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Peter · Nov 3, 2006, 06:38 AM

that slideshow is awesome.

Nov 3, 2006, 01:11 PM

Originally Posted by ink

We (my son and I) were on the Escape from the Death Star level in episode IV in free play mode. We meticulously went through and got every minikit canister plus True Jedi, only to be denied the Millennium Falcon at the end of the level. There's a very well-known bug that randomly makes it impossible to lower the force-field at the end of the level with the mini turrets.

I wonder if they can remotely "fix" these issues on the 360? We're playing on a GCN, so... no dice.

On the other hand, do you really want to load up a game to play only to be greeted with a screen saying "There's a new update available! Version 1.13.44.5.234.234, is out, and it's only 2.3GB to download!"

Lazy developers indeed.... and it's not like Lego Starwars 2 was working with a fresh codebase...

I finished the X360 version without problems. Playing back through Free-Play mode resulted in characters getting stuck behind doors, etc. Pissed me off and I haven't touched the game since.

Dark Helmet · Nov 3, 2006, 06:30 PM

What is it really like to use a PlayStation 3? | Technology | Guardian Unlimited Technology

So far the only complains is some people think the controller is to light but they all say the motion control handles well. The games look the same as the 360 right now which is no surprise as MS devs have a year head start.

Velocity211 · Nov 3, 2006, 08:22 PM

I didn't know PS3 can surf the internet. Another reason why PS3 owns.

DuckRacer1 · Nov 3, 2006, 11:34 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

What is it really like to use a PlayStation 3? | Technology | Guardian Unlimited Technology

So far the only complains is some people think the controller is to light but they all say the motion control handles well. The games look the same as the 360 right now which is no surprise as MS devs have a year head start.

IIRC, didn't the 360 and PS3 dev kits ship at around the same time?

Gamoe · Nov 3, 2006, 11:42 PM

There's no way to re-cast my vote? I originally voted none, but since then I've become very enthusiastic about the Nintendo Wii.

MinM · Nov 4, 2006, 01:59 AM

Originally Posted by Velocity211

I didn't know PS3 can surf the internet. Another reason why PS3 owns.

It must also be a reason why the Wii owns, then.

http://us.wii.com/channel_internet.jsp

goMac · Nov 4, 2006, 02:09 AM

http://www.destructoid.com/first-ever-wii-reviews-out

First Wii reviews from NGamer. Red Steel 90%. Monkey Ball Banana Blitz 84%. Seems despite all the nay sayers Red Steel got it's control issues resolved. Quote about Red Steel:

“Not only making excellent use of the Wii’s controllers, this is huge fun in its own right. For a launch title to get so much right is an indicator of great things to come.”

goMac · Nov 4, 2006, 02:29 AM

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Wii Preview, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Preview

7-Up chimes in on Twilight Princess. Massive world and they enjoyed the controls. Overall very positive review.

"The bulk of swordplay, however, is controlled by moving the entire Wii Remote. Contrary to common opinion, this doesn't entail making massive swiping motions. Although it's certainly possible to wield the remote like an actual sword, a simple flick of the wrist will cause Link to attack. How you move the controller also has no bearing on the kind of strike you make. By default, Link sweeps horizontally; for a vertical slice, you must first lock on to a target. And a swing executed while pressing forward on the analog stick results in a stabbing thrust."

Eug Wanker · Nov 4, 2006, 03:29 AM

Programming HD DVD playback on the Xbox 360

What takes 4.7 million lines of code, partner teams from all over Microsoft, and millions of dollars to create? The Xbox 360 system software? Nope. This is just the HD DVD player.

A lot of the codecs existed in code at Microsoft before the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player was being built. However, it was all code that was optimized for PC platforms (windows/x86) and not Xbox 360's PPC core. This meant doing a lot of optimization. In this regard, the Xbox 360 implementation of H.264 can be considered a crowning achievement. For this computationally expensive codec, a hybrid approach was taken. Since GPUs are very good at parallelized workloads, stuff that could be parallelized is computed there, while the stuff that can't is better suited to the CPU and is done there.

Unlike DVD, where typical players pass the audio data from the disc through to your receiver, HD DVD requires that players mix sounds from menus and such in with the audio being played for the movie. The 360 player software decodes all the above codecs in software, mixes anything that needs to go together, re-encodes it into Dolby Digital and then sends that to your receiver. So, don't be alarmed when your receiver still says "Dolby Digital" even if you've selected DTS in the menus.

