In what comes as some of the most shocking words to leave the lips of a games developer in some time, Valve's Gabe Newell has savagely mauled Sony's PlayStation 3 project, writing it off as a disaster and calling on the electronics giant to can the project.
The comments, unconfirmed at time of press, purportedly will appear in the next Issue of US gaming mag Game Informer. According to leaked excerpts, Newell said, "The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels, I think It's really clear that Sony lost track of what customers and what developers wanted. I'd say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a "do over". Just say, "This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it"."
On the Wii, Newell had something positive to offer. "The happy story is the Wii. I'm betting that by Christmas of next year, Nintendo Wii has a larger installed base than the 360. Other people think I'm crazy. I really like everything that Nintendo is doing."
As mentioned, these comments remain unconfirmed at time of writing, though are kicking up enough of a shitstorm to make them of great interest. SPOnG will endeavour to contact Valve tomorrow for comment, having learned the hard way (sitting on the phone all day) that Martin Luther King Day means nobody is at work in America.
The comments, unconfirmed at time of press, purportedly will appear in the next Issue of US gaming mag Game Informer. According to leaked excerpts, Newell said, "The PS3 is a total disaster on so many levels, I think It's really clear that Sony lost track of what customers and what developers wanted. I'd say, even at this late date, they should just cancel it and do a "do over". Just say, "This was a horrible disaster and we're sorry and we're going to stop selling this and stop trying to convince people to develop for it"."
On the Wii, Newell had something positive to offer. "The happy story is the Wii. I'm betting that by Christmas of next year, Nintendo Wii has a larger installed base than the 360. Other people think I'm crazy. I really like everything that Nintendo is doing."
As mentioned, these comments remain unconfirmed at time of writing, though are kicking up enough of a shitstorm to make them of great interest. SPOnG will endeavour to contact Valve tomorrow for comment, having learned the hard way (sitting on the phone all day) that Martin Luther King Day means nobody is at work in America.
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Comments
Showing the 20 most recent comments. Read all 24.
SCiARA 16 Jan 2007 11:11
5/24
And another nay sayer jumps on the bandwagon, this is officially the year of PS3 slaying. But seriously though, what is the point of him saying that other than more media space for his company??
majin dboy 16 Jan 2007 11:28
6/24
very true but at the same time i like to c people being completely undemocratic and not afraid to speak out to the media about the man/their competition/celebraties.
do u ever watch talk shows like graham norton and wen the guests are on the have to portray that they love evryone(yes there are a few exemptions).or wen katie melua got an award for being he most annoying person of the year she put the fakest smile on,and was like,thank you,listen Katie,ur hot as f**k but just tell the cu*nts to f**k off.
do u ever watch talk shows like graham norton and wen the guests are on the have to portray that they love evryone(yes there are a few exemptions).or wen katie melua got an award for being he most annoying person of the year she put the fakest smile on,and was like,thank you,listen Katie,ur hot as f**k but just tell the cu*nts to f**k off.
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SCiARA 16 Jan 2007 11:31
7/24
i suppose it depends on when he said it i.e. as part of an interview asking his thoughts on the PS3 or just an outburst
config 16 Jan 2007 11:57
8/24
majin dboy wrote:
maybe this is being ignerant but look at resi4/timespliters1/2/3 and now zelda/mario galaxy why cudnt the wii run a decent version of HL?
Resi 4 does look good, but part of its charm is the claustrophobic environments. Even the outdoors don't offer sprawling vistas, so it's "easy" to control the poly count.
Timeplitters and Mario are all very cartoon-like, which can be done with a modest number of polys.
Zelda does appear very detailed on it's own, but compare the screens below with two shots, one from HL2 and one from HL2: Episode One. Take note of the Zelda's lower poly character models, fogging and lack of shadowing;
I'm not saying that Wii could never do HL2, I just think the game would suffer considerably without the power of a high-end GPU. You can live with low poly models if you can leverage stuff like vertex mapping, but does the Wii GPU provide this? I've not seen it mentioned, and the titles and screens released to date suggest no use of vertex mapping.
Jay 16 Jan 2007 12:39
9/24
Half-Life 2 is fantastic on Xbox - a system that the Wii is often compared to in terms of technical capability. I see no reason why a similar version couldn't be ported to Wii.
config 16 Jan 2007 13:19
10/24
I've heard it compared to the Xbox, but I haven't seen any specs or hard evidence to suggest this is true.
Plus, if the controls of Far Cry are a example of what we can expect from FPS controls on Wii, then it won't matter how good the visuals are, the game will be s**t.
Plus, if the controls of Far Cry are a example of what we can expect from FPS controls on Wii, then it won't matter how good the visuals are, the game will be s**t.
rogueleader 16 Jan 2007 13:28
11/24
Yeah half 2 would kick ass on the wii. It would certinaly work on all the levels. Crowbar uses, driving, and it would be a hell of a lot easier to aim.
majin dboy 16 Jan 2007 14:28
12/24
*****CONFIG******
Plus, if the controls of Far Cry are a example of what we can expect from FPS controls on Wii, then it won't matter how good the visuals are, the game will be s**t.
yes it would but u have to give FPSs a chance,with Far Cry and Red Steel Showing us the wii is having considerable teething problems regarding FPSs.in my opinion things can only get better for Wii FPSs,we have seen how it shouldnt be done in the above examples,now lets see how it should be done.give it 4-6months and im sure there will be a major FPS done well or at least announced.
