Really, with the poor offerings of the XBone and PS4, PC gaming is going to benefit a lot.
What poor offerings considering that some of those games are multiplatform and on the PC as well. Perhaps you don't realize that it's not 1993 anymore. PC and console players are playing the SAME games.
The Wii U, which isn't trying to be a PC has already won this generation by default.
What reality do you live in? The Wii U or it's games, hasn't sold well at all
The PS4 in Australia will cost a minimum of A$600, closer to A$800 with the Trans-Pacific Price Dilation effect.
Yes yes, we know. Australians on slashdot tend to be PC gamer partisans because the games cost more whoop de do.
Perhaps if Australia had gone 120v for electricity and NTSC for TV and had a nratings system that make fucking sense, in the ancient past, you'd have been lumped in with the US-Canada in a region and paid less. Now it's too late and you'll always be considered a separate tiny English speaking market in the middle of nowhere.
But Australia is an outlier. There is no huge price differential in the US so claiming that's a good reason... doesn't work. For example, the PC and PS3 versions of the Skyrim Legendary edition are the SAME PRICE in the US.
And this is comparing new game to new game. Not even counting indie games, GOG's back catalouge, steam sales and so forth.
I understand you're a PC gamer and don't understand how the PSN store and Xbox Marketplace work, but you DO know that there are small indie games, older cheap games and sales/discounts on those services, right?
You do? Why? Haven't you recognized that the huge popularity of tablets is that many people didn't really "need" a PC for what they did on them? But since having one was the only really good way to access web content for a while... people had to have one even if they didn't create their own documents or edit videos.
Now they don't. They can upload video directly from their phone, they can all the cat videos they want on a tablet, and they can even play facebook/flash style games.
And on the PS4 you'd be stuck playing console games which is a major drawback. Reply to This Share
Yes, Console games like TESO or Don't Starve. or like console games called Bioshcok Infinite, DCUO, Fallout 3, Skyrim, Portal, etc.
It's mostly the SAME games now, It's not 1993 anymore.
You would be surprised how many people would rather spend $15 on The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing instead of $60 on Halo.
On the console side, You would be surprised how many people would rather spend $15 on Journey or The Cave instead of $50 on the "Manly Brown Multiplayer shooter of the week"
Yes, I think that's why we see lots of "Console games cost too much, I only buy games on GOG or at Steam Sales" comments in these type of stories on Slashdot.
After spending $1500 or MORE on their gaming rig, they don't have a lot of money for actual.....games. So they buy cheap games, play F2P DOTA's or are one of those CS only people.
I'd lay odds the average console player has a larger (and more diverse) game library than the average PC gamer.
True, but a Playstation Plus subscription gets you Free games and discounts on some other titles. And cloud backups of your saves, early access to Beta's, etc etc.
you could also use the Alienware machine to develop your own games as well as do music production, video editing, web development, word processing, spreadsheets, run fluid dynamics numerical simulations
The number of people who would buy that machine to do this is miniscule. In fact the number of people that do those on their home desktops is small.
as well as play all of the indie, F2P and other games that are PC-only.
Considering that some indies already are on consoles and that the consoles do have F2P games, I wouldn't exactly be trotting out that old "consoles don't have indie or f2p games" argument anymore.
And you have a choice of keyboard or controller.
You do on the PS3 (and PS2) too, it just depends on the game. Even in games where you can't control the game with the keyboard it often still works for any text input (Naming enchanted items in Oblivion and Skyrim for example)
And, as you say, the Alienware system is considerably more powerful than the "$400 PS4".
No it's not, the base $700 system does not have as much memory and the memory is much slower, and it doesn't have as many cores. The high end model probably is equivalent, even if perhaps the memory bandwidth isn't up to snuff, but it cots 4X as much as a PS4.
So either you can spend $1800, or spend $400 and still be able play TESO and Don't Starve and have plenty of money left over to... you know... buy actual games.
Not really. They stopped supporting it because they couldn't get the tax breaks they wanted. They initially hoped that if the console had Linux on it it would qualify as a personal computer for tax purposes. This would get them a lower VAT in some parts of Europe.
When with this fucking myth and misinformation just fucking die.
You are absolutely wrong.
