as they can (like any business owner does), but they still contribute a lot to the pool. I made my comment as a joke, but I'm not really sure I agree with your statement. It would be hard to predict, with any accuracy, where the PC industry would even be today without MS (not because they're so great, but because they've had such a huge influence) Do you think the PC industry would be larger? smaller? the same? I don't like the anti-competitive practices at all, but just being a large company doesn't make a corp bad for the country. As long as we are capitalistic, rewarding work is how the economy is driven.
Just my $0.02.
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If you could play the same games on the PC, who would buy a PS3?
The point is that your PC will be a Sony WorkStation 3, not a wintel box.
Why get a PS3 when you can play it on your computer?
Same-room multiplayer needs a large screen, and many PC video cards can't produce the composite video or S-video output needed to feed a family's existing 31" monitor. In addition, if you have a PS3 and a PC, then family members can play games and do work at the same time.
My last three video cards all had an S-video port for the TV.
Would you want to run USB, S-video, and audio cables from the room with the big-screen TV to the room with the computer? Not all landlords will let you put a hole in the wall to do that. Even then, many households have more than one person; can you make a word processing program or web UA run on the VGA-out and a game run on the TV-out, and have both run responsively? And not everybody wants to purchase four PCs for four players; what good same-screen multiplayer titles are available for the PC to balance the availability of, say, Super Smash Bros. Melee for GameCube?
But they were too protective of their precious content and spent all their time on SuperCD and ATRAC. Way to go, guys.
Were. Past tense.
That's why you buy a rack tray, mount it, skip 4U above it, and set your GameCube on top of the tray. The rest of the width of the tray is ample storage space for your GameCube controllers and games.
The real question will be will they be able to mod-chip the "Xbox-Next".
Possession of a modchip is a crime in many areas where Slashdot is read. This pre-modded HTPC box, which can output DVI, VGA, or (with a $20 adapter) S-video, will keep you out of jail. And with the NeXTstep-derived Mac OS X, it even matches half of your "Xbox NeXT" request.
With the current Xbox, it's PC like origins make ports of existing software such as emulators fairly easy. We'll have to see if that's still true with a PowerPC based Xbox.
With the next Xbox, its Mac like origins (PowerPC CPU, ATI graphics, official development hardware co-designed by Apple Computer) make ports of existing software such as emulators* fairly easy. But why bother when you can buy a Mac for 520 USD including S-video adapter?
* Unless and until the next Xbox is modded, this applies to licensed developers who want to emulate their old arcade and/or console titles for re-release in classics collections.
Sony has the Final Fantasy Series, DDR
FF 1-6, FF: Crystal Chronicles, and FF Tactics Advance are for Nintendo systems, and FF 1-6 and FF Tactics Advance run just fine on a modded Xbox. DDR is available on Xbox in multiple regions, and it'll soon come out for GameCube... IN JAPAN!
and a shitload of RPGs and fighting games.
Nintendo has the fighting games that matter, namely Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN), Super SF2 Turbo Revival (GBA), and the best version of Soul Calibur 2 (GCN). I guess this just leaves Sony with "a poopload of RPGs" such as EverCrack.
BluRay is proprietary...since when?
Blu-ray Disc is just as patented as DVD. Even plain old CD was proprietary until its patents ran out a couple years ago.
how about GTA San Andreas? Reviewed by pretty much every person I know ... as "Greatest Game EVER!"?!?
You seem not to know many conservative people. I personally can't even stand to watch an explicitly violent game such as GTA 3-5. I can stand some other M-rated games, but not the GTA series on PS2.
I don't like the anti-competitive practices at all, but just being a large company doesn't make a corp bad for the country.
A large company can more efficiently practice rent-seeking, which is bad for consumers.
As long as we are capitalistic, rewarding work is how the economy is driven.
No, giving donations to various congressional re-election campaigns in exchange for having your competition outlawed is how the U.S. economy is driven. How is that capitalistic?
The difference is that Apple's iPod music player comes straight out of the box with an ability to play music made in Japan for Japanese listeners by independent Japanese musicians. An unmodded Microsoft Xbox console can play only official Xbox games, which cater largely to North American culture.
I prefer a high resolution over a large screen (which is a major benefit of PCs, very high resolutions are supported)
How are you going to crowd four people around a 17" monitor, even if you are running it at 1600 pixels across? And with a 17" monitor, how are you going to play a game like StepMania where you're standing on a controller whose center is four feet away from the monitor?
I'm sorry, but I actually have more than one computer per person in my house
Many people reading this don't have that kind of money, you insensitive clod! How do you suggest that they avoid the problem of "sorry, we went with another candidate" when looking for a better source of income in order to buy a decent computer for each kid?
Most of the 2 player games I own are racing games and it's really annoying playing a game with a split screen even on a 57" TV.
Some older racing games such as Super Off Road aren't split screen; they're still screen covering the whole track. A lot of multiplayer games use a relatively still screen; these include Bomberman, Smash Bros., any other fighting game, sport sims, etc. Even some split-screen games are designed to look good in a split screen, often using side-by-side vertically-oriented playfields. These include Tetris, Puyo, Bust-A-Move, Tetris Attack, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, and the like.
And the majority of PS2 games I have would benefit from a mouse and keyboard.
Then buy your adapter.
That all depends on the game, I can plug a few hundred joysticks into the computer if I wanted to (USB) but unless the game supports 100+ joysticks it's not going to work.
That's the problem. Even with USB hubs being multitaps, very few PC titles support four player simultaneous play on one screen. Most titles that do support such a mode of play are console exclusives, and I take it you know how stuck-up the publishers are about emulation.
and yes, I could game, surf, word proccess, whatever while others were watching TV. It was pretty cool.
But could you game on a TV and surf on a VGA monitor at the same time?
The idea that people need to "run wires from their computer" is being replaced by the idea that people will buy a capable computer just to go in the entertainment center. If that's the case (I certainly did) then that media center PC all of a sudden is set to become a serious gaming machine.
So how can poorer people like myself afford to purchase and maintain a second computer? A $100 GameCube, a $40 DVD player, and a $40 VHS VCR are still a lot cheaper than a $520 Mac mini with a TV-out adapter and a $150 FireWire TV-in adapter.
.. come the Revolution :)
See my art -> http://herbevore.deviantart.com
it's nice that they'll all be available at about the same time, and i'm sure each will have some good titles to play but i'll probably buy the one that lets me watch media (hddvd/blueray) from other regions by default... oh wait, none of them probably will...
Get your torrents...
So a PC then?
It's a Unix system - I know this.
What does MS creating manufacturing jobs in Mexico and Europe have to do with helping Jobs in the USA?
Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
"Our countries are like close friends, no one keeps score of favors."
Except for asshole americans who seem to go off constantly about how much they are owed for WWII, and how the French are a bunch of cheese eating surrender monkies.
Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.