The Official PS3 thread!

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 15, 2007, 11:12 am

Not having room for a bunch of bloat because of the limitations of a DVD is not really a downside in my mind. Especially for FPS's, in any FPS I have played online there are about 3 maps that get played and you never see games for the rest. Plus I wouldn't mind multiple disks, like one for online and one for single player.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » August 15, 2007, 1:03 pm

If by bloat you mean textures, graphics, and game levels, I have to disagree. CGI tweener movies I agree.

Anyhow, for shooters it really doesn't matter much, unless you are going to attempt what the Unreal developers are suggesting. They are relatively simplistic compared to what a grand scale platformer (God of War type games), sandbox games (GTA), or serious RPG needs, in terms of space, especially if they have tons of CGI movies and voice overs. I expect games like Kingdom Hearts 3, FF14, and even maybe GTA4 to push the bounds of blue ray disk capacity, because square loves to do that kind of shit and GTA would bennefit from having lots of uncompressed textures on the disk.

If this really becomes a concern, I am sure that MS will move to HD-DVDs being standard issue in the 360. I think they learned fast how bad they handled the hard drive situation and would not be eager to repeat that error.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 15, 2007, 4:47 pm

At worst, Microsoft will have releases on both HD-DVD and multiple DVDs if necessary down the road.

PS3 may be able to store all sorts of texturtes on their large capacity Blu Ray discs but the console's ram limitations can't load them into memory.

Consider your PC. Would you rather have a PC with a 1TB hard drive with 512MB ram, or a PC with a 500GB HD and 1GB ram?

Who cares about all the fancy (hella hard to program for) cell processor if it doesn't have any ram to work with?

Not to mention an avalanche of great games for the 360 in the present tense and maybe 2 PS3 games of note due out tentatively in 6-8 months.

Another note on the two systems.

The PS3 console is built better than the 360. The 360 controller is built better than the PS3's. Now, unless you fondle your console, the piece of equipment you hold in your hands is the controller and the PS3 controller feels cheap and is definitely poorly designed with the horrendous triggers. It fucking "creaks" when you use it, it's so cheap. The 360 controller, on the other hand, is solid as a rock and easily gripped with one hand, oustanding triggers and layout for anyone with hands larger than a 12 year old.

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » August 17, 2007, 2:49 pm

"It's wrong to say it's harder to code on the PS3" - Le Tensorer

The team responsible for one of Ubisoft's most acclaimed videogames – Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter – has told GamesIndustry.biz that developing titles for the PlayStation 3 is no harder than working on Microsoft's Xbox 360.

Despite analyst reports and internet chatter, the BAFTA-award winning team says it's just a case of developers getting up to speed with the new hardware, as Sony's console is earlier in it's lifecycle than Microsoft's Xbox 360.

"It's wrong to say it's harder to code on the PlayStation 3, it's just something that needs to be learnt," said Yann Le Tensorer, co-founder of Ubisoft's Tiwak studio and co-creator of the Yeti engine powering GRAW and the upcoming Beowulf game.

"It's not harder to develop on the PS3 than it is on the 360, it's just a different console. Developers might says it's harder because it just takes time to understand the technology, we're still early in the lifecycle."

As more studios learn the intricacies of developing for the PS3, so the entire development community will benefit says Le Tensorer. "We need all developers to learn from the console, it was the same with the PlayStation 2. Our team are more than happy with the PlayStation 3."

Earlier this week a review in USA Today labelled Electronic Arts' PS3 version of Madden NFL 08 as "sluggish" compared to the Xbox 360 version.

And industry analyst Michael Pachter has gone on record saying that the delay of Grand Theft Auto IV from November until next year was due to Rockstar struggling to port the Xbox 360 version of the game – a problem that would be down to the developers themselves, not the hardware.

Adrian Lacey, international brand manager for Ubisoft, is confident that the success of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter is due to forward planning on the developers part, and has meant that the sequel due on PS3 next month will match the standard set by the franchise.

"Because we built the engine for this generation of hardware we've been very well placed – Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter hit that level of quality early in the cycle when the 360 first came out because we had our engine in mind for PS3, 360 and PC from the very beginning," he commented.

