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PS3 Systems to be "Updated Every Year" Says SCE President |
Listed in: PS3 Tags: Hiroshige Goto, Ken Kutaragi, PCWatch Japan, playstation 3 updates, Sony
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Ken Kutaragi, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment, has granted an interview to PCWatch Japan's Hiroshige Goto and this time they talked about PS3's future evolution because it's more of a computer and the first titles for the PS3 that was showed on E3, among many other things. Here is an excerpt of the first segment in this new interview series.Hiroshige Goto: SCEI have always been saying PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) is not a game console but a computer. In that sense, I'd thought that it's the important point for PS3 to become a computer whether it comes with HDD standard. But it had not been made clear for a while about the standard HDD. It seems it finally reached the standard HDD through all twists and turns since 2005.
Ken Kutaragi: In my heart it was decided that we want to include HDD as the standard. However, there were various problems such as economic reasons, and we might have not been able to secure enough 2.5inch drives. An HDD-less version might have been planned. In that case it completely becomes a game console, but we want to do a computer. With these matters, we needed resolution even though we decided to include HDD.
HG: For a game console HDD is an economic pressure. Unlike semiconductor chips HDD cost doesn't decrease. So it becomes 40-50$ cost-up through a life cycle of a game console. Though in the case of a game console its price is lowerd to $100-$200, it becomes difficult with HDD as the standard. Does it mean PS3 doesn't take a price model like a game console?
KK: After all, we don't say it's a game console (laugh) PS3 is clearly a computer unlike PSs of so far...Obviously we have to make it a mature hardware to a certain degree to reduce the cost when we look at it as a game console. As the methodology, we have been doing cost reduction such as chip integration and power-supply reduction. Naturally we'll do the same thing for PS3.
However, as PS3 is a computer, (not only reducing the cost) but also wants to evolve. We'll want to upgrade the HDD size very soon, if new standards appear in PC we will want to support them. We may want the BD drive to write. Well, BD may not become like that though.
Since Mr. Kutaragi has been emphasizing that the PS3 is like a PC, he also mentioned that the PS3 systems may be updated every year just like any PC. Here is the translated statement about that:
HG: Is it planned that it extends its spec every year like PC?
KK: I think it's okay to release a (extended) configuration every year (laugh). Though I say it like a joke, Dell will do it and Apple will do it too. In PC, if you fix (the spec) for 2 years you'll be caught up (by competitors). Computers should be changing, right? It's inevitable that 60GB (HDD) will become short, memory may become short too. There are many possibilities.
There has been no word on how the possible updates would be done and if it is gonna cost extra for future PS3 owners. But this just goes to show what a powerful machine the PS3 is, and without a doubt, the SCE people are going to maximize all its potentials and all its capabilities. With that, let us just wait for the next segment of the interview series.
To read the full first segment interview, click on the 'Read' link.
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why not just buy a PC, it costs the same, yet does a f***load more.
Remember, the RSX is a modified 7800GTX.
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Personally I think this decision is going to backfire.
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#4 It depends how they implement it, but there is a lot of speculation, they have only said they will update it, not how and it could be that the updates can be done by the user or something. See how it goes!
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But there not going to change anything Internally.
This news sounds good.
If the PS3 is evolving into a PC. Good.
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It's light years ahead...
Homebrew, Upgrades, 1080p, Blu-Ray... what else do you want?
Can't Wait
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I don't know if the PS3 can use the harddisk to swap data like Windows does when it runs out of memory. If that is not the case then old games developed for 512mb RAM will not have any benefit of 1024mb because they are programmed not to use more than 512. Newer games might feature better graphics like it was the case with the N64 memory expansion but I don't think a lot of users are interested in such a thing nowadays. I just hope for PS3 buyers that it will not be necessary to upgrade your PS3 to use all of the features of new games or even play newer games
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because for the most part, pc's have remained around the $1200 mark for the past years because manufacturers keep upgrading them. if sony keeps upgrading the ps3, they cant drop the price very easily without taking even more loses.
and does that mean if they do upgrade all that stuff everyyear, people who bought it near launch will get a worse deal? if this is true, people who bought them at launch will be sad to see their ps3 become outdated and they will have to spend more money to upgrade it.
and not only that, but you could have some hardware issues with games if you change the specs every year.
and what would you need more memory for? if sony lets you play pc games on your ps3, they would be stupid because pc games would be like $10 cheaper than the ps3 game and the sony would get no money from licensing.
either sony is lying or they are stupid to have the ps3 have different specs year after year.
i wont want to buy my console at launch now. because sony keeps saying they will upgrade the hardware and stuff later on... and if your smart you would wait a year or two untill they do upgrade the hardware.
