mikeszekely

Ouch. You shold've cut his hand off. Who says I didn't? Same friend who bought the Force FX Master Replica Anakin saber showed me today that he actually home made one with some metal and rubber pipes and a chopped up windshield wiper. It was actually pretty impressive. Can you get a picture of it? Sorry it's taken so long (like I said, my wife has the camera with her in China right now), and sorry for the poor quality (got tired of waiting for the camera, and we tried just scanning it)... but here it is!

Geez, I can't believe I missed that one. Perhaps our definintion of "fanboy" is different... but I'd define a console fanboy as someone who stubbornly supports only one console, refuses to see the merits of other consoles, and offers hype for facts. It'd be hard then, to say that I'm an Xbox fanboy, considering that I own all three current consoles. If I was an anti-Sony fanboy, I certainly wouldn't own a PS2 or a PSP. In fact, when I voted at the beginning of this thread, I actually picked "more than one," figuring that at some point, I'll have picked up both the Xbox 360 and a PS3. That said, I do personally find the Xbox 360 more appealing at the moment. Now, explain to us, why you consider the Xbox 360 an "overrated system who is doomed to failure." When Microsoft entered the console wars, everyone thought the Xbox was going to bomb faster than the the ill-fated Dreamcast (mostly because no American console had enjoyed any real success since the Atari family). Despite that, they've managed to get solidly in second place. Far from being doomed to failure, they will most likely continue to close the gap on Sony (although I doubt they'll overtake in the next-gen... too many people will buy the PS3 because it's got the word "PlayStation" engraved on it). And time will tell which, in any, console is actually overrated. But I do remember, before the current generation, a certain company talking about their console as if it were some kind of super computer (to the point that rumors got around that the Iraqis were trying to get their hands on them to use their chipsets in missiles). I also remember said console not being much more impressive than the Dreamcast. If history is any indication, I'm afraid it won't be the 360 that turns out to be overrated. So-so games? Star Wars: Republic Commando, Knights of the Old Republic, Halo, Jade Empire, Fable, etc... not exactly what I'd call so-so games. Fable and Halo are confirmed for the 360, a third KOTOR game is in the works (not sure if it's for the current Xbox or the 360), and there are rumors that there will be another Jade Empire on the 360. What does Sony have? Gran Turismo (Forza)? Tekken (Dead or Alive)? Killzone? (Halo and/or Perfect Dark). Grand Theft Auto (shows up on Microsoft's console eventually)? Actually, most of the major franchises show up on both consoles, and that's unlikely to change in the next generation. To be fair, those "BS montly fees" aren't monthly. It's a piddly $50 a year. Considering how much more organized and unified it is over Sony's hand's-off approach to online gaming, I'd say it's $50 well spent, too. Ironically, Sony has been considering adopting a subscription service for online gaming on the PS3. Now why do I expect that those "BS monthly fees" will suddenly be reguarded as genius when/if that happens?

At this point, I seriously doubt that you actually have a Master's. Unless, of course, they give those out from clown colleges. This is from one of the links that you so gleefully posted as backing up your arguments. Mind you, that article was written before the Xbox even came out. It took Sony a year to stop losing money on the hardware. (Ironically, two of the links have articles about how the Xbox loses money and about how releasing Slim has helped Sony to further reduce the cost of the PS2). So again, the keyword is "consistantly." Of the three current-gen consoles, only the Xbox was consistantly sold below cost. Sony's demos are not videos of actual gameplay. This is not a conspiracy. Sony has a habit of showing technical demos that their hardware is actually incapable of once it's actually out on the market. Believing that the PS3 will kick ass just because it's Sony and they say it will kick ass, and believing that videos created on hardware that's similar to the PS3's is indicative of actual gameplay is believing hype. And as for the hatemongering comment, did you already forget that I have a library of over 100 PS2 games? Not buying into Sony's hype machine and considering that a console besides a Sony-branded console might actually be more fun this time around is NOT hatemongering. For someone who claims not to be a Sony fanboy, you sure are preaching the PS3 like it's a new religion. Would you also be offended to know that I have a Panasonic TV? Or that I think Samsung makes better cell phones than Sony Ericsson?

