New sony online gaming survey....

[rabidrabbit]

Since when has the HDD been standard for xbox360? Don't they sell the "Core" unit any more?

Since when has this thread been about xbox360 vs. PS3, especially as the PS3 is not yet.

I just received a survey from Sony about PSP and how I use/would like to use it. They asked for example do I like to watch videos, how much and what kind (they even had "adult videos" as a selectable option, good, otherwise I wouldn't be able to give correct answer ), do I visit webpages on PSP, would I like to have an e-mail client, video camera/video chat, would I download games for PSP etc...
.... does that mean PSP is not capable of video playback because they only now asked me about it in a survey? Does that mean they haven't started thinking of a video chat cabability for next PSP firmware until now because they asked about it in the survey months after the PSP has launched?
I don't know. But I guess they are working on many of those new things they asked in the survey, possibly many of those are almost ready for next firmware update, while the others are being prioritized for upcoming updates or left at an idea state.

 

[Synergy34]

Please don't speak for which you have no idea about.

Then please enlighten me as to how the HDD is a standard feature of the 360 when there are 2 SKU's one with and one without?

 

[Powderkeg]

not all of those features are in xbox live.

You are right, but I wasn't trying to be completely serious either.


But you are indeed correct. The following are not features of Xbox Live.

* 2. Do you own a PSP?
* 5. Do you think you will purchase a PS3?
* 18. Ability to remove players out via a majority vote?
* 22. Ability to access the dedicated game forum whilst in game?
* 30. The inclusion of a web browser.

But pretty much everything else is straight from XBL.

 

[Carl B]

Ok, I can understand people wanting to raise MS up as being the 'first-mover' in this area - that they are. But I can't understand people deriding Sony for following that path; I mean obviously it's better that they do it than not, right?

Plus we still don't know how this will play out. Sony's feature-set may fall well-short of this, pricing is unknown, etc...

Yet the possibility remains for a service that will be *quite* competetive, and if nothing else these questions indicate the designers have it in their heads as to what a lot of people would want from a gaming service.

 

[Qroach]

He's not exactly wrong is he...

Common, he's totally wrong. this has been argued before. Why exactly is it develoeprs can't make use of tehharddrive because it's detachable? EVERY xbox 360 develoepr knows they have to make their game work with and without the hard drive.

When Synergy34 said this:

Developers will never be able to take advantage of it for use in games because of the 2 SKUs.

You agree with him that this is a true statement? I fail to see how this is a fact when all games need to be aware of the hardrive being attached or not. Regardless of the two sku's ALL games must work with and without the harddrive attached. Why is it hard for some people to understand? You can still cache files on the hard drive to improve load times. or you can treat it like a large memory card. The developers have a choice.

There's a reason MS made it detachable that some people here can't seem to understand. MS having two sku's doesn't change the fact they were always going to have the requirement that the game had to work with without it.

 

[Synergy34]

EVERY xbox 360 develoepr knows they have to make their game work with and without the hard drive.

Then explain why developers like Cliff B have already gone on record as being disappointed that the HDD isn't a standard feature of the 360? There are others as well. If what you say is true then there is absolutely no reson why any developers would be disappointed it is not there. If you haven't seen the coments then I would be shocked, cause I've read them a few times.

I honestly have no idea how to deveolpe a game but i can safely say that if adding the additons you speak of will cost devs time and money then there is no way they would even look at using the HDD. From what I've read here budgets are razor thin, deadlines have to be meet, focus on a non standard feature is at the bottom of the barrell.

 

[avaya]

Common, he's totally wrong. this has been argued before. Why exactly is it develoeprs can't make use of tehharddrive because it's detachable? EVERY xbox 360 develoepr knows they have to make their game work with and without the hard drive.

I think you answered your own question. What would be the point in them making optimisations just for the hard drive if the game has to work without one?

It seems like a waste of time and resources.

 

[Sis]

Then explain why developers like Cliff B have already gone on record as being disappointed that the HDD isn't a standard feature of the 360? There are others as well. If what you say is true then there is absolutely no reson why any developers would be disappointed it is not there. If you haven't seen the coments then I would be shocked, cause I've read them a few times.

I honestly have no idea how to deveolpe a game but i can safely say that if adding the additons you speak of will cost devs time and money then there is no way they would even look at using the HDD. From what I've read here budgets are razor thin, deadlines have to be meet, focus on a non standard feature is at the bottom of the barrell.