It was YaBasic on the PS2, not the PS3 that was the attempt to evade the extra tax on enterinment devices that werent' computers. The attempt failed, back in 200 no less. But very soon after the additional tarrif was removed, BEFORE Linux for the PS2 came out in 2002, and long before the PS3 came out.
Don't be "that guy" and might want to stop using the term "Master Race", buddy.
Consoles are computers too, sure they're a specialized computer, but a computer nonetheless.. There was a time I could give you the "uname -a" info of my PS2 or PS3.
There are some AAA titles that won't come to PC for a while, but you can console yourself with slightly older good games that are a fraction of the price that you'd pay for consoles.
There is this thing called PSN, perhaps you've heard of it, it has older games, and games from small studios that are cheap.
Sony has been under new management for a year or two, and it seems like Kaz actually has a clue, understanding basic concepts like "treating your customers like shit is bad for business".
If you mean Kaz Hirai, formerly in charge of SCE, then yes he does have a clue. Didn't know he was in charge of Sony itself now. Yep he is, that's a good sign.
what? Did hell just freeze over? Everything else regarding the PS4 info makes sense and fits with what SCEfoo has done before (for example PS3 games aren't region locked) but THAT?
what they mean is no Ubisoft/EA style DRM, just the normal PS3/PS2 style where it won't play a burned pirated ISO because it doesn't have the right whatever on it.
If you don't play on-line, don't want to sign up for an account, don't want to download extras... why would you connect it to a network?
Because then you can download patches that fix game issues or add new functionality to games or the PS3 itself?
Or you might want to have a network connection so that when you rip a CD, it fetches info from Gracenote.
Or to use the web browser.
Or to use the DLNA features.
Or Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Instant Video, Cinemanow, Hulu.
YOu can actually do simple video and photo editing on a PS3, can't do the upload features without a connection though.
There are lots of reasons to have a PS3 or PS2 netowrk connected. I've had my Playstation-foo's net connected since May 30'th of 2002. Yes, that's before the Network adapter (Ethernet/Phone) came out in August of that year... I had the Linux kit.
One of the first things I did when I got my PS3 was hook the thing up to the network, updated the firmware and then I installed YDL on it.
The only people I know who connect their XBox to the network are essentially teenagers and 20-somethings. For many of us who remember the 80s, on-line features aren't something we want. In fact, it's something we actively don't want.
I remember the 80's, I'm 46, and I want online functionality. Then I can play multiplayer on "MY" schedule. And I can actually play MMO's or use a virtual world...on my PS3.
I for one don't want to go back to the days when PC gtamers bashed consoles and console games becaus you couldn't play console doom deatmatch over the internet, or a Diablo online or an actual MMO.
It went to the net it did, to get the new AACS keys it needed to play the Blu-Ray, which requires a firmware update. Blu-Ray movies themselves don't contain PS3 updates.
Did you know that some older Blu-Ray profile 1.0 and 1.1 players without built in ethernet (or the ability to accept a dongle) actually can't play some newer discs. You'd have to request an "update disc", or if they have card slot or USB port download an update on your PC and then put it on a flash device that the player supports
2006 vintage PS3's were perhaps the most future proof blu-ray players in 2006.
That's not quite true. Geohot did his hacking BEFORE the removal and did some bragging about what he'd done and could do. That made SCEfoo's game making division scared shit. so they told SCEfoo's hardware/firmware guys to pull OtherOS to prevent GeoHot's supposed exploit that used OtherOS from being used.
And as I have said many many times, the update is voluntary. You can keep OtherOS, but you lose access to PSN. that is the price you pay for having a console that Sony doesn't "Trust" If one really loved OtherOS and only used their PS3 for that as some Slashdotters have claimed, they could keep it.
Besides, The partitioning schemes involved with using OtherOS either crippled OtherOS or crippled GAmeOS. Either you had 10GB to GAmeOS (which isn't enough), or 10GB to GameOS and the rest to OtherOS, which makes GameOS useless because of the HUGE game caches, and downloadables.. These days if OtherOS still existed, having a 10GB GameOS partition wouldn't be enough for DCUO, and imagined some big Bethesda or Bioware game with caches and DLC.
P (Program Mode) would be more accurately called Automatic with manual override.
