Uh oh.

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/sony/ps3-...let-186937.php

In plain English, this means the PS3 Cell processor is so big and complicated, they're having a hard time making enough to satisfy the demand. An IBM Semiconductor VP says they're "lucky to get 10 or 20 percent" out of a chip like the Cell. The other 80-90 percent aren't fit to be used in PS3s, meaning they either get used in another application or thrown away if they can't be.

What this means to you is that the PS3 is probably going to be available in very limited quantities, at least until they can get the yields up. Also, Sony's going to be bleeding money on these chips, since they need to make so many (5 to 1 ratio?) to get one good enough to use in a PS3. Better get your pre-orders in now. – Jason Chen

All signs point to huge eBay profits.

Yeah...cause when your buyer comes back at you because theirs is broken, what happens then?

Haven't you heard? It's Sony, and Sony's the king; their stuff never breaks. Even if there's a threat, the invincible, wonderful Blu-Ray will protect it. People should start praying to Blu-Ray, not the other person.

And me camping out to get one to put on eBay. My brother and I will be doing this. Living in AZ where it shouldn't be that cold in November is a +.

With the profits, I should be able to buy every game/accessory for the Wii.

This is why the Canon 1DsII costs $7K. (that's a camera, if you aren't familiar) Giant chips are hard to make. Most PC processors are big, but not this dense, a little easier.

Isn't this basically the same thing reported on a few months ago? Hasn't changed, I guess.

I'd just mail them the receipt. If they have problems they can call Sony.

Good luck!

HAHAHAHAH Exxxxxxxcellent!!!

I need an additional end of the year bonus.

Now, I just need to decide how many to put on my AMEX.

My PS2 just froze up about 10 minutes before reading this. I was laughing so hard I nearly cried.

so will I be the only one buying(or atleast trying to) the PS3 to keep?

Well, here's the problem. You can wait for reviews and see what people say but then you run the risk of not getting one if they're as limited as the article suggests.

OR...

you can pick one up and run the risk of it a) not working and your not being able to get a replacement because they're sold out or b) sucking or c) your loving it.

Other than that, I have zero intentions. The people I know who were interested balked when they heard the price tag.

I'm sure you won't be the only one on this board though.

What many people do is preorder 2-3 of them. Keep one and profit on the other one or two to get a free PS3 and maybe some cash in pocket. Considering the problems I'm still reading about the Xbox360 and the fact the PS3 is going to be an even more complex piece of hardware (oh yeah, and the fact after 5 tries I could never get a PS2 that would last even a year) I'm definitely waiting a long time before buying and seeing how the PS3 holds up for people.

I had 6 360 premium systems and 1 core system...kept one premium and made about $2500 off the other 5 (after shipping, ebay fees and paypal fees).

I'll be getting my hands on two PS3's this winter. Whether I keep the second or not will depend on whether or not Sony wants to charge more than $59.99 per game in general. Also, it will greatly depend on how much I play the Wii.

yes

I'm not sure on this one, I don't think the demand above the retail price is going to be quite as strong as it was with the 360.

I'm getting two at launch and I'm debating whether to sell one or both. As thing progress, both seems as if it will be the more likely outcome, but I have an impulse control problem, so I may end up keeping one.

It really boils down to how much Sony charges for games. Anything more than $60 and that second PS3 will be up on ebay and there won't be a third in the house until used games are cheap enough to justify it.

Have they announced a date you can pre-order it?

I was at a Gamestop today and this guy came in wanting to know if he could preorder 10 PS3s(thats right, TEN). the clerk started laughing and told the guy they're only going to allow 1 preorder per customer for the PS3 and that preorders haven't even started yet. the guy got pissed off, called the clerk an asshole and left. kinda funny.

Just saw this, and thought I'd check out the source because I wasn't completely sure Gizmodo was saying what the VP from IBM was saying. Here's that interview.

The Cell processor has 8 Synergistic Processing Elements built into it. Only 7 of them are used, the 8th is for a) redundancy b) increasing yields.

The 10 to 20 percent figure is for a chip with 8 perfectly functioning SPEs. A chip with 7 is NOT rejected, because only 7 are needed. Because of this, the VP says that yields are doubled, so 20 to 40% yield. Still not very good of course, but a lot better than 10-20. If you luck out and manage to get a PS3 which has 8 functioning SPEs, you can have a logic failure which will knock out one and your PS3 will continue working just fine. If you only have 7, you have to hope you're still under warranty. I would guess failures of these are fairly uncommon as the VP goes on to mention that Sony does a burn in test on every processor which increases reliability 5x to 10x (which adds a few bucks to the overall costs of the system).

Well, 20-40% cell yields don't sound so bad next to the rumors concerning Blu-Ray DL disc yields!

what does this have to do with hd talk? just more sony bashing that this forum allows i guess.

This has to do with HD talk considering this is supposed to be Sony's killer app that will put HD-DVD out of commission. How many people on this forum alone said that once the PS3 is released there will be millions of BD players in homes, and that would end the format war? If you're banking on this product to be the BD trojan horse then production yields of that product are certainly valid fodder in HD talk.

Yeah, and its an HD gaming system too. The 360 AND PS3 have been discussed in this thread many times. You must be new around here.