Only if done well rouge leader,we all know the wii could be a great FPS system,but nothing has being delivered.also the discusion here isnt weather valve could pull of the controls etc its weather it could run it at an acceptable and enjoyable rate.
Plus, if the controls of Far Cry are a example of what we can expect from FPS controls on Wii, then it won't matter how good the visuals are, the game will be s**t.
yes it would but u have to give FPSs a chance,with Far Cry and Red Steel Showing us the wii is having considerable teething problems regarding FPSs.in my opinion things can only get better for Wii FPSs,we have seen how it shouldnt be done in the above examples,now lets see how it should be done.give it 4-6months and im sure there will be a major FPS done well or at least announced.
Only if done well rouge leader,we all know the wii could be a great FPS system,but nothing has being delivered.also the discusion here isnt weather valve could pull of the controls etc its weather it could run it at an acceptable and enjoyable rate.
LUPOS 16 Jan 2007 14:47
13/24
config wrote:
I'm not saying that Wii could never do HL2, I just think the game would suffer considerably without the power of a high-end GPU. You can live with low poly models if you can leverage stuff like vertex mapping, but does the Wii GPU provide this? I've not seen it mentioned, and the titles and screens released to date suggest no use of vertex mapping.
Late to the game but yea, xbox HL2 is pretty damned impressive. The Wii, acording to nintendo is supposedly 2-3 times as powerfull as a gamecube meaning basically the same basic feature set with more juice. Im still holding out hope that Wii games can and will look at LEAST as good as xbox 1 games if not better because otherwise i will honestly feel a bit ripped off. I know the thing inst next gen but it shoudl at least be as good as the best of the last gen.
As for the controlls i think spong gave call of duty 2 a pretty decent review (was marcus i think) and enjoyed the controls. especially since it offered the ability to use the remote more like a joystiq, not relying on the pointer input.
I've used the nunchuck in NFS:carbon for steering and that works amazingly well. I don't see why a similar setup wouldn't work for an fps.
____________
TigerUppercut 16 Jan 2007 15:25
14/24
As far as Wii's graphics go, my only big problem was playing FishPiss (CoD3). I went from CoD2 on Mac to playing the Wii game on a projector and didn't cope with it at all. I'm going to try again though.
OptimusP 16 Jan 2007 17:27
15/24
This was to be expected. Newell allready said once that he found the hardware of both the PS3 and Xbox360 unnecessarily (no time to spellcheck) complex.
Also, looking at Mario Galaxy i think we can be pretty sure the Wii is above and beyond the Xbox. if only third parties would stop re-using Xbox-assets for their Wii-games!!
Also, looking at Mario Galaxy i think we can be pretty sure the Wii is above and beyond the Xbox. if only third parties would stop re-using Xbox-assets for their Wii-games!!
RiseFromYourGrave 16 Jan 2007 17:52
16/24
i thought i read a couple of times that the controls for far cry vengeance were good, it was just EVERYTHING ELSE that was crap :D
i remember saying that gabe should release HL2 on the wii along with the 360 and ps3, speculating strongly that the wii could handle an acceptable-looking version of it. but even ive yet to see any evidence that the wii can, in fact quite the contrary..
considering most devs are meant to be familiar with the wii hardware and software due to it being an update, i would assume that the 'first generation' excuse doesnt apply much. the only reason for the wii looking s**t that i can think of is that its noticably less powerful than a last gen machine.
that makes me a sad panda :(
i remember saying that gabe should release HL2 on the wii along with the 360 and ps3, speculating strongly that the wii could handle an acceptable-looking version of it. but even ive yet to see any evidence that the wii can, in fact quite the contrary..
considering most devs are meant to be familiar with the wii hardware and software due to it being an update, i would assume that the 'first generation' excuse doesnt apply much. the only reason for the wii looking s**t that i can think of is that its noticably less powerful than a last gen machine.
that makes me a sad panda :(
config 16 Jan 2007 18:30
17/24
RiseFromYourGrave wrote:
i thought i read a couple of times that the controls for far cry vengeance were good, it was just EVERYTHING ELSE that was crap :D
My beef with the controls are mainly down to the aiming. As you'd expect, the "look" and "aim" are controlled by the same gesture. However, contrary to convention the crosshair doesn't stay centred as you look around. When you turn, for example, the hair moves to the edge of the screen first, then you begin to turn. The problem here is when you happen upon an enemy. Typically you've overshot as you turn, so you've got to bring the hair back from the edge of the screen and zero-in on the enemy. Given that you don't know how far past the edge you're pointing, you can end up in a overshooting again as you try to re-centre.
