@BrianK

Quote:

Thanks.

You're welcome.

"By year's end [2005], Microsoft had sold [to retail] 1.5 million units; including 900,000 in North America, 500,000 in Europe, and 100,000 in Japan." (Wikipedia based on MS press release)

Actual XBox 360 sales 2005 (VGCharts, NPD, Media Create, etc):

661K North America
390K Europe
87K Japan

Last edited by MikeB on 18-Mar-2007 at 02:22 PM.
Last edited by MikeB on 18-Mar-2007 at 02:22 PM.

Never underestimate the release of a game that's a fan favorite to add to the sales of a console. For instance Dance, Dance Universe was just launched on the XBox 360 and Guitar Hero II will be available shortly. Guitar Hero II kept the PS2 selling around the holiday season..

More info from Phil on PS3 Home:

- They're working on homes, gardens, and neighbourhoods.
- The Sixaxis can be used for gesture controls.
- They are exploring to have 3rd-party publishers to use Home avatar in games.
- and more:

http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?vid=137839


IMO also interesting:

Fight Disease With PS3



Larger Screenshot:
http://www.maxps3.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/08/abeta-PS3.jpg

Video of gameboy emulator on Linux, seems useful for gameboy fans:
http://www.gameklip.com/v/1966/

Regarding 3D graphics on the PS3 using Linux.

Kai Staats stated: In 4 days, Terra Soft ported the MESA library to the cell, and that it's now about 80 faster than on the Intel's soon to be released Woodcrest server / workstation processor,the Woodcrest processor is Intel's first 65nm Xeon chip to be based on their next-generation architecture.

They are also trying to get documentation on the RSX (currently everything is running on the framebuffer and almost all software only use the PPE (no usage of the fast SPEs), but is already fast enough to play high def videos and software like OpenOffice.org), IMO it's clear that even without a native RSX driver high quality 3D games can be achieved using Linux.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSP9b4Qcu4M&mode=related&search=

Last edited by MikeB on 19-Mar-2007 at 07:32 AM.
Last edited by MikeB on 18-Mar-2007 at 08:44 PM.

@cell

Although Shenmue looked quite impressive for it's time and perhaps was ahead of PS2 at that time, in the end PS2 delivered games far beyond Shenmue.

It will only be speculation if the DC could have delivered similar quality as something like God of War II.

So it looks like the PS2 wasn't so crap after all.

@jiyong

Quote:

Although Shenmue looked quite impressive for it's time and perhaps was ahead of PS2 at that time, in the end PS2 delivered games far beyond Shenmue.

It was far ahead of its time. When Shenmue 2 was ported from Dreamcast to Xbox (I have both versions) it merely had slightly longer draw distance and improved lighting - and we already know how much better games tend to run on Xbox compared to PS2.

At times Shenmue 2 had so many textures on-screen that I've seen no PS2 game that could match it. Lighting techniques have been improved across all the platforms since then, and I bet if they had started Shenmue 2 today it would have looked even better on the Dreamcast, because developers have more experience with the capabilities of the machines today.

It's sad we won't get to see the DC pushed properly to its limits. As impressive as some of the later shooters have been, we haven't seen the big software houses really push the little white box. I bet it could have made up for lack of polygon count with better textures when compared to both GameCube and PS2.

I found this news item about Hyperion and OS4 on zdnet.nl website from back in Jan. 07. It talks about Hyperion could port OS4 to the Playstation 3.

The website is in Dutch and you will need to translate it to english using something like Babel Fish web translator.

Direct Link:
http://www.zdnet.nl/news.cfm?id=64015

Translated through bablefish:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/trurl_pagecontent?lp=nl_en&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zdnet.nl%2Fnews.cfm%3Fid%3D64015

Quote:

MikeB wrote: Regarding 3D graphics on the PS3 using Linux. Kai Staats stated: In 4 days, Terra Soft ported the MESA library to the cell, and that it's now about 80 faster than on the Intel's soon to be released Woodcrest server / workstation processor,the Woodcrest processor is Intel's first 65nm Xeon chip to be based on their next-generation architecture.

