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AMD getting out of fabrication?
What do you do when you're always playing catch-up to Intel, watching your workstation market share slip, and piling up something like $2 billion in debt? Well if you're AMD, you seriously consider dropping your fabrication business. According to reports, the company is currently investigating its options for outsourcing more (or all) of its manufacturing to third-party firms in deals similar to the ones it has with Chartered Semiconductor and Taiwan Semiconductor. There are drawbacks, of course, including the possibility of longer development times due to the separation of design and manufacturing (the last thing AMD wants, considering recent Barcelona delay rumors). Regardless of what its final decision will be, it's clear that the news has already hurt the struggling chipmaker in the short-term by causing several market analysts to downgrade the company's stock.[Via Techmeme]
AMD debuting power-efficient quad-core Barcelona feature
When you think quad-core CPU, current draw may not be the first concern that comes to your mind -- unless you administer a few dozen or hundred such boxes, in which case electricity, airflow, and air conditioning are no longer mere minor concerns. Thankfully for quad-core AMD hopefuls, their new Barcelona chip will feature an enhanced PowerNow setup that allows each of the chips four cores to operate at four varying clock speeds, independent of one another and depending on load. Despite adding another couple cores to the die, AMD claims this will help cut power by another 10 watts per chip (which definitely adds up in aggregate); we do sincerely hope they're right. We'll find out more when the Barcelona makes yet another splash, this time at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC).
AMD shows off Barcelona server chips, garners mixed reviews
With Intel giving its shareholders some awfully great news to savor over the holidays, AMD had to hit back with some news of its own, but you'll definitely get a different vibe from reading ExtremeTech's take on the firm's recently showcased Barcelona than from the horse's own mouth. While AMD parades its 65nm chip as "the world's first native quad-core x86 server processor," and boasts about its "significant advancements in performance per watt capabilities," we've reason to wonder if things aren't a bit sugarcoated. While the wafer was demonstrated as utilizing "all 16 cores" and being a seamless upgrade from "dual-core to quad-core", hard facts (read: the much anticipated benchmarks) were curiously absent. Aside from injecting onlookers with more of the same technical minutiae we've seen over the past few months, AMD didn't exactly flesh out a lot of new details to chew on, but ExtremeTech's reference system "was the loudest they'd ever had in their office," and sucked down nearly 600 watts of power with just two HDDs and a single graphics card. So while we're firmly withholding judgment until its officially released, we'd say AMD still has a bit of tweaking to do before the competition rolls in.UPDATE: Looks like we mistook the quad-core Opteron and the Quad FX (announced on the same day, nonetheless) chips as one in the same, when (thankfully) they're not, but those eying the recently-released FX-based desktops may want to think about how much noise they're willing to put up with before throwing down on a new machine.Read - AMD Press ReleaseRead - ExtremeTech's Hands-on Testing
AMD shows off their "Barcelona" quad-core chip designs
If you're not super excited by technical chip jargon like "advanced branch prediction" and "sideband stack optimizer," you might want to skip this one over, but for you chipheads out there, AMD has just unveiled the nitty gritty specs behind their forthcoming Barcelona quad-core processors. Built on a 65nm SOI process, the new chips will take the place of AMD's Opteron line, and will power workstations and servers sometime mid-2007 before the technology trickles down to consumer versions of the chips. AMD couldn't help but take a little pot-shot at Intel for their quad-core systems, which they claim are just two dual-core CPUs packed together, but we're pretty sure most consumers are going to be more concerned with performance, price and performance per watt than semantics. AMD hasn't provided any benchmarks yet, but we'll all be watching closely, since they're currently playing catchup to Intel on most of those fronts.[Via Slashdot]
Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh to make new Halo game, original IP
Microsoft has confirmed that the Academy Award-winning duo Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) are set to create two "new interactive series" for Xbox 360 and XBLA. The first is a "collaborative effort with Bungie Studios to co-create the next great chapter in the Halo universe.""It's not Halo 3," said Scott Henson, Director of the Game Development Group at Microsoft. "It's a brand new game based in the Halo IP. In a phone conversation with Joystiq, Henson disclosed that writing credits will be given to Jackson and Walsh. As for how the full-fledged game will fit within the continuity of the Halo universe among three installments, a real-time strategy game, and a film, Henson was tight-lipped. "It's going to remain a mystery," he said.The second title will be an entirely new intellectual property -- "completely from scratch," Henson clarified -- created with the intention of "bringing new audiences into the captivating world of interactive entertainment." The game will be made in conjunction with Wingnut Interactive, a new studio created via a collaboration with Jackson/Walsh and Microsoft Games Studio."Fran is a really big gamer and really excited about telling stories through games," said Henson. "We haven't talked about any details and we will when we're ready." If the focus is mass appeal, then Jackson/Walsh -- who managed to make Hobbits cool -- are the best people to have at the helm.
