JB0

I'm not actually AGAINST extra features, but they shouldn't come at the cost of game functionality or drive the price up past a certain point. The fundamental problem with building up game consoles is that once the price rises to where they're competing with PCs, they get stomped by the PCs. Consoles can't fight with PCs on an even footing. They're far lower-end, but they're far cheaper because of it. That price is what makes them a viable option. I've already got a PC that can do more than a PS3 or XBox 360. The fact that it can't do BluRay right now is a minor issue, given that a BR drive takes about 5 minutes to add. If they want to blur the lines, they should just make a PlayStation Vaio and be done with it. Put a keyboard on the system case like the old Commodore64 and company, ship with a Vaio-branded USB gamepad, and just call it a day. Competing with PCs isn't a winnable fight.

I don't keep score, honestly. If you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have even noticed. I find "fart" hilarious, though.

And Battlebots was just America\'s version of the british \"Robot Wars\" only less appealing. 402391[/snapback] Wasn\'t both just radio controlled lawnmowers with nailguns strapped on them? 402476[/snapback] Pretty much. 402558[/snapback] that\'s not fair... sometimes they had hammers. 402593[/snapback] Robot Wars actually banned ranged weapons, so hammers were a rather popular weapon. Except they didn\'t work worth crap. Most popular attack seemd to be a wedge-shaped front so they could run under the other guy and flip him. 402611[/snapback] Weak. What kind of an attack is that?? 402658[/snapback] A surprisingly effective one.

Look carefully especially in the shuttle mode. 402637[/snapback] DOH! They were right there in front of me, too... Ah well... Clearly I was thinking a tad TOO oldschool. Haven't seen the name in a while, and sort of forgot they look a LOT better now.

Ah, that... I'm in consumer-whore mode. Haruhi owns my attention for the moment, and I've never been very fond of my Komillia avatar due to the JPEG "dirt" in it. So Yuki takes the avatar for the time being. Among other things, I need to fire up a PCEngine emulator and get some Macross 2036 screenshots again. I used to have a pretty nice Komillia avatar from one of the cutscenes in there, but it got corrupted. I'm really not sure about Prime's gun. It looks nice, but it's also reminding me of the Wing Zero's twin rifle. And I just realized... I don't see any train parts on Astrotrain. I hope he IS a triple-changer and they just aren't showing it, but I'm a tad skeptical.

I do prefer a new Galvatron figure. BTW JBO is that you ? 402625[/snapback] I think I'm still me...

Won't be $600 forever. In fact, won't be $600 for too long. And this is rather moot but if you add up what's in a PS3 and tried to do the same with a 360, a 360 would be in the same range or higher scenario: $399 360 $100 WiFi (yeah you could get a 3rd party one but for the sake of price comparison) $199 HD DVD *estimate only..even if the add on is $100(which won't happen), we're at $600 to match* which steals a USB port and no HDMI*. Add up and you're still 40 GB short, HDMI-less, USB port less and missing some media slots (I'll be the first to admit these shoulda gone), and no motion sensing control(rip off or not, it's there now),SACD supportless, blah blah. I'm not saying $600 PS3 is a gift from the heavens (far from it actually)...but it isn't exactly gouging you for what you get either. Even if MS cuts $100 off the 360, it still matches the PS3's price when you figure in the add ons. Disclaimer: Everything I mentioned the PS3 has doesn't interest me much so much as BD support. 402616[/snapback] Here's my problem. I don't see the PS3 as a 60GB media center with SACD playback, BluRay movie playback, etc. I see it as a game machine. The 360's 20GB hard drive is more than adequate for a game machine. High-density optical media isn't needed for a game machine. HDMI isn't needed for a game machine, since there's no HDCP on video games so you can output high-def through component video or standard DVI(which the 360 supports). WiFi is the one feature I think the 360 really needs from the PS3 and Wii, mainly because it makes it a lot easier to hook up to a network. But it's a fully functional game machine without it.* FlashRAM slots would be nice, just because they increase your options for portable storage(the 360 memory card needs to die, as do all proprietary cards). At least it supports USB mass storage devices, though I'm not sure if it allows more than media through them. Hypothetically, it should be possible to add DVDAudio playback to the 360 with a simple OS update. SACD likely requires a new drive due to some of the copy-protection features. DVDA is supposed to be the better standard anyways, though. The specs I'm seeing say the 360 only has 48KHz, 16-bit audio. That will limit the output quality from a DVDA source, though you'll still get better than CD-DA. And since part of the advantage of HDAudio formats is just a matter of how they were mastered(since they target audiophiles, HDAudio tends to have better mastering than CD-DA), you'll get another quality boost there. *WiFi is kind of complicated. The 360 will ONLY work with MS' 100$ WiFi adapter. BUT you can buy a wireless bridge, that will convert the wired ethernet to 802.11, and the 360 never knows it's there. Bridges start at 30$, as far as I know. These also work on XBox, PS2, GameCube, and anything else with ethernet ports.

Motherfarting double standards!

And Battlebots was just America's version of the british "Robot Wars" only less appealing. 402391[/snapback] Wasn't both just radio controlled lawnmowers with nailguns strapped on them? 402476[/snapback] Pretty much. 402558[/snapback] that's not fair... sometimes they had hammers. 402593[/snapback] Robot Wars actually banned ranged weapons, so hammers were a rather popular weapon. Except they didn't work worth crap. Most popular attack seemd to be a wedge-shaped front so they could run under the other guy and flip him.

Actually a far more tasteful paint scheme than I anticipated. The transparent green panels and purple block under the "muzzle" are all I see that NEEDS changing. I'd've given him dark gray forearms(if it wasn't for the scope on the right hand, they'd be black) and black or dark gray transparent panels. Heck, make all the purple dark gray. Meggie's always worked very nicely as a monochrome toy. Maybe they'll do a Galvatron repaint further down the line. Now then... "The first wave of the DELUXE CLASS figures will include Bumblebee, Rodimus, Astrotrain, STARSCREAM and will be available in November at the approximate retail price of $9.99)". BUMBLEBEE! Annoyingly, he's the only one that isn't illustrated. I wonder how close to the bug they'll land without a VW license.

I DID see a PacMan movie like that once. But I can't find it now.

And Battlebots was just America's version of the british "Robot Wars" only less appealing. 402391[/snapback] Wasn't both just radio controlled lawnmowers with nailguns strapped on them? 402476[/snapback] Pretty much.

If a Masterpiece Megatron comes out you can battle-damage one and re-enact Prime's death! ... Or not.

Any PacMan movie that doesn't include his legendary catch phrase "Wockawockawocka" isn't worthy of the name.

*insert pile of racial slurs here* I don't really care. I rarely swear very much, and I can usually find a way to get the sentiment across intact. It's a mild nuisance, and that's only because I can't remember what words are filtered.

And Battlebots was just America's version of the british "Robot Wars" only less appealing.

SquareEnix isn't locked down to Sony either. And the fanboys have been known to pass games up too. It'll have to be a very appealing FF to move a 600$ console. I don't see that as likely. 2 possibilities I see are vintage translations and and, less likely, new translations(Hey, Nintendo! Rondo of Blood, please.)

I grant all movies some liberty. Otherwise I'd be running around bitching about how everything flickers at 24Hz. 398467[/snapback] You need a better TV that uses reverse 3:2 pulldown to eliminate "judder" 399446[/snapback] I'm talking the original theatrical release.

You, like Sony, are ignoring what pushed them to the front in the FIRST place. The PS1 was 300$. The Saturn was 400. This was a BIG deal, as 400 was the upper limit of what people were willing to pay at the time. It still is, as far as I can tell. The PS1 stayed profitable during the ensuing price wars down to 200, while Sega lost money on every Saturn they sold during the war(a redesign eventually made the Saturn profitable at 200, but it was too late to do a lot of good). The PS1 launched with a good software collection and a continuous flow of new titles, while the US Saturn launch was COMPLETELY messed up. The N64 was late to the party. Massively. By the time it got there, many of Nintendo's long-time developers had jumped ship for Sega and Sony. And when the Saturn folded, they moved to Sony because the PS had a larger user base and cheaper media(That, not size, was the deciding factor behind the move to CD. You can MAKE a huge ROM cart, it's just expensive. And ANY size ROM cart costs more to make than a CD/DVD). At the time, Sony was also the least abusive of the 3 companies. Developers were greeted with no exclusivity contracts, no minimum game requirements, and no painfully high licensing fees. In short, they took the #1 slot by being first to market(with a strong launch, too), cheaper than the competition, and very developer-friendly. The PS2 wasn't absurdly overpriced, but it had a bad launch and wasn't profitable for the first year or 2. It beat the Dreamcast due mainly to marketing, though Sega's reputation from the 32x and Saturn certainly didn't help. Marketing only gets you so far, though. They lost signifigant ground to the XBox, and would've lost more if it had launched close to the PS2. Sony's also become a much more abusive licensor since they became the primary market force, doing things like requiring developers make PSP games to get PS2 games licensed(you might have noticed the PSP has a lot of ports in the pipeline. That's why) and blocking releases on a whim(rumors that they deny licenses merely for being graphically unimpressive have been confirmed multiple times). Nintendo's done a lot this generation to shake the damage the N64 did to their image, and has some features on their next system that have people very interested. If they can sustain momenteum this time, they'll be a force to be reckoned with next generation. The "virtual console" gives them a very strong footing in the nostalgia market, as well. The systems emulated on the Wii all have a fair bit of appeal(PCEngine/TG16 was a big deal in Japan). The 360 has pulled out of it's launch slump. It's going to take a very strong PS3 launch AND a price cut for it to be immediatly competitive. A price cut which MS will likely match to stay ahead. Both MS and Nintendo are making active efforts to court developers while Sony is telling them to bend over and take it up the ass. Sony's making the same mistakes that Nintendo, Sega, and Atari made back when THEY were the big fish. And only one of those stories came close to a happy ending. The PS3 as it exists now is an almost unparalleled screwup. If the PS3 stays at currently announced pricing, the 360 and Wii WILL take a large portion of Sony's market share, regardless of launch library. And when Sony is not the overwhelmingly dominant force, developers WILL leave Sony for a friendlier company. They have no reason to stay if Sony doesn't have a LARGE lead on the competition. And when Sony loses sofware support they'll lose more marketshare, because game machines are ultimately sold on the strength of their library, not technical specifications, cool logos, or manufacturer names. Depending on how fast Sony reacts, they could lose #1 entirely.

