The last 50 feet... from the router to the television.
Sure, many techies and early adopters have either network cables or wireless access covering the whole house. But the "average joe" gamer has his internet connection in one part of the house (where he has a desk to set the computer at), and his TV w/ game consoles in another part of the house (where he can set his butt down at). It's often not the easiest task to get an internet connection from one to the other, especially if you have kids/a spouse/pets to keep the wires safe and invisible from.
Hopefully with the new consoles and with the increasingly cheaper costs to go wireless, this will not be as big of a problem in the future, but until this is resolved, online gaming will still only compromise a small percentage of the installed console customer base.
Yeah, I read that article earlier... the thing is, the new PS2 hardware (which I presume is being integrated into the PS3) only breaks at most a couple dozen older games. Not being able to play a few games is a small price to pay for having full compatability with the other hundreds of games for the older system.
The Xbox on the other hand, will only WORK with a couple dozen games, and those will only work if you have the hard drive for storing the emulators/patches that make thos specific games run properly. If the PS3 shoips with a harddrive, then it may be quite possible that sony can also make a workaround for the few broken games, thus giving full backwards compatability.
Now, granted that backwards compatability shouldn't be the biggest factor in which of the new consoles to buy, it will still be a major influence on consumers. I think that the biggest influence will be on parents of younger children, as many youger kids don't really care what Spongebob's polygon count is, or what lighting/rendering/whatnot algorithms are used. Parents will want to buy the console that lets the kids keep playing their favorite older games as well as daddy's shiny new games, and I honestly doubt that there are many - if any - kids games on the list for being made backwards compatable on the 360.
Okay. With the pictures from the Joystiq article you make a pretty good argument, and may be right. However, arguing for the sake of argument...
The kiosk setup instructions show how to route wires for a wired controller. Walmart employees indicate that the controllers are wired. Anonymous retail reps indicate that the controllers are wired.
The issues with wireless conflict (wherever they were arriving from) came up quickly, and were fixed quickly. However, there is no indication as to whether the instructions and anonymous walmart/retail reps quotes are pre- or post-fix. Can you get a date on the origin of these materials and accounts? All I see is that they are in response to the confusion of wired vs. wireless, and we can all agree that all kiosks are currently wired. As to whether there was wireless before microsoft fixed things is still unclear.
Wireless controllers use batteries. Wires still have to be run outside of the cabinet for the memory card download unit. Wireless controllers still have to be physically attached to the kiosk.
Portable gaming units use batteries. Wires are run to them to supply power. Portable game systems must still be uncomfortably attached to their kiosks. Why should wireless controllers be any different? Running a wireless/portable device on batteries when you already have to secure the unit to prevent theft is pretty pointless. That why they haven't done it in the past, and why they wouldn't plan on doing it this time. The only logical way to set up a kiosk with ANY kind of controller is the tried and true method already used. The only question is how many wires run between the exterior portion of the kiosk and the interior.
The gap to run wires from outside to inside the cabinet is large enough for only 3 wires (count 'em, 2 controllers + download unit).
The controller will require power either through a power wire or the controller wire. Either way you have the same number of wires. What I find more interesting is that from the joystiq pictures, there is a black wire, a dark colored wire, and one lighter colored one. On the console I was looking at, the device plugged into the USB port on the front of the console was lighter. What really has me scratching my head is that joystiq has a link to other info that their "insider" gave them, which indicates that the controller and other connections take place in the exterior portion of the kiosk. If this is the case, then why are there three cords at all? At any rate, it's pretty clear that there are not two wired controllers since the three wires are different colors.
Wireless controllers are more expensive.
Wireless is the intended standard for the system. To demonstrate something inferior than the standard for cost savings alone isn't very good marketing.
Wireless controllers require "linking" to the console. Wireless controllers are subject TO interferrence from other devices in a retail enviornment.
I assume Microsoft has figured out by now how to make controllers work with the console reliably. If not, then we're all in for a nasty surprise come release day.
