Path: chuka.playstation.co.uk!news From: "Alex Herbert" Newsgroups: scee.yaroze.freetalk.english Subject: Re: how do you do, PS2? Date: Wed, 15 Sep 1999 18:58:49 +0100 Organization: PlayStation Net Yaroze (SCEE) Lines: 80 Message-ID: <7romqp$n2i7@chuka.playstation.co.uk> References: <7rilo6$g0d7@chuka.playstation.co.uk> <7rjlhh$g0d16@chuka.playstation.co.uk> <1dy37t2.1krbi0wbmxhxgN@[192.168.0.1]> <7rlrqh$n2i1@chuka.playstation.co.uk> <1dy5aw1.1ve78kln0em3sN@[194.151.88.142]> <37DF98A8.585FBA8D@dma-design.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: 212.56.110.144 X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2314.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2314.1300 Hmm, could this be where Sega fail yet again? Sega have had some brilliant ideas with the Dreamcast which should have left them in a very strong position, but somehow Sega has not conveyed these ideas to the public very well and they are often seen as negatives. When designing the DC, Sega looked very carefully at the performance/price ratio and came to the conclusion that it would be better to use existing, cutting-edge, mass produced components rather than develop their own, if they want to keep costs down. So, they're using a graphics chip which can also be found in some PCs. The primary defining points of PC hardware are the processor/bus/io/memory configuration. In these respects the DC has little in common with the PC. And the OS? Like Brian (and others) pointed out, WinCE is an option. Sega did not want to be caught in the same catch 22 situation as they have been in before. Software developers don't like to take risks, and want to develop for successful formats, but a format cannot be successful without a good software base. With WinCE, however, it will be a relatively easy, quick and cheap job to port PC software to the DC, or to develop PC and DC software in tandem. The quicker and cheaper it is to port, the lower the risk. Just think about it from a PC developers point of view. Why not port to DC? So, the idea was to open the floodgates for DC software, especially during the early stages of the DCs life. Meanwhile the "true" console developers can avoid WinCE, write highly optimised code, and push the machine to the limits. Besides, a lot of PC software is probably better suited to a console anyway. When Quake II was released, would you rather have played it sat at a desk on your 17" monitor, or sat on the sofa in front of a 29" TV? I know which one I'd choose - providing the machines were of similar spec/performance of course. So, bearing in mind that Sega got their new console out first, have taken steps to build a solid software base, and the fact that PS2 is likely to cost significantly more than DC, Sega should be looking good. But somehow I get the feeling that with the PS2's superior technology, Sony's marketing machine, and the fact that Sega have been taking lessons from Atari in PR, Sony will be triumphant again. Herbs Brian Baird wrote in message news:37DF98A8.585FBA8D@dma-design.com... > DEnnis Brinkhuis wrote: > > > > >At least the PS2 isn't running > > > Windows! ;) > > > > Well, it seems that the dreamcast contains microsoft parts and even a > > WindowsCE. As far as I know, the PSX2 does not have that, does it? It > > seems to me like that is a hudge advantage.. > > *sigh* > > The Dreamcast has the capability to run a specially coded version of > WindowsCE & DirectX. If a developer wishes *not* to make use of those > libraries, they're not loaded & the developer is free to use the lower > level routines provided by Sega, or to work even lower if they feel the > need. > > So far, very few games have made use of the WinCE capabilities - the > most notable is Sega Rally 2. > > Sega have even developed a networking library now, so you're not > restricted to using DirectPlay. > > There are no "microsoft parts" inside a Dreamcast. > -- > > Brian @ DMA > > [ All opinions & views are my own, not DMA's, yadda, yadda, yadda ]