The real plans Sony has for the PS3... Maybe.

[The Mullinator]

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2116&Itemid=2&limit=1&limitstart=1

I have actually been saying this for quite awhile now so it is nice to see others agree with me.

The theory goes that Sony's play is not for the next generation games market at all. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is no more than an irritating diversion. The big play is for the high definition DVD market, and in this context, an early launch, with small hardware numbers and threadbare games software support might just be a good move.

It's stuff like this that makes me really hate Sony, or as one Slashdot reader put it:

This is the GAMING market. If you want to do something else, DO SOMETHING ELSE. I don't know how many great games the PS3 is going to get anymore than I know if the Revolution is going to be implemented well, but if I goddamn want to play MGS4, I don't want to have to be subjected to paying a huge price for technology I don't have the capability to use.

All I want is the GAME and the system's GAME capabilities. I don't have the cash on me to get a huge HDTV, a killer surround sound system, a nice receiver, and hi-def signals. I DO NOT. And I'm a fresh college graduate male - I'm YOUR demographic. Living on my own in an apartment, paying off college loans, looking for a job in this miserable market, and attempting to think "gee, I can buy FOOD today."

What the **** is up with everyone's "BIGGER IS BETTER" attitude? THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH DVD. There is nothing wrong with even "low quality" inputs like S-video. Everyone struts around like "oh shit, you know they will have 3 billion resolution, I can't watch my old tv anymore." When the hell did the industry have to be dissolved between elitist ****s and those of us that just want to run Snake around oldmanstyle?

Shit, let's segment the industry further. It's bad enough we have Microsoft running around with HDless 360s, I can't wait to see Sony pushing for shit like "We feel you cannot enjoy this game unless you have a 55" HDTV," and subsequently make that a gaming requirement. SHIT, why not **** us more and say it HAS to be a Sony brand? WITH A MEMORY STICK SLOT?

Make GAME machines for god's sake. PLEASE. I could not care less about useless graphics in a game, like dimples on a football or sweat on their fingers. How about optimize your power and make the system last twice as long? Then I might actually feel a little more justified by letting my poor wallet getting raped in the ass. We're all creating solutions for problems that don't exist and adding power in the form of increased costs, and for what?

Oh, right. Rendered cheerleaders on the sidelines. **** that.

Add that to recent DRM issues and the incredible amount of arrogance Sony has recently shown by saying the Nintendo DS could never hope to compete with the PSP or that the Xbox 360 doesn't support "true HDTV" resolutions and you can begin to see why I am really starting to hate Sony.

 

[bryanf445]

dont start assuming though, it could be fake or false info

 

[JNightshade]

Well, it's just like the PS2 with DVDs! In Japan, non-gamers were buying them just for a cheap DVD player. This doesn't surprise me whatsoever.

 

[Qonfused]

Oh, right. Rendered cheerleaders on the sidelines. **** that.

Best line in that article.

 

[The Mullinator]

dont start assuming though, it could be fake or false info

There is no fake or false info in that though, it is just a speculation piece. A speculation article I happen to agree with.

Well, it's just like the PS2 with DVDs! In Japan, non-gamers were buying them just for a cheap DVD player. This doesn't surprise me whatsoever.

Actually it is quite different from that. The average cost of a DVD player when the PS2 was released was maybe $200, not the $1000 that the first Blue-ray players are going to cost. Also DVD was basically destined to replace VHS, it also didn't have any competition that could force it to become a useless technology.

Blu-ray has major competition comming from HDDVD, and even if Blu-ray wins the next generation storage battle there is very little gaurantee that it will even do very well.

 

[Vegeta897]

The only line I read in that article.

Fixed.

 

[JNightshade]

Originally Posted by Qonfused
The only line I masturbated to that article.

Ultrafixed.

EDIT: holy crap, 2000 posts!

 

[Asknoone]

1000 post deduction.

 

[AiM]

While the majority of the changes might not directly affect you, it will appease the higher-end consumer's which is exactly what the system is targetted for.

 

[boglito]

Soooo, basically what this /.user wants is a game with no detail or immersion that fits on a 5 1/4" floppy?

