Sony president reveals PS3 details at Tokyo conference

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dipdude

Forerunner
Amid rumors in Japanese newspapers that Sony was set to officially announce a delay for the Playstation 3 launch to Fall 2006, Sony president Ken Kutaragi announced that he was going to hold a special conference in Tokyo at the PlayStation Business Meeting. The conference was open to the press, and Kutaragi played the event much like a Steve Jobs keynote, revealing only a bit of information at a time.

First up was a review of the company's PlayStation business as it currently stands. Next the comments turned to new products for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). The first such add-on is a version of the PS2's popular EyeToy product. Also on offer is a PlayStation 1 emulator for the PSP. Sony will offer PS1 games for download on the PSP at a low price. Presumably the available titles will be ones that don't contain large amounts of full-motion video, so that they can be stored in the PSP's Memory Stick, although if the rumors are true about a new 8 GB NAND PSP then players could easily store full versions of the PS1's games just as they were originally on CD.

The PSP is scheduled for a major firmware update this spring, with plans for a videophone and VoIP capability, as well as a Global Positioning System (GPS) add-on module, which will be supported by certain games. The next version of the PSP web browser will feature Flash support.



Finally, Kutaragi got to the PlayStation 3. The launch date for the PS3 was announced as being some time within the first ten days of November 2006. Unlike the PlayStation 2, this launch is now scheduled for simultaneous release in Japan, the United States and Europe, emulating Microsoft's worldwide launch strategy with the Xbox 360. Sony is targeting a production rate of 1 million units a month for each market, bringing available units up to 6 million worldwide through November and December 2006, Kutaragi said.

The reason for the delay was given as "problems with a copy protection format" for its Blu-ray high-definition DVD player, preventing a planned release this spring.

Some good news for developers and gamers: the PS3 will ship with a 60 GB hard drive included with the system, meaning that game developers can assume that one is present. The PS3 will be backwards compatible with PS2 and PS1 games, playing them at higher resolutions than on the original hardware. The PS3 will apparently support "next-generation HDMI" which could mean HDMI with 5.1 sound support, something that current HDMI hardware apparently has difficulty with.

No details on pricing were given at the conference.
 
Ps3 to ship with built-in 60gb hardrive?!

The ps1 emulator thing is awesome for the PSP, Ps1 now on a handheld. 8 gigs MMC has been announced by Sony. And Datel keeps releasing its hard drives for the PsP too.

How M$ is going to respond to this, and ps3 release date will be interesting :P
 
November 2006 wow.
60GB HDD double wow.

Go Sony Go Sony.

:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:
 
params7 said:
Ps3 to ship with built-in 60gb hardrive?!

The ps1 emulator thing is awesome for the PSP, Ps1 now on a handheld. 8 gigs MMC has been announced by Sony. And Datel keeps releasing its hard drives for the PsP too.

How M$ is going to respond to this, and ps3 release date will be interesting :P
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Theyre gonna drop the price of the xbox360, what else. We may possible see HALO 3 or somehing too :P
 
Here’s their summary so far for anyone who wants to catch up:

PS3:
  • - GLOBAL RELEASE NOVEMBER 11th
  • - 60GB HDD 2.5†with pre-installed Linux OS will be included?
  • - Dev kit specs fix as of today
  • - Final PS3 development kits will be sent to developers in June
  • - 10.000.000 BD-ROMS manufacturing capability per month @ cost around same as 2-layer DVD
  • - Every PS3 game will be on a Blu Ray Disc, in an attempt to prevent piracy
  • - Price will not be less than 50.000YEN (~$425USD)
  • - PS3 will have HDMI support from launch
  • - Sony plans to produce 1 million PS3s a month; 6 million PS3s for FY2006 (by the end of March 07)
  • - Basic online service free, no details yet (could be XBLS for PS3)
  • - Full backwards compatibility, hi-res and texture filtering for all titles (akin to what the Xbox 360 does to Halo)
  • - The online service will be working off of GameSpy technology
PSP:
  • - Videophone in autumn
  • - MinGol GPS
  • - Eyetoy
  • - Flash support with next update
  • - Mem.Stick boot support in autumn
  • - First-gen PS1 official emulator
  • - Buy/download games from net
  • - 199 CORE PACK PSP being released in USA/Europe by end of March (March 22nd for Europe)
  • - 19,800 yen Ceramic White PSP CORE PACK from 15 April in Japan
 
Dipdude you never fail to amaze me,it's ppl like you tht I visit TE often :)

