Gamespot on next generation

[Vandenh]

Gamespot keeps the head cool and manages to steer clear of all the hype with a nice and informative article (http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-15016-1985-x-x-x) on 360 and PS3.
However, whenever you look at console technical specs, you also have to take them with a whole truckload of salt since the game console market has a long history of making a big deal out of numbers that don't really matter, or even making up numbers that have a tenuous grasp on reality. Remember the internal data precision arguments? That specification measurement became useless fairly quickly once marketing departments start adding different specification numbers together to get up into 64-bit or 128-bit range (OK, Turbografix started doing it back when we were still in the 16-bit era).
After the Eurogamer fanboy shock, this is a much more informative article.

[dr_qwandry]

at least there is a site that tries to lower expectations to a reasonable level before everybody thinks that the new systems are like the second comming.

[Cubfan]

Yeah, Eurogamer's gushing over the PS3 was a bit ridiculous. I don't think anyone knows, not even developers, how each system will fare once the games are finished and running on actual consoles and not dev kits. The graphical difference between the PS3 and Xbox is likely to be similar to the GameCube/Xbox divide, not a huge deal, influenced by the talents of developers more than anything.

[Rirath]

I suppose the true amazement of the next gen consoles isn't what they can do now, but what they will be able to do... AND what they can do right now. I mean, when we went from PS1 and N64 to PS2 and Xbox, did you really expect games like Ninja Gaiden and God of War?

Pretty much how I see the next gen. Yeah, they look really good now... but I can't wait to see what they can do later. For the purchase price, even brand new at launch, it's a value for the dollar that can't be beat.

[A-Team]

I think what we need to keep in mind is that EuroGamer isn't your typical media site. Unlike EA and File Rush, the EuroGamer gang tends to "blow news out of proportion" because it's their way of reporting the news. I won't deny the fact that their hate for the Xbox 360 was a little over-critical, but EuroGamer is still a great site in my eyes.

[[HATE]MyLife]

It's nice to see a little level-headedness from a gaming site during the madness that is E3. I, for one, am excited to see what games get announced during the next few days and could care less about the bullshit that the big 3 will feed us about their hardware. The truth will out soon enough.

[A-Team]

MyLife']It's nice to see a little level-headedness from a gaming site during the madness that is E3. I, for one, am excited to see what games get announced during the next few days and could care less about the bullshit that the big 3 will feed us about their hardware. The truth will out soon enough.
Exactly. The new consoles got our attention, now it's time to up the ante and bring us the games.

[DeadPixel]

Where is my Phantom? I ordered it on eBAY 3 months ago /cry.

[sTubbs]

Fantastic article. The only thing I found odd was that they said the Wi-Fi adapter for the 360 would cost extra, when I am positive I have read that it is standard. If it is extra, then I am definitely waiting for the PS3, as I am sick and tired of having an ugly ass broadband cable running from the office into the TV room along the floor, and I refuse to pay extra for something that should be standard out of the box, especially considering this machine should last me for at least half a decade.

Other than that, very rational and very level headed. I am glad that they tore apart the myth that bigger numbers are automatically better and emphasized the fact that it is the quality of the components that matters [like when they said the 48 pipelines in the 360 were considerably less powerful than the pipelines found on a PC 3D card]. The PS3 did come out sounding like it is slightly superior from a technical standpoint, but not by nearly as much as Sony would have us believe [surprise, surprise].

EDIT: Now I see what those MS assholes did. They said that the 360 would be 'Wi-Fi ready' out of the box, but did not previously mention that an additional adapter is needed. Well, that is just bullshit. Considering the PS3 truly has it out of the box, and Rockstar has implied that they will primarily be supporting Sony again this next generation, I am definitely leaning towards the PS3. Microsoft is going to have to do something pretty spectacular to make me be there at launch day with my support.

[askheaves]

The Atari Jaguar came out, and it was the first '64-bit gaming machine.' The advertising campaign told us to 'Do the Math!' Turned out the math was 32 + 32.

Marketting people are brilliant.

[emperordahc]

BTW, hey, YEA! Where IS the Phantom?!? ;)

[[HATE]MyLife]

BTW, hey, YEA! Where IS the Phantom?!? ;)

It's inside the Revolution now.

[if76]

Ok my dealmaker/breaker list:

1.HDTV support
2.multiple TV/monitor support (for single-system "LAN" gaming)
3.Harddrive comes standard (for faster loading times)
4.A controller with joystick placement that doesn't give me a handcramp.

The difference in technical power btwn the x360 and PS3 seem negligible enough that it shouldn't matter. Right now all 3 systems have a chance of being the one for me (assuming Revolution can do HDTV)

[bumgut]

Yeah I was dissapointed in Eurogamer. They always seemed a bit more grown up and aware, and seeing them pussy out and go fanboy was sad.

[Ernst_Jager]

Damnit, I try so hard to hate Gamespot then they go and pull something like this.....

[A-Team]

We is the induction cermony for Infinium Labs?

I want them to help make up the "Big 4" damnit!

[mister_slim]

We is the induction cermony for Infinium Labs?

I want them to help make up the "Big 4" damnit!
If you notice, all three other console makers ripped off the silver design from Infinium. I smell lawsuits.

[Kelegacy]

The top 3 things I look for in my consoles, which help me make a purchase at launch/after launch.

1. Games. 2. Games. 3. HD Support--haha, fuck that--GIMME GAMES!

So basically I could still be playing the PSone, if the games were truly great. I upgrade slowly, so I dont know about lauch purchases this year. Probably not. I'll probably purchase the PS3 first if they release a must-have game soon after or at launch. Then the 360 if they make it a point to create a system without the need to rely on Halo to sell itself once again--(not a Halo fan) and finally the Revolution. Of course, the order could be all scrambled if someone really wows me first. But this is the order I bought my systems in the 128 bit round, and I dont see anything changing in the future.

Oh, and gamespot is the shit. Gotta love em.

[Rommel]

Actually, all three consoles ripped off a lot from the phantom. The difference being is that these companies can actually implement these ideas. Still, there could be some lawsuits pending for the delivery system ideas.

[bobbler]

One thing the article seems to neglect mentioning when talking about memory is...

The unified memory of the Xbox360 is pretty close to PS3s approach, except it has two different kinds of ram. BUT the GPU can still access the XDR if its filled up the GDDR3 ram and needs more (it goes through a 35gb/s pipe to get there, which is faster than the ram so bottlenecking from that is doubtful). A lot of people seem to be under the assumption that the 256mb of each ram is limited to their holders.

I'm sure there are probably things here n there that they neglected to mention about the xbox also, but I just noticed this one more. Other than that, this article is probably the best one written about the xbox360/ps3 -- very well done comparison talking about more than just number fudgery.

Regardless of the numbers n such, I'm excited of whats to come -- all sides are looking good from my perspective, even Nintendo ( I love those old games =/ ).

[mister_slim]

Actually, all three consoles ripped off a lot from the phantom. The difference being is that these companies can actually implement these ideas. Still, there could be some lawsuits pending for the delivery system ideas.
Satellaview (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellaview)

[Furious Wang]

EDIT: Now I see what those MS assholes did. They said that the 360 would be 'Wi-Fi ready' out of the box, but did not previously mention that an additional adapter is needed. Well, that is just bullshit. Considering the PS3 truly has it out of the box, and Rockstar has implied that they will primarily be supporting Sony again this next generation, I am definitely leaning towards the PS3. Microsoft is going to have to do something pretty spectacular to make me be there at launch day with my support.

How bout offering a console that costs $200 less? How much does a Wi-Fi adapter cost again?

[petedog]

Ok my dealmaker/breaker list:

1.HDTV support
2.multiple TV/monitor support (for single-system "LAN" gaming)
3.Harddrive comes standard (for faster loading times)
4.A controller with joystick placement that doesn't give me a handcramp.


1. Because I cannot afford a $10k TV, Sony offering 1080p out of the box (v. 1080i for the 360) makes no difference to me. (Ok so 1080p monitors start at like $7k, still obscene)
2. Kinda cool, but Sony is gonna have to offer an HDMI-NTSC converter, because I sure as hell ain't gonna have TWO $7k tvs.
3. As far as I can tell, neither one of them is saying their console will have an HD as standard, and if optional, I doubt devs will code to utilize a HD to reduce load times if not all of the consoles will have them. (look at the under-utilization of the Xbox HD.
4. 3rd party controllers usually save the day, although nintendo controllers have usually worked for my hand size.

Once again, with the launches about a year apart, I am just gonna admit that I am likely gonna have both. I mean what else am I gonna do with my money, eat?

[netcraazzy]

4. 3rd party controllers usually save the day, although nintendo controllers have usually worked for my hand size.


Maybe I'm missing out on something but my experience with 3rd party controllers has been that they are usually crappy, lower priced substitutes for the 1st party ones. Although, from the looks of Sony's new controller I may end up relying on those 3rd parties to make a good controller a lot more than I have in the past.

[mister_slim]

Maybe I'm missing out on something but my experience with 3rd party controllers has been that they are usually crappy, lower priced substitutes for the 1st party ones. Although, from the looks of Sony's new controller I may end up relying on those 3rd parties to make a good controller a lot more than I have in the past.
Logitech does nice work.