Slashdot Mirror
Reflections on the Holy Trinity
1up has a piece looking at gaming's future by reflecting on gaming's past. What do the launches of older systems teach us to expect from the PS3's ... eventual debut. From the article: "Shouts of 'Dreamcast' ... fall a little flat when you consider that Dreamcast was more of a last-ditch attempt from a company that hadn't turned a profit in 10 years. Microsoft isn't bowing out anytime soon, which means that being out in front will probably be an advantage -- by the time Sony launches, the 360 will be over the launch hiccups and rolling with a steady stream of new software. On the other hand, if Blu-ray is as big for the PS3 as DVD was for the PS2, Microsoft could find itself technologically inferior -- a direct consequence of its rush to market. "
Does the history of the Play(space)Station make Nintendo the father and Sony the son?
Three buttons on the PlayStation controller are X, Square (a box), and Circle (which has 360 degrees). X, Box, 360. So do we have a holy ghost?
Don't get me wrong. The Dreamcast look beautiful. I still play some games on it today: Crazy Taxi, Soul Calibur, Sonic, etc. And I maintain it still looks better than the PS2.
However, it's falls slightly behind XBox and GameCube as far as graphics go. It's not way behind, but still not up to their looks/performance.
And the 360? Sorry to break it to you, but no. I will never buy a 360 but even I have to admit the 360 has superior graphics.
It's a shame it died. I still love that system.
With the revolution this may not be a problem. But if Final Fantasy XII were made as an XBox 360 exclusive game, how many discs do you think it would be? The cinematics take up a lot of room. So do all those high resolution textures (and bump maps, and normal maps, and...). Don't forget all the character/enemy/scenery models. That is a ton of data, and having it all on one disc helps quite a bit.
That said, I don't think it will be such a big deal, at least not for awhile. If companies target the lowest-common-denominator, that would be DVD (both Rev and 360).
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Actually, I think the lack of inexpensive Blu-Ray players is going to help Sony far more than it will hurt them. Its pretty much expected that the PS3 isnt going to retail for $800.00 or some equally obscene amount of money, so people who are looking for the 'latest and greatest' in movie technology will be able to pick up a Blu-Ray player that happens to also play games for roughly half the cost of existing players. This is, of course, assuming the PS3 retails for no more than what the 360 does/did.
Plus, unlike MS, Sony is in a position to push the Blu-Ray format via Sony Pictures. I may be dead wrong but unless MS makes some deals with companies, they have no way to force (video) media to be released on HD-DVD.
Thats my $0.02, anyway.
Of course, in my circle of friends, I don't know anyone who's interested in a next-gen console. Period.
XBox360 has no games I'm interested in. PS3 has no games - at all, that I've heard of. (Other than random speculation that Series X+1 will be on it.) Revolution has no games - at all, that I've heard of. Not even speculation on sequels.
So, based on that quicky-analysis, I can come up with absolutely no reason why I'd want to get a next generation console.
Yet.
That can all change. But it all depends on the games, and all the next-gen consoles seem to be lacking in that department...
On the Revolution? Nope. On the GBA/GBDS? Sure. Most of my GBA games are re-released NES/SNES games...
You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.