Next Gen Consoles spec thread

[GigatronSama]

post your news regarding the next gen systems here.

[cliffjumper]

Xbox Xenon (http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/microsoft-xbox/594331p1.html?fromint=1)


CPU - Xenon's CPU has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each core is capable of two instructions per cycle and has an L1 cache with 32 KB for data and 32 KB for instructions. The three cores share 1 MB of L2 cache. Alpha 2 developer kits currently have two cores instead of three.

GPU - Xenon's GPU is a generation beyond the ATI X800. Its clock speed is 500 MHz and it supports Shader 3.0. Developers are currently working with an alpha 2 GPU. Beta GPU units are expected by May and the final GPU is slated for a summer release. The final GPU will be more powerful than anything on the market today; in game terms, it would handle a game like Half-Life 2 with ease.

System Memory - Xenon will have 256 MB of system RAM. Keep in mind that this number should not be equated to typical PC RAM. The Xbox has 64 MB of system RAM and is a very capable machine.

Optical Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon will not use Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Games will come on dual-layer DVD-9 discs. While the media is the same as that of the current Xbox, the usable space on each disc is up to 7 GB. The drive is slated to run at 12X.

Memory Units - Xenon will use 64 MB to 1,024 MB memory cards. 8 MB is reserved for system use, leaving a 56 MB to 1,016 MB for user data.

Hard Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon's hard drive is optional. 2 GB of the drive will be used as game cache. The final drive size is still being determined.

Camera - Xenon will have a USB 2.0 camera. It's capable of 1.2 megapixel still shots and VGA video. Photos can be used in-game and for gamer profiles. The camera can also be used for video chat. It's unknown if the Xenon camera will allow for EyeToy-like gameplay. Developers are currently using a simulated camera driver.

Sound Chip - Xenon does not have an audio chip in the traditional sense. Decompression is handled by hardware, while the rest of the chores are handled by software. DirectSound3D has been dropped in favor of X3DAudio. The former was deemed too inflexible.

This information has already been posted, but I figured it should be in this sticky.

[GigatronSama]

Nintendo Revolution
Also revealed: Free DS online service and new Zelda details!!!

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata kicked off his keynote speech this morning to much fanfare at the 2005 Game Developer Conference in San Francisco this morning. We'll have full details and analysis of the event soon, but in the meantime, here's the official press release straight from the source:

Iwata, a veteran video game designer and player himself, made several major announcements during his Game Developers Conference keynote speech, "The Heart of the Gamer," including such highlights as:




* Nintendo???s next game console, code-named "Revolution," is proceeding on schedule and will include both backward compatibility and Wi-Fi features.

* Nintendo soon will offer a free Wi-Fi connection service to Nintendo DS owners.

* Iwata demonstrated several new software titles using the innovative features of the Nintendo DS, including voice recognition, touch-screen control and wireless connectivity.

* Iwata unveiled new images from the highly anticipated Legend of Zelda adventure coming this year for Nintendo GameCube.




"This is Nintendo's plan: make our existing game world better," Iwata said. "For us, this is a passion. This is a mission of adventure."



Revolution: Iwata announced that Revolution will feature built-in Wi-Fi protocols, which will allow users around the world to connect with one another wirelessly. Revolution???s technological heart, a processing chip developed with IBM and code-named "Broadway," and a graphics chip set from ATI code-named "Hollywood," are being designed to deliver game experiences not possible to date.

"We???re excited to be developing the graphics chip set for Revolution, which continues our longstanding relationship with Nintendo," says Dave Orton, ATI Technologies Inc.???s president and chief executive officer. "As the leading graphics provider, ATI is committed to delivering exceptional visual performance that enables consumers to interact with new and visually compelling digital worlds. ATI is proud to support Nintendo???s innovative contributions to gaming."

Nintendo DS: Iwata announced that the Wi-Fi protocol for Nintendo DS will provide users with a link to other players across the country or around the world. Once the service begins later this year, Nintendo DS users will be able to connect to the service wirelessly at Wi-Fi hot spots, whether they???re at home, in a hotel or at a coffee shop. As one of several Wi-Fi games, Nintendo???s in-house development team is creating a new Animal Crossing game for global Wi-Fi play.

On the keynote stage, Iwata also took part in a spontaneous eight-player wireless contest of Mario Kart DS to demonstrate the local area network capabilities of Nintendo DS. He added that shipments of the DS game system have now surpassed 4 million units to North America and Japan in the 16 weeks since launch. With the system set to debut in thousands of stores across Europe within hours of his address, that number will approach 6 million units shipped by the end of March.