And considering that some point and shoots like my old Konica Minolta Z10 have such modes.. there are plenty of "average joes) who know enough that they could be taught how to make basic use of such modes in a short time. I'm no photographer but even I know that you can use Aperture to change depth-of-field.
Embedded camera in cell phone is necessarily restricted in terms of optics. You can play with the sensor all you want, but the optics simply cannot do the sorts of things a good camera can do.
I've got a cheap android phone with a 3.2MP camera. I've got an old Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10 that takes a better picture It even takes a better picture than the 5MP camera in my cheap old used table, Dell Streak 7. It's all aobut the optics and settings it can do.
There is still a lot of things that require some knowledge in operating a camera in order to get a good photo,
Yes but I don't think a college degree is necessary, photojounalism should be more of a trade-school thing. Would make the career more accessable to those who aren't already affluent too. (I think there's an old photography joke about how many pro sports photographers are ex doctors and lawyers... photography is their hobby and then they make enough at thei profession to bankroll their start in their "photography fanboy career"
Wrong time period.. don't you know about Mossadegh?
Okay, back in the 50's the Iranians basically put a social-democratic secular government in place who wasn't going to let US companies just exploit Iran without fair compensation and Iranian ownership of the resources.... US businesses were upset so they complained to the US government. Eisenhower got the CiA to give US corps what they wanted, The Shah who would let US corps do whatever as long as he got a cut. Cue 20 plus years of right-wing dictatorship. Then in the 70's a bunch of fundamentalist Iranians, living abroad, (Khomeini was in France of all places, not some other theocratic leaning Muslim country!) told the Iranians that the Shah was their punishment for being secular and that if they brought back that old time religion and got rid of the Shah everything would be hunky dory and be a paradise. Cue the Iranian Revolution and 30 plus years of repressive theocracy.
All of this is at the feet of Eisenhower, the buck stops there. He could have said no, but the man who warned us of the military-industrial complex, caved in. Nice Job Breaking It, Hero of WWII.
Glad someone did rendering on one of those things. I used my install as a basic desktop...worked better than one might think. I'm surprised your wife didn't balk at the required double confirmation of the update that removes OtherOS though since it does wanr you in no undertain terms what it does.
I personally have found that an actual PSZ3 is still better for playing PSone or PS2 games than a PC emulator is they're still not quite up to snuff.
Miyamoto has his faults, he's not perfect. He doesn't understand discoverabilty, he doesn't understand western tastes (navi, Tingle), and he should NEVER be let anywhere near a controller design team.
They've been talking for 5 years about how "Diablo gameplay" might work on consoles...and h inting about a console Diablo game. Ha, "might work" didn't they play the PSone port of Diablo? Darkstone? BGDA 1 and 2? Champions of Norrath and it's sequel? X-Men Legends 1 & 2, Justice League Heroes? Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2. The 3 Untold Legends games? Hunter the Reckoning? Sacred 2? There's probably more I don't know about.. not counting the ports from phones/tablets on PSN
This isn't even a simple RPG, MMOs are notorious for their development time...considering Blizzard. 2020 would be "soon"
Really? In the same time period that Blizzard developed ONE MMO, other companies have done 2 or more and sometimes also developed several single player games alongside the MMO.
Blizzard at tone time was a console developer and in that world if you can't do a quality game in 5 years or less, you should just give up. But of course, in the PC development world there's more tolerance bfor being slack and lazy. If Blizzard was a console dev we'd be playing Diablo IV by now. AND it would be a better game.
Compare D2 and D3 to the spate of console Diablo clones sometime and you'll see that Blizzard lacks competency. In fact D3 reminds me of all those Snowblind engine games. which were themselves inspired by the original Diablo.
You want to travel AND you want to grow as a developer? Well if you want to travel and enjoy yourself why take work with you. And if you want to grow y our development skills why not stay home and take classes or something.
How old are you really? Weren't you around in the 80's when a Atari 2600 game might cost 40 dollars for a game with a single gameplay screen that only got faster as you played?
Taking inflation in account games cost LESS than they did back then AND have tons more content and things to do.
Slashdot Mirror
Really, with the poor offerings of the XBone and PS4, PC gaming is going to benefit a lot.