The "X" button signal on wireless controllers can't be intercepted and disabled.
Okay, so maybe I'm not up to speed on how the kiosks are supposed to be configured, but on the one I played with, pushing the X button brought up the dashbord display (or whatever it's called). I thought this was the intended use of the button, so it doesn't appear to be disabled.
At any rate, it all comes down to the fact that the kiosks may or may not have originally been intended to use wireless controllers. The posted evidence does not clearly prove or deny either position. My original post was based on fairly quick observations of the kiosk at my local wal-mart, the only 360 I've actually looked at. So am I right? Maybe not. Are you right? No more than I am. Am I daft for thinking that the solution to the wireless interference problems (after highly promoting the wireless controllers) is that they were replaced with wired ones? Absolutely not.
why? Because it would be rather impressive to have them there, even if the controllers weren't mobile. The console was designed to "look sexy" and part of that look is the wireless nature. The wired controller I saw at walmart was plugged into the USB port (I think), which was well off center in the front face. Because the console wasn't intended to be primarily used this way, it made the cord even more obvious, and severely detracted from the "coolness" of seeing the console there.
"This was apparently due to problems arising from the Xbox 360's wireless controllers causing interference."
I saw what "the fix" was at my local wal-mart!
on
MS On 360 Wireless Issues
·
· Score: 5, Informative
So my local wal-mart has a new 360 kiosk installed. From what I can tell, "the fix" is simply replacing the offending wireless controller with a wired one. No wireless controller = no interference problem.
As for the system... I only had a few minutes to play. It looks nice, but I can't see a remarkable increase in quality over the current systems. Certainly not like there was from PS1 -> PS2.
Given these things, I think I'm going to wait until after the launch to decide if I want to buy one.
If you read the article, it is basically saying that another company - Media Data Corporation - believes that they can do a better job of rating games than the ESRB currently does.
The quote that really turns me off of MDC's "stoplight" idea is where the Next Generation author notes "Apart from a desire to take over what would be a hugely lucrative contract, we wanted to know what David Kinney, head of MDC, had against ESRB's way of working..." (emphasis mine)
The autor just nailed this new rating scheme on the head. The "stoplight" proposal really isn't anything newer or better than what is being used by the ESRB now. It's simply that this particular company wants all the alleged "payoff money" for themselves!
It looks to me like the folks at MDC are just being greedy and hypocritical. As far as I'm concerned, the ESRB rating are good enough as is. Like many other posters here have stated, it only takes a parent a few seconds to look at the ratings label on the front, the label on the back, and the artwork/screenshots on the box to see how (in)appropriate a game is. If a parent can't be spared the whole 30 seconds it takes to read the obvious warnings, then they shouldn't be allowed to complain when they find that their kids are playing objectionable games.
Every time I read something about IP law, whether copyrigt or patent or whatnot, I always see the same argument that if IP law were not present then the whole economy would collapse because all the content and idea producers would stop producing their wares due to lack of profitability.
Pure BS. I can guarantee that at this point in our society the abolition of IP law would do anything BUT destroy the economy of a nation or the world. Why can I guarantee this? Because the general public has become accustomed to being content consumers. When something comes along (say, digital music) that is significantly useful or good, people will consume regardless of the "legality" of it. Hence, the widespread piracy of music and the eventual development of legal download services.
People want their music, their movies, their medicines, and their meat. The incumbent monopolies keep saying that without DRM, broadcast flags, or patents, they would never produce the products that they do. I say that's just fine by me. Because even if the big companies halted all production in protest of the removal of IP laws, the public would still maintain its desire to consume, so at that point the market will be wide open for ANYONE to fulfill the neeed of the people and profit from it.
I'm not saying the IP laws SHOULD be abolished, just that they are seriously flawed and need some reform a 'la the article above. Also, the public's need for "stuff" is a powerful force (capable of toppling governments in the past), so it is only a matter of time before the current establishment of monopolistc laws fall as well. The sooner the change comes though, the better all will be.
