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Everyone has there own views on which console is better than others. "This console is better than that one because of ………..". It’s usually to do with games, the graphics, the make etc..
But has anyone actually looked at each and every console and looked at why they are better than others with good and bad points?
I have decided to do this and go through each of the future consoles (including Dreamcast) and describing their good and bad points.
I’m not going to say if the console has been or will be successful or not or put in my own views of them, this is just the facts on each console so that you can decide for yourself.
This is totally unbiased OK and they are done in alphabetical order to prevent me from being so.
This is going to be long so take a deeeeep breath!
DREAMCAST: Launch date: November 1998 Manufacturer: Sega UK Launch Price: £200
Good Points: Online functions, Lots of Exclusive must-have titles, Developer friendly, Lowest priced Next Generation console for some time
Bad Points: Little Publisher support, Technically weak compared to GameCube and X-Box, Narrowband network offers questionable performance for online-play.
CPU: Hitachi SH-4 128bit 200Mhz
Graphics Processor: NEC/VideoLogic PowerVR CLX1 0.25-miron technology 150Mhz
Main RAM: 16Mb
Memory bandwidth: 3.2Gb/sec
Graphics RAM: 8Mb
Theoretical performance: 3million polygons per second
Sound RAM: 2Mb dedicated RAM, support for samples up to 64Kb
Storage: 12x 1Gb GD-ROM. 128Kb Visual Memory System cards featuring 48x32 pixel monochrome LCD, D-Pad and four buttons.
Input/Output: Four joypad slots, two expansion slots per joypad, A/V main out, serial I/O
Networking: 56.6K Modem
Notes: Extremely good texture handling.
Sega certainly has not stinted when its come to peripherals for Dreamcast. So far a steering wheel, arcade joystick, fishing controller, lightgun, vibra pack, keyboard, mouse and microphone have been released.
Must-have games: Shenmue, Phantasy Star Online, Virtua Tennis, Metropolis Street Racer, Jet Set Radio.
GAMEBOY ADVANCE: Launch date UK: June 2001 Manufacturer: Nintendo UK expected launch price: £68
Good Points: A clear technical step forward, GameBoy is a hugely successful brand, Many key games, Multiplayer connectivity, compatibility with wireless devices.
Bad Points: The already huge GameBoy installed base may restrict sales, No backlit screen, Relatively Expensive, can be too small and uncomfortable for western-sized hands.
CPU: ARM 32bit with embedded memory.
Main RAM: 32kb WRAM (CPU)
Graphics RAM: 96kb VRAM
Theoretical performance: 511 colours simultaneously in character mode; 32,768 in bitmap mode.
Estimated real performance: Comparable to the SNES
Graphics functions: Transparency, scaling, and rotating effects.
Audio Performance: Stereo and Dolby Surround supported through suggested headphone terminal.
Storage & Media: Cartridge Format, maximum 256Mbits, compatible with all GameBoy paks.
Input/Output: Headphone terminal, GameLink port
Networking: Nintendo plan to produce a cable capable of linking the GBA to the GameCube as an external controller and also a Communication cable, allowing up to four players to link up. A mobile adaptor will provide wireless networking capabilities.
Notes: Increase in screen size - unfortunately not backlit as this would increase the price.
The addition of two new shoulder buttons gives developers more leeway in terms of controller input, but is still two buttons short of the SNES, its superficial comparison.
Must-have games: MarioKart, Castlevania, Chu Chu Rocket, Sonic Adventure, Diddy Kong pilot.
GAMECUBE: Launch Date (UK): Spring 2002 Manufacturer: Nintendo UK Launch Price: £199
Good Points: Shigeru Miyamoto, A strong list of third-party developers including Sega, unique talent from Nintendo and Rare, Console Experience, Easy programming, competitive price, interfacing with GBA, just for games - not a multimedia system, loads of stunning games.