No, but you've described yourself fairly accurately. I haven't lied about anything. I've offered eduated opinions as an unbiased gamer for why I think the Xbox 360 seems to be the most interesting new console at this point, and provided facts to to back them up. You've offered nothing but Sony's hype for the PS3. New technology is great... once it's been proven to be commercially viable. And while I do think that Blu-Ray is looking more promising than HD-DVD, the matter far from settled, especially with the third option of a hybrid format. The only thing that Sony may have accomplished by using Blu-Ray in the PS3 is to wind up with a proprietary media for the PS3, and for what? Extra space that's unlikely to be utilized even during the next generation. And before you go into a rant about how I don't know what I'm talking about and how I can't know that games in the future won't be enormous, I'll point out that games haven't really gotten much bigger during this generation from the previous. The PSone had games that spanned multiple CDs, and the PS2 has games being released on CDs to this very day (Lego Star Wars is a CD-ROM). 99% of the games out there don't even go onto the second layer of a DVD. If Blu-Ray had been selected as the next standard for movies, it'd be a different story. For now, all Sony is doing is jumping the gun. See, you're calling me a liar, but you're the one that posts junk like this. I worked in electronics through college, and I sold plenty of DVD players, well before the PS2 was released. By the time the PS2 was released, we were selling one DVD player for $88, and the DVD market was in full swing. I'll stop pointing out that the PS2 was only a significant boost to the DVD market in Japan when you stop making up facts. Don't worry, MGREXX. No one's envying your "intellectual prowess." For the record, I graduated with honors from high school with a 3.8, and I got my BA in International Studies, 3.4. A handful of games from EA and Activision, the two companies who believe they are entiled to more. They'd be the same companies who are asking for $50 for PSP games and want to charge $60 for next-gen games. Their few DS games and PSP games aren't indicative of the average prices for DS games and PSP games, yet before those respective systems were released, Gamestop.com was listing MOST DS games for $40 and MOST PSP games for $50... just to be on the safe side. Bottom line: just because they're listed for $60 now doesn't mean the majority of the next gen games will retail for that much. I'm not arguing the effectiveness of the sweet spot... that's why Microsoft will shoot for it, losses be damned. But the PS3? Well, I'm not going to pretend to know the final US retail price, and I'll certainly be happy with a $300 PS3, the fact remains that it almost certainly will retail for damn near $500 in Japan. And at this stage in the game, with the PS2 in more homes than the Xbox and Gamecube combined, yeah, I do figure Sony is arrogant enough to charge more for the PS3. And why not? People like you would most likely buy it anyway, for the PlayStation name. Definately NOT a fact. And you have the gall to call me a liar? You're constantly making up "facts" to go alone with your arguments, in this thread and others. The Xbox is the only console so far that has consistantly sold at a loss. If you want to believe in Sony's hype machine, go right ahead. You seem content enough as a Sony fanboy. But I'm not going to consider movies that may or may not be possible on the final hardware indicative of the actual games, regardless of whether or not they're real-time rendered. For the record, I'm also going to take the hype around the cell with a grain of salt. The Emotion Engine in the PS2 was just as hyped, and we all see what THAT'S capable of.

