the xbox is equally as prone to issues as the ps2. they both suffer from the same problems. faulty dvd drives, bad power cords... etc. no big deal. the xbox userbase is much smaller, so if the percentages are kept the same, you have a closely equivilent number of problems.
with the playstation you have a name that people have come to rely on for gaming. same with nintendo. even if their system was inferior, people will still purchase it because inferior software or not, they know that with the nintendo name attached, they will get a certain level of entertainment, quality and enjoyment out of it. xbox was the new player in town. people didnt know what to expect from the system. unfortunately, they didnt cater well to the market. therefore its not a surprise that people arent looking forward to the second iteration of a system that did not have very many games that japanese players enjoyed.
ditto. no need to fret. the revolution WILL see the RE series somehow someway. capcom has a precedent for/eventually/ porting its games across as many platforms as possible.
and ps3 alpha dev kits are out. theyve shown photos of the huge monolithic thing all over the place. as far as the final dev kits are concerned, im sure they may be out by now, but i havent been looking lately. the final ps3 hardware is not if thats what you mean.
mgs4s orig trailer was made on a ps2 dev kit. the ps3 dev kit was used [with ps2 textures, mind you] to create the later version that had everyones' jaws dropping.
its okay. youre jaded by what current generation games have accomplished. tomb raider was excellent for its time, but now looking back was pretty damn bad for a game. i can think of tons of other games in a similar vein. have you tried going back and playing altered beast or golden axe? i truly dont remember what the big deal was about them now looking back. you cant go back and play doom1 with the same eyes after youve seen half-life2 or doom3.
enjoy it for what it is: a milestone. if not for RE, we wouldnt have immersive, cinema-like games like metal gear solid, or killer7, etc... RE pretty much kickstarted the whole horror/ survival genre, just as the horrible tomb-raider laid out the blueprint for 3d action games thats still being followed to this day; much to everyones chagrin [mario64 excluded since it was a platform game]
honestly, anyone thats ever opened up an original xbox would know that the x360 isnt any smaller componentwise. they went for a smaller "external" laptop drive instead of the cheaper desktop sized one. if you took the harddrive out of the original xbox and the huge ass casing it sits in... rearrange a few parts to utilize that space, and voila! you have a console the size of the x360. sans the huge friggin power brickhouse. =)
unless the owner set his personal PSP out so that everyone can play around with it, its well known that sony doesnt have or permit PSP display units. nice try though...
the psp is an incredible piece of machinery. as of now, i havent regretted buying mine. im still waiting on something exclusive to the ds before buying one of those too, but the psp serves me fine.
wipeout pure is still releasing more downloadable content, lumines is still just as addictive. Metal Gear Acid and ridge racer are still begging me to finish them. i get to play catchup on tv shows i missed by downloading and encoding them beforehand. i dont see what the big fuss is over. maybe its just that i dont buy as many games as the average gamer here, but i dont buy a bunch of games at once; i try to finish what i have first. for a portable, if i can find one game im genuinely interested in every three - six months or so... im happy. usually RPGs or slower games keep me occupied longer.
im looking forward to every extend extra, and wishing and praying for a port or sequel to ikaruga. [i can have my dreams, huh?]
just a word of note. backwards compatibility for the ps2 works swimmingly well. only a select handful of titles do not work. the list of titles that dont work is much less than the list of titles that microsoft has been able to get working on the x360.
also, the ps2 does improve the visuals for ps1 games, albeit only slightly. theres a setting on your ps2 to enable it. its not enabled by default to provide you with the best default compatibility. as for it not being a significant improvement... you have to remember that upconverting and antialiasing 480 sdtv to 480i sdtv isnt as dramatic as 480i sdtv to 720p or 1080i hdtv. since sony has been trumpeting the cells ability to upconvert hdtv signals etc, i suspect that the ps3 will have something similar in store. but who knows? just wait and see.
wow. thats kinda harsh. nintendo consoles have lived a wonderful life and released a bunch of great software classics despite coming in last place in the last two generations.
