Controversy

Ramsey Digital Designs the Best Videos!

I live in a blight-filled area of Michigan called Cottrellville Township. Over the last five years, Cottrellville Township has turned into an extremely ugly place to live in throughout quite a few areas. No matter where you live in Cottrellville Township, you don't need to look far to find blight. This is why I -- Michael Zoran -- have decided to run for Trustee and also Precinct Delegate in the upcoming Cottrellville Township election on August 7, 2012. (By the way, my political signs are going to cost over $750. If anyone would like to make a donation using PayPal, please look on the right side of your screen to do so.)

Morris of Ramsey Digital is a close friend of mine. As soon as Morris found out how I was doing things such as signing contracts with Comcast to bring township meetings into the homes of residents on public access TV channel 12 and also on YouTube channel michaelzoran, Morris decided to help me out.

This new video is dedicated to my Fight Against Blight. The high-quality video clearly shows the talent and skill Morris and his staff at Ramsey Digital possess. When people saw the impressive video, I started getting emails asking me how to contact Ramsey Digital.

Ramsey Digital can be contacted here: http://www.theaskeweffect.com/KRUZ8ER/

Ramsey Digital is also a great place to visit if you are a videogame fan and enjoy chatting online with other gamers in online forums.

You can contact Morris Ramsey at [email protected]

The prices are very reasonable for these videos. All you need to do is send Morris some pictures and/or videos. You also need to tell him what the theme of your video needs to be. Morris will take over from there, and for the low price of $50 to $200, Morris will have a Hollywood style video for you in just a few days.

Videogame News - A New Blog Devoted to Daily News Coverage

Videogame News is a new blog I've created in order to focus on the daily coverage of the videogame industry.

Just click here or enter the following URL: http://controversy.typepad.com/videogamenews/

Make sure you become a TypePad Follower of this blog. Also, make sure you Subscribe to this blog and add it to your Favorites list. May the force be with you!

Forza Motorsport 3 vs Gran Turismo 5

Forza Motorsport is the racing franchise that defines the Xbox gaming platforms. Forza Motorsport is a game franchise that has been growing in a positive way over the last decade. Many reviews called Forza Motorsport 2 the greatest racing simulator ever made. Many people have been looking forward to Forza Motorsport 3 because it uses a brand new graphics engine with ten times as many polygons being displayed!

Similarly, Gran Turismo is a franchise that defines the Playstation gaming platforms. But over the last decade we’ve seen Gran Turismo games have been moving in a negative direction. Gran Turismo 4 was the lowest rated game in the series, and Gran Turismo 5 was constantly delayed – literally in development for over six years. Sony even released a game called Gran Turismo 5 Prologue in order to keep fans satisfied until the final game arrived.

Now we are going to see if Gran Turismo 5 was worth the wait. We are also going to see how Gran Turismo 5 compares to Forza Motorsport 3 on the Xbox 360. Key areas such as graphics, game play, online performance, and features will be examined. Here goes:

Graphics

Forza Motorsport 3 has significantly better graphics than Gran Turismo 5 in virtually every measurable way. The frame rate always remains at a perfectly smooth 60 frames per second in Forza Motorsport 3. Gran Turismo 5 often experiences problems associated with drops in frame rate. Replays in Forza Motorsport 3 also remain smooth at 60 frames per second while the replays in Gran Turismo 5 are only 30 frames per second.

The native resolution of Forza Motorsport 3 is 1280x720p. Sony originally claimed Gran Turismo 5 was going to have a native resolution of 1920x1080p. Unfortunately, the hardware of the PS3 was modified with one of the two Cell CPU processors being removed prior to launch. As a result, it was no surprise to see the PS3 lacked the power to live up to that promise.

The actual native resolution used by Gran Turismo 5 is 960x1080p. This is important because several websites, including websites offering head-to-head comparisons and technical analysis, have given false specifications of Gran Turismo 5. Resolutions such as 1280x1080p and 1024x1080p have circulated on the Internet. But these technical specifications are incorrect and do not apply to Gran Turismo 5.

In reality, it is the very unusual resolution of 960x1080p which ended up being used in Gran Turismo 5. 960x1080p means the horizontal resolution was cut in half compared to the original development plan. This is probably one of the reasons why Gran Turismo 5 was delayed so many times.

