Posted on 11/30/2004 2:25:04 PM PST by Straight Vermonter
Sony's next PlayStation is more than a year away, but there is plenty of appetite for clues to its enhancements.
On Monday, Sony and its entertainment arm as well as IBM and Toshiba were to reveal some of the first details of the Cell chip, jointly developed by the three companies, that will form the basis of the next generation of PlayStation game consoles.
The chip, which is still being designed, has been one of the most guarded secrets in the entertainment, semiconductor and computing industries since the companies started work on it in 2001.
Industry analysts expect the new PlayStation to be released in late 2005 or early 2006. The advanced chip will include multiple processors versatile enough to provide richer video images, multiplayer gaming and the addition of still pictures, audio and other media, the companies and analysts said.
Sony plans to introduce high-definition televisions powered by Cell in 2006, while IBM says the Cell chip has the potential to be included in other consumer electronics and computing products, the companies said. IBM and Sony also said they were testing a workstation driven by the Cell chip that will be used by video game makers and producers of special effects.
To handle all these functions, the Cell will have separate microprocessors that manage specific jobs simultaneously, as well as allow for data to be sent and received at high speeds over broadband lines. This is a step ahead of the current generation of chips that typically have one microprocessor and can manage more limited amounts of data and functions at a time.
"The Cell processor is probably the first major change in chip processors in 10 to 20 years because there are multiple brains" inside the chip, said Richard Doherty, the president and research director at Envisioneering Group, a technology consultant in Seaford, New York. "With previous chip generations, communications was an afterthought. It was just about how fast it goes and never about the richness of the gasoline."
Though Sony has said little about the successor to the PlayStation 2, analysts expect it to range far beyond games. The current machine has a DVD player and offers access to the Internet to allow for multiplayer games online.
But with Cell inside, the new machine may also be able to download satellite television signals and connect to digital cable set-top boxes, Doherty and other analysts said. Because the machine is expected to include a hard drive, users may also be able to store photos and videos.
Any more info