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Not true.... I can't find the exact date that production started, but this says production of the CPU ("Emotion Engine") started in Fall of 99. PS2 launched in Japan in March 00, that's at least 4 months of production to get 700,000 units. Now, with a more complicated system, Sony is claiming to be able to build 150% of the units in 75% of the time?

Playstation 2 sales:
2006/06/30 106.23 million units (Japan: 23.55 million/ USA: 42.97 million/ Europe: 39.71 million)

This isn't enough of a market?

(source: http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdataps2_e. html )

Look at the very bottom of the sales chart:

including 32.35 million new PlayStation®2 units (Japan: 5.54 million/ USA: 12.9 million/ Europe: 13.91 million)

So, the slim ps2 has sold 1 million more in Europe than in the US. Interesting... Let's look at the full stats a bit closer:

  2003/06/30 53.85 million units (Japan: 13.60 million/ USA: 23.65 million/ Europe: 16.60 million)
  2006/06/30 106.23 million units (Japan: 23.55 million/ USA: 42.97 million/ Europe: 39.71 million)

Sales between 2003/06/30 and 2006/06/30:
Total: 52.38
Japan: 9.95
Europe: 23.11
US: 19.32

So, the US sold the most units until about 2003, but europe has almost caught up in terms of installed base and has been ahead for a while in terms of sales.

Well, my guess is that they looked at their sales numbers. Guess what, USA sold the most PS2 units...

PS2 Units Shipped
.
.
.
2006/06/30 106.23 million units (Japan: 23.55 million/ USA: 42.97 million/ Europe: 39.71 million)

So, they decided to ship to themselves and their largest single market first. Surprise, surprise.

Actually, I just thought about looking at Wikipedia, and I've found the information my other reply to my post was lacking. Seriously, Wikipedia is way better at finding information than Google now. Anyway... straight from Sony's website
Playstation 1 shipping figures
Playstation 2 shipping figures

Now, before anybody get's excited, I know that consoles shipped != consoles sold, but they are a pretty good indicator of sales anyway. And if you go to a store right now, you'll see both PS2s and 360s sitting on store shelves.

Sony started shipping PS2 on March 6, 2000. 10 months into the PS2 life span, they had shipped 6.4 million units. Microsft has shipped just north of 5 million consoles 10 months into their console life.

At the same time, Sony kept on shipping Playstation 1s. The number of console shipped from march 31 2000 to december 31rst 2000 went from 71.2 to 79.61. This means they actually shipped (thus more or less sold, face it, no stores like to keep too much unsold consoles in stock), 8.41 million consoles, while the shipped only 6.4 million PS2s.

After a year, Sony has shipped 10 million PS2 (interresting, since this is the figure Microsoft is shooting at for their first year with the 360). And shipped 9.31 million more PS1. So it nearly took a year for the PS2 to outsell the PS1.

Now, fast forward a couple of years to the 360's launch. On June 30th, Sony had shipped roughly 6.22 million consoles since the 360 came out. 21 days later, Microsoft accounced they had shipped 5 millions.

So where does that leave us. Yes, the 360 is selling less. Keep in mind that it's (360's retail at 400CAN$ and 500CAN$) between 3.1 and 3.8 times more costly than a PS2(129CAN$) and 4 to 5 times the price of a GameCube(100CAN$). On the other end, PS2(299US$) was 3 times PS1's price when it launched(99US$).

So all of this considered, I think Microsoft is doing a pretty good job.

Actually, I just thought about looking at Wikipedia, and I've found the information my other reply to my post was lacking. Seriously, Wikipedia is way better at finding information than Google now. Anyway... straight from Sony's website
Playstation 1 shipping figures
Playstation 2 shipping figures

Now, before anybody get's excited, I know that consoles shipped != consoles sold, but they are a pretty good indicator of sales anyway. And if you go to a store right now, you'll see both PS2s and 360s sitting on store shelves.

Sony started shipping PS2 on March 6, 2000. 10 months into the PS2 life span, they had shipped 6.4 million units. Microsft has shipped just north of 5 million consoles 10 months into their console life.

At the same time, Sony kept on shipping Playstation 1s. The number of console shipped from march 31 2000 to december 31rst 2000 went from 71.2 to 79.61. This means they actually shipped (thus more or less sold, face it, no stores like to keep too much unsold consoles in stock), 8.41 million consoles, while the shipped only 6.4 million PS2s.

After a year, Sony has shipped 10 million PS2 (interresting, since this is the figure Microsoft is shooting at for their first year with the 360). And shipped 9.31 million more PS1. So it nearly took a year for the PS2 to outsell the PS1.

