I don't doubt you. Its an issue of hardware + drivers + os. You seem to need that right magical combination to make it work. Which is why the article is BS.
Re:My Experience is Completely the Opposite
on
Vista an Uneasy Sleeper
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I haven't used a Mac. I do intend to buy a MacBook whenever the next version of the OS (geez, whats it called again? Was it Leapord?) comes out.
But your comment about my Windows experience is off the mark. I never used pirated windows, and I've used pretty much every version of windows in some form or another from 98 SE to Vista (although using that horrible abortion ME wasn't my choice). I worked in tech support for a university campus for a couple of years. I also use Linux. Right now I've got a distro of Ubuntu running on my other box, which I switched to from Fedora Core.
But basically, my point still stands. Of all the versions of linux and windows I've used, none of them have ever properly implemented sleep and hibernation. My computer would go to sleep and never return, or would wake up and promptly crash. With Vista, it just works.
Same, have always had problems with sleep and hibernate, move to Vista, everything works perfectly.
My Experience is Completely the Opposite
on
Vista an Uneasy Sleeper
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· Score: 2, Informative
Vista is the only OS I've used that has ever been able to wake up from sleep and hibernate properly. The OP makes it sound like their experience applies to everyone, so I have to call FUD on this.
At any rate, I have zero problems with these features, using Vista Home Ultimate 64 bit.
How about movies like Armageddon? I recall a scene where the good-old-everday-regular oil drillers ripped up the drill that NASA made, because obviously they knew more about doing work in a harsh environment than the scientists.
Hollywood loves a "everyday man outsmarts the scientist" plot. Because your average person wants to think he's someone special, and having a character that they can relate to beat out all the eggheads gives them that feeling.
I've had Vista ask for re-activation a couple of times already, with no additional hardware. About the only thing I can think of that would cause that are my iPod and external hard drive. So it might very well get confused with USB/Firewire devices.
As much as I hate to, I have to agree with Anonymous Sony Fanboy. With some disagreement however.
The DS isn't popular simply because of the touch screen. It's because it took over from the GBA with better graphics (shocking, isn't it!! And contradictary to your argument as well) and GBA game releases dropped off afterwards. I'm no fan of any handheld, but from what I've been hearing, the PSP is selling quite well right now despite the popularity of the DS.
At first, yes, the momentum for the GBA carried the DS. But I specifically recall there being a severe lack of enthusiasm in general for the DS in the gamer community, and a lack of titles to match. Once developers got the hang of the touchscreen, we started seeing more adventurous titles, and these are what sell the DS. I hear a lot of talk about games like Brain Age and Elite Beat Agents. These are games that use the touchscreen.
The PSP has superior hardware, but it seems people are mostly using it as a portable media player and emulator. I find it interesting that Sony has shifted its marketing to focus on the media aspect.
But you are right when you say that powerful hardware brings potential for better games, just like a new input system. Theres a load of genres today that simply couldn't exist on something like the Super Nintendo, and we're better for them. Kingdom Hearts for example. One of my favorite games is Zone of the Enders 2, which wouldn't have been possible if not for the Playstation 2's hardware. Then you have a modern day game like Dead Rising, with its hordes of zombies. Those hordes, a key element in the gameplay, are possible because of the XBox360's processing power.
Then there's things like Blu-ray. At first, I was very negative about the drive being included, and jacking up the price. But after having some really great discussions with my developer friend, I can see the potential there. Remember the original Halo? People complained about the repetitive levels. Well, the developers are using that extra disk space to eliminate that sort of thing.
And today's good games are also far more immersive and believable.
I don't think its accurate to necessarily say that today's games are, altogether, better than yesteryear's games. What has happened is that we've seen a shift in genre. They aren't better, just different. And to some people, an immersive 3d shoot-em-up is a lot more fun than a 2d platformer. But there's freaks like me that find the 2d platformer more enjoyable than the shoot-em-up. And so far, 3d platforming games have mostly failed to capture the elements that made the 2d platformers what they were. I'm not trying to say that the 3d platformers are bad; they're just different.
Now don't get me wrong. After playing the Wii, I love the system. I think it will do extremely well, because its just fun. But it will do well despite the graphics, not because of it. I think the Playstation 3 will be fun too. And I think there's room enough for both of them.
I don't think that the games you see on the Nintendo will be all that similar to the games for Playstation 3. If you loved the kinds of games on Playstation 2, then you'll be right at home on Playstation 3. If you love the Gamecube or DS, then Wii will probably be a safe bet. Then there's guys like me who think both of them look cool.
