[pyrite]

unfortunately, no matter how well cell is going on folding@home, folding@home is not a real video game! cell obviously has a lot of computational power, but PS3 architecture is still proving to be a bastard for developers.
..and isn't that what matters? if PS3 is so great (and don't get me wrong, it may have great potential), shouldn't we be seeing games that are measurably better than their Xbox360 counterparts? eg why did they have to dumb down the texture, grass detail etc in Oblivion on PS3 to get better-than-360 performance? why is PS3 framerate consistently worse than 360 with identical levels of detail? i seriously wonder why ANYONE would buy a PS3 right now when there are games like GOW that kick PS3's ass all over town... it will improve of course, but for now it seems all that 'unlimited power' is entirely theoretical.

i know your point was only that PS3 is kicking ass on folding@home, which it is, but i really wish we could see more of that power turn into actual pixels

[icruise]

You have to remember that Gears of War was in development for a long time (since before the Xbox 360's release) and it only came out what, a year after the system's launch? The PS3 is now about 6 months old, and most of the games that have come out so far are ports of 360 games. I don't know why anyone would be surprised that these ports aren't blowing away the originals. They're ports! And most of the original games that have come out for the system are rushed launch games. In other words... Give it a little time, for crying out loud. Motorstorm is very impressive, and Resistance beats out every next-gen shooter I've ever played, with the possible exception of GOW. Some very good games are on the way.

Speaking of good games, I have Oblivion for the PS3 on its way to me, so I'll see how it is, but all of the reviews I've read have indicated that it is better graphically and technically than the 360 version (better graphics overall with shorter load times and fewer glitches). Of course, there is some give-and-take, so it's not superior in every single way. The lack of downloadable content is the only area where reviewers have knocked the PS3 version, but according to this IGN article, it is coming.

By the way, the Folding@Home people have added a PS3 FAQ to their web site (at least I didn't notice it before). It basically says that the PS3 is somewhere between the GPU client and the PC client in terms of the complexity of the calculations it performs.

[icruise]

The rumored black Xbox is now official. It's basically the same as the Xbox 360 Premium, but with a 120GB hard drive and HDMI. And it's in black. It doesn't use a smaller, cooler CPU, and doesn't have integrated wi-fi or HD-DVD.

I personally think that this makes the 20GB PS3 look cheap (if you can find one). For $20 more you get a Blu-ray player (among other things). Of course the amount of storage is very different, but I'm still working on filling up my 20GB model. I really thought MS was going to try and be aggressive with regard to pricing, maybe introducing this model at the same price point as the current premium and getting rid of the core, but no such luck. What do you guys think?

[pyrite]

integrated wi-fi would have been a nice gesture for an Elite model, considering both its cometitors have it already... and 120GB isn't really much help unless you're modding or downloading from XBL Video Marketplace (which i'm not)... but HDMI is a nice addition

does it have the new, quieter benq DVD drive?

[Eug]

Yeah, at $479 it seems too pricey. $399-449 seems more appropriate, esp. since it doesn't include wireless or an HD DVD drive.

I wonder if the rumoured price drop on the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive is going to happen any time soon.

Xbox.com | Xbox 360 - Introducing Xbox 360 Elite

[exca1ibur]

$180 for a 120GB HD? ouch.

[icruise]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

$180 for a 120GB HD? ouch.

I know. I could upgrade my 20GB PS3 to 120GB for about half that. I don't really have any need for huge amounts of storage space at the moment, though. Maybe if they perfect the Remote Play feature so I can watch my videos on my PSP anywhere there's a wireless hotspot (right now it doesn't play very smoothly, even on my own network).

[pyrite]

i think this might be a bit of a mistake on M$'s part... it's approaching PS3's price and doesn't have blu-ray, and might create the impression that the premium model is incomplete or inferior, encouraging PS3 sales.
if it had the smaller, cooler processor and the quieter drive, plus wifi, it'd be much more attractive.

