@all

Hands on review of The Conduit:

Quote:

At a recent hands-on demo, the game’s art director, Matt Corso, was dropping all kinds of techie jargon into my tape recorder. But I can’t blame him; the game looks great, sporting draw-distances, bump-mapping, lighting, shadowing and particle effects that wouldn’t look out of place on the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360. All that graphical panache was in full force while I was playing through a portion of the aliens-invade-Washington, D.C. title earlier this week. I found myself treading a crowded urban street as the mysterious Mr. Ford, who works for the equally shadowy Trust, effortlessly shooting insect-like enemy "Drudge" and blowing up vehicles, all while taking in the pretty visual presentation. Most impressive, especially for the Wii, were the explosions, which filled the screen in fiery detail on more than one occasion. But even tiny touches, like the realistic glare off the front of a newspaper vending machine, stand-out on the Wii. Also, the cool reload animations—an important part of any shooter—had me restocking my ####nal just to check it out again and again. Just as impressive as the art direction, were the solid controls; I haven’t felt this comfortable pointing the remote like a gun since strapping on Samus’ arm canon in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Character movement with the nunchuck also felt fluid, aiming was spot-on, and even the camera managed to keep up with the quick-paced action. It will likely still feel awkward to the mouse-and-keyboard crowd and gamepad jockeys—this isn’t the end-all, be-all control scheme for shooters—but The Conduit has definitely hit the sweet spot for shooter gaming on the Wii. If you don’t like the default controls, you can always customize to your alien-thwarting heart’s content. One of the title’s more innovative features is its almost stubborn insistence on meeting every single player’s style and preference in terms of personalizing the controls. You can map pretty much whatever action you want wherever you like; not just the obvious stuff like moving and firing, either, but even things like what motion you prefer to use when tossing grenades can be tuned. This feature also extends to the HUD elements, which can be placed anywhere on the screen, and options such as look sensitivity and turning speed. Best of all, you needn’t kick out to the main menu to tweak—it can all be done in-game. The Conduit’s bar-raising visuals, tight gameplay, conspiracy-riddled alien invasion yarn, and gamer-loving customization options make it a real stand-out on the Wii’s 2009 line-up. Because of technical limitations, a Wii game will likely never match the jaw-dropping power of a PS3 or Xbox 360 shooter, but The Conduit comes as close as the hardware may ever get.

http://kotaku.com/5142661/the-conduit-channels-hardcore-gaming-to-the-wii-hands+on

Edit: LOL @ this site's language filter. A r s e nal is a perfectly good word.

Last edited by Lou on 30-Jan-2009 at 04:56 PM.

@all

Quote:

“We don’t think Blu-ray is the savior,” DiClemente said. “Investing in Blu-ray, especially in the teeth of a recession, isn’t what the consumer wants.”

DVD Plunge May Force Studios to Write Down Movies
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=alfCm3k35Kz8&refer=us

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Top 10 Worst #1 Games
Wii: 3
DS: 3
PS2: 4

@all

In fairness the below should have a "likely" somewhere in the title, still from the original interview it does not look like its in the works to cut price yet.

Sony Exec: No PS3 Price Cuts Until Manufacturing Costs Come Down (SNE)

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/1/sony-exec-no-ps3-price-cuts-until-manufacturing-costs-come-down-sne



Quote:

Eurogamer: Is the PS3 going to remain the most expensive console on the market? David Reeves: I think it will, yes. I'm not saying there are going to be any price cuts at all in the short term or the medium term. I'm not saying we don't need to do it - we are expensive. It is possible that as the cost [of manufacturing] comes down, we will be able to do it.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/sonys-david-reeves-interview-january2009?page=2

Last edited by fairlanefastback on 31-Jan-2009 at 01:14 AM.
Last edited by fairlanefastback on 31-Jan-2009 at 01:13 AM.

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@MikeB

Netflix estimated gain of 1 Million new users from the 360 base.

@BrianK

Quote:

BrianK wrote: @MikeB Netflix estimated gain of 1 Million new users from the 360 base.

And Sony..still a big FAIL.

They're about lose anything they may have gotten profit on (which would be far more than me ever paying for 'clothing' on Home-less. if they'd see the light and offer NetFlix to PS3. They've got a month or two before I pick up a Roku box and write off Sony streaming video to my PS3 as anything they will *ever* see a penny on from me.

_________________
Are we not done with the same silly arguments and flames yet??!

@wegster

Quote:

They're about lose anything they may have gotten profit on (which would be far more than me ever paying for 'clothing' on Home-less. if they'd see the light and offer NetFlix to PS3. They've got a month or two before I pick up a Roku box and write off Sony streaming video to my PS3 as anything they will *ever* see a penny on from me

Movies on the consoles are interesting. I'm sure because Microsoft doesn't own studioes or libraries their approach is to work with various companies and include others like NetFlix who provide movies from most any studio. Sony's approach is to push Sony Pictures and mark up content higher, comparitively, and hope to profit more. If the Netflix approach gets a larger foothold, and I believe it will, Sony will eventually wise up and let others play in their pool.