Congrats, MGREXX. It only took you, what three days to come up with a reply? If a developer is only going to use, say, 10 billion shader ops per second, well within the capabilities of both consoles, it doesn't matter that the PS3 can support 90+ billion over the 360's 45 billion. If a game looks better on the PS3, you can damn well believe it's not for the shaders. Not all HD sets go all the way up to 1080p. And, for the third time, having a console with 1080p support doesn't guarantee software at 1080p. It is AFTER the hardware has gone into production. The movie industry is no closer to declaring a winner. But if Sony intends to launch the PS3 in the spring, they will be fully in production, complete with Blu-Ray drives. It might help you a lot if you actually read the quote you're quoting. I never said that the PS3 would retail for $500 dollars, nor did I say that the Mainichi Daily News reported that to be the case. I said that the Mainichi Daily News reported that the PS3 will retail for 50,000 yen. Not under, for. And that, as I already mentioned in the very quote you quoted, is about $470. Nor do your facts. Yes, the PS2 did spur the sale of DVD movies in Japan. No, the DVD market was already in full swing when the PS2 released here. And yes, most people in America do have a stand alone DVD player. Feel free to start another of your polls if you want a broader opinion. No thanks. I don't want a degree from your Moron University. Sorry, I stand by what I said. MGS3 is on a single-layer disc. If Kojima really felt that he needed more room, he could have used used a dual-layer. Multi-layer discs are not more difficult to work with... hell, Sony's been using them on games that would have fit on a single-layer (ala God of War). The industry shouldn't conform to a standard that may or may not take off when the current standard has plenty of room left. Yes. Computers do need more USB ports. They need extra ports for things that consoles don't need, like printers, scanners, mice and keyboards, etc. Consoles don't need those things. Now who's talking old? Why use the old fashioned way of connecting your media via USB, when the Xbox will be able to stream it all wirelessly? Besides, if you're too lazy to unplug your PSP when you're done transfering media, you've got problems. Yes, generic sequels to established... that is stale... franchises. A demo running of an alpha dev kit is nothing more than a movie. It's no indication of how the games will actually look. Even if the movies they've shown at E3 can play on the finished hardware, a cutscene can look a lot better than the actual gameplay. It tells me that the 360 games are indicative of what the final games might look like, while the PS3 may (or may not) have some wicked looking cutscenes. That hardly tells me that the PS3 is going to have better looking games. Yep. Games may (or may not) cost $60 in the next gen. Gamestop was also saying that DS games would cost $40 for awhile. Besides, I didn't say that Blu-Ray games would cost more. I said that Blu-Ray would make the PS3 hardware more costly. And so far, that's looking to be the case.

Note to self: avoid firmware updates. *slaps on an eyepatch* Arr, matey! Ye be boardin' the HMS Rawmz this fine day? We be sailin' the seas o' the internet fer m4d l00t. I'd say it's a good day fer it, but EVERY day's a good day fer our kinda booty. ARR! Just gimme a minute to trim me jib, and then we can shove off, me 'earty. Arr.

Note to self: avoid firmware updates.

Personally, I've always liked Midori... but that's green, and probably not suitable for a red car...

Their day is far from over. They've had a gigantic war chest for years. 5 billion is nothing to sneeze at. Having money to fall back on is worthless if you're out of touch with the majority of the market. Nintendo hasn't actually put out a good piece of hardware since the Super NES (the GBA family has some great software, but every variant of the GBA has some flaws).

Sad part is... the hype machine not only buried the Dreamcast, it desecrated the corpse. I've talked to several people recently that SWEAR the Dreamcast had "no good games." After some prodding they'll amend it to "Well, okay, but Soul Caliber was the ONLY good game for the system." It's disgusting. A shame, really. If Sega wasn't losing so much money at the time, the Dreamcast could have easily been one the best consoles of all time. To this day, and I don't care which console they use, I want sequels to Samba de Amigo and Seaman.

That's why I think Nintendo knows they are a gamers second console. From what I've read Nintendo makes more of a profit than Sony or Microsoft's game divisions. But Nintendo still can't compete with the big 2 since, like you said, they don't have the financial backing of huge parent companies. I wonder if Nintendo would ever swallow their pride and become a third party developer, like Sega. That's kind of what I've been hoping for. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of Nintendo games that I really like... I'm just tired of having to buy an extra console just for them.

