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Inside the Games Machines of the Future
UtahSaint writes "Electronic design, the guys who nicely opened up the
iPod a couple of weeks back take a look into the future of gaming - covering everything from the PC to the Gizmondo to
the upcoming Xbox 2 and Playstation 3 next-generation units. If you want to get more of an understanding as to where we're heading, this is
not a bad place to
start."
Remember Pong? One of the first--and simplest--video games, Pong opened the door to a fascinating new frontier in gaming.
I'm sorry but I stopped reading the article there. Has anyone connected to the Internet (even if you're one of the zenophobic aboriginal peoples of Indonesia) not heard of Pong at this point?
I'm a big tall mofo.
The article doesn't mention a damn thing about the next generation consoles...
If Happy Fun Ball begins to smoke, get away immediately. Seek shelter and cover head.
I'm more interested in wondering when the new XBox and Playstations will run linux or hacked proggies. */me hugs his xbmc*
It's funny how many people I know don't even think about using XBoxes for actual gaming.
They will...very soon.
Convergence my friend, convergence.
Did anyone get a bingo oof of this one?
My sigs offend the max # of people all over the world, regardless of race, religion, color, sex or creed. It's a gift.
that History repeats itself... so I look forward to gaming going back to 8-bit... back in the day your game HAD to have a plot(well maybe)... those were the days...
- Your stupidity got you into this mess, why can't it get you out? -Will Rogers
I want a refurbished Amiga 500
perpetually dwelling in the -1 pits
do we get total immersion? I want the total holodeck in my embedded (in my spine) iGamePod, just tap a spot on my chin and I'm deep in the game, who cares if everyone on the bus sees me twitching and drooling as I blow away those monsters...
Since when did M$ remove the hard drive from the X-Box? I haven't seen a unit without it!
rm -rf
Can this be true? This five year old machine has that kind of processing power?
Insert witty sig here.
What would really be neat is if there was a way to let a console and PC communicate via high speed interface.
So for instance you could run your console game within a window on your PC (or full screen). Or take advantage of the PC's network interface or mouse/keyboard.
Not exactly the most factually correct article:
In a flip-flop of sorts, Microsoft recruited ATI Technologies to come up with the graphics processor for its next-generation X-Box. (ATI supplied the graphics for the PS2, while Nvidia provided the graphics for the original X-Box.)
Wait..Didnt you just say ATI supplied the chip for Gamecube?
It also mentions that the ps2 does antialiasing on the gpu. Now I may be mistaken- sure it *CAN* but no one actually does this for performance reasons. Its much more efficient to use a VMU or other hardware tricks to perform something like anti-aliasing on the PS2.
Take this article for what it is- mindless fluff about nothing in particular except the present and future of videogaming - *yawn*
Wake me when the PS3 arrives.
---Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A START
and that is with the current system specifications!
The PS2 lost the Firewire port in an update. The PS2 'mini' has an ethernet port. The XBox still has a hard drive. The XBox processor doesn't give it 6.4GB/s, that is the chipset by having a dual-channel DDR controller.
Dedicated game peripherals, available for either game consoles or PCs from QMotions, replace keyboards and game controllers and let players use real sports equipment for actual full-motion player participation. The Batter-up game combines sensors to replace the keyboard/joystick activation of the swing along with adjustable sleeves packed with additional sensors that can easily accommodate standard wood, metal, or plastic bats. Foot-controlled buttons enable the batter to control head-first or feet-first slides.
Anyone else think it's a bad idea to have this kind of stuff lying around next to your XBox?
Supposidly; PS3 Specs -Cellular Processors - powerPC -8 APUs - Vectorial Processors each with 128K memory -System will run at 4GHZ or 256Gflops -1024 Bit switched front side bus -64MB of switching memory Obviously not pc standard, but pritty darn good!