So I read the article linked above... and then kept on hitting the next page button. I just finished reading the whole magazine issue, and was impressed with ALL of the articles within. It really gives some good insight and commentary on EA and I highly recomment that people should read the other articles as well!
... to get your DS screen protectors. Thanks to the internet and talking with other electronics owners, I was clued in to the fact that going to a fabric store (or walmart's fabric dept.) and buying some clear vinyl to cut to size is far superior to any screen protector offered at any retail store. The vinyl is significantly cheaper (covering a DS screen will only cost you ~ $0.03), leaves no residue, can be cut to fit more than just one system (PDA's PSP's and so on), and works as well as any commercial product.
So even if you had twenty different game shops in town to shop from, I highly doubt that any one of them would tell you that there is a cheaper and better alternative to the products that they sell. And the internet in this case wins out, not because you can buy something cheaper, but because you can be informed of something better.
...one of those "I Hate Jack Thompson" T-shirts they're selling at ThinkGeek!
Honestly, I'm proud to be one of the "Right-Wing-Bible-Thumping-Republican-Christian" wackos that the average Slashdotter loves to hate. But Jack has really been taking things too far the past few months.
Just because Gamestop and EB are consolidating doesn't mean it will be the end of the used game market. There are other companies that have either recently moved in (Blockbuster's Gamerush store-in-store), or are planning on moving in (Best Buy, according to the article linked from slashdot last week). Not to mention all the mom-and-pop game stores and online trading or auction sites.
As far as brick-and-mortar chain retailers go, I'd have to say that my favorite it Blockbuster's Gamerush shop. Unfortunately I moved this past year and no longer am near a Gamerush shop, but in the time that I did buy and sell there, I was very pleased... they always had some sort of promotion on either the buying or selling end, so if I was patient, I could always go there to buy games for less, or sell for more than would ever be offered at GS/EB. Their best deal that every so often they will give an extra $5 on top of the usual trade-in price when you trade 3 or more games, and the best part is that (as far as I can tell) there is NO blacklist of games that they will not buy. You may only get a dollar worth of store credit for a 5-year old sports title, but at least you get SOMETHING for it, and when you trade in your extra-worthless games in bulk during the "extra $5" deal, you can effectively get several times the value for those games. The only restriction that I've run into is that they won't give the extra buyback price if the total value given back is more than their selling price for that title.
Somehow, I doubt that the price is going to be any cheaper than the 360. If Sony knows that they can price the PS3 for significantly less than the 360 without losing too much money, they wouldn't be debating the pricing internally, but would rather be trumpeting their lower price publically.
My gut feeling from all the news bits read here and there is that Sony is really having a hard time even _matching_ the 360's price, hence their hesitation to say anything publically.
But regardless of the price, I have to agree with you that it's the games that will most influence my decision.
So far, everyone replying here is interpreting Sony's "surprise" as some sort of response to or knockoff of Nintendo's controller. I thought that Sony and Microsoft had pretty much written off Nintendo as a competitor at this point, especially since the companies have such a different focus on markets and hardware strategies.
However, the way the original article was written, it implies that the "surprise" is in regard to PS3 demos... such as a fully playable game, or some sort of software development beyond what we're currently expecting for demos.
I would say that Sony's best bet is to not release any official numbers until after the Xbox360 comes out (but of course keep the rumors of affordable hardware flowing) so that they can keep as many people "on the fence" for the first weeks or so after the Xbox launch. That way they can take as much wind as possible out of 360's sails upon launching. After all, once the prices for both systems are set, it will galvanize many gamers to one side or the other on price alone and Sony needs to keep as many people as possible from comitting to the 360 early on.
