Its official, PS3 DELAYS Production Cut 50%

[Groundbeef]

Reports are that no games currently in development for the PS3 are 1080p – not that games for the system will never be 1080p. That doesn’t change the fact that the hardware can do it. The hardware for the Xbox 360 cannot. Games for the PS3 in 1080p may not be in the cards right now. Games in 1080p for the Xbox 360 will never be.

Sony’s seven dedicated processor core is more capable of handling complex real-world physics and motion calculations than the Xbox 360’s three general PC CPU core. It is also generally considered to be more difficult to program. That doesn’t mean it can’t be done or that game companies won’t do it.

All PS3 games will be released on Blu-Ray discs, giving game developers 50 gigs of space to work with. This allows much more room for high-quality pre-rendered CGI for cut scenes, backgrounds, etc. than is available for the Xbox 360. Programmers may not use it, but the space is available on the PS3. It is not on the Xbox 360.

All point to the PS3 having the potential to be the superior graphics platform. Whether the PS3 achieves any of it doesn’t change the fact that the Xbox 360 does not have the same potential, period. Will this make the PS3 the superior platform? Only if you believe graphics TRUMPS gameplay.

Actually, there may never be games 1080p for the PS3. It appears that the budget system doesn't have the HDMI out (and it cannot be added later). I suppose that they could release the games for both systems. However, just because the PS3 has the space to use, it remains to be seen if they can use it, or will it just be a repeat of when CDroms came out. Remember how much crap developers put on the disc just because they had room?

Also, don't forget that the blu-ray drive is ONLY a 2X drive. Can't be having gamers sit for 2 minutes while the next scene loads up.

As far as capacity goes, yes the PS3 can hold more. Currently games are not hitting capacity of the DVD platform. When and if they do, then I guess multiple discs may be in order. As you state, if the gameplay is superior, it really shouldn't matter if you need to switch discs once during play right?

I'm not part of that camp. So when you tell me:

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I'll say that's what I’ve been telling you over and over again. People are going to buy the system they think is the most fun to play – not the one with the best graphics. The Xbox had graphics that were superior to the PS2. The PS2 sold 106 million units. The Xbox sold 24 million. If graphics was so overwhelmingly important, the Xbox should have done much better. The PS2 did better because it was perceived as being the system that was the most fun. This had a good bit more to do with the variety of games available for it than it did with how the games looked on it. The steep price of the Xbox didn’t help things either.

This, not the graphics, is why I think the Xbox 360 has a good chance of dong well. It's also why I think can Wii will do well too.



I’ll post links when I get home.

Well, if steep price doesn't help, then the PS3 has got an uphill climb. Just for grins, last week CompUSA was running fully loaded 360's for $350 (had a $50 rebate). I can only think that MS may consider a price drop right before Nov 17. That would be beautiful!

[Lensman]

Actually, there may never be games 1080p for the PS3. It appears that the budget system doesn't have the HDMI out (and it cannot be added later). I suppose that they could release the games for both systems. However, just because the PS3 has the space to use, it remains to be seen if they can use it, or will it just be a repeat of when CDroms came out. Remember how much crap developers put on the disc just because they had room?

Also, don't forget that the blu-ray drive is ONLY a 2X drive. Can't be having gamers sit for 2 minutes while the next scene loads up.

As far as capacity goes, yes the PS3 can hold more. Currently games are not hitting capacity of the DVD platform. When and if they do, then I guess multiple discs may be in order. As you state, if the gameplay is superior, it really shouldn't matter if you need to switch discs once during play right?

The lack of HDMI port on the $500 PS3 is indeed troubling – but only for watching Blu-Ray movies in HD because of the loss of HDCP. The unit still has a component video connection can do the full HD spec. Personally, I think it’s a poor sales tactic on the part of Sony, but it won’t affect how developers create games.

As for the drive, load times have always been an issue with any console since they moved away from carts. Game developers will certainly have to be careful with how they use it, but the capacity is still there. As far as whether the extra space will be filled up with crap, that’s in the hands of the game developers – just as it’s always been. Microsoft is no less prone to this.

And yes, I’d gladly switch out discs if the game was compelling just as did with Final Fantasy. If someone comes out with a killer app for the Xbox 360, no one’s going to make an issue of swapping discs.

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I don’t think graphics are the end-all be-all of gaming. Processors have gotten faster, Graphics has gotten better. And games? Well, games are about the same. For example, there are cool-looking new driving games. But I’ve played driving games before. Many, many times. On many different systems. And I’ve played flight sims, and fighting games, and platformers, and RPGs, and first-person shooters, etc., etc, ad infinitum.

Oh I’m sure Halo 3 will look great. But I played the first FPS, Wolfenstein, when it came out. I played Doom and Duke Nukem and marveled at how they perfected the concept. I enjoyed how Quake’s multiplayer added a fun new way to play. I loved FPS games, and I kept playing them. But everything else that’s ever been released has been little more than some a variation of these. I still play them and they kill time acceptably well, but they don’t excite me anymore.

I may not have played some of the exact same games you have. But I’ve had every experience. I’m done with playing the same stuff over and over again. This is more the fault of software developers than hardware manufacturers. But I want something new. I want something different. That’s why I’m so interested in the Wii’s control system. Nintendo’s got something that’ll push game developers to do different things. Plus the Wii’s control system is intuitive: use the same motions you would in real life. That’s why I think it’ll resonate with the masses. Because the method of game control isn’t like any that’s come before it, I think people will be excited by it.

So the graphics are a bit worse? So what? Since you can’t see the images I included previously, click on this to see Madden 99:

http://www.xbox-modchips.com/img/son...enshot-big.jpg

Now take a look at Madden 07:

http://www.cheatcc.com/imageswii/madden07_00.jpg

Eight years of graphics development has gone by. Think 07 with a standard controller’s going to give me a football experience like nothing I’ve ever experienced before?

Well, if steep price doesn't help, then the PS3 has got an uphill climb. Just for grins, last week CompUSA was running fully loaded 360's for $350 (had a $50 rebate). I can only think that MS may consider a price drop right before Nov 17. That would be beautiful!

Six hundred dollars is a lot of money for a product relying on mass market sales. It’ll still sell, but getting it to sell in the quantities needed is the biggest hurdle Sony faces. According to Merrill Lynch figures, every PS3 sold at launch will be costing Sony $900. This comes on the heels of the $2 billion they paid for development of the cell processor. As you gleefully point out, a price drop by Microsoft before launch of the PS3 could cost Sony dearly. But the chances of Microsoft doing it is remote because they are in the same boat. In addition to the staggering $4 billion loss from their first Xbox, Microsoft continues to lose money on the Xbox 360. Microsoft’s Home and Entertainment division lost $414 million just last quarter. Microsoft has gone so far as to officially state they won’t do a price drop in advance of Sony’s launch (although they don’t rule out doing some kind of special holiday bundle).

Still, this compares starkly with Nintendo, who has consistently turned a profit on their gaming hardware because they’ve never made a decision to lose money selling high-powered units below cost in order to make it back with game sales and third-party license fees. While it may be easy to dismiss them as a has-been kiddie gaming company, it’s important to remember they’re the only console game company from the old guard that’s still around. Former powerhouses Coleco, Atari and Sega are gone.