OMGz! PS3 Slim Officially Announced!

[GameUser-16-32-128]

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/plugged-in/sony-slashes-ps3-price-to-299-announces-new-slim-model/1344378

I'm so shocked!:roll:

[QuickSciFi]

Does it mean the PS2 slim will go down in price as well? I vote for a $50.00 price tag withing the next quarter.

[Falxix]

It was due for a price drop. There has been speculation about this left and right for the past few months. It's very good to see reguardless, and the 120GB hard drive makes me jealous looking at my 40gb.

[Knuckle Duster]

Sony=Fail

All they did was make the PS3 uglier,and removed Linux support.

Still no PS2 functionality.

[jerry coeurl]

No PS2 functionality sucks, but does anybody honestly give a shit about Linux support. I mean really.

[Knuckle Duster]

No PS2 functionality sucks, but does anybody honestly give a shit about Linux support. I mean really.

Yes, Actually. The PS3 got many props from the open source community.

Having a fully functioning operating system able to let you browse the internet, stream media, play 'anything' from your network. etc. was one of the reasons the original versions of the console sold well by comparison, behind blu ray functionality.

Now I won't buy a PS3, ever.
Too bad I guess.

Edit:
It may seem a harsh statement, but honestly though.
I've gotten nothing but a 'pressured feeling', being a Sony customer in the past few years.

"Better hurry and buy that PSP2K, the 3K's can't be unlocked!"

"Here you go folks! PSP Go! it's sleek, it's sexy, it DOESN'T PLAY UMDS!"

"Uhh ohh, we gave a price drop, but the PS2 backwards compatibility will be only available for a limited time! Better buy an 80gb version soon!"

"Here you go folks! PS3 Slim! Whats that? Linux? Pfft. We took it away from you, you better clear our stockpiled old consoles before they're gone!"

No Sony, Fuck you.

[jerry coeurl]

Couldn't you just build your own rig and put Linux on it for a lot cheaper than a PS3 retails for, though. Isn't that what people who use Linux are all about anyway? DIY stuff. I mean that is the impression I've gotten from everyone I've ever met who uses Linux (all 4 of them).

[Chilly Willy]

Couldn't you just build your own rig and put Linux on it for a lot cheaper than a PS3 retails for, though. Isn't that what people who use Linux are all about anyway? DIY stuff. I mean that is the impression I've gotten from everyone I've ever met who uses Linux (all 4 of them).

You can put a PC together with linux at a comparable price, but just try to put together a Cell based system for the price. The PS3 was a great way to get a low-end Cell system. Now you're stuck with a $3000 IBM Cell Blade for a server as your only choice.
:(

[Knuckle Duster]

Couldn't you just build your own rig and put Linux on it for a lot cheaper than a PS3 retails for, though. Isn't that what people who use Linux are all about anyway? DIY stuff. I mean that is the impression I've gotten from everyone I've ever met who uses Linux (all 4 of them).

Linux is about the freedom of being able to do what you want with your hardware without having 'trade secret owners' and 'software nazis' stamping their feet and demanding money every time you take a piss.

Linux will run on Wii, Xbox360, and PS3 (if it was modded) regardless, and of course you can build a computer cheaper than these consoles, that's beside the point that Sony is effectively removing functionality and expecting props for it.

So much for effectively clustering them together and donating cycles to legitimate scientific research. "Folding @ home"

[Baloo]

Who cares?

[Joe Redifer]

I wonder if it will finally be able to bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTSHDMA.

[MN12BIRD]

I think it looks better but I hate all the Sony systems for being so lopsided like the PS2 and PS3 and I hated the mirror black finish on the PS3 too. Looked more like a jewel to show off than something you wanted to play games on!

It was inevitable seeing the PSOne did it and the PS2 slim did it. But they all did it at the end of their life. The PS2 was out when the mini PSOne came out and the PS2 had been out for over 4 years when the PS2 slim came out. This one just surprised me for being so early!

[NeoVamp]

Who cares?

this.

[gamevet]

MS can kiss the #2 spot goodbye. This price will put the PS3 ahead of the 360, short of MS selling the console (with HDD) for $200.

[Jesse813]

They probably reduced the size by making the Power supply external.

[AD2101]

Sony=Fail

Still no PS2 functionality.

Ehh, no sympathy here anymore. I had to fork over $500 for my non-neutered PS3, and it was worth every penny. The way I look at it now Sony is just selling the base model, if you want more features, be ready to pay more for them. Obviously it would be best if they could keep all the features and sell it at a $300 price point too but it probably would have been financial suicide to do so.

[sketch]

They probably reduced the size by making the Power supply external.

