The Console Wars: 05.15.2005 | Xbox 360, Playstation 3 PS3, Revolution

PCWorld.com - TDK Develops 100GB Blu-ray Disc

"TDK's development comes hot on the heels of an announcement by Toshiba that it has developed a three-layer HD-DVD disc capable of holding up to 45GB of information. HD-DVD is a competing format to Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD's maximum capacity of 30GB had been viewed unfavorably against Blu-ray Disc's maximum 50GB capacity.

According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, a single-layer 25GB disc can typically hold 135 minutes of high-definition video in MPEG-2 format, with room for a further two hours of standard-definition video.

The recent Toshiba announcement brought the formats much closer together and made capacity less of an issue for the Blu-ray Disc camp to trumpet when promoting their technology. The development of a 100GB disc by TDK will likely open up this avenue for the Blu-ray Disc supporters again."

I believe this makes 3 players in the High Def Disc market. Sony, Toshiba and now TDK.

Related Links:
PCWorld.com - Burning Questions: Format Wars Redux, Blu-ray Disc vs. HD-DVD
PCWorld.com - Toshiba Expands HD DVD Capacity to 45GB
Blu-ray.com - Everything you want to know about Blu-ray Disc
The latest news on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray

Image Source: Blu-Ray.com

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 03:39:00 PM // PermaLink //

Here's why Playstation 3 ( PS3 ) NOT easier to program than Xbox 360 | News by Gamer Lounge

"Microsoft says that through the use of the XNA tools, it takes approximately one week to port PC applications to the Xbox 360, which ought to be a boon to developers.

Microsoft already stated that their controllers will work on both PC and Xbox 360. Programmers do not have to change their game engine when they port a game over from PC to Xbox 360 and vice-versa. If a PC gaming company is smart, they would port ALL their games to Xbox 360 that doesn't use the keyboard too much.

Xbox 360 DirectX API is more common to the gaming industry than OpenGL which is what Playstation 3 uses. There is a larger learning curve for Playstation 3 developers. However, big companies like EA can easily build a game for both consoles. Due to their large staff size.

If a game publisher choose NOT to release a game on Xbox 360, it will not be because of programming difficulties. It will be due to exclusive agreements with another suitor like Sony."

The only problem with these statements is they don't reflect that OpenGL is an industry standard developed openly by the 3D graphics community. The development tools that PS3 uses have been around for quite sometime and should not prove to be a challenge to developers. If Sony's developers held out with the PS2 development kit which is alledgedly one of the most challenging packages to work with, the PS3 dev kit should prove somewhat refreshing.

More to come on this topic.

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 01:50:00 PM // PermaLink //

Image Source: GameSpot

KRT Wire | 05/17/2005 | Xbox 360 will get `Halo 3'

"`GOD OF WAR' SEQUEL IS LIKELY

All signs point to a new ``God of War'' title, after the epic Greek-based action adventure title that swept critics off their feet this spring. ``God of War 2'' isn't expected until next year, which has caused speculation among analysts and industry writers that it'll be a PS3 title."

For those of you that own the first game and have beaten it, be sure to check out the "Birth of the Beast" video in the Treasures menu. This will provide a small preview of the sequal. For those of you that have PS2 and do not own God of War, it is a must have title!

Related Links:
God of War Reviews "Avg Ratio: 94% Based On 54 Media Outlets"

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 12:32:00 PM // PermaLink //

Killzone PS3: "Killzone PS3"

Check out the Video on ign's site. This game looks phenomenal!

http://media.ps3.ign.com/media/748/748475/vids_1.html

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 10:57:00 AM // PermaLink //

SCEA - E3 2005 : Hardware : PlayStation 3

"PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3) computer entertainment system combines state-of-the-art technologies featuring Cell, a processor jointly developed by IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba Corporation, graphics processor (RSX) co-developed by NVIDIA Corporation and SCEI, and XDR memory developed by Rambus Inc. It also adopts BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc ROM) with maximum storage capacity of 54 GB (dual layer), enabling delivery of entertainment content in full high-definition (HD) quality, under a secure environment made possible through the most advanced copyright protection technology. To match the accelerating convergence of digital consumer electronics and computer technology, PS3 supports high quality display in resolution of 1080p(*) as standard, which is far superior to 720p/1080i."

