How Will Next Gen Ports Be Handled? |
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Before much was known of the Xbox 360, the Wii and the PS3, it was generally assumed that porting across the three platforms would be much easier than on previous consoles because they would most likely be pretty similar in terms of features and performance. How times have changed.
Last generation it was still relatively easy to handle multi platform ports with all three consoles having roughly the same basic capabilities at least in terms of features, with only the Xbox's "Live" online networking system really separating it from the Gamecube and PS2. Developers generally aimed for the lowest common denominator (the PS2) and worked from there, this time things look to be a little different.
In some respects the death of cross platform ports would be a blessing (just ask PSP owners) as developers will no longer be setting their sights on the the lowest common denominator but rather aiming to get the best out of the target system and utilise its unique capabilities, always a good thing.
This time around Nintendo's entry in the console wars is almost certainly going to be out powered by the competition, and from the looks of it significantly enough that sharing assets across platforms would be impractical. On the flip side, the system will also sport a unique controller designed to facilitate gameplay experiences neither of the other two consoles will be capable of replicating (not even the PS3's motion sensitive controller offers the freedom of the Wiimote). It definitely makes the console stand out from the crowd, but also makes it that much more difficult to port to (again, is this necessarily a bad thing?) and we're yet to hear concrete word on whether the standard Wii controller shell will be included out of the box. Either way both of these facts will make the Wii the most difficult console of the bunch to port to, good because it means developers will have to tailor their games to the system, giving gamers the best experience the system can offer, but bad because it means Wii gamers will most likely miss out on some awesome games available on other platforms with no hope of a port.
The PS3 and the 360 are both unbelievably powerful machines and regardless of which console is more powerful it's pretty apparent based on what we've seen that assets can be shared across both at least as easily as was the case in the 128 bit era. It's likely that we'll see more ports across these two than across the 360 and Wii, or the PS3 and Wii. There are however a couple of factors that will most likely affect how easily and effectively ports are handled.
First is the PS3's motion sensitive controller, any functionality developers imbue the device with will most certainly be absent in the 360 version, that's not to say this can't be worked around with a little intelligent button configuration but it depending on how much the added functionality affects gameplay the exclusion of motion sensitive tech will most likely be missed.
A second point of interest is the utilisation of the hard drive, all PS3's will come with a HDD for developers to use while only the Xbox 360 "Premium Packs" will have them. However, considering the converse was the situation for the previous generation of hardware (the PS2's lack of a HDD as opposed to the Xbox's built in HDD), this shouldn't me much of an obstacle to overcome.
A third point to ponder is how closely Sony's PlayStation Network Platform will be able to mimic the enhanced Xbox Live. If developers are able to get more stable, consistent performance from Xbox live, how will this affect what they do with heavily multiplayer oriented titles like Battlefield, Medal of Honor and Call of Duty? While we've heard again and again the Sony's matchmaking service will be offered free of charge you really do have to question how effectively a young, free service can compete with the more mature pay based Microsoft solution.
At the end of the day we'll still get ports, there's no way around the fact that as development costs rise developers will be looking to make back as much as they can from their investment, and getting that product to as many gamers as possible is the best way to do that. Let's just hope that they look to the example laid down by Madden 2007 for Wii and offer markedly different experiences across the platforms able to offer them.
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Comments
I direct port from a pc or a 360 to the ps3 is impossible. The code needs to be completely rewritten into two types of code. One for the main core and one for the SPEs. A port from pc to 360 is simple due to XNA. Wii isnt powerful enough to handle ps3 and 360 ports. So basically ports between consoles just isnt very likely. When a game is on the ps3 and 360 it requires two completely different types of code and usually two completely different development teams due to the vast difference in architecture.
Depends, if you're working with middle ware such as Unreal engine 3, porting across PS3/Xbox 360 and PC is very much possible, but it might be too much work for developers to bother with. There are quite a few examples of cross platform porting that prove PS3/360 porting is not only possible, it's going to happen. Case in point: John Woo's Stranglehold
xbox live just showed up one day and everyone loved it. can't the same be said for sony's online? the fact that playing is free totally owns the xbox live anyways.