That might help it run cooler as well.


Ehh, no sympathy here anymore. I had to fork over $500 for my non-neutered PS3, and it was worth every penny. The way I look at it now Sony is just selling the base model, if you want more features, be ready to pay more for them. Obviously it would be best if they could keep all the features and sell it at a $300 price point too but it probably would have been financial suicide to do so.

I agree. People complain on the one hand that the PS3 is way too expensive, then on the other they complain that it is lacking in features like backwards compatibility. Frankly, Sony is doing what it can to bring the price down through manufacturing efficiencies and economy of scale. You can't please everybody, so you try and appeal to the largest audience you can...and that's with a good price point.

For $300, you get a high end gaming console AND a future-proof bluray player. Considering bluray players cost $200-300, I think that's a lot for your money. I also like the redesign. The original was HUGE, and, well, kinda funky looking.

[Knuckle Duster]

Ehh, no sympathy here anymore. I had to fork over $500 for my non-neutered PS3, and it was worth every penny. The way I look at it now Sony is just selling the base model, if you want more features, be ready to pay more for them. Obviously it would be best if they could keep all the features and sell it at a $300 price point too but it probably would have been financial suicide to do so.

They fail more for making it ugly, and unable to boot another OS.
The lack of PS2 support was just the sad punchline of it all since there's essentially nothing 'worth noting' about the hardware revision.

As far as PS2 support gos, price isn't the issue, availability is. Sony should still be making a PS2 enabled version, and they should be winding down PS2 hardware efforts already.
Regardless if it makes them money or not, they're effectively cheapening their brand with the lingering PS2, yet expect customers to buy the high end PS3 at the same time.

They're realizing they've aimed at too wide a market, so they're effectively cutting off the extra features on the 'forward going' hardware, to appease the existence of a 10 year old platform.
It saves coin in the short term, but it does divide their market nevertheless. I really don't care about that though.

As stated before, I won't buy a PS3 in the future (I was planning to), because I can't boot linux on it now.
Why can't I boot linux on it now since effectively it was Firmware enabled on the same hardware?

No explanation, or logical reason given. THAT is why Sony fails.

[Joe Redifer]

The power supply is internal. It has an AC input which means there is no power brick.

[The Coop]

DTSHDMA.

Is that the same thing as HD-DVDPDQCIAMGMAOLROFL?

[sketch]

They fail more for making it ugly, and unable to boot another OS.
The lack of PS2 support was just the sad punchline of it all since there's essentially nothing 'worth noting' about the hardware revision.

As far as PS2 support gos, price isn't the issue, availability is. Sony should still be making a PS2 enabled version, and they should be winding down PS2 hardware efforts already.
Regardless if it makes them money or not, they're effectively cheapening their brand with the lingering PS2, yet expect customers to buy the high end PS3 at the same time.

They're realizing they've aimed at too wide a market, so they're effectively cutting off the extra features on the 'forward going' hardware, to appease the existence of a 10 year old platform.
It saves coin in the short term, but it does divide their market nevertheless. I really don't care about that though.

As stated before, I won't buy a PS3 in the future (I was planning to), because I can't boot linux on it now.
Why can't I boot linux on it now since effectively it was Firmware enabled on the same hardware?

No explanation, or logical reason given. THAT is why Sony fails.

Sony has done much more to support the PS2 than ANY other company has to support ANY other platform. It would have been in their best interest to discontinue the PS2 since it cannibalizes their own sales. Look at Microsoft. They killed the Xbox while it was still chugging along in its prime because the 360 was coming. So your complaining about lack of PS2 support in newer PS3s doesn't hold water. That doesn't stop people from buying Xbox 360s. The fact of the matter is, video games are a business, and to make money, they need to do 2 things: have the right price point and have appealing games. Nintendo mixed up the formula by adding a new twist to gaming, which was creative and gutsy. But price does matter to most of us.

Also, the Linux capability was cool, but I doubt it was driving sales. I don't think Sony will lose sleep over the Linux customers it is losing.

[sketch]

They probably reduced the size by making the Power supply external.


Ehh, no sympathy here anymore. I had to fork over $500 for my non-neutered PS3, and it was worth every penny. The way I look at it now Sony is just selling the base model, if you want more features, be ready to pay more for them. Obviously it would be best if they could keep all the features and sell it at a $300 price point too but it probably would have been financial suicide to do so.


The power supply is internal. It has an AC input which means there is no power brick.

Interesting; the PS3 already runs pretty hot. I wonder how they manage the heat with less internal space.

[gamevet]

Interesting; the PS3 already runs pretty hot. I wonder how they manage the heat with less internal space.

