The Official PS3 thread!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 6, 2007, 6:09 pm

Everytime I see a game released for PS3 and 360, it seems the 360 version has something a little better...usually online play.

2007/07/06 10:19:14: Posted by DM

Oh boy, this is going to cause one heck of a stir. According to this press release, Sega has announced that VF5 will feature online Xbox Live play. On top of that, the game is based on the latest arcade game update. We hesitate to say it, but these two points make the Xbox360 version the superior release. The game will also have force feedback and an expanded quest mode.

*Update: Added four screens from the online Xbox360 mode, click the link to view them or click read more to read the press release.

PRESS RELEASE

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (July 6, 2007) – SEGA® Europe, Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. announced today that the highly-anticipated arcade fighting game, Virtua Fighter™ 5 for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, will feature an online versus mode at launch in Autumn 2007. The Xbox 360™ version of Virtua Fighter™ 5 is based on the latest arcade version update and features both analogue-stick and D-pad control, as well as vibration support. The game also includes an improved Quest mode featuring more CPU rivals, items, and emblems for character customisation. The DOJO mode has added features including leaderboards, training move settings, improved throw and escape training, and the option to change your opponent’s position and recovery type. These all work to create a more refined DOJO mode where players can improve their fighting strategy.

Now featuring an online two-player versus mode via Xbox Live®, Virtua Fighter™ 5 will allow players to compete online. Players will also be able to select one of the 17 characters or customise them in Quest mode. Customisation features allow players to modify their characters by selecting from four base costumes and then attaching a wide range of unlockable and earnable items. Players will not only achieve victory by defeating highly-skilled opponents, but also by competing for prizes and earning in-game money which allows them to buy many items at an in-game shop.

“For a lot of very good reasons, Virtua Fighter™ 5 is regarded as the deepest and most revered fighting game available on next generation consoles”, said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director, SEGA Europe. “Bringing Virtua Fighter™ 5 to the Xbox 360™ will not only capture an entirely new audience, but will allow gamers to show their Virtua Fighter™ skills online against friends and foes”.

Created by the renowned development team AM R&D Department #2 out of Japan, Virtua Fighter™ 5 will be released in Autumn 2007. For more information, please visit http://www.sega-europe.com. For assets please visit http://www.sega-press.com.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » July 11, 2007, 6:19 pm

Yeah, if you discount the fact that the Xbox 360 tends to make a lot of promises it can't keep, like backwards compadability, reasonably priced add-on content, integrated wireless networking, and so on. If they can't get Street Fighter 2 to work descently online, I don't exactly have a lot of confidence that Virtua Fighter will. So far, Motorstorm is the only online game the Piii has with a large audience and it runs great online, but I am reluctant to form an opinion until I see a couple more games with broader audiences come out (GT4 and Warhawk will be good litmus tests) to see how Sony handles it.

If you really want to persist in Piii bashing and choking your tiny chicken to the beat of Halo2 music, the real travesty is the newer Piii models comming out without the backwards combatability chip in them. They say that they are going to do software emulation, and most games do run well on baseline emulators as it is now, but it won't be as good, especially for people like myself with large libraries of ancient/import RPG titles. My wife and I are actually getting a second PS3 with the backwards combatability chip this week, for this very reason.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » July 13, 2007, 7:47 am

http://kotaku.com/gaming/say-what%3F/60 ... 278039.php

Ok WTF is going on at Sony. Everyone is happy cause the 60GB is dropped by 100$ on Monday, now the SCEE President says that the 60GB version is getting retired and that once the ones at retail now are gone, that's it for evah.. No more 60GB, leaving only the 80GB at 599...

Jack Tretton must be furious about this little disclosure.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » July 13, 2007, 10:30 am

Maybe that was released to make people swarm into stores to get the 60g systems while they're available at the lower price?

Somali · Post by **Somali** » July 13, 2007, 12:08 pm

Zerg rush on aisle 9?

From the way people are talking the Emotion Engine will go the way of the dodo in the 80G system as well. So 20G extra space, minus the EE. I'd say the new PS3 is actually a step down from the 60G one.

I do need to get a BluRay player still. I'm tempted, but I'm not quite sold yet. Personally I think its cute that the 360 dropped a 120GB drive into the new Elite and Sony pipes in with a 80GB drive in theirs. Granted, they moved from the 60 to the 80 for the Korean release which I believe was prior to the 360E. Why go from a 60G to an 80G in the first place. If you're going to make a change to the HDD, at least do something significant. A 20G change is more or less pointless.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » July 13, 2007, 3:08 pm

A spokesperson for Sony in the US told Next-Gen, “"As announced this week, SCEA's product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August at $599 and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We have will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of our consumers for the foreseeable future."

Officials at Sony Computer entertainment Europe – including president David Reeves – had said that the US price would still be $599 because that would be the only model on offer once 60Gig stocks ran out. If true, this would have rendered the $100 price cut a virtually pointless gesture, meaning that PS3 had not been cut in price, but was simply being offered with extra memory and a bundled game.

Of course a day or two before the price cut was officially announced Sony denied that there would be one anytime soon. So who can you trust? Sure as hell isn't Sony in my opinion! They lie about shit even when they have no reason to.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » July 13, 2007, 3:29 pm

Aslanna wrote:
A spokesperson for Sony in the US told Next-Gen, “"As announced this week, SCEA's product offering in North America consists of a 80GB PS3 available in August at $599 and a 60GB PS3 available now for $499. We will have ample supplies of both models to meet the needs of our consumers for the foreseeable future."

Officials at Sony Computer entertainment Europe – including president David Reeves – had said that the US price would still be $599 because that would be the only model on offer once 60Gig stocks ran out. If true, this would have rendered the $100 price cut a virtually pointless gesture, meaning that PS3 had not been cut in price, but was simply being offered with extra memory and a bundled game.
Of course a day or two before the price cut was officially announced Sony denied that there would be one anytime soon. So who can you trust? Sure as hell isn't Sony in my opinion! They lie about shit even when they have no reason to.

I like the wording that I bolded.

Saying that 60GB's will be available en-masse yet not saying that they're actually making more of the 60GB version.

To me this translated "We have a lot of stock of 60GB's warehoused and you'll get those at 499. When they run out, you'll get the 80GB version at this price without motorstorm or the extra controller."

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » July 13, 2007, 6:17 pm

You could interpret it that way.. But they said ample supply of both models so.... Anyway, looks like it's back to the $499 60GB being a closeout special.

http://www.deeko.com/news/?p=2894

It seems that it is all true, that Sony pulled a fast one and the price drop is NOT designed to help the consumer. In short, it’s to help their own ass in quickly pumping out the new and cheaper to produce PS3 (without the emotion engine, I might add), no doubt that will include the rumble back into the controllers. This is about as slimy as it gets… Nice move to try and cover you’re ass though. The ironic part is that many consumers see this as a golden opportunity for Sony, but the fact of the matter is that this move does nothing to actually benefit the consumer. If Sony wanted to maintain a good market share, as well as possibly make a profit, they wouldn’t be so bold as to remove the more inexpensive SKU. As it stands, they’ll lose even more money on the new 80 gig units, simply due to the inclusion of the larger hard drive and added sixty dollar first party game. If they were smart, they’d actually offer up the starter pack that Europe is getting - at least it’s a more attractive bundle. Hey, if you’re going to lose money, why the fuck not? Seriously, this “price cut” is pure bullshit. For shame Sony and you did so good at E3!