As the studio continues work on the game based on upcoming movie Beowulf, due for PS3 and Xbox 360, Lacey admits there's still plenty to learn about both home consoles.

"For us it's been a learning curve and technology changes very quickly. We're learning step-by-step to use the PS3 to its fullest capacity," he said.

"If you take the PS2 for example, when God of War come out people saw it was tremendous. But it wasn't until the end of the PS2 cycle that we've seen the machine being pushed to its fullest," added Lacey.

A full interview with the Adrian Lacey and Yann Le Tensorer, where they discuss Beowulf and the challenges of working with movie studios, will be published later this month.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=27782

It's nice to finally see dev's admitting that the only reason the PS3 is hard to program for is because of laziness.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 17, 2007, 5:04 pm

Waikiki wrote: "It's not harder to develop on the PS3 than it is on the 360, it's just a different console. Developers might says it's harder because it just takes time to understand the technology, we're still early in the lifecycle."

It's harder to program for. The SDK for the PS3 isn't as well done. If someone's going to take the "it's lazy programmers" route, then blame Sony for not providing a good SKD for the PS3.

You stil have the serious memory issues that these same Warhawk programmers birched about taking months to try and cram their game into the limited memory available on the PS3:

The id 5 Tech Engine

"God knows that right now we're suffering to get two versions of a game going with Enemy Territory. So you can imagine the big deal that we have the four different versions running at the same time. The standard way that games are done right now, you'd have a separate team, usually a different studio altogether, working on each version of the game. Millions of dollars are wasted just trying to get a simultaneous release. With this game and this engine, we have one set of data assets (textures and such). You're able to see right away if, for example, if the damn PS3 version isn't working [Carmack and other members of id continue to gripe about the wasted RAM overhead involved with a PS3 game]...

...Curiosity gets the better of me, as I wonder how different this is from, say, the texturing in Enemy Territory. The key, according to Carmack, is a paged virtual texture system. "The conventional way you do texture-swapping is say, 'OK, you've got 100 256 x 256 textures and we can keep maybe 20 of them in memory. So we'll try and figure out which ones we want to use and overwrite some of that.' Most games use that sort of system. But what if you want to use some enormous 2,000 by 2,000 resolution texture? If you need to knock down other texture details -- you need to compromise. Here, everything get chunked up into identical-sized pages. And the engine pieces it all together simultaneously.

You can have these 64MB textures, but it's bringing them into the game in these tiny blocks at a time. And it make sure that at moments when you don't need some texture details, it schedules everything that is most necessary for image quality. So, for example, you might not have all the details in the world, but the second you stop moving, the engine loads in more textures and detail. Now you really make something look like a matte painting -- and it requires a whole lot let work to create."

The PS3's extremely limited memory makes the game developers have to cut corners. Who cares how big their Blu Ray storage it. In game, the 350 can handle a lot more textures.

the Xbox 360 reserves approximately 32MB of it’s RAM for the System, including the kernel, device drivers, Xbox Guide, friends lists, voice/text messages, achievement lists, gamercards, Live Marketplace, 1-1 chat, virtual keyboard, and the music player. That leaves about 480MB of RAM for game developers use any way they want.

In contrast, the PlayStation 3 is estimated to use about 96MB for System overhead, plus an additional 9MB for friends list functionality. So right out of the gate, PlayStation 3 developers end up with 73MB less available RAM than an Xbox 360 title with the same basic features enabled. Plus, it’s reported that in-game e-commerce capability wastes another 60MB of RAM. On top of all this, Sony’s memory architecture says that 50% of all RAM is for graphics, and the other 50% is for application use, further limiting developer freedom.

These memory architecture decisions, along with the reduction in available memory could be part of why cross-platform titles are looking better on the Xbox 360 than on the PS3, especially for games that started on the 360 and were ported to the PS3.

Sony may have the fancy new cell processor but they sure didn't know how to go about designing a system around it.

