The Next Generation of Gaming Consoles

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The Next Generation of Gaming Consoles
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History of the Last Gen

• Sony had the 1 Console (PS2), 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 GameCube

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Market Strategies

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

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Microsofts Look-around

• They wanted a console which.
• HD graphics
• Robust online play
• Unified community
• Backwards compatible
• Familiar to old players
• Customizable
• Integrated media player

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Xbox 360
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Xbox 360 Dashboard
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360 Stats

• Triple core PowerPC at 3.2GHz
• ATI GPU 512MB at 700MHz
• 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 120GB (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 3rd coming out end of april
• 299 for core, 399 for premium, 479 for elite

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What this means.

• HD graphics capable of 480i-1080p (although only
  HDMI and VGA connection can be used for 1080p)
• Can only play HD-DVD movies with additional drive
• Robust Xbox Live community with most every game
  online
• Ipod and other mp3 players can plug into it
• Can connect with windows based PCs
• Downloadable TV episodes, movies, HD movies,
  music, games, demos, additional content

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Sonys 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

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• Wanting to push blu-ray, a technology it owns,
  sony decides to make this the format of the PS3
• Developers find blu-ray much to expensive of a
  format
• Sonys 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 PS1
• They want it to push HD graphics to the max and
  be wi-fi with free online gameplay

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• PlayStation 3

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PS3 Interface
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Sony Home
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PS3 Stats

• 3.2 GHz cell processor
• Nvidia GPU of 256MBs at 650MHz
• 20gb (499) or 60gb (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

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What this means

• HD graphics form 480i-1080p (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

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Nintendos new style

• 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

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

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

• PowerPC Processor clocked at 729MHz
• ATI GPU Processor clocked at 243MHz
• Over 100MB 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 GameCube mini-DVDs
• 2 USB slots
• 4 GameCube controller ports and 2 memory card
  ports
• Up to 4 wireless Wii controllers using bluetooth
  technology
• The ability to use GameCube 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 480p
  resolution
• 250 for console

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What this all means

• 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 Wiis 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

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Advantages/disadvantages

• Xbox 360 pro
• Cheaper than PS3 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

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• PS3 Pro
• Most powerful console
• Home Sonys new 3d 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 Wiis)
• Linux support

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• 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

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• 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

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• PS3 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.

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• 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

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What this means.

• The final choice is yours
• There is no better console they all have their
  own strengths and weaknesses
• PS3 and Xbox 360 are very similar in both games
  and power
• PS3 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

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The general rules

• Non-gamers should get the wii
• RPG lovers and HD movie fanatics should get a PS3
• 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

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Sources

• www.ign.com
• www.wikipedia.com