The Official "Console War" and Video Game Thread

[AeroStratos88]

http://wii.ign.com/articles/728/728041p1.html

'Gamers hoping for an online component, however, are in for bad news, because one isn't planned. Activision would not say why, but IGN has separately learned from multiple development sources that Nintendo will not release Wii Wi-Fi Connection libraries to third parties until early 2007, which means that no third party launch title will have an online mode. '

Well this news about online play has bitterly disapointed me, but 3rd party games released without online play will hopefully have it available later on.

What?! Well maybe they are gonna try to work all the bugs out with their titles or maybe they are expecting more than normal traffic at start up esp if the virtual console market is in place. You can't really fault them I mean they are the last to the table with a console that goes online. So maybe they need to finalize somethings first.

Don't really know what it's gonna mean for games that we've already seen online. Some of those are just cross platform. It might come down to control scheme to online capabilities. Some games online mode add alot to replay value.

I won't be getting Marvel Ultimate alliance on Wii esp. If theres an online co-op mode.

Possible launch titles that could be majorly affected by not having online play:

* Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
* Blitz: The League
* Call of Duty 3
* Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
* Far Cry
* Madden NFL 07
* Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
* Need for Speed: Carbon
* Rayman Raving Rabbids
* Red Steel
* Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
* Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/25/no...vs-until-2007/

[CJ Clifford]

why no multiplatform ownership on the poll?

Where did that poll even come from? It wasn't there when i started this thread.

[AeroStratos88]

Where did that poll even come from? It wasn't there when i started this thread.

Another thread got merged with this one. So I figure.
They also closed the PS3 thread and said all posts should be put in here.

[Brett]

Another thread got merged with this one. So I figure.
They also closed the PS3 thread and said all posts should be put in here.

Yeah, they were merged.

-Brett
Who likes merging.

={+}=

[AeroStratos88]

File this under "strange but true." In conjunction with Stanford University's Folding@home project, PlayStation 3 owners who leave their consoles connected to the internet can lend their extra horespower to running calculations and study various proteins. So far the project has made numerous discoveries, and the long-term goals include finding cures for Alzheimer's Disease, Huntington's Disease, and certain forms of cancer.

For those of you who don't care about humanity's survival, every PS3 user who runs the program gets a visualization program of the folding process, complete with HDR lighting. You can check out videos via the bottom of the FAQ. Next time you're throwing a party and need some killer visuals, hook up a PS3, put on some Electronica, and have yourself a life-saving rave!

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/08/24/he...with-your-ps3/

[King Hsss]

Another thread got merged with this one. So I figure.
They also closed the PS3 thread and said all posts should be put in here.

True, I started it and it was merged. I just wanted to see what the majority of people were planning on purchasing if they already haven't? Also wanted to see some pros and cons about any console.

[Brett]

True, I started it and it was merged. I just wanted to see what the majority of people were planning on purchasing if they already haven't? Also wanted to see some pros and cons about any console.

Because that is the reason we started this thread.

There were WAY too many video game threads.

-Brett
Who is the watcher of the video game threads.

={+}=

[CJ Clifford]

True, I started it and it was merged. I just wanted to see what the majority of people were planning on purchasing if they already haven't? Also wanted to see some pros and cons about any console.

You really should have made the poll so people could chose more than one console. I have a 360, but I also plan on getting the Wii. At the moment, I have little or no interest in buying the PS3.

[King Hsss]

Because that is the reason we started this thread.

There were WAY too many video game threads.

-Brett
Who is the watcher of the video game threads.

={+}=

No biggie, I just have to look better next time before starting a thread.

You really should have made the poll so people could chose more than one console. I have a 360, but I also plan on getting the Wii. At the moment, I have little or no interest in buying the PS3.

Thought never crossed my mind in someone having more then one of the newer consoles due to the steepness of the price. But on another note you can't play more then one at a time.

[CJ Clifford]

Holy geez. Check out this article about the PS3. Sony hasn't even started producing these things yet and the release date is November 17th. They expect to have only 2 million units avaiable by years end worldwide. WORLDWIDE! These guys must be out of their minds.

http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news.php?newsId=4388

21 August 2006 - Sony Computer’s American president, Kaz Hirai, has let it slip that manufacturing of the PS3 hasn’t started yet.

With a November 17th launch date looming, Sony apparently still has quite a way to go in building up its stock of consoles.

Hirai, in an interview with Gamespot UK, said that “everything’s pretty much on track”, and “all signs are good to go”.

However, he also said, “We haven’t started manufacturing yet. Some of our ops guys were actually just in China, and also in Japan just reviewing the production lines and everything else".

“But they are, again, preparing as we speak to get the manufacturing going."

“We’ve not announced and we haven’t set really a specific date to say, ‘As of this day we’re going to start manufacturing'.”

He also admitted that Sony don’t expect to be able to keep up with demand, calling it a “logistical impossibility”.

Sony has allotted the number of units to each territory yet, and Kirai explains, “I think that we’ve always talked about shipping 2 million units worldwide within the calendar year".