Unrealistic comparison…
1. Factor in less than 100 USD Athlon X2 3600+, ~160 USD Radeon X1900 (RV570), Radeon binary driver and CTM for Lintel.
2. Factor in Win32 MESA 6.0 library i.e. API bridged to Direct3D API.
3. Factor in Intel's GMA 950 and GMA X3000 i.e. refer to Intel's ViiV system platform.
Like SPUs for CELL's PPE, Intel GMA 950/GMA X3000 is only available for Intel X86.

Last edited by Hammer on 19-Mar-2007 at 07:44 AM.
Last edited by Hammer on 19-Mar-2007 at 07:41 AM.
Last edited by Hammer on 19-Mar-2007 at 07:39 AM.
Last edited by Hammer on 19-Mar-2007 at 07:39 AM.
Last edited by Hammer on 19-Mar-2007 at 07:22 AM.

_________________
Ryzen 9 7900X, DDR5-6000 64 GB RAM, GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB
Amiga 1200 (Rev 1D1, KS 3.2, PiStorm32lite/RPi 4B 4GB/Emu68)
Amiga 500 (Rev 6A ECS, KS 3.2, PiStorm/RPi 3A+/Emu68)

@Hammer

IMO with the Cell and Blu-Ray Sony has leapfrogged the competition from a technical perspective. Maybe if at some point when you test the power of the Cell you'll become a convert (like for instance AW member Jorge).

A few years ago I predicted some multi-platform developers (or at least the company managers, overlooking additional costs of the learning curve, etc) will be wary of learning the way of the Cell, but after GDC 2007 and the technical power demonstrated in launch titles like Resistance and Motorstorm the tide seems to be turning already, actually ahead of my expectations. I think however for the long run, they will want to place their new software amongst the highest class most technically impressive games which will be released for the PS3.

According to Sony, they placed the PS3 as the Mercedes of games consoles. They still offer the PS2 for the lowend market.

Another interesting news report:

PS3 withstands hack challenge

"There was only one winner of an international challenge that offered a PlayStation 3 to any hacker able to attack it: Sony. Over the two-month-long competition, the PlayStation 3 was able to withstand numerous attempts by hackers worldwide, proving to the competition organiser its potential use as a server."

"The challenge was called to a halt on 2 January 2007 with the PS3 emerging unscathed. Vidovic said this proved the PS3's abilities to run continuously for extended periods of time without any heat problems, and can be trusted to be a good, reliable and secure server."

http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;1319427689

Last edited by MikeB on 19-Mar-2007 at 09:20 AM.
Last edited by MikeB on 19-Mar-2007 at 09:16 AM.
Last edited by MikeB on 19-Mar-2007 at 09:11 AM.

@MikeB

I was impressed by the lack of heat problem generated by the PS3, does it have, through Linux, a power down option as well?

With games becoming bigger and bigger, blueray has always seemed the best option, plus cell has always looked good. Ideal for AmigaOS, especially now X11 should ease porting over some modern productivity software.

_________________
Greg Schofield, Perth Australia

@GregS

The Cell processor uses Tranmeta's LongRun power-management technology. On standby the PS3 uses between 0-1 Watt, while using the PS3 the device draws roughly between 150 - 217 Watts depending on the tasks running (DVD playback will draw less Watts than Blu-Ray playback, Motorstom will draw more watts than Lemmings, etc).

The current PS3 actually comes supplied with a 380 watt power supply, so there's enough headroom to add various expansions without needing an additional power source.

Future models will draw less power.

@MikeB
Quote:

IMO with the Cell and Blu-Ray Sony has leapfrogged the competition from a technical perspective.

Depends on the application area and comparison targets. One can't directly compare PS3 vs X360 since both topologies are not mapped 1 to 1.

In pure FLOPS market, Intel is an easy target to hit. As for optical storage, refer to combo DVD-HD/Blue-Ray drives.