The thing is, its only the code that has to be re-written, the assets, such as 3d models, level designs, textures etc are already done, which means theres no need for artists etc whenm porting, the game engine has to be completely re-written etc but that no way means its going to take 3 years to develop a port for the ps3 (like what the square guy said). Also, all the AI/Physics code will already be done, and you dont need to think about codig as much, so developers can spend a little less on that. Overall, i think at worst, ps3 ports will take a year to port and no longer. There are loads of games comming to 360 and PS3 simultaneously, which means its not impossible, game devs are pros, they dont get paid to do nothing, they get paid to make things work, and they will make it work, so dont worry about 360 and PS3 ports. As for the wii, well, psp ports have shown porting down sux, but there are also decent ports. 360 games can easily be ported to wii, jus lower texture from hd resolution to sd and your half way there. There is nothing at the moment which is on the 360 which cant be done on the ps2, apart from the "slightly" more fancy graphics, so really, don't underestimate the wii. Besides, this is not your problem, its the devs problem, any porting issues is their issues, so dont worry, like i said, vthey get paid to make things work and dammit they will. I also think this is a good thing because we will start to see less boring pc fps conversions and better games for the PS3.
we know that sony will have free online but it may be like xbox live silver.
i would like to see you try to have a game like oblivion on ps2, it would be impossible unless you strip everthing except the bare bones of oblivion out. oblivion has a lot more intracate details that may be missed by some(like the abiltiy to have over 400 objects interact with eachother simoutanously, while enemies keep attacking you.
"oblivion has a lot more intracate details that may be missed by some(like the abiltiy to have over 400 objects interact with eachother simoutanously, while enemies keep attacking you." If only that would take away from the fact that it's a *****ty game. Also, is there anyway to ignore these "Opinions & Analysis" articles? Personally, I come to this site to read actual news.
I'm not downplaying it, but the fact remains that we know nothing about it, and if it sucks, it still sucks, doesn't matter if it's free or not.
It will be sort of like xbox silver. The only diffrence between them would be you can play multiplayer with the free Sony service unlike the xbox silver. The similarity between them, is that you need the premium version to download demos and buy stuff through the service. By the way does anyone know if the final name was announced? How about demonstration of the online service other then singstar?
"If only that would take away from the fact that it's a *****ty game" that would be true but you are vastly outnumbered. everyone that has played oblivion has loved it and im not exagerating.... seriously, obviously you have never played oblivion ever.
Why should you have to pay a monthly fee to play multiplayer game over the net when you can play it multiplayer with your friends in your own living room or next door with LAN? If you boil it down thats all you do, you play the game with other people. I can understand if its a mmo game where you must play on a maintained hosted dedicated server in some office somewhere but im not talking about that, im talking about P2P networking play like how most PC online multiplayer games are. Now MS fills it up with all these gimmics like gamer profiles and stuff but stull like profiles is something you can get for free on places like yahoo and myspace. If you ask me, paying for multiplayer over the net is a rip off. Imagine if you purchased unreal tournament 2004 and it gave u a huge form saying you have to fill out and sacrifice your credit card number as well as a monthly fee to then play that game online on your pc when you just get the same exact service for free if your playing against people in your LAN.
If it sucks it sucks thats true but I don't thick that a service should be looked at as something inferrior because it's free and it's competitor is subscription (pay) based. Also, you didn't seem to touch on the different unique processors each system has. I'm not sure about the wii's processor but I'm assuming it's a standard single processor device, where as the the 360 sports the tripple processor combo and the PS3 has it's Cell with the 7 spe arcitecture. I'm willing to bet that there's a bigger gap to overcome there then there was with the ps2/xbox/gc who each had a standard single processor setup. On a side note, I believe you're one of the best 'bloggers' here on QJ, your content always seems to be informative and professional (not fanboyish). Keep up the good work.
Gosh, @ #3, yes of course we can downplay sony's NON-EXISTANT service; it will suck. @ you doofs who say it's too expensive. IT'S FREAKING
First, I doubt that the process of makign ports is impossible, considering the fact that there's very well over a dozen ports being made for the 360 and ps3. Esspecially with the mentioned middleware similarity and the fact that compilers handle the division between the spes etc. So far I'm thinking porting from the others 2 to wii is impossible, and the oposite is both impractical and probably impossible because the games will most likely be made for the wiimote. Second I'd hardly go around saying the ps3 service will suck. Clearly Sony is modeling their service to be much like Live, as Nintendo is doing. I'm sure both companies have learned quite a bit from MS's service in what people want. And both have the resources to create a good service. It's not as if Sony is just going to have each game company handle online independently like with the ps2, they themselves said they're building up their own Sony Hub or whatever it's called. Both Ninty and Sony are following suit with the online service, so it's pretty early to make a call on quality. It's not as if you have to charge to get good quality online gaming, there's quite a few companies nowadays that run free online gaming that's very good quality, Blizzard for one (omitting WoW ofcourse).
you guys should wait untill there is actaul PROOF of what the service is going to be like... all you fanboys taking the ambious info from sony...well you are border line retarded.
