E3 has come and gone once again and while typically the games are the highlight of the event; this year they were overshadowed by the next generation of systems. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all showcased their next generation systems and all 3 systems seemed to have their highs and their lows. Let’s run down each system and see which one was the clear winner.
Sony’s Playstation 3
Sony began E3 with their press conference and had little marketing campaigns to speak of before the event. It didn’t seem to matter though, as Sony by far had the best press conference for their system at E3. The hardware specs. for the playstation 3 were unbelievable and the addition of the new Blu-Ray technology for dvds and games will change the way that consumers buy movies just like the dvd helped to move technology away from vhs movies in the past. The playstation will also play all previous movie formats from dvd disks to cd roms as well as the complete playstation game library going all the way back to playstation 1 games.
Here’s a brief look at some of the hardware specs:
CPUCell Processor
PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz
1 VMX vector unit per core
512KB L2 cache
7 x SPE @3.2GHz
7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
* 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy
total floating point performance: 218 GFLOPS
GPU
RSX @550MHz
1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines
Sound
Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell- base processing)
Memory
256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz
System Bandwidth
Main RAM 25.6GB/s
VRAM 22.4GB/s
RSX 20GB/s (write) + 15GB/s (read)
SB< 2.5GB/s (write) + 2.5GB/s (read)
System Floating Point Performance
2 TFLOPS
Storage
Detachable 2.5″ HDD slot x 1
I/O
USB Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
Memory Stick standard/Duo, PRO x 1
SD standard/mini x 1
CompactFlash (Type I, II) x 1
Communication
Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2)
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)
Controller
Bluetooth (up to 7)
USB 2.0 (wired)
Wi-Fi (PSP)
Network (over IP)
AV Output
Screen size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI: HDMI out x 2
Analog: AV MULTI OUT x 1
Digital audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1
Disc Media
CD PlayStation CD-ROM, PlayStation 2 CD-ROM, CD-DA, CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW, SACD, SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD, DualDisc, DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side)
DVD: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM, PlayStation 3 DVD-ROM, DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW
Blu-ray Disc: PlayStation 3 BD-ROM, BD-Video, BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE
Some other things to note based on the specs. is how Sony is joining the HDTV revolution as well so that all future next generation games will be able to be enjoyed on HDTV televisions. Another key note is the detachable hard drive that will be able to store many things but we’re still not quite sure what will be featured inside them. The addition of sony’s own memory stick as well as compact flash cards will allow gamers to hopefully store mp3s or be able to move stuff between the playstation 3 and the sony PSP but those details are still sketchy at best.
With all of this great information also comes some bad news. Details on the price of this machine were still not given and with information coming from sources saying that the graphics cards alone cost almost 1000$ , you can be sure that the playstation 3 won’t be cheap once launched.
Microsoft
Microsoft came in full force to E3 after already having held an unveiling of their own a week before with a special television presentation of their new xbox 360 over at MTV. Unfortunately when they held their press conference at E3 they pretty much re-said what they told people at MTV about the 360 and left people a little bored with their press conference. And while Sony was pretty much pouring their heart out about their new system, Microsoft basically tried to use the ‘smoke and mirror’ effect as critics like to call it by rephrasing words to make things sound cool when infact Microsoft may be lying all along.
Let me give you an example. ‘Microsoft will feature backwards compatibility with top selling xbox games’. Notice how the marketing guy didn’t say backwards compatibility with ‘ALL’ xbox titles? This left many to wonder whether the machine is truly backwards compatible after all while Sony pretty much said there was with all games, leaving Microsoft looking like a magician trying to pull an illusion on everyone. This still doesn’t mean that the Xbox 360 won’t be as good, as Microsoft’s machine will get the first crack at it with their machine set to launch by Christmas time.
Here’s some specs on the next xbox.
Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
* Three symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each
* Two hardware threads per core; six hardware threads total
* VMX-128 vector unit per core; three total
* 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread
* 1 MB L2 cache
CPU Game Math Performance
* 9 billion dot product operations per second
Custom ATI Graphics Processor
* 10 MB of embedded DRAM
* 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically scheduled shader pipelines
* Unified shader architecture
Polygon Performance
* 500 million triangles per second
Pixel Fill Rate
* 16 gigasamples per second fill rate using 4x MSAA
Shader Performance
* 48 billion shader operations per second
Memory
* 512 MB of 700 MHz GDDR3 RAM
* Unified memory architecture
Memory Bandwidth
* 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
* 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
* 21.6 GB/s front-side bus
Overall System Floating-Point Performance
* 1 teraflop
Storage
* Detachable and upgradeable 20GB hard drive
* 12x dual-layer DVD-ROM
* Memory Unit support starting at 64 MB
I/O
* Support for up to four wireless game controllers
* Three USB 2.0 ports
* Two memory unit slots
Optimized for Online
* Instant, out-of-the-box access to Xbox Live features with broadband service, including Xbox Live Marketplace for downloadable content, gamer profile for digital identity, and voice chat to talk to friends while playing games, watching movies, or listening to music
* Built-in Ethernet port
* Wi-Fi ready: 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g
* Video camera ready
Digital Media Support
* Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD
* Ability to stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras and Windows XP-based PCs
* Ability to rip music to the Xbox 360 hard drive
* Custom playlists in every game
* Built-in Media Center Extender for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
* Interactive, full-screen 3-D visualizers
High-Definition Game Support
* All games supported at 16:9, 720p, and 1080i, anti-aliasing
* Standard-definition and high-definition video output supported
Audio
* Multi-channel surround sound output
* Supports 48KHz 16-bit audio
* 320 independent decompression channels
* 32-bit audio processing
* Over 256 audio channels
System Orientation
* Stands vertically or horizontally
Customizable Face Plates
* Interchangeable to personalize the console
Some things to note based on these specs. is that the new xbox will be customizable with different face plates like a skin is to winamp. You’ll be able to buy different face plates and customize the xbox as much as you like. Another neat thing is the power button on the controller which allows you to power off your xbox without having to get up. Some other changes with the new xbox involve their subscription service Xbox Live. There’s now a xbox live gold and silver service with the silver version being free to the public while the gold version will stay based on a monthly fee and allow gamers to play multiplayer games.
The silver version will allow you to chat with other games,add new content online and other features. While many have made fun of this service, the ability to mod stuff >
Nintendo
Nintendo finished third in the console wars in North America and many were expecting the revolution to be Nintendo’s answer to Microsoft and Sony’s machines with something wonderfully revolutionary for Nintendo. A Revolution it was not but Nintendo still had some interesting comments to make regarding their next effort in the next generation race. First off , Nintendo pledged support for online play which is a stance that they have backed away from in the past.The fact that the online service is supposed to be free as well could help them in their efforts to combat Sony and Microsoft in the online world. The other interesting thing mentioned regarding revolution is how it will be backwards compatible with gamecube games. This is a first for Nintendo as well as previous console games have always be unavailable to play on current systems due to Nintendo’s piracy stance and their efforts to combat piracy by creating media that was different than their competitors and
Also noteworthy is how it will allow gamers to watch dvds with it but the mention of needing to buy an extra piece of hardware that needs to be attached to the system frustrated a lot of fanboys. The other huge announcement came when Nintendo mentioned how they will be creating an online store where you can buy and download previous nintendo titles going all the way back to the NES and as recently as the N64 and Gamecube. This might be very intelligent on the part of Nintendo if they can pull this move off successfully.The one thing that was absent on the part of Nintendo was their controller which they told the media wouldn’t be unveiled until later this year. While disappointing, the controllers for Nintendo are typically very revolutionary and usually copied by their competitors so it might have been a smart idea after all by Nintendo not to show it off just yet. The problems that came back to bite Nintendo in the ass though was its involvement with software and hardware information. Nintendo has singled itself away from Sony and Microsoft saying how they don’t want to be involved in a hardware or graphics war with both of those companies and want to concentrate on making innovative games.
Nintendo mentioned how the revolution will only be 1-3 times stronger than the gamecube which fans of nintendo weren’t very impressed by once they heard of that news. The lack of third party support will also hurt Nintendo as their first party games like Mario or Zelda will only get them so far in the future. And finally the idea of Nintendo still being a kiddie machine stayed with them as they had very little news on any mature games and basically showed off games for little kids at the event.
So after all of this news, let’s rundown some of the things that all systems seemed to bring to the table at E3 with their next generation systems.