Judging from Sony’s marketing materials; Sony seems to be stuck at pre-Centrino era while the real market is in Intel vs AMD system platform wars....

On the other hand, Terrasoft selectively forgotten that GMA 950/X3000 is only available for Intel X86 i.e. just like SSE...

Quote:

Maybe if at some point when you test the power of the Cell you'll become a convert (like for instance AW member Jorge).

Convert?

Quote:

but after GDC 2007 and the technical power demonstrated in launch titles like Resistance and Motorstorm the tide seems to be turning already, actually ahead of my expectations

Emm, 1080p is an old hat in the era of 256bit GDDRx @1.4Ghz equipped GPU (e.g. ~160 USD AMD Radeon X1900 Pro (RV570))...

_________________
Ryzen 9 7900X, DDR5-6000 64 GB RAM, GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB
Amiga 1200 (Rev 1D1, KS 3.2, PiStorm32lite/RPi 4B 4GB/Emu68)
Amiga 500 (Rev 6A ECS, KS 3.2, PiStorm/RPi 3A+/Emu68)

@MikeB

Sounds good on the power front.

I still see a big role for Amiga Boards as HD and peripheral servers (if OS4 can be extended in this direction), and PS3 as more or less as powerful domestic terminals.

I don't see a PS3 port as a negative for our own board developments. Anything that expands the market potential for AmigaOS will have a positive effect on hardware development.

_________________
Greg Schofield, Perth Australia

@Hammer

Quote:

Emm, 1080p is an old hat in the era of 256bit GDDRx @1.4Ghz equipped GPU (e.g. ~160 USD AMD Radeon X1900 Pro (RV570))...

I think more relevant is what kind of user experience can be achieved, rather than just the possible output resolution. The market is now moving towards 720p/1080i and 1080p HDTVs, the PC gaming market seems to be in trouble.

I strongly believe the Playstation 3 can provide unmatched 1080p gaming experiences for the long run. At CeBit I got to know an ICT professional/ student who is a vivid XBox 360 fan (his favourite game being Topspin 2). He read all the online slams made against Namco's Ridge Racer 7 launch title and thought the game wouldn't be much fun.

At Logitech's stand we played some Ridge Racer 7 using a Logitech steering wheel (they also had 1080p Virtua Tennis, but the machine was constantly occupied for the time we were there). He was very impressed by the 1080p graphics and the great sense of speed found in Ridge Racer 7.

Maybe I'll get back to the 1080p discussion when Factor 5's Lair gets released within the coming months. Based on past discussions I think this may be better.

Last edited by MikeB on 19-Mar-2007 at 11:55 AM.

See the Folding project in action here (Folding support to be added in the upcoming March firmware update):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoMHnKMD_Aw

Help save lifes! If you think about the price of the PS3, ask yourself the following question:

"How much is saving lifes worth to you?"

@MikeB

Quote:

I strongly believe the Playstation 3 can provide unmatched 1080p gaming experiences for the long run.

By which logic? Crysis is already at a level that neither the PS3 nor the 360 can keep up with both when it comes to graphics and memory requirements. Oh, and of course you can play at higher resolutions than 1080p. My MacBook delivers 1200p gaming. That doesn't mean the games look better than the 360/PS3 games though :)

Quote:

He read all the online slams made against Namco's Ridge Racer 7 launch title and thought the game wouldn't be much fun.

Good thing he can pick up Ridge Racer 6 for a handful of coins and enjoy practically the same game then - it even has rumble so you can feel when you're about to slide off the road .

On a sidenote: I noticed an interesting side effect in the Virtua Tennis 3 demo. It runs in both 720p and 1080p on the 360, but while textures are usually razor sharp in 720 (like e.g. Gears of War), the textures looked somewhat washed out in 720p in Virtua Tennis 3. When I switched to 1080p the textures were much sharper. I suppose it's because the texture density is designed for 1080p and for that reason doesn't look quite as good in 720p. It's not that you can't get that visual quality in 720 (as GoW still has better looking textures), but apparently that's something that may be expected in the future on console games. Luckily this shouldn't be an issue the other way round (where you upscale 720p to 1080p).