Bad Points: Brand image geared towards lil’ kids, Lack of DVD drive may be seen as a limit, May arrive too late in Europe, Nintendo may make the same mistakes as the N64.
CPU: IBM PowerPC, Gekko, 128Bit, 405MHz
Graphics Processor: Flipper 128Bit, 202.5Mhz
Main RAM: 24Mb
Graphics RAM: 16Mb
Memory Bandwidth: 3.2Gb/sec
Theoretical performance: 12million polygons per second
Sound RAM: 8kb instruction RAM + 4kb ROM, custom 16Bit DSP
Audio Performance: 64 channels, 48KHz
Storage and Media Type: 1.5Gb GameCube disk drive, 4Mb Digicard Flash Memory, 64Mb SD-Digicard adapter.
Input/Output: Four controller ports, two Digicard slots.
Networking: 56K modem and broadband ports
Notes: Very easy to work on. Nintendo has focused mainly on graphics.
A special wireless GameCube controller called the Wavebird has been designed for up to 30ft away gaming. The GameCube disks are the size of mini-disks - Nintendo had to change from cartridges for financial reasons.
Must-Have Games: Luigi’s Mansion, Starfox Adventure: Dinosaur Planet, Perfect Dark 2, Zelda 3
PLAYSTATION 2: Launch Date: November 2000 Manufacturer: Sony Launch Price: £300
Good Points: Adaptable, powerful chipset, Hundreds of games, DVD drive will attract new gamers, A head-start on GameCube and X-Box, Can play PS1 games.
Bad Points: Tough to program, Limited amount of texture memory, DVD drive distracts players from games to movies, problems with DVD player (screen goes funny), not many essential games bar a few.
CPU: Emotion Engine, 128bit, 249.912 Mhz
Graphics Processor: Graphics Synthesiser 147.456MHz
Main RAM: 32Mb RAM
Memory Bandwidth: 3.2Gb/sec
Theoretical performance: 66m polygons/second
Estimated Real Performance: 20m polygons/second
Sound RAM: 2Mb embedded on SPU
Audio Performance: 48 channels, Dolby Digital 5.1
Storage: 4x4 7Gb DVD, 8Mb memory Cards.
Input/Output: Two game controller ports, two USB ports, Digital Out.
Playstation 2 memory cards have eight times the capacity of the ones used for PS1.
Must-have games: TimeSplitters, Metal Gear Solid 2, Lotus Challenge
X-BOX Launch Date: Late 2001 Manufacturer: Microsoft Estimated Launch Price: £300
Good Points: The most powerful of the next-gen hardware. Should be easy to program. Lots of developers. Built-in hard disk.
Bad Points: Can Microsoft really understand yr living room? Bill Gates.
CPU: 733Mhz Intel 32Bit CPU
Graphics Processor: 250Mhz Nividia iGPU
Main RAM: 64Mb unified memory.
Memory Bandwidth: 6.4Gb/sec
Graphics RAM: none (64Mb unified RAM)
Theoretical Performance: 125million polygons/second.
Sound RAM: none (64Mb unified RAM)
Storage: 2-5xDVD, 8Gb Hard-drive, 8Mb Memory Card.
Input/Output: Four game controller ports. Expansion port.
The controllers (much too similar to the Dreamcast ones) have been re-designed especially for Japanese users who have much smaller hands.
Must-have games: Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2x, Tau, Raven.
So...you decide which one you want- which one sounds better?
But has anyone actually looked at each and every console and looked at why they are better than others with good and bad points?
I have decided to do this and go through each of the future consoles (including Dreamcast) and describing their good and bad points.
I’m not going to say if the console has been or will be successful or not or put in my own views of them, this is just the facts on each console so that you can decide for yourself.
This is totally unbiased OK and they are done in alphabetical order to prevent me from being so.
This is going to be long so take a deeeeep breath!
