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Commentary by Yegolev (http://www.f13.net/index.php?itemid=90).

Will get a PS3.

Will hold out for a Wii.

Irrational hate for the 360.

If Nintendo makes Pilotwings for the Wii, it's a lock. Hell, it's a lock anyhow, but I still want to see an updated version of Pilotwings. The PS3 is just too damn expensive if they stick to that price point. Any word on what the games for it will cost? *cough*$75*cough* Wild speculation aside, I haven't felt particularly compelled to buy a 360 just yet, but the Nintendo hype-machine just grabbed me and melted my mind to want to buy a Wii. Saying that aloud sounds a bit perverse...

I already have a 360. During the last console generation I owned all 3 of them. The gamecube was mostly a waste (other than RE4. Even the Zelda game didn't grab me like past Zelda titles.) The PS2 rocked for RPGs but other than that I didn't use it.

So, this time out I will probably avoid the Wii and only pick up the PS3 if they come out with some cool RPGs I can't resist.

It's an odd world where Microsoft is putting out the product I feel most comfortable with and have the most faith in.

Honestly, having been to E3 this year, I feel more comfortable with my PS2 than I do with any of the upcoming systems. Basically, the PS2 has shockingly long legs. God of War 2, Guitar Hero 2, Devil Summoner, Persona 3, and piles of other stuff guarantee that no other system is going to dominate my time until mid-late 2007. I haven't touched my 360 since the week after Oblivion came out. I'll play the Lost Planet demo a few times though. For the 2 minutes I played at the show - it was awesome.

If you are going to be making fruitless wishes, why not wish for an updated Super Metroid?  Of course, these games will just be plopped as-is into the emulator rather than revamped.

The only thing that worries me is if my PS2 can limp along until the PS3 release, since I really don't want to have to buy another PS2 at this time.  That would suuuuuuuck.

I don't really know what makes PS3 such a "main course." The hardware, despite being $200 more expensive, doesn't seem to edge the 360 by very much, if at all. There are certainly more games showing on Wii that I'm excited about. 

I wasn't at the show, but I didn't see anything in the coverage to get me really excited about PS3. Nobody seems nearly as revved up about any of Sony's showings as they are about Gears of War, and the GTA4 for Xbox 360 announcement doesn't look good for Sony either.

I don't buy consoles at release, but I'm seriously considering buying a Wii for Red Steel. Probably for the Zelda game and god help me, for Madden 2007. It just looks that interesting.

PS3 can suck my left nut. I won't pay $600 for a console with nothing really new in it but more pixels and bigger DVD's.

360 might be mine if the price drops, but only for Gears of War. That game has trumped anything I've seen for the PS3 or the 360.

The one thing is Sony's library.  The PS3-specific shit will take a while, but it will be there; we just have to get through the inevitable Fantavisions and Eternal Rings.  Not having a real dev system is going to make this process take longer, no doubt, and the chances of me grabbing a PS3 on release are practically zero at this point unless my haggard PS2 goes tits-up.  Also, I think a developer/publisher that wants to put out a traditional game in CY2007 that will enjoy a large install-base might lean toward Sony, leaving the Wii to people who still have some imagination.  Right this very minute, there are several upcoming PS2 games that have me all sweaty-palmed, but nothing on the PS3.  A counter-argument could be that Culdcept going to Xbox means Sony won't have such a stranglehold on certain types of games anymore.

On the other hand, it seems that the Wii will be the One True Machine for the living-room FPS, scoring big points against the Xboxen and less so against the PS_.

You might also consider the PS1+PS2 back-catalog as part of the PS3 launch lineup, if you consider the Virtual Console games on the Wii as part of N's launch lineup... which the Nintendo press apparently does.  In either scenario, I think the X360 loses.

It sure is fun to speculate.  Later, I will take a stab at what the first new Virtual Console game might be.  For now, I'll just predict it will be a dumb arcade title.  If I am lucky, it will be an Arkanoid clone.


You provide a nice nutshell to encapsulate why I think the Wii is so awesome.  If a machine can make God-damned Madden exciting for Haemish, I really have high hopes for it reaching an untapped market.