Die shrink for the chips. I believe it went from 65nm to 45nm with the Cell, so the system not only uses less power, it generates less heat.


http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/693032/PlayStation-3-Cell-Processor-Probably-Shrinking-To-45-Nanometers-By-Mid-2009.html

[sketch]

They probably reduced the size by making the Power supply external.


Ehh, no sympathy here anymore. I had to fork over $500 for my non-neutered PS3, and it was worth every penny. The way I look at it now Sony is just selling the base model, if you want more features, be ready to pay more for them. Obviously it would be best if they could keep all the features and sell it at a $300 price point too but it probably would have been financial suicide to do so.


Reduced scale chips. I believe it went from 65nm to 45nm with the Cell, so the system not only uses less power, it generates less heat.


http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/693032/PlayStation-3-Cell-Processor-Probably-Shrinking-To-45-Nanometers-By-Mid-2009.html

And also reduces their cost. This is the one thing that Sony seems to be good at (reducing the cost of their chipset through manufacturing and design improvements). My understanding is that the first Xbox's architecture, with its "off the shelf" parts, did not lend it to this kind of efficiency.

[AD2101]

As far as PS2 support gos, price isn't the issue, availability is. Sony should still be making a PS2 enabled version, and they should be winding down PS2 hardware efforts already.

Availability? Sure Sony doesn't make them anymore but BC models are by no means hard to find. They might run you more than a used console should, but there are still millions of them hanging around. And you haven't noticed the PS2 winding down? Although they might always be in stock, most stores (I can only vouch for GameStop) only have a couple in stock. It's not because they're just flying off the shelves, but because the demand for them really just isn't there anymore. Most of the people that are buying them are either replacing a broken PS2, or people who want to game on a budget.


As stated before, I won't buy a PS3 in the future (I was planning to), because I can't boot linux on it now.
Why can't I boot linux on it now since effectively it was Firmware enabled on the same hardware?

Why don't you just go out and buy a current 80gb model at the $300 price point? It still has the Install other OS feature and AFAIK it's only a feature that the slim models will be lacking, it's not something that Sony is going to entirely remove from all models with a firmware update or the like.

[gamevet]

Why don't you just go out and buy a current 80gb model at the $300 price point? It still has the Install other OS feature and AFAIK it's only a feature that the slim models will be lacking, it's not something that Sony is going to entirely remove from all models with a firmware update or the like.

They're going quick.

I'm working on a remodel conversion over at a Walmart in a small town. They had three PS3 consoles yesterday and now they have none.

[Joe Redifer]

Is that the same thing as HD-DVDPDQCIAMGMAOLROFL?

No, that can only be used on Toshiba machines and was rendered obsolete about 2 years ago. Everyone knows that.

[Devil N]

To clear it up for all the technical nitwits here: DTS High-Definition Master Audio, or DTS HD-MA, is a lossless compressed audio format supported by both the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD standards. Audio tracks encoded in this format, once decoded, are bit-for-bit identical to the studio master, so there's absolutely no loss in quality (hence the name lossless). DTS HD-MA is functionally equivalent to Dolby TrueHD, except when it needs to be downgraded to standard DTS or Dolby Digital for playback on older AV receivers; then there is a difference.

The thing about the PS3 with both lossless formats is that it cannot transmit them in unaltered form over an HDMI connection (aka bitstreaming). The only thing the PS3 can do is decode lossless audio streams internally and then send them in uncompressed PCM form to an AV receiver. For some people, it is more desirable to let the AV receiver decode DTS HD-MA and TrueHD signals, because it might do some additional processing, but the PS3 does not support this.

So the question here is, whether the new PS3 Slim has been upgraded to allow bitstreaming of DTS HD-MA and TrueHD signals over HDMI. I don't know the answer to this yet, but I'll see if I can find it out.

[Knuckle Duster]

Sony has done much more to support the PS2 than ANY other company has to support ANY other platform. It would have been in their best interest to discontinue the PS2 since it cannibalizes their own sales. Look at Microsoft. They killed the Xbox while it was still chugging along in its prime because the 360 was coming.

As I've stated already.



So your complaining about lack of PS2 support in newer PS3s doesn't hold water.
What complaint? I already said I don't care about BC, after explaining what you've just stated, and furthering that point by saying it would have been 'better' to have the feature stay in the PS3.


That doesn't stop people from buying Xbox 360s. The fact of the matter is, video games are a business, and to make money, they need to do 2 things: have the right price point and have appealing games. Nintendo mixed up the formula by adding a new twist to gaming, which was creative and gutsy. But price does matter to most of us.