The reason why the frame rate remains smooth at 60 frames per second in Forza Motorsport 3 but drops to 30 frames per second during replays in Gran Tursimo 5 is because of the weaker GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) of the Playstation 3. The Xbox 360 GPU is capable of displaying up to 500,000,000 polygons per second, while the PS3 GPU is capable of displaying only 275,000,000 polygons per second. This is the reason why a game such as All-Pro Football runs at 60 frames per second on Xbox 360 but only 30 frames per second on PS3.

Replays require extra detail, which meant Gran Turismo 5 on the PS3 probably had no chance of maintaining anything close to a steady frame rate of 60 frames per second. Although disappointing, it was probably a smart decision for the developers at Polyphony to make the decision to have replays run at only 30 frames per second in Gran Turismo 5. The replays in Forza Motorsport 3 definitely look better than the replays in Gran Turimso 5.

The cars in Forza Motorsport 3 are built with between 300,000 polygons to 500,000 polygons per car. The cars in Gran Turismo 5 are built with 100,000 polygons per car to 500,000 polygons per car. The majority of cars in Gran Turismo 5 are built with fewer polygons; however, the “premium” cars are built with up to 500,000 polygons per car.

In Gran Turismo 5, the number of cars on screen has a big impact the game. There is an affect on the number of polygons allowed to appear on screen at the same time. You never see more than five cars on screen at a time in Gran Turismo 5, and when premium cars are seen it is even less. This also affects artificial intelligence (A.I.) in Gran Turismo 5, since one of the SPE sub-processors dedicated to A.I. in the PS3 architecture is virtually useless when intense graphics are being displayed. The artificial intelligence in Forza Motorsport 3 remains excellent at all times, regardless of the number of cars being displayed at any time.

In terms of the tracks and backgrounds, Forza Motorsport 3 has significantly better graphics than Gran Turismo 5. The texture quality, lighting, shading, and lens flare in Forza Motorsport 3 outperforms Gran Turismo 5 in every area. Simply put, if you play both games you will have no doubt Forza Motorsport 3 has better graphics.

Sound

The sound in both Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5 is excellent. I own a flagship Onkyo A/V receiver and high-end speakers from JBL. The surround sound adds realism to both games. No matter what point of view you choose to use in the game, the sound is excellent and will make you happy.

Game Play

Both games are fun to play; however, there is no doubt the winner is Forza Motorsport 3. Both games have been available for a while and the professionally published reviews in magazines and newspapers clearly show Forza Motorsport 3 is rated higher than Gran Turismo 5. Ultimately, game play is the reason why both game series have been popular over the last decade.

Forza Motorsport 3 is available as a Platinum Hit, which features a staggering 136 tracks to play on! There are also over 400 cars available right out of the box. The really cool feature in Forza 3 is that you can customize cars, signs, and logos, essentially giving you an infinite supply of cars to play with. What’s even better is the way you can create cars, and then auction them on Xbox Live!

Gran Turismo 5 has an impressive 71 tracks to play on with over 1,000 cars available to use. The overwhelming majority of these cars are just “standard” low-polygon designs that most gamers won’t enjoy using. The majority of cars in Gran Turismo 5 simply look like “upscaled versions” of the cars in Gran Turismo 4 which appeared on the PS2. Considering Gran Tursimo 5 spent over six years in development, it really is a big disappointment that such a huge number of cars lack polygon detail.

Both Forza Motorsport 3 and Gran Turismo 5 feature cars that can be damaged, although this feature is not immediately available in Gran Turismo 5. This is a cool feature that adds a lot of fun to game play. When you play online with other gamers, you always know it’s going to put a smile on your face when you see someone else crash or push a competitor into another car.

The damaged vehicles in Forza Motorsport 3 have a significant impact on game play and artificial intelligence. Unfortunately, damaged cars in Gran Turismo 5 are not influenced in any way by damage. This poor artificial intelligence in Gran Turismo 5 has led to a term called “Zombie A.I.” to be associated with the game.

One of the coolest new features I’ve ever seen in a racing game is the way Forza Motorsport 3 adds a form of “time reversal” button. By pressing the “back” button, you can go back in time as long as you hold the button. This means inexperienced gamers can instantly pick up the controller and start playing in a way that immediately brings enjoyment. The instant you see a friend mishandle a car on a turn, just tell your friend to hold the back button so they can give it another try. This is an excellent game play feature!

Winner: Forza Motorsport 3

Forza Motorsport 3 has a relatively easy time beating Gran Turismo 5 as a racing game. At this point in time, Forza Motorsport 3 is generally considered the greatest racing game ever created. There is no doubt the Forza Motorsport game series has continued to move in the right direction. I’m really looking forward to Forza Motorsport 4, which will launch later this year and offer compatibility with Kinect.

