The Console Wars!

[WhiteX]

I´ll start it by posting some news...

A few days ago Microsoft's Peter Moore was interviewed and when brought upon the subject of Nintendo's next generation offering, the Wii. He had this to say:

"Tell me why you would buy a $600 PS3? People are going to buy two (machines.) They're going to buy an Xbox and they're going to buy a Wii ... for the price of one PS3."

This shows that Microsoft does not feel threatened at all by Nintendo this generation and that they understand Nintendo's path is entirely different from their own and Sony's.

Just a few days after this interview with Peter Moore, Sony's Phil Harrison was interviewed and brought upon the exact same subject. When asked to comment on Peter Moore's take on Nintendo's Wii console, he had the following to say:

"I think Peter Moore is exactly right. I think Nintendo will be the second system consumers purchase after PlayStation 3.

I haven't had a chance to check out the Wii myself, but Nintendo has a great history of innovation and has always done great things for gaming and long may they do so. But as it relates to our strategy they are very much in a different market."

Last generation, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo seemed to be fighting for the crown but it seems now that the tables have turned because Microsoft and Sony are now fighting over whose console will stand along Nintendo's Wii. If Sony/Microsoft fanboys indeed listen to their company's advice and buy a Wii along their first system of choice then this would be good news for Nintendo because this would obviously lead them to 1st place in the home consoles department.

Keep it rolling, boys.

 

[Alchemist]

Wii is going to be the first console I own.

Up until now, I've been able to get by with a PC and be relatively happy with gaming. But now that a system is coming out that is revolutionizing gameplay as we know it: I have to get it.

No, I'm not a fanboy.

 

[BlueFalcon7]

Wow thats almost like an inverse method of devide and conquer. Nintendo may not be covered very well in having people choose the Wii as their first choice, but everyone who I have talked to who didnt choose the Wii as their first choice, chose the Wii as a secondary system (at least those who wanted to get a second system.) Nintendo really knew what they were doing, instead of trying to be number one and trying to have people choose their system over all systems, they appeal to everyone, but keep their prices low, so people will still buy their system even if they already got a 360, or a PS3. Sony and microsoft both acknowleged the fact that Nintendo was the secondary choice of systems.

 

[Fabricio_EX]

Well... it will be like Sony and Microsoft destroying themselves while Nintendo takes the first place. It's quite possible this really come to happen. Oh, and I'm not any fanboy either, but we have to admit that Nintendo always bring innovations to our gaming experience and deserves the first place for that.

 

[revl8er]

Wow, that might be a mistake by Sony and Microsoft. I wouldn't count the Wii out just yet. They very well could take first place in the console wars this time around.

 

[Someone!]

Yay for Wii!

 

[Jale]

Wii will be my first choice, then the Xbox 360 will be the next one. I'm not spending $600 on a PlayStation 3.

 

[WhiteX]

I believe M$ and Sony discredit Nintendo so much that they are focusing on battling each other, that "buy Wii after buying our console" thing is for them harmless, i believe it to be a huge mistake.

EDIT: a little bit of Sony´s inflated ego...

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe CEO David Reeves says many key PS3 titles will miss the November 17 launch window and will now release in 2007 but he adds that PS3 would sell 5 million units, at its current price, even if it had no games available for it.

The question of which games will be available for the console in November for its launch has been troubling journalists and gamers alike and Sony has been pretty vague on that subject. Talking to computer and video games during E3, Reeves mentioned that key titles such as Heavenly Sword, Formula One and Motosport will miss the PS3 launch but he stressed that Sony will have launch titles for all tastes and will focus on social gaming. As a result a PS3 SingStar will be available before Christmas 2006 and EyeToy games will begin surfacing around March 2007.

So Sony plans to target non-hardcore gamers as well while Nintendo Nintendo promises it won't be all kid's staff this time around; what's this world coming to?

So which launch titles can gamers expect to get on November 17? Reeves confirmed that Resistance: Fall of Man, Insomniac's shooter, will be a launch title but he refused to confirm any other games. Kaz Hirai, we assume he knew about the delayed games at E3 2006, mentioned 15 launch titles, so we have 14 unconfirmed games.

According the SCEE CEO, Sony believes that the next-gen battle will be decided six months following the PS3's release when ...all those hardcore gamers have bought PS3, they have also bought Xbox 360 and they have probably bought Nintendo Wii as well. I'm not sure which gamers he is thinking about but we doubt that many will opt for all three consoles just in order to decide which one they like best.

The final comment made by Mr. Reeves is the one which stands out and raises some doubts over Sony's state of mind when they were devising their next-gen strategy. We have built up a certain brand equity over time since the launch of PlayStation in 1995 and PS2 in 2000 that the first five million are going to buy it, whatever it is, even it didn't have games. We certainly hope that Sony has got its facts wrong as it wouldn't say much about gamers if that proved to be the case.

