Wii tour

[tgn_rogue]

Ahh true but my dvd player is actualy quite small seing as its Sony Picot player lol possibly the only things bigger than the 360 in my room (bar furniture) are the TV and the CDi and thats it and they take up 2 of my 3 shelves in the unit while my slimline PS2 and the Picot are on the 3rd, never ahd a Cdplayer always used the CDi or Picot. Not a rgeat fan of having trailing wires or anything on the floor, unless it wont fit anywhere else. As for the wireless contrllers im not uite sure how the would work if I put the 36o in the only avaliable place, behind 6 inches of solid oak panneling next to the tv, would also be an access problem for changing discs lol, IF you havent guessed by nuw my room is one of the smallest in the house.

And true they are making a loss generally in terms so i dont blame them for that but well MS arent exactly famed for their small numbers of updates.

As for online, Sony has an already a fairly large online community through their PC games so if/when those get converted over to PS3 or updated/new versions are released that will probably incereas slightly. As for nintendo, i'll believe it when I see it. MS on the otherhand has a similar advantage to sony through their PC based outings, but Im not sure exactly what the modding community is making of all these consoles, as what ive seen over the last few years is that the modding commuinity is probably THE largest community at the moment.

As for the Wii's already aging graphics, so what graphics are just graphics, yes it is nice to have nice things to look at but personally im more into games for the experience and the storyline more than anything else, is one of the main reasons I still love the CDi and old games in general. Anyone can make good graphics with the right software and enough practise and time, but not anyone can write a decent, compelling interesting and Unique plot. infatc that is probably why there ahve been so many conversions form TV/Film to games as of late, but hey this is my personal opinion, and I generally tend to be a "little" different to most people. A true brit, lover of the underestimated Underdogs .

[DefunctGamer]

Ahh true but my dvd player is actualy quite small seing as its Sony Picot player lol possibly the only things bigger than the 360 in my room (bar furniture) are the TV and the CDi and thats it and they take up 2 of my 3 shelves in the unit while my slimline PS2 and the Picot are on the 3rd, never ahd a Cdplayer always used the CDi or Picot. Not a rgeat fan of having trailing wires or anything on the floor, unless it wont fit anywhere else. As for the wireless contrllers im not uite sure how the would work if I put the 36o in the only avaliable place, behind 6 inches of solid oak panneling next to the tv, would also be an access problem for changing discs lol, IF you havent guessed by nuw my room is one of the smallest in the house.

And true they are making a loss generally in terms so i dont blame them for that but well MS arent exactly famed for their small numbers of updates.

As for online, Sony has an already a fairly large online community through their PC games so if/when those get converted over to PS3 or updated/new versions are released that will probably incereas slightly. As for nintendo, i'll believe it when I see it. MS on the otherhand has a similar advantage to sony through their PC based outings, but Im not sure exactly what the modding community is making of all these consoles, as what ive seen over the last few years is that the modding commuinity is probably THE largest community at the moment.

As for the Wii's already aging graphics, so what graphics are just graphics, yes it is nice to ahve nice things to look at but personally im more into games for the experience and the storyline more than anything else, is one of the main reasons I still love the CDi and old games in general. Anyone can make good graphics with the right software and enough practise, but not anyone can write a decent compelling plot. But hey this is my personal opinion, and I generally tend to be a "little" different to most people. A true brit, lover of the underestimated Underdogs .

Before I talk about my set up, I need to comment on your Sony online thing. Do not confuse Sony Online Entertainment with Sony Computer Entertainment. Trust me on this one, they may have the same first name but they are very, very different. The right hand definitely does not talk to the left. So the idea that SOE's online games will help Sony's PS3 is just not true. At this point the PS3's online capabilities are something of a joke, and I've talked with third party companies that have stated outright that they are unsure if they are going to make their games online capable on the PS3 because they don't know what Sony's overall plan is going to be. We already saw this in action at the launch, and until Sony fixes some of their online problems this is going to continue to be a glaring problem for them.

Graphics may only be graphics, but they are a big reason people upgrade to a new system. I would not downplay the importance of eye candy, it is one of the reasons people are willing to spend their money on games. Like it or not. I would agree that it's game play over graphics, but there's no reason you can't have both. The argument that it's an either/or is just flatout wrong. Some of the best games last year had some of the best graphics. Gears of War, for example, is still the most-played game on the Xbox 360. Not only is it a great playing game, but it is also damn pretty.