It's like having the fastest runner and then not giving them any shoes for the race and making their shorts too tight.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 20, 2007, 5:47 pm

Don't be too quick to claim Blu Ray the victor!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/20/para ... vd-exclus/

Paramount, Dreamworks dropping Blu-ray in favor of HD DVD exclusivity

Posted Aug 20th 2007 1:17PM by Richard Lawler
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Affiliations in the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray format war have been pretty clearly defined for nearly two years now -- despite a hybrid player here and some international releases there, most of the players involved have not switched support since the early days. Well that's all about to change, as Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks Animation -- which started off HD DVD only before deciding to go both ways -- have officially announced plans to release movies exclusively on HD DVD, dropping Blu-ray support entirely. This means that hits like Transformers, Shrek the Third and Blades of Glory won't follow Mission: Impossible III as cross-format releases when they debut this holiday season. Paramount has released about 30 movies on Blu-ray so far, but those days have come to an end: apparently cheaper HD players trump a 2:1 sales advantage. We can't wait to see how the Blu-ray camp responds to this.

Now the HD-DVD camp just needs to convince Microsoft to include an HD-DVD player in the high end 360 model SKU.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » August 20, 2007, 6:02 pm

What needs to happen is Toshiba needs to get a low-priced standalone player out there. I guess their third-gen players arrive in October but they really should have been here by now. The lowest one was priced at $299 when Amazon had them up for a day or two which actually seems a bit high for the low end. America is cheap. Sony said so. The cheaper the unit is the more they'll sell which can only help the format.

In response to Paramount's decision to exclusively support HD DVD, Andy Parsons, Chairman, Blu-ray Disc Association US Promotions Committee had this to say: "The decision seems oddly timed given Blu-ray's tremendous momentum both with consumers and with retail. Blu-ray title sales continue to outpace HD-DVD sales by nearly a 2 to 1 margin, and major retailers have expressed a strong preference for Blu-ray. Moreover, the price delta between HD DVD and Blu-ray players has been greatly reduced in the past few months, a trend that is on its way to eliminating any perceived cost advantage the HD DVD format has claimed to have. Under these circumstances, we can only imagine what could have enticed them to walk away from a format that is clearly selling significantly more software than the ailing HD-DVD format."

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=414 for some funny comments such as:

Microsoft has no soul left and apparently Paramount just sold theirs. I will do my best to not support Paramount by ignoring their titles they pimped out to they dying HD-DVD format. And if and when Paramount does return to Blu-Ray, I will assuredly choose other studio's titles first. Paramount will always be a last choice for me.

Corporate greed knows no limits. I hope Paramount's back-room money grab has not killed the adoption of hi-def discs. Paramount, you are forever tarnished.

As for Microsoft, do you really wonder why so many people hate you? Firefox here I come.

How much money does it take to get someone to jump ONTO a sinking ship? Oh well, desperate times call for desperate acts. Paramount and Dreamworks will be back once their little bribe money runs out.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 21, 2007, 6:49 pm

This latest HD-DVD/Blu Ray move by Paramount/Dreamworks has caused all sorts of stuff:

-They were paid 150M to go with HD-DVD exclusively for 18 months

-Spielberg's movies are not included in the deal

-Michael Bay has said he won't direct Transformers II because of the move:

""I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!"

---

Great stuff! Sony has paid off various merchants to display Blu Ray more prominently than HD-DVD, etc.

Now Paramount/Dreamworks need to reneg on the deal, then Microsoft (or whoever needs to sue) so we can eventually have Microsoft owning one of the major studios while Sony owns one, causing even more loss of money, extending the war.

I blame Sony for all of this. They're responsible for UMD in PSPs so suck by default.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » August 21, 2007, 8:34 pm

That Michael Bay thing is the lamest thing I've seen in awhile. What a baby. Throw another tantrum why don't you.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 21, 2007, 8:53 pm

Unless the Michael Bay dude was doing the CGI work for Transformers, it doesn't matter who directs the second one. Nothing else about the movie was notable.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » August 22, 2007, 12:07 am

Michael Bay Flip Flop!

http://www.michaelbay.com/blog/files/Mi ... D-DVD.html

Michael Bay HD-DVD post
08/21/2007 07:51 PM
Last night at dinner I was having dinner with three Blu-Ray owners, they were pissed about no Transformers Blu-Ray and I drank the kool aid hook line and sinker. So at 1:30 in the morning I posted - nothing good ever comes out of early am posts mind you - I over reacted. I heard where Paramount is coming from and the future of HD and players that will be close to the $200 mark which is the magic number. I like what I heard.

