Yeah, and GOWII was actually in year 7. Anywhere from 5-6 years is fine, with good titles (the last year for the Xbox had few good releases).

Really? Four years was enough for you? If console generations were to become that short as a standard, I'd rather spend a bit more money and get a good gaming PC. Sure, it'll be mere functional by year 4 but I can upgrade and play all my older games and customize everything I want.

If graphics are that important to you, I highly suggest PC gaming.

Funny, not in a humorous way though. Perhaps you should lend your talent to Kojima's team, since most of them re-iterated that they've compressed data quite a bit. The game doesn't even support uncompressed PCM, let alone 7.1.

But absolutely, they didn't compress anything. You know better.

You didn't quite describe an improvement there, other than assumptions that disc swapping would fair much better. The game has about 17GB of compressed audio already, and doesn't even support more than 5.1 channels (it's legacy DD too). That among other data amount to 46.6GB, so disc swapping might ease the "pain" of installs, other areas will definitely need to be change.

* WB and Disney particularly. Others like Universal are going to be wisely bundling catalogue releases.

I should add that mere resolution is one of the parameters of HD, and.. I should stop there, but like DVD back in the late 90's, consumer education is certainly something Hollywood needs to do.

As I said, BD is still in its infancy stage and it's not going to be mainstream anytime soon because of HD-DVD's demise. Hollywood knows that, and so do CE companies. That's why you're going to see WB and Disney up their marketing with aggressive pricing and promotions this fall. BD adoption is faster than DVD during the same stage, but there's a lot more work to be done. That includes consumer education.

I have a good upconverting player myself, and even sub-par BD transfers are better than an upscaled good DVD master (ignoring most 2006 releases/spring 07 and beyond releases have been mostly well done). Most of the players out there don't even upscale well, and quite a few of them do 1080i max.

Going from 640x480 to 1920x1080 isn't a small step in resolution. In fact, it's a much larger leap in home video history quality wise. HD penetration is on the rise, so I'm not sure where you've been and anyone can see the difference between SD digital and HD.

Criticism of DVD existed for years too, and the obvious one was that it was read-only so it couldn't possibly take off and J6P will shun it. Mass market penetration, like DVD in the 90's, won't happen overnight. BD is only two years old, and the format war ended not too long ago.

The issue is somewhat irrelevant for the PS3 in the long term. As prices go down for hardware, the PS3's value as a BD player will go down. In other words, SCEI needs more than a BD angle to prolong the console.

Nonsense. FYI worldwide, the Genesis was a bigger success than the SNES, and it lasted longer. Lower the price, and have good support and it can last more than 4 years. The most important factor is strategic price lowering and offering value, and if SCEI gets it right, they can possibly do it. We don't need another Xbox1.

Execution and reality are different, and aspiring for something this ambitious means that Hirai has some plans brewing. Or at the very least, wants to prolong the format and make the 10 year cycle a reality.

Unlike the denizens of Kotaku discussions, Hirai doesn't have the experience or knowledge to possibly think of something like that. So you may be right.

@Foxstar Sixtail:

Yes, DVD wasn't big either from 1996-2000, and BD is only two years old now on the market.

You would believe that, considering that they haven't hidden the fact that the decision to port was recent?

Read through this:

[www.1up.com]

And this:

[www.1up.com]

The company's in the dark even on technical considerations. "The content will be the same on both platforms," said Kitase. "However, we have yet to determine how many discs will be required for the 360 version. We'll have to consider the differences between formats. Currently the game is being built on PC, where it's actually functional. We're still focusing on making it work on PS3, so it's difficult to know how long the process of taking it to 360 will take."

Bullcrap is the word here, and it applies to ANY developer claiming that they actually have dedicated separate staff for each version of a game. The same team works on all versions, with certain members concentrating on platfor development. The good news is that SE is actually taking the smart route, and not porting until they finish work on the original version. Yes, they moved development to a more PC-based environment, but it wasn't done from day one and the core engine went through revisions.

Capcom's FT Framework for example went through several revisions, and even then, there is about 40% of the workload that's specific to console architecture.

The whole "seperate teams" bit is nothing more than PR. Perhaps to assure fans that they're doing their best. Namco's Soul team however, has been straight from the day they worked on 4 versions of SCII (arcade included).

Sony says they're leading in Europe, and MS says they are. Since there isn't concrete data to back either, I'll go with the middle ground and say they're on an even plane.

Loss of FFXIII's western exclusivity won't hurt much. If anything, passing on GTAIV 3 years ago was a bigger mistake. Even that game failed to spike sales for either console.

None of those concern consumers, so aside from having a console purchase partially de-valued, no one should be concerned.

Sony's loss of exclusives were major PR nightmares and in some cases posed financial impact.

Bickering on online message boards don't quite count as PR nightmares. What cases caused financial woes though? Referring to GTAIV? (timed exclusive would've helped).

I wouldn't lump Capcom with the rest, since the company has looked mainly at the bottom line since 2004. Sony certainly didn't pay them for RE4 on the PS2, and DMC4 was no exception. It turned out well, and ironically, the PS3 version did outsell the 360 one worldwide by a few thousand units.

[www.1up.com]

Apparently DR ran on an older version of their MT Framework engine, which preceeded the PS3 version (of the engine). Porting it won't be as simple as the budget port of LP.. which by itself had some issues.

I suspect that those cutscenes are actually FMVs of the original 360 ones. Capcom took similar measures to get RE4 PS2 out the door ASAP, so all cutscenes there were actually videos of the GC original.

I'll just highlight the relevant portion of my original post:

It's a non-issue, and music aside, FF's audio hasn't been exactly awe-inspiring.