What's really needed now is a one-hand glove for interacting inside the physics engine. With physics only slightly better than HL2, the mouse-only interface becomes pretty cumbersome. The big revolutions in the near future should be in physics engines, and we're gonna need better interaction.
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
you will see things that look like this.
I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
I'm sorry but I stopped reading the article there.
And I stopped reading your post here : ) And someone else stopped reading my post here.
Stop trolling! The site focusses allot on devices and I think they are right to. I think the future of gaming may well be wireless handhelds but for the moment I think that's still off in the distance. I think if they did a piece on the future of the home computer in the next 5 years it would have been more interesting. I'm hoping for architectures to be more diverse as we move away from i386 and dual core Intel/AMD to the Cell architecture and others.
Also, the DS supports pseudo surround sound as showcased by Mario DS. Before that, a company called Q-sound made it possible to have pseudo surround via the same phase shifting techniques. And there is no guarantee that ANY of the things mentioned get used somewhere down the line (The machines themselves being subject to constant changes in architecture).
Will wank off Linus Torvalds for fame.
The article was nice and all, but it basically summed up everything most gamers already know, those people who have been out of the loop, the article is a good read. As for the future of games and the people that play them...one word...'generic' The average player who been playing games since Idsoftware release of Commander Keen find just about every game that been released in the past 5 years very generic, its always the same formula, if the storyline is different, the plot is the same. Fable for the xbox was suppose to change that, it was said to be the game where you pick either 'good or bad' unfortunately whichever you pick in the game you still get the end result and the ending, nor the game is different from whatever path you choose. Then we had Doom 3 that was released in 2004 by idsoftware, sure it was 'spooky' and 'creepy' some say, I mean the average review in a pc magazine or online boards said its probably the scariest game ever released. The average gamer however found that eyecandy doesn't make the game, and cute little monsters jumping from walls isn't enough to excite a old time gamer. So whats the future of gaming if you ask me? There is no future, eventually we will hit the pinicale where either a game changes its true environment and play style everytime you play or eventually games will die out.
"Along with a 5× DVD drive for game loading and video playback, initial versions included an 8-Gbyte hard drive to improve startup time. Microsoft has since removed that drive to lower system costs"
Since when did XBox's stop having hard drives? The one I bought just a few months ago had a hard drive. Many games would stop working without the hard drive.
The article is pure speculation. They have no way of knowing exactly what the future will bring. Will the XBOX have a cell processor, or will it have a standard one? They don't know, neiether do I, but judging from the past, it will probably have a standard one; they chose PIII last time. While I own a XBOX now, my next system will probably be Playstation 3 because Microsoft is too draconian with their hardware, especially with XBOX Live and mod chips. I love XBMC, and I need that chip to run it. I'm aware that you can turn the chip off, but if you forget to turn it off, the XBOX gets banned.
you're not too attached to your wallet.
But come on, PCs don't trail behind consoles. It's the other way around. Resolution for starts, 480p vs 1024x768 (native of my front projector) makes a world of difference. I bought the XBox for HDTV but the hardware can't do it apparently, because there are very few games that will output more than 480p.
Why kind of?
;).
While it is not a console but a handheld it actually sets the bar for such devices a notch higher.
Let me tell you that, in my opinion, Ridge Racer looks, sounds and feels as good as on a PS3. Nintendos equivalent to that would be the DS which would have to sport the same "environment" as the gamecube... which I actually cannot comment on.
I have yet to find a building popping into view from nowhere. I have yet to find lag and I have yet to find something that ought to be reflecting but isn't.
So in my opinion the PSP is just great. If I had a use for a handheld device I'd be impatiently waiting for its release in Europe right now. I just have to find a way to connect my friends PSP to my wireless network and I'll happily declare myself a PSP zealot
Okay now enogh offtopic gibberish...
What a crappy article. It's riddled with errors - the PS2 has lost harddrive support in it's redesign, not the Xbox, the original gameboy used Z80 not ARM and more.