“Since we’re going with three territories, we really haven’t come up with an allocation just yet."

“But even if you do the simple math, you’re talking about less than 700,000 units per territory, per major territory, between launch and the end of the year.”

According to Kirai, a final line-up of launch titles hasn’t been agreed yet, because Sony wants to feed games to consumers piecemeal, to “keep the portfolio fresh”.

[goblin22]

Where is the "All of the above" option?

I will probably get a 360 at its first price drop, then I will get a PS3 when that drops in price (Maybe a year or so after launch) and I will pick up a Nintendo when I think the price is right on that as well.

The console wars will not be decided in this generation and hopefully not in the next, as long as there is a console war, it will mean there will be many great consoles to play many great games on.

Long live the console wars!

[PanMan]

He also admitted that Sony don’t expect to be able to keep up with demand, calling it a “logistical impossibility”.

Well of course it is if you aren't worrying about starting production yet

[WHAT A GUY]

Sonys stock prices went down from that announcement too.

[shigsy2003]

Howdy

Sony has announced that PS3 won't be released in Europe on 17 November, as originally planned, and has pushed the launch of its next-gen system back to March 2007.

In a statement released early this morning, Sony said that the revision of the launch date is "caused by the delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode within the Sony Group, thus affecting the timely procurement of key components to be utilised in PlayStation 3".

This reasoning is consistent with last week's reports that manufacturers are having trouble producing enough blue lasers to support both stand-alone Blu-ray players and PS3 in time for Christmas.

After breaking the news, PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi said in response to the bombshell: "We decided to focus on the Japanese and US markets... I am so sorry not to be able to answer to all the expectations."

While this dramatic change in its launch schedule has scuppered Sony's plans for a simultaneous global release of PS3, the Japanese and North American launch dates remain unaffected, with the machine appearing in those countries on 11 and 17 November, respectively.

In terms of how many PS3s Sony hopes to shift out of factories, it has said that the figure remains unchanged. "The previously announced PlayStation 3 shipment forecast of six million units globally within the fiscal year ending 2007 [March 2007] is not changed."

However, while the long term figure remains the same, in the short term the production problems will result in far fewer machines being available at launch in Japan and North America.

The Associated Press reports that about 400,000 PS3s will be allocated to US customers at launch and Japan will receive somewhere in the region of 100,000 machines. Furthermore, Sony's initial estimate of four million PS3s shipped to stores worldwide by the end of 2006 is likely to drop to two million.

Kutaragi offered that Sony has "been working hard to try to tackle the problem, but we see the [supply] delay is inevitable". He did assure that other PS3 preparation was going well and that mass production of the machine was scheduled to begin at the end of September.

And the silver lining to this big, black PS3-shaped cloud (of course, for Microsoft it's just one humungous dazzling silver cotton ball in the sky with gilt-edged gold lining) - at least now we might be able to realistically save up enough money to buy one at launch.

http://www.gamesradar.com/gb/ps3/gam...14132311609002

Sorry but this is great news for Nintendo as long as they release the Wii over here this year

Chris M

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Hmmm... things aren't looking up for PS3.

I just think Sony set their sites way to high in many different ways, and things just aren't panning out as planned. There will be much fewer launch systems, and most of the note-worthy games have been pushed back to next year. All of this combined with the price just adds up to things looking not so good for Sony.

Granted, they are not necessarily dead in the water at this point. They could still do fairly well (even though I am kind of rooting against them). But, the more I keep hearing about the system, the more problems they seem to be having. If things keep heading in this kind of direction, they could have a similar shortage problem to what Xbox 360 had last year.

Well, it's definately the Wii for me.

[CJ Clifford]

I read this earlier and totally forgot to post it in this thread. After this "shocking" news, I really doubt the PS3 will be released this year. I say spring of 2007, a full year after the original release date of spring 2006. I'll be really surprised if Sony actually gets these things out this year. It's just not looking very good.

[PanMan]

This is great for Nintendo. If somebody goes out looking for a PS3, they won't find one so they will buy a Wii instead.

[AeroStratos88]

This is great for Nintendo. If somebody goes out looking for a PS3, they won't find one so they will buy a Wii instead.

Or a 360, DsLite, PSP, or some of the A+ titles still coming out on the PS2 before years end.

[CHRIS-ORION]

I'm going to play my Xbox 360...ENuff said.

[AeroStratos88]

Super Paper Mario is not gonna be on GC after all but released on the Wii. And the Wii will not have DVD Playback as originally thought.

Wii DVD and CD Player

So will you be able to play cd's or dvd's on the wii, because i remember in the begining nintendo said somthing about a self contained attachment?

Matt responds: You know, there is no apostrophe in CDs or DVDs. The apostrophe has no place in 1990s, either. I mean, I know I'm just scratching the surface of the inadequacies of your sentence, but we need to start somewhere. All right, now that I've needlessly ripped on you for no particular reason, let me direct you to my blog, where I have just recently covered the very subject you raise. In short, DVD playback is still supposedly in, but I'm beginning to suspect it may never see the light of day. Nintendo never confirmed CD audio playback, but I suppose that any DVD-player would also play regular audio CDs. See? No apostrophe.