Sry i don't really know what a port is, can anyone explain it to me?
i just realeased that if you have an opinion everyone hates you thatswhy i get so many negative comments on myspace...
Actually, I own the game. I received it as a gift, and I think it's absolute rubbish, as with most MMORPGs.
Thanks Hush! I didn't touch on the processors mainly because I figured going into the technical details would be retreading old ground, I figured mainly stating that Wii would be outclassed was enough, but yeah, the different architectures will play a pretty big role in ease of porting. Also, I feel I should state that I'm nopt knocking Sony's online service, mainly stating that as yet it's an unquantified entity, and that it's possible Sony won't get it right first time at the plate, after all they don't have the experience and are not a software company. That said I'm rooting for them as I'll be getting a PS3 come launch.
Mogungo is right, there are a whole heap of multi-format games on the ps3 and xbox 360 so its not impossible, and like mogungo said, its not our problem, its the developers problems, and they will no doubt port their games over to which ever console requires it, so hush up all you n00b fanboys because your all idiots, SAVE your comments about Sonys online service when its released, or even when it actually surfaces, because right now its vapourware, it doesnt exist so reserve your judgments till it comes.
I'm surprised that there was no inclusion of Blu-Ray and how that might affect (or is it effect?) porting.
no mention of blu-ray is because it will make no differece in the shor term
Im not saying games on both platforms is impossible because its already happening. But it is not a port if they are both being developed at the same time. Niether is it a port if the entire code base needs to be rewritten. Sure it could have the same ingame assets, but its not a port if you have to rewrite the whole engine.
It seems that quite a few ppl here and maybe even the author are not aware of what a port is. I'll try to explain it as best i can. Lets use the GTA example. Here is a game designed specifically for the PS2 - and its 2(not one) processors. Due to popularity this game was then ported to the PC - for example. Porting here is then the modification of the game to ensure that it is compatible with the system it is being ported to without completely modifying all the source code of the game ie. a cheaper way of converting games to work on different systems. This is usually accomplished with moderate code modification and emulation. Obviously ports are not always as good on the ported system as they are on the original system, here GTA3 and VC are again good examples, since perfect modification emulation is often hard to accomplish. However once these hurdles are overcome a game may actually look beter on the ported system eg. GTA SA on the pc. The Unreal 3* system is not a good example of a port since it was designed specifically for both the PC and the PS3 from the offset and not ported at a later stage I hope that answers you question :)
@ #18 & #7.... Oblivion is not an MMORPG, anyone that might have actually believed you own the game doesnt take you seriously anymore and just accepts the fact that you're an idiot fanboy. Oblivion owns, any sony fanboy will admit that, just as any MS fanboy will admit Final Fantasy is the sh*t. Porting is innevitably going to happen, anyone who thinks otherwise has lost all grip on reality in this "console-war" And blu-ray has nothing to do with porting, #21
and #16, 24 did a really bad job explaining a port. it sounded like someone trying to explain what oktoberfest was in german. A port is simply taking a game that was originally made for one system (i.e. GTA) and making it for another system. As in, first being made for PS2, then being released for PC and XBOX. Also, games like Madden have been ported to PSP and NDS. A "port" just means altering something so it will work on a different operating system, (something for PC made to work on a Mac would also be considered a port). Hope that explains it
#25 oh yes it pretty much does ! What would happen to a game if it's 20gb big and then they have to make it for the 360 ? And the sony online service.. just dont talk about because you dont know ***** about it ! And when he is saying that basic is free he means that music and videos etc. will have a cost like iTunes...
