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The Next-Gen Consoles - Sort Fact From Fiction

Posted by Zonk on from the even-the-lies-are-true dept.

1up.com continues its trend of topical features by delving into Generation Next: Separating the Facts from the Fiction of the Next-Gen Consoles. From the article: "Photorealistic graphics, streaming multimedia content, complete Internet integration and revolutionary new kinds of gameplay are all promises of next generation gaming. Right now, it's all executives blowing hot air and technobabble, but in just a short few weeks, the battle for the living room starts again, as Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony take the wraps off their new babies and show the world their visions of the industry's future."

11 of 66 comments (clear)

  1. anandtech had a great CELL article. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx? i=2379

    Cell will either make the PS3 much more powerful then the XBox360 or an impossible mess to program for. A lot of it will come down to how well Sony's early generation dev kits are.

    The Cell gets it's speed by assuming it is passed in order instructions, unlike almost any other type of CPU. It will choke on anything out of order. Sony better make a kick ass compiler, as I don't see game developers to keen on making assembly langauge level tweaks on something they are unfamilliar with.

    My money is on XBox360. The Cell chip is better suited for video cards then a general purpose CPU. Having to tweak code for it will be a disaster.

    1. Re:anandtech had a great CELL article. by billcopc · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If Sony had released a half-decent API for PS2 back when it was launched, it would have kicked ass.

      Xbox uses a DirectX-flavored API, and I can tell you from experience that it's so much easier to work on something familiar like DirectX, even though it is a mess in itself, at least it's a mess I already figured out long ago. Sure beats learning tricky bare-metal graphics programming on a one-off architecture like PS2's Emotion Engine.

      If they release the PS3 with an OpenGL-style interface it would be a pleasure to code for.

      --
      -Billco, Fnarg.com
  2. That time again by vain+gloria · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Guess we can look forward to nothing but basic fighting and driving games for a couple of years until programmers figure the new systems out. Rehashed Tekken and Gran Turismo with slightly better graphics anyone?

    1. Re:That time again by Zangief · · Score: 4, Funny

      But imagine the innovations in the WW2 FPS area!!

  3. Always wanting money! :) by soniCron88 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    FTA: "Imagine players slapping down $.99 to buy a one-of-a-kind, fully tricked-out racing car to be the envy of their buddies," says Microsoft

    What would be even more "tricked-out" would be not having to pay for it. Ladies and gents: In game customizations will now cost you a buck a pop.

    I know "The Sims" would be so much more fun if I had to spend my money on their furniture, rather than Simoleans.

    --
    Digital Sailor
  4. I don't think so by cow_licker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Fact from fiction? Not quite. Basically an article that collects the hype from all three console camps.

    "the next generation PlayStation "orders of magnitude" more powerful than the next Xbox"

    Sure it will. The Playstation 2 will also be able to render Toy Story real time. Nothing to see here folks.

    --
    $_='while(read+STDIN,$_,2048){$a=29;$b=73;$c=142;$ t=255;@t=map{$_%16or$t^=$c^=($m=(11,10,116,100,
  5. Casualties by tprime · · Score: 4, Insightful

    RIP Nintendo. I really wish I understood what they have been trying to do for the last 8 or so years. Ever since they decided reneg on their agreement with Sony to make the Nintendo64 CD thing (or whatever it was supposed to be called) they have been trying to catch up. I really can't imagine a console gaming world without Nintendo, but 10 years out we might be remembering back to the times when we had Nintendo's like we do now with Atari games.

    As for Sony and Microsoft, I am going to enjoy this battle and am, in a lot of ways, rooting for Microsoft to do well. Where Sony has followed their traditional arrogance (lack of support, proprietary hardware, proprietary accessories) with most of their consumer electronics (cameras, CLIE, etc.) Microsoft has really done a good job distancing the xbox from the mothership that we all complain about.
    Who would have thought that it would be Microsoft trying to force game companies to support older titles (EA's sports titles to be exact) for longer than the game publisher had intended.

    Honestly, I think that the reason that the next iteration of Microsoft's console will include the name xbox in the title is to continue the separation between xbox and the Microsoft name. Sony uses Sony in all of the titles as does Nintendo, where MS is only listed in small print.

    Regardless of how things turn out, it will be fun to watch

    --
    http://www.tomandemily.com
    1. Re:Casualties by Spleener12 · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Christ, people. BEING IN THIRD PLACE != BEING DEAD! If that were the case, Microsoft would be dying too (they're a distant third in the Japanese market.) Yes, their past couple of home consoles have had problems (ie lack of more than a couple of worthwile third-party games.) But they've been dominating the portable market for over 15 years, which has been more than compensating for their losses elsewhere. Yes, the PSP might change this- hopefully it will change this, because monopolies are a bad, bad thing.

      Point is, Nintendo isn't dead yet. Do I expect them to make a massive comeback and smash their competitors? Hell no. Nobody expects that save the rabid fanboys. They'll be the Apple of the home console industry- the portion of the market that likes what they make will continue to keep them alive (at least until Miyamoto retires/croaks.)

    2. Re:Casualties by Zangief · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The real view says:

      Nintendo posted HUGE profits last quarter. After a initial good sales, PSP sales are slowing down DESPITE the increased availability. Nintendo has huge reserves in the bank, and its major actionist is the Yamauchi Family, so is unlikely to be sold.

      Nintendo in on solid ground. Just because Sega had to leave the hardware market, doesn't mean Nintendo has to too. That is just an stupid and shortsighted analysis.

  6. Nintendo, like Apple is NOT dying by Cadallin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't know why you think Nintendo is dying. That's exactly like saying apple is dying. Apparently they're "dying" while raking in moderate to large profits each quarter while their competitors struggle to break even. Nintendo isn't going anywhere. And secondly, the joint Nintendo/Sony Venture was an SNES expansion, that gave rise to the PS1.

  7. Sony hype refers to the PS4 by Filiks · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Remember when Sony said the PS2 could do Toy Story in real time? They did. Turns out they meant the PS3 will be able to do it. So just keep in mind that whatever they say about the visual quality of the PS3, actually refers to the PS4.