If anyone still seriously thinks the Xbox 360 "shortage" is all planned by Microsoft.
The Xbox 360 launch has definatley been a bit of a screw up for them. If only for not getting enough systems into shops. Microsoft's plan was to launch early and try and get a lead on the PS3, but they just can't seem to actually get enough units out...
I don't think FFXI was ever been released on PlayStation 2 in Europe, probably partly becuase Sony never bothered to release the HDD here (apart from in the Linux kit). It is availible on PC though (and presumably Xbox 360 in the future).
Not really, as I doubt the drive will have the hardware for stuff like decoding the video etc., it'll probably be similar to an external DVD drive for a PC, when combined with a PC it's a DVD player, but on it's own, its a paperweight.
Perhaps partly becuase North America and Japan got it in late 2004. Nintendo showed how much they love Europe by delaying it to March, so less time to get sales (we got the PSP in September...). Plus Europe has never been as much of a Nintendo loving area.
Actually, Pro Evolution Soccer is Winning Eleven, they just use a different name (and numbering system) in Europe. (Dancing Stage is another renamed Konami franchise, it's called Dance Dance Revolution outside of Europe). I guess it's the same game, just a different name and perhaps some changes to the teams included, window dressing etc.
I'd guess the 2005 release of Winning Eleven would be equivelant to the 2005 release of Pro Evo, but I'm not some expert on the various versions of football games.
Places like Argos can be good for bargins, partly becuase the "hardcore gamer" types probably just don't think about buying from them, they're more likley to go to more specialised shops, or online.
I live in a small town near Birmingham, and the local ASDA and Argos sell Xbox 360 games, but I've not seen any consoles (I haven't checked tha local Argos's stock though), but frankly, my town's shops are crap.
I think this is what Nintendo are planning to do with the Revolution, I'd guess you'll be able to pick and mix what classic games you want to buy from their mysterious download service at hopefully a reasonable price.
Microsoft could also do something similar with Xbox Live Arcade, although they're more focussed on new games (or new versions of old games) it seems.
Which is presumably an idiot tech support guy, or a troll.
If Microsoft hadn't designed it to go on the side, why does just about every publicity shot of the unit show it that way? (And the demo pods also have the console vertically).
I haven't a clue why DDR doesn't work yet, it doesn't seem that technically troublesome (at least Dancing Stage Unleashed[1] doesn't). It'll probably turn up in an update at some point of course. But the entire backwards compatibility seems rushed, its like the suddenly realised that "backwards compatibility" was something games wanted (and the PS3 and Revolution both claim they will deliver), so they suddenly rushed to implement this half-assed emulator based system, which gives use a small number of games, and a promise that more will be added in updates.
But with the Xbox 360 you will have a problem that even if DDR is compatible, the console doesn't have any Xbox 1 controller ports, so you won't be able to use an Xbox dance may (unless a USB->Xbox converter would work). I'd guess stuff like Steel Battalion and light gun games are similarly screwed. Yay for Microsoft!
The same might be true of the PlayStation 3, the prototype designs Sony have shown off don't seem to have any PlayStation 1 / 2 controller ports either, so again your old dance mat will probably be useless again. Yay for Sony!
[1] I think it's equivelant to Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix (1), but Konami's naming schemes for their rhythm / action games are just designed to confuse people IMO.
It does use text, it's just the website was designed by someone who obviously wished they were making a print publication rather than a website.
It does sound a bit over cloak and dagger, but I suppose there is some chance of being sued. But they do seem to be a rather insular lot from this article.
That's just part of Internet Explorer, if it encounters stuff like Chinese text when you don't have chinese support installed it'll ask if you want to install it. The website itself isn't specifically triggering it.
AFAIK Sega fixed the CD bug with later Japanese consoles, so it'll probably only run Japanese games on GD-ROMs.
Pity really, my current Dreamcast is comming down with the standard "power supply is a POS and resetting all the time" problem, I need to get a new one...
I'm not an expert, but I think the Xbox discs are kinda weird on a low level - the basically have a small, perfectly valid DVD-Video section, and the normal DVD data says that's all that's on the disc, and therefore a normal DVD drive won't let you read past it (ie: it would tell the OS it's reached the end of the disc), as the disc say's there's nothing there, so you need to hack the drive's firmware to let it read past the end of the data.
