The Official "Console War" and Video Game Thread

[hemanrep]

I hope that Sony does drop it's price in the US -- may be that will get Nintendo to drop the price on the Wii as well....wishful thinking, I guess.

[AeroStratos88]

Nintendo won't drop the price cause they don't need to. It will sell in Japan regardless just like the PS3 will. Sony didn't do this cause of the Wii. They did it in no doubt to response of MS selling the 360 there way cheap with 2 packed in games and an extra controller well under the US Core price. That's desperation. And Sony is making sure MS has no chance in Japan.

anyway.. Heres a tidbit about the Red Steel.

While it's no secret that the Wii doesn't have the sheer processing power of the Xbox 360 of the PS3, this interview with Epic's Mark Rein makes it a bit easier to understand -- "it's not Intel integrated graphics, but it's pretty far below the kind of min-bar of Unreal Engine 3." Previously, Epic had been considering using Unreal Engine 3 on the Wii, which at that point was still the Revolution.

He goes on to admit that Unreal Engine 3 wouldn't run on the original Xbox, or the PS2, but it is being used for subsequent games on the next-gen versions of both of those consoles.

With Ubisoft using Unreal Engine 2 for Red Steel, does this mean that the Wii will always be a distant third in the graphics department?

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/09/22/wi...he-totem-pole/

Before we finish up: did Epic ever get that Wii dev kit?

Mark Rein: (laughs) I can't say, I'm under NDA with Nintendo. But I can tell you that we're not doing, internally any development right now on the Wii. The Wii I'm sure is going to be a fantastic machine and sell really well but it's kind of below - it's not Intel integrated graphics but it's pretty far bellow the kind of min-bar of Unreal Engine 3. If you built a PC with that spec it wouldn't really be capable of playing an Unreal Engine 3 games decently. They're aiming at clearly at different audience that what we are. You know, Unreal Engine 3 can't run on Xbox 1 or PS2 either - and that's not to say that some of our licensees wont find a way to shoe-horn it into that platform, we certainly have some licensees that are doing some experiments in that area and it could very well happen. But that's a really tough job. And one thing that has become public knowledge in the last little while is that Ubisoft's game Red Steel is using Unreal Engine 2, so there will be Unreal Engine games on the Wii. There will be Unreal Engine games on the Wii and hopefully they'll be successful and maybe we'll make a little money from it, but Unreal Engine 3 - that's a little below our target platform.

Do you think the Wii will be able to emulate the success of the DS?

Mark Rein: They certainly have a lot of buzz right now and if they can have a low enough price (NOTE: our interview was conducted before Nintendo's recent price announcement)- you know, people compare the DS and the PSP but the DS is half the price of the PSP, It's going for a different market than the PSP almost and so maybe that's the difference between Wii and PlayStation 3 or Wii and Xbox 360. Maybe they're going to come out at a significantly lower price point and they'll be able to do some really cool stuff with it, we'll have to wait and see. Or wait and Wii (laughs).

http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=146449

[shigsy2003]

Howdy

As I have said before, the fact that it is slightly more powerful than the X-Box is sufficient for me. I just want to play the bloody games with a revolutionary new controller.....I still have to wait 3 months and X amount of days

Incase someone hasn't seen here is the full specs list for Wii:

729 MHz IBM PowerPC "Broadway" CPU
243 MHz ATI "Hollywood" GPU
24MBs "main" 1T-SRAM
64MBs other 1T-SRAM
512MBs internal flash memory
3MBs texture memory on GPU
Built-in 802.11b/g Wi-Fi capability
One SD memory card bay
AV multi-port: S-video, composite,
component
Analog (left/right) audio / DPLII
Four GameCube controller ports
Two GameCube Memory Pak slots
Two USB 2.0 ports
Compatible with up to four wireless Wii-motes
Self-loading media drive
Accepts 12cm Wii and 8cm GCN discs; no DVD movies

Chris M

[hemanrep]

Well like I said at the every end of my sentence, it's wishful thinking, but I don't think anything is ever set in stone. If Sony drops the price on the basic model, Microsoft might drop their price, and it becomes a domino effect. Again, it's all just predictions and is my opinion, but I've seen weirder things happen.

[PanMan]

I have a question about the GameCube controllers. Will you be able to play Virtual Console games with the Gamecube controller? And alternatively, will you be able to play Gamecube games with the Virtual Console controller?

Have they every addressed this?

