Playstation3 unveilment: next E3. Now, official.

[Farid]

Since nobody replied about it:

There has been some talk that development is not going well, but we expect to have a playable version at E3.

What developement he's talking about? Software? ...Hardware?

 

[London Geezer]

Since nobody replied about it:

There has been some talk that development is not going well, but we expect to have a playable version at E3.

What developement he's talking about? Software? ...Hardware?

Hardware. My 2p

 

[Megadrive1988]

Gamesindustry.biz

New PS3 details emerge; console to be playable at E3 2005

Rob Fahey 14:06 12/07/2004
Manufacturing expected to begin in late 2005, for a 2006 launch schedule


Sony Computer Entertainment boss Ken Kutaragi has confirmed that a playable version of the PlayStation 3 will exist by next spring, with the console set to appear at E3 next year, quashing rumours of serious delays to its development.

Speaking at a press conference about the PSP in Tokyo this morning, Kutaragi confirmed that the console would be at E3 next year in playable form, and reacted directly to industry rumours which had suggested that difficulties in the creation of the Cell microprocessor could push the company's schedule for the system back.

"There has been some talk that development is not going well, but we expect to have a playable version at E3," he told the conference. "We are pushing ahead with that schedule in mind."

Nintendo has previously announced that it will bring its next-generation console, codenamed "Revolution", to E3 next year - although Nintendo Europe PR boss Shelly Pearce today downplayed the importance of the PS3's presence, pointing out that "in terms of PlayStation 3, 'exhibited at E3' and 'coming to market' are two very different things," and stating simply that Nintendo plans to "talk about our vision for Revolution at E3 next year... but it's far too early to talk about specifics now."

Microsoft is also expected to show off its next-generation platform, codenamed Xenon, at E3 next year - although it's likely to be unveiled ahead of the event, possibly at the CES show in Las Vegas in early spring. The company is currently planning to launch Xenon before the end of 2005, in order to win "first-mover advantage" in the next console generation.

Kutaragi's comments come days after the company revealed new details of the PS3's memory architecture at the Rambus Developers Forum in Tokyo, where it emerged that the XDR DRAM used by PS3 will start manufacturing in mid-2005 with a view to beginning manufacture of the console itself before the end of the year.

That's broadly in line with expectations, since the Cell microprocessor is believed to have been sampled already, and should be entering full production at some point in 2005 - a schedule which would allow Sony to launch PS3 in Japan in early to mid 2006, followed by a global launch in time for Christmas 2006.

What's more interesting, arguably, is that SCEI also admitted that it has changed the memory chips being used by PS3 from 512Mbit units to 256Mbit units. However, contrary to some reports, this is unlikely to mean that the company has actually reduced the amount of RAM in the system - rather, that it has boosted the memory bandwidth from the previously expected 25.6GB/sec up to 51.2GB/sec, making the console's memory technology significantly faster than even top of the range modern PC technology.

 

[passerby]

Nice report with pictures:
http://watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20040712/psm.htm

The event is the "2004 Playstation Meeting". No. of titles for PSP has increased from 34 to 59 since E3. One of these, called "Talkman" was demonstrated(There's a pic of it at the link). The next playstation will be unveiled at E3 2005, and first software unveiled during TGS 2005. Ver.1 of TOOL will be available in 1st half of 2005, and Ver.2 will follow in 2nd half of 2005.

 

[Paul]

Company president Ken Kutaragi outlined a schedule for the system in a speech given during the conference. SCE would like to unveil the system, referred to in slides as "Next System," at a premier party to take place some time in fiscal year 2004 (prior to April 2005). This will be followed by showings at next year's E3 and Tokyo Game Show events where Kutaragi hopes to have many titles playable.

They'll reveal initial specs of the BE and the rest of the system prior to E3(and probably some tech demos), with some games and probably the final system casing design at E3.

 

[Paul]

It would mean everything is ahead of schedule OR everything is being downgraded. It would also mean developers would have devkits by now?

Or maybe everything is on schedule? Or did you buy into all these "cell is late and doomed" rumours and release expect a 07 release?

 

[Megadrive1988]

keep in mind, PlayStation2 came down something like this:

Jan or Feb 1999 - PS2 CPU revealed at IEEE @ 250 Mhz

March 1999 - full Next Generation PlayStation (PS2) specifications unvieled, including Emotion Engine, Graphics Synthesizer and SPU2.
with real-time tech demos.

E3 1999 - repeat of March tech demos. at least one stand with interactive / playable demo (GT 2000 i think?) - NO CASING shown

Fall 1999 - (TGS?) PS2 console casing unvealed

Feb 2000 (?) - PlayStation Exibition, PS2 games playable?