DREAMCAST: Launch date: November 1998 Manufacturer: Sega UK Launch Price: £200
Good Points: Online functions, Lots of Exclusive must-have titles, Developer friendly, Lowest priced Next Generation console for some time
Bad Points: Little Publisher support, Technically weak compared to GameCube and X-Box, Narrowband network offers questionable performance for online-play.
CPU: Hitachi SH-4 128bit 200Mhz
Graphics Processor: NEC/VideoLogic PowerVR CLX1 0.25-miron technology 150Mhz
Main RAM: 16Mb
Memory bandwidth: 3.2Gb/sec
Graphics RAM: 8Mb
Theoretical performance: 3million polygons per second
Sound RAM: 2Mb dedicated RAM, support for samples up to 64Kb
Storage: 12x 1Gb GD-ROM. 128Kb Visual Memory System cards featuring 48x32 pixel monochrome LCD, D-Pad and four buttons.
Input/Output: Four joypad slots, two expansion slots per joypad, A/V main out, serial I/O
Networking: 56.6K Modem
Notes: Extremely good texture handling.
Sega certainly has not stinted when its come to peripherals for Dreamcast. So far a steering wheel, arcade joystick, fishing controller, lightgun, vibra pack, keyboard, mouse and microphone have been released.
Must-have games: Shenmue, Phantasy Star Online, Virtua Tennis, Metropolis Street Racer, Jet Set Radio.
GAMEBOY ADVANCE: Launch date UK: June 2001 Manufacturer: Nintendo UK expected launch price: £68
Good Points: A clear technical step forward, GameBoy is a hugely successful brand, Many key games, Multiplayer connectivity, compatibility with wireless devices.
Bad Points: The already huge GameBoy installed base may restrict sales, No backlit screen, Relatively Expensive, can be too small and uncomfortable for western-sized hands.
CPU: ARM 32bit with embedded memory.
Main RAM: 32kb WRAM (CPU)
Graphics RAM: 96kb VRAM
Theoretical performance: 511 colours simultaneously in character mode; 32,768 in bitmap mode.
Estimated real performance: Comparable to the SNES
Graphics functions: Transparency, scaling, and rotating effects.
Audio Performance: Stereo and Dolby Surround supported through suggested headphone terminal.
Storage & Media: Cartridge Format, maximum 256Mbits, compatible with all GameBoy paks.
Input/Output: Headphone terminal, GameLink port
Networking: Nintendo plan to produce a cable capable of linking the GBA to the GameCube as an external controller and also a Communication cable, allowing up to four players to link up. A mobile adaptor will provide wireless networking capabilities.
Notes: Increase in screen size - unfortunately not backlit as this would increase the price.
The addition of two new shoulder buttons gives developers more leeway in terms of controller input, but is still two buttons short of the SNES, its superficial comparison.
Must-have games: MarioKart, Castlevania, Chu Chu Rocket, Sonic Adventure, Diddy Kong pilot.
GAMECUBE: Launch Date (UK): Spring 2002 Manufacturer: Nintendo UK Launch Price: £199
Good Points: Shigeru Miyamoto, A strong list of third-party developers including Sega, unique talent from Nintendo and Rare, Console Experience, Easy programming, competitive price, interfacing with GBA, just for games - not a multimedia system, loads of stunning games.
Bad Points: Brand image geared towards lil’ kids, Lack of DVD drive may be seen as a limit, May arrive too late in Europe, Nintendo may make the same mistakes as the N64.
CPU: IBM PowerPC, Gekko, 128Bit, 405MHz
Graphics Processor: Flipper 128Bit, 202.5Mhz
Main RAM: 24Mb
Graphics RAM: 16Mb
Memory Bandwidth: 3.2Gb/sec
Theoretical performance: 12million polygons per second
Sound RAM: 8kb instruction RAM + 4kb ROM, custom 16Bit DSP
Audio Performance: 64 channels, 48KHz
Storage and Media Type: 1.5Gb GameCube disk drive, 4Mb Digicard Flash Memory, 64Mb SD-Digicard adapter.