Price does matter in all businesses. Which is why Sony dropped the ball. They have a cheap, and an overly expensive unit on the market.

They are now putting out the PSPGo within $50 of the PS3, both units continually 'removing' functionality compared to their previous hardware revisions.



Also, the Linux capability was cool, but I doubt it was driving sales. I don't think Sony will lose sleep over the Linux customers it is losing.
It was driving sales to a point, a small market sure, and one 'Removed For No Logical Reason'

Not 6 months ago you could find tech articles praising the PS3 as a cheaper unit to cluster, saving thousands of dollars off renting time on university servers. Then there's the ability to support the Folding@Home project and the like.

Ram was a bottleneck on the PS3 as far as a full desktop implementation was concerned, but it was still lightyears ahead of the Wii for browsing the web.


Why don't you just go out and buy a current 80gb model at the $300 price point? It still has the Install other OS feature and AFAIK it's only a feature that the slim models will be lacking, it's not something that Sony is going to entirely remove from all models with a firmware update or the like.

Why?

Go read my second post:

Yes, Actually. The PS3 got many props from the open source community.

Having a fully functioning operating system able to let you browse the internet, stream media, play 'anything' from your network. etc. was one of the reasons the original versions of the console sold well by comparison, behind blu ray functionality.

Now I won't buy a PS3, ever.
Too bad I guess.

It may seem a harsh statement, but honestly though.
I've gotten nothing but a 'pressured feeling', being a Sony customer in the past few years.

"Better hurry and buy that PSP2K, the 3K's can't be unlocked!"

"Here you go folks! PSP Go! it's sleek, it's sexy, it DOESN'T PLAY UMDS!"

"Uhh ohh, we gave a price drop, but the PS2 backwards compatibility will be only available for a limited time! Better buy an 80gb version soon!"

"Here you go folks! PS3 Slim! Whats that? Linux? Pfft. We took it away from you, you better clear our stockpiled old consoles before they're gone!"

No Sony, Fuck you.

I don't care about the PS2 BC, as I've stated.

I disagree with the fact that Sony is selectively removing functionality with the same 'batshit' logic that has lead them into the toilet behind Microsoft to begin with, and I'm not going to candy-coat the situation as if it's something worth celebrating.

[runback22]

I'm so sick of the people crying about ps2 support....Where is the outrage at MS about having Barbie Horse Adventures having BC, but I cant play half of my xbox games on it. The ones I can play typically run like ass.....
If you wanted ps2 BC, you should have jumped on it when you had the chance. I have a launch 60 gig and I have used the BC about 3 times......Get over it....

[Knuckle Duster]

I'm so sick of the people crying about ps2 support....Where is the outrage at MS about having Barbie Horse Adventures having BC, but I cant play half of my xbox games on it. The ones I can play typically run like ass.....
If you wanted ps2 BC, you should have jumped on it when you had the chance. I have a launch 60 gig and I have used the BC about 3 times......Get over it....

PS2 support is irrelevant, and well enough explained as far as cost cutting is concerned, similarly to Xbox.

Architecture differences are why both suck.
x86(CISC) to PowerPC(RISC) or MIPS to PowerPC 'Cell'

[TheEdge]

All they did was took a fat peice of junk and made it thinner.


EDIT:

I have discovered the PS3 Slims's real purpose.

http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2009/08/ps3-slims-secret-function/

[GameUser-16-32-128]

Backwards compatibility, linux support or cheaper price ... it's irrelevant to me. How many exclusives does this system have anyway? I don't think I've ever been excited about any of the games that came out for the ps3 since most of them are on the 360. Next Gen Gaming IMO is going downhill. I just don't see it going forward. ¡Adios! Hello retro gaming!

[Joe Redifer]

Looks like the slim PS3 is functionally identical to the fat ones and therefore cannot bitstream.

-----

Check this out, other systems compared to the new PS3 systems:

http://the-magicbox.com/0908/game090819b.shtml

For once somebody hooked up the Sega-CD correctly -- with the cable coming from the headphone jack, tucked into the slider latch on the side and the volume knob cranked all the way up. I thought I was the only one who knew how to do that!

[Diosoth]

I remember when the very first pictures of the plastic casing and box were shown. EVERYONE at the Digital Press forums was 100% convinced that this was some Chinese bootleg console trying to imitate the PS3, but would probably play Famicom games or something.

Now I know why I'm proud to be banned from their forums.

I couldn't care about Linux. I'd use it as a game console, not a PC with some optional Blu-Ray functionality... not that I even buy movies anymore, nor would the extra def even matter on my CRT television compared to DVD.