What poor offerings considering that some of those games are multiplatform and on the PC as well. Perhaps you don't realize that it's not 1993 anymore. PC and console players are playing the SAME games.
The Wii U, which isn't trying to be a PC has already won this generation by default.
What reality do you live in? The Wii U or it's games, hasn't sold well at all
The PS4 in Australia will cost a minimum of A$600, closer to A$800 with the Trans-Pacific Price Dilation effect.
Yes yes, we know. Australians on slashdot tend to be PC gamer partisans because the games cost more whoop de do.
Perhaps if Australia had gone 120v for electricity and NTSC for TV and had a nratings system that make fucking sense, in the ancient past, you'd have been lumped in with the US-Canada in a region and paid less. Now it's too late and you'll always be considered a separate tiny English speaking market in the middle of nowhere.
But Australia is an outlier. There is no huge price differential in the US so claiming that's a good reason... doesn't work. For example, the PC and PS3 versions of the Skyrim Legendary edition are the SAME PRICE in the US.
And this is comparing new game to new game. Not even counting indie games, GOG's back catalouge, steam sales and so forth.
I understand you're a PC gamer and don't understand how the PSN store and Xbox Marketplace work, but you DO know that there are small indie games, older cheap games and sales/discounts on those services, right?
So you'd need a PC and a PS4.
You do? Why? Haven't you recognized that the huge popularity of tablets is that many people didn't really "need" a PC for what they did on them? But since having one was the only really good way to access web content for a while... people had to have one even if they didn't create their own documents or edit videos.
Now they don't. They can upload video directly from their phone, they can all the cat videos they want on a tablet, and they can even play facebook/flash style games.
And on the PS4 you'd be stuck playing console games which is a major drawback.
Reply to This Share
Yes, Console games like TESO or Don't Starve. or like console games called Bioshcok Infinite, DCUO, Fallout 3, Skyrim, Portal, etc.
It's mostly the SAME games now, It's not 1993 anymore.
You would be surprised how many people would rather spend $15 on The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing instead of $60 on Halo.
On the console side, You would be surprised how many people would rather spend $15 on Journey or The Cave instead of $50 on the "Manly Brown Multiplayer shooter of the week"
Yes, I think that's why we see lots of "Console games cost too much, I only buy games on GOG or at Steam Sales" comments in these type of stories on Slashdot.
After spending $1500 or MORE on their gaming rig, they don't have a lot of money for actual.....games. So they buy cheap games, play F2P DOTA's or are one of those CS only people.
I'd lay odds the average console player has a larger (and more diverse) game library than the average PC gamer.
True, but a Playstation Plus subscription gets you Free games and discounts on some other titles. And cloud backups of your saves, early access to Beta's, etc etc.
you could also use the Alienware machine to develop your own games as well as do music production, video editing, web development, word processing, spreadsheets, run fluid dynamics numerical simulations
The number of people who would buy that machine to do this is miniscule. In fact the number of people that do those on their home desktops is small.
as well as play all of the indie, F2P and other games that are PC-only.
Considering that some indies already are on consoles and that the consoles do have F2P games, I wouldn't exactly be trotting out that old "consoles don't have indie or f2p games" argument anymore.
And you have a choice of keyboard or controller.
You do on the PS3 (and PS2) too, it just depends on the game. Even in games where you can't control the game with the keyboard it often still works for any text input (Naming enchanted items in Oblivion and Skyrim for example)
And, as you say, the Alienware system is considerably more powerful than the "$400 PS4".
No it's not, the base $700 system does not have as much memory and the memory is much slower, and it doesn't have as many cores. The high end model probably is equivalent, even if perhaps the memory bandwidth isn't up to snuff, but it cots 4X as much as a PS4.
So either you can spend $1800, or spend $400 and still be able play TESO and Don't Starve and have plenty of money left over to... you know... buy actual games.
Not really. They stopped supporting it because they couldn't get the tax breaks they wanted. They initially hoped that if the console had Linux on it it would qualify as a personal computer for tax purposes. This would get them a lower VAT in some parts of Europe.
When with this fucking myth and misinformation just fucking die.
You are absolutely wrong.
