Hi! Thanks for your fun and very interesting research question.
What’s in the future for game systems? Let us first take a look at
something special.
We shall start with the smallest of them all, the Game Boy Advanced
handheld game machine. This new release will be called Game Boy
Advanced SP and is not kidding around but it will target adult gamers
too. It is slated to hit Japan on February 14 and the US on March 23.
Here is a description of the game console plus a picture. Oh boy! I
can’t wait to get my hands on this one.
“The GameBoy Advance SP opens and closes like a laptop, has a
front-lit screen so it can be played in darkness, and has a
rechargeable battery.”
“The GameBoy Advance SP (the SP stands for "special") looks more like
an executive plaything than a child's toy. But it handles all the
roughly 1,000 games for GameBoy, including the Advance model that went
on sale in June 2001.”
“’It can play video on its 2.9-inch screen, and designers might
develop hardware that enables it to be used for phone calls…’”
The new game system weighs just 5 ounces and is as big as a wallet.
“New GameBoy isn't kid stuff”
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/4902343.htm
But in the midst of excitement, there are rumors that some of the
games might not play well with the Gameboy Advanced SP.
“Earlier this week it was revealed that some existing games are
incompatible with GBA SP hardware - specifically, the three titles
which use a tilt sensor in the cartridge as a control mechanism, like
Kirby Tilt'n'Tumble. This problem occurs because the cartridge in the
SP is upside down compared to the normal GBA; all future tilt-enabled
games are expected to offer an option to choose the type of hardware
you wish to play it on.”
“Nintendo reveals GBA SP Japanese launch plans”
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/29106.html
A detailed production description for the GameBoy Advanced SP can be
found here:
“GameBoy Advanced SP - The Great New Nintendo GameBoy Unit!”
http://www.thedaily.com/gameboy_advanced_sp.html
Other GameBoy Advanced SP news articles could be found in the
following links:
“Flip-up model advances Game Boy”
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techreviews/games/2003-01-06-game-boy_x.htm
“Edgy New Game Boy Advance SP Takes Portable Game Play Anywhere”
http://www.nintendo.com/news/news_articles.jsp?articleID=7901
Gameboy Advanced SP however is just a preview on what the gaming world
has in store for us.
In this article from the Hollywood reporter, there is speculation that
the new Playstation 3, the upcoming Xbox Next and a “portable
Gamecube” would be unveiled in E3 Convention at Los Angeles in May
2003.
“The true next generation of hardware is pegged for a 2005 launch,
with Microsoft planning Xbox Next and Sony planning PlayStation 3. But
2003 might see a portable take on GameCube and cheaper variations of
Xbox and PlayStation 2, Envisioneering analyst Richard Doherty
predicted.”
"'A portable GameCube device would bring next-generation graphics to
the portable market -- a market dominated by Nintendo with no
competition from Sony or Microsoft,' Doherty said.'
“Sony is working with IBM and Toshiba on a new chip, code-named
"GRID," that will allow PS3 to connect to other consumer electronics
devices and other PS3s via broadband to enhance its processing power.
PS3 also is expected to ship with Ethernet connectivity and a disk
drive and will feature an easier architecture for game developers to
program.”
”Little is known about Xbox Next, other than that it will ship before
PS3 and likely will include UltimateTV technology (DVR and TV Web
surfing), and it could serve as a PC for the living room.”
“New game consoles in play for '03”
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hollywoodreporter/convergence/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1785152
Of the three, Playstation 3, is the one beyond the rumour stage and
priming up for manufacturing in anticipation of its 2005 release.
The main idea for the Playstation 3 gaming system will be distributed
computing.
“Speaking at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), an annual trade
show for the creative and technological sides of the game industry,
Shin'ichi Okamoto, chief technical officer for Sony Computer
Entertainment, said research efforts for the PlayStation 3 are
focusing on distributed computing, a method for spreading
computational tasks across myriad networked computers.”
“Okamoto said the method also appears to hold the most promise for
dramatically boosting the performance of the next PlayStation. Game
developers have said they would like the next console to have a
thousand times the processing power of the PlayStation 2. There's no
way to do that with hardware advances alone, he said.”
“PlayStation 3: The next generation”
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-866288.html
Currently Sony is also working with IBM and Toshiba on the Playstation
3. Both had been tasked to do the design on the chip of Playstation 3.
“The new chip will be designed for the broadband era, allowing the
games machines and other "intelligent" devices to communicate with
each other or connect to the Internet."
“It will be developed at the IBM laboratory in Austin, Texas, and
manufactured at a new $3bn plant IBM is building in East Fishkill, New
York.”
“IBM wins Playstation 3 contract
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1216551.stm
The next article mentions that the following is a discussion of the
architecture of the Sony Playstation 3.
