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Sony Hints on PS3, PSP, and PS2 Plans
jaaron writes "The Register/GamesIndustry.biz reports on what Sony may have in store in terms of gaming hardware for E3, and according to remarks from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe president David Reeves: 'PSP games will probably be region-free, that PS3 will be intrinsically linked with PSX and may appear in home server and standalone gaming versions, and... Sony may announce a stripped down, PSone-style PlayStation 2 product.'" The interview also mentions: "Looking further ahead, Reeves spoke about Sony's 'ultimate goal' for PlayStation 3 - 'to get into electronic broadband distribution'."
anyone remember this?
This time maybe it could work!
(for longer anyway)
+++ ATH0 +++
Ooh man, I don't think Sony would ever be able to compete with Infinium Labs....
Thought here on the region free aspect. Could they be doing this to try and remove the most widely stated fair use reason for mod chips? Eliminate the need for a mod chip to play discs from other regions and you've just made a big impact on the perceived legitamacy of mod chips on the whole.
PlayStation 5!
Would it be neat if Gamecube and Playstation merged to become Playstation cubed (PS^3).
Well, at least they'll get _SOMETHING_ right.
Any PSP movies, however, will probably have to remain region protected, even if Hollywood decides to back the UMD format for distribution, although there may be other incentives to buying movies this way.
Oh well :(
From the article and talking about it linking to the PSX, it doesn't really sound like they're considering the PS3 to be a next-gen console, but something else. Frankly it sounds strange linking it to the PSX which is based on PS2 technology gaming-wise. It should be quite interesting to hear what Sony has in mind for the PS3, but right now it's sounding like they might be about to screw up and give Microsoft and Nintendo a chance to grab more of the console market.
Unsurprisingly, Reeves came out strongly in defence of the PSP as its own product and not a Game Boy replacement. "It's not, as people have said, a new Game Boy," he said. "There are so many other features that you can add onto it, whether it's GPS or GPRS even."
I can't decide if this is cool or not. A GPS receiver and cellular phone attached to my portable gaming device? What for?
Now, if it had a touchscreen, Palm OS, and a secure way to copy my games onto the device so I don't have to carry them around with me everywhere... then we're talking.
-Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
I'm already bored with the PS3 stuff. I like to look ahead. I'm interested in the PS4/Microwave/Can Opener/Satellite Radio Combo. Definately want the stand-alone on something like that.
Can someone explain the last paragraph to me? It's supposedly talking about the PS3, but I'm at a loss as to how PS3 games are expected to be under 30MB. Or am I just a stupid monkey and I missed something?
US $50 is simply too much for a new PS2 game.
The problem with socialism is that they always run out of other people's money. - Margaret Thatcher
where've you been?
"Looking further ahead, Reeves spoke about Sony's "ultimate goal" for PlayStation 3 - "to get into electronic broadband distribution"."
I hope to god Sony's attempt at online delivery is way better than Steam. *shudder*
e.
Build Your Own PVR/HTPC news, reviews, &
You guys are so behind. I just bought myself a Samy Playstation 4 i Hong Kong!
To me it sounds like they are planning to distribute broadband electronically!
Over Dial Up modems I hope, that would be excellent.
Bush and Blair ate my sig!
Hopping on the Infinium Labs bandwagon?
IL didn't and doesn't have a Phantom console, they were selling this concept.
I wouldn't be the least surprised if Sony acquires IL for 'intellectual capital' that they've already compiled from 'researching' this market strategy.
My guess is that it was IL's plan all along, don't sell a product-- just an idea.
I kept eye-balling PS2s on sale here there and yonder. I'm very tempted to buy one. Then I think about how long the PS2 has been on the street and I decide that maybe I should wait until the PS3 comes out. The only question is when?!
I really hope Sony doesn't spend too much time screwing around with the home server. They just need to concentrate on making a solid console with some good games, especially at launch.
My point is, Sony has a history of saying stupid things about their future consoles. Remember the hype about the ps2? Did the ps2 really ever live up to the hype? Is it just me or are colors on the PS2 dull?
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
Game consoles are supposed to be simple, turn on - insert disc - play game. Sounds like you might as well just buy a computer.
