The Console Wars: 07.24.2005 | Xbox 360, Playstation 3 PS3, Revolution

Saturday, July 30, 2005

FFVII Trailer Hits Public [PS3]

Square Enix 2005: FFVII Trailer Hits Public

"Square Enix 2005: FFVII Trailer Hits Public
Does this mean a game is really in the works?

"The long-lasting tradition of the Square Enix theater continued at this year's Square Enix Party, which opened its doors for two days of public fun at the Makuhari Messe convention center, just outside of Tokyo. We'll have a full report on what was included in the 30 minutes of trailer footage shown during the theater shortly, but we first have some cool news for Final Fantasy VII fans.

Remember that Final Fantasy VII real time demonstration trailer that wowed everyone at Sony's PlayStation 3 E3 unveiling? Square Enix decided to head off this year's theater with that very trailer. If you're unfamiliar with the trailer, be sure and check it out here.

For the E3 trailer airing of the trailer, Square Enix president Yoichi Wada made it clear that the trailer was just a technical demonstration and was not for a game in development. A similar message was communicated at Sony's recent PlayStation Meeting in Tokyo as the trailer made its first debut in front of the Japanese press.

The reason we're getting all riled up over Square Enix showing the footage to the public is that the trailer, this time, was not appended with a similar message denouncing its use in a game. It's likely that many who viewed the theater, walked away thinking that there's a PS3 version of Final Fantasy VII in development (unless they were capable of understanding the English words "technical" and "demonstration" below the FFVII logo).

Or maybe we're just thinking too hard. Whatever the case, The PS3 realtime Final Fantasy VII tech demo made its public debut today, and we hope we'll see more of it and other similar demos in the future."

I am actually somewhat excited about this one. Hopefully Anime will not hijack this installment of Final Fantasy. If there is any singing, "rock" concerts or cross dressing, count me out.

¶ D.Vader // 7/30/2005 02:52:00 PM // PermaLink //

Xbox 360 Interview: The Light Synth Vision

"Jeff Minter is one of the videogame industry's true eccentrics - a man who has followed his own agenda for the last twenty years, even if that has meant going off in a completely different direction to everyone else (Tempest 3000 for the ill-fated Nuon device to pluck out one example). But strangely, his experiments with various 'light synthesiser' applications throughout the years may well have finally brought him in line with mainstream thinking. At a time when console manufacturers are desperate for their latest machines to be appreciated as allround audiovisual entertainment centres rather than just games machines (Nintendo excluded, of course), Microsoft is embedding Neon, the latest version of Minter's hypnotic light synth software, onto the Xbox 360.

It all fits. As the concept of what actually constitutes a game evolves in the digital, high-defintion, music-streaming, movie downloading, broadband era, tools like this will become more commonplace and more accepted - you can see this in everything from Sing Star to Elektroplankton. Perhaps Minter's light 'games' didn't make much sense to mainstream users ten years ago, but now, with our huge HD LCD displays and Dolby Digital EX surround sound systems, they'll become another form of casual interactive entertainment. When Xbox 360 was announced J Allard rejected claims that the console was intended as a self-contained hub for all forms of digital media, but he does want it to be seen as a 'digital amplifier' - a means of getting streaming music, video, etc, from a PC or MP3 player to your home theatre set-up. Why not add some amazing light shows in the process?

Anyway, I recently got a few questions to Minter about the Xbox 360 version of Neon, and here's what he had to say." [more]

Relate Link:
Microsoft Xbox 360: Light Synthesiser on Dashboard

¶ D.Vader // 7/30/2005 02:35:00 PM // PermaLink //

XBox360 Qwerty Control Pad? [Keyboard]

"Well this week has been short on rumors, until now that is! Here is some leaked Xbox360 Spanish pictures, fresh from what appears to be a Spanish language presentation on the console. The kicker is, if you notice, in one of the pictures it clearly shows an XBox360 pad with a built-in Qwerty keyboard. This so reminds me of the ill fated Jaguar system. Check it out. Click on the news title for the images."