Gran Turismo 5 is quite a big letdown that did not live up to six years worth of hype. This is probably the reason why Gran Turismo 5 is the lowest-rated game ever released in the Gran Turismo series. In terms of graphics it was quite disappointing to see such a poor effort by the developers who were given so much time to program the game. Gran Turismo 5 is still a fun game to play, though, just not as fun as Forza Motorsport 3.

In fact, I would say Gran Turismo 5 is not even the best racing game on the Playstation 3. I can think of Need for Speed games that have a better balance of graphics, artificial intelligence, and gameplay. But if you own both consoles, I would recommend the Xbox 360 versions of those games because of better graphics, more people to play with online, and a larger number of people that own microphones to chat with while playing.

Champion: Forza Motorsport 3 is definitely the best racing game ever made. No other racing game offers so many tracks, high-polygon cars, features, and excellent artificial intelligence. If you enjoy racing games, I strongly suggest Forza Motorsport 3: Ultimate Platinum Hit because it can be purchased for a very low price. Amazon is an excellent place to purchase the game because you get free shipping and you may not need to pay taxes, depending on where you live.

Why is Capcom Making Unusual Sales Forecasts?

Recently, Capcom publicly stated how disappointed they were with the way Sony’s PS3 console was experiencing such awful problems with online hacking of the PSN. Capcom claimed to be losing a lot of money because of sales that potentially could have been made during that time period. Most videogame analysts thought Capcom was speaking out in a very unusual way, since we didn’t hear other third-party game developers making bold public statements like that.

Today I learned some of the interesting sales estimates Capcom has made for 2011. These sales estimates are very controversial considering the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 worldwide. First, I want to remind you that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has sold over 53 million consoles worldwide, while Sony recently announced the PS3 has sold 50 million consoles worldwide.  However, as I have confirmed on Controversy, Sony deserves the reputation they now have for publicly announcing inaccurate sales figures.

Capcom’s PS3 sales forecast shows an estimate of 8 million software units sold from the release of 16 different software titles. Capcom’s Xbox 360 sales forecast shows an estimate of 4.7 million software units sold from the release of 14 different software titles.

Even though the Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3, Capcom believes the PS3 will produce nearly double the software sales of the Xbox 360! This sales forecast doesn’t seem to make sense when you consider the Xbox 360 versions of software usually outsell the PS3 versions. For example, Crysis 2 is a recent high-profile multiplatform release resistant to statistical outliers. When sales figures of Crysis 2 started coming in, we saw the Xbox 360 version had outsold the PS3 version by a ratio of 1.7:1.

What are your thoughts about Capcom’s sales forecasts? There is no doubt the majority of third-party companies see greater revenue on Xbox Live than they do the PSN. Sega recently released Sega Rally HD Online exclusively for Xbox Live Arcade. With that in mind, why would Capcom make such outrageous sales forecasts favoring the PS3 by nearly a 2:1 margin?

Soul Calibur 5 Coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 - And Possibly the Wii 2?

Namco has officially announced that Soul Calibur 5 will be released for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 in 2012. The game takes place 17 years after Soul Calibur 4. Namco – a company that recently returned to profitability – has said that more information about Soul Calibur 5 will be revealed at this years Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Up to this point, the best version of Soul Calibur ever released is the Xbox 360 version of Soul Calibur 4. The Xbox 360 version runs at a resolution of 1365x960p, which is 40% higher than the resolution of 1280x720p used in the PS3 version. This is because the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) of the Xbox 360 is so much more powerful than the PS3 GPU. The Xbox 360 GPU can display up to 500,000,000 polygons per second, compared to only 275,000,000 polygons per second for the PS3 GPU.

My controversial question has to do with the release date of Soul Calibur 5 and if it will be released for the Wii 2. If the Soul Calibur 5 game is scheduled to be released in 2012, will it also be released for the Wii 2 – which is supposedly going to be released in 2012? The Wii 2 version may be able to run at a resolution of 1920x1080p, since its GPU is slightly more powerful than the Xbox 360 GPU.

This also seems to suggest that Soul Calibur will not be available on a next-generation console such as the third Xbox or the PS4 for quite a while. You would tend to think that the soonest Soul Calibur 6 would be available is for the third Xbox at least two years after the release of Soul Calibur 5. But in all probability, we would not see a next-generation Soul Calibur game until three years after the release of Soul Calibur 5. This means the earliest we would see Soul Calibur 6 on a next-gen console would be 2014, but probably 2015.