As for Microsoft's updating, expect both Nintendo and Sony to follow suit this time around. We have already seen that both with the Wii and the PlayStation 3.

[Devin]

Graphics may only be graphics, but they are a big reason people upgrade to a new system. I would not downplay the importance of eye candy, it is one of the reasons people are willing to spend their money on games. Like it or not. I would agree that it's game play over graphics, but there's no reason you can't have both. The argument that it's an either/or is just flatout wrong. Some of the best games last year had some of the best graphics. Gears of War, for example, is still the most-played game on the Xbox 360. Not only is it a great playing game, but it is also damn pretty.

I respect games for gameplay, but your exactly right. Historically it's always been about the technical prowess of a system that drives the future of video games. I've read the arguments from the companies themselves. Example in point, Nintendo illustrating that it's not necessarily the most powerful system that wins as we witnessed in the last generation of home consoles. That said the HD age is something else and it seems to be making real progress in the UK. At least from my idle observations there seems to be a real buzz about High Definition TV. The XBOX 360 could be to HD DVD what PlayStation 2 was for standard DVD. Only catch is the fact you have to buy an extra chunk of hardware. The combination is very competitively priced but I've heard from first hand experience that potential buyers are put off because it's not all in one box. If it were integrated the system would really fly!

[DefunctGamer]

Graphics may only be graphics, but they are a big reason people upgrade to a new system. I would not downplay the importance of eye candy, it is one of the reasons people are willing to spend their money on games. Like it or not. I would agree that it's game play over graphics, but there's no reason you can't have both. The argument that it's an either/or is just flatout wrong. Some of the best games last year had some of the best graphics. Gears of War, for example, is still the most-played game on the Xbox 360. Not only is it a great playing game, but it is also damn pretty.

I respect games for gameplay, but your exactly right. Historically it's always been about the technical prowess of a system that drives the future of video games. I've read the arguments from the companies themselves. Example in point, Nintendo illustrating that it's not necessarily the most powerful system that wins as we witnessed in the last generation of home consoles. That said the HD age is something else and it seems to be making real progress in the UK. At least from my idle observations there seems to be a real buzz about High Definition TV. The XBOX 360 could be to HD DVD what PlayStation 2 was for standard DVD. Only catch is the fact you have to buy an extra chunk of hardware. The combination is very competitively priced but I've heard from first hand experience that potential buyers are put off because it's not all in one box. If it were integrated the system would really fly!

To add to what you are saying (which I do completely agree with) is that the newest game systems (PS3, X360 and Wii) are all intended to be future-minded. That is, these companies intend these systems to be viable for years to come. Look at the PlayStation 2, the system is on its seventh year and there are still great games coming out for it. The penetration of HDTVs may be relatively low now, but in two or three years how many HDTVs will be out there?

I don't know about Europe, but in the next two years the FCC is forcing all American television stations to switch over to HD signal, which will be something that spurs the growth of these TVs. In fact, just looking at last Christmas we saw a major upsurge of HDTVs being sold. The prices are only coming down, and for many people this type of TV is not in the distant future, it's either right now or in the near future.

While I respect the idea that graphics aren't everything (and I would certainly agree with that), they do play a part. Already I hear people complaining about the graphics on Wii games, especially when hooked up to HDTVs. I can only imagine how much louder these voices will be two years from now. This is going to be especially true if the new style of control proves to be a gimmick rather than a great replacement for controlling games. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's a gimmick ... but it's certainly too early to tell. There has only been one game that has really shown the power of the Wii's control (Wario Wares), and even that doesn't give you a clear reason why it's better. It's going to take Mario, Metroid and maybe even a second Wii Zelda (one that was developed from the ground up for the Wii) to show off why it's better to use the Wii's control over a traditional game pad. If in two years the control hasn't panned out like some hope and the graphics are still bad, then I think it will be safe to wonder what Nintendo's game plan will be.

To clarify something you said, it's not just the less powerful system wins, it's more of the fact that the first person to enter the race wins. If you go back through history (at least when it comes to U.S. sales) the person that wins is always the one that gets in the game first and doesn't drop out. NES over the Master System, PlayStation over the Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2 over the GameCube/Xbox. The Genesis/Super NES battle was too close to call. So if this plays out like past system races, then the Xbox 360 is going to be the winner.

