The Semi-Official PS3 Thread

[gravedigger]

I don't think we have one of these yet, so...

The kiosks are out there. I played one at Best Buy the other night. Not that anyone cares but here's what I thought in a simple bullet-point list:

- Motorstorm was the demo game. It looks incredible. I was really impressed. Fog appears to be a thing of the past unless developers decide to use it for effect. I was playing a level on top of a plateau and you can see for miles and miles. Everything is really sharp and detailed. When your car blows up, you don't just see blocky shrapnel, you see actual parts.

- That said, the demo was hell of boring and the controls were a little too loose for my taste.

- They should have redesigned the controller since the Dual Shock is an uncomfortable piece of garbage. I like what they did with the L2 and R2 triggers, though.

- The system itself is huge and really ugly. I know we've all seen pictures of the thing but I didn't realize how big it was until I saw it up close. I hope the richie riches who buy this have big-ass entertainment centers.

- I'd like to see a unit running a playable Resistance demo. Or at least a demo like the 360 uses where you can see all the features of the system. I tried pressing the PS-logo button in the center of the controller to get to a home menu or something but nothing happened.

[Justin Clark]

Every report so far is saying that Resistance is shaping up to be the PS3's Perfect Dark Zero.

[wadew1]

What a sad launch. How many months until this console actually has something to offer?

[Guttenberg Fan Club]

Originally Posted by Crow

Every report so far is saying that Resistance is shaping up to be the PS3's Perfect Dark Zero.

Is that a good or bad thing?

[Justin Clark]

It's a disappointing thing. But, even then, PDZ didn't have Gears of War to live up to.

[Guttenberg Fan Club]

I'm fascinated about how the PS3 is going to end up. It's really a case of just how important brand names are to consumers.

[Jacob Singer]

I don't know if it's an indication of anything, but I'm an early adopter, have a decent amount of disposable income, already have a hi-def tv and surround sound setup, and I have no plans of buying a PS3. They'll have to bring up some impressive exclusive games to get my $600, and Resistance or Metal Gear ain't gonna do it.

[Master Shake]

Originally Posted by Crow

Every report so far is saying that Resistance is shaping up to be the PS3's Perfect Dark Zero.

Bah, I'm still hyped for it. Insomniac's track record >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Rare's track record.

[Overlord]

Originally Posted by Jacob Singer

I don't know if it's an indication of anything, but I'm an early adopter, have a decent amount of disposable income, already have a hi-def tv and surround sound setup, and I have no plans of buying a PS3. They'll have to bring up some impressive exclusive games to get my $600, and Resistance or Metal Gear ain't gonna do it.

Ditto.

[ElCapitanAmerica]

I saw a couple of these units at Target, but somebody forgot to turn them on!!!!

[otisthecat]

Originally Posted by Jacob Singer

I don't know if it's an indication of anything, but I'm an early adopter, have a decent amount of disposable income, already have a hi-def tv and surround sound setup, and I have no plans of buying a PS3. They'll have to bring up some impressive exclusive games to get my $600, and Resistance or Metal Gear ain't gonna do it.

Wow, that kind of shocks me. I figured you would be the go-to-guy for all things PS3 on CHUD, at least until Blunt spends $650 just to play MGS4.

[Jacob Singer]

I thought I would be too, but all the games I was interested in on the PS3 are coming out for the 360, which is still quite the monster in my book.

Plus, this year I might be upgrading the ol' gaming pc, and the $600 I might otherwise spend on a PS3 will probably go toward that.

Of course, I say all this, and then I'll be at the damn store, and that shiny new game console will be taunting me with its come-hither looks, and I'll cave like the Atlanta Falcons.

[dontEATnachos]

I have to say that I'll probably be picking one up sometime in the next 7 months. My main reason for waiting though is that I'd like to have an HDTV first.

I've been saving so that I could pick up one of the Sony SXRD/XBR's next summer when they lower the price to introduce new models. I think by then you'd be able to find the 60" in the $3K range.

The frustrating thing for me is that if it weren't for the fact that it's produced by MS I'd be all for the 360. I just can't bear the thought of locking myself into another MS ecosystem. Although Sony's isn't MUCH more open (at least you can navigate to non-Sony controlled sites via the web browser) I think there is some interesting potential there (also the ability for interaction with other devices/peripherals via Bluetooth).