There's two, the Spring show and the Fall show. They're two of the bigger shows in the industry, but not even close to E3. It's possible that they'll have more to say at the fall show, but I'm pretty sure Nintendo likes to have their own little shows instead. IIRC, Nintendo didn't even used to attend the Tokyo Game Shows.

It's not that they came unprepared... Nintendo has a bad habit of doing this. They don't bring the stuff that people want to see to E3, and instead will hold their own mini-show later, after they're comfortable that the competition is locked into their designs, to show off actual games, tech demos, hardware specs, and the controller.

I picked up the unrated version, watched it last night. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard watching a movie. And yeah, the puppet sex scene in the unrated version is pretty bad... and that just made it that much funnier. Extras aren't all that hot, though.

Another one year war game ^^ Awesome there is more tales of the One Year War left to tell... they need an igLoo game now, Seig ZEON! I'm with Abombz on this one... the One Year War is a dead horse. There's been a ridiculous number of side stories, on top of how many games that are actually just covering the TV series/movie trilogy. There's a lot more untapped potential (and a lot more MS designs) in just Zeta to Victory (AU, especially SEED, gets enough attention).

Yeah. The companies are talking about trying that out. I think it'll bomb. Remember the N64? Something else to consider, and I think it was mentioned in the same article, that developers have been using the higher-priced "collector's edition" version of games as an experiment to see if consumers are willing to pay more for games. And I'll say that, from a retailer's point of view, the $54.99 collector's edition games (like Halo 2) have sold pretty well, but the $60 games (like Mortal Kombat Deception) sold much better in the regular editions. If the publishers learned anything from that, they'll keep the games at no more than $54.99. Collector's editions are neat. When they come with something worth having. I love my Lunar soundtracks, Eternal Blue pendant, Lords of Lunar game, and yes, the sexy boxes, but why would I want a red aluminum box with a Gamestop logo wrapped around my standard RE4 package? ... To be fair, neither PS Lunar game was ever offered in a "standard" edition anyways, though(if it was, it flew by too fast for me to notice). I think the Lunar games were a totally different case. Like you said, there was no regular edition. All that extra bonus stuff was more like a reward for the loyal fans. It's this new trend... pay extra for a DVD with "the making of the game" and a tin case. And instead of RPGs with small but loyal fanbases, suddenly it's like every game that comes out that has a collector's version.

You know what, Jem? I sincerely apologize, and for a change, I'm going to agree with you 100%. But you know already that I work in retail, but I gotta point out, I live in a white trash podunk town where I swear most of my customers have never even heard of the internet. I'm used to explaining things to people as if they've never heard of any of this stuff. When you asked about Spidey, even though I've known you to make informed (if a tad condescending) statements, I went into work mode and assumed that you didn't know Ultimate Spidey was already in the works (and that cramming out another new game for PS3 launch would be unlikely). Next time you ask a question, I'll try to remember to be more to the point.

Yeah. The companies are talking about trying that out. I think it'll bomb. Remember the N64? Something else to consider, and I think it was mentioned in the same article, that developers have been using the higher-priced "collector's edition" version of games as an experiment to see if consumers are willing to pay more for games. And I'll say that, from a retailer's point of view, the $54.99 collector's edition games (like Halo 2) have sold pretty well, but the $60 games (like Mortal Kombat Deception) sold much better in the regular editions. If the publishers learned anything from that, they'll keep the games at no more than $54.99.

Remember, though, that most consoles have come out in Japan with 6 months to a year before the US release. If Sony is shooting for a simultaneous worldwide launch (and I don't know that they are, I'm just guessing that they might since Microsoft is), the cost of the console will still be a little higher. Also, while American consoles have been sold traditionally for lower prices, remember that the PSP was actually more expensive once it hit the States. I'm going to agree with you, JB0, that the PS3 won't be $500 when it hits the States... but I am afraid that it'll be higher than that $300 sweet spot. Oh, no! The PS3 has announced support for a hard drive, but Sony hasn't said if it will ship with one or not. I didn't mean to imply that the PS3 definatively has a hard drive... my point to MGREXX was that having slots for a variety of flash cards doesn't make the PS3 superior to the Xbox 360 as long as the Xbox 360 does have the hard drive.

