SpartanFX said: @smbu2000 read my previous post,,,that's why they won't do it just now.If they want to do it ,it's doable with good programing.

It's dooable... but EXTREMLY hard. It would take a large investment in programmers to do it and raise the cost of every PS3 internally. (Since you would count that as PS3 R&D costs.) If it happens, the PS3 will have to be profitable first... I don't see Sony sinking the money into it. 

Words Of Wisdom said: Dogs Rule said: Well, assuming they stick with the cell architecture in the PS4, then any development they make in full software BC will be carried over to the PS4. So I am confident that if it can be done, then they are indeed working on it. I would be very interested to see if they stick with the Cell's architecture.  All next-gen systems are guaranteed to be multicore (short of some other technology appearing tomorrow to blue them out of the water).  I think that had the PS3 had multiple GPUs and not just one with SPUs around it, it would have been a much more robust and flexible system to develop for.

Well, (almost) all the development hurtles will have been addressed by then, and it would allow them to maximize return on investment in the R&D of the Cell. Time will tell, obviously, but I hope they'll stick with the cell.

 

Xponent said: I think Sony should implement this at some stage. Not anytime soon however, because the unit is still too pricey relative to the competition. In a few years time, once costs are reduced further, it may become a viable option. Compatability with a vast catalogue of games from two very successful generations is a significant advantage that its opponents simply can't match, not even the old veteran Nintendo. In fact, I think backwards compatibility would have done more for the PS3's fortunes than BluRay. It's BluRay that has kept the cost of the unit so high, not backwards compatibility.

 The problem is... for most gamers (not me....) but most, BC is most important when the system is out because their is a huge drought of software.

BC would of been most usefully before GTA4, Sony software should actually pick up and have enough games to keep peoples interest from here on out. 

Never unless they revive the 20GB Sku.

You mean CPUs right? GPUs are parallel anyway and apart from SLI systems you won't have multiple.

And for CPUs I think you are mistaken. Vector machines like the Cell have many advantages and are most likely a big part of the future. Just putting multiple cores on a die is just so much waste because you simply do not need all these circuits multiple times. In raw floating point power the Cell and possible successors will destroy everything that competes against them. And it just scales extremely well. So it would be a major surprise if the CPU successor would be very different.

ITs not the most important part of the console though. The GPU is more important.

rasone77 said: Never unless they revive the 20GB Sku.

 I'd buy that.  It's actual the SKU I wanted most PS3 wise.

Get a 20... take out the HD, drop in a 200.  Bam.  Perfect PS3 for the best price.

Who cares about wireless?  Real gamers use a wired connection!

Too bad they can't get all the custom emulation/rom programmers and hackers to work on it. I'd bet if they all work together, it wouldn't take too long for PS2 emulators on the 40gb model. Those guys are talented.

What if the costs of making the software emulation is more than just including the the extra chips in the first place?

Well, I have no doubt that eventually, all PS3's will have the firmware BC, but the question is when. For the real computer experts reading this, isn't it just a tradoff of just what do with the memory needed for the BC emulator?

So, perhaps sony will be able to cheaply add some more memory when it moves fully to 45nm especially the "hard drive" of the PS3, enough to add the BC again.

bbsin said: Too bad they can't get all the custom emulation/rom programmers and hackers to work on it. I'd bet if they all work together, it wouldn't take too long for PS2 emulators on the 40gb model. Those guys are talented.

I agree. It's amazing what the hacker community could do if given the proper tools and permissions. (EDIT) And it could almost be done for free, well at the risk of compromising the security of the rest of the PS3 library.