because nintendo is in first place on the handheld front does not equate to "teh pwning of the psp!1!!1!ONE!ONE!!!1!". the psp has already outsold the gamegear [relative to the timeframe]. as for title slowdown... what are you talking about? i assume you dont own a psp and therefore are not aware of the titles coming down the pipe.
hardcore gamers kill me sometimes. id swear i was watching highlander reruns: "there can only be one!!!". give me a break... its not that serious. if you can afford it; buy both handhelds. im sure you will find something exclusive in the psp library youll enjoy eventually.
given the "small*" initial allotment of the x360 [*small considering this was its "launch" in the country its most desired] i have heard ALOT more stories about x360 malfunctions than i have ever heard from any other console. the officially released MS numbers put the number of returns in the 4% range, i not sure i believe that but assuming that they only shipped a million out. that means that there are about what? 40,000 returns? thats alot. that sure dwarfs the psp and ds dead pixel problems. and at least the ps2 and xbox dvd drive issues and power cord issues didnt start rearing their head the very first day.
given the problems that are being publicized widescale, very little interest in the initial xbox franchises, and the sheer size of its power brick, i wonder how the japanese launch will fare?
i didnt appreciate that either. luckily where i live i got a chance to see them all around and people actually using them. i think thats what sony had in mind; having people show it off, moreso than see it covered in thumbprints instore, but it worked out poorly. people outside large cities never really got a chance to see/touch/play the damn thing. typically poor sony execution...
it kills me how people try to compare a handheld to a console. its not meant to be a purely portable console. never has been. people didnt cry because super mario land on the gameboy didnt look as great as super mario world on the supernintendo. people never compared their gameboys to their nintendo consoles... why are we starting to now? i guess we have to blame sony for making the difference so close to whats considered current generation that we naturally expect that we should be able to.
just because the psp can deliver graphics close to the level of the ps2 [failing in some areas and exceeding ps2 standards in others] does not mean that the psp should compete with the console market. its a handheld, people! you cant compare burnout on the psp to burnout on the xbox... its not even the same game. if you wanted to compare, try to compare burnout legends on the psp to burnout legends on the ds, or maybe ridge racer on psp and ds, or maybe spiderman on psp and ds, since they are both handheld versions [BTW, the psp wins all of the above comparisions overall; not just graphically].
granted, i agree that sony might need to rethink some of their series when transfering them to psp. i think they had the right idea when they transferred metal gear solid to the psp. i personally didnt quite enjoy the actual gameplay mechanic. it was too slow for what is considered an action series. but i felt i was a step in the right direction; playing on the systems strengths and avoiding many of its weaknesses. something needs to be done to make psp games stand out from the rest of the playstation library. online capability and portability cant be the only factors. wake up sony!
i think it was a great tactic by microsoft to launch the x360 during the same frame as the psp. sony is getting outrageously splintered and is unable to support three systems simultaneously, with two launching within a year apart window give or take. they cant continue to push their cashcow ps2, r&d their ps3, and successfully try to gain a significant marketshare of the portable market all at the same time. i think sony [the playstation division anyways] is doing a pretty good job considering, however gamers are getting hungrier and hungrier. if we dont feed well and soon; we're going to have to take a bite out of the steaks thatre already ready and on the table [the x360 and the ds]
for the average hardcore gamer, thats simple and/could/ work, but most xbox users arent hardcore. most users dont bother to mail back their registration cards. most are going to walk into the store to buy the newest boldest game only to find out that they cant play it on their home console. most parents dont realize what goes on in a particular game they buy for junior; do you think they will be in the know about a new required peripheral drive? and do you think they will accept waiting weeks for their new hddvd drive in the mail to play a game they just bought? the answer is a huge no.
granted this would irritate consumers, but hey... it/could/ happen. lol. M$ doesnt mind pissing off a few of their key developers; as long as lawsuits dont come into question, why would they care about pissing off consumers too?
only because now it is on a console that by default is given permissions on your pc [if you connect it], will possibly be used to warehouse your media files, and allows people to see exactly what youre doing on xboxlive. if youre playing a game or using a service that has a known security flaw, you are put at risk. dont forget that your average user doesnt read slashdot and isnt privy to 0-day exploits, hacks and security precautions.
there are already well documented cases of flaws within certain games. whereas they are currently used to do things like load linux or play homebrew [splinter cell, 007 agent under fire, mechassault, NGC phantasy star online] with this, people will always know what game you are playing. if it just so happens that the game allows for a security flaw... who knows what an enterprising hacker could come up with?