¶ D.Vader // 7/30/2005 01:48:00 PM // PermaLink //

Next Generation - Sony Posts Quarterly Loss

Sony Posts Quarterly Loss

"As many analysts were predicting, Sony's fiscal Q1 met with a ¥7.26 billion ($65 million) net loss citing dropping prices on televisions and increased costs of development on PS3 as the reasons.

This marks the 2nd consecutive quarterly loss for Japan's 2nd largest consumer electronics company, a series of events that hasn't happened in nearly four years.

The group operating loss for the quarter was ¥13.4 billion ($136.1 million), down substantially from the ¥9.8 billion profit a year ago. These results were slightly worse than those expected by most analysts.

In the wake of these results, Sony has cut its profit guidance for the 2005 fiscal year from ¥160 billion ($1.42 billion) to ¥30 billion ($270 million). That's a very substantial cut.

While it takes time to turn the ship, this is these are the first quarterly results posted from Sony since Sir Harold Stringer (pictured above) was named CEO." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/30/2005 12:56:00 PM // PermaLink //

Alexander Leon's official Mario Brothers Page

This is truly a blast from the past.

¶ D.Vader // 7/30/2005 12:06:00 PM // PermaLink //

DOOM Theatrical Trailer

"This is the trailer for DOOM, a film based on the best-selling first person shooter of the same name. Featuring some awesome action, you must check this out!"

I was called out for not giving this much coverage. I mean the movie can't be any worse then the game could it?

¶ D.Vader // 7/30/2005 11:37:00 AM // PermaLink //

Hillary vs. the Xbox: Game over

"Senator, would your probe of video games also take a look at the substantial benefits they can provide?

By Steven Johnson, Steven Johnson's "Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter" was published by Riverhead Books in May.

Dear Sen. Clinton:

I'm writing to commend you for calling for a $90-million study on the effects of video games on children, and in particular the courageous stand you have taken in recent weeks against the notorious "Grand Theft Auto" series.

I'd like to draw your attention to another game whose nonstop violence and hostility has captured the attention of millions of kids — a game that instills aggressive thoughts in the minds of its players, some of whom have gone on to commit real-world acts of violence and sexual assault after playing.

I'm talking, of course, about high school football.

I know a congressional investigation into football won't play so well with those crucial swing voters, but it makes about as much sense as an investigation into the pressing issue that is Xbox and PlayStation 2.

Your current concern is over explicit sex in "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas." Yet there's not much to investigate, is there? It should get rated appropriately, and that's that. But there's more to your proposed study: You want to examine how video games shape children's values and cognitive development." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/30/2005 11:04:00 AM // PermaLink //

The Founding Fathers roll over in their graves...

The Founding Fathers roll over in their graves as a new witch-hunt against the First Amendment is launched

"Mature rated video game shockingly found to be, well, mature

The Founding Fathers of the United States roll over in their graves today as the media, politicians, and lawyers line up to launch a new witch-hunt against the First Amendment. In their sights, as anyone who has seen any type of news lately may have noticed, is none other than Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA), its publishers and developers, and the gaming industry as a whole. And the impetus for this attack on game developers' right to free speech, strangely enough, boils down to a third-party modification (mod) to the PC version of GTA:SA entitled "Hot Coffee". A mod which was made and published by end-users, with neither the consent or help from Rockstar Games or its parent company, Take2 Interactive. Nor were the aforementioned companies even aware of the mod's development until well after its release." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/30/2005 10:31:00 AM // PermaLink //

China Treats Addicted Video-Game Players

"The 12 teenagers and young adults, some in ripped jeans and baggy T-shirts, sit in a circle, chewing gum and fidgeting as they shyly introduce themselves. ``I'm 12 years old,'' one boy announces with a smile. ``I love playing computer games. That's it.'' ``It's been good to sleep'' says another, a 17-year-old with spiky hair, now that he's no longer on the computer all day.