Bethesda has already gone on record saying they will do exactly what you say developers won't do: for Oblivion, they take advantage of the hard drive if one is present.

 

[Sis]

I think you answered your own question. What would be the point in them making optimisations just for the hard drive if the game has to work without one?

It seems like a waste of time and resources.

The question isn't whether it's a waste of time and resources, it's a matter of whether those resources are spent with the widest possible audience in mind. Given the 80/20 split of Xbox 360 to Xbox 360 core I think right now it is a reasonable cost. Everyone is falling back on old arguments about a split-user base, but as far as I know this is the first time a console has split that user base from the beginning. Past trends don't necessarily apply.

 

[avaya]

The question isn't whether it's a waste of time and resources, it's a matter of whether those resources are spent with the widest possible audience in mind. Given the 80/20 split of Xbox 360 to Xbox 360 core I think right now it is a reasonable cost. Everyone is falling back on old arguments about a split-user base, but as far as I know this is the first time a console has split that user base from the beginning. Past trends don't necessarily apply.

Yeah I'd agree with that, besides I think the core might well be phased out later on.

 

[tema]

Yeah I'd agree with that, besides I think the core might well be phased out later on.

The premium might get phased out but never the core.

 

[Sis]

The premium might get phased out but never the core.

There is no such thing as a premium version of Xbox 360.

 

[Qroach]

As others have said, past trends of introducing a addon after the console launched have never been popular. However this is a different story with 360 since every game from the start supports using the hard drive as a memory card or some other functions if present.

The argument of splitting the userbase isn't a valid one in this instance.

 

[Synergy34]

Using the HDD for game saves isn't the issue, using it to create a better game is. There is no way a developer is going to make a game that only XBox 360's with the HDD can play. That is the point. They will never do that.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Using the HDD for game saves isn't the issue, using it to create a better game is. There is no way a developer is going to make a game that only XBox 360's with the HDD can play. That is the point. They will never do that.

The HDD has been relegated to basically nothign more than faster load times, that does kinda suck IMO, but really no different then every other console ever made, except it at least has built in HDD_caching functionality so Dev's can implement it extremely easily.

I do wish they had kept the HDD standard, but I can see why they did it, it's all about the $150-99 core package.

 

[Dr. Nick]

Using the HDD for game saves isn't the issue, using it to create a better game is. There is no way a developer is going to make a game that only XBox 360's with the HDD can play. That is the point. They will never do that.

I think that is basically what Enchant Arm is. A game that you need the Hard drive to play. That and any MMORPG.

 

[expletive]

The HDD has been relegated to basically nothign more than faster load times, that does kinda suck IMO, but really no different then every other console ever made, except it at least has built in HDD_caching functionality so Dev's can implement it extremely easily.

I do wish they had kept the HDD standard, but I can see why they did it, it's all about the $150-99 core package.

Given that the only game that used the HD in the original xbox for anything BUT faster load times was Blinx (i think), i think we're ok without it being standard, yet being in the vast majority.

 

[Sis]

I think that is basically what Enchant Arm is. A game that you need the Hard drive to play. That and any MMORPG.

And Final Fantasy XI as well, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Carl B]

I think that is basically what Enchant Arm is. A game that you need the Hard drive to play. That and any MMORPG.

That's an interesting point by the way on the Enchant Arm. I wonder if Japan will have sort of a weird parrallel development environment for the 360 occur, seeing as how in Japan there are no HDD-less 360's. So games targeted towards the region may in fact end up making widesrpead use of the HDD, to the exclusion of smooth 'core' support. And to the exclusion of ports to the West? I guess we'll see.

 

[Synergy34]

Bethesda has already gone on record saying they will do exactly what you say developers won't do: for Oblivion, they take advantage of the hard drive if one is present.

Yes this is very true but to what extent? I probably was a bit vague in my statement probably, I figure saving games is pretty much a non issue here, it;s the bigger stuff that will prevent full use of the HDD. So saying "never" wasn't the right word to use here.

Rumor has it the game was delayed because they coded thinking all 360's were going to have the HDD, now that they all don't they supposedly had to go back and make it work on the 360's that don't have it. I have no idea if this was confirmed or debunked or not, I just rememebr that being discussed somewhere. i never really followed up on it.