“Playstation3 architecture revealed”
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7078
The same article pointed out that you can find the relevant patent
application through this link:
“Computer architecture and software cells for broadband networks”
http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=20020138637&OS=20020138637&RS=20020138637
Other technology news for the Playstation 3 could be found in the next
links.
“PlayStation 3 to get Yellowstone technology”
http://www.zdnet.com.au/gamespot/news/story/0,2000011229,20271108,00.htm
“Sony Sheds Light on Fully-Networked PlayStation 3”
http://www.internetnews.com/infra/article.php/1458181
“Playstation 3 News - Sony Playstation3 (PS3)”
http://www.psreporter.com/playstation_3_news.html
“Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., IBM and Toshiba Join to
Develop 'supercomputer-on-a-chip' for the Broadband Era--IBM Press
room-Press Release”
http://www-916.ibm.com/press/prnews.nsf/jan/FFBB4B222F4DBFE585256A0D0056C7AC
Microsoft meanwhile also has something in store for us also but it is
still in the planning stage. What’s next for the Xbox? Well it might
well be Xbox Next. In its present stage of development it is called as
“Freon”. News reports say that Microsoft plans to have an earlier
release than the Playstation 3.
“The next Xbox console has been a popular topic recently on the Xbox
front. A project codenamed Freon supposedly is an enhanced hybrid Xbox
that can play Xbox games and digitally record TV onto a hard drive --
one with larger capacity than the current (8GB) Xbox HDD.”
“Hybrid Xbox monster machine expected to be $500 “
http://www.pcvsconsole.com/news/news.php?nid=1500
You could also look at the following discussion thread so as to get a
good idea on what is the word out there for Xbox Next.
Xbox Quarters
http://forum.pcvsconsole.com/viewthread.php?tid=1172
The Portable Gamecube right now is still just speculation and
discussion of it (aside from the report mentioned above) is mostly
found on web forums.
This one is not an upcoming game console since it is already dead
before it hit the market but would be an interesting read as well. The
system was called Indrema, a Linux based game console. It has a very
futuristic design. It would have been open source so and would have
given the chance to independent game developers to participate in the
games market. One of my favorite website, How Stuff Works, has an
article on how the Indrema would have worked if it was able to find
its way into our homes.
“How Indrema Game Consoles Will Work”
http://www.howstuffworks.com/indrema.htm/printable
It’s just sad that the company producing it ran out of money before it
could do battle with the gaming console giants.
“Plans for Linux game console fizzle“
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-255707.html?tag=bplst
Search terms used:
"game consoles" next generation
"gameboy advanced sp"
"Playstation 3" technology
"xbox next" technology
“portable gamecube”
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
answer, please ask for a clarification if you have a question or if
you would need further information.
Thanks for visiting us.
Regards,
Easterangel-ga
Google Answers Researcher |
Clarification of Answer by
easterangel-ga
on
02 Feb 2003 15:45 PST
Hi again anonymous777-ga and thank you for your patience.
I don't think it is safe to say that if we don't find anything on the
Internet or anything that is published that there wouldn't be any new
game systems in the horizon in 2004 or even this year.
You have to remember that most of the companies like Microsoft are
quite very secretive of their upcoming products so as not to be
preempted by the competition.
So you may ask, what the heck is Sony doing blabbering about
Playstation 3 when it will target 2005?
In my opinion, its for marketing purposes. Sony may be getting the
market to be excited for a new game console. Are they really
developing anything? That is a certainty with the evidences already
acquired in my original answer and almost for sure because of this
development, Microsoft and Nintendo are already toying around with
their present game consoles.
In order to see what is possibly coming around, I suggest you monitor
the developments of the upcoming E3 or Electronic Entertainment Expo
2003 to be held in Los Angeles. If you could come so much the better.
This is where companies showcase their new electronic toys and gadgets
that will be distributed to the market. Some gadgets get to be sold in
the market but others don't make it. But if it is from Sony, Microsoft
or Nintendo, it probably will be in consumer's hands by this year or
2004. The expo will be held on May 13 -16.
You can get details about E3 at their official website.
E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo 2003)
http://www.e3expo.com/
If you decide to come, here are the important booths you can visit.
Remember to also check out other companies which may have similarly
developed products.
Microsoft will have the following booths at E3.
South Hall Level Two - 304C
South Hall - 1246
South Hall Level Two - 305
Nintendo booths:
West Hall Level Two - 510
West Hall - 2816
http://www.e3expo.com/current_exhibitors/?search=M-P
Sony:
West Hall Level Two - 515A
West Hall - 2416
South Hall 846
http://www.e3expo.com/current_exhibitors/?search=Q-T
I hope that this was of help to your research. In case you would
require more assistance, just ask for another clarification and I will
gladly answer them.
Best Regards,
Easterangel-ga
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