IGN: The double agent aspect sounds like it’s more intrinsic to the game’s overall design than just the story plotline. Can you talk a bit about this?

Daniel Roy: You’re absolutely right! When we came up with the Double Agent concept, we thought long and hard on what it could mean for the gameplay, especially in the context of Splinter Cell. For instance, as a double agent, you will be given dual, sometimes contradictory objectives by terrorists and Third Echelon. For instance, you could be asked to plant a bomb by the terrorists, while at the same time having to sabotage it for the NSA. In some instances, these dual objectives lead to direct contradictions, and this is when you, as Sam Fisher, must make difficult, moral choices.

Read the rest of the interview: IGN

Release dates:
PC – Q1 2006
PS3 – Q4 2006
Xbox – Q1 2006
Xbox 360 – Q1 2006
GameCube – Q1 2006
PS2 – Q1 2006

Ever since the first details of the Xbox 360 hit the web, gamers have drawn comparisons to Sega’s ill-fated (yet still highly regarded) Dreamcast console. There are the obvious examples – the timing of the launches or the color of the hardware – but then there are a lot of not so obvious ones, too.Read the Dreamcast-xbox360 comparison article at 1Up.com

And I must say, there are A LOT of similarities. It’s actually quite frightening to see how much the Xbox 360 and Sega Dreamcast look alike, even the logo is practically the same!
But not to worry, after going through the similarities, you get another list, but this time with 10 reasons why the Xbox360 will not fail.
It’s a must read, well actually more of a must see (there isn’t much to read) even if you aren’t in to xbox or dreamcast.

I myself have an Xbox, but I’m not thinking of getting a 360 just yet. I mean, €300 for the cheapest model?! That’s way too much, especially if you know that they’re bound to lower their prices once the PS3 and Nintendo Revolution are released. That’s what MS did before, and I’m sure they’ll do it again.

Packed with new modes and features, NCAA Football 06 captures the unique electricity of college football.  The all-new Race for the Heisman mode gives players the chance to experience the ultimate goal in college football – winning the Heisman Memorial Trophy.  Starting out as a high school prep star, players will begin their career on the practice field in search of scholarship offers and then work their way to becoming one of the nation’s top collegiate players. 

In NCAA Football 06, gamers can also act as Impact Players to single handedly break games wide open with highlight reel moves and special animations.  Through a revamped Dynasty Mode, gamers can take control of a program and make a run for the championship year after year.  In addition, redesigned graphics, improved gameplay and new in-studio commentary and analysis by Brad Nessler, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit make NCAA Football 06 the most authentic and realistic college football gaming experience.

Developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon, NCAA Football 06 is available for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox video game system from Microsoft.  The game is rated “E” (Everyone) by the ESRB and has an MSRP of $49.99 for both console versions.  The game’s official website is www.ncaafootball06.com.

PS3

Xbox 360

Processor

3.2GHz Cell w/ 7 SPEs
2.0 TFLOPS

3.2GHz G5 w/ 3 Cores
1.0 TFLOPS

Memory

256MB XDR @ 3.2GHz
256MB GDDR3 @ 700MHz

512MB GDDR3 @ 700MHz
10MB Embedded DRAM

GPU

550MHz NVIDIA

500MHz ATi

Best Display

1080p Standard
Dual Screen Output

1080i Optional
Single Screen Output

Network

1000BASE-T Ethernet
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g

100BASE-TX Ethernet
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g

Audio

5.1 Digital

5.1 Digital

Wireless Input

x7 on Bluetooth 2.0

x4 on 2.4GHz RF

Storage

Removable HDD
*TBA

Removable HDD
20GB

Release

Spring 2006

November 2005

Dimensions

About 13.5" x 3.25"

About 10.25" x 2.5"

My Review:

What can I say? They will be a good/ish specification at this time of course!! The problem is when they are actually released!! They’ll totally loose their great speed and graphics by the end of 2005/beginning of 2006! I mean by then 3.2ghz will not exactly be great, and already 512MB Ram is sucky. What i’ve always said about consoles: They are just non-upgradeable pc’s for people who can’t afford to maintain a high specification of pc! Sorry but thats prettey much fact. I already have all of the things on the specifications of both of the consoles on my PC and I have done for like 2 years! A 20GB Harddrive is actually prettey pathetic, must say i’m dissapointed.

Design - Personally I think they both look okay. Nothing special about them, wow they’re both silver (thats so 2 years ago!). They probably look better then the original versions, but of course that is the idea! I’m not totally critical of consoles, and I do like to play on them but you have to be critical of both if you want to get a good opinion overall.

You can find out more about PS3 v Xbox 360 here

Though the Register is also under the assumption that the Xbox 2 will be shown May 16 as well, rather than May 12 as reported in the story below.

