Reuters - Shoppers are standing in lines to snap up Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii video game consoles as they become available, and some analysts do not expect shortages to ease until March or later.
Source: Video game console shortage could linger into '07 (Reuters)
Originally published on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 22:00:40 GMT
The creators of the cult comedy series turn their sights on the gaming business.
Author: forbes
Added: December 20, 2006
Source: Red Vs Blue Sees Green
Originally published on Wed, 20 Dec 2006 21:45:16 GMT
Gamasutra is running a piece today written by Ernest Adams, a frequent contributor to the site and an amusingly opinionated game designer. He writes to weigh in on the console war debate from the perspective of a game designer. He runs down the usual list of pros and cons for each machine, and then digs into the most creative aspects of each machine. Finally, lays out what he sees as the end result of this hardware generation: "So who, at the end of the day, will be the also-ran in this generation of consoles? On the global scale, I'd say it could well be neither the PS3 or the Wii, but the XBox 360. The PS3 will win over the hardcore gamers who have to have the fastest, most amazing machine available. The Wii will skim off the younger players and those who don't have as much money to spend. Both have the advantage of being made in Japan, so they'll crowd the XBox right out of that market. In the US and Europe, it's harder to say, but I see the XBox's early start as more of a liability than a benefit."
Source: 360 vs. PS3 vs. Wii - The Designer's Perspective
Originally published on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 19:08:00 GMT
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I'm sorry Mr. Adams. I would like to know what you are smoking, and where might I get some? Do you not watch the Internet? Do you not see the marketing treads going on? Do you not have your pulse on the game?
"N64 was a strategic mistake"
Yes and no. Nintendo took a gamble that people wouldn't want to wait 2-3 minutes for a game to load. Does anyone remember the HORRIBLE load times on Battle Arena Toshiden?! Oh wait.. that really hasn't changed much has it. *cough* Ape Escape for the PSP.
The main problem the N64 had was the lack of titles up front, and Nintendo pulling the plug on the machine just a tad to early. Many great games where made for the N64 and sold more then most of the PS1 games. 007 and Perfect Dark, just to name a couple. The N64 controller is still thought as being one of the best controllers made for a home system. But really, the N64 just couldn't compete with Sony's one PS1 killer app. Final Fantasy 7.
"PS3, which is undoubtedly the most powerful game console ever built"
undoubtedly?! My ass. This is where I would like to know what you are smoking and where I might get some.The PS3 is a pile of crap produced by a company that using virus marketing and proven to flat out LIE to it's customers all for the sake of the mighty dollar. The Cell technology is unproven. It's not even RUNNING as a 'true' cell system (7 cores, not a true 8), there's been over heating problems, there has been problems with the system even reading Blu-Ray DVD's, you need to PATCH the firmware before you can even PLAY some games (out of the box) the system doesn't even include the cables needed to produce games in true HD and above and beyond that, have you seen the screen shots comparing games running in emulation mode on a PS3 VS PS2 native? They look horrid. The PS3 is a $600 Blu-Ray player that just happens to play games.
"good games alone cannot guarantee a console’s success"
Total bull shit. It's ALL about the games. Perfect example here is the PS1. Horrible graphics. Horrible Sound.. Yet sold millions. Why? Final Fantasy 7. SOLID game, and one of the best ever created. The Atari 2600. HORRIBLE graphics and sound again. But again, sold millions (and caused the great game crash of '83.. but that's another story) The Dreamcast STILL has a following, because of the games. Where as the PS1 is pretty much dead and gone.. why is that?
"(the Japanese are reputed to have ignored the first XBox because it was just too big and clunky for their apartments)"
Yet, the PS3 is bigger then the original XBox and has all the features that Sony stated didn't matter.. like a Hard drive.. OH wait..it's not doing very well either.. Perhaps you've got a point on the 'form factor'
"the PS3 is a programmer’s and a filmmaker’s dream."
HUH? what does a filmmaker have do to with the price of eggs in China? Programmers dream? what about costs of porting code from one platform to another? (Something you don't have a problem with between the PC and the XBox 360) What about all the programmers saying the PS3 is a female dog to code for and in some ways worst then the PS2 which has been stated more then once to be a very hard toolset to code with.
Besides things like: "inverse kinematics" and "physics" are done by the CPU, 9 times out of 10 the "visual effects" are done by the GPU.
two completely different systems, and I've seen demos on an old C64 with 48k of RAM blow away something done on a PC. It's all about code, HOW you code it, and how to use the hardware to the max.
Besides, at this stage, the advantage that the PS3 has over the 360 (or the PC for that matter) is TOTAL theory. Right now, most of the games that are ported between the PS3 and the 360 look better on the 360.
