E3 and other games

[1cRaZyFooL]

It's coming and will probably be the best one yet. I'm interested in the new systems particularly Nintendo's "Revolution" which should change how gamers play. PS3 looks great also with hopefully a cell processor in it, with tivo and other multimedia functions. I'm not too sure about the next Xbox but some say it's suppose to be called "Xbox 360"which it will come with wireless controllers. DS is also interesting with Age of Empires DS which is suppose to come out in October plus in March great games are coming and in May and hopefully a upcoming online service for the DS. PSP games look great especially Metal Gear: Ac!d though it's different from the traditional MGS games because it's a card game. Feel free to post rumors and comments.

 

[The Helper]

I am getting my youngest daughter a Game Cube for her birthday. It will be the first Next Gen video game I have had since 3DO, Saturn, and the Atari Jaguar.

 

[Sp3tZn4z]

I still have my Saturn, Old School
that wus my introduction to gaming

Btw I hope your daughter loves her Game Cube.

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

Yeah, if you want to play a mature game on it I suggest you get Resident Evil:4.
Actually there's more, anyways hope you guys have fun with it.

 

[XXXconanXXX]

They also showed Unreal Championship II: Liandria Conflict which looks absolutely superb with it's reved up ameplay and melee combat, plus it has some nice Mortal Kombat features along with it making it an awesome game.

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

Thanks to the people at 1up for finding this:"Club Nintendo" (the magazine) had with Nintendo's VP of sales. Here's the facts I got from the interview.

Of course Nintendo is developing a new gameboy. They just have't gone public with a name and/or release date yet.

The revolution will be shown at e3.

Nintendo will discuss it's on-line plans at e3, but something may be mentioned at the Game Developer's Conference.

For those who don't know, the Game Developer's Conference (GDC) starts tomorrow. They VP said they'd talk about DS/Revolution communication, but I'm hoping for an online announcement.

DS owners will like this.

 

[XXXconanXXX]

Nintedo dominates the portable gaming franchise, nothing more to say. They've been doing pretty bad console wise since one of their biggest titles, Resident Evil, is moving onto the Playstation 2 and Xbox also.

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within didn't do as good as I thought it would, considering it's 2003 game of the year brother turned into an instant classic.

I am waiting for the day when Unreal Championship II: Liandri Conflict comes out, it's going to make Epic's Unreal franchise even bigger.

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

Nintendo President Outlines Bold Vision to Attract
New Audiences to Video Games

Game Developers Conference Attendees Hear First Details about
'Revolution,' Upcoming Wi-Fi Service for Nintendo DS

SAN FRANCISCO--March 10, 2005--Thousands of video game developers
in a standing-room-only crowd today heard Nintendo President Satoru
Iwata outline the company's bold vision for the future. Iwata, a
veteran video game designer and player himself, made several major
announcements during his Game Developers Conference keynote speech,
"The Heart of the Gamer," including such highlights as:

-- Nintendo's next game console, code-named "Revolution," is
proceeding on schedule and will include both backward
compatibility and Wi-Fi features.

-- Nintendo soon will offer a free Wi-Fi connection service to
Nintendo DS(TM) owners.

-- Iwata demonstrated several new software titles using the
innovative features of the Nintendo DS, including voice
recognition, touch-screen control and wireless connectivity.

-- Iwata unveiled new images from the highly anticipated Legend
of Zelda(R) adventure coming this year for Nintendo
GameCube(TM).