[Jawbone54]

Don't forget the $50 a year for Live.

I'd agree that this is a mistake. In some people eyes, this is the 360 getting more expensive, not introducing a new model. People are primarily interested in premium models. If a price drop doesn't happen by Q4, MS could be passing up a wonderful opporunity.

I, for one, am beginning to hope that they screw it up big time.

[Peter]

http://www.rockstargames.com/IV/
3 minutes!

[torifile]

I had a Wii and 360 and sold them both. Now I've got a PS3. The Wii's newness was awesome. I'll pick it up in the future. The 360 was nice because it's the first "real" console I've ever had but the lack of "different" games ultimately pushed me to the PS3. How many shooters does one need? I want innovative games. Unfortunately the 360 doesn't have many of those. And the PS3 has a vast catalog of old, cheap games that'll work on it.

Before you ask, I didn't pay full price for the PS3. I got it on craigslist for a steal and I made money on my Wii sale. IMHO, this was the right time for me to make these sorts of moves.

[mdc]

I read that Walmart and Toys 'R Us might have Wiis in stock today. I forgot to turn off my alarm yesterday so it went off early this morning. I phoned Walmart to try find out what time their store hours were. The lady said 24 hours and they had 1 Wii left. I told her I'd be there in 10 minutes and if she could please put it aside for me.

I was out of bed and at Walmart in 11 minutes. I got the Wii with Wii Play, Zelda, Trauma Center and Wario Ware.

[Rev-O]

Zelda on the Wii is a massive life absorber. I've skipped other games for now, because Zelda takes so long. After Zelda will be Super Paper Mario, which looks great.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by mdc 

I read that Walmart and Toys 'R Us might have Wiis in stock today. I forgot to turn off my alarm yesterday so it went off early this morning. I phoned Walmart to try find out what time their store hours were. The lady said 24 hours and they had 1 Wii left. I told her I'd be there in 10 minutes and if she could please put it aside for me.

I was out of bed and at Walmart in 11 minutes. I got the Wii with Wii Play, Zelda, Trauma Center and Wario Ware.

And this is the point where you tell us how well you like it...

[Dakar²]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

And this is the point where you tell us how you don't like it...

*cough*

[fhoubi]

Went in a big german store today first time after the european introduction of the PS3: I counted about 37 PS3 boxes, a lots of X360 with the premium priced the same as the core only this week for 299, and no Wii's...

[Hawkeye_a]

Originally Posted by Dakar² 

*cough*

Annnnnd we've lost another soul to Wii-mania

[siflippant]

Originally Posted by torifile 

Before you ask, I didn't pay full price for the PS3. I got it on craigslist for a steal and I made money on my Wii sale. IMHO, this was the right time for me to make these sorts of moves.

Why the self justification? Just enjoy your machine and have fun...

Later bro

[hart]

late to the party but after yet another visit to the Nintendo store I'm joining "none of the above." I'm sticking with pc/mac play for the moment. For all the expense involved I'm not sure there's that much more fun to be had. I could hardly contain my "yawn" response at the Wii games available after I got over all the arm waving, Halo is about the only reason for xbox and the ps3 ... well I don't know enough about it but there's a lot of $$ involved.

If I buy a really big display for each machine (windows and mac) and get all the games I've never played it'll probably still be more fun and less expense than a game console.

just my H.O.

[aristotles]

I bought a PS3 just as an affordable Blu-ray player today. I might buy some games later on.

[Eug]

For some reason, the 20 GB PS3 no longer exists at SonyStyle.com. Only the 60 GB is available.

I also checked SonyStyle.ca and it's still there, but not in stock.

[ajprice]

A few stores in the UK are selling the PS3 for £399 (retail price is £425). Still happy with my Wii60 though .

[jokell82]

If you're looking for PS3s, Craigslist is an excellent place to find them right now. In the past week I've seen two postings for the 60gb unit plus a game or two for $450. I was very tempted, then I realized there's nothing I want to play on it.