"the PS3 is evolutionary"
So taking other company's ideas and fusing them together is called evolutionary now? Huh.. I just thought it was stealing.
"[the Wii controller] takes away functionality found on other consoles."
Duh. That's because the Wii is being what it was designed to be. A Game console. Not a multi-media machine that happens to play games. That's the MAIN point of where the 360 and the PS3 and the Wii are divided. The Wii is a pure game console. The 360 is a game console that can act as a multi-media device, and the PS3 is a multi-media device that also happens to play games.
"they can’t save the Wii if the ordinary Wii Remote tanks with the consumer."
.. and the Wii is out selling the PS3 and has been since it was introduced. I don't think that's a problem.
"Sony’s most revolutionary gaming innovation was not the PS3, but the Eye Toy."
this is a joke.. come on..it's got to be a joke. what's the punch line? the PS3? HA!!! funny. Web cams have been around forever. The Tech. of the Eye Toy has also been around forever. I wouldn't call it revolutionary by a long shot. The Wii controller? THAT'S revolutionary. Hmm.. makes me wonder if Nintendo didn't take the idea for the Wii controller off the Eye toy.. *ponder*
"Now, longtime readers of this column will know that I’m not a big fan of hardware-driven game design."
Yet, you are going off about how wonderful the PS3 is?
"So who, at the end of the day, will be the also-ran in this generation of consoles? On the global scale, I’d say it could well be neither the PS3 or the Wii, but the XBox 360. The PS3 will win over the hardcore gamers who have to have the fastest, most amazing machine available. The Wii will skim off the younger players and those who don’t have as much money to spend. "
Dude.. friend.. you've got it all basakwards. You're making the mistake of trying to Compare next-Gen consoles with a Wii. They are in two separate categories. The Wii is selling better then the 360 did by a long shot. There's more support for the Wii. The 360 is still lacking on one HUGE area... The Games And the PS3 was released DOA. The 'huge' sales of the PS3 where due to people buying them up to sell on Ebay. Right now the Wii is selling better then the PS3. which is just funny.
SOOOooooo.. at the end of the day, who's winning the NEXT-Gen battle? the Xbox360. The PS3 won over the people that would buy a Sony even if it caused cancer, anyone that was in the know stayed WELL clear of that console, and even the number of hard-core Sony diehards looked at the PS3 after getting one saying "WTF?!"
"but I see the Xbox’s early start as more of a liability than a benefit. "
That's only if M$ doesn't kick someone's ass and get some freaking GAMES to the system. I'm talking real honest to God Console games. Not PC ports and 'Pac-man'. I doubt many people spent the money on a 360 just to play Pac-Man over LIVE! it's called MAME and a PC.. MUCH cheaper.
"but they can no longer claim to be the latest, greatest thing – especially as the PS3 plays Blu-Ray disks out of the box, but HD-DVD is only available for the XBox as an add-on. "
Duh? I assume you've not read any reviews about the piss-poor quality of the Blu-Ray format either? Even the $600 Blu-Ray player is a wash, due to slow load times. Slow response times, and worse yet, bad image and sound quality.
"The Dreamcast got an early start too, and look how that ended."
That ended because of the lack of marketing of Segas Part. After the whole "Genesis does what Nintendon't" series, Sega just kinda sat back and figured there name would carry the system. It also didn't help that Sega really didn't TELL anyone they where releasing the console.
PC World is running a great retrospective on videogame consoles, looking all the way back to Atari's pong. The best part is, they're doing it via television ads for the systems. The article features highly entertaining blipverts for Pong, the Fairchild, the VCS, the 2600, the Intellivision, the Odyssey, Vectrex, Colecovision, the Atari 5200, and many, many more. From the article: "Gamers were tiring of PONG consoles, and Fairchild Instrument and Camera's Channel F console offered a fresh new alternative. It featured programmable 'videocarts' containing ROM chips and code, as opposed to the dedicated circuits that the Magnavox Odyssey's plug-in cards used. The cartridge concept emerged as an industry standard, and is still used in handheld gaming devices today."
Source: A History of Game Consoles, As Seen on TV
Originally published on Fri, 22 Dec 2006 20:38:00 GMT
Have you been wondering what the biggest screwups in the video game industry were in 2006? Well, you can quit worrying and start reading. This is the sort of stuff we'd like to see covered at things like the Video Game Awards. For an industry that is so good at congratulating itself, they sure don't like to admit their mistakes. So, it's up to someone else to do it for them.