I have 1 billion mame emulator games, but I didn't know there ever WAS a Macross arcade game! PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME WHERE I CAN FIND IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 401036[/snapback] Given MAME doesn't even support a fraction of a billion diffrent ROM image sets, and half of the sets they DO support are duplicates or unplayable, I find your statement to be a vast overstatement at best. 401088[/snapback] Okay okay. I have more like, 120 Mame games? Is that better? Count in my NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, N64, and various other emulators, and the total comes out to be around 1 billion, yeah. 401090[/snapback] Still skeptical. Hmm... I forgot to link a reet warez rawmz site last time. http://planetemu.net/ has it.

The game developers are NOT "all up on Sony's nutsack."They're making games for the system that gives them the widest audience, and thus the most sales. If Microsoft or Nintendo becomes #1, or even a close 2, they'll ditch Sony. ... Which is pretty darn likely if the 600$ price tag stays. Actually, Divx wasn't the same model because you had to pay for every viewing. And there were a lot of things that killed Divx. 1. Marketing wasn't sure if they were selling or renting, so the ads sent mixed messages("You own the movie! But you have to pay us to watch it because it's a rental! But you never have to return it because you own it!"). 2. Divx players cost a hundred bucks more than equivalent regular DVD players(at a time when the cheapest players were 200). 3. You could only get them at Circuit City. No one else wanted to carry them. They expected the low cost of disks to push their market share, but they didn't. Anyways, this is more like PC software licensing. You buy it and use it as much as you want. You just "don't own it."

I bet you the japanese fans DID.

Let's not forget that the Xbox 1 used an off-the-shelf Pentium III, and ran on Microsoft's on Direct X software. And what's the ratio of backwards compatible to not backwards compatible there? Bottom line, I wouldn't count on backwards compatibility as a selling point for the PS3. 401555[/snapback] The XBox 360 also has a much less signifigant power jump than the PS3. I was actually surprised they claimed compatibility at all after they changed processor families. Didn't really look like the power was there. ... Which is probably why they're special-casing individual games. I'd bet an ACCURATE XBox emu can't run on the 360, so they use a "close enough" emu and special-case games to remove glitches. I still think MS farted up badly by locking games they hadn't special-cased yet. They should've opened the thing wide up, and just pinned a warning saying something like "This game has not yet been tested and we cannot guarantee proper behavior until yaddayadda."

*sighs with relief* And here I thought I was just a warped and depraved pervert. ... Well, I probably still am, but at least I'm not alone.

I hope it is backwards compatible with all American and Japanese tittles. I hope Bandai releases a Macros game for the PS3, so we can finally play Macross without having spend extra cash. 401310[/snapback] Don't count on it. Whereas the PS2 had a PSX processor and the GBA had a GBC processor, last I heard, the PS3 is going to use emulation, like the 360. And apparently, SCEI thought that emulation was going to be easier to set up than it's turning out to be. 401351[/snapback] They've also promised backwards-compatibility with the PS1 and 2 at E3, though it certainly wouldn't be their first broken promise. Either way, PS1 emulation should be trivial. It uses a standard processor, so there's no shortage of documentation, and the entire system is weak enough that there's plenty of headroom. Especially if they wrap PS1 AV calls to PS3 AV hardware functions(which reduces compatibility, though the software could detect and special-case known issues). PS2 is, of course, far more powerful as well as featuring more proprietary components. But Sony has all the specs for them. And they may have imbedded an Emotion Engine somewhere, making it a PS2-style half-emulation. As I understand it, the PS2 ONLY has the PS1 CPU, and everything else is emulated as opposed to being genuinely compatible.