As a director, I'm all about people seeing films in the best quality possible, and I saw and heard firsthand people upset about a corporate decision.

So today I saw 300 on HD-DVD, it rocks!

So I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!

Michael Bay

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » August 22, 2007, 12:59 am

Hilarious. If I were Paramount I'd give Transformers 2 to another director. It could only help.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 22, 2007, 4:31 am

Some positive news for the PS3:

http://www.innerbits.com/blog/2007/08/21/ps3-180-sdk/

PS3 1.80 SDK

The 1.80 SDK has been in developers’ hands for a few weeks, and we can now report on the latest progress of the Sony system utilities and their memory usage. On this front, the 1.80 release has been nothing but good news for developers (and indirectly, consumers). This release heralds both a slew of new features, and, as anticipated, improved memory consumption.

First, both the main memory and graphic memory footprints have been reduced, reaching a new low of 48MB and 24MB respectively. That’s a 12MB reduction since the 1.60 release. The extra memory is sure to be welcome by developers.

The memory reductions are not just restricted to the base system. The various Network Platform utilities have also been addressed in this release. The Friend List utility has gone from 24MB to 16MB (while the online startup utility remains at 8MB). Several Network Platform sub-utilities (providing varying subsets of the functionality in the Friend List utility) have also experienced memory reductions. The video chat utility also sees its base memory requirement drop to 20MB (that number rises back to 26MB when the maximum number of users is reached).

Feature-wise, Sony has responded to requests developers have made (which we previously reported here), adding three new system utilities. The first is a picture export utility, which allows developers to export any pictures (usually screen shots) to the player’s photo profile. For continued symmetry’s sake, readers should note that no such functionality currently exists on the Xbox 360. Consumers will enjoy sharing screen shots of their victorious moments with their friends. You can expect a slew of developers to support this utility as it comes in at a scant 3MB.

The second new utility is a music utility, which will allow developers to give consumers the choice of streaming their own music in game. This utility’s current weight – a hefty 12MB – is likely to be reduced in future releases. Readers should note that the Xbox 360 supports a similar feature (at no extra cost to developers).

Third, a new system allows developers to use a registered PSP system as an extra display. Similar to the PSP remote play utility, this one will require 8MB. It does, however, open up a slew of possible uses for developers. No comparable functionality is available on the Xbox 360 (for obvious reasons).

This release to developers was another very positive step forward for Sony (building on the success of the 1.60 release). Large amounts of memory have been made available to developers, and requested features have been delivered in a relatively short-time frame. We eagerly await the 2.0 release and what new features that may bring, and urge readers to check back with us in the next few days for some thoughts.

The good news out of all of that is freeing up some more system memory.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 24, 2007, 7:40 pm

too...fucking....funny

Now that we've gotten to play a build of Devil May Cry 4 for Xbox 360, we can safely say that it's just as amazing-looking as the PS3 version, if not a hair more polished.

New Slogan for the 360: "We take exclusive games away from the Playstation and make them look better"

but but but....no fucking buts. DMC4 looks better on 360 with less time in development....but but but...programmers just don't know how (shut up).but but but programers are lazy...bu butbbugrurgue0utwptyjptyjwyjwiiiiiii!1

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » August 24, 2007, 8:57 pm

Found the article!

http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/dev ... 902p1.html

From the same article...

But really, what you probably want to know is what's different between the two versions, and based on our fifteen minutes with each one (PS3 first to jog our memory, then 360 to see the difference), we think that the two versions are fairly similar visually. The PS3 version looks marginally less refined to us, but anyone looking to start a console-superiority argument wouldn't have much ammo here.

Gamespy actually had an issue with the XBox 360 controller for this game (fortunately it stems from being used to playing DMC games with the Dual Shock), which makes the whole thing a bit funnier considering Winnow's controller preference..

