Manage updates with the Download AppMay 12, 2006 11:58 AM PDT
Nintendo's Wii stealing show at E3
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E3 2006: Where games mean business
May 15, 2006 -
Nintendo shows off Wii controller
May 9, 2006 -
Sony unveils PS3 pricing, release dates
May 8, 2006 -
Nintendo Revolution renamed 'Wii'
April 27, 2006
Wait to try the console pushes past four hours, while hands-on time with the PS3 requires barely 30 minutes in line.
GameSpot looks at the endless Wii line
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Yes, it's a beautiful picture.
Yes, I'm incredibly envious of those who have it.
Yes, I'd love to have it in my home.
Dealbreaker? Hardly.
Anyone who's played RE4 for the 'Cube knows just how good standard definition can look. For the rest of us who don't have HD, there's almost no realized benefit to the PS3 and the Xbox360 (that's not to say I won't get them, though). As it is now, HD caters to a very small segment of the television-owning population. Not including it is no mistake on Nintendo's behalf, and it's managed to keep costs down and the focus on where it belongs: the games.
______________________________
R.K.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.Remove-All-Spyware.com" target="_newWindow">http://www.Remove-All-Spyware.com</a>
Time will tell which of us is right, but initial reports seem to discredit your viewpoint.
Of new TV's being sold in the big electronics stores...BestBuy...Circuit City...etc 80% are HD compatible if not more.
I think people are missing the big picture. There is really two markets here. The low end/low price young kid markets....ala Wii
And the higher end/higher price old kid/adult 360/PS3 market.
I think the Wii and 360 will both be very hand it to Sony....which has to high of a price with to few options like "Live".
On PS3, blurring the fact that the 20gb and 60gb units are two different machines; at a pre-E3 conference, Sony mislead the press and the public that the features on the 60gb Ps3 would be the same as the 20gb machine. Then Sony compounded the mistake by hastily adding on a motion detector on the PS3 controller - it even suprised the developers at the conference; according to the NY Times, only one developer had prior knowledge and it was only in two to three weeks advance before E3.
To quote The Rock - "I can smell what Sony is cooking! - It's FEAR!"
Nintendo's Revolution system - hits everything on the money - a unique system that forces the gaming industry to rethink how we play games- it has motion sensing controllers, wireless networking all over, and it doesn't ask you to spend a fortune to purchase or get an HD tv to really enjoy this system.
The graphics - Ever played Resident Evil 4 on Gamecube? It's not HD but it looks realistic enough to me. Supposedly the Reolution's new ATI graphics is more advanced than what's on Gamecube - so I don't think that's much of an issue.
As to HiDef - Nintendo has never said they ever gave up on that - on the Nintendo web site it has stated that Revolution (Wii) will have component AV cables (the same type of cables that 360 would use to deliver HiDef content ot a HiDef TV without a HDMI interface) - obviously Nintendo has a trick up their sleeves.
My two cents,
Ned
I have a 62" DLP TV and I can't wait to get my hands on a Wii (and yes, it will be plugged into the big TV). I watch a lot of off-the-air HD. While it does offer a better picture than DVD (480p over component and upscaled to 720p over HDMI), I still find that a well-made DVD looks great. Not as good as true HD, but still very nice. And, remember... If you have an HDTV, the TV will scale the video to its native resolution. If your TV has a decent scaler, a 480p picture can be more than acceptable.
SD programming off of my non-HD capable Dish Network receiver (haven't upgraded that to HD yet) over S-Video ranges from fugly to acceptable, but that has more to do with the connection, the level of compression used for a given channel and the inconsistancies of the NTSC format.
I strongly believe that a Wii sending a 480p signal to my TV over component cables will do WAY better than "halfway decent". In the end, I think the quality of the visuals in the game will matter more than the actual resolution (muddy textures at 1080i are still muddy textures).
Upscaled 480p content (if the source material is good) can look great on an HDTV; not as good as comparably quality HD content, but still very good.
So... stop worrying about the lack of HD and have fun with it!
The only thing it's really going to miss out on is 720p, and that's
not too big of a deal for me. There are no TV's with native
support of 1080i or p, well, not many. The only plasma's that
support that are bigger than 60".
Most TV's have to scale 1080 down to their native resolution.
Think about it. If your TV has 1268x768 resolution, it can't do
1080p! You need 1080 in that second number. Your TV would
have to be 1920x1080. Almost nobody has that, and it doesn't
look poised to change very soon.
