I've always felt that because consoles were "just" for games, their proprietary nature didn't matter too much.
However, if new consoles are to be a Trojan Horse, promising (and bringing) games, while secretly introducing home shopping, video-on-demand, person-person comms, etc -- this is the kind of thing I strongly feel should be based on open standards (and of course, the most open standards are those supported by Free Software).
If we're not careful, we're going to start getting email attachments for which you need a PS2 to read (actually, there are already Dreamcast native file formats, e.g. VMU animations...)
Never be impressed by FMVs. It's just AVI (equivalent) playback; nothing clever at all.
Now, FFVII was good, but its strengths were its size, atmosphere and plot. The graphics were excellent in the sense that the backdrops were well drawn, and the 3D models superimposed on them were expressive, but that's not a technical marvel. --
Here in the UK, the BBC and others are commited to broadcasting a lot of widescreen content. Most new BBC productions are now widescreen, including stuff like soaps (Eastenders).
That and the fact we have digital TV available, are driving the sales of widescreen TV sets, I'd imagine. --
The DC modem is a module; the opportunity exists to attach other devices.
Sega haven't exactly made this fact a secret. Why not check out a DC-related web site (try www.planetdreamcast.com) before theorising about what a DC actually is? --
Feel free to wait. You'll be waiting over a year. While you're waiting, I'll be playing next-gen games, and when they PS2 comes out, I'll consider getting one of those too.
I imagine the DC modem is pretty cheap for Sega to include. It is removable, and is connected via a reasonably fast interface. I don't know exactly how fast, but it's good enough for the upcoming Zip drive, and there are strong rumours of an ethernet or cable modem adapter.
So, the comparisom with PS2 is: DC PS Modem at first Nothing at first LAN/DSL/whatever upgrade LAN/DSL/whatever upgrade
(damn,/. filters out table tags)
--
Re:I still approve of metered calls
on
ISP War in the UK
·
· Score: 1
Except that the costs of calls do not reflect the actual costs to the PTO of providing the service. Indeed it's been claimed that the most expensive part of a call is recording it and the toner which goes on the paper...
True as long as calls are generally short. A line that's connected 24/7 would cost the telco a significant amount (since in effect it would need to maintain a dedicated port) --
Re:I still approve of metered calls
on
ISP War in the UK
·
· Score: 1
Sure. But stop metering, and watch the cost to the PTO start mounting up.
By the way, I'm all for an unmetered service of some kind, but I don't think it should be a telephone connection. Cable modems, DSL are going to be great (when they finally arrive at my backwoods abode;) ) --
Much as my selfish side yearns for cheap, unmetered internet access, I feel that metered calls are a reasonable pricing scheme.
Unmetered calls mean that someone who makes a five minute call to their parents once a week, ends up subsidising people who spend all day dialled in to their ISP. That's just not fair.
Local calls *do* cost the telco money (the longer the average call becomes, the higher their peak capacity must become). --
Found out today that my district council isn't certified Y2K ready yet.
Not sure which I'd prefer -- not being billed for my council tax (and rubbish colletion etc not happening, cos they can't pay the workers), or being billed twice... --
The Genesis (or Megadrive, as it was called here) was a *massive* success in Europe. They're still being sold new, and 2nd hand game shops/stalls always have hundreds of games, which still fetch about half the cost of a 2nd hand Playstation game.
Tekken Tag Tournament (in the arcade) has the same engine as Tekken 3. There's an (excellent) version of Tekken 3 for the PS1.
I'll be hoping for something a bit more special for the PS2 (although if Namco can pull off as good an improvement from Arcade to console as they did with Soul Calibur on Dreamcast, we'll be in for a treat) --
I'm not entirely sure you get this; video game consoles have never needed, and likely never will need, as much RAM as a PC. Game consoles almost never need any large amount of ram, it's nearly all video memory in the N64. Think about it, no one's really going to be running a spreadsheet or opening large files on a game console/video and music system.
This is true at the moment, but that's because although games are getting prettier and prettier, other elements aren't moving on as quickly -- the gameplay in Quake isn't far advanced from Gauntlet! Only the POV has changed.
Games which use a lot of advanced AI, A-life, physics simulation etc are going to need more RAM.
The very notion that anybody would have bought a Genesis puts an interesting light on the idea that American consumers will buy just about any junky thing so long as it has a good advertising campaign (in Japan Sega wasn't even a contender.. Nintendo won hands down).
Hey! I was playing (and thoroughly enjoying) Sonic 2 only this weekend. Got further than ever before, too. Does this make me an idiot? --
When Sony was asked about this they said (last I heard) that they have decided not to have the PS2 provide any kind of graphical enhancement or speed improvement to the old games, even though they have a ton of processing power to do it with.