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 13, 2007, 6:48 pm

I bought one of the 499 60GB PS3s today at lunch just to shut up the people whining that I didn't own one. Jk, never cared!

I may leave it boxed up while I read up on it to see if having the emotion engine might make for an easier hack or something. I don't plan on playing any old PS2 titles so it doesn't matter much to me otherwise. It might be fun to screw around with playable demos until FFXIII comes out a few years from now as there's no games currently that I want for it. I could also screw around with Linux on it so I can bitch about it to Xatrei some more!

It came with a free Blu Ray remote that the sales guy grabbed off the PS3 accessory shelf and, of course, the five free Blu Ray movies (of which the title selection to pick from is pretty bad so don't get too excited about that)

By fall, I have a feeling rumble controllers will be included in the main console package or, as people have suggested, the 80GB will be 499 and come without the game/extra controller.

Anyways, if nothing else, I can turn this thing into a foreman grill.

For those thinking about getting a PS3, there's no rush to grab a 499 60GB as there must be a million+ in stock in the U.S.(1.5 million according to some figures) which should last several months. Fry's had 34 in stock today. If the servers are still down for Rappelz tonight, I might check out the online part of PS3 (whatever they call their version of Xbox Live until that 3D interface thing comes out later this year) Rappelz > PS3

Niffoni · Post by **Niffoni** » July 13, 2007, 11:30 pm

Lame. Not amused that if I want the emotion engine I'll have to chase down a console no one wanted a week ago. And the sick thing is I'll probably do it. Maybe backwards compatibility wouldn't be such a big deal if the current generation as a whole wasn't so underwhelming, at least to me. Price cut is starting to feel like cuddling after date-rape.

PS3 is months away from having enough worthwhile exclusives. Anything worth a shit on the 360 will be on PC eventually anyway (Maybe I'll play GoW after all!). The Wii is an amusing diversion, but rarely much else. Hope my 5-year-old PS2 can hold up for a while longer I guess. If that dies it's back to Wii Tennis!

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » July 13, 2007, 11:44 pm

Some good Wii games are on the way soon!

I hope.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 14, 2007, 2:41 am

Here's short summary of my initial experience with the PS3.

First...packaging isn't impressive. very bland. Xbox 360 packaging gave the "feeling" of getting something well thought out and packaged. it's psychological, but that's all part of the game. (PS3 weighs a shit-ton btw)

I should already have known better...but Sony didn't even provide a fucking component cable in the 60GB...I'm not talking about the HDMI cable...just basic component cable...what you get...with this supposedly best in class video behemoth, is one little yellow composite cable with basic audio right/left.

You've got to be kidding me...I thought for sure they at least provided component...that's so cheap. Component cables would have cost them a buck. Seriously lame for Sony not to include component.

Me, being the god of spare PC and home theater parts, had a spare HDMI cable so that saved me 29-50 shuckles and a trip to the store. Sony must be run by morons to not provide component cables...jesus christ...it's a 1080P machine..at least let the people experience it in 720p/1080i without having to immediately buy a cable...on top of that, they're doing their console a disservice as you know damn well there will be a buttload of morons that are actually going to hook it up using composite (not even s-video...fucking composite...the absolute bottom of the barrel video connection)

So I provided my own TOS link for audio (yes, I had a spare one of those as well so I didn't have to go to the store and buy another one)

Hooked it up to my network and flipped the switch.

The screen opens to a black and white hella bland screen asking you to connect your controller via USB to the console (we already knew it didn't automatically, wireslessly detect the controllers like the 360 but it still made me laugh to have to pull out the micro length usb cord and plug in the controller.

Next, you get an equally bland black and white screen to select basic video and audio. I switched to 720P as that's my native projector resolution and I figured it wouldn't make sense to output at 1080i and then downscale...will have to try both ways, perhaps my projector has a better scaler than the PS3.

Next it immediately tells you that an update is needed. So I update to 1.81 (i think) of the firmware which takes awhile...you get to watch a black and white screen with the only dash of color being a skinny green progress line.

After downloading, rebooting, installing, rebooting, the update was complete and wallah!...you see a very bland user interface with something that looks like the water tube alien things from "The Abyss" movie kinda of flowing across the screen.

Since absolutely nothing comes with the PS3....no demos, music, videos...ZERO...its' completely empty, I log onto the Playstation Store which requires a marathon data entry process...here's where having a USB plugged in is nice because you'd go fucking nuts trying to type all the text info needed to register using a...get this...a phone keypad with multiple letters on each key so you have to cycle them like you're punching out shit on a phone...wtf? there's room for an entire keyboard you morons...anyway, I plugged in my old keyboard (G15) and typed away.

I can't imagine how long that would have taken using the controller...not because of the controller, but because of Sony's assbackwards method of entering info with the controller...not that hard with the 360 controller and dashboard.

This is now at least an hour into it and I've really only seen black and white screens with a green bar here and there when downloading the update...and that Alien water tube...which I guess is supposed to be impressive and take horsepower as my PS3 kicked into high fan mode just sitting on the menu screens...low fan mode not bad....high fan mode...not much better than the 360's jet engine.

After logging into the Sony store, I see my first bits of color and pictures...stuff you'd expect to see pretty early in the experience with a "state of the art" machine that's ushering in a new era of HD gaming.

Just to remind you, there is jack shit on the hard drive...not even a simple HD "welcome to the PS3!" video.

I download the Killzone 2 trailer to see how the PS3 would handle downloads and it did well downloading the video in the background...I stayed on the screen to see what the download looked like..just that skinny green bar that I saw before.

You can't watch the video, or play the games from where you download them (like you can with the Xbox 360), you have to exit the store and go back to your UI and navigate to the proper area..videos, games, etc to start. So I did that...went to videos and started the Killzone 2 trailer. It looked nice. Looked HD as it should. The game looks like a knock off of Gears of War but not as interesting storywise (I couldn't tell what the story was from the trailer)

Next, I download the Motorstorm demo...the only game that looked interesting to me of the PS3's entire lineup that's been released so far. It downloaded ok...you have to install it after downloading it, exiting store, etc, which is much more of a hassle than the 360. The game loaded up and it looked very nice and was fun to play. Looks like a fun arcade type game. Impressive graphics...what I didnt like was the way the little triggers feel on the PS3 controller compared to the 360...in fact, the PS3 controller feels "cheap" and light (some may like the light feel but not me) My hands didn't feel natural on the little trigger and they kind of have a short range on them compared to the 360's triggers and are harder to push in to the point of being a little wearing on my fingers...and that was only a three lap demo race.

Next, since there's not a whole lot in the store, I popped in Final Fantasy XXII to see how it would handle in the PS3. I put on the "smooth" option in the PS3 that's supposed to help with the jaggies. Well, the cut scenes looked pretty good although seemed blurry like I needed my eyes checked or makes you continually want to focus the image. When I got to the actual game play of FFXII, you could readily see the horrific jaggies I bitched about long ago, while I was complaining about how it was almost unplayable and a shame that FFXII was ruined by the outdated console it had to run on. Everything seemed blurry as well but it's either going to be blurry with the "smooth" effect or look completely shitty if you leave that option off.

The blu ray drive was pretty quiet while accessing the DVD...but the PS3's fan is in high mode almost all the time and it's really annoying. It's the lessor of two really noisy consoles as nothing will top the sound of my 360.

Things to like...liked that I was able to plug in an HDMI cable I already had....but that's a really small thing to like because .01% of the population is going to have a spare HDMI cable lying around. Keyboard worked well enough and hot plugged into the console.

