It is definatley over-hyped

but it can be quite fun with a bunch of friends. I was expecting more though. Its nowhere near the level of fun Soul Caliber II was.

5/16/2005 2:58:31 PM

I'm gonna hafta go out on a limb and say this: to an extent, the level of "fun" a certain game has is 100% opinion and cannot be tied to fact.

5/16/2005 3:22:28 PM

I disagree

I think there are certain facts about game design and implimentation that are tied directly to the 'fun' factor.

5/16/2005 3:34:57 PM

Quote :

"Do you know WHY there were no serious competitors? Go do some research on the market place back when the gameboy had to take the market."

This has no relevance to my argument. I don't care that Gameboy Advance had not competition thanks to Gameboy's legacy. The point I made is that Nintendo has surived in the handheld market uncontested simply because it had no competition after Gameboy's dominance. Its easy to have a massive library of quality games when there is nobody else to develop for.

However, the the current situation has the PSP selling more units then Gameboy DS and GC combined during the same time period all the while being called a moderate launch for Sony.

Furthermore both M$ and Sony have a big leap on nintendo in terms of adding increased interoperability with other consumer devices. You may like the idea of having a seperate music player, cell phone, and game device but I don't. I'd rather all of these be integrated into one system the size of my palm so I don't have to fill my pockets with 300$ worth of electronics and make it into a thief's wet dream.

5/16/2005 3:36:23 PM

nintendo is for 6 year old boys and japanese girls.

5/16/2005 3:47:33 PM

Quote :

"This has no relevance to my argument. I don't care that Gameboy Advance had not competition thanks to Gameboy's legacy. The point I made is that Nintendo has surived in the handheld market uncontested simply because it had no competition after Gameboy's dominance. Its easy to have a massive library of quality games when there is nobody else to develop for. "

Wait, so the fact that Nintendo only has dominance in the hand held business now because they drove off other contenders before has no relevance to you thinking Nintendo cant hold its own against a competitor in that same market now?

wtf

5/16/2005 4:00:53 PM

Well Nintendo dominated the home market with NES at one point too and manged to lose its lead there, a dominance it gained after Atari, another company that dominated the video game industry imploded. Sony dominated portable music players completely and now is barely a relevance with Apple's Ipod being the defacto standard.

In fact, perhaps you should "do market research" on corporations that held large percentage of the market and how long they were able to hold on to it. Even M$ is getting challenged on the OS/application front with Firefox pwning IE and open source projects slowly spreading around the globe.

Nothing Nintendo has done with the DS or GC suggest that it is ready to do battle in the next round of consumer entertainment technology. Cute games only go so far.

5/16/2005 4:19:16 PM

Microsoft is the only IT company that has the possibility of maintaining market dominance for a period of 10 years. And they aren't there yet.

Tech companies come and go with a quickness. It doesn't matter how big or how great a product or company is, it's only a matter of time before they dwindle.

5/16/2005 4:25:48 PM

It looks to me like the heads of the respective next gen designers for sony and M$ got together and flipped a coin in order to decide whos system would be concave or convex.
I can't decide whose design is sleeker, but M$ is definately banking on the xbox 360 becoming the "centerpiece" of home entertainment. And I must say that the design overhaul is very representative.

But what the hell is wrong with the design engineers at sony who are working on the ps3 controller. I hope it goes through a design revision before its release in the next year.

5/17/2005 12:46:20 AM

Quote :

"that last statement doesn't make sense man. What's wrong w/ Smash Bros? Sure, it may not be everyone's favorite game but it IS fun in multiplayer."

yeah, the first 20-100 times you play it. everything gets old after a while, especially when your friend's girlfriend wants to play it everytime she's over and yells and screams at people when she loses. eventually you get sick of the game.

5/17/2005 9:29:12 AM

^^ Enough with the "M$" crap. It's not 1997 anymore.

5/17/2005 10:31:22 AM

^^Yeah, if you play with obnoxious people, any game can get old. Look at the entire online community for instance.

5/17/2005 10:49:47 AM

Final Fantasy XI is going to be available for the 360.

