I think even a lite OS would be benificial even for powerhouse machines. I'd love to have something barebones and stripped down on a bleeding edge gaming rig to ensure that ever last drop of performance is making it into the game instead of running 100s of services and other crap in the backround. I think it would be benificial to anyone who mostly uses their PC one giant app at a time.
That doesn't explain why the Xbox and PC versions of GTA:SA (which included extra content since they came out later)... were barely over 1GB... something tells me the PS2 audio wasn't nearly as compressed as you think it was.
well all Xbox 360 games support at very least 1280x720, and at this point it could support as high as 1920x1080... I would imagine with a wider screen comes an improved FOV... Not to mention most HDTV have fairly large screens, I myself play on an HD projector... Somehow I don't think I'll have any problems seeing what's going on from my couch. Also since the 360 supports a VGA adapter an a number of alternative resolutions many people who own the console and don't have an HDTV have it set next to their PC and play through their PC's monitor.
I was under the impression that they can fudge 1080p support by sending a 1080i50 or 1080i60 signal and de interlacing.
AFAIK there are a growing number of sets that can recieve 1080p via HDMI using the faking techniques (reguardless of their actual display resolution) but the few that can display a true 1080p are pretty rare.
Either way the displays WILL be here eventually and most 1080p display work with the faking methods as does will the Xbox 360 most likely. If MS can make the 360 1080p compatable now then we'll be all ready for them once they arrive. I'm excited because I'm planning on buying one of the new native 1080p projectors that come out next month for $5K like the Sony VPL-VW50 and the Mitsubishi HC5000BL. I've been using projectors in my home theater setup for years (I current have a 1024x768 DLP)... I've been holding out on buying a new one until a reasonable priced 1080p model hit the market.
...giant events that cost companies so much money...
Isn't that part of why they got rid of E3?..it was costing these developers and publishers too much time and money in preparation. So now that E3 is gone we have 5 more gaming conferences that are increasing their size to try and fill the void. So instead of wasting time and money on just E3 you're wasting time and money on 5 events now... yeah that's MUCH better.
How do they know your income? Do you actually have to tell them how much you make in order to get an Xbox Live account? Or do you just mean the service is so expensive that they know you probably make at least this much if you can afford it. The same with your age, they might provide a field to add your age so that you can match yourself against similar players, but there shouldn't be any sort of verification on that.
Actually I'm not entirely sure if they know stuff like my income, I've had an Xbox Live account since it started in 2002 so it's a bit foggy the kinds of questions they asked. IIRC I did have to do some kind of age verification using my credit card though... Even still I'm sure income could be implied based on my buying habits, considering Xbox Live can determine what games I've played and what accessories I play them with. It probably wouldn't even matter at that point considering they'd pretty much already know how much I do/could spend on gaming, which is what I imagine they'd try to use that info for in the first place.
That's nice. Get back to me when you game from the minute you're out of school(3PM) till dinner(6PM) and then the rest of the night. Every day. That's the type of gaming that my teenage nephews are capable of that we are not. Unless you don't have a job?
Something tells me your nephews have a bed time earlier then midnight... I might not game all the time but when I'm into a game I can easily go from when I get home from work (~5:30) to when I go to bed (~12:30) with a short break for dinner. That's not to say I do that every night but it is possible for a grown adult to get in that kind of gaming when they don't have other responsibilities to attend to.
Of course that demographic exists... I'm in it, it must exist.
You'd think with recent advances in gaming tech they'd be able to get more accurate results. For instance I have an Xbox 360 and an Xbox Live account (as do most Xbox 360 owners) They know my gender, how old I am, where I live, and what my income is... they also know what games I play and how often I play them... and this data is 100% accurate (considering my personal info is tied to my credit card, and the machine tracks my gaming habits). So with Xbox Live, Steam, Playstation Network, and Nintendo's online system... exactly why do we still need to rely on easily inaccurate surveys. Sure not everyone is on these new trackable systems, but it wont be long before most of the market is... so why not start embracing it now? You could get all your analization software in place and start releasing automatic monthly reports...
Results for the month of October showed that 75% of this months gamers were between 6 an 17 and half of them played Halo... and they could state such things with 100% accuracy across a much more diverse group (spanning internationally as opposed to specific sample locals) and a much larger group (everyone on a recordable system as opposed to the people they can stop and survey) and near 100% accuracy about the members of that group (as opposed people who make stuff up in surveys, or surveyors who fudge results to meet their quota).