Looks like the PS3 price is less than I expected so I guess now I have to find something else to spend on as well :P

But as for the latest news,thanks again dipdude..you should host your own news channel :ohyeah:
 
dipdude said:
The launch date for the PS3 was announced as being some time within the first ten days of November 2006
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Wow. I'm absolutely shocked at this delay in launch.:O

dipdude said:
this launch is now scheduled for simultaneous release in Japan, the United States and Europe, emulating Microsoft's worldwide launch strategy with the Xbox 360. Sony is targeting a production rate of 1 million units a month for each market
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Only a million at launch for each region within the first month! They'll be sold out within the first week.:S

dipdude said:
the PS3 will ship with a 60 GB hard drive included with the system,
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I highly doubt the PS3 will come standard with a 60gb HDD. The PS3 sounds costly enough as it is.:hap5:

dipdude said:
The PS3 will be backwards compatible with PS2 and PS1 games, playing them at higher resolutions than on the original hardware.
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Can a game be played on any resolution even if it was'nt ever intended to be?

dipdude said:
The PS3 will apparently support "next-generation HDMI" which could mean HDMI with 5.1 sound support, something that current HDMI hardware apparently has difficulty with.
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Well, the PS3 launch games certainly do'nt. So I wonder what will.
 
awesome :yahoo: so finally Sony has decided to fix the release date atleast :hap2: the price is a bit too high i suppose but considering what its going to deliver who cares abt the price ;)
 
ahem does some 1 recall...Windows Vista being released smwhere arnd tht time...also UT2k7 is expected in november...
 
IceFusion said:
ahem does some 1 recall...Windows Vista being released smwhere arnd tht time...also UT2k7 is expected in november...
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:hap2: Thx for the info ice,now I can use the rest of the cash for vista,halo 2 and ut2k7 after ps3 is acquired.
 
Another good reason to get the PS3 and not make a bad investment on the 360 like I did.:hap2:

TOKYO--Today at the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing in Tokyo, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutagari made it official--the PlayStation 3 has been delayed. The news confirmed widely circulated Japanese newspaper reports, which said that the delay was due to copyright-protection problems with the next-generation console's Blu-ray drive. For his part, Kutaragi would say only that the delay was due to "Blu-ray spec finalization."

Kutaragi told the crowd at the event that the PS3 would now launch in November 2006 worldwide. That dispelled fears that the console would make it to Japan by the fall but would miss the all-important holiday shopping season in the US and Europe. In fact, Kutaragi explicitly told the crowd of game retailers and journalists present that the PS3 would arrive before Thanksgiving in all territories.

Besides announcing the delay, Kutaragi made official another widely reported aspect of the PS3. He said that Sony is indeed preparing an Xbox Live-like online gaming service for the console, which would be called the "PlayStation Network Platform." Though he was short on specifics, the executive did say that currently Sony planned the "basic service"--which will allow online gameplay--will be "free." He also went on to outline the service in a fair amount of detail.

While the simultaneous tri-territory PS3 scheme may sound much like Microsoft's international launch of the Xbox 360, Sony plans to avoid the shortages that befell its competitor. Kutaragi said that the company plans on producing at least 1 million units of the console each month in order to keep the supply channel full. He said the goal was to ship 6 million PS3s worldwide by March 2007.

[UPDATE] The SCE president also told the crowd that the PS3 would use a 60GB 2.5-inch hard disc drive (HDD). A slide show during the presentation said the HDD would be loaded with the Linux operating system instead of Microsoft's Windows OS. The show also said it could be used as a "home server," could be directly connected to the Internet, and would be fully "upgradable."

Kutaragi also made it clear that the hard drive will be necessary to play games--Sony is telling developers to make games assuming every PS3 has a hard drive installed. "We view the hard drive to be mandatory for the PS3," he said. "Rather than have developers create games for the PS3 with or without the HDD, we will be asking them to develop games as though all PS3s have the HDD installed."

However, Kutaragi revealed that Sony had not decided whether or not the PlayStation 3 would come with the hard-drive preinstalled. "We might end up installing it in all PS3s, though that depends on the market," he said. This raises the possibility that the PS3 could be sold without a piece of hardware needed to play PS3 games--in effect forcing consumers to buy a peripheral for basic functionality.