PLAYSTATION®3 Official Specifications:

CPU
Cell Processor
PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz
1 VMX vector unit per core
512KB L2 cache
7 x SPE @3.2GHz
7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
* 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy total floating point performance : 218 GFLOPS

GPU
RSX @550MHz
1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines

Sound
Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell-base processing)

Memory
256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz
256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz

System Bandwidth
Main RAM 25.6GB/s
VRAM 22.4GB/s
RSX 20GB/s (write) + 15GB/s (read)
SB 2.5GB/s (write) + 2.5GB/s (read)

System Floating Point Performance
2 TFLOPS

Storage
HDD
Detachable 2.5” HDD slot x 1

I/O
USB Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
Memory Stick standard/Duo, PRO x 1
SD standard/mini x 1
CompactFlash (Type I, II) x 1

Communication
Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2)

Wi-Fi
IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)

Controller
Bluetooth (up to 7)
USB2.0 (wired)
Wi-Fi (PSP®)
Network (over IP)

AV Output
Screen size 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI HDMI out x 2
Analog AV MULTI OUT x 1
Digital audio DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1

Disc media * read only
CD
PlayStation® CD-ROM
PlayStation®2 CD-ROM
CD-DA CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW
SACD SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD
DualDisc DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side)

DVD
PlayStation®2 DVD-ROM
PLAYSTATION®3 DVD-ROM
DVD-Video DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW

Blu-ray Disc
PLAYSTATION®3 BD-ROM
BD-Video BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE

* Storage media (HDD, “Memory Stick”, SD memory card, and CompactFlash) are sold separately.
* “Dolby” is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories.
* “DTS” is a trademark of Digital Theater Systems, Inc.
* “CompactFlash” is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation.
* “HDMI” is a trademark of HDMI Licensing LLC.
* “Blu-ray Disc” is a trademark.
* “Bluetooth” is a trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
* All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
* “Memory Stick” and “Memory Stick PRO” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.
* “PlayStation", the PlayStation logo and “PSP” are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 10:28:00 AM // PermaLink //

BBC NEWS | Technology | Long wait for Nintendo Revolution

"Gamers could be in for a long wait before they get a chance to see Nintendo's new home console in action.

Nintendo officials at the E3 games expo in Los Angeles suggested that the first opportunity to try out the Revolution would be at next year's show.

The machine was unveiled on Tuesday but few details were given about the machine or when it would go on sale.

In contrast, rivals Sony and Microsoft have provided detailed technical information about their new consoles.

Just ramping up the specs does not guarantee success,' said Mr Merrick ... Being the first one out of the box also does not guarantee success Jim Merrick, Nintendo

Your say on the new consoles Life at the E3 games expo Both feature powerful processors, as well as advanced graphics and display capabilities.

'Nintendo doesn't want to get into a specification shouting match,' said Jim Merrick, the company's European Marketing Director. 'I just don't think that it is relevant.'"

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 09:44:00 AM // PermaLink //

Sony @ E3 - Live PlayStation 3 shots - Engadget - www.engadget.com.

"Sony @ E3 - Live PlayStation 3 shots"

Pics of Sony's PS3 showing from E3 2005. This machine looks nice. It appears the black version is the same Piano polish black color as the PSP. If this is the case, I know which one I will be purchasing. The finish on the PSP is slick looking to say the least.

Note about the controller, I think the curved shape is much more ergonomic and gives the user better access to the shoulder buttons.

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 09:24:00 AM // PermaLink //

GamesIndustry.biz - E3: PS3 will be cheaper to start developing for than PS2 - Harrison

"Speaking in an exclusive interview with GamesIndustry.biz, SCEE development chief Phil Harrison has said that the PS3 will be cheaper to develop for than the PS2 was initially, with the system's power being much easier to exploit than its predecessor's.

'PlayStation 3, I think, is going to be cheaper to develop for than the corresponding period of PS2 development,' he said in the interview, which is published on the site today.