Very true, but once you arrive at you destination you can only recharge them through the SP itself, and have to swap battery packs again to recharge the spare. The point I was trying to make is that the old GBA runs on a nearly universal and easy to obtain power supply. That's why I still prefer the old unit to the newer one. That's also why I like digital cameras that run on AA batteries, despite the fact that they are usually larger than other models. Or why I drive a car that runs on gasoline instead of some cleaner alternative fuel. You never know when you'll need your devices to be up and running, and having to depend on rechargable battery packs just doesn't work for me.
Batteries! Since I have an original GBA with Afterburner installed, I can take it on long flights and not have to worry about running dead part-way with no way to recharge. I just make sure that I carry an extra set or two of AA batteries with me. Being able to change batteries is also nice, because even when you're on the ground between flights, there's no guarantee that you can recharge an SP or NDS, and to get the most charge, you can't play while they are charging.
Also, I prefer the ergonomics of the GBA to the SP... neither is the greatest, but at least my GBA isn't quite as cramped. Now, if only someone would figure out how to hack a new backlit LCD into the old GBA shell, I might consider an upgrade. But until then, no need to buy new hardware.... well, except maybe a mico just because.
And extending that line of thought, we see that this may be an absolutely wonderful thing for the gaming industry. If Nintendo makes a platform that encourages innovative gameplay instead of expensive graphics, many NEW game developers can afford to step up and get a game or three published. So they can't port it to the other platforms? Big deal! New small developers probably would never have the necessary budget to make the super-slick graphical games that sell enough units on the other platforms to be profitable anyway. This way, smaller companies can get recognized for their innovation on Nintendo's platform, and perhaps then have the credibility to get funding for making innovative games on all platforms. This could easily be a springboard for the revitalization of the entire industry!
And by comparing all the previews and general chatter about all of the next generation consoles, I'm almost certain that the Revolution will be a success. Why, you ask? Because unlike the other consoles, this one has overwhelmingly given all of us HOPE!
Here we go with everyone complaining about the base price of the console, but we should really be all up in arms about the accessory prices.
One look at the brochure, and all I can say is HO...LY...CR...AP that stuff is expensive!!! $40 for a memory card?!? $40 for a WIRED controller?!? $30-40 for an AV cable ?!? I can't think of any console in recent memory that cost THAT much for BASIC accessories, let alone the specialty ones.
And combine this with the news from a few weeks ago that says that 3rd part manufacturs will have to pay up to MS or their hardware won't work with the system, so there goes any chance of cheaper options for cables and such.
Folks, we are getting ripped off here, regardless of which package we buy!
Since the higher priced system is already "giving" $200 worth of accesories for only $100 more, why can't they just give $100 worth of accessories (the hard drive) for $0, and not create this massive split?
Sure, you wouldn't get the wireless controller with your launch package, but I'm sure that many people would go and buy at least one more to have with the system. It worked for Nintendo with their wavebird controllers.
I have to say that it will fit in nicer with other electronic equipment that sits on our entertainment center
Except that you only have two options... 1) Vertical, which won't fit too well into most stacks of shelves, or 2) Horizontal, where the funky curve makes the left side stick up more than the right, so you can't stack anything on top of it, and if you place it in a stack of shelves, it will appear to the eye that it isn't lined up with all the rest of your equipment.
No matter how you use it, it's just going to be inconvenient, or stick out sorely.
Do they realize that in order to use most of their computers, they'll now have to separate Solitaire from all MS operating systems? Seeing as how long it took the US to split IE from the system, Greece doesn't stand a chance!
At the Exploration Place in Wichita KS, they have an interactive "movie" of sorts. It's all about the body, and includes several mini-games that the audience participates in via buttons on the chair armrests. It was really well done by programmers who work at the museum specifically for creating exhibits and such.
Especially fun was cheating against all the junior high kids we were chaperoning. Using the controls of the empty seat beside me, I controlled their ship/laser/bloodcell/etc. away from the goals as my wife used our controls to guide our team to victory.
Slashdot Mirror
The last 50 feet... from the router to the television.