 

[xneoangel]

I believe M$ and Sony discredit Nintendo so much that they are focusing on battling each other, that "buy Wii after buying our console" thing is for them harmless, i believe it to be a huge mistake.

EDIT: a little bit of Sony´s inflated ego...

Yeah Sony and Microsoft are taking Nintendo lightly and that is a mistake, even tough the only console i plan on grabbing is the PS3 (yes even toguh it will be 600$), simply because i love Japanese games i mean i'm bored of American games because they only are FPS's with great graphics but they are all the same, and GTA ripoffs, i prefer 1 thousand times to play a Japanese RPG, Platformer, Action Game, etc than an American FPS, Sport Game or Driving game.

 

[Alchemist]

Yeah Sony and Microsoft are taking Nintendo lightly and that is a mistake, even tough the only console i plan on grabbing is the PS3 (yes even toguh it will be 600$), simply because i love Japanese games i mean i'm bored of American games because they only are FPS's with great graphics but they are all the same, and GTA ripoffs, i prefer 1 thousand times to play a Japanese RPG, Platformer, Action Game, etc than an American FPS, Sport Game or Driving game.

Japan does have a special knack for creating absolutely addicting games. Legendary games like Chrono Trigger, the whole FF series, etc. were all products of japanese genius. Which, I hope will be carried onto Nintendo's further development. Right now, Sqaure-E is planning on releasing multiple versions of FFXIII, my bet is, one of those will be coming wii-side.

 

[WhiteX]

Some DRM crapiness...

May 19, 2006 - Prior to Sony's pre-E3 media conference early last week, it was more or less impossible to bring up the future of the PlayStation 3 without launching into a debate on the subject of price point. After months, if not years, of rumors suggesting the console would not ship for less than a king's ransom, no journalist or fan could say a word about the PS3 without a careful mention that if Sony wasn't willing to sell the system at huge loss, the console was doomed. Last week at their pre-E3 media-conference, Sony finally dropped the proverbial bomb, announcing two PS3 models, differentiated by $100 in price but potentially far more in capabilities.

In word, Sony downplayed the disparity between the $499 and $599 PS3 versions, citing the primary difference between the consoles at the time of the announcement as the difference in built-in hard drive space, namely 20 GB for the low-end and 60 GB for the high-end. Within minutes, however, journalists homed in on a variety of factors that placed the lower-end PS3 into contention for the dreaded "tard-box" classification of crippled-console.

Not only does the $499 PS3 lack built-in support for Wi-Fi broadband and SD and Compact Flash memory cards, but rather shockingly, the machine does not possess HDMI output. Rumors spread like wild fire that the $499 machine was also missing Bluetooth support for wireless controllers, spreading fury among fans and detractors alike.

A week after the announcement, Sony representatives have gone on record with the press, officially clarifying that the $499 console will support Bluetooth and that Wi-Fi adapters and flash-memory reader add-ons will be made available for the console. The hard-drive will also be upgradeable, as Phil Harrison, long time SCEA heavyweight, told GI.biz, "You can upgrade to whatever size of drive you like. You can put in any drive that you like—it is a computer, after all."

Calming though such statements are, what may prove truly calamitous for the budget-model PS3 is its lack of support for HDMI. On the surface, the lack of such a feature does not spell immediate disaster, as HDMI is merely a high-end video-cable that couples digital image signals with digital sound, essentially equivalent to a DVI and optical audio connection combination. The $499 PS3 model will be able to transmit games in full 1080p High-Definition via component cables without a problem, and far more surround sound receiver-amplifiers support optical-audio than HDMI.

Where the pain will set in, however, is when Blu-ray movies begin making use of HDCP/AACS copy-protection and the infamous "Image-Constraint-Token" (ICP). At the demand of the major Hollywood studios, both HD-DVD and Blu-ray standards have been developed to support this next-generation copy-protection scheme that protects Hi-Def movies from piracy and illegal digital distribution. While AACS is more or less innocuous from the standpoint of a general consumer, HDCP is destined to rain frustration and disappointment upon the masses, or at least those who purchase the $499 PS3 package.

The HDCP system is the means by which each piece of hardware involved in transmitting a High-Def movie signal, from player, to wire, to amplifier, to HDTV or computer monitor, checks for support and protection from hacking and piracy before passing the signal along the chain. Each device must have a specially programmed HDCP chip, and any link in the chain that lacks such protection will cause the entire system to fail, causing movies encoded in 1080p Hi-Def to down-convert to 540p, by means of what is known as the "Image Constraint Token" capability of AACS/HDCP copy-protection scheme.

