...but it won't be pretty.
The need to put Cablecard into a PS3.
(They can't match 360's IPTV capabilities because they have zero access to the back-end servers, so unless they buy Siemens they have no in into the telco/cableco space; MS is already a player in the backend video server business.)
Mr Jabroni is 100% right; IPTV is a stake aimed at the heart of the PS3 business model and if Sony doesn't act soon they'll lose the console war *and* the blue laser war a...
...that a 50% price cut and 20 software updates can't fix.
Plus some new games.
It'll take time, though, MS isn't standing still; they're already working on *new* ways to make Sony's life miserable.
So yes, a tie is not a bad prediction to make today, but keep in mind that all indications are that a tie is the *worst* that XBOX will get, come 2009 or thereabouts and that an outright win is no longer impossible.
As things stand, MS will do no worse than main...
...is currently in sort of a beta where aspiring developers get to share their code and games but only (paid) members of the program have access to the games/programs.
Some time this summer (spring?) the system will open up to the general XBL marketplace so gamers can buy these independent games.
Pricing and other guidelines/rules are undetermined.
It is doubtful MS would sign off an emulator like this, (Nintendo ROM images are not PD) although I, for one, would ...
But the Final Fantasy VII *remake* they've been teasing about for a while. Allows them to do something for 360 without annoying Sony, which does own a chunk of SE...
Judging by their conservative forward guidance it looks like they're planning for slow sales for the next few months (barely a million) because they are more interested in short-term profitability.
http://news.com.com/Microso...
Lets face it, 100k $800 PS3s in UK, 1 million total for the Pal-lands and slow PS3 sales in US and Japan are hardl...
This means this is most likely an Arcade (coin-op) venture.
Funding level is in line with that.
Odds are they'll do PS3-derived coin-op gaming units.
*That* is locked up as tight as Gears of War as 360 Exclusive IP for all three chapters.
Ditto for Jade Empire.
Ain't gonna happen, children.
Zero chance, zip, nada...
However, a third KOTOR would not be MS-owned so it could be cross-platform. *If* the PS3 installed base justifies it when it comes out.
BioWare would be remiss if they didn't develop *something* for PS3 but it won't be Mass Effect or Jade Empire.
Look els...
...a bit late to the party...
The 360 is already compatible with most universal remotes, starting with the Harmony line (the 360 being optimized for 360 use) and including pretty much every model out there that supports standard MCE codes, even if they didn't support the 360 native codes, which most do.
The 360 can be set to respond to both its native infrared codes or the standard MCE codes that are broadly supported in the business, so lack of universal remote compatibility is...
...but the problem isn't Microsoft's to solve...
Music and Video download services fall under the same laws that *protect* canadians from other forms of american content distribution such as satellite TV, TiVO, and the full catalog of Amazon.com.
Before MS can distribute content outside the US it needs to jump through several extra sets of hoops that aren't required for US distribution.
Translation: don't blame MS, blame the Canadian government "protecting&...
OSX has the drivers already.
Apple may talk BD, but they covered their rear in supporting HD-DVD.
Not that it matters since the Mac has no HD or BD playing app, so far...
What you get on the PC or Mac will be a function of the playback software you use.
If the software decodes DD+ and you have the PC hardware to play it back it will.
The drive just exposes the data to the application.
As of today, the drive is compatible (with instalable drivers) with XP and out of the box with Vista and OSX. There exist HD-DVD player apps for XP and Vista but not(yet) for the Mac. Check with the WinDVD and Cyberlink folks to see what their apps o...
Because at $25 a pop the movies are twice as expensive as DVDs and there is no guarantee the format will be around in 3 years.
Holographic storage just hit the market this week so if this format war isn't settled soon, both formats will lose.
...a price cut in britain would be just piling on, huh? ;-)
http://www.computerandvideo...
What I find interesting is that MS is telegraphing their intent to fight on price once Sony fills their pipeline. Very gentlemanly to warn Sony ahead of time... >;-)
I thought the ones in my area were turned off because, with no product to sell, it didn't make sense to keep running the demo disks.
Now you have me wondering if those sealed enclosures they're using have adequate ventilation...
Did those guys get *anything* right?
...they looked at their customers first and the technology second. :-)
Future proofing is good, as long as you remember customers live in the present, not in the future.
...but the price in resources would be high.
Possibly too high.
To enable software-based scaling, Sony would have to allocate a chunk of system memory and at least 1, possibly 2 hardware threads, *exclusively* to the scaler function.
On a box where 96Mb out of 256Mb are already used just to boot up the system, and where one of the seven active special-purpose execution units is already permanently tied up, this would leave PS3 programers with maybe 128Mb of RAM...
...but worth it. Its a full quest-line (like the guilds or the brotherhood) rated at 10-20 hrs per play-through.
And you get to fly!
(Sort-of!)
Note: unlike the earlier add-ins, you don't get directed to the starting point.
Just take a stroll through Anvil...
...is that the PS3 hardware is just fine.
Its a perfectly fine piece of contemporary electronics; the engineers at Sony did their job. The managers, however...
Lets face it, Sony has for the past 18 months been pushing graphics, graphics, and graphics; harping on 1080 all the way. When it turns out they should've been pushing physics and simulation capabilities.
They've been running away from their strengths and taking on the 360 where it is strongest.
Very strang...
...if you still believe the Sony mouthpieces.
<shrug>
After the last cutback in launch units, to 80,000 for Japan, there were rumors that the problems behind the delays would continue into next year and the Euro launch would slip to May but last week there was a re-statement by Sony that they still have a goal to launch in March.
Not a promise, but a goal.
Most likely they'll meet it; even if it means launching with limited quantities, like in Japan.
...not even close.
Try $15 per copy.
They need about 3 million to turn a profit.
And with Japan making up only 20% of the world gaming market (and shrinking) the handwriting is on the wall for japanese gaming companies; either adapt or die.
Capcom chose to adapt:
http://members.forbes.com/g...