I'm not into PC games in general, and morally opposed to paying $50 for a game that I have to pay to play. That said, I've been thinking about Guild Wars. People are telling me that WoW is better, but Guild Wars is also supposed to be pretty good... and free to play.

I'm just going to chill and catch an early Friday morning show. That way, all the really excited people will have already gone, but it'll be a little early yet for the weekend crowd.

I didn't even pick up on that. That's pretty funny. I wonder if anything Spider-man now will be made as launch games. I don't know if Spidey will make PS3 launch, but a game based on the Ultimate Spider-Man comic book series will be out this fall. Apparently, you'll get to play some levels as Venom. Thanks for sharing Capt. Update. Only I know about that game and don't care since I hate that book series (I sold off the comics which I got as a default subscription from Marvel to replace dead books like Gen X). Just saying I wouldn't be surprised if yet another Spidey game was used for a PS3 launch at the rate Sony is going. Look, I know you're easily antagonized, but was that really called for? How the hell am I supposed to know what games you do and don't know about? You asked about a new Spidey game, I told you what I knew. If I had to guess, though, no, I don't think that there will be a Spidey game for PS3 launch. As far as I know, Activision still holds the game rights, and they still have Treyarch working on Ultimate Spider-Man. If the PS3 is going to launch in the spring of 2006, I don't think that's enough time to crank out another game, unless they handed development to another studio. A more likely scenario will be that a Spider-Man game for the PS3 will come out around the same time as the third movie.

JB0, I'm not arguing in favor of proprietary memory cards. If you have to use a memory card, I'd say go with CF on account of its sheer cheapness. But, why waste money on either if you can stream media wirelessly and store it on the supplied 20GB hard drive? Go to gamespot.com, look me up... same as my Macrossworld tag, and feel free to browse my collection. As of the time of this writing, I have 23 Xbox games, and 115 PS2 games... hardly the ratio you'd expect from an Xbox fanboy. I'm just not accepting out of hand that the PS3 is as far beyond the Xbox 360 as you seem to think, and not as willing to dismiss the Xbox 360 on account of the fact that the PS3 may be a bit more powerful. As a hardcore gamer since the days of the Odyssey, as someone who freely admits will probably wind up buying both an Xbox 360 and a PS3, the Xbox 360 just seems more promising to me. Wow... that is a lot. You sure showed me... Shaders make games look more realistic by simulating multiple light sources on a 3D model. And neither console is likely to approach its maximum operations/second anytime soon. By the time TVs with 1080p support are in the majority of houses, and by the time that software developers use 1080p as a standard, both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 will have been replaced. How's that for thinking of the future? Even though I'm actually pulling for Blu-Ray, why should I accept it as the future when that hasn't even been decided? The PS3 is using Blu-Ray because that's Sony's format. But if HD-DVD wins out, or if a hybrid format is accepted as the new standard, the PS3 won't be playing movies on the format anytime soon anyway. Are you so sure Sony is willing to eat costs? As far as I know, although I'll bet JB0 knows for sure, only the Xbox was consistantly sold at a loss. And while people are still predicting a price close to $300 for the Xbox 360 (and I'll bet even less for the Revolution), the Mainichi Daily News reported that Sony is planning to sell the PS3 at 50,000 yen... about $470. I highly doubt it. Even my unemployed brother has a stand alone DVD player. I'd say, with some confidence, that people who use their consoles as their primary or sole DVD player are an extreme minority. Guess what, smacktard? Metal Gear Solid 3 is on a single layer DVD. Feel free to throw your copy into a computer and analyze it with DVD Decrypter, if you don't believe me. If running out of space was really an issue for Kojima, why didn't they simply use a dual-layer DVD? Likewise, if they'd run out of space for extras, how is it that they're are, in fact, releasing a Substance version with extras? 99% of the games developed today are on single-layer DVDs. Despite your erroneous claims to the contrary, it is a fact that most games do not even come close to taking up the full 9GB provided by a dual-layer DVD. Try unplugging something when you're not using it. Even assuming that I'm going to play a game online with a mouse and keyboard, and I want to use voice chat instead of typing messages... well, the headset plugs into the controller on the 360, so that still leaves you with a free USB port. I mean, seriously, if you can come up with a reason why you'd actually need to simultaneously use all six USB ports on the PS3, I'll concede this argument. The future of multiplayer isn't trying to split a screen seven ways and trying to get six people to come over to play at the same time. Microsoft already proved that the future of mulitplayer is online. So the best demos and in-development games look better for the PS3 than the best demos and in-development games for the Xbox 360. That means nothing until we see finished games running on finished hardware. Bottom line is that PS3 owners have generic sequels to franchises past their prime, like Tekken 6 and Gran Turismo 5, to look forward to. At least the Xbox 360 is getting Perfect Dark Zero and hopefully more fresh content from BioWare.