All 6 of Xbox 360's hardware threads are hard at work while playing back an HD DVD. At the moment, the player software pushes Xbox 360 harder than any other (save, perhaps, Gears of War during some particularly busy parts of the game).

Velocity211 · Nov 4, 2006, 09:08 AM

Originally Posted by MinM

It must also be a reason why the Wii owns, then.

http://us.wii.com/channel_internet.jsp

Ha, and where's the 360's internet surfing capability??

Hawkeye_a · Nov 4, 2006, 09:23 AM

I'm gonna diss both the Wii and the PS3 for the ability to surf the internet. not a fan of that function to be honest.

Velocity211 · Nov 4, 2006, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

I'm gonna diss both the Wii and the PS3 for the ability to surf the internet. not a fan of that function to be honest.

I'm just wondering, but why do you like the 360? Is it because of Halo?

Hawkeye_a · Nov 4, 2006, 09:36 AM

Originally Posted by Velocity211

I'm just wondering, but why do you like the 360? Is it because of Halo?

I dont "like" the XB360. it's got its strenghts (library, onlne)...just like the other 2 have their strngths. But im no Halo fan...played through Halo 1....meh.

Velocity211 · Nov 4, 2006, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

I dont "like" the XB360. it's got its strenghts (library, onlne)...just like the other 2 have their strngths. But im no Halo fan...played through Halo 1....meh.

So you don't prefer consoles?

Hawkeye_a · Nov 4, 2006, 10:35 AM

Didnt say that.

I'm looking forward to the Wii (price and "newness")

Velocity211 · Nov 4, 2006, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by Hawkeye_a

Didnt say that.

I'm looking forward to the Wii (price and "newness")

Oh ok, I'm saving for a PS3 and maybe get a Wii if I have some money left.

ajprice · Nov 4, 2006, 11:20 AM

OK, for the people getting a "Wii360" combination. What platform are you going to get the multiformat games on, 360 or Wii? One I can think of at random is NFS Carbon, are you going for the 360 shiny graphics or the Wii wave around control?

JoshuaZ · Nov 4, 2006, 11:27 AM

I'd buy Wii from the states if I could make it region free. Region codes make me very annoyed. I thought Nintendo had turned over a new leaf, with the GBA, DS, and Cube all region free (or in the case of the Cube, very easy to make region free by buying the right disc). You'd think that they'd want to increase sales on both sides of the ocean. (Plus I know british friends of mine who HATE having to wait for the 'European' release of games, even though there is a perfectly good English version of said game in the states.)

DuckRacer1 · Nov 4, 2006, 11:39 AM

Originally Posted by ajprice

OK, for the people getting a "Wii360" combination. What platform are you going to get the multiformat games on, 360 or Wii? One I can think of at random is NFS Carbon, are you going for the 360 shiny graphics or the Wii wave around control?

I'd go for the X360, for the graphics and sound, among other things.

goMac · Nov 4, 2006, 08:17 PM

Apparently Six Axis is kinda sorta a gimmick:

http://gonext.blogspot.com/2006/11/p...-gone-bad.html

Peter · Nov 4, 2006, 08:21 PM

how many wii consoles will europe be getting? are we looking at months of soldout-ness?

ajprice · Nov 4, 2006, 08:35 PM

Depends how many people are actually going to buy one. Mine is pre ordered, so it should be ready for me on December 8th to take home, whether there will be any on general sale after that, or whether the pre orders are selling out the stock, i don't know. The DS lite also had a pre order system with the game stores here, but they were on sale after the release date, not out of stock, so its going to depend on the demand for the things. Hopefully Nintendo will have enough to go around.

Eug · Nov 5, 2006, 12:27 AM

#1 best seller in the video games section at Amazon.com is Wii's Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess pre-order.
#2 is the Xbox 360's HD DVD drive pre-order.

The best selling PS3 game on Amazon is Call of Duty 3... at #262 pre-order.

Dark Helmet · Nov 5, 2006, 12:53 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

#1 best seller in the video games section at Amazon.com is Wii's Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess pre-order.
#2 is the Xbox 360's HD DVD drive pre-order.

The best selling PS3 game on Amazon is Call of Duty 3... at #262 pre-order.

I don't get why anyone would pre-order a game. It is impossible not to find a game you want.

ort888 · Nov 5, 2006, 01:49 AM

I can see preordering it online. They would just mail it when it comes out with no fuss.

Pre-ordering in a store is moronic though.

