Can anyone imagine running win98 in an x86 emulator on a sony =
playstation 2???
The thing that makes these games machines such strong contenders is the =
absolutely homogenous hardware they run on. When you write for =
playstation, it truly is write-once, run anywhere (assuming you never =
leave the warm embrace of your old chum, Sony). What scares me about =
companies like Sony and Nintendo, is that they are even more =
monopolistic than Microsoft could ever hope to be.
Games machines are trojan horses or virii. A number of years ago, there =
was an extremely well thought out ad-campaign by an Australian milk =
Monopoly. The strategy was to target kids, because once they acquired =
the milk habit, they were hooked for life (hmm ... 'mother-as-pusher' =
motif flits by). Anyway, every kid has to have one of these machines - =
theres really no option. So we have the games machine becoming a =
'must-have', like a VCR or fridge, at the same time as the games machine =
slowly increases its capabilities, it connections to the outside world, =
until one day ... bang - suddenly you have a household supercomputer =
connected to the phone, the tv, the cd-player and the dvd ... maybe even =
your plumbing. And all within the loving embrace of Sony, Nintendo, etc =
etc etc.
Now Sony, Nintendo, etc. etc. arent really open companies. Hell, if you =
want to try your hand at developing a playstation game, you need to show =
several million dollars in your wallet before they'll even talk to you. =
I suppose that fair enough. The problem arises when Sony controls =
absolutely what software will run on their potential home computing =
platform. At least Microsoft permits just about anyone to develop =
software for its OS.=20
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Gregory Alan Bolcer <gbolcer@elysees.ICS.UCI.EDU>
To: <fork@xent.com>
Sent: Friday, September 10, 1999 1:46 AM
Subject: Future Game Boy
> I realize that not everyone might have seen this.=20
> Game Boy Advance will use a 32-bit RISC CPU by ARM,
> will be able to connect to a cellular phone, can
> access the Internet, including downloading games,
> chatting, email, has a digital camera accessory
> (not the existing game boy camera[1]) where a player
> can actually see the face of the person they are=20
> playing against.=20
>=20
> Adding communication features to a portable game system like Game =
Boy is
> expected to result in new kinds of network entertainment. In effect, =
Game
> Boy Advance will be a personal communications terminal as well as a =
next
> generation gaming system. Nintendo Co. Ltd. Chairman, Hiroshi =
Yamauchi,
> sees it as a way to explore new areas of multiplayer gaming. [2]
>=20
> I was mistaken, it doesn't include a cell phone, just the connection.
>=20
> Greg
>=20
> [1] http://www.nintendo.com/gb/gb_camera/index.html
> [2] http://www.nintendo.com/corp/press/090199b.html
>=20
>=20
>=20
>=20