There's been a lot of interest in the PS3 due to its stated 1080p output for both games and movies (via Blu-ray). What's interesting is that a lot of folks don't realize how meaningless 1080p actually is in this generation.
Let's take games first. The PS3 has roughly the same pixel-pushing capabilities as the Xbox 360. Don't need to take my word for it, it'll be obvious soon enough over the next year. Even if this wasn't the case, consider we now live in a multi-platform development world, and that the current sweet spot developers are targeting is 720p due to the extremely similar system specifications. Simply put, a developer who is planning to release their game for both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 will aim for a common attainable ground. In fact, I'll stick my neck out and predict that that you won't see any 1080"x" games for the PS3 this year.
Let's move on to HD movies. Home Theater Magazine (recommended!) has a sister website, and I wanted to point you to a great blog post by Geoffrey Morrison discussing the topic. To quote:
"Movies and almost all TV shows are shot at 24 frames-per-second (either on film or on 24fps HD cameras). All TVs have a refresh rate of 60Hz. What this means is that the screen refreshes 60 times a second. In order to display something that is 24fps on something that is essentially 60fps, you need to make up, or create new frames. This is done using a method called 3:2 pulldown (or more accurately 2:3 pulldown). The first frame of film is doubled, the second frame of film is tripled, the third frame of film is doubled and so on, creating a 2,3,2,3,2,3,2 sequence. It basically looks like this: 1a,1b,2a,2b,2c,3a,3b,4a… Each number is the original film frame. This lovely piece of math allows the 24fps film to be converted to be displayed on 60Hz products (nearly every TV in the US, ever).
This can be done in a number of places. With DVDs, it was all done in the player. With HD DVD, it is done in the player to output 1080i. With Blu-ray, there are a few options. The first player, the Samsung, added the 3:2 to the signal, interlaced it, and then output that (1080i) or de-interlaced the same signal and output that (1080p). In this case, the only difference between 1080i and 1080p is where the de-interlacing is done. If you send 1080i, the TV de-interlaces it to 1080p. If you send your TV the 1080p signal, the player is de-interlacing the signal. As long as your TV is de-interlacing the 1080i correctly, then there is no difference. Check out this article for more info on that."
Microsoft have detailed the titles due for release via Xbox Live in the forthcoming weeks, revealing in the process, the drop date of the much anticipated Lumines Live!
Xbox Live Wednesdays are set to continue into August and September, with Pac-Man and ther previously announced Texas Hold 'Em poker leading the way.
Lesser known titles, Time Pilot and Scramble are soon to follow with Lumines kicking off September in fine fashion. The highly addictive Lumines Live! puts a next-gen twist on the familiar puzzle title with its in-game 'skins' - acting as background to the block busting action, the 360 version will offer popular music videos as the backdrop to your play. With an initial number included on purchase and more to follow, again over Xbox Live, in the Artist Pack.
Have you been waiting for Bomberman Act: Zero Trailer??
Well, wait no longer.
You can now download a trailer for "Bomberman Act: Zero" from the Xbox Live Marketplace.
Check it out now on your 360 or keep up-to-date in our Xbox Games area with all the info we can find for you all...
Please note:
This content is not available in the following Xbox Live regions: Mexico, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore or Taiwan.
2K Sports, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (Nasdaq: TTWO), proudly announced today the return of Miami Heat center and 2006 NBA World Champion, Shaquille O'Neal as cover athlete and official spokesperson for NBA 2K7.
The next chapter of the #1 rated* NBA 2K series, NBA 2K7 elevates the standard for all sports games, offering fans the most comprehensive and exciting basketball experience to date. NBA 2K7 presents cutting-edge visual realism, while offering the most intense and exhilarating gameplay controls in any basketball game, thanks in part to new post play mechanics inspired by Shaquille O'Neal.
"Shaquille O'Neal remains one of the most dominant, exciting, and charismatic athletes in the world," stated Erik Whiteford, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports. "Shaq is well-known for his fun-loving nature, great work ethic, and incredible athletic skills. His dominating game and winning attitude make him the central figure on every team he is a part of, including 2K Sports. We're very pleased to be working with Shaq again with NBA 2K7."
"You only get to represent the best by playing with the best," said Shaq. "NBA 2K7 is the game for champions and I'm proud to be a part of the best basketball game anywhere."
For all those gamers drooling over Project Offset it looks like the title is coming to Xbox 360 and a publisher has been secured.
Here's a little info for all those xbox 360 users who havent checked out the Project Offset info in our database already..
"Project Offset" (working title) is a game like no other first person shooter to date. We wanted to make an FPS set in a epic fantasy world. A game where you can choose one of many character classes. A game where clans can combat over mission based objectives and be ranked accordingly. A game where you can play alone, coop, team based objective or deathmatch. The controls feel exactly how an FPS player would expect. Play as an archer and your skill using the bow and leading your target is what will set you apart. When the battles get close up, pull out your sword and continue the fight melee.
Finally all moved in! We are looking for talented programmers and artists to join our team. We are now backed by a major publisher but will not be disclosing the details just yet. Visit our jobs page for more information on available positions.
Then, on the jobs page (which offers 401K and dental, perhaps we'll apply!), they've got an opening for an Xbox 360 programmer.
Primary responsibility will be to handle porting, maintaining, and optimizing the codebase for the Xbox 360. Experience developing for the Xbox 360 is a huge plus. Experience programming for console platforms is required.
So the combination of securing a major publisher and looking for a 360 programmer would seem to equal that this bad boy is coming to Microsoft's next gen console.
Check out all the information we have on the Xbox 360 Version of Project Offset in our Xbox 360 Games Database right here.
Microsoft Invites the World to Create Its Own Xbox 360 Console Games for the First Time
More than 10 esteemed universities to add XNA Game Studio Express and Xbox 360 game development into their curricula starting this fall.
SEATTLE — Aug. 13, 2006 — In the 30 years of video game development, the art of making console games has been reserved for those with big projects, big budgets and the backing of big game labels. Now Microsoft Corp. is bringing this art to the masses with a revolutionary new set of tools, called XNA Game Studio Express, based on the XNA™ platform. XNA Game Studio Express will democratize game development by delivering the necessary tools to hobbyists, students, indie developers and studios alike to help them bring their creative game ideas to life while nurturing game development talent, collaboration and sharing that will benefit the entire industry.
During his keynote presentation today at Gamefest 2006, a Microsoft® game developer event hosted by Microsoft in Seattle, Chris Satchell, general manager of the Game Developer Group at Microsoft, announced details of the new technology, which will be broadly available this holiday season. XNA Game Studio Express will be available for free to anyone with a Windows® XP-based PC and will provide them with Microsoft’s next-generation platform for game development. By joining a “creators club” for an annual subscription fee of $99 (U.S.), users will be able to build, test and share their games on Xbox 360™ and access a wealth of materials to help speed the game development progress. This represents the first significant opportunity for novice developers to make a console game without a significant investment in resources.
During his keynote, Satchell talked about academic institutions that are lining up to include XNA Game Studio Express in their course offerings. Also showcased was the work of key XNA supporters Autodesk Inc. and GarageGames. Through the Microsoft XNA relationship with Autodesk, the leading provider of 3-D authoring software, game developers and enthusiasts can now more easily incorporate content into XNA Game Studio Express via Autodesk’s FBX file exchange format. Joining Satchell on stage was Mark Frohnmayer, president of GarageGames, who showcased ports of its next-generation Torque tools and technology over to the XNA Game Studio Express platform.
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