The Wii will support progressive-scan that is one step down
from what most HDTV's actually are cabable of doing. So it's not
a big deal in my opinion.
just stick with a PC and a big monitor. A PC with a high end
graphics card will blow away anything from the big 3 console
makers in terms of specs.
Nintendo has the focus where it should be - innovative and
enjoyable games. Sony and MS are rehashing old stuff with
upgraded graphics. I'm not a big console person, only have a
rarely used PS2. But based on what I've read and seen, esp
about the new controllers and games for them, Nintendo just
earned a new customer.
Yes, it's a beautiful picture.
Yes, I'm incredibly envious of those who have it.
Yes, I'd love to have it in my home.
Dealbreaker? Hardly.
Anyone who's played RE4 for the 'Cube knows just how good standard definition can look. For the rest of us who don't have HD, there's almost no realized benefit to the PS3 and the Xbox360 (that's not to say I won't get them, though). As it is now, HD caters to a very small segment of the television-owning population. Not including it is no mistake on Nintendo's behalf, and it's managed to keep costs down and the focus on where it belongs: the games.
______________________________
R.K.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.Remove-All-Spyware.com" target="_newWindow">http://www.Remove-All-Spyware.com</a>
Time will tell which of us is right, but initial reports seem to discredit your viewpoint.
Of new TV's being sold in the big electronics stores...BestBuy...Circuit City...etc 80% are HD compatible if not more.
I think people are missing the big picture. There is really two markets here. The low end/low price young kid markets....ala Wii
And the higher end/higher price old kid/adult 360/PS3 market.
I think the Wii and 360 will both be very hand it to Sony....which has to high of a price with to few options like "Live".
On PS3, blurring the fact that the 20gb and 60gb units are two different machines; at a pre-E3 conference, Sony mislead the press and the public that the features on the 60gb Ps3 would be the same as the 20gb machine. Then Sony compounded the mistake by hastily adding on a motion detector on the PS3 controller - it even suprised the developers at the conference; according to the NY Times, only one developer had prior knowledge and it was only in two to three weeks advance before E3.
To quote The Rock - "I can smell what Sony is cooking! - It's FEAR!"
Nintendo's Revolution system - hits everything on the money - a unique system that forces the gaming industry to rethink how we play games- it has motion sensing controllers, wireless networking all over, and it doesn't ask you to spend a fortune to purchase or get an HD tv to really enjoy this system.
The graphics - Ever played Resident Evil 4 on Gamecube? It's not HD but it looks realistic enough to me. Supposedly the Reolution's new ATI graphics is more advanced than what's on Gamecube - so I don't think that's much of an issue.
As to HiDef - Nintendo has never said they ever gave up on that - on the Nintendo web site it has stated that Revolution (Wii) will have component AV cables (the same type of cables that 360 would use to deliver HiDef content ot a HiDef TV without a HDMI interface) - obviously Nintendo has a trick up their sleeves.
My two cents,
Ned
I have a 62" DLP TV and I can't wait to get my hands on a Wii (and yes, it will be plugged into the big TV). I watch a lot of off-the-air HD. While it does offer a better picture than DVD (480p over component and upscaled to 720p over HDMI), I still find that a well-made DVD looks great. Not as good as true HD, but still very nice. And, remember... If you have an HDTV, the TV will scale the video to its native resolution. If your TV has a decent scaler, a 480p picture can be more than acceptable.
SD programming off of my non-HD capable Dish Network receiver (haven't upgraded that to HD yet) over S-Video ranges from fugly to acceptable, but that has more to do with the connection, the level of compression used for a given channel and the inconsistancies of the NTSC format.
I strongly believe that a Wii sending a 480p signal to my TV over component cables will do WAY better than "halfway decent". In the end, I think the quality of the visuals in the game will matter more than the actual resolution (muddy textures at 1080i are still muddy textures).
Upscaled 480p content (if the source material is good) can look great on an HDTV; not as good as comparably quality HD content, but still very good.
So... stop worrying about the lack of HD and have fun with it!
The only thing it's really going to miss out on is 720p, and that's
not too big of a deal for me. There are no TV's with native
support of 1080i or p, well, not many. The only plasma's that
support that are bigger than 60".
Most TV's have to scale 1080 down to their native resolution.
Think about it. If your TV has 1268x768 resolution, it can't do
1080p! You need 1080 in that second number. Your TV would
have to be 1920x1080. Almost nobody has that, and it doesn't
look poised to change very soon.
