@all

Sony Computer Entertainment to Expand 'Official Licensing Program' for PlayStation Peripherals and Accessories

Article here.

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@Lou

Quote:

Lou wrote: @BrianK seems the gpu is becoming a cpu...

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20090415124410_DirectX_11_Set_to_Enable_Standardized_GPGPU_on_Existing_Hardware.html

"DirectX 11 Set to Enable Standardized GPGPU on Existing Hardware."

"In order to popularize compute shaders (CS) among developers, the DirectX 11 includes not only compute shaders 5.0, but also compute shaders 4.0 (for Direct X10 hardware) and 4.1 (for DirectX 10.1 hardware), which are not supported by DirectX 10. Compute shaders 4.0/4.x have a number of limitations compared to version 5.0, including maximum number of threads per group (768), thread group shared memory (16KB vs. 32KB in CS 5.0), absence of atomic operations or append/consume and so on. CS 5.0 will also offer better interaction with graphics pipeline (e.g., it can output to textures), double precision and so on."

Btw, CUDA 1.1 processors already supports atomic operations.

Last edited by Hammer on 05-Jul-2009 at 05:28 AM.

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@Hammer

Quote:

"DirectX 11 Set to Enable Standardized GPGPU on Existing Hardware."

Interesting...
In the past Microsoft said the 360 was not DirectX11 capable. One can hope that they have since figured out a way to do do DirectX11. It seems this method will make better leverage of the GPU. If so it well may give the 360 the additional 5 years Microsoft talked about.

Though with next gen I'd expect to see Direct X11 optimized gpgpu's in play.

@BrianK

iirc, the 360 was released before DirectX 10 and had "some DirectX 10 features but was not a full DirectX10 gpu.

This directX 11 spec seems more of a way of redefining the use of shaders as functions and expanding where their results are applied(memory access)...but that's all I get from reading the quote...

So if the 360's shaders are flexible enough, then they may have some DirextX 11 features without being a fully compliant DirectX gpu.

The cpu can possibly make up the rest of the feature set. Since the memory is common/shared it probably makes sense to do so.

This gpGpu talk makes me think those rumors of a combined gpu/cpu chip coming on Project Natal 360's may have some merit.

If newer 360 games take advantage of a directX api found on the hard drives or flash memory specific to the model, then newer games can use directX 11 features specific to the console but older 360's may require more cpu time to execute them but the game may de-tune itself accordingly like PC games do.

I bought and played "The Conduit" for a bit this weekend.

Yes - best graphics on Wii by far. Really fools you into thinking you are playing a 360 game. I played it at my cousin's house who has a Sony HTDV and I believe the tv was doing some smoothening because jaggies were hard to come by. I'm in the middle of moving so I will be able to play it at home soon and can give it a better run-thru...

@Lou

Wii HD Pics Screen shots of the Wii emulator which does 720p. Certainly if a Wii HD console was made it would look quite nice.

@Thread
The last couple of years people have complained about Blu-Ray's cracking in the mail. Supposedly this has been tracked down to the special coating used to make them more 'durable' than a DVD. I put 'durable' in quotes because it appears that there has been no proven research into Blu-Ray durability. The maker of the film claims increased durability. But, what cases have they tested and does Blu-Ray beat DVD under real work conditions?

Actually bigger harddrives are a good thing. Rip the DVD or Blu-Ray and store it on the HDD. Then no one has to touch the media. Likely that will be one of the best ways to increase the life of the media itself.

@all

Sony's Stringer Rebuffs Activision Calls on PS3 Price

Quote:

By Adam Satariano and Andy Fixmer July 8 (Bloomberg) -- Sony Corp. Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer spurned calls by Activision Blizzard Inc., the world’s largest video-game publisher, to cut prices of the PlayStation 3 because the $400 console is unprofitable. Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said last month the publisher of the “Guitar Hero” and “World of Warcraft” games may shift away from developing products for Sony’s PlayStation 3 toward cheaper machines by competitors of the Tokyo-based company. “He certainly likes to make a lot of noise,” Stringer, 67, said in an interview yesterday in Sun Valley, Idaho. “I lose money on every PlayStation I make.” Daniel Dematteo, head of GameStop Corp., the world’s largest video-game retailer, said during a company earnings call in May that console prices are “too high” given the economic environment. Revenue in the U.S. video-game industry has fallen for three consecutive months, according to data compiled by research firm NPD Group Inc. Sony dropped 1.9 percent to 2,310 yen as of 1:37 p.m. in Tokyo trading, bringing this year’s gain to 20 percent. Japan- based Nintendo Co., which makes the Wii, the best-selling game console, has slumped 21 percent this year, and U.S.-based Microsoft Corp., the maker of the Xbox, has climbed 16 percent. The PS3 trails the Wii and the Xbox 360 in sales. The Wii sells for $250 and the least expensive Xbox costs $200. Sony cut the price for the PlayStation 3 in the U.S. in July 2007 and in Japan in October that year, when it introduced a new model. Price, Sales “Price cutting hasn’t always contributed to increased sales,” Osamu Hirose, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Securities, said today by phone. He rates the shares “above average.” The game unit has been Sony’s biggest money-loser during the past three years, accumulating 415.3 billion yen ($4.4 billion) of operating losses. The deficits began after Sony introduced the PlayStation 3 in the fiscal year started April 2006. Operating profit is measured as the value of sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses. “We’re very happy with the price point that we have,” Kazuo Hirai, the head of Sony’s game division, said during the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade show in Los Angeles on June 3. “We will move when we think it’s appropriate at some point in time.” Sony, which invested about 200 billion yen to develop the PS3’s central processor, plans to replace the console’s main chip with a 45-nanometer model from 65 nanometers, Daisuke Nakata, a spokesman for the game unit, said today by telephone, without specifying when the upgrade would be released. New Chips A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter and measures the width of the transistors packed in a semiconductor. The new chips will be smaller, and such models usually generate less heat, enabling a reduction in the number of components and leading to lower costs, Nakata said. Ashley Dyer, a spokesman for Activision Blizzard, didn’t immediately return a message left by Bloomberg News seeking comment after regular business hours in Santa Monica, California. “He’s putting pressure on me and I’m putting pressure on him,” Stringer said of Kotick. “That’s the nature of the business.” Last Updated: July 8, 2009 01:07 EDT