The youths are patients at China's first officially licensed clinic for Internet addiction, a downside of the online frenzy that has accompanied the nation's breathtaking economic boom.

``All the children here have left school because they are playing games or in chat rooms everyday,'' says the clinic's director, Dr. Tao Ran. ``They are suffering from depression, nervousness, fear and unwillingness to interact with others, panic and agitation. They also have sleep disorders, the shakes and numbness in their hands.''

According to government figures, China has the world's second-largest online population - 94 million - after the United States." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/30/2005 08:35:00 AM // PermaLink //

Friday, July 29, 2005

How To Be a Game Tester - The Ultimate Dream Job?

How To Be a Game Tester - The Ultimate Dream Job?

"I Play Video Games For a Living

It's not easy to be a hardcore gamer. It's hard. Wouldn't it be easier if you had a job in the videogames business? Think about it: working for a software company, being able to play games during office hours, with people who share your passion. Free games, industry parties, lots of fun and good money.

Well, think again; working in the PC Games business is nothing like that. Chances are you'll end up dealing with people who just care about the financial success of the company, with marketing executives who don't give a damn whether the game is good or not because "We'll put two-million bucks behind it and it'll sell like donuts", with programmers who cannot understand why an arcade-style racing game cannot have the intricacies of a complex simulator. Still, you'll get some free games plus a decent salary. Still interested? Good." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/29/2005 11:44:00 PM // PermaLink //

Sony patent takes first step towards real-life Matrix

"Imagine movies and computer games in which you get to smell, taste and perhaps even feel things. That's the tantalising prospect raised by a patent on a device for transmitting sensory data directly into the human brain - granted to none other than the entertainment giant Sony.

The technique suggested in the patent is entirely non-invasive. It describes a device that fires pulses of ultrasound at the head to modify firing patterns in targeted parts of the brain, creating "sensory experiences" ranging from moving images to tastes and sounds. This could give blind or deaf people the chance to see or hear, the patent claims.

While brain implants are becoming increasingly sophisticated, the only non-invasive ways of manipulating the brain remain crude. A technique known as transcranial magnetic stimulation can activate nerves by using rapidly changing magnetic fields to induce currents in brain tissue. However, magnetic fields cannot be finely focused on small groups of brain cells, whereas ultrasound could be.

“This was a prophetic invention. It was based on an inspiration that this may someday be the direction technology takes us”

If the method described by Sony really does work, it could have all sorts of uses in research and medicine, even if it is not capable of evoking sensory experiences detailed enough for the entertainment purposes envisaged in the patent." [more]

I know this article is a bit dated, but I felt it was relevant to the future of games.

¶ D.Vader // 7/29/2005 11:11:00 PM // PermaLink //

TGS Draws Big Guns – Iwata, Bach and More

"The Tokyo Game Show has again drawn interest from some of the games industry’s big guns, with Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Xbox chief Robbie Bach both confirming keynote addresses.

Bach and Iwata-san are slated to speak on September 16 - the business-only day of TGS - at 10AM and 11AM respectively. Though no details of the presentations have not been disclosed, speculation has arisen that Nintendo may use the event to showcase the Revolution and its controller, in spite of the Kyoto giant's refusal to exhibit at the event."

¶ D.Vader // 7/29/2005 02:23:00 PM // PermaLink //

Microsoft Meltdown 2005

Microsoft Meltdown 2005

"CGW breaks down the latest (and greatest?) operating system.

Happy Birthday, DirectX:
I had a choice this week: Go to LA and soak in G4's videogame bacchanalia known as G-Phoria or fly to Microsoft's home turf to talk about and celebrate all things "X" on the tenth anniversary of DirectX. Guess which I chose....

[What the heck was I thinking?]

Yes, folks, Microsoft Meltdown - two glorious days discussing Windows "Longhorn," DirectX 10, XNA ... and, for those paying really close attention, how to get the most out of Visual C++ 2005.