[shigsy2003]

I have a question about the GameCube controllers. Will you be able to play Virtual Console games with the Gamecube controller? And alternatively, will you be able to play Gamecube games with the Virtual Console controller?

Have they every addressed this?

Howdy

I am not aware that either of these are possible. I know that you can play NES with the Wii controller but I have not heard if you can play VC games with a GC controller and vice versa

Chris M

EDIT:

See what you think of these video's:

http://www.gameklip.com/v/766/

http://www.gameklip.com/v/748/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH2w2l1JTs4

[AeroStratos88]

And heres a countdown timer

http://wiiloaded.com/wiinews-2185

That sony Video was lame if that's the best people can come up with. I geuss. Gran Turismo is the bench mark for racing games. It's the game every racing game tries to copy. It also got best in show at the TGS.

http://www.pspfanboy.com/2006/09/24/...rding-to-cesa/

And hate to break to you but Ridge Racer is Huge in Japan as the showing at TGS showed it's a technical marvel and Ridge Racer 2 is on the top 10 Japanese software charts right now.

http://www.pspfanboy.com/2006/09/22/...-strikes-back/

Which I can see why people like to make fun of it since it looks like this...



Oh wait a minute thats the DS version it actually looks like this on the PSP

[asharachal]

Return it before the warranty runs up and you will get the newer version of the hardware and drivers. Seriously. It's not like they don't ship the units back and get a replacement.

actually, that's not always the case. sony stopped taking the returns on the brick ps2's for credit long before the 2 year plans were up on the last purchased ones (before last x-mas if memory serves).

[hemanrep]

We all know that the DS graphics are on the lower end...why must you keep comparing the DS with the PSP when it comes to graphics?

[Ironman]

We all know that the DS graphics are on the lower end...why must you keep comparing the DS with the PSP when it comes to graphics?

What else is there to say? The DS has destroyed the PSP in sales so there isn't much more he can talk about.

[asharachal]

when people try to compare the two systems, most fail to realize the only 2 things they have in common are wi-fi and they are portable. the ds and psp are two completely different gaming experiences and are marketed as such.

[AeroStratos88]

Uhm no actually the PSP is a run away success. NO ONE before the PSP has been able to take market share away from Nintendo and they've accomplished that by almost 50%.

True the 2 sytems are a different gaming experience for 1 the top selling software on the DS aren't games. Versus the top selling games on the PSP. It's true the DS is selling more titles of non games but the PSP has more A++ titles as you can clearly see from the metareviews. There are things that aren't done at all properly on the DS for one example Fighting games. And Freind codes is hardly Wi-fi in the same manner that the PSP is wi-fi.

As far as sales go well in Japan maybe. But we live in America where the PSP is a top seller.

[asharachal]

well having worked in retail selling the systems, i can tell you that the ds was selling better than the psp. but numbers-wise, yes the number of shipped units is neck and neck with the edge to nintendo. however, i wouldn't say that sony took away 50% of the market since the GBA is still shipping in various forms (and that's not included in the ds' shipping numbers).

i also know a lot of people with buyer's regret for having gotten a psp. i'm buying one off the significant other mainly for an addiction to lumines. but there aren't a lot of games on the system that have me particularly foaming at the mouth to play. the ds has had a ton of such games for me and the sig other.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

i also know a lot of people with buyer's regret for having gotten a psp. i'm buying one off the significant other mainly for an addiction to lumines. but there aren't a lot of games on the system that have me particularly foaming at the mouth to play. the ds has had a ton of such games for me and the sig other.

I have to agree with the gaming selection.

I do not have a PSP, and for the most part, there's very little out for it that I really want.

The only games that are really popping out at me at all are a lot of the ones by Capcom (i.e. the Megaman titles, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, That puzzle game collection which includes Puzzle Fighter 2, the Power Stone collection, etc).

And other than those, the only others that I am interested in include the upcoming Mortal Kombat Unchained, which is essentially just MK Deception in portable form with a few more characters, and the Midway Arcade Treasures release which includes MK 1, 2, and 3.
The prospect of having these games in portable form really really interests me, being that I am a huge MK fan. However, I have heard some bad things about the arcade treasures release being glitchy, slow, etc.

Plus, regardless of how well they work, the irony is that while I would love having them in portable form, I know that the VAST majority of the time, I would just end up playing the PSP at home on the couch. Even now with the DS, except for a handful of exceptions, usually I play it at home. So, having them portable is of little importance in the long run.