'I know that's a fairly contentious statement to make, but there's a very good reason for that,' he continued, before going on to discuss the fruits of the company's collaborations with NVIDIA and IBM - which, he says, will make life easier for developers as well as providing hugely impressive power for the system.

Harrison admitted that the PS2 architecture was 'challenging' for developers, although he was quick to point out that 'it didn't stop us having thousands of games and 80 per cent market share.'

Also in the same interview, Harrison discussed the demos shown of the PlayStation 3 earlier this week - reiterating that the technical demos on display were all entirely real-time and running on PS3 prototype hardware, although the game footage clips were pre-recorded and some parts may have been rendered."

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 02:18:00 AM // PermaLink //

E3: SCEE's Phil Harrison talks PlayStation 3

"Everyone expected PlayStation 3 to be quite impressive, but many people were shocked at just how much of a leap ahead of current-gen technology was showcased by Sony at its events here in Los Angeles on Monday and Tuesday. The reaction has, however, been mixed; those who saw the real-time demos in person have been left jaws agape, while those who didn't are generally highly sceptical of Sony's claims.

It's perhaps unsurprising that it turned out like this - after all, Sony could be accused of acting like the boy who cried wolf in the last generation, when PlayStation 2 and its much-hyped Emotion Engine turned out to be rather less impressive than Ken Kutaragi's rhetoric and a number of pre-rendered demonstrations might have suggested.

If PS3 really is a subterfuge - and to be honest, we don't believe for a moment that it is - then Phil Harrison would be one of the chief architects of the conspiracy. The head of Sony's development efforts in Europe, Harrison stands behind many of the most impressive demos and game trailers seen so far on PS3. We caught up with him at E3 to find out more about the new console's hardware, the software we've seen so far - and to ask the burning question about how much of it was real-time."

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 02:17:00 AM // PermaLink //

PlayStation 3: E3 2005: Fight Night Round 3 Demo Impressions

"The general consensus among most of us here in the IGN war room, is that Sony's 2005 E3 press conference was the best of the bunch. Boasting a ton of in-game, out-of-game, and tech demo footage, the PlayStation 3 unveiling was a roaring success. One of the biggest reasons for that reception was the excellent in-game demo of the upcoming EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 boxing title. Developed once again by the team at EA Chicago, Fight Night Round 3 is already the best looking boxing game in history -- and it's not even close to finished yet."

¶ D.Vader // 5/20/2005 02:16:00 AM // PermaLink //

Wired News: Move Over Xbox, PS3's Coming Soon:

"'PS3 truly is the system to be placed in the center of living rooms in homes around the world,' Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony's game unit, said at a press event ahead of the start of the E3 annual industry trade show.

Kutaragi, known as 'the father of the PlayStation,' beamed as he stood next to a display of the curved PS3 offered in three colors -- black, silver and white -- and a boomerang-shaped game controller.

Sony said the PS3 would have twice the processing speed of the Xbox 360, the console Microsoft is expected to release in November with up to 40 software titles.

'Sony's console looked like a next-generation game machine and in comparison to the graphics of the PS3, Microsoft's looked like Xbox 1.5,' said Takashi Oya, analyst at Deutsche Bank."

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 04:35:00 PM // PermaLink //

XBox 360 MTV Wrap Up

"Well it's official. XBox 360, formerly known as Xenon, will in fact stream HDTV as an extender unit. Although we will probably have to wait until later to hear the "official" word that the MCE 2005 Update will include cable HDTV support, it would appear that all of the pieces are finally coming together for Media Center.

With a high def Media Center and high def XBox Extenders, the digital home is almost a reality.

XBox 360 Unveiling

Although tonight's MTV XBox 360 unveiling focused primarily on gaming, the XBox is far more exciting as an Extender and this is where I believe Microsoft's hidden larger picture strategy is to be found. The gaming is just a bonus, and a nice bonus from the eye candy that we saw tonight.