I really couldn't care about backwards compatibility. PS2s are rather cheap, and I remember when BC didn't even EXIST, so I don't know why everyone is so gung-ho about it now. The 360 has it, but rather poorly. DSi dropped the GBA slot. Hell, a cheaper Wii that ditched GC hardware would be nice, since a used Cube is about $20 these days.

[gamevet]

Hell, a cheaper Wii that ditched GC hardware would be nice, since a used Cube is about $20 these days.

The Wii is a GC, with the cpu and graphics chip (literally)overclocked. People have tried to get information out of ATI about what the Hollywood video chip was, and they had refused to answer. Nintendo could sell the Wii for $150 and still make a profit, and they probably could have done that on day one.

Here's one such interview with an ATI rep. He pretty much slips up and says the graphics are on par, or better than the GC.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2k6-nintendo-wii/10603?type=wmv

[NeoVamp]

new tagline.

PS3Slim, now the size of the original Xbox.

[Knuckle Duster]

I remember when the very first pictures of the plastic casing and box were shown. EVERYONE at the Digital Press forums was 100% convinced that this was some Chinese bootleg console trying to imitate the PS3, but would probably play Famicom games or something.

Now I know why I'm proud to be banned from their forums.

I couldn't care about Linux. I'd use it as a game console, not a PC with some optional Blu-Ray functionality... not that I even buy movies anymore, nor would the extra def even matter on my CRT television compared to DVD.

I really couldn't care about backwards compatibility. PS2s are rather cheap, and I remember when BC didn't even EXIST, so I don't know why everyone is so gung-ho about it now. The 360 has it, but rather poorly. DSi dropped the GBA slot. Hell, a cheaper Wii that ditched GC hardware would be nice, since a used Cube is about $20 these days.

The 360 is a PowerPC based machine, succeeding to run a platform to emulate a CISC x86 platform under 3D software. The only 'poorly' thing here is your understanding of how crazy that is.

Being 'proud' of being banned from a scene, no matter how ignorant. Is ridiculous, and not something you should attempt to justify to yourself, publicly. Someone should drop an Atari 7800 on your head and hopefully sort out the mess, at least then you would be able to play Yars Revenge for the 2600

[Gentlegamer]

PS2 BC added to PS3 Slim

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d173/Gentlegamer/compare15.jpg

[FoxHound]

thats right, if I am going to play a PS2 game I am going to play it on a PS2

[Devil N]

PS2 backward compatibility on the PS3 would only have been interesting for me if it was region free. If I can't use a PS3 to play my PS2 imports, it might as well not have any BC.

The only problem comes when my PS2 finally gives up the ghost (knock on wood, it's done a great job so far). Those slim PStwo models aren't very swap-trick friendly, so I would have to get a modified version. But you don't want to know what people are asking for pre-modified PS2's, it's ridiculous.

[Gentlegamer]

Speaking of PS2 slim, I just bought a new one to replace my original slim that I messed up by mistakenly trying to play an Xbox game on it. The PS2 slim has undergone a hardware revision itself, being a bit lighter and not needing an laptop-style AC adapter, as well as minor cosmetic changes to its case. I must admit, Sony does good hardware revisions, so it wouldn't surprise me if the PS3 slim is rock solid.

[NeoVamp]

that I messed up by mistakenly trying to play an Xbox game on it.


How does one kill a console by putting a wrong disc in it?
its not like it would explode out of jealousy.

[Chilly Willy]

How does one kill a console by putting a wrong disc in it?
its not like it would explode out of jealousy.

The disc was overwhelmed by the awesomeness of the PS2 and melted. ;)

[Gentlegamer]

How does one kill a console by putting a wrong disc in it?
its not like it would explode out of jealousy.Nothing happened initially except an error message. Over time, the console wouldn't boot discs when first tried. Eventually, the console stopped booting discs all together.

[Devil N]

Nothing happened initially except an error message. Over time, the console wouldn't boot discs when first tried. Eventually, the console stopped booting discs all together.
Sounds more like a degraded laser. Putting a wrong disc in your PS2 doesn't kill it, it just produces an error message like you mentioned. You could try opening your old PStwo and tweaking the laser voltage (assuming that model allows it). That worked wonders in getting my old PSX to work again; it went from not reading any discs at all to reading even CD-R's with ease.

[Gentlegamer]

I don't have the tech skills to tweak the laser voltage. I would like to repair it eventually, though.

[NeoVamp]

Over time, the console wouldn't boot discs


So you blamed the Xbox disc, odd reasoning but hey..

