Over the next 18 months the 3 giants of the Games Console world will be battling it out in stores and homes across Europe, America and Asia for the title of the world greatest Games Console. The stakes are high in this multi billion dollar business, not just for the console sales but for the games sales that go along side it. Since the launch announcements of all 3 consoles in May at the E3 conference in LA. The 3 combatants have been vying for the millions of column inches that have been written about the Next Generation Consoles. Each Press release has been hotly followed by another press release from a rival company so much so that extracting the facts from all the hype has been nearly impossible. At the launch press conferences Microsoft boasted that the Xbox 360 could do 9-billion-dot-product-operations per second. Sony then came out and said that the PS3 could do 51-billion-dot-product-operations per second however Sony had combined the CPU and GPU performance numbers whilst Microsoft only reported its CPU performance number. When the consumer is up against this sort of publicity blizzard it is best not to believe a thing until you can check the facts for yourself.
So what do we know?
Well for the Xbox 360 and the Sony Playstation 3 we have lots of lists of hardware and specifications which actually don't mean very much in isolation. The main thing that need concern us are the processor speeds and they are both stated as being 3.2 GHz The only time that the hardware will mean anything is when we get to run them side by side and then if experience is anything to go by the difference in real life performance won't be noticeable and will just be used by the press departments to battle it out.
Despite all the press releases and information that has been spewing out of the headquarters of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo we actually know very few facts. We know that in all likelihood the Xbox 360 will be on the shelves in time for Christmas, Amazon are currently taking pre-delivery orders and are quoting a release date of November 28th. The prices have been set at $299 for the Core System and $399 for the Xbox 360, the difference being that the Core system doesn't have the external hard drive required to save games and download new content or the headset required to play online on Xbox Live! Why 2 prices? and why a version that hasn't got everything included? This looks very much like a product of the marketing department trying to get a product at the historically important sub $300 level more than anything and this may backfire on them in the long run.
Next to hit the Shelves will be Sony's Playstation 3 supposedly in spring next year once again we have very few facts to go on, Sony are continually releasing press releases and mentioning in public that the price will be high and the figure of $500 has been mentioned but many industry experts suspect that this is a ploy so that when they release it at $300 or $350 it will look like a bargain. The final console to hit the shelves will be the Nintendo Revolution some time late in 2006 and 2007. Since the "launch" at E3 this year very little has been said about it by Nintendo. It seems at this time the "Launch" was just a way to deflect some of the publicity away from Microsoft and Sony. One fact is certain, If Microsoft do get the Xbox 360 onto the shelves before Christmas it will be this year's biggest selling Christmas gift. So until you get your hands on one of the consoles?.Question everything!
Mark Thompson ran an IT consultancy in London for many years. He now live in Spain and runs an number of websites including NextGen Consoles and World of the Weird
Flying an MAV Through Rotating Fan Blades ? It maybe... Read More
I've recently been thinking about where video games could be... Read More
I've always liked to play SimCity since I was little.... Read More
There is a common misconception that you have to take... Read More
Fans of Genndy Tartakovsky's "Samurai Jack," which wrapped last year... Read More
What ever happened to that game console we used to... Read More
Superheroes battle monsters and space invaders in fast action games.... Read More
Last week we started to get into the motivation of... Read More
BloodRayne | It's Zero Hour | Midasplayer | The latest... Read More
One of the easiest ways to draw shoulder launched missiles... Read More
It's a popularity contest.Solitaire is hip, cool, and way more... Read More
BizTech 2.0 is an entrepreneur education program offering business assistance... Read More
The period of the greatest portable console has finally arrived.... Read More
There are millions of computer games out there on the... Read More
Playvue.com Editor's Rating: 8.0StorylineDiner Dash brings us the story of... Read More
Admit It-You're Often BoredA pocket pc has about a million... Read More
At the recent E3 gaming Convention, Sony gave the world... Read More
There has been a great deal of discussion regarding the... Read More
It doesn't matter if you are new to online roleplaying... Read More
I've always loved video games, ever since I first played... Read More
1. Platypus http://www.deprice.com/platypus.htmPlatypus is one of the most unique looking... Read More
Advertising is a necessary irritant in the world today. You... Read More
"Atari has selected StarForce to protect their brand-new game called... Read More
If there were anything that could excite a Jeep enthusiast... Read More
Space? How much we can place where? Incredible words, unknown... Read More
What ever happened to that game console we used to... Read More
Play Games InsteadDo you like your full version pocket pc... Read More
Since the Predator has inverted "V" shaped stabilizers these stabilizers... Read More
I'm fairly certain there are folks at Nintendo feeling some... Read More
Powering up hand held wireless devices in the field for... Read More
It's risky business allowing your children to play games online.... Read More
BizTech 2.0 is an entrepreneur education program offering business assistance... Read More
As I think most of gamers who play in shareware... Read More
All gamers are awaiting the release of the Xbox 360... Read More
Watching the evolution of sports games has been like watching... Read More
Admit It-You're Often BoredA pocket pc has about a million... Read More
The period of the greatest portable console has finally arrived.... Read More
Playvue.com Editor's Rating: 8.0StorylineDiner Dash brings us the story of... Read More
A GeoBat small UAV might be the perfect platform for... Read More
In the last six months, the demise of sims has... Read More
We know from studying aircraft like the F-8 Crusader, in... Read More
Space? How much we can place where? Incredible words, unknown... Read More
It's not a secret that table RPG games are not... Read More
There exists some ephemeral quality that separates gamers from the... Read More
Using Underbelly Cone with Slots Facing Up On a Helicopter... Read More
Arguably Microsoft can attribute a great deal of its success... Read More
If you have an interest in playing PC games that... Read More
Over the next 18 months the 3 giants of the... Read More
The modern battlespace is changing in the real world and... Read More
The Gizmondo combined media player, phone and gaming gadget went... Read More
|