Argue however much you will; after five and a half years of hacking, slashing, and shooting demons, we and millions of gamers are very accustomed to the feel of the PlayStation controller, be it Dual Shock 2 or Sixaxis, for the DMC experience. Our gripe with the Xbox 360 demo is that the controls feel too directly ported over to Microsoft's controller, and it's not a good ergonomic fit. While the DMC games on PlayStation have used R1 to modify Dante's attacks, the Right Bumper doesn't feel natural to the gameplay experience, and certainly feels weird when you're targeting enemies to slay. Maybe it's just for the demo, and Capcom will allow for controller configurations that are better tuned to the Xbox 360's controller, but it felt really awkward to play during our demo. Aside from that, the face buttons feel perfectly fine, and the rest of the build, aside from the annoyance of the Right Bumper, is still very fun.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 24, 2007, 11:25 pm

Anyone preferring the PS3 controller over the 360 controller is on crack and probably malnourished with deformed hands.

This is a good comment:

Last generation, I was an Xbox gamer. For the last several years before the 360 came out, I and many other Xbox owners endured all manner of preening, self-congratulatory bullshit from the Sony fanboy crowd... endless proclamations of the PS2's superiority, despite its technical shortcomings, and endless proclamations of its popularity. Now the worm has turned. Sony showed up late to the game, with an overpriced, unwieldy monster of a console that's really just a scarcely-disguised attempt to shove a new disc format down your throat. Meanwhile, the Playstation brand has lost exclusive after exclusive after exclusive... the once-touted "Playstation only" names like GTA, Devil May Cry, and many others have all migrated to the 360, and made the 360 versions their focus. And all the Sony fanboys can do now is bitch, whine, and make bullshit excuses. Well, guess what, fuckos? You earned this. Go play your library of subpar C-grade titles. You shrieked on and on about how the Xbox was "only shooters," and that the PS2 had "way more games." Now your $600 console features a single game ranked over 90% on metacritic, and the only game anyone ever talks about is a lukewarm FPS.

Those of us who didn't spend the last several years sucking Sony's cock and excusing every one of their colossal fuckups and horrid business decisions (rootkits, Lik Sang, exploding batteries, and lies, lies, lies) are happily enjoying the consoles that are fucking burying the Playstation. And there's nothing sweeter to my ears than the bleating complaints and desperate excuses of a Sony fanboy trying to excuse the mighty Playstation for falling into third place.

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » August 25, 2007, 11:36 am

I just don't get it...when Sony or M$ start paying me...I'll give a fuck about their consoles "winning" or "losing"...besides, isn't the wii still "winning"?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 25, 2007, 4:22 pm

Kluden wrote:I just don't get it...when Sony or M$ start paying me...I'll give a fuck about their consoles "winning" or "losing"...besides, isn't the wii still "winning"?

Winning what?

China wins at having the most people in one country. Are they the best overall country?

Wii wins for best gimmick and marketing.

360 Wins for best graphics, game selection and online experience

PS3 wins for folding

Kluden · Post by **Kluden** » August 25, 2007, 5:42 pm

I'm not sure...its a gaming console, you buy it and games, its just all this cock jousting is all about taking a side and saying your side "wins" at whatever, right?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » August 31, 2007, 3:41 am

Lair currently has a 61 rating on Metacric:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platfor ... air?q=lair

Ouch!

You only get a game every couple months out of the PS3 and then it rates a 61? "A six axis suckfest" says IGN!

Shocking mistake number 3 is the framerate. Running in 1080p you’ll have several situations where the game chugs like no other. Massive amounts of enemies will make the game a slideshow and will ultimately lead to you breaking something.

Sounds like a winner!

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » August 31, 2007, 9:53 am

Thats unfortunate! However, I will probably still buy the game regardless of the reviews.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » September 1, 2007, 12:21 pm

Waikiki wrote:Thats unfortunate! However, I will probably still buy the game regardless of the reviews.

Why? Well it's your money to waste I guess.

Gamespot didn't particularly care for it either:

You shouldn't play Lair. Not unless you have some morbid interest in experiencing what is quite possibly one of the worst control schemes ever devised. It's a shame because as a cinematic experience, it's stunning to watch. As a game, it's a nightmare and an embarrassment. It sounds like a fantastic idea: You fly around on a dragon, spewing fire and clawing at other reptiles while generally wreaking havoc. Too bad you're forced to use Sixaxis controls that destroy the possibility of fun and replace it with the constant need to scream expletives at your television screen.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » September 1, 2007, 6:02 pm

Having framerate issues on consoles is inexcusable imo. The base concept of consoles is to have one set of hardware and avoid these things that PC's are prone to.

