Confirmed: Splinter Cell Xbox "time exclusive" through 2002 only.
 

Gamespot has an article up that confirms Splinter Cell is "time exclusive" to Xbox through the end of 2002. From the article:According to rumors, development of Splinter Cell for PS2 and Gamecube has already been underway for quite some time now. Great news for all you non-Xbox owners. :)

source: Gamespot

I'm curious to see how well this will be ported over

But I also bought an XBOX mainly cause of this title so I'm no longer looking for a PS2 version like I was a month or so ago.

It might not look as good or have downloadable extras but I have to think they are going to do something special with it for it's release on other platforms. Guess we'll see.

The article also says the PC version will be out in January. I'm looking forward to that.

I also read that it will be coming to the 2600, I think the lighting will be easy to port to such a powerful system.

I'm glad they finally officially said something. I'm not looking forward to it all that much, not really into stealth games, but I was getting sick of... "speculation."

To be honest, I'm looking forward to it being released on the other consoles because I think this may be the first game that truly shows the difference in hardware power between the various machines. With the core gameplay mechanic being so dependant on the real-time lighting, I don't know how they're going to make it work on the other consoles (especially the PS2). Of course, programmers can be pretty resourceful when they have to be, so we'll see. Should be interesting...

What's the point in showing hardware power? We all know the specs by now. That is of no concern to me if the game sucks. I'm going to pass this one up, as reviews have still pointed out some of the problems I had with the demo.

Playing Splinter Cell with my purple GC will be awesome!

Even less incentive for me to get an X-Box now.

:whofart:

I'm in no hurry to get the game, so I'll wait for the best one. But from what I've read, not even the PC verison will be able to put out the same quality lighting effects. So I'm dubious as to whether the other versions will be able to pull it off. It may matter given how big a role the lighting is supposed to play. Of course, if it sells a ton this Xmas, there's no telling if MS will swoop in and buy permanent exclusivity on consoles, a la GTA for PS2.

I read earlier this week that the PC version will have the same look and features of the XBox version now.

The point is that up until now, multi-platform titles have been developed using the PS2 as the "lead" platform which has unfortunately led to Gamecube and Xbox ports that do not take full advantage of either system's power. This has led to the mistaken assumption by some people that the Gamecube and especially the Xbox are not all that much more powerful than the PS2. What Splinter Cell and other future games that use the Xbox as the "lead" platform will show is that there is, in fact, quite a big difference in the capabilities of the various consoles.

I can't imagine playing it on PC with keyboard and mouse. Having two control sticks seems invaluable for this game. X-Box controls seem perfect. A PC controller with two sticks would work, but I don't know how widespread those are.

I have two PS Dual Shock USB Converters so I can use my Playstation controllers on my PC. I got them at a great price off eBay - one used, one new, for $8 shipped. Didn't need the second one, but a sweet price nonetheless. Works much better than my Gravis Gamepad and M$ Sidewinder. I believe there are converters for all kinds of controllers out there.

I agre with the first part you said, but have a problem with the later.

Yes Ps2 ports are bad to the xbox and GC typically.

But why is that? Is it because of the hardware issues? We all know the GC and xbox are more powerful. It's because of the progamming, as I'm sure you will agree.

Why would it be any different the other way around? I see what you are saying, that since it's utilizing the xbox it is not hindered by PS2 stadards so to speak. But the comparison to the GC and PS2 is were I see a problem.

If they port it over, and just remove any features that arn't immediatley compatible for time and effort sake, I don't see it being a fair comparison. If they actually sit down and redesign the game from the ground up to utilize the hardware of the other 2 then you have a fair comparison.

Until a developer is willing to start from the ground up on each game for a console, I don't think you are ever going to get a fair comparison. I'm fairly confident the xbox version will be the best because it is the games native console in otherwords. Well, the PC version is the exception. Do I make sense? (It's very early)

Have you ever seen Wreckless on the PS2 compared to Xbox, just plain ugggggggggggglllllllllllllllyyyy. No way can it compete with the power of the box.

Joels1017, good comparison.
It'll be interesting to see how the "ports" of Splinter Cell end up looking.

Well I think most people know that both the Gamecube and Xbox are more powerful than the PS2. And the reason is that these systems came out about a year later than the PS2 so they should be more powerful. :lol:

This announcement however is geared to those people who only own either a PS2 or Gamecube system. So it doesn't matter to them which console version of the game is the best because they will buy the game for the "one" console that they own.

