DVD prices (well, most of them anyway) are high but nowhere as insane as the price for music CDs. As for adding protection, they can't do much without breaking regular playback in standard DVD players (especially old ones). The best they can try is some auto-run crap that only works on Windows and that can be disabled by holding the shift key when you insert the disc (or did Microsoft remove that feature?).
This is IBM we're talking about, not Mother Theresa, they played a big part designing the chip, you can bet they won't let Sony get away with just letting them sell Cells by their own.
That depends. Does your component cable use the older style analog connector, or the gamecube-specific "digital" connector? According to You know who, I believe you have an analog component cord, not made by Nintendo.
The component cable connects to a different connector on the back of my Gamecube (component video on one cable, other S-video/audio cable for the stereo audio output). My cable is an official Nintendo cable, imported from Japan.
Also, does anyone know if my Gameucbe component cable work with the Wii? After all, Nintendo used the same S-video cable for the SNES, N64 and Gamecube.
After the CPU clock speeds, the GPU polygons-per-second (or whatever), the price tag, we now have a number for the units shipped to america (I'm guessing that 1M number is also for Canada, or do we have another 100K extra units for Canada alone?)
Nintendo still hasn't revealed anything: price, release date, number of units. If the Nintendo DS is any sign, however, there won't be a shortage in my town.
That's the problem: if you have paid for it, they'll continue to give us this crappy format (DRM + bad quality) wihtout caring about our real needs (OTOH they'll blame it on piracy if no one buys it, we're SOL anyway).
Last time I checked, H.264 was far from a crappy format. What you say are "our real needs" is so far off from reality that it makes me laugh, especially if you're talking about the regular users. Just look at the iPod as proof of success. What makes it so popular isn't the fact that it's white, shiny and expensive (though some people do buy stuff for showing off), it's the synergy between the iPod and iTunes.
I'm pretty sure Apple will be coming out with both an online service and a hardware device that connects to your TV (just like you need an external decoder for satellite/digital cable). It will be simple and it will just work.
If you want to be a nerd and do things the hard way, go buy a Blu-Ray drive and hack the DRM on that yourself.
Can't you help them set up the options? After that's set, there's minimal clicks to getting the rip started anyhow.
It's still pretty hard to beat iTunes's default behavior of "insert disc, iTunes connects automatically to CDDB, automatically rips the files in AAC@128kbps (without any DRM), automatically adds the files to your music library, automatically ejects the CD then plays a warning sound to tell you it's done."
Is this the 'way of the future' for PC titles? Will games powered by specific pieces of hardware become the norm?
If you look at the Amiga, I think it had a CPU or co-processor for almost everything...
As for this new thing "doing the same thing as the PhysX processor", we'd have to see this PhysX processor in action (and on the market) first, wouldn't we?
If you believe the people on battle.net (especially Diablo 2), they get "hacked" by other users.
However, after talking a bit with them, you find out that: 1. they gave away their password for some unknown reason (and the "hacker" simply logged in and changed their password) 2. they installed maphack or some other shit (which can also include some other things, i.e. a keylogger) 3. they used a weak password (such as, oh, I dunno.... "password" <g>)
This, my friend, can give a bad name to ANY operating system (or program, system or whatever)... "I'm using Linux but I still get hacked, it's as bad as Windows."
Maybe, just maybe, Sony has tried to innovate a bit too much? New type of processor, new type of disc drive, HD. I am pretty annoyed at Sony but compared to the Xbox360, the PS3 is much more innovative. Can't we expect delays then?
Did I fall in a coma for 20 years, or have evolution and progress now replaced innovation?
New type of processor: all consoles since the Intellivision/Colecovision used new CPUs in their new version (or at the very least, look at the NES/SNES, Master System/Genesis era). New type of media (disc drive): N64 vs Gamecube (cart vs miniDVD), or PS1 vs PS2 (CD vs DVD). Hard drive: Xbox did it first. HD (since I'm guessing you didn't mean hard drive): Xbox360 does it. Rotation-sensing thing in their controller: clear rip-off from the Wii remote (which is itself an evolution from, say, the PowerGlove, but done right - at least I hope so).
We're talking about an interactive media. Longer is usually the better. More value for money is always seen as good.
Big content in Gaming world : GOOD
More storage space doesn't equal longer games. Look at the storage requirements for Dragon's Lair vs Zelda on the NES (or even Gameboy, for that matter).
HD systems with huge storage = FMV. No matter how powerful game systems are, it seems developpers still continue to fill the media with FMV instead of going real-time render (a few do it, but still). And if you're going to say "HD output requires HD textures", I'll say this: I'll take a 100-hour game with standard resolution textures over a 20-hour game with HD textures, thank you very much.
Indeed. If graphics were the almighty answer to gaming, people would've stopped playing Diablo 2 and Starcraft a long time ago. NES-games-on-a-GBA-cart re-releases wouldn't exist. Official Atari 2600 50-games-in-one systems wouldn't exist. Emulators like MAME wouldn't exist. Services like Gametap wouldn't exist.
Say what you want about graphics, but the better they become, the smaller the gap between system becomes, and the more irrelevant graphics become as a selling point.
I don't see how that can be modded "Interesting". Sure, Apple once went that way. But they priced it so high that people could've bought PowerMacs instead (or almost).
We now have the Mac mini (which is good but can't be upgraded) and the Mac Pro (which is the equivalent, upgradability-wise, to a 300$PC).
