Yes, there is a bit of difference. Remember Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within? That basically amounted to a 'leading-edge graphics video in demo mode.'
Rumble is a lot like power steering for a car. You don't really realize it's there until you don't have it anymore.
And I keep Rumble enabled on my 360, and I'm still only charging my (rechargable) batteries every 30-40 hours or so. I don't know why Nintendo didn't include it with the Wavebird.. it would have made that near-perfect wireless controller that much closer to pristine.
The 360 Wireless controller is the first one in a long time to do everything right. Looks, feels, rumble, rechargable (granted after you $$ the play and charge kit), and incredibly intuative controlls.
Whatever.. look at console vs. PC games sales (overall) and comparatively (Oblivion for 360 vs. PC).. integrated graphics, granted, don't power games nowadays.. but it's a moot point when I can either spend $500 every 6-12 months to get all the bells and whistles out of my PC (and that's JUST the video card).. or spend $500 on a console that does it cheaper (and with all the extra features on the new generation.. )
My question is: If the PC gaming market is shrinking, (unless Vista makes for huge demand for new graphics cards).. shouldn't ATI be considering who they're going to develop for on the next console hardware cycle? I don't see Microsoft abandoning Intel to play nice with AMD/ATI... and Sony (I believe) has ignored both ATI/Nvidia to go their own way.
Very poor choice for ATI.. botched or not (and if you own a HDTV and a 360.. you know they didn't botch it THAT badly.. just look at Neon the music visualizer).. you think they'll get even a chance at X-Box's next generation, or even PS4 for that matter? It's a long time coming, granted, but Microsoft plays nice with ATI and Intel.. if ATI + AMD merge, they'll roll out the next one with a Nvidia chipset (a la Xbox 1.0).
'Course, the Cell for PS3 is developed through IBM.. I don't know if AMD/ATI could get a foothold in there.. but console gaming sales are taking SERIOUS market share from the PC gaming market, and it's only getting worse.
All the money I'd spend upgrading my PC (Vid card, RAM, mobo/chip, etc) now gets sunk into games for my consoles.. (and until we confirm Vista's viability, and the success of offloading the GUI onto the vid card, the game market is the only real market for ATI/Nvidia looking into the future. (Compare Oblivion sales PC vs. 360 to see it in action)
Next gen consoles aren't 'blurring' the line, they're outright erasing it. Hell, I can watch video captures from my HTPC on the opposite side of the house natively from my 360, in HD, in 5.1.. over ethernet. Plus I can access the entire 150GB MP3 catalog from 3 computers in the house on my 360.. turn on Neon, and instant party DJ.. or even stream it into games with NO LAG.. It's too bad PS3 is launching at $600, that sucker's going to probably be as powerful.
ATI can't afford this deal.. it'll isolate them too much from potential profits.
Evils of evolving technology. Instead of training em' up to work for 360 development, they shut the doors (blame the bean-counters).
It looks as if Rockstar is going to be developing for next-gen platforms together from the ground up (Table Tennis is 360-only, @ E3 they announced 360 AND PS3 versions, with the 360 version having more online bells and whistles).. and there's really nothing left to 'convert' to Xbox.. they're (wisely) abandoning the platform.
It IS entertaining. I've been the Head of Electronic Gaming for a local fan-run Anime convention http://www.a-kon.com/ for the last 10 years, and the DDRcade has been a part of it for the last 6. Kids will spend literally HOURS on the machines playing and practicing, and we've had tournaments for both technical skill (perfect attack, i.e. 'dancing' the songs with the fewest mistakes on the highest difficulty) and creative ability (freestyle, basically 'showing your moves' whilst still managing to clear the song at a low difficulty).
Now this may sound like nothing big, but I'm telling you that as a judge, it's mind-boggling. I decided to become at least a bit proficent in the game when the arcade was integrated into my console gaming/PC LAN gaming umbrella, and watching these guys/girls/kids/adults do some amazing stunts was honestly entertaining.. hell we'd pack the area with 500+ people just to watch and cheer the contestants on, and in a 10k attended convention filled with people with ZERO attention span, that's a feat. They'd flip, spin, handstand, breakdance.. hell I even saw one couple tango across both pads (seen a few couples on video on the internet do this as well).
On the other hand, interest in the game has definitely been in the decline. One of the owners of a few DDR machines also runs an arcade, and he makes as much money on the machine over the course of a year as he does in the one weekend of the convention. So this will possibly re-establish the interest in DDR.. arcade owners happy, Konami happy, TV producers happy.
