..something you don't see every day

[Thruster2097]

http://homepages.tesco.net/~thruster/ps2test.jpg

apologies for the poor pic quality, but my digicam seems to be going through a phase where it thinks its drunk, and makes everything really blurry.
Anyway, I present.... A TESTBED PS2!
it runs a bit faster than a normal PS2, it takes any region of any type of disc, and it also loads DVD-R discs.
I tried to buy it, but SCEE said "No".
..back to fusion...

[infoxicated]

Heh! You should see the dev kits - they are giant compared to a regular one. :smile:

I don't think the debugs run any faster than a regular PS2, though - they're for testing so they should be pretty much identical. Other than the fact they run any disk, that is. :smile:

[Wamdue]

i want it so bad.. id like a devkit better tho.. I remember asking some game company what a devkit costs, they replied somewhat like this:

first you need to have a game ready for development, then youll get your license to buy devkit , then you need hmm, about 60-70 000 crowns.. thats a car.. i think its.. hmm about 10 000 dollars almost.. I might have got it wrong tho.

[Status]

A TEST box *might* have a faster CD/DVD-ROM installed. I'm pretty sure that the old Neo*Geo CD debug machines had some upgrades, so it wouldn't surprise me that much if other companies tried it too.

As for devkits... the best advice I ever got back when I was screwing around with game boy development was to finish your game before you get a devkit. :smile:

[FoxZero]

according to the latest EGM, microsoft has an xbox program where small developers which are approved can license a dev kit.http://dev.xbox.com/dev/incubator.htm. in addition, sony is expected to bring a ps2 linux kit to america. ps2 linux kit, man, i just love the sound of that :)

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: FoxZero on 2002-02-12 19:11 ]</font>

[Lance]

if the game machine makers want to ensure a supply of really good innovative games, they would just supply devkits at no cost to the developers. they should do this because the developers and their games are the life blood of the machines. without them, Sony and Nintendo, etc. would be nowhere in the games business at all. and we know that at the very least, sony and microsoft can afford to do this!

and while i'm at it, why the f*** don't the game console makers just produce one model that can be used with any tv signal display standard? it cannot be hard to do since the only difference would be the frequency with which the video memory is read; and it would be cheaper to just make and market one model of the console.

[vincoof]

Wamdue: if you want to develop for a console, I recommend the Dreamcast which is very well supported for "amateur" development.

Lance: you can not make a "standard signal". The problem comes from TV vendors, not from consoles. Nowadays, all consoles can display either pal or ntsc. If you can't run pal games (assuming you can run ntsc games where you are), that's just because there's a boot sector on the disc. It is said to be preventing from abusive import.

[Lance]

i didnt say there should be a standard signal, i said that the console should be able to output whatever display frequency is required by simply changing the frequency at which the video memory is read. if you live in north america, you could set a switch for the display circuitry to run at 60 hertz read and output rate, and likewise, europeans could switch it to 50 hertz. all you should need is clock divider circuitry that permits both read rates. no additional hardware should be required for that. or am i completely wrong?

of course, you would need a power supply with a multi-tap transformer to produce the required voltage for the country, but you still only need the one transformer.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Lance on 2002-02-13 07:39 ]</font>

[vincoof]

ok. my mistake. sorry Lance.
I've heard that one console had this switch, but I don't remember which. I just know it's not a playstation and not a dreamcast. Maybe a saturn ?

[science]

i agree with you lance.
i dont see how it is profitable for them to split up consoles and their games according to signal and region as they do, but it must be profitable (somehow) or i dont think they would do it.

[AmishRobot]

Even though they're all owned by the same people, each territory within a company (ie, SCEE, SCEA, SCEJ, and Sony Discos) is treated as a seperate company. So importing systems and games - while all going to the same place eventually - is registered as a loss to a business. If everyone imports MGS2 from Japan, it may make SCEJ tons of money, but those lost sales to SCEA & SCEE will stand alone, and hurt the company stock. (It's all about the shareholders)

Another big reason is licensing. It cost less to license properties (movies, music, sports figures) for a single territory than worlwide. If a system maker has an open system, those licenses would have to be worldwide. That's why dvd players have regional lockouts.