As they are on the Xbox 2 front. A memo alleged to have leaked out of games publisher Electronic Arts earlier this year pointed to a late 2005 release date for Microsoft’s next console, codenamed ‘Xenon’. Next month’s launch notwithstanding, PS3 isn’t expected to ship until Q1/Q2 2006, so Microsoft could very well want to get in ahead of its rival will a release targeting the Christmas 2005 sales season. Comment made by other industry players, including Nintendo, suggests the business believes Microsoft will try to get in early.

Having not taken the chance to launch Xbox 2 at January’s Consumer Electronics Show or February’s Game Developer’s Conference, Microsoft has to be eyeing upcoming major games industry events of which E3 is by far the biggest and most important.

So look out for the 12-16th May!!

March 9, 2005, San Francisco, Calif.—Today at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), Microsoft® announced the first details about its next-generation Xbox® video game system. Hardware, software, and services are being fused to power enhanced gaming and entertainment experiences.

You can now view the footage of the GDC with some previews of the next XBox on xbox.com… It looks pretty nice
I mean, look at these pics: it even (or should I say finally?) has a media player! Watch the Next XBox Video here View the official report here

Speaking under conditions of strict anonymity, senior American and British development, publishing and retail sources have confirmed the launch window in the past weeks.

It is also now widely known among British sources that Microsoft UK is currently in the planning stages of a spectacular and unprecedented launch event in central London for the winter release.

While it has been accepted for some time that Xbox 2, currently codenamed Xenon, would be released in America before the end of the year, the news of a late October/early November launch in both the UK and Europe will send shockwaves through the industry and gaming community on this side of the Atlantic.

Many have expressed concern that Microsoft is forcing the next generation of console hardware too early, and that the current generation still has much to achieve. The most famous example of this came from then Nintendo of Europe MD David Gosen speaking at an ELSPA summit in London last October, where he lambasted Microsoft for pushing a next generation machine to market in 2005, and even went so far as to question Microsoft’s motivation as profit.

News source: EuroGamer

“Sales remained strong, thanks in large part to the console software, portable game software, and portable game hardware categories, which saw dollar sales percentage increases of 7 percent, 11 percent, and 10 percent, respectively,” an NPD statement said

Also remarkable was the fact that portable software sales broke the $1 billion mark for the first time ever, thanks to the introduction of the Nintendo DS. Total software sales “also continued to set new records, with sales exceeding $6.2 billion, an increase of 8 percent in overall sales when compared with $5.8 billion in 2003,” NPD said. That’s alot of money I say!

There were few surprises as to which titles were the top-selling console games for the year. The currently PS2-only Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas led the pack with more than 5.1 million copies sold, followed by the Xbox-exclusive Halo 2 at more than 4.2 million units sold. However, Microsoft’s shooter sequel had a halo effect on its predecessor–despite being 3 years old, the original Halo was 2004’s ninth best-selling title, shipping in excess of 1.1 million units. If only they would sell it for PS2…

The top 10 console games of 2004, according to NPD, are listed below. Sales figures are not 100% accurate :

1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (PS2) – 5.1 million

2. Halo 2 (Xbox) – 4.2 million

3. Madden NFL 2005 (PS2) – 3.2 million

4. ESPN NFL 2K5 (PS2) – 1.5 million

5. Need for Speed Underground 2 (PS2) – 1.4 million

6. Pokémon FireRed (with adapter) (GBA) – 1.2 million

7. NBA Live 2005 (PS2) – 1.2 million

8. Spider-Man 2 (PS2) – 1.1 million

9. Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox) – 1.1 million

10. ESPN NFL 2K5 (Xbox)- 1.0 million

However, NPD numbers did not include figures for PC game sales, which were boosted by the release of long awaited and even higher rated titles as Doom 3, Half-Life 2, and World of Warcraft. NPD will release those figures later in the week. They also did not include game sales in the mobile market, or revenues from online gaming charges such as mmorpg’s (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) subscription charges

So if you are considering a career in making games let me just tell you : if you are good you will make alot of money!

As expected, Xbox 2 is going to expand its reach:
great video gaming but videogaming for a broader set of people, more
communications, more media, more connectivity. This extends to music, media, and greater integration with MSN Messenger:

“Instant Messaging will go from just being a text thing to also being voice and video and
music, so instant messaging, particularly for young people but in
general, is very, very explosive.

We can make these hot, super
great graphics games something that are easy for people to use. That’s
a big initiative we have as we move to the next generation of Xbox. Likewise, the connection between the Xbox Live and our Messenger
will be really simple so people can say, “Hey, come and play,” “Oh,
okay, I’m finishing my homework, I’m almost done, I’ll get on and play
with you.” And so even as they’re connected up to each other, they
don’t think of, “Oh no, now I’m gaming, now I’m communicating.”

[Source : CNET News.com]