[icruise]

Originally Posted by Eug 

For some reason, the 20 GB PS3 no longer exists at SonyStyle.com. Only the 60 GB is available.

I also checked SonyStyle.ca and it's still there, but not in stock.

Sony seems to be quietly phasing out the 20GB model, which is totally stupid, because it allows them to seem more reasonable when it comes to pricing. The 20GB PS3 is a regular bargain compared to the "Elite" Xbox 360, and it compares very well to the Premium model as well.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by icruise 

Sony seems to be quietly phasing out the 20GB model, which is totally stupid, because it allows them to seem more reasonable when it comes to pricing. The 20GB PS3 is a regular bargain compared to the "Elite" Xbox 360, and it compares very well to the Premium model as well.

Except they were taking much bigger losses on the 20gb model.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Except they were taking much bigger losses on the 20gb model.

PS3 20GB model

"Overwhelmingly, retailers have been requesting the 60GB model, the mix has been about 80 percent 60GB, 20 percent 20GB retailer orders."

The only reason I got the 60GB, is there were no 20GB in stock anywhere, at the time. They had 1 60GB so I got it.

[exca1ibur]

For you XBox 360 guys out there.

Xbox 360's New Dashboard Update - May 7

[Eug]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

For you XBox 360 guys out there.

Xbox 360's New Dashboard Update - May 7

For you Xbox 360 HD DVD guys out there.

The HD DVD updates are apparently going to be independent of the spring Dashboard update, which means they could come earlier or later than May 7.

The good news though is that the new DTS output option and the audio compression fix for Dolby Digital Plus tracks are both going to be in the next update. Also supposedly fixed is the lip sync issue.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Eug 

For you Xbox 360 HD DVD guys out there.

The HD DVD updates are apparently going to be independent of the spring Dashboard update, which means they could come earlier or later than May 7.

The good news though is that the new DTS output option and the audio compression fix for Dolby Digital Plus tracks are both going to be in the next update. Also supposedly fixed is the lip sync issue.

From the horses mouth:

Someone asked where the DTS update is, in dashboard udpate or HD DVD. The answer is the later.

So to summarize, you need the dashboard update for VGA level setting. All the other fixes you are looking for from new encoding options, fixed audio decoding dynamic range, lip sync, title compatibility, etc., is in the HD DVD udpate. And the dates are seperate for each update.

[Eug]

[Dakar²]

Is that the iPhone?

[kick52]

Originally Posted by exca1ibur 

$180 for a 120GB HD? ouch.

yeah.

you can get USB external 400gb drives for that.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Eug 

[Eug]

w00t!

# Improved skip forward, skip back functionality during video playback.
# Switchable aspect ratio now available during video playback (Auto to Letterbox, Zoom, Stretch, Native).
# Player and friends lists now quickly show session presence information for quick identification of users that are joinable.
# Support for streaming WM-DRM protected content from a PC
# Folder view for video content on connected devices
# H.264 video support: Up to 15 Mbps, Baseline, Main, and High (up to level 4.1) Profiles with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.
# Added MPEG-4 Part 2 video support: Up to 8 Mbps, Simple Profile with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.
# Show folder hierarchy for video content played from all devices.
# Bookmarks are stored for each video that the user plays remembering the users last location in the file as well as the aspect ratio that the user choose for that file.
# Video trick modes (fast forward, rewind, chapter skip) can now be used while downloading Video Marketplace content.
# Skip forward and backward functionality has been improved to skip to the next or previous chapter. Each video is divided into 10 “chapters” allowing you to quickly skip around video content.
# The information bar that is turned on via the On Screen Display (OSD) now shows you exactly where you are in the playback of the video file. In addition it will also show for Video Marketplace content how much of the file has been downloaded and where the “chapters” exist in the file.
# Windows Media protected content (WM-DRM) can now be streamed from the PC to the console. If the WM-DRM license is missing or corrupted then a specific error message is displayed to the user. Bookmarking is also stored for protected content.