[Overlord]

I'm just not seeing that "must have" game for the PS3. Oblivion was the game I had to have that induced me to buy the 360. I've never played the Metal Gear or Final Fantasy series, so those aren't big selling points (plus, Gamespot posted an article, that was quickly pulled, confirming Metal Gear 4 for the 360 . . . thus leading me to believe it may be a cross console release . . . much like Assassin's Creed turned out to be). If anything, the exclusives for the 360 are more compelling: Gears of War, Mass Effect, Lost Planet, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Half-Life 2 superpack, and, of course, Mass Effect.

Also, there's only so much I'm willing to spend for the gaming system. It's not the money, it's the principle. Also, I'm not so certain that the PS3 will end up being the superior system, performance wise.

[Blunt]

Originally Posted by otisthecat

Wow, that kind of shocks me. I figured you would be the go-to-guy for all things PS3 on CHUD, at least until Blunt spends $650 just to play MGS4.

Since it'll probably come out first, you should make that "at least until Blunt spends 650$ just to play DMC4".

[Russ Fischer]

I got mine today. Sony sent along Resistance, NBA 07, Genji and Ridge Racer. Also have Madden and Tiger here. Haven't played anything yet -- am knee deep in COD3 review on the 360.

The console is big, though. It's probably not MUCH bigger than the 360, but the lines make it appear to be.

Sony included an HDMI cable, but my TV only has DVI in, so I need a converter to test that, if the converter will even work. They also included crappy composite cables. But the A/V connector is the same as the one on the PS2, and my PS2 component cables are working fine.

It is VERY quiet. Might be quieter than the PS2, and far less noise than the 360.

For those wondering if there's a functional difference between the debug and regular PS3 (in terms of noise, etc) there's none with the PS2, so I'd say mine is a pretty good example of what the retail machines will be like.

[juan23]

I love that reflective sheen. Not worth $600.00, but I like the look nonetheless.

[Russ Fischer]

Originally Posted by juan23

I love that reflective sheen. Not worth $600.00, but I like the look nonetheless.

Fingerprint magnet.

And I tried out Resistance, just for the hell of it. I was disappointed at how it looked until I realized it was running in 480i. Went back to the system, pushed my max resolution to 1080i and actually SELECTED the component cable output. Now it's a lot better.

Calling this the PS3's PD0 is a stretch, I think, if only because that game was boring verging on unplayable. This may be the PS3's Call of Duty 2, which is OK.

Now back to COD3, which is really not very good at all.

[Anthony Sollecito]

Originally Posted by Russ Fischer

Now back to COD3, which is really not very good at all.

I realize that this is the wrong thread, but COD3 isn't that bad. Sure it's practically COD2 (with some graphical tune-ups) but it's still a blast, especially the multi. There's no denying that the series needs to evolve, but at this point it hasn't gotten that stale (unless you're really burnt-out on WWII games).

[dontEATnachos]

Russ, it looks like you've got the PS3 hooked up via Ethernet, does the test unit not include the WiFi?

I've also heard that the test ones don't have the full XMB interface on them, is that still the case for yours?

[Russ Fischer]

Originally Posted by dontEATnachos

Russ, it looks like you've got the PS3 hooked up via Ethernet, does the test unit not include the WiFi?

I've also heard that the test ones don't have the full XMB interface on them, is that still the case for yours?

No ethernet cable there - WiFi. You see A/V, power and a USB charging cable (for the control...er, SixAxis).

(And that thin cable in the first pic running next to the power cable is totally unrelated to the PS3.)

My unit has the full XMB.

And re: COD3 (also knowing it's in the wrong thread) the AI is weaker, the level design is more linear and less interesting (so far) and some of the action sequence scripting is not very good at all. (Like the point where a tank is blowing a hole through a stone wall you're supposed to just run rught by -- I backed off, knowing the blast was coming, and then got knocked to the ground anyway, as if the tank fire had affected me, when I ran through that zone.) So far, I'd rather play Resistance.

[dontEATnachos]

Originally Posted by Russ Fischer

No ethernet cable there - WiFi. You see A/V, power and a USB charging cable (for the control...er, SixAxis).

(And that thin cable in the first pic running next to the power cable is totally unrelated to the PS3.)