Share your thoughts on Soul Calibur 5 and the Wii 2. Do you think Soul Calibur 5 will also be released for the Wii 2? How about Soul Calibur 6 and the clues it offers regarding when next-generation consoles will be here?

The Third Xbox - Developers Now Have Development Kits! - When Will It Launch?

Electronic Arts has told reliable sources in the videogame industry something very interesting. Apparently EA is now in possession of alpha development kids for the third Xbox console from Microsoft. This development kit is apparently in some form of PC casing structure, similar to the alpha development kit released for the original Xbox. Job postings from Microsoft confirm a next-generation console is being designed; however, these job postings seem to indicate the console is quite a ways away.

This next-generation console from Microsoft will definitely be released, but we do not know exactly when this console will be released or what its name will be. Some rumors have suggested the third Xbox will be released as early as 2012 in order to compete with Nintendo’s next console, currently called the Wii 2. While other rumors have suggested that Microsoft’s next console may not see a release until 2015.

Here are my thoughts where I focus on facts in order to generate a fact-based theory.

1. We know for a fact that the Nintendo Wii 2 will be released in 2012.

2. We know for a fact that the Wii 2 will be a direct competitor of the Xbox 360 and the PS3. The hardware specifications of the Wii 2 are nearly identical to the Xbox 360 and PS3. For example, the Wii 2 has 512MB of RAM just like Xbox 360 and PS3. We also know the GPU of the Wii 2 is from ATI and nearly identical to the Xbox 360 GPU from ATI. We also know the CPU of the Wii 2 is tri-core, just like the Xbox 360 CPU.

3. We know for a fact that the Wii 2 will not be competing directly with the third Xbox and PS4 (if there is a PS4, since Sony has literally lost billions of dollars on PS3).

4. We know for a fact that NPD sales show Xbox 360 was the #1 selling console in 2010. We also know for a fact that NPD sales show Xbox 360 has been the #1 selling console every month of 2011.

5. We know for a fact that Kinect is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being such a high-selling item. Over ten million units of Kinect have been sold in a record time period.

6. We know for a fact that Xbox 360 continues to see annual sales growth. We also know that the Wii and PS3 have seen annual sales decline in 2011.

Based on these six fact-based elements, I can form a fact-based theory that says Microsoft has no motive to put an early end to the life of Xbox 360.

Now let's look at my hypothesis based on estimations of what Microsoft has done in the past. While I do not have facts to support this hypothesis, I do believe my experience in the game industry has merit to support my thoughts.

A. We know that games like Halo and Gears of War tend to be released every other year. But we also know that Gears of War 3 took three years to be developed because Microsoft and Epic wanted to develop everything correctly. This is the same type of precision and accuracy that Microsoft and Epic would want to apply when a new console is released. This is particularly true with a game like Gears of War that is known for setting new standards in graphics technology.

B. This means that if Gears of War were a launch game for the third Xbox, the soonest it would happen would be 2013—two years from 2011. But it seems like Epic and Microsoft would want to spend extra time developing graphics engines and making use of superior hardware. I think a new Gears of War game (probably a prequel named Gears of War: The Pendulum Wars) would be released in 2014. In my opinion, if Gears of War is the launch game for the next Xbox, the soonest the console would be available is 2014.

C. If Microsoft wanted to launch the third Xbox in 2013, I believe the launch game they would need to do it with is Halo. I say this because Halo: Reach was released in 2010. The developers would have the three years of development they probably would need to release a new Halo game on new hardware. Plus, Halo is a killer-app game that would guarantee all of the consoles sell out!

Based on these three thoughts, I can guarantee that the third Xbox will be released by the end of 2014. But I believe 2013 may be too soon. The third Xbox will not be meant to compete with the Wii 2. The third Xbox will be meant to compete with high-end PC technology and the PS4 (if there is a PS4). In all probability the PS3 will not be able to generate an overall profit by 2014 or 2015. PS3 will have cost Sony literally billions of dollars, which is why rumors have circulated for quite a while saying that the PS3 will be Sony's last videogame console.

...

The Third Xbox is in Development!