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, there is a bit of difference. Remember Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within? That basically amounted to a 'leading-edge graphics video in demo mode.'
Rumble is a lot like power steering for a car. You don't really realize it's there until you don't have it anymore.
.. it would have made that near-perfect wireless controller that much closer to pristine.
And I keep Rumble enabled on my 360, and I'm still only charging my (rechargable) batteries every 30-40 hours or so. I don't know why Nintendo didn't include it with the Wavebird
The 360 Wireless controller is the first one in a long time to do everything right. Looks, feels, rumble, rechargable (granted after you $$ the play and charge kit), and incredibly intuative controlls.
Whatever .. look at console vs. PC games sales (overall) and comparatively (Oblivion for 360 vs. PC) .. integrated graphics, granted, don't power games nowadays .. but it's a moot point when I can either spend $500 every 6-12 months to get all the bells and whistles out of my PC (and that's JUST the video card) .. or spend $500 on a console that does it cheaper (and with all the extra features on the new generation .. )
.. shouldn't ATI be considering who they're going to develop for on the next console hardware cycle? I don't see Microsoft abandoning Intel to play nice with AMD/ATI ... and Sony (I believe) has ignored both ATI/Nvidia to go their own way.
My question is: If the PC gaming market is shrinking, (unless Vista makes for huge demand for new graphics cards)
Very poor choice for ATI .. botched or not (and if you own a HDTV and a 360 .. you know they didn't botch it THAT badly .. just look at Neon the music visualizer) .. you think they'll get even a chance at X-Box's next generation, or even PS4 for that matter? It's a long time coming, granted, but Microsoft plays nice with ATI and Intel .. if ATI + AMD merge, they'll roll out the next one with a Nvidia chipset (a la Xbox 1.0).
.. I don't know if AMD/ATI could get a foothold in there .. but console gaming sales are taking SERIOUS market share from the PC gaming market, and it's only getting worse.
.. (and until we confirm Vista's viability, and the success of offloading the GUI onto the vid card, the game market is the only real market for ATI/Nvidia looking into the future. (Compare Oblivion sales PC vs. 360 to see it in action)
.. over ethernet. Plus I can access the entire 150GB MP3 catalog from 3 computers in the house on my 360 .. turn on Neon, and instant party DJ .. or even stream it into games with NO LAG .. It's too bad PS3 is launching at $600, that sucker's going to probably be as powerful.
.. it'll isolate them too much from potential profits.
'Course, the Cell for PS3 is developed through IBM
All the money I'd spend upgrading my PC (Vid card, RAM, mobo/chip, etc) now gets sunk into games for my consoles
Next gen consoles aren't 'blurring' the line, they're outright erasing it. Hell, I can watch video captures from my HTPC on the opposite side of the house natively from my 360, in HD, in 5.1
ATI can't afford this deal
Evils of evolving technology. Instead of training em' up to work for 360 development, they shut the doors (blame the bean-counters).
.. and there's really nothing left to 'convert' to Xbox .. they're (wisely) abandoning the platform.
It looks as if Rockstar is going to be developing for next-gen platforms together from the ground up (Table Tennis is 360-only, @ E3 they announced 360 AND PS3 versions, with the 360 version having more online bells and whistles)
Think about it .. it's a win/win situation.
.. hell we'd pack the area with 500+ people just to watch and cheer the contestants on, and in a 10k attended convention filled with people with ZERO attention span, that's a feat. They'd flip, spin, handstand, breakdance .. hell I even saw one couple tango across both pads (seen a few couples on video on the internet do this as well).
.. arcade owners happy, Konami happy, TV producers happy.
It IS entertaining. I've been the Head of Electronic Gaming for a local fan-run Anime convention http://www.a-kon.com/ for the last 10 years, and the DDRcade has been a part of it for the last 6. Kids will spend literally HOURS on the machines playing and practicing, and we've had tournaments for both technical skill (perfect attack, i.e. 'dancing' the songs with the fewest mistakes on the highest difficulty) and creative ability (freestyle, basically 'showing your moves' whilst still managing to clear the song at a low difficulty).
Now this may sound like nothing big, but I'm telling you that as a judge, it's mind-boggling. I decided to become at least a bit proficent in the game when the arcade was integrated into my console gaming/PC LAN gaming umbrella, and watching these guys/girls/kids/adults do some amazing stunts was honestly entertaining
On the other hand, interest in the game has definitely been in the decline. One of the owners of a few DDR machines also runs an arcade, and he makes as much money on the machine over the course of a year as he does in the one weekend of the convention. So this will possibly re-establish the interest in DDR