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The Game Boy musical teaches addict a lesson
So long as there are fanboys roaming the streets (and electronics aisles), weird fetishes and unashamed overkill will still have their places, but it's not too often that a gaming addiction finds a home on Broadway. In The Game Boy, Matthew Gandolfo and Robin Rothstein's family-friendly musical, a well-taught lad dubbed Chase purportedly falls a bit too head over heels for his dear Game Boy, which presumably leads to all kinds of childhood development issues. According to the production notes, the kiddo is simply consumed in the pixelated universe, and strives to "always being the best," regardless of the real folks he ignores in the process. As predicted, this behavior eventually results in a life of loneliness and dread, probably forcing poor Chase to switch off the Nintendo handheld and seek out his long lost friends. Of course, his parents could have just shipped him over Amsterdam to remedy the issue, but if you're interested in seeing the outcome yourself, be sure to hit up the Vital Theater Company in New York City from now until April 22nd.
Wii chip production well underway, say IBM, Nintendo [update 2]
[Ed's note: we made a mistake in allowing this item to snowball into something more than a mere IBM-Nintendo PR announcement that production of chips is on schedule. Our apologies for allowing this one to get way, way out of hand. Read here for a more detailed apology.] IBM announced that their Broadway chip custom-designed for Nintendo's Wii console has been shipping to Nintendo's since July. "We have been shipping well within this quarter (July)," said Ron Martino, director of IBM Technology Collaboration Solutions. "In fact, we have shipped a significant volume in this quarter."So what does this news mean to gamers who have been waiting patiently for a release date from Nintendo? Well, considering that Nintendo has had their hands on a "significant volume" of one of the major components of their console since July, some might speculate that the Wii could be ready for release sooner than the expected October street date.When asked to quantify the speed of the Broadway processor, IBM's Martino compared it to the GameCube. "Compared to the Gekko in the GameCube, it's 20 percent more power efficient. It also performs significantly better. The key point is that it is Power Architecture-based and custom-made and optimized for Nintendo," he said (not really answering the question).With this update and Nintendo confirming the shipment of "6 million systems to retailers around the world between its launch in the fourth quarter of 2006 and the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2007," we expect Nintendo might finally be ready to talk release schedule during their event in New York City next week. [Update 1: toned down language throughout, added new first paragraph.] [Update 2: more edits, added link in first paragraph.]
Broadway chip production well underway since July
IBM announced that their custom-designed Broadway chip for the Nintendo Wii has been sitting in Nintendo's hands since July, resting ever-so-silently, poised to strike like a Puma silently stalking its prey. Ron Martino, director of IBM Technology Collaboration Solutions, commented that production fears should be nonexistent as "We have been shipping well within this quarter (July)," and going on further to say that "In fact, we have shipped a significant volume in this quarter." All well and good, but what about you, the one craving the Wii so bad you've been drawing pictures of it in your notebook, perhaps encapsulated by a red heart with a cartoonish arrow sticking through it reading "Nintendo & Chad 4 Ever?" What does it mean for you? First off, don't ask how we've seen your notebook. Second, you should be thinking "Well, if Nintendo had these chips since July, why haven't they been manufacturing Wiis?" That last one, we really don't have an answer for.So would Nintendo go the way Sega did with the Saturn, springing it upon gamers much like that Puma in the first paragraph leaped upon its prey? Probably not, but it makes that event coming on the 14th that much more interesting.
Revealed: Revolution CPU and GPU specs
Matt promised to post on the Revolution's "Hollywood" and "Broadway" GPU and CPU tonight, and he has delivered with the goods. Supposed sources possessing development kits of all shapes and sizes have confirmed what the final specs are."IBM's "Broadway" CPU is clocked at 729MHz, according to updated Nintendo documentation. By comparison, GameCube's Gekko CPU ran at 485MHz. The original Xbox's CPU was clocked at 733MHz. Meanwhile, Xbox 360 runs three symmetrical cores at 3.2GHz.""Revolution's ATI-provided "Hollywood" GPU clocks in at 243MHz. By comparison, GameCube's GPU ran at 162MHz, while the GPU on the original Xbox was clocked at 233MHz. Sources we spoke with suggest that it is unlikely the GPU will feature any added shaders, as has been speculated. The 'Hollywood' is a large-scale integrated chip that includes the GPU, DSP, I/O bridge and 3MBs of texture memory." Matt also goes on to write:"Revolution will operate using 24MBs of "main" 1T-SRAM. It will additionally boast 64MBs of "external" 1T-SRAM. That brings the total number of system RAM up to 88MBs, not including the 3MB texture buffer on the GPU. By comparison, GameCube featured 40MBs of RAM not counting the GPU's on-board 3MBs. The original Xbox included 64MBs total RAM. Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 operate on 512MBs of RAM."So it's pretty much confirmed that the Revolution is a direct extension of the GameCube hardware, just upgraded, without all of the bells and whistles Sony and Microsoft seem to think that are needed in their next generation of consoles. All the specs in the world don't matter unless you have engaging titles on your console and thankful that has never been a problem when it comes to the house Mario built.