[Gentlegamer]

So you blamed the Xbox disc, odd reasoning but hey..
Before the disc the console had no problems. The failure to boot discs only started after the Xbox disc.

[runback22]

Looks like the slim PS3 is functionally identical to the fat ones and therefore cannot bitstream.

It has been reported on Engadget that the PS3 slim will do bitstream DTS-HD and Dolby HD......That seals it for me.....Finally my 7.1 receiver will light up when it gets and HD signal......I'll use my launch ps3 in my living room and put the slim in my theater room.....

[TheEdge]

I'm not buying it. What a load of crap this generation was. I can't wait until its over.

[philiptwood]

Backwards compatibility, linux support or cheaper price ... it's irrelevant to me. How many exclusives does this system have anyway? I don't think I've ever been excited about any of the games that came out for the ps3 since most of them are on the 360. Next Gen Gaming IMO is going downhill. I just don't see it going forward. ¡Adios! Hello retro gaming!

It's just a different world now then it was back in the day... Retro does seem to be making a comeback.

[runback22]

It's just a different world now then it was back in the day... Retro does seem to be making a comeback.

After my 4th RROD on my launch 360, I have lost all interest in that machine. Seriously, I dont even want to touch it anymore. It disgusts me what a piece of crap that machine is. I have turned to retro and rediscovered my Sega Genesis. $60 games and expensive machines that cant even be expected to last 1 year, are turning me off from this gen of gaming....

[JFLY]

It has been reported on Engadget that the PS3 slim will do bitstream DTS-HD and Dolby HD......That seals it for me.....Finally my 7.1 receiver will light up when it gets and HD signal......I'll use my launch ps3 in my living room and put the slim in my theater room.....
Nice! While I already have a stand alone Blu-ray player that bitstreams the new HD audio formats, I will probably be picking up a Slim as a backup unit if my current Fat breaks.

[GameUser-16-32-128]

Blue Ray Shmu Ray I'm never gonna get any of those unless I can play VHS on them or digital movie files ripped from VHS. There's a huge list of unreleased movies out there that never made it to DVD and will never see the light of day on Blue Ray. This format was really made for newer crappy movies made by Michael Bay.

[gamevet]

Blue Ray Shmu Ray I'm never gonna get any of those unless I can play VHS on them or digital movie files ripped from VHS. There's a huge list of unreleased movies out there that never made it to DVD and will never see the light of day on Blue Ray. This format was really made for newer crappy movies made by Michael Bay.

Is that sarcasm?

Seriously, what does unreleased movies on DVD have to do with Blu-Ray?

I've had HDTV since 2005, and I'm pretty hard pressed to even consider buying anything on DVD.

[runback22]

At first, I admit, I didnt understand blu ray. I was happy with dvd and didnt see the big difference. Once I got a 1080p tv, that all changed. I wont purchase DVD anymore. I dont even rent it. I have a 7.1 system and the audio difference between blu and dvd is even bigger than the video. Its blu ray for me.....

[GriskaGyoran]

I still use laserdisc and DVD. I hardly watch Blu-Ray.

[Flygon]

Blu-ray is only worth it if you have a HD TV.

In my case I have a HD TV, and trust me, blu-ray is well untruly worth it... if the TV supports it to its fullest capability.

[gamevet]

Owning an HDTV without Blu-Ray is like running a Ferrari on low-octane fuel.

[runback22]

Owning an HDTV without Blu-Ray is like running a Ferrari on low-octane fuel.


And owning blu ray without HDTV is like seeing the little old lady driving 30mph on the freeway in a Mustang GT with racing stripes.....<-----saw that this morning driving to work.....

[Joe Redifer]

She was probably only driving 15mph. The racing stripes just made it seem like she was going 30.

[Chilly Willy]

More like an old lady driving a Lamborghini at 30 MPH. :D

[gamevet]

And owning blu ray without HDTV is like seeing the little old lady driving 30mph on the freeway in a Mustang GT with racing stripes.....<-----saw that this morning driving to work.....


Oh that kills me. I can't even imagine owning a 360 or PS3 and not having an HDTV to play it on. You might as well run your PC in 640 x 480 while you're at it.

I've never understood why someone would own a sports car and not even drive it the speed limit. My Mustang GT has seen 120+ at least a couple of times. :)

[runback22]

She was probably only driving 15mph. The racing stripes just made it seem like she was going 30.

:p:p That is possible.....

[TheEdge]

Sony Losing Money on PS3 Slim
http://kotaku.com/5344701/sony-losing-money-on-ps3-slim

As strange as it is to say, I would rather Sony do better and Microsoft crash and burn. :(

[mrbigreddog]

As strange as it is to say, I would rather Sony do better and Microsoft crash and burn. :(

I was totally against Sony on the PS3 at first... but now they have a slim and they finally got rumble back into the pictures (how stupid was that in the first place!!) I might have to get on of those slick beautiful machines! GRRR!!!

[AD2101]

I was totally against Sony on the PS3 at first... but now they have a slim and they finally got rumble back into the pictures (how stupid was that in the first place!!)

Pretty stupid. Sony's reasoning behind initially leaving out rumble was that it was supposedly "impossible" to add a vibration feature without messing up the motion sensing in the controller. Turns out it was more lazy than impossible. Personally I'd rather have rumble than motion control any day as there are few games that actually utilize the motion controls in a way that doesn't seem forced or gimmicky on the PS3.

This is where I think this generation gets interesting sales-wise. Sony has fixed a lot of their initial mistakes and finally has the console at a sticker price that won't send the average consumer into shock, and is also at the same price as the 360 Elite.

Now Sony just needs to get on the TV and the internets and tell everywhere who still doesn't know these re-branded, slimmed down systems exist to get off their ass, buy one, and promptly get back on said asses and enjoy them.

[Chilly Willy]

Pretty stupid. Sony's reasoning behind initially leaving out rumble was that it was supposedly "impossible" to add a vibration feature without messing up the motion sensing in the controller. Turns out it was more lazy than impossible. Personally I'd rather have rumble than motion control any day as there are few games that actually utilize the motion controls in a way that doesn't seem forced or gimmicky on the PS3.


Actually, it was patent license issues that kept rumble out initially. Immersion has some patents on force-feedback in game controllers and sued MS over it. MS settled out of court and paid Immersion to then sue Sony over their force-feedback controllers. Sony pulled all of their FF controllers until they could work out their own deal.

http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2007/03/8963.ars

[AD2101]

... That's what I get for trying to get my PS3 information from ukresistance :( I'll go back to my corner now. I know they aren't to be taken very seriously, but I could have swore the part I read was linked to a quote from Harrison or Hirai or the like.

[Chilly Willy]

... That's what I get for trying to get my PS3 information from ukresistance :( I'll go back to my corner now. I know they aren't to be taken very seriously, but I could have swore the part I read was linked to a quote from Harrison or Hirai or the like.

Well, until after they settled the patent mess, Sony DID make the claims you reported. Sony is often big on disinformation right up to the last second. Look at the PS3 Slim as an example. You probably just missed the reports like the one I linked from after their deal with Immersion because settling a patent issue isn't news, while being sued over them is.

[tomaitheous]

As strange as it is to say, I would rather Sony do better and Microsoft crash and burn. :(

That is strange. I figured you being a Dreamcast fan would rather see vengeance against Sony. I was rooting for the DC originally. Sony is teh sega killer. Sony needs to pay for what they've done :twisted:

[gamevet]

That is strange. I figured you being a Dreamcast fan would rather see vengeance against Sony. I was rooting for the DC originally. Sony is teh sega killer. Sony needs to pay for what they've done :twisted:


Sony didn't create the mess that Sega put upon itself. If anything, Sony exposed SOJ's short sided view of the industry.

I wonder how far back video game consoles would be today, if Sony never entered the console market.

[runback22]

Sony didn't create the mess that Sega put upon itself. If anything, Sony exposed SOJ's short sided view of the industry.

I wonder how far back video game consoles would be today, if Sony never entered the console market.


Well if we left it up to Nintendo, the Wii would be based off of N64 hardware....as innovative as some people claim Nintendo is, they really arent. What they are good at is rehashing old hardware and getting people to buy into it.....

[kool kitty89]

Actually, it was patent license issues that kept rumble out initially. Immersion has some patents on force-feedback in game controllers and sued MS over it. MS settled out of court and paid Immersion to then sue Sony over their force-feedback controllers. Sony pulled all of their FF controllers until they could work out their own deal.

http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2007/03/8963.ars

I wonder why Nintendo didn't have any such problems... (although they did have some other legal problem over the GameCube controllers)


Well if we left it up to Nintendo, the Wii would be based off of N64 hardware....as innovative as some people claim Nintendo is, they really arent. What they are good at is rehashing old hardware and getting people to buy into it.....

That wouldn't have necessarily been so bad (assuming in the previous gen, not currently). A system based on the N64 hardware, fully backwards compatible, but using upgraded, updated hardware could have been nice. Faster versions of the chipset with newer chip manufacturing processes, mabybe more capable versions of the chips as well (newer chips in the R4000 family, and full 64-bit wide external data paths), more and faster RAM (out of the box compatible with N64 expansion PAK), use high capacity optical media, and give proper support for the programable microcode.
Elliminating the primary drawbacks and bottlenecks of the N64 hardware, keeping compaitbility and greatly reducing development costs, could have been a neat machine.
Of course they could have screwed things up, or it could have still been relatively limited in capabilities (though there was a lot more room for improvement based on that hardware than the GC to Wii), but who knows?