Sure, many techies and early adopters have either network cables or wireless access covering the whole house. But the "average joe" gamer has his internet connection in one part of the house (where he has a desk to set the computer at), and his TV w/ game consoles in another part of the house (where he can set his butt down at). It's often not the easiest task to get an internet connection from one to the other, especially if you have kids/a spouse/pets to keep the wires safe and invisible from.
Hopefully with the new consoles and with the increasingly cheaper costs to go wireless, this will not be as big of a problem in the future, but until this is resolved, online gaming will still only compromise a small percentage of the installed console customer base.
Yeah, I read that article earlier... the thing is, the new PS2 hardware (which I presume is being integrated into the PS3) only breaks at most a couple dozen older games. Not being able to play a few games is a small price to pay for having full compatability with the other hundreds of games for the older system.
The Xbox on the other hand, will only WORK with a couple dozen games, and those will only work if you have the hard drive for storing the emulators/patches that make thos specific games run properly. If the PS3 shoips with a harddrive, then it may be quite possible that sony can also make a workaround for the few broken games, thus giving full backwards compatability.
Now, granted that backwards compatability shouldn't be the biggest factor in which of the new consoles to buy, it will still be a major influence on consumers. I think that the biggest influence will be on parents of younger children, as many youger kids don't really care what Spongebob's polygon count is, or what lighting/rendering/whatnot algorithms are used. Parents will want to buy the console that lets the kids keep playing their favorite older games as well as daddy's shiny new games, and I honestly doubt that there are many - if any - kids games on the list for being made backwards compatable on the 360.
Okay. With the pictures from the Joystiq article you make a pretty good argument, and may be right. However, arguing for the sake of argument...
The kiosk setup instructions show how to route wires for a wired controller. Walmart employees indicate that the controllers are wired. Anonymous retail reps indicate that the controllers are wired.
The issues with wireless conflict (wherever they were arriving from) came up quickly, and were fixed quickly. However, there is no indication as to whether the instructions and anonymous walmart/retail reps quotes are pre- or post-fix. Can you get a date on the origin of these materials and accounts? All I see is that they are in response to the confusion of wired vs. wireless, and we can all agree that all kiosks are currently wired. As to whether there was wireless before microsoft fixed things is still unclear.
Wireless controllers use batteries. Wires still have to be run outside of the cabinet for the memory card download unit. Wireless controllers still have to be physically attached to the kiosk.
Portable gaming units use batteries. Wires are run to them to supply power. Portable game systems must still be uncomfortably attached to their kiosks. Why should wireless controllers be any different? Running a wireless/portable device on batteries when you already have to secure the unit to prevent theft is pretty pointless. That why they haven't done it in the past, and why they wouldn't plan on doing it this time. The only logical way to set up a kiosk with ANY kind of controller is the tried and true method already used. The only question is how many wires run between the exterior portion of the kiosk and the interior.
The gap to run wires from outside to inside the cabinet is large enough for only 3 wires (count 'em, 2 controllers + download unit).
The controller will require power either through a power wire or the controller wire. Either way you have the same number of wires. What I find more interesting is that from the joystiq pictures, there is a black wire, a dark colored wire, and one lighter colored one. On the console I was looking at, the device plugged into the USB port on the front of the console was lighter. What really has me scratching my head is that joystiq has a link to other info that their "insider" gave them, which indicates that the controller and other connections take place in the exterior portion of the kiosk. If this is the case, then why are there three cords at all? At any rate, it's pretty clear that there are not two wired controllers since the three wires are different colors.
Wireless controllers are more expensive.
Wireless is the intended standard for the system. To demonstrate something inferior than the standard for cost savings alone isn't very good marketing.
Wireless controllers require "linking" to the console. Wireless controllers are subject TO interferrence from other devices in a retail enviornment.
I assume Microsoft has figured out by now how to make controllers work with the console reliably. If not, then we're all in for a nasty surprise come release day.
The "X" button signal on wireless controllers can't be intercepted and disabled.