The PC's exaggerated "demise"
One thing that has made the PC game market look dead as a doornail has been NPD's grossly inaccurate numbers -- numbers that every half-assed pundit likes to quote. While console game sales continue to grow, PC game sales have appeared flatline, no growth, stuck at around $2.3 Billion per year. Yeah, guys -- AT RETAIL. NPD doesn't take into account online sales, a huge revenue stream! Online kicks in another $2 billion worldwide (projected) by year's end. By end of 2009, projections for online sales alone will be $6.9 billion. "And that's a conservative estimate," added Rich Wickham, Microsoft's Director of Business Development and Strategy.

Microsoft's Lisa Sikora, Product Manager for Windows Gaming, wanted to drive home the fact that while there are vocal minorities of PC-only and console-only gamers, a larger number of people own both, and get their gaming fix wherever they can.

Sikora talked about big plans to get the PC out of the gaming ghetto -- the back, crap racks in retail stores. Basically, there's going to be a big push at retail to create a Windows gaming space, right there next to where you're accustomed to seeing the Xbox/X360, Playstation 2/3, and GameCube displays. While nobody could officially comment, word has it Wal-Mart is one of the retail chains considering rezoning stores to make more room for gaming -- even taking out stuff like other electronics.

But the big news, obviously, is the new OS. "When people want to show off what Vista and DirectX 10 can do, people will be showing off games. That's what [Microsoft's] executives do," says Wickham. Most will have to wait for a big consumer unveiling of the new OS this coming January at CES, yours truly was on-hand to see Windows Vista in action.

According to the Microsoft message: Windows games is becoming a big priority. A study done among thousands of users determined that 35% of people use the PC for Web surfing, 18% use it for games and everything else is an also-ran. The next biggest thing, email, is only 9.2%. This gave Microsoft the boot in the proverbial ass to get back to its PC gaming roots." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/29/2005 02:16:00 PM // PermaLink //

Slimline PlayStation 2 for £60 - 360 Spoiler Looms

"Retail sources speaking exclusively to SPOnG have suggested that Sony is poised to slash the price of the slimline PlayStation 2 to between £60 and £70 in the UK this Christmas, provoking what could be the most bountiful holiday season for shoppers in some time.

It was also claimed that Nintendo will make a similar move with its GameCube console, backed and buoyed by the release of the new Zelda game Twilight Princess, slated for launch in late summer. Official double bundle packs featuring Resident Evil 4 and Mario Kart are also expected.

You can expect significant reductions in the price of everything this Christmas, but most noticeable will be the PlayStation 2, our well-placed source told SPOnG. We've been briefed to expect a price as low as £60 beginning at the start of December. Sony's probably looking at a global price cut around $100 in the States and a serious Platinum range announcement too.

Our source continued, 'Sony is aiming for total retail dominance at the time of the [Xbox] 360 launch. It's a spoiler move and is shaping up to be quite an effective one.

Expect an official announcement sometime in November. "

I heard rumors that all Gamecube items were going to be effectively half price around Christmas. I had not heard that Sony was planning something simular. This could be interesting. Now if gamers aren't ready for next-gen (or parents aren't ready to shell out the cash for it), this could put microsoft in a very comprimising position considering they have aready cut the price of the Xbox to the bone and have not made a penny of profit on the platform. With pricing this competitive, this Christmas could very well see the best sales ever of the current generation of systems.

¶ D.Vader // 7/29/2005 01:47:00 PM // PermaLink //

Friday's Funny Links & Pics

Fridays Funny Links & Pics

By: TCW Crew

New feature, just a round up of some of the oddities we came across on the net this week.

Ghost Of Christmas Future Taunts Children With Visions Of PlayStation 5

Atari Releases Updated Adventure Video Game

Source: The Onion: Video Games News In Photos

Source: Wonderland: "Master Chief is my biatch"

Source: blogs.dasmirnov.net

Source: EngrishGame.Com - Where games go to die.