Kutaragi also said that PS3 games would be released only on Blu-ray discs, as DVDs have become too easy for software pirates to duplicate. The high-capacity format is capable of storing around 50GB on a single disc. Sony reps confirmed the PS3 will still play DVDs and CDs, as well as PS2 and PS discs, as previously announced.
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Here's the link..
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6145972.html

And now the best part,the details of the online service which is the PNP-Playstation Network Platform

TOKYO--While the PlayStation 2 has been the top-selling current-generation console in the gaming market, it never had a powerful online gaming service like Microsoft's Xbox Live. That will change later this year, when Sony Computer Entertainment debuts a long-rumored online service simultaneously with the console's worldwide launch in early November.

Today at the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing in Tokyo, SCE president Ken Kutaragi unveiled the new network service, tentatively titled the PlayStation Network Platform. The service is currently being codeveloped with Sony Online Entertainment. SOE currently runs the Station.com online gaming site, which provides the infrastructure for a series of PC massively multiplayer online role-playing games, such as EverQuest II, Star Wars Galaxies, and PlanetSide. It also provides the infrastructure for online play of the PS2 games Champions of Norrath and its sequel, as well as PSP games such as Untold Legends: The Warriors Code and the forthcoming Field Commander.

Basic services for the PSNP will initially be free, like Xbox Live Silver. However, unlike Microsoft's entry-level online service, which doesn't allow gameplay, the basic level of PSNP will provide gamers with the necessary services and functions required for online gaming, according to Kutaragi.

Also unlike Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network Platform will allow licensees to connect their own game servers to the network. SCE will provide a common infrastructure for the service, but the PSNP will use the standard Internet. Unlike with Xbox Live, licensees will be able to connect their own game servers to the PSNP.

PlayStation Network Platform will feature the standard set of communication and gameplay functionalities, including video chat, messaging, matchmaking, ranking, and game data upload and download. PS3 owners will also be able to purchase content via an Xbox Live Marketplace-like download service.

Despite rumors that Sony will make its back catalog of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games available for download, Kutaragi did not specifically say whether games would be offered as a part of the PSNP's online commerce functions. However, given the success of retro games on Xbox Live Arcade, such a move is likely, as indicated by the announced ability to boot games from the PS3 HDD.

Interestingly, part of the PSNP's commerce functionality is called "selling item by item." Since SOE runs an online auction house that lets players of its massively multiplayer online role-playing games sell in-game items for cash, this raises the possiblity that gamers could sell game items to each other over the PSNP. Sony had not confirmed said functionality as of press time.

The full list of planned services for the PlayStation Network Platform is as follows:

Communication/Community:
Account created through user registration
Lobbies/Matchmaking
Scores/Ranking
Game data upload/download
Presence/Friend List/Avatar
Voice/Video Chat
Messaging

Commerce
Shops (can be accessed from inside games)
Content Download
Game boot from HDD
Subscription
Selling item by item
Micropayment
Entitlement Management

Account
User Registration
Login ID/Handlename issue

SCE will be providing system developer kits to publishers that plan on developing games that use the PlayStation Network Platform. The kits will be distributed at the end of this month.
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Link..
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6145981.html

This looks like a major blow to the XBOX Live:clap:.

Sad news for gamers who buy pirated stuff...

Good news for ppl who were wondering whether they could play online without paying..:hap2:

All I can say is......YAHOOO!!!
 
Online free or not, it will hardly matter to people of India. Online games on ps2 since mid-2005 are all 'broadband only' Requring a minimum of 512 kbps for gaming with as little lag as possible. All with lower bandswidth are kicked out of servers due to immense lag even on 256, which our ISP's, unfortunately have just barely started providing it....and don't even start on ps3/360 online.
 
^^ Lag / Latency, doesnt matter by Speed of Internet! It matters with routing.

You should play on Singaporean/HK Servers as they give most indians 100ms!
 
That is if Ps2 allows us to. Online security in consoles is totally different and it actually works due to less complexity. NTSC/u (USA), PAL and NTSC/J (Japan) are different regions in which the ps2 has been divided. And you can only play games also bought from that particualr region online only. For example, i can't go online on Ntsc/J ps2 with a game bought from Europe which will be Pal, i'll be halted with regional error. So, you can't choose the server you want to play in, consoles are totally restricted to their particular region and can only connect to servers inthat region, only, which the developers/sony themselves set up!

(However, there are ways to bypass this security, which requires heavy modding and is only compatible with old fatboy ps2, slimlines have a new securty system and yet no hacker group has been able to exploit its built-in network adapter to fool the servers, then Ps3 is surely going to take a while :p)
 
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