PS3 Announced!

[emperor]

The worst? Small electrical explosion when it is "in use" I guess!
A more likely scenario would be a very short lifespan of said product though.

Theres also Spontanious Demoleculararisation or breaking in half while still inside!

[FG Lurker]

The worst? Small electrical explosion when it is "in use" I guess!
A more likely scenario would be a very short lifespan of said product though.

Theres also Spontanious Demoleculararisation or breaking in half while still inside!

Hadn't thought of that one!

The trip to the emergency room would be a tad on the embarassing side...

[FG Lurker]

PS3 to launch first outside Japan?
GamesIndustry.biz, May 19, 2005

Head of SCEA says Sony's new console may not launch in Japan first this time

In what would represent a massive break with tradition for the company, Sony Computer Entertainment America boss Kaz Hirai has suggested that the PlayStation 3 may not launch in Japan first.

Hirai dismissed rumours that Sony has already decided to follow the console's Japanese launch with a US release in the autumn, telling the CNBC network: "We haven't determined which territory we will go with first this time around just yet.

(Full Story)

[Caustic Saint]

Teraflops for your TV?

I call bullshit.

The Tflop specs Sony and MS have put out are theoretical upper limits, combining both the CPU and GPU. They are most certainly not real-world number.

Sony claims 2 Tflops, right? If you look at the top 500 supercomputer rankings, #124 on the list pumps out 1.999, and that's with 602 Xeon processors. Do you really think you're going to get that level of power in a home console?

Another example, WETA Digital's system only puts out 2.026 Tflops, and that's with 1176 of the same 2.8Ghz Xeon processor. Does Sony really think they're going to have as much power as WETA's renderfarm? Does MS think they're going to have half that much power?

I sincerely doubt it.

I don't doubt we'll see some impressive stuff on this next round of systems, but it'll ultimately come down to the how good the development kits are, and what the game studios can produce from them. The next generation of systems will be nice, but don't go expecting massive supercomputing power from them.

[FG Lurker]

Teraflops for your TV?

I call bullshit.

The Tflop specs Sony and MS have put out are theoretical upper limits, combining both the CPU and GPU. They are most certainly not real-world number.

Sony claims 2 Tflops, right? If you look at the top 500 supercomputer rankings, #124 on the list pumps out 1.999, and that's with 602 Xeon processors. Do you really think you're going to get that level of power in a home console?

Another example, WETA Digital's system only puts out 2.026 Tflops, and that's with 1176 of the same 2.8Ghz Xeon processor. Does Sony really think they're going to have as much power as WETA's renderfarm? Does MS think they're going to have half that much power?

I sincerely doubt it.

I don't doubt we'll see some impressive stuff on this next round of systems, but it'll ultimately come down to the how good the development kits are, and what the game studios can produce from them. The next generation of systems will be nice, but don't go expecting massive supercomputing power from them.

You are comparing general-purpose processors with dedicated floating point chips -- apples to oranges.

I am not saying that the numbers are accurate. They are probably very inflated as are all numbers that show peak performance. The cell chip does look very impressive though and it won't be too long before we start to get an idea of what it is actually capable of.

[IkemenTommy]

It looks like they are going to postpone the release of PS3
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050804-5170.html

The reason.. If Microsoft comes out with a weak set of titles at launch Sony could delay and build a larger launch library to lay the smack down on Microsoft.

Analysts at Wedbush Morgan Securities are saying that Sony could delay the PS3 into 2007, if the right market conditions allow for them to do so. What constitutes the right conditions? First, Sony needs to score a direct hit on the Xbox 360 launch by making the PS2 more attractive.

We believe that the company will attempt to disrupt the Xbox 360 launch with a price cut, and as a result may succeed in diverting attention away from the higher priced next generation console. We expect the Microsoft to attempt to engineer the Xbox 360 to be compatible with the current generation Xbox, and as a result, believe that Microsoft will maintain $149 pricing for its money-losing hardware.

The likely scenario is that when the Xbox 360 launches, the PS2 will drop to $99, and Sony will shout it from the rooftops. The pricing of the original Xbox may get a little more dicey, however, as the company tries to find a way to bundle more value into the $149 price tag, but I certainly don't expect to see an Xbox at $99 this holiday season, no matter what Sony does. So how do we get to 2007?

We expect Sony to defer a decision regarding PS3 launch until it is able to assess the likely success of the Xbox 360, and anticipate that Sony will make its decision shortly after the Xbox 360 launch. We do not expect the PS3 until mid 2006, at the earliest, and should Microsoft fail to garner sufficient software support to gain an insurmountable lead, we think that there is a possibility that the PS3 launch will slip into early 2007.