¶ D.Vader // 7/29/2005 12:30:00 PM // PermaLink //

Cyber Olympics To Be on TV

"The national finals of the World Cyber Games (WCG) will be broadcast live on television on Sept. 23-25 in Yongin, Kyonggi Province.

Ongamenet, the leading video game channel in South Korea, will broadcast all the matches of the final tournament over three days, during which 52 individuals and eight teams vie for tickets to the Grand Final over eight categories.

Ongamenet is also planning to broadcast the Grand Final, which will be held in Singapore Nov. 16-20.

The competition fields are: ``StarCraft: Brood War,’’ ``Counter Striker: Source,’’ ``FIFA Soccer 2005,’’ ``Need for Speed: Underground,’’ ``WarCraft III,’’ ``Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War,’’ ``Dead or Alive Ultimate,’’ and ``Halo 2.’’

The WCG is the largest cyber game competition in the world in terms of both the number of competitors and the amount of prize money. According to the ICM, nearly 1 million gamers participated in last year's online and offline preliminaries held in 64 countries.

Around 14,000 South Korean gamers have played in the domestic competitions this year."

Related Link:
World Cyber Games (WCG)

¶ D.Vader // 7/29/2005 11:19:00 AM // PermaLink //

PS3 to Launch in 2007 if Xbox 360 Fails

"According to analysts at Wedbush Morgan, seemingly still unable to lay off the crack pipe, the PlayStation 3 will ship in 2007 if the Xbox 360 fails to ignite the hardware market.
We expect Sony to defer a decision regarding PS3 launch until it is able to assess the likely success of the Xbox 360, and anticipate that Sony will make its decision shortly after the Xbox 360 launch. We do not expect the PS3 until mid 2006, at the earliest, and should Microsoft fail to garner sufficient software support to gain an insurmountable lead, we think that there is a possibility that the PS3 launch will slip into early 2007.
Of course, this stands in stark contrast with wider expectations, set by Sony at The PlayStation meeting last week (albeit off the record) that we’ll see at least a Japanese launch of PlayStation 3 in spring 2006.

Sony is keeping tight-lipped on this as you might expect, though SPOnG cannot help wonder if the analysts quoted above have any tangible concept of what it takes to launch a videogame platform. The entire process is a massive undertaking and cannot be decided upon a whim, as suggested.

From manufacturing to retail, PR to third-party publishing/developing, SPOnG would assert that it’s simply impossible to maintain a transient console launch strategy as Wedbush Morgan describes."

This makes perfect sense, honestly I think the Xbox 360 is just too little too soon. Don't get me wrong the technology in the 360 is excellent. Microsoft and Sony to some degree is forcing the development community to start work on the next generation of systems when they really just started to perfect development with the current generation.

¶ D.Vader // 7/29/2005 09:32:00 AM // PermaLink //

'Chill': it's the new black

"It's still at least four months away from hitting the shelves, but using words like 'sleek', 'powerful' and 'sexy', Microsoft is doing all it can to hype its next big product -- the Xbox 360.

If you haven't heard much about this new video games console, don't worry. As Christmas approaches, the mass marketing blitz will begin and it won't be long before every adolescent, teen and a huge number of full-fledged adults will be eyeing up the hot new boxes in every toy and electronics shop across the country.

For now however, it's just hard core gamers -- who were out in full force at a recent press event in Dublin -- greedily eyeing a mock-up of the new gaming machine, which replaces the original Xbox. This time around however, Microsoft is hoping that the jewel of its Home Entertainment crown will oust Sony and its predominant Playstation device as the number one video games machine in the world.

If it's top notch specifications that will win the hordes of gamers than Microsoft is off to a good start: equipped with three 3.2GHz cores, a 500MHz ATI graphics chip, 512MB of memory and a removable 20GB hard drive, the Xbox 360's specs read more like a PC than a games console." [more]

According to this article MS will only have 25 games available at launch and not 50 or 100 as was previously reported.

