Next Generation Consoles - By Ray
Next year will see the release of not one, not two, but three "Next Generation" consoles. The Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Revolution.
I own a modded Xbox and am very happy with it as a media center (why it doesn't ship with these capabilities enabled is beyond me) and at the beginning I played a lot of games on it, but now I've stopped. I have been wondering why I lost interest and as I read about these new consoles it dawned on me: I desire much better games. I think the reason I just can't bring myself to touch my Xbox games is that the same old things that I hated about the first Playstation are still here now: jaggy edges, boxey looking characters, pop ups (or fog to cover the popping up scenery), bad lip-syncing, terrible AI and the list goes on. Basically a bunch of things that remind me I'm playing a game and distance me from the experience. I have waited long enough. I want better games and I want them now!
Judging by videos and pictures of forthcoming titles on the Xbox 360 and PS3 I think my wish may finally come true and about bloody time! Take a look for yourself:
This is an IN-GAME shot!
Now I know some of you will be saying "but the PC has games like this already, just look at Doom3 and Half Life 2!". I agree to a point. The home PC is pretty amazing but the thing is the lounge is where all my best equipment is. My Hi-Def LCD Television is in the lounge. My 5.1 Stereo is in the lounge. My couch is in the lounge. So I want to play games in the lounge, not at my desk!
Also, judging from the gear inside these next gen consoles they are going to blow away what current PC's are capable of by a huge margin. Let's look at some geeky stuff.
Xbox 360
Before I delve into the 360's numbers let me just say what a stupid name! If you do a 360 you go all the way around and end up where you begun, isn't that like going in circles and not getting anywhere? That's hardly a step forward is it? Anyway...
Here it is, ain't it pretty?
BRAINS: Three CPU's, each at 3.2 Ghz (current xbox: one CPU running at 733 Mhz).
GRAPHICS: ATi chip at 500 Mhz; 48-pixel pipelines (current xbox: nVidia chip at 233 Mhz; 4-pixel pipelines).
POLYGONS: 500 million per second (current xbox: 116 million per second).
MEMORY: 512MB of RAM (current xbox: 64 MB of RAM).
STORAGE: 20 GB removable hard drive (current xbox: 10 GB hard drive).
The controllers are wireless too (you only plug them in to recharge).
Imagine having all that power sitting snugly under your TV!
If you have broadband at home there will be a free "Silver Tier Plan" on Xbox Live (with limited abilities) and the "Gold Tier Plan" where you can do live video chat with other Xbox 360 users as well as playing games, sharing pictures and downloading game updates (finally console games will all be patchable just like on a PC). I've never made the move to online play with a console but I wouldn't be surprised if one day in the near future I will hear myself saying "Remember when we used to play games offline?".
Apparently the 3.2 Ghz CPU doesn't really matter, what matters is how many gigaflops it is capable of. Now I have no idea what a gigaflop is (in fact it makes me think of Doc when he realises he needs "1.21 giga-watts" of electricity to get Marty back to the future). But this is where the Xbox pales in comparison to the PS3. The Xbox 360 is capable of 115 gigaflops and the PS3 is capable of 218 (practically double the raw power). Sony say this will allow for bigger environments and better AI among other things.
What stands out to me about these next generation consoles is their Hi-Def support. Playing games in 1080p on a sexy HD-TV is going to have a huge impact on how good they look.
I could go on more about the Xbox 360 but there is plenty of info out there at gaming sites (such as Gamespot which is in the links on the right) so let's move on to the competition.
Playstation 3
Feast your eyes on this puppy:
Numbers wise the PS3 is very close to the Xbox 360 the only differences being they each use different manufacturers for their parts. I could name who made what and all that but who really cares? What matters is how good the games look and how well they play (but if you're dying to know, Sony claim the PS3 is over 30 times faster then the PS2).
For me what stands out about the PS3 is one simple thing. It will use Blu-ray and Xbox 360 will be DVD. If you are unaware of what Blu-ray is where have you been? Blu-ray is the next huge step forward for home cinema. Blu-ray discs can hold up to six times as much data as current-generation DVDs (with all that space films will be far less compressed and will therefore look much better. For games it simply means you can fit in way more content). This has got to be one huge advantage and selling point for the PS3. If Microsoft want the Xbox 360 to be the Media Center in peoples lounges wouldn't it be a good idea for it to play the upcoming media formats? Microsoft have hinted that it may be able to play Blu-ray disks in the future, but what does that mean? Some crappy expansion pack or what?
