Console Wars II

[Nikolai]

Well, except you being partially reasonable, pretty humorous about it and don't twist facts to get your point, like some others, it's all right.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DrSpike


Frankly (though I hate to be Asheresque) I am not at all surprised Will Wright is a Wii fan.

Given that WW is innovative, wants to create new things that people want to play, likes to expand the market in terms of who will play, and what they will play, isnt overly concerned with graphics, and isnt concerned at all with the semantic distinction between "video games" and software toys, Im not surprised either.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Nikolai
Got myself the Simpsons game today. Awful camera system, really hopeless, but a REAL fun and entertaining game nonetheless. Absolutely well worth the money. I have the Wii version (of course). I did read, I think on IGN, that the game actually looks better on the Wii than on the 360 and PS3, since the HD make the picture too blown up and noisy. Sounds weird the producers didn't think of using the better resolution...

Huh? Might want to link that, it flies in the face of the Simpsons demo I played in HD, which looked really good...

And also the reviews I've read?

[El_Cid]

Originally posted by lord of the mark

Note, thats through end of 3rd quarter, so its only a few days of Halo3.

Well like I said i'm not that interested in the details - just wanted to add some balance to the mix that often gets distorted here

I don't own, nor will ever own 'next-gen'. My experience with 'last-gen' taught me that now the AAA games industry is all a marketing exercise(for the most part). HD, £400 consoles, on-line consoles, short movie-like games. It's all marketing, and hardly about the game anymore.

'Sh it-in Sh it-out' as was remarked at one big game conference last year, and that is basicaly how I've felt after playing 90% of the console games we are told are must haves.

Now in my perfect gaming world of the future, I will only ever make games for Linux, and never, ever allow ports to any non open source console/computer platform. And they would be the most awesome games with no copyprotection

Thats what too much marketing and profit orientated game making can do to a guy

[Asher]

It sounds to me that your concerns about games are secondary to your philosophical meanderings. I don't see you ever discussing gameplay, but I do see you discussing nonsense like this a lot.

[Nikolai]

Originally posted by Asher

Huh? Might want to link that, it flies in the face of the Simpsons demo I played in HD, which looked really good...

And also the reviews I've read?

The in-game cinematics are a little less appealing, featuring a visual style that is more reminiscent of fan art than the actual TV broadcast. The gameplay itself continues on that theme with characters and environments that actually don't benefit from an HD signal beyond the inherent added pop to the colors that high-definition brings. In fact, this may be the first game in history that looks worse in HD than it does in standard definition. Okay, maybe not worse overall, but the game does hold truer to its source material in standard-definition. The enhanced sharpness simply brings out too many rough edges and some cases of slowdown when compared to its low-def rendition.

http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/831/831218p3.html

[Asher]

Okay, maybe not worse overall

Are they even comparing it to the Wii version, or the 360 version running in SD?

They don't mention the Wii version at all, and IGN Wii doesn't even have a review up for it, so it looks like they're referring to 360 SD vs 360 HD for the game. There's far more in the 360 vs Wii graphical argument than resolution as well.

[Nikolai]

Really, I don't know. I do know I found the review by searching on google for reviews about simpsons on wii, so I took it this was a review for more than just the 360. The url did confuse me a little though. I haven't seen the 360 version, but I must say I'm impressed on what they have managed on the Wii regarding the looks of the game.

[El_Cid]

Originally posted by Asher
It sounds to me that your concerns about games are secondary to your philosophical meanderings. I don't see you ever discussing gameplay, but I do see you discussing nonsense like this a lot.

Meow!....some of the figures in one of those links must have hurt!

And when not talking my nonsense about the game industry in general, I do mostly talk about gameplay/game design....but not often on the games you can play on your 360, for obvious reasons.

Look there is no best console for everyone ok, just get over it. You love the 360 and hate the Wii, thats your opinion but it doesn't make it the only way.

Games are about gaming and having fun(or not if you choose) - a good game has never, ever in the history of gaming been only about the hardware it runs on. Pong wasn't **** in the 1960's, and it's still got worth now.

Console war threads crack me up - especialy with todays lot. Gaming is about the games, not the hardware.

[Asher]

Games are about gaming and having fun(or not if you choose)

I agree, which is entirely why I called you out when you started talking about crap like open source and Linux in the same word as "games". You seemed to have missed the point completely, and you dare try to lecture me on it.

By the way, hardware enables games. So when you talk about games in any reasonable depth, you do need to talk about the hardware. If hardware played no role, we'd still be playing on our monochrome gameboys and Atari 2600s.

[El_Cid]

tsk tsk....whats got your goat about open source?

Anyway I forgot to add this interesting piece i found on the bbc about the PS3's network uses:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7074547.stm

I guess any of the next-gen consoles could do the same? so i don't really understand the big deal - unless of course it's about marketing

Anyway I suppose this proves that on-line console gaming is actualy good for something other than corporate dividends and feeding the hype monster?

edit: oh and I do still play my monochrome GB - and my Atari2600, Amiga 1200, Atari800 and P166. sadly my zx81 went walkabout years ago! shame I miss a bit of 3D monster maze now and then.

I agree hardware can enable gaming though, but it's not an exclusive one way street. Bad games are just bad games, on any platform with any amount of transistors etc.

[Asher]

By "any", if you mean the 360 and PS3, then yes all could do it but only Sony actually has Folding@Home clients.

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by El_Cid
I don't own, nor will ever own 'next-gen'. My experience with 'last-gen' taught me that now the AAA games industry is all a marketing exercise(for the most part). HD, £400 consoles, on-line consoles, short movie-like games. It's all marketing, and hardly about the game anymore.

Then you are artificially reducing the pool of great games you can play.

[lord of the mark]

Originally posted by DrSpike


Then you are artificially reducing the pool of great games you can play.

It depends how he means it. I for example, will almost certainly never own a bleeding edge PC, yet I there is probably no PC game I wont be able to play at some point, since "bleeding edge" is not an absolute standard, but has meaning only in relation to a given time. Similarly, many (most?) of the best selling games for the Xbox will play on my PC, I guess. Surely in 5 years or so, a budget PC will play Halo3.

Similarly I cant see myself spending several hundred dollars on a gaming console. As you know Ive idly considered a PS2 though, and while I've shelved that for the moment, i wouldnt rule it out religiously. In five years a PS3 or a 360 should be quite a bargain - though I guess folks wont call them "next gen consoles" anymore. (and yeah, I know for folks who mainly game MP online, you gotta play relatively recent games, but still).

I also hope El cid isnt ruling out the souped up super-Wii, which Im guessing Nintendo will be announcing at whatever point it becomes clear the Wii has set into decline.

I do hope more games are released for Linux though, as it would reduce one of the chains holding me to Windows.

[Kuciwalker]

Dude, El cid's philosophy, or whatever it is, is barely coherent. I don't think it's actually ruling out anything except perhaps Micro$oft products.

Ignore list time.