I'm a little bit of Sony fanboi, and belive me there's a lot of playstation zealots out there which will get a PS3, I don't know how many but it's a force to be reconed with. Sure we all care about gameplay and Wii does sound refreshing, however, there will most likely be games which the playstation controller will feel better playing than the Wii controller. There's even a couple of games which I can think of which won't work on a Wii if I've understod the controller right. Also, fuck Nintendo in the ass if surfing the web with the console becomes popular, I'd probably kill myself if I have to make sure layouts etc works in Opera, IE and Firefox.

You are right, games that are designed for the DualShock2 will probably feel better on the PS2, in most cases anyway (note my previous posts on the HID driving game design paradigms)... except that I haven't heard anyone who has used the Wiimote say anything like that (unless of course you have used it, I forget).  FPS is, I think, an obvious exception and I feel confident in saying the Wiimote will provide the best console FPS interface, period.

Note that the PS3 and Wii are not going to directly compete.  A hardcore gamer is going to get the PS3 sooner or later, which is what I was trying to say above.  I think the hardcore gamer might also get the Wii; I mean, it's going to be cheap if nothing else.  The really hardcore, people with real jobs and income, those who have been gaming since the Atari 2600 and before, those people are going to get both.  But, when Christmas rolls around and Granny toddles into Wal*Mart looking for the PS3 that Little Timmy begged for... let's just say that her low-end options are no longer liimited to stuff from Tiger Direct and those 10-in-1 "TV games".  I predict the Wii is going to tap into an unseen market, similar to how WoW has done in the MOG space.

There.  I made a WoW reference in a console thread.  Are you happy?

I'm getting a HDTV.
Then I'll consider the PS3... when there's a decent number of games avaliable.
I'll get a Wii if it's less than $300 with an extra controller and they make just a single good somewhat adult themed game... preferably including guns.
I wanted to get a 360 an use with my Media Center PC but it's too fuckin' noisy to use for anything but games and in that library only Burnout and Need for Speed really did anything for me...

Disaster: Day of Crisis (http://wii.nintendo.com/games_disaster.html)

ExciteTruck. Which looks as if you play the Wiiremote on its side like a game controller, and tilt the controller forward and backward to control pitch of the truck when you jump into the air.

I'm not so sure the Wiiremote can't be used to be an even better driving game controller than the DualShock types. But yes, it has to be specifically designed for that in order to not suck.

I agree.  Just about anything would be better than that shit-ass analog thumbstick, though.  Even in a game with controls as fine-tuned to use the nub as Forza, in most cases I might as well be using the fucking D-pad.  Maybe wireless wheels are out there, but I'm not aware of any (maybe I should look), and I require wireless controllers.  If the Wiimote can give me even a little more granular steering, I'll be all over that like Polyphonic on same-old-same-old.

I think I'm going to have to put myself into a coma until the Wii comes out.  The wait is intolerable.

Am I the only person around here who looks at the Wiimote as a gimick that will be more trouble than its worth?

That's what Steve Jobs said about the two-button mouse.

Steve Jobs has been proven an idiot thousands of times. The Ninty folks have only been proven crazy a couple times.

ROB. VIRTUAL BOY.

Come X-Mas '06, we'll have just blown a small fortune on a trip to Fiji, will be saving for a house, and will therefore likely be getting just the Wii for starters. However, we're also considering the "investment" option of buying a couple of PS3 and Wii and reselling on eBay to fund the purchase of both systems for ourselves. We learned a great deal from the 'Great XBox Craze of Ought-Five', and are predicting a similar melee come this holiday. Consoles are just the Cabbage Patch Kids of the 21st Century.

I used to, until I started hearing from people who'd actually had their hands on one.  The fact that it's supposedly so glorious when applied to a game as conventional as Madden is a heartening sign.

