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PSX2 To Replace Your PC?
rosewood writes "It is always slightly funny to watch a major news agency like CNN delve into a high tech debate. This article gives some information about Sony's new Playstation 2 and their Emotion Engine that claims 6.2 GFlops at 300mhz. Sounds interesting, but is it really enough to start replacing computers?"
replace computers? never. replace computers as primary gaming devices? absolutely.
I am, therefore you think.
Hmm... do I really want to do my hacking, word processing, work from home, etc.. in my living room?
DrLunch.com The site that tells you what's for lunch!
Now I can ditch my 1280x1024 resolution 17 inch monitor for the resolution of a TELEVISION! What more could I want?
I suppose it would work out well for some people, but not for people who use computers for more than web browsers and email.
According to MicroDesign Resources, the processor can handle 6.2 gigaflops at 300MHz. A single gigaflop equals one billion floating-point operations per second. MDR says that makes the chip two times faster than a 733-MHz Pentium III...
Ok, everyone here whose machine is currently at 100% CPU usage, raise your hand.
Now lower your hand if it is seti - 98%.
Now lower your hand if it is distributed.net - 98%.
Anyone with a hand still up?
The realy question is not what its CPU speed is, but how fast its access to peripherals is. Anyone got any info?
The cake is a pie
- "It [Emotion Engine] could provide the processing power for the PlayStation 2 to challenge cheap PCs as the entry-level device of choice for home access to the Web."
which is nothing like "they're going to replace PCs as we know it".Someone will want to port linux to it though... which will lead to hooking them up with that "B" word.
Gateway Systems has issued a press release stating they have teamed up with Sonic the Hedgehog to help with their manufacturing "The guy is so fast - he replaced half our factory workers! If we could just get him to stop slamming into the gold-colored tiles on the roof we'd be all set." and Laura Croft to help with their marketing. "It was a natural fit," said the Marketing director in an exclusive interview.
But Gateway faces competition from startup VA Linux Systems, who has reportedly contracted with ID Software for their Quake guy. "He's going to be our legal department," said Eric Raymond while grinning evilly.
My guess is that it all started with Apple. Before that, computers were used just for business. Nobody had a need for a computer at home (an IMHO, very few do now). Instead, computers were used for complex calculations and such that people couldn't (or shouldn't waste their time) doing on their on. Now, everybody's got a computer so that they can print greeting cards, e-mail their Aunt Sue, or play backgammon on Yahoo! Games. They all think that it's economical because paper costs less than Halmark cards, e-mail is cheaper than postage stamps or telephone calls, and you don't have to actually own a backgammon board. Instead, let's spend a thousand dollars on a computer, twenty bucks a month for Internet, and we won't have to buy a Halmark card for $1.50 or a stamp for $0.32.
The truth is that most computers are used for nothing more than fancy typewriters that can check your computer. Very few people actually use their Gateway or Dell for anything more than you could do much cheaper with simpler equipment. Programmers (what would we program for?), Hackers (what would there be to hack?) and businesses are the only true computer users these days.
So if Sony wants their Playstation 2 to replace home computers, then by all means let them do it! I think that I'll be content with the four that I have as I write webpages. But then again, I just might not have a job if it weren't for all the people in the world who absolutely have to be on the Internet and have to have something to look at once they get there.
Brad Johnson
--We are the Music Makers, and we
are the Dreamers of Dreams
Brad Johnson
While I'm not sure if the Playstation has the capabilities to run boring application-level (word processor, etc.) software, it certainly has incredible potential as a dumb terminal.
Computers are becoming more network centric every day. Remember the "Personal Computing" revolution? I don't either
If we could get a Playstation with an Ethernet jack, it might just make the best dumb terminal you've ever seen. Want the font for your terminal window 3d rendered and shimmering? The possibilities are endless. So long as the applications (or at least some of them) are hosted remotely...
One step closer to VR. Waiting patiently.
Anthony
"I think any time you expose vulnerabilities it's a good thing." -Attorney General Janet Reno
There's actually an emulator project for the PSX2 right now. No, it's not to run PSX2 stuff on the PC - it's to run PC stuff on the PSX2. It uses dynamic opcode translation and some other neat stuff to emulate a full x86 system.
:)), plug in the USB peripherals and pretend as if the whole thing were a desktop PC.
This means that you can boot up your copy of Win '98 (yeah right
Cool stuff indeed. It might just serve as a low-cost PC alternative.
æeee!
Add Quicken and AOL (those products specifically) and I'll happily replace my mother's PC. NO MORE LATE NIGHT SUPPORT CALLS FROM MOM!! Cool:)
I'd rather do the maintenance on Linux (no mother, you can't have the root password) but we've all seen that Intuit won't even develop new apps for the Mac, let alone Linux. Of course, they probably won't develop an app for this, but this is much more appealing to many folks.
As for those who have said "we've seen it before and they tanked". Well, yes and no. Yes, we have seen similar products before. And yes, they didn't sell. But why? First, techies weren't interested. Second, there wasn't much of a push by CompUSA et al. of the machines. Better profit margins/commisions on the Packard Bells, etc.
Also, we have an even less technically savvy audience gravitating towards computers. Two years ago, how many grandmothers were on the internet? Now, with proddings by their children and grandchildren, they are more likely to sign on. So the market is a bit more ripe these days.
But, there is still a problem. These machines are too hard to hook up for the grandmothers out there. So they will need the help of someone more familiar with the technology. And that person will say "why don't you just get a PC?"
To make these work, you need a distribution model similar to WebPC/TV (I am guessing on what follows. If this isn't WebTV's MO, ignore that part, and look at the idea) You buy it from Circuit City. You pay an extra $50 for in home installation. While waiting for the installer to come out, your paperwork for membership is processed. They come to your house, plug in all the fiddly bits. As soon as the machine boots, you enter your special ID number. This gets written to flash ROM. It automatically connects you to the Net, maintains upgrades, etc.
Or, if you didn't opt for the 'Internet Package', and just picked the packages for Home Checking, Offline Games, and Word Processing, then it installs/updates those packages, and the Circuit City installer can then unplug your modem.
We're not talking rocket science here. There is one sticking point, and that is us, the technically savvy. As long as we recommend against these types of machines, people will listen. The manufacturers either need to convince us to convince others (and, OSS not withstanding, having M$ go into a joint PS2/WebTV development will help. Remember, most computer users out there still proudly fly the Redmond flag) to use these machines, or they need to make them so easy that we are taken out of the picture.
How to do that? First with the install plan I mentioned. Second way: have a demo installation booth at Circuit City. Let potential buyers open a box (repacked and taped up after every demo) and hook one up themselves.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
We here in the game development community are live in awe/fear of the PSX2. It is an extremely capable device, beyond it's gaming characteristics. It has FireWire. It has DVD. It has PC Card. It cost $200. It will be in every living room, bought as a game device.
/. sometimes forget how little of the market we represent. We are elite. Most people don't even know what we are talking about. While we argue about the suspensions in our sports cars, most of the world drives their Hondas, oblivious to our passions.
But, with the right marketing and accessories, it could do everything that 80% of home computer users need in a computer. It will surf the web, do email, and play games. For way less than a PC, and no hassles with compatibility, no installation nightmares, no DirectX downloads, no problems at all.
I predict this device will sneak into America's homes and become the home computer that everyone envisioned in Sci-Fi books 20 years ago.
We here on
By the way, everyone thought the IBM PC sucked when it first came out. Remember?
From the posts, a lot of people seems to think that this is another case of the MSX syndrome, and that the PC will destroy PSX2 as it destroyed other contenders
;).
;), PC resellers will see some though competition: not from a 'console', but from a Sony-branded, home-targeted PC that just happens to be called like a console.
But if you look at PSX2 specs, you'll see it has USB ports (Keyboard, mouse, scanners, printers, Modem/ADSL, even *GASP!* floppies), a FireWire port (Video, but even big and fast HDs), and a Type III PCCard/PCMCIA Slot where you can plug lots of things, from HDs to Video Cards. And all these devices are/should be STANDARD PC PERIPHERALS, not Sony proprietary dongles.
