Feedback #2

Well done Oli - this is an improvement. You have thorough research into the consoles, however you also need to consider key debates, future of gaming.

Some gaps but on the whole a thorough approach.

PS3's - Home

PlayStation Home is a community based service (rather like virtual reality!) for the PlayStation Network (through the wireless high-speed WiFi built into the PS3 units) which has been in development since early 2005. Home allows users to create an avatar character for their PlayStation 3 console. This avatar will get their own house, which can be adorned by items players can receive in several achievements. In the future the service will also expand, allowing players to have more sorts of clothing, as well as hold pets. When it is available, Home will be launched via its own category in the XMB between the "Game" and "Network" category. This service will be free of charge. Sony is aiming for the initial download to be under 500MB.

There will be at least four ways to communicate with other users in the enviroment. You will be able to type on the virtual keyboard, or your own bluetooth keyboard, talk using a bluetooth headset, and use e-motions, which are movements such as waves or a dance.

The Home System is currently in restricted BETA stages and will enter the Closed Beta stage (approx. 15,000 users): April - August 2007, followed by the Open Beta (approx. 50,000 users): August - October and then finally will go live in October.

But will it be a lot like Sims? Watch this video to see a sneaky preview!

Xbox Live!

Xbox Live is a multiplayer gaming and content delivery system created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It was first made available to the Xbox video game console in November 2002. An updated version of the service became available for the Xbox 360 console at that system's launch. Live for Windows makes certain aspects of the system available on other platforms such as PCs (using Windows Vista), handhelds and mobile phones.
Out of the box, the Xbox 360 supports voice chat through a headset. The service includes a friends list of other users, as well as a mail-like system of either text or voice messages in which the user can take a picture with the Xbox Vision Camera and add it to the message to send to an online or offline user.
On the Xbox 360, whenever the user's console is powered on and is signed in to Xbox Live, the user's friends list and ability to send messages become available. On the original Xbox, this is only available in Xbox Live or Live Aware games. The system also reports what activity is currently being performed, so that one can see what a friend is doing on his or her console. This is typically the game being played, although the system supports more detailed information (the player's progress through the game, for example).
Online multiplayer features operating on Xbox Live do not expire and are always accessible by Xbox Live subscribers. Many EA games have had their online functions terminated by EA in order to force people to buy the latest version of a franchise title to access multiplayer online features.
The PS3 also offers such a familar service known as Home which I will carry out further research on. Which is better, the advantages and disadvantages of both 'Virtual reality' big brother like technologies, available to us through broadband internet!

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is a video game console produced by Microsoft, developed in cooperation with IBM, ATI, Samsung and SiS. Its Xbox Live service allows players to compete online and download arcade games and content such as game trailers, TV shows, music videos, or rented movies. The Xbox 360 is the successor to the Xbox, and it competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of gaming systems.
The Xbox 360 was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information divulged later that month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It is the first console to provide near-simultaneous launch across the three major regions, and to provide wireless controller support at launch. The console sold out completely at release and by end of 2006 had shipped 10.4 million units worldwide.
So what is Xbox live?

Sony

An article i read here explains what advantages OR disadvantages the Playstation 3 holds for Sony. From delaying its release from Spring 2006 to November 2006 people already had began to work out Sony were in trouble. Sony, we mostly know of from Gaming consoles, PS1, 2, PSP etc mostly relies on its revinue from the gaming industry and not its over branches on NMT including new technology, tv's for example and films. The company are in trouble as the Playstation 3 has not been cheap in prodution and has experienced, in manufacture many hold backs which has cost the company millions! The PS3 will either save or bankrupt sony and it all depends on the near future, the release of games and ofcourse its oponent (spelt wrongly) the xbox-360. The future with no Sony, and its releases of high-tech NMT which changes the lifes of everyone around us! Who will take over if Sony falls?

PS3, expect from its arrival

This link I found has alot of information about the arrival of the Playstation 3, including features and specs etc. Released to the US for a whopping $599 dollars the new era of Sony digital entertainment instantly sold out, even with its hefty price tag! What and why would you want this! What does it have to offer us its audience?

• The official release date for the Sony PS3 (America) is November 17, 2006.
  The PS3 will come in two versions, a 20GB version for $499 (not available here in the UK or Europe) and a 60GB version for $599 (which works out at about £425 pounds UK)
  Both versions will support 1080p HDTV through HDMI. Click here for more details.
  An updated list of PS3 launch titles can be found here.
  The new wireless, motion-sensing controller has been officially dubbed "Sixaxis"
  Click here for final images of the PS3 console and Sixaxis controller.

PlayStation 3 (PS3) computer entertainment system, incorporates the worlds most advanced Cell processor with super-computer like power. Prototypes of PS3 will also be showcased at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the worlds largest interactive entertainment exhibition held in Los Angeles.

The PS3 combines state-of-the-art technologies featuring Cell, a processor jointly developed by IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba Corporation, graphics processor (RSX) co-developed by NVIDIA Corporation and SCEI, and XDR memory developed by Rambus Inc. It also adopts BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc ROM) with maximum storage capacity of 54 GB (dual layer) , enabling delivery of entertainment content in full high-definition (HD) quality, under a secure environment made possible through the most advanced copyright protection technology. To match the accelerating convergence of digital consumer electronics and computer technology, PS3 supports high quality display in resolution of 1080p(*) as standard, which is far superior to 720p/1080i.
With an overwhelming computing power of 2 teraflops, entirely new graphical expressions that have never been seen before will become possible. In games, not only will movement of characters and objects be far more refined and realistic, but landscapes and virtual worlds can also be rendered in real-time, thereby elevating the freedom of graphics expression to levels not experienced in the past. Gamers will literally be able to dive into the realistic world seen in large screen movies and experience the excitement in real-time.
In 1994, SCEI launched the original PlayStation (PS), followed by PlayStation 2 (PS2) in 2000 and PlayStation Portable (PSP) in 2004, every time introducing the latest advancement in technology and bringing innovation to interactive entertainment software creation. Over 13,000 titles have been developed by now, creating a software market that sells more than 250 million copies annually. PS3 offers backward compatibility enabling gamers to enjoy these enormous assets from PS and PS2 platforms.
PlayStation family of products are sold in more than 120 countries and regions around the world. With cumulative shipments reaching more than 102 million for PS and approximately 89 million for PS2, they are the undisputed leaders and have become the standard platform for home entertainment. After 12 years from the introduction of the original PS and 6 years from the launch of PS2, SCEI brings PS3, the newest platform with the most advanced next generation computer entertainment technology.
With the delivery of Cell based development tools that has already begun, development of game titles as well as tools and middleware are in progress. Through collaboration with world’s leading tools and middleware companies, SCEI will offer full support to new content creation by providing developers with extensive tools and libraries that will bring out the power of the Cell processor and enable efficient software development.
As of March 15th, the official Japanese, North American, and European release date for the PS3 was November 2006, not spring of 2006.

Understanding that all this high-techionolgy, money and ofcourse time has been spent into making this high-tech gaming console who knows what we could do in the near future, virtual reality?

NMT terms and Gaming Terms

NMT

• Digital divide
  Narrowcasting
  Endemism
  convergence
  lean-back
  lean-forward
  democratisation
  web 2.0
  linear
  push technology
  pull technology
  digital divide
  old media technologies
  new media technologies
  endism
  global village
  narrowcasting

Gaming

• high definition
  revinue streams
  home
  blue-ray
  second life