@Samwel

Quote:

Like one supporting Blu-ray and the other HD-DVD. Could be messy but works if they

Thats very possible....I've seen the so called "dual" players. In the LG player it was a Blu Ray player with software to run the simple HD DVD format. Like none of the HD features built into the format worked......but the movies played. That might be part of the near future?

_________________
"The system no longer works " -- Young Anakin Skywalker

Wii's virtual console is getting C64 games...
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33393

@Samwel

Quote:

Is it possible to have two firmwares if both don't fit? Like one supporting Blu-ray and the other HD-DVD. Could be messy but works if they add auto sensing of type of addon drive.

I think the draw back would be for the people who want to continue to use their HD-DVDs. Sure the system could redownload the firmware each time but what a hassle to those people who would want to use both.

PS3 News:
Sony Corp. has stopped offering versions of PlayStation 3 game consoles compatible with games developed for PlayStation and PlayStation 2 in its online Sony Style stores in the USA and the UK.

@BrianK

Hmm.. PS1 games have ALWAYS worked through software, even on the 40GB.
This will NOT change with them stopping the manufacturing of the 80GB.
This about PS2 emulation, which was half hardware and half software on the 60GB.
I guess the same on the 80GB (being like the european 60GB but with bigger HDD).

Other comments made by Sony reps make it more than likely that full software
emulation of PS2 will appear sooner rather than later.
They want to sell cheaper PS2 games through PSN after they stop manufacture
the PS2.

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@BrianK

Quote:

I think the draw back would be for the people who want to continue to use their HD-DVDs. Sure the system could redownload the firmware each time but what a hassle to those people who would want to use both.

Yes, I guess it would. But that's a problem for the current 360 owners that have a
HD-DVD addon to worry about.

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Now that the format war is over, perhaps even Nintendo will release an "ultra" Wii that has an integrated Blu-Ray player. Remember, 2 other companies manufacture Blu-Ray drives. Nintendo uses an LG drive, who have combo drives... Hopefully, this "ultra" Wii will include atleast 2GB of flash memory instead of 512MB...

As Nintendo licensed the Panasonic 'Q', a DVD-enabled Gamecube, perhaps they will make a Blu-Wii.

@Samwel
Quote:

PS1 games have ALWAYS worked through software, even on the 40GB.

Yes you are correct. I should have edited the gaming site report but I left it as is.

Quote:

They want to sell cheaper PS2 games through PSN after they stop manufacture the PS2.

It'll be interesting to see if they actually make an emulation layer for free so we can play our PS2 games OR if they end up making us rebuy the games through their online store.

@Lou
Quote:

Now that the format war is over, perhaps even Nintendo will release an "ultra" Wii that has an integrated Blu-Ray player

If I were Nintendo I wouldn't. The Wii is leading the sales and doesn't do DVDs. Why add costs and increase prices?

Last edited by BrianK on 22-Feb-2008 at 03:15 PM.
Last edited by BrianK on 22-Feb-2008 at 03:15 PM.

360 GDC notes:

360 sales -- crossed 18M
(I'll note in MikeB's honour this is sold to businesses not necessarily in consumers bloody hands.)

Over 10M Xbox Live members the vast majority are gold.

They're happy in the US believe they can improve in other regions. Europe is a key focus for 2008.

Much user and community created content through XNA will be coming to Live this year.

Here's a lesson we take, which I don't think we learnt from them (Sony), which is never run out of stock in January. I think the takeaway is we did better than expected over the holiday in America, we were in a sold-out situation, and now we don't have stock at the stores, which allowed them (Sony) to sell more units in January than we sold.

HD-DVD drive was a 3 percent attach rate. (~1/2 million)

PS3 GDC Notes:

Harrison lamented: "And our Japanese colleagues said that there is no such thing as social gaming in Japan – people do not play games on the same sofa together in each other's homes. It will never happen. And then out comes the Wii." (Blamed Sony Japan for lack of social game vision)

2.8M PSN subscribers in NA

50% of PS3 consoles registered on PSN Worldwide

No size limit to PSN games

Claim fastest game approval to online publication speed.

Someone should tell Phil Harrison that Nintendo "might" still be hiring.
I wonder if this had anything to do with his recent comments critsizing Sony-Japan about "social" gaming...

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/25/breaking-phil-harrison-resigns-from-sony-computer-entertainment/

Harrison admits frustration with Sony Japan

OMG! ATARI? Wtf?
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33463

Last edited by Lou on 25-Feb-2008 at 02:37 PM.

@Lou

Quote:

OMG! ATARI? Wtf? http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33463

IMO this is the last great hope for Atari. Harrison has a great record if he can't make it happen likely no one can. Chances are low, IMO, but perhaps we'll see Atari console against the other 3 next gen.

@BrianK

I read a post from a user at VGChartz that pointed out that Sony has only lowered
the price of the PS3 once. The other two times has been because of lowered cost
of actual manufacturing and change of features.
This one price cut was done just after the initial release (when the PS3 manufacturing
cost was at its peak).

This was compared to 360 and Wii. 360 has lowered its price at least once without
any manufacturing cost change and Wii had not made any change in price at all, he
said.