Splinter Cell, BioShock, GTA IV episodes exclusive for Xbox 360
Both BioShock and Splinter Cell Conviction (the suspected title for the post-Double Agent iteration) will be console-exclusive to the Xbox 360; BioShock will still be coming to the PC, while Splinter Cell can still be released for the PC and various portable console (DS, PSP). BioShock publisher Take-Two will also be providing "exclusive access to two downloadable, epic episodes of Grand Theft Auto IV via Xbox Live, each with hours of entirely new gameplay ." Ubisoft's Splinter Cell Conviction is the title found during their "accidental" leak earlier this month. The exclusivity of BioShock was predicted by GameSpot back in January after developer Irrational was bought by Take Two. The GTA IV episodes are a "complete exclusive," according to Scott Henson, Director of the Game Development Group at Microsoft, and will not showing up on the PlayStation 3 download service. The episodes will be available a few months after the release of Grand Theft Auto IV on October 17 and 19 in US and Europe, respectively. Microsoft hinted at exclusive GTA IV content as early as July. While BioShock may not affect the mass audience, the loss of Splinter Cell and some exclusive GTA IV content could hurt the PlayStation 3's image in North America and Europe. Then again, Sony does have Metal Gear Solid 4 to satiate its consumers, but what are the long-term ramifications of Microsoft's exclusive deals?
X06: Press conference liveblogging [update 28]
We're here live at Microsoft's premiere European promotional event, scheduled to start at 7 PM Barcelona time (1 PM Eastern, 10 AM Pacific). Continue reading and keep refreshing for all the announcements and updates straight from Microsoft.
Scenes from Barcelona: X06 pre-show mixer
Hello again from Barcelona, where the X06 press conference is scheduled to start in just under an hour. We'll be bringing you all of the show's big announcements live, but first we thought you'd like a little behind the scenes peek at the scene from the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya. Continue reading to get a feel for how Microsoft treats its honored developers, publishers and press.
Scenes from Barcelona: La Maquina de Bailar
I was literally in Spain for only an hour before running into the above ad for La Maquina de Bailar (The Dance Machine), the first film I'm aware of in any country whose plot hinges on Dance Dance Revolution. My Spanish is a little rusty, but according to this translated trailer, the movie seems to be a classic tale of boy meets girl, boy gets mentored by a curly-haired disco star to beat an Asian DDR-master in some sort of competition to impress the girl, boy gets girl. Also, organized crime seems to be involved. Fun for the whole family!Despite seeing this first ad poster almost immediately after entering the country, the movie seemed severely under-advertised around the streets of Barcelona. This could be part of why the movie opened in Spain last weekend in ninth place, behind such quality films as Little Man and Miami Vice. Continue reading to see a short clip of the movie that you and, apparently, much of Spain is missing out on.
Scenes from Barcelona: Space Invaders invade clothes shop
I ran into these blocky Space Invaders-inspired aliens near the escalator at a clothing shop in Barcelona's Las Ramblas shopping district. Why anyone thought these would complement the haute couture surrounding them is beyond me, but I still enjoyed the unexpected gaming reference. Continue reading for another shot of the wall monsters.