Now, fast forward a couple of years to the 360's launch. On June 30th, Sony had shipped roughly 6.22 million consoles since the 360 came out. 21 days later, Microsoft accounced they had shipped 5 millions.

So where does that leave us. Yes, the 360 is selling less. Keep in mind that it's (360's retail at 400CAN$ and 500CAN$) between 3.1 and 3.8 times more costly than a PS2(129CAN$) and 4 to 5 times the price of a GameCube(100CAN$). On the other end, PS2(299US$) was 3 times PS1's price when it launched(99US$).

So all of this considered, I think Microsoft is doing a pretty good job.

Actually, I just thought about looking at Wikipedia, and I've found the information my other reply to my post was lacking. Seriously, Wikipedia is way better at finding information than Google now. Anyway... straight from Sony's website
Playstation 1 shipping figures
Playstation 2 shipping figures

Now, before anybody get's excited, I know that consoles shipped != consoles sold, but they are a pretty good indicator of sales anyway. And if you go to a store right now, you'll see both PS2s and 360s sitting on store shelves.

Sony started shipping PS2 on March 6, 2000. 10 months into the PS2 life span, they had shipped 6.4 million units. Microsft has shipped just north of 5 million consoles 10 months into their console life.

At the same time, Sony kept on shipping Playstation 1s. The number of console shipped from march 31 2000 to december 31rst 2000 went from 71.2 to 79.61. This means they actually shipped (thus more or less sold, face it, no stores like to keep too much unsold consoles in stock), 8.41 million consoles, while the shipped only 6.4 million PS2s.

After a year, Sony has shipped 10 million PS2 (interresting, since this is the figure Microsoft is shooting at for their first year with the 360). And shipped 9.31 million more PS1. So it nearly took a year for the PS2 to outsell the PS1.

Now, fast forward a couple of years to the 360's launch. On June 30th, Sony had shipped roughly 6.22 million consoles since the 360 came out. 21 days later, Microsoft accounced they had shipped 5 millions.

So where does that leave us. Yes, the 360 is selling less. Keep in mind that it's (360's retail at 400CAN$ and 500CAN$) between 3.1 and 3.8 times more costly than a PS2(129CAN$) and 4 to 5 times the price of a GameCube(100CAN$). On the other end, PS2(299US$) was 3 times PS1's price when it launched(99US$).

So all of this considered, I think Microsoft is doing a pretty good job.

This is, of course, assuming there would be sales of the PSP between now and 3 months from now.

Sony Business Data

Microprocessor Online has some an interesting analysis. Pay attention to page 8, where the PS2 "Emotion Engine" processor is compared to the PS3 Cell processor. This is an analyst report for the industry of microprocessors.

If you really want to dig into the details of the Cell processor, check out Sony's resources. You have to agree to a bunch of things to get to the pdfs but there's a lot of information in them. Another place you can find information is IBM's resource site which contains a lot of stuff including the programming handbook.

Microprocessor Online has some an interesting analysis. Pay attention to page 8, where the PS2 "Emotion Engine" processor is compared to the PS3 Cell processor. This is an analyst report for the industry of microprocessors.

If you really want to dig into the details of the Cell processor, check out Sony's resources. You have to agree to a bunch of things to get to the pdfs but there's a lot of information in them. Another place you can find information is IBM's resource site which contains a lot of stuff including the programming handbook.

Aside from that it's just a gyro that detects pitch, it does not track relative position. I don't see how just tilting a PS2 controller around is going to make a difference in sales. This is a last minute half assed hack and it shows.

Within the first thread is a PDF that you might want to look at. It's an overview of the technical specs of the two PS3 models, and the cheaper model has neither digital video out (meaning that out of the box it will not play Blu-Ray movies at their full resolution) nor wireless networking (there's Bluetooth but no 802.11b/g). I haven't seen a list of accessories and prices yet, but since even third-party wireless networking products for the 360 are coming in at around $80, it will probably cost at least $100 to get the 20GB PS3 up to the 60GB PS3 specs without the increased HD space.

You better check those specs again. The base PS3 isn't "Feature complete"

The $499 base unit does not have HDMI out, does not have memory stick ports, and does not have 802.11b/g wireless.
See:
http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/060509 ae.pdf

I think you guys should read this pdf $500 dollars give you a crippled PS3. Notice that, unlike the Xbox 360 cheap SKU, you cannot upgrade later to a HD version. The crippled PS3 won't grow new video outputs.

What Sony announced today is completely different from what was announced last year. What a let down. And the price?! Insane. Also look at what you DON'T get in the base system:

The base system LACKS:
- An extra 40Gb (base has 20, premium has 60).
- Memory Stick / SD / Compact Flash support.
- Wifi support (802.11 b/g)
- HDMI out

If you want any of those you must buy the $600 premium system! Crazy!

