Category: Console Wars (Page 4 of 5)

A Spirited Defense of Graphics Over Gameplay

June 15, 2005 / Damion Schubert

I always have a fondness for writers who tell it like it is. You know, the guys who defend levels in RPGs and think that hit points work just fine. Even if you disagree with those stances, I think too many people dismiss the status quo without really understanding how we got there.

This morning, Andrew Phelps challenges the notion that gameplay always trumps graphics.

In the not-to-distant future each of us will be asked to plunk down a not insignificant amount of money for a new console, either an X-Box 360 or a PS3 or a Revolution. Well, the first thing I’m going to do is play a game on my new toy, and it had damn well better look better than the last console.
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That’s a really important point so I will say it again a bit differently: the consumer is deciding whether or not a title is worthy of personal investment based on its appearance. Yeah, I know, shallow. So transparent. But I can guarantee that no one will know about your super-smart awesome character AI and intricate plot details (and believe me, I love super-smart toons and plot details – its why I read science fiction in the first place) if there isn’t a pretty face to suck people in. It has got to look worthy of investment.

Nintendo: Gameplay Rules

June 6, 2005 / Damion Schubert

In the wake of a disappointing E3 where Nintendo kept relatively mum about what they were working on, they’ve begun to speak louder on multiple fronts. And the general gist of what they’re saying is: It’s all about the gameplay, man. Of note: Continue reading

Nintendo: We’re Not Dead Yet

June 1, 2005 / Damion Schubert

Buzzcut has an interesting article which argues that Nintendo isn’t as hopeless in the console wars as the conventional wisdom states.

In this light, it’s odd how few game commentators seem to understand just how profitable Nintendo really is. With a net margin of over 20%, Nintendo is a financial rock star. Just by way of comparison, General Electric, that monster global conglomerate whose executives write the books about corporate leadership that other Fortune 500 execs read, clocks in with a net margin of 11% Nintendo’s business engine is so efficient that even though they sell far less than Sony, they make, bottom line, about as much as all of Sony, Yes, that’s right. Little Nintendo generates about as much cash as giant Sony—electronics, movies, the works.

Of course, the notion that Nintendo as a studio will simply keep on trucking with the status quo is somewhat challenged by the utter strangeness of the rumored plans for their next-gen controller. Go figure.

I’m Guessing He Was Hungry When They Interviewed Him

May 25, 2005 / Damion Schubert

Found on Kotaku, Hideo Kojima, designer of the Metal Gear Solid series, tells us the difference behind the three next-gen platforms.

PS3 would be like a dinner that you only have once a year or twice a year on your anniversary etc. Xbox 360 will still be a special dinner so you might go there two or three times a month on the weekend or something. Revolution is the kind of great dinner that you have everyday at your home. What I want to emphasize is that all three are dinners meaning that they have a salad, they have a soup and maybe have a dessert but they are a little differently, maybe other dinners have two salads or two appetizers or maybe extra coffee on top of that. The point is that they are all individualistic dinners. So if they are all dinners, like a steak dinner, the choice is up to the users and the game designers at the same time.

If the game creators and the users want to have a great steak for their anniversary, they go maybe to PS3. But if they want great dinner, great steak with their family, a little bit more casual during the weekends, they might select Xbox 360. Or why not have a great steak at your house everyday, they might choose Revolution. So my impression of the battle between the consoles is, it’s not about what kind of dinner it is. It’s more about how much the dinner will be. Will it be worth the cost of being served? Or where can I have this dinner – number of restaurants, is it near my house or do I have to take a cab or train or bus? I think the battle amongst the next-gen platforms lies in that area.

Well, that certainly clears things up.

The Next Generation of Consoles Misses the Point

May 25, 2005 / Damion Schubert

Continuing our theme of Rant Wednesday, Stuart Roch is ranting about the PS3 insisting it’s not a gaming machine.

Why, why, why?! Why must Sony persist in their efforts to make a PlayStation console to replace DVD players and stereos in people’s living rooms? Is it just not cool enough anymore to make great game machines? I swear I wish they would just get over this preoccupation with the uber home entertainment system and be satisfied with the fact that they make great gaming consoles. I promise you that I’m not going to buy a PS3 and trade in my PC and high-def DVD player in favor of this supposed all-in-one solution.

Another MMO-Oriented Look at the XBox 360

May 21, 2005 / Damion Schubert

Peter Freese (head of the Core Technology group over at NCSoft, and former coworker of my own) gave his thoughts about the Xbox 360 on the blog with the really long name He takes it on from a completely different angle than my own analysis, focusing on XBox Live and Microsoft’s desire to control the servers. It’s worth a read. Continue reading

The Phantom Fails to Make an Appearance – All Phantomlike

May 21, 2005 / Damion Schubert

I couldn’t make it to E3 this year. Apparently I’m not the only one.

LOS ANGELES (CNN/Money) – Last year’s E3 was the Phantom’s coming out party.

Infinium Labs, the company behind the on-demand video game service, spent millions of dollars for an elaborate booth meant to quiet growing speculation at the time that the service — and the system that powered it — were non-existent.
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In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Infinium Labs said there’s a good chance it won’t raise enough money to launch its key product in time, putting its existence at risk.

“The company believes, based on past performance, that there is a high likelihood that sufficient capital will not be available … and many or all of these milestones will be missed and the launch date will again shift and/or the company will go out of business,” it said in the April 20 filing with the SEC.
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But while it hopes to offer at least 10,000 of the Phantom machines by year-end, Infinium acknowledged in the filing that “no firm launch date has been set” for the system. Previously announced launch dates have been missed.

Multi-Billion Dollar Game Of Chicken Update

May 17, 2005 / Damion Schubert

It’s worth noting that the PS3 announced their specs last night. Reading through them, it’s almost as if Sony waited for XBox to release their specs, and then increased all the numbers by one. The big question for MMO devs: will it have a hard drive? The answer: Maybe. Continue reading

XBox 360

May 16, 2005 / Damion Schubert

I won’t be going to E3 this year. Judging from the blogs out there and the tomb-like silence at my own studio, it feels like I’m in a rather exclusive club. All the same, last year’s E3 felt functionally identical to the one before it, so I thought taking a year off would help me appreciate it more next year.

The one thing that I’m sorry I’ll miss is getting a chance to see the XBox 360 in person. I haven’t commented on the XBox 360 yet for the simple reason of not having anything other than rumors with the substance of vapor. Microsoft finally decided to help by putting up a website where you can rotate a model of a XBox 360 controller. Thanks, Microsoft! That clears things up! Continue reading

Console vs. PC

December 3, 2004 / Damion Schubert

For those of you wondering why all your favorite developers are abandoning PC for console development:

Press announcement #1 (1 Dec 04)

IRVINE, Calif. – December 1, 2004 – Blizzard Entertainment® today confirmed that World of Warcraft® has broken day-one sales records in North America, making it the most successful PC game launch ever. World of Warcraft, the company’s subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), sold through to over 240,000 customers at retailers in North America on Tuesday, November 23, selling more in its first 24 hours than any other PC game in history.

Press announcement #2 (10 Nov 04):

Microsoft beat even its own heady expectations for the hotly anticipated Xbox game “Halo 2,” selling more than $125 million of the product its first day in stores. The software giant on Wednesday reported sales of 2.38 million units for the game in the 24 hours since it went on sale in the United States and Canada at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.

Press announcement #2.5 (3 Dec 04):

Microsoft has released a swathe of new figures related to Bungie’s Xbox opus, Halo 2, revealing that the title has now sold over five million units worldwide and become the most popular game in the history of Xbox Live.

Original comments thread is here.