Posted on 05/12/2005 5:58:28 PM PDT by 1stFreedom
Microsoft is going to present the XBOX 360 tonight on MTV.
But some, most notably Sony, have criticized the Xbox effort as being an "xbox 1.5" and not truely a next generation system.
The rumored specifications on the XBOX 360 include a 3 core Power PC processor. Think of a three core chip being like having 3 processors in the unit, enabling the maching to handle multiple tasks in real time.
(Ever put a scratched, hard to read CD in your computer and have it hog your processor time up? This won't happen on multi core machines.)
Some have criticized the XBOX for not having as many cores as the Sony PS3 or Nintento Revolutions -- both of which are being released later, and will benefit from newer and faster chips all from the same source: IBM.
I personally believe the XBOX 360 is a bit weak in the power department. However, unless developers take full advantage of the power it currently has, it won't matter if a video game has 100 cores in it.
Also, at this point in time, video games won't be revolutionary but evolutionary. This is where Microsoft is actually taking a good risk with the timing on this machine.
A PS2 and an XBOX can handle fantastic, multiplayer, first person, video games that feature extensive maps and graphics. So don't expect to innovation out of the new machines.
The biggest advancement in video games is high definition, not any new earthshattering features. Games will look realistic, razor sharp, and match the quality of animation of major animation studios. But it's not the same leap in technology that Wolfenstein 3D brought to gaming.
So Sony can apply their own criticism to their own product. Nothing about the Sony PS3 will be earth shattering as far as advancements in video games. The Sony "PS 2.5" will simply be able to easily handle high defintion video.
What is the next generation, in my opinion? True three dimensional video games....
Dead or Alive 4 (Xbox 360) image...
http://www.gamesarefun.com/games/xbox2/doa4/03.jpg
holy smokes!
I work on Xbox 360. Nobody could credibly call it "Xbox 1.5". The power inside this box is simply awesome; it blows the original Xbox (and everything else in this generation, and most computers for that matter) away.
Seems like Sony fudged things a little at E-3 with all the pre-rendered stuff.
I myself feel the XBOX 360 is a tad underpowered for the next generation. I think what is missing is a dedicated PPU. Using a core to do the work of a PPU is Ok, but it would be better to have a dedicated chip.
Microsoft did an analysis which shows that the PS3 isn't more powerful. I tend to believe the results of this analysis.
Nevertheless of it being a tad underpowered, I'll pick up an xbox 360...
(I'd actually be interested in making beowolf clusters out of some xbox 360s... that would be interesting..)
They still look plastic. For 400 bucks, I was expecting something like Pixar (in game, not CGI) quality hair. I think the next PC video cards will top this (i.e. post-x850 ATI cards, that is). Problem is..those will be more than 500 bucks.
Well...these are first games. I'd expect second gen games will be better..
But, I still think that for all the hoopla raised about the next gen systems, they need much improvement.
I suspect we are about two generations away from Pixar quality games. Don't be surprised if by that point, pixar movies are generated on such systems.
Imagine a 12 cores running at 10ghz each (not sorry cell SPEs either), 1gbyte 10 ghz RAM, quad GPU, PPU based system -- unbelievable. Now stack togheter a dozen or so and you will have a very cheap supercomputer.
That's sweet. I can't wait to get an Xbox 360. What do you do?
That's sweet. I can't wait to get an Xbox 360. What do you do?
I'd rather not go into too much detail about my job... don't want to get in trouble, and better safe than sorry... but I have a couple of Xbox 360 beta kits on my desk right now. And you're right to be excited. This is one sweet piece of hardware.
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