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Forums - Gaming - Convinced - $399 PS3 coming in October

Just_Ben on 02 October 2007
shams said:
Just_Ben said:

Confirmed: 40 gig PS3 has no backward compatibility

"Please Note! 40GB PS3 is not backward compatible with PS2 games.
This information is based on specifications supplied by manufacturers and should be used for guidance only "

WTF? How is this possible?

What happened to the software emulation without the Emotion Engine? Doesn't it work at all?

Does this mean you'll never see downloadable PS2 titles on a PS3?

 

 

The EE was done by software, not the GS. The GS is the graphic chip of the PS2 and had some ram. Without it, it should be very hard to emulate the PS2. That should save Sony about $40/PS3 (GS + Some ram). At least as far as I remember.

 



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Lost tears of Kain on 02 October 2007

actually, it boosted it to most likely the ammount that will be able to beat wii, possibly, matters on sales, it will be very close, but still MS can state that they kept up with wii this sales period, or maybe even beat it



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king_of_the_castle on 02 October 2007

Lack of BC is unfortunate, I understand why they're doing it, but I hate it when you have cheaper sku's that can't be upgraded to be just like the high end skus, just like the elite was in comparison to the (previously hdmi-less) premium. I hope they figure out a way to emulate it...



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Dodece on 02 October 2007

@shams

The emotion engine was removed which was true and was replaced with software emulation on the main board. However their are still legacy chips on the main board that allows for this to be done. Once you remove those chips emulation or not the machine cannot do anything. That said the rumor is very explicit that this model is completely stripped down.

@everyone

This is what makes these tales rather hard to swallow. Yes Sony has shown gross incompetence, and has a horrid track record with backwards compatibility this generation. However to truly abandon backwards compatibility is like breaking covenant with their loyal customers. Backwards compatibility is a promise, and was one of the things that grew the Playstation brand. I am not sure it isn't the customers fault though the Europeans bought a neutered machine and were damn happy to do it.

Further more if this is true it actually has disastrous implications for the PS2 and that consoles developers. Those developers has a strong ally in backwards compatibility. Which encourages people to still buy the console, and to buy games for it. Since in the past they could bring their library with them. However if the majority of the PS3s on the market were the ultra neutered machine. Then the old library would become instinct, and the developer base will die that much sooner.

Personally I cannot bring myself to consider that Sony is actually this stupid. Were they to do this it would show a complete disconnect with their customers. That connection is tenuous at best right now, but still it is like a act of betrayal. The fans will respond accordingly. Which would be a massive war cry. Were this machine to actually exists as the rumors are saying it does. Then this could be the sku that kills the PS3, and the brand. Thats never good news for enthusiasts.



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NJ5 on 02 October 2007

I said this a thousand times: BC is not just software emulation of the EE, it's also PS2's graphical chip (GS).

Motherboard with EE+GS (as in 60 GB USA version):

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4132/1041533231054163/1600/ps3_32.1.jpg

Motherboard with GS only (as in 80 GB version):

http://i23.tinypic.com/2woxjj9.jpg

Following up on what Just_Ben said above:

The reason why the GS is not emulated is that it has very fast embedded RAM. However, according to iSuppli, the EE+GS combo costs $27 only! And since that RAM is included in the GS, I think that cost should include the RAM. So according to iSuppli's data, Sony is saving less than $27 by removing backwards compatibility.

The Portuguese fanboys at a Playstation fan board are reacting mostly with shock to these news.

 



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Nidan on 02 October 2007
davygee said:

The thing is, can MS afford to make another pricecut?

Don't forget all the problems with the RROD and scratched discs, this IS costing MS a fortune and MS want to break even and even post profits next year...which I seriously doubt they will be able to do unless they keep their new price level for the better part of another year. Also don't forget all the extra millions that MS throw around for buying up these exclulsive agreements (eg. $50m for GTAIV exclusive content only). All this cost is in the big pot.

Also, as you have mentioned. MS can smell the blood of Sony and will stop at virtually nothing to get the better of them. But, if they do make more huge losses to make up more ground on Sony and the Playstation brand and it doesn't pay off (ie. they don't come in 2nd at least this generation), then they could be out the home console race from the next generation onwards.


 

MS has already taken a hit (in there share price) and paid the provision for the RROD, so this has all been budgeted.

I wouldn’t be surprised if MS has a price reduction planned for after Christmas, or if needed before. I would suggest that before Christmas they will rely on the holiday package 



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shams on 02 October 2007

That's really terrible :(

I always assumed the PS3 was powerful enough to have *complete* software emulation of a PS2 (GS and all included).

Boo Sony, boo!!



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fkusumot on 02 October 2007

Gimped.


I Blame Wii Fit!

FinalEvangelion on 02 October 2007

Even if it's not saving Sony much money by removing the GS chip, it's a marketing thing to get customers to up the purchase to an 80 gig or 60 gig when they get to the store. Sony somewhat wants to discourage the 40 gig purchase. The engineering economics and marketing are two different things.

Parents getting little Timmy a PS3 will probably ignore the fact that the PS2 BC is not there.



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joshmyersBV on 02 October 2007

Well look what I found 

"Sony’s looking to cut down on its hardware production costs but it won’t do so by selling its semiconductor production plants as was rumored a month ago. Instead, Sony has forged a partnership with Infineon Technologies AG to form Qreatic Design. The new company (which is expected to open its doors by the end of this year) will design and manufacture cost effective DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips for use in the Playstation 3." The feed 

http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=17635  

 



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