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2005/05/16/cx_ah_0516xbox.html

Take that, Sony.


I need to do some leveling before the flood of newbs.

5/17/2005 3:10:36 PM

Quote :

"Enough with the "M$" crap. It's not 1997 anymore."

pwnt

I agree.

5/17/2005 3:52:49 PM

har har $!

5/17/2005 9:23:14 PM

I have no idea which console I will get. I have the xbox right now and like it much more than I would a PS2. And I will definitley pick the 360 over PS3 if they keep their controller like this:

5/18/2005 3:02:48 AM

I am gonna go download the new DOA4 trailer. Just thinking about the possibility of a new Ninja Gaiden for the 360 makes me all giddy.

5/18/2005 8:04:01 AM

^^ have the buttons ever been that far apart?

5/18/2005 9:06:43 AM

a BBC e-mail poll to ask users which they think is best: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/4558785.stm

5/18/2005 10:45:07 AM

The PS3 controller looks like a batarang

5/18/2005 12:58:52 PM

it looks like an older failed ms controller, a wingman variant I think

5/18/2005 1:01:31 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/18/AR2005051801687.html

Quote :

"Microsoft lifts a few pages from Sony's book By Reed Stevenson Reuters Wednesday, May 18, 2005; 5:32 PM LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp., which is trying to unseat gaming market leader Sony Corp. <6758.T>, said on Wednesday the Japanese consumer electronics maker has lost some of the advantages that made its PlayStation gaming machine a top-selling video game console. Microsoft has forged stronger relationships with the industry's top game publishers -- alliances that can make-or-break a console's success -- and for the first time, will beat Sony to market with its next-generation console. Sony, which unseated Nintendo Co. Ltd. <7974.OS> as the industry's top console maker and drove Sega's Genesis console out of business a decade ago, still controls more than two-thirds of the market. Sony's current generation console, the PlayStation 2, beat Microsoft's Xbox console to the market more than four years ago. This time, however, Microsoft is launching its next-generation Xbox 360 console ahead of the 2005 holiday season, ahead of Sony's planned launch of its PlayStation 3 in Spring 2006. Since they last faced off, Microsoft has courted the industry's top video game publishers, including Electronic Arts Inc. and Square Enix Co. Ltd. <9684.T> in the same way Sony courted the top game makers a decade ago when the PlayStation first launched, said Robbie Bach, chief of Microsoft's home and entertainment division. "What happens is there's a certain amount of ego -- it gets in the way of what's important, which is that it's all about partner (game publisher) success," Bach said. Microsoft has also offered game publishers a bigger cut of the proceeds from game sales and hired key executives from within the gaming industry to court developers. That's also the model Microsoft adopted for Windows, luring top software companies to write programs for its personal computer operating system, making it a monopoly. "It goes back to our roots," Bach said. Sony, meanwhile, said Microsoft's Xbox 360 won't be able to compete against Sony's newest console because it lacks future technology, such as a newly designed microchips, high-resolution graphics and a next-generation DVD player. "It's a box made of future technology as opposed to Xbox 1.5, which seems to be a combination of things available today," said Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, implying slyly that the Xbox 360 isn't quite a full upgrade to version "2.0." Both companies are trash-talking each other and playing up the future capabilities of their newest gaming machines, partly because the time lag between major console releases is getting longer and longer. Bach said software update services, which can keep console system hardware up-to-date, allow for longer life cycles and Microsoft had already demonstrated such capabilities for its current-generation Xbox console. "We've built in a lot of headroom," Bach said. Bach also noted Sony's lack of talk over an online strategy for the PlayStation 3. Microsoft said it will have more than 2 million users for its Xbox Live online service by the end of June. The software giant is introducing a free Xbox Live service with Xbox 360 that it says will put more than half of that console's gamers online."

5/18/2005 11:25:41 PM

Quote :

"It's a box made of future technology as opposed to Xbox 1.5, which seems to be a combination of things available today"

oh snap!