DS software: The speech featured a live demonstration of two Nintendo DS software titles that Iwata said represented types of entertainment that go beyond the traditionally accepted definitions of "video games." One, Nintendogs, asks owners to nurture and interact with a variety of breeds of digital puppies. Puppy owners can issue voice commands, play games and train their puppies while developing real emotional bonds with them. Nintendogs is set to launch later this year in North America. The second title, Electroplankton, offers an otherworldly array of sights and sounds aimed to soothe or stimulate players with the innovative use of both the touch screen and voice interaction. "This is designed to produce harmony, not adrenaline," Iwata said.

He also wowed the crowd by showing previously unreleased footage of the stunning Legend of Zelda adventure for Nintendo GameCube. The game will launch later this year, and is expected to be the most sought-after game of 2005 on any console.

[BigPrime3000]

From the latest issue of GameInformer:

PS3:
-Not too much info, but the Cell processor has been clocked in at 4 GHz, and projected to run as fast as 4.6GHz

Xenon - Right now the official name, it could be changed, has been set as XBox 360.
-XBox 360 will not ship with a hard drive, but one can be purchased and installed in the machine.
-Possibility of a personal video recorder in the 360, kinda like an XBox with TiVo
-Console will be much smaller than the XBox
-Standard 360 controllers will be wireless
-360 will use a regular DVD drive instead of the HD-DVD (Personally I think this will change)

Revolution - New controller design - touch screen pad. No analog stick, no shoulder buttons, just a touch screen.

[Crossblades]

Revolution Rumor Report

http://cube.ign.com/articles/597/597720p1.html


Another day another rumor. The mystery behind Nintendo's upcoming successor to the GameCube, codenamed Revolution, has given rise to rampant speculation in past months. It's really no surprise, either, because no one outside of a highly select group of people from Nintendo has any clue as to what Revolution is. Furthermore, a recent interview with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata hinted that Nintendo bigwigs themselves haven't settled on which technologies to include in the upcoming console. Well, as long as this high level of secrecy continues, so will the rumors.

The latest rumor circulating the Web concerns Revolution's controller. Officially, not much is known, only that the controller will in some way play a role in what makes Revolution Revolutionary. But what does this mean? A lot, especially when it comes to your average message board and Nintendo fan site. Inquisitive game fans have proposed everything from tilt-sensitive controllers to the resurgence of the Nintendo PowerGlove. The latest rumor, however, from publication Game Informer, is all about a completely-programmable, touch-sensitive peripheral. Those of you following Revolution's progress know this isn't the first time such a controller has been proposed. But this time, the report purportedly comes from a developer working with a Revolution development kit.

Such a controller would allow developers to map their own control scheme, granting a new level of developer freedom. Still, the inclusion of a touch screen is hardly revolutionary, especially since it's the main draw to the Nintendo DS handheld. But then again, Nintendo officials have commented that the DS offers a hint as to what gamers can expect from the Revolution. Whether this is referring to the recently announced DS online network, or whether it has anything at all to do with a touch screen and Revolution's controller has yet to be seen.

Stay tuned.

[Crossblades]

IGNcube's Nintendo "Revolution" FAQ

http://cube.ign.com/articles/522/522559p1.html



Nintendo's GameCube console is far from dead, but that hasn't stopped the company from announcing that it is underway with a next-generation successor, codenamed "Revolution." The system, still very much a mystery, has been given an appropriate codename if Nintendo is to be believed: the publisher says that the console will revolutionize the way people play games. No easy challenge, but if any company can do it, Nintendo can.


To help keep readers informed about any and all developments surrounding the Nintendo Revolution, IGNcube has created the end-all FAQ for the console. The following information represents everything we currently know about the machine.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q: What is the Nintendo Revolution?

A: The official codename for the successor to GameCube.

Q: How long has the Revolution been in development?

A: Preliminary development on Revolution began shortly after the release of Nintendo GameCube.

Q: When was the Nintendo Revolution codename announced?

A:: On May 11, 2004 at Nintendo's pre-Electronics Entertainment Expo 2004 press conference, which took place in Los Angeles, California. (The console had been tentatively referred to as "GCNext" by the press before the unveiling of the official codename.)

Q: Who announced the codename Nintendo Revolution?