Overall thoughts: It's very underwhelming. As an initial "experience" Sony fucked up royally with the PS3....unbelievably stupid move in not providing component cables, boring packaging and those multi lingual manuals that are 100 pages long but you only need the 10 pages in english, connecting the controller to link it to the system is as retarded as it sounds, the Sony "dashboard" is something that you might expect to see on a phone...the 360 blade concept works better and man, it at least has a few colors other than black and white, the cross bar approach to settings and getting to control buttons is ok for the basics but becomes a pain with anything slightly more in depth. The Sony online store looked like it had been robbed with the burglars only leaving the crap they didn't want behind.

Now, with my first hand experience fresh in my mind...I recommend waiting on buying a PS3 at least until March o8...I actually enjoyed roaming around the Xbox Live areas but the Sony equivalent needs lots of help so that new thing they're working on better be good with the avatars etc. Motorstorm looks like a good game...but that's one good game and not better than Dirt IMO. Fan noise is a big disappointment as the off chance I might actually want to use the Blu Ray to watch a movie might be negated by noise. Not sure why people would want to play blurified PS2 games on this, but if so, there may be a small reason to buy one of the 60GB consoles.

The design of the PS3 console itself isn't impressing me either. The overhang above the USB ports make for a more difficult hook up in finding the slot...it's already black and hard to see ports, etc..didn't need the added squinting and crouching down to see find the plug ins.(which you must to do link and resync your controller as well as charge it). On the plus side, the buttonless, touch thingies for eject and on/off work well and the DVD auto-suck feature works. The console itself is heavy and strange to carry. Dumb looks to it. Surface picks up fingerprints like nobody's business.

The controller was also disappointing although it was probably unfair to play a racing game first as that's the weakest part of the controller. I've got both controllers in front of me right now and swapping between the two in my hands and the 360 fits my hands like a glove while the PS3 make my fingers bend awkwardly to access the triggers. The PS3 forces me to shift my hand positions more to access the various buttons..as an example, unless you have really small hands, you need to rotate your thumbs back on the PS3 controller to access the thumb joysticks for steering, etc...this puts your index and middle fingers in a less natural position to pull the triggers...your wrists are pushed toward the middle uncomfortably this way while the 360 provides a more natural open position for your wrists and allows your arms to me more open without having to bend your wrists as much.

I think the 360 has won awards as best controller from several sources so I don't think I'm being overly harsh on the PS3 controller...it really does feel less comfortable overall but especially with trigger functions. The PS3 controller may be built better for kids while the 360 is excellent for adults.

Anyway, just my opinion but I already have no desire to turn on the PS3 until a new demo is released that looks interesting. I'll only be pissed if FFXIII comes out on the 360. I'm counting this whole thing as a single game (FFXIII) that costs $560.00 with anything else that turns up good in the future being a bonus.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » July 14, 2007, 9:27 am

Gratz on the PS3. Too bad the initial experience wasn't better for you.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » July 14, 2007, 10:04 am

Wow, that sounds terrible. I'll give you two hundred for it...relieve your pain and sell the console to me.

miir · Post by **miir** » July 14, 2007, 10:47 am

the update was complete and wallah!...

What is wallah?

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » July 14, 2007, 11:17 am

miir wrote:
the update was complete and wallah!...
What is wallah?

You know, wallah! (sometimes followed by a flourish)

or maybe a fish?

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » July 14, 2007, 11:29 am

Kluden wrote:Wow, that sounds terrible. I'll give you two hundred for it...relieve your pain and sell the console to me.

Dude, you can't put a price on potential!

miir · Post by **miir** » July 14, 2007, 11:46 am

Boogahz wrote:
miir wrote:
the update was complete and wallah!...
What is wallah?
You know, wallah! (sometimes followed by a flourish)

or maybe a fish?

I honestly have no idea what 'wallah' is supposed to be.
Is it a real word or just some made up thing?

Google says:

A person who is associated with a particular work or who performs a specific duty or service -- usually used in combination <the book wallah was an itinerant peddler

A person employed in certain capacity or connected with a certain thing or activity; -worker; -carrier.

In American radio, film, and television, walla is a sound effect imitating the
murmur of a crowd in the background.

Chai Wallah is an authentic Indian spiced tea made with organic Fair Trade certified tea and certified organic spices.

Wallah. <zoology> A black variety of the jaguar. Synonym: tapir tiger. Alternative forms: walla.

I don't follow.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » July 14, 2007, 12:09 pm

I don't know the actual spelling of what he was trying to say. Basically it is like saying "ta da!" I keep thinking the actual word is french though. voila? Or maybe he was saying "By Allah!" in Arabic?

miir · Post by **miir** » July 14, 2007, 1:08 pm

I keep thinking the actual word is french though. voila?

Ahh ok.
I got it now.
Voila literally means: There it is!
It is a french word.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 14, 2007, 3:50 pm

Wallah!

I'm more concerned with the controller though as even if good games are released, I don't want to have to get all contortionist with my hands and cry myself to sleep in pain each night I use it. The triggers are like a little half sized afterthought. Your fingers and easily slide off the bottom of them while the s60's are longer and curve out, giving you a little more "grip". Probably the main thing I learned so far is that the 360's controller is by far the best...and that's not even taking into consideration the ridiculous cable linking and resyncing required by the PS3 for its wireless controller.

The PS3 is what it is...and what that is and right now is not worth buying, with a very uninspired interface that will put you to sleep.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 14, 2007, 4:30 pm

Heard At E3: "We Hate Working On The PS3"

It's hard to believe, but every so often the developers at E3 forget that they're talking to a room full of journalists and they say something that they probably shouldn't.

A developer was demonstrating her team's multiplatform game for myself and two other journalists, both of whom happened to have been from Xbox-specific outlets. She jokingly asked if it was ok that we were going to see the Wii version, and the two guys chucklingly assured her that yeah, that was fine.

Picking up the controls, she began sorting through the debug menu to get to the bit of the game that she actually wanted to show us, making idle chitchat as she did so.

"Of course this will be on the 360, too. We love the 360. Hoo, we love it." Pause as she waited for the demo to load. "We love the Wii, too, it's a lot of fun. Playstation, pfffffffft. Gah." One of the Xbox guys laughs at that and she goes on to say how hard it is to "get anything to run on that box."

At that point, the demo was ready to go, and she began to put the game through its paces for us. Another moment of unguarded E3 honesty.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » July 14, 2007, 7:15 pm

sourced by xbox magazine writers... lol.

miir · Post by **miir** » July 14, 2007, 7:41 pm

I found another quote.
It's almost as credible as yours!

Heard At E3: "We Hate Working On The XBOX 360"

It's hard to believe, but every so often the developers at E3 forget that they're talking to a room full of journalists and they say something that they probably shouldn't.

A developer was demonstrating his team's multiplatform game for myself and two other journalists, both of whom happened to have been from PS3-specific outlets. He jokingly asked if it was ok that we were going to see the Wii version, and the two guys chucklingly assured him that yeah, that was fine.

Picking up the controls, he began sorting through the debug menu to get to the bit of the game that he actually wanted to show us, making idle chitchat as he did so.

"Of course this will be on the PS3, too. We love the PS3. Hoo, we love it." Pause as he waited for the demo to load. "We love the Wii, too, it's a lot of fun. Xbox 360, pfffffffft. Gah." One of the PS3 guys laughs at that and he goes on to say how hard it is to "get anything to run on that box."