¶ D.Vader // 7/29/2005 09:06:00 AM // PermaLink //

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Miyamoto: "Revolution controller easy to copy"

"“Well, now I'm definitely not gonna tell ya, 'cause it's been built up too much”, said Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. She was seemingly aware that if one builds something up too much, when it is revealed, its impact might be somewhat lessened.

And it would seem that this is a factor taken into account by Nintendo as it counts down to revealing its Big Secret – what the Revolution controller actually is.

Shigeru Miyamoto has made some comments in a recent interview with GameSpy which perhaps give one of the biggest hints as to what we can expect. “Graphic chips are one thing. Those are hard to imitate”, he said. “But if we showed our controller, we'd be revealing way too much. It's very easy to copy. We really want to present our interface, the controller, with software as a package."

So what does this all mean? Unconfirmed reports suggest that the actual traditional controller aspect of the Revolution is little more than a WaveBird spin-off, though this remains to be seen. Does Miyamoto hint that the control mechanism for Revolution will comprise two separate elements? His 'We really want to present our interface, the controller, with software as a package' comment would lend weight to this theory."

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 05:14:00 PM // PermaLink //

Congress Backs Spanking Millions in Rockstar Witchhunt

Hide Your Eyes Kids!

Congress Backs Spanking Millions in Rockstar Witchhunt

"SPOnG doesn’t pay tax in the US so we’re really not qualified to comment on the use of tax dollars of the country’s citizens. Well, we often do, though that’s usually only in reference to foreign policy. And we’re foreign. To Americans at least.

Though it does seem a little strange that the vote in the House of Representatives today saw a massive majority (355-21) turn out in favour of hauling a videogames publisher over the coals.

As you may well be aware, it would seem that Rockstar didn’t quite tell the truth regarding it’s Hot Coffee modification in the game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The code, which enables players to control a genital-free triple position sex romp, was discovered when the PC version of the game shipped. Rumour had it that the scenes were already in the PC version and were not the result of the source code being modified, merely unlocked – some said pointed out by the publisher itself to garner publicity. Rockstar made a somewhat disingenuous statement on the matter and was found out when the original PlayStation 2 code was found to contain exactly the same scenes.

The investigation is aimed at finding out whether Rockstar intentionally misled the ESRB rating board to avoid having its best-selling crime romp slapped with an Adults Only classification. Congressman Fred Upton stated that he is “…outraged by the brazenness of Rockstar Games in their effort to do an end-run around the ratings system. Rockstar Games’ deceit has severely undermined the integrity of the ratings system.”

Rockstar is currently manufacturing a revised version of San Andreas that has had the offending code removed, though given the current climate on planet videogames, is likely to be nailed to wall by America’s moral crusaders. Until, of course, they turn their attention back onto hip-hop or gay art or something."

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 03:56:00 PM // PermaLink //

Religious Scene Stirs Up Controversy over Grand Theft Auto

"A tempest has erupted in the video-game industry after the publisher of America's most popular series, "Grand Theft Auto", acknowledged that its latest installment includes embedded religious content that allegedly was never meant to be seen by players.

"Grand Theft Auto" is one of the most popular game franchises in the world and when the 'San Andreas' episode came out in October, it quickly sold more than 5 million copies in the U.S. It was later revealed that, with a minor software modification, users of the game are able to direct their characters to the house of a 'girlfriend' to engage in explicit Bible study discussions.

"These characters enter into detailed discussions, largely centered on the Acts of the Apostles," said Bryan Tobias, a spokesperson for Americans for the Preservation of Secular Video Games (APSVG). "The content is completely inappropriate and frankly insensitive to users who may not be prepared to enter into a detailed discussion of Christianity."

The outrage grew quickly as parents and other groups accused the company of trying to pervert the games rating system. Under the current system, games which advocate specific religious ideologies receive explicit warning labels that generally limit sales dramatically.