- xbox live stores your credit card information. identity theft anyone? - the optimal configuration would require your xbox to be a part of your home network
- if a hacker gains access to your home network, they could potentially exploit your home pc - they could potentially copy [read: steal] all your media files; including the private photos you took of your girlfriend, or that embarassing photo your friends took of you the last time you were drunk. - they could unleash a virus that deletes all the media on your harddrive - they could get upset and remove all of your savegames - they could pad the scores of a friend - they could crash gamers playing a certain game. - they could record or create transcripts of your voice chat sessions. and the list goes on...
most of us here are smart enough to know not to let EVERYONE in the world know which OS you are running and your current patch level. theres a reason we dont want that information to be public knowledge. before we didnt care as much to our consoles because they were for the most part just standalone machines. thanks to microsofts innovation, the xbox is like a highpowered mini pc; and it should be treated as such.
in addition, that these are shipped numbers. sold numbers are pretty high, but shipped numbers will always be even greater. i counted out the number of accessories ive bought for my ps1 and ps2 and i was surprised at how much ive spent. stretched out over the last 8 or so years, you dont even realize how much you spend.
ps1 system ps2 system psp system 2 memory cards for ps1 1 memory card for ps2 multitap extra controller for ps1 2 dual shock analog controllers to replace original [non-analogstick] ps1 controllers network adapter for playstation2 512mb memory stick for psp 1gb memory stick for psp case for psp extra power cable for ps1 action replay for ps1 extra battery for psp [and im most likely still leaving out stuff... PLUS this isnt even beginning to count the money spent on games]
i dont even think i am the worst offender when it comes to buying hardware. then theres additional hardware numbers when you talk about hardware that come bundled with certain games. like DDR dancemats, guitar hero guitars, novelty controllers, rez vibrators, and almost any and every light gun game. thats alot of hardware sony pumps out. 1.8 billion units doesnt sound as unheard of when you take into account all of this is spread out over ~8-9 years, and three pretty successful systems.
the cell processor is used in the ps3 not the xbox360. you might want to copy your post somewhere for a few months and use it in the obligatory ps3 post mentioning how easy it will [or wont] be to hack.
thanks for the links nonetheless. im sure someone here can start getting acquainted with the cell architecture now and have the homebrew already brewing once the ps3 rolls around.
i understand your point 100% completely. however, the console war is more than just a contest between companies and fanboys. the "console war" directly relates to your situation as a consumer.
game companies and console makers NEED to sell you their console. thats why they are so willing to sell their machines for tremendous losses. they need to get their consoles into consumers homes so that developers decide whether or not to develop new titles for it. these last two generations the console that had the most home penetration was the ps1 and ps2. since there are more consumers with the capability to play games on those systems, obviously developers were more inclined to release software on those consoles. since these companies only truly make money from the release of the software[licensing fees], the more developers and titles there are available equate to the more money that these companies stand to make. once these companies have a steady stream of income coming from software sales, you start to see more things that make your life easier as a consumer, such as lower game prices, budget titles, and console price drops. with more software in the market, overstocked and lower selling titles will start to get bargain bin priced. so between the platinum selling budget priced titles and the bargain bin titles, you end up with cheap $5 value games, and some of the best games released at discounted prices.