Scenes from Barcelona: Dirty bootleg PS shirt
Howdy Joystiqers. I'm here in Barcelona, Spain, eagerly awaiting the start of Microsoft's X06 conference. The event is Microsoft Europe's biggest promotional video game event of the year, and previous shows have revealed important details and announcement about the Xbox and Xbox 360, so keep it here for all the big news from the show starting tomorrow afternoon.With a few days to kill in Barcelona before the show starts, I thought I'd share some bits of game-related culture I've spotted as I traipse around the city. This first bit of Barcelona gaming detritus is a little unsafe for work, so click the "continue reading" link to see what the headline is alluding to.
Bringing It Home content, 9/25
Well folks, TGS is over, finished, kaput. As such, it seem only fitting that today's content is more oriented towards western audiences -- note also that there is no Japan exclusive content today. Here's the sweet sweet candy: Battlestations Midway trailer Eragon trailer Import Tuner Challenge trailer Need for Speed Carbon trailer The Darkness trailer Mass Effect Picture Pack (free!) Battlestar Galactica (United States) TGS Showfloor video 3 video F.E.A.R. demo We discussed the F.E.A.R. demo earlier: if you played the OXM demo, there's nothing new. With all this content, it may be time to start clearing out some of that old E3 stuff. Meanwhile, X06 inches ever closer. So, everybody make some room, download each and every one of these trailers, watch them, and then come back here and discuss them. Discuss them, I say!
TGS and X06, live from your living room
We reported a few weeks ago that Microsoft was planning on bringing TGS and X06 home this year, much the same way they did for E3. Microsoft has now made it official, launching this page detailing what 360 users can expect. If you had a 360 during E3, you know the drill. Expect lots of game demos, trailers, content downloads (Alan Wake theme? F*ck yeah!), and behind the scenes videos. Coverage is set to begin September 20th -- That's Wednesday for those of you keeping score -- and will run through September 29th. We can't wait. It's things like this that make us glad we're 360 fanboys. Check out the press release -- including some of the hot ticket games -- after the break.
DS Lites available in Spain
We received word from DS Fanboy faithful, and Barcelona native, Eric Lussier that UK-based retail chain Game Stores Group has been selling DS Lites, of both the white and black variety, to patrons fresh off the street. This means that all you readers who live in the area can rush down to the shop and pick up your DS Lite a whole day early! Seriously, what are you doing?! Stop reading! Go, go now!
X06 in sunny Spain
Planet Xbox 360 reports that Microsoft has announced the official date and location for X06, the European Xbox convention. The event will be held September 27th and 28th in Barcelona, Spain, allowing industry members to soak up some sun and an unhealthy dose of Xbox branding. New invitees to the event include South Africa, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland -- Microsoft having announced 360 launches in these countries by the end of 2006. Regional vice president, Xbox, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Chris Lewis, said this of the event: "We are really looking forward to X06 in Barcelona and believe this will prove to be an amazing experience for gaming enthusiasts across Europe. We have some exciting announcements to make and even more to show people. X06 will firmly place Xbox 360 as the console of the next generation." This would be the perfect place for Microsoft to shed some light on its European projects, namely Viva Piñata and Fable 2. Here's hoping. [Thanks, Matt]
Consume all things Sony at the PlayStation Center
So what's black, white and geeky all over? The new Barcelona PlayStation Center in Spain. Haven't heard of it? Well basically it's like a really big biased EB Games or some other retail store. Except this place is even better!Think about walking into a room with 42 inch wall-mounted TVs for your playing pleasure of all the latest games. With accessories bulging out the door and special edition products available, this place makes for a heaven-on-earth for Sony fans. What really takes the cake, however, is the locked room in the upper floor which is made to showcase the PlayStation 3 a week before the release.We'd like some more of these places please.
