Sony confirms plans to launch PS3 in Spring 2006 (U.S.)

[Chandler]

They probably wont improve PS2 games. They'll likely slap in the emotion engine and be done with it. The PS2 chipset is really cheap by now.

edit: spelling

 

[_phil_]

I don't think they need EE inside ps3 ,but to emulate GS internal bandwidth is antother story without some edram.

 

[Inane_Dork]

If MS has to recompile games and has to spend time doing that I do wonder if that will translate to some improvements.

Didn't you catch this?
http://www.majornelson.com/2005/05/19/no-you-do-not-need-to-recompile-your-xbox-games/

On both sides there are question marks. A lot of it has to do with how they are providing backwards compatiblity, how the software was written (and how complicated), and how much time they have spent on it. Adding filtering and such to PS games (or running N64 games with a glide rapper in higher resolutions) is one thing because the systems were so simple.

I agree that the complexity in offering backwards compatibility is probably up from this gen. I'm guessing that emulating the PS2 is the more complex task, but I don't know.

I do like that MS has made an ongoing commitment to it, though. If they made an emulator and just said, "That's it. Bye." on launch day, I would not be happy. The downside is that the offering may be paltry on day one, but you never know.

 

[Acert93]

Didn't you catch this?

Now that you mention it I do I guess I must have been thinking how they would be slowly updating which games were compatible w/ the process of tweaking the games to work when in fact they are just tweaking a emulation app.

If they are going to spend a lot of time tweaking emulation though they might as well make it look better! They are going to need profiles anyhow, so why not test some higher res, AA, etc.. out and see what works!

 

[TTP]

If MS has to recompile games and has to spend time doing that I do wonder if that will translate to some improvements.

Didn't you catch this?
http://www.majornelson.com/2005/05/19/no-you-do-not-need-to-recompile-your-xbox-games/

That doesnt rule out the recompile thing AT ALL. He's just saying you wont need to buy the same game again, which was not the point. The point was that MS has to ship the system with recompiled EXEs of some games preinstalled on the HDD.

 

[jvd]

THe nes days were bad . We all have games we remember fondly but then again there were a ton of horrible rip offs .

Remember to get released in the nes days they had to get the nintendo seal of aproval . Thankfully sega came along and took the titles nintendo didn't care for and found them a home and now that there are 3 consoles more games find homes

As for me hating nintendo in the nes days ... well considering i got my nes when i was 4 or 5 and didn't understand monopolys or the market I can honestly say i didn't give a crap. Now that I'm older and wiser I understand that the more parties making the systems the better and the more balanced the systems are in regards to market share the better as it wil ldrive higher quality content , lower prices and innovations .

 

[Inane_Dork]

The point was that MS has to ship the system with recompiled EXEs of some games preinstalled on the HDD.

"...your original games will work on Xbox 360."

Are we reading the same article? I don't see anything in there that presumes MS has to ship recompiled games in order to make it work. And given that Allard has already mentioned Connectix in relation to getting emulation to work, I'm pretty sure the X360 will have an emulator on the hard drive that can be updated through Live.

 

[jvd]

Insane_Dork the rumors are already going around that there will be 100-200 bc tittles working for launch .

 

[TTP]

The point was that MS has to ship the system with recompiled EXEs of some games preinstalled on the HDD.

"...your original games will work on Xbox 360."

Are we reading the same article? I don't see anything in there that presumes MS has to ship recompiled games in order to make it work.

Where did I say MS will ship recompiled games? I just said games exe files will likely be installed into the HDD so that when you put your Xbox game into the Xbox 360, the OS will recognize it as such and then go search for the appropriate recompiled exe already present into the HDD and run it instead of the original one present on the DVD.

This means that yes, as stated on that message board, u'll be able to play Xbox games on Xbox 360 "out of the box". What I'm digging here is how that is going to be achieved. On this latter part, that MS clarification doesnt actually clarify.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

The point was that MS has to ship the system with recompiled EXEs of some games preinstalled on the HDD.

"...your original games will work on Xbox 360."

I don't see anything in there that presumes MS has to ship recompiled games in order to make it work.

The recompiling statements weren't from there, but other rumours (including MS spokespersons). http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8996
It's apparent that XB360 doesn't have 'straight forward' BC like PS2 did. You don't buy the 360, take it home, and play your entire back catalogue. It seems maybe the executable is recompiled, but the art assets etc. are taken from the game disc. You won't have to repurchase the game, but only those reworked titles will run ,and we don't yet know which titles those are, how many, etc. Talk of 100-200...? Well, I remember Nintendo and Sony talking of 100+ titles in development for their handhelds, 40+ at launch. When it comes to number of titles, console manufacturers apparently can't count very well

Regards PS3's BC, Sony confirmed it would have it. They were the first to manage that with PS1, and they provided an improved experience to the original hardware.