Well, the European Xbox version of Soul Calibur 2 does, but as it actually appears to be be a DVD-9. I was wondering if this was some sort of mixup with a CD-ROM version for PlayStation 2.
And I don't think there are any PS2 games on CD.
There are PlayStation 2 games on CD - the boxes (on the back) and discs at least even have the appropriate DVD or CD-ROM logos on them so you can see which is which. Check this gallery, and on some of the discs or backs you can see the good old Compact Disc logo - for example Ico, Dynasty Warriors 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Guilty Gear X - most big games are on DVD, but there are some smaller ones on CD, presumably as they can save tuppence or whatever by using the smaller discs.
The Wikipedia article on the PlayStation 3, as well as mentioning "PlayStation 2 CD-ROM" as a compatible format, also mentions "PlayStation 3 DVD-ROM", so it seems that the PS3 will have a similar situation, so developers who don't need more than a DVD's worth of data can still use it. (As it's Wikipedia, take it with a grain of salt but I think it's just copied and pasted from a Sony press release)
Xbox games don't carry the DVD logo, I'd assume that the Xbox 360 ones don't either. On Xbox 1 discs data isn't readable on an ordinary drive, it is DVD based, but it's some sort of custom weirdness. I seem to remember it might be that Xbox games are effectivley DVD-9's written backwards. If you put an Xbox game in a DVD device you get an Xbox animation and a multilingual message that it's an Xbox game that will only run on an Xbox, and that's it.
(My European copy of Xbox Soul Calibur 2 has a CD-ROM logo on the disc itself, but CD-ROM drives don't recognise it, so I think either Namco or EA screwed up the labeling (is the PS2 version on CD?))
PlayStation 2 on DVD have the DVD logo (PS1 and PS2 games on CD have a CD-ROM logo), and you can read them in ordinary DVD drives
(Note when I say "Not readable" I mean trivially, like putting the disc into a PC drive and expecting Windows to be able to read it, I'm sure with l33t h@>0R tools you could read them).
I think it's been said that Microsoft are shipping to the retailers every week. But you don't generally ship directly to each induvidual shop, they're shipping them to the retailers distrubtion centres, and it's up to the retailers if they ship them immediatley to the shops, or hold back so they have a large number of units they can put on sale a week before Christmas. Apparently in the US, the big stores are using the latter stratergy.
I have heard reports here in the UK that some shops have got new stock the next week.
Plus with shops that do preorders are probably still filling peoples preorders.
Europe, North America and Japan is a little big for a test market, it is more of an imcompetant worldwide launch. Microsoft are good at software, but they're rather inexperienced with complex consumer electronics, they usually leave this stuff to third parties.
I doubt games journalists actually know how it works. They said "functionally equivelant", ie: the emualtor has the same effects as a patch, not it being one itself.
Considering that the emulator currently supports 200-odd games, and the current update availible from the website is about 3MB in size, I kinda doubt it contains anything much for each induvidual game, it's almost certianley a generic emulator that has some sort of database of working games (and perhaps what game specific tweaks are needed to get them working). None of the screenshots look like any of the resources (models, textures etc.), just some anti-aliasing etc., which is similar to what PlayStation and N64 emulators can do on PCs without adding new data.
Something similar is happening with Europe it seems, $60 is about £35, which would be £40 with VAT / tax[1]. £40 is the RRP for games. So naturally, the RRP for Xbox 360 games appears to be £45 (or even £50), you can't have the Americans paying the same price as the rest of the world!
Although I gather in the US shops are far more likley to sell at the RRP, whilst in the UK places like supermarkets and online stores often have fairly big discounts on games (etc.). But the RRP is still the baseline, and it's fucking annoying that the baseline is higher here than the US.
[1] When you import games you should theoretically pay tax on them if they're worth more than £18.
Slashdot Mirror
If anyone still seriously thinks the Xbox 360 "shortage" is all planned by Microsoft.
The Xbox 360 launch has definatley been a bit of a screw up for them. If only for not getting enough systems into shops. Microsoft's plan was to launch early and try and get a lead on the PS3, but they just can't seem to actually get enough units out...
I don't think FFXI was ever been released on PlayStation 2 in Europe, probably partly becuase Sony never bothered to release the HDD here (apart from in the Linux kit). It is availible on PC though (and presumably Xbox 360 in the future).