Ouch on the Lair metacritic thing.

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » September 1, 2007, 7:27 pm

Aslanna wrote:
Waikiki wrote:Thats unfortunate! However, I will probably still buy the game regardless of the reviews.
Why? Well it's your money to waste I guess.

I think the game looks interesting and I like the concept. This probably means that the game will be fun for me despite what the reviews out now have to say. Everyone has their own opinion of games, some that I have liked in the past have had horrible reviews, but that doesn't have any impact on my enjoyment of the game.

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » September 4, 2007, 9:38 am

Apparently FW 1.92 released today has greatly enhanced the sixaxis control in Lair.

for official documentation check next months copy of PC WORLD documentation.

personally i love this game and had both versions, the august 1st version sent to PC WORLD magazine and the august 29 retail version from gamestop running side by side. i played the retail and my buddy played the aug 1st and we compared both side by side. and the august 1st has all the problems that the reviewers point out. however the new retail version that has been changed to fit the current bluetooth control software and not the new bluetooth control software does not enhibit any of those problems exept for minor chugs in gameplay here and there. if you want official documentation wait for next months copy of PC WORLD magazine. My buddy is in the process of writing it now and he does include about early reviews using the 1st copy of lair with the new bluetooth software in mind. Also this tuesday the new bluetooth software will be released 1.92, my buddy just told me that. i hope this helps people understand why lair has as of right now, bad reviews.

1.92 will make the controls for lair more responsive since 1.92 makes any controls from the controller more secure and thus the controller is sending all button presses and tilt senses from the sixaxis tilt sensor faster to the ps3 system. so if you pay close attention, you will notice your dragon is responding faster than before.

Sorry for the horrible grammar of the original poster, but he still has more credibility than most of Winnow's sources! This post was followed up by confirmations that the controls in Lair were much more responsive after the FW update. Assuming this is true, delaying the release of Lair to Sept. 4th makes much more sense now!

Also, anyone else out there playing Warhawk? Definitely one of the more fun games I have played lately. Network issues cause some grief, but one benefit of the game running off the HDD is that it should be easily patched. Rumors of FW 1.92 fixing some of these issues are out there too, but I haven't been able to verify them yet!

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » September 4, 2007, 10:01 am

Waikiki wrote:Apparently FW 1.92 released today has greatly enhanced the sixaxis control in Lair.

1.92 will make the controls for lair more responsive since 1.92 makes any controls from the controller more secure and thus the controller is sending all button presses and tilt senses from the sixaxis tilt sensor faster to the ps3 system. so if you pay close attention, you will notice your dragon is responding faster than before.

Doesn't really sound 'greatly enhanced' if you have to pay close attention to notice anything.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 8, 2007, 3:10 am

Lairs looks horrible.

Check the video of game play included with this article:

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/07/sony-sends-out-lair-reviewers-guide-must-not-laugh/

Sony must be scrambling for anything to make the PS3 appear worth buying as even the rare released game blows.

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » September 8, 2007, 9:50 am

Winnow wrote:Lairs looks horrible.

Check the video of game play included with this article:

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/07/sony- ... not-laugh/

Sony must be scrambling for anything to make the PS3 appear worth buying as even the rare released game blows.

Did you actually watch anything other than the first 20 seconds of that clip? Once they get past the whole "shake the controller around and look like an idiot" part, the controls looked pretty good. There is really nothing else to take away from this video, the quality is too shitty to note anything graphics wise.

I haven't bought the game yet. However, seeing this video proves that the controls really aren't as bad as everyone claims that they are. Thanks for confirmation Winnow!

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » September 8, 2007, 12:04 pm

Waikiki wrote:I haven't bought the game yet. However, seeing this video proves that the controls really aren't as bad as everyone claims that they are. Thanks for confirmation Winnow!