A: Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. On stage at Nintendo's pre-E3 2004 press conference, Iwata said:

"Different also defines our approach to our next home system. It won't simply be new or include new technologies. Better technology is good, but not enough. Today's consoles already offer fairly realistic expressions so simply beefing up the graphics will not let most of us see a difference. So what should a new machine do? Much more. An unprecedented gameplay experience. Something no other machine has delivered before.

"The definition for a new machine must be different. I want you to know that Nintendo is working on our next system and that system will create a gaming revolution. Internal development is underway.




"I could give you our technical specs, as I'd know you'd like that, but I won't for a simple reason: they really don't matter. The time when horsepower alone made all the difference is over.

"Work on Revolution is well underway. When you see it you will be excited because you will experience a gaming revolution."

Q: Will Revolution feature more powerful hardware than GameCube?

A: Yes.

Q: What are Revolution's technical specs?

A: Currently unknown.

Rumors abound indicated that Nintendo could separately be working on two systems and that ultimately one would be chosen for retail. System 1 allegedly featured a 2.7GHz PowerPC G5 processor, 512MBs of RAM, and a 600MHz graphics chip. System 2 allegedly featured dual 1.8GHz PowerPC G5 processors. 256MBS of DDR Main Memory RAM, 128MBS of GDDR3 Video RAM and a 500MHz graphics chip. Both systems allegedly featured a built in 15GB hard drive. As of this time, these rumors cannot be validated.

More recent hearsay from development studios working closely with Nintendo suggest that Revolution's power is on track to compete with Microsoft's forthcoming successor to Xbox. Some studios have suggested that Revolution could be slightly underpowered when stacked side by side with Microsoft's next system, but that the differences would be marginal. Other sources maintain that the recently reported Xenon hardware specs exactly mimicked internal hardware documentation for Revolution. Again, none of this information can yet be validated.

In March 2005, both IBM and ATI confirmed that they have been making the CPU and GPU for Revolution respectively.

Q: How will Revolution be unique?

A: That is the big question. The console is codenamed Revolution for a reason: Nintendo expects it to be revolutionary. The system will, according to Nintendo, fundamentally change how games are played. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said in recent interviews that the dual-screened Nintendo DS offers a hint of what to expect from Revolution. DS players can use a stylus pen to input control data into the portable device. It's always possible that Revolution may feature similar functionality.

Nintendo believes that technology alone cannot advance videogames, which is why it plans to take Revolution into a dramatic new direction.

Iwata in June 2004 described Revolution as a videogame machine "of a different nature that does not follow the conventional path of new game systems that increase speed and visual quality for making elaborate games." He added: "The rule of satisfying customers by increasing specifications worked once, but no longer applies now."

Q: What is so special about Revolution?

A: Not yet known, but the console's revolutionary new mechanic may go hand-in-hand with its input device, which may no longer look or function like today's controllers. In a March 2005 interview with BusinessWeek, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admitted that Revolution's new input device was still incomplete, and that multiple ideas were still being tossed around.

"The new interface will allow some new forms of innovation," Iwata explained on the subject. "Already, you're seeing changes in Nintendo DS, which has a microphone, input pen, and touch screen. We have a number of candidates for a new [Revolution] interface but are not ready to reveal them. All I can say right now is that whatever we choose will be intuitive and easy to use for everyone."

Q: Will the Revolutionary input device be a microphone?

A: Unlikely. Nintendo has stated on the record that while microphone-to-game mechanics are intriguing, competitors have already capitalized on them.

"But the fact of the matter is, to realize voice commands; all you have to do is install a microphone. We realize a few of our competitors are already thinking of following us on this, so it will not be a defining feature of the new console," Iwata explained in a March 2005 interview. "We may or may not use the microphone in the new [Nintendo Revolution] interface."

Q: Will Revolution feature screens on the console or the controller?

A: No. At a June 2004 analyst briefing in Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said, "We have no intention of making a two-screen console akin to the [Nintendo] DS."

Q: Will Revolution hook up to a television?

A: Yes. It will also be able to interface with a computer monitor. In June 2004 Nintendo engineer Genyo Takeda said: "You'll be able to play [Revolution] not just by linking up to a television but to a computer monitor as well."

Q: Will Revolution go online?

A: Yes. The Revolution console will feature online play out of the box. Nintendo at the March 15, 2005 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco announced an aggressive new Wi-Fi strategy for both DS and Revolution. Wi-Fi enables wireless, high-speed connections to the Internet using such popular standards as 802.11b and 802.11g. Company executives made strong statements about Nintendo's belief that gamers should be able to wirelessly go online and play against each other.