You can argue that Sony is "evil", but you can't argue that technology is bad. That is just dumb. We will have to wait and see if the quality of the games (or GAMES as this /.user likes to put it) will justify the possibly steep price of the game system and whatever perephials one might want.

Bottom line: I will judge the ps3 game system when it is actually available for purchase.

.bog.

 

[destrukt]

Soooo, basically what this /.user wants is a game with no detail or immersion that fits on a 5 1/4" floppy?

no, he wants a new console, with better graphics that doesn't require tons of money to be spent .. the x360 has done this, they've allowed for the current huge market of 'normal' (non-hd) tv's to be supported while still having better graphics.

he's not saying sony won't do this, but they aren't focusing on 'gamers' as much, all they do is rant about their 'cell' processor (the new emotion engine, which will be another huge let down by son) and say how awesome their console will be in supporting every type of card (sd and so on) on the market. a small group of people are angry at microsoft for furthering the x360's media capabilities (streaming, photos and the like) but it is nothing compared to what sony plans to do.

i'm expecting sony to let us down like they did with the ps2, but they will still deliver a good console .. some day.

 

[AiM]

What he probably wants is more in-line with the Nintendo Revolution (despite it lacking MGS4). The (non-hd) graphics on the 360 is ridiculous, the difference is minimal at best and considering you're shelling out 300-400 dollars for basically a Xbox 1 1/2, it doesn't quite justify the cost. Granted, the PS3 with non-HD might not be huge leaps either but we won't know until it's released.

While Sony might've overhyped the Emotion Engine, the fact that it's capable of producing similar graphics to an Xbox360 speaks volumes.

Just because Sony supports features that aren't exclusive to gaming doesn't mean they'll neglect gaming entirely. The extra functionality provides more of an incentive to purchase it since it doesn't JUST function as a game system. The ability for it to play Blu-Ray discs on-top of playing games is a huge plus, the current stand-alone Blu-Ray player costs over $1000. A great example is the current PS2, the ability for it to play DVD's on top of playing games meant it doubled as my primary DVD player.

i'm expecting sony to let us down like they did with the ps2, but they will still deliver a good console .. some day.

Being the world's top selling console, it obviously didn't disappoint the majority.

 

[smwScott]

I really don't understand why we need Blu-Ray or HD-DVD for movies, hard drives/digital distribution seem like a better solution for games. DVDs look good, even on HDTVs. And how much media crap can you fit on one, and how many people watch all that stuff in the first place? Why would that be worth the price of a much more expensive player when they get by fine releasing movies dual-layered or just on separate discs.

The truth is a new media format isn't necessary right now, and it's just an excuse for corporations like Sony and Toshiba to jack up prices and make a killing on royalties.

But yeah, I don't even see how this is speculation, more like common sense. Sony is whoring out Playstation to push Blu-Ray support. It's not necessary or even particularly helpful, and the consumer is the one that gets f**ked through higher movie/game prices.

That's just the way it is though, and despite what I said I'll still eventually get one because the games will be a lot better than 360. Nintendo has the right idea though, too bad they'll never get the third party support that Sony has (I don't much care for Mario games, and now they've lost Rare...).

 

[<RJMC>]

yeah I agree that sony should stop focusing on the blu ray thing and focus more in games ,but after all sales if they point and if that decrease then thats the time when they react

 

[OCybrManO]

AFAIK, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD players are starting at a lower price than the first DVD players. For reference, the Sony DVP-S7000 was $1000. The PS3 will have to sell for half that to compete with the Xbox 360... and the HD-DVD players are selling for similar prices. So, if you're going to compare which technology was more expensive for the early adopters... it was DVD... by far.

In the beginning, less than 1/4 of the PS2 games used DVDs. People thought they were unnecessarily expensive and didn't offer enough of a benefit (despite having more storage and better transfer rates). Now, 95/100 of them are on DVDs. Give it time. As far as I'm concerned... as long as the PS3 sells for about the same price as the 360... there shouldn't be an issue for gamers.

