bornonce

The reason that Oblivion runs slightly faster on the PS3 is not because Blu-Ray is inherently faster, but because Bethesda is using MULTIPLE COPIES of game data on the Blu-Ray disk to cut down seek times. Combining this with caching to the HDD should make the game run smoother. On the 360, it appears that most of the frame problems occurred when the game was accessing the DVD.

I would think, that , if Bethesda is going to release any added content for free on the PS3 disk, and still charge the customary $60.00 for it, that they should then make all of the existing expansion pacts FREE to both PC and XBOX 360 owners. That would only be fair.

I think that they are headed in that direction. They recently offered Mehrune's Razor for free on XBOX Live, and OXM had an included disk last issue that had both Thief's Den and the Wizard's Tower.

I have said all along from two weeks after E3 05 till this current day that if Sony was SMART, they would have produced two cell-based products. One, a GAMING machine with a DVD-drive, 20 GB HDD, ethernet connection, and wireless controller, for $350.00 to compete directly with the XBOX 360 premium model, and (2). A Blu-Ray based Media control Center with a 60 to 100 GB HDD, DDR capabilities, VIVO, etc. for those primarily interested in Home Theater, for about $700.00. Sony has produced a HYBRID, which is preferred by neither the majority of gamers (too expensive) or Home Theater Afficianados (it's a game machine). Of the 100 million PS2 owners out there, how many do you think would have upgraded to a $350.00 Next-Gen Sony machine? Now how many of this base do you think can afford to upgrade to a $500-600 machine?
Judging from languishing sales of both the 260 and the PS3, and the incredible support still given the PS2, one can only conclude "not many".

It has nothing to do with SDTV. The problem was so bad on my 27" CRT HDTV that I gave up trying to play Dead Rising. Please, Capcom, give the USER the option to switch to a larger font (there are a few of us out there with over-50 eyes that play video games). Otherwise, Lost Planet looks great and I loved the SP demo.

Wow! With this "achievement" and four bucks you can buy yourself a mocha delight at Starbucks.

I keep hearing that the PS3 will be "region-free", and how this is a good thing. I personally question how "good" this actually is.

If all of the regions are on the same Blu-Ray disc, they will HAVE to abide by the restrictions of the most strictest country. Why? because, EVEN if you can't normally access the content, the very fact that it is on the disc could hold the publisher liable for violating the norms of another country. Europe has gotten many games with "more mature" content than would be allowed in the Austrailia, Japan, and even the U.S. The mere presence on the disc of material deemed "too adult" for these countries could force the game's rating to be "A.O", or not even be allowed at all.

A prime example was "the Indigo Prophesy" and its racier European counterpart "Farenheit". Many times, games sold in the U.S. have the more mature content intact on the disc, but it is not screened by the ESRB because it is not normally accessible by simply playing the game as normal (however, after the stupid "Hot Coffee" nonsense, developers have to much more cautious about disc content). In Nintendo's case it probably doesn't matter ,since most games at least from Nintendo aren't likely to have a problem. some of the games for the PS3 might, however.

As an adult gamer, I prefer to be treated like an adult, and not held to the same "standards" as a preteen adolescent. Region-free might take that away from me.

Nintendo just handed Christmas 2006 to Sony. Not because of the PS3 (which will probably not even appear on a retailer's shelf 15 minutes before it is sold) but because of the PS2!

Yep, you heard right. The PS2 is now the best value for the money, with the largest game library available, and hints of future support from Sony and 3rd party developers (who in their right mind would give up a market with 100 million+ consoles sold, particularly when some of the latest PS2 games are very impressive in their own right.)

$129.00 (or much less if it is a trade-in), proven peripherals from wireless steering wheels to musical instruments and dance pads, some of the most visually impressive games ever made on a console (considering that it is 5 years old now), and all of those titles on the shelf giving neophytes to the video gaming world a wealth to choose from, compared to a new, unfamiliar console that has at best 30 games to choose from, and cost $250.00, I would say that the PS2 is going to outsell the Wii, the 360, and the PS3 this Christmas. JMHO

The TWO most compelling issues about the PS3 are AVAILABILITY and RELIABILITY. Sony was supposed to have this console designed and ready for production LAST Spring, yet the last couple of months have appeared to be a panick-driven fire drill to get something that they can actually manufacture in quantity. I would not touch a PS3 until late 2007 at the earliest, when they have the time to re-engineer the console using 65-nm technology, thereby hopefully addressing the size, heat, and power issues that are becoming more public. Besides, the biggest titles for the machine are not likely to be available much before Holiday 2007 anyway. (As a real design engineer with 25 years of experience, I saw this product as realistically targeted for 2007, and adamantly stated so after the E3 2005 presentation!) The fanboys who contributed to this article no nothing about real-world manufacturing or engineering.

The GOOD and the BAD ofthe Wii.

The GOOD:

(1). A novel way to get involved with games. Feeling a part of the game is one of the most important experiences, at least in my mind.

(2). Hundreds of thousands of kids (and adults) will get off of the couch and be involved in some rather vigorous and beneficial aerobic exercise.

(3). The Wii will be more adaptable to innovative gameplay, including titles that are for far more than just entertainment (like exercise, as stated in point # 2)

The BAD:

(1). The concept is novel and interesting, but many are likely to be disappointed because actions that THEY thought would be "cool" to implement using the motion of the controller will prove too difficult for the game developers.

(2). Nintendo might end up with a class action lawsuit after players everywhere start suffering repetitive stress injuries. Tennis elbow or RPS, anyone?

All of this discussion about the performance of the PS3 and the Wii is at best pure speculation. Neither Sony nor Nintendo has shown ANY ACTUAL production console hardware. The Wii is going to use a dual-core PPC-based IBM processor, and a customised ATI GPU. Neither are available now, so anything being shown as Wii or PS3 console performance is suspect at best. Sony has been using Dev Kits that apparently have NO PS3 console hardware in them, and have more memory than the console is going to have. Thus far the only console I am impressed with is the 360, delivered on-time by MS and exactly as specified.