2K licenses HAVOK for future physics-based Wii games...
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2k-signs-havok-for-new-wii-titles

In other news, Nintendo lost their appeal and has to pay $21M to a Texas company about patent infringement on some controllers.

Microsoft will have a $50 pricecut ahead of E3 starting next Sunday confirmed by a major retailer.

Dual-shock3 dated July 4th for Europe (suprise!).

Blizzard announces Diablo 3.

As we know the upcoming firmware 2.4 will be a major update with regard to PS3 gaming. Here are already two walkthrough videos covering some of the new features:

The in-game XMB works almost exactly like we're used, but now you can pauze the game to access the XMB or just keep the game running in the background and access it. You can for example configure Blue-Tooth settings or send out XMB messages without closing the game. You can also play custom music in the background of a game if you so desire.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/06/29/firmware-v240-walkthrough-part-1-the-xmb/

A second video shows the trophies / accomplishments system. You can compare trophies with friends, you go up in level ranking by earning more or better trophies.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/06/30/firmware-v240-walkthrough-part-2-trophies/

Compare your stats with those of a friend:



The level ranking system:



Basically you get more points for the better trophies you earn, at certain amounts of points you go up a level. The trophies system also relates to home's 3D environment which is to become available at some point this year after this update, more on this later.

The new firmware update is said to be released on the 2nd of July, DS3 controllers will also be available in Europe for this date.

Last edited by MikeB on 30-Jun-2008 at 02:39 PM.

@MikeB

Quote:

A second video shows the trophies / accomplishments system. You can compare trophies with friends, you go up in level ranking by earning more or better trophies

A nice feature copy from the Xbox -- acheivements. I'm glad Sony figured out that a ranking system comparable to friends is great. On the surface it sounded kinda dumb but lots play games to simply earn that street cred.

Also -- Supposedly the ability to use your own music in a game is rumored to be coming in 2.4. I hope so!

@BrianK

It's of course not an entirely new feature for gaming, similar ranking systems have existed for for a long time. For example through websites offering online Chess, Card, Checkers, etc games.

Now the time is right to implement this in consoles as well, I think this will help Sony for the long run when they for example release a PS4 or PS5. If so desired users are able to take with them their Playstation Home (personally decorated online Home and customized avatar) as well as some of their gaming history onto a new console there's a good incentive to stick with Sony Playstation.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HYIh3YKL1wo

Last edited by MikeB on 30-Jun-2008 at 08:23 PM.
Last edited by MikeB on 30-Jun-2008 at 07:06 PM.
Last edited by MikeB on 30-Jun-2008 at 06:37 PM.

@MikeB

I know you feel that Xbox Live is outrageously expensive and should be free. This weekend I saw an add for Direct TV's gaming. It costs $6/month ~$72/year. The 12 month + 1 free (so 13) Xbox Live subscription from Amazon is $45 so only $3.50 per month. Comparing Xbox Live games at half the price of Direct TV's is no competition. So there is definitely some more expensive and less exciting pay online head-to-head play out there.

Quote:

well as some of their gaming history onto a new console there's a good incentive to stick with Sony Playstation

Of course the same can be said for the 360.

Also, I thought in one of your posts you didn't like users being locked into platforms. Was I mistaken or is it only Windows (Microsoft) you don't like users being locked into?

@BrianK

Quote:

I know you feel that Xbox Live is outrageously expensive and should be free.

No, but I think if it were free it would significantly widen potential. Would you like it you had to pay to play online games on your PC and PS3 as well?

The PS3 will go beyond the features provided by XBox Live and it's free. IMO they should make it free and use more dedicated servers for lag-free online gaming. Microsoft can easily afford it.

Quote:

Also, I thought in one of your posts you didn't like users being locked into platforms. Was I mistaken or is it only Windows (Microsoft) you don't like users being locked into?

I don't mind quality products providing compelling new features. However MSDOS was the worst operating system I've ever used and IMO Windows isn't all that good today compared to how I would've imagined operating systems to advance by now during the 80s.

I am against anti-competitive measures (read up on the antitrust lawsuit testimonials, which was IMO sadly sabotaged under the Bush administration). Achievements, Accomplishment, Playstation Home, SecondLife aren't anti-competitive, they are competitive products.

@MikeB

sure this will brighten your day !

just received this news today...

With 12 million sold, PlayStation 3 surpasses Xbox

Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console has finally outsold Microsoft's Xbox after a strong first part of the year that saw U.S. PS3 levels reach 4.5 million and 12 million worldwide, according to NPD Group, a research firm, and Sony. The results are the fruit of Sony's newly aggressive strategy of linking its vast quantity of products and services.