Microsoft has recently started posting job offers to engineers. The way the job descriptions describe the situation, it appears obvious the jobs will be focused on the design of the successor to the Xbox 360. But several analysts have pointed out that since Microsoft hasn’t even determined which parts will be used in the third Xbox, it means the Xbox 360 has a lot of life ahead of it.

This seems particularly true when you consider Nintendo will be releasing the Wii 2 console in 2012 to be a direct competitor of the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles. Obviously, Nintendo would not want to release a Wii 2 console that would see vastly superior competition just a short time after its release. Let’s assemble the facts so that we can try and come up with a fact-based theory.

Here is a list of facts we know so far:

* Nintendo recently announced the Wii 2 will be released in 2012. The Wii 2 will not be a direct competitor of the PS4 or the third Xbox. The Wii 2 will be the direct competitor of the Xbox 360 and PS3. I wrote an article about this here, and another article with additional information here.

* The hardware specifications of the Wii 2 show it will offer performance similar to what is used by the Xbox 360, PS3, and PCs of today. Wii 2 uses 512MB of RAM, just like Xbox 360 and PS3. Wii 2 uses a GPU that is nearly identical to the one in the Xbox 360. The same can be said about the 3.0Ghz tri-core CPU used by the Wii 2 compared to the 3.2Ghz tri-core CPU used by the Xbox 360.

* The third Xbox currently rumored to be in the very early stages of development will obviously not be competing directly against the Wii 2, since that would mean it is competing directly against the Xbox 360.

* Nintendo feels confident enough to release the Wii 2 in 2012 because they believe the eighth generation of videogames represented by the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, and Wii 2 still has a lot of life in it.

* Sony said the PS3 will have a 10-year life expectancy. If this is true, the PS3 is on schedule to be released in 2016 – ten years after the release of the PS3.

Now that these facts have been gathered, we can try to form some theories and hypotheses. If the PS3 had a 10-year life expectancy, it seems reasonable that the Xbox 360 would also have a life expectancy of 10 years. In this scenario, the third Xbox would be released worldwide in late 2015 – 10 years after the release of the Xbox 360. This seems like a logical theory based on the facts available and the success that Microsoft has enjoyed by beating Sony to market by one year.

From this point of view, it isn't a surprise or a concern that Microsoft is waiting on assembling engineers for development of the next Xbox. Even PCs at their highest and most expensive points right now do not offer a significant improvement over what is seen in the graphics offered by Xbox 360 and PS3. This is important because history has always shown that whenever a new generation of consoles has been released, there is a brief period where the consoles have the hardware advantage over PCs.

For example, when Xbox 360 launched in late 2005, it did so with a revolutionary ATI GPU based on Unified Shader technology, which PC graphics cards didn't see until 2007. The same thing can be said about the eDRAM technology used in the Xbox 360. And in 2005 when Xbox 360 launched with a tri-core CPU, PCs were only using dual-core CPU processors.

We haven't seen technology evolve enough for a new generation of consoles to replace Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii 2. Remember, based on the specifications known so far, the Wii 2 is evolutionary – intended to compete directly with the Xbox 360 and PS3 in a high-definition online environment. This is an online environment where the Wii 2 is at a big disadvantage compared to Xbox Live.

The third Xbox will be revolutionary due to the fact that it will be made up of customized technology that PCs eventually become based on in order to make multiplatform programming easier for developers. Over the course of time, PCs will eventually catch up and overtake the consoles again. This is a cycle that has continuously repeated itself throughout videogame history. PC technology is the one form of technology that we can look at and use as a constant measuring stick to estimate when we might see new consoles overtake high-end computers.

I believe consoles will not be able to make a significant improvement over PCs until at least 2014 or 2015. This is when rumors indicate new forms of technology will be available for use at a price the public would see as reasonable. But just because technology is available doesn’t necessarily mean companies will want to rush something to market.

From a business perspective, the Xbox 360 and PS3 are only now starting to reach their peak. Xbox 360 is now the top-selling console every month in North America and other English-speaking parts of the world. And only recently has the PS3 started consistently earning net profits each financial quarter.

With that in mind, Microsoft and Sony probably aren’t in any rush to kill off the Xbox 360 and PS3, even if the technology was available. Microsoft recently released the Kinect, which immediately became the fastest-selling electronic item in history. By selling ten million units within a 60-day time period, Kinect is now in the Guiness Book of World Records. It would be foolish to put an end to the life of an Xbox 360 performing that well!

