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Buncha followups :
Fridge : Spatula is right, it's all about what sort of games you want to play. Also, somewhat, dependant on how beefy your home PC is. If you've got a heavily specced gaming rig at home, then *most* X-Box stuff you could play on that - you miss out on Fable and a couple of other X-Box only titles, but for the most part you won't be too badly off. Also, a beefy PC will fill most of your online gaming requirements as well as an X-Box.
The plus to the PS2 is the massive library and the non-western titles. A couple of years ago it was a no-brainer for any gaming household to have a PS2 at the very least ... these days there's less new stuff coming for it that really impresses, and there's no doubt that it just doesn't have the technical grunt of the X-Box (or Gamecube, but it's so hideously underutilised by third parties that it's much of a muchness).
Almost any title that's released multiplatform will simply be better on the X-Box. Generally smoother and with a little more graphical splendor.
Ultimately, it's your call - I'd lean towards an X-Box these days, but ultimately it's about the games.
Disk vs Cart : To say that Zelda would be a technical impossibility on CD is just wrong, given that there's been a release of Zelda for the Gamecube (sure, it's on DVD, but the technical feasibility remains). Nor did I ever imply that the success was down to the 'hipness' of the storage format - nothing of the kind. It was simply down to the practical considerations - which we seem to be pretty much in agreement on.
Square Button : Just to flog this dead horse. It's my considered opinion that the whole 'known' issue with the sensitivity is almost entirely a beat up. Why? A few reasons - the first is that I've actually used one. The second is that despite it being a hugely discussed issue, returns are currently at 0.6% total - which is massively small for a new piece of hardware. The third is that no-one here (round the office) noticed it until it was pointed out. Honestly, you really have to intentionally press the button to the left to get it to do anything even slightly odd - and because of the physical placement relative to your thumb, that's unlikely to happen.
Some people will still find it problematic, as there's always *some* people for whom any configuration ain't gonna work - but honestly, put it in your hands and play with it for ten minutes and you're unlikely to be concerned. Certainly, it's foolish to let this sort of ergonomic concern affect your buying decision until you've had the chance to sample it - ergonomics are a person by person thing.
PSP vs DS :
Ultimately, the only reason I'm in favour of the PSP over the DS is developer support. I'm sure there's going to be some great first party releases for the DS - but not as sure as I used to be. The general quality of first party games for the Gamecube was way down compared to the N64 (Mario Sunshine and Windwaker both failing to be as gobsmacking as Mario/Zelda64, in my opinion) and I don't see this changing for the DS. Don't get me wrong - there will be some excellent games - but not too many from any second parties.
I'm a big fan of going where the games are, and it's going to be the PSP this round, methinks. Now, if I prove to be wrong in a years time, so be it - but my prediction (and I'm pretty solid on this) is that by the end of '05, there are more than twice as many PSP's in circulation than DS's - with everything that implies.
As far as developer support goes, I was on the market six months ago, so I've interviewed with most of the big industry players while they're in the midst of planning DS/PSP titles (a story in and of itself) and I can tell you where Ubisoft, EA, and quite a number of the second tier developers are putting most of their money and top flight people. To me, that's going to make a big difference down the line.
But you know, you're not going to be able to play Nintendo games anywhere else. And the touch screen is neat. I still think it's neat in a "no-one quite knows how to exploit it" fashion, and I don't see a revolution of gaming coming forth - but I also don't think it's going the way of the virtual boy.
While I'm making predictions - new iteration of the Gameboy on the market by mid '06 - not merely a repackaging of the DS, but an entirely new model. I'm not as confident about this one, but I'm pretty sure. |
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