If you'd ever tried to explain the two button mouse to somebody who has not grown up using computers you#d think different about that

You are not the only one, but I am repeatedly told that it isn't a gimmick.  I remember when I first saw the NES controller: I thought it looked cheap and the D-pad frightened and confused me, being a simple unfrozen caveman Atari 5200/2600 player as I was.  After I got used to it, it was fine.  Even better, it was built like a Cadillac compared to the Atari chintz (damn you, 5200).  I expect this to be a similar situation.  Anyway, there is a traditional-style controller for the Wii, so what do you have to lose?  And, there is a pistol-type shell with an analog stick where the hammer would be, which I declare to be an absolute good.

Unless it proves to be cost-prohibitive for developers to focus on it, yes, you are the only person.

It does look gimmicky, but I've yet to hear one person who has actually played with the thing say it FEELS gimmicky. It's the kind of tech that a game has to be designed around, but just based on the number of games that appear to be just that, I've got pretty high hopes for it.

I keep having visions of Wiimote = Lightsaber.  Or am I the only dork that has had that thought?  That would be heavenly...right up until I do a saber-throw right into my new flatscreen.

It was webslinging for me (i.e. Spidey 2 or Ultimate Spider-Man). That'd be interesting.

I still think it's a gimmick though.

If the controller works well, and Lucas & Friends decide to put the next Jedi Academy on Wii, it could well give Wii the market.

That's awesome.

Watch any of the videos you can find of the Ubi Soft demo of Red Steel. Instead of lightsaber, think Katana and Wakazashi combo.

A light saber game would kick ass, excpet for the having to give George Lucas more money part.

PS3 To Public- "Pssh, you don't OWN me!" (http://www.f13.net/?itemid=125)

Well, if that's official, then I'm officially on the Wii bandwagon (if there is one).

The one game to a console bit is gone. You officially can use your games in any number of PS3s.

I laughed.

For the next generation, we will all be Star Wars Kid.

EDIT:  On a tangent, am I the only one who ever dreamed of a lightsaber Bushido Blade?

Yes. The rest of us normal folk just want a new, spruced up Bushido Blade.

Yeah, what schild said.  If you keep feeding Lucas, he's going to keep knocking over your lawn furniture and digging through your garbage during the night.

I like me some Star Wars, and the last SW game I bought was friggin' TIE Fighter out of a bargain bin, eons ago.  So blow me and stuff, I want cool lightsaber fights.

I guess this is the defacto Wii thread.  Here is a link (http://www.gamerdad.com/detail.cfm?itemID=3230) to an article by Dave Long over at GamerDad about what it's like to actually play with the Wii.

See that's what worries me. They'll get so focused on "oo..let's make it so the player has to sling the mote around like a flaming fairy" and sort of forget to make good gameplay.

My sole experience with any motion sensitive device (though I'm sure the technology isn't comparable) was one of the Rogue Squadron games on PC, with my fancy (read: not fancy) Microsoft gaming pad.  It was horrid...laggy and lacking in fine control.  Good concept, bad execution.  I get the same feeling when I see the displays at the mall where they are playing Tekken on those gaming mats with all the motion sensitive gloves and whatnot.  It looks like it might be fun for about 10 seconds, up until the time where you discover that you have no control whatsoever, and look like a flailing moron.  Having one of those epilectic fits the manuals are always warning about might suddenly turn into a blistering combo attack.  SHO-RYU-KEN!!

I'll put the wiimote into this same gimmicky category until I have it in my hands and can try it myself.  With all the buzz around it, however, it seems there may be hope for it.

(edited the extra breaks in the post -schild)

More Wii stuff that I don't think has been mentioned: Opera on the Wii (http://gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=17269), surf with the Wiimote, details fuzzy.  Opera VP Scott Hedrick seems very excited about using the Wiimote to surf the net, but of course he's paid to seem that way.  He also forgot to list off one more benefit for web-aware games: advertising.

Maybe more interesting is an exclusive from Cubed³ that reports the Wii will launch on Nov 6 in the US (http://www.cubed3.com/news/5313).  Probably.  Somewhen close, at least.  No matter the actual date, Nintendo wants to get the Wii into stores well before Nov 23 (Thanksgiving Day in US).  That is obvious, of course.