[TheDeviot]

According to the Q-Mann in this month's EGM The PSP had some good news, and Bad news. Do keep in mind that this comes from the RUMOR MILL however so it may not come to pass (Although the Q Mann is usually pretty close)

PORTABLE PROBLEMS
With all the hubbub over Nintendo's DS Lite, it's sometimes hard to remember Sony also has a slick portable system. Thankfully games like KILLZONE: LIBERATION, and GTA: VICE CITY STORIES, should keep portable pundints chipper. But while these two games look hot, the PSP's future is not - I hear several big-time third party publishers are giving up on the PSP.

In this month's Game Informer you can get exclusive screens for a bunch of Wii launch games including........ FAR CRY FOR THE WII!!!!!! (Among others)

[WHAT A GUY]

The psp is dying it has no where near 50% of the market more like 30%, if that.

[shigsy2003]

Howdy

The PSP and DS are the same as PS3 and Wii. The PSP offers nothing new in terms of how you play, for the shallow if offers the superior graphics but how does that translate to better and more enjoyable games?

Chris M

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Howdy

The PSP and DS are the same as PS3 and Wii. The PSP offers nothing new in terms of how you play, for the shallow if offers the superior graphics but how does that translate to better and more enjoyable games?

Chris M

Exactly.

Don't get me wrong, graphics are nice and all. But somewhere the gaming industry became SO focused on graphics that they often have forgotten about making games that are fun to play.

While having a game that is really fun AND has awesome graphics would be optimal, I would rather have a really, really fun game with slightly outdated graphics than a game that is dull and not very engaging with the latest and greatest graphics available.

Most of the PSP games available just seem like watered down rehashes of games already available on PS2. And I guess that wouldn't be so bad if the games averaged at $25 to $35 each as a starting cost, but most of the games when the first come out are between $40 and $50, which is what PS2 games tend to cost on their own. Why would I want to pay that much for a watered down version of a game when I can just go buy the full version and get more for my money?

At least with DS, even the cames that are continuations/sequels to existing series, they add in new/different features (often, but not always, involving the touch screen) and make it into a new experience. I can't say the same for most of what's on PSP.

[AeroStratos88]

Exactly.

Don't get me wrong, graphics are nice and all. But somewhere the gaming industry became SO focused on graphics that they often have forgotten about making games that are fun to play.

While having a game that is really fun AND has awesome graphics would be optimal, I would rather have a really, really fun game with slightly outdated graphics than a game that is dull and not very engaging with the latest and greatest graphics available.

Most of the PSP games available just seem like watered down rehashes of games already available on PS2. And I guess that wouldn't be so bad if the games averaged at $25 to $35 each as a starting cost, but most of the games when the first come out are between $40 and $50, which is what PS2 games tend to cost on their own. Why would I want to pay that much for a watered down version of a game when I can just go buy the full version and get more for my money?

At least with DS, even the cames that are continuations/sequels to existing series, they add in new/different features (often, but not always, involving the touch screen) and make it into a new experience. I can't say the same for most of what's on PSP.

Yeah I understand completely cause Mario 64 was a completely new experience for me and oh those mini games they had on The new super Mario which didn't use the touch screen by the way were so original. And oh Mario Kart DS wow! How did they come up with that it was so fresh and didn't use the touch screen. Metroid Pinball your on a roll Nintendo. Tetris, Lumines watch out they're gunning for you. Seriously.

Nintendogs cause I don't have real life dogs I need to play a simulator. Brain age cause well I need a game that can't even recognize when most people playing it says blue. A cooking sim, yeah I want to keep my DS real close to the stove while I'm trying to cook. And that Japanese to English dictionary whoo I would be so lost with out that. Which basically covers everything that's sold on the DS.

[discosupafly]

Yeah I understand completely cause Mario 64 was a completely new experience for me and oh those mini games they had on The new super Mario which didn't use the touch screen by the way were so original. And oh Mario Kart DS wow! How did they come up with that it was so fresh and didn't use the touch screen. Metroid Pinball your on a roll Nintendo. Tetris, Lumines watch out they're gunning for you. Seriously.

Nintendogs cause I don't have real life dogs I need to play a simulator. Brain age cause well I need a game that can't even recognize when most people playing it says blue. A cooking sim, yeah I want to keep my DS real close to the stove while I'm trying to cook. And that Japanese to English dictionary whoo I would be so lost with out that. Which basically covers everything that's sold on the DS.

I'm guessing that the sound of one hand clapping is much the same as the sound of a one-man pro-Sony campaign on these boards...