Read the Sony press release here:
http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/060509 ae.pdf

If you have a HD display, you have to shell out the $600 to use it. 499.99 version: - No built-in Wi-fi - No HDMI port - No Memory Stick slot - No SD card slot - No Compact Flash slot - 20GB hard drive Sorry dude. It is crippled too.

There are other differences between the $500 and $600 versions of the systems. According to Sony, the $500 version lacks HDMI output, which means that once DRM gets implemented, you don't get the full HD resolution that Blu-Ray is capable of. Also, the cheaper system lacks a slots for Memory Sticks, SD cards, and Compact Flash cards. The cheaper one also lacks wifi connectivity. Funny how Sony left all of that out of their presentation.

I just found something they didn't bring up in the keynote:

The cheaper version will NOT have WiFi, flash card slots, or HDMI output.

http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/060509 ae.pdf

Not likely, since the PS3 controller doesn't have force feedback (rumble) that would be necessary for full dildo-ization. http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/060509 be.pdf (beware of PDF-age)

Check out this PDF...

It looks like HDMI will only be on the 60GB model. Strange...

The new PS3 controller not only rips of features from Wii, they droped the rumble support, PS3 gets less and less impressive:

"Pursuant to the introduction of this new six-axis sensing system, the vibration feature that is currently available on DUALSHOCK® and DUALSHOCK®2 controllers for PlayStation and PlayStation®2, will be removed from the new PS3 controller as vibration itself interferes with information detected by the sensor."

See: http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/060509 be.pdf

See http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/060315 be.pdf (Press release from Sony)

> Atleast Sony only puts root kits on their customers computers, which can cause
> them to be infested with spyware and who-knows-what-else.

Do not confuse Sony Computer Entertainment with Sony BMG Music Entertainment (which, by the way, is only 50% owned by Sony).

This will be even more ludicrous than blaming Microsoft Research for the latest IE exploit.

Nice troll, I don't know why I'm bothering to respond, but just in case anyone else cannot find the "External Links" and "Articles" sections at the bottom of wikipedia articles, here is a sample from the Cell page:

• IBM - Cell Project
• Sony - Cell Broadband Engine
• IBM CBE Resources

Wikipedia is a good starting point to learn about a topic, but it is not definitive. That is why wikipedia qualifies (i.e. sources) its material. If you actually took some time to read wikipedia pages, you would know this. Next time, read the link before trolling.

I agree, but the requirements for a G5 cpu are different from those in the 360, and I stressed that M$ has removed some perks. Infact, the older Xbox cpu is more efficient for the very reasons you mentioned as it uses a pentium. Your facts are correct, but they justify the pricing of XBox 360 nevertheless. As far as the PS3 is concerned, the facts are here: cell.scei.co.jp and IBM's Overview

Those are the standard conceptions, yes, and without checking I'd guess that most people would agree with you.

However, the reality is slightly different. From that link, Europe has gotten a lot more games than North America. There are several reasons for this. The main three are, firstly, that games released in North America do tend to get released in Europe eventually, with very few exceptions, so most of the lineups will be the same. Secondly, in Europe we tend to get the occasional game that the North American audience just aren't interested in - soccer games, for example, or games based on other sports that aren't quite so popular in the US.

The final major reason is that following various court cases against Nintendo and Sega quite a while ago, content "approval" (SCEA-style) isn't legal. Once a publisher has a publishing license in Europe, SCEE can't do much stop them from releasing a game - certainly not as much as SCEA can. This means it's easier to release a game in Europe - you can, for example, just pick up a Japanese license for very little, spend a bit on translation, and have yourself a PAL game the wasn't originally intended for release outside of Japan. There are even various budget labels that specialise in this.

Look at Sony's own software shipment figures. Right now, the market for games goes US > Europe > Japan, and I assure you game developers care about this.

http://cell.scei.co.jp/index_e.html

Now that's VIP access.
-SR

From Sony: http://cell.scei.co.jp/e_download.html

http://cell.scei.co.jp/e_download.html

According to http://cell.scei.co.jp/index_e.html:

Today's announcement is the next major milestone in the Cell project, which began with the formation of the STI (SCEI, Sony, Toshiba and IBM) Cell Design Center in Austin, Texas in March of 2001.

...

By opening up a wide set of technical specifications to software developers, business partners, academic and research organizations, and potential customers, SCEI, Sony, Toshiba and IBM continue their work to aggressively stimulate the creation of Cell-based applications.


There you go, SCEI, Sony, Toshiba, and IBM all engaged in aggressive stimulation. You heard it here first.

