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PS3 Release Not Until 2006, PSX Firmware Upgrade?
Thanks to GamePro for its coverage of a Famitsu interview from former Sony CTO Nobuichi Okamoto, discussing the PlayStation 3. Okamoto, who is still involved in the Cell project (which will power the PS3) to some degree, notes: "Development of the Cell started in spring of 2001 as a 5-year project. Hence the project will end in spring of 2006. Although it is not known whether or not game consoles will be sold immediately, we can expect products using the Cell chip to start emerging around that time." He also suggests 2004 may not see any console announcements from Sony: "From my experience, to produce games on new hardware it takes at least a year to research the hardware and to start planning for software titles. If at this time the software production environment is not ready, I think it will be difficult to announce new hardware this year." Elsewhere, Sony has announced a downloadable firmware upgrade for its Japanese-released PSX 'media center', which "returns most of the promised features that were cut shortly before the system's release."
Don't get me started on jaggies. When I see then, I know that the game I have purchased is terrible, and not worth playing at all, because only graphics are important. It has nothing to do with gameplay, story, etc.
The success of the PS2 provides sony with a little more leeway with regards to the release of the "next-gen" console.
They are in the position where they can spend more time on delivering a competition beating product.
On the other hand Microsoft and Nintendo may see this as an opportunity to rush out a console for 2005/early 2006.
Those pesky non-disclosure agreements! You've tried scrubbing, you've tried soaking...
I find it interesting that development on the guts for the PS3 began in 2001 when the PS2 first came out. They had no idea if it would boom or bust and they started working on the successor that same year.
Given that, the development cycle on the PS3 was probably influenced by the potential boominess or bustiness of the PS2.
I also want to see what kind of power-effort curve they design into PS3.
More than once I've cited the design philosophy behind the PS2: make a powerful system, and developers will learn to deal with its complexities. Contrast this with the Xbox's take: make a system easy to develop with, and developers will get more power out of it.
I want to know how that strategy worked for them, and will they be continuing it on the next next-generation game-box.
You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert until you read it in the original Klingon.
Ever think that maybe Microsoft and Nintendo are simply holding off until E3 to announce their next-gen systems?
As for comparing online console gaming subscribers to the number of systems sold, thats not a case of different leagues, its a case of different games. Sony can sell 70 millions PS2s, but if 40 million have broke or were simply tossed out, thats a serious difference from what they advertise. Out of the original half million PS2 units sold in the U.S., how many units do you think are still used?
The X Box is likely to be released around the same timeframe, (in time for Christmas 05 if they are lucky otherwise early O6). Nintendo is planning to have something definitely in the 2005 timeframe. You'll know they are close when current generation hardware prices fall to $99, figure about a year or so at that point.
Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
>PS3 Release Not Until 2006
Why 2006, will it run Longhorn?
A major key factor for the PS2's success was that it was backwards compatible with PS1 games. So if you had a PS1, it was a no-brainer to get the PS2. And if you didn't, you knew that the PS2 would play all those cool games that your friends had, so you picked it up.
If the PS3 is backwards compatible with the PS2 & PS1, I think it will do pretty well.
Backwards compatibility is starting to get important for the console manufacturers. The N64 was NOT backwards compatible with anything, and so it was harder to get moving. Nowadays, the lack of backwards compatibility will slow down adoption (note that Mac OS X; Windows XP, etc all have some form of backwards compatibility.)
Fellowship 9/11
"Probably not, but I do think that if M$ is able to corrale more Japanese developers, up the existing Xbox user base worldwide then I think they can place a very close second instead of a distant second." Why does everyone automatically discount Nintendo, the current "distant second"? /zealousy