<pedantic>Actually they don't have "a ton of processing power to do it", because of they way they're implementing backwards compatibility. The PS1's CPU is the same chip as the PS2's sound subsystem will have. PS1 games will be run on that chip, not emulated.<\pedantic> --
Another good reason to wait for PS2: backward compatibility. If that ain't a competition killer, I don't know what is. With all the games I have invested in for the Playstation, it's reassuring to know I'll be able to play them on the PS2 when the time comes. So the games I buy until it comes out (FF8, anyone?) will still play on the new baby. Yummy, yummy.
Uh.. (scrathes head)... but you already have a Playstation... why would you need the PS2 to be backwards compatible?
Look, I've got a PS and a Saturn -- and neither of them are backwards compatible with anything; but that does not stop me from playing Sonic on my Megadrive ( == Genesis).
Buying a Dreamcast won't stop me playing NiGHTS on the Saturn. The part-exchange value of your PS/Saturn/whatever is small enough that there is no point in getting rid of your existing console.
Sony surely aren't putting backwards compatibility in to appease existing PS owners -- they're doing it so that they have a (very) large software catalogue on launch day for those few people who've resisted a Sony console until now.
I'm a big free software fan; I'm the guy at work who runs Linux when everyone else has NT on their desktop...
... but while I don't like proprietary software on a general-purpose computer, I don't have any problems with proprietary software on consoles (just as I don't have any problem with proprietary movies at movie theatres).
If MS can make money with products which I don't find immoral, then good luck to them.
Why do you think Sony's proprietary OS is going to be any less objectionable to MS's? (no, the NGPS won't run Linux, only the dev boxes will, to run a cross-compiler. --
The PSX2's sound subsystem will contain the same processor as the PSX CPU. Hence, rather than emulate the processor, it'll just use the one it has.
It's a pity that Sony have counted out trying to outperform the PSX1 the way Bleem! does (intercepting 3D API calls and running them through Direct3D, for higher resolution than a PS1 could muster). --
Slashdot Mirror
I've always felt that because consoles were "just" for games, their proprietary nature didn't matter too much.
However, if new consoles are to be a Trojan Horse, promising (and bringing) games, while secretly introducing home shopping, video-on-demand, person-person comms, etc -- this is the kind of thing I strongly feel should be based on open standards (and of course, the most open standards are those supported by Free Software).
If we're not careful, we're going to start getting email attachments for which you need a PS2 to read (actually, there are already Dreamcast native file formats, e.g. VMU animations...)
Unchecked this could be a big problem.
--
Never be impressed by FMVs. It's just AVI (equivalent) playback; nothing clever at all.
Now, FFVII was good, but its strengths were its size, atmosphere and plot. The graphics were excellent in the sense that the backdrops were well drawn, and the 3D models superimposed on them were expressive, but that's not a technical marvel.
--
While the vertical resolution of NTSC is poor, us European console gamers are in awe of your 60Hz refresh (vs our 50Hz).
So it's swings & roundabouts, innit.
Hope HDTV gets here soon, and is cheap enough.
--
Here in the UK, the BBC and others are commited to broadcasting a lot of widescreen content. Most new BBC productions are now widescreen, including stuff like soaps (Eastenders).
That and the fact we have digital TV available, are driving the sales of widescreen TV sets, I'd imagine.
--
The DC modem is a module; the opportunity exists to attach other devices.
Sega haven't exactly made this fact a secret. Why not check out a DC-related web site (try www.planetdreamcast.com) before theorising about what a DC actually is?
--
To big businesses, MP3 means piracy. They don't think about the possibility of selling legit MP3s, they just see he piracy that's going on on the Net.
Sega would alienate their retailers by being seen to support MP3.
--
Feel free to wait. You'll be waiting over a year. While you're waiting, I'll be playing next-gen games, and when they PS2 comes out, I'll consider getting one of those too.
/. filters out table tags)
I imagine the DC modem is pretty cheap for Sega to include. It is removable, and is connected via a reasonably fast interface. I don't know exactly how fast, but it's good enough for the upcoming Zip drive, and there are strong rumours of an ethernet or cable modem adapter.
So, the comparisom with PS2 is:
DC PS
Modem at first Nothing at first
LAN/DSL/whatever upgrade LAN/DSL/whatever upgrade
(damn,
--
Except that the costs of calls do not reflect the actual costs to the PTO of providing the
service. Indeed it's been claimed that the most expensive part of a call is recording it and the toner which
goes on the paper...
True as long as calls are generally short. A line that's connected 24/7 would cost the telco a significant amount (since in effect it would need to maintain a dedicated port)
--
Sure. But stop metering, and watch the cost to the PTO start mounting up.
;) )
By the way, I'm all for an unmetered service of some kind, but I don't think it should be a telephone connection. Cable modems, DSL are going to be great (when they finally arrive at my backwoods abode
--
Much as my selfish side yearns for cheap, unmetered internet access, I feel that metered calls are a reasonable pricing scheme.