*SCEI = Sony Computer Entertainment Inc

IBM = evil soul-stealing registration-required site

Sony = http://cell.scei.co.jp/ in EN and JP

Uh, they announced that PS3 will use Blu-Ray months ago. Here's the press release (PDF), dated Sept 21, 2004.

I think what is missing here in the discussion is the fact that there is hardly any commute for most US folks. If i were in NYC or SF or DC i can see myself recording shows that I miss or couldn't catch from TV on my tuner card, running a script to encode it, and take it on the go in the morning. If you target a 20+ demographic they will find uses for a decently built machine that is in essence a wifi capable portable media device. In due time someone (probably some /.-er) intelligent enough will probably be able to hack it to run some form of *nix on it. currently the wifi is implemented by NetBSD c/f here

PSP DOES have wifi. Sony Japan's PSP hardware page clearly indicate it as such. It's in japanese, but do a search for 802.11 even if you don't read japanese.

From the press release:

PSP features an integrated high output lithium-ion battery that provides play time of between 4 and 6 hours for game titles and continuous 4 to 5 hours for video viewing. (SCEI actual measurement) [...] Measurement conditions: display luminance set to maximum (180 cd/m2) and minimum (80 cd/m2) while volume is set to half of the maximum level, headphone in use and wireless LAN not in use.

Looks like the English press releases are up (still PDFs, though):

Release date, price
Package details
December launch title list

Also, I apologize for the error I made in formatting the original post. I was sleepy and in a rush.

Looks like the English press releases are up (still PDFs, though):

Release date, price
Package details
December launch title list

Also, I apologize for the error I made in formatting the original post. I was sleepy and in a rush.

Looks like the English press releases are up (still PDFs, though):

Release date, price
Package details
December launch title list

Also, I apologize for the error I made in formatting the original post. I was sleepy and in a rush.

Here are a official press release(pdf) and some images by SCEI.

It comes smaller and slimmer: 900g weight(-55%) and 230x28x152mm size(-77% !!). It also have a new feature, a network interface(100BASE-TX/10BASE-T) as standard.

And still more, SCEI also announced PS3 will adopt blue-ray disc(pdf).

Here are a official press release(pdf) and some images by SCEI.

It comes smaller and slimmer: 900g weight(-55%) and 230x28x152mm size(-77% !!). It also have a new feature, a network interface(100BASE-TX/10BASE-T) as standard.

And still more, SCEI also announced PS3 will adopt blue-ray disc(pdf).

Here are a official press release(pdf) and some images by SCEI.

It comes smaller and slimmer: 900g weight(-55%) and 230x28x152mm size(-77% !!). It also have a new feature, a network interface(100BASE-TX/10BASE-T) as standard.

And still more, SCEI also announced PS3 will adopt blue-ray disc(pdf).

Here are a official press release(pdf) and some images by SCEI.

It comes smaller and slimmer: 900g weight(-55%) and 230x28x152mm size(-77% !!). It also have a new feature, a network interface(100BASE-TX/10BASE-T) as standard.

And still more, SCEI also announced PS3 will adopt blue-ray disc(pdf).

Sure, the specs posted at ZDNet (Japanese) say that the graphics core is rendering 24-bit RGBA, but there's no mention of the TFT's colour depth.

Sony's official media releases (Japanese)/(English) on the PSP are understandably light on specs. Even they skip over the specs of the graphics core chips.

Unless someone's got a better Sony URL for specs, I'm expecting that the PSP will be released with a 16-bit or 18-bit TFT to keep the costs down.

Sure, the specs posted at ZDNet (Japanese) say that the graphics core is rendering 24-bit RGBA, but there's no mention of the TFT's colour depth.

Sony's official media releases (Japanese)/(English) on the PSP are understandably light on specs. Even they skip over the specs of the graphics core chips.

Unless someone's got a better Sony URL for specs, I'm expecting that the PSP will be released with a 16-bit or 18-bit TFT to keep the costs down.

No.

This is their English name. Why use "Nippon" when the Western world won't know what the hell that means?

Oh, and Google is your friend. Google [ nippon nihon usage ].

Finally, SCEI stands for Sony Computer Entertainment Incorporated. Look at the title of this page, for fuck's sake.

Personally, considering how bad GT2 was because SCEA rushed Polyphony, I hope it gets delayed further...

If you can read Japanese or just like to try, here's the SCEI official GT3 page.

GTRacer
- Where's the McLaren F1 GTR?

Here is the official Sony announcement in English.

One interesting note from that page is that it seams as though the LCD panel can ONLY be run from AC power:

When connected to the specially designed "PS one" LCD monitor that is planned to be available next spring, it is possible to take the world of PlayStation entertainment with; from room to room, house to house and out and about in a car*.

Yay! So pointless!

-AP

193mm x 38mm x 144mm (W,H,D)

weight: 550g