Hawkeye_a · Nov 5, 2006, 07:05 AM

I know most of the hardcore gamers will probably get 2 or even 3 consoles. But i dont play games enou8gh to justify spending that money on 3 boxes. I'd rather buy one box, and then just spend the rest of my spare cash on games instead of another box. i think most casual gamers buy a console with this sort of an attitude.

I dont pre order anything. at first i put my name down for a Wii on liksang, but then backed off. As much as i like the idea of the Wii, i wont be putting money down for anything until ive actually tried it.

Being this close to launch.... i must say im rather disappointed in the lack of a Rogue Squadron game on any of the 3 boxes. that would have been a major deciding factor for me. RSII was the reason i picked up a GCN in the first place.

Eug Wanker · Nov 5, 2006, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

I don't get why anyone would pre-order a game. It is impossible not to find a game you want.

I don't pre-order games, but I suspect many gamers preorder games for the same reason I preorder movies.

As ort suggests, mail order is often much less hassle. Amazon often has the cheapest prices, and they'll usually ship so you get on the day of release, or sometimes even the day before. Or at least that's the way it usually works with Amazon.ca or BestBuy.ca. I'm not sure if it's the same with Amazom.com in the US of A, but I would imagine it is.

Peter · Nov 5, 2006, 12:26 PM

I preorder quite a lot.
I have Gears of War and Rainbow Six on preorder currently.

Eug Wanker · Nov 5, 2006, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by Peter

I preorder quite a lot.
I have Gears of War and Rainbow Six on preorder currently.

GoW is currently #4 on the Amazon.com list.
Zelda is still #1, and the Xbox 360 drive has dropped for #3. Rainbox Six is at #71.
The highest one for the PS3 is still Call of Duty 3, but it has since dropped to #306.

Similarly, the best-selling Blu-ray movie title is selling worse than each of all of the top 10 HD DVD titles.

Things are not looking good for an impressive PS3 launch. While the PS3 will sell out, part of the reason is because of shortages. The Blu-ray studios must be p!ssed.

itai195 · Nov 5, 2006, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

Pre-ordering in a store is moronic though.

These days I agree. There are so many stores and so many copies of games around. 10 years ago it was a different story, I used to preorder games all the time back then.

goMac · Nov 5, 2006, 07:12 PM

EA says that Sony's year end shipment estimates are likely too high:

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/04/e...pment-numbers/

Gamoe · Nov 5, 2006, 11:09 PM

I wonder if most are prematurely discounting the PS2, though. Probably due to the cost and shortage, Sony is supposedly going to push the PS2 for the more casual gamer. They even just recently released a Silver PS2 for the first time in North America.

Personally, I'm getting a Wii, but I have friends who like to bring over their PS2s often enough that if it drops to $99 or so, I might be tempted to get one myself.

starman · Nov 6, 2006, 12:50 AM

I went to a Gamestop I go to when I go out to watch football on Sundays. One clerk was talking people OUT of getting the PS3.

Wow.

Eug · Nov 6, 2006, 12:55 AM

In case you're looking for a PS3: CAD$5000 at Amazon.ca

MindFad · Nov 6, 2006, 02:46 AM

What a steal.

itai195 · Nov 6, 2006, 03:10 AM

You could get a Wii, a 360, and a 60" 1080p TV for that

Or uh... yeah, a PS3...

Eug · Nov 6, 2006, 10:30 PM

Microsoft Unveils the Video Marketplace

Television shows, HD movies and more are coming to Xbox 360.

Not ready to pick sides in the upcoming HD format war? Maybe you don't have to just yet. On November 22nd, Microsoft is launching the video marketplace for Xbox Live. This new service will allow Xbox 360 owners with access to a high speed internet connection to download a variety of HD and standard definition video content to their consoles and view it on their television. That means all Xbox 360 owners with an HDTV will have access to HD movies, regardless of whether they own an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player. It doesn't end with movies, though. The video marketplace will also feature television shows, music videos and game videos to purchase with Microsoft points. The service will be available to both Xbox Live Silver and Gold members and promises over 1,000 hours of unique content by the end of the year, with at least 200 of that available in both standard and hi-definition.

starman · Nov 7, 2006, 02:41 AM

WOW. That came out of nowhere.

Eug · 10:30 AM

Originally Posted by starman

WOW. That came out of nowhere.

? Many people were predicting this.

I wasn't predicting HD movies though. I was predicting SD movies only.

P.S:

Note that V for Vendetta is 720p, at 6.1 GB for 132 minutes.
That's 47.3 MB per min = 0.79 MB/s = 6.3 Mbps.