The crux of the $499 PlayStation 3's problem is the fact that HDCP copy-protection only supports digital connections, namely HDMI. Cutting straight to the chase, the $499 PS3 will not be able to play Blu-ray movies in 1080p High-Definition the moment Blu-ray DVDs begin implementing ICP. Though most studios have agreed to a one or two year grace period in which the Image Constraint Token will not be implemented while American consumers make the switch to next-gen DVD and purchase HDCP-ready HDTVs and PCs, barring a massive retreat on the part of the Hollywood studios, HDCP and ICP are the future of Hi-Def movies, and the $499 PS3 will not be invited to the party.

Sony's thought process in crippling the $499 PS3 in this respect is positively dumbfounding. The general populace has not been educated in the intricacies of HDCP / AACS copy-protection, and a variety of electronics manufacturers are presently involved in class-action law-suits filed by consumers after the companies erroneously claimed support for the new format when their products were, in fact, incompatible (most notably ATI and NVIDIA at this point in time). Legions of buyers will purchase the $499 PS3 version, believing that it represents an excellent value as both a next-gen DVD player and game console, only to discover that its Blu-ray capabilities are stripped a year or two into its lifecycle.

At the least, the decision to remove HDMI support from the $499 PS3 is a badly designed means of protecting the market for the higher-end stand-alone Blu-ray players that Sony and its partners plan to launch, beginning with the $999 Samsung BD-P1000 that will hit the streets on June 25. At worst, Sony is committing a massive breach of consumer trust if it markets both the $499 and $599 PlayStation 3 consoles as Blu-ray movie players and does not seek to educate buyers on the differences between them. Considering that, thus far, the most direct communication between manufacturers and consumers on the topic of HDCP support has been, at best, obfuscation, and at worst out-right lies, the chances that Sony aims to do the right thing in this regard are low.

There's still a chance that things might be set right. The Playstation 3's architecture has thus far been somewhat amorphous, as there has been word that the motion-sensing capabilities of the PS3 controller were added only weeks before E3, which suggests the possibility that Sony could recant under pressure and add HDMI output to the $499 console. It's also possible the word has gone out among electronics manufacturers that Hollywood is backing off demands for HDCP and ICS, which might explain why Microsoft thinks it can get away with producing a USB-based HD-DVD drive for the Xbox 360, a console that most certainly does not support HDCP natively (the standard wasn't finalized until the late first quarter of 2006) and presently does not even have wires capable of transmitting a digital signal (DVI or HDMI). Such a change of heart would be rather uncharacteristic of the movie industry, however, despite the fact that the algorithms that serve as the basis of HDCP-protection are fundamentally flawed and will be likely hacked and broken within a year of their implementation.

Until Sony announces a $499 PS3 design change, we at IGN Gear can, in good faith, only recommend that interested buyers steer clear of the lower-priced PS3 model or make the purchase fully aware that they may in future suffer severe repercussions when it comes to Blu-ray movie playback -- one of the key features that puts the PS3's price point above competing systems. 540p, the resolution that the Image Constraint Token will down-convert 1080p movies to in non-HDCP systems, is by no stretch of the imagination Hi-Def, and will, without major changes in PS3 design or studio policy, be the future of Blu-ray playback on the $499 PS3. Sony must either make this truth clear to buyers or make a hardware alteration. Any other response should be counted as negligent and anti-consumer, grave mistakes for a company that is risking so much on the PS3 and Blu-ray's success.

Vista got it too...

April 17, 2006 - A good deal of public outcry occurred when it was announced that next-generation HD-DVD and Blu-ray players would require full HDCP copy-protection compliance with every link in the chain between player and monitor. Essentially, this requirement effectively made more than 3,000,000 HDTVs already sold in America incompatible with the new DVD standards, a severe disservice to all early-adopting consumers.

Though that situation has been somewhat ameliorated of late with Sony's announcement that their first generation of Blu-ray players and media would export full 1080p resolution over all connections (component, DVI, and HDMI), the issue of HDCP compatibility and the difficulties the rather sudden rollout is causing consumers is still pressing. Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Vista OS will require full HDCP compatibility in practically every component involved, from optical drive, to video card, to monitor. At present, all 'HDCP Compatible' video cards are, in fact, merely compatible and are not at all compliant, while PC monitors another serious concern, as even some of the newest, such as BenQ's FP93G 2ms response-time gaming monitor, are not HDCP compatible.

Hollywood studios' insistence that next-gen DVD be protected by higher-grade copy protection than the easily cracked CSS scheme employed in DVDs is understandable. However, when accomplished at the cost of severely punishing the best early-adopting consumers by making expensive electronics incompatible, with so little forewarning that the move can be accurately characterized as massively indifferent, if not downright vengeful, public retaliation is justified.

