The Next Generation of Gaming Consoles History of

The Next Generation of Gaming Consoles

History of the Last Gen § Sony had the #1 Console (PS 2), was also the oldest and weakest, but had strong developer support § Newcomer, Microsoft X-Box, attracted more mature gamers with its power and adult oriented games § Nintendo lost a lot of its fan base due to its lack of support for its middle powered, kid-friendly console, the Game. Cube

Market Strategies • Everyone knew that this next generation was going to be difficult to win with such steep competition…

Microsoft’s Look-around § They wanted a console which…. § § § § HD graphics Robust online play Unified community Backwards compatible Familiar to old players Customizable Integrated media player

Xbox 360

Xbox 360 Dashboard

360 Stats Triple core Power. PC at 3. 2 GHz ATI GPU 512 MB at 700 MHz 3 USB slots, two up front, one in the back HDMI (elite), Component, VGA or composite cables for connection to TV 20 GB removable Hard Drive or 120 GB (elite) Tray loading drive uses DVDs and can read cds and dvds, plus an additional drive add-on can read HD-DVDs Up to 4 wireless controllers similar in design to first xbox Port in controllers to plug in Headset Ethernet port and can use wireless with adaptor 2 versions with a 3 rd coming out end of april $299 for core, $399 for premium, $479 for elite

What this means…. n n n HD graphics capable of 480 i-1080 p (although only HDMI and VGA connection can be used for 1080 p) Can only play HD-DVD movies with additional drive Robust Xbox Live community with most every game online Ipod and other mp 3 players can plug into it Can connect with windows based PCs Downloadable TV episodes, movies, HD movies, music, games, demos, additional content

Sony’s Dominance or Demise Having the most developers and having the highest selling console and fan base, Sony decides to take advantage of it Possibly too much advantage…

Wanting to push blu-ray, a technology it owns, sony decides to make this the format of the PS 3 Developers find blu-ray much to expensive of a format Sony’s console will use state-of-the-art cell processors to power it, again expensive Sony had an original controller design but got rid of it in favor of the almost exact same controller design they have had since PS 1 They want it to push HD graphics to the max and be wi-fi with free online gameplay

• Play. Station 3

PS 3 Interface

Sony Home

PS 3 Stats n n n n n 3. 2 GHz cell processor Nvidia GPU of 256 MBs at 650 MHz 20 gb ($499) or 60 gb ($599) hard drives Plays blu-ray discs, dvds, cds through slot loading drive Memory card slots for SD, memory stick, xd, Compactflash on $599 version Backwards compatible USB slots HDMI, component, composite cables for video Wireless controllers (with some motion sensing) using bluetooth up to 4, possibly 7 $499 or $599

What this means… n n n HD graphics form 480 i-1080 p (no HD cables come with the console unlike 360) Online play is free Media player abilities Can watch blu-ray movies cheaper than current blu-ray players Lots of computing power for advanced AI

Nintendo’s new style o o The company realized that they could not compete monetarily with the machines of Microsoft and Sony, who could afford any and everything So they tried a new, radical approach by making these necessary requirements for their new console…

o o o Cheap manufacturing costs Easy to develop for Small and efficient Innovative Allows for new people to join the gaming industry (grandparents, women) What did they come up with…

The Nintendo Wii

Nunchuck add-on to the wii remote to allow for more involved gameplay Wii Classic controller to allow for classic style gameplay of downloaded games from Nintendo and Sega past

The Console Interface

The Wii Stats § § § § Power. PC Processor clocked at 729 MHz ATI GPU Processor clocked at 243 MHz Over 100 MB of ram memory 512 MB of built in flash memory for storing games and data SD card slot Slot driven disc drive capable of playing both Wii DVDs and Game. Cube mini-DVDs 2 USB slots 4 Game. Cube controller ports and 2 memory card ports Up to 4 wireless Wii controllers using bluetooth technology The ability to use Game. Cube contollers along with Wii controllers for possibility of 8 player games Wi-Fi out of the box Wii controllers have an accessory port to allow controller add-ons to plug in Sensor bar for mouse-like pointer ability Can use Component cables for up to 480 p resolution $250 for console

What this all means… n n The Nintendo Wii is the weakest of the new systems only 2. 5 times as powerful as its predecessor and 1. 5 times as powerful as the first Xbox The Wii’s controllers are all motion sensing and can point in precision like a mouse. The Wii is not in HD, but is much cheaper to produce for Wii channels offer new ideas

Advantages/disadvantages • Xbox 360 pro… • Cheaper than PS 3 with minimal to no loss on graphic quality Comes with all the cables necessary for HD and online play Xbox live has largest user base for any online community and the xbox live arcade downloadable games Downloadable TV and movies are taking off fast Has largest library of games due to its release a year before competitors • •

n n n n PS 3 Pro… Most powerful console “Home” Sony’s new 3 d Avatar based virtual world (like the sims) is used for online community and gaming Blu-ray player Downloadable games SIXAXIS motion sensing (although not near as advanced as the Wii’s) Linux support

n n n n n Wii pro… Cheapest choice New style of gameplay using motion sensing and pointing New types of games New types of players Virtual console downloadable classics Opera Browser support Largest base of exlusive franchises Miis

n n n Xbox 360 cons… It is the “middle” console No motion sensing at all Does not use bluetooth Not as broad of a genre and age base as Nintendo and Sony Too many versions

n n n n PS 3 cons… Too expensive, puts it way out of reach of many customers Least exclusives thanks to lost support No rumble feature in the controller Poor marketing Too much reliance of fan base If blu-ray fails….

n n n n Wii cons… Expensive controllers Not many deep games as of now Not capable of HD graphics Little memory for downloaded games Poor online support Too much reliance on franchises Not as much multi-media features

What this means…. l l l The final choice is yours… There is no “better console” they all have their own strengths and weaknesses PS 3 and Xbox 360 are very similar in both games and power PS 3 is selling very poorly due to its high price Wii is selling the best in time but over Xbox 360 has sold more due to its longer length of availability

The general rules… • • • Non-gamers should get the wii RPG lovers and HD movie fanatics should get a PS 3 First-person shooter fans should get an xbox 360 • Two huge advantages the wii has is that it is cheap enough to have it and one of the other consoles and its appeal to new gamers and non-gamers which could swing the war in its favor…. . • But keep in mind that it is the quality of games which will sell the system more than anything

Sources • www. ign. com • www. wikipedia. com