Nintendo's Wii all the wii for me (yeah that was cheesy, I know)!  I'm not much for FPS games on the console systems because I just can't get used to the controller in your hand vs. keyboard/mouse, BUT after seeing and hearing so much about Red Steel for the Wii I am giddy as a schoolgirl to try it out.  Plus all the other stuff.  I've studied martial arts for years and I've had my fairshare of practice with the katana and samuri sword so I'm excited to try this out using the Wii controller.

PS3 and the stuff I have read/seen doesn't = $600 to me.  Sure is has blu-ray, but the next medium wars are about to start all over again.  Anyone remember the VHS vs. Beta war?  We shall see who wins.  Blu-ray vs. HD DvD, *ding ding* in this corner we have...  I will have to get the system one of these years, but for now I will wait.  I'm itching to play the new Ratchet and Clank.  Can't wait for God of War 2 as well (thank god its on the PS2).

Never been into the Xbox much so I'm not even considering it.  Even though Halo 2 was kewl as hell.  I gotta try out Fable one of these days.

Because video game designers set their sights like a laser on the "Frustrated nerd who plays with utterly useless weapons" demographic.

Keep in mind that the Wii is being designed for non-gamers to use.  Set your expectations appropriately, otherwise disappointment is surely in your future.

That Zangief avatar is quite possibly the best animated GIF evar.

ETA:  I also sort of want to apologize to Chinchilla for being a dick, but come on...  You somehow think that having waved around a sword in the past is going to translate into some supal33t Ninteno Zen mastery?  There's also the fact, and I do mean fact, that martial arts is bullshit.  Any time you hear anyone talk about how much time they've spent in MA you can be reasonably sure of their pussydom.  There is no school of MA that is better than the ancient school of the broken beer bottle or the time honored art of the Redneck with a CCW.

Not a single game with weapons will feel like you're really using that weapon. It's impossible. The Wii controller weighs too little. This is something they will never get right, or else every player would just swing the light-as-air weapon around wildly and wait for enemies to walk into their cuisinart maneuver.

Maybe the game could come packaged with a 10lbs Wii-mote.

Only those who are taught to fight invisible opponents and kick higher than the waist.

I've heard this kind of thing more than enough times, and the people who say it usually end up becoming fellow students.

I'm 32 years old, and my bar fighting days are long over.  I was certainly never an unholy ass kicker, but I've done alright for myself barring the occassional beatdown that everyone receives.  However, I've never seen anyone who claimed to be into martial arts acquit themselves well in a fight.  Not once.  Given that experience if I had to bet on some overblown wannabe dojo-monkey or the untrained guy with a couple of teeth missing who just likes to fight, I'm picking the untrained guy who just likes to fight.

Lastly, I have a CCW, and I know of no ancient eastern technique that can defeat a bullet.

I'm not going to toot my own horn (have had my ass kicked plenty), but I have a pretty good idea of what you're observing...And on one level, you're right. What I said above about those who were taught by practicing theoretical and impractical moves is mainly pointing to Karate and TKD students (nothing against the styles though. It's all good. It's just that most schools are bad). I've known quite a few people over the years from these places, so I know where you're coming from.

Completely different story though for, say, full contact trained Aikido students...

What I've been involved in on and off for most of my life is similar (Jai Yen Yen...which isn't global enough for many to know about here probably), so I can say the same for it as well.

Since you're a G.I. kind of guy, I could point out a story about a rough and tough Green Beret, who, while observing our class at a base gym, decided he wanted to spar my teacher afterwards. Instead, he told him to spar his son instead (who was only like 18 and undersized at the time). His son could kick my ass, but even I was nervous about that --

Yet, he never got hit once, and knocked that dude on his ass multiple times -- Even when the other guy really started taking it seriously, he couldn't get a break. And this isn't even a "bar brawler" -- This is a sophicated brawler.

Needless to say, he experienced enough to want to learn what we were doing for himself.


Again, I can see where you're coming from -- The best kind of fighters are those who have the experience in doing it.

But that definitely does not rule out the "dojo monkeys". There are plenty around who know how to act when the real thing goes down. Some are even more crazy and sick about it than that guy with a broken bottle and no teeth.