Link to the story

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

@Interesting

Taking equal timeframes the PS3 has outsold the 360 by millions.

Sold to retailer figures:

- Microsoft sold 4.3 million 360s worldwide in the last quarter of 2007, making it 7.3 million in total for the year.
- Sony sold 4.9 million PS3 worldwide in the last quarter of 2007, totalling 8.83 million for the year.
- At the end of 2007 total PS3 sales were 10.49 million, at the end of March 12.85 million, meaning Sony sold a little over 2.3 million PS3s for Q1 2008.
- At the end of 2007 total 360 sales were 17.7 million, at the end of March 19 million, meaning Microsoft sold roughly 1.3 million 360s for Q1 2008.

The PS3 consumer install base is near 14 million units worldwide, MGS4 had a very positive effect on unit sales.

According to NPD's US figures (the 360's by far best performing market), the PS3 sold 1,224,000 units to the XBox's 1,120,000 this year through May 2008. In June the PS3 sales spiked due to the release of MGS4, it's as good as certain the PS3 will beat the 360 for June's NPD charts again.

Last edited by MikeB on 30-Jun-2008 at 08:10 PM.

@MikeB

Quote:

Would you like it you had to pay to play online games on your PC and PS3 as well?

Since I've paid for various games like Everquest and World of Warcraft I guess I have no problems paying extra for online gameplay. The question you pose isn't a simple yes or no as it all depends on what game(s) along with how much for what timeframe.

Quote:

The PS3 will go beyond the features provided by XBox Live and it's free

I don't think we ever got out of you what feature will PS3 online have that Xbox Live can't do? If the rumors of Live's My Gamepad are true we'll even see a 2nd life/Home version on the 360.

@BrianK

Quote:

rumors of Live's My Gamepad

DeviantART photoshopped an image, that's how that rumour started.



Technically with a default harddrive and a much bigger firmware flashdrive (16 MB for the 360 and 2 x 128 MB for the PS3) Sony has far more room to further system functionality. A lot of effort has been put into polishing Home, I don't think you should get your hopes up high the 360 will receive on par system functionality.

@MikeB

Quote:

Technically with a default harddrive and a much bigger firmware flashdrive (16 MB for the 360 and 2 x 128 MB for the PS3) Sony has far more room to further system functionality

Great.. and this will enable the PS3 to go beyond the 360 by providing _______________ ?

@MikeB

Quote:

MikeB wrote: @BrianK Quote: rumors of Live's My Gamepad DeviantART photoshopped an image, that's how that rumour started. Technically with a default harddrive and a much bigger firmware flashdrive (16 MB for the 360 and 2 x 128 MB for the PS3) Sony has far more room to further system functionality. A lot of effort has been put into polishing Home, I don't think you should get your hopes up high the 360 will receive on par system functionality.

And why cant microsoft have it require HD? Most xbox owners have the premium, so wont be a problem for most people.

@Tomas

Quote:

And why cant microsoft have it require HD? Most xbox owners have the premium, so wont be a problem for most people.

It doesn't fit their stategy as nearly all big XBox games have received 360 sequels and most owners of the original XBox moved towards the 360 due to a complete lack of support for their platform. At the end of this year the vast majority of XBox owners will have migrated onto the 360, so it's Microsoft's aim to make inroads amongst more casual gamers with low pricing, cutting out a default harddrive allows them to provide such lower entry pricing.

Although I agree most current owners got a premium / pro with a 20 GB harddrive (useful mainly to download demos and additional content at this point), the HD-less Arcade units have been gaining in importance for Microsoft. It's now believed Arcade unit sales at this point are roughly on par with premium sales. As fewer and fewer hardcore XBox fans upgrade towards the 360, the Arcade units will likely gain in importance to Microsoft and developing a service which would cut out many of potential future customers is less interesting to them from a business standpoint.

Current 360 owners will probably continue to buy about ~4.7 games on average per year for their console (same amount as PS3 owners buy on average). Will they buy additional games if they release such a service? Probably not.

So their long term outlook is why Microsoft is and will be focusing on entry pricing and continue to require games developers to not require a harddrive for their games.

Last edited by MikeB on 01-Jul-2008 at 11:13 AM.