Just a generic Spring of 2006.

What the Jaguar did (like what the Dreamcast did) was to claim to have a certain bit processor, when they actually had two half-bit processors. I forget the Jaguar's numbers, but in the case of the Dreamcast, they claimed 128-bit with two 64 bit processors. And as you can see, the Dreamcast was more powerful than the 64-bit N64... damn near the true 128-bit PS2. Bottom line... three 3.2GHz processors might not be the same as having one 9.6GHz processor, but it's still more powerful than a single 3.2GHz processor. Don't pretend it's not just because you're a Sony fanboy. I'm sure I'm really going to notice that 50MHz. Especially if one of cores is assisting. How many shader operations per second do you need? Do you even know what that means? If you're one of the few people that has a TV that can support 1080p, I'm sure that'll matter. Unless, of course, developers don't take advantage of it. As I understand, Microsoft is the only one pushing for high-def support in game, and they only require 720p. It has a lot less. You don't need to be as fast (mind you, I didn't catch the PS3's speed, but the 360's is 700MHz) if you don't have to read and write from it as often. MGREXX, I'm tired of going over this with you. Blu-Ray is NOT the next standard. Blu-Ray is a canidate, but then again, so is HD-DVD. A possible hyrbid deal is in the works, too. Reguardless of which format wins, I'll buy a player for it when movies start coming out for it. In the meantime, I don't need a console that plays movies. I don't watch DVDs on either the PS2 or the Xbox, and I don't give a rat's ass if which of the next-gen consoles can play movies, either. Bottom line, games don't even take up a full dual-layer DVD. Why add to the cost of a console to use a medium with more storage than you need? It's a console, not a PC. I haven't found a use for the two USB ports on the PS2. Why the hell would I care that the PS3 has three more than the Xbox 360, then? As for the CF, SD, and Memory Stick slots, why do I need them in a console? For multimedia? You mean the same multimedia that I can stream wirelessly from a PC to the Xbox 360's harddrive? If you really must use some form of flash memory, the Xbox 360 is supposed to support the USB card readers... including the PSP. How's that for flexibility? When was the last time you played a 7 player game? And while I'll admit that it'd be nice if Microsoft had thought to use Bluetooth, the Logitech wireless controllers both use 2.4GHz technology, and I've never had any problems. Besides, the Xbox 360 is supposed to use subtle frequency shifts to minimize interference. Microsoft isn't going to downgrade. The Xbox 360's "multi-channel output" will include, at minimum, Dolby 5.1, because the current Xbox already does. In any case, all we're really doing is niggling on the details of extra features now. I've already said that the PS2 has a more powerful videocard, but the Xbox 360 still seems to have the better core. I stand by that.