EDIT: Now, if you are concerned about the slightly more restrictive DRM used by Blu-Ray that's a valid concern... although both use AACS (which "DVD Jon" is committed to cracking) and will downsample the video to a lower resolution unless your TV has locked-down HDMI ports. For the consumers that only have analog component inputs... well... they'll have to buy a new, expensive HDTV to be able to see HDTV resolutions from their players... even though the TV might be capable of 1080i.

 

[dream431ca]

Well.....Lets face it...HD "era" doesn't really fly with me. But the majority of people are like "WOAH!! HD!!??? MUST BUY!!" So as you can see, there are way too many stupid people in this world who will actually buy in to these things that the major companies are doing right now...except for Nintendo, which will probably be the real winner in the end.

 

[OCybrManO]

HD will be the standard. There's no doubt about that. The image quality really is significantly better and the colors are more vivid/accurate. The only downside with the idea itself is the cost... and that's temporary. The bigger issue is the corrupt/stupid people behind the companies driving it. They're ruining it for the consumers. They treat all of their customers like criminals.

 

[<RJMC>]

I was thinking how possibilites are if the HD things get lower price whit time?
for example like the discmans that where very expensive when they come out but at the long or short time(dont remenber) they where affordable
how many chances are for that?

 

[destrukt]

Being the world's top selling console, it obviously didn't disappoint the majority.

it sure didn't in general to those who weren't keeping up with everything sony said. i still bought one though, it's great but sony is horrible for some of the hype, lying, not delivering and so on.

 

[Dr. Freeman]

HD will be the standard. There's no doubt about that. The image quality really is significantly better and the colors are more vivid/accurate. The only downside with the idea itself is the cost... and that's temporary. The bigger issue is the corrupt/stupid people behind the companies driving it. They're ruining it for the consumers. They treat all of their customers like criminals.

the price for HD TV's isn't coming down any time soon...well at least until they find a new technology thats better....and then...yeah, you guessed it, they will promote that technology over HD TV.

the cycle is vicious from a consumer point of view.
whatever happened to supporting the new current technology for decent periods of time? :|

 

[AiM]

it sure didn't in general to those who weren't keeping up with everything sony said. i still bought one though, it's great but sony is horrible for some of the hype, lying, not delivering and so on.

That may be true but every company does that, hell look at the Xbox 360. It's up to the consumer to do their research and filter through the truths / lies / hype when deciding on whether to purchase the product. When was the last time you saw an honest no-bull$hit ad for a major commercial product?

 

[Lemonking]

If you dont have enough money to pay food you should think less about gaming,who ever wrote this article needs topull his head out their ass.

 

[The Mullinator]

If you dont have enough money to pay food you should think less about gaming,who ever wrote this article needs topull his head out their ass.

The article has nothing to do with that, what I posted was the article and what someone from Slashdot who read the article posted. Besides, he makes a very good point. The PS3 is likely going to be far more expensive than it would be if it was just a focused gaming machine, and since most people are going to be using just for the gaming I can easily see why they would be angry that they are being forced to pay for more than they want. As a university student I can tell you that you have to be very careful with money, as it stands the Nintendo Revolution is the only system I will be able to afford with my budget. Microsoft and Sony are making me angry by forcing me to pay for extra features that I don't want.

That may be true but every company does that, hell look at the Xbox 360. It's up to the consumer to do their research and filter through the truths / lies / hype when deciding on whether to purchase the product. When was the last time you saw an honest no-bull$hit ad for a major commercial product?

Microsoft hasn't put in DRM systems in it's products, it also hasn't claimed that a 720p TV isn't "True high definition", it also hasn't made outrageous claims about it's system hardware. Little do most people I have talked to seem to realize but the Cell chip isn't a super computer for the home, and it isn't significantly more powerful than the Xbox 360 processor, unlike what Sony would have you believe. As for it's arrogance you can't beat what it said about the Nintendo DS not being able to compete with the PSP which as we all know now has really started to embarass Sony.

 

[Lemonking]

the point is you need a good job, then you can care about gaming If you cant even buy food, then guess what? more work less play.