Okay, so maybe I'm not up to speed on how the kiosks are supposed to be configured, but on the one I played with, pushing the X button brought up the dashbord display (or whatever it's called). I thought this was the intended use of the button, so it doesn't appear to be disabled.
At any rate, it all comes down to the fact that the kiosks may or may not have originally been intended to use wireless controllers. The posted evidence does not clearly prove or deny either position. My original post was based on fairly quick observations of the kiosk at my local wal-mart, the only 360 I've actually looked at. So am I right? Maybe not. Are you right? No more than I am. Am I daft for thinking that the solution to the wireless interference problems (after highly promoting the wireless controllers) is that they were replaced with wired ones? Absolutely not.
why? Because it would be rather impressive to have them there, even if the controllers weren't mobile. The console was designed to "look sexy" and part of that look is the wireless nature. The wired controller I saw at walmart was plugged into the USB port (I think), which was well off center in the front face. Because the console wasn't intended to be primarily used this way, it made the cord even more obvious, and severely detracted from the "coolness" of seeing the console there.
from the article:
"This was apparently due to problems arising from the Xbox 360's wireless controllers causing interference."
So my local wal-mart has a new 360 kiosk installed. From what I can tell, "the fix" is simply replacing the offending wireless controller with a wired one. No wireless controller = no interference problem.
As for the system... I only had a few minutes to play. It looks nice, but I can't see a remarkable increase in quality over the current systems. Certainly not like there was from PS1 -> PS2.
Given these things, I think I'm going to wait until after the launch to decide if I want to buy one.
If you read the article, it is basically saying that another company - Media Data Corporation - believes that they can do a better job of rating games than the ESRB currently does.
The quote that really turns me off of MDC's "stoplight" idea is where the Next Generation author notes "Apart from a desire to take over what would be a hugely lucrative contract, we wanted to know what David Kinney, head of MDC, had against ESRB's way of working..." (emphasis mine)
The autor just nailed this new rating scheme on the head. The "stoplight" proposal really isn't anything newer or better than what is being used by the ESRB now. It's simply that this particular company wants all the alleged "payoff money" for themselves!
It looks to me like the folks at MDC are just being greedy and hypocritical. As far as I'm concerned, the ESRB rating are good enough as is. Like many other posters here have stated, it only takes a parent a few seconds to look at the ratings label on the front, the label on the back, and the artwork/screenshots on the box to see how (in)appropriate a game is. If a parent can't be spared the whole 30 seconds it takes to read the obvious warnings, then they shouldn't be allowed to complain when they find that their kids are playing objectionable games.
Every time I read something about IP law, whether copyrigt or patent or whatnot, I always see the same argument that if IP law were not present then the whole economy would collapse because all the content and idea producers would stop producing their wares due to lack of profitability.
Pure BS. I can guarantee that at this point in our society the abolition of IP law would do anything BUT destroy the economy of a nation or the world. Why can I guarantee this? Because the general public has become accustomed to being content consumers. When something comes along (say, digital music) that is significantly useful or good, people will consume regardless of the "legality" of it. Hence, the widespread piracy of music and the eventual development of legal download services.
People want their music, their movies, their medicines, and their meat. The incumbent monopolies keep saying that without DRM, broadcast flags, or patents, they would never produce the products that they do. I say that's just fine by me. Because even if the big companies halted all production in protest of the removal of IP laws, the public would still maintain its desire to consume, so at that point the market will be wide open for ANYONE to fulfill the neeed of the people and profit from it.
I'm not saying the IP laws SHOULD be abolished, just that they are seriously flawed and need some reform a 'la the article above. Also, the public's need for "stuff" is a powerful force (capable of toppling governments in the past), so it is only a matter of time before the current establishment of monopolistc laws fall as well. The sooner the change comes though, the better all will be.
Just stack all the coins together on edge, and split however you like. Then neither set will have any head sides up.
So I read the article linked above... and then kept on hitting the next page button. I just finished reading the whole magazine issue, and was impressed with ALL of the articles within. It really gives some good insight and commentary on EA and I highly recomment that people should read the other articles as well!