"We thought we'd seen the worst of it when Capcom tried to slip all that Kabbalah stuff into "Resident Evil 4," said Tobias. "But Rockstar Games really has a lot of explaining to do here. Nearly the entire gospel of Luke is in this game. For shame!"

Rockstar Games, the company that produced "Grand Theft Auto," at first accused hackers of somehow polluting the title. This week, however, it admitted that the Bible study scenes have been within the games since they were first shipped.

"You know, this game is really intense," said Rodney Walker, a spokesperson for Rockstar. "At some point the developers thought offering a point of spiritual reference would help to anchor the narrative with, you know, all the shooting and carjacking and hookers and stuff."

Users who managed to access the hidden scene were generally quite shaken.

"I was not ready to think about the impact of the gospel in Judea and Samaria when I was playing this game," said Brandon Meyer, a user who was put off by the "Hot Coffee" Bible study scene. "It totally killed the buzz. How can you think about stealing cars and stuff when you're going through all this stuff about God? Man, what a letdown."

The owner of Rockstar Games, meanwhile, Take-Two Interactive, said that it expected net sales to drop by about $50 million in the current quarter.

"I wish it was $50 billion," said Tobias. "Sullying the purely sensory experience of a quality video game with religiosity is antithetical to the American way. God has no place in a good shoot-em-up. Someday, I hope people understand that.""

This is a humor peice by the way! :)

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 03:49:00 PM // PermaLink //

HDTVs for Under $1,000

"At this year's E3, Sony and Microsoft both wantonly tossed about the terms 720p, 1080i, and 1080p. Both companies promised that their upcoming consoles would support HDTV standards. Without a doubt, most of us salivate at the prospect of seeing our favorite games at such ridiculously high resolutions. After wiping the drool-sicle away, reality sets in. How many of us actually own TVs capable of displaying the staggering 2 million pixels required for resolutions like 1920x1080?

Fortunately, HDTVs have started to come down in price considerably. As of the past year or so, HDTVs for less than $1,000 have been easier to find on the market. Granted, they don't have the largest screens and you can't hang them on a wall like a plasma display, but when it comes to image quality, a $1,000 HDTV will handily beat (to a pulp) the 480i TVs that are sitting in most living rooms.

The sheer variety of HDTVs available in the sub-$1,000 category is rather surprising, as there's something here for practically everyone. If you need something small and light, you might consider an LCD HDTV. If you're after image quality, a heavyweight CRT HDTV won't disappoint. And if you're looking for a very large paperweight with marginal HDTV functionality, well, you can find that too. In short, you can find a lot of HDTV options in the sub-$1,000 category, but quality can vary." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 03:19:00 PM // PermaLink //

PlayStation 3 FAQ

"To celebrate the recent PlayStation Meeting in Japan that highlighted the upcoming PlayStation 3, we've thrown together this FAQ so that you have a one-stop source for the system's important information. Of course we won't have every last detail until the impressive new console is actually in our hands, but a good number of the hardware specs have been finalized.

Note: Everything listed below should be taken as fact unless specifically noted as speculation." [more]

IGN has an unofficial/official PS3 FAQ.

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 02:40:00 PM // PermaLink //

Interview - "Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack Goes 360"

"In April 2004, Silicon Knights - the development house responsible for Legacy of Kain, Eternal Darkness, and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes - ended its exclusive relationship with Nintendo. For over a year, not a peep was heard out of the Ontario-based developer.

All that changed in the run-up to E3 2005, when Silicon Knights finally announced two major publishing partnerships. Too Human, a project that was first shown at E3 in 1994 as a PlayStation title (prior to the partnership with Nintendo) had been expanded into a trilogy of games that would be published by Microsoft for the Xbox 360. A separate project was announced in collaboration with Sega.