I accept that XB360's BC could more likely feature better IC improvements then PS3 BC looking at the hardware, as XB is more akin to a PC - DirectX can output to a choice of resolutions if programmed. For PS2 emulation, coders are hitting the metal for a finite system. Increasing, say, the resolution might be well out of the question. Though both machines are going to be hit pretty hard, at least by talented devs, making emulation difficult.

But, based on history (what little there is of Sony and MS in the console space!), as Sony have provided improved BC before, I'd say it's a fair assessment that until we have more detailed info on how implemented, there's more chance of you being able to put your old games into PS3 and play them straight out the box with IQ improvements (even just a constant frame rate) then XB360.

Is this that important? I think so. Having a back catalogue of PS2 games, if I get an XB360 my PS2 games are limited to what they are now. If I get a PS3, I can play all my existing favourites with improvements (if so implemented). BC offers an 'upgrade' path. If no consoles offered BC my choice wouldn't be influenced by my existing library. If a console does offer improvements over its predecessor, that's a useful buffer until it's own generation of games gets fleshed out.

And finally, I did say if! We don't know the state of BC on either platform. I'm going by history and Sony's comments (which we all know have to be taken with a pinch of salt).

 

[Kolgar]

Sorry i guess you missed the anti trust case against ms in the states ? Sorry pay more attention to the tv .

Not only that but your response with the idiotic lets make them stop making things !!!

No , but good competition is a good thing and rooting for a monopoly is a stupid thing .

Firstly, why so rude? Even if you don't like me, you ARE a mod. At least TRY to hide your disdain.

Secondly, who's rooting for a monopoly? I think you're just sore because it's Sony who's leading the market - if it were Microsoft or Nintendo, you'd be fine, but it's apparent from every post that you dislike Sony and hope for them to stumble.

Unfortuntely for you, Sony has been making the right moves since entering the games market and their current success is the result.

Why can't you live and let live? Does Sony's success really take away so much of the enjoyment you get from playing other companies' games?

***edit***

You seem to like Nintendo, and THEY don't seem to mind Sony's "monopoly." In fact, they seem to be moving very comfortably into their own niche market, apparently choosing not to take on Sony head-to-head after all. So what's wrong with that? So long as Nintendo exists and continues to put out games you want to play, what, really, does Sony's market position matter? Even if they raise prices of their own games, it won't affect you because you don't buy them. I really don't understand your problem.

 

[Kolgar]

It's already acknowledged that MS's backward compatibility will be LIMITED on Xbox360.

Yes? And? You'll need numbers to make that argument worthwhile. Specifically, you'll have to show how limited it will be.

I don't need numbers. Microsoft danced around the BC issue at its press conference by saying 360 will be "backward compatible with the top-selling Xbox games" which says right there that it's not FULL compatibility.

Secondly, Major Nelson has a credibility problem. In this case, he asked his "favorite PR guys" (who THEMSELVES did not give any numbers). The best they could do was, "Our goal is to have every Xbox game work on Xbox 360."

Their "goal"? Yes, and it's their goal to reach one billion people with Live, too, but that does not at all mean it will happen.

Until MS releases hard numbers of their own, the best we can do is go by what they've said - that 360 will be backward-compatible with the most popular Xbox titles to start. We'll have to wait and see about the rest of the games.

I still think you're greatly overestimating the demand for that type of feature.

And I think you're underestimating the value of this feature, especially for the casual gamer. As someone said on another board, Sony destroyed the concept of "everyone starts at zero next gen" by offering BC in PS2. It offers existing PS2 owners a clear upgrade path, which many people will undoubtedly find appealing.

But even if not, and be honest here, who has the greater potential to offer backwards compatibility with the graphics turned up to 11? Sony or MS?

I don't know. I personally don't expect PS3 to enhance PS2 games in any way. And yet, Sony DID enhance PSone games on PS2, which tells me it's not out of the realm of possibility that they could do it again with PS3.

Meanwhile, as I've said, MS still hasn't guaranteed us that all Xbox games will even work on 360, much less play in an enhanced fashion.

 

[jvd]

Firstly, why so rude? Even if you don't like me, you ARE a mod. At least TRY to hide your disdain.

Is this going to be your defence each and everytime you turn out to be wrong in a conversation ?

I'm blunt not rude and if you think my bluntness is rudeness then you should read your own posts and see how rude you come across

Secondly, who's rooting for a monopoly? I think you're just sore because it's Sony who's leading the market - if it were Microsoft or Nintendo, you'd be fine, but it's apparent from every post that you dislike Sony and hope for them to stumble.

Think what you want , you'd be wrong on that . You and a few others constantly need to paint me as anti sony . Have fun if it makes you feel better at night but sadly you are wrong . I'm anti anyone having the majority of the market or a monopoly on the market because i care about being able to play games .

Why can't you live and let live? Does Sony's success really take away so much of the enjoyment you get from playing other companies' games?

Why can't u face the facts that everyone makes mistakes and each choice that is made has both bad and good ? Why should it be okay for you to allways post postive about sony and nothing nice about nintendo or ms ?


