Looks like ShockAxis (the new SIXAXIS controller that features true next-gen rumble) is about to make it’s first appearance at TGS.
“Big shocker at today’s Electronic Arts pre Tokyo Game Show press event. While playing a demo of Burnout Paradise, we felt something that we never thought we’d feel from a PS3 controller — shake!”
We all knew it to be true. PS3 is a supercomputer in a box. XBox 360 is a 2004 PowerMac in a box. Sans OS X. It was only a matter of time before the ol’ PowerMac couldn’t keep up and it looks like it’s starting to happen:
GAMER.BLORGE.com has learned exclusively what some of the key points of the Xbox vs PS3 war are, and it’s not all about the Halo.In a recent conversation with an undisclosed developer source, GAMER.BLORGE.com has been made privy to the biggest problems facing developers as they work with the Xbox 360 and the PS3: It’s all about the RAM and the processor.According to our source, it’s easier on almost every level to work with the Xbox 360 in the development stage. Due to the older systems large amount of RAM, developers can work with a little more head room and not worry about running out of operating memory.Where the real problem stem is in the two system’s processors. While Xbox games can be tweaked to move up to the PS3, the reverse is not always the case. Due to the PS3′s advanced processor, games developed for the Sony backed platform sometimes can’t be downgraded to the the 360′s chip.
With the 360 being in the range of 2 years old now, it is said they have used about 90% of the systems resources, which allows for some PS3 games to be ported over, but it will become rarer as time goes on. As they push the PS3′s performance, they will finally surpass the abilities of the 360 completely.
So where are you left in the console war? Why are developers still coming out with so few PS3 games? It’s really just that much easier to work with the 360.
In the end though, who does our undisclosed developer think will win? While they gave no time frame for the inevitable victory, they were very clear that they thought the long haul champion would be the PS3 for this round of the overall war.
Rewind back to E3 2005.
MS had yet another lacklustre E3 with myriad UE3 powered bald space marine shooters on show and the usual hyperbole about XBox Live being the only online network that could get away with charging unsuspecting consumers $50 a year for a lag-ridden peer2peer ‘service’.
Then the Sony conference … and the Killzone 2 trailer blew everyone out of the water.
Gaming journalists.
Playstation fans.
And 360 owners.
After the initial shock came the inevitable denials. The MS viral machine was in full swing and very soon forums and blogs across the web were awash with accusations of ‘fake’ and ‘CG’ and it wasn’t long before major gaming publications reflected that sentiment in features and articles about Killzone 2′s ‘fabricated CG trailer’.
Nevermind that most of the writers for these gaming media outlets couldn’t understand code written for an x86, they were now telling Sony and Guerrilla that the Killzone 2 trailer wasn’t done to PS3′s spec and that it was in fact impossible this generation to replicate that kind of geometry and animation on any platform.
Well here’s the proof and clearly not only did they match the trailer but they even surpassed it in some respects (animation, lighting etc).
In light of this year’s astonishing IN-GAME Killzone 2 trailer, many have forgotten the witch hunt that took place in E3 2005. We at The SDF will never forget and we hope the gaming media at large will be big enough to come out and say sorry to Sony for their lack of faith.
Click the image for the full res version:
At The SDF, we respect not only Peter Moore’s newfound honesty and candor, but also his enthusiam for desiring that the Playstation 3 meet, or exceed, the success of the Xbox 360. It has been rumored that Peter Moore, former Microsoft Corporate Vice President of their Interactive Entertainment Division, recently left Microsoft due to the failure of Microsoft to establish and implement their long-term goals for the success of the Xbox brand. He has since moved on to greener pastures at EA, a company noted to have traditionally strong ties to Sony. It’s not surprising to hear Peter Moore extol praise on Sony’s Playstation 3, and make a career changing move to reflect that.
Indeed, it seems as if Peter Moore will get his wish. Floundering sales of the Xbox 360 globally have forced Microsoft into an awkward position of releasing numerous SKUs, pack ins, price drops and extended warranties in order to stimulate sales of Microsoft’s failing console. Meanwhile, the PS3 continues to exhibit strong sales domestically and abroad from a stellar and diverse lineup of titles to be released this holiday season.
Welcome to the winning side, Peter.
This game is simply amazing, where do I begin…
-Best presentation value of any game I’ve ever played
-Best cut scene visuals of any game I’ve ever played
-Best animations of any game I’ve ever played
-Soundtrack more than holds its own among the best in the industry (MGS, Castlevania, FF, etc. etc.)
As a movie fan that likes video games, this game was pretty much made for me. I think that’s why there’s such a disparity in most of the reviews… If you’re a gamer that doesn’t care about story, backbone, quality graphics, amazing sound, etc then you probably won’t enjoy the game that much. It’s the ultimate blend of cinema and video gaming.
The cinematics are godly. You could say they’re amazing because they just look almost like movie quality CG, and you’d be right. You could say the cutscenes are amazing because the way characters move just looks completely unreal and almost bizarre, and you’d be right. You could also say the cutscenes are amazing because the facial animations in the game are just eye popping, and you’d be right as well. Facial animations in this game are so good it makes you feel like you’re not playing a video game.
Are there negatives? Sure. The fact that this game is impossible on any other system to date thanks to the use of Blu-ray, Cell, standard HDD and the amazing RSX graphics chip which limits the audience to strictly PS3. That being said, I encourage every PS3 owner to buy this game and if you don’t have a PS3 buy one for this game.
SDF Score: 10/10
This weeks edition includes SDF praise and emails about a little game called Lair….
SDF Love:
Austin writes:
Thank you for providing the unbiased news that you do. It seems that everywhere I go lately has horribly biased news on the next gen console war and I’m glad there’s a website that I can go to get unbiased news on the PS3 because all other sites have only biased (negative) news on the PS3.
Lurch writes:
Your site is beautiful.
Benny writes:
Thank you SDF for having the guts to stand up for what you believe in. There are so many sites out there full of ‘reporters’ wanting to get into game development therefore they suck the taint of any game dev they come into contact with. It’s so refreshing to hear unbiased, unfiltered, uncensored news for a change. Gamespot, IGN, Kotaku and all the rest could learn a thing or two from you. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for the kind words Benny (and everyone else). We here at SDF do this for you guys. Like we said in our mission statement, we cut through the FUD and deliver solid, unbiased stories about your favorite Sony systems. No more, no less.
Lair Review:
It’s about time that multiplatform developers took advantage of the power of the CELL and Blu-ray. In the inferior Xbox 360 version, Dirt was said to have a lot of frame rate issues that made it drop well below the advertised 30 frames per second. With the technological break through that is Cell, Codemaster version was graphically superior with no noticeable hitches in frame rate. The PS3 version also showed a major improvement in sound quality over the Xbox 360 version possibly due to the superior audio capabilities in the PS3. With the one year head start for the Xbox 360, one might think that the Xbox 360 port would be better but this goes to show the true power of the PS3 and is a sign of things to come.