At that point, the demo was ready to go, and he began to put the game through its paces for us. Another moment of unguarded E3 honesty.

miir · Post by **miir** » July 14, 2007, 7:49 pm

I'm more concerned with the controller though

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
The PS3 controller is ergonomically identical to the PS and PS2 controller.
Considering that they went on to sell hundreds of millions of those consoles, I guess not too many people were concerned about the controllers.

The number of Playstation controller knock-offs I've seen leads me to believe that a lot of people actually LIKE it.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 14, 2007, 11:42 pm

miir wrote:
I'm more concerned with the controller though
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
The PS3 controller is ergonomically identical to the PS and PS2 controller.
Considering that they went on to sell hundreds of millions of those consoles, I guess not too many people were concerned about the controllers.

The number of Playstation controller knock-offs I've seen leads me to believe that a lot of people actually LIKE it.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.

Didn't have the triggers on the PS2 controller and that's what I'm having issues with. Not identical unless somehow my PS2 controllers are faulty and have bumper buttons where the PS3 controller has short, slippery triggers.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » July 15, 2007, 4:14 pm

Winnow wrote:
miir wrote:
I'm more concerned with the controller though
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
The PS3 controller is ergonomically identical to the PS and PS2 controller.
Considering that they went on to sell hundreds of millions of those consoles, I guess not too many people were concerned about the controllers.

The number of Playstation controller knock-offs I've seen leads me to believe that a lot of people actually LIKE it.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.

Didn't have the triggers on the PS2 controller and that's what I'm having issues with. Not identical unless somehow my PS2 controllers are faulty and have bumper buttons where the PS3 controller has short, slippery triggers.

The analog triggers are new and do take some getting used to, but they are the same size and position as the original PS2 controller R2 and L2 buttons. IF your fingers are slipping off, perhaps you should take the time to dry off the lube after stroking your epeen on the Xbox fanboi sites you cross link shit from, because no one else seems to have a problem with their fingers slipping off of the buttons. MY wife wants rumble, and thats the only complaint I have ever heard about it, though personally I don't care for rumble at all and it adds a ton of weight to the controller.

As far as your painful setup experience, you must be some kind of monumental retard, because we had both PS3's on the wireless network and running within 15 minutes of being out of the box. Having to hook the controller to marry it to the P3 is a blue tooth thing so that the controllers do not get confused with those on another P3 system. The bluetooth, incidentally, lets you hook up any headset peripherial you want, not just some $40 fisher price propriatory piece of shit that has cords. The longest part of setting it up is updating the OS. The 360 is slightly simpler to setup, thanks to a complete lack of wireless and completely propriatary controllers, but not by much. The lack of a descent cable is certainly regretable, but I don't mind paying $20 on amazon for an HDMI cable if it means having integrated wireless, instead.

As for the interface, thats just plain bias on your part, pure and simple. Everything in the P3 interface (which is virtually identical to the PSP one) is easy to locate and two controller clicks away. The Xbox dashboard is nothing but a fucking sellout billboard with shit buried in counter-intuative menus. IF you do not know where something is, it takes a long time to find it. In laymen's terms, the P3 interface is a no-nonsense workhorse interface, the 360 is AOL complete with popups. I guess if you could pay $5 to download some background JPEGs of Halo3 you might be happy or something?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 15, 2007, 5:00 pm

Jice Virago wrote: As for the interface, thats just plain bias on your part, pure and simple. Everything in the P3 interface (which is virtually identical to the PSP one) is easy to locate and two controller clicks away. The Xbox dashboard is nothing but a fucking sellout billboard with shit buried in counter-intuative menus. IF you do not know where something is, it takes a long time to find it. In laymen's terms, the P3 interface is a no-nonsense workhorse interface, the 360 is AOL complete with popups. I guess if you could pay $5 to download some background JPEGs of Halo3 you might be happy or something?

There's nothing hard about the setup, it's just not efficient and not everyone is going to have a keyboard lying around to use. Please quote where I mention having a difficult time setting up the PS3 or its network. I laughed a hew times about how boring and poorly designed it was, but I managed fine plugging in cords to the wireless controller, etc. Navigating the PS3's UI is not "two clicks" away from anything, and you've got to back yourself out of the Sonystore anytime you want to do anything as well...like going to find that movie or demo you just downloaded. It's painfully dull as well...as is everything about the PS3's interface. It's a shame Sony has zero creativity these days.

No contest between the PS3 and 360 controllers...you're out of your fucking mind if you like those retarded triggers over the 360's. The PS3 controller may have the same dimensions (besides the triggers) as the PS2 controller but that's not necessarily a good thing...things improve over time and the 360 controller is an example of that. If you want to claim that you're happier playing with a PS3 controller, that's fine.

PS3 leave no desire to want to boot it up and log onto it's network. Microsoft has a much better sense of handling the interface and online. You're two click bullshit it bogus. Using Sony's online "Store" to check out previews, demos, etc is poorly implemented and not thought through, which isn't surprising considering the rest of the clusterfuck that the PS3 is.

-fan noise high (major knock against the 360 I was hoping to avoid with the PS3) you get low fan noise for about 30 seconds after startup.

-UI vastly inferior (also colorless and boring)

-online is a joke compared to Xbox Live

-Controller inferior (subjective but those triggers blow ass and everyone that currently owns a PS3 doesn't have rumble) If you have medium to large hands then it's not even subjective, the 360 is much better without even getting into the contortion needed to operate thumbsticks while also using the mini no grip triggers.

I dont' see how someone that's used both the 360's triggers and the PS3's can think those little triggers, curved inward instead of outward to make it even worse, can give you and kind of accuracy and touch play. On the 360 you can put your fingertips on the end of the trigger because they curve out, allowing you to use small movement touch feel with the tips of your fingers. With the PS3, you must use the entire bottom part of your finger down to the first joint, and even then, you can't use touch feel as you need to make sure your finger doesn't slide off. This, on top of the much less comfortable placement of your hands on the controller which requires a shift in hand placement. Sucks. I mean, in the end, if you can forgive Sony for a shitty UI, shitty online store navigation, and shitty online game support, you at least want a good controller for the games you want to play. Lets hope it's not too much of a distraction for FFXIII which shouldn't need the triggers. It's like Sony wanted to impress someone by keeping the same form factor as the old PS2 controller and fucked the triggers in the process. Seems they dropped the ball big time on the controller with the late addition of half assed "Six Axis" and removal of rumble, while screwing up the addition of triggers.

The bottom line evaluation of mine is as accurate as I can get and keep it simple: The PS3 is very underwhelming in every facet and it remains to be seen if games 6-8 months from now can at least start to provide a reason to buy one. "Sony Home" better be fucking fantabulous to save this thing although initial reports are ho hum on it, saying they hope it's better when there's more people in it.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » July 17, 2007, 1:55 am

First of all, the PS2 style controller is the best handled controller ever. Period. Thats why every new Xbox controller is mutating closer and closer to that kind of design. The PS controller is lighter, more ergonomic, more responsive, and doesn't require some gigantic battery pack stting right where your fingers would like to rest. The only advantage the 360 controller has is auto shut off, which is something I really wish the PS3 had. The PS3 triggers are analog triggers which is why they feel weird to you. The first time you play Motorstorm, you will appreciate them.