Ah my bad, that blue one looks like 30 CAT5 patch cables we've got around my office.

[gravedigger]

Originally Posted by Russ Fischer

No ethernet cable there - WiFi. You see A/V, power and a USB charging cable (for the control...er, SixAxis).

That's SIXAXIS, not SixAxis, to you, sir. Please remember that when you are writing your PLAYSTATION 3 launch guide.

[JudgeSmails]

I think a lot of folks will struggle with the price of the PS3. $600 bones is a lot of money for most families. Personally, the price doesn't bother me as much as these factors:

- Sony has yet to prove they can handle and support well on-line gaming
- The Launch games are weak, with no true heavy-hitters on the forseeable horizon.
- 360 has a ton of momentum right now and GOW along with the HD-DVD drive roll-out will steal a lot of thunder from Sony
- As a company, Sony is struggling to please both insiders, the board, and the public via stock. They don't have the capital MS is sitting on to whether the very expensive game development losses the first few years.
- Technology wise the Cell chip is a freak. It is outstanding and amazing tech. But I think it will be years until developers truly captitalize on what it can do.
- Forcing Blu-Ray does not appear to be a good decision. Sony is having major difficulties in getting the tech available and the first players have all been delayed or shipped fucked up. If the PS3 has similar issues say goodnight Gracy.

JS

[Alex Riviello]

People are already lining up for the PS3.

[Justin Clark]

I think it's just so their asses will be nice and numb when they decide to let Sony screw them over.

[Nexus-6]

Originally Posted by Alex Riviello

People are already lining up for the PS3.

I'd be so fucking pissed if I waited for a week, just to have a penguin get the last PS3. He's probably holding spots for other penguins, too. That bastard!

[Barkatthemoon]

Originally Posted by Alex Riviello

People are already lining up for the PS3.

So these people set on they're asses in line, to buy a machine, so they can set on they're asses some more at home?

[ElCapitanAmerica]

Originally Posted by Crow

I think it's just so their asses will be nice and
numb when they decide to let Sony screw them over.

Why is Sony screwing them? Nobody is forcing them to buy their console, there are plenty of choices.

[Nelson]

People lining up for the PS3.

Dumb.

[dontEATnachos]

Originally Posted by Nelson

People lining up for the PS3.

Dumb.

Yeah, we already saw this ... about 4 posts up.

[Justin Clark]

Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica

Why is Sony screwing them? Nobody is forcing them to buy their console, there are plenty of choices.

I didn't say Sony was screwing them. I said these people are tempering their asses, and offering these hardened posteriors to Sony for willful ease of future screwing.

At least that's how I see waiting 9 days and shelling out $600 for a system with only one halfway decent game at launch.

[Overlord]

Interesting article offering a "final" comparison of the three systems:

http://www.gamepro.com/gamepro/inter...es/83408.shtml

I am stunned by some of their conclusions, particularly in regards to the "graphics" category. Games such as Tony Hawk perform in a noticeably inferior fashion on the PS3 (check out the Gamespot reviews) while the creators of Mass Effect and Gears of War are on record as saying the PS3 doesn't have enough video ram to run those games "as is". Unless I'm missing something, Lair and Motorstorm do not look clearly superior to Gears of War.

The Wii launch lineup gets a mere 3.75? Huh? The PS3 got a 3.5, with two or three exclusives.

The PS3's "hot first-party exclusives" also gives me pause, since they're losing exclusives at a prodigious rate.

[ElCapitanAmerica]

Originally Posted by Overlord

I am stunned by some of their conclusions, particularly in regards to the "graphics" category. Games such as Tony Hawk perform in a noticeably inferior fashion on the PS3 (check out the Gamespot reviews) while the creators of Mass Effect and Gears of War are on record as saying the PS3 doesn't have enough video ram to run those games "as is".

"As is" means something was coded for a particular platform, and doing a "straight" port causes problems. Don't know why that's surprising at all.

Who knows about Tony Hawk, could be anything, lack of experience with a new architecture, or was it coded first on another platform and then ported quickly? In other words, comparing ports is not a good way of comparing performance, the devil is in the details.

[Russ Fischer]

That article is inane in several respects. Notably that it's impossible to funcitonally compare the online behavior of the PS3 and Wii with anything, since those two networks are not currently up and running -- the only way to actually see the PS3 network online is to set up a Japanese account in the next couple hours. Scoring the online behavior is impossible.