Ever since I heard XBox was coming with a broadband adaptor and ps2 likewise, I've been wondering what makes it so big buzz.
;-) But what's bad with a choice?
I'm a programming dork myself mostly, I hardly play games at all, and I must confess I like singleplayer the best. When I'm finding myself playing, it's mostly because of relaxation. I don't want to communicate with other users. I don't want to play stressful FPS's against other computer/tv-games player. It just gets my nerves going in a spin I can't controll and that's actually exhausting, I can't play for more than an hour or I'll get all fuzzy in my head.
I just want to sit down, drink some coffee and run a few laps around the course in GT3 or bash some cars in GTA3. If I want to play multiplayer, I'd much more prefer to do it together, like playing the "Pro Evolution Soccer" game at my friends house or batteling eachother in "dance dance revolution" or such similar game.
I certanly see why people enjoy multiplayer, but I don't like the idea that I need to cough up with $50 more for the network adapter and god-know-how many hours of development which goes into the console for developing this.
Maybe I'm just "old fashioned", after all, I'm closing 30
Albert
Spellchecked by my cat Zelda.
So things are definetely decided then?
This sounds more like Sony marketing to me. Remember all the promises they made regarding the PS2, during the run-up to, and launch of, the Dreamcast?
/their/ own maneuvering - as opposed to Sony screwups.
This is likely just Sony throwing smoke to steal the thunder from Microsoft, and snow the existing Sony userbase into thinking the PS3 will be much better than it really will be (just like PS2 v DC).
Either way, two versions of the same console would be gimmicky at best. It'd have the same problem all add-on hardware does: developers can't count on possibly expanded functionality being there on every box, so they don't spend time/money to leverage it in a meaningful way.
So there would be no reason for the average consumer to buy a psx+ps3 instead of just buying a ps3 and a tivo.
Perhaps they're trying to push microsoft and nintendo into budling expensive multifunction bits into their boxes -- allowing sony to punish them on unit price and take the 'high-road' of selling a box that 'just does games'.
Likely the only way Sony will 'screw up' the PS3 and allow Nintendo/MS to reclaim some of the market due their own bad decisions - is if the Cell continues to be behind, and they show up late to market with an outmatched product.
It's much more likely that any market share reclaimed by Nintendo/MS will be due
// "Can't clowns and pirates just -try- to get along?"
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I'm a programming dork myself mostly, I hardly play games at all, and I must confess I like singleplayer the best. When I'm finding myself playing, it's mostly because of relaxation. I don't want to communicate with other users. I don't want to play stressful FPS's against other computer/tv-games player. It just gets my nerves going in a spin I can't controll and that's actually exhausting, I can't play for more than an hour or I'll get all fuzzy in my head.
You're not alone or old fashioned, nor old (I'm 32, so don't even say you're old.I just want to sit down, drink some coffee and run a few laps around the course in GT3 or bash some cars in GTA3. If I want to play multiplayer, I'd much more prefer to do it together, like playing the "Pro Evolution Soccer" game at my friends house or batteling eachother in "dance dance revolution" or such similar game.
I certanly see why people enjoy multiplayer, but I don't like the idea that I need to cough up with $50 more for the network adapter and god-know-how many hours of development which goes into the console for developing this.
Maybe I'm just "old fashioned", after all, I'm closing 30 ;-) But what's bad with a choice?
Still, the focus on multi-player and online gaming worries me too. I'm afraid game companies are going to forget that there are still plenty of people happy playing single-player, offline games.
I imagine this is part of the reason for the speculation of 2 versions. A gaming system really has no use for a HD, but a "Home Server" ala TIVO basically has to have one. They have already done this with the PSX. This thing is still probably 2 years off, so maybe some new breakthough storage will come oout by then.
the PSone-style PS2. i used to have a PS2 (sold it a while back), and recently got a new car and was considering throwing a PSone/screen combo in there since its only like $90...but a PS2 version would be ever so nice, especially if it keeps the PSone backwards compatibility.
An integrated network adapter should cost essentially nothing. A modular one is more expensive to make, and most of their cost was markup anyway. At most, this is a $5/console difference.