Yeah, all those reviewers who play games for a living just didn't know what they were doing. But enjoy. It's not our $60 so we don't really care. It is humorous (to me) that they actually had to send out a 21 page guide to reviewers on how to play the game. If they would have just programmed it to also use 'regular' controls they could have avoided all the bad press.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 8, 2007, 8:40 pm

Waikiki wrote:
I haven't bought the game yet. However, seeing this video proves that the controls really aren't as bad as everyone claims that they are. Thanks for confirmation Winnow!

I watched the whole thing. The game didn't look like that much fun at all, even if the controls worked. They should at least give the option to not use the six access controls.

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » September 24, 2007, 12:48 pm

Read today's PA and corresponding comic if you want a really good scathing onslaught against the PS3 controller and its lack of rumble. Or just read it if you like imagining Sony execs sitting uncomfortably in their pants. Someone needed to draw this whole scenario out and the PA guys did so very hilariously.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 24, 2007, 1:01 pm

Leonaerd wrote:Read today's PA and corresponding comic if you want a really good scathing onslaught against the PS3 controller and its lack of rumble. Or just read it if you like imagining Sony execs sitting uncomfortably in their pants. Someone needed to draw this whole scenario out and the PA guys did so very hilariously.

He mentions the "sloppy" triggers as well.

Total afterthought crap implementation. They need to come clean and add workable triggers when they add the rumble, and drop the six axis stupidity.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » September 24, 2007, 1:42 pm

I personally don't like rumble controllers. Seems sorta dumb and I don't think it adds much to the game. But I can see how some people might like them. What I found funny was Sony's steadfast assertion that nobody cared about it when in fact the reasons it wasn't in the controller had nothing to do with that.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 24, 2007, 1:50 pm

Aslanna wrote:I personally don't like rumble controllers. Seems sorta dumb and I don't think it adds much to the game. But I can see how some people might like them. What I found funny was Sony's steadfast assertion that nobody cared about it when in fact the reasons it wasn't in the controller had nothing to do with that.

Bioshock made great use of it.

Rumble is big for racing games. I was listening to a podcast on the way to work today and they mentioned that the Grand Turismo developers were devastated when rumble was not included in the PS3 controller.

Rumble is also good for situations in a game where a warning or sense of danger is needed for something that's off screen (behind you, etc)

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » September 24, 2007, 2:38 pm

I couldn't imagine playing certin games without rumble. Resident Evil being a major one, with driving games as a close second. Having the sensation in your hands mimic what is happening on screen definately adds to the overall experiance IMO.

The force feedback joystick for PC added even more to that. You could actually tell which direction you were getting attacked from based on the jolts of the joystick. It took space sims to a whole other level.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » November 14, 2007, 6:22 pm

Someone that can view video (can't at work atm) watch this.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/27842.html

It's supposed to have the Top Ten PS3 exclusive games.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » November 14, 2007, 6:35 pm

I watched it, it was a very sarcastic video, btw

here is the list:

10- None
9- None
8- None
7- Ridge Racer 7
6- Super Man 2 (the movie) on Blue Ray, LOL!
5- Motorstorm
4- Heavenly Sword
3- Rachet & Clank
2- Resistance: Fall of Man
1- Warhawk

Humorous side note: I picked up Mario Galaxy at Gamestop last night, there were 5 people in front of me in line. 4 of the 5 were buying a Wii and Mario Galaxy, and two of those four were selling their PS3's to buy a Wii and Mario. Made me ROFL IRL.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » December 7, 2007, 8:36 pm

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/07/sony ... -christma/

Nice that Sony is finally upgrading PS3 Blu Ray (to firmware ver 1.1) players to work with more of the Blu Ray's advanced features (the ones the HD-DVD already has). God, Sony sucks.

Sony is having a hard enough time just keeping up with the patches needed to get their games running but I hope they actually do manage to get Divx support for the PS3 soon. With the multi card reader in the 60GB version I have (all have the card readers except for the new low budget PS3 that also lacks backwards compatibility) it might at least give me a reason to use the PS3 with its HDMI Out (which my current 360 lacks) to play divx/xvid movies on my home theater without having to go through my PC. Just give me at least one reason to use the damn thing...too bad it's noisy.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » December 8, 2007, 10:29 am

Rumor is Warner is going to announce exclusiveness at the next CES in January.