@Tomas

MIcrosoft has potential amongst casuals, a recent story:

Quote:

My friend just went to and got an Xbox 360. But here's the kicker. He wanted a REFURBISHED Premium, not Pro, but Premium. You know, the ones that break so much. And it was understandable, because it was $200 (obviously for a reason). Now, the reason he gave for wanting this is because he had been playing COD4 so much on another friend's 360 that he wanted one himself. Me, being myself, said "Why don't you get a PS3?" to which he responded, no, exclamated "THE PS3 DOESN'T EVEN HAVE COD4!". First WOW. Of course I told him that it did have it, but he didn't care. So then, looking out for him, I said, "If you're going to get a 360, at least get a new one, cause those first generation ones (especially a frist gen refurb) break down" He didn't believe me.....so I called ANOTHER friend who works at Gamestop (He trusts EJ more about video games than myself, even though I know about price cuts, release dates, and even GS conference calls before EJ does). We both told him that it will probably break on him. He then says "Well, these things are like computers, so I'll just take a look inside and fix it if it breaks on me" Second WOW. EJ then said "No, when those things breaks, stuff melts together, so there's no fixing it.....so you'll have to get a warranty, and with all that extra spending, you'll end up with the price of a new Pro". But regardless, we ended up going to Fry's, and he got one. While at Fry's, he looked around for a while, but eventually picked up the 360, and went to the checkout. I asked him, for the last time, why he he wouldn't get a PS3 if A.) You're only going to play COD4, B.) Free online (he's cheap), and C.) You're not even going to be playing for a paid service most of the school year. To which he says "Man, I don't trust Sony. They're a ripoff. They made Betamax". Third WOW, and a big one at that. He said that Sony was a ripoff because of Betamax (like Blu-ray didn't fail or something), and he also said that the Walkman was a failure, BUT at this very moment he's borrowing my PS2 (so much for a company being a ripoff). The last WOW is bigger than the previous one. This one takes the cake. He said that the 360 had the most marketshare and that Nintendo wasn't producing anymore Wii's (simply because he couldn't find one). He's like "You haven't seen a Wii in the last 6 months, Nintendo isn't making anymore" and I told him that that was simply because they're in high demand, and as soon as they hit retail shelves, they sell out. He didn't believe, but then the guy that worked at the register was like "Uhhh.....we get them every Tuesday". Some other smaller WOWs include: He thought that the 360 had an internal 2.5" HDD (no....you have to buy a proprietary HDD that's external) When I told him about the fail rate, he said that it was typical of consoles (even though my PS2 which he is borrowing is 7 years old) When he was told about the RROD of the older models, he brushed it off, and then when I told him about the disc eating tray, he brushed that off too So, this brings up question from myself. I guess he is what is described as a "casual gamer". He doesn't play them very often, he only plans on playing one game per system (COD4 on his new...err...used 360, and GH3 on my PS2), and he thinks games are too expensive right now. THe question I have is, are "casuals" typically this ignorant when it comes to the video game market, in the past AND as it stands today?

Pricing, consumer unawareness and set US media stigmas can be powerful weapons to Microsoft's advantage when they try to attract more casual gamers. Once the 360 gets down to a $199 entry pricing I believe nearly all XBox 360 Arcade consumers will be casual gamers and will probably be their most important model being sold.

Last edited by MikeB on 01-Jul-2008 at 11:33 AM.

@MikeB

Quote:

MikeB wrote: MikeB: Quote: Some new info with regard to the PS3 two biggest upcoming FPS games. Resistance 2 is pushing for unique 60 player squad battles and 8 player co-op story campaign and huge boss battles. One of the fast moving bosses is meanwhile revealed, it towers above Chicago skyscrapers: http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm282/Danny-0/IMG_8346.jpg With regard to Killzone 2 it has been revealed the game so far uses 4 and a half CPU cores, it's unknown if this means the game uses 1 PPU and 3 and a half SPUs or PPU plus 4 and a half SPUs, leaving at least 1 SPU unused so far considering 1 SPU is used for running parts of the PS3's operating system. Please note there is enormous potential for optimisations, a 360 launch game like Kameo used all of the Xenon's cores using up 85% of available CPU cycles. GG games said they received some help and input from 3rd party Insomniac and Sony's God of War 3 team. Wes Schuitema talked to GG, he says currently the game still only uses 4 SPEs like it did a few months ago, but more PPE code has been moved from PPE to SPE. Old diagram with regard to SPE utilization:

One shouldn't compare X360 and PS3 in a straight CPU vs CPU and GPU vs GPU. For example, Xenos is better at GpGPU than RSX (G7x based) e.g. unfied shaders, separate tessellation unit, efficient (compared G7x class GPU) occusion culling, 64 shader threads.

Xenos's "daughter" GPU process a number of tasks e.g. HDR, 4xMSAA/FSAA, Z Buffer (Depth), Alpha Buffer (Transparency), Stencil Buffer (Shadows), Occusion Culling (removing unseen polygons), Radiosity Lighting (e.g. global illumination), Real Time LOD (Level of Detail/Tessellation).