"This is Nintendo's plan: make our existing game world better,"
Iwata said. "For us, this is a passion. This is a mission of
adventure."
Revolution: Iwata announced that Revolution will feature built-in
Wi-Fi protocols, which will allow users around the world to connect
with one another wirelessly. Revolution's technological heart, a
processing chip developed with IBM and code-named "Broadway," and a
graphics chip set from ATI code-named "Hollywood," are being designed
to deliver game experiences not possible to date.
"We're excited to be developing the graphics chip set for
Revolution, which continues our longstanding relationship with
Nintendo," says Dave Orton, ATI Technologies Inc.'s president and
chief executive officer. "As the leading graphics provider, ATI is
committed to delivering exceptional visual performance that enables
consumers to interact with new and visually compelling digital worlds.
ATI is proud to support Nintendo's innovative contributions to
gaming."
Nintendo DS: Iwata announced that the Wi-Fi protocol for Nintendo
DS will provide users with a link to other players across the country
or around the world. Once the service begins later this year, Nintendo
DS users will be able to connect to the service wirelessly at Wi-Fi
hot spots, whether they're at home, in a hotel or at a coffee shop. As
one of several Wi-Fi games, Nintendo's in-house development team is
creating a new Animal Crossing(TM) game for global Wi-Fi play.
On the keynote stage, Iwata also took part in a spontaneous
eight-player wireless contest of Mario Kart(R) DS to demonstrate the
local area network capabilities of Nintendo DS. He added that
shipments of the DS game system have now surpassed 4 million units to
North America and Japan in the 16 weeks since launch. With the system
set to debut in thousands of stores across Europe within hours of his
address, that number will approach 6 million units shipped by the end
of March.
DS software: The speech featured a live demonstration of two
Nintendo DS software titles that Iwata said represented types of
entertainment that go beyond the traditionally accepted definitions of
"video games." One, Nintendogs, asks owners to nurture and interact
with a variety of breeds of digital puppies. Puppy owners can issue
voice commands, play games and train their puppies while developing
real emotional bonds with them. Nintendogs is set to launch later this
year in North America. The second title, Electroplankton, offers an
otherworldly array of sights and sounds aimed to soothe or stimulate
players with the innovative use of both the touch screen and voice
interaction. "This is designed to produce harmony, not adrenaline,"
Iwata said.
Zelda: Iwata wowed the crowd by showing previously unreleased
footage of the stunning Legend of Zelda adventure for Nintendo
GameCube. The game will launch later this year, and is expected to be
the most sought-after game of 2005 on any console.
Nintendo will announce more information about both Revolution and
the Nintendo DS Wi-Fi service at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in
Los Angeles in May. To hear the full audio podcast of Iwata's speech,
visit www.nintendo.com.

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

Basically DS will have online and so will Rev but with a built in WiFi protocols to play other gamers, sounds good to me.

XBOX2 SPECS REVEALED:

The Guts of the Next Box

CPU - Xenon's CPU has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each core is capable of two instructions per cycle and has an L1 cache with 32 KB for data and 32 KB for instructions. The three cores share 1 MB of L2 cache. Alpha 2 developer kits currently have two cores instead of three.

GPU - Xenon's GPU is a generation beyond the ATI X800. Its clock speed is 500 MHz and it supports Shader 3.0. Developers are currently working with an alpha 2 GPU. Beta GPU units are expected by May and the final GPU is slated for a summer release. The final GPU will be more powerful than anything on the market today; in game terms, it would handle a game like Half-Life 2 with ease.

System Memory - Xenon will have 256 MB of system RAM. Keep in mind that this number should not be equated to typical PC RAM. The Xbox has 64 MB of system RAM and is a very capable machine.

Optical Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon will not use Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Games will come on dual-layer DVD-9 discs. While the media is the same as that of the current Xbox, the usable space on each disc is up to 7 GB. The drive is slated to run at 12X.

Memory Units - Xenon will use 64 MB to 1,024 MB memory cards. 8 MB is reserved for system use, leaving a 56 MB to 1,016 MB for user data.
Hard Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon's hard drive is optional. 2 GB of the drive will be used as game cache. The final drive size is still being determined.

Camera - Xenon will have a USB 2.0 camera. It's capable of 1.2 megapixel still shots and VGA video. Photos can be used in-game and for gamer profiles. The camera can also be used for video chat. It's unknown if the Xenon camera will allow for EyeToy-like gameplay. Developers are currently using a simulated camera driver.

Sound Chip - Xenon does not have an audio chip in the traditional sense. Decompression is handled by hardware, while the rest of the chores are handled by software. DirectSound3D has been dropped in favor of X3DAudio. The former was deemed too inflexible.

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

Alright folks I got some more Xbox 2 specs for ya.

Controllers: The new controllers will be around the same size as the current S-controllers. Microsoft has eschewed the dual triggers for shoulder buttons, and the design is said to be a mixture between the current S-controllers and the current PS2 controllers. They will not feature slots for memory cards, which, we're told, are on the console itself. The system supports 64 megabyte memory cards. There are three controller slots, two controllers on front of the system, plus one USB on the back. Controllers have 2.5mm jacks for headset use.

http://xbox.ign.com/articles/595/595535p1.html?fromint=1(link)

3 controllers is...new. Why couldn't they just make four? Actually now reading into to it some more this sucks for Halo players out there and all FPS fans.