Now if Sony would just stop pissing me off by acting like stuck-up dicks. I'd feel bad buying a Playstation 3, given the kind of stuff they've been pulling the last couple of years.
I think the key with PS2 was that they ramped into it. Backwards compatibility was key to this, since Playstation was still being supported a good while after the PS2 came out thanks to it. So if you're an early adopter, you get your DVD player and next-gen games. Otherwise, your old Playstation still has games (albeit less than before) comming out for it, and when you finally can afford a PS2, all those games you bought work on it.
Thats why I don't think price is as much of an issue as people think. Yeah, its expensive (and I don't think I want to pay $500 for it right now, we'll see in a couple months when its actually available), but my PS2 probably has at least half a year in it before its hard to find new games for it, and even then I can get discount games. It can last me until the PS3 price drops.
And brand is a really strong factor. The Nintendo empire wasn't destroyed in a day. The real key to Playstation dominence was that they expanded the market, like Nintendo is trying to do right now.
I actually prefer RPGs around the 30 or so hour range. Most players seem to clamor for 50+ hours, but I find that a game that long tends to start dragging and losing my interest.
Used to be that 50+ hours is what I'd expect out of an RPG, but after going through college and graduating, I think my patience when it comes to games is getting shorter. I drop games a lot easier nowadays.
Whos a fanboy? Check my post history. I'm on the record as defending the PS3 against the "PS3 is hard to develop for."
Fact of the matter is you troll every game article posting negative things about Wii and positive things about PS3. I guess the dedication is admirable, but personally I wouldn't bother unless I worked for Sony. But then again, I'm one of those freaks who just plays video games to have fun.
I'm just not sure why anyone would take any console news as a personal insult.
As far as your little story goes, that means jack shit to me.
Its not really a matter of new technology being available. Usually, a console company tries to squeeze 5-6 years out of a console, so that their customers' investment lasts for a while.
The last company that rapid-fire released new consoles and upgrades to try to keep up with the technology curve was Sega, and it basically destroyed their reputation.
Ahh anonymous PS3 astroturfer. For someone who likes to paint the Wii as irrelevant, you sure seem to expend a large amount of effort spreading FUD to discredit it.
I've not heard of any friction concerning the Wii. Maybe if you had some sources, this would be more believable. But it is nice of you to pull the old "I know a lot of game developers who don't like the Wii" trick out of the hat again.
I really can't imagine anyone being so committed to a video game console. Seriously, you act like people are kicking your dog if they dare say anything short of glowing praise for the PS3 and utter disdain for the Wii.
I see a lot of people commenting that you'll probably be able to disable it and slide in another video card, but I'm not seeing the other obvious suggestion: your integrated gpu becomes a backup gpu for your main video card.
See, the big trend for high-performance video nowadays is SLI, which involves sticking a bunch of identical video cards in a computer and connecting them with a bridge. How much more work would be necessary to have that backup gpu support your main card?
When you install the card manufacturer's drivers? Vista only uses the OpenGL->DirectX translation layer with the out-of-the-box drivers. Installing manufacturer drivers will give you proper OpenGL support.
Reminds me of an arcade game I saw in Japan. You could buy physical cards from vending machines and place them in a loader on the arcade machine. It would scan them in and let you play using your own deck.
The actual game played sorta like a board game and collectable card game hybrid. The rules were pretty hard to figure out thanks to all the kanji.
You've sold me. Thats exactly what I want in a space sim, and I was recently lamenting that there didn't seem to be any around, and someone should make it.
I'm going to go looking for a copy now.
I've heard that too, but its always been hearsay. I can't remember actually reading it in an article.
My friend is really smart though, and it sounds like the guys he works with are likewise. So its possible that they didn't have any difficulties. Could also be that a lot of console developers have a hard time dealing with multi-threaded programming.
Interesting about the dev kits. Do you have some sources for the problems, because a friend of mine didn't seem to have any troubles at all devving for the PS3. He seemed a bit confused when I mentioned this rumor.
I'm not trying to troll or spread FUD or anything. I'm genuinly interested where there have been problems.
Obligitory: I'm leaning towards Wii myself. I'll have to see the whole package Nintendo delivers.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't doubt you. Its an issue of hardware + drivers + os. You seem to need that right magical combination to make it work. Which is why the article is BS.
I haven't used a Mac. I do intend to buy a MacBook whenever the next version of the OS (geez, whats it called again? Was it Leapord?) comes out.
But your comment about my Windows experience is off the mark. I never used pirated windows, and I've used pretty much every version of windows in some form or another from 98 SE to Vista (although using that horrible abortion ME wasn't my choice). I worked in tech support for a university campus for a couple of years. I also use Linux. Right now I've got a distro of Ubuntu running on my other box, which I switched to from Fedora Core.
But basically, my point still stands. Of all the versions of linux and windows I've used, none of them have ever properly implemented sleep and hibernation. My computer would go to sleep and never return, or would wake up and promptly crash. With Vista, it just works.
Its out if you have a MSDN subscription. I have one through work and have been using Vista for about a month.
Same, have always had problems with sleep and hibernate, move to Vista, everything works perfectly.
Vista is the only OS I've used that has ever been able to wake up from sleep and hibernate properly.
The OP makes it sound like their experience applies to everyone, so I have to call FUD on this.
At any rate, I have zero problems with these features, using Vista Home Ultimate 64 bit.
You know who else were pedantic dick-wavers? Nazis.
How about movies like Armageddon? I recall a scene where the good-old-everday-regular oil drillers ripped up the drill that NASA made, because obviously they knew more about doing work in a harsh environment than the scientists.
Hollywood loves a "everyday man outsmarts the scientist" plot. Because your average person wants to think he's someone special, and having a character that they can relate to beat out all the eggheads gives them that feeling.
I've had Vista ask for re-activation a couple of times already, with no additional hardware. About the only thing I can think of that would cause that are my iPod and external hard drive. So it might very well get confused with USB/Firewire devices.
Anyone else have this happen to them?
As much as I hate to, I have to agree with Anonymous Sony Fanboy. With some disagreement however.
The DS isn't popular simply because of the touch screen. It's because it took over from the GBA with better graphics (shocking, isn't it!! And contradictary to your argument as well) and GBA game releases dropped off afterwards. I'm no fan of any handheld, but from what I've been hearing, the PSP is selling quite well right now despite the popularity of the DS.
At first, yes, the momentum for the GBA carried the DS. But I specifically recall there being a severe lack of enthusiasm in general for the DS in the gamer community, and a lack of titles to match. Once developers got the hang of the touchscreen, we started seeing more adventurous titles, and these are what sell the DS. I hear a lot of talk about games like Brain Age and Elite Beat Agents. These are games that use the touchscreen.
The PSP has superior hardware, but it seems people are mostly using it as a portable media player and emulator. I find it interesting that Sony has shifted its marketing to focus on the media aspect.
But you are right when you say that powerful hardware brings potential for better games, just like a new input system. Theres a load of genres today that simply couldn't exist on something like the Super Nintendo, and we're better for them. Kingdom Hearts for example. One of my favorite games is Zone of the Enders 2, which wouldn't have been possible if not for the Playstation 2's hardware. Then you have a modern day game like Dead Rising, with its hordes of zombies. Those hordes, a key element in the gameplay, are possible because of the XBox360's processing power.
Then there's things like Blu-ray. At first, I was very negative about the drive being included, and jacking up the price. But after having some really great discussions with my developer friend, I can see the potential there. Remember the original Halo? People complained about the repetitive levels. Well, the developers are using that extra disk space to eliminate that sort of thing.
And today's good games are also far more immersive and believable.
I don't think its accurate to necessarily say that today's games are, altogether, better than yesteryear's games. What has happened is that we've seen a shift in genre. They aren't better, just different. And to some people, an immersive 3d shoot-em-up is a lot more fun than a 2d platformer. But there's freaks like me that find the 2d platformer more enjoyable than the shoot-em-up. And so far, 3d platforming games have mostly failed to capture the elements that made the 2d platformers what they were. I'm not trying to say that the 3d platformers are bad; they're just different.
Now don't get me wrong. After playing the Wii, I love the system. I think it will do extremely well, because its just fun. But it will do well despite the graphics, not because of it. I think the Playstation 3 will be fun too. And I think there's room enough for both of them.
I don't think that the games you see on the Nintendo will be all that similar to the games for Playstation 3. If you loved the kinds of games on Playstation 2, then you'll be right at home on Playstation 3. If you love the Gamecube or DS, then Wii will probably be a safe bet. Then there's guys like me who think both of them look cool.
Now if Sony would just stop pissing me off by acting like stuck-up dicks. I'd feel bad buying a Playstation 3, given the kind of stuff they've been pulling the last couple of years.