Check out this list of the top ten video game blunders, boners, mistakes and gaffes of 2006 from next-gen.biz, and laugh along at some of the highlights from the past year. The Gizmodo story should have totally been number one, though, as Stefan Eriksson has become the official poster-boy for video game idiocy in action after single-handedly killing a company. And a gorgeous Ferrari.
[Thanks, Joe]
Source: The best video game blunders of 2006
Originally published on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:55:00 GMT
Source: Pac-Man moves from screens to highways
We're not sure what's more impressive ... the artwork left behind, or the daring artists who braved highway traffic to grace the asphalt with their work. Either way, Highway 55 in Minnesota has some hot retro gaming traffic tips on the road.
The state painted large white dots on the roadway to instruct drivers about the dangers of tailgating, and someone came in and promptly dropped a painted Pac-Man on the road, chasing the dots. Kudos to you, highway bandit. Now if you could just fit the ghosts in there, you might be able to make a cross-country phenomenon.
Note: Joystiq doesn't want anyone to get run over while painting their highways, so please be responsible while being irresponsible.
Originally published on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 19:25:00 GMT
Mad Catz has named journeyman financial exec Stewart Halpern as its newest CFO, replacing Cyril Talbot III who left the position nearly four months ago. Halpern will officially join the company on January 15.
Halpern leaves Rockstar, where he was head of finance, to join the peripheral maker. Previously, he was CFO for Def Jam's holding company Rush Communications. After posting a net loss of $6.7 million back in June, Mad Catz is looking to Halpern to turn things around in the New Year. Good luck with that.
Source: Mad Catz finally appoints new CFO
Originally published on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 17:25:00 GMT
RedOctane, Activision, and The Ant Commandos bury the hatchet on legal dispute; peripheral manufacturer will continue to offer its own guitar controllers.
Source: Guitar Hero suit settled
Originally published on Thu, 21 Dec 2006 14:18:08 GMT
It's almost the end of the year, and various organizations are handing out awards for what has been a very busy year in gaming. The Associated Press handed the top honor to Oblivion, while Gamasutra's Quantum Leap awards gave Wii Sports the nod for bringing the whole family together. Gamespy and Gamespot are still in the midst of handing out the prizes, but you can already check out genre winners at Gamespy, and Gamespot's list of dubious honors for games that only deserve the faintest of praise.
Source: The Games of 2006 Awarded
Originally published on Wed, 20 Dec 2006 22:39:00 GMT
Source: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/20/where-the-60-for...
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According to Forbes, $27 of the $60 taking its leave from your wallet |
Source: Where the $60 for new gamesOriginally published on Wed, 20 Dec 2006 23:15:11 GMT
What does litigation mean in the games industry? How far back does it go? And is it necessary? Dr. S. Gregory Boyd returns to Gamasutra with a detailed feature on the history of litigation, as it pertains to games, with examples ranging from Pong to Duke Nukem 3D.
Source: Litigations That Changed The Games Industry
Originally published on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:00:00 GMT
According to Eidos exec Ian Livingstone OBE, there is a new Tomb Raider game in the works for next-gen consoles. Apparently, this game "is like watching television", and speaking of video, Livingstone also revealed that another big screen outing for Lara Croft is also in the works. The TR films have taken in about half a billion dollars worldwide since the first movie was released, and that is a ton of dough to give up without trying for a hat trick.
Source: New Tomb Raider Game and Movie On The Way
Originally published on Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:42:14 GMT
Codemasters have signed a rather…interesting licensing agreement with Philips to use their amBX system, adding ambient lighting and even gusts of heated wind to, apparently, better replicate the act of driving a car.
Featuring explosive damage effects across a huge range of motor sport disciplines, TOCA Race Driver 3 delivers pure heart pounding racing for the PC. The scripted amBX effects delivered through the Philips amBX Peripherals will make the experience of playing the game even more immersive. Racers will feel the wind in their hair through the amBX fans and see the flash of lighting through tree lines, tunnels and landscapes via the amBX LED lights all in the real world around them.
Right. What's next, squirt guns firing at you for submarine games? It seems to me that behind a crash helmet and maybe a windscreen most racers aren't exactly feeling wind rustling through their hair (assuming they have any…hair that is).
Philips Announces amBX License Agreements With Codemasters and Introversion
PC Titles TOCA Race Driver 3, DEFCON and Darwinia Join A Growing List of amBX-enabled Games
New York – December 12, 2006 – Philips today announced that it has reached separate agreements with Codemasters and Introversion to amBX-enable their upcoming games. As a result of the partnerships, Philips will utilize a special scripting language in Codemasters and Introversion titles that will redefine the experience of playing games by extending the game world out of the screen and into the real world. The company will partner with Codemasters to amBX-enable the hugely popular TOCA Race Driver 3 and Introversion, the award-winning creator of Uplink, to amBX-enable the upcoming titles DEFCON and Darwinia. All titles will be available for the PC CD-ROM.