MGS4's ISO is actually 46.6 according to the developers:

[forum.beyond3d.com]

Regardless, SE will use as many discs as possible without compromising quality. It's a non-issue, and music aside, FF's audio hasn't been exactly awe-inspiring.

On the issue of audio compression, people make the mistake of thinking that it's not on the PS3. The PS3's codec is a variation of AVC, and IT IS compressed. What's not compressed is the stream via HDMI with select titles that support Linear multi-channel PCM (some up to 7.1).

Even with compression, MGS4's audio took actually 25% of the disc. It was legacy DD 5.1, but the quality of the samples was head and shoulders above anything out there right now.

Right, which they also said (transition to PC tools) was fairly recent, or are you really selectively reading things to make yourself feel better? They haven't even decided how to approach the port, and don't know how many discs they're going to be using. If none of that casts any doubt, then carry on.

@Candlejack:

No, it's CGI/FMV compression in particular that's the issue on hand. Actual game data, audio aside, can be compressed without any real loss (though again, too many questions come to mind).

Even then, I'm sure they won't mind shipping on 5 discs if they sustain good quality with FMV.

I really don't need to elaborate on this a 2nd time. Read my other post.

@alexkidd:

They recently switched to the PC environment and there are other factors. The game has been developed on the PS3 for a while, and went through engine revisions. To note an example, engine revisions is the main reason why Dead Rising isn't on the PS3. Of course, there is the issue of disc space. Even with multiple disc use, compression will be trickier than ever, particularly with a series known for its CGI's.

We'll see how things turn out, but SE still doesn't know or decided how to approach the porting process. Other than finishing the original version first of course.

They did say it's going to be simultaneous, but if you read over 1Up's feature, you come out wondering if it's really feasible. They literally haven't decided anything yet, and will start porting only after they finish the Japanese PS3 version.

The way I look at it, it's possible that they'll have to delay the western release by some time to get both versions out simultaneously. Porting such a game certainly doesn't take mere 6-7 months.

The jury is still out on the "simultaneous release" bit. If 1UP's roundtable discussion with SE proved anything, it's that they really don't know how it's going to turn out. A delay between releases is most certainly probable. Highly, even.

@MKLOL:

Yes, in Japan. Despite the significance of the announcement, fact remains that FF is most relevant in Japan by a good margin.

From an "investment" point of view for MS, GTAIV DLC made more sense than getting FFXIII. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: it's like giving the finger to Sony. The main purpose was to hurt the PS brand's image, and given current market trends, it's mainly in online message boards. You know, where things really matter.

You're spot on. Sadly, had Shenmue II been on the PS2, we'd probably be playing Shenmue IV by now. Ryu Ga Gotoku was a light version of the series, and it turned into a franchise spawning 4 titles now.

Shenmue's budget was an excess of $70 million, much bigger than any title this generation so far (possible exclusions of GTAIV). Yet, Sega rushed by selling the NA publishing rights of SII to MS thereby killing off a backup plan of another port.

Yup, and if history has taught us anything, it's that negative reactions online amount to real damage.

Out of all 3, I think Sony's showing was the more solid and entertaining one. Granted, the games slated for 2008 were all shown before (sans R&C), and future games didn't have tentative release dates. They did focus more on the 2008 releases like Resistance 2, and LBP.

Nintendo aside (I don't think anyone got excited by the presentation), the other two were guilty of not showing enough of new games.

Same goes for third party publishers this year. There really isn't anything major we haven't heard of yet.

What other features is this 40GB replacement lacking?

Some of you are making it sound as if more features have been cut back, but this is a 40GB core with a bigger HDD. Rant when there are new cutbacks.

I'd throw in a 50" XBR model too. The thing isn't going near that price point until a PS4 is released.

What more stuff at lower price exactly? I haven't seen any real hardware revisions since HDMI, and you do know that the new 60GB unit will be $350, correct?

@Furysetzer:

but as a pure disk playing video game console, the 360 is a better value for the price.

Only if you take account the bigger library, and certainly not game-related hardware features... or online since XBL isn't free.

I'm pretty sure that the majority of PS3 sales are 40GB units right now. That holds true for Europe of course.

Point is, lack of BC won't have any impact on sales aside from some online message boards where people try to dig up so-called excuses to not buy a PS3.

If I could invite the people who complain about it to check out the full 20/60GB BC, everyone would be quiet. I have a PS2 hooked up despite having a core 20GB unit myself.

If you could only see how poor the BC is. PS1 titles play a tad better now (fill up the screen top now with the last firmware update). PS2 games still don't quite look as good. The bigger issue is the audio via the Toslink.

The only advantage is that some PS2 games load a tad faster. Otherwise, you're better off sticking with the original PS2 hardware.

Funny thing is, GOW3 will do more for any console in the west nowadays than FFXIII ever will. You're right about the stigma of having lost another exclusive, but outside of online message boards, you can ignore the western market trends. None of SE's titles are big western market oriented material.

Though the fact that third party exclusives, timed or otherwise, becoming less is rather irritating for multi console owners. You really don't want any of your purchases to lose some value. For years, owning all consoles actually meant something, but nowadays, it's not quite so valuable. Unless you're a big fan of first party titles, but even then, the titles are too few to justify an investment.

Confusing exclusivity loss (in the west) with a complete loss of the title? Now that would've been a shocker. Alas, given SE's earlier announcements of 360 titles, I personally thought it was inevitable for something like this to happen.

@ƒox:

I don't get it either. I actually got bored and stepped out to get some groceries, then caught the last part.