Finally, a major reason isn't even about profit. Large companies like Sony love control. They lust for it. Control over content providers, vendors, and end users. These huge corporations have an iron-fisted mentality, and fear an open market like it were the devil himself. That's why they're freaking out over P2P file sharing technology. When ideas are disseminated outside their meticulously laid out plans, they can no longer design their own road ahead, and have to rely on the possiblity that the idea was actually good.

In other words, a chart somewhere in Sony HQ says Americans prefer chicks in thongs with wheels attached to their limbs over class, and it's not in their best interests to let us decide for ourselves. :sad:

[Lance]

AR, may i call you AR?

first reaction: it costs less to buy 3 licenses for the market than to buy one?

isn't it the case that Sony directly owns SCEJ, SCEE, and SCEA? thus all the profits go to Sony, the parent company. so it should make no difference to Sony which one makes the most profit, but only that all of them make the maximum possible profit.

i don't see that having a single worldwide license would create an open market. licenses are licenses. and they will be ignored by private individuals whether they are worldwide or multiply regional. music and video licenses already are, whether those licenses are regional or worldwide. there is no legal open market for them.

class? sex sells sex sells sex sells. look at DOA! total crap for single player action unless that action is masturbatory.
[notice that they didnt make the guys bounce in the appropriate area; this is called focussed marketing, concentrating on the majority of the members of the market. which certainly made mE feel slighted. damned marketers!]

[if anyone feels that the content of that last section was inappropriate to this forum, please let me know. i just like to feel that i can joke about gender preference. :lol: ]

[Status]

One of the main reasons why there are regions for DVD players, game consoles, etc. is to block piracy. For example, when the Dreamcast was in it's prime, you could get the Japanese version of Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for around $12 from most online import shops, but it'd cost you a good $49.99 US for the domestic version.

Another example of this would be Anime. In America, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a highly sought after imported series. In Japan, it's an old TV show from seven years ago. You'll pay over $150 for the US release of the series, and maybe $50 for the Japanese imports ($30 for the Chinese version. :grin:).

Imports are bad for business.

[science]

notice that they didnt make the guys bounce in the appropriate area;


sorry to bring this conversation down a few intellectual notches, but the idea of jiggling crotches is just too funny not to point out! maybe in the coming years, political correctness and equality of the sexes will force the DOA series to add this feature, at which time i will be moving to the most sparsely populated area i can find! (i think this actually reinforces your point, lance)

[Status]

On 2002-02-14 19:35, science wrote:


notice that they didnt make the guys bounce in the appropriate area;


sorry to bring this conversation down a few intellectual notches, but the idea of jiggling crotches is just too funny not to point out! maybe in the coming years, political correctness and equality of the sexes will force the DOA series to add this feature, at which time i will be moving to the most sparsely populated area i can find! (i think this actually reinforces your point, lance)


Uhh... extra hits during hurricane kicks? :grin:

[As Heaven Is Wide]

:lol: ouch! (anyone who doesnt at least giggle at that last post surely has no sense of humour)

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: As Heaven Is Wide on 2002-02-14 23:50 ]</font>

[infoxicated]

"extra hits during hurricane kicks?" sounds like the bye line from a red meat cartoon.

Check out http://www.redmeat.com if you haven't already - weird gags, but I find them really funny! :smile:

[Feisar]

whats a Dev kit and how can i make my PS2 that awsome and for how much and why is the sky blue?

[xEik]

The sky is blue because blue is the colour (amongst the colours that compose white light) that changes less its trajectory when being difracted. :P

In dawns the sky is red because red is the colour (amongst the colours that compose white light) that changes more its trajectory when being difracted. Notice that the sky is only blue when the trajectory of sunrays is quite perpendicular to you.

8) 8) 8)

PRACTICE LEADS TO PERFECTION !