Tag: console wars

The Eternal War: A Look at the Repeating Console Cycle

Sega Logo

I’ve been reading Console Wars, a new book by Blake J. Harris that chronicles the rise of Sega during the 90’s. It’s a delightful book, full of endlessly fascinating details, such as how Target’s lenient return policy allowed customers to return years-old NES’s in order to get credit towards a SNES. Needless to say, this didn’t sit well with Nintendo and it led to Target pulling Nintendo products from the stores for a time. I lived through this era and reading the behind the scenes drama that went on has been very enjoyable. My nostalgia bones are all tingling right now. Continue reading The Eternal War: A Look at the Repeating Console Cycle

PS3 Narrows The Xbox 360’s Lead To 3 Million

After Eddy’s initial foray at starting a console war earlier this week, this bit of news has come to light that might really get some panties in a twist, although why this would bother anybody escapes me. Turns out that the PS3 has, according to VGChartz, pulled to within 3 million or so consoles worldwide of the Xbox 360. Of course, the Wii is so far ahead of them both that Nintendo likely wouldn’t even click on this article if they came across it on the Internet.

What’s interesting about this is that the PS3 still lags in the United States and Canada by a wide margin, but is much more popular in Japan and especially Europe. Another aspect worth mentioning is the 360’s year head start, which has basically been nullified, although I have a feeling that Kinect will widen the gap once again for Microsoft.

After the expensive price tag and tons of bad press, it appears the PS3 has the Eye of the Tiger and is not going down without a fight. Is this surprising to you? Have you taken the plunge? Do you think the PS3 will ever surpass the 360? Flame on!

Source: VGChartz

Last Year’s E3 Promises

e31We all know what E3 means. It’s the time of year when we get sandwiched by video game news galore, and announcements from every corner of the gaming kingdom. Not only do we hear from the developers we enjoy, but also from the big 3 of the console wars: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Each year, they regale us with tales of things to come. So how truthful are they?

A writer over at Kotaku took the time to analyze last year’s E3 promises from each of the major console makers, in order to see who told more fibs and who did the biggest exaggerations. Surprisingly enough, it seems that all of them did a pretty good job at predicting the things to come. See for yourself:

  • Microsoft E3 2008 promises
  • Sony E3 2008 promises
  • Nintendo E3 2008 promises

    • So, how do you think they all did? And who had the best year? Personally, from the looks of it, it seems that Sony may have edged out the competition in terms of truth-telling, and they’ve even given us several great reasons to pick up their new console since then. Thoughts?

    Source- Kotaku

    Doubting OnLive’s Potential

    onlive1Last week, Warner announced the new micro-console, OnLive. As we all know, OnLive gets rid of the need for a console, as all of the hardware is actually taken care of through cloud servers, which play the game and send a video signal back to your TV. Well, opinions have sounded from gamers far and wide, and while many are skeptical, few doubt that this thing could have potential in the long term.

    But what do the experts think? There’s an article over at Eurogamer in which some of OnLive’s claims are analyzed, particularly the ability to encode video at a fast rate and then transmit the signal to your TV from the cloud servers. Apparently, in order to achieve this kind of encode, the encoders would have to be working at 1000 fps. Even the current best encoding technology on the market can’t come close to doing what OnLive claims to do.

    Hit the jump to see what the author says on the matter.
    Continue reading Doubting OnLive’s Potential

    Nintendo Games Take Half the Software Pie in 2008

    nintendoYikes. We all know that the Nintendo Wii and DS are literally just shredding the competition. To pieces. Dominating all challengers. Nintendo, were it a man, would be kicking other companies, were they men, in their nuts, if they had them. And then there would be tears, and possibly gloating.

    So, what else can Nintendo tack to its 2008 accomplishments to contribute to the “don’t-mess-with-us-bitch-we-are-Nintendo” swagger? Well, possibly this: Nintendo games made up almost half of all software sales last year. Forty-nine percent of all game sales.

    Yes, really. I guess people love that Wii more than that PS Triple and XBox 360 after all. Basically, they sold 132 million games, with 70 million being Wii games.

    All I have to say is this: Damn, that’s a lot of games.

    Source- Gamasutra

    GamerSushi Asks: Next Gen Features?

    ps41Kind of funny how time flies. Now that about 2-3 years has gone by for each console, we’re now over the hump in terms of this generation, and descending on the back end towards the demise of each machine’s lifespan. Crazy, no?

    Naturally, speculation has already begun about when the next generation is going to begin, and who will make the first move. However, what a lot of people aren’t talking about is what exactly is the next generation going to look like. Digital Battle has put together a Features of the Next Gen list, running through what they think belongs on all the new systems.

    While I’m not sure that all of the features they list (free web browsers, motion controls, free online play) are things that I consider to be “must-have” qualities from the new machines, it does raise an interesting question- what exactly do the next gen systems need? Tell us your thoughts! What would you like to see happen?

    Source- Digital Battle

    Who’s Got The Best Exclusives?

    console-warsIn the epic fanboy debates of ages past and present, the ultimate factor always turns out to be console exclusives. Being able to tout a game that the other console doesn’t have wins major points, even if the other side pretends that they wouldn’t touch Halo or Metal Gear Solid if it was on their console of choice. Yeah. Right.

    However, these days, console exclusives are light. Since games cost more to make, it’s just not financially reasonable to make an exclusive for one console when you can make more money by spreading the love and your game around.

    Unigamesity has put together a list of the pure console exclusives from 2008, and compares their Metacritic ratings. Who wins? You might be surprised. For the record, I think Left 4 Dead should have been included on the 360 list. Sure, you can play it on the PC. But console-wise, you can only play it on the 360, which is what matters for the purposes of this argument.

    Source- Unigamesity

    GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

    Ah, since the new season of games is upon us, I thought it was time to bring back another “Would You Rather” feature for the GamerSushi audience. The last one had such solid feedback, it seemed that this would start some good conversation as well.

    In “Would You Rather’, I simply ask a series of questions, and you follow up with your responses. Give as much or as little explanation as you want with your answers.

    Unless they suck. In that case, a dog will come after you with mouth-bacteria.

    Continue reading GamerSushi Asks: Would You Rather?

    Are We Really Ready For Next Gen?

    Over the years, I’ve owned a lot of consoles. At one point or another I’ve been the master of the NES, Atari, Sega Saturn, Sega Genesis, Sega Dreamcast, Sony Playstation (uno, dos, tres) the GBA, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64, XBox, GameCube, XBox 360, PSP, the PC and Nintendo Wii. I like consoles, and the games that come with them. Each console represents a unique period of my life, in which I had a chance to become familiar with the system like a new friend, watching as they grew into their own.

    The newest generation of consoles is starting to gather its steam, and so far things have been decent. However, as of late, more and more people are starting discussions about the next generation beyond the 360, the Wii and the PS3, speculating about development and wanting to know when the new systems will drop. My question is: is it time to be talking about this already? Have the big 3 earned an investment in a new console just yet?

    Continue reading Are We Really Ready For Next Gen?

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    Why Do You Love Your Favorite Console?

    With apologies to Episode III: Revenge of the Sith…

    Console War! Sony and Microsoft are battered by the ruthless onslaught of the Nintendo Wii. There are exclusives on all sides. Fanboys are everywhere!

    So even the most non-partisan gamer has a favorite console. I hate the console wars, but I prefer my PS3 to all others. Why do you guys like your console?

    Continue reading Why Do You Love Your Favorite Console?