Unmetered calls mean that someone who makes a five minute call to their parents once a week, ends up subsidising people who spend all day dialled in to their ISP. That's just not fair.
Local calls *do* cost the telco money (the longer the average call becomes, the higher their peak capacity must become).
--
Found out today that my district council isn't certified Y2K ready yet.
Not sure which I'd prefer -- not being billed for my council tax (and rubbish colletion etc not happening, cos they can't pay the workers), or being billed twice...
--
Try 8 player Sega Saturn Bomberman. It's a blast. Not all multiplayer games require split screen.
--
Dolt!
The devkit is not a consumer unit. It is for licenced developers.
--
The Genesis (or Megadrive, as it was called here) was a *massive* success in Europe. They're still being sold new, and 2nd hand game shops/stalls always have hundreds of games, which still fetch about half the cost of a 2nd hand Playstation game.
The SNES was a rarer sight.
--
Tekken Tag Tournament (in the arcade) has the same engine as Tekken 3. There's an (excellent) version of Tekken 3 for the PS1.
I'll be hoping for something a bit more special for the PS2 (although if Namco can pull off as good an improvement from Arcade to console as they did with Soul Calibur on Dreamcast, we'll be in for a treat)
--
I'm not entirely sure you get this; video game consoles have never needed, and likely never will need, as
much RAM as a PC. Game consoles almost never need any large amount of ram, it's nearly all video
memory in the N64. Think about it, no one's really going to be running a spreadsheet or opening large files
on a game console/video and music system.
This is true at the moment, but that's because although games are getting prettier and prettier, other elements aren't moving on as quickly -- the gameplay in Quake isn't far advanced from Gauntlet! Only the POV has changed.
Games which use a lot of advanced AI, A-life, physics simulation etc are going to need more RAM.
I can't wait.
--
Is that thing a prototype, or the final design?
It sho' is ugly.
I'll wait and see what the games are like...
--
The very notion that anybody would have bought a Genesis puts an interesting light on the idea
that American consumers will buy just about any junky thing so long as it has a good advertising campaign
(in Japan Sega wasn't even a contender.. Nintendo won hands down).
Hey! I was playing (and thoroughly enjoying) Sonic 2 only this weekend. Got further than ever before, too. Does this make me an idiot?
--
Not saying it's a bad thing -- just that it's not the major selling point the original poster seems to think it is.
--
When Sony was asked about this they said (last I heard) that they have decided not to have the PS2
provide any kind of graphical enhancement or speed improvement to the old games, even though they have
a ton of processing power to do it with.
<pedantic>Actually they don't have "a ton of processing power to do it", because of they way they're implementing backwards compatibility. The PS1's CPU is the same chip as the PS2's sound subsystem will have. PS1 games will be run on that chip, not emulated.<\pedantic>
--
Another good reason to wait for PS2: backward compatibility. If that ain't a competition killer, I don't know
what is. With all the games I have invested in for the Playstation, it's reassuring to know I'll be able to play
them on the PS2 when the time comes. So the games I buy until it comes out (FF8, anyone?) will still play on
the new baby. Yummy, yummy.
Uh.. (scrathes head)... but you already have a Playstation... why would you need the PS2 to be backwards compatible?
Look, I've got a PS and a Saturn -- and neither of them are backwards compatible with anything; but that does not stop me from playing Sonic on my Megadrive ( == Genesis).
Buying a Dreamcast won't stop me playing NiGHTS on the Saturn. The part-exchange value of your PS/Saturn/whatever is small enough that there is no point in getting rid of your existing console.
Sony surely aren't putting backwards compatibility in to appease existing PS owners -- they're doing it so that they have a (very) large software catalogue on launch day for those few people who've resisted a Sony console until now.
--
I'm a big free software fan; I'm the guy at work who runs Linux when everyone else has NT on their desktop...
... but while I don't like proprietary software on a general-purpose computer, I don't have any problems with proprietary software on consoles (just as I don't have any problem with proprietary movies at movie theatres).
If MS can make money with products which I don't find immoral, then good luck to them.
Why do you think Sony's proprietary OS is going to be any less objectionable to MS's? (no, the NGPS won't run Linux, only the dev boxes will, to run a cross-compiler.
--
I think this writer needs to look around a bit more. If she has a recent Nokia mobile phone, she'll be using a Java client app every day.
--
Its gona be fast enough to emulate a PSX1 100%
Actually, no.
The PSX2's sound subsystem will contain the same processor as the PSX CPU. Hence, rather than emulate the processor, it'll just use the one it has.
It's a pity that Sony have counted out trying to outperform the PSX1 the way Bleem! does (intercepting 3D API calls and running them through Direct3D, for higher resolution than a PS1 could muster).
--
Surely the launch title ought to be a port of xbill?
--