 

[AmishSlayer]

I couldn't care less about all these shenanigans. Just bring me the games.

 

[AiM]

Microsoft hasn't put in DRM systems in it's products, it also hasn't claimed that a 720p TV isn't "True high definition", it also hasn't made outrageous claims about it's system hardware. Little do most people I have talked to seem to realize but the Cell chip isn't a super computer for the home, and it isn't significantly more powerful than the Xbox 360 processor, unlike what Sony would have you believe. As for it's arrogance you can't beat what it said about the Nintendo DS not being able to compete with the PSP which as we all know now has really started to embarass Sony.

As far as I know, the PS1 or PS2 doesn't have significant DRM systems in place. If you're referring to the Sony's upcoming Blu-Ray, Toshiba is doing the exact same thing with HD DVD. Their claim that 720p isn't "True high def" isn't exactly without merit, while it's questionable the wording they used but their point is still valid. Until the Cell processer can be tested against Xbox 360 processer, no one knows whether it'll be 'significantly more powerful' or not. While the claim may be arrogant, every company would boast their product as being superior than that of it's competitors. If anything, the PSP is the only current 'next gen' platform out as of now.

 

[Dr. Freeman]

the point is you need a good job, then you can care about gaming If you cant even buy food, then guess what? more work less play.

way to miss the point Mullinator was making :thumbs:
but why should anyone be surprised? if your posts aren't offending someone, they are totally missing the point... :upstare:

 

[The Mullinator]

As far as I know, the PS1 or PS2 doesn't have significant DRM systems in place. If you're referring to the Sony's upcoming Blu-Ray, Toshiba is doing the exact same thing with HD DVD. Their claim that 720p isn't "True high def" isn't exactly without merit, while it's questionable the wording they used but their point is still valid. Until the Cell processer can be tested against Xbox 360 processer, no one knows whether it'll be 'significantly more powerful' or not. While the claim may be arrogant, every company would boast their product as being superior than that of it's competitors. If anything, the PSP is the only current 'next gen' platform out as of now.

Sony has put DRM systems in recent music CD's, then of course there is the blu-ray disks as well. The claim that 720p isn't true high definition is one of the most moronic things I have ever heard considering Sony sells 720p TVs that they themselves advertise as "high definition", then you consider the fact that very few people are even using HDTV's and look at how many of them are using 1080i and you can see just how idiotic it is to even advertise this. Sony has said that 1080p is the true next generation visual format but from what I can tell they don't even really sell any 1080p tv's yet.

As for what the cell processor can do most developers already have a pretty good idea. Sony has been touting the Metal Gear trailer for showing what the PS3 will be capable of but Hideo Kojima has already stated that the trailer was certainly possible to be done on the Xbox 360. Many other developers have already said that from what they can tell the cell chip beats the Microsoft processor in some areas and loses in others and that it isn't all that much better.

Sure companies are supposed to say their products will be the best but not often do they act the way Sony does. I mean even Microsoft has said that it likes the way Nintendo is thinking.

Finally I don't see how the PSP is "next generation". It is essentially a combination of the video iPod and a gameboy advance with better graphics and a different game line up. That is hardly next generation to me. The DS at least is quite different.

 

[smwScott]

Finally I don't see how the PSP is "next generation". It is essentially a combination of the video iPod and a gameboy advance with better graphics and a different game line up. That is hardly next generation to me. The DS at least is quite different.

The PSP is most definitely next generation. It's a handheld, and it's about as powerful as a PS2, the most successful current generation console. That's pretty damn impressive. While I have a hard time telling the difference between some 360 and X-BOX games (that aren't on a HD TV), no ones going to mistake a PSP game for a DS game, the second most powerful handheld. Technologically it's an amazing handheld, and whether you like it or not it definitely qualifies as next gen.

The X-BOX 360 is kind of in the middle really. There's nothing new on the gameplay spectrum like the Revolution is doing, and the graphics aren't a huge leap. I would say there was definitely a larger jump between N64 and Dreamcast than from X-BOX to 360. It's more like an X-BOX 1.5.