The Wii will support progressive-scan that is one step down
from what most HDTV's actually are cabable of doing. So it's not
a big deal in my opinion.
just stick with a PC and a big monitor. A PC with a high end
graphics card will blow away anything from the big 3 console
makers in terms of specs.
Nintendo has the focus where it should be - innovative and
enjoyable games. Sony and MS are rehashing old stuff with
upgraded graphics. I'm not a big console person, only have a
rarely used PS2. But based on what I've read and seen, esp
about the new controllers and games for them, Nintendo just
earned a new customer.
Wow! What a novel idea!
Perhaps Sony and Microsoft should take a hint: Graphics are important, but in the end it's all about the experience.
Wow! What a novel idea!
Perhaps Sony and Microsoft should take a hint: Graphics are important, but in the end it's all about the experience.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-12331_7-6513197-1.html?tag=cnetfd.sd" target="_newWindow">http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-12331_7-6513197-1.html?tag=cnetfd.sd</a>
I have to admit, when I heard the new name I was turned off to the Nintendo system but when I saw the video- I wanted one for Christmas, even more than I wanted any of the other consoles.
It's potential for First or Third person shooter games is fantastic - imagine playing either Quake or Unreal Arena on this machine - either networked or locally.
Just by seeing Zelda and how you can use the unique controller to make like you're using a bow and arrow is a great.
Don't have to worry about buying an HD set yet, don't need to get a drive with the new DVD standard yet. And I get fresh new games without splunking over more than $250. I'm sold!
I hope Nintendo beats the pants off Sony and shows MS what the true meaning of Innovation means.
My Two Cents,
Ned
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-12331_7-6513197-1.html?tag=cnetfd.sd" target="_newWindow">http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-12331_7-6513197-1.html?tag=cnetfd.sd</a>
I have to admit, when I heard the new name I was turned off to the Nintendo system but when I saw the video- I wanted one for Christmas, even more than I wanted any of the other consoles.
It's potential for First or Third person shooter games is fantastic - imagine playing either Quake or Unreal Arena on this machine - either networked or locally.
Just by seeing Zelda and how you can use the unique controller to make like you're using a bow and arrow is a great.
Don't have to worry about buying an HD set yet, don't need to get a drive with the new DVD standard yet. And I get fresh new games without splunking over more than $250. I'm sold!
I hope Nintendo beats the pants off Sony and shows MS what the true meaning of Innovation means.
My Two Cents,
Ned
I personally will be buying a Wii (the name was horrible to me at first, but now it's kind of growing on me) when it first comes out....I'll still buy a PS3, I mean, MGS4 alone will be worth it.
and all this talk of HD....1080p is the true HD, no point in buying a HDTV until they come down in price.
I suggest everyone read this guide to HDTV at Team Xbox....it provided me with a ton of information about the new technologies coming out.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://features.teamxbox.com/xbox/1427/The-TeamXboxcom-Guide-to-HDTV/p1/" target="_newWindow">http://features.teamxbox.com/xbox/1427/The-TeamXboxcom-Guide-to-HDTV/p1/</a>
I still have my SNES I play on....and the games are just as fun now as they were back when I was a teenager, so I'm excited to go back to Nintendo.
Plus it's sheer brillance really, having the moving controller....with all the kids playing videogames getting fat and lazy, now you actually have to move and think a bit to play a game....it might create a whole new health craze...."Workout with Wii.."
I personally will be buying a Wii (the name was horrible to me at first, but now it's kind of growing on me) when it first comes out....I'll still buy a PS3, I mean, MGS4 alone will be worth it.
and all this talk of HD....1080p is the true HD, no point in buying a HDTV until they come down in price.
I suggest everyone read this guide to HDTV at Team Xbox....it provided me with a ton of information about the new technologies coming out.
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://features.teamxbox.com/xbox/1427/The-TeamXboxcom-Guide-to-HDTV/p1/" target="_newWindow">http://features.teamxbox.com/xbox/1427/The-TeamXboxcom-Guide-to-HDTV/p1/</a>
I still have my SNES I play on....and the games are just as fun now as they were back when I was a teenager, so I'm excited to go back to Nintendo.
Plus it's sheer brillance really, having the moving controller....with all the kids playing videogames getting fat and lazy, now you actually have to move and think a bit to play a game....it might create a whole new health craze...."Workout with Wii.."