[Dakar²]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

What is that a Jaguar controller?

Gotta love the transparent attempt not to emulate the Genesis pad by reversing the order of letters to C, B, A. Completely different!

[mdc]

I can't imagine that the keyboard attachment for the xbox controller is going to be all that comfortable. Do you play games with it plugged in, or just plug it in when you need it? What games would this be used over talking through your headset?

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by mdc 

I can't imagine that the keyboard attachment for the xbox controller is going to be all that comfortable. Do you play games with it plugged in, or just plug it in when you need it? What games would this be used over talking through your headset?

It is just for the new Windows Live Chat features. You wouldn't use it during games.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Eug 

w00t!

# Improved skip forward, skip back functionality during video playback.
# Switchable aspect ratio now available during video playback (Auto to Letterbox, Zoom, Stretch, Native).
# Player and friends lists now quickly show session presence information for quick identification of users that are joinable.
# Support for streaming WM-DRM protected content from a PC
# Folder view for video content on connected devices
# H.264 video support: Up to 15 Mbps, Baseline, Main, and High (up to level 4.1) Profiles with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.
# Added MPEG-4 Part 2 video support: Up to 8 Mbps, Simple Profile with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.

Now it says 10 Mbps H.264 and 5 Mbps MPEG4.

[Eug]

The 20 GB PS3 has officially been discontinued.

Confirmed!

“At launch, we offered two separate models of PLAYSTATION 3 to meet the diverse needs and interests of our PlayStation fan base,” explained Dave Karraker, senior director of corporate communications for SCEA. “Initial retail demand in North America was upwards of ninety percent in favor of the 60GB sku, so we manufactured and shipped-in accordingly.”

“Due to the overwhelming demand for the 60GB model from both retailers and consumers, we have ceased offering the 20GB model here in North America,” Karraker confirmed.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Ya prob a good thing as I heard it wasn't that popular.

[Eug]

Not gonna be great for overall unit sales though. 10% sales is still 10% sales.

I wonder how many drive-less Xboxes MS sells. Nintendo sure sells a lot of their boxes.

[icruise]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Not gonna be great for overall unit sales though. 10% sales is still 10% sales.

Well, I'm sure Sony's thinking that the great majority of the people who might have bought 20GB models will buy a 60GB model if there is no other choice. And they may be right. I still think it's a mistake, though. Sony and Microsoft should both be trying to bring down the price, not raise it.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by icruise 

Well, I'm sure Sony's thinking that the great majority of the people who might have bought 20GB models will buy a 60GB model if there is no other choice. And they may be right. I still think it's a mistake, though. Sony and Microsoft should both be trying to bring down the price, not raise it.

I think they'll lose a bunch of sales over this. Sony may not mind though, because it's obvious they were losing a ton of money on the 20 GB model, and I also wonder if 20 GB buyers are less likely to buy games, but I dunno.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by analogue SPRINKLES 

Ya prob a good thing as I heard it wasn't that popular.

That might have something to do with Sony shipping a lot less of the 20 gigs than they did the 60. Then they claim the 60 sold better. Well freaking duh.

[exca1ibur]

Seems the loss on the 20GB was more than the loss in sales of producing two SKUs. Too bad none of us know that for a fact and never will... moving on.

[mutelight]

For the hardcore gamer like me I can't feel complete without all three. Although the 360 gets the most use by far in regards to games. Then the PS3 for movie playback.

[mdc]

What's the xbox vision camera like? Use it much?

[Jawbone54]

Moving this from the Lounge killed video game discussion on MacNN.

I'm bitter.

[exca1ibur]

Originally Posted by Jawbone54 

Moving this from the Lounge killed video game discussion on MacNN.

I'm bitter.

I agree. The gaming forum I think needs to die and stuff needs to go back to the lounge. This area is ghost, most of the time, like the real mac gaming market.

[- - e r i k - -]

You don't think 78 pages of one thread has made most people lose interest?