Some of the primary objections to Media Center in the past have been 1. It doesn't do cable or satellite HDTV (ok, so it's my biased thinking that's putting this one first. 2. It's form factor is, well, (with a few minor exceptional exceptions) an ugly PC. And who wants an ugly PC in their living room. 3. PCs make noise. People don't want noise when they watch TV and 4. PCs are complicated and scary to the vast majority of mom and pop consumers.

Microsoft's new strategy will be to sell you a Media Center PC in your home office or den with an XBox Extender in your living room (and your bedroom, and your guest bedroom, and... well you get the idea). People will be perfectly fine with having an XBox in their living room. It's a stylish, uncomplicated, instant on, quiet device (complete with a DVD player) that is perfect for the living room. Meanwhile, not only will it play your DVDs and gaming in your living room, but it will encourage you to buy a Media Center PC in order to get the rest of the bells and whistles, including that great new HDTV content to play on your fancy new 50" HDTV plasma that you brought home from Costco last weekend. As people are much more accepting of PCs in their home office or den many of the past objections will be overcome. Brilliant. This time they just might pull it off.

For a complete breakdown on the new XBox 360 check out the XBox 360 fact sheet.

Most significant from the fact sheet is that an XBox 360 will allow you to, "amplify your music, photos, video, and TV. Watch progressive-scan DVD movies right out of the box. Rip music to the XBox 360 hard drive and share your latest digital pictures with friends. Make the connection, and XBox 360 instantly streams the digital media stored on your MP3 player, digital camera, Media Center PC, or any Microsoft® Windows® XP-based PC."

And like Matt pointed out. It streams high def. Giggle.

Oh, and congratulations Peter and the team at Engadget on getting the early scoop.

So below are some screen shots (taken from my Media Center PC I might add) of tonight's MTV XBox 360 kick off. It was very fancy, very glitzy, very Hollywood, but don't all of this fool you. This is Microsoft's Trojan horse (as in good strategy not bad virus) into your living room. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, yes that's right, it's Bill Gates pulling all those levers making all that noise and smoke and didn't the Killers sound great tonight." [more]

A few screenshots and pics here, more at the link.

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 01:19:00 PM // PermaLink //

mtv.com - News - PlayStation 3 Will Let You See The Spit Fly Like Never Before

"CULVER CITY, California — On an unseasonably cool Monday afternoon on the Sony Pictures studio lot, the electronics giant that brought Spider-Man to the big screen unveiled a blockbuster of another sort: the new PlayStation 3. Set for release in spring 2006, Sony's machine will arrive in stores just months after Microsoft's Xbox 360, the heretofore most powerful gaming machine on the horizon, announced last week for a release this Christmas season."

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 01:03:00 PM // PermaLink //

SCEA - E3 2005

This is Sony's official E3 coverage site.

www.e3.playstation.com

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 11:15:00 AM // PermaLink //

PlayStation 3: E3 2005: Devs on PS3

"May 16, 2005 - Sony came prepared to the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2005. The company lined the exhibition with PlayStation 3 branding and logos, and then blew gamers away at its pre-show conference. The next-generation platform is every bit the successor to PlayStation 2: slick, and extremely powerful. As expected, developers from around the globe are lined up and ready to make mind-blowingly realistic software. Following, comments from some of the major studios making games for Sony's new system."

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 10:23:00 AM // PermaLink //

Sony PS3 console unveiled / Improved graphics, wireless capability among features

"Sony on Monday unveiled its PlayStation 3, a powerful next- generation console that has the ability to display cinematic-quality graphics for gamers.

Ken Kutaragi, president and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., showed off the new system with rounded sides that will come in white, silver or black. The device will go on sale next spring."

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 10:20:00 AM // PermaLink //

Revolution Revealed

The previously posted photos are still unconfirmed. Nintendo will unveil their next generation machine sometime this evening.

Full Story: E3 2005: Revolution Unveiling in 12 hours
Source: palgn.com.au

Related Links:
E3 2005 News | First Ever Nintendo Revolution Image

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 09:04:00 AM // PermaLink //

Nvidia RSX GPU for PS3 Kicks Ass!

"The graphics processor, based on Nvidia technology and called the RSX "Reality Synthesizer", will be capable of 1080p high definition resolution, and is apparently more powerful than two GeForce 6800 Ultras combined."