5/19/2005 10:08:00 AM

how much would you pay for this system?

if it was $360 i wouldn't buy it.

unless it had a 40 GB hard drive (i think they're shipping with a 20 GB), 2 controllers, an advanced AV pack, wireless gaming, and a 1 year subscription to live.

yes, i'm a cheap bastard. i'd rather wait for it to come down even though i'm hyped about it.

5/19/2005 10:35:44 AM

because you really needed to post that in both threads... oh wait.

Thing is, the xbox can do 1000 things that the PS3 can't. All the power in the world aint worth shit if you are limited in the applications of it.

5/19/2005 11:01:00 AM

Quote :

"Thing is, the xbox can do 1000 things that the PS3 can't."

Really, like what?

5/19/2005 12:24:18 PM

the thing is made by microsoft... its gonna get hacked

5/19/2005 5:22:33 PM

<gratuitous gm response to bill gates quote>

5/19/2005 6:15:47 PM

^^ those linux hax0rs will put linux on everything - it's alright haha

5/19/2005 10:01:23 PM

PC vs. PS3 vs. XBox 360

http://news.softpedia.com/news/PC-versus-PlayStation-3-versus-Xbox-360-2134.shtml

somewhat interesting 'article/published forum post' about PCs stacking up against consoles.

5/21/2005 9:44:11 AM

^ that was retarded

5/21/2005 10:09:54 AM

that article had to have been written by a 13 year old with ADD.

5/21/2005 10:16:08 AM

Quote :

"My PC is very close to the specs of the PS3."

This is where I stopped. The PS3 outspecs the best computer rig out right now and will probably out muscle the PC for at least a year after its release. A single core Athlon 64 similar to a CELL platform? Hardly.

If you're going to become the Tech Talk version of Salisburybot, dFshadow, at least point to articles that have a bit more techinical insight then a 15 year old forums poster.

A good start would be Anand's take on Xbox360 vs ps3 as well as other E3 coverage:

http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/default.aspx#210

5/21/2005 10:23:42 AM

haha not quite

i was just home in charlotte for a week = too much time on my hands.

now it's back to summer session so that's that.

5/21/2005 1:12:20 PM

hahahaha

5/21/2005 9:33:37 PM

ps3 will win

im calling it

[Edited on May 22, 2005 at 3:49 PM. Reason : 0]

5/22/2005 3:43:52 PM

this just in from my friend that returned from E3.

Quote :

"HIM:all of the "360 killer" games in PS3's unveiling were pre-rendered movies [18:34] HIM: except for Unreal Engine 3. [18:34] MauganNCSU: you're kidding me [18:34] MauganNCSU: god. [18:34] HIM: that was the FIRST public demo of an actual game running on the thing [18:35] HIM: some of the 360 videos were pre-rendered as well (aka, madden); but the majority were actual in-game. [18:35] HIM: but the press and the 15 year old kiddies went nuts with the "PS3 is 3x more powerful --- leaps and bounds above xbox graphically." [18:35] HIM: gimme a fucking break. [18:36] HIM: once people realize that most of the "next gen" games they are drooling over are fucking pre-rendered movies made in Maya, they'll be pissed. [18:36] HIM: and the other thing that was actually running on PS3 (besides unreal) [18:37] HIM: looked really good because guess what? [18:37] MauganNCSU: what [18:37] HIM: there was no game... no AI, no physics, no gameplay... pure graphics... basically a movie rendered in real-time. which is cool in and of itself, but you throw in physics and AI and gameplay and the came isn't possibly going to look like that. "

Have fun kids.

5/22/2005 6:39:10 PM

^

sounds like a complete xbox fanboy ranting to me dude

5/22/2005 6:50:45 PM

The PS3 hardware spec is superior to the Xbox360, even microsoft won't deny that.

However we have to realize that the 360 comes with an online component and Sony still hasn't really figured out how to combine console gaming and online gaming.

For a company that has an MMO powerbase, thats sad.

5/22/2005 7:05:35 PM

its the same dog and pony show we get everyday

CGI pre-rendered movies are the most useless BS yet most touted feature of any new game



the FFII movies was fucking stupid. if i want to see a cgi movies, ill see a cgi movies. if i want to play a GAME, ill play a game....

