Cell prcoessor (right now, a piece of junk, and every dev has said they can't use it properly

I understand that games developers may not be too fond of the idea of having to learn new ways to write their software. But according to the article at least they do seem to believe that multithreaded software is the way forward.

t will probably take some time before developers manage to get the most out of this platform, as has for example also been the case with the classic Amiga chipsets. The early Amiga games don't compare well to the complex graphics used by for instance game like Elfmania or Lion Heart.

MikeB said: @ HappySqurriel Blu-Ray has its disadvantages; the main one being that the player is expensive, and the transfer rate is pretty low. Due to mass production, Blu-Ray related production costs have already dropped significantly. HD DVD and Blu-Ray disc production costs are now about on par, in some cases scratch/smudge protected Blu-Ray disc production is even cheaper. With regard to transfer rates the PS3's Blu-Ray drive's average reading speed of a Blu-Ray disc is faster than the XBox 360's DVD drive while reading Dual Layer DVDs. XBox 360 drive speed = (3.3x to 8x) 7,46MB/s average reading speed of a Dual Layer disc: Drive specs The PS3's Blu-Ray drive reads at a sustained 9MB/s.

Erik Aston said: If Nintendo has the market share, they'll get the games, and people won't care if it isn't HD. And if the PS3 got a PSThwiimote, it would still be like getting 2 consoles for the price of 2. And actually, they'd be behind in developing Wii Sports-esque software, too. That applies to 360 also.

Death2009 said: Means nadda if sony won't lower the PS3's price. If Blu Ray is cheaper in some cases or on par...why is the PS3 600 big ones?

if you want a 360 (15gb version or however much space is left) with an hd-dvd player, it costs you $100 more than a ps3 with all the same functionality...

Stromprophet said: I'd disagree that M$ will be able to sit. Which is in fact why they announced the new system they are coming out with to update the 360. A tri-core processor is already behind the game as Intel is already making Quadcores now. The cell in the PS3 has 1 cpu and 7 spes (1 in reserve so not used) so technically the Cell is an 8-core unit. I'd say the PS3 can wait the longest of all of them in terms of life cycle. It also has the most room to grow and continue improving graphics and functionality over the years. Motion is probably long term. It's a logical step in not only video game playing but also computer operation in general. It is especially so in the consideration of virtual reality, which is the long term video game mission. So motion is probably here to stay. I agree, Wii will not stay strong. At least not in the US or Europe. Maybe in Japan, where they seem much less concerned with graphics at the moment.

The Cell is NOT technically an 8-core unit. The SPU's of the Cell are extremely limited in what they can do in comparison to a full core. In the case of the PS3, the Cell has a single core and six spus. One spu is turned off to increase the Cell's yield and the one spu is reserved to the systems OS)

Kwaad said: Stromprophet - The x-box 360 has ALOT more power than your every-day home PC. (even the new ones) Welcome to the diffrence from a x86, to a RISC.

HappySqurriel said: Louie said: The biggest problem the PS3 has is it´s late release. You can cry for Metal Gear and Final Fantasy again and again - at the time the killer apps launch in Japan the Wii will probably have a huge Userbase. A little Story: in 1996 there was a company called Nintendo releasing their new System the N64. Nintendo had been the market leader for a long time, the NES and Super NES sold like hot cakes with cheese. And then Nintendo launched the N64... and it sold less than the Playstation, a console that was thought to fail against the gaming giant. Nintendo´s problems? they released their N64 too late, they used the wrong format... and they were to arrogant to keep the 3rd parties with them. Of course, the console war wasn´t over - Nintendofans claimed: "Wait till Zelda 64 and Golden Eye come out! And wait for the next Rare game!" Then Zelda finally arrived: It sold more than 7 milion copies and was probably the best game ever created in gaming history - but the N64 was too old, the PS was too long in the market to beat it. And so Nintendo lost this "console war". So now swap the words "N64" with "PS3" the date to 2006, the company is called Sony now and the games are not Zelda an golden Eye but Final Fantasy and Metal Gear. Makes sense, doesn´t it? Diomedes1976 said: Well ,it could have some sense but have in count this . First ,Sony hasnt alienated from itself the third party support at all .Nearly all the occidental games will come out in the PS3 ,and all the japanese ones as well .As bad as you view Sony it gives total liberty to the developers and doesnt interfere in their work or force conditions on them (or censure their work ) as in the times of the Nintendo Seal of Quality .Plus they have lowered the royalties this time out . Second ,the format Nintendo selected was the wrong one because it was much more expensive and with a lot less capacity .BR on the other hand is about the same price as DVD(pennies per disc at most )and has the technology and storage advantage .Right now it is hard to ignore it is beating soundly the HD-DVD and will probably be the next HD movie format of the future . Third ,Nintendo launched the N64 a complete 2 years after Sony the Playstation and more than 2.5 years in Europe .Sony has suffered a delay and launched 1 year after the X360 ,1.3 in Europe (where the X360 hasnt gained a lot of ground ) ...the situation is more akin to the advantage the Dreamcast had when the PS2 arrived that the one the PS1 had over the N64 the prior generation . True enough, Sony hasn't alienated third party support but the PS3 is being launched in a time where exclusive third party games are becomming quite rare. There is almost no third party property where I would be shocked to see a publisher announce that it was being released on both the XBox 360 and PS3, or that a spin off version was being released for the Wii. Would you be overly surprised to hear that Metal Gear Solid was being ported to the XBox 360, or that Final Fantasy XIII: Swords was being made for the Wii? Probably not ... This is a problem with Sony's strategy ... When GTA4 is released this year I have the choice of spending $400 on an XBox or $600 on a PS3 to play that game because I own neither system, does the PS3 offer enough benefit for me to choose to spend $200 extra to own it? Blu-Ray has its disadvantages; the main one being that the player is expensive, and the transfer rate is pretty low.