:)

Jeff-
I agree with this totally and I think this is why we are best to compare the elite games of each system if we can find some of the same type. The correct thing to do is compare GT3 against PGR and Rallisport for racing and Splinter Cell should actually be compared directly to MGS2 for the PS2 IMO since MGS2 WAS built from the groud up ON the PS2. If you compare Splinter Cell to PS2 it isn't even close.

The point that I think Tamrok is making that is VALID is that it is a LOT different going from higher poly counts and better all around graphics to lower poly and less lighting than it is to go from low poly to a system CAPABLE of higher poly. In the past they have shown they don't care to take the time to really add more polys etc. but when DOWNGRADING they won't have much of a choice but to CUT CUT CUT when it comes to making a game PLAYABLE on a less powerful system. I expect they will have to take a very long time if they want to make Splinter Cell even look comparable on the PS2. Most likely they will drop the poly and ditch the cool lighting effects and release it.

Anyway, what you said about comparison of multiplatforms just ported over not being a good comparison is the most valid point to be noted IMO. Very good point indeed.

Comparisons I can think of that are not ports but represent something similar are

SOCOM------- Ghost Recon -- GR easily looks better to me in many ways
GT3 ----------- PGR, Rallisport -- pretty close by many opinions
MGS2 --------- Splinter Cell -- not comparable. SC wins hands down
Red Faction/2- Halo rules over an PS2 but Metroid comes in and puts up a good fight. Hmm.. too close to call for me
Ratchet&Clank-- BLINX - Close on graphics but R&C rule here
add in Mario Sunshine though and you have to give Mario the prize (although I actually prefer Sly Cooper to them all)

Fighting and sports games seem to be pretty much all multiplatform as of yet so they are tough.

These are some of the comparisons I can think of but I'm sure other people will have others. The GC is a tough one because it has the RE games and there aren't any games like this on the Xbox yet. (amazing)

I think this announcement is key for people who already own a PS2 or NGC and don't care if the game has true dynamic lightning or simulated dynamic lighting. For however good Splinter Cell is, I don't think having specular lighting, pixel shaders etc will help it sell if the game isn't good. If the play mechanics are good (and they look great) then the game should do well regardless of whether I can shoot holes in a curtain to let light shine through. Either way I don't think I'd buy and Xbox just to play it.

The conversions of Wreckless just go to show that the game was horrible to start with and only had graphics going for it anyway. Also if graphics never get better than MGS2 or GT3 in this generation of consoles then I'd still be happy.

Yeah. I'm hoping for a converter to let me use an X-Box S Controller. My Gravis Gamepad seems so horrible after using the X-Box and Gamecube controllers.

FYI, if you think GT3 looks amazing, remember that it only uses 25% of the PS2's potential power and things will only get better. There are a bunch of articles online about the technical details about the 100MB/s bus of the PS2 and how it games will look much better once companies get a hold of the PS2 performance anaylzer and streamline their games.

If you played the game, you would realize how important the lighting aspect of the game is. Without the use of light to create these shadows, the point of game is moot. You need this lighting to hide and sneak around.

Poorly designed lighting, and this game would not be what it is, and if they can't pull off the lighting textures on the PS2 or Cube, then playing the game is pointless.

I don't think you read your own source very closely. The 25% figure is clearly a marketing gimmick. Any developer will tell you that there is a huge difference between "theoretical" power (which is what the 25% figure is referring to) and "actual, attainable" power that can be achieved in a real game environment. If you read further, you will notice that they say exactly that. "Theoretical" power doesn't do you any good if the developer is incapable of using it. Certainly, there will still be small improvements in the graphics on the PS2 but you're fooling yourself if you believe there will ever be a 75% improvement over Gran Turismo 3.

I'll definitely check out the GC or PS2 version next year.

I think it will look pretty good, at least on the GC. The lighting in Metroid Prime is phenomenal, so they should be able to do a decent port.

If not, big whoop, I doubt it plays as big a part in the gameplay as people make it out to, and they could always tweat the enemy AI if they can't do shadows as well. But again, I think the GC can handle the lighting.

My only reservation is that it seems to be too stealth oriented for my tastes, as that type of gameplay leads to too much trial and error IMO. But I'll give it a rent next year.