the asian super gamer report from andre the giant...obey...

As an Asian super gamer of course I need to keep abreast of the next generation or "next gen.". While PS2 has kept my busy for a number of years, and certainly will continue to do so for the near-term (MLB 2005 is so creamy) I think I/you/we should all be saving at this point for what's coming out as early as turkey day 2005.

First, know your history

Excluding distant history (sega, Atari, colleco vision - represent - I owned them all at one time or another) the last time this many new machines hit the market was an exciting time for video game connoisseur. Not only were Sony and Nintendo kicking it up a notch, but for the first time Microsoft too was entering the fray. This time Sony moved first, debuting their system earlier with more and better known tittles. For example, initially, Microsoft's Xbox didn't offer EA games, wildly recognized as the most consistent developer of good sports titles and holder the best known franchise in video games sports- John Madden's football. However, with the additional development time, the Xbox did come with a more powerful machine.
Developers claimed it was complicated to write code for and took time to truly unlock the ultimate potential of the machine. This hurt Xbox on their early tittles.

Overtime, and riding the strength of the Halo franchise, Xbox grew to become recognized as a worthy adversary of PS2 and in my eyes, a better system with worse controllers and software offerings.

The third generation

This time around the product cycles appear to have changed. Xbox hopes to be shipping in North America near Thanksgiving and PS3 will not be offered until after the holiday shopping season. Both machines boast slick new designs, with the edge, in my opinion, going to Sony. Sony had developed a new "Cell" technology which they claim will be 10x faster than PC processors. Which to me sounds fairly sicky… I will admit that while the Nintendo is not really my thing, aiming more towards the younger pre-teen gamer set, the pictures I have seen of the new console show a sleek vertical design which are quite attractive looking.

I know we all wish we were here at the E3 showcase which kicks off today in Los Angles, There is certain to be a lot more "buzz" coming out from here..

http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/fun.games/05/16/e3.ap/index.html

That's all for now, got to go earn my cash for gaming needs. I will follow up with more on the Next Gen segment (including a technical look at the machines and there capabilities outside of gaming), and take a look at developments in the hand held world as well.

Until then,

ゲーム自慢している懸命に及びゲーム。
"game hard and game proud"