260w ago - Analyst Opinion - Floating Point Operations Per Second - FLOPS - one of the more obscure processor performance indicators, and one of the oldest ones.

Over time, it has been modified with prefixes such as M (mega), G (giga), T (tera) and will soon get a P (peta). "Tera" describes a million millions - one trillion (1012) - which is a whole lot of anything whether it is cycles (Hertz), bytes, dollars, or FLOPS.

Recently I was asked how many TFLOPS are in all the game consoles shipped to date. There are two answers to that question. You can look at it from the perspective of all the game consoles built and you can look at this question with specific consoles in mind.

Let's look at the combined TFLOPS rating of all game consoles, which actually provides two answers as well. If you count central processor FLOPS then you have one answer and if you count the FLOPS potential of the GPU and add it to the CPU's FLOPS, then you have the second answer.

This second version is controversial since the FLOPS of the GPU aren't used in computations and some therefore claim that the GPU should not be counted as it simply represents a theoretical number. Others argue that GPUs are used in computation - the computation of shader operations. Both sides, however, agree that there isn't...

260w ago - Once again, Microsoft has squashed rumors that a Blu-ray drive for a refreshed Xbox 360 may be in the works. The company believes that DVD will remain the more important optical format at this time and that the real format battle may be fought online.

An article published by Home Media Magazine earlier this week quoted Shane Kim, head of Microsoft Games Studios, saying that while Blu-ray "provides some visual boost for people who want a physical HD format", Microsoft does not see "that format taking off, in general." Consequently, Kim stated that Microsoft is not working on "any type of Blu-ray disc add-on for the Xbox 360."

These quotes somewhat contradict a steady stream of rumors coming out of Taiwan, suggesting that a Blu-ray Xbox 360 is set for a September launch. However, according to Kim, the DVD format is still going strong and offers a better value proposition in an Xbox 360 that sells for substantially less than the Playstation 3 at this time.

Home Media Magazine indicated that Microsoft may put much stronger focus on its Live platform than on thinking a new optical drive. Kim told the publication that the "digital distribution business is one of the reasons Microsoft is so keenly focused on Sony, and not Nintendo" in this current state of the console battle....

261w ago - When it comes to the PC, Microsoft can survive on Age of Empires and Flight Simulator, but what about the Xbox 360?

Just to give you guys a run down, here's a list of Microsoft's upcoming game's and their release dates courtesy of IGN: (Excluding XBLA)

Gears of War 2: November 2008
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise: September 2008
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts: November 2008
Fable 2: November 2008
Too Human: August 19 2008
Ninja Gaiden 2: June 3rd 2008
Halo Wars:TBA 2008
Alan Wake: TBA 2009
Go! Go! Break Steady: TBA 2008

PC
Alan Wake: TBA 2009
Sensible World of Soccer: TBA 2008

The PC line up is disappointing for 2008 and it really doesn't seem like they have anything announced for 2009.

E3 is coming up so you may wonder, what can Microsoft announce for either PC or Xbox 360? Here's a list of their franchise's that could see a possible future.

Kung Fu Chaos
Perfect Dark
Kameo
Brute Force
Mech Warrior
Mech Assault
Microsoft Simulator series
Shadowrun (Was leant to Smith and Tinker)
Tao Feng
Age of Empires
Age of Mythology
Forza Motorsport
Project Gotham Racing

On the PC side of things, I believe Microsoft...

261w ago - Why do we get the feeling this movie is probably going to suck? Oh, I know, maybe because the first released images of the Tekken film look anything but promising.

According to IMDB.com, MMA star Cung Le has been casted to play Tekken veteran Marshall Law. The first image of him in costume has been posted on his myspace page, which you can view below.

Also, additional images have been released by Tekken Corp, including the first look at Jin Kazama. You can view the entire gallery here.

Pic below is of Cung Le as Marshall Law.

261w ago - E3 is getting closer and closer. And as much as most people want it to die, I really hope it stays alive. To me, E3 was the place and time where it would be megatons after megatons of gaming announcements, and nothing could be more nostalgic than constant announcements from your favorite gaming company.

There are only so many things that Nintendo could announce at this coming E3 that would really help out Wii. Here is Wii Live's Top 5 Things Nintendo should announce at E3. Sorry for the long title.

5. More channels that are actually useful.

Nintendo finally released the Nintendo Channel in the US, which is actually a pretty useful channel. But why just have one? The Wii could really use some extra features, and although it has things like the Weather Channel, the News Channel, and the Check Mii Out channel, how many people actually use those? I mean, I would use the weather channel if it updated more often and if it had the city I live in, which the closest city it has is 30 minutes away from me.

You may have already read Wii Live's Top 5 Channel Idea's. And if you haven't, there is a nice link for you. Just go ahead and pick one any one of those channels. I would pick the Demo Channel. Who knows, maybe even the long awaited Music Channel will get a launch date!