Not to mention most of these surveys are taken in malls across america... any hardcore gamer is sitting at home playing games and probably a subscription to gamefly and no significant other... thus no need to ever be out in public.
At the same time they will also have Wii Sports, and many other non-violent Nintendo brand games. At very least that would help get rid of the Blanket statement that "video games" (in general) lead to violence...
1. Those are all trademarks of last generation, now we Steam on the PC, XNA express/Xbox Live Market place on the Xbox 360, and the Virtual Console on the Wii to bring back Indy innovation with viable distribution models... Releasing us of our dependence on publisher cranking up the sequel machine. With Indy players taking a piece of the pie it will encourage the big industry players to start innovating to compete...
2. That's not even taking into account all the ideas surely buzzing through their heads with how to leverage things like the Wii-mote and newly available download distribution models available across the board.
3. From a Technological stand point we're hitting the next plateau graphically. Games evolved in 2D for quite some time, Atari 2600, then they improved during the time of 8bit consoles and they hit their peak during the 16bit console era (SNES, Genesis), they've only improved marginally since then. Then we had early 3D stuff the PS1 and Saturn had fairly basic graphics, PS2 and Xbox dramatically improved on that but they still weren't perfect and now with the latest crop of consoles we're reaching a graphical plateau where a lot of the graphical shortcomings are more Dependant on developer effort then system performance. Whenever you reach a graphical plateau the effort pushes more towards other areas, like solid gameplay, good level design and a better story.
Through all of that of course the PC was evolving with the consoles, typically a half step ahead.
I didn't RTFA but that's my impression of the coming generation (Xbox360, Wii, PS3, and the latest PC tech)... IMO we wont start seeing the fruits of the golden age until sometime next year with but a teaser this holiday.
Nintendo needs sequels for the same reason we need Finalfantasy XIII, BeatMania 13th, Dragon Ball Z 11, Dance Dance Revolution 10, Tony Hawk 8, Ace Combat 8, Ridge Racer 7, Mortal Kombat 7, Prince of Persia 6, Tomb Raider 6, Burnout 5, Tekken 5, Virtua Fighter 5, Gran Turismo 5, Resident Evil 5, Silent Hill 5, Dead or Alive 5, SSX5 Ratchet & Clank 4, Grand Theft Auto IV, Devil may Cry 4, Hitman 4, Elder Scrolls IV, Soul Calibur 4, Splinter Cell 4... etc. etc. etc. Oh and lets not forget the numerous sports titles all working into their 2nd decade worth of annual releases.
People like sequels... when they finish a game and like it they patiently wait for the next iteration. Sometimes developers will cheap out and just deliver the same game with a tired story and slightly improved looks but other times they'll really go out of their way to deliver something new. You can look at games like Tony Hawk or Tekken. Each iteration only featured slightly better graphics then the last, maybe a roster update and some novel update the game mechanics, but largely they're always the same game. Now lets take a look at Mario. Mario 3 was like a whole different game from Mario 1, Super Mario was like a whole different game from Mario 3, Mario 64 was a whole different game from Super Mario, Mario Sunshine was like a whole different game from Mario 64.. etc. etc. You point out Donkey Kong But The original Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Country share little more then the game name and a hairy protagonist, the same can be said for many of Nintendos "sequels" they're more just cut from the same franchise but different games. I could hardly call the expansive catalog of Star Wars games "sequels" just because they share the same franchise.
Nintendo has fresh and original titles as well, but they also provide fresh and innovative games from their reservoir of popular franchises... The fact that you pegged the Gamecube as a Sequel machine leads me to believe you never owned one and probably aren't very familiar with the games it has. Not to mention "sequels" by Nintendo's standards offer far more fresh gameplay then most other sequels.
I suggest you take a look at: Tales of Symphonia, Geist, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Super Monkey Ball, Chibi-Robo, Killer 7, Viewtiful Joe, Second Sight, Cel Damage, Alien Hominid, Virtua Quest, and Beyond Good & Evil. All good games fresh non-sequels that I've enjoyed on the gamecube, most of them exclusive.
Not to mention their are also lots of fresh games that just use the name sake of popular franchises like WarioWare, or DonkeyKong Jungle Beat, and of course the same non-Nintendo sequels that appear on most of the other popular platforms as well as the Gamecube (Madden, Tony Hawk, Resident Evil, Prince of Persia etc.)
