[Grug]

Sounds interesting. I wonder, we here in  Australia must get it a year after theUK going by Sony's organization.

But yeah, intrigues me also...

[Grey Wolf]

Not really that impressed. The only portable I have that I really use much is my GBA SP, and that's used for playing old NES and SNES games. The PS3, that's something that is tempting me. It's about time I get a new console anyway to replace the N64, and after playing the Playstation I borrowed, I'm rather impressed by Sony's controller design. I'm also rather intrigued by the design of the CPU. One cut down PowerPC chip and a half dozen or so secondary processors, all lacking the out of order processing capabilities of a modern computer CPU, would be a foolish idea for a PC, but is potentially brilliant for a console.

[Grug]

Yeah, go Perfect Dark!

I'd say go for an Xbox(2?) though. You've got Halo, and more Halo!

[Grey Wolf]

Not really impressed by Halo, as I'm not really an FPS sort of person. Space combat sims and RPGs are more my focus. The game I actually borrowed the PS for was FF7, and I'm quite impressed by the game. And as the FF series is, for the most part, a Sony franchise, PS3 seems to be a better choice.

[Grug]

I liked FF7 too, mind that's an old game and  is available on PC also.

I think either next gen machine is gonna kick ass anyway so it probably doesn't matter all that much. I'll follow Halo2 for now though.

[Deepblue]

Yeah, except Xbox 2 will have Halo 3, and PS3 wont. And the creator of Final Fantasy is making 2 RPGs for the Xbox 2. And then there is Perfect Dark Zero... Xbox 2 is gonna kill.

[Grug]

Here, here!

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Deepblue
Yeah, except Xbox 2 will have Halo 3, and PS3 wont. And the creator of Final Fantasy is making 2 RPGs for the Xbox 2. And then there is Perfect Dark Zero... Xbox 2 is gonna kill.

It will if they don't fix those dodgy power supplies

Personally I don't like Halo, and I can't think of any other interesting games pn the X2, so I'm waiting to see the Nintendo Revolution & PS3.  Interestingly, I've read a few statements (mostly from the GDC, I think) that the PS3 should actually be (possibly vastly) superior to the X-Box 2 but that both systems are an incredible pain in the arse developing for - because apparently all the technological improvement has been focused on improving the graphics ahead of other things (like simply improving calculation speed).

[Gloriano]

I'am getting both Ps3 and Xbox2

[Deepblue]

Originally posted by aldo_14


It will if they don't fix those dodgy power supplies

Personally I don't like Halo, and I can't think of any other interesting games pn the X2, so I'm waiting to see the Nintendo Revolution & PS3.  Interestingly, I've read a few statements (mostly from the GDC, I think) that the PS3 should actually be (possibly vastly) superior to the X-Box 2 but that both systems are an incredible pain in the arse developing for - because apparently all the technological improvement has been focused on improving the graphics ahead of other things (like simply improving calculation speed).

One Cell 4.0 gig chip VS. three 3.0 gig chips.

[Kie99]

Originally posted by Holy Imperial Gloriano
I'am getting both Ps3 and Xbox2

*Questions the wisdom of using an apostrophe AND the letter its replacing*

We're not all that rich!

[Dough with Fish]

Well, first off, the PSP isn't $180.00, it's $249.99. Which may sound like a lot for a handheld gaming system, but remember it is also a portable movie player, mp3 player, picture storeage unit, and game system all in one.

And, yes, I did get me one. Man is she a sexy beast. The screen is crystal-clear, the image quality is amazing, the graphics are insane for a handheld, and the controls are nice and responsive. My only real complaint with the system itself is that it gets dirty real easily. And these UMD's are really something, I think that Sony is really onto something here with them. I got two games with it, the new Twisted Metal, and Untold Legends, both very fun games, especially Twisted Metal.

But, is it worth the pricetag.... Well, kinda-sorta. What you get in the package is the system, Spider Man 2 on UMD, a demo disc with movies and music  on it, a memory stick, and a pair of spiff-tastic headphones. I think that I should have waited for a while to get one, but when I saw that Target only had two left my brain shut off and I just bought the damned thing since, I guess, they are selling like mad.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Deepblue


One Cell 4.0 gig chip VS. three 3.0 gig chips.

If you're using that to compare relative performance, it's complete bollocks.  

Firstly, Htz is of no use whatsoever comparing chips of different architecture.  The Cell is shaping up to vastly different from the IBM-developed processor the XBox2 will use.

For reference, the 4GHz cell processor is rated as performing 100 times more operations-per-second than the 2.5GHz P4.  That's how much architecture matters (incidentally, the Cell in the Ps3 apparently is using about 16 processing cores - less high-end ones are likely to have around 4, I believe)

EDIt; I'm not sure the XBox 2 uses three processors; I've read stuff that indicates it uses 3 cores.  Both consoles are presumably designed to use massive parallelisation.

Secondly, there's the overall console architecture - bus arrangements, memory access speeds & memory sizes, cache, GPU architecture and the bus interconnection, even the IO speed.... and soforth.

What I've read, is professionals - the people that are developing for these consoles - saying the PS3 will be better performing, and the question is by how much, and how much that will count against the Xbox2s' apparent release date.  Given that sod-all details seem to be available about any of the new consoles architecture, i'm inclined to believe them.

NB: I've read the PSP as being priced at £180; mixed up the currency

Still, $250 / 2 is still not bad all things considered  Hopefully it'll go down a bit by July, of course.

[Dark_4ce]

I bet Xbox will come out with some portable xbox thingy. Prolly the Xbix or something, like the size of a weetabix.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Dark_4ce
I bet Xbox will come out with some portable xbox thingy. Prolly the Xbix or something, like the size of a weetabix.

There was a rumour they were going to do that with the Gizmondo, IIRC.... possibly even simply rebrand the current model.

[Grey Wolf]

Let's go through what we know about the systems, shall we?

PS3:
-Backwards compatible with PS1 and PS3
-Uses a multicore processor made by IBM with one primary core (PPE, derived from PowerPC processors) and eight secondary cores (SPE). Lacks the ability to handle out of order commands
-nVidia graphics
-XDR memory
-Blu-Ray drive
-Wifi is a distinct possibility
-Storage Unknown

Xbox2 (name is still up for debate):
-Backwards compatibility unknown
-IBM processor, multicore
-ATi Graphics
-Wifi is a distinct possibility
-Storage Unknown

Nintendo Revolution (codename):
-Backwards compatible with GameCube
-IBM processor, codenamed Broadway
-ATi graphics, codenamed Hollywood
-Wi-Fi
-Storage Unknown

That's all we know for now, however as all three will be unveiled at E3, we should have a better idea in two months or so.

[Grug]

But I can't wait two months.

The Xbox is supposedly to have an optional Hard Drive. Which I'm guessing will have an impact on load times, and also save features and Live Downloads.

[redsniper]

Xboxes already have hard drives. If they make it optional (i.e. don't give you one) with the xbox 2 then I think that's a step backwards.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by redsniper
Xboxes already have hard drives. If they make it optional (i.e. don't give you one) with the xbox 2 then I think that's a step backwards.

It cuts down their manufacturing costs, though. First X-box was basically a loss-leader to get into the market; I don't think this one is intended to be, they seem to want to eventually create a sort of ubiquitous living room based PC-cum-entertainment center.  Running Microsoft Windows, of course.

[Grey Wolf]

My real hope is that the rumoured prices are false. I can't honestly picture paying $400 or more for a game console.