Report: PS2 chipset Included with Every PS3

New information from the Japanese magazine Ultra One reveals that Sony intends to include the PS2 chipset with each PS3 manufactured... until a proper PS2 emulator is developed, that is. More info within...


When Sony announced that its PlayStation 3 would be backwards compatible with both PS2 and the PSone, it was thought (and Sony indicated) that the next-gen console would provide this functionality through emulation. However, a new report in the Japanese technology magazine Ultra One (partially translated by IGN) suggests that backwards compatibility with the PS2 is actually achieved through physical hardware, not emulation.

According to the magazine, the PS3 hardware is currently designed to include the PS2 chipset, meaning the Emotion Engine CPU and Graphic Synthesizer combo chip that is found in the slim model PS2. The PS3 is already quite expensive to manufacture, and incorporating yet another chipset certainly can't help the situation. That said, the report goes on to say that Sony plans to remove the PS2 chipset from the PS3 once their engineers complete work on an efficient PS2 emulator.

Of course, if the PS3 is playing PS2 games directly on PS2 hardware, it's hard to say if there will be any visual upgrade when playing PS2 titles on the PS3.

Some other interesting details came from Ultra One as well. Izumi Kawanishi, head of Sony's Software Platform Development Division, told the magazine that the PS3 as announced is "nothing more than just the basic system." Sony may release models with still larger hard disks or upgraded network features, but the CPU clock speed and memory specs will not change, of course, since all PS3s must run the same games. The PS3 also comes equipped with a "large amount of flash memory," which will be used to house the operating system and all future system updates.

Furthermore, according to the IGN translation, "it seems that the hard disk is to be used exclusively for multimedia content and will not contain any system features; users will, after all, be able to swap the built in hard drive out with any standard drive they pick up at a computer hardware store."

Sony also assured the magazine that all PS3 models will always be compatible with all PS3 games. You may recall that when Sony introduced newer PS2 hardware, the new models were incompatible with some of the older software. This won't be a problem with PS3, however, because the console will be able to download patches.


by James Brightman

"users will, after all, be able to swap the built in hard drive out with any standard drive they pick up at a computer hardware store."

PS3 owners won't pay for online services, says Kutaragi

Ellie Gibson 09:56 12/06/2006

Sony seeks revenue from content but no fee for basic features

Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi has stated that while the company expects to earn healthy revenues from the sale of downloadable content for the PS3, there will be no charge for basic online services.

In an interview with Japanese site PC Impress Watch, Kutaragi said: "You can't charge money for network matching and other basic services. These things are just taken for granted on the PC."

"On the PS3, basic services will be taken for granted while content will be the bread and butter of our business."

Kutaragi went on to reaffirm Sony's commitment to promoting the PS3's online capabilities, stating: "We really wanted to do this with the PS2. But now Apple has realised a successful e-distribution program, it's about time we made our move, too."

He also hinted that the console's online features could allow multiple Cell processors to work together: "Users will be able to connect to Polyphony Digital's server. So I want it to be a Cell server, with the number of Cells at a thousand to several thousand. This would allow us to maintain an entire cyberworld, as long as our power supply holds up."

According to Kutaragi, the PS3 will make use of network services "from launch day", and consumers will embrace the idea of digitally delivered content within one to two years. Eventually optical drives will be obsolete, he believes - as indeed might hard drives.

"I expect even the hard disk to disappear eventually," Kutaragi said.

"If you have all the data on servers, you probably no longer need disk drives... But to do this, the server is crucial. It's a difficult problem."

PS3 Games Not Necessarily $59.99
Sony says higher price points are possible.

People were understandably upset when companies decided next-generation meant charging everyone $10 more for their games -- especially when the price was applied to last-generation ports like GUN and Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. Nonetheless, most have sucked it up at this point, but no one anticipated Sony would actually up the ante when PlayStation 3 dropped in November.

Yet SCEA president Kaz Hirai isn't promising a $59.99 price tag for PS3 games this fall. In an interview with PSM, the Sony leader explained. So, what I can say now is, I think it would be a bit of a stretch to think that we could suddenly turn around and say "PS3 games now $99.99" I don't think the consumers expect the software pricing to suddenly be double," he told the magazine. "So, if it becomes a bit higher than fifty-nine bucks don't ding me, but, again, as I said, I don't expect it to be a hundred bucks."

In other words, consumers should expect PS3 games to cost somewhere between $59.99 and $99.99. He doesn't expect them to be a hundred dollars, but it's only a "stretch" to expect it. Have we moved back to the cartridge ages here? Wasn't disc-based media supposed to make everything cheaper? I don't want to remember how much my parent's paid for several of Square's older SNES releases during Christmas.

Sony's cocky enough to price their hardware above the competition, but we don't seriously expect them to change consumer expectations for software prices. We hope.