Ports are not complicated at all. Those of your who never coded a game have no right to say anything. Hell, linux was ported to work on the IPod. You can port just about any game to anything else, if you know how. Sure the systems are different but that doesnt mean the entire code has to be re-written for ported games. The fact that the the PS3 and Xbox360 share similair hardware is what you should be considering. Both still have a Graphics card thats based on PC GPUs so the games visuals dont have to be changed at all. Both Processors support 32bit and 64bit processes and Cell was designed to be able to run just about everything Intel and AMD can. the Linux OS is very friendly to everything, unlike windows, if you know how to make everything talk with it. For a PC port to goto the PS3, they really just have to make a Linux Port. Gamespy is helping designing the PS3 Service. Want free online gaming? Then Gamespy and Sony will be blasting advertisements at every possible moment that your not gaming. Dont want advtertisements? Then you have to pay, its that simple. Gamespy wouldnt risk losing the ability to advertise to millions of gamers, Sony wouldnt risk that either, but if your willing to pay, then you can choose not to see them anymore. Gamespy has been doing this kind of service for years before Xbox Live was even on the drawing board. Gamespy wouldnt team up with Sony if they couldnt offer free online gaming with advertisements to pay for operations. Were just going to have to wait for a press release from either Sony or Gamespy to confirm what they will include. But one thing is a fact, Free Online Gaming will push PS3 online service up on par with Xbox live before people can blink.
i HIGHLY doubt any PS3 games ever reach 20gb in size. if they do it will be the last year of this gen, and if they want to port it the dev's might have to spend a little more effort compressing and cleaning up their code. And anyways by that time in this gen, id bet we will see some hd-dvd games (just like microsoft said there would be no games that would require the hdd....right)
Wow... you missed the biggest factors. PS3 will use Blu-Ray discs and Xbox 360 uses regular DVD's. This means two things. 1.) Some games can end up beeing too big to be ported over for the X360. Since you have to include the game engine on every additional disc, (along with other things,) a 50 GB game could be over 6-7 discs for the X360. (Just an example) But most importantly... 2.) Blu-Rays space capacity also allows the creators to add more heavily realistic real time details in the game. When "The Getaway" was displayed for the PS3, the creator said this: "These highly detailed backgrounds require hundreds and hundreds of MB. And this is only possible using Blu-Ray."
1) As I stated in the comments earlier, this isn't a factor, games have been known to come on multiple discs in the past and in the case of the PC, they still do. 2) As yet we haven't seen a game too large for DVD 9 to handle, not saying it will never happen but when it does there's always a second, third and maybe fourth disk. Bottom line is that this "factor" really isn't one at all.
Thanks you guys, i know kinda get the drift of it, kool, i didn't know you could do that.
#27 & #30 ....There is not 1 game that uses a whole dvd 9 disc to date. And then you can use both sides of it if needed. Also no need for multiple discs anymore. That was back when games where on CDs not DVD's folks. And the blue ray player in the PS3 is a 1 or 2 speed player. Do you know what that means? lol...really slow getting data from blu ray discs...the dvd 9 that the 360 uses is ultra fast and uses extreme compression techniques....Which means that you can get the same amount of GAME data on a dvd 9 as you can the slow blue ray drive in the PS3. But like I stated earlier. NO GAME to date has filled up one side of the Dvd 9 yet. And there is another side that can be used. Its Dvd folks not a one sided cd. And as far as Ps3's online. No one knows anything right now so why is even debated yet? We know something is free but we don't know what. It could be just like the silver package. They might make it free but then the games cost independantly to play. That would suck. We will see though. Untill then do some research.
One game i know will fill a DVD9 is MGS:4, lots of long HD cutscenes.The actual game wouldn't fill the DVD9, but the cutscenes will.
#9 The similarity between them, is that you need the premium version to download demos and buy stuff through the service. Do you have an Xbox 360? Demos are free over Live Silver. I also think it's possible to buy things off the marketplace without the Gold subscription. $50 dollars a "YEAR" for multiplayer really isn't a big deal. I don't think spending $50 once a year would ever have any significant affect on wallet. Let me put it to you another way; if you can't afford to pay $50 for Xbox Live Gold, I don't think you would be able to afford a PS3. I just don't understand how so many people can complain about paying for XBL, yet have no problem with paying $600 for a game console at the same time. #34 One game i know will fill a DVD9 is MGS:4, lots of long HD cutscenes.The actual game wouldn't fill the DVD9, but the cutscenes will. I don't think the cutscenes in MGS: 4 will be FMV, but will instead be in-game. There would be no point to use FMV cutscenes when the in game graphics are so amazing. I also think MGS's creator might have already stated this. It would just be too much unecessary work. Haven't you seen that amazing 15 min MGS: 4 trailer? Just go to gametrailers.com if you haven't. It's all in-game.