[Overlord]

Originally Posted by ElCapitanAmerica

"As is" means something was coded for a particular platform, and doing a "straight" port causes problems. Don't know why that's surprising at all.

Who knows about Tony Hawk, could be anything, lack of experience with a new architecture, or was it coded first on another platform and then ported quickly? In other words, comparing ports is not a good way of comparing performance, the devil is in the details.

None of that was discussed in the article, which I suppose is another problem with it.

Also, the GoW creators said flat-out that it wasn't a coding problem, it was a video ram problem, in terms of porting GoW,.

[ElCapitanAmerica]

Originally Posted by Overlord

Also, the GoW creators said flat-out that it wasn't a coding problem, it was a video ram problem, in terms of porting GoW,.

How you manage memory in a computer program is inherently tied to the implementation (code) at a low level, if not the design at a higher level.

Just take a simple example of an in place algorithm versus a recursive one (say sorting) for an example. The recursive algorithm could gobble up space but look simpler, while the in place one migth be a bit more complicated but manage memory in a more efficient (and predictable) manner.

In the end it might turn out that the system doesn't scale up to greater graphics performance in the long run, but it's hard to tell right now from anectodal evidence and the very first games, specially if they're ports.

[Domingo]

So Russ, comapred to the 360 launch... How do you think fans will be satisfied? As far as money, games, gear?

[Kreeper]

Looks like PS3 may actually have a tech advantage over the 360. Check out this interview with the Factor Five guys (Rogue Squadron) at IGN.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/733/733921p1.html

Here's an excerpt:

On the 1080p controversy:

IGN: What are your thoughts on 1080p? You're rendering some stuff out at that resolution now, do you think it's necessary for games to be standardized as 1080p and is it doable?

Eggebrecht: First of all, we are not only rendering some part of Lair in 1080p. The whole game is in 1080p native, from front-end to all in-game bits.

We absolutely love 1080p because of the detail that you can see. When we went up from 720 to 1080 I was blown away how much more of the artwork was visible. We started out being true 720p proponents, but since switching over to true 1080p via HDMI a few months ago I can't go back.

Lair is not upscaling or cheating to get to 1080p, we are natively running at the full 1920x1080 progressive resolution. Earlier this year we were quite skeptical if that would be possible, but the final kits really were a revelation in terms of power. Sony delivered what they promised and after a bit of tweaking we had the game up-and running. One thing that did help us was that our engine always was heavily reliant on data streaming, so the larger frame buffer memory never was an issue. By now half of our staff has 1080p monitors, and believe me, the 720 guys are jealous.

On the 360 vs. the PS3:

IGN: Quick Fanboy wars question -- Could Lair be done under its current spec on the Xbox 360? If so, why go with the PlayStation 3 "only" instead of going cross-platform?

Eggebrecht: Lair in its current form couldn't be done on 360. We are using large amounts of Cell's SPUs for all of our geometry, landscape, simulations, animations, even troop AI. When we create a game, we absolutely focus on the platform it is designed around. Would we do one for 360, it would be a different game and a different engine -- most crucially perhaps though: Lair is an entirely different game without the motion control and gesture recognition since it was designed around it.

IGN: What advantage does Blu-ray afford you now? Everyone talks about how great the extra storage space is but are you actually using it for Lair?

Eggebrecht: The single level at TGS alone takes up 4 Gigabytes of data. We are using every ounce of that due to streaming of our textures. Sure you could chop them all down to tiny sizes and we would fit, but then again, it would not be the same game. In addition to all the textures and geometry, we also do have video on the disc, and all of that is in native 1080p resolution. Thanks to Blu-Ray we don't need to worry about that and can still fit the whole game on a single disk.

Blu-ray may not be necesary for movies but it looks like it'll be useful for games. And while the PS3 Tony Hawk appears to have problems, I'm inclined to think it's the programming not the hardware. The producer of Oblivion also mentioned how the PS3 version had better draw-in distance and other improvements over the 360 version. Based on this and what friends at THQ, Pandemic, and Vivendi are telling me, the PS3 may have the tech advantage.