You're right, Nintendo _does_ have a lot of sequels, but that's really only because they've been in the game longer then anyone, so they have the biggest pool to draw from. I'm sure given enough time Both Sony and MS will catch up (in some ways they already have). But just because Nintendo has a lot of "sequels" doesn't mean it's the same game, nor does it mean that Nintendo isn't innovating with those titles. The number of sequels they've made also doesn't mean that they don't have any fresh new games either, because they certainly do have those as well.
You are correct, you don't need a modchip, you simply need to replace the bios with a hacked one (through shitty softmods or a modchip, tsop flash or whatever)... but as I understand it you can't use a hacked bios while connected to the Xbox Live server or you will get banned.
The only way to play a game with modified game code (excluding downloaded content) is if you play it from the hard drive or from a backup disc. The only way to play a game from one of those mediums is if your running a hacked bios and if you're running a hacked bios you will be banned from Xbox Live sometime after you connect.
So explain to me again how you can play a backup on Xbox Live? I've been modding Xbox consoles for quite some time and I've never once known anyone who didn't get their console banned from Xbox Live when connecting while running a backup. I'm not trying to be an ass but I'm just skeptical because I have never once heard of this being done.
It also got me thinking about what an anti-cheating engine would look like...
Honestly why don't companies like bungie simply run a CRC on any downloaded content, or record the downloaded date server side and compare it with the modified date client side. I honestly don't know much about cheating online but as someone who has modded Xbox consoles I would imagine the cheating comes from modifying the extra content that was downloaded from Xbox live and sits on the hard drive (extra maps, etc.). Since you can't modify the disc content (if you did you'd need to run a modchip and if you're running a modchip when you log into Xbox Live MS can detect that and ban your sorry ass).
I would think something as simple as a CRC or date check would be simple enough, once you download the content it shouldn't ever change so the CRC should always pass and the modified date should never change.
I'd also like to point out that there IS a LARGE distinction between modders and cheaters. I'm a modder, I make changes to the console that allow me to run Linux, Xbox Media Center and other homebrew apps, I'm currently working on an HTPC based around an Xbox console. There are even game modders that create new levels, weapons, and other content for Halo and other games... these don't let you cheat but they give you new things to play with just like user mods in PC games... I would think the nerdy gaming community should be able to recognize this difference (particularly/.ers) what with all the public misuse of the term "hacker".
since when does the real thing "not move air" you do realize it's called the ionic _BREEZE_ If you actually RTFA you'd notice he estimated to CFM to be over 300.
Re:still supprised at the $250 price tag.
on
The Wii Takes NYC
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· Score: 1
Not necessarily, I recall a co-worker approaching me last year asking which console she should buy her children for Christmas. "My kids keep asking for either a Playstation 2 or an Xbox which one should I get them?". When I asked their ages and found they were both under 10 years I suggested a Gamecube.
She was happy that the GC had a much larger selection of E rated games and the fact that it was so cheap she bought each of her children their own console.
Now if THIS Christmas some kid says that they want a 360 or a PS3... well if they were both $600 a pop there's a good chance that kid would get a Wii because of the price alone... but games aside the 360 core is priced close to the Wii... My co-worker asked me because the Xbox and PS2 were equivalent in price and seemingly equivalent in features... had she been making the same decision between the PS3 and the 360 Core she probably would have went straight for the core without asking me a thing based on price alone. If the 360 was more expensive she might have asked me if I thought the Wii was a viable alternative or at least which between the 360 and the PS3 I thought was more appropriate.
That's a very good point, and if you didn't make it I was planing to.
I seem to remember some profits analysis that I read months ago breaking down what each of the big 3 earned leading up to the release of the Xbox 360... according to that report Nintendo was far and wide the most profitable of the three despite the fact that their install base was dwarfed by MS and Sony. Basically they didn't take losses on anything they sold... and a majority of the games they sold were 1st party, which funneled more money still. Meanwhile MS an Sony are taking huge hits on the consoles, they have very few 1st and 2nd party titles (not to mention Nintendo's titles are most likely cheaper to make)... but most of their game sales net very little profits because they come from 3rd parties. I think MS also realized that including something as consumer friendly as a hard drive was bad for them because it equated to lower profits from accessory sales, hence the fact that everything on the 360 is an accessory.