However ... at this point in our history I would rather have all three systems have a solid part of the market. I think there's enough room for three, especially if they are able to carve out their own niche. Each system brings something to the table, and I don't want to see any of them fail. I'm a fanboy of games ... no systems.

[Devin]

Some amusing commentary on UK Resistance about the PS3 Launch! It illustrates the inflated prices we have to tolerate

Although the pound really kicks some booty when importing retro goodies from America

[DefunctGamer]

Some amusing commentary on UK Resistance about the PS3 Launch! It illustrates the inflated prices we have to tolerate

Although the pound really kicks some booty when importing retro goodies from America

While it's a funny article, it's not actually that accurate. Given the price and launch titles it's easy to write off the PlayStation 3, but you do that at your own peril. Sony has demonstrated that they know what they are doing, even if it doesn't look like it at first. Now I'll admit, I'll agree with you that it's too expensive and didn't have a great launch line-up, but it's not going to be this pricey forever. If the system can sustain some exclusive content (which you normally don't see until a year after the system is released) then it won't take long before the major media starts talking about the pros of the systems, and not just the negative stuff.

Three months is not enough time to judge whether a system is going to succeed or not. Does it have a lack of AAA games right now? You bet it does ... but so did the PS1 and PS2. Is it too expensive? Of course it is, but around the time companies stop supporting the PS2 the system will likely be two or three hundred dollars cheaper. Does nobody care? I think it's a little too early to say that.

In fact, I take issue with their supposed "facts." Is it a "fact" that it's too expensive? As a game system, yes, it's probably too expensive. But as a Blu-Ray DVD player it's $400 cheaper than the competition. Does nobody care about it? The system managed to sell out during Christmas (heck, it sold even more than the Xbox 360 did one year earlier), so there must have been SOME interest. Gran Turismo HD is NOT the best game on the system.

Now don't get me wrong, the system's launch was far from perfect. In fact, the launch wasn't even good. But I tend to agree with the analysts and Sony when they say that it's not about the launch so much as it's about the rest of the battle. Let's not forget that the Nintendo 64 had the biggest launch of all time when it was released, yet the PlayStation 1 ended up outselling Nintendo's system by a four to one margin. My point is, it's just too early to tell.

As for the inflated prices in Europe, that does indeed suck. I'm sorry to hear that. I'm certainly not going to defend it, but at the same time I freely admit that I don't know what Sony's reasoning is.

[DefunctGamer]

Actually, one more thing caught my eye ...

"If only Sony was this inept in 1999 we'd all be playing Dreamcast 2 right now."

Look, I love my Dreamcast, I created a whole site dedicated to systems like the Dreamcast. I mean, I play my Dreamcast quite a bit, especially when I have friends over (it has some great four-player games). But this quote alone seems to forget that at the end of the day the PlayStation 2 had one of the greatest libraries of video games of all time. It had dozens of great games in every single genre, so no matter what type of game you liked you would have a lot of good games to choose from. And not only that, but it also had a number of great Japanese games that ended up getting released in English-speaking countries. I love my original Xbox (not so much my GameCube), but it just couldn't compete with the variety of great games the PlayStation 2 had.

And them simply saying that it's Sony's fault for killing the Dreamcast is forgetting a lot of other factors that went into that death. If anybody is responsible it's Electronic Arts, the largest game publisher in the world ... and one of the companies that would not support Sega. I would also say that the Xbox and GameCube had a hand in the Dreamcast's demise. The hardware business is something that requires a company to have a lot of money, and that's one thing that Sega couldn't compete with. I hated to see the Dreamcast go, but to blame Sony alone makes them look uninformed.

I would also add that when the PlayStation 2 launched there were a lot of stories about how Sony had dropped the ball. It didn't have a network adaptor built in, it didn't have four-player support built in, it didn't have AAA games at launch, it was hard to program for, it was more expensive than the competition. These were all things that dogged the PS2 in the first six months. Looking back at those complaints (no matter how valid) is almost laughable, especially when you see that the PS2 has sold more than 100 million units. Now those are the facts.

[Vincent XIII]

im all about Zelda and Final Fantasy im a geek for thos games good RPGS rock! they have great stories and stuff for example Zelda: Ocarina Of Time or Final Fantasy 7 and 8 :} best games ever! thats actualy why im gunna buy a CD-I cuz of Zelda but ill run into some others too ^^