I live in Japan. PSP is NOTHING in Japan. DS is EVERYTHING. That's all that matters to me.

[AeroStratos88]

I'm guessing that the sound of one hand clapping is much the same as the sound of a one-man pro-Sony campaign on these boards...

I live in Japan. PSP is NOTHING in Japan. DS is EVERYTHING. That's all that matters to me.

exactly. In Japan but 99% of the people on this board don't live in Japan and it's not as big a cultural phenomenon here. If that were the case no one would have 360s but plenty of people here do.


Hey has anyone seen these quiet intresting? Bootlegs!





And I hope this isn't someone pulling our leg and I hope this makes it's way to America. Yeah I'm looking at you Nintendo/Pokemon Crystal. I say I hope this is real cause the bottom image jumps around alot and doesn't ever seem to synch up with what's going on.

[hemanrep]

Well, the best selling games on the PSP are the best selling games on the PS2. Is that what you want on the DS? Because I don't. I don't want a GTA game nor do I want a SOCOM game. Sorry, I just don't have time to play these games. I stupidly bought X-Men Legends 2 for the PSP because I thought I would enjoy playing it on the plane while going to Hawaii. BIG mistake. I couldn't play a game that requires so much playtime on such a small screen. Seriously, I wish I did so that I didn't waste 49.99 on a portable game that I haven't touched since then (my trip to Hawaii was in January).

You're point is that there aren't any unique games on the DS and that they are all rehashes or something you can do in real life...well, what about the PSP? You redicule the DS for having Mario Kart, but the PSP is pretty much the PS2 just on a small screen. Same games, same price, same gameplay. The PSP is trying to mimic the DS....they have a dog simulator game...they are releasing brain training games...and one of the best PSP games is a puzzle game (Lumines) which the DS has plenty of. Again, I hate to compare the PSP and the DS, but you keep looking down on the DS like it's in the "handheld gutter" and then start making comparisons and it's not right.

On a different note, does anyone know when the GPS add-on for the PSP is coming out? At least I'll be able to say I bought my PSP for something other than to put it in my drawer.

[AeroStratos88]

Well, the best selling games on the PSP are the best selling games on the PS2. Is that what you want on the DS? Because I don't. I don't want a GTA game nor do I want a SOCOM game. Sorry, I just don't have time to play these games. I stupidly bought X-Men Legends 2 for the PSP because I thought I would enjoy playing it on the plane while going to Hawaii. BIG mistake. I couldn't play a game that requires so much playtime on such a small screen. Seriously, I wish I did so that I didn't waste 49.99 on a portable game that I haven't touched since then (my trip to Hawaii was in January).

You're point is that there aren't any unique games on the DS and that they are all rehashes or something you can do in real life...well, what about the PSP? You redicule the DS for having Mario Kart, but the PSP is pretty much the PS2 just on a small screen. Same games, same price, same gameplay. The PSP is trying to mimic the DS....they have a dog simulator game...they are releasing brain training games...and one of the best PSP games is a puzzle game (Lumines) which the DS has plenty of. Again, I hate to compare the PSP and the DS, but you keep looking down on the DS like it's in the "handheld gutter" and then start making comparisons and it's not right.

On a different note, does anyone know when the GPS add-on for the PSP is coming out? At least I'll be able to say I bought my PSP for something other than to put it in my drawer.

Well you argument would hold water if Sony were the ones putting out these so called rip offs of Nintendo franchises. But they aren't they are third party developers. I see how one can get confused by such since they are almost and have been non existent on Nintendo consoles for a while. Games you've already played before on PSP huh, so what is Final Fantasy on the DS/GBA. Cause PSP has Monster Hunter Freedom which is huge in Japan and Monster Hunter Freedom 2 coming out soon. Final Fantasy:Crisis Core, Elder Scrolls on it's way, Valkryie Profile, Not to mention tons of sports games that the DS just can't do right. So we have RPGs, Sports games. Lets not forget the Genensis collection which is coming out on both PS2/PSP which will let you play everything the Wii is getting in virtual console and charging 5 bucks per game for, for about 30 bucks which comes with Alex Kidd: The Enchanted Castle, Altered Beast, Bonanza Bros, Columns, Comix Zone, Decap Attack, Ecco the Dolphin, Ecco: The Tides of Time, Ecco Jr., Eternal Champions, Flicky, Gain Ground, Golden Axe, Golden Axe II, Golden Axe III, Phantasy Star II, Phantasy Star III, Phantasy Star IV, Ristar, Shadow Dancer: Secret of Shinobi, Shinobi III, Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Super Thunderblade, Sword of Vermillion, Vectorman, Vectorman 2, Virtua Fighter 2
Zaxxon, Tac/Scan, and Zektor.

And uhm GTA Liberty Stories was original and ported to the PS2 not the other way around. And uhm There's MGS:Special Ops, Daxter, and tons of other Original IPS on the system.

[shigsy2003]

Howdy

AeroStratos name me one PSP game more original than Another Code or Wario Ware Twisted or Nintendogs or Brain Training etc. You won't be able to. At tleast the DS is offering something new, the fact that you don't like doesn't mean it is not original.

Chris M

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Yeah I understand completely cause Mario 64 was a completely new experience for me and oh those mini games they had on The new super Mario which didn't use the touch screen by the way were so original. And oh Mario Kart DS wow! How did they come up with that it was so fresh and didn't use the touch screen. Metroid Pinball your on a roll Nintendo. Tetris, Lumines watch out they're gunning for you. Seriously.

Nintendogs cause I don't have real life dogs I need to play a simulator. Brain age cause well I need a game that can't even recognize when most people playing it says blue. A cooking sim, yeah I want to keep my DS real close to the stove while I'm trying to cook. And that Japanese to English dictionary whoo I would be so lost with out that. Which basically covers everything that's sold on the DS.

Well, to reply to some of the specific games that you mentioned:

Mario 64 DS: True, it is a port of an existing game. But it is a port of a retro game, with some new features added to it... and Not a watered down version of a game that is available for the current home system (it is more similar to the re-releases of the old Super Mario Bros. games for GBA under the Super Mario Advance title). Honestly, I always felt that the N64 verison was missing something, and the additional characters added to this version made me appreciate the game much more than I did the first time around. ............. some games such as Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max for PSP are the few that interest me as they take an older game and add some new features to it.

New Super Mario Bros.: Sure, its another Mario game. But it is the first completely new side-scrolling Mario game since the Super Mario World hit the SNES. Plus, Nintendo has always been good, IMO, with taking each new Mario game and bringing something new to the table with it, while keeping the basics the same. Granted, it doesn't utilize the touch screen much, but I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing. While it is a big part of the DS, every game shouldn't be pigeon-holded to have to use it. I mean, some games for both the DS and PSP (or even the home console systems) don't use all of the 6 to 8 buttons on the controller..... they are just there incase you do need them. The touch screen is no exception.

Mario Kart... ok, you have a point on this one not being much different, but that's a rule that I feel applies to almost all racing games. I mean, you can add as many new graphics and features as you want, but at the end of the day there's only so much that you can do to improve upon having cars driving around in a circle (or something similar) on a track. The same arguement could even apply to games like Gran Taurismo.
.... Plus, while I DO have the DS version of Mario Kart, its not a game that I have bought for every system. The only other version of it that I have is for N64. I never had the original SNES version (I only played friends' copies who had it back in the day), or the GCN version, or the GBA version. So, for me it was still kind of new in the sense that I hadn't played every single update to the series.

I admit, Brain Age kind of sucks, but that's not really a game I personally care about. If other's like it, more power to them. I have it, but only because I got it with that free-bee deal at Best Buy for buying the DS Lite, which I was going to buy anyway.

Nintendogs, ok, its a novelty item.

Some other games that have come out for it are fun though. I like Super Princess Peach. It had some traditonal Mario elements with some new fun twists and features. It was familiar, yet a game all its own.

Viewtiful Joe... which, granted, didn't significantly reinvent the wheel compared to its GCN and PS2 counterparts, but they did manage to utilize the touch screen in some interesting new ways.

Sonic Rush... which is more of a traditonal 2D Sonic game, the likes of which they no longer make for console systems. So, I have no regrets buying that.



Even if the differences between the Nintendo console versions of some games and their portable counterparts aren't night and day.... they are still different enough to give you a new experience and give it something of a renewal... and most of the ports of exisitng games with new features are older ones that kind of revive something that I haven't played in a while, with a new refreshing twist.

On the other hand, PSP for the most part (there are some exceptions, though not many), has basically the same games (or EXTREMELY similar ones) coming out for it that area already on PS2, only they tend to be watered down editions with fewer features, etc. Instead of taking the basic concept and changing it for a portable experience and giving it sort of a new revival or twist, they just take what is already there, strip out whatever they can't fit on the little portable discs, and call it a day. I can't exactly stand up for a system that does that.