A few months ago, Will Wright’s presentation of Spore at the Game Developer’s Conference absolutely floored everyone in attendance. Imagine a game that starts with single-celled micro-organisms and allows you to control the evolution of a species all the way to galactic conquest. It sounds like a ridiculous undertaking until you see it in action. But if anyone can make it happen, it’s Will Wright, the master at creating computer ‘toys’ like SimCity and The Sims.

Wright’s presentation of Spore at E3 was virtually identical to his demonstration during GDC. So, be sure to read GameSpy’s complete writeup from before for every juicy detail. Assuming you’ve checked that out, here’s a look at what caught their eye this time around…

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This post, found on the official Xbox forums, was not made by me but echoes what many gamers (including me) now believe to be true. Yes, it’s more Microsoft -vs- Sony discussion about who will “win” the next-gen console war. It’s a great read and that’s why it is here. For all of you to read and leave your thoughts.

The Big Lie (another 360/PS3 post)
Posted: 05-24-2005 10:17 PM
If you don’t like 360/PS3 posts, don’t read this, and don’t complain about it….you were warned….

In the past week, Sony’s strategy for the upcoming console war has become clear….actually, it was pretty clear to some people as soon as MS let the existence of the 360 leak at GDC this past January. It became very clear that Sony was going to be late to market, and they knew it. MS had quietly shipped dev kits out early in 2004, and Sony got caught a little flatfooted. They scrambled to get their dev kits ready for developers (Epic, for example, only just got theirs in March). Some Sony developers apparently still don’t have kits yet.

Sony is faced with a well-funded, software-intensive opponent who has proven they can have a “triple-A killer app system-seller” at a system launch. This opponent has 160 games in development and has the intention to stick around for the long term (and the money to do so). So what can Sony do to stop them?

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Most people have been trying to predict the next-gen console war winner
on their graphics capability alone. This, my friends, is a mistake.

You only have to look at the current generation of systems to see that
the most powerful console does not always equal the most market share.
The current Xbox is much more capable than the PS2 but, despite that
fact, Sony was the clear “winner” when it comes to market share in the
current generation. Nintendo’s GameCube, which is also more capable
graphically than the PS2, is a distant third. It should be obvious that
it takes more than mere muscle to come out on top.

The next round of console wars is almost upon us. All three hardware
manufacturers are trying to position their next-gen system as being
“the one”. Now, more than ever, it will take more than snazzy graphical
effects and beatiful scenery to end up in first place. All three
systems, no matter what anyone tells you, will be more than capable
enough to produce incredible graphics, smart a.i., and huge gaming
worlds. The “big three” will need to offer something above and beyond
graphics to convince gamers that they should spend their hard-earned
dollars on their console. This is where I think  Microsoft will
have an advantage over Nintendo & Sony.

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On June 24th of this year I became the proud Father of a baby boy. His name is Noah and if his expression in the following photo is any indication, like his Father, he’s going to be a gaming addict.

An introductory entry is probably a pre-requisite for any new blog. I’m not too sure how this first entry is going to turn out in the end but here we go…

The name is Christopher. In the online world I’m known as “dyferent” aka “Chris Legend” on Xbox Live and other gaming sites. Most people have no clue why I’d choose that as my online persona but it’s simple really. Everyone who knows me personally would be quick to tell you that I’m more than a little “left of center”. I’m sometimes strange and I have a somewhat twisted view of our world. I always see things a little “differently” than most people.

I’m a hardcore gamer at heart and I’m an “old-school” gamer from way back. In fact, I still have my very first console, a Magnavox Odyssey. All told, I have every console from the Odyssey until now. Yes, I even have an Atari Jaguar and a 3DO! Due to my addiction to videogames, a lot of my entries will be related, in one way or another, to gaming.

I do have other interests that include fishing (which happens to be my main source of income) and sports.

Trust me when I say that I will not have a shortage of topics to rant about in this blog. Anyway…I guess that’s enough for now. I’m hoping that anyone who happens to stumble across my corner of the blogosphere will at best, be entertained and maybe even informed, or at worst, be scarred for life. Either way …enjoy!