IIRC 1080p (at least for consumer product use) only does up to 30FPS due to bandwidth limitations of component video and HDMI... not exactly "super fast"
I was also under the impression that theaters originally started cutting down the frame rate to help shrink the size of the film reels. 24FPS was the slowest (and thus cheapest and smallest) before they started drastically reducing quality and making the image look choppy. In my experience people prefer the digital theaters to their film counterparts for many many reasons and even if they don't see the quality difference if they're using a digital projector movie go-ers don't have to watch a strobe light for 2 hours.
Well I think video games will become the biggest driving force for HDTV... word is the Xbox 360 has been selling lots of HTDV since it's release and I'm sure the PS3 will push sales further still. While the new DVD formats aren't selling well the 360 is and the PS3 will and they can deliver all of their gaming content in HD. For all intents and purposes video games are and will remain the largest source of HD content available until TV gets it's act together or one of the blue laser disc formats takes off.
As for me I've got my HD projector I used it on all my old consoles (480p mostly with a few novel 720p games here and there), I bought a 360 and I play my games in HD now. I don't have HD cable nor do I receive any OTA HD channels in my areas (not that I really like TV anyway). I'd love to watch my movies in HD but I've stayed clear of the new formats due to the likelihood of one disappearing and the potentially crippling DRM "features", not to mention most of the films out today were never shot with that kind of quality to begin with. So really Video games are the only HD content I have... I know there are a whole lot of other people in this situation too.
It makes sense to me that Games being region free would REDUCE piracy... Region blocks are one of the big "excuses" for modifying a console. Making your console (and all of the games) region free takes away that excuse... narrowing the reasons for modification one step close to just "piracy". With less reasons the Software companies have a stronger argument in the courts (not that they'd really need one). Not to mention those people that might actually modify their consoles for region-free play, I'm sure would be tempted to download their next import, even if that wasn't their original intent.
I don't know there seems to be quite a few FRESH titles around. The Xbox 360 (who's older Xbox 1 had NO JRPGs to speak of) has some good titles already. What I've played of Enchanted Arms is fantastic and fresh so far, it's not really groundbreaking in anyway but AFAIK it's not a sequel or spin off of anything, just a fresh and solid turn-based Japaneses-style RPG. Ninety-Nine Nights, while not exactly an RPG has many many RPG elements too it, I've heard it described as an "RPG Lite" which I think fits the bill exactly, again another fresh idea. Blue Dragon looks awesome too, not a spin-off or sequel, and IIRC it's made by the same guy responsible for Crono-trigger. And that's just the JRPG stuff... of course there are Western Style RPGS like Oblivion and the upcoming Mass Effect too.
Slashdot Mirror
but... but... RFID is a buzzword!!!
well, tinfoil hats are soooo much cooler then tinfoil passport protectors.
I think even a lite OS would be benificial even for powerhouse machines. I'd love to have something barebones and stripped down on a bleeding edge gaming rig to ensure that ever last drop of performance is making it into the game instead of running 100s of services and other crap in the backround. I think it would be benificial to anyone who mostly uses their PC one giant app at a time.
That doesn't explain why the Xbox and PC versions of GTA:SA (which included extra content since they came out later)... were barely over 1GB... something tells me the PS2 audio wasn't nearly as compressed as you think it was.
well all Xbox 360 games support at very least 1280x720, and at this point it could support as high as 1920x1080... I would imagine with a wider screen comes an improved FOV... Not to mention most HDTV have fairly large screens, I myself play on an HD projector... Somehow I don't think I'll have any problems seeing what's going on from my couch. Also since the 360 supports a VGA adapter an a number of alternative resolutions many people who own the console and don't have an HDTV have it set next to their PC and play through their PC's monitor.
Souds like a good idea to me... we could also use "net-cast" or "I-cast" (where ht I stands for Internet).
I'm sure a new buzzword wont be hard to get adopted... people eat those things up like nobody's business
I was under the impression that they can fudge 1080p support by sending a 1080i50 or 1080i60 signal and de interlacing.
AFAIK there are a growing number of sets that can recieve 1080p via HDMI using the faking techniques (reguardless of their actual display resolution) but the few that can display a true 1080p are pretty rare.