Second of all, the 360 has more than a year lead on the P3, so of course its online content has a headstart. Of course, it is also more expensive, full of popup adds, and you have less space to save things. You are also completely fucked if your Xbox ever dies or you get a newer one, because you have to repurchase everything. The one and only thing Xbox live has over the PS3 (besides a access fee) is the epeen stroking of achievements, which I have enjoyed in GH2. Of course, if you want something on the Live network, you have to follow MS's draconian rules which include paying $6 for cosmetic addons to game, when the developers would rather not charge. Of course, MS does have a well established infastructure, so its good and bad.

Third, all things in the Sony UI are located in obvious places, a single click from the main menu tree. Xbox requires digging through menus (along with banner spam) to get to things, which differ drastically depending on what the content is. Only someone who has to wear a padded helmet in day to day life couldn't find downloaded content in two seconds on Sony's interface. And having to back out of the store to look at things you downloaded is just the same as on the 360, except that your things still download in the background while you are doing it (it took the 360 over a year to get that one right) and it takes a single button press to back out.

Finally, you are pretty much full of shit if you are claiming the PS3 makes any noise at all, especially compared to the 360. Its fucking super quiet, to the point that our cable DVR makes more noise than both our PS3s combined. I mean, I know you want to espouse the holy grail that is the 360, but try not to find fault where their quite blatantly is none.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » July 17, 2007, 10:13 am

Jice Virago wrote:Finally, you are pretty much full of shit if you are claiming the PS3 makes any noise at all, especially compared to the 360. Its fucking super quiet, to the point that our cable DVR makes more noise than both our PS3s combined. I mean, I know you want to espouse the holy grail that is the 360, but try not to find fault where their quite blatantly is none.

I've heard conflicting stories on the noise levels on the PS3. Apparently when you start it is is super quiet, however if it does get warm enough, the fans kick into high gear and the thing does get somewhat noisy. I know Winnow lives in Arizona and I'm not sure how much AC he has going however warmer ambient temperature will probably cause the additional cooling to turn on and crank up the noise level in the low decibel ranges.

As a side note, I was listening to the radio this morning and there was a news story about the PS3 pricecut being just a cover to a clearance sale and that Sony was phasing out the 60GB version. Mainstream media picking up shit like this == not good.

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » July 17, 2007, 10:43 am

Animalor wrote:
Jice Virago wrote:Finally, you are pretty much full of shit if you are claiming the PS3 makes any noise at all, especially compared to the 360. Its fucking super quiet, to the point that our cable DVR makes more noise than both our PS3s combined. I mean, I know you want to espouse the holy grail that is the 360, but try not to find fault where their quite blatantly is none.
I've heard conflicting stories on the noise levels on the PS3. Apparently when you start it is is super quiet, however if it does get warm enough, the fans kick into high gear and the thing does get somewhat noisy. I know Winnow lives in Arizona and I'm not sure how much AC he has going however warmer ambient temperature will probably cause the additional cooling to turn on and crank up the noise level in the low decibel ranges.

As a side note, I was listening to the radio this morning and there was a news story about the PS3 pricecut being just a cover to a clearance sale and that Sony was phasing out the 60GB version. Mainstream media picking up shit like this == not good.

I have also read that Sony will be discontinuing the 60GB PS3 when their stock runs out. However, I think we will be seeing the 80GB PS3 getting the $100 price cut before Christmas time. The unfortunate side effect of this, which has been mentioned here, is that the 80GB PS3 lacks the Emotion engine so all backwards compatibility will be handled via software. This could be good or bad -- depending on how often Sony releases compatibility updates.

As far as fan noise, my media center is by far louder than my PS3, and my media center was built to be as quiet as possible.

I love the PS3 controller. Holding an Xbox controller after being used to the PS2/3 controller makes the Xbox controller seem like an unwieldy brick with oddly placed buttons. You will come to appreciate the analog triggers on the PS3, they are very valuable in certain games where you need more control then a simple on/off. Battery life on the PS3 controllers is amazing as well, my only gripe is that the PS3's USB ports don't seem to charge the controller when it is in standby.

I enjoy Sony's simplistic user interface as opposed to Xbox's blade interface. Once you get used to it navigation is fairly straightforward and you can find what you are looking for very quickly. Before they implemented the background downloading it was a pain in the ass to have to sit and stare at the download screen and wait for the big files to download. My only gripe now is that only one file can be downloaded at once. You can queue the files to download, but it would be nice for them to all download at the same time, or at least 2-3. I agree that their on-screen phone style keyboard is pretty crappy, but I thought there was an option to change it to QWERTY style. Either way if I find myself typing a lot, I just plug my media center's wireless keyboard/mouse combo USB dongle into the PS3 and use it.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » July 17, 2007, 11:20 am

I actually had to plug a usb keyboard to my 360 last night for the first time as one of my brothers, who had never been on MSN before that I know of, was suddenly online and had sent me a message while I was playing Shadowrun.

As far as the UI, I've never played with the XMB interface before since I own neither a PS3 or a PSP but I do find that it looks really nice from the vids I've seen.

A lot of the gripes on the Blades interface that I've read here I find are unfounded. The thing is really simple to navigate once you explore them for about a half an hour or so. Finding something in the Marketplace can be somewhat convoluted however, I will agree with that.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 17, 2007, 1:11 pm

Jice Virago wrote:First of all, the PS2 style controller is the best handled controller ever. Period. Thats why every new Xbox controller is mutating closer and closer to that kind of design. The PS controller is lighter, more ergonomic, more responsive, and doesn't require some gigantic battery pack stting right where your fingers would like to rest. The only advantage the 360 controller has is auto shut off, which is something I really wish the PS3 had. The PS3 triggers are analog triggers which is why they feel weird to you. The first time you play Motorstorm, you will appreciate them.

You're living in the past man! The PS2 was the best handheld controller. The 360 is now and it takes all of the awards (which means nothing to me but might to you). You know, the Atari 2600's one button joystick was the best at one time as well. The PS2/3 controller has nothing on the bottom to get a grip while with the 360 you are able to wrap your fingers underneath for support. The PS2/3 controller never feels secure in my hands, making it even more awkward to use those micro triggers designed to frustrate. The buttons on the 360 even have better feedback than the cheap feeling buttons and pad on the ps2/3.

I'll concede that controllers are like anything else that is designed with ergonomics and is personal taste, but the PS3 controllers loses in every category to the 360 in my evaluation. The only reason Id pick the PS3 controller is if you like lighter (but also cheaper) feeling controllers. I prefer the more solid feeling controller with much better grip and design.

The 360 doesn't just have a headstart on the PS3 for online...the PS2/3 never has gotten off the ground while Xbox Live obliterated it right from the start back with the original Xbox. PS3 is complete crap for online funtionality and must have been thrown together by 100 different project groups as was the rest of the PS3, with no coordination between them. It's utter shit right now and you have to just cross your fingers that Sony Home will be better...but that will be a beta compared to the many years Xbox Live has been developed.

As for the noise, perhaps I have a defective unit. I only get about 30 seconds of this "silent" fan talk and then it's right to high speed no matter what the PS3 is doing. High Speed for the PS3 rates below the 360 for sure but it's more than annoying enough to cause issues if I wanted to watch a movie. I read one reviewer's comments where he was disappointed that the PS3 remained in high speed fan mode while playing Blu Ray movies, the situation when you'd want the PS3 the most quiet. If others here with PS3's aren't having their consoles kick into high after less than a minute, I may exchange mine. The last thing I want is a defective PS3 as I don't plan to take it apart and to my own thermal paste job like on the 360.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » July 17, 2007, 7:21 pm

I've heard the new PS3 with the 80GB drive that comes with Motorstorm will not have the [PS2] Emotion Engine chip in them and it will use software emulation. Is this true and is that a strange situation to charge $100 for 20 more gigs of storage and a great game, but it's crippled in this one way? Or are you going to get software emulation really churning on that thing?