At E3, Silicon Knights' president Denis Dyack emerged from the shadows to once again speak to the media. In this exclusive interview, Dyack finally speaks about the future of Silicon Knights, the Xbox 360, and the changing face of game development in general." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 02:13:00 PM // PermaLink //

Microsoft to launch Xbox with 100 titles in Japan

"Microsoft will go on an offensive in Japan by launching its sleek new Xbox 360 video-game machine with more than 100 titles in time for the holiday shopping season at the end of the year.

Taking its battle with Japanese video-game leaders Nintendo and Sony to their home turf, the US software giant announced it would work with more than 50 Japanese firms to create titles for its new silver console.

Peter Moore, vice-president of Microsoft’s video-game marketing division, said that Japan was crucial for any game business and that Bill Gates’ company planned more titles exclusively for the Japanese market.

“A new generation of games is going to be born here in Japan,” he said.

With Sony dominating the home machine market with its PlayStation and Nintendo ruling over handheld consoles with its GameBoy, Microsoft is hoping to break into the crowded market by using its technical prowess."

Well I will take this at face value, but honestly I didn't realize there were even that many games in development to date. Now this may be true if you count the mini games through Xbox live.

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 02:12:00 PM // PermaLink //

The Making of A Video Game Console Interface [Xbox 360]

The Making of A Video Game Console Interface

"Taking two years to design an interface may sound like a long time, but not when it’s for a media product. For the iPods and Tivos of the world, the difference between success and failure often lies in how quickly a person can learn the interface and begin using the device. As a result, such projects have lengthy timelines and budgets that would astonish the average Web designer.

Russ Glaser knows the pressure well. As group user interface design manager at Microsoft, he recently oversaw a two-year project that created the navigation scheme for the soon-to-be-released Xbox 360. His job wasn’t easy. While the previous Xbox was simply for gaming, the new version comes loaded with photo and entertainment capabilities." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 01:54:00 PM // PermaLink //

Why Sony plans to get real

"Gaming worlds and virtual characters are about to take a significant step closer to realism.

PlayStation 3 will 'open up creative horizons' for games developers and allow movie-quality special effects, according to Phil Harrison, executive vice-president of Sony Computer Entertainment.

Mr Harrison, who oversees all Sony game development around the world, says PlayStation 3 delivers a 'creative convergence' for the games industry and Hollywood.

'PlayStation 3 makes a bigger horizon for existing developers and allows non-gaming content creators, like movie special effects companies, movie directors or special effects visualisers to express themselves,' he says." [more]

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 01:08:00 PM // PermaLink //

Microsoft vs. Sony: Movie War

"Sony and Microsoft will release movies based off hit game titles from Xbox and Playstation 2.

Microsoft is planning a 2006 launch for The Halo movie - the same timeframe as Halo 3 on the Xbox 360, which will arrive at around the same time as the launch of the PlayStation 3 according to Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.

Now, Universal Pictures has bought the rights to create a film adaptation of Sony Computer Entertainment's critically acclaimed PlayStation 2 action-adventure, God of War, according to trade magazine Variety."

¶ D.Vader // 7/28/2005 12:15:00 PM // PermaLink //

ENCHANT-ING 360 RPG MOVIE

"Enchant Arm storming onto Xbox 360. Official trailer inside

Already it seems that the Xbox 360 is more Japan-friendly than its Xbox forefather, and the darned thing isn't even released yet. Why do we say that? Well take a look at this first 360 offering from Otogi Japanese developer From Software.

Enchant Arm, a serious and deep RPG, was reportedly a highlight of the Xbox Summit event, with the official trailer (which can found by hitting this link) giving audiences a taste into the future. According to reports, the game stars an 18-year old magic/enchant student, who is learning how to turn ethers into golems as well as making objects stronger.

The game appears to boast a typically Japanese look, with a slightly surreal and futuristic setting. It should certainly be quite different to almost everything we've ever seen on an Xbox. Check out the above trailer link for the official Japanese site, which also has a few bits of artwork to peruse."