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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."
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.
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...
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
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.
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.
Because the author wanted you to focus on THIS aspect of Pong, instead of the whole "you played it for hours and hours and then got in a fist fight with your best friend 'cos he said you were cheating even though it's fucking pong and how in hell could you cheat at pong?!" (etc, etc, etc)
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.
So, in essense, it boils down to the fact that having more hardware capability will not guarantee better games. It will probably guarantee better looking games, but the rest is up to creativity and execution and a good balance between revenue plans and creative risk.
"There are a dozen opinions on a matter until you know the truth. Then there is only one." - CS Lewis (paraprhase)
Of course not. More processing power=more demanding fans=higher cost of development.
No publisher will now take a risk on innovative games, unless they're self-funded (like Lionhead Studios) or made in developing countries(the Codemasters approach).
Slashdot: News for Nerds, Stuff that matters only to them
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.
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.
You say that like one is obviously better than the other, but you didn't say which one? I have the PS2 and I haven't seen car games on the PC as good as Burn Out. But on the other hand, I haven't seen a FPS on a console that rivals that of Half Life on the PC.
I have no intention of (re)starting the PC vs Console debate, each platform has their ups and downs... Since you asked, for most games I play (racing, action/adventure, shoot-them-ups) the console is obviously a better choice. But as you say, for first-person shooters (HL2, Doom3, etc) the PC is clearly superior, if only because of the dual mouse/keyboard inputs.
I may be biased since most PC ports of console games I've seen completely sucked (*cough* RalliSport Challenge *cough* - it was unplayable on a beefed-up PC but flies at 60fps on a lowly Xbox).
I guess my point is that in general the best way to fully enjoy a game is to play it on its original platform (much like movies are generally better in their native language).
gcc: no input sig
how in hell could you cheat at pong?!
So I'm the only one who used an aimbot in Pong?
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
"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.
i hear the xbox now comes with firewire
Thank you thank you, i'll be here all evening!
"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
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.