 

[Alpha_1]

Do I have to read it all? :yawn:
Anyway i love all those consoles (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, heck even the Sega)
Why are consoles fighting each other? Let me tell you a story:

The year is 1995, Nintendo asked Sony to develop a CD-ROM add-on called "PlayStation" for the SNES. Because Sony wanted 25% of all profits Nintendo earned from sales of this PlayStation and all PlayStation games, after Sony revealed that they were developing it, Nintendo instead went to Philips. This caused Sony to consider abandoning their research, however instead they used what they had developed so far and made it into a full blown console. This led to Nintendo filing a lawsuit claiming breach of contract and attempted, in U.S. federal court, to obtain an injunction against the release of the PlayStation, on the grounds that Nintendo owned the name. The federal judge presiding over the case denied the injunction.

The PlayStation was launched in Japan on December 3, 1994, the USA on September 9, 1995 and Europe on September 29, 1995. In America, Sony enjoyed a very successful launch with titles of almost every genre including Toshinden, Twisted Metal, Warhawk, and Ridge Racer. Almost all of Sony's and Namco's launch titles went on to produce numerous sequels.

Didn't you get it? If it wasn't for Nintendo, Sony would never have created that monster called Playstation... but i really got to admit that it really was a great story about Nintendo and Sony and that's what started the war, it was Nintendo's mistake to abandon Sony and i'm saying this because in 1996 the Nintendo 64 appeared and was in a fight with Sony Playstation and Nintendo lost the war...
As for Microsoft...still no plan for creating consoles and get in a war

 

[Doomulation]

Sony is just plain greedy. I don't think it was a bad idea to abandon them.

 

[WhiteX]

Do I have to read it all? :yawn:
Anyway i love all those consoles (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, heck even the Sega)
Why are consoles fighting each other? Let me tell you a story:


Didn't you get it? If it wasn't for Nintendo, Sony would never have created that monster called Playstation... but i really got to admit that it really was a great story about Nintendo and Sony and that's what started the war, it was Nintendo's mistake to abandon Sony and i'm saying this because in 1996 the Nintendo 64 appeared and was in a fight with Sony Playstation and Nintendo lost the war...
As for Microsoft...still no plan for creating consoles and get in a war

The oldest information ever!
And no, you don´t have to read but if you do you may get more updated info.

 

[BlueFalcon7]

Didn't you get it? If it wasn't for Nintendo, Sony would never have created that monster called Playstation... but i really got to admit that it really was a great story about Nintendo and Sony and that's what started the war, it was Nintendo's mistake to abandon Sony and i'm saying this because in 1996 the Nintendo 64 appeared and was in a fight with Sony Playstation and Nintendo lost the war...
As for Microsoft...still no plan for creating consoles and get in a war

So Nintendo kinda made their own competition by getting Sony into the battle. I never knew that, but If Nintendo never went to sony, than I would still be enjoying Sonic on a dreamcast. Then again, Sony used nintendo's name "playstation" and are still using that name, they cant think up their own names, thats sony for you... being their greedy selves.

 

[smegforbrain]

they cant think up their own names, thats sony for you... being their greedy selves.

And some of you are so god awful lame that you'll keep bringing up the same inane stupidity over and over and over again in the hopes that it makes you feel special about your dislike of Sony.

Get over it already, ya fucking whiner.

 

[General Plot]

Just a note, I was in Middle School when Electonic gaming magazine announced the "Playstation" addon for SNES, and they stated that the name was dubbed by a Sony employee, and that Nintendo had thought about changing the name. Sony had given it that name on the basis that a workstation (aka a PC) was where work was done, and that a playstation (the console) was a place where enjoyment could be had.
Being born in 1976 does have it's advantages, as I am old enough to remember tidbits like this.

 

[zAlbee]

In order words, having Sony develop the SNES attachment for 25% would have been worth every penny for Nintendo. It's too bad really, now we need to buy multiple consoles just to play all the games =P

 

[arnalion]

Why i like Nintendo more than the others is because i know what i get, a pure gaming console. I don't buy a console for the 3rd party games, i buy it for the exclusive ones. Nintendo has more exclusive games than the others, not just loads of PC ports.
Well i don't like either Sony or Microsoft as companies and i would never support them.

 

[Alchemist]

Why i like Nintendo more than the others is because i know what i get, a pure gaming console. I don't buy a console for the 3rd party games, i buy it for the exclusive ones. Nintendo has more exclusive games than the others, not just loads of PC ports.
Well i don't like either Sony or Microsoft as companies and i would never support them.

Do you use Windows?