Codemasters and Introversion join an ever-increasing list of video game publishers and developers that have signed on to create amBX-enabled games, including THQ, Kuju Entertainment, Revolution Software and Sumo Digital. Previously announced games that will be specifically scripted to work in tandem with amBX peripherals include Broken Sword: The Angel of Death and Rail Simulator. Additional announcements are forthcoming as Philips is currently in the closing stages of agreements with a number of other high profile companies regarding amBX-enabling games in a variety of genres.
“Codemasters and Introversion are the cream of the UK-based game development community. They’ve recognized both the creative and commercial value that amBX can add, as well as showing that even back catalogue games can be amBX-enabled, extending product shelf life in the future,” said Jo Cooke, Chief Marketing Officer, Philips amBX. “These are three totally different titles that will use amBX in very different ways and, added to existing amBX-enabled adventure and simulation games, demonstrates how adaptable and striking amBX can really be across all genres of PC gaming.”
Featuring explosive damage effects across a huge range of motor sport disciplines, TOCA Race Driver 3 delivers pure heart pounding racing for the PC. The scripted amBX effects delivered through the Philips amBX Peripherals will make the experience of playing the game even more immersive. Racers will feel the wind in their hair through the amBX fans and see the flash of lighting through tree lines, tunnels and landscapes via the amBX LED lights all in the real world around them.
DEFCON is an online, multiplayer strategy game simulating global thermonuclear warfare. The game, inspired by the 1983 cult-classic film Wargames, superbly evokes the tension, paranoia and suspicion surrounding the Cold War era. Arming DEFCON with amBX will allow armchair generals to actually see the blinding light, as their intercontinental ballistic missiles land; feel the ground rumble through the amBX rumble pad as fallout rains down around them; and quite literally blow their enemy’s wigs off, through the force of the explosion entering the room via the desk fans.
Darwinia is a 2006 Best Game nominee at the Game Shadow Innovation in Games Awards and will immerse gamers into a virtual world populated by Darwinian life forms, who are under invasion. Darwinia will also take full advantage of the amBX LED light, desk fan and rumble peripherals to extend the game world out of the screen and into the player’s game room.
“As a small developer you don't have the time and resources to play around with content and photorealistic graphics, all your energy goes into creating a mood, an unforgettable experience,“ said Thomas Arundel, Commercial Director, Introversion. “With DEFCON we had tried to enhance the gameplay by concentrating on simple Wargames-inspired graphics and a very evocative audio soundtrack. Teaming up with amBX has given us an opportunity to take DEFCON to the next level, to really make you feel like you are the General conducting the whole messy business from your own bunker.”
"amBX is a really exciting prospect from a developer point of view, simply because it allows for an added field of creativity when making our games." commented Peter Chan, Business Development Manager, Codemasters, "The TOCA series has been one of our most successful franchises to date and we feel the immersive effects offered by amBX will help us make this year's iteration the most memorable yet."
About Philips amBX
Created by Philips, amBX™, a shorthand for ambient experiences, will drive the next generation of home entertainment through the use of a scripting language, a software engine and architecture. Through amBX, multiple peripheral devices in the room will function in harmony to deliver new content experiences: surround lighting, sound, vibration, air movements and other effects. Enabled devices will work in tandem with scripted amBX code embedded inside video games to extend the gaming world out of the screen and into the real world by barraging the senses with audio and visual queues tuned to the action on the screen. For more information visit: http://www.ambx.com/
Source: TOCA Feels It
Originally published on Fri, 15 Dec 2006 16:07:06 GMT by tim.stevens
We know this isn’t about the environment, or about new media, but we had the opportunity to go into Activision and we couldn’t pass it up. We hear that we were the first people ever to get in there like we did. Hope you enjoy it!
special guest appearance by Rob
Source: Activision, CA
Originally published on Thu, 09 Nov 2006 17:34:31 GMT by Mario Librandi
Spike TV's Video Game Awards winners announced
Expect the expected: another year passes with Spike TV failing to be either daring or creative with the winners of their annual gaming awards.
Source: Spike TV's Video Game Awards winners announced
Originally published on Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:53:00 GMT by bkuchera@arstechnica.com (Ben Kuchera)
Violent video games have long been the subject of concern, but now a religious title is stirring controversy. Left Behind: Eternal Forces, a T-rated PC real-time strategy game based on the popular Left Behind book series, has come under fire by online political groups.
Source: Controversial Christian Game Under Fire
Originally published on Wed, 13 Dec 2006 17:30:41 GMT
