belboz

Well, apparently Kyodo News Service has released a tidbit about Sony's current development work on the PS3. It's been picked up by AP and Reuters, so I'm sure some of you have already seen this.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...e/japan_sony_3

There's some interesting elements to the story, but it's hard to accept all of it at face value. Anyway, take it for what it's worth. Here's the highlights:

- Set to debut in 2005

- Using the processors being developed jointly with Toshiba and IBM

- 200 times faster than existing consoles/pc's

- Uses fiber optic internet connection, perhaps in lieu of onboard storage (AKA DVD drive) ?!?

It's this last bit about the fiber that puzzles/intrigues me. In some of the other stories that I didn't link, they seem to suggest that instead of using a DVD or any kind of disc storage mechanism, the PS3 would instead rely on the high speed data connection to load games.

**** Warning - the following is a bunch of wild ass speculation/horsesh<please don't ban me namja>it ****

Now, if you remember some comments that came out a couple months ago at the GDC about the PS3 and distributed computing, it sort of starts to make a little sense if you view the PS3 as something of a thin client.

It has just enough firmware to get itself booted and logged onto the network. It has a large local memory and relies on local processing power for actual gameplay, but it streams all the data it needs over the fiber.

Basically, I'd guess it'd work something like this: When you turn your machine "on," you'd find a browser that among other things lets you access the entire PS3 game library over the network (probably all 5 of them at launch ).

When a new game is released, it would have a "premiere date" when it would become available and you wouldn't have to worry about whether it had shipped yet from an e-tailer or whether your local B&M had it in stock. It would just magically appear in a menu one day.

The main benefit of electronic distribution of games to Sony, of course, is that they no longer have to share the profits of game sales with retailers. Also, it gives them the flexibility to explore new sales models like pay-for-play (essentially like renting games from Blockbuster) or maybe even some kind of subscription model where you pay a set price per month to play any game you want however much you want.

Now all this seems like it'd be a tremendous burden on servers especially when a highly anticipated title debuts and everybody wants to play it at once. That's where the distributed aspect of the network comes into play. Since, in general, your machine is never really "off" and always connected to the network, Sony would rely on a peer to peer connections whenever possible.

So say you sit down and pick GTA5 to play. Sony's servers would check to see that your account is in good standing and then find someone near you who is already playing it or was playing it last. Your machine would then stream the program data from that machine instead of the server.

The beauty of this system is that as the number of users increases, so does the size of storage in your distributed system. The more popular a game is, the more people are playing it and thus the more copies of it are already out residing in consoles available for distribution.

For hot new titles, a few days before the release, Sony would start to preload the title in machines. The game wouldn't be available for play until the release date, but it'd be residing on any machine that's left dormant for the few days prior to release. And it'd use a viral distribution model so that Sony only needs to seed the network initially with a relatively few copies and let it replicate peer to peer until it reaches whatever amount they deem necessary.

Of course, the games themselves would be radically different as well. Sports games almost would have no single player option any more. To play single pick-up games, the system would track your win/loss record and match you with players of similar ability (or higher or lower as you might wish). For more in depth play, you could join an online league (public or private) where you draft/trade players and play through a whole season. The stats for the players would be live (as in Bonds has been on a tear this week in real life so that's reflected in his online counterpart's play). It'd bring in a whole element of fantasy league dynamics to the game. Don't ask me what they're going to do during the off season :P

I could go on and on with each genre, but basically, a distributed system gives you unprecedented power and flexbility. With a traditional client/server model, the power and bandwidth required on the server side would quickly become impossible as your clients scale into the millions. Look at the problems that MMPORGS have with just a few hundred thousand clients. With a distributed model, however, your bandwidth, storage, and processing power all scale linearly with your installed base. Aside from management and housekeeping issues, Sony's server side requirements are reduced considerably.

Anyway, I really doubt that Sony is truely being this ambitious with the PS3. Even in 2005, nobody is going to have OC3 fiber running to their homes. But the idea of it sort of got me going and I do think the future of console gaming is in this direction.

Groucho

Hmm...sounds suspiciously like DIVX. I don't like the idea of "streaming" video games (this has actually been around since the Atari 2600 days). I like owning my games, and I don't want to be constrained from playing my console just because the server is overloaded or down.

Captain Harlock

Anyone else remember "Playcable" or The Sega Channel?

Robb

Tuan Jim

How do they plan on getting 3rd party support? Is Sony going to pay the companies royalties for every person who logs on to that game or what? The fact remains that broadband, while still catching on over here, is even less widely used in Japan -- only really in the cities, many municipalities still have very limited access IIRC.

Tuan Jim

KissyFurNYC

Just wondering out loud... Would this be monthly/ yearly subscription based, pay-per-game or pay-per-play? Incredible post belboz! Thought provoking!

s}{ammer

Keep in mind that the technology for online gaming has been around for awhile but in three years there could be some drastic changes. It is very possible this could be better gaming than anything we have seen yet, but don't get your hopes up on the distributed computing. My bet would be that the PS3 would have an HDD that is huge and would hold a maximum number of games. So you would pay a certain price and the game would be installed automatically on the machine, then you play it till you are tired of it, run out of space form more games, or a time limit is reached. This could be great, we could rent a game without going to the local store and without really loading any media. Then you get it for 5 days and it expires. I am not sure about the comparison to DIVX because this system would be better for consumers than what we have now. With DIVX we already had the DVD technology and it was obvious to use consumers that the only reason for the competing technology was to line the pockets of the rich people selling it. DIVX gave consumers no real advantage over DVD. With this system we could either rent or purchase a game and never have to go to the store, never have to return it, never have to wait in lines or attempt to find a new game the day it came out. There are many advantages to a system like this and I can't wait to see ifthey can pull it off.

jeffdsmith

No way that will ever work.