"The PS3 and the 360 are both unbelievably powerful machines" Umm I think not. My PC, is WAY more powerful GPU and CPU wise than a PS3 and Xbox 360. Hell I like the PS3 but its not that powerful, nor is the freakin 360. Its funny though that my PC didnt cost me an arm and a leg might most console fanboys would think :P
I think people would like to know how and when to reserve ps3 & Wii (also how much to reserve them). So what's this I hear about with the ps3 interacting with the psp, and also the ds with the Wii? What do they do?
#36.....Do you have a 61 inch High Def tv? Do you have a house rumbling surround sound system? Do you have an xbox 360 hooked to it? Console gaming and pc gaming are two different monsters. sitting at a desk and playing with a keyboard and mouse with games on your computer monitor and computer speakers...with most high end games sporting the highest resolution of 1600x 1200. And constantly having to fiddle with the graphic settings to get it to run perfect on your machine and after 6 months having to buy a new graphics card to stay current, and computer viruses / spyware running rampant. Sounds like fun gaming? lol...Or how about sitting down on your comfy couch,Turn off all the lights, push the guide button on your 360 controler. Then using your harmonic xbox 360 remote you turn your 61 inch hd tv on, then the amp pushing all the dolby digital movie quality surround sound. You then can see all your friends that are online playing and can invite them to a game of Call of duty, Halo 2, Gears of war, ect....Don't have to mess with any settings because the games are optimized for one system and most run at 1080 x 1920 resolution. WOW...Its exciting and fun and easy and thats pure entertainment. I love it. Ps. My friend has a high end computer. He braggs about it all the time. He is constantly upgrading buying 600 graphic cards ect...He invited me over to see oblivion on it. Looked really good. A matter of fact it looked like oblivion on the 360 on my 61 inch tv. So I invited him over to experience Oblivion in surround sound running at 1080 x 1920 resolution...It put the biggest smile on my face when he was blown away and impressed with the ease of play and the eyes and ear candy of a home theater 360 set up. Needless to say he went out to walmart and bought a 360 that evening. Games are meant to be played and enjoyed. Emerse all your senses in the experience.
i have a 75 inch 1080p hdtv with my monster ass yamaha rmx-3478hd897 reciever with 12 speakers and 2 subwoofers. ALLLLLL hooked up to my ***** ass pc wich outperforms the ps3 and 360 put together by at least 2 times. sure its expensive, but its worth it. you can do much more with a pc than a 360 or ps3 and i heard that oblivion crashes on 360 alot cuz it overheats like a motherfuc ker. and by the way its 1920 x 1080. it blows a 360 miles away. heres my parts. AMD fx-60 Dual nvidia fx7950's Asus Fatality nforce4 motherboard 1tb(500gbx2) hdd 4gb memory gddr3 antec case(so its quiet and keeps cool like a fu ckin penguin) 850watt power supply absolutely NO stock cooling and 6 led fans. can a 360 outperform that??
Yeah I have to agree with 38. There's a world of difference between a console and a pc. Playing pc games that are any good require constant money spending to upgrade your system or buy a new one. Games constantly have different requirements, and even don't work on certain hardware depending on how flexible they are with the minimum requirements. The beauty of consoles is that they remain a constant, there's never goign to be a console game that needs the console to have a better gpu or more ram. I'm not saying computer gaming is inferior but these are definite down sides. Not only that but you need to install the games on computers. Which ofcourse wouldn't be so bad if you could just play the games with no disc, but because they don't want people installing the game on everyone's computer they know, they have a certain amount of content that always needs to be read from the disc. Second I don't see how you have a gpu more powerful than the ps3 and xbox360, since both nvidia and ati have their latest greatest gpus in both machines respectively. And on top of that both cards cost over $400 to buy currently.
i guess your right. do you by any chance live in germany??
What about that upgradable PS3 thing, was that just a rumor or something?
ps3 have cell.. so 7 core, I don't see hoe ( without working a lot ) they could port to xbox360 nor reversed... I suppose they work and they'll port anyway, but maybe not for a long time ( when games don't use full power, it's a lot easier )
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