Next Generation Console wars

[alakhiyar]

I've been reading some interesting things about the Wii vs PS3 vs XB360 the last few days at Xbit. Not trying to sponsor them, but they seem to have all the news on the subject right now.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multime...117123243.html

The PS3 appears to be readily available in many stores already, suggesting that demand is fairly low. After reading that, I pity those that spent $1000-2000 for a PS3 less than a month ago. It appears that you can get one for retail today if you shop around a bit.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multime...116154134.html

Gabe Newell, the chief of Valve Software – the company that developed such popular game series as Counter Strike and Half-Life, has called the PlayStation 3 game console a “disaster” in an interview and called Sony to remake it. Mr. Newell believes that Nintendo Wii will win the battle of new-gen consoles, though, it is unclear whether games for Wii will ever emerge from Valve.

“The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels, I think. It’s really clear that Sony lost track of what customers and what developers wanted. I’d say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a ‘do over’. Just say, ‘This was a horrible disaster and we’re sorry and we’re going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it’,” Mr. Newell is reported to have said in an interview with Game Informer Magazine.

Ouch. Those are very harsh comments coming from Valve. It's one thing to say it's hard to develop for, but to say it's a disaster is pretty bold. Valve is a fairly large player in gaming, so I wonder how much of an impact this will have on other developers? I find it very interesting how they like Wii the most, especially considering their plans to make their gaming engines multithreaded.

Carmack seems to have good things to say about the XB360, though:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/d...115233110.html

This is not the first time when Mr. Carmack takes Microsoft Xbox 360 side, as it is easier to develop new games for the consoles....The lead programmer of id Software called Xbox 360’s more direct approach “refreshing” and even praised Microsoft’s development environment “as easily the best of any of the consoles, thanks to the company's background as a software provider”.

“I especially like the work I’m doing on the [Xbox] 360, and it’s probably the best graphics API as far as a sensibly designed thing that I’ve worked with,” he said.

Definitely interesting to see how this round of consoles is playing out. Nintendo and MS seem to be doing okay, but Sony can't really catch a break. They've even used the sluggish American economy as their reasoning for not sending more PS3s over at launch! That really makes no sense to me, since people were almost killing each other for them last November.

Comments?

[kryptonic]

I read somewhere that the company who did sonys graphics card for the PS3 said they will never work with sony again... I personally wouldnt touch a PS3 but am going to buy a Xbox360 fairly soon.

[Raion]

I think that each company has it's own positive aspects and you just have to decide for your own which suits your needs best:

Microsoft - Good graphics and built in memory (well not sure if the XBOX 360 is built in but I remember the XBOX being built in) Bad: Not so great games.

Sony - Good graphics and great games Bad: Too much "accessories" that should be included with such a high priced console.

Nintendo - Ingenious, unique, attractive design every time Bad: ______ Fill in the blank, I can't think of any bad aspects.

[tin.roof.rabbit]

Injury and destruction of property is about the only thing I can see wrong with the WII.

But I so want one!

[kryptonic]

I do want a wii but I think I would look retarded swinging around remote controls HAHA.

[Blunted One]

As one who works for a video game company let me put in my $0.02.

The XBOX 360 is great because we can easily develop on it and change things on the fly without the console being too much of a hassle. However the console is made like a piece of **** and if left on for too long or simply being used too much it will break. One of the big issues is the video card will simply begin to fail and cause the system to reboot or freeze. Perhaps the retail versions are better pieces of equipment but our development consoles are breaking left and right...and by the way Microsoft moves at about the pace of a snail and I have 5 broken consoles on my desk that Microsoft swears they are sending replacements for...well its been weeks and no word.

On to the PS3 which is an amazing piece of hardware and that is where the amazement ends. It might not break like the 360 does (at least so far), but try to develop on it and you will be entering a world of pain. Our game looks and plays a ton better on the 360 because its just easier to make the game for it. The PS3 is like a encrypted Rubik's cube to the 8th power. We have barely begun to unlock its potential. Not to mention setting up a PS3 you need to be a rocket scientist let alone trying to program on it. I am sure it has lots of hidden power...but guess what...give us a f*%$in map (or just a clue) or developers will start giving Sony the boot!

Finally we have the Wii...strange name, but it sticks and that is a perfect marketing idea. It is easy to use for the user and requires little to no setup. I am sure developing on it is a challenge, but it can't be any harder than these PS3 behemoths. It also has amazing ways of approaching game design and allows the developer to really get in control of how the controller is going to be used. Yes the graphics are no better than what is currently our there on the PS2, XBOX and the like, but guess what it costs a fraction of the other guys and people are starting to get off their asses again....good job Nintendo you realized what was missing from the market and stabbed it right in the heart.

I could go on, but I am sure your bored with my rants...feel free to leave me any comments and/or questions...

[alakhiyar]

My neighbor let me borrow GOW, and it's growing on me. I still can't wait to see how Halo 3 turns out. Between GOW and GRAW, I'm quite impressed with what the 360 can do. I never thought I'd adjust to playing FPS games with a controller, but I'm actually getting pretty good at it now.

I've yet to try the video marketplace, but that time might come if they start adding shows like LOST and Heroes to the download list. Selection is pretty limited at this point, but I think that's more so they can ramp up the service without lots of issues. Overall, the 360 is a very nice gaming setup. I can't think of how much money it has saved me in the past year by keeping me from upgrading.

[webwurm99]

It might not break like the 360 does (at least so far)

I for one will never buy a ps3 because every 1st gen ps2 I ever saw stopped working within like a year!

PLEASE make more games for X-box!!

[alakhiyar]

The XB360 GPU has unified shaders, if I'm not mistaken. I don't know exactly what the API is like for the 360, but DX10 supports unified shaders, so I'd imagine the 360's API is similar to DX10 in many ways. Also, it has 3 CPU cores, so it is still a little ahead of the "average" PC.

[Raion]

Injury and destruction of property is about the only thing I can see wrong with the WII.

Or fun, enjoyable weight loss?