Originally posted by TheUnknown
I can't see games utilizing the DS's touch screen, and in my oppinion.. its ugly. I see it as being a less expensive alternative to the PSP, aimed at younger crowds who would abuse a handheld more.
The PSP on the other hand.. it came as a huge disappointment to hear that it would use wifi instead of bluetooth (battery consumption issues).. but the battery isn't so much of an issue with the PSP for a number of reasons. It will be easilly removable.. and removing it will not affect your progress on a game, it will stay right where it was when you powered it off. Many games will be designed to lower read-on-the-fly usage which would drain the battery quickly. Yes, the big ass widescreen TFT is gonna eat some juice... but as said before, its easy to carry spare rechargables should you need them (hell i bought the sony-ericsson k700i cellphone, fully knowing the battery sucks, and its the best phone i've ever seen).
Sony has always been known for pulling off high-quality stuff (look at the ps2, it uses a 128-bit processor from the ground up, while the xbox uses a 32-bit processor designed much later, and the ps2 holds its own). The PSP will not be a disappointment. Its graphics are equal to the PS2's and the games promise not to just be ports, but whole new sequels. Sony has not only the hardware, but like 50 developers backin the PSP. So without a doubt, i'll pick the PSP for the older crowd. The DS i think will be tailored more like the gamecube, to be less expensive and more durable.
I'll include a bit on the PS3, not that its related, but its cool anyways. Microsoft nor Nintendo will be able to compete with it.. Now before anyone jumps in.. i can back this up. The PS3 will be using cell processor technology. Most of you probably have not heard of this, however it is a VERY powerful technology that is sorta implemented in the Apple PowerPC processor. Sony, Toshiba, and IBM are designing it to be based on the PowerPC but MUCH more powerful. Basically it is made up of multiple processor cores hyperlinked together to allow each to work on seperate jobs, therefore increasing efficiency and speed. This sounds very futuristic.. but expect to see some computers rolling out with this in 2005. The PS3 is slated for early 2006.
More on the specs now, and offa the technology. First estimates on the Cell's power were 1 teraflop, but Sony has updated the number to 2 teraflops. Now.. this is much more powerful then any PC made today with the best specs. 1 teraflop is over 100 times the processing power of a Pentium 4 2.4ghz and quite a bit more powerful then Microsoft’s 3 -3.5GHz G5 CPUs. The PS3 will be among the top 300 processors on earth.
\"That's where the apparently outrageous performance claims come from; a four-way assembly running at a planned 4 GHz offers 32 x 4 = 128 Gigaflops in potential floating-point execution. A 64-way supergrid made by stacking eight eight-way assemblies would have a total of 512 attached processors and could, therefore, break 2 teraflops if data transportation kept up with the processors.\"
Basically 8 processing units running at 4ghz each make up a core and they can fit up to 64 of these CPU cores in an array. Its doubtful they will actually put 64 of these to equal 2 teraflops.. but its possible to see 16, even 32 (32, being a teraflop).
PS3 will use Bluray, the new Sony DVD technology which allows developers to store much more on a DVD. Thats about all i know on it. I heard the first PS3's for devs, the chips ran so unstably that they overheated and melted through the board. So the devs had to make a special freezer for them. Its looking better now though (no.. the ps3 won't come in a mini-fridge, sorry). Oh yeah, the game developers are having a problem making the games because no current PC can handle the graphics, so they must be emulated.
Its all good, Sony is really starting to become a hardware powerhouse, and I honestly don't think nintendo and microsoft will be able to keep up.
I think you fail you to see beyond what the specs may tell you. Also, your concept of 32 bit and 128 bit is a little off. In comparison, the PS2 uses many more polygons than necessary on various in game objects, because of it's design and processor speed, etc. The Xbox excels here, because it simplifies the process greatly--not so much by a fast processor, but by raw memory. This is also why it in fact so large.
Also, as said, the machine (PS3) sounds like it will create A LOT of fucking heat. Expect more noise from this than from a computer clocking 3.5 gigs and carry an 6800...
The cell technology: Sounds great and all, but your games are going to be limited to a few engines, I am sad to say. All of you FPS's will look surprisingly similiar, and your RPG's, etc.
Processor design, 'split-job' system: Once again, you'll be able to cook eggs on your machine, and no doubt it'll be very large. Sounds efficient, but coding on this bitch will be another pain.
Your speed is nothing but theoretical. Unless you made the perfect game, you have lost effeciency in design. I'm not saying your speeds are not possible, I am just saying that they can never be reached through normal developing means.
Take a look at the Xenon stat's and i'll play devil's advocate, too. It has flaws. All do. But while your PS3 is made for idealistic power, speed, and function, the Xenon aims to tap every source to be as efficient as possible. Efficiency is key. It has always been. Take a good video card, but without some good ram and a decent processor, nothing works. Have a decent processor and good ram, but a crappy video card? Same problem. Things need to work and interconnect properly, and must work efficienctly (It's 1 mb cache for it's three processors is an example of efficiency. You sacrifice some raw speed for some backed speed, and everything's smooth [xenon]).
And, just for a good laugh: "Sony has always been known for pulling off high-quality stuff". Let's just say I couldn't finish reading for another few minutes (my old DVD players and tvs are FINE examples, and not to mention my shitty PS2 disc drive--I've gone through two, count 'em, two Playstation 2s, in just 2 years (back in 2000 and 2001).
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