Sony’s initial investments in the launch of the PS3 caused a net loss of nearly $4 billion. After the disappointing launch of the PS3, Sony continuously saw net losses of hundreds-of-millions of dollars each financial quarter afterwards. From a financial point of view, it seems reasonable to presume that Sony wants the PS3 to last until 2016, if possible. This would be the only way for the PS3 to have any chance of earning an overall net profit during the course of its life on the market.

At this point in time I really doubt we will see a new Xbox console by 2014. But, we do know that Microsoft wants to expand the Halo series and Gears of War series. One hypothesis of mine is that a new series known as Pendulum Wars (a prequel to Gears of War) would be released with the third Xbox. If Epic spent three years developing this game, it would be ready by the end of 2014.

The question is if the technology available by 2014 would offer revolutionary advancements that a competitor like Sony would not be able to eclipse two years later. To be honest, I think Microsoft probably could have a big game from Epic, such as The Pendulum Wars, released by late 2014. But, it might be better for Microsoft to take their time getting everything right and putting all the icing on the cake. This would probably make 2015 a better release date, especially since Microsoft would continue earning money from the Xbox 360 the whole time.

UPDATE: Wii 2 - Additional Info

UPDATE to my previous article here.

Over the course of the day, several new pieces of information have been revealed about the Wii 2.

First, it appears Nintendo will not be concentrating on 3D HDTV sets with the Wii 2. This is not a surprise, considering less than 1% of HDTV sets offer compatibility with 3D technology. Nintendo didn’t focus on HDTV sets with the Wii and they are not focusing on 3D HDTV sets with the Wii 2. Plus, using 3D technology has a negative impact on graphics, since it requires additional processing.

Second, the controller of the Wii 2 will apparently be some form of tablet technology. In other words, it will be similar to an iPad, but it will have buttons on it. This is going to be one of the big surprises that will be unveiled at E3. I know I'm already looking forward to seeing this!

Finally, the Wii 2 appears to offer hardware performance very similar to what is currently seen in the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 uses a 3.2Ghz triple-core CPU along with a custom GPU from ATI. The Xbox 360 GPU shares many similarities with the R500 and R600 series of PC graphics cards from ATI. The R600 series assimilated many of the custom Xbox 360 technologies such as eDRAM technology and the Unified Shader architecture. This shows how far ahead of its time the Xbox 360 GPU was, since PC graphics cards didn’t see those features until 2007. The Xbox 360 hardware includes 512MB of Unified RAM and 10MB of eDRAM.

According to reliable sources, the Wii 2 will be based on a custom triple-core PowerPC processor from IBM. The Wii 2 will also probably be using an AMD graphics processor offering performance similar to an ATI 700 series graphics card. The Wii 2 will also include 512MB of RAM. This means the Wii 2 hardware will be virtually identical to the Xbox 360, which will make ports to and from the PC and Xbox 360 very easy and very inexpensive. It appears the Wii 2 will probably have the hardware edge over the Xbox 360, but it seems as though the high-end PC will remain king of graphics.

Compared to the PS3, the Wii 2 is very different. The PS3 uses 512MB of Non-Unified RAM, and is based on an outdated Non-Unified architecture. The overall design of the PS3 shares nothing in common with the Wii 2. The PS3 hardware has a reputation for being difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to program, since it is not based on standard PC technology that developers are familiar with. Ports to and from PC and Xbox 360 games often result in the PS3 version having graphics that aren’t as good as their counterparts. The same can be said about multiplatform games released simultaneously for PC, Xbox 360, and PS3.

This trend looks to continue for the PS3. In fact, it appears there is a risk that the situation will become even worse for the PS3, since the balance beam will be tipping even further away from the PS3. The Wii 2 will carry a lot of weight with third-party publishers looking to reduce development costs. Multiplatform games will be virtually identical on the PC, Wii 2, and Xbox 360, while the PS3 versions will probably offer a lower level of performance than ever. Developers aren’t going to want to hold themselves back from doing the best things possible on PC, Xbox 360, and Wii 2, just to keep the PS3 happy. The main areas that will be affected in multiplatform releases are resolution and frame rate.

Nintendo appears to have done an excellent job in the design and concept of the Wii 2. The hardware and features included in the Wii 2 have already generated a lot of hype due to the fact that they will be optimized to work with HDTV sets and home theater surround sound. This year’s E3 really will be one of the most exciting in a long time. I believe it will be particularly interesting to see how Microsoft and Sony respond to this announcement from Nintendo. Personally, I predict a price drop of at least $50 from both of them.