nintendo tends to not have to rely on software sales as heavily as a sony or microsoft since they dont lose as much money from the sale of the console. therefore they dont have the need to discount their software as much. they know that the average nintendo console owner will pay whatever price to play their games. i can recall most titles for the SNES and n64 [ff3/6] running at around $50-70US. some costing somewhere in the $80-100 range[sf2, starfox]. this compared to the ps1 games which were selling at or around $30-50. their licensing and third party contracts have notoriously been pretty rough on developers. many third party developers jumped ship to develop for the original playstation. add to the fact that it used cheaper to press cds instead of cartridges that had size restrictions, etc... [which unless im mistaken, the publishers had to pay to have created] the saturn at the time was harder to develop for, so that made the playstation into the machine of choice for developers. product loyalty and an impressive pr campaign carried over into ps2 sales.
the question is, will these same factors hold true over this next generation? the game devlopers are throwing their hats into the ring, and patiently waiting to see who can sell the most consoles. whoever gains the most ground in this upcoming generation will have the best ability to cater to your specific shopping habits. sony has a proven track record that it wishes to be able to repeat. microsoft looks like it wants to follow sonys path, but is more interested in moving microsoft products into peoples' living rooms and making users comfortable with microtransactions. nintendo looks like its going to match up with microsofts' microtransaction agenda leveraging its extensive back catalog.
we all have to wait and see what the effect this generation is going to have on our ability to have the greatest games available for our entertainment and for the cheapest.
dayum! i spent all my mod points already, good comment. the ps3 has ALOT going for it. wishful thinking or not; sony isnt going anywhere. innovation or not, halo3 or not... sonys biggest weapon is its software. according to most people, sony has the absolute worst practices, the absolute worst hardware, etc etc etc. they have so many demerits, but for some reason they STILL have the best selling console. why is that? its the software. to hardcore gamers, its the quality that matters. to casual gamers[the ones that never read slashdot or any game-centric media] the only thing they care about is seeing enough boxes on the shelf that they eventually find a game that looks interesting to them. despite how many titles may seem to suck to the average gamers' taste, sony titles appeals to all demographics, and genres.
i love my xbox dearly, but i dont see it ever besting any playstation console in terms of software. the added time sony is providing the devs before launch might mean that launch titles may not suck [or at least not suck as bad as usual]. microsoft is and has always concentrated on getting the boxes into the homes... MARKETSHARE!!! thats great, but now that they are in the homes, theyve got to have software available to buy that validates the purchase. when it comes to games that the public wants to play, sony has the upper hand and thats what matters in the long run. nintendo is trying a different approach, but i feel they are taking the biggest gamble this generation. brand loyalty will dry up eventually if they make just one mistake. they could stand to win big, or lose miserably. but the fact remains that no company has the power to unseat sony except for sony themselves. if they nail just half of their promises, their lead in this upcoming generation is set.
i agree. a bug is a bug, but a defect that renders something wholely unusable is a problem. ive had my ps2 since 02 and my xbox last year. the ps2 doesnt give me any real problems. whatever problems i have are usually fixed by cleaning the discs if they are older. the xbox crashes games from time to time due to not being able to read from dvd [even if its a brand new disc].
the xbox stuff isnt acceptable. but i got months of play out of it before the problem, so its not as bad as what these people are experiencing. they JUST got their x360 and its defective right out of the box! definitely not a result of dust or wear and tear. thats not acceptable by any means.
thats where the difference in our opinions lie. glitches, flaws problems or whatever, both of my consoles are still usable. i can go weeks/months without any type of issue. no piece of electronics should be rendered unusable within the first couple of years. warranty or not. unless its a matter of poor care on my part [and i take care of anything i pay for], i expect electronics to get outdated well before they cease functioning. from TFA one guy cant even play one lap of PGR3 without some form of crash. thats definitely unusable to me, and therefore unacceptable.