Note what's being said here. The issue isn't merely whether or not the Xbox 360 sells well, although this is Gamespot's reading. If Microsoft sells Xbox 360 units at breakneck speed, it doesn't matter. They're losing money on every one of those consoles. No, Wedbush sees a potential for Microsoft launching without adequate title support. All the console sales in the world can't make a popular platform, and a weak title list at launch can suck the air out of a room in a hurry.

Hello? It's Nintendo on Line 1. They said they want their poor DS launch back.

Whether or not a $99 PS2 is really going to make much of a dent in the Xbox 360 launch is a matter of opinion at this point, but I'll share mine: it won't. As for title support, a number have been announced, but it's not exactly clear how many will be on shelves come December. Is there real cause for concern?

Yes, there is. Microsoft's XNA is apparently no cakewalk, and Sony's solution will entail a steep learning curve, too, as Hannibal has noted. Indeed, a few weeks ago Gabe Newell bemoaned both consoles, saying "Your existing code, you can just throw it away."

"Most of the problems of getting these systems running on these multicore processors are not solved. They are doctoral theses, not known implementation problems. So it's not even clear that over the lifespan of these next generation systems that they will be solved problems. The amount of time it takes to get a good multicore engine running, the Xbox 360 might not even be on the market any longer. That should scare the crap out of everybody."

So, the issue isn't just title availability, but quality.

This brings us to why would Sony want to wait? There are three reasons. First of all, Sony is in the same boat as Microsoft as regards the difficulty of developing games for these next-gen consoles. More time should translate into higher quality games, and if Sony can afford to wait, then they should. Second, at $99, the PS2 itself could be sold for profit. Consoles are usually sold at a loss, and that money is made back (and then some, hopefully) by game sales. So, Sony could sit back and collect profits while building up a cache of PS3s for a later launch. This brings us to the third reason. Sony was embarrassed last year when they couldn't meet demand for the PS2. If Sony debuts the PS3 next year only to see more supply and demand problems, they'll lose customers to Microsoft.

[Caustic Saint]

It looks like they are going to postpone the release of PS3

The reason.. If Microsoft comes out with a weak set of titles at launch Sony could delay and build a larger launch library to lay the smack down on Microsoft.

Analysts at Wedbush Morgan Securities are saying that Sony could delay the PS3 into 2007, if the right market conditions allow for them to do so.

That's a pretty big leap from "some analysts say Sony could delay the launch" to "looks like they are going to postpone."

[Buraku]

Good vibrators start around 10,000yen! Not the cheapo made-in-China crap.

Why not save a few bucks?
Whats the worst that could happen?

so that's the plan

[emperor]

Microsoft opening an Xbox 360 store in Shibuya?
http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/games/articles/0508/30/news039.html

[Docteur G]

Is any1 have so much about the "psp" please ?

[Caustic Saint]

Japanese 360 details revealed:

In addition to confirming a launch price of 37,900 YEN (almost $350 USD) for Xbox 360, Microsoft's predictably avoiding a dual SKU launch in the land of the rising sun. Japan will receive one version of Xbox 360 loaded with the removable 20GB HD, wireless controller, an media remote control, an headset, an ethernet cable, batteries and a component HD-AV cable.

Okay, so it's launching here on Dec. 11 (vs. Nov. 22 in the US and Dec. 2 in the EU), but I don't mind waiting since it'll cost about $50 (or more) less.

[IkemenTommy]

No need to jump on the bandwagon because I am sure there will be very limited software releases and not really appealing to the Japanese users. Unless you could play the US released games on the xbox here, then it might be a different issue.

[oyajikun]

I'll stick with my Xbox Media Center until the homebrew developments for the 360 start developing. I spend way more time 'playing Xbox', than I do actually playing Xbox games.

[Naniwan Kid]

[i][/i]As someone who had (and has) a JPN PS2 before anyone else, it's only "the coolest" for a few months, then I gotta wait to go to Japan to buy new games. Playing RPGs in a foreign language sucks, I don't care how fluent you are. The missus likes being able to get Taiko no Tatsujin games, but other than that the advantages are gone. I can't play Madden or Grand Theft Auto (well, it just came out in Japan, but do I want to play it in Japanese? NAHHHH). I bought an X-Box in the U.S. so I could play games with my boys. The best X-Box 360 games will come out in the U.S. Now the markets are so different....Japan=fantasy, RPG and puzzle/music games. America=sports, first person shooters, driving and fighting games......is the choice that hard?

[Caustic Saint]

I tend to get most consoles right at launch, even if the immediate lineup isn't that great. I'm eager to see if the 360 can do what's being promised.

Hell, if PGR3 is as good as it looks like it might be, I'll get a 360 just to play that. (And it'll hopefully follow suit with PGR2 and have the J-release in English.)

Wow.... (First pic)