Either way the displays WILL be here eventually and most 1080p display work with the faking methods as does will the Xbox 360 most likely. If MS can make the 360 1080p compatable now then we'll be all ready for them once they arrive. I'm excited because I'm planning on buying one of the new native 1080p projectors that come out next month for $5K like the Sony VPL-VW50 and the Mitsubishi HC5000BL. I've been using projectors in my home theater setup for years (I current have a 1024x768 DLP)... I've been holding out on buying a new one until a reasonable priced 1080p model hit the market.
have you ever played on Xbox Live?... the number of 12 year olds is astounding.
Of course that demographic exists... I'm in it, it must exist.
You'd think with recent advances in gaming tech they'd be able to get more accurate results. For instance I have an Xbox 360 and an Xbox Live account (as do most Xbox 360 owners) They know my gender, how old I am, where I live, and what my income is... they also know what games I play and how often I play them... and this data is 100% accurate (considering my personal info is tied to my credit card, and the machine tracks my gaming habits). So with Xbox Live, Steam, Playstation Network, and Nintendo's online system... exactly why do we still need to rely on easily inaccurate surveys. Sure not everyone is on these new trackable systems, but it wont be long before most of the market is... so why not start embracing it now? You could get all your analization software in place and start releasing automatic monthly reports...
Results for the month of October showed that 75% of this months gamers were between 6 an 17 and half of them played Halo... and they could state such things with 100% accuracy across a much more diverse group (spanning internationally as opposed to specific sample locals) and a much larger group (everyone on a recordable system as opposed to the people they can stop and survey) and near 100% accuracy about the members of that group (as opposed people who make stuff up in surveys, or surveyors who fudge results to meet their quota).
Not to mention most of these surveys are taken in malls across america... any hardcore gamer is sitting at home playing games and probably a subscription to gamefly and no significant other... thus no need to ever be out in public.
At the same time they will also have Wii Sports, and many other non-violent Nintendo brand games. At very least that would help get rid of the Blanket statement that "video games" (in general) lead to violence...
- 1. Those are all trademarks of last generation, now we Steam on the PC, XNA express/Xbox Live Market place on the Xbox 360, and the Virtual Console on the Wii to bring back Indy innovation with viable distribution models... Releasing us of our dependence on publisher cranking up the sequel machine. With Indy players taking a piece of the pie it will encourage the big industry players to start innovating to compete...
- 2. That's not even taking into account all the ideas surely buzzing through their heads with how to leverage things like the Wii-mote and newly available download distribution models available across the board.
- 3. From a Technological stand point we're hitting the next plateau graphically. Games evolved in 2D for quite some time, Atari 2600, then they improved during the time of 8bit consoles and they hit their peak during the 16bit console era (SNES, Genesis), they've only improved marginally since then. Then we had early 3D stuff the PS1 and Saturn had fairly basic graphics, PS2 and Xbox dramatically improved on that but they still weren't perfect and now with the latest crop of consoles we're reaching a graphical plateau where a lot of the graphical shortcomings are more Dependant on developer effort then system performance. Whenever you reach a graphical plateau the effort pushes more towards other areas, like solid gameplay, good level design and a better story.
Through all of that of course the PC was evolving with the consoles, typically a half step ahead. I didn't RTFA but that's my impression of the coming generation (Xbox360, Wii, PS3, and the latest PC tech)... IMO we wont start seeing the fruits of the golden age until sometime next year with but a teaser this holiday.Nintendo needs sequels for the same reason we need Finalfantasy XIII, BeatMania 13th, Dragon Ball Z 11, Dance Dance Revolution 10, Tony Hawk 8, Ace Combat 8, Ridge Racer 7, Mortal Kombat 7, Prince of Persia 6, Tomb Raider 6, Burnout 5, Tekken 5, Virtua Fighter 5, Gran Turismo 5, Resident Evil 5, Silent Hill 5, Dead or Alive 5, SSX5 Ratchet & Clank 4, Grand Theft Auto IV, Devil may Cry 4, Hitman 4, Elder Scrolls IV, Soul Calibur 4, Splinter Cell 4... etc. etc. etc. Oh and lets not forget the numerous sports titles all working into their 2nd decade worth of annual releases.