One thing I do like about the PS3 is that Toshiba and IBM are doing the processor, I think it's going to be killer.

I'm always going to want "own" the game, unless its a lot cheaper...

joshd2012

Just incase you missed it, the processor being developed by IBM, code name "Cell" has already been spead tested. It has been clocked at 110 GHz.

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/355/355205p1.html

Outlaw

Yes!! At this rate the promised PS9 in the commercials will be here in no time!!

Seriously though, a lot of that seems crazy, but thanks for posting the article.

tylerwillis

So... where do I signup to be a beta tester?

belboz

Yeah, I saw that. Unfortunately, it's just another case of IGN demonstrating how much room they have in their ass by putting their head in it.

Back in February, one of IBM's labs which has been working on a SiGe (silicon-germanium) process, touted that they had achieved the fabrication of 200 GHz transistors. They even put together a few sample circuits using these transistors that then operated at 110 GHz. This is a far cry from claiming that a whole chip could run at 110 GHz and certainly in no way are they proclaiming this process ready for mass manufacturing.

SiGe processes aren't new, but typically, like galium arsenide or any of the exotic semiconductor processes, they are reserved for extremely high performance/high cost products.

The "cell" processor that Sony has confirmed will be used in the PS3, will likely be made on a .10 micron SOI process that they've licensed from IBM. This is a much more conventional process and as such I wouldn't expect such a processor to debut at much more than 10 GHz.

No problem. It certainly wasn't my intention to write anything that long, but the whole distributed thing really got me going. I'm actually thinking of expanding on it, removing the PS3 references, and just make it an article about the future of gaming in general.

gcribbs

do it

I am too old for this ....


I think as much as they would like this type of model that the resistance to it would be high. I do think that this type of thing might be tested on a specific game instance to gain acceptance and then the PS4 brings it home in 2010

Kumar J

As far as I know Sony has struck a deal with USEN to use thier fiber optic connection to start testing this system.
Japan is really growing very fast with ADSL 8MB market but fiber optic of 100MB is already available!I really am not sure how it works but in Japan the system is already available!
Try this link,its in Japanese but you get to see the latest PS2!
http://ftth.gate01.com/ps/index.html

Tuan Jim

My Japanese isn't good enough to read all of that at this stage.

Regardless, availability does not denote usage -- look at the US. From talking to Japanese friends, broadband is becoming cheaper in the big cities, but it's still very expensive in more rural areas.

Regardless, it'll cost a heckuvalot to set up a nationwide system in any country, much less international -- dare I say far more than it's worth. And that still doesn't answer my question as to how 3rd party devs would be compensated.

Tuan Jim

joshd2012

IF this is the way the PS3 is going, they will probably charge a fee to download the game. If not that there may be a per hour charge (which would force developers to make longer games ). I still find this hard to believe. I think that the PS3 will start with regular DVD games and slowly integrate into an online only system (by making getting the games online cheeper than going to the store). Then, the PS4 (I'm counting the days) will go totally online.

Josh H

I don't like the idea of streaming games at all. I like to own the game.

Now if they make it so you pay $50, Download the game to a storage device (and can redownload it if you lose it or whatever, that would be ok. No more pre-order hassle, or driving around trying to find a game around release that you didn't preorder.

Kumar J

The idea of getting your software from Sony is good through!And about Broadband in Japan, I think you're getting the wrong picture,allmost everyone has bropadband now in the cities, and in the rural areas,already are being implemented Satelitte broadbands.It might take time,but so far most of the sales of PS2 is in the cities.Games will be much cheaper without packaging, and middle person!You get to test Beta games,download previews,of Sony Pictures!Many more.PS2 is more than just a game console for Sony.

Tuan Jim

I get it -- just like a PC ;p

Online games, beta testing, download movie trailers, etc. -- It's more than just a game console!!! Now where have I heard that one before? ;p
hmmmm 640x480 or 1024x768+ -- hard choice.

Tuan Jim

joshd2012

Well, actually its just like a Set-Top Box. Sony has always said that they wanted their future systems to be the only thing you needed connected to your TV. The PS2 was a good start because it integrated a DVD Player and a gaming machine. With the addition of the HD and BB adapter, it will become even more of what they want. Microsoft wanted to do this with the X-box, but the developers told them not to (basically said they wouldn't develope for it). People keep saying that the X-box is just like a PC (which is what I am sure you are referring to), is because it uses a very similar programming language to what is used on PCs. Sony isn't trying to make a mini-PC, they are trying to make a Set-Top Box.

spacecowboy1

Not to rain on the parade here, but haven't we learned that what's promised, and what's actually delivered in many cases turns out to be 2 completely different things? The PS2 was a disappointment in terms of what was promised, and what was delivered. It's taken a while for many to come to that conclusion. The XBOX was also hyped a bit out of proportion, but not as much as the PS2 was. If Sony releases the PS3 in 2005, that is still 3 years away. Too much can happen in that amount of time.