Very, very frustrating.
To make things worse, you have to "hit" people with the same remote that you aim with.
Grrr.
warbaby 16 Jan 2007 20:14
18/24
There is a reason for the aiming system you have a gripe with. As with a standard keyboard and mouse config, you are able to recenter your mouse, you do it so often that you probably don't realize you are doing it. You know... that little lift you give your mouse when you pull it back to the center of your pad. Not so easy with the Wii, you'd have to disable the registering of the sensors momentarily while you recenter your remote, then have the sensors reevaulate your position and yadda yadda...
I don't see there being an accurate way to do this, time will tell though. I find if i pull the wiimote away from the bar twist it around a bit and then pull her back on the screen, the cursor gets all screwed up and jumps around for a bit before correcting itself. Perhaps why the "classic" style of keyboard and mouse aiming hasn't been implemented?
I don't see there being an accurate way to do this, time will tell though. I find if i pull the wiimote away from the bar twist it around a bit and then pull her back on the screen, the cursor gets all screwed up and jumps around for a bit before correcting itself. Perhaps why the "classic" style of keyboard and mouse aiming hasn't been implemented?
LUPOS 16 Jan 2007 22:15
19/24
warbaby wrote:
I don't see there being an accurate way to do this, time will tell though.
It would probably over complicate things but you coudl make the "A" button kind of like the contact of the mouse to the pad. For example you could move the remote aroudn freely but your look position ont he screen woudl not change but when "A" is held down the reticule apears in the center of the screen and the whole thing moves like there was a mouse attached. Move all the way to the right, let go of "A", point the controller left, press "A", move further right. It woudl unfortunatly tie up one of the few really usefull buttons on the controller. Perhaps even mappign the proposesed functionality of the "A" button to a particular tilt on the nunchuck. Again, it woudl probably be awfulyl convoluted initially but with practice it could become quite rewarding for the "hardcore" set.
______
Jay 17 Jan 2007 11:41
20/24
config wrote:
Plus, if the controls of Far Cry are a example of what we can expect from FPS controls on Wii, then it won't matter how good the visuals are, the game will be s**t.
Just received the latest issue of Edge - FarCry on Wii gets a 3!
crs117 17 Jan 2007 15:38
21/24
config wrote:
majin dboy wrote:
maybe this is being ignerant but look at resi4/timespliters1/2/3 and now zelda/mario galaxy why cudnt the wii run a decent version of HL?
Resi 4 does look good, but part of its charm is the claustrophobic environments. Even the outdoors don't offer sprawling vistas, so it's "easy" to control the poly count.
Timeplitters and Mario are all very cartoon-like, which can be done with a modest number of polys.
Zelda does appear very detailed on it's own, but compare the screens below with two shots, one from HL2 and one from HL2: Episode One. Take note of the Zelda's lower poly character models, fogging and lack of shadowing;
I'm not saying that Wii could never do HL2, I just think the game would suffer considerably without the power of a high-end GPU. You can live with low poly models if you can leverage stuff like vertex mapping, but does the Wii GPU provide this? I've not seen it mentioned, and the titles and screens released to date suggest no use of vertex mapping.
No way in hell is that a fair comparison. I mean zelda tp graphically is the same on the wii and the gamecube. It is impressive as hell for the gamecube hardware, and it looks great on wii, but it in no way should be considered a graphical showpiece for the wii.
We still have absolutely no idea what the graphics chip inside the wii actually is. I would find it hard to believe that 5 years after the introduction of shaders and other new graphical advances that can be found in the most modest of graphics chips, that the wii has not implemented some of the most basic graphic capabilities to actually compete with moderately priced computers.
I think that over time people will be most impressed with the visuals of the wii seeing wii sports to what good developers produce at the end of tis life cycle (even without hd).
config 17 Jan 2007 15:50
22/24
crs117 wrote:
No way in hell is that a fair comparison. I mean zelda tp graphically is the same on the wii and the gamecube. It is impressive as hell for the gamecube hardware, and it looks great on wii, but it in no way should be considered a graphical showpiece for the wii.
Hey, I just went with the most detailed visuals of the game originally quoted by Majin.
Jay 17 Jan 2007 16:24
23/24
config's signature wrote:
Web 2.0 is a great big s**t sandwich and we're all going to have to take a bite - Richard Gaywood
Totally off-topic I know, but who is Richard Gaywood, apart from the John Wyndham character?
config 17 Jan 2007 16:31
24/24
Jay wrote:
config's signature wrote:
Web 2.0 is a great big s**t sandwich and we're all going to have to take a bite - Richard Gaywood
Totally off-topic I know, but who is Richard Gaywood, apart from the John Wyndham character?
It's no more off-topic than this whole Wii gfx capabilities debate attached to a topic about Gabe (my source code repository password is ****) Newell's little tantrum.
I've no idea who Richard Gaywood is, other than he posted his thoughts on Web2.0 to The Register about a year ago. I thought him both eloquent and succinct.
Mr Gaywood came by here some time ago to thank me for using his quote :)