For those that like their quotes.

Craziest 30 gaming industry quotes

@BrianK

@Sony
Quote:

"Microsoft does not concern us. Microsoft is not a technology company."

LOL at "Microsoft is not a technology". Microsoft guides the feature set for the Direct Next (e.g. DirectX 11).

@MikeB
I noticed your posting from http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=184843

Quote:

3) Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction ... 2. Minimize complexity of the GPU Shaders. i.e. Rather than making more GPU vertex shaders, or more complex GPU vertex shaders, we'll just edit the data directly from the SPU before the GPU gets it. This allows us to "disguise" complex vertex shader code as a simple shader from the GPU's perspective. 3. Run parts of the complete vertex shader code at different rates. An (SPU Vertex Shader, or Pre-Vertex Shader) does not necessarily have to run in lock-stop with the (GPU Vertex Shader). It could run at half-rate or lower, depending on the data and the need. 4) Motorstorm ... Historically, CPUs have provided course grain scene culling using view frustums, occlusion planes, portal visibility and BSP-trees with GPUs left to perform fine grain rejection using guard band clipping, occlusion and backface culling. While such features improve fragment performance, they don't reduce vertex processing overhead.

Sounds like NVIDIA G7X's issue i.e. refer to http://www.nvidia.com/object/IO_37100.html PDF Page 31,39, 32
http://developer.nvidia.com/object/dx10-instancing-gdc-2006
You'll notice with geometry shaders, you can kill geometry (PPT Slide 30).

Last edited by Hammer on 02-Feb-2009 at 12:11 PM.
Last edited by Hammer on 02-Feb-2009 at 11:55 AM.
Last edited by Hammer on 02-Feb-2009 at 11:54 AM.

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MTV Multiplayer: PS3 vs. Wii vs. 360: Which Console Downloads Games Fastest?

"Conclusion: Ok, ok. Let’s collect ourselves. Notice that the only time the Xbox 360 won one of these speed tests above was on Patrick’s wired connection. The Wii never won these contests, supporting my theory that it is a bit slow.

The PS3 is the console that won most of these races. So that’s the headline for now: PS3 Downloads Games Fastest Over Wi-Fi."

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/02/02/which-console-downloads-games-fastest

Some Playstation Home screenshots related to:

Resisdent Evil 5:
http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20090203/home06.jpg
http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20090203/home07.jpg
http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20090203/home08.jpg
http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20090203/home04.jpg

Street Fighter 4:
http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20090203/home01.jpg
http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20090203/home02.jpg
http://game.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/20090203/home03.jpg

@MikeB

How did we miss this killer PS3 game? Singstar, ABBA!

Screenshot of her royalness Agnetha!

Last edited by BrianK on 04-Feb-2009 at 01:57 AM.

@MikeB

Ive seen you mention a few times that the Xbox360 already has its most anticiapted games on the market, all its big name series are done, etc. Off the top of my head Im anticipating the following as mushc as anything that has come before:

Halo Wars
GTA4: The Lost And The Damned
Alan Wake
Resident Evil 5
Final Fantasy xiii
Street Fighter 4
Fear 2
Star Ocean
RType Dimensions
Silent Hill: Homecoming
Fuel
BioShock 2

Im sure there's others Im missing, but I dont care enough to make an exhaustive list. Granted, a good chunk of them are multiformat (but thats the way the industry is for the most part), but it doesnt stop the fact that theyre still fairly heavily anticipated games. A far cry from the impression you've been trying to weave.

@MikeB

Quote:

MikeB wrote: MTV Multiplayer: PS3 vs. Wii vs. 360: Which Console Downloads Games Fastest? "Conclusion: Ok, ok. Let’s collect ourselves. Notice that the only time the Xbox 360 won one of these speed tests above was on Patrick’s wired connection. The Wii never won these contests, supporting my theory that it is a bit slow. The PS3 is the console that won most of these races. So that’s the headline for now: PS3 Downloads Games Fastest Over Wi-Fi." http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2009/02/02/which-console-downloads-games-fastest

This blog post is pointless. It does not take into account network latency figures. It does not take into account the geographic location of the consoles vs. the available download servers on each company's network. It has inconsistent results (big surprise as it was not done scientifically at all) such as these where Xbox leads:

Quote:

-Mega Man 9 download speed on PS3: .79 MB per second (2nd place) -Mega Man 9 download speed on Xbox 360: .86 MB per second (1st place)

Quote:

Those are different results, which lead to a different possible headline: Xbox 360 Downloads Games Faster Than PS3 And Wii (At least the Wii seems to be consistent here, huh?)

or where it barely lags behind 1st place:

Quote:

Her speeds: -Mega Man 9 download speed on PS3: .59 MB per second (1st place) -Mega Man 9 download speed on Xbox 360: .46 MB per second (2nd place)

What other Sony fanboy tripe do you have for us?

Last edited by fairlanefastback on 04-Feb-2009 at 07:59 PM.
Last edited by fairlanefastback on 04-Feb-2009 at 07:58 PM.
Last edited by fairlanefastback on 04-Feb-2009 at 07:57 PM.