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Has anyone noticed the hype and public attention the ps3 is getting,most of it has been negative, but sony has managed to spin most of it!
on the other hand wii, is the real star so far but i really wonder if this will translate into success outside japan?
xbox 360 on the other hand is full of hot air, and aren't doing nearly as well as you' think they are, i mean they are competing with the ps2 for gods sake even with their hype machine at full throttle, which is whimpering right now, till maybe halo 3.
Even though the ps3 is expensive i think users would rather buy nothing or another device, eg camera than by an xbox 360, if you dont want ps3 then there is little incentive to buy a 360, they cost the same, believe it our not! if you can afford HDTV then xbox 360 vs PS3 price is no contest.
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(believe it or not, on a local radio station, "ask a geek" most people havent even heard of bluray yet, when asking about upgrading their system, most just ask if they need an hd-dvd player. and the hosts normally say, no wait 4-5 years to see if bluray or hd-dvd will be better, and they go whats bluray?)
or you wanted to completely ditch your pc. the reason people wouldnt buy a ps3 is because it is so expensive, and the 360 is 200 less, so they would probably get a 360 if they didnt want to spend all their money on something to play games.
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You cant expect a new console to out sell a console thats been around for years it will take time for when there are price drops and more titles available to compare to the ps2 with its infinite list of titles. And 360doesnt really have anything to compete against other than ps2 just.
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why not just buy a PC, it costs the same, yet does a f***load more.
Remember, the RSX is a modified 7800GTX."
.... IDIOT!,, try buiding PC with Blueray+512DDR3 or higher ram + 60 Gig HDD+ DUAL yes DUAL RSX +Sourround sound card + Blue tooth+ WIFI+...etc and PS3 has games to back it up... bye way i'm NOT a fanboy, since i think it would cost lot of money to build PC with XBOX 360 performance level... and same goes for Wii (if wii cost only like 200 to 250 ) .
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PSP: software upgrade
PS3: software upgrade
PSP: eye toy
PS3: eye toy
PSP: get streaming video from your ps3 functionality
PS3: DVR functionality
The beauty about console systems is that games run smooth on everyone's console. there has been countless time when I bought a game which I had the requirements for in my Pc but the damn thing would crumble and force me to buy a new video card or completely upgrade my PC just to play and even then the games ran like crap at certain points in the game.
Adding extra features that don't interrupt gaming is what Kutaragi is talking about. They might repackage new PS3s to include more stuff but I am sure default configurations will exist throughout it's lifetime. You can definitely expect price drops.
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as for people saying buy a PC instead, uh, those high end video cards are going for $600 just for itself. once you factor in the cost of a case, hard drive, RAM, mouse, keyboard, monitor, motherboard, processor, and whatever else you need, you're approaching the over $1500 mark, depending on what you buy. my computer is almost the equivilant of an X Box 360, and it's already cost me about $800, $900, and i'm still not quite finished yet. i imagine i'll be spending another $100 or $200 on it before i'm done. if i had waited and saved that grand, i'd have been able to purchase a PS3, extra controller, and 4 or 5 games. of course, i'm already saving, so i'll still be able to do that anyway, but still.
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and so far the only way you can get a dvr on your ps3, is to get location free, or some usb device. if they do add a tv tuner later, another thing launch people will be mad at. and upgrading to Media Center cost about half of a location free, and if you get Media Center, you can use your xbox 360 as a dvr too.
----HG: Is it planned that it extends its spec every year like PC?
KK: I think it's okay to release a (extended) configuration every year (laugh). Though I say it like a joke, Dell will do it and Apple will do it too. In PC, if you fix (the spec) for 2 years you'll be caught up (by competitors). Computers should be changing, right? It's inevitable that 60GB (HDD) will become short, memory may become short too. There are many possibilities.----
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also i agree that ps3 wont have a price drop any time soon if sony makes each years model better than the last's. ps3 isnt a console anymore, its a pc. and if you want a pc, you build your own pc, not buy a console for it. wii and 360 are the only ones that are actually a true console now. ps3 outpriced themselves and are now going to upgrade each years model so if i buy mine at launch, it will be outdated in 2-3 years, which might force me to upgrade once again. if they put a bluray writer on there and upgrade the ram, and hdd every year, maybe a tv tuner for their dvr feature, then you can expect the ps3's price to remain 500-600 dollars for a long time. which means when the 360's price drops $100 or so, ps3 might be 2x the price!!!!
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Problem, when the next gen of graphics cards come out (6 months or so) PS3 and X360 become obsolete...
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how the hell would a "geek" not know about blue ray. If they want to be techy they should know about blue ray, these dumb asses have to know about blue ray if they know about hd-dvd so these are just dumbasses calling in
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you call in with your questions about technology and the "geek" answers them, so most people calling in dont really know anything before calling. what they do know is when they go to stores, they see a high definition dvd player. so they think, i have a hd tv so i must have to have a hd-dvd player to go with it. they dont see bluray in stores so they dont really know about it.
