Who cares about better graphics? They're as good as they need to be now. Better graphics means more money for both hardware and software. It also takes the focus from game content since so much effort goes into taking advantage of the graphics capabilities. If this is your main concern, stick with PC gaming. I'd rather see their focus directed toward better titles and more multimedia options, like digital video recording, mp3 playing, etc., and utilizing Sony's memory sticks for game saves so that if will be compatible with other Sony products.
You know what they say: "It's not the bike it's the rider" "It's not the bat it's the hitter" "It's not the rim it's the shooter" "It's not the brush it's the painter" "It's not the platform it's the developer" Btw - i'm not sure who 'they' actually is...
I don't even play single player or coop. It's all about 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, up to 8v8. On different TVs of course so no screen looking.
I heard Sony was coming out with a "PSX" before a PS3 comes out. Supposed to be some sort of upgrade on the PS2 with all the same features.
I thought it was already out in Japan? Or coming soon at least.. It has a DVD burner, I think. That's the big difference between PS2 and PSX. The PSX is supposed to be more of a media center for the household.
Chris Deering Discusses PSX, PSP The new president of Sony Europe recently spoke with PlayStation.com about online gaming, the PSP, the PSX and more... ... PSX is coming next year. Do you see that as a particularly significant and important product for the business? The screen in the living room is now able to deliver dozens of TV channels and, in some cases, more than a hundred channels, depending on the satellite or cable system that you're hooked up to, but online interactive use of television is in its infancy. Attempts in the past have been made with web TV and, more recently, with Tivo type PVR features, and they've got amazing reviews from people who use them and who understand them, but the mass market still hasn't quite caught onto that. But it is happening, and we think that PlayStation is an efficient and very exciting way to open up the world of what you really can do in your living room using the power of PlayStation, the Emotion Engine, the graphics chip and navigation software. PSX makes that all very simple with a fun and easily understood navigation system, which is the core of it really. And once you have that in place, along with the sizeable hard drive capacity, you can also do other things that make more sense in the living room than on the desktop. For example, edit your home movies, do your own playlists for living room enjoyment with music and even more robust forms of online gaming; possibly downloading demos of games, or at least non-playable video of games and, with an electronic programme guide, even allowing the power of PlayStation to create your own channel for you. So it's still early days for the general category, but the signs in Japan are that the interest in PSX is rapidly skyrocketing; the hits on the website, the pre-orders on the mail order side of the business, the .com delivery method, as well as pre-orders in stores would suggest that there's a revolution about to happen, and we're very excited that it's coming to Europe. http://gamesource.yahoo.com/article/4148 ------------- Sony PSP details revealed Find out what will be powering Sony's upcoming handheld. In the PlayStation Meeting 2003, Sony Computer Entertainment revealed details and specifications for its upcoming handheld, the PSP. SCE described the PSP as the "21st-century Walkman," showing confidence in the company's upcoming product, which utilizes a number of high-end components. The PSP will consist of two microprocessors, an advanced sound engine, a 3D graphics engine, a 4.5-inch 16:9-format TFT LCD screen, and a number of connection capabilities. The PSP will run under two 32-bit MIPS R4000 microprocessors, described by SCE president Ken Kutaragi as each having 10 times the clock speed of the PlayStation’s CPU and the same amount of power as the PlayStation 2's CPU. One of the microprocessors will be used as the CPU, and the other will be utilized as an engine dedicated to handling media such as movies and music with its own 2MB of memory. Although the PSP's main memory will be 8MB, Kutaragi commented that it is an extraordinary volume for a handheld game console. In general, all the components used in the PSP are designed for low energy consumption since it is a portable device, and the microprocessors feature a low-voltage (1.2V) design. The GPU (graphics processor unit) will work as both a 3D rendering engine and a surface drawing engine. Morphing, tessellation, and other rendering abilities are supported by hardware to reduce the loads on programs. The GPU will come with 2MB of