People like sequels... when they finish a game and like it they patiently wait for the next iteration. Sometimes developers will cheap out and just deliver the same game with a tired story and slightly improved looks but other times they'll really go out of their way to deliver something new. You can look at games like Tony Hawk or Tekken. Each iteration only featured slightly better graphics then the last, maybe a roster update and some novel update the game mechanics, but largely they're always the same game. Now lets take a look at Mario. Mario 3 was like a whole different game from Mario 1, Super Mario was like a whole different game from Mario 3, Mario 64 was a whole different game from Super Mario, Mario Sunshine was like a whole different game from Mario 64.. etc. etc. You point out Donkey Kong But The original Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Country share little more then the game name and a hairy protagonist, the same can be said for many of Nintendos "sequels" they're more just cut from the same franchise but different games. I could hardly call the expansive catalog of Star Wars games "sequels" just because they share the same franchise.
Nintendo has fresh and original titles as well, but they also provide fresh and innovative games from their reservoir of popular franchises... The fact that you pegged the Gamecube as a Sequel machine leads me to believe you never owned one and probably aren't very familiar with the games it has. Not to mention "sequels" by Nintendo's standards offer far more fresh gameplay then most other sequels.
I suggest you take a look at: Tales of Symphonia, Geist, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Super Monkey Ball, Chibi-Robo, Killer 7, Viewtiful Joe, Second Sight, Cel Damage, Alien Hominid, Virtua Quest, and Beyond Good & Evil. All good games fresh non-sequels that I've enjoyed on the gamecube, most of them exclusive.
Not to mention their are also lots of fresh games that just use the name sake of popular franchises like WarioWare, or DonkeyKong Jungle Beat, and of course the same non-Nintendo sequels that appear on most of the other popular platforms as well as the Gamecube (Madden, Tony Hawk, Resident Evil, Prince of Persia etc.)
You're right, Nintendo _does_ have a lot of sequels, but that's really only because they've been in the game longer then anyone, so they have the biggest pool to draw from. I'm sure given enough time Both Sony and MS will catch up (in some ways they already have). But just because Nintendo has a lot of "sequels" doesn't mean it's the same game, nor does it mean that Nintendo isn't innovating with those titles. The number of sequels they've made also doesn't mean that they don't have any fresh new games either, because they certainly do have those as well.
You are correct, you don't need a modchip, you simply need to replace the bios with a hacked one (through shitty softmods or a modchip, tsop flash or whatever)... but as I understand it you can't use a hacked bios while connected to the Xbox Live server or you will get banned.
The only way to play a game with modified game code (excluding downloaded content) is if you play it from the hard drive or from a backup disc. The only way to play a game from one of those mediums is if your running a hacked bios and if you're running a hacked bios you will be banned from Xbox Live sometime after you connect.
So explain to me again how you can play a backup on Xbox Live? I've been modding Xbox consoles for quite some time and I've never once known anyone who didn't get their console banned from Xbox Live when connecting while running a backup. I'm not trying to be an ass but I'm just skeptical because I have never once heard of this being done.
I thought the exact same thing when I read it...
/.ers) what with all the public misuse of the term "hacker".
It also got me thinking about what an anti-cheating engine would look like...
Honestly why don't companies like bungie simply run a CRC on any downloaded content, or record the downloaded date server side and compare it with the modified date client side. I honestly don't know much about cheating online but as someone who has modded Xbox consoles I would imagine the cheating comes from modifying the extra content that was downloaded from Xbox live and sits on the hard drive (extra maps, etc.). Since you can't modify the disc content (if you did you'd need to run a modchip and if you're running a modchip when you log into Xbox Live MS can detect that and ban your sorry ass).
I would think something as simple as a CRC or date check would be simple enough, once you download the content it shouldn't ever change so the CRC should always pass and the modified date should never change.
I'd also like to point out that there IS a LARGE distinction between modders and cheaters. I'm a modder, I make changes to the console that allow me to run Linux, Xbox Media Center and other homebrew apps, I'm currently working on an HTPC based around an Xbox console. There are even game modders that create new levels, weapons, and other content for Halo and other games... these don't let you cheat but they give you new things to play with just like user mods in PC games... I would think the nerdy gaming community should be able to recognize this difference (particularly
since when does the real thing "not move air" you do realize it's called the ionic _BREEZE_ If you actually RTFA you'd notice he estimated to CFM to be over 300.