I think the key with PS2 was that they ramped into it. Backwards compatibility was key to this, since Playstation was still being supported a good while after the PS2 came out thanks to it. So if you're an early adopter, you get your DVD player and next-gen games. Otherwise, your old Playstation still has games (albeit less than before) comming out for it, and when you finally can afford a PS2, all those games you bought work on it.
Thats why I don't think price is as much of an issue as people think. Yeah, its expensive (and I don't think I want to pay $500 for it right now, we'll see in a couple months when its actually available), but my PS2 probably has at least half a year in it before its hard to find new games for it, and even then I can get discount games. It can last me until the PS3 price drops.
And brand is a really strong factor. The Nintendo empire wasn't destroyed in a day. The real key to Playstation dominence was that they expanded the market, like Nintendo is trying to do right now.
I actually prefer RPGs around the 30 or so hour range. Most players seem to clamor for 50+ hours, but I find that a game that long tends to start dragging and losing my interest.
Used to be that 50+ hours is what I'd expect out of an RPG, but after going through college and graduating, I think my patience when it comes to games is getting shorter. I drop games a lot easier nowadays.
But what about PSP games? The thing should have been a portable game console first. What you're describing is a media player/emulator.
Anyone else noticed that the recent PSP commercials seem to be focusing very heavily on the media player aspects, and glossing over gameplay?
Whos a fanboy? Check my post history. I'm on the record as defending the PS3 against the "PS3 is hard to develop for."
Fact of the matter is you troll every game article posting negative things about Wii and positive things about PS3. I guess the dedication is admirable, but personally I wouldn't bother unless I worked for Sony. But then again, I'm one of those freaks who just plays video games to have fun.
I'm just not sure why anyone would take any console news as a personal insult.
As far as your little story goes, that means jack shit to me.
Some buildings in Japan don't have a 4th floor. The apartment building I stayed in didn't. A couple of parking lots also skipped the number 4 too.
Its not really a matter of new technology being available. Usually, a console company tries to squeeze 5-6 years out of a console, so that their customers' investment lasts for a while.
The last company that rapid-fire released new consoles and upgrades to try to keep up with the technology curve was Sega, and it basically destroyed their reputation.
Ahh anonymous PS3 astroturfer. For someone who likes to paint the Wii as irrelevant, you sure seem to expend a large amount of effort spreading FUD to discredit it.
I've not heard of any friction concerning the Wii. Maybe if you had some sources, this would be more believable. But it is nice of you to pull the old "I know a lot of game developers who don't like the Wii" trick out of the hat again.
I really can't imagine anyone being so committed to a video game console. Seriously, you act like people are kicking your dog if they dare say anything short of glowing praise for the PS3 and utter disdain for the Wii.
Well obviously they feel their belief is threatened if they're spending all that money, right?
I see a lot of people commenting that you'll probably be able to disable it and slide in another video card, but I'm not seeing the other obvious suggestion: your integrated gpu becomes a backup gpu for your main video card.
See, the big trend for high-performance video nowadays is SLI, which involves sticking a bunch of identical video cards in a computer and connecting them with a bridge. How much more work would be necessary to have that backup gpu support your main card?
WHEN DO WE GET REAL OPENGL SUPPORT
When you install the card manufacturer's drivers? Vista only uses the OpenGL->DirectX translation layer with the out-of-the-box drivers. Installing manufacturer drivers will give you proper OpenGL support.
Reminds me of an arcade game I saw in Japan. You could buy physical cards from vending machines and place them in a loader on the arcade machine. It would scan them in and let you play using your own deck.
The actual game played sorta like a board game and collectable card game hybrid. The rules were pretty hard to figure out thanks to all the kanji.
So you can make copies if you're friends with the person? Nice! I think I have a friend with the game.
You've sold me. Thats exactly what I want in a space sim, and I was recently lamenting that there didn't seem to be any around, and someone should make it. I'm going to go looking for a copy now.
I looked on wikipedia concerning the PS3 and the programming aspect at least seems promising. The launch titles are meh for me though.
I've heard that too, but its always been hearsay. I can't remember actually reading it in an article. My friend is really smart though, and it sounds like the guys he works with are likewise. So its possible that they didn't have any difficulties. Could also be that a lot of console developers have a hard time dealing with multi-threaded programming.
Interesting about the dev kits. Do you have some sources for the problems, because a friend of mine didn't seem to have any troubles at all devving for the PS3. He seemed a bit confused when I mentioned this rumor.
I'm not trying to troll or spread FUD or anything. I'm genuinly interested where there have been problems.
Obligitory: I'm leaning towards Wii myself. I'll have to see the whole package Nintendo delivers.