VRAM and a bus with a 5.3gbps transfer rate. In theory, the PSP will be able to handle a maximum of 33 million polygons a second. In terms of sound, the PSP will feature 3D sound and 7.1 channels, adopting the use of a digital signal processor named the VME (Virtual Mobile Engine). The VME is a technology developed by Sony for use in its portable MD and MP3 players, and it allows sounds to be processed with less energy consumption compared with traditional DSPs (digital sound processors). As firmware, the VME can be updated to the latest instruction codes when required. The PSP's VME will also allow playback of MP3-, AAC-, and ATRAC3-format music under SCE's current plans. The control buttons for the PSP are similar to the PlayStation joypad--there will be circle, cross, triangle, square, R1, L1, start, and select buttons, as well as a directional pad and an analog stick. As revealed in prior announcements, the PSP will read proprietary 60mm wide optical disks named UMDs (universal media discs) that can hold up to 1.8GB. The PSP will support advanced-video-coding-format MPEG4s that have high compression rates, and one UMD can contain up to two hours of DVD-quality video. There will be an advanced encryption technology used on the PSP for the copy protection of software as well. In terms of communication, the PSP will come equipped with 802.11-standard LAN, IrDA, and USB 2.0. 802.11-standard LAN is a wireless LAN specification that can communicate in a 100-meter range with a transfer rate of up to 2mbps, and IrDA is a standard for infrared wireless communication. To promote early development of games, SCE plans to distribute development kits for the PC that will emulate the PSP at about a 10th of its actual speed. A more complete hardware-based developer kit will be released in spring 2004. SCE aims to make programming software for the PSP as easy to develop as the original PlayStation, and provide programmers with a number of libraries and middleware to support development. The prototype of the PSP and several game titles are scheduled to be revealed at E3 2004, followed by a display of games at the Tokyo Game Show 2004 and the release of the handheld in the last fiscal quarter of 2004. No price was revealed for the PSP in today's announcements. PSP Specifications: PSP CPU Core MIPS R4000 32-bit core 128-bit bus 1-333MHz (1.2V) 8MB eDRAM main memory 2.6Gbps bus bandwidth FPU, VFPU (2.6 billion flops) 3D graphics extended instructions I Cache, D Cache PSP Media Engine MIPS R4000 32-bit core 128-bit bus 1-333MHz (1.2V) 2MB eDRAM submemory I-Cache, D-Cache 90nm CMOS PSP Graphics Core 1-166MHz (1.2V) 256-bit bus 2MB eDRAM (VRAM) 5.3Gbps bus bandwidth 664 million pixels per second pizel fill rate 3D curved surface and 3D polygon engine Support for compressed textures, hardware clipping, morphing, bone, tessellation, bezier, b-spline (NURBS) Maximum of 33 million polygons per second 24-bit full color (RGBA) Sound Core VME (Virtual Mobile Engine) Reconfigurable DSP 166MHz (1.2 V) 128-bit bus 5 giga operations per second CODEC capabilities 3D sound, 7.1 channels Synthesizer, effecter, and other abilities ATRAC3 plus, AAC, MP3 for audio Media UMD (Universal Media Disc) 60mm-diameter disc 660nm laser diode 1.8GB capacity (dual-layered disc) 11Mbps transfer rate AES crypto system Unique disc ID Shock proof Regional code system Parental lock system Repeat ordering system Other Specifications 16:9-format widescreen TFT LCD (480x272 pixels, 24-bit full color) MPEG4 AVC decoder Wireless LAN (802.11) IrDA (Infrared Data Association) USB 2.0 Memory Stick AV in/out Stereo headphone out Lithium ion battery Expansion port http://www.gamespot.com/all/news/news_6072659.html
PSX is something of a joke, PSP could be something significant. If Sony isn't just blowing smoke up everyone's a$$e$ again.
GT4 will have great gameplay, but the graphics look crummy compared to Project Gotham 2. The detail on the PGR2 Chicago track is amazing - it's cool being able to see all the real life shops at the correct locations. I saw GT4 in motion and it looks pretty good but not much different than GT3. It still has those terrible looking cardboard cutout people.
Yeah, it is awesome, I used to live in Chicago and when I saw that the McDonalds was where it was supposed to be and the Nordstrom's, I just thought that rocked. Florence is my personal favorite though.
WOW the PSP sounds really bad ass. I think I might have to pass on buying the Gameboy SP and wait for this PSP instead...though I am sure it will be a long time until we ever see this thing out, that is if we do. Where is the analog stick? That article said it is supposed to have one? Oh well. Just a graphic picture. This thing sure does sound cool though. The Games: This thing will be sweet. It looks expensive, but if you could watch movies on it too that would be sweet.