Not necessarily, I recall a co-worker approaching me last year asking which console she should buy her children for Christmas. "My kids keep asking for either a Playstation 2 or an Xbox which one should I get them?". When I asked their ages and found they were both under 10 years I suggested a Gamecube.
She was happy that the GC had a much larger selection of E rated games and the fact that it was so cheap she bought each of her children their own console.
Now if THIS Christmas some kid says that they want a 360 or a PS3... well if they were both $600 a pop there's a good chance that kid would get a Wii because of the price alone... but games aside the 360 core is priced close to the Wii... My co-worker asked me because the Xbox and PS2 were equivalent in price and seemingly equivalent in features... had she been making the same decision between the PS3 and the 360 Core she probably would have went straight for the core without asking me a thing based on price alone. If the 360 was more expensive she might have asked me if I thought the Wii was a viable alternative or at least which between the 360 and the PS3 I thought was more appropriate.
That's a very good point, and if you didn't make it I was planing to.
I seem to remember some profits analysis that I read months ago breaking down what each of the big 3 earned leading up to the release of the Xbox 360... according to that report Nintendo was far and wide the most profitable of the three despite the fact that their install base was dwarfed by MS and Sony. Basically they didn't take losses on anything they sold... and a majority of the games they sold were 1st party, which funneled more money still. Meanwhile MS an Sony are taking huge hits on the consoles, they have very few 1st and 2nd party titles (not to mention Nintendo's titles are most likely cheaper to make)... but most of their game sales net very little profits because they come from 3rd parties. I think MS also realized that including something as consumer friendly as a hard drive was bad for them because it equated to lower profits from accessory sales, hence the fact that everything on the 360 is an accessory.
IIRC 1080p (at least for consumer product use) only does up to 30FPS due to bandwidth limitations of component video and HDMI... not exactly "super fast"
I was also under the impression that theaters originally started cutting down the frame rate to help shrink the size of the film reels. 24FPS was the slowest (and thus cheapest and smallest) before they started drastically reducing quality and making the image look choppy. In my experience people prefer the digital theaters to their film counterparts for many many reasons and even if they don't see the quality difference if they're using a digital projector movie go-ers don't have to watch a strobe light for 2 hours.
Well I think video games will become the biggest driving force for HDTV... word is the Xbox 360 has been selling lots of HTDV since it's release and I'm sure the PS3 will push sales further still. While the new DVD formats aren't selling well the 360 is and the PS3 will and they can deliver all of their gaming content in HD. For all intents and purposes video games are and will remain the largest source of HD content available until TV gets it's act together or one of the blue laser disc formats takes off.
As for me I've got my HD projector I used it on all my old consoles (480p mostly with a few novel 720p games here and there), I bought a 360 and I play my games in HD now. I don't have HD cable nor do I receive any OTA HD channels in my areas (not that I really like TV anyway). I'd love to watch my movies in HD but I've stayed clear of the new formats due to the likelihood of one disappearing and the potentially crippling DRM "features", not to mention most of the films out today were never shot with that kind of quality to begin with. So really Video games are the only HD content I have... I know there are a whole lot of other people in this situation too.
REALLY! that's a great deal!
...I admit it, I'ma Michael Bolton fan! I celebrate the guy's entire collection.
It makes sense to me that Games being region free would REDUCE piracy... Region blocks are one of the big "excuses" for modifying a console. Making your console (and all of the games) region free takes away that excuse... narrowing the reasons for modification one step close to just "piracy". With less reasons the Software companies have a stronger argument in the courts (not that they'd really need one). Not to mention those people that might actually modify their consoles for region-free play, I'm sure would be tempted to download their next import, even if that wasn't their original intent.
I don't know there seems to be quite a few FRESH titles around. The Xbox 360 (who's older Xbox 1 had NO JRPGs to speak of) has some good titles already. What I've played of Enchanted Arms is fantastic and fresh so far, it's not really groundbreaking in anyway but AFAIK it's not a sequel or spin off of anything, just a fresh and solid turn-based Japaneses-style RPG. Ninety-Nine Nights, while not exactly an RPG has many many RPG elements too it, I've heard it described as an "RPG Lite" which I think fits the bill exactly, again another fresh idea. Blue Dragon looks awesome too, not a spin-off or sequel, and IIRC it's made by the same guy responsible for Crono-trigger. And that's just the JRPG stuff... of course there are Western Style RPGS like Oblivion and the upcoming Mass Effect too.