What we're asking for is iMac specs in a low-cost tower. Literrally. Take the boards inside the iMac, make a new case for them, bam, you're done.
The point being that while you've bought all those games at $50 or so a pop, these folks(myself included) have only purchased one. Three extra games at $50 a pop is $150...that's 10 months of Wow subscriptions. Starting to see the point?
I've seen the point since fees started to appear. Enjoy your lack of gaming in 10 months, I'll still be playing with the three games I've bought. And given the fact I'm talking about Nintendo here, I know the games will still be worth playing for years, not to mention the fact that they'll cost me 50$CAD at most except for a handful of titles.
So far I haven't paid any additionnal fees to play Metroid Prime: Hunters, Animal Crossing: Wild World or Tetris DS online...
And given all the press releases and statements by Nintendo officials, I don't expect to pay monthly fees for the Wii either (aside from some MMORPG, if any).
Enjoy your fees-infested gaming world with Microsoft and Sony.
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We won't have to wait for long anyway. It's Showtime on the 12th!
DVD prices (well, most of them anyway) are high but nowhere as insane as the price for music CDs. As for adding protection, they can't do much without breaking regular playback in standard DVD players (especially old ones). The best they can try is some auto-run crap that only works on Windows and that can be disabled by holding the shift key when you insert the disc (or did Microsoft remove that feature?).
Apple: 2006-09-12
Nintendo: 2006-09-14
Also, does anyone know if my Gameucbe component cable work with the Wii? After all, Nintendo used the same S-video cable for the SNES, N64 and Gamecube.
After the CPU clock speeds, the GPU polygons-per-second (or whatever), the price tag, we now have a number for the units shipped to america (I'm guessing that 1M number is also for Canada, or do we have another 100K extra units for Canada alone?)
Nintendo still hasn't revealed anything: price, release date, number of units. If the Nintendo DS is any sign, however, there won't be a shortage in my town.
I'm pretty sure Apple will be coming out with both an online service and a hardware device that connects to your TV (just like you need an external decoder for satellite/digital cable). It will be simple and it will just work.
If you want to be a nerd and do things the hard way, go buy a Blu-Ray drive and hack the DRM on that yourself.
As for this new thing "doing the same thing as the PhysX processor", we'd have to see this PhysX processor in action (and on the market) first, wouldn't we?
The Intel Mac mini has two memory slots (which can only be upgraded in pairs too, AFAIK). You can also upgrade the CPU in the Intel Mac minis.
You can't, however, upgrade the GPU. What happened to that "laptop GPU card" standard, anyway?
If you believe the people on battle.net (especially Diablo 2), they get "hacked" by other users.
However, after talking a bit with them, you find out that:
1. they gave away their password for some unknown reason (and the "hacker" simply logged in and changed their password)
2. they installed maphack or some other shit (which can also include some other things, i.e. a keylogger)
3. they used a weak password (such as, oh, I dunno.... "password" <g>)
This, my friend, can give a bad name to ANY operating system (or program, system or whatever)... "I'm using Linux but I still get hacked, it's as bad as Windows."
New type of processor: all consoles since the Intellivision/Colecovision used new CPUs in their new version (or at the very least, look at the NES/SNES, Master System/Genesis era).
New type of media (disc drive): N64 vs Gamecube (cart vs miniDVD), or PS1 vs PS2 (CD vs DVD).
Hard drive: Xbox did it first.
HD (since I'm guessing you didn't mean hard drive): Xbox360 does it.
Rotation-sensing thing in their controller: clear rip-off from the Wii remote (which is itself an evolution from, say, the PowerGlove, but done right - at least I hope so).
So, where's the innovation in the PS3 again?
HD systems with huge storage = FMV. No matter how powerful game systems are, it seems developpers still continue to fill the media with FMV instead of going real-time render (a few do it, but still). And if you're going to say "HD output requires HD textures", I'll say this: I'll take a 100-hour game with standard resolution textures over a 20-hour game with HD textures, thank you very much.
Indeed. If graphics were the almighty answer to gaming, people would've stopped playing Diablo 2 and Starcraft a long time ago. NES-games-on-a-GBA-cart re-releases wouldn't exist. Official Atari 2600 50-games-in-one systems wouldn't exist. Emulators like MAME wouldn't exist. Services like Gametap wouldn't exist.
Say what you want about graphics, but the better they become, the smaller the gap between system becomes, and the more irrelevant graphics become as a selling point.
I don't see how that can be modded "Interesting". Sure, Apple once went that way. But they priced it so high that people could've bought PowerMacs instead (or almost).
We now have the Mac mini (which is good but can't be upgraded) and the Mac Pro (which is the equivalent, upgradability-wise, to a 300$PC).
What we're asking for is iMac specs in a low-cost tower. Literrally. Take the boards inside the iMac, make a new case for them, bam, you're done.
Brought to you by Amiga.
Apple will be glad to hear that. I think they're getting tired of people making fun of their ads.
And given all the press releases and statements by Nintendo officials, I don't expect to pay monthly fees for the Wii either (aside from some MMORPG, if any).
Enjoy your fees-infested gaming world with Microsoft and Sony.
2. Nobody expects the Canadian Inquisition!
3. Just like american money is only used to buy guns and steaks?
Someone made a "segway" with the old Lego MindStorms kit :
http://www.teamhassenplug.org/robots/legway/
I can see the Segway being expensive for being an electric scooter, but 5000$USD is way too expensive.