-Wireless Controllers
-DVD support(including Blu-Ray for Sony)
-Wireless Internet capabilities
-Hard drive support
-Improved graphics,hardware and sound
Let’s also recap the highs and lows of each system.
Sony
Highs
-Blu Ray Support
-Backwards compatibility with all previous playstation titles
-backwards compatibility with all previous removable media
-Wireless controllers
-wireless internet
-Cell processor capable of superior graphics
-Hard drive
-HDTV support and 1080 i and p.
Lows
-poor newly designed controller
-price
-design of the system left some fans feeling it looked like a grill
Microsoft
Highs
-HDTV support
-early entry into marketplace
-wireless controllers
-wireless internet
-price most likely cheaper than sony’s machine
-free and paid versions of xbox live
-dvd support
-redesigned controller with new features
-superior graphics and hardware
-customizable face plates
-integration of movies,music,picture s with system and Microsoft media pc
-backwards compatibility with top selling xbox titles
Lows
-early entry into marketplace might hurt as well as help
-free and paid versions of xbox live left with a lot to be desired
-rushed software on launch
-backwards compatibility still has a lot of questions that need to be answered soon
-too much marketing can also be a bad thing if not done well enough.
-pleasing fans outside of games and not focusing on hardcore gamers as much
Nintendo
Highs
-Wireless controllers
-revolutionary new controllers that might impress a lot of people once unveiled
-dedicated online support
-free online support
-online store for previous nintendo titles integrated with machine
-wireless internet
-backwards compatibility with previous gamecube games
-dvd support
Lows
-with no information on controllers there is no idea of what controller may be or do
-hardware and graphics not so revolutionary after all with them only being 1-3 greater than gamecube hardware and graphics
-dvd supprt requires additional add-on that you need to buy
-no third party support again
-viewed as a kiddie machine again with hardcore gamers staying away from it
And the winner for best next generation console goes to….
The playstation 3
As gaming machines try to take the next step into the future,it’s clearly obvious by all 3 companies that gaming consoles are moving more towards being an all around entertainment center than simply being a gaming console. With that being said, Sony clearly made the right choices with their system as far as entertainment and gaming are concerned. The fact that the playstation 3 can add movie/gaming/music successfully into their system speaks volumes about where gaming consoles are headed. If you care less about whether your ps3 can also make toast for you and simply care about the games, then the ps3 didn’t disappoint in that area either.
Like the ps2, Sony has managed to diversify their lineup for the ps3 so that it caters to a very wide audience and the early titles in development suggest that the ps3 should deliver that same high standard this time around as well. While Microsoft and Nintendo did have some things going for them in other departments, if you look at the overall picture Sony simply had too many good things going for them at E3 and still have greater support from fans and critics alike based off of the ps2’s success. Going into the next generation of consoles,it’s clear that this is Sony’s competition to lose so unless they make some drastic changes to their philosophy, they should still be in 1st place once the future next gen. race is over.
And the biggest disappointment at E3 goes to…
Microsoft
While they still had a good showing at E3 and the xbox 360 looks decent compared to the ps3, this was Microsoft’s chance to gain ground on Sony and they simply didn’t deliver amongst all of the hype and marketing that they tried to use to manipulate people. Again, this was Sony contest to lose and Microsoft’s contest to gain and they simply didn’t do enough to put them ahead of Sony. I could call Nintendo a disappoinment as well but being in third place meant that they were the underdog as they didn’t have much to lose and their news seemed less disappointing based on their current platform than what Microsoft had to show.
And the biggest surprise at E3 goes to…
Nintendo’s Online Store
While Nintendo’s Revolution did have its highs and its lows, the most surprising moment to come from Nintendo was the announcement of its Online Store. The fact that Nintendo is online and will offer a free online service for gamers will definitely help them in the long run and might take a bite out of Xbox Live but the mention of an online store for gamers surprised a lot of people. The fact that you can buy and download previous nintendo titles going all the way back to the NES was simply amazing but time will tell whether Nintendo can really pull this off or not.
Well , it’s been another great year at E3, with a special year like this only happening every 6 years or so in the gaming industry. I’ll round out my gaming choices soon once I manage to scope through the entire gaming library that was unveiled at E3 to show off what great new games will be around in the next year or so. Until then ,bye bye.
Thanks goes to http://www.ign.com, http://www.gamespot.com, http://www.engadget.com for some info and technical specs.
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