March 2000 - PlayStation2 launches in Japan

E3 2000 - PlayStation2 on show floor with playable games

Oct 2000 - PlayStation2 launches in the United States

 

[Evil_Cloud]

Maybe we could get the first TOOL early 2005.

Does that timetable says PlayStation 3 Premier in November/December 2004? That date is also exactly the same as 'PlayStation 2 fifth year anniversary' on the timetable mind.

Might be a demonstration for developers, because tools are going to be distributed in January according to the timetable. That means they'll have something like 4 months to use the tools before the official presentations at E3.

I am curious how Nintendo and Microsoft and perhaps even an other competitor will respond.

 

[zurich]

With Xbox2 and Nintendo's next system at E3'05, Sony would be stupid not to show something PS3 related.

 

[Ender]

Interesting..

But, for me it seems that Sony is kinda entering "Panic-mode" now. (ok, maybe not that drastic but still)..

Sony has always been talking about releasing PS3 "when they feel it´s ready".. meaning that they don´t care so much about when the competitors release their stuff.

But now..
For starters, Sony seems to be halving the memory-modules for PS3 and this for me seems to be for cost reasons. They are pushing for an earlier release than anticipated and therefore halving the memory modules.

And now this, PS3 @ E3´05.

Apparently, MS is posing a greater threat than Sony first imagined. What other reasons could it be for Sony to be halving memory and "announcing" shows of PS3..

 

[MfA]

As far as the memory is concerned, given past experience I would guess Rambus simply was a bit too optimistic about manufacturing.

 

[Pepto-Bismol]

Or maybe everything is on schedule? Or did you buy into all these "cell is late and doomed" rumours and release expect a 07 release?

You're right. The Cell project is more or less on schedule. It's just that, well, a handful of marketeers may have jumped the gun, teasing gamers with the proverbial carrot on a stick. :|

Truth is, Sony needs time -- time to mature software; time to lobby for a Blu-ray technology standard; time to implement Wi-Fi "hot spots" and "hot zones" of the ultrawide broadband variety; time improve PlayStation build quality...

 

[Farid]

What other reasons could it be for Sony to be halving memory and "announcing" shows of PS3..

For the memory MfA gave a hypothesis, and about the show, maybe they're simply on schedule. Being the last ones to show their hand doesn't mean they're on a hurry...

 

[rabidrabbit]

What's wrong with the "Playstation build quality" ????

If Sony announces some technology demos of PS3 at E3 2005, I'm sure some people will say
"Sony is rushing out the PS3 ahead of the schedule because of MS and xbox2, and it'll have many flaws because of that!"

If on the other hand they have nothing to show, they think "Sony is behind the schedule, and must have serious problems with the Cell technology"

What would be the right time for Sony to be on schedule.

 

[Polarbear53]

What is this running on? PS3 dev kit/workstation?

 

[rabidrabbit]

ehem, it's PSP
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/av/docs/20040712/scei.htm

 

[Polarbear53]

I was thinking it was looking a little underpar, but i can't speak Japanese.

 

[Megadrive1988]

something that caught my eye


"It was also mentioned in the article that a goal of the PS3 will be to render currently pre-rendered material in real time. It was not mentioned as to what material this would include. Sony did mention how current CG movies are rendered with computers prior to playing them, so that they are not interactive with the gamer. The goal of making such movies interactive, rendered by the PS3 in real-time, is something they are confident in achieving with the PS3."

http://www.ps3insider.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=122

yeah, low, low-end CG. not film grade CG. maybe 8)

 

[Pepto-Bismol]

What's wrong with the "Playstation build quality" ????

PlayStation is a lot like Lay's Potato Chips -- you can't "eat" just one!

Plagued with durability issues, the brand isn't exactly known for its quality ...

What would be the right time for Sony to be on schedule.

Propaganda aside, I think PlayStation's ETA is 2008.

This should give STI enough time to make some headway on the things I mentioned earlier. Time to inject fault tolerance in grid computing hardware and "hive" processing software; time to make Blu-Ray and Wi-Fi household names; time for content providers (in movie, music and video-game industries) to publish Cell-oriented media ...

 

[rabidrabbit]

What durability issues?
Between the three consoles in market, I'm under the impression that the GCN is the most durable, but the PS2 and xbox are neither exceptionally prone to breaking. Not any more so than most other consumer electronics gadgets.
PS2 unreliable quality is just a myth, fuelled by internet rumours.