JT: I think the software emulation on it is extremely good. It's the same software emulation they have in Europe, and the backward compatibility on it is quite favorable. I think you have to look at it in terms of what we're asking consumers to pay additionally for, what they're getting for it, and what they would ultimately choose to do with it. They're getting 20GB more in hard drive space, and we all know our competitors sell a 20GB hard drive for $100, and they're getting a $60 game included. They're essentially getting $160 worth of value for $100. If you say yeah, they're losing the emotion engine and that it's really important to people, the emotion engine is in the 60GB version and it's $499. So decide whether you need 60GB or 80GB, whether you need the emotion engine or the software emulation, and make your decision accordingly. For consumers to whom the emotion engine is of paramount importance, the 60GB version is available.

--Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » July 17, 2007, 11:01 pm

Aslanna wrote:
I've heard the new PS3 with the 80GB drive that comes with Motorstorm will not have the [PS2] Emotion Engine chip in them and it will use software emulation. Is this true and is that a strange situation to charge $100 for 20 more gigs of storage and a great game, but it's crippled in this one way? Or are you going to get software emulation really churning on that thing?

JT: I think the software emulation on it is extremely good. It's the same software emulation they have in Europe, and the backward compatibility on it is quite favorable. I think you have to look at it in terms of what we're asking consumers to pay additionally for, what they're getting for it, and what they would ultimately choose to do with it. They're getting 20GB more in hard drive space, and we all know our competitors sell a 20GB hard drive for $100, and they're getting a $60 game included. They're essentially getting $160 worth of value for $100. If you say yeah, they're losing the emotion engine and that it's really important to people, the emotion engine is in the 60GB version and it's $499. So decide whether you need 60GB or 80GB, whether you need the emotion engine or the software emulation, and make your decision accordingly. For consumers to whom the emotion engine is of paramount importance, the 60GB version is available.

--Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America

He seems to be ignoring the removal of the 60GB from production...or is that still just rumor?

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » July 17, 2007, 11:44 pm

I thought he meant if you wanted the 60GB version.. Better get it while it lasts. Could be wrong!

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » July 18, 2007, 2:02 am

The emotion engine version of the console is going out of production. This is why my wife and I bought a second PS3. Our experiences with the 360 have tought us not to trust software emulation.

As for the 360 controller being the best and getting awards, what is the source for this? Even the most determined 360 fan bois I know conceede that the PS controller is a better design, so where are you sourcing this claim from? The 360 controller is a VAST improvement over the Xbox1 units, but its still a heavy, battery eating monster, with a non-responsive D-Pad. Its not as gay as the Wii wand, but its still a ways from being as comfortable and precise as the PS style controller.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 18, 2007, 2:59 am

Jice Virago wrote:The emotion engine version of the console is going out of production. This is why my wife and I bought a second PS3. Our experiences with the 360 have tought us not to trust software emulation.

As for the 360 controller being the best and getting awards, what is the source for this? Even the most determined 360 fan bois I know conceede that the PS controller is a better design, so where are you sourcing this claim from? The 360 controller is a VAST improvement over the Xbox1 units

http://games.ign.com/articles/620/620084p1.html

When one thinks of Microsoft and videogames, the terms "elegant" and "understated" rarely come to mind. The original Xbox was a giant wad of plastic and the controller fit perfectly in the hands of the Incredible Hulk. But the tables have turned and the refined aesthetics of Xbox 360 are best exemplified through its controller. The creamy white device resembles the Controller S, but with a more ergonomic mold.

The controller contains all of the functionality that Xbox fans and gamers in general have been requesting for years. First off, the controller is wireless, with a lightweight battery pack that can be recharged at a docking station or plugged in while playing. Shoulder buttons have been added above the triggers and the central "360" button directly connects players to Xbox Live. A headset plugs directly into the base of the controller and, because the 360 is DVD ready out of the box, the wireless controller makes for a perfect remote. However, the best aspect of the controller can't be explained with words; not until players hold the incredibly light device will they appreciate how comfortably it rests in your hands.

cNet: 360 controller: best of all time:

http://crave.cnet.co.uk/gamesgear/0,390 ... 8-5,00.htm

Lame triggers: (feels more like you're pushing a spring loaded button in than pulling a trigger...no fine touch either gripping with fingertips or having a feel for room to play in the trigger motion)

Outstanding triggers: (can place fingertips on the curved out ends of the triggers if you wish, more, and smoother play in the triggers...feel like triggers)

Interestingly enough, here's an article about the PS3 controller sucking compared to the 360 controller ergonomically:

http://www.philoking.com/2007/04/11/son ... too-small/

Right off the bat when I started playing the Motorstorm demo, I could tell the triggers were awkward and poorly designed. Anyone that has both controllers should be able to easily tell this.

In the MotorStorm game, the two shoulder triggers are used for gas and brake. This is where I really start to have problems. Since the controller is so small, the two hand hold portions of the controller does not reach into my palms. This can be a big problem when you are really trying to slam on the gas and go, it pushes the controller back into your hand unless you really squeeze hard on it. when you squeeze on it pretty hard you can actually hear it creak. The seams of the plastic will actually make noise. I showed the PS3 and Xbox 360 controller in the above photo so I can show the size difference, it doesn’t look very obvious does it?

Now look at the controller in my hands. Notice how my fingers curl completely around the bottom of the controller. The Analog sticks seem to be a little low, and the controller itself is kind of shoved up in to the top of my hand leaving the bottoms of my hands holding nothing but air. This doesn’t sound like a huge problem until we revisit how hard I mentioned you have to squeeze the controller to keep the shoulder buttons from pushing it back into your hand.

I feel your pain!

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » July 18, 2007, 7:47 am

If the PS3 controller is the same size as the dual shock then I havta agree with Winnow in the 360 being more comfortable, at least for my size hands. While playing FFXII, my hands cramped up quite frequently and I was quite uncomfortable using the thing.

This hasn't happened to me using the 360 controller. Jice does have a point with the shitty d-pad. I use it to play Lumines Live and SF2 Turbo particularly and it sucks quite badly.

I love the triggers on the 360 controller but the shoulder buttons are a tad to high for confort. I was reading that apparently for the folks with bigger hands, having the chatpad on there makes the thing quite a bit more comfortable to hold as well.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 18, 2007, 12:50 pm

Unless a third party controller is released with better triggers and a better ergonomic design, I can pretty much rule out ever wanting to play any sort of racing game on the PS3. The problem is, even games like Marvel Ultimate Alliance use triggers to switch powers etc so those poorly designed PS3 triggers still come into play.

I saw a few third party PS3 controllers at Fry's but hey were sealed and only showed the top of the controller. Unless it was a spoof, I saw the guts of a PS3 controller placed into the shell of a 360 controller which would be nice.

The other nice thing about the 360 is with the way the bottom of the controller is designed, it's easy to hold with a single hand and even operate with a single hand (the half of the controller your hand is holding)...good for taking a drink, etc without putting down the controller or shifting it. They need a Man-Hands version of the PS3 controller and redesign the triggers at the same time they add rumble.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 27, 2007, 7:56 pm

My local Fry's is offering $499 for the 60GB PS3 +2 Free Movies instantly and +5 movies you pick off a list and send off for.

