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Distributed Playstation
withinavoid writes "News.com has a story up about the next generation Playstation 3. Apparently the game developers are asking for a 1000 times performance increase and that's just not possible, so they are looking at distributed computing as a possibility. "
a Beowulf cluster of those ... uhhh... darn...
If they put some thought into it they could get what they want... Modularity.. Make it possible for me to buy video-ram, system ram, make add-on's available, granted that makes the "all systems are the same" for the programmers go out the window... but if I had the ability to switch from standard video chipset to the ultra-insane-fast $399.95 video upgrade option that adds the physics module for jiggley breats to the fighters in virtua fighter 73, then dammit I'll buy it!
Don't be a dick. That's called a PC. Consoles are successful because they're based on a static hardware platform.
What were they going to do with the 1000x increase anywho?
Oh yeah, draw better hookers.
I don't think anyone should give game developers anything until they start producing good games. Another performance increase means they start the cycle all over again, spending another couple years writing technology demos (and Super Monkey Ball, which is great).
"Now you can see your player's shadow reflected off the shiny copper roof, reflected realistically on the mysteriously black water rippling below you!"
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Let's not stir that bag of worms...
It's about time too!
For how long have MS stopped someone else catching any of their market by spouting FUD about the future of their technology? Now Sony are just getting there own back and you know that people are (for now) going to be FAR more interested in the PS3 than the Xbox 2. The landscape of the games console has been littered with great ideas and doa launches, Sony are just playing on this to try and keep people out of the MS stable by reminding them of their current product line and the fact that we should expect a PS3 before a XB2 (and if an XB2 comes out first by more than a couple of days people will probably look at is as MS gouging in yet another market). Sony have this battle in the bag, the key is to make sure they don't blow it themselves and don't get caught by any surprises from MS. The real question for me is what damage will MS do to themselves in this battle or will they really find a way to take out Sony? (MS-Sony merger anyone?)
Never underestimate the dark side of the Source