I'm down with having Sony or Microsoft subsidize console prices for me. If Sony pays me 200 dollars to buy their system, then I'd be down for that. That's what they're doing, aren't they? Though i don't have much money to spare, so I'll probably hold off on any of the systems for now (wii, ps3, 360)

Well, I think that the physics aspect is highly overestimated. In reality you don't really want the true physics in a system, unless it offers spectacular effects. The gaming industry itself is more interested in movie physics, where only physics are used, when they want to.

They don't want to know what really happens, they only want to show things that help the game play even if they are totally impossible. But for this kind of movie physics you don't really need or even use the real algorithms, instead you use a simplified algorithm that behaves in the borders of the game like the real algorithms. And these algorithms are normally so simple that even the Xbox, PS-2 or Gamecube wouldn't have a problem with it.

The main difference are not the real physics, but the internal used objects can have more dynamics and show more expected physical behaviour. But this has nothing to do with physics, the objects are simply better animated, nothing more, nothing less. And these things only behave like the game designer wants them. This wouldn't be so easy if you would use the real algorithms.

So you can say the Xbox 360 and the PS-3 can handle more complex obects, but this has nothing t do with the game physics.  

Wiis DVD drive is not exactly a standard one for 2 reasons: 1. It can use 2 sizes of discs (something that slot loaders don't usually do). 2. It reads the discs from the end to beginning (or at least the GC discs), so that discs are an "mirror image of std DVD discs". At least it has its own firmware. It's hard to compare the retail prices, because diffent products have different costs and different profit marginals for retailers (and manufacturers). Wii should have had a price of 200, also outside Japan, but it was the retailers who wanted bigger profit. So they included Wii Sports and raised the price by 50. And Nintendo HQ has said, that Wii makes profit by every console sold, so i don't know what Perrin Kaplan is talking about. Anyway, the price comes from manufacturing (this includes parts), logistics (including toll fees), retailers profit margins, manufacturers profit margins and taxes. If you are able to manufacture the product enough, manufacturing gets cheaper. If you can ship enough products or get product going with another products, so it uses the "anyway empty space", you are able to get shipping at lower price. And if you can sell the product with enough volume, you can lower the profit margin and make even bigger profit. And BDs aren't as durable as DVDs or HD-DVDs. Btw, Kwaad, you mean GC price in CAD?

 Few things.  It would be nice if you actually used the quote button to quote people.

The difference between the PS3 slot loader and Nintendo's is the discs.  As Kwaad mentioned, blu-rays do not have a risk of scratching.  You can sandpaper them and nothing will happen.  Steel wool can be applied and it will still play.  Fingerprints do nothing.  Slot loaders have potential to scratch discs, and DVDs are highly susceptible to scratches and annoying don't work correctly when they get them.

"It would be nice if you actually used the quote button to quote people."

It would be nice if the quote feature didn't involve trying to delete impossibly-hard-to-delete bounding boxes.

Ah, just read. If you don't like my posts, then don't read them. Nobody is forcing you to, anyhow.

BTW, that doesn't apply only to Blu-Ray, you know...

http://news.com.com/Try+scratching+this+DVD/2100-1041_3-5455621.html

It applies to anyone who wishes to produce media with TDK's technology. That means DVDs apply as well. In fact, the reason Blu-Ray is using this is because:

"While HD DVD places the data layer at the same depth as current DVDs, Blu-ray places the data layer much closer to the surface. This allows the discs to hold more data than HD DVDs. But it also renders them more vulnerable to damage, so much so that the Blu-ray industry group stowed its rewritable discs in a protective cartridge, much like a cassette tape." 

Do me a favor, and make a video of you takeing steel wool to a Wii game disc, and tell me if it has that surface on it plz.

(I can tell you just from the feel from sliding my finger across it, it does not) 

when i buy one of this DVD with protected surface and make a copy of my original wii game

i can try it (i have the wiikey modchip)

but for what ?

That means you have taken steel wool to a Wii game disk and confirmed it doesn't have scratches. That's good to know.

Now, how about you do me a favor? You make a video of you [takeing] steel wool to a PS3 game disc, and tell me if it has that surface on it [plz].

Don't forget the link.