The only downside to the PS3 being so incredibly advanced is that it will be pretty expensive. Prices are unknown at this point but Sony's Japanese head honcho has been quoted as saying "it will be expensive". Microsoft have pointed out that the Xbox 360 will be affordable. Will there really be a large price difference and if so will Microsoft finally be number one in the console war? Time will tell.
Of note also is that Sony have stated that the PS3 will be totally backwards compatible with PS1 and PS2. Microsoft have not cleared up this particular issue with the Xbox 360 and it is becoming increasingly clear that it probably isn't backwards compatible.
Lastly, another cool feature of the PS3 is the ability to output to two TVs. Meaning you could play in ultra widescreen or have a game on one screen and a video chat in the other.
I've never owned a Playstation - I was just never that impressed by them. But now I find it hard to imagine choosing the Xbox 360 over the PS3. That Blu-ray issue is just to big to ignore.
Last and definitely least is:
Nintendo Revolution
Well at least it's small:
NOTE: No picture is available of the controller yet.
Bad points:
Nintendo have no plans to support Hi-Def TV.
It ships with a DVD drive but doesn't play DVD films without an additional purchase.
Their main games are once again Zelda, Mario, Pokemon etc... Will these guys ever do something new? Don't get me wrong, I admire several Gamecube titles but this is hardly a "Revolution" is it? Let's face it, are gamers going to be lining up to buy next-gen Grand Theft Auto or Pokemon 26: Collect lots of sparkling gems?
Good points:
It is really, really small.
The entire back-catalogue of NES, SNES and N64 games will be available for download online - which is an incredibly cool feature, but once again they are relying on their past glory and not moving forward like Microsoft and Sony.
There you have it. Here's hoping these next generation consoles finally deliver the caliber of games that we have been waiting for.
Check out videos/pics of upcoming Xbox 360 and PS3 games at Gamespot, it is seriously worth it!
P.S. As a side note I would like to ask these questions: How will all this technology effect the game makers? Will budgets rise and therefore games will become even more generic? Is there any hope we'll see inventive and fresh games on these next-gen consoles? Can someone out there shed light on this (I'm talking to you Qume)?
I own a modded Xbox and am very happy with it as a media center (why it doesn't ship with these capabilities enabled is beyond me) and at the beginning I played a lot of games on it, but now I've stopped. I have been wondering why I lost interest and as I read about these new consoles it dawned on me: I desire much better games. I think the reason I just can't bring myself to touch my Xbox games is that the same old things that I hated about the first Playstation are still here now: jaggy edges, boxey looking characters, pop ups (or fog to cover the popping up scenery), bad lip-syncing, terrible AI and the list goes on. Basically a bunch of things that remind me I'm playing a game and distance me from the experience. I have waited long enough. I want better games and I want them now!
Judging by videos and pictures of forthcoming titles on the Xbox 360 and PS3 I think my wish may finally come true and about bloody time! Take a look for yourself:
This is an IN-GAME shot!
Now I know some of you will be saying "but the PC has games like this already, just look at Doom3 and Half Life 2!". I agree to a point. The home PC is pretty amazing but the thing is the lounge is where all my best equipment is. My Hi-Def LCD Television is in the lounge. My 5.1 Stereo is in the lounge. My couch is in the lounge. So I want to play games in the lounge, not at my desk!
Also, judging from the gear inside these next gen consoles they are going to blow away what current PC's are capable of by a huge margin. Let's look at some geeky stuff.
Xbox 360
Before I delve into the 360's numbers let me just say what a stupid name! If you do a 360 you go all the way around and end up where you begun, isn't that like going in circles and not getting anywhere? That's hardly a step forward is it? Anyway...
Here it is, ain't it pretty?
BRAINS: Three CPU's, each at 3.2 Ghz (current xbox: one CPU running at 733 Mhz).
GRAPHICS: ATi chip at 500 Mhz; 48-pixel pipelines (current xbox: nVidia chip at 233 Mhz; 4-pixel pipelines).
POLYGONS: 500 million per second (current xbox: 116 million per second).
MEMORY: 512MB of RAM (current xbox: 64 MB of RAM).
STORAGE: 20 GB removable hard drive (current xbox: 10 GB hard drive).
The controllers are wireless too (you only plug them in to recharge).
Imagine having all that power sitting snugly under your TV!
If you have broadband at home there will be a free "Silver Tier Plan" on Xbox Live (with limited abilities) and the "Gold Tier Plan" where you can do live video chat with other Xbox 360 users as well as playing games, sharing pictures and downloading game updates (finally console games will all be patchable just like on a PC). I've never made the move to online play with a console but I wouldn't be surprised if one day in the near future I will hear myself saying "Remember when we used to play games offline?".