The decision on including a hard disk is a little different, as hard disks actually cost something to produce. Network adapter is pretty much about "can we make them pay for one more accessory?" vs. "can we sell more consoles by including this".
I'd like an adapter for my GameCube. I wouldn't use it to game online, but because 4 people just isn't enough with Mario Kart.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
I'm the same way for the most part, but one FPS game I love to play is named "Day Of Defeat" (Half-life mod) and although it is a fast paced game and takes some time to get used to, once you have it's so addictive, well, I've been playing it exclusively now for 3 years (I don't own, or want a PS/2.). You can buy DOD retail alone in stores (without halflife) although it does come with the engine for halflife, so you can get the other mods if you want. Retail price is about $15..
If DOD was released for the PS/2 or DOD2 (Halflife 2 engine) was released for the PS/3, I would might actually be interested in purchasing it, for the sole reason that it is smooth online, I find current game consoles played online wayyy to cumbersome...
Mod +5 Drunk
agreed. and more. i think i paid $69.99 for my copy of SF2 Turbo. i played that for thousands of hours.
Since Microsoft dropped the price of the Xbox, I've been waiting for the PS2 to follow. I would honestly run out and buy one this afternoon if they matched the $149 price, or even better, $129. Any speculation on if/when this will happen? If not soon, I'm just gonna get an Xbox.
The biggest potential improvement is the removal of the screaming, shrieking synth noise when you start the PS2.
Maybe they'll remove all the breakable parts...
compete with Infinium.
Sony wastes all that money in "production", "advertising", and "sales networks" of actual systems...
Who remembers Sony's television commercial for the PS9, the entertainment system you inhale so it can access your brain directly?
(If someone has a link to the commercial itself, please share!
You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert until you read it in the original Klingon.
You have no idea what your missing.
Background: I'm 34, make my living in creative tech, been addicted video games since Asteriods.
Simply put, after Xbox Live, there is no going back. Everynight, I get to play with the best players in the game regardless of where they are. I'm in Los Angeles, they could be in Miami or even the UK. But in reality, it makes no difference. They might as well be sitting right next to me. Their player is right there on my widescreen, in my living room! We're competing in real time with no lag and no cheats. We're sharing stories, having a laugh or maybe cussing each other out.
It's a revolution in gaming and there's no turning back.
P.S. Xbox Live will someday get its due. Partisan Slashdotters will never praise it and PS2 gamers shun it for a variety of reasons most of them having little to do with gaming itself.
Microsoft did Xbox Live right out of the gate.
Some games (can't remember which ones, but a few) have released at around $40.
One new game (Beyond Good And Evil) released at $40, then just a few months later (after Christmas) was down to $10-$20.
At $10 for such a great game, who could resist? I bought one, and I'm sure they made a killing.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
i think one of the serious pros of multiplayer is that what you really get is cheap AI. developing AI gets extremely complicated as the complication of the game increases, and you may have noticed that games are really complicated these days! AI for pong was easy.
as broadband becomes more common, this becomes a more viable strategy. it may be easier to develop good multiplayer code than to develop a complex AI.
pathing issues are common with many game AIs, but if a real opponent gets stuck in a corner, you can just shoot him/her, type in "n00b" and get on with your life. i find this infinitely preferable to playing against a computer that sometimes has to cheat in order to present a sufficient difficulty level.
Sure, no cheating.. that's a big bonus in online gaming, but I hope noone can hack the box then :)
;-)
;-) against computer can really be more fun for me. Yeah, for me.
Of course, I can find it amusing to play against other players, but you have to put in mind that I'm a sucky player and get my boot kicked easily, so I don't really like being asskicked all the time either
A game becomes boring then you use the most optimal setting, know every map/level/quest to its limit and all your gaming depends on luck, framerate or lag.
(happend to me in Tribes, Quake II, Unreal Tournament and Magic the gathering (yeah, the real-world cardgame)
Thus, playing with yourself (or just playing with yourself
Albert
Pulling out an internal hard drive and blowing on it to get it to work just isn't the same. ::sigh::
.deviatefromtheabsolute.
I was really getting turned of by the PS3=jack of all trades (master of none) talk out of Sony. I hate "all in one" stuff. The idea that there will be a PS3 that just plays the damn games is good news.