Last edited by fairlanefastback on 08-Jul-2009 at 11:07 PM.
Last edited by fairlanefastback on 08-Jul-2009 at 11:06 PM.

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@fairlanefastback

Just prior to this the Japanense President of Tecmo also stated a price cut is due for the PS3.

@BrianK

A price cut and reimplementation of backwards compatibility with PS2 before Christmas might save Sony's bacon. However, they've got a lot of catching up to do!

Blu-Ray was a huge gamble! And as shown by the Ghostbusters versions head to head on IGN, load times and graphics have suffered on the PS3 a) because of blu-ray and b) due to the XBox 360 being the lead format because of the PS3's late launch and high prices caused by Blu-Ray development!

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@all

Video game sales plunge in June

Quote:

Alas, recessionary pressures have now even affected the gaming sector. Sales of video game merchandise slammed 31% lower in June to $1.17 billion, posting the worst year-over-year decline in nine years. And the slump hit all areas -- hardware (like the Wii or PlayStation), software (like game titles), and accessories (like the amped-up new guitar for Guitar Hero). Specifically, hardware sales were off 38% on a year-over-year basis to $382.6 million. Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) Wii sales fell 45%, sales of the Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 dropped by a staggering 58%, and only Microsoft's Xbox 360 offering managed slight sales improvement. Software companies such as Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) didn't have it much easier; game sales revenue dropped 29% to $625.7 million. The previous month, game sales dipped south of the $1 billion mark for the first time since 2007. Not only have tough economic times made folks wary of discretionary spending, but there just weren't a lot of blockbuster game titles released of late, analysts say. Are gamers reverting to their old equipment and titles, taking a rest entirely or -- gasp! -- resorting to illegal downloads? It is likely a combination, and it's yet another sign that the economic tide is far from turning.

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/07/17/video-game-sales-plunge-in-june/

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@fairlanefastback

Price cuts for the Wii? Link

@all

Sony reports quarterly loss, expects more red ink

Quote:

TOKYO (AP) — Sony Corp. has reported a 37.1 billion yen ($390.5 million) loss for the fiscal first quarter, taking a beating from a global electronics slump and a strong yen. The result for the April-June period, released Thursday, was a reversal from the 35 billion yen ($368.4 million) profit the Japanese electronics and entertainment company posted the same period the previous year. Sony's quarterly sales dropped 19.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.56 trillion yen ($16.42 billion). Tokyo-based Sony, which makes the Walkman portable music player and the PlayStation 3 game machine, kept its forecast for the fiscal year through March 2010 unchanged at a 120 billion yen ($1.26 billion) loss.

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@fairlanefastback

Nintendo and Sony sales down Nintendo still in profit, Sony loses more... PS3 sales down 1/2 Million to 1.1Million. PSP sales down from 3.7M to 1M OUCH! The ecomonic situation has come to video game entertainment.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/rage-ps3-xbox-id-carmack,news-4349.html

"The PS3 does lag a little bit behind in terms of getting the performance out of it," said John Carmack, lead programmer at id Software, quoted in an interview with Edge.

Currently the Xbox 360 (and PC version with the right hardware) run at 60 FPS, but the PS3 version is lagging behind at only 20 to 30 FPS."

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Hopefully Nintendo pushes WiiHD out the door sooner to pick profits back up...

@Lou

Quote:

Hopefully Nintendo pushes WiiHD out the door sooner to pick profits back up...

Didn't Nintendo see some profits? Clearly this is better than the negative profits that Sony has been bathing their gaming division in. Especially in a down turned world economy.

I'd ready the WiiHD for the upturn in the economic conditions. Stick a Blu-Ray in it and eat PS3s as pancakes.

PS2 continues to beat PS3 sales

Got myself the Wii Resort with the new more sensitive controller addon.

(Reminded me of Amiga in a way, add expansions to existing hardware. )

The impression of this new controller addon: Me like.

Also the games included takes good advantage of it, especially pingis.

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@tomazkid

I bought it yesterday too. I've only played 8 out of 12 games.

Liked throwing the frisbee, archery, basketball.
For bowling, I saw no point in fixing what wasn't broken.

Pre-ordered Metroid Prime Trilogy while I was at it.

Quote:

Monster Hunter Tri has sold 520,000 copies in just one day in Japan, taking it straight to the top of the latest all-formats software chart. In response, Wii sales almost tripled in the region taking it to the top of the hardware chart. In total, sales of the console were up a massive 297 per cent, from 23,995 the week prior, to 95,357.

I actually can't wait to play this game. It looks beautiful.