Sony & CELL: a vision that goes beyond just gaming?

[Phil]

I have an important exam coming up on the 2nd July in which I will have to hold a short presentation about Sony and CELL. Since there are many members on this forum that know a lot about CELL and how it could be used in different areas than just 3d processing, I thought of starting this thread in hope to discuss those aspects that go beyond just gaming.

This a paragraph from a CNN article that I remember reading quite some time ago. It basically covers the basis of the thoughts I'm hoping to find expressed in this thread:

Meet the man behind PlayStation - Ken Kutaragi, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, speaks on Sony's Vision

Kutaragi sees PS2 as Sony's Trojan horse. (..) If everything goes according to Kutaragi's plan, PlayStation will lead Sony in a transformation from a producer of games, gadgets, CDs and movies to a "broadband delivery company." Future versions of the console will still give you games, but also music, online shopping, even interactive services. Already Sony has signed a deal with J.P. Morgan to deliver home banking through the PS2.
But Kutaragi isn't standing still. He's already at work on -- that's right -- PS3, a much stronger and, more significantly, stealthier PlayStation. "PS3 will totally disappear as a console, as a shape," he says. Sony may even cease making boxes altogether and instead sell PlayStation3 chips to other game-machine makers for use in their own units.

And it doesn't stop there. Sony anticipates a day when most of the appliances in your home -- your stereo, your TV, your PC -- will be connected to the Web, and to each other, via PlayStation chips. To meet the expected demand, Kutaragi's division plans to invest $1 billion in its already massive semiconductor production capacity -- "like Intel," he says.

But Kutaragi -- "KK" to his friends -- is nothing if not competitive. He'd better be. Sony is betting billions on him.

(..)

http://www.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/09/01/meet.ken.kutaragi.idg/

And here are the points I'd like to discuss:

• What exactly is Sonys vision and what has CELL got to do with it?
• Why is it dependant on CELL? What makes this chip so special?
• If all goes well, how will it affect the market?
• What competition is Sony facing?
• How does PS3 as a whole fit into that vision?
• May Sony change the gaming-industry as we know it today? What is likely to happen, what does it mean for Sony and what kind of impact will it have on us, the consumers?

Please note though that I do not wish to have a flame war started. To prevent this from happening, I would really appreciate if unwanted comments/flames are not posted and the discussion kept within the above points.

Thanks in advance and looking forward to your thoughts.
Phil

 

[Paul]

What exactly is Sonys vision and what has CELL got to do with it?

From what I understand, Kutagari wants to create a broadband network with Cell, with thousands of Cell's communicating with each other. Sony on the other hand seems hellbent on creating a do it all device, something like PSX, and with Cell they will have the way to pull it off.

Why is it dependant on CELL? What makes this chip so special

The architecture can scale up or down depending on the device it needs to fit into, meaning it is extremely versatile and can fit in a broad range of applications. Without the architecture, you cannot do anything as Cell is being built up as the "broadband processor" meaning it will be infact built with networks in mind.

If all goes well, how will it affect the market?

If all goes according to plan, Sony will have Cell in EVERY piece of electronics they make. You could see a broad range of sony eletronics commuticating with each other like never before, for example: You could hook up your PS3 to a TV with Cell inside. The cell inside the TV could infact help the PS3 render some scenes or take a work load off the ps3 cell processor.

What competition is Sony facing?

Anything is my guess, entertainment in general.

How does PS3 as a whole fit into that vision?

PS3 is the main course, PS3 is the main application. Kutagari wants ps3 to become an all in one box, not just a standard gaming system, like PSX. Which is why you need something like Cell to power all these applications(network mainly) that the PS3 will be able to do.

May Sony change the gaming-industry as we know it today? What is likely to happen, what does it mean for Sony and what kind of impact will it have on us, the consumers?

Game machines will eventually mature into the all in one box's, like PSX. I expect PS3 to infact set the tone for further PS's, the days of game machines just playing games is coming to an end.