Console Wars V

[DrSpike]

Hmm, for rhythm games the 360 has the best ones, but there probably isn't a huge value added in playing them on the 360 other than DLC, which I expect a value gamer like El Cid won't go for.

jRPGs are definitely stronger on the older consoles, as I've said before, but still the 360 has Tales of Vesperia and Lost Odyssey, two really good games compared to the old PS2 games. It also has wider RPGs like Oblivion, Fallout 3 and Mass Effect, so overall I think it's doing pretty well for RPGs these days.

2009 has Star Ocean 4, FF13, Cry on, and a few other jRPGs expected to be very good. It also has Mass Effect 2.

Time to consider a switch I think.

[UnOrthOdOx]

I haven't heard a whole heck of a lot out of FF13, now you mention it.

12 was the first one I haven't finished since 7. Damn thing played itself with all the custom ai you could make (forget what the game called those if-then-else statements) Once you unlocked the full set, (and assuming you had a basic understanding of how they worked) you watched the game more than you played.

Sure hope they're not doing that again.

[Maquiladora]

Originally posted by El_Cid

5. Granadia II - an old school jrpg. I picked it up because I know it's been highly rated in the past and it was cheap(£5) on sale. It reminds me of the Super Snes era to look at!

You mean Grandia.

Spoiler:

Granadia sounds like some RPG based on Granada Television. You work your way through Granada TV sets, starting on Coronation Street where you have to impregnate Maxine Peacock because "Our" Ashley is firing blanks. Ending with helping Richard finally escape the psychotic drunk Judy, chasing you through Liverpool docks firing lasers from her eyes. It would be immense.

[Nikolai]

Heh, I'm not in for any playing on my Wii these days it seems. My youngest sister has fallen in love with it, playing Wii Sports and Quiz King(or whatever it's named), the latter with loads of help from me though. She loves the game. Last night I bought her a Sim'esque interior designer game on WiiWare, which she's been playing all day. But that means I can't play the two games I bought for myself yet.

I'm getting a little worried of the lack of space on the Wii now though. The two WiiWare games I bought yesterday ate almost all my remaining space... Hopefully the change in storing capabilities promised to come next year around April IIRC, comes early.

[DrSpike]

Get a 360. They come with 60GB hard drives.

[Nikolai]

My brother has a PS3, that ought to be enough in one house. Although I still think he should have got a 360... But the 360 does not have all those fun old games and no Mario. As I said aeons ago, a 360 and a Wii should take care of all console needs. But the PC still is the most important gaming platform by far by my standards.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Yeah, my current household has Wii (mine) and XBox360 (roomie's). My brother keeps telling me I should get a gaming PC rig, and I completely agree with him. The modding possibilities alone make it worthwhile.

But I've never assembled a PC before and I don't really know how long it would be good for playing current games.

[snoopy369]

Assembled mine with mid-end parts ($900) in early 2006 (when Oblivion came out), still plays games (Mass Effect, Bioshock, f.e.) on near-high end levels today.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Nikolai
My brother has a PS3, that ought to be enough in one house. Although I still think he should have got a 360... But the 360 does not have all those fun old games and no Mario.

Uh, the 360 has a ton of fun old games. Certainly more than the PS3...

[Nikolai]

Absolutely. The PS3 is a failure in that respect as well as in various others. But right now, I have more than enough with Wii's.

[Asher]

Meanwhile, after they laid of 16,000, dark clouds begin to move in at Sony. They are now expected to announce a net loss of $1.6B, six times higher than expected:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21545

Investment Firms Dent Sony, Urge 'Fundamental Changes'

Investment Firms Dent Sony, Urge 'Fundamental Changes' Major analyst firms Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank have lowered their estimates for Sony's earnings, claiming the company's "lagging" behind rivals like Nintendo -- and Sony's share price feels the impact.