And all this without knowing for sure what PSX2 can do by itself. Is it limited to TV video freqs, or can it do better? Will it have some expansion capabilities (RAM, internal devices) or not?
Maybe after all PSX2 will be able to replace some (lots of?) PCs, since it's not very different from what PCs are becoming these days (think of the new all-usb machines...), and as someone stated in the article, it won't fsck itself up every two games you play "since it doesn't have an HD" (since it doesn't have an idiotic OS on it, i'd say
Even Linux-wise the thing is really cool, because its processor is MIPS4000 compatible and its developement system is Linux-based, so it should be easy to port Linux to it, if Sony itself doesn't do it.
If Sony doesn't do something VERY wrong and stupid with this thing (think Commodore...
Ciao,
Rob!
-- since English isn't my native language, corrections are welcome! --
AniToolBox! An Open Source animation program!
IT's not about replacing the PC. Sony's much too evil for that. (quite frankly, Microsoft pales in comparison...)
The PSX2 will be the core of Sony's "home entertainment universe" (remember their new commercials about how all their stuff is interconnected? What's missing? hmmm...). It is designed as the gateway unit for all of your home multimedia equipment, this includes your PC if it is equiped with 1394 oops I mean firewire oops I mean iLink Sony's proprietary protocol built on top of 1394.
Sony has come out publicly to state that PSX2 is a settop box, which is not the same genre of equipment as a game console. PSX2 is Sony's bid to completely and totally control your living room.
There's a company called Bleem that makes PSX2 emulation software for the PC. They made about 4 million in sales last year. Sony has spent about 10 million so far trying to shut them down. Why should they care when they sell their consoles at a loss and Tekken3 was their highest grossing product last year? Becuase if you can play playstation games on your PC you don't need a playstation, or the PSX2. The PSX2 is what will enable you to take your Sony camcorder, and plug it into your home network to connect to your Sony TV, Sony VAIO computer, and your Sony microwave, bathroom scale and toothbrush.
So of course you will see all kinds of releases about how great and wonderfull emotion engine is and how PSX2 (*cough*with-iLink*cough*) will make everyone's lives easier and better and make you more attractive to members of the opposite sex.
Patiently I await Dolphin or NUON.
"You want to kiss the sky? Better learn how to kneel." - U2
Sig:
Barbeque is a noun. Not a verb.
I hold in my hand a simple igneous rock that is capable of 6.2 Gflops/s. Think about it: all by itself, it can solve countless (and many as yet undiscovered) laws of fluid dynamics as a throw it at people through the air. It easily and comfortably interfaces with both my hands, and it has a far finer resolution than any tv or monitor: it has a fractal-surface display. It's multi-user (we can both take turns throwing the rock) and it's fully networked (it interacts well with human hands and other rocks). It's fully backwards compatible with sedimentary rocks, and it holds great promise for future developments in becoming a metamorphic rock. And it's far more durable that this newfangled PSX2 device -- long after the last PSX2 crumbles to dust, our descendants will still be digging up rocks.
Rocks. They're not just for breakfast anymore.
"If one is really a superior person, the fact is likely to leak out without too much assistance" -- John Andrew Holmes
Unfortunately some PC games just aren't suited for the console (and vice versa.)
Game genres on PC and Dreamcast
RTS are not very enjoyable on consoles. Check out Warcraft II for the PSX, if you don't believe me. At least the Dreamcast has 640x480 resolution.
Most consoles also don't come with a keyboard and mouse. Playing Quake without a mouse and keyboard? Yeah, right.
Don't get me wrong. Consoles have their place. (Look at the amount of R&D Sega, Sony, and Nintendo are spending on the next generation consoles.)
Consoles were designed for one thing. Play games.
PC's are more expensive because they are more versatile. Sometimes gaming is better on PCs, sometimes not. Soul Caliber on the DreamCast blows me away with the graphics and gameplay. Age of Empires II on the PC does likewise.
Arguing which one is better is pointless. They were designed for different purposes.
But what do I know, I'm just a game developer.
Cheers
Michael,
3D game programmer