New PlayStation 2 Chip

Iron Chef Japan writes "Sony has announced that they have fit the PlayStation 2 Emotion Engine, and the Graphics Synthesizer on to a single chip using a 0.13-micron process. This will allow Sony to make three times more PlayStation 2's annually, so it's all for the better."

Comments

Allowing for a drop in price perhaps?

[SexPig]

They've probably been working overtime to get the production costs down on this thing to be able to drop the price and take a chunk out of X-Box's gains in marketshare. "Always wanted a PS2 but couldn't stomach dropping $300...well, here you go".

Re:No

[Anonymous Coward]

The new model will have exactly the same specs as the old one. This is not a PC based architecture, speeding it up could very well effect the playability (to do with timing) of existing games. One of the disadvantages of a highly low-level environment

This is purely to:

a: reduce the number of chips that they have to have custom made, thereby allowing them to more efficiently use their existing production facilities and make more PS2's per year.

b: reduce the cost of the PS2 to produce so that they can sell it at a lower price, to make people want to buy it when given the choice of the pretty(graphics, can you say easy, low cost anti-aliasing) X-Box at a similiar price point.

There is a possibility they may update the case somewhat to distingish the new model (eg: playstation vs PS1)

Samn that made me look pro X-Box. I have a PS2, but the blocky graphics gets on my nerves. Pity anti-aliasing has to be done on the CPU and is therfore rarely done :-(

Chance to improve copy protection?

[gpinzone]

Now that the protection on the currrent line of PS2s has been pretty much cracked to allow swaps using just non-evasive plugin-card, I wonder if Sony is planning to make these new ones different enough to foil hack attempts?

What this also means...

[Jace of Fuse!]

This also could improve chances of the PS3 being PS2 compatible.

After all, as I understand it, the PS2's compatibility with the PS1 were mainly a side effect of the "Playstation On a Chip" design that was created for the PSone.

Lame story...

[RatOmeter]

How lame is this? Our wonderful "story" is merely a reference to a post on gamefu which, itself, points to no credible source.

Slashdot: "Sony says... cause Gamefu says that Nikkei Microdevice says that Sony says..."

Good, God. I don't really doubt it's happened, but where's the interview? Where's the real scoop? I'd rather know a bit more than this. I'd like to know what else might get integrated; I don't consider squeezing 2 chips into 1 is going redefine the marketplace, or even Sony's bottomline.

Mod as you will, and let's hope someone on Slashdot can post a link with more info...

-

Re:Lame story...

[CMiYC]

I don't consider squeezing 2 chips into 1 is going redefine the marketplace, or even Sony's bottomline.

No this is not going to redefine the marketplace, but it will signifcantly impact Sony's bottomline. If you do not understand how, then you do not understand the hardware design and manufacturing process. Once yeild is up on the new silicon, there will be significant savings on Sony's manufacturing process. For example, let's consider two invidivual chips with a large number of interconnections. By placing both peices of silicon on the same die, you have eliminated a very serious amount of redundent connections. Instead of going from Silicon -> Package -> Board -> Possible Vias -> Package -> Silicon you are now going from Silicon -> Interconnect -> Silicon (basically). This is a huge savings in board space, packaging, and a large increase in reliability. The increase in reliability comes because you have less overall connections. Each connection in an electronic device is a possible point of failure.

The disadvantage is that this was not done already. Then again this is an excellent chance for Sony to debug this chip design for the PS3 (backward comabilitiy) and the creation of a PStwo.

Re:A price drop is likely...

[xerph]

Quoted from Nintendo's vice president of marketing:

"A GameCube cut was contingent on whether any Sony price cut is to $199 or $249, from the current price of $299.

"We haven't made a decision on (a price cut)," Harrison said. "Sony's expected to make the first move and then we'll see where we stand."

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/ptech/04/02/nintend o. reut/index.html

Re:This is unnecessary.

[19Buck]

"If you still pay $50 for a silly plastic disc and some paper, you're a sucker."

It's because of this (very wrong) mindset that piracy is so rampant.

You aren't paying that much for a "silly plastic disc and some paper", you are paying for the man hours and labor of some dozens of people, all working together for year long stints or more to create graphics, models, artwork, scripting, a storyline and then put it all together into a coherent package so that you can sit down, play and enjoy the game for some 10-50 hrs (depending on the game genere.)

If you really think this, then you simply have NO freaking clue what is involved in the production of a modern video game, which today, rivals the scale and budgets of major motion pictures, of which "only" provide you with 2 or so hrs of non-interactive entertainment.

Re:hrrm ...

[i_am_nitrogen]

Obviously you know nothing about the PS2 arch. The Emotion Engine is actually several SGI-based chips that were tweaked and modified by Sony and packed up into just a couple chips, with a 297MHz R5900 MIPS CPU. The EE is a very powerful and complex system, and I think it rocks from a developer and gamer standpoint. Using a Wintel CPU in a game console is, IMO, a big mistake. The EE is specifically designed to be a game console; the Wintel arch is just a generic architecture with stuff games will never use, and lacking in areas where MIPS and EE together shine.

You speak of inherent problems with the EE. What are you talking about specifically? What situation do you say Sony is in now? PS2 outsold Xbox and GC combined last holiday season.