draggoon01

http://www.the-magicbox.com/gaming.htm

"Sony will integrate the PS2 processors Emotion Engine, Graphics Synthesizer and RDRAM into a single chip, and the 90nm process will be reduced to 65nm."

i wonder if nintendo or microsoft will do the same

lesterlong

yep, i wonder if it will be backward-backwards compatible.

Spy021

I sure hope Sony wouldn't make a huge mistake and not have the new system be compatible with the huge archive of games they have for the PSX.

joshd2012

They have only announced that the PS3 will be backwards compatible with the PS2. No announcement has been made about compatibility with the PSX. Rumor has it that you will have to purchase a small "block" to plug into a controller port to make the system backwards compatible. Who knows how valid this is (probably not).

Gideon68

Any mention about current accessories being compatible without any devices being needed?

Trigger

Yes, PS3 will be backwards compatable with PS2 and PS games.

trigun

Why not make it forward-compatible with PS4 and PS5 though?

DVD Otaku

You'll probably will need to buy a multi-tap, the dual shock 1 and 2 won't be compatiable, you won't be able to save your ps1 and ps2 games on your ps3 memory card.

Outlaw

wait a sec...if you go backwards....and then go backwards again.....aren't you right back where you started .

Josh H

I imagine MS and Nintendo will follow suit, and all 3 systems will be backwards compatible next generation.

Decker

I think being backwards-compatible was maybe the smartest thing Sony did with the PS2 launch. Even though it was never advertised or mentioned on the box, I really think it made people more comfortable about buying the system in the early days. I would assume all three manufactures took note of that while designing their next console

Trevor

What do you mean...PS3 memory card?!

They can't seriously be planning on still using those are they?

The PS3 will have a hard drive, right?

Josh H

I hope not. Hard drives drive up cost and are problem prone.

Armando

LOL.

Yeah, I hope my next PC comes with a memory card slot, those darn hard drives just keep going bad in my PC's.

Ok sarcasm aside, I think I would rather have a hard drive than have to pay $20+ for a single memory card. Hmm, actually make that $40+ for 2 memory cards. I have yet to meet a person with only one memory card, they get full too quick.

Plus a EIDE 20.0G hard drive currently goes for $36, according to pricewatch.com.

The only people complaining about hard drive are the manufatures because all of their memory card income will shrink to be almost non existent.

Trigger

Josh H

Hey, I've had bad luck with hard drives in my PCs and pretty much every x-box problem you hear about is hard drive related.

At any rate I think it's useless. I don't mind buying a couple memory cards. And all the other crap is features I'd never, ever use

I wouldn't use patches, updates, new levels due to not having broadband and having no plans on getting it anytime soon as I don't do much on the net at home and think it's way overpriced.

Custom soundtracks don't interest me at all. In most of the games I play (platformers, RPGs, adventure games etc.) the music is an important part of the atmosphere. I don't play extreme sports games, and very few racing games, which are the two areas I could see the appeal of custom sound tracks.

So to me all the hard drive does is help drive the console launch cost up over the $199 limit (which is the most I'll EVER pay for a console) and give me more to worry about given my personal bad luck with hard discs.

Armando

Sorry about your bad luck with hard drives, but what about "downloadable content" thru demo discs? Would you spend $5 to buy a demo disc that had collection of downloadable content for your games? Imagine new level for your platformers, new quests for your RPGs, new characters for your adventure games etc.

Plus if you subscribe to an official magazine for your system they usually have demo discs and those demo discs can include the bonuses. For example the Splinter Cell level will one day be available thru the Official Xbox Magazine Demo disc.

How many memory cards do you own? Also the hard drive can help in decreasing load times by caching the game data.

trigun

The PS3 should have monochrome graphics because I don't plan to buy one of those overpriced "color" television sets.

Josh H

I own 2 GC mem cards because they're ridiculously small. I only own one PS2 card. I don't tend to replay games, I usually beat them and sell or trade them and can delete the saves.

The Demo discs are a good point. I don't subscribe to any of those official magazines. They're too pricey and poorly written and unobjective IMO. Extra levels have never been a huge appeal to me. I'm weird in that I get sick of things very, very quicky. By the time I beat a game, I'm usually sick of it and will never play it again, even if I missed stuff. One added level really isn't enough incentive to get me to pick it up again. Plus I worry that if this catches on we'll see short games rushed out, with new levels released or sold later on.

At any rate, I know there are benefits to hard drives. They just don't appeal to me. Plus I'm an odd ball here. Most of you guys are hardcore gamers. I'm an extremely casual gamer anymore and play 5 hours a week at most (with many weeks playing only a couple hours or none).

So to me I just see increased cost (however minor) and increase risk (due to my bad experience with HDs), for features that don't appeal to me.

At any rate I can be pretty certain that Nintendo won't put an HD in their system, I likely have nothing to worry about as I'm only planning on buying Nintendo's console next gen (if I get one at all).

I shouldn't have picked up a PS2 over the summer as I in no way have enough time (or desire in games) any more to keep up with all the good games that interest me on both systems. Nintendo's good game every one or two months is more than enough to satisfy my gaming needs.

joshd2012

Rumor has it that Sony will be selling two versions of the PS3: one with all the goodies built in, and one that is made to just play games. This would satify those people who demand a hard drive and all those goodies which make a video game system close to a computer, and those who just want to play games and aren't too serious about video gaming. Everyone is happy!

Gallant Pig

"pretty much every x-box problem you hear about is hard drive related."

I'll disagree with this, a huge number of those problems had nothing to do with the HDD, and everything to do with the crappy disc drive they used. Come to think of it, that was the problem with PS2's also. I hope the PS3 only uses cartridges to fix this problem.

madcougar

I found a third party memory card when I bought my GC with 1,000 block capacity. I didn't realize how huge this was for awhile.

I think that both Nintendo and MS know they HAVE to have a backward compatible system if they're going to compete with the PS3.

Josh H

Third party high capacity mem cards have a horrible track record though. Everyone I know who's used them (myself included) has horror stories about losing data for no apparent reason.

Josh H

That would be sweet. Especially if the higher end model has even more junk like Tivo built in to drive up the costs even further.

There's a downside for those that want the HD and all that stuff. Most likely the cheaper gaming only version will sell a lot better, so many developers would be hesitant to take advantage of the HD and other optional features.

DJ_Spyder

'cough' X-box 'cough'