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

More news:

The Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack is a collection of nine multiplayer maps, as well as non-playable video content (a cinematic and a mini-documentary). Delivered on a standard Xbox DVD disc, the multiplayer content can be used by gamers on Xbox Live as well as those who play multiplayer via System Link or via Split-screen (on one Xbox).

* Nine (9) all-new multiplayer maps
* New cinematic video
* New mini-documentary video from Bungie Studios


$19.99


It also says that Xbox Live players will likely get this a little before this retail pack is released.

I don't really like this much but you get nine maps...

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

For the DS owners:

http://www.gamesarefun.com/news.php?newsid=4590

Age of Empires, Rogue Agent, Baten Kaitos, Pac'n Roll, Shogun Warriors, and Katamari Damacy are all coming to the DS. Hopefully AOE will have online play when it arrives. Also Gamespy will be working with Nintendo on the online play for the Nintendo DS.

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

It's offical:

Well the Halo 2 MP pack has officially been announced. The multiplayer expansion pack will come out on June 28 for $19.99. The expansion pack will feature 9 new maps for multi-player. With two new videos, one being an animated feature from the single player story and a mini-doc with interviews about the new map. What does this mean for XBL subscribers, in April, there will be a preview where you can d/l the 1st 2 maps for free. 2 more maps can be bought in $5.99 in April. And then XBL users will then have to pay $11.99 to get the next 5 maps.

http://gaming-age.com/news/2005/3/25-101

More info go to www.bungie.net

Damnit M$, this really blows I can't believe this. Another reason why I don't like M$.

 

[Rinpun]

Eh, don't worry about it. It's their own suicide for being idiotic. I thought they were supposed to improve though business wise. Who wants to play Halo 3 with its bump mapped graphics when you can play something on Playstation 3 with its REAL polygons? Dumb idea Microsoft.

I look forward to the PS3 though. It's brilliant that they're using Blue Ray. No more stacks of Cds and "take out the cd and replace it with Cd XXXXI"

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

I don't know if your sarcastic or not Halo 3? Anyways the reason I'm pissed at it is because we are paying a fee to play those games and get all of the updates. Most would have thought that after 50 for XBL and Halo 2 you could dl updates for free. Anyways PS3 kicks ass but knowing Sony launch release of a console usually has bad hardware. I like Nintendo's free wireless online gaming with their next console so I'm looking forward to PS3 or Rev.

 

[1cRaZyFooL]

Another update and this one is for the next xbox or "Xbox 360".

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=7991

Xbox 360 name confirmed; console design details revealed
Illustration
GamesIndustry.biz staff 16:37 13/04/2005

British sources confirm previously rumoured details about Microsoft's new console

British sources have confirmed that the next generation Xbox is indeed called Xbox 360, that the logo is a simple, round nexus, and that the console itself has a concave design - and a platinum white finish.

Many rumours - some of them conflicting - have been circulating in the past months regarding Microsoft's next generation system, but speaking under conditions of strict anonymity, a British source who is privy to Microsoft's marketing documents for the console has now cleared up much of the speculation.

The name of Xbox's successor is Xbox 360, we can confirm, and the design of the machine is indeed a concave shape.

The machine can stand upright and hollows in at the middle, like it's "sucking in its cheeks," our source told us today. Previous rumours had put the console as light silver, although fresh information says the final design may be white. It's impossible to tell from the documents, our source explained - although the glimpse of the machine's controllers given on viral marketing website OurColony does suggest a platinum-white colour scheme for the hardware.

According to the source, the rumoured slot for the hard drive module - which was apparently at the top of the machine - is not obvious on the document, and the person was unable to clarify where the slot for discs is actually located.

One other aspect we've been unable to confirm is the rumoured customisation features on the box. It's been speculated that the emphasis on customisation which J Allard touted at the Game Developers Conference last month could extend to allowing users to change the "skin" of the console, but this feature was not mentioned by our source.

As for the logo of the console, it is described as a simple, round nexus with "Xbox 360" written inside it. Previous rumours had simply the numbers "360" in the disc. This branding tends to suggest that we can expect to see "360" appearing after many game names, as happened with the Nintendo 64.

Microsoft will show the console for the first time in a half-hour special on MTV on May 12, a week ahead of E3. The company's press conference, on Monday, May 16, will be the first viewing of the console to the trade en bloc.

Xbox 360 is expected to receive a global release in late 2005.

When contacted today, Microsoft simply said that it does not comment on rumours and speculation relating to next generation product.

In my opinion white is ugly for it and the name is garbage.