The list movies remain not so good but the two movies you receive at the time of purchase are Casino Royale and Hellboy. Those aren't too bad. My deal was getting the Blu Ray remote (instead of the two movies). I don't think I'll even send off for the five free movies.

So how is the Heavenly Sword demo? It's been released to the Sony Store. Worth downloading?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 3, 2007, 6:55 pm

Sony is screwing it up for all of us. Nice going tools!

PlayStation 3 complications caused GTA IV delay - analyst

Take-Two's green light process labelled a "failure"

Analyst Michael Pachter believes Rockstar has delayed the release of Grand Theft Auto IV because it is struggling with development on the PlayStation 3.

And the Xbox 360 version of the game has suffered at least a six month delay as a result, due to contractual obligations that will have prevented the publisher from releasing the game first on Microsoft's machine, says the analyst.

"We think it is likely that the Rockstar team had difficulty in building an exceptionally complicated game for the PS3, and failed to recognise how far away from completion the game truly was until recently," said Pachter.

"We think it is also likely that Take-Two had a contractual commitment to Sony that it would not favour competitor Microsoft by launching the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV prior to launching the PS3 version, and believe that any delay of the PS3 version necessitated a delay of the Xbox 360 version," he added.

This failure to recognise development problems could dent investor confidence in the publisher, even after it has taken steps to improve the green light process for software development.

"Take-Two management stumbled badly for the first time during their tenure," commented Pachter.

Sony's got a winner:

-End Users hate the price
-Developers have hard time making games for the PS3

There's no need to go any futher than those to reason as to why the PS3 blows but I could go on if you want!

Drinsic Darkwood · Post by **Drinsic Darkwood** » August 3, 2007, 7:50 pm

Xbox 360 complications caused GTA IV delay - analyst

Take-Two's green light process labelled a "failure"

Analyst Richard Biter believes Rockstar has delayed the release of Grand Theft Auto IV because it is struggling with development on the Xbox 360.

And the Playstation 3 version of the game has suffered at least a six month delay as a result, due to contractual obligations that will have prevented the publisher from releasing the game first on Sony's machine, says the analyst.

"We think it is likely that the Rockstar team had difficulty in building an exceptionally complicated game for the 360, and failed to recognise how far away from completion the game truly was until recently," said Pachter.

"We think it is also likely that Take-Two had a contractual commitment to Microsoft that it would not favour competitor Sony by launching the Playstation 3 version of GTA IV prior to launching the 360 version, and believe that any delay of the 360 version necessitated a delay of the Playstation 3 version," he added.

This failure to recognise development problems could dent investor confidence in the publisher, even after it has taken steps to improve the green light process for software development.

"Take-Two management stumbled badly for the first time during their tenure," commented Pachter.

Mine's as credible as yours.

Seriously, link the source? Who is this "analyst"?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 3, 2007, 8:04 pm

Here's some more to chew on:

http://www.dailytech.com/300+Outlines+H ... le8228.htm

"300" Outlines HD DVD, Blu-ray Disc Differences

Marcus Yam (Blog) - August 3, 2007 8:00 AM

HD DVD outshines Blu-ray Disc with a better version of "300"

This week’s home video movie releases will bring with it a disc that will clearly outline the differences in feature sets of HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc. “300,” released on Tuesday, hits the market on high-definition with unequal releases.

The rights to “300” belong to Warner Home Video – a studio that backs both HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc – but the studio has graced the HD DVD version with several exclusive features that currently can be found nowhere else.

Found only on the HD DVD version is the "Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture Version" of the film. As “300” was shot almost completely in a bluescreen-laden warehouse in Canada, the raw footage differs greatly from the movie’s final look. Viewers are able to directly compare the before and after shots through a picture-in-picture window that can be dynamically enabled or disabled. Running alongside the pre-processed footage is an exclusive commentary track by director Zack Snyder recorded specifically for the special feature.

The bluescreen supplement is not found on the Blu-ray Disc version of the film, but Warner Home Video’s decision to include it only the HD DVD version is unlikely due to any sort of format favoritism. Current mandatory Blu-ray Disc player specifications do not include the feature set to allow for picture-in-picture video.

The Blu-ray Disc Association has mandated that all players of the format released after October 31, 2007 must support BD Java, a programming language for Blu-ray Disc media used mainly to deliver picture-in-picture for in-movie commentary and special features.

The HD DVD equivalent of this enabling feature, called HDi, is already standard on all HD DVD players. Rather than being based on Java, however, HDi is built on Microsoft’s XML standards.

Another feature that points out the feature differences between the two high-definition player specifications is HD DVD’s requirement of being Internet-connectivity ready. Recent firmware updates for HD DVD players, which are obtainable via the web, have enabled “Web Content” features for specific movie titles.

“300” on HD DVD takes advantage of online content by allowing the viewer to browse and purchase movie-related items, such as ringtones and wallpapers, for use on mobile phones – another feature that is exclusive to the movie’s release on the format.

The CGI-filled film isn’t Warner Home Video’s first unequal release on high-definition. The studio released “Blood Diamond” first on Blu-ray Disc, and then weeks later released the HD DVD version with picture-in-picture commentary. The studio is also holding back certain titles from a Blu-ray Disc release – that are already available on HD DVD – at least until BD-Java becomes mandatory. Such titles include “Batman Begins,” “V for Vendetta” and the “Matrix Trilogy.”

Although it may appear that the current Blu-ray Disc version of “300” is completely inferior to the HD DVD version, it does feature one additional audio option. The Blu-ray Disc version of the film includes an additional uncompressed audio track that is encoded in Linear PCM 5.1. The extra audio track is likely exclusive to Blu-ray disc due to the format’s extra 20GB of storage space. The video encodes on both high-definition versions, presented in VC-1, are identical.

“The HD DVD of 300 is clearly the superior version, boasting some exclusive special features such as a picture-in-picture bluescreen version of the film, web-enabled extras and more,” said optical storage analyst Wesley Novack. “The only exclusive feature found on the Blu-ray Disc version of the release is the uncompressed PCM audio track, which is nearly identical to the TrueHD audio found on the HD DVD release.”

For Blu-ray Disc player owners who are missing the bluescreen picture-in-picture feature, there may be hope of a second release of “300” following the implementation of BD Java. According to Home Media Magazine, Deborah Snyder, executive producer and wife of director Zack Snyder of the film, at a Comic-Con International panel said that the picture-in-picture feature wasn’t yet ready for Blu-ray Disc, and added, “I think there’s going to be another Blu-ray special edition later on.”

Another report from the panel recorded Deborah Snyder as saying that a later edition of the movie will also include storyboards and production artwork in addition to the bluescreen footage. The Digital Bits recalled that the producer’s comments sent several Warner representatives in a state of nervousness and shock. Warner Home Video did not comment on whether or not there would be another release of “300” on Blu-ray Disc with additional features.

For owners of players of both high-definition formats, the choice between which to buy today may come down to more than just the special feature bullet-points. Interestingly enough, the Blu-ray Disc version of “300” retails for several dollars less than the HD DVD version, but it’s not because of its shorter feature list.

As Novack explained, “These exclusive extra features are not the catalyst that caused the slightly higher MSRP on the HD DVD compared to the Blu-ray version. In reality, the higher price is due to the combo disc format, which includes a standard DVD version on the flip-side of the disc. And with a rumor that Warner might be releasing another version of ‘300’ in the future, with interactive features included next time, the HD DVD version looks like the version to jump on at this point in time.”

rawr!