Input/Output: Four controller ports, two Digicard slots.
Networking: 56K modem and broadband ports
Notes: Very easy to work on. Nintendo has focused mainly on graphics.
A special wireless GameCube controller called the Wavebird has been designed for up to 30ft away gaming. The GameCube disks are the size of mini-disks - Nintendo had to change from cartridges for financial reasons.
Must-Have Games: Luigi’s Mansion, Starfox Adventure: Dinosaur Planet, Perfect Dark 2, Zelda 3
PLAYSTATION 2: Launch Date: November 2000 Manufacturer: Sony Launch Price: £300
Good Points: Adaptable, powerful chipset, Hundreds of games, DVD drive will attract new gamers, A head-start on GameCube and X-Box, Can play PS1 games.
Bad Points: Tough to program, Limited amount of texture memory, DVD drive distracts players from games to movies, problems with DVD player (screen goes funny), not many essential games bar a few.
CPU: Emotion Engine, 128bit, 249.912 Mhz
Graphics Processor: Graphics Synthesiser 147.456MHz
Main RAM: 32Mb RAM
Memory Bandwidth: 3.2Gb/sec
Theoretical performance: 66m polygons/second
Estimated Real Performance: 20m polygons/second
Sound RAM: 2Mb embedded on SPU
Audio Performance: 48 channels, Dolby Digital 5.1
Storage: 4x4 7Gb DVD, 8Mb memory Cards.
Input/Output: Two game controller ports, two USB ports, Digital Out.
Playstation 2 memory cards have eight times the capacity of the ones used for PS1.
Must-have games: TimeSplitters, Metal Gear Solid 2, Lotus Challenge
X-BOX Launch Date: Late 2001 Manufacturer: Microsoft Estimated Launch Price: £300
Good Points: The most powerful of the next-gen hardware. Should be easy to program. Lots of developers. Built-in hard disk.
Bad Points: Can Microsoft really understand yr living room? Bill Gates.
CPU: 733Mhz Intel 32Bit CPU
Graphics Processor: 250Mhz Nividia iGPU
Main RAM: 64Mb unified memory.
Memory Bandwidth: 6.4Gb/sec
Graphics RAM: none (64Mb unified RAM)
Theoretical Performance: 125million polygons/second.
Sound RAM: none (64Mb unified RAM)
Storage: 2-5xDVD, 8Gb Hard-drive, 8Mb Memory Card.
Input/Output: Four game controller ports. Expansion port.
The controllers (much too similar to the Dreamcast ones) have been re-designed especially for Japanese users who have much smaller hands.
Must-have games: Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2x, Tau, Raven.
So...you decide which one you want- which one sounds better?
Page:
residentevilfan wrote:
2)xbox is only easy to program because it's like a
> pc.
??? Whats your point?
2)xbox is only easy to program because it's like a
> pc.
??? Whats your point?
3 points to add
1)Ps2's dvd player only has problems with the rgb cables,stick with the cable supplied with it and you'll have no problems.
2)xbox is only easy to program because it's like a pc.
3)Ps2 has a middle engine that does all the work for you,which makes it easier to program.although it seems to be harder than the rest.
1)Ps2's dvd player only has problems with the rgb cables,stick with the cable supplied with it and you'll have no problems.
2)xbox is only easy to program because it's like a pc.
3)Ps2 has a middle engine that does all the work for you,which makes it easier to program.although it seems to be harder than the rest.
D'oh!
Back to purple! :(
Back to purple! :(
All the names went BLUE!!
It must be Newbieitis......
Terrible thing.....I never had it!
Their thinking is so....'linear' if I can use that word....
Does it make sense.....
Hopefully
Anyway....
Game
Terrible thing.....I never had it!
Their thinking is so....'linear' if I can use that word....
Does it make sense.....
Hopefully
Anyway....
Game
But there are 3 games on the Gameboy Colour alone....
Page: