Rumour: Xbox 360 better than PS3

[Oerwinde]

I'm just pissed that I might have to buy both this gen. The 360 just might have some decent exclusives this gen. (by exclusive I mean not available on PC). The PS3 is a sure buy for me, with the FFs, likely the Suikodens, Xenosagas, Blu-Ray, Metal Gear, GTA, etc. But the 360 will have the non-pc Bioware stuff and the stuff from the FF guy. Bah.

 

The choice was easy last gen, not so this gen.

Edited February 7, 2006 by Oerwinde

[alanschu]

This is a "bad" thing?

[Oerwinde]

This is a "bad" thing?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well thats like 1000 bucks just for the systems. Then you have to buy memory cards, extra controllers, games, an HD TV so the graphics actually look next gen.(First thing on my to buy list anyway. My 27" just doesn't cut it anymore). And thats not even considering the Revo.

Edited February 7, 2006 by Oerwinde

[Plano Skywalker]

with regard to titles and RPG titles in particular, it is true that, in the past, occidental RPGs were normally made for PC and sometimes got a port (or watered down version) for console....whereas, JRPGs were developed with console in mind.

 

that mentality is changing somewhat...obviously, moddable RPGs (such as NWNs and NWNs2) will always make their home on the PC.

 

but other RPGs, and especially those that use real time combat, will have the console as their main home.

 

the Xbox 360 will have 3 titles of Mass Effect, which is a platform exclusive from BioWare and Jade Empire 2 will presumably be console exclusive. Obsidian is apparently working on at least one 360 title and Mistwalker (the guy who founded Square Software) will be producing 2 360 exclusive RPGs.

 

I like the idea of having a platform that can play 4 BioWare titles, an Obsidian title and 2 Mistwalker titles so I will probably get a 360 at some point, but not until the first price drop at least.

[jaguars4ever]

*casts Summon Epiphany*

Summon Epiphany (Conjuration/Summoning)

Level: 10

Range: Computer and Console

Duration: 1 thread/level

Casting time: Instantaneous

Saving Throw: None

 

By casting the Summon Epiphany spell the poster calls into existance a beserked demon from the Elemental Plane of Bullsh1t - The Epiphany. At first glance this appears to be some sort of troll, but upon closer examination this gibbering mass of foul vapor moves with a life of its own. Drawn towards the XBOX like a moth to a flame, Epiphany feeds on the energies surrounding and used by the thread participants. When summoned the Epiphany will go on a rampage attacking everyone in the area, including the caster. Anyone Protected from Microsoft will not be targeted by the demon. The Epiphany has no logical or rational attacks at all. However, it can be hurt by logical attacks. Each time Epiphany quotes a target poster and wraps its tendrils around him there are two major effects: First, all PS2 memory cards that the target poster possess will be drained by one block, destroying them if only one remains. Second is it causes the poster to lose one PS2 game. This is chosen at random, however, it will consume the newest title possible. The Epiphany is completely immune to ridicule, and not only that, but flaming will actually heal this creature. Only desperate or suicidal posters use this spell.

[Meshugger]

*casts Summon Epiphany*

Summon Epiphany (Conjuration/Summoning)

Level: 10

Range: Computer and Console

Duration: 1 thread/level

Casting time: Instantaneous

Saving Throw: None

 

By casting the Summon Epiphany spell the poster calls into existance a beserked demon from the Elemental Plane of Bullsh1t - The Epiphany. At first glance this appears to be some sort of troll, but upon closer examination this gibbering mass of foul vapor moves with a life of its own. Drawn towards the XBOX like a moth to a flame, Epiphany feeds on the energies surrounding and used by the thread participants. When summoned the Epiphany will go on a rampage attacking everyone in the area, including the caster. Anyone Protected from Microsoft will not be targeted by the demon. The Epiphany has no logical or rational attacks at all. However, it can be hurt by logical attacks. Each time Epiphany quotes a target poster and wraps its tendrils around him there are two major effects: First, all PS2 memory cards that the target poster possess will be drained by one block, destroying them if only one remains. Second is it causes the poster to lose one PS2 game. This is chosen at random, however, it will consume the newest title possible. The Epiphany is completely immune to ridicule, and not only that, but flaming will actually heal this creature. Only desperate or suicidal posters use this spell.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Haha

[angshuman]

I'm not convinced that it's so much easier to get working with 3 as apposed to 8.

It's not the number that worries me. The X's cores are at least somewhat traditional, and they are homogenous. Write a thread-safe C program, it will run on them more or less optimally if you are a little careful about your branches. The SPUs don't look like something your average C program would be happy running on. Admittedly, I know very little about either the ISA or the u-arch of these SPUs, but from what I've read they appear to be very wide, non-speculative, statically scheduled vector processors. It would be hard to extract optimal performance from these (for generic code) unless you have an absolutely brilliant compiler or a programmer hand-coding in assembly. And I do not believe there is a lot of room for suboptimality.

 

On the other hand, it seems likely that the SPUs are being used for some specific task such as Vector (offloaded from the RSX) or Physics processing, with only the PPU being used for the primary generic thread. But even in this case, good abstractions in the form of libraries and language constructs need to exist for the programmers to be able to utilize them effectively. The sum total of all the work done seems to be a lot greater than what needs to be done for the X360, where traditional multithreaded programming approaches would work reasonably well.

[metadigital]

*casts Summon Epiphany*

Summon Epiphany (Conjuration/Summoning)

Level: 10

Range: Computer and Console

Duration: 1 thread/level

Casting time: Instantaneous

Saving Throw: None

 

By casting the Summon Epiphany spell the poster calls into existance a beserked demon from the Elemental Plane of Bullsh1t - The Epiphany. At first glance this appears to be some sort of troll, but upon closer examination this gibbering mass of foul vapor moves with a life of its own. Drawn towards the XBOX like a moth to a flame, Epiphany feeds on the energies surrounding and used by the thread participants. When summoned the Epiphany will go on a rampage attacking everyone in the area, including the caster. Anyone Protected from Microsoft will not be targeted by the demon. The Epiphany has no logical or rational attacks at all. However, it can be hurt by logical attacks. Each time Epiphany quotes a target poster and wraps its tendrils around him there are two major effects: First, all PS2 memory cards that the target poster possess will be drained by one block, destroying them if only one remains. Second is it causes the poster to lose one PS2 game. This is chosen at random, however, it will consume the newest title possible. The Epiphany is completely immune to ridicule, and not only that, but flaming will actually heal this creature. Only desperate or suicidal posters use this spell.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Brilliant, but in the wrong thread: this should be here.

[Oerwinde]

with regard to titles and RPG titles in particular, it is true that, in the past, occidental RPGs were normally made for PC and sometimes got a port (or watered down version) for console....whereas, JRPGs were developed with console in mind.

 

that mentality is changing somewhat...obviously, moddable RPGs (such as NWNs and NWNs2) will always make their home on the PC.

 

but other RPGs, and especially those that use real time combat, will have the console as their main home. 

 

the Xbox 360 will have 3 titles of Mass Effect, which is a platform exclusive from BioWare and Jade Empire 2 will presumably be console exclusive.  Obsidian is apparently working on at least one 360 title and Mistwalker (the guy who founded Square Software) will be producing 2 360 exclusive RPGs. 

 

I like the idea of having a platform that can play 4 BioWare titles, an Obsidian title and 2 Mistwalker titles so I will probably get a 360 at some point, but not until the first price drop at least.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

<nitpick>He didn't found Square, he was just a designer, though he did create the Final Fantasy series</nitpick>

 

Also, where is everyone getting their info about Obsidian doing a 360 game? I've never seen them say that. It could be cross platform. *hopes its cross platform because I won't be able to afford a 360 till like 2 or 3 years after I get my PS3*

[DarthMethos]

"Our game just keeps getting moved back... And back... And back. Again, where is the box? Where is the final system? When is it coming out? No one knows and in the mean time people in the industry are starting to get just a little salty."

 

But the comments most likely to have riled Sony executives were to do with the PS3's technical capabilities versus those of the Xbox 360: "I

[Darque]

*casts Summon Epiphany*

Summon Epiphany (Conjuration/Summoning)

Level: 10

Range: Computer and Console

Duration: 1 thread/level

Casting time: Instantaneous

Saving Throw: None

 

By casting the Summon Epiphany spell the poster calls into existance a beserked demon from the Elemental Plane of Bullsh1t - The Epiphany. At first glance this appears to be some sort of troll, but upon closer examination this gibbering mass of foul vapor moves with a life of its own. Drawn towards the XBOX like a moth to a flame, Epiphany feeds on the energies surrounding and used by the thread participants. When summoned the Epiphany will go on a rampage attacking everyone in the area, including the caster. Anyone Protected from Microsoft will not be targeted by the demon. The Epiphany has no logical or rational attacks at all. However, it can be hurt by logical attacks. Each time Epiphany quotes a target poster and wraps its tendrils around him there are two major effects: First, all PS2 memory cards that the target poster possess will be drained by one block, destroying them if only one remains. Second is it causes the poster to lose one PS2 game. This is chosen at random, however, it will consume the newest title possible. The Epiphany is completely immune to ridicule, and not only that, but flaming will actually heal this creature. Only desperate or suicidal posters use this spell.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Now that's comedy.