Best one has to be their claim that Nokia systems run on "Sybian". No. They run on "Symbian". Sybian is something VERY different, as you'll find if you do a google search for it...
Curiosity was framed. Ignorance killed the cat.
Nintendo 64 - 64bit CPU??
:(
Playstation 2 - 128BIT CPU????
lol...128bit cpu..and servers still running on 64bit opterons..
I love what the marketing can do....
Both have MIPS cpus, not the same, but 32bit cpus!!
Also the Xbox (celeron is a 32bit cpu), Dreamcast(hitachi sh4), gamecube?(it is based on G5-64 bit or G4 or what?)
ehm..where is the wikipedia when I need it
Perhaps not the big systems, but it does cover some aspects of the portable gaming systems. Apart from the DS and PSP, it also describes:
The TI OMAP2 and Intel 2700G are both MBX-based and pack quite a punch for relatively small amounts of silicon, so you will see decent 3D on standard consumer devices like phones.
Consider the MP3 (and Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, etc.). Defining and distributing a way of storing music changed the market. We are no longer as concerned about media formats becoming obsoleted or what's going to replace them in the future (mini-disk anyone?). Heck, now the required media has been reduced to memory (Ipod, etc.)
The thing is, when you buy a console, you're pretty sure that, in a couple of years, it's going to be obsolete. The manufacturers know it too so they sell the consoles at a loss hoping to "make money on the blades" as it were.
So, why not just sell a gaming OS along with a standardized gaming computer specification? That way, you draw in all the hard-core gaming computer cutomizers out there and there some assurance that you can keep your machine up to date. Not only that, but third party guys can "get into it" as well thus helping to insure that your game platform becomes ubiquitous.
What are we really talking about here? We need to access more than one gaming controller (4 seems to be the current standard) and the latest and greatest video/audio hardware, memory, processors, etc.
Seems to me that if you approach it this way you can make money on the "razors" as well as the "blades".
Just my thoughts anyways....
A goal is a dream with a deadline
I'm not sure what they are smoking, but the had all sorts of errors in that 'article' (& I use the term loosely here). things like:
"Microsoft has since removed that drive to lower system costs." huh yeah that xbox I bought a few months back doesn't have a HD? I'm pretty darn sure it does...
"ATI supplied the graphics for the PS2, while Nvidia provided the graphics for the original X-Box." Huh when did Ati build a graphics chip for Sony? I'm pretty sure that should be nintendo...
Their are more, but the slashdotting has begun and I can't seem to get back to the second page... But really their were dozens of errors in this thing...
So...
Move along, nothing to see here...
we are all invisible unless we choose otherwise
What a poor article. I'm not sure why this was even posted here. Questionable portions are in quotes followed by commentary: "With CPUs running at several gigahertz plus a high-performance video card or two, PC gaming is now just as lifelike as its console-based competition." This might have read better if the author had declared that such a PC will give a good idea of the power of next-gen consoles (in particular running tech such as the unreleasd Unreal 3.0). "When it first appeared in 1996, the Nintendo 64 console took a technological leap to a MIPS R4300 64-bit microprocessor running at about 93 MHz. A custom coprocessor chip that handled the graphics and audio could deliver 2 million colors, 150k polygons/s, and 64 channels of audio." The custom (graphics) "coprocessor" delivered 64 channels of audio? That's news to me. By the way, I seem to remember a few N64 games featuring 24 bit color (although it was rare... in more ways than one). "...Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's X-Box, and Nintendo's GameCube. They use multihundred-megahertz 32- or 64-bit microprocessors..." Followed later by: "Just four years later, the Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2) thrilled the gaming community with almost cinematic graphics based on a 128-bit custom processor called the Emotion Engine." Oh look, the PS2's CPU went from 64 to 128 bits (as if this matters). "The internal geometry engine performs antialiasing..." *chuckles* "The Sony system was one of the first consoles to include a DVD/CD optical drive..." Nope, it was THE first. When in doubt, use "about". If you're too lazy to look up the correct information anyway. "Nintendo countered the PS2 with the GameCube in 2001. Based on a customized PowerPC CPU dubbed "Gekko" and a graphics engine developed jointly with ATI Technologies [insert useless specs here]" Gekko was developed by ArtX which was acquired by ATi just before GameCube was released (but long after development of the chip was completed). The acquisition eventually leveled the playing field in PC graphics when the ArtX team went on to design the lauded Radeon 9700 and ATi's subsequent GPU's. "...initial versions included an 8-Gbyte hard drive to improve startup time. Microsoft has since removed that drive to lower system costs." Microsoft has removed the harddrive from the original XBox to cut system costs? That's news to me. "(ATI supplied the graphics for the PS2, while Nvidia provided the graphics for the original X-Box.)" Wrong again. ATi did not supply the graphics for the PS2. "But the big question is whether Microsoft will leverage IBM's technology for the Cell processor, or the CPU or CPUs will take more standard approaches." Jesus H. Christ. Microsoft does not have access to the Cell processor. That will be a Sony exclusive for the next-gen console wars. Any idiot can see that. "Though budget-priced, with costs ranging from $60 to $180, they pack a tremendous amount of technology." The PSP will cost 250 in the states. This guy is clearly using the Japanese sale price of the PSP. "The original Game Boy and Game Boy Advance are based around a single 32-bit ARM7 CPU with 128 kbytes of embedded memory and 24 kbytes of off-chip RAM." Wow, the original Game Boy, released in 1989, uses a 32 bit ARM7? I'm not into the cell phone market, so there's no telling how much of that information was false.
"With CPUs running at several gigahertz plus a high-performance video card or two, PC gaming is now just as lifelike as its console-based competition."
This might have read better if the author had declared that such a PC will give a good idea of the power of next-gen consoles (in particular running tech such as the unreleasd Unreal 3.0).
"When it first appeared in 1996, the Nintendo 64 console took a technological leap to a MIPS R4300 64-bit microprocessor running at about 93 MHz. A custom coprocessor chip that handled the graphics and audio could deliver 2 million colors, 150k polygons/s, and 64 channels of audio."
The custom (graphics) "coprocessor" delivered 64 channels of audio? That's news to me. By the way, I seem to remember a few N64 games featuring 24 bit color (although it was rare... in more ways than one).
"...Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's X-Box, and Nintendo's GameCube. They use multihundred-megahertz 32- or 64-bit microprocessors..."
Followed later by: "Just four years later, the Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2) thrilled the gaming community with almost cinematic graphics based on a 128-bit custom processor called the Emotion Engine."
Oh look, the PS2's CPU went from 64 to 128 bits (as if this matters).
"The internal geometry engine performs antialiasing..."
*chuckles*
"The Sony system was one of the first consoles to include a DVD/CD optical drive..."
Nope, it was THE first. When in doubt, use "about". If you're too lazy to look up the correct information anyway.
"Nintendo countered the PS2 with the GameCube in 2001. Based on a customized PowerPC CPU dubbed "Gekko" and a graphics engine developed jointly with ATI Technologies [insert useless specs here]"
Gekko was developed by ArtX which was acquired by ATi just before GameCube was released (but long after development of the chip was completed). The acquisition eventually leveled the playing field in PC graphics when the ArtX team went on to design the lauded Radeon 9700 and ATi's subsequent GPU's.
"...initial versions included an 8-Gbyte hard drive to improve startup time. Microsoft has since removed that drive to lower system costs."
Microsoft has removed the harddrive from the original XBox to cut system costs? That's news to me.
"(ATI supplied the graphics for the PS2, while Nvidia provided the graphics for the original X-Box.)"
Wrong again. ATi did not supply the graphics for the PS2.
"But the big question is whether Microsoft will leverage IBM's technology for the Cell processor, or the CPU or CPUs will take more standard approaches."