But all this is nil if the games aren't any good. Factor Five did decent stuff for the Cube and every time I see Lair it looks better and better. Sony's multi-million dollar CELL gamble with IBM and Toshiba may yet bear fruit...

Either way, it's a great time to be a gamer.

[Overlord]

Lair seems to be the ultra rare game that looks mediocre in screenshots, but fantastic in the videos. Normally it's the opposite.

Despite Capitan's explanation, I keep thinking: "512 available for video ram, is more than 256 available for video ram". But, I'll just watch the games and see what they come up with.

[Jacob Singer]

Bizarre stuff from the Japanese launch of the PS3. From Evil Avatar:

This is the true face of the PlayStation 3 debut in Japan. Hardcore gamers are not here waiting in line overnight, buying a first-run PS3, and running home to play some good old next-gen gaming. Rather, opportunistic Japanese businessmen have the largest presence, hiring poor Chinese men and women to wait in line for a PS3, one which will later be sold on web auctions to wealthy gamers around the world for exorbitant amounts of money.

...

Based on my observations of the first twenty PS3s sold at Bic Camera, they were all purchased by Chinese nationals, none of whom bought any software. After making their purchase, television crews asked for interviews but all were declined. These temporary owners of PS3s would then make their way down the street where their bosses waited. After several minutes, a dozen PS3s were rounded up, as their Japanese business manager paid out cash to those who waited in line for them. I witnessed a homeless-looking Chinese man, in his sixties or seventies get paid 20,000 yen for his services and was then sent away.

[AMH]

The entire, fascinating Kotaku article. Also on the page are some vids showing how bad things got (though it certainly could've been worse).

[Justin Clark]

Gets better. Check out the Yahoo auctions already.

[TheTwist]

Originally Posted by Crow

Gets better. Check out the Yahoo auctions already.

I'm going to expect a large number of joke bids on these things, both in Japan and the States. I mean, damn, 10 million yen for a single PS3?

Will the extremely large number of speculators this launch cause eBay prices to actually fall? It's seemed like in all the pre-order lines you had resellers outnumbering actual users by 9:1. If you have all those people fighting for sales, are there really enough wealthy PS3 diehard fans to support consistent $1200 auctions?

[donde]

With the system coming out this week, I wanted to see what chewers' opinions were on the PS3's commercials? The one with the baby doll is kind of creepy, but the ads with the rubik's cube and black birds are just fucking cool.

[Ktak]

Wow, I'm glad I live out in the suburbs. I bought mine on Saturday from a Jusco department store where they were using a lottery system. Everyone who was waiting in line at 9:15 a.m. was given a lottery ticket for the six available 20 gig PS3s. But since there were only 8 people in line, the odds were still in my favor. Sure enough, I was the second number that was called. It was a really painless experience in my case. I got to the mall around 9 a.m. and I even got to wait inside out of the rain. Better yet, I had about $30 worth of discount coupons, so my total price came out to less than $390 U.S. I guess nobody knew that they were selling PS3s there.

So far, I've only tried Ridge Racer (awesome graphics) on my PS3. Playing this game on an 80" 720p front projector is a freakish experience. You can actually feel a bit of motion sickness from the sensory overload. I only have a couple of Blu-ray movies right now, but the ones that I saw were incredibly sharp and easily distinguishable from the standard DVD equivalents. There were absolutely no playback glitches that I could detect over the past two days, so reliability seems excellent.

[neaux]

the best buy circular this week shows the Ps3 on the cover and says in fine print that each store will get a minimum of 6 units.

I'm sure that equates to 3 units of both price points minimum.

[Russ Fischer]

Originally Posted by neaux

the best buy circular this week shows the Ps3 on the cover and says in fine print that each store will get a minimum of 6 units.

I'm sure that equates to 3 units of both price points minimum.

A minimum of six units, or a maximum?

[neaux]

It says minimum.. so I'm sure Many Best buys will have more than 6 units. You can usually ask a manager how many they will be getting.

But still it means you need to be at Least #6 in line to insure that you have a PS3.

[Overlord]

Here the link to the "dark side of the PS3 launch" article referenced by Jacob Singer above:

Incorporating prior responses and reserving all prior objections, Plaintiff will further respond as follows:

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/for...ide-214130.php

I don't know, seems like I'd find fault with the store and its woeful handling of the crowd rather than with Sony, the scalpers, or the scalper assistants.