Time will tell if the PS3 is much better or not, personally I believe it will be. It will at least have better games.

 

[AiM]

Sony has put DRM systems in recent music CD's, then of course there is the blu-ray disks as well. The claim that 720p isn't true high definition is one of the most moronic things I have ever heard considering Sony sells 720p TVs that they themselves advertise as "high definition", then you consider the fact that very few people are even using HDTV's and look at how many of them are using 1080i and you can see just how idiotic it is to even advertise this. Sony has said that 1080p is the true next generation visual format but from what I can tell they don't even really sell any 1080p tv's yet.

As for what the cell processor can do most developers already have a pretty good idea. Sony has been touting the Metal Gear trailer for showing what the PS3 will be capable of but Hideo Kojima has already stated that the trailer was certainly possible to be done on the Xbox 360. Many other developers have already said that from what they can tell the cell chip beats the Microsoft processor in some areas and loses in others and that it isn't all that much better.

Sure companies are supposed to say their products will be the best but not often do they act the way Sony does. I mean even Microsoft has said that it likes the way Nintendo is thinking.

Finally I don't see how the PSP is "next generation". It is essentially a combination of the video iPod and a gameboy advance with better graphics and a different game line up. That is hardly next generation to me. The DS at least is quite different.

The DRM in music cds was completely wrong, no quarrels there. But that situation should warrant an entire seperate topic of it's own and doesn't really relate to the PS3 situation.

Only time will tell whether 1080 i / p will be "true high def" compared to 720p, regardless the PS3 supports all the resolutions which in the end satisfies the spectrum. Again, the Cell processor speculations are still only speculations and only time will tell whether the Cell processor stands out compared to Xbox 360. You'd figure with all those speculations, the Xbox 360 is capable of such graphics, but why aren't there any 360 games that even remotely resemble the quality of MGS4, KillZone 2, Getaway, etc?

I find it a bit ironic for MS to provide positive comments to smaller company in Nintendo. I mean, MS has made a killing off maintaining a monopoly on the OS market and forcing users to adopt their own products instead of 3rd party programs. Hell, MS even bought out Rare from Nintendo, arguably the top development studio (for Nintendo) outside of in-house Nintendo Devs. Also, Xbox 360 claims it's offering 'next gen gameplay and graphics' to justify the next-gen game costs. Almost all the games available suffer serious downgrades (exception of PDZ, Kameo, and Condemned...two of which are Rare made) or are virtually identical to their current-gen / PC counterparts. What justification (if any) is there to buy Gun for $60 USD instead of the $50 for current gen? Why does it cost $60 to play a bare-bones version of the latest sports games (which btw, look identical to current gen on non-HDTV)?

The DS may be 'different' (I prefer gimmick), but it's in essence a marginal improvement of graphics over GBA. The leap from N: DS to PSP is similar to the one made from N64-Dreamcast. Gameplay wise, it's also a significant jump. When was the last time you had a full feature console game translate in it's entirety to a handheld? GTA:LCS proved it's possible for handhelds and to me, it has all the ingredients to define a next-gen situation.

 

[destrukt]

That may be true but every company does that, hell look at the Xbox 360. It's up to the consumer to do their research and filter through the truths / lies / hype when deciding on whether to purchase the product. When was the last time you saw an honest no-bull$hit ad for a major commercial product?

exactly, every company does it just sony does it 10x worse.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Who really cares what the underlying plan is for the system? The underlying plan for the 360 is to get a Windows device in every home on the globe and no one seems to mind!

Personally, I think its great to get a Blu-Ray player and a next-gen game machine all in one tidy little affordable package. Sure, down the line you might get a better player like we did with DVD (PS2 was my main player for years), but this will fit very nicely into many homes and HDTV will become much more prevalent in the next few years anyway, certainly within this generation's lifespan, so it will be great to be able to take advantage of that at the same time.

The conspiracy theories are sometimes right, but it doesn't mean we can't enjoy the movies and games.

Of course, if you can't play your game on your friend's system, that will turn me off of the console almost entirely. Used/Rented games ftw!