Apparently the 3.2 Ghz CPU doesn't really matter, what matters is how many gigaflops it is capable of. Now I have no idea what a gigaflop is (in fact it makes me think of Doc when he realises he needs "1.21 giga-watts" of electricity to get Marty back to the future). But this is where the Xbox pales in comparison to the PS3. The Xbox 360 is capable of 115 gigaflops and the PS3 is capable of 218 (practically double the raw power). Sony say this will allow for bigger environments and better AI among other things.
What stands out to me about these next generation consoles is their Hi-Def support. Playing games in 1080p on a sexy HD-TV is going to have a huge impact on how good they look.
I could go on more about the Xbox 360 but there is plenty of info out there at gaming sites (such as Gamespot which is in the links on the right) so let's move on to the competition.
Playstation 3
Feast your eyes on this puppy:
Numbers wise the PS3 is very close to the Xbox 360 the only differences being they each use different manufacturers for their parts. I could name who made what and all that but who really cares? What matters is how good the games look and how well they play (but if you're dying to know, Sony claim the PS3 is over 30 times faster then the PS2).
For me what stands out about the PS3 is one simple thing. It will use Blu-ray and Xbox 360 will be DVD. If you are unaware of what Blu-ray is where have you been? Blu-ray is the next huge step forward for home cinema. Blu-ray discs can hold up to six times as much data as current-generation DVDs (with all that space films will be far less compressed and will therefore look much better. For games it simply means you can fit in way more content). This has got to be one huge advantage and selling point for the PS3. If Microsoft want the Xbox 360 to be the Media Center in peoples lounges wouldn't it be a good idea for it to play the upcoming media formats? Microsoft have hinted that it may be able to play Blu-ray disks in the future, but what does that mean? Some crappy expansion pack or what?
The only downside to the PS3 being so incredibly advanced is that it will be pretty expensive. Prices are unknown at this point but Sony's Japanese head honcho has been quoted as saying "it will be expensive". Microsoft have pointed out that the Xbox 360 will be affordable. Will there really be a large price difference and if so will Microsoft finally be number one in the console war? Time will tell.
Of note also is that Sony have stated that the PS3 will be totally backwards compatible with PS1 and PS2. Microsoft have not cleared up this particular issue with the Xbox 360 and it is becoming increasingly clear that it probably isn't backwards compatible.
Lastly, another cool feature of the PS3 is the ability to output to two TVs. Meaning you could play in ultra widescreen or have a game on one screen and a video chat in the other.
I've never owned a Playstation - I was just never that impressed by them. But now I find it hard to imagine choosing the Xbox 360 over the PS3. That Blu-ray issue is just to big to ignore.
Last and definitely least is:
Nintendo Revolution
Well at least it's small:
NOTE: No picture is available of the controller yet.
Bad points:
Nintendo have no plans to support Hi-Def TV.
It ships with a DVD drive but doesn't play DVD films without an additional purchase.
Their main games are once again Zelda, Mario, Pokemon etc... Will these guys ever do something new? Don't get me wrong, I admire several Gamecube titles but this is hardly a "Revolution" is it? Let's face it, are gamers going to be lining up to buy next-gen Grand Theft Auto or Pokemon 26: Collect lots of sparkling gems?
Good points:
It is really, really small.
The entire back-catalogue of NES, SNES and N64 games will be available for download online - which is an incredibly cool feature, but once again they are relying on their past glory and not moving forward like Microsoft and Sony.
There you have it. Here's hoping these next generation consoles finally deliver the caliber of games that we have been waiting for.
Check out videos/pics of upcoming Xbox 360 and PS3 games at Gamespot, it is seriously worth it!
P.S. As a side note I would like to ask these questions: How will all this technology effect the game makers? Will budgets rise and therefore games will become even more generic? Is there any hope we'll see inventive and fresh games on these next-gen consoles? Can someone out there shed light on this (I'm talking to you Qume)?
posted by Ray_Tango at 11:00 pm
1 Comments:
I've been looking into the PS3 and Xbox 360 games more closely and it appears that that picture I posted in this article of Killzone is most likely not a real-time image.
It is actually pretty difficult to determine what is real-time and what is essentially a pre-rendered scene in all these upcoming next gen game demos.
But I still have high hopes that the graphics will totally blow us away. I mean just look at the specs!
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