... to get your DS screen protectors. Thanks to the internet and talking with other electronics owners, I was clued in to the fact that going to a fabric store (or walmart's fabric dept.) and buying some clear vinyl to cut to size is far superior to any screen protector offered at any retail store. The vinyl is significantly cheaper (covering a DS screen will only cost you ~ $0.03), leaves no residue, can be cut to fit more than just one system (PDA's PSP's and so on), and works as well as any commercial product.
So even if you had twenty different game shops in town to shop from, I highly doubt that any one of them would tell you that there is a cheaper and better alternative to the products that they sell. And the internet in this case wins out, not because you can buy something cheaper, but because you can be informed of something better.
...one of those "I Hate Jack Thompson" T-shirts they're selling at ThinkGeek!
Honestly, I'm proud to be one of the "Right-Wing-Bible-Thumping-Republican-Christian" wackos that the average Slashdotter loves to hate. But Jack has really been taking things too far the past few months.
Just because Gamestop and EB are consolidating doesn't mean it will be the end of the used game market. There are other companies that have either recently moved in (Blockbuster's Gamerush store-in-store), or are planning on moving in (Best Buy, according to the article linked from slashdot last week). Not to mention all the mom-and-pop game stores and online trading or auction sites.
As far as brick-and-mortar chain retailers go, I'd have to say that my favorite it Blockbuster's Gamerush shop. Unfortunately I moved this past year and no longer am near a Gamerush shop, but in the time that I did buy and sell there, I was very pleased... they always had some sort of promotion on either the buying or selling end, so if I was patient, I could always go there to buy games for less, or sell for more than would ever be offered at GS/EB. Their best deal that every so often they will give an extra $5 on top of the usual trade-in price when you trade 3 or more games, and the best part is that (as far as I can tell) there is NO blacklist of games that they will not buy. You may only get a dollar worth of store credit for a 5-year old sports title, but at least you get SOMETHING for it, and when you trade in your extra-worthless games in bulk during the "extra $5" deal, you can effectively get several times the value for those games. The only restriction that I've run into is that they won't give the extra buyback price if the total value given back is more than their selling price for that title.
Somehow, I doubt that the price is going to be any cheaper than the 360. If Sony knows that they can price the PS3 for significantly less than the 360 without losing too much money, they wouldn't be debating the pricing internally, but would rather be trumpeting their lower price publically.
My gut feeling from all the news bits read here and there is that Sony is really having a hard time even _matching_ the 360's price, hence their hesitation to say anything publically.
But regardless of the price, I have to agree with you that it's the games that will most influence my decision.
So far, everyone replying here is interpreting Sony's "surprise" as some sort of response to or knockoff of Nintendo's controller. I thought that Sony and Microsoft had pretty much written off Nintendo as a competitor at this point, especially since the companies have such a different focus on markets and hardware strategies.
However, the way the original article was written, it implies that the "surprise" is in regard to PS3 demos... such as a fully playable game, or some sort of software development beyond what we're currently expecting for demos.
I would say that Sony's best bet is to not release any official numbers until after the Xbox360 comes out (but of course keep the rumors of affordable hardware flowing) so that they can keep as many people "on the fence" for the first weeks or so after the Xbox launch. That way they can take as much wind as possible out of 360's sails upon launching. After all, once the prices for both systems are set, it will galvanize many gamers to one side or the other on price alone and Sony needs to keep as many people as possible from comitting to the 360 early on.
Very true, but once you arrive at you destination you can only recharge them through the SP itself, and have to swap battery packs again to recharge the spare. The point I was trying to make is that the old GBA runs on a nearly universal and easy to obtain power supply. That's why I still prefer the old unit to the newer one. That's also why I like digital cameras that run on AA batteries, despite the fact that they are usually larger than other models. Or why I drive a car that runs on gasoline instead of some cleaner alternative fuel. You never know when you'll need your devices to be up and running, and having to depend on rechargable battery packs just doesn't work for me.