If it's Blu, this thing I think is pretty much over. If it's HD-DVD, there will be a studio stalemate.

http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/07/warn ... n-blu-ray/

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » March 31, 2008, 6:31 pm

Sony's Redesigned online store:

http://www.ps3fanboy.com/photos/playsta ... 7369/full/

I suppose it's better than what they had.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 3, 2008, 7:48 pm

http://www.ps3scene.com/

Sony: Home Beta to be public very soon
» Comment article

From n4g.com:

"We'll be opening up the Home Beta to the public very soon and hope to see you there"

Those are the words of Susan Panico, Senior D

Might have to drag out the Foreman Grill for that.

Sony pulling plug on SIXAXIS

From joystiq.com:

This shouldn't come as much of a ... shock, but Sony is discontinuing the Sixaxis in light of the DualShock 3's arrival, according to MTV. A Sony rep says that you can likely expect them to all be gone by summertime.

trading collector's item six axis controller for new dual shock three...straight up!

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » April 7, 2008, 3:17 am

Not a terrible suprise. The whole six axis thing was a stupid idea for the same reason the Wiimote is: Motion sensing is never as precise as standard controls and only lead to frustration. An otherwise really good game was totally ruined for me by the whole mandatory six axis bullshit (Lair) which made it unplayable. The only game I ever played where it actually seemed natural was Flow.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » April 7, 2008, 6:45 am

Oh but the Sixaxis technology lives on though. All DS3 controllers will have the motion controls built in as well as rumble..

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 2, 2008, 2:03 pm

Sony is rocking the house online!

Rockstar is working "around the clock" to fix freezing issues with GTA 4, Take-Two customer support has told VideoGamer.com.

We were told: "A patch is being worked on around the clock to address the issues. It's bound to be. That's how they address this sort of thing. It is being worked on. We're looking into it. You will hear from us if a patch is released. A patch is usually the way it's been done."

We were also given some tips on how to combat the freezing experienced on the PS3 version of the game, including:
* Completely remove the game from the system but leave saves behind.
* Turn the console off for 15 minutes without any cables plugged in, then turn it on and try again.
* Play without access to the Internet.
* Turn off the auto save function and the controller vibration setting.

This sounds like a fun one as well:

Turn the console off for 15 minutes without any cables plugged in, then turn it on and try again.

miir · Post by **miir** » May 2, 2008, 7:54 pm

Nice QA, Rockstar.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » May 2, 2008, 8:07 pm

Turn the console off for 15 minutes without any cables plugged in, then turn it on and try again.

So the game eventually obliterates the signal handshake to the TV and audio? Nice.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » May 5, 2008, 6:41 pm

There have been lockups on both systems with this game, but the Sony specific issue is its attempt to contact the GTA servers near constantly. Until they patch around this, turn off internet on your system and you are likely good to go. There are other lockup situations with GTA4 that common to both platforms, however, which would suggest Rockstar needed better Q&A on this game.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » May 5, 2008, 6:43 pm

Jice Virago wrote:There have been lockups on both systems with this game, but the Sony specific issue is its attempt to contact the GTA servers near constantly. Until they patch around this, turn off internet on your system and you are likely good to go. There are other lockup situations with GTA4 that common to both platforms, however, which would suggest Rockstar needed better Q&A on this game.

That would be the first time I have heard anything about the 360 version having issues. Do you know what issues, specifically? I had a red ring issue and was going to send it in, but maybe GTA causes heating issues? I should try another game in the system I guess tonight, see if I still have the issue.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » May 5, 2008, 7:13 pm

The lockup issues on the 360 are mostly related to people needing to clear their system memory cache.

Drolgin Steingrinder · Post by **Drolgin Steingrinder** » May 12, 2008, 9:30 am

Winnow wrote: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.

Is there a good 3rd party controller out there now? I'm borrowing a PS3 for a few weeks and it only comes with 1 controller, so I need to get a second one no matter what, figured I might as well get a decent one. i've seen a few different Sony models and two different Logitech ones, anything else out there that's worth a look?