[Gabrielle]

So true.

[DarthMethos]

*casts Summon Epiphany*

Summon Epiphany (Conjuration/Summoning)

Level: 10

Range: Computer and Console

Duration: 1 thread/level

Casting time: Instantaneous

Saving Throw: None

 

By casting the Summon Epiphany spell the poster calls into existance a beserked demon from the Elemental Plane of Bullsh1t - The Epiphany. At first glance this appears to be some sort of troll, but upon closer examination this gibbering mass of foul vapor moves with a life of its own. Drawn towards the XBOX like a moth to a flame, Epiphany feeds on the energies surrounding and used by the thread participants. When summoned the Epiphany will go on a rampage attacking everyone in the area, including the caster. Anyone Protected from Microsoft will not be targeted by the demon. The Epiphany has no logical or rational attacks at all. However, it can be hurt by logical attacks. Each time Epiphany quotes a target poster and wraps its tendrils around him there are two major effects: First, all PS2 memory cards that the target poster possess will be drained by one block, destroying them if only one remains. Second is it causes the poster to lose one PS2 game. This is chosen at random, however, it will consume the newest title possible. The Epiphany is completely immune to ridicule, and not only that, but flaming will actually heal this creature. Only desperate or suicidal posters use this spell.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

***Takes out 20 sided dice and rolls***

3

Damit, not enough to take initiative. <_<

[Haitoku]

<_<

 

All right, back to the topic.

 

This is pretty old... Did the guy really get fired?

 

From what I hear, the consoles are bound to be pretty equal for some time, Sony eventually taking the lead.

[metadigital]

It's not the power of the consoles, or even the pedigree of the stable of games (though that does have a bearing) that matters: the big game is how the next generation of lounge lizards manage their digital entertainment: will Sony's high-tech Blu-Ray gambit beat the

[Haitoku]

 

Is that really the case?

 

Not one person that I know actually cares about the home theater aspects of either consoles... We all own computers, who the hell needs a console for that?

[Darque]

Sony is trying to repeat history (PSone, CD was the killer app that pushed it over the top),

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Didn't the PS2 help make the DVD a standard?

[metadigital]

@ I think you might be right.

 

@Haitoku: it may not mean much to you and most people right now, but rest assured it is the Next Big Thing: M$ made Mr W. Gates III a multibillionaire when he declared that he wanted to "put a PC in every home".

 

Now they want to put a PC in every TV. (I made a comment about this earlier in the thread.)

[Haitoku]

Point taken.

[metadigital]

I hope the console wars heat up (the bigger the fight, the better for us consumers), but I can see the marketplace splintering into multiple media, e.g. 3G 'phones, handheld game devices, consoles, PCs, stuff we haven't seen yet, etc, etc ...

[angshuman]

 

Is that really the case?

 

Not one person that I know actually cares about the home theater aspects of either consoles...  We all own computers, who the hell needs a console for that?

That's a very myopic outlook. Which two have more in common - Video Gaming and Home Entertainment or Video Gaming and Word Processing? I don't object to your skepticism regarding the console being a convenient home theater platform as much as I object to your belief that a "computer" will be any more suited to the task.

 

The concept of a "Personal Computer" as we know it is fast growing obsolete. It is becoming less and less economically and technologically viable to have a behemoth all-in-one uber-powerful "Computer" that needs to be powered from a supply transformer and dipped in liquid nitrogen. We are slowly moving towards a decentralized but networked system comprising of units that are dedicated to performing a particular set of tasks. With home media transitioning over the years from VHS into the digital "high-definition" era, game consoles and home media boxes are beginning to share a lot of functionalities (heavy processing, digital I/O), and therefore it (arguably) makes sense to club these into a single unit.

Edited February 8, 2006 by angshuman

[Darque]

@ I think you might be right.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>