Microsoft calls on consumers to buy.... a Nintendo Wii???

[phongn]

Sony had better hope Blu-Ray is a big success, because it looks like they'll need Blu-Ray to sell the PS3's high price, rather than using the PS3 to sell Blu-Ray.

IIRC, a large part of PS2's success was that at $300, it was a very reasonably priced DVD player at the time (especially in Japan). With the coming format war and the marginal increase in quality (at least compared to the VHS->DVD jump), there's no guaruntee that BD-ROM will take off.

[Hamel]

Hopefully this raises the chance of seeing Master Chief in Smash Bros

[Vympel]

Do the Japanese even know what Halo is?

[Darth Wong]

Do the Japanese even know what Halo is?

The Japanese seem to have a very different approach to recreation than Americans do. I remember seeing a Lego competition a while ago where there were both Japanese and American schoolkids' entries. I couldn't help but notice that the Japanese entries included things like a lego apple with a lego worm in it, lego trees, etc. while the American entries were heavy on things like lego tanks, lego guns, etc.

[Vympel]

The Japanese seem to have a very different approach to recreation than Americans do. I remember seeing a Lego competition a while ago where there were both Japanese and American schoolkids' entries. I couldn't help but notice that the Japanese entries included things like a lego apple with a lego worm in it, lego trees, etc. while the American entries were heavy on things like lego tanks, lego guns, etc.

No Lego tentacle demons?

[Davis 51]

Hopefully this raises the chance of seeing Master Chief in Smash Bros

I could settle for Solid Snake though!

[Nephtys]

Do the Japanese even know what Halo is?

The Japanese seem to have a very different approach to recreation than Americans do. I remember seeing a Lego competition a while ago where there were both Japanese and American schoolkids' entries. I couldn't help but notice that the Japanese entries included things like a lego apple with a lego worm in it, lego trees, etc. while the American entries were heavy on things like lego tanks, lego guns, etc.

Last I checked, the Japanese weren't so big on FPS.

They REALLY like Third Person anything it seems, as long as it isn't mindless shooting (but mindless swordplay does work. Look at Dynasty Warriors 200 or whatever they're really on.) Just like how Koreans seem to really buy up RPGs and RTS in high quantity.

That's probably a good reason MS isn't doing well in Japan. American consoles (read: X-BOX) have been profoundly good at two things: Third person action, and first person shooter. There's plenty of the first available on other consoles, and the last apparently is primarilly a western taste.

[Ryoga]

They REALLY like Third Person anything it seems, as long as it isn't mindless shooting (but mindless swordplay does work. Look at Dynasty Warriors 200 or whatever they're really on.) Just like how Koreans seem to really buy up RPGs and RTS in high quantity.

That's probably a good reason MS isn't doing well in Japan. American consoles (read: X-BOX) have been profoundly good at two things: Third person action, and first person shooter. There's plenty of the first available on other consoles, and the last apparently is primarilly a western taste.

That would be why Dirge of Cerberus didn't do so hot in Japan. Of course, tt didn't help that it apparently had three difficulty settings (from an American standpoint): You're a Pussy, Easy, and Normal.

[Vendetta]

Blue-Ray's 50GB capacity allows game designers to do two things: make huge and wonderful enviornments, or to write sloppy code. I hope they make enviornments that will make RPG gamers fall in love, but I don't know if it's going to happen.

Whilst it's true that Blu-Ray gives developers far more room to pad with new content, you have to realise that all that content has to be created by people who have to be paid, and it takes time.

I think DVD is looking like a real practical limit on the size of most games, because creating any more content than fits on a DVD just takes too long and costs too much to be even vaguely profitable.

[Stark]

I wonder how long it'll take this generation to play out. I mean, 360 is out early, looks fine, and has excellent online support. Rev is absurdly cheap, has free legacy shit and great potential in it's controller. PS3 is expensive, has the best hardware, and all the best franchises and developers. At least we'll find out how much money the average console gamer has to burn.

But since there's nothing even planned for 360 that interests me, I'm never going to buy one. The Rev appears cheap enough to buy one regardless (same reason I bought a GC), and the PS3 is too much money for me to risk on a console before it's established. What sort of chance does a console with poor launch performance have? Perhaps PS3 will outlast the 360? Or have Sony finally gone mad on their own marketing?

[Count Dooku]

I think DVD is looking like a real practical limit on the size of most games, because creating any more content than fits on a DVD just takes too long and costs too much to be even vaguely profitable.

Maybe. A new way of designing game enviornments will be needed not only for this gen, but for the ones that are to follow.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

I think DVD is looking like a real practical limit on the size of most games, because creating any more content than fits on a DVD just takes too long and costs too much to be even vaguely profitable.

Maybe. A new way of designing game enviornments will be needed not only for this gen, but for the ones that are to follow.

No, that's not it. It's simply a matter of size, time, and cost.

Seriously, we simply are not going to see 50 GB games anytime soon, not unless you want the average dev time to be five years minumum and are willing to pay $100 per copy.

I agree with Vendetta that we are probably seriously seeing the general limit with DVD-based software.

[Ace Pace]

Maybe. A new way of designing game enviornments will be needed not only for this gen, but for the ones that are to follow.

Procedural generation, but that has limits.

[Stark]

I don't know: properly implemented, high-level procedural generation would allow you to create a 'basic' map and have extra detail (geometry and textures) added automatically. Things like landscapes are easiest (like in Oblivion), but eventually it should be doable for entire cities. How long it takes to crunch the numbers is less important than how long a mapper spends on it.

[Pu-239]

Divide and conquer...

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Divide and conquer...

Except that it could also hideously backfire on Microsoft's part.

[Stark]

That's true - the more people out there having fun with a cheapass Nintendo, the slower their 360 sales will get with the casual crowd.