Slashdot Mirror
the xbox is equally as prone to issues as the ps2. they both suffer from the same problems. faulty dvd drives, bad power cords... etc. no big deal. the xbox userbase is much smaller, so if the percentages are kept the same, you have a closely equivilent number of problems.
with the playstation you have a name that people have come to rely on for gaming. same with nintendo. even if their system was inferior, people will still purchase it because inferior software or not, they know that with the nintendo name attached, they will get a certain level of entertainment, quality and enjoyment out of it. xbox was the new player in town. people didnt know what to expect from the system. unfortunately, they didnt cater well to the market. therefore its not a surprise that people arent looking forward to the second iteration of a system that did not have very many games that japanese players enjoyed.
ditto. no need to fret. the revolution WILL see the RE series somehow someway. capcom has a precedent for /eventually/ porting its games across as many platforms as possible.
and ps3 alpha dev kits are out. theyve shown photos of the huge monolithic thing all over the place. as far as the final dev kits are concerned, im sure they may be out by now, but i havent been looking lately. the final ps3 hardware is not if thats what you mean.
mgs4s orig trailer was made on a ps2 dev kit. the ps3 dev kit was used [with ps2 textures, mind you] to create the later version that had everyones' jaws dropping.
its okay. youre jaded by what current generation games have accomplished. tomb raider was excellent for its time, but now looking back was pretty damn bad for a game. i can think of tons of other games in a similar vein. have you tried going back and playing altered beast or golden axe? i truly dont remember what the big deal was about them now looking back. you cant go back and play doom1 with the same eyes after youve seen half-life2 or doom3.
enjoy it for what it is: a milestone. if not for RE, we wouldnt have immersive, cinema-like games like metal gear solid, or killer7, etc... RE pretty much kickstarted the whole horror/ survival genre, just as the horrible tomb-raider laid out the blueprint for 3d action games thats still being followed to this day; much to everyones chagrin [mario64 excluded since it was a platform game]
honestly, anyone thats ever opened up an original xbox would know that the x360 isnt any smaller componentwise. they went for a smaller "external" laptop drive instead of the cheaper desktop sized one. if you took the harddrive out of the original xbox and the huge ass casing it sits in... rearrange a few parts to utilize that space, and voila! you have a console the size of the x360. sans the huge friggin power brickhouse. =)
thats odd. where do you live? the US?
unless the owner set his personal PSP out so that everyone can play around with it, its well known that sony doesnt have or permit PSP display units. nice try though...
the psp is an incredible piece of machinery. as of now, i havent regretted buying mine. im still waiting on something exclusive to the ds before buying one of those too, but the psp serves me fine.
wipeout pure is still releasing more downloadable content, lumines is still just as addictive. Metal Gear Acid and ridge racer are still begging me to finish them. i get to play catchup on tv shows i missed by downloading and encoding them beforehand. i dont see what the big fuss is over. maybe its just that i dont buy as many games as the average gamer here, but i dont buy a bunch of games at once; i try to finish what i have first. for a portable, if i can find one game im genuinely interested in every three - six months or so... im happy. usually RPGs or slower games keep me occupied longer.
im looking forward to every extend extra, and wishing and praying for a port or sequel to ikaruga. [i can have my dreams, huh?]
just a word of note. backwards compatibility for the ps2 works swimmingly well. only a select handful of titles do not work. the list of titles that dont work is much less than the list of titles that microsoft has been able to get working on the x360.
also, the ps2 does improve the visuals for ps1 games, albeit only slightly. theres a setting on your ps2 to enable it. its not enabled by default to provide you with the best default compatibility. as for it not being a significant improvement... you have to remember that upconverting and antialiasing 480 sdtv to 480i sdtv isnt as dramatic as 480i sdtv to 720p or 1080i hdtv. since sony has been trumpeting the cells ability to upconvert hdtv signals etc, i suspect that the ps3 will have something similar in store. but who knows? just wait and see.
haha. nah, it warns you not to be an early adopter.
if you hold the manual up to a black light in the dark, the backpage reads: "SUCKER!!!!!"
glad i decided to wait a bit before throwing down my dollars.
wow. thats kinda harsh. nintendo consoles have lived a wonderful life and released a bunch of great software classics despite coming in last place in the last two generations.
because nintendo is in first place on the handheld front does not equate to "teh pwning of the psp!1!!1!ONE!ONE!!!1!". the psp has already outsold the gamegear [relative to the timeframe]. as for title slowdown... what are you talking about? i assume you dont own a psp and therefore are not aware of the titles coming down the pipe.
hardcore gamers kill me sometimes. id swear i was watching highlander reruns: "there can only be one!!!". give me a break... its not that serious. if you can afford it; buy both handhelds. im sure you will find something exclusive in the psp library youll enjoy eventually.
given the "small*" initial allotment of the x360 [*small considering this was its "launch" in the country its most desired] i have heard ALOT more stories about x360 malfunctions than i have ever heard from any other console. the officially released MS numbers put the number of returns in the 4% range, i not sure i believe that but assuming that they only shipped a million out. that means that there are about what? 40,000 returns? thats alot. that sure dwarfs the psp and ds dead pixel problems. and at least the ps2 and xbox dvd drive issues and power cord issues didnt start rearing their head the very first day.
given the problems that are being publicized widescale, very little interest in the initial xbox franchises, and the sheer size of its power brick, i wonder how the japanese launch will fare?
i didnt appreciate that either. luckily where i live i got a chance to see them all around and people actually using them. i think thats what sony had in mind; having people show it off, moreso than see it covered in thumbprints instore, but it worked out poorly. people outside large cities never really got a chance to see/touch/play the damn thing. typically poor sony execution...
it kills me how people try to compare a handheld to a console. its not meant to be a purely portable console. never has been. people didnt cry because super mario land on the gameboy didnt look as great as super mario world on the supernintendo. people never compared their gameboys to their nintendo consoles... why are we starting to now? i guess we have to blame sony for making the difference so close to whats considered current generation that we naturally expect that we should be able to.
just because the psp can deliver graphics close to the level of the ps2 [failing in some areas and exceeding ps2 standards in others] does not mean that the psp should compete with the console market. its a handheld, people! you cant compare burnout on the psp to burnout on the xbox... its not even the same game. if you wanted to compare, try to compare burnout legends on the psp to burnout legends on the ds, or maybe ridge racer on psp and ds, or maybe spiderman on psp and ds, since they are both handheld versions [BTW, the psp wins all of the above comparisions overall; not just graphically].
granted, i agree that sony might need to rethink some of their series when transfering them to psp. i think they had the right idea when they transferred metal gear solid to the psp. i personally didnt quite enjoy the actual gameplay mechanic. it was too slow for what is considered an action series. but i felt i was a step in the right direction; playing on the systems strengths and avoiding many of its weaknesses. something needs to be done to make psp games stand out from the rest of the playstation library. online capability and portability cant be the only factors. wake up sony!
i think it was a great tactic by microsoft to launch the x360 during the same frame as the psp. sony is getting outrageously splintered and is unable to support three systems simultaneously, with two launching within a year apart window give or take. they cant continue to push their cashcow ps2, r&d their ps3, and successfully try to gain a significant marketshare of the portable market all at the same time. i think sony [the playstation division anyways] is doing a pretty good job considering, however gamers are getting hungrier and hungrier. if we dont feed well and soon; we're going to have to take a bite out of the steaks thatre already ready and on the table [the x360 and the ds]
they could, but its easier to steal a persons credit card en masse without having to say hello to each of them first.
wouldnt work.
/could/ work, but most xbox users arent hardcore. most users dont bother to mail back their registration cards. most are going to walk into the store to buy the newest boldest game only to find out that they cant play it on their home console. most parents dont realize what goes on in a particular game they buy for junior; do you think they will be in the know about a new required peripheral drive? and do you think they will accept waiting weeks for their new hddvd drive in the mail to play a game they just bought? the answer is a huge no.
/could/ happen. lol. M$ doesnt mind pissing off a few of their key developers; as long as lawsuits dont come into question, why would they care about pissing off consumers too?
for the average hardcore gamer, thats simple and
granted this would irritate consumers, but hey... it
only because now it is on a console that by default is given permissions on your pc [if you connect it], will possibly be used to warehouse your media files, and allows people to see exactly what youre doing on xboxlive. if youre playing a game or using a service that has a known security flaw, you are put at risk. dont forget that your average user doesnt read slashdot and isnt privy to 0-day exploits, hacks and security precautions.
so youre saying that grand theft auto is the model future games should all follow? lol.
there are already well documented cases of flaws within certain games. whereas they are currently used to do things like load linux or play homebrew [splinter cell, 007 agent under fire, mechassault, NGC phantasy star online] with this, people will always know what game you are playing. if it just so happens that the game allows for a security flaw... who knows what an enterprising hacker could come up with?
- xbox live stores your credit card information. identity theft anyone?
- the optimal configuration would require your xbox to be a part of your home network
- if a hacker gains access to your home network, they could potentially exploit your home pc
- they could potentially copy [read: steal] all your media files; including the private photos you took of your girlfriend, or that embarassing photo your friends took of you the last time you were drunk.
- they could unleash a virus that deletes all the media on your harddrive
- they could get upset and remove all of your savegames
- they could pad the scores of a friend
- they could crash gamers playing a certain game.
- they could record or create transcripts of your voice chat sessions.
and the list goes on...
most of us here are smart enough to know not to let EVERYONE in the world know which OS you are running and your current patch level. theres a reason we dont want that information to be public knowledge. before we didnt care as much to our consoles because they were for the most part just standalone machines. thanks to microsofts innovation, the xbox is like a highpowered mini pc; and it should be treated as such.
THANK YOU!!!! seems like someone finally sees what the big deal is.
where are the mods when you need em?
in addition, that these are shipped numbers. sold numbers are pretty high, but shipped numbers will always be even greater. i counted out the number of accessories ive bought for my ps1 and ps2 and i was surprised at how much ive spent. stretched out over the last 8 or so years, you dont even realize how much you spend.
ps1 system
ps2 system
psp system
2 memory cards for ps1
1 memory card for ps2
multitap
extra controller for ps1
2 dual shock analog controllers to replace original [non-analogstick] ps1 controllers
network adapter for playstation2
512mb memory stick for psp
1gb memory stick for psp
case for psp
extra power cable for ps1
action replay for ps1
extra battery for psp
[and im most likely still leaving out stuff... PLUS this isnt even beginning to count the money spent on games]
i dont even think i am the worst offender when it comes to buying hardware. then theres additional hardware numbers when you talk about hardware that come bundled with certain games. like DDR dancemats, guitar hero guitars, novelty controllers, rez vibrators, and almost any and every light gun game. thats alot of hardware sony pumps out. 1.8 billion units doesnt sound as unheard of when you take into account all of this is spread out over ~8-9 years, and three pretty successful systems.
the cell processor is used in the ps3 not the xbox360. you might want to copy your post somewhere for a few months and use it in the obligatory ps3 post mentioning how easy it will [or wont] be to hack.
thanks for the links nonetheless. im sure someone here can start getting acquainted with the cell architecture now and have the homebrew already brewing once the ps3 rolls around.
i understand your point 100% completely. however, the console war is more than just a contest between companies and fanboys. the "console war" directly relates to your situation as a consumer.
game companies and console makers NEED to sell you their console. thats why they are so willing to sell their machines for tremendous losses. they need to get their consoles into consumers homes so that developers decide whether or not to develop new titles for it. these last two generations the console that had the most home penetration was the ps1 and ps2. since there are more consumers with the capability to play games on those systems, obviously developers were more inclined to release software on those consoles. since these companies only truly make money from the release of the software[licensing fees], the more developers and titles there are available equate to the more money that these companies stand to make. once these companies have a steady stream of income coming from software sales, you start to see more things that make your life easier as a consumer, such as lower game prices, budget titles, and console price drops. with more software in the market, overstocked and lower selling titles will start to get bargain bin priced. so between the platinum selling budget priced titles and the bargain bin titles, you end up with cheap $5 value games, and some of the best games released at discounted prices.
nintendo tends to not have to rely on software sales as heavily as a sony or microsoft since they dont lose as much money from the sale of the console. therefore they dont have the need to discount their software as much. they know that the average nintendo console owner will pay whatever price to play their games. i can recall most titles for the SNES and n64 [ff3/6] running at around $50-70US. some costing somewhere in the $80-100 range[sf2, starfox]. this compared to the ps1 games which were selling at or around $30-50. their licensing and third party contracts have notoriously been pretty rough on developers. many third party developers jumped ship to develop for the original playstation. add to the fact that it used cheaper to press cds instead of cartridges that had size restrictions, etc... [which unless im mistaken, the publishers had to pay to have created] the saturn at the time was harder to develop for, so that made the playstation into the machine of choice for developers. product loyalty and an impressive pr campaign carried over into ps2 sales.
the question is, will these same factors hold true over this next generation? the game devlopers are throwing their hats into the ring, and patiently waiting to see who can sell the most consoles. whoever gains the most ground in this upcoming generation will have the best ability to cater to your specific shopping habits. sony has a proven track record that it wishes to be able to repeat. microsoft looks like it wants to follow sonys path, but is more interested in moving microsoft products into peoples' living rooms and making users comfortable with microtransactions. nintendo looks like its going to match up with microsofts' microtransaction agenda leveraging its extensive back catalog.
we all have to wait and see what the effect this generation is going to have on our ability to have the greatest games available for our entertainment and for the cheapest.
dayum! i spent all my mod points already, good comment. the ps3 has ALOT going for it. wishful thinking or not; sony isnt going anywhere. innovation or not, halo3 or not... sonys biggest weapon is its software. according to most people, sony has the absolute worst practices, the absolute worst hardware, etc etc etc. they have so many demerits, but for some reason they STILL have the best selling console. why is that? its the software. to hardcore gamers, its the quality that matters. to casual gamers[the ones that never read slashdot or any game-centric media] the only thing they care about is seeing enough boxes on the shelf that they eventually find a game that looks interesting to them. despite how many titles may seem to suck to the average gamers' taste, sony titles appeals to all demographics, and genres.
i love my xbox dearly, but i dont see it ever besting any playstation console in terms of software. the added time sony is providing the devs before launch might mean that launch titles may not suck [or at least not suck as bad as usual]. microsoft is and has always concentrated on getting the boxes into the homes... MARKETSHARE!!! thats great, but now that they are in the homes, theyve got to have software available to buy that validates the purchase. when it comes to games that the public wants to play, sony has the upper hand and thats what matters in the long run. nintendo is trying a different approach, but i feel they are taking the biggest gamble this generation. brand loyalty will dry up eventually if they make just one mistake. they could stand to win big, or lose miserably. but the fact remains that no company has the power to unseat sony except for sony themselves. if they nail just half of their promises, their lead in this upcoming generation is set.
i just feel sorry for people trying to pimp their rides with this sucker. you probably have to dangle the power supply from the rearview mirror!
black is the new blue! mod parent up!
if they can makeover j allard [i keep typing alacard every time i spell his name] why cant they makeover their screen of impending doom?
i agree. a bug is a bug, but a defect that renders something wholely unusable is a problem. ive had my ps2 since 02 and my xbox last year. the ps2 doesnt give me any real problems. whatever problems i have are usually fixed by cleaning the discs if they are older. the xbox crashes games from time to time due to not being able to read from dvd [even if its a brand new disc].
the xbox stuff isnt acceptable. but i got months of play out of it before the problem, so its not as bad as what these people are experiencing. they JUST got their x360 and its defective right out of the box! definitely not a result of dust or wear and tear. thats not acceptable by any means.
thats where the difference in our opinions lie. glitches, flaws problems or whatever, both of my consoles are still usable. i can go weeks/months without any type of issue. no piece of electronics should be rendered unusable within the first couple of years. warranty or not. unless its a matter of poor care on my part [and i take care of anything i pay for], i expect electronics to get outdated well before they cease functioning. from TFA one guy cant even play one lap of PGR3 without some form of crash. thats definitely unusable to me, and therefore unacceptable.