Not bad. That's the same bitrate as the 720p24 stuff on Apple's HD QuickTime H.264 site, and my guess is that VC-1 will be slightly better quality.

P.P.S. HD DVD on the Xbox 360 coming very, very soon...

P.P.P.S. PS3 and Xbox 360 equal in power. 720p is the sweet spot for games.

Asked about our favorite topic on the graphics power of the new consoles, Dyack said, "The 360 and the PS 3 are equal in power in my eyes. Maybe the PS 3 has more processing power. The 360 has more available memory. It's pretty much a net, net. The public perception of the PS 3 was that it was much more powerful. To developers, they look even."

Dyack says that he believes that HDMI cable interfaces will make a difference in visual quality. That gives an edge to the PS 3. But he noted that authoring games in 720P resolution "looks nice." He adds, "It is questionable if there is a difference between 1080P and 720P. All of our games are likely to be 720P because of the faster refresh rates. There are all kinds of trade-offs. It takes a lot more RAM to do 1080P. You'll reserve RAM for the textures. 720P is just less pixels. There is definitely a huge difference from 720P and analog."

ort888 · Nov 7, 2006, 11:50 AM

Gears of Wars reviews are starting to appear and it looks like the game lives up to the hype.

1up gave it a 10/10 and IGN gave it a 9.4. Xplay gave it a 5/5 and I think OXM gave it a 10/10.

They all say that it's the best looking game ever.

Dark Helmet · Nov 7, 2006, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by ort888

Gears of Wars reviews are starting to appear and it looks like the game lives up to the hype.

1up gave it a 10/10 and IGN gave it a 9.4. Xplay gave it a 5/5 and I think OXM gave it a 10/10.

They all say that it's the best looking game ever.

Are you sure? It isn't high enough on Amazon top pre-oder list to be worth checking out over the HD-DVD drive according to Eug

Anywho, I wasn't interested in it but I watched an 8 minute video of it last night and I was really impressed with how the camera moves around when you run as if you are seeing thought ones eyes (very BSGish).

I'm gonna get a copy.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/744/744356p1.html

Eug · Nov 7, 2006, 12:01 PM

Originally Posted by Dark Helmet

Are you sure? It isn't high enough on Amazon top pre-oder list to be worth checking out over the HD-DVD drive according to Eug

Gears of War is #2 on Amazon, and the limited edition version of it is #23.
The HD DVD drive is currently #3.

There is a not a single Playstation 3 game in the top 300.

ort888 · Nov 7, 2006, 12:01 PM

Gamespot = 9.6

I'm avoiding video of the game, so that it's completely fresh when I play it. I hope I can find a copy today, because I have crap to do tomorrow night.

Nov 7, 2006, 12:02 PM

Since the HDDVD drive on the 360 uses more processing power than most games, does that mean we'll have the optical quality of HD along with the roaring sounds on 360 fans to go along with it?

Jolt21 · Nov 7, 2006, 12:03 PM

is it just another FPS? i want to get a 360 so badly, but do not want jjust another FPS like Halo (which i did not like)

what do they do to GoW so that it isn't like anything else?

Eug · Nov 7, 2006, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by screamingFit

Since the HDDVD drive on the 360 uses more processing power than most games, does that mean we'll have the optical quality of HD along with the roaring sounds on 360 fans to go along with it?

The fans are not super quiet, but at least in my setup they aren't loud from my viewing distance (5-6 feet away). I don't hear them when I play a DVD for instance.

Most of the noise from the Xbox 360 is the whirring of the DVD drive when playing games, but when playing movies the DVD drive is silent. I'm told that the HD DVD drive is also silent when watching movies.

ort888 · Nov 7, 2006, 12:05 PM

It's a third person over the shoulder view. I don't think it's going to rewrite the book on gaming, but it does have some original aspects to it.

The combat system is based on finding and using cover, and running from spot to spot. apparently, if you try to run around like Rambo, you will just die.

Jolt21 · Nov 7, 2006, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by ort888

It's a third person over the shoulder view. I don't think it's going to rewrite the book on gaming, but it does have some original aspects to it.

The combat system is based on finding and using cover, and running from spot to spot. apparently, if you try to run around like Rambo, you will just die.

hmm...well if i got a 360, the only game i would get for sure is Rainbow Six: Las Vegas cause of the strategy involved...maybe i will read more on this.

goMac · Nov 7, 2006, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

If only Apple was offering their stuff in HD. I guess they think the hardware to do it isn't all that common.