AMD Adds OpenGL 3.0 Support To Graphics Drivers 102
arcticstoat writes "Just a few months after The Khronos Group unveiled the Open GL 3.0 spec last year, AMD has included full support for the new API in its first WHQL driver of 2009 — Catalyst 9.1. OpenGL 3.0 requires DirectX 10-level hardware, such as AMD's Radeon HD series of GPUs. However, unlike Direct3D 10, OpenGL 3.0's features can be enabled on both Windows XP and Vista, as well as Linux and Mac OS, which could be a bonus for game developers looking for a broad base of customers. The Khronos Group claims that OpenGL 3.0 has a 'rough feature parity' with Direct3D 10, and it provides Shader Model 4.0 support, including features such as the Geometry Shader. The Khronos Group also says that the new API will interoperate with the GPGPU API OpenCL, which could allow OpenGL 3.0 to compete with the Compute Shader promised in Microsoft's DirectX 11 API."
Re:Lock In (Score:5, Funny)
if you want to sway the game companies, chuck your xbox.
Does that mean I have to buy one just to chuck it?
Re:waiting game (Score:4, Funny)
Oh no, Starcraft 2 delayed 2 more years ;) ..
Re:waiting game (Score:3, Funny)
It's not that hard to actually check, you know. The DS has about 500 games [nintendo.com] available for it, according to Nintendo. The GameBoy Advance has about 950 games [nintendo.com].
The iPhone currently has 17,367 total native apps available for it, of which 4,460 are tagged as games and 4,806 as entertainment (many of those are tagged as both). It's really no contest. Apple is by far the largest marketplace for handheld gaming, beating the DS by an order of magnitude. And I'm not counting web games (most of which don't run on the iPhone since Apple seems to hate Flash for some reason.)
Like I said, though... a lot of those games are poor quality right now. But they're getting better fast, and downloads have doubled in the last month according to developers, so it's a growth market.