"We intend to incorporate wireless technology in all we do," Iwata announced at the event. "Therefore, Nintendo Revolution will be Wi-Fi enabled, built into every system."

Few other details regarding Revolution's online functionality are known, but we can infer at least one important bit based on information announced about the nature of wireless play for DS. Nintendo announced that Wi-Fi gaming on DS would be free. In stark contrast to Microsoft's Xbox Live service, the Big N will not charge any fee for gamers to go online through its infrastructure. The same could be true for Revolution's wireless play.

Q: Will Revolution be backward compatible?

A: Yes. At the March 2005 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata confirmed that Revolution would be backward compatible.

"Contrary to much speculation, I can announce today that Revolution will be backward compatible. The best of the Nintendo GameCube library will still be enjoyed by players years from now," Iwata revealed.

The announcement was a surprise because analysts and media, IGN included, figured that Revolution's radically different new input device would make backward compatibility a near impossibility. Evidently Nintendo has found a way around this hurdle.


Q: Who are Nintendo's hardware partners on Revolution?

A: During the course of the last two years, several major hardware companies have been linked to Revolution including IBM, ATI, and NEC.

In December 2002 Bloomberg reported that Nintendo had agreed to collaborate with NEC on a system LSI that would serve as the core for the new console.

Just a few months later GameCube graphics chip maker ATI announced a vague "technology development agreement" for use in future "Nintendo products." Unconfirmed reports from insiders alleged that ATI had been in development with the graphics chip for Revolution well before that announcement.

And several unsubstantiated rumors have suggested that IBM will deliver a modified version of its PowerPC G5 processor for Revolution.

In March 2005, Nintendo confirmed that both IBM and ATI would supply the CPU and GPU respectively for the Revolution console.

"We're excited to be developing the graphics chip set for Revolution, which continues our longstanding relationship with Nintendo," explained Dave Orton, ATI Technologies' president and chief executive officer. "As the leading graphics provider, ATI is committed to delivering exceptional visual performance that enables consumers to interact with new and visually compelling digital worlds. ATI is proud to support Nintendo's innovative contributions to gaming."

Q: What are Revolution's CPU and GPU called, and why?

A:: The IBM-created CPU is called Broadway. The ATI-developed GPU is called Hollywood. At the March 2005 Game Developers Conference, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained the reasoning behind the titles.

"With IBM, we are creating Revolution's core processor, which we have codenamed Broadway because Broadway is the capital of live entertainment," he said. "With ATI, we are developing the graphics chipset, codenamed Hollywood because Hollywood is the capital of movie entertainment. With Revolution, we are determined to create the new capital of interactive entertainment."

Q: Has Nintendo sent out Revolution development kits to software houses yet?

A: Yes. Some Japanese studios have early Revolution development kits. Meanwhile, western third parties will be receiving them shortly, say sources.

In March 2005, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was asked bout Revolution development kits. "Development kits are already out there, depending on which stage you're talking about," he responded. "All I can say right now is 'in the near-future' for the base platform information they will need to get started on games."

Q: When will Revolution be released?

A: "If you're asking for a specific date for our next system -- we don't have one. Nintendo is going to remain competitive and will launch around the same time as competitors -- not later than," said Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs in a May 2004 interview. This is the same line other Nintendo executives, including company president Satoru Iwata, have said for months.

Nintendo feels that its inability to bring GameCube to market before PlayStation 2 gave Sony an advantage that it could never overcome. For that reason, Nintendo will not launch Revolution after PlayStation 3.

Revolution will launch sometime in 2006.

Q: How much will Revolution cost?

A:: Currently unknown. But we feel confident that Nintendo will aim for a mass-market friendly price on the lower side of the spectrum.

Q: When will Nintendo reveal more about Revolution?

A: At the Electronics Entertainment Expo 2005, which begins May 2005 in Los Angeles.

[the_riesen]

PS3 owns all, but i'll prolly buy nintendos when its price goes down.

BUT BLU-RAY IS HUNG LIKE A HORSE!!!!