5/22/2005 7:49:47 PM

but you have to PLAY the game to SEE the movies

5/22/2005 7:53:36 PM

Quote :

"However we have to realize that the 360 comes with an online component and Sony still hasn't really figured out how to combine console gaming and online gaming."

You also have to realize that 360 is probably going to have an incredibly disappointing launch. Its a few months before the console is to be released and they couldn't even get the fucking system to E3. That's just plain sad. Plus every game that they showed for it was ass.

On to your "online gaming" remark. The online aspects are truly bothersome as well and completely miss "gamers" and are aimed more at the same children that everyone hates on current online games. They emphasised XBox at E3, and they will be banking on the fact that 360 will play XBox games (though it has yet to be revealed if it will be all XBox games). The only things that 360 has going for it is a knack for over-marketing and releasing Halo 3 on PS3's release date. I expect another rushed game with missing multiplayer options and a half-assed single player game.

5/22/2005 8:11:06 PM

actually quinn,

Maybe you missed the part where he said that some of the xbox stuff was pre-rendered too. The point is, this E3 next gen console orgy was a farce... smoke and mirrors for the most part.


[Edited on May 22, 2005 at 8:40 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on May 22, 2005 at 8:40 PM. Reason : .]

5/22/2005 8:37:36 PM

Quote :

"actually quinn, He develops games that are cross-platform. I don't think he can afford to be a fanboy."

which studio does he work for?

Quote :

"Maybe you missed the part where he said that some of the xbox stuff was pre-rendered too. The point is, this E3 next gen console orgy was a farce... smoke and mirrors for the most part."

granted, but its still gonna be cool - maybe not at first, but as with all consoles, the games will get better as the studios progress along the learning curve

[Edited on May 22, 2005 at 8:44 PM. Reason : s]

5/22/2005 8:41:49 PM

Quote :

" You also have to realize that 360 is probably going to have an incredibly disappointing launch. Its a few months before the console is to be released and they couldn't even get the fucking system to E3. That's just plain sad. Plus every game that they showed for it was ass. "

ATI had a working xbox360 surrounded by gaurds. You can't assume a weak launch until it actually happens. I think the Xbox360 launch will be just fine until proven otherwise.

Quote :

" On to your "online gaming" remark. The online aspects are truly bothersome as well and completely miss "gamers" and are aimed more at the same children that everyone hates on current online games. "

What are you talking about? Xbox Live currently is one of the best features of Xbox. You may not like it, but 1.5 million subscribers do and that will no doubt double as people try the "free" component of 360's Xbox live. The new live also has something for everyone. You do know that you can filter your opponents and teammates by how competitive they and you want to be right? If you're a hardcore gamer, then in theory you can play with other hardcore gamers. You'll also be able to create friends lists (with profiles/pics etc) send video/voice messages and invites to games while they are in other ones, single or multiplayer.

You do not have to restart the Xbox360 to get back to the media console.

Quote :

" They emphasised XBox at E3, and they will be banking on the fact that 360 will play XBox games (though it has yet to be revealed if it will be all XBox games). "

I don't think they will be banking on backwards compatibility. For the most popular online games yes, the others no.

Quote :

" The only things that 360 has going for it is a knack for over-marketing and releasing Halo 3 on PS3's release date. "

Didn't you just say the Xbox360 was going to have a weak launch?

Quote :

" You also have to realize that 360 is probably going to have an incredibly disappointing launch."

If its going to have a weak launch, then how does it have over-marketing going for it?

They also made a side note that if Halo3 wasn't finished, it wouldnt be released on PS3's ship date.

Quote :

" I expect another rushed game with missing multiplayer options and a half-assed single player game. "

I'm sure the xbox360 and ps3 will have plenty of these.

5/22/2005 10:06:15 PM

Quote :

"What are you talking about? Xbox Live currently is one of the best features of Xbox. "

The new XBox live has just about everything on it. They may be having many good aspects, but the stuff presented at the show didn't wow people. It seemed highly based on not playing games. See if you can find the "Thundergirl" demonstration or whatever that crap was.