It was YaBasic on the PS2, not the PS3 that was the attempt to evade the extra tax on enterinment devices that werent' computers. The attempt failed, back in 200 no less. But very soon after the additional tarrif was removed, BEFORE Linux for the PS2 came out in 2002, and long before the PS3 came out.
Don't be "that guy" and might want to stop using the term "Master Race", buddy.
Consoles are computers too, sure they're a specialized computer, but a computer nonetheless.. There was a time I could give you the "uname -a" info of my PS2 or PS3.
There are some AAA titles that won't come to PC for a while, but you can console yourself with slightly older good games that are a fraction of the price that you'd pay for consoles.
There is this thing called PSN, perhaps you've heard of it, it has older games, and games from small studios that are cheap.
Sony has been under new management for a year or two, and it seems like Kaz actually has a clue, understanding basic concepts like "treating your customers like shit is bad for business".
If you mean Kaz Hirai, formerly in charge of SCE, then yes he does have a clue. Didn't know he was in charge of Sony itself now. Yep he is, that's a good sign.
what? Did hell just freeze over? Everything else regarding the PS4 info makes sense and fits with what SCEfoo has done before (for example PS3 games aren't region locked) but THAT?
what they mean is no Ubisoft/EA style DRM, just the normal PS3/PS2 style where it won't play a burned pirated ISO because it doesn't have the right whatever on it.
If you don't play on-line, don't want to sign up for an account, don't want to download extras ... why would you connect it to a network?
Because then you can download patches that fix game issues or add new functionality to games or the PS3 itself?
Or you might want to have a network connection so that when you rip a CD, it fetches info from Gracenote.
Or to use the web browser.
Or to use the DLNA features.
Or Netflix, Vudu, Amazon Instant Video, Cinemanow, Hulu.
YOu can actually do simple video and photo editing on a PS3, can't do the upload features without a connection though.
There are lots of reasons to have a PS3 or PS2 netowrk connected. I've had my Playstation-foo's net connected since May 30'th of 2002. Yes, that's before the Network adapter (Ethernet/Phone) came out in August of that year... I had the Linux kit.
One of the first things I did when I got my PS3 was hook the thing up to the network, updated the firmware and then I installed YDL on it.
The only people I know who connect their XBox to the network are essentially teenagers and 20-somethings. For many of us who remember the 80s, on-line features aren't something we want. In fact, it's something we actively don't want.
I remember the 80's, I'm 46, and I want online functionality. Then I can play multiplayer on "MY" schedule. And I can actually play MMO's or use a virtual world...on my PS3.
I for one don't want to go back to the days when PC gtamers bashed consoles and console games becaus you couldn't play console doom deatmatch over the internet, or a Diablo online or an actual MMO.
It went to the net it did, to get the new AACS keys it needed to play the Blu-Ray, which requires a firmware update. Blu-Ray movies themselves don't contain PS3 updates.
Did you know that some older Blu-Ray profile 1.0 and 1.1 players without built in ethernet (or the ability to accept a dongle) actually can't play some newer discs. You'd have to request an "update disc", or if they have card slot or USB port download an update on your PC and then put it on a flash device that the player supports
2006 vintage PS3's were perhaps the most future proof blu-ray players in 2006.
That's not quite true. Geohot did his hacking BEFORE the removal and did some bragging about what he'd done and could do. That made SCEfoo's game making division scared shit. so they told SCEfoo's hardware/firmware guys to pull OtherOS to prevent GeoHot's supposed exploit that used OtherOS from being used.
And as I have said many many times, the update is voluntary. You can keep OtherOS, but you lose access to PSN. that is the price you pay for having a console that Sony doesn't "Trust" If one really loved OtherOS and only used their PS3 for that as some Slashdotters have claimed, they could keep it.
Besides, The partitioning schemes involved with using OtherOS either crippled OtherOS or crippled GAmeOS. Either you had 10GB to GAmeOS (which isn't enough), or 10GB to GameOS and the rest to OtherOS, which makes GameOS useless because of the HUGE game caches, and downloadables.. These days if OtherOS still existed, having a 10GB GameOS partition wouldn't be enough for DCUO, and imagined some big Bethesda or Bioware game with caches and DLC.
P (Program Mode) would be more accurately called Automatic with manual override.
And considering that some point and shoots like my old Konica Minolta Z10 have such modes.. there are plenty of "average joes) who know enough that they could be taught how to make basic use of such modes in a short time. I'm no photographer but even I know that you can use Aperture to change depth-of-field.
Embedded camera in cell phone is necessarily restricted in terms of optics. You can play with the sensor all you want, but the optics simply cannot do the sorts of things a good camera can do.
I've got a cheap android phone with a 3.2MP camera. I've got an old Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z10 that takes a better picture It even takes a better picture than the 5MP camera in my cheap old used table, Dell Streak 7. It's all aobut the optics and settings it can do.
There is still a lot of things that require some knowledge in operating a camera in order to get a good photo,
Yes but I don't think a college degree is necessary, photojounalism should be more of a trade-school thing. Would make the career more accessable to those who aren't already affluent too. (I think there's an old photography joke about how many pro sports photographers are ex doctors and lawyers... photography is their hobby and then they make enough at thei profession to bankroll their start in their "photography fanboy career"
Wrong time period.. don't you know about Mossadegh?
Okay, back in the 50's the Iranians basically put a social-democratic secular government in place who wasn't going to let US companies just exploit Iran without fair compensation and Iranian ownership of the resources.... US businesses were upset so they complained to the US government. Eisenhower got the CiA to give US corps what they wanted, The Shah who would let US corps do whatever as long as he got a cut. Cue 20 plus years of right-wing dictatorship. Then in the 70's a bunch of fundamentalist Iranians, living abroad, (Khomeini was in France of all places, not some other theocratic leaning Muslim country!) told the Iranians that the Shah was their punishment for being secular and that if they brought back that old time religion and got rid of the Shah everything would be hunky dory and be a paradise. Cue the Iranian Revolution and 30 plus years of repressive theocracy.
All of this is at the feet of Eisenhower, the buck stops there. He could have said no, but the man who warned us of the military-industrial complex, caved in. Nice Job Breaking It, Hero of WWII.
Glad someone did rendering on one of those things. I used my install as a basic desktop...worked better than one might think. I'm surprised your wife didn't balk at the required double confirmation of the update that removes OtherOS though since it does wanr you in no undertain terms what it does.
I personally have found that an actual PSZ3 is still better for playing PSone or PS2 games than a PC emulator is they're still not quite up to snuff.
Miyamoto has his faults, he's not perfect. He doesn't understand discoverabilty, he doesn't understand western tastes (navi, Tingle), and he should NEVER be let anywhere near a controller design team.
They've been talking for 5 years about how "Diablo gameplay" might work on consoles...and h inting about a console Diablo game. Ha, "might work" didn't they play the PSone port of Diablo? Darkstone? BGDA 1 and 2? Champions of Norrath and it's sequel? X-Men Legends 1 & 2, Justice League Heroes? Marvel Ultimate Alliance 1 & 2. The 3 Untold Legends games? Hunter the Reckoning? Sacred 2? There's probably more I don't know about.. not counting the ports from phones/tablets on PSN
This isn't even a simple RPG, MMOs are notorious for their development time...considering Blizzard. 2020 would be "soon"
Really? In the same time period that Blizzard developed ONE MMO, other companies have done 2 or more and sometimes also developed several single player games alongside the MMO.
Blizzard at tone time was a console developer and in that world if you can't do a quality game in 5 years or less, you should just give up. But of course, in the PC development world there's more tolerance bfor being slack and lazy. If Blizzard was a console dev we'd be playing Diablo IV by now. AND it would be a better game.
Compare D2 and D3 to the spate of console Diablo clones sometime and you'll see that Blizzard lacks competency. In fact D3 reminds me of all those Snowblind engine games. which were themselves inspired by the original Diablo.
You want to travel AND you want to grow as a developer? Well if you want to travel and enjoy yourself why take work with you. And if you want to grow y our development skills why not stay home and take classes or something.
How old are you really? Weren't you around in the 80's when a Atari 2600 game might cost 40 dollars for a game with a single gameplay screen that only got faster as you played?
Taking inflation in account games cost LESS than they did back then AND have tons more content and things to do.
Ha, I like my PS3 and even I think it can be loud. Though if it gets really loud it probably needs it's vents cleaned.