Hey Matt. It doesn't seem like Super Paper Mario for the GCN is coming out on October 9th (given that it hasn't been released in Japan yet, and everyone but Nintendo has the game listed as Q4 '06 or Q1 '07). I know you vaguely hinted at games for another console being moved onto Wii instead. So is there any chance Nintendo is going to move Super Paper Mario onto Wii? Or was that just a one-time deal with Zelda?

Matt responds: Hmm. How should I write this? Have to be vague, you know? Let me just say that yes, Paper Mario will be headed to Wii and not GameCube. Now read between the lines, damn you! Wait. That was a terrible hint! All right, that's it for today. Time to beat Bozon.

http://wii.ign.com/mail/

Anyway 1 week to go tell we hear the rest of the details about the Wii. Maybe.

[shigsy2003]

Howdy

Hmmmm I will wait for the official word.

Chris M

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Well, I don't necessarily care if the Wii can actually play DVD movies. As long as the game discs have at least close to the same storage capacity as a DVD, that's all that I am concerned about.

That was one are where Gamecube suffered most... those stupid mini-discs. If the discs had simply been physically larger, thus allowing more area for data to go, it could have been more competitive. It might still be #3, but not by as much of a margin, and more 3rd party games could have come out for it.

As nice as it may be to have a DVD player built into a gaming system, it's not necessary IMO. Most people by now have DVD players anyway. Heck, I have a 5-disc one in my living room, so I sure as hell am not going to use a game system as an alternative to that. Plus, with DVD players being so common, I just think that using a game system as the player needlessly puts wear and tear on the system, which is not a good thing since eventually they will stop producing the system, and it will one day be harder to replace. I say I will use my game systems for the games, as they are intended, and leave the movie watching to the dedicated movie players. It makes the most sense to me.

[Midwinter]

Why would anyone care if the new system will have a DVD player???

Isn't the new technology heading towards Blu-Ray or HD-DVD?

DVD was never the real solution to movie and media storage anyway. It was a filler technology that barely measured above Laserdisc in quality and was a more user-friendly size.

To be honest not even Blu-Ray or HD-DVD are going to cut it - they need uncompressed technology (not just uncompressed audio).

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Why would anyone care if the new system will have a DVD player???

Isn't the new technology heading towards Blu-Ray or HD-DVD?

DVD was never the real solution to movie and media storage anyway. It was a filler technology that barely measured above Laserdisc in quality and was a more user-friendly size.

To be honest not even Blu-Ray or HD-DVD are going to cut it - they need uncompressed technology (not just uncompressed audio).

Well, I somewhat disagree.

For one thing, I think DVD is MUCH better than Laserdisc ever was or could hope to be. And VHS was overdue to be replaced by something better by the time it came out.

As far as movies go, I don't know if high-def is really necessary. Sure, I like better picture quality and all.

But I got into a conversation over this subject with a guy who works at a local Gamestop store just a few days ago, and we kind of agreed on a few things.

One of those things was that in some cases, the quality of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are almost too good. Meaning that the picture is so clear, and there is so much detail, that when they get close up on someone's face, you can see every little pour, skin blemish, and every other possible imperfection in high-def 'glory'.

Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I really don't want to see that. And I'm fairly sure that the actors, themselves, don't want us to see that. Now, sure, some things may look really awesome in high-def, but it does have its disadvantages.

Plus, in general, with this whole high def thing, some images look SO colorful and SO vibrant that they just don't even look even look real anymore (this was another point that we agreed on). Something that is meant to look realistic will start to look like it belongs in Willy Wonka's factory. And with that being the case, I can only imagine what things that are meant to be overly colorful (like Willy Wonka's factory) will look like in HD.

I'm not completely against HD, but I really don't feel the need to jump on it. I think DVD is good enough for now. These new formats aren't really necessary, IMO. Maybe that opinion will change over time, but not right now. And I really don't think we need anything better than Blu-Ray or HD-DVD now, as they seem to be too 'good' for their own good as it is.

I guess I can see these formats coming out for movies now, so that they have time to grow and gain an audience (hopefully with one beating out the other so we don't have 2 formats to deal with), and then eventually getting to a point where moving towards them is necessary. But putting them in game systems at this time is silly, IMO. It just drives the cost of the system up, and forces people to buy technology that they really aren't ready to jump onto yet.

[PanMan]

I don't really care that the Wii might not have a DVD player. I won't be using it to view DVDs anyway. I already have a DVD player that plays almost every type of disc possible (except the the new HD discs, of course). Essentially if it comes with the system, it's icing on the cake, but if you have to buy an attachment for it then I definitely won't get one, and it won't bother me one bit.

Same goes for Super Paper Mario now only on the Wii and not GameCube. I prefer it this way since I will be getting a Wii and would prefer it on the newer system anyways. Sounds good to me.