Full Story: PlayStation 3 officially accounce for 2006

Source: gameplanet.co.nz

"And Nvidia said it will contain 300 million transistors which it claimed is more than the number of trannies in CPUs and GPUs of the three leading current generation systems put together."

Full Story: Nvidia shows off Playstation 3 features
Source: theinquirer.net

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 02:21:00 AM // PermaLink //

And now the final contender...

Presenting the Nintendo Revolution! Last but not least, this system boasts some interesting and intriguing features.

Full Story: Nintendo Revolution to be presented - leaked photos
Source: dvhardware.net

Related Links:
A pic of the Console and Controller
Rumour : Nintendo Revolution Concept Logos

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 01:24:00 AM // PermaLink //

PS3 Cell Processing Power Unveiled

Some screenshots and slides were leaked from Sony’s press event in Culver City, Engadget and Joystiq were there to cover this milestone in computer entertainment. Here is a slide leaked from the presentation.

Looks like this battle is just getting started. I think it's far too late to declare a winner here.

Full Story: Engadget & Joystiq’s live coverage of Sony’s PlayStation 3 launch
Source: engadget.com

¶ D.Vader // 5/17/2005 01:03:00 AM // PermaLink //

Metal Gear Solid 4 to be unveiled TONIGHT!

Full Story: Metal Gear Solid 4 to debut tonight!
Source: gamesradar.msn.co.uk

¶ D.Vader // 5/16/2005 06:05:00 PM // PermaLink //

Nintendo Briefly Details it's 'Revolution'

Potentially opening the door for its rivals to steal valuable market share, Nintendo announced over the weekend that its next-generation gaming console, code-named Revolution, won't go on sale until 2006. Unlike Microsoft's Xbox 360, Revolution will be Nintendo's smallest machine to date.

Full Story: Nintendo Briefly Details its 'Revolution'
Source: betanews.com

¶ D.Vader // 5/16/2005 05:33:00 PM // PermaLink //

Cell Processor Decodes 48 MPEG-2 Streams Simultaneously

This article is a bit dated, the demonstration took place at the COOL Chips VIII event held in Yokohama Japan from April 20th - 22nd 2005.

Full Story: Toshiba Demonstrates Cell Microprocessor Simultaneously Decoding 48 MPEG-2 Streams
Source: techon.nikkeibp.co.jp

¶ D.Vader // 5/16/2005 05:32:00 PM // PermaLink //

Apple + Sony = PS3?

Rumors have surfaced about a possible partnership with Apple and Sony to deliver iPod compatability to the PS3. Possible features listed below:

iPod connectivity
Connect your iPod to the PS3 and play your music through the PS3. I would imagine that graphical feedback would be presented on the screen.

iTunes linkup
Utilize iTunes features through the PS3. Download tracks through the PS3 and wirelessly play iTunes music from your home computer.

Sync support
Sync your iPod with iTunes with the PS3. This would not require a computer to sync and use features such as playlist organization, add/remove tracks, etc.

There are a few articles floating around about this. Nothing has been confirmed.

Full Story: Rumors Spread About Sony’s PS3
Source: geekinformed.com

Full Story: Apple Sony iTunes PlayStation partnership mooted
Source: macworld.co.uk

¶ D.Vader // 5/16/2005 01:34:00 PM // PermaLink //

The Mystery of the PlayStation 3

Sony's next-gen console remains an enigma with just hours to go

With only hours to go before Sony's next-generation home console's expected unveiling in Los Angeles, few details of the system are widely known - but what we do know points to an intriguing piece of hardware.

Full Story: PlayStation 3: The industry's best-kept secret?
Source: gamesindustry.biz

¶ D.Vader // 5/16/2005 12:17:00 PM // PermaLink //

WELCOME CHANG3

It's been quite quiet on the Sony side. Seems one side of this chess match would like to keep their strategy a secret.

Full Story: Pre-E3 2005: PlayStation 3 to Change E3?
Source: ign.com

¶ D.Vader // 5/15/2005 11:38:00 PM // PermaLink //