AND SO SONY

[the_riesen]

i heard that they are going to make a ps3 with a umd burner for the psp, so u can burn your own music and movies on to blank umds :thumb but this is prolly fake cuz the guy that said it is kinda fruity :ev:

[Bowspearer]

I think the new Nintendo console will truly be something special. The fact that the specs are kept so tightly lipped and the control interface is still being developed shows that the big N are ready to totally take the next egn console battle to sony and microsoft. As it stands, the DS offeres something far more unique than the PSP which really doesn't offer more than a 3g mobile phone with a good plan (regarding the movie and music content). The Wifi out of the box option on the Revolution is also interesting as in some countries such as Australia, not everywhere is broadband capable (let's face it, online gaming blows when done over dial up). In short you have a level playing field with online gaming, and what's more, no subscription fees. I have a sneaking suspicion too that it's entirely possible the revolution with be compatible with gamecube controllers for gamecube games if they're as serious about the backwards compatibility as they are on everything else with this console. All in all, I'll be very interested to see what May brings in terms of news on the new console.

[BigPrime3000]

I gotta admit, if Revolution goes with touch screen controllers, there is a 90% probability that it will be the first Nintendo home console that I don't buy. I need to feel the push of the buttons, and I really like button sensitivity.

[Kickback]

Guys.

This isn't for making comments about the specs, or discussing what you THINK the specs will be, this is specifically to post news and announcements about the specs of the next gen systems.

post your news regarding the next gen systems here.

If you want to discuss things we'll need to make a new thread :) Thanks!

[Metal Soldier]

Source: TeamXbox.com (http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/8190/Xbox-360-to-Launch-This-November/)

MTV has accidentally revealed the launch month of the Xbox 360. The On-Air schedule featured in MTV.com has the following description:

This special highlights the exciting new generation of XBOX. Packages include: Tours of the design labs Interviews with the designers Behind-the-scenes and inside scoop Never-before-seen footage of new videogames. Trailers of the newest games that are due out in November for the new XBOX. The next generation will be revealed at an event at the Avalon club in LA, hosted by Elijah Wood and featuring performances by The Killers and Snow Patrol.

This follows Bill Gates' announcement at the Society of American Business Editors and Writers annual meeting that the cоnsоle will indeed ship later this year.

So far, MTV has revealed today the Xbox 360 logo and the cоnsоle's launch month. Mіcrosоft must love them!

[OmegaScourge]

well, the Revolution will be using DVDs now....and supposedly 1 inch wide...from what i read at gamesarefun

[OmegaScourge]

so far both the PS3 and XB360 is not confirmed to have a HD already installed....XB360 might not have one at all...PS3 will be a added feature if not already installed....Revolution will not have a HD already installed (dont know about it being a added feature)

[Cheetatron]

From IGN's PS3 fact page
Who is supplying the hardware?
IBM, Toshiba and Sony are supplying the Cell processors, while NVIDIA is handling the graphics processor.



Tell me about the graphics chip...
NVIDIA's chip is codenamed RSX. The chip runs at 550MHz and is capable of rendering two 1080p signals simultaneously. It's touted to hit 1.8 TFLOPS of floating point performance and can perform 100 billion shader operations per second, or 136 shader operations per cycle. The RSX uses 128-bit precision for enhanced color definition, making the system capable of High Dynamic Range rendering. Programming-wise, it's based on OpenGL and NVIDIA's CG language.
NVIDIA recently released its GeForce 7800 GTX GPU for the PC, which provides a reasonable real-world approximation of what sort of effects the RSX and PlayStation 3 can handle. The RSX is a step beyond the GeForce 7800 GTX however, making it faster than anything currently available for the PC.

How much RAM will the PS3 have?
256MB of XDR Main RAM @ 3.2GHz and 256MB of GDDR3 VRAM @ 700MHz, or a total of 512MB for the entire system. The RSX graphics chip can actually use all 512MB of system RAM; it is not limited to the 256MB of GDDR3 RAM.


Will the PlayStation 3 output 16:9 or HD video?
Yes. In fact, the standard resolution for the system is 1080p. Yes, as in 1920x1080 progressive, not interlaced. 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i are all supported as well, of course.

One of the system's more interesting features, however, is the ability to display two 16:9 images simultaneously through the dual HDMI outputs. That means that for the first time in console history, the PS3 can output with a panoramic view of 32:9 or display an entirely different screen that's still coming from a single source.

What sorts of video connections will be available?
Composite, S-Video and component are all possible via AV cables, but for the best image quality possible the system also employs two built-in HDMI connections. The PlayStation 3 is capable of displaying two video feeds simultaneously via HDMI, though it's unknown if you can mix-and-match HDMI with a standard AV output.