--- Ban humanity.
Will the PS3 and other next-generation offerings from console makes finally spell an end to PC Gaming?
I could never understand why people spent upwards of $3,000-$4,000 on a PC when they could buy a $200 console, all the acessories, and a big screen for far less.
Am I missing something that makes a PC more atractive than a PS3 with a fast graphics card, HD, and braodband connection?
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
If it ever gets to the point that I can't purchase a system and a game and outright play them at no cost beyond the initial costs, then I'm going back to books and media that do not have recurring costs and subscription fees. Otherwise, I already have enough monthly bills to deal with, telephone, insurance, rent, utilities, etc., I certainly don't need one dealing with entertainment. The only reason I have a cable bill is for my broadband connection. My cable tv is the most basic package that I can get because I don't want a $120/mo cable bill. What are those theories that competition brings prices down? I certainly haven't seen it with the 500 channels competing against one another, target markets and demographics be damned, my cable bill has only gone up, so it was time to get rid of it. Sorry for the rant....
Amigori
"The quality of life is determined by its activites."--Aristotle
according to a gamespot article, Sony is also considering using Blu-Ray drives in the PS3...
I recently got an Xbox (evil empire, blah blah) so now I have all three gaming consoles. Let me tell you something, the Xbox's hard drive makes things simpler. Once you get a decent number of games on a console, you'll find yourself swapping around memory cards trying to figure out where your info is for the game you want to play. (Nevermind the extra expense. The occasional game will even require you to basically use an entire memory card just for it.) With the Xbox's hard drive, that all just goes away. Put in the game, and it remembers where you were in the game. You don't even have to think about it.
-- dR.fuZZo
Yes it is very difficult to not have memorycards you can lose/break and that everything gets saved to your console without any trouble at all. I always get confused by easy things. The only thing in your post that makes sense is the part about the slickness (And even that is probably caused by my bad English :P) a classical old fashioned 3,5" HD will probably bloat the design a bit yes. But there is more than the 3,5" option, look at the ipod, ain't exactly a huge device now is it? :) And still you've got a 40Gig HD inside.
Maybe it's just me, but I actually want a physical copy of whatever I'm buying. If I want a game now, I can go into a store, buy something on a whim, and play as soon as I get home. In 10 years will I have to sit and wait for my game to download? Games are getting bigger and bigger, and even on a broadband connection, they'll take a while.
I'm not sure there's much of a cost savings for broadband distribution either. Sure, there's less money wasted on packaging and inventory, but now there's server problems, bandwidth problems, security problems, and all those other issues that the internet brings. Even if Sony does manage to save some money, I somehow doubt they'll lower their game prices.
Oh lord, cry me a river.
You think that the art/game design for zelda took more R&D to create than for Splinter Cell?
Vice City stands on its own as a completely new game.
And here's the biggest thrill of them all, you are permitted to wait for the prices to drop, which they will.
No one is forcing you to buy them when they first come out at $50. Stop being cheap, if you want it first you'll have to pay for it. If you can wait you'll be able to pick it up at $20-30 relatively soon.
-- taking over the world, we are.
Back in those days we were led to believe that it was because ROM was really expensive though.
I'm not sure how they justify it now, the cost of owning a lexus (some Ubisoft programmers made 140+ k last year), or a stable of Porsche and Ferraris (Romero, probably a couple of EA executives).
People like you making comments like that is why games are $50-$60+.
> Everynight, I get to play with the best players in the game
Y'see, that's the problem. People who play online tend to be a lot more skilled than me. There are a few reasons for this, but it boils down to the fact that my game playing time is extremely limited (I consider 5-6 hours over a week to be a lot), because I'm too busy doing other stuff. The people that play online tend to both put more time in, and just care more about how good they are.
So, while I think on-line gaming will continue to be really popular, it's also important for people to realise it's not going to appeal to everyone. I tend to play games vs my flatmates, when I do play multiplayer, and that works well for me...
I think this simply the same idea as trying to force people to buy cell phones with cameras. They are more expensive, and not everyone uses cameras, but hey, if it you can force the people to buy it, then great! You can't really do that with cell phones yet, but with consoles I can see them getting away with it, especially since most consoles are sold as loss-leaders, with the money made up via game licensing.
