The Official "Console War" and Video Game Thread

[wolf-manj]

The other day i downloaded demos of Bioshock and FEAR 2 on thePS3. Bioshock plays in 1080 but FEAR 2 plays in 720. I'd have to disagree with you marka. I have only seen one game I'd buy a 360 for and that's Dead Rising. NONE of the other 360 only games would make me buy it.

[TheDeviot]

Quake Live has gone open. www.quakelive.com I tried it the other night, seems to run pretty seamless. I ran it Fullscreen at 1024x768 maxed with no problems.

I think if they get enough word out, this could be a big hit for ID.

UT3 super duper mega pack with fixes, and content galore coming in just a few days: Epic announcing Titanpack for all versions of UT3

And if you didn't buy it at the end of 07 UT3 is now $12 at Gamestop for the PC version. The console versions are still around $40.

[markatisu]

Thank god, no need to look on ebay any longer for Ogre Battle

WII-KLY UPDATE: ONE WIIWARE GAME AND ONE VIRTUAL CONSOLE GAME ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL


March 2, 2009

In like a lamb and out like a lion, or vice-versa? Whether March finds you digging out from a late-winter blizzard or reeling in the spring thaw, the fun is both mild and wild at the Wii™ Shop Channel. Even the littlest lambs in your household can take part in a cool new family-friendly WiiWare™ game, while strategy-loving gamers will be roaring like lions as they battle evil foes in a classic Virtual Console™ title.

Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

WiiWare™

Family & Friends Party (Gammick Entertainment, 1-8 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Have fun with all your friends and family as you take on some very exciting challenges. This is an interactive board game for as many as eight players of all ages. The goal is to be the first to complete a series of challenges. During each turn, a challenge will be played by one or two players per team depending on the type of challenge you've been given. (Other players on your team can still help and support you). There are six different "Single" challenges that must be played cooperatively by members of the same team. Family & Friends Party can also suggest "Versus" challenges, which must be played competitively by all teams at the same time.

Virtual Console™

Ogre Battle™: The March of the Black Queen™ (Super NES™, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): It's up to you to defeat the Empire. It's been nearly a quarter of a century since the Zetegenian Empire first conquered the Kingdoms of Zenobia with a wrath of fear and bloodshed. You are the leader of a band of rebels who've fought to preserve the last shred of honor in this desperate time of treachery. Manage the ranks of a full-blown rebel army, complete with hundreds of characters, magic items, weapons and mystical Tarot cards. You must succeed in ousting the evil usurpers-your fate, and that of the entire population, depends on it.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

[TheDeviot]

Midway looking to sell off Mortal Kombat?

[krosfyah]

The other day i downloaded demos of Bioshock and FEAR 2 on thePS3. Bioshock plays in 1080 but FEAR 2 plays in 720. I'd have to disagree with you marka. I have only seen one game I'd buy a 360 for and that's Dead Rising. NONE of the other 360 only games would make me buy it.

it's just a matter of personal taste here though as the only game i'd buy a ps3 for is God of War 3. in general i think for the average gamer the 360 has more appealing titles, not to say the PS3 doesn't have appealing games besides GOW3, it does, but that's the only one I want.

[markatisu]

Did anybody see this, the old NES game "A Boy and his Blob" is being remade for Wii by the developers of Contra 4, Lit, and Shantae

Apparently according to IGN the release of Wario Ware on Wii proved 2D could work and led to this game



It looks pretty cool, I would not mind seeing more 2D games remade for regalr Wii, XBL and PSN (to join things like Mega Man 9, Bionic Commando Rearmed, etc)

[Skullface]

I read about a Boy & his Blob the other day. I never played the original, but I heard lots of good things about it. I'll have to check it out sometime.

I agree on the 2D front - there needs to be more of them released. Just because there are amazing things you can do with 3D, doesn't mean old school style 2D should go entirely by the wayside. As has been mentioned, Mega Man 9, Bionic Commando, the DS Castlevania games, Wario Land Shake It!, and several others prove that there's still a desire for these types of games to be made.