The double standard coming out of the sony fans posts is really annoying . The forum is about voicing opinions or stating facts . Why should only one side be able to voice thier opinions ?

 

[Carl B]

Ok, I haven't read this whole thread - just got back from a bachelor party weekend in Miami and no time to catch up fully - but I read the first two pages of this and the last two pages and want to make some points.

I apologize if they've already been made.

Springtime launch in Japan has been the 'plan' for awhile now, so no surprises there. That being said there must obvioulst be games in development to meet that window. To go further though, if one were tomake the point that the games themselves couldn't be all that great, or there probably won't be many - well I'm not saying I disagree. Anyone remember the games at PS2's launch? So, Sony has precedent to launch without a full quiver of arrows as it were.

As for holidays, people seem focused on the 'Holiday season.' Well, sure - but you're looking at it from a Westerners point of view. The major holiday season in Asia is 'Golden Week,' which is springtime (May). It clearly makes sense that Sony would want to launch before the Golden Week, and I think they're just thinking of a simultaneous launch in the US at that time (probably a week later in the US, out of respect to the Japanese fan base). Sure, they could wait until Christmas-time in the US to launch in the West, but why? People will still snatch them up come Christmas, and more importantly Sony will not have allowed Microsoft as large a window for 'mindshare' growth. I agree there are shades of SEGA here, on both sides of the aisle actually - but clearly neither of these company's is SEGA, and I think the comparisons are getting a little specious.

On the issue of 'it can't possibly be ready by then.' C'mon, of course it can. It's June - if RSX is ready by, I don't know, December - then there's plenty of time for a spring launch and several months chip invenotry build-up.

 

[mckmas8808]

What is wrong with you today jvd? I mean you can't have it both ways. First you say this.

Sony is close to a monopoly . This is a make or break generation . If nintendo fails or ms fails and don't come back for another outting its as good as done

Then you say this.

Why should it be okay for you to allways post postive about sony and nothing nice about nintendo or ms ? The double standard coming out of the sony fans posts is really annoying . The forum is about voicing opinions or stating facts . Why should only one side be able to voice thier opinions ?

If Sony is close to having a monopoly (I don't believe this) then obviously they are doing more things right then Nintendo, Sega (back a few years ago), and MS. And the competition must be doing more things wrong right?

I mean you said yourself that Sony is close to a monopoly. Why can't you just come out and say that Sony over the last 10 years have done more things right then everybody else?

 

[jvd]

well its really about the usa xdestroyer . That is what the thread is really about and while in asian countrys golden week is prob the best time to launch before , here in america that would be dec time frame .

 

[jvd]

SOny is close . Look at market share and unit numbers . 90m vs 21m vs 18 million . They easily have close to 70% or so of the market .

I mean you said yourself that Sony is close to a monopoly. Why can't you just come out and say that Sony over the last 10 years have done more things right then everybody else?

See this is whats wrong with me , you people just never listen to posts . I've said time and time again that sony hit the market at the right time and made right moves while others made wrong ones (Saturn , n64 ) but that doesn't mean we should all bow down to sony .

The problem is the double standard by you sony fans which has gotten even worse since more of you have come to this site .

Look at randy , in one thread he is saying that by sony not including a hardrive its a good thing , but is knocking ms for not including a bluray drive. Yet when someone says its bad for sony not to put in a hardrive he gets pissed off and attacks them saying they are wrong


Its a double standard that has been ehre for awhile and is getting worse .

 

[Carl B]

well its really about the usa xdestroyer . That is what the thread is really about and while in asian countrys golden week is prob the best time to launch before , here in america that would be dec time frame .

Right I hear ya, I just making the point that since Sony using PS3 this Christmas-season, it's choices are to launch at an unconventional tie of year in the US, or 8 months later 'when they're supposed to.' I figure since it's the same system spec-wise regardless, might as well launch early and fight Moicrosoft rather than let them be the only next-gen system floating around.

 

[_phil_]

Sony is close . Look at market share and unit numbers . 90m vs 21m vs 18 million

i can't see how it could be half as bad being "almost but not really" in a monopoly position in a hardware market than being in a Complete software monopoly.... but that's matter of opinion, i guess . 8)

 

[jvd]

well its really about the usa xdestroyer . That is what the thread is really about and while in asian countrys golden week is prob the best time to launch before , here in america that would be dec time frame .

Right I hear ya, I just making the point that since Sony can't compete with PS3 this Christmas-season, it's choices are to launch at an unconventional tie of year in the US, or 8 months later 'when they're supposed to.' I figure since it's the same system spec-wise regardless, might as well launch early and fight Moicrosoft rather than let them be the only next-gen system floating around.

What i think they are going to do is hit japan / asian markets in march time frame and hit the usa and europe in the october time frame . Japan is more forgiving with sony products and lack luster launches so they can start to build hype over there and then bring it here and europe and they can hit with enough units here