Bloomberg reports that Sony's shares fell to their lowest point all week following Credit Suisse's investment rating cut, dropping 5.9 percent to close at 1,825 yen ($20.32).

Credit Suisse tagged Sony shares "underperform," down from "neutral". In the firm's opinion, Sony can't stay competitive without "fundamental changes" to its operating structure.

Although Sony's business covers a wide range of electronics aside from the PlayStation 3, such as Bravia televisions, analysts dinged the company for high operating costs that hamper its ability to compete in numerous arenas, an issue frequently noted in analysis surrounding the PS3's high-end price.

Deutsche Bank cut its recommendation from "buy" to "hold", and reduced its estimate for the company's price by almost half, Bloomberg says.

"We believe fundamental changes to its business structure are necessary," says Tokyo-based Credit Suisse analyst Koya Tabata. "Compared to its peers both at home and overseas, Sony has been slow to react to the current crisis."

Tabata expects Sony to report a net loss of 150 billion yen ($1.66 billion), six times greater than previously expected.

There's no chance in hell of a price cut any time soon, and their high price is eating them alive and will only get worse as the economy worsens.

[El_Cid]

Originally posted by Asher
Some day you're going to graduate from the PS2 to the 360 then you'll be apologizing profusely.

or maybe not!!! I cant explain it any better than i have already over many years asher. I just dont 'like' console games much.

I dont see console gameing as a progression of where gaming on computers had reached in the mind 1990's. Sure graphics are better, UI's are better but that is about it.

And the general stream-lining and 'dumbing down'(to use that most nasty of critisisms) of gaming to 'reach the masses', while looking good for shareholders and company profits, just doesnt rock my boat gaming wise. And the trend of prooduction is to keep moving away from what made gaming my passion in the first place, back in the days of yore. It's as simple as that.

So no - the PS2 will be my last console, it has a huge range of games and I already have all the xbox/GC games that are worth keeping on those platforms. My console experiment is over, in terms of hardware to buy

So you're more likely to see Alinestra eat her hat(s) than you are to see me buying a current-gen or future gen console.

@Maquiladora, yeah i meant Grandia II. Oh an it was GH3 i played on PS3....just in case you pull me on that one. Nice spoiler by the way It just got my sweet spot - very unexpectidly.

@Spike......back catalogue. For me a console is only as good as the games you can get on it. Sure the 360 has some, but imo the PS2 has more.....already made.

Who knows exactly what the future of the 360 will be? look at the PS3 now and sony's troubles? Who knows if the games that will come out in the future will be good or blah? With the PS2 i know it has about 20-30 odd titles that i will enjoy to play(and probably a few more that i will find out about), the 360 currently has about 10 for me......and modern game direction(see post for asher above) doesn't promote feelings of optimism.....for me....again.

[El_Cid]

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21539

just to be the foil to the "360's are leet!" posse. Didnt the PS2 have something like that with one of it's version?

[DrSpike]

Originally posted by El_Cid

@Spike......back catalogue. For me a console is only as good as the games you can get on it. Sure the 360 has some, but imo the PS2 has more.....already made.

For me time is the constraint, not money, so it's about quality not quantity. And RPGs, whilst being traditionally the weakest genre on the 360, are still of a higher quality on the 360 than the PS2.

And I look for improvements, as offered through say Mass Effect and Fallout 3, rather than more of the same from 5 years ago. Some of the games coming out next year on the 360 look better still. The genre and industry are dynamic and I like my options to reflect that.

But each to their own - maybe the PS2 suits you better.

[Asher]

Originally posted by El_Cid

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21539

just to be the foil to the "360's are leet!" posse. Didnt the PS2 have something like that with one of it's version?

That is truly the dumbest gaming story of the year. People take their game consoles and while their discs are spinning inside at insane RPMs, they re-orient the console and move it around then get upset when it scratches?

How about a little common sense. The same **** would happen to your PC if you flipped it around while it was reading from a disc.