AFAIK each of the Xbox cores can do this "Hyperthreading" thingy as well. So you could theoretically have six threads running at once.
Not really, as I doubt the drive will have the hardware for stuff like decoding the video etc., it'll probably be similar to an external DVD drive for a PC, when combined with a PC it's a DVD player, but on it's own, its a paperweight.
That could just be a photo of a debug unit or something, as they are black AFAIK (the Xbox logo in the pic is wrong, so I doubt it's official).
Although Xbox development units were translucent green, and that was released as a special edition, so a black SE isn't that far fetched.
AFAIK Microsoft have said all games will be on DVD, the HD-DVD drive is for movie playback only I guess.
Perhaps partly becuase North America and Japan got it in late 2004. Nintendo showed how much they love Europe by delaying it to March, so less time to get sales (we got the PSP in September...). Plus Europe has never been as much of a Nintendo loving area.
He does say he isn't much of a PC gamer in the article, maybe he hasn't played / didn't like Starcraft?
Because positive stories ("Man very happy with Xbox 360 technical support") don't make good news.
Even if you could, we're talking about a rental service, so it's not your game to copy.
Actually, Pro Evolution Soccer is Winning Eleven, they just use a different name (and numbering system) in Europe. (Dancing Stage is another renamed Konami franchise, it's called Dance Dance Revolution outside of Europe). I guess it's the same game, just a different name and perhaps some changes to the teams included, window dressing etc.
I'd guess the 2005 release of Winning Eleven would be equivelant to the 2005 release of Pro Evo, but I'm not some expert on the various versions of football games.
Places like Argos can be good for bargins, partly becuase the "hardcore gamer" types probably just don't think about buying from them, they're more likley to go to more specialised shops, or online.
I live in a small town near Birmingham, and the local ASDA and Argos sell Xbox 360 games, but I've not seen any consoles (I haven't checked tha local Argos's stock though), but frankly, my town's shops are crap.
I think this is what Nintendo are planning to do with the Revolution, I'd guess you'll be able to pick and mix what classic games you want to buy from their mysterious download service at hopefully a reasonable price.
Microsoft could also do something similar with Xbox Live Arcade, although they're more focussed on new games (or new versions of old games) it seems.
Which is presumably an idiot tech support guy, or a troll.
If Microsoft hadn't designed it to go on the side, why does just about every publicity shot of the unit show it that way? (And the demo pods also have the console vertically).
I haven't a clue why DDR doesn't work yet, it doesn't seem that technically troublesome (at least Dancing Stage Unleashed[1] doesn't). It'll probably turn up in an update at some point of course. But the entire backwards compatibility seems rushed, its like the suddenly realised that "backwards compatibility" was something games wanted (and the PS3 and Revolution both claim they will deliver), so they suddenly rushed to implement this half-assed emulator based system, which gives use a small number of games, and a promise that more will be added in updates.
But with the Xbox 360 you will have a problem that even if DDR is compatible, the console doesn't have any Xbox 1 controller ports, so you won't be able to use an Xbox dance may (unless a USB->Xbox converter would work). I'd guess stuff like Steel Battalion and light gun games are similarly screwed. Yay for Microsoft!
The same might be true of the PlayStation 3, the prototype designs Sony have shown off don't seem to have any PlayStation 1 / 2 controller ports either, so again your old dance mat will probably be useless again. Yay for Sony!
[1] I think it's equivelant to Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix (1), but Konami's naming schemes for their rhythm / action games are just designed to confuse people IMO.
I think Microsoft have said even if they release a HD-DVD Xbox 360, games will still only be released on DVD. So it would just be for the movies.
It does use text, it's just the website was designed by someone who obviously wished they were making a print publication rather than a website.
It does sound a bit over cloak and dagger, but I suppose there is some chance of being sued. But they do seem to be a rather insular lot from this article.
That's just part of Internet Explorer, if it encounters stuff like Chinese text when you don't have chinese support installed it'll ask if you want to install it. The website itself isn't specifically triggering it.
AFAIK Sega fixed the CD bug with later Japanese consoles, so it'll probably only run Japanese games on GD-ROMs.
Pity really, my current Dreamcast is comming down with the standard "power supply is a POS and resetting all the time" problem, I need to get a new one...