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@fishy_fis

I listed most those upcoming 360 games earlier within this thread as well. When I said most anticipated 360 games I meant games like Halo 3 for North America / Europe and Blue Dragon for Japan.

For example with regard tot he PS3 Killzone 2 or God of War 3 for North America, Gran Turismo 5 for Europe and Final Fantasy XIII for Japan.

Of course the 360 will see interesting multi-platform (PC/PS3) games as well. Like Ghostbusters, Resisdent Evil 5 and Street Fighter 4.

Philips and Sony just announced a partnership for amBX support for the PS3. That could be cool, my parents have a Philips Aurea AmbiLight HDTV, it's quite good (I have an older 1080p Philips HDTV). The lighting is pretty central to the amBX experience (unlike the Aurea out of the box amBX also supports winds and such).

http://www.ambx.com./

I wonder what kind of speaker kits will be available. Hopefully also configs providing true 7.1 support and not crappy PC style 5.1/7.1 speaker sets. I find it stupid retailers dare to market those as 5.1/7.1 capable sets, while they are really just providing 2.1 level audio on 5 to 7 speakers (so just plain oridinary stereo with subwoofer).

Good to know I am not the only one who pre-ordered Killzone 2

Euro Killzone pre-orders top 1.1 million
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=207519

@MikeB

I'm downloading the demo right now.

_________________

@all

Quote:

Sony: 'We Simply Have To Suffer' With High PS3 Prices (SNE) Eric Krangel | February 5, 2009 9:26 AM Give Sony (SNE) credit for self-confidence: Not only is the company denying price cuts for the PS3 are in the works, but Sony execs are hitting the media circuit to insist having the most expensive gaming console on the market amidst a recession is a good idea. The latest from Sony Europe President David Reeves, who told this whopper to the Guardian (UK): "We simply have to suffer a little," he explained, "go down in market share and mind-share. It's like Ali v Foreman - go eight or nine rounds and let him punch himself out. We're still standing, we're still profitable and there's a lot of fight in us. I don't say we will land a knockout blow, but we're there and we're fighting." David also repeats what increasingly looks like Sony's immutable position: The goal is short-term profitability over all else so price cuts are unthinkable unless PS3 manufacturing costs drop even more. We also hear the same tired reasoning for why Sony thinks people should gladly pay more for a PS3: Look at the capability of the machines. With PS3, you can go online for free, it's got all the games you want, it's got a Blu-ray drive so you don't need a new player, you can store photos on it, and you've got Home [Sony's recently launched online lobby-service]. Except that no one cares about Blu-ray (at least they don't care to the tune of $400), Home isn't something to brag about, and who buys a game console to store photos? And the PS3 does not have "all the games you want": It doesn't have Halo, it doesn't have Fable 2, it doesn't have Wii Fit, and that's just three off the top of our head. Things are only going to get worse for the PS3. With declining sales, game publishers are already shifting scarce resources away from the console: Bethesda's award-sweeping "Fallout 3" has lots of content on the X360 it doesn't on the PS3, publishers like EA (ERTS) are focusing on the Wii and lumping the PS3 and X360 together as a single "bucket", and the only two upcoming PS3-exclusive titles worth mentioning, Killzone 2 and God of War 3, are both published by Sony itself. (And neither K2 nor GoW3 are console-sellers, not like Halo is for the Xbox or the way Wii Fit sells Nintendo (NTDOY) consoles.) We wish Sony would reconsider. The PS3 really is a beautifully engineered device, especially compared to Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox, which as been plagued by hardware problems like HDMI sound issues, disc scratches, and the dreaded "red ring of death." But with the PS3 stuck in third place, no one will make games for it other than Sony itself. (At least not exclusively, meaning the PS3's superior power will go unutilized.) For all its bells and whistles, the PS3 is a gaming console, and Sony still hasn't figured out that's where the fight is. The only way we can imagine Sony can get back in the game is price cuts, taking the short-term hit on the chin in terms of decreased revenue for the long-term boost of getting the console in people's homes. Without a real plan to pull out of third place by the end of 2009, we don't think Sony's PS3 will "suffer" -- we think it will fade into irrelevancy

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/2/sony-we-simply-have-to-suffer-with-high-ps3-prices-and-sony-will-oh-how-it-will-sne

Last edited by fairlanefastback on 06-Feb-2009 at 04:05 PM.

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@MikeB

Certainly the net will carry the comparison soon. But the latest Xbox Mag has images of the Jasper (new Oct 08) vs Xenon (06/07) models. They compare layout, the GPU is moved to be less under the DVD player. They compare heat sinks, GPU has added heat pipe and CPU's is larger. They compare CPU, Jasper CPU is smaller manufacture. They compare power consumption, down on Jasper. They compare heat output while watching DVDs, games, and NXE, again down on Jasper. They compare the DVD player, supposedly improved. All interesting stuff and a cooler overall system w/ better cooling is certain to have an impact on the RRoD due to overheating problems. Unfortunately, we don't really know what they are. There are some guesses out there and claims of ex-repair shop employees, but we don't really know.