Most posters in the thread agreed that the 360 is in dire need of a price cut now.
Otherwise it may slip too much behind the weekly sales of Wii and PS3 and then
in result get a bad rep which spirals down to dying this gen.

A price cut of 50$ could make a huge impact to the 360 IMO. Even to Wii.

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@Samwel

Sony is releasing a bundle in the US this spring that includes: 80GB PS3, Dualshock3 controller and Metal Gear Solid for $499. Is that considered a price cut? The gameis a $60 value(atleast), the controller a $54.95 value.

If I buy it, I can have an 80GB Blu-Ray player for less than $399 when I ebay the contrller and game... Though I'd still have to buy that damn remote if it doesn't include the Sixaxis...

Oh nevermind then... I guss it's still a price cut on the 80GB model, but I believe this is to be the one without PS2 compatibility when this bundle becomes available... So perhaps it's a price cut related to mfg. costs again...

@Samwel

Quote:

I read a post from a user at VGChartz that pointed out that Sony has only lowered the price of the PS3 once. The other two times has been because of lowered cost of actual manufacturing and change of features

Lowering the price is lowering the price. The reason being lowered cost of manufacturing is interesting but it's still lowering the price. Also it depends on you see lowering the price. In Japan, for example, Sony announced the price before launch and it appears there were market concerns that caused it to lower the price shortly before launch. One could say that until the price is set to the consumer with a unit on the shelf to buy then it's not actual lowering. So I'd say that one just kinda depends on the viewer's market.

Quote:

This was compared to 360 and Wii. 360 has lowered its price at least once without any manufacturing cost change...

I don't track the Wii, I've played it, it's fine but I own the PS3 and 360 and wish I had more time for them adding a 3rd for me isn't something I feel compelled to do. Anyway the 360 did have manufacturing cost changes. Link It appears before the PS3 launch that Microsoft negoiated a 15% lowered cost of manufacturing so indeed there were manufacturing cost changes. True there wasn't a corresponding price reduction. But, this is business this change should have put the 360 hardware into profitability. Companies often cut costs and if the product is still popular and meeting their goals it would make little sense to cut out their profits, afterall this is a business. The RRoD issue of course bit that away.

@Lou

What are you on about? Sony has not issued any price cuts of late???!!!
The bundle is simply just a bundle.. Yes it may be a bit cheaper than buying
each separate, nothing more.

For the rest of my post I was refering to 360. Nothing really about Wii or PS3
other than the weekly sales sentence.

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@BrianK

IMO the greediness of MicroSoft bit them in the a** regarding the RRoD issue.
A little more research and quality in design/manufacturing should have been done
from the start rather than taking a chance like they did.

In the same way you could say Sony went the other way.. Too much quality for
a "toy". Making the price being way too high.
But then again this quality thing made me buy it rather than having only a toy
at home.


Btw in the swedish PS3 forum a guy is working on turbo charged Linux gfx drivers
for PS3. Initial test (without any kind of optimizations) show pixel fillrate to have
increased 10x. So I guess lag free graphics will be possible on Linux/PS3 in the
future

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@Samwel

Quote:

Samwel wrote: @Lou What are you on about? Sony has not issued any price cuts of late???!!! The bundle is simply just a bundle.. Yes it may be a bit cheaper than buying each separate, nothing more. For the rest of my post I was refering to 360. Nothing really about Wii or PS3 other than the weekly sales sentence.

I do see one coming when the 80GB model loses PS2 compatibility. That's the only what I see this bundle making sense for Sony. Ofcourse, leaving the Sixaxis out and only including the DualShock3 controller helps.

In otherwords, the 80GB PS3 is $499, yet in this bundle they give you a better controller and probably their future best-selling game for free. Something has to give there for it to make sense (or cents - $$$). So I'm saying swapping one controller for another is a push and loosing the PS2 chip could make up the rest of the difference.

@Samwel

Quote:

Samwel wrote: @BrianK Btw in the swedish PS3 forum a guy is working on turbo charged Linux gfx drivers for PS3. Initial test (without any kind of optimizations) show pixel fillrate to have increased 10x. So I guess lag free graphics will be possible on Linux/PS3 in the future

Great, perhaps then we can see AROS natively on it!

@Samwel

Quote:

A little more research and quality in design/manufacturing should have been done from the start rather than taking a chance like they did.

I think it's a lesson learned by a software company who is trying to extend into hardware. We have seen MIcrosoft software products and it always seem they're mucked up a bit until their 3rd iteration.

Quote:

In the same way you could say Sony went the other way.. Too much quality for a "toy". Making the price being way too high. But then again this quality thing made me buy it rather than having only a toy at home

Actually Sony is the other way. They're a hardware company extending into software, gaming. I think it shows by the near beta quality OS launch of the console.

Between the 2 issues Sony's is easier to fix. I think it's taken about 9 months for my PS3 OS to be something I consider to the point it should have been to be released. But even now the 360's OS and Live is a more compelling combination for me. Sony should be rolling out their improvements to their online service soon so we'll see what Home brings us.