Well, of course. Even Bruce Lee instructed that you should "Run!" if you see a gun.

It wouldn't matter how heavy the controller was, it wouldn't be able to simulate the feel of swinging a real sword since there's no blade. Simulating a light saber, on the other hand...

I see the future clearly now, yes, people moding their wii controllers into all sort of weirdness.

A reply to the frontpage link "The Inquirer found something wrong with the PS3" (http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=32171):

I know absolutely zilch about RSX  :lol:, but I'm gettin' kind of tired of PS3 news -- whether it's good or bad.

It's all bullshit.

"Sony won't allow the purchase of used games" -- Bullshit

"The PS3 is slow and broken" -- Bullshit

"It'll replace the PC" -- Bullshit


No more, please. Everything reported about the PS3 is propaganda. And bullshit.

Errrr, the PS3 being slow and broken is an observation based on actual specs released by Sony.

Of course it won't replace the PC.

Of course they'll allow the purchase of used games.

But being slow and broken is entirely possible.

What were you getting at?

That there is very little news out there about the PS3 other than premature, agenda driven bullshit.

Mmmmm, I can say the stuff at E3 wasn't very impressive. Broken? Maybe? Wouldn't particularly know.

Spit it out, man! I won't call bullshit on you at least ;)

I don't recall any particular writeup about this. Yet another thing on your backlog maybe?

Nah, I just don't care either way until it's on my shelf. Same with the Revolution.

Edit: Basically, I'm pretty tired of caring. And I'm disgusted with the way the industry conducts itself (press and developers and publishers).

It's not broken, it's a feature, seriously. The same thing happens with PC graphics hardware -- it's very very very slow for the CPU to read directly from VRAM.

This is the follow-up I read elsewhere from a programmer that actually knows how to read the docs, so I think this is likely true.  The confusion is in the labels applied to different portions of the hardware being non-obvious.  On the other hand, the proof is in the pudding.

An interview at TechOn! (http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20060525/117498/) with Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata gives more crazy ideas, notably cementing the VC as a place for cheap crappy games, and DS connectivity.



I bolded what I consider the funniest Wii-related quote yet; not trying to comment on the always-on idea, as such.

The concept of downloading DS demos is an interesting idea.

If they could make cheap NES-quality sequels to old NES games I'd be all for it.  Something along the lines of Kid Icarus 2, or Punch-Out 2, another Gradius game or whatever.

Not quite impossible, I'm sure some 3rd party company come out with a katana hilt you can put the controller in, and probaly also a gun as well.

Who wouldn't buy a metal replica handgun you could put the wii controller in for an fps?

Just depressing. Faceplates, controllers, CONTROLLER FACEPLATES, CONTROLLER PERIPHERALS. It's getting out of hand.

Don't be retarded.  I have a real gun and a roll of tape.

If you're playing Doom 3 don't forget to tape the flashlight to it.

Parents of young children?  Nintendo tends to go out of its way to avoid Rockstar-esque attention.

That is the best idea I've heard in weeks.

Reuters financial article (http://today.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-06-07T094924Z_01_T249037_RTRIDST_0_TECH-JAPAN-NINTENDO-UPDATE-1-PICTURE.XML&rpc=66) on Nintendo and some Sony information.



I don't think anyone expects Nintendo to lose money, I just wish it would help us figure out how much the Wii will sell for.

Some stuff from Famitsu (http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/2006/06/07/103,1149672727,54492,0,0.html) has been translated at N-Sider (http://www.n-sider.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=2216), with the usual tiny trickle of real information.


I hope it's games with an "s" this time around.  Not that I have Crystal Chronicles.


I am waiting to find out about the inevitable differences in JP and NA games on the VC.

No more than $250. They've already stated that.

The Courier-Mail interviews Shigeru Miyamoto (http://www.couriermail.news.com.au/story/0,20797,19414822-8362,00.html) and discovers nothing... except maybe one bit:


I admit, the article is mostly entertaining because of the picture of Miyamoto looking like a dork.