Last edited by Hammer on 01-Jul-2008 at 12:32 PM.
Last edited by Hammer on 01-Jul-2008 at 12:27 PM.

_________________
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@Tomas
Quote:

And why cant microsoft have it require HD? Most xbox owners have the premium, so wont be a problem for most people.

[/quote] The answer is there's no technical reason that it couldn't be done in this manner. The question is one of Microsoft approach. When the 360 was launched the HDD was optional and Microsoft wanted all games to be able to run without a HDD. However, they have since changed their ways in small bits. For example -- Live games used to be limited to be the size of memory cards. They've released this requirement and now some Live games would require a HDD since they'd be too big for a memory card. Another example that is for MORPHS, Microsoft understands the need for space and has agreed to allow developer to require HDD for their games. I think Microsoft would shy away from a HDD requirement for a Home type of service. However, if the market demanded it and it could only be done with HDD, I think Microsoft is smart enough to make the switch.


@MikeB
Quote:

Although I agree most current owners got a premium / pro with a 20 GB harddrive (useful mainly to download demos and additional content at this point),

Don't discount the games which use the HDD for a cache along with backwards compatibility. The cache is hugely used by HDD owners even if it's seemless, eg requires no wait to load time like PS3 games.

Quote:

the HD-less Arcade units have been gaining in importance for Microsoft.

It might seem they would if they want to fight the Wii. However, my local shops still claim the Arcade are the worst selling out of the consoles. So, this big influx of would be Arcade lovers hasn't happened yet here at least.

Quote:

It's now believed Arcade unit sales at this point are roughly on par with premium sales.

Do you have any data for this Mike?

Quote:

As fewer and fewer hardcore XBox fans upgrade towards the 360, the Arcade units will likely gain in importance to Microsoft and developing a service which would cut out many of potential future customers is less interesting to them from a business standpoint.

I believe your assumption to be faulty. It appears you are assuming that only prior Xbox owners are upgrading to 360s with HDD. I'm sure many of them do however that doesn't mean they are the only users who buy the HDD consoles.

Quote:

Will they buy additional games if they release such a service? Probably not.

Disagree. The majority of Arcades end up with a HDD. So, your fault here is thinking people aren't upgrading Arcades w/ HDD, they do quite frequently. Also, not everyone buys a console for it's online features, many don't care and just want to game at home.

The question of course is IF a Home type of service will come and how. You won't be proven right, nor I, until one is released.

Quote:

Pricing, consumer unawareness and set US media stigmas can be powerful weapons to Microsoft's advantage when they try to attract more casual gamers. Once the 360 gets down to a $199 entry pricing I believe nearly all XBox 360 Arcade consumers will be casual gamers and will probably be their most important model being sold.

Arcade is built for the more casual gamer in mind already. While I do believe they'll tick up in sales I don't believe they will take the crown for the console being sold. Likely that will remain the premium for some time to come.

Also your logic if faulty here, you found 1, one, example (assuming the story is true - the internet is always full of heresay and made up bunk) of 1, one, clueless person and assume this is Microsoft's buyer. I guess it's only clueless people that use the Xbox right? Microsoft currently still has the lead in quantity and quality of games and the best online service. In the USA they have the lead so it's more likely friends will have games to loan you. So yeah there are compelling reasons to buy a 360.

@BrianK

Quote:

The cache is hugely used by HDD owners even if it's seemless, eg requires no wait to load time like PS3 games.

What do you mean, how is the usage of harddrive cache by Uncharted not seamless to the user?

Developers complain about the 360 not having a harddrive as default as they can't rely on it for caching. Having one by default is better than having one optional from a technical design perspective.

@MikeB

Quote:

What do you mean, how is the usage of harddrive cache by Uncharted not seamless to the user?

MGS4 pre-loads, caches content, ~8 minute wait. DMC4 ~15 minute wait. Haze, 4GB mandatory install before playing. GTA IV another install. Bourne Conspiracy another 5GBs. Hot Shots Golf, Spiderman3... Oops outta 40GB drive space.

@BrianK

MGS4 and GTA IV are certainly worth the install.

Installing is up to the developer to decide which is the best approach for them, it's not mandatory as can be judged while looking at the PS3 game library.

Wouldn't you want an option to install Mass Effect to significantly reduce its pop-in and loading time issues?

With regard to needing more space, the PS3 takes common 2.5 inch harddrives (much bigger, mopre options and cheaper than a harddrive for the 360). You are in control, you are not dependent on Sony to pick a new bigger harddrive. Replacing the harddrive is covered by warranty.

Alternatively you can just delete a game you don't play anymore to install a new game. My 60 GB harddrive is plenty so far, but I may upgrade if Sony releases lots of music videos on their movie store in the future.