Will there still be jaggies?
Some of the video we've seen has had evidence of a slight bit of aliasing, though simply due to the HD resolution the system renders at, it's very, very slight. It's likely that the jaggies that we've seen are only due to in-development software and hardware and that final code will feature anti-aliasing, but we're unsure.

What sort of surround sound support will the PlayStation 3 have?
For in-game audio, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS are all supported and processed by the Cell. Keep in mind, however, that since all the audio processing is done by the Cell, developers could use or create whatever audio codecs they desire.

What kind of audio connections will be available?
Analog stereo and optical audio output.

Now I knew the PS3 would support HD but before this piece of info I thought only Microsoft was forcing devs to support it now that I know sony is too along with BLU-Ray it makes it hard to choose anything else from an HD perspective.

[Gigatron_2005]

From IGN's new Revolution channel,


More Revolution Specs Uncovered
Developers come forward to reveal new performance details on Nintendo's next-generation console.
by Matt Casamassina

December 6, 2005 - Just yesterday IGN Revolution launched with technical details on Nintendo's next-generation console, codenamed Revolution. And today more development sources have come forward with both clarification and even more tech specs. The latest news begins to paint a clearer picture of Nintendo's aim with its next platform.

We cannot stress this enough: Revolution is not being positioned as a competitor to either Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Nintendo has instead chosen to design a console that will be very affordable for consumers. For that very reason, say developers in the know, the Big N has opted out of filling the system with a massive supply of expensive RAM.

In yesterday's article, we wrote that Revolution would include 128MBs of RAM, or possibly less. Developers have clarified the makeup based on officially released Nintendo documentation. Revolution will build on GameCube's configuration of 24MBs 1T-SRAM and 16MBs D-RAM (40MBs) by adding an addition 64MBs of 1T-SRAM. The result is a supply of memory in Revolution that totals 104MBs. That number does not consider either the 512MBs of allegedly accessible (but hardly ideal) Flash RAM or the Hollywood GPU's on-board memory, said to be 3MBs by sources.

Revolution's Broadway CPU, developed by IBM, is an extension of the Gekko CPU in GameCube, according to official Nintendo documentation passed to us by software houses. The Hollywood GPU, meanwhile, is believed to be an extension of the Flipper GPU in GameCube. Since developers have not gone hands-on with the GPU, they can only go on Nintendo documentation, which is limited.

Exact clock rates were not disclosed, but one development source we spoke to had this to say of the Revolution CPU and GPU: "Basically, take a GameCube, double the clock rate of the CPU and GPU and you're done."

We presented that description to another informed studio, which clarified that the clock rates may even fall short of doubling those on GameCube.

"The CPU is the same as Gekko with one and a half to two times the performance and improved caching," said a source. "Our guys experimented with it and think they'll be able to get about twice the performance as GameCube."

"It's a gamble for the Big N," said another source. "It's not about horsepower for them -- it's about innovation and gameplay."

We've also been able to unearth firm details on the storage capacity for Revolution discs. Recent rumors suggesting that the discs can hold 12GBs of data are false. In fact, Revolution discs can store 4.7GBs of data on a single layer or 8.5GBs when double-layered on a single-side. This is a massive jump from the 1.5GB capacity of GameCube discs and more than enough storage capacity for any non-high-definition game.

Readers discouraged by Revolution's seeming lack of horsepower when compared to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 should remember that Nintendo is not interested in competing in the high-definition gaming arena, and as a standard-definition console, Revolution is more than capable. Capcom's Resident Evil 4 remains one of the most gorgeous games this generation and it ran on GameCube, a console at least half as powerful according to developer reports.

Software houses we spoke with also waxed on the immediate advantage to Nintendo's approach with Revolution, which is, of course, system price. Every developer was in agreement that Revolution should launch with a price tag of $149 or lower. Some speculated that based on the tech, a $99 price point would not be out of the question.

Stay tuned for more as it develops.


Im very let down by this. I was hoping for a system that would at least sound like it could compare in SD gaming with the ps3 and 360.:( Only 104MBs of RAM. I would like to see at least 256MB. Also, the flash memory will not be able to be used as ram, its too slow anyways.

[Streck]

I'm retiring this thread because the 360's and PS3's specs are now well-known, and we don't need a sticky for just one system.

http://www.drgw.net/~nnthayer/temp/lock.jpg