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » August 5, 2007, 10:39 am

I just upgraded to firmware 1.9. I'm not sure when this came out, but the best part of the update was that I didn't have to plug my controller in to do it!

Addition of wallpapers for the background is fun too. I saw that they enhanced the user input functionality but I haven't seen it yet. Is it any better Winnow?

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » August 5, 2007, 10:36 pm

Winnow wrote:For Blu-ray Disc player owners who are missing the bluescreen picture-in-picture feature, there may be hope of a second release of “300” following the implementation of BD Java. According to Home Media Magazine, Deborah Snyder, executive producer and wife of director Zack Snyder of the film, at a Comic-Con International panel said that the picture-in-picture feature wasn’t yet ready for Blu-ray Disc, and added, “I think there’s going to be another Blu-ray special edition later on.”

Another report from the panel recorded Deborah Snyder as saying that a later edition of the movie will also include storyboards and production artwork in addition to the bluescreen footage. The Digital Bits recalled that the producer’s comments sent several Warner representatives in a state of nervousness and shock. Warner Home Video did not comment on whether or not there would be another release of “300” on Blu-ray Disc with additional features.

Sheesh, the format is hardly out of the gate and they are already double-dipping. Poor consumers.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 6, 2007, 7:19 am

Waikiki wrote: Addition of wallpapers for the background is fun too. I saw that they enhanced the user input functionality but I haven't seen it yet. Is it any better Winnow?

I dunno. I've used my PS3 twice. The first day to make sure it worked and to set it up and the day my box of Frosted Flakes (or was it Lucky Charms?) accidentally hit the ON button of my projector remote so I had to make some use of a few minutes before I could power down my projector lamp without possible damage.

The best use I've found so far for the PS3 controller is as a paperweight to stop papers from blowing off my desk when I have the fan on. Works pretty well for that although the 360 controller has a little more weight to it and is also easier to pick up off the table so would work better as a paperweight IMO.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 13, 2007, 11:15 pm

More great news for the PS3. It sucks at AI!

http://www.gameplayer.com.au/Home/PREVI ... &v7Pager=3

Splinter Cell: Conviction

So, Conviction is confirmed for PC and Xbox 360. But what about the other consoles? Double Agent was a 360 exclusive for a whole week. On this issue, Danny could give us a firm answer. “It’s NEVER gonna come out on the PS3 or the Wii.” It’s a logical decision. Nintendo’s console simply doesn’t have the graphical horsepower, and he candidly told us how the PS3 can’t handle AI nearly as well as the 360.

X06: Assassin's Creed Update

http://pc.ign.com/articles/736/736396p1.html

10,000 plus.

That's how many character animations are loaded into Assassin's Creed, 700 of them alone contextual. To put things into perspective, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, developed by the same crack team at Ubisoft Montreal, features 500 character animations. And Prince remains to this day one of the finest animated games on the market. Get the picture?...

...While the PlayStation 3 and 360 versions of Assassin's Creed are virtually identical, Raymond did say that on the 360 the team is putting a special emphasis on achievements. The hardware also allows for improved threading, which will improve even further the crowd AI.

Man, what a piece of crap console. Bad controller, bad AI, physically looks retarded, can't even match the 360's graphics so far and has no game anywhere near Gears of War, online is a joke, initial setup is about at advanced as something you'd have seen back in 1989.

Should be interesting to see what Sony fanbois come up with next to defend this pile o shit. yeah, it's the 360 that's holding up GTA IV. lolz

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » August 14, 2007, 8:46 am

http://www.ps3vault.com/how-to-kill-a-ps3-console-1975

The PS3 however will survive adverse conditions much better than the 360 will.

They played that thing for 108 hours in a sauna at temps above 100 Farenheit and it still lived..

I think they should try these tests once the 65nm 360 hits the shelves but should avoid doing these on the current iterations..

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » August 15, 2007, 10:09 am

Winnow wrote:Everytime I see a game released for PS3 and 360, it seems the 360 version has something a little better...usually online play.

Speaking at this year’s Edinburgh Interactive Festival, VP of Epic Games Mark Rein indicated that Unreal Tournament III for the Xbox 360 might have to get cut down in order to cope with the limitations of the console's hardware. Answering a question from the crowd about whether disc size would be a problem with an Xbox 360 port, he stated that “We’ll compress some things. But you know, we may have fewer maps on the 360 version...Blu-Ray has definitely given us a lot of legroom. And what's really cool is if you think forward and think about what we've done in the past with UT. We had UT 2003 and then we had UT 2004, which was everything in UT 2003 plus a whole bunch of great mod stuff that we went out and purchased from mod makers.”

"If you think down the road, well maybe the next UT beyond this one, on Blu-Ray disc, we might fill the whole damn disc with all the cool stuff the mod makers make."

If the DVD format is already showing its age, it's bad news for Microsoft. Sony's decision to include Blu-Ray has had its detractors, but if multiplatform titles are going to be bigger and better on the PS3, then Sony’s going to be able to start justifying the cost of its more expensive hardware. This will doubly be the case if it's a big franchise like Unreal Tournament from Epic. It's especially worrying given that these are still fairly early days in this console cycle. If it's a problem over the next year, what's it going to be like four or five years down the line?

From a Xbox site none the less!

http://xboxer.tv/2007/08/eif_2007_xbox_ ... tourn.html

It's also good to see developers that are actually putting forth the effort to program for multiple consoles.

Wow, I didn't think some random post on NeoGAF would make its way around the internet.

Glad you guys are hyped for the game, and we are doing everything in our power to make it as awesome as possible on the PS3. We wouldn't commit to a platform if we couldn't do it right. Our motto is "Committed to Excellence", and we mean it.

As for the crack-head comment, I frequent the NeoGAF boards and it was more of a general laid back post - wasn't meant as some official means of communication or an announcement. I was just putting to rest some misinformation and blind hating.

Post made by DKo5(COD4 Dev)
http://www.ps3forums.com/showthread.php ... ost1828329

Same level of AA between 360/PS3, both @ 60fps.

Hate on the PS3 all you want guys, but we've done did it up right for the Sony lovers. Nothing has been 360 footage yet touted as PS3, you crack-heads! I'm not sure whats up with what you guys might have seen at E3, but we do have AA on the PS3.

As for the low res on those shots - I have no idea why these are so low. The full 720p versions have been available for a few days now.

Finally, the beta doesn't have a start date yet - just keep an eye on http://www.charlieoscardelta.com

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.ph ... stcount=69

Guys, I have been seeing lots of folks talking about how they are going to be getting the shaft on PS3. Once and for all, let me say, CoD4 on the PS3 is going to KICK BUTTOCKS!

We have had some of the most talented developers in the world working on the PS3 version since day one. Before they had anything to work with with CoD4, they were taking CoD2 and bringing it over to the PS3. This gave them a massive understanding of how the PS3 hardware works (and only took them a few months). As soon as CoD4 was ready to be under full development, that team began optimizing the game for the PS3. Which was in month 4 or 5 I believe.

We just blew Sony's socks off at E3. They wanted to know why all 3rd party games didn't have console parity like we do. They are EXTREMELY excited about CoD4 for the PS3.

Stay tuned for updates on special CoD4 luv on the PS3.

and yes, PS3 version has 60 FPS minimum.

http://charlieoscardelta.com/login.php? ... /index.php