Future Playstation Products Will be Easier to Program says Yoshida

[zarx]

Scoobes said:

zarx said:

I mean that sony are pretty much the only company still using it, mainly because they invested so much money into it. That raises costs. 

how many have put inferior multiplats on the PS3 because it is to expensive to utilise the CELL? 

Adding the CELL would add cost with little to no actual benefit, while backwards compatibility is nice to have most people won't avoid a console because it doesn't offer it. The PS3 is doing fine without it, it would be stupid to include backwards comparability at such a cost. More likely the SONY patent for the add-on that adds backwards compatibility will be used next gen for the people that wan't it.

I actually think they may keep a version of Cell in PS4. From what I've read CPU architecture is undergoing a bit of an overhaul with both Intel and AMD coming up with CPU/GPU hybrids, much like the Cell was originally meant to be. It could even be that devs that used the Cell processor on the PS3 will actually have an easier time with the new PC CPUs. Alternatively, they may even be able to emulate the Cell processor with the new batch of CPUs comming out.

well the current trend is to use a multi core CPU with a GPU integrated on the same die, which is addressed in the same way as a discrete GPU so not really like the CELL. And thanks to the APIs that Nvidia are using even programing for the new x86 compatible GPUs that they are designing will be simpler than developing for the CELL tho many of the tricks used to optimise for the CELL will be able to be used in that area. Which reminds me there is a chance that the PS3 won't have a CPU at all and just use a Nvidia GPU.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/21/nvidia-teams-with-pgi-for-cuda-x86-gifts-its-brand-of-paralleli/

http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/21/nvidia-reveals-fermis-successor-kepler-at-28nm-in-2011-maxwel/