Batteries! Since I have an original GBA with Afterburner installed, I can take it on long flights and not have to worry about running dead part-way with no way to recharge. I just make sure that I carry an extra set or two of AA batteries with me. Being able to change batteries is also nice, because even when you're on the ground between flights, there's no guarantee that you can recharge an SP or NDS, and to get the most charge, you can't play while they are charging.
Also, I prefer the ergonomics of the GBA to the SP... neither is the greatest, but at least my GBA isn't quite as cramped. Now, if only someone would figure out how to hack a new backlit LCD into the old GBA shell, I might consider an upgrade. But until then, no need to buy new hardware.... well, except maybe a mico just because.
And extending that line of thought, we see that this may be an absolutely wonderful thing for the gaming industry. If Nintendo makes a platform that encourages innovative gameplay instead of expensive graphics, many NEW game developers can afford to step up and get a game or three published. So they can't port it to the other platforms? Big deal! New small developers probably would never have the necessary budget to make the super-slick graphical games that sell enough units on the other platforms to be profitable anyway. This way, smaller companies can get recognized for their innovation on Nintendo's platform, and perhaps then have the credibility to get funding for making innovative games on all platforms. This could easily be a springboard for the revitalization of the entire industry!
And by comparing all the previews and general chatter about all of the next generation consoles, I'm almost certain that the Revolution will be a success. Why, you ask? Because unlike the other consoles, this one has overwhelmingly given all of us HOPE!
Here we go with everyone complaining about the base price of the console, but we should really be all up in arms about the accessory prices.
One look at the brochure, and all I can say is HO...LY...CR...AP that stuff is expensive!!! $40 for a memory card?!? $40 for a WIRED controller?!?
$30-40 for an AV cable ?!? I can't think of any console in recent memory that cost THAT much for BASIC accessories, let alone the specialty ones.
And combine this with the news from a few weeks ago that says that 3rd part manufacturs will have to pay up to MS or their hardware won't work with the system, so there goes any chance of cheaper options for cables and such.
Folks, we are getting ripped off here, regardless of which package we buy!
Since the higher priced system is already "giving" $200 worth of accesories for only $100 more, why can't they just give $100 worth of accessories (the hard drive) for $0, and not create this massive split?
Sure, you wouldn't get the wireless controller with your launch package, but I'm sure that many people would go and buy at least one more to have with the system. It worked for Nintendo with their wavebird controllers.
Except that you only have two options...
1) Vertical, which won't fit too well into most stacks of shelves, or
2) Horizontal, where the funky curve makes the left side stick up more than the right, so you can't stack anything on top of it, and if you place it in a stack of shelves, it will appear to the eye that it isn't lined up with all the rest of your equipment.
No matter how you use it, it's just going to be inconvenient, or stick out sorely.
Let's see here...
Console: Current Wintel PC technology with Apple's sense of style.
Controllers: Nintendo already showed us that first party wireless is the way to go. Way to be #2 Microsoft!
Camera: Oh Look! It's Sony's Eyetoy in white!
Headset: At last, something borrowed straight from their own previous product. Doesn't look like any innovations were made here though.
And this is supposed to be the NEXT generation of console gaming?!?
At least they got the name right... XBox 360! Bringing gaming full circle to where it is today!
Do they realize that in order to use most of their computers, they'll now have to separate Solitaire from all MS operating systems? Seeing as how long it took the US to split IE from the system, Greece doesn't stand a chance!
At the Exploration Place in Wichita KS, they have an interactive "movie" of sorts. It's all about the body, and includes several mini-games that the audience participates in via buttons on the chair armrests. It was really well done by programmers who work at the museum specifically for creating exhibits and such. Especially fun was cheating against all the junior high kids we were chaperoning. Using the controls of the empty seat beside me, I controlled their ship/laser/bloodcell/etc. away from the goals as my wife used our controls to guide our team to victory.