Quote :

"ATI had a working xbox360 surrounded by gaurds. You can't assume a weak launch until it actually happens. I think the Xbox360 launch will be just fine until proven otherwise."

So many people are attributing the lack of impressive graphics due to the fact that it was not being run on 360. My point is that that is a poor excuse since the system is so close to release.

Quote :

"I don't think they will be banking on backwards compatibility. "

The primary emphasis on the E3 demonstration for Microsoft was XBox games. They had little to show for a system set to come out soon. IGN and G4Tech agreed that they would be banking on a multimedia system which played XBox games when 360 comes out because they don't have a large launch lineup yet. They hope to draw in the consumers looking for the first new system to come out and hope to keep them with promises of future games (not too unlike the N64, except you can do other things with 360).

Quote :

"If its going to have a weak launch, then how does it have over-marketing going for it?"

Microsoft can push products with marketing. There is no doubt about that. My point is that I believe that they will have a weak launch but still sell units because they convince the consumer that better is to come.

Quote :

"I'm sure the xbox360 and ps3 will have plenty of these."

Better not do it with a flagship title.

[Edited on May 22, 2005 at 11:46 PM. Reason : /]

5/22/2005 11:45:32 PM

Quote :

" The new XBox live has just about everything on it. They may be having many good aspects, but the stuff presented at the show didn't wow people. "

Judging by the reviews of E3, nothing there really wowed people. 1 Xbox360, 0 ps3 and a whole lot of prerendered images. The rest were current console stuff.

Quote :

" It seemed highly based on not playing games. See if you can find the "Thundergirl" demonstration or whatever that crap was. "

If its not based on playing games, then what exactly is it based on? Please elaborate on your point. The entire system expands upon gaming by giving you a clean interface and many options for communication. If you've never played squad based games or any game requiring more then 1 person, let me be the first to tell you that communication is key. This service expands upon that by leaps and bounds by offering voice and video messaging. I mean I dont want to sound like a fanboi here, but you really need to elaborate on how the new Live is not based on playing games.

It even has a section for casual gamers to download quick and fun arcade games.

Quote :

" The primary emphasis on the E3 demonstration for Microsoft was XBox games. They had little to show for a system set to come out soon. IGN and G4Tech agreed that they would be banking on a multimedia system which played XBox games when 360 comes out because they don't have a large launch lineup yet. They hope to draw in the consumers looking for the first new system to come out and hope to keep them with promises of future games (not too unlike the N64, except you can do other things with 360). "

Xbox360 is quoted to be launching with about 40 titles. Thats very optimistic. However I wouldn't be very surprised if the Xbox360 had 40 titles by january. One of the strongest points going for the Xbox360 is its earlier release on Sony's PS3, which by the way, was a lot further along in dev then MS thought. If they miss the launch date or have a bad launch then they'll fail miserably when the Sony releases its DeathStar.

We're not talking about Nintendo or Sega here. This is Microsoft. They didn't end up being the #1 os company and the #2 software company by banking on people using legacy products. If that were the case, they wouldn't roll out a new Office every other year.

Quote :

"Microsoft can push products with marketing. There is no doubt about that. My point is that I believe that they will have a weak launch but still sell units because they convince the consumer that better is to come."

Your point is an oxymoron.

5/23/2005 12:20:24 AM

Quote :

"Quote : "actually quinn, He develops games that are cross-platform. I don't think he can afford to be a fanboy." which studio does he work for?"

Given that its Maugan talking, I think its quite evident that the studio the source works for would have to be Epic. In fact, I think its pretty safe to say that we could easily put a name on exactly who the comments came from, and yes he is most defintely qualified to make these comments.

[Edited on May 23, 2005 at 1:13 AM. Reason : .]

5/23/2005 1:13:31 AM

^

Given that maugen is talking, he is going to go ape shit fanboy over a product then buy the competitors product for god knows what reason and bitch about it.

5/23/2005 1:44:39 AM

I guess the PA guys are fanboys too

[Edited on May 23, 2005 at 9:14 AM. Reason : *]

5/23/2005 9:13:32 AM