Playstation 3 In the Works

Kredal writes "The Independent is running a story about Sony's work on a new console, being built around online games, such as Everquest Adventures and Final Fantasy 11. No word on backwards compatability, but expect it to be the X-Box killer if it is." FF11 already has me lusting.

Comments

The hop/skip/jump to MMORPGs

[Wingchild]

I personally stayed away from Everquest due to its addictive nature; I've played MUDs before (though non-graphical)and know that they have a tendency to consume my free time. I really don't mind re-clearing areas over and over again while chatting with friends; I find it very catharthic after a long day at work.

Final Fantasy 11 is going to finish me.

I say this because I am, unashamedly, Squaresoft's Bitch. Anything they sell, I purchase. Chocobo Dungeon? Got that. Vagrant Story? Yup. 3D World Runner? Sure, child's play.

I can't pass up a Final Fantasy title, not after the first ten have given me such endless hours of fun and happiness. Turning it into an MMORPG just adds an addictive edge that may well be the end of me.

Classics?

[RoC MasterMind]

I'll stick with my super nintendo.

Re:Old cliche

[SDF-7]

Yeah, because heaven knows that stuff like this _never_ happens in the computer biz...

I mean, what if oh, say -- Microsoft announced it was upgrading the 16-bit GUI on top of it's operating system with amazing features and a wonderful new interface... and hyped it so much that people thought they needed to buy it for their toasters... that wouldn't hurt a rival (better) operating system for the year or two it took them to ship something, now would it?

Nah... never happen...

Re:Keeping costs down and still beating Microsoft.

[k_187]

So in other words, make a cheap computer that you can use as a set-top box?? The beauty behind the consoles, is that they work. Developers don't need to worry about system specs. They can design a game, and everybody with the playcubebox, can play it. No questions asked. If Sony puts slots for extra RAM, or whatever, developers are just going to turn the market into the mess that is the PC games market.

I think consoles are so sucessful because they are simple. Users don't need to worry about how much RAM they have, or how big their hard drive is. Plug in the game and it works.

Nintendo is still around because they realized that people buy the games. While Sony was out hyping the graphics power of the PS2, Nintendo was showing off the games. Games are how systems make money. Either by selling tons, and generating licence money, or by being great, and forcing people to buy the system to play it.

I should also add that NO add on for consoles has ever been sucessful. Why should Sony waste resources to cater to a very small percentage of the people that would buy it?(blah blah blah, Linux kit. I know about the linux kit. However, its what? $400?? that brings the cost of a PS2 and the linux kit to $700! that's just silly. For $700 I could have a full PC with a TV card to hook up.)

Re:Backwards Compatability

[Mr.Sharpy]

Backward compatability becomes and impediment to innovation over time. It's the same problem MS has had for years. Problems that existed in earlier architectures must be maintained in future version if the designers wish to maintain full backward compatability.

Microsofts endeavor to improve Windows over time was saddled with the problems that existed in the original MS DOS. Only by abandoning technologies of the past at some point can the designers expect to move forward with real innovation.

The way around that of course is to run virtual machines that abstract the software from the hardware. But using a virtual machine architecture has its own caveats, like adding additional complexity.

Personally, I would prefer that designers of game systems just avoid backward compatability issues. If there is some game from an older system that I want to play, it is likely that I have that older system to play it with anyway. I would rather designers focus on innovation than on life support for aging technology.

Re:X-Box killer?

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess if everyone gets it half right, there will be a truth in here somewhere.

North America - Xbox has a solid lead, and the two launched almost simultaneously

Japan - The gamecube has sold about 1/2 million and the xbox 200k. The gamecube has been out since last September too. In fact the xbox's failure there has only served to hide that the gamecube is bombing in its home territory too. The xbox sales have dropped off pretty bad in japan in April.

Europe, etc - Gamecube has not been released, and does not have more pre-orders then the xbox has sold. I'd love to know where you got that number. Xbox has sold about 400k outside japan and na compared with about 25k pre-orders for the gamecube.

Ok

[Morgahastu]

"...but expect it to be the X-Box killer if it is."

Thats like saying the playstation 2 was a supernintendo killer. Of course its going to be better then the xbox. What, do you think its going to come out in a few months? This thing is atleast 2 years away. I am sure by the time the playstation 3 comes out microsoft will be right there with a new console too.

This is as bad as those people who say the xbox killed the dreamcast. Of course it did, it came out 2 years later!

Get it right

[Iron Chef Japan]

I have said this many times over. So here we go. FF11 is in development for the PS2 not the PS3, as is EverQuest. The PS3 is not in development either. In fact I posted a previous comment about it:

Well I was excited about all the Cell development and this PlayStation 2 stuff, but Ken Kutargai (the guy behind playstation and SCEI president) recently made some very grim statements at the South Korean PlayStation 2 launch. On the topic of PS3 Kutaragi-san said "Nothing has been started yet." He made some very grim statements about online gaming too saying; "If broadband connections capable of delivering 10Mb/s are affixed to game consoles, the industry as we know it will be over. By that time, perhaps 2005 or later, games would be available for download rather than sold in stores." This news [gamefu.org] came right after many analyst's came out saying how skeptical they were about Sony's online plans. This comes right after the Nintendo-Square and Nintendo-Capcom deals, which by the way Kutaragi mad, summoning top Square officials to the SCE headquarters to explain the deal, as he was out of town when the deal was made (the Square one) and had no prior knowledge about it. The memory card shortage doesnt help much either.

There are all these links to this Sony stuff here. I mean comeon, get the facts straight.