Anyway that's completely off topic. :p

[gamevet]

I wonder why Nintendo didn't have any such problems... (although they did have some other legal problem over the GameCube controllers)

Nintendo paid Immersion. ;)




That wouldn't have necessarily been so bad (assuming in the previous gen, not currently). A system based on the N64 hardware, fully backwards compatible, but using upgraded, updated hardware could have been nice. Faster versions of the chipset with newer chip manufacturing processes, mabybe more capable versions of the chips as well (newer chips in the R4000 family, and full 64-bit wide external data paths), more and faster RAM (out of the box compatible with N64 expansion PAK), use high capacity optical media, and give proper support for the programable microcode.
Elliminating the primary drawbacks and bottlenecks of the N64 hardware, keeping compaitbility and greatly reducing development costs, could have been a neat machine.
Of course they could have screwed things up, or it could have still been relatively limited in capabilities (though there was a lot more room for improvement based on that hardware than the GC to Wii), but who knows?

Anyway that's completely off topic. :p

All you need as a reference, is the Gameboy. Nobody really challenged Nintendo on the handheld market until Sony brought out the PSP, so they didn't feel the need to make any real upgrades to their hardware. The original Gameboy didn't get color for over 5 years and it took over 10 years for N to even give any Gameboy a backlight. The DS probably wouldn't even exist, if not for the PSP.

[Cornugon]

I wonder why Nintendo didn't have any such problems... (although they did have some other legal problem over the GameCube controllers)



That wouldn't have necessarily been so bad (assuming in the previous gen, not currently). A system based on the N64 hardware, fully backwards compatible, but using upgraded, updated hardware could have been nice. Faster versions of the chipset with newer chip manufacturing processes, mabybe more capable versions of the chips as well (newer chips in the R4000 family, and full 64-bit wide external data paths), more and faster RAM (out of the box compatible with N64 expansion PAK), use high capacity optical media, and give proper support for the programable microcode.
Elliminating the primary drawbacks and bottlenecks of the N64 hardware, keeping compaitbility and greatly reducing development costs, could have been a neat machine.
Of course they could have screwed things up, or it could have still been relatively limited in capabilities (though there was a lot more room for improvement based on that hardware than the GC to Wii), but who knows?

Anyway that's completely off topic. :p

If Sony didn't enter the market, maybe the Saturn wasn't as rushed in as-is, the 32x would maybe have had a bigger gamelibrary and support and the follow-up would have probably been a halfway between the Saturn and the Dreamcast. I wonder if Microsoft would still have entered the market, but if they did, they would have an probably even more arrogant Sega and Nintendo up against.

On Topic: By the way, on those comparison screenshots the PS3 slim version doesn't really look much smaller than the original one. And damn what a hideous contraption the original PS2 was :o!

[runback22]

On Topic: By the way, on those comparison screenshots the PS3 slim version doesn't really look much smaller than the original one. And damn what a hideous contraption the original PS2 was :o!

I have both and I can tell you, it is....The width is actually about the same, but the height is the main difference. The slim is about half as tall as the phat....Its no where near the difference in size from the ps2 phat to slim, but it is still a pretty big difference.

[kool kitty89]

The original Gameboy didn't get color for over 5 years and it took over 10 years for N to even give any Gameboy a backlight.

Well, if you aren't counting the Game Boy Light. (1998, JP only)
The lack of backlight was a major reason for having the longer battery life (and contributing to smaller size and lower cost) compared to the GG, though I kind of wonder why Sega didn't come out with a cut-down, cheaper (maybe a bit smaller), non-backlit GameGear. (with reflective backed screen naturally)
There was also the possibility for a side-lit screen (even a more primitive one more like old digital watches), either for Gameboy or hypothetical cut-down GameGear. (in either case switchable of course, with normal reflective backing, which would mean it'd still work great in very bright conditions unlike the real GG or modern handhelds)

[Knuckle Duster]

I wonder how much heat Sony took from security companies when clustering software became available for the stock PS3.

A few grand could give anybody with the know how an effective, ridiculously cheap 'super computer' that can bust encryption keys in no time.

It's the only 'Reason' I can think of for them to quietly yank OS support, as I don't believe it would have been much effort for them to port their hyper visor support code to run on the new CPUs.