The VT3 demo also demonstrated how good a thing it is, that Sony have done a deal with Immersion. It has rumble disabled by default and I didn't even notice what was wrong at first, but it felt like a hollow experience. Then I noticed that it was because I had no sense of hammering the ball like on the Dreamcast. Luckily it was in the options so I could switch it on, and it felt like Virtua Tennis again

Quote:

The market is now moving towards 720p/1080i and 1080p HDTVs, the PC gaming market seems to be in trouble.

Yes, I'm sure the 200 million PC gamers will disappear overnight.

Last edited by Trezzer on 19-Mar-2007 at 01:49 PM.
Last edited by Trezzer on 19-Mar-2007 at 01:49 PM.
Last edited by Trezzer on 19-Mar-2007 at 01:46 PM.
Last edited by Trezzer on 19-Mar-2007 at 01:43 PM.

@MikeB

Quote:

technical power demonstrated in launch titles like Resistance and Motorstorm

Meh! These games are nothing that a gaming PC of today couldn't do. Mind you impressive for a console but again likely the 360 could pull these off too.

Quote:

They still offer the PS2 for the lowend market

They still offer the PS2 so they make a profit. Imagine cutting out all PS2 and PS2 game production Sony would likely sink with only a few million PS3s on the market.

Quote:

PS3 withstands hack challenge

Meh! A month long hack trial means little and a company should not feel that this 'test period' ensures that there will be no hacks within the lifespan of their console.

Quote:

I strongly believe the Playstation 3 can provide unmatched 1080p gaming experiences for the long run.

Bahahaha! Crysis already beats anything the PS3 has to date or is likely to turn out. PCs will continue to improve over the next 8 years of the PS3 lifespan, if they make that estimated 8 years. You cannot seriously believe the PS3 has the power that a PC will in 8 years do you? Come on I know you're a fanboy and that's okay but come on dude drugs are illegal.

Quote:

He read all the online slams made against Namco's Ridge Racer 7 launch title and thought the game wouldn't be much fun.

Seems your guy is simply daft. RR7 is the same game as RR6 some new boards some fixed foibles. The example you want to call on how great the PS3 is seems to be more so how uneducated your friend is.

Quote:

"How much is saving lifes worth to you?"

Worth to the user is no doubt. As I have to pay for the electricity. The result is millions of PS3 increasing pollution and Global Warming. Say they actually create something likely what will happen is a private firm will grapple the info create some drug which will be licensed to ensure high corporate profits and end up costing me an arm and a leg to buy if I need it. No thanks.

@BrianK

Quote:

A month long hack trial means little and a company should not feel that this 'test period' ensures that there will be no hacks within the lifespan of their console.

Heh, crackers have already broken their security measures. I'm guessing a loader release won't be too far off the European launch.

Quote:

Mind you impressive for a console but again likely the 360 could pull these off too.

Resistance wouldn't even break a sweat

@Trezzer

Quote:

By which logic? Crysis is already at a level that neither the PS3 nor the 360 can keep up with both when it comes to graphics and memory requirements. Oh, and of course you can play at higher resolutions than 1080p. My MacBook delivers 1200p gaming. That doesn't mean the games look better than the 360/PS3 games though :)

The Cell, the amount of simultaneous events which can be calculated, also AI and physics. Like I said before it's not solely about the resolution a system can output. I think the XBox 360 would have trouble handling the more hectic moments of Resistance (on the PS3 the game is fluent from start to finish), Motorstorm is visually the most impressive racing game I played so far. And these are only just the launch titles.

@MikeB

Quote:

think the XBox 360 would have trouble handling the more hectic moments of Resistance (on the PS3 the game is fluent from start to finish),

Do you believe you are technically qualified to make such a judgement - or do you have some sources that are, that would agree with that? A bold statement for sure.