I'm not an expert, but I think the Xbox discs are kinda weird on a low level - the basically have a small, perfectly valid DVD-Video section, and the normal DVD data says that's all that's on the disc, and therefore a normal DVD drive won't let you read past it (ie: it would tell the OS it's reached the end of the disc), as the disc say's there's nothing there, so you need to hack the drive's firmware to let it read past the end of the data.
Why would a DVD disc have a CD-ROM logo?
Well, the European Xbox version of Soul Calibur 2 does, but as it actually appears to be be a DVD-9. I was wondering if this was some sort of mixup with a CD-ROM version for PlayStation 2.
And I don't think there are any PS2 games on CD.
There are PlayStation 2 games on CD - the boxes (on the back) and discs at least even have the appropriate DVD or CD-ROM logos on them so you can see which is which. Check this gallery, and on some of the discs or backs you can see the good old Compact Disc logo - for example Ico, Dynasty Warriors 2, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Guilty Gear X - most big games are on DVD, but there are some smaller ones on CD, presumably as they can save tuppence or whatever by using the smaller discs.
The Wikipedia article on the PlayStation 3, as well as mentioning "PlayStation 2 CD-ROM" as a compatible format, also mentions "PlayStation 3 DVD-ROM", so it seems that the PS3 will have a similar situation, so developers who don't need more than a DVD's worth of data can still use it. (As it's Wikipedia, take it with a grain of salt but I think it's just copied and pasted from a Sony press release)
Xbox games don't carry the DVD logo, I'd assume that the Xbox 360 ones don't either. On Xbox 1 discs data isn't readable on an ordinary drive, it is DVD based, but it's some sort of custom weirdness. I seem to remember it might be that Xbox games are effectivley DVD-9's written backwards. If you put an Xbox game in a DVD device you get an Xbox animation and a multilingual message that it's an Xbox game that will only run on an Xbox, and that's it.
(My European copy of Xbox Soul Calibur 2 has a CD-ROM logo on the disc itself, but CD-ROM drives don't recognise it, so I think either Namco or EA screwed up the labeling (is the PS2 version on CD?))
PlayStation 2 on DVD have the DVD logo (PS1 and PS2 games on CD have a CD-ROM logo), and you can read them in ordinary DVD drives
(Note when I say "Not readable" I mean trivially, like putting the disc into a PC drive and expecting Windows to be able to read it, I'm sure with l33t h@>0R tools you could read them).
I think it's been said that Microsoft are shipping to the retailers every week. But you don't generally ship directly to each induvidual shop, they're shipping them to the retailers distrubtion centres, and it's up to the retailers if they ship them immediatley to the shops, or hold back so they have a large number of units they can put on sale a week before Christmas. Apparently in the US, the big stores are using the latter stratergy.
I have heard reports here in the UK that some shops have got new stock the next week.
Plus with shops that do preorders are probably still filling peoples preorders.
Europe, North America and Japan is a little big for a test market, it is more of an imcompetant worldwide launch. Microsoft are good at software, but they're rather inexperienced with complex consumer electronics, they usually leave this stuff to third parties.
I doubt games journalists actually know how it works. They said "functionally equivelant", ie: the emualtor has the same effects as a patch, not it being one itself.
Considering that the emulator currently supports 200-odd games, and the current update availible from the website is about 3MB in size, I kinda doubt it contains anything much for each induvidual game, it's almost certianley a generic emulator that has some sort of database of working games (and perhaps what game specific tweaks are needed to get them working). None of the screenshots look like any of the resources (models, textures etc.), just some anti-aliasing etc., which is similar to what PlayStation and N64 emulators can do on PCs without adding new data.
Something similar is happening with Europe it seems, $60 is about £35, which would be £40 with VAT / tax[1]. £40 is the RRP for games. So naturally, the RRP for Xbox 360 games appears to be £45 (or even £50), you can't have the Americans paying the same price as the rest of the world!
Although I gather in the US shops are far more likley to sell at the RRP, whilst in the UK places like supermarkets and online stores often have fairly big discounts on games (etc.). But the RRP is still the baseline, and it's fucking annoying that the baseline is higher here than the US.
[1] When you import games you should theoretically pay tax on them if they're worth more than £18.