;)
It's also feature upselling. Maybe you didn't know about online games but now its a feature on ALL consoles, so now you have to just plug it in right (I didn't even know there was an adapter for game cube until a few months ago, not that I'll buy it, but still). Maybe you might decide to use it since you have it already, and that generates game sales. Also, think if you are a teenager who got the game for christmas. Last year you convinced your parents to buy the game cube, but couldn't convince them to buy the extra expense adapter. Now, you get a new one next year, and it has the adapter already built in! Mom will never know!
I don't agree with this philosophy, as I'd rather have a cheaper version with no connection, but this is a small list of what they are thinking.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
Who are you trying to convince, me or you?
We have secretly replaced these Slashdot mods' sense of humor with a rusty nail. Let's see if they notice!!
A gaming system really has no use for a HD, but a "Home Server" ala TIVO basically has to have one.
A gaming system that plans to be used for online gaming will need to be able to download patches, levels, maps, and other information persistently. While such information could be stored in flash memory, USB keys, or other non-HD mechanism, hard disks offer the best bang for the buck and are easiest for novice consumers.
Go out and buy yourself a larger (30+") TV that supports at least 480p (you can find many of these for under $1000, and quite a few for less than $700). Almost every single XBox game supports at least 480p (there are a few that don't, notably the Colin McRae rally series, Hitman 2, and Kung Fu Chaos), and you'll be very happy. No more blurring when you pan the screen, and the picture through the component cables is much better than even an S-video connection.
Some newer PS2 games support 480p, as do many Gamecube games. Also, buying a modern TV will give you a more pleasurable DVD-viewing experience as well, with a progressive-scan DVD player. It used to be that progressive-scan players were prohibitively expensive, but now you can find them for $100 or less (though I'm not sure how good the quality is on the lower priced units). I remember paying $800 for a Sony DVD player a few years ago that didn't have progressive scan (back then, that would've set me back at least $1000, if not more). I upgraded that set not more than a year later to a better model that included progressive scan for only $500. And that's still 2-3 times what you would pay for a good player today.
You have to check out FFXI
I thought that the hard drive would make things a lot more complicated, but really it doesn't. you get the same browser menu for the hard drive as you do for your memory cards... if you can launch a program off a CD/DVD from the browser you can do it from the HDD. There's really not much of a difference.
There is no way the gamers version of PS3 will be $200 when it comes out. It will be atleast $399 like the PS2 and PS1 where when they first came out. The new technology behind the cell processor and the blu-ray dvd rom will still cost too much in 2006.
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i think one of the serious pros of multiplayer is that what you really get is cheap AI. developing AI gets extremely complicated as the complication of the game increases, and you may have noticed that games are really complicated these days! AI for pong was easy.
You bring up an excellent point, and this is very true. At least in games that have online multiplayer the developer has an excuse for the lousy AI. What's really disgusting is when it's a single-player game with no multiplayer and the computer AI has no intelligence -- it just cheats.as broadband becomes more common, this becomes a more viable strategy. it may be easier to develop good multiplayer code than to develop a complex AI.
pathing issues are common with many game AIs, but if a real opponent gets stuck in a corner, you can just shoot him/her, type in "n00b" and get on with your life. i find this infinitely preferable to playing against a computer that sometimes has to cheat in order to present a sufficient difficulty level.
I accept that the AI's gotta cheat a little, after all we still don't have human-intelligence level AI at all, so expecting my console or PC to pull that off would be pretty arrogant of me. I do expect the cheating to be kept to a minimum and not used as a way to just make my life miserable. Some examples: In the original Railroad Tycoon the computer had to cheat to build its rail routes. It would start at the middle and build out. Sometimes it would end up with a curve or something you couldn't have pulled off yourself. Still, this was minor and didn't make it impossible to win. While the computer had to use that method to build its routes and you had to start at a city and go towards the other, both you and the computer paid the same per mile, and your trains ran the same speeds (assuming the same engines of course). You might lose to the AI, but if you did, it wasn't because it cheated, it was because you hadn't really figured out how to get everything right yet. :)
An example from the other side would be most of the Command & Conquer games. Don't get me wrong, I loved them, but if you put in the cheat to turn off the fog of war you'd get to see how the computer functioned. It would build things faster than you could, and its units would make a bee-line for you as soon as they were created. Considering that it took the same amount of time for the computer's units to find you when fog of war was on, it's a safe bet that the AI didn't have to deal with it. So the AI could build faster, didn't have to deal with fog of war, and also seemed to start out with a huge amount of resources already (even before mining any). Winning some of the missions was so incredibly frustrating that the game stopped being fun.