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Don't get my wrong.. I had a N64, GCN, Ps1, PS2 and no xbox or 360... But I don't know whatto think right now... but I'm gettin a Wii for sure
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What if 6 years from now when Xbox"3" comes out you could just upgrade your PS3 to perform just as well ?
I think this is what he means... not that every 6 months you will need to do a overhaul on you PS3 to play the next Hot Game. That would be Crazy.
BUT, Making the PS3 upgradable so that 6 years from now it could still compete with the next "hot" new console is an amazing idea.
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people say the ps3 has a better value over time but if you have to upgrade you system every so often you rise the price to around 700-900, but a 360 cost 400 and you will never have to upgrade it....
gamers buy consoles not only for games but because they know they wont ever have to upgrade the memory, processor, or CPU to play games for the next great games.
if they do this they are driving away a HUGE market.
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"gamers buy consoles not only for games but because they know they wont ever have to upgrade the memory, processor, or CPU to play games for the next great games."
This exactly what Sony is saying. You will never need to upgrade the CPU or RAM memory. But adding functionality like DVR or a bigger hard drives for is something they are looking into.
I know you're a huge PS3 hater, as you write negative incorrect information in just about every post but dude relax. If you want to contribute to the intelligent discussions read the articles first then think and then contruct your comments be it against the PS3 or for it. Does MS have you on their payroll? Because it seems you been brainwashed. Perhaps you should spend more time playing your 360 and less time trying to insult the only system that is offering a true next-gen experience.
Xbox 1.5 No thanks
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Yeah.... nice retard, u really hate ps3 doncha, usee if you pay and upgrade u get better quiality to your experience, no one is forcing you to buy the upgrade if u don need them. and YES PS3 is much cheaper that upgrading damn pC (usual next get grafix card cost around like 400 to 600 ). Also many retards say that PS3 is not good for surfing internet and office uses, well here is an idea, get a PC for 250 that can used ONLY for internet and office, u see u still pay (250+600)=850, and PC that cost 850 can't play ***** in terms of gaming since grafix card cost like 600 to bigin with.... so calm down check the reality.... bye the way same goes for XBOX 360.
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you may never need too, but newer games might be aimed towards the newer systems, so your launch system you bought say 3 years ago, might not be able to play the newer games as well as the newer systems do which you will WANT to upgrade the system so bad they will.
i meant people were comparing xbox 360/wii as a bad choice in the long run, but if i have to upgrade my ps3 every 2-3 years to be able to keep up with new systems... then i would much rather just get a 360, adn even though it will be worse then an upgraded ps3, i wont have to spend $100 or so every couple of years.
maybe you dont mind the idea of upgrading your system, but you represent most of the people that know about technology and have an understanding of computers are on forums and news sites. the other people that never go on forums to discuss technology or new games(ALOT of gamers), wont like the idea of upgrading their system.
alot of parents bought ps2's for the children for christmas or whatever(becaus e the ps2 was cheap, and played alot of good E and T games, and they didnt have to worry about upgrading or changing the system), and this was a large majority(not over half though) of ps2 owners: 6-16 year olds getting a ps2 for christmas. that number will decline to almost zero when the ps3 comes out. parents wont buy their kids a $600 console that they will have to open up and buy upgrades for it every few years.
in the period of 5-6 years you will have spent 700-800 dollars(includi ng the price of 600 for the ps3) on your ps3(to make it run as well as newer systems), while 360/wii owners will have spent only 400 or 250 dollars for their system, which they never would have had to buy upgrades for to play the newer games as well as newer systems...
the ps3 will play the best games around, there is no doubt about that, but most gamers dont want to spend that kind of money in the long run for their console.
it would appeal to gamers wanting to build a pc, but dont want to spend 1500 on it.
it wouldnt appeal to pc gamers that have already spent 2000 on their systems.
it will appeal to rich people, but most rich people have 3000 pc's.
it will appeal to alot of people, just not he majority of gamers.
you can say "thats not true" all day long, but that doesnt change anything. and that is one of the reasons ill stop commenting, you just dont get why ps3 screwed themselves in the past 2 months.
and i am brainwashed by xbox 360, because its so great and fabulous. other than that i dont get money from microsoft, or anything like that. i like xbox 360 and wii because they are great or will be great.
i loved ps3 with all my heart untill a month ago. but now i dont, and i go on useless rants about ps3 all day long... day after day. week after week. but now ill stop forever because oblivion is calling my name and you sonyfangirls will never understand.
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sorry
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because when i buy my ps3, they will give me 4 wireless controllers and free games for life!!!!!
seiously any game system you have to buy controllers and games, its that simple.
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