[hemanrep]

I might actually buy that game. It looks really good! Not sure if it should be a $50 though. That was my problem with the Wario game. I'm not sure if I'd pay full price for a 2D game especially when there are a lot of great 2D games on the DS for $30.

[TheDeviot]

UT3 Titan pack, and Patch out now. Downloaded them, and wow. The UI got a MAJOR overhaul, Game performance got a massive boost, haven't tried the new modes yet, but so far mostly positive buzz. If you have it on PC or PS3 You definitely need to download this.

Also Nvidia dropped a new wave of drivers today, even if you don't play games on your computer you should still keep your drivers current.

Some screens from the latest UT3 update


New Title Screen


Fixed UI


ACHIEVEMENTS!


Titan Mutator!

With the new Titan Mutator, after you kill so many opponents you can turn into a giant sized character, who is a lot more powerful for a limited time.
But there can be several Titans running around at the same time. It's out there, but it's a lot of fun, and adds yet another dynamic. It's useable in ANY gametype. Remember these new additions are for the PC, AND PS3 editions.
The 360 version is belated because Microsoft won't allow such a large download over Live.

Also Steam has a deal on the game. You can play the full game for free for two days, after that you can pay a $12 fee to own it

[markatisu]

But there can be several Titans running around at the same time. It's out there, but it's a lot of fun, and adds yet another dynamic. It's useable in ANY gametype. Remember these new additions are for the PC, AND PS3 editions.

The 360 version is belated because Microsoft won't allow such a large download over Live.

Also Steam has a deal on the game. You can play the full game for free for two days, after that you can pay a $12 fee to own it

That is pretty cool, and for those wanting it for the PS3 its still at many Targets for $13.98-19.98 on the clearance aisle

[IronAvatar]

Yeah the 360 also has more quality games, the PS3 is still having trouble establishing its own IP's due to the fact many are not buying it because of price

I think IronAvatar would be able to explain the whole 720/1080 disparity, its strange though because just looking at what little I own, Mortal Kombat vs DC and Metal Gear Solid 4 are both 1080p games so its not like the system can't do it

Did somebody say my name? Hold on, because this post is a bit number-heavy,

The biggest issue with the PS3, rendering wise, is that the GPU is severely underclocked compared to the 360, not to mention a video memory fill rate that is half of the that on PS2! So basically, there are two limitations graphics wise that spoil an otherwise great design.

The main issue is that in a complex scene, a pixel is typically rendered more than once. So, think of the really complex lighting equations used for say, normal mapping....that's a lot of shader instructions just for one pixel. Then imagine that one pixel being rendered a 30 or 40 times over...that's a lot of shader instructions and VRAM read & writes!

Now multiply that a by a third of 1080p resolution....that's 1,036,800 pixels that are rendered maybe 30 to 40 times. Say there's maybe 200 shader instructions being executed per pixel, so you end up with 8,294,400,000 of those being performed each frame. At a rough estimate for texture reads (normal, colour, specular) that's around 497,664,000 bytes or 474 megabytes of data being read from VRAM in a 60th of second.

It's easy to see what kind of brick walls you encounter with only 20GB/s of bandwidth and a relatively slow GPU. The memory bandwidth isn't so bad, but you have to remember that you're not really reading that data one bit after another....you're only reading a little bit and then waiting as some shader instructions are executed. Also, on-chip caching helps to a degree too.

Luckily, there is a way around that sort of thing. The easiest solution, is to perform the lighting equation for each pixel, only once. Now, you could some up with all sorts of fancy sorting but there's a method called "Deferred Shading" that limits the number of shader instructions. This is the rendering method used on Killzone 2 and LBP.

It's a great method that, while it doesn't limit the amount of VRAM being read, it limits the total amount of shader instructions for our test case to be 414,720,000. This is a HUGE improvement compared to our figure of 8,294,400,000 instructions which was the only the figure for the 30% overdraw!

There are other benefits too, such as simplifying the whole lighting process. That probably brings the per-pixel instruction count down from around 200 to maybe 100, depending on how many lights you want.

So there you go... a crash course in modern rendering strategies for the PS3.