Personally I'd rather have a single-player game with great AI than a multi-player game with lousy AI.
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Let alone "graphics-whoring" games. The ones which play slow (because you don't always have the be$t, hardware-wi$e), with a short plot.. and very short gameplay! They seem to be taking over the place...
Yep, I refer to them as playable graphics demos. They seem to exist only to show off your $500 video card, and that's it. I suppose if they came free with said card they'd be ok, but it's pathetic to see them on shelves selling for $50!It was called "Sega Channel". This early application of push technology let subscribers select a game of up to 2 MiB and then wait until the repeating broadcast looped until that game "came on." Learn more about the Sega Channel
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Besides extolling the virtues of the game, I mostly wanted to note: story-wise it will take you hundreds of hours to see the game all the way through. Actually, AFAIK doesn't have a distinct "endpoint". I've been playing for 3 months and still feel like a "n00b" some days.
One of the articles I read recently about it said it does have an endpoint story-wise, but you can keep playing after you finish the story. The same article did mention it'd take hundreds of hours to get there as well.Psht, no attraction for me, then. I buy all my games second-hand to stick it to The Man!
You must think in Russian.
Back in those days we were led to believe that it was because ROM was really expensive though.
True. Back then, a 32 Mbit (4 MiB) Super NES game cost about $70 retail. Now a 32 Mbit GBA game costs about $20 retail.
I'm not sure how they justify it now
It costs a lot more to author 1000+ MiB of data for a DVD than to author 4 MiB of data for a cartridge.
Most of the work on many 3D titles does not go into the engine or into the basic rules of the game. Much goes into the models, the textures, and the scripts for each map.
If you can wait you'll be able to pick it up at $20-30 relatively soon.
Most games go down in price over time, but some go up. Try finding a copy of Chrono Trigger (Super NES), Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (PS1), or Rez (PS2). You'll probably be able to find them only on auction sites, and most likely the price will be much greater than the retail price when each game was a new release.
at a movie theater they do provide you with not only the movie, but the building, seating, parking(usually), lighting, and sound system. For a video game you have to provide all of that yourself.
That's why when I want to play a video game and get a workout at the same time, I go to the local arcade and play Dance Dance Revolution Extreme. It costs $5 an hour on a machine set to 50c for 3 songs.
I could justify paying $50 (Canadian) for a network adapter for giggles. But not the other $50 for the second network adapter for my friend's GC. $100 is too much more a once-in-a-while novelty.
Too bad really, cause it sounds like a lot of fun. Perhaps it'll work in a year or so when GC network adapters are bargain-bin material.
Let's not stir that bag of worms...
XBL has a nice little feature called "optimatch" it pretty much lets you search for games with people of higher, lower, or similar skill levels as yourself. It's pretty handy for finding a game you would feel competitive in.
I found the QuickTime version of the commercial at http://www.defunctgames.com/media047.htm . I forgot just how awesome it was.
That sounds more like a PC to me, I don't want my console having to download the latest security patch.
I see security as a big issue with getting online playmodes for console games, especially ports from PCs where you want network compatablility with the PC game. Who is be responable for creating console patches?
It's pretty certain that the Xbox2 will not have a HD either. There are quite a few reasons NOT to put a HD in a console.
Just wanna say, EVERY THPS game was drastically better than the one before it. Even if they only added one or two things per game. first you got manuals, then the reverts, then the spline transfers, and then the running combo to climb stuff...
Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
Nintendo also released its NES system/tv in Japan. The unit sold for $800. It was featured in an issue of Popular Science in 1992.
WoW: Scheod 70 orc warlock on Shadowmoon
I find trying to jump from a box onto a moving crane and falling into the same pit for 45 minutes anything *but* relaxing.