Jesus H. Christ. Microsoft does not have access to the Cell processor. That will be a Sony exclusive for the next-gen console wars. Any idiot can see that.
"Though budget-priced, with costs ranging from $60 to $180, they pack a tremendous amount of technology."
The PSP will cost 250 in the states. This guy is clearly using the Japanese sale price of the PSP.
"The original Game Boy and Game Boy Advance are based around a single 32-bit ARM7 CPU with 128 kbytes of embedded memory and 24 kbytes of off-chip RAM."
Wow, the original Game Boy, released in 1989, uses a 32 bit ARM7? I'm not into the cell phone market, so there's no telling how much of that information was false.
See, this is why I don't get my information from "professional" journalists.
Yeah, but considering how many glaring errors were found in the portions pertaining to the history of gaming, do you really trust this guy to tell you about the future? The author thinks the first Game Boy had a 32 bit ARM7.
...It's just more complex.
"The XaviX cartridge houses the dedicated game functions, and it is inserted into the XaviXPort to play... At the heart of the XaviX system is a custom multiprocessor chip deployed in each game cartridge. Thus, the XaviXPort never has to be upgraded--the game itself is the upgrade."
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't that how cartridge-based systems have worked since the year dot? I certainly remember Nintendo making a fuss about ugrade chips in the first Starfox game, and that came out as far back as the mid-90s...
Games Machines of the Future, eh?
Everything in moderation, including moderation itself
The future of slashdotting.
standard hardware: PC's ..etc.
standard subhardware: PCI, AGP, USB,
Standard OS software:
Windows
Linux
I think it's amazing that different kinds of PC hardware can run games at all. Yes, alot more can be done; but much more has already been done. I think we need to work on software that runs independent of the OS.
Just as OS should be hardware independent, we need to develop software that is independent of the OS.
--- widget evolution: enhanced, plus, super, ultra, extreme, exxxtreme, ultra-extreme,
Do not read the linked article. It:
1.is full of errors.
2.does not talk about the next gen cosoles.
3.is poorly written, researched and generally a waste of time.
Anyone who even remotely follows gaming will spot the errors on the first pass, there's a ton of them. They guy has absolutely no fucking clue what he is writing about.
Does Taco read the articles he approves? If he did and still thought it was good, HE MUST BE A REAL DUMBASS. Really. Pathetic.
Way to waste people's time slashdot. I'm outta here. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
You've got a PS3 already?
I'd like to go up against you to see what you're made of. Acknowledge. Flynn: [gesturing at his video game arcade] The kids are putting eight million quarters a week into the paranoid machines. I don't see a dime except for what I can squeeze outta here. Alan: I still don't understand why you want to break into the system. Flynn: Because, man! Somewhere in one of these memories is the evidence! If I got in far enough, I could reconstruct it.
I concur. PC's rock and will always be cutting edge because they're scalable. PCs have the best games at better resolutions with more multiplayer games played online than any console, ever. PC users are probably early-adopters too, more so than console-ites. And yes, the article sucked and is deservedly getting slammed.
Along with a 5× DVD drive for game loading and video playback, initial versions included an 8-Gbyte hard drive to improve startup time. Microsoft has since removed that drive to lower system costs.
MS has removed the harddrive? First, not only were some of the hard drives actually 10 gigs (though software-limited to 8), every Xbox has a hard drive shipped - even the one that I will get when one more person completes the offer in my signature (and I pay you $10 for it).
Yeah, he's also got a Phantom.
In another article, wasnt the new xbox supposed to be called the Xbox 360 because they thought that to the typical consumber, ps3 would sound better then xbox 2 so the name was supposed to be 360?
Your skill in reading has increased by one point!
Heck, most porno movies have more solid plots than many games, but thats fine games are ment to be FUN who cares why the odd blocks are falling from the sky or why they need or can be manipulated to pile up neatly?.
...totally reminds me of Jackie Harvey on the onion!