[markatisu]

1st Trailer for Boom Blox Bash Party (Boom Blox 2)



Apparently it will focus more on online play, user driven content and multiplayer, hopefully EA builds in some DLC since the SD card firmware upgrade should be out by then and WiiWare has been around for a while

[Sleeper]

have you checked out www.somethinginthesea.com yet?

It went live last Thursday I think but has already had updates. So far, it really just poses more questions than answers about BioShock 2 - a game that I will pounce on like Battle Cat the moment its released.

[TheDeviot]

[Skullface]

I read that IGN gave it 9/10. Definitely gonna check it out. Still debating on the New Play Control versions of Pikmin & Mario Tennis this week, along with RE5.....

[markatisu]

I read that IGN gave it 9/10. Definitely gonna check it out. Still debating on the New Play Control versions of Pikmin & Mario Tennis this week, along with RE5.....

I paid off my MadWorld preorder on Friday, also cancelled my RE5 preorder

I can't stand RE5 and the required partner so I will pick it up on sale or when it becomes a Platinum Hit.

I am super hyped for MadWorld, I won a contest with Platinum Games last week to get some sets of stickers.

[TheDeviot]

I paid off my MadWorld preorder on Friday, also cancelled my RE5 preorder

I can't stand RE5 and the required partner so I will pick it up on sale or when it becomes a Platinum Hit.

I am super hyped for MadWorld, I won a contest with Platinum Games last week to get some sets of stickers.

He got a set of stickers because he successfully used the potty.






























Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Raining Light]

Bioshock 2
Big Sister-

http://kotaku.com/5167756/first-imag...-2s-big-sister

[ehenyo]

Holy cow... I must have been living under a rock. I had NO IDEA that there was a Far Cry movie.

[madara]

Got my Wii Play Edition of Pikmin today. Darn I wish Nintendo Club was better with intent to buy pts.

[markatisu]

Got my Wii Play Edition of Pikmin today. Darn I wish Nintendo Club was better with intent to buy pts.

How are the controls, my wife has been wanting that version of the game ever since the Wiimote was introduced.

I also have to say MadWorld for Wii is so awesome, the graphics, the story and the ability to string combos together is just great

[CRAZYMOTUFAN]

WOW! I didn't even realise RE5 is coming out on tommorrow. I picked up this game at the mall on Monday. Some shop here has been selling them since Monday. Being a RE fan I can definitely say I like it.

[markatisu]

US NPD Hardware Sales for Feb 2009

1. Wii 753K
2. Nintendo DS 588K
3. Xbox 360 391K
4. PlayStation 3 276K
5. PSP 199K
6. PlayStation 2 131K

US NPD Software Sales for Feb 2009

1. Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (WII) 644K
2. Street Fighter IV* (360) 446K
3. Street Fighter IV* (PS3) 403K
4. Wii Play w/ Remote (WII) 386K
5. Killzone 2 (PS3) 323K
6. Wii Mario Kart with wheel (WII) 263K
7. Call of Duty: World at War* (360) 193K
8. Mario Kart DS (NDS) 145K
9. New Super Mario Bros (NDS) 144K
10. Guitar Hero World Tour* (WII) 136K

• Great sales for SFIV, almost 1m in the 1st month
• Wii Balance Board in the US will soon pass the total install base of PS3 (it already has in Japan)
• CoD WaW 360 and GHWT Wii are monsters, as is MKDS and NSMB (what are they like 3 years old now?)

[Skullface]

The Guitar Hero: Metallica demo hits Xbox LIVE today. The 4 available tracks are:

"Sad But True" - Metallica
"Seek & Destroy" - Metallica
"No Excuses" - Alice In Chains
"Stone Cold Crazy" - Queen

And on the Rock Band front, next week is the DLC release of Pearl Jam's "Ten" album.

[markatisu]

The Guitar Hero: Metallica demo hits Xbox LIVE today. The 4 available tracks are:

"Sad But True" - Metallica
"Seek & Destroy" - Metallica
"No Excuses" - Alice In Chains
"Stone Cold Crazy" - Queen

And on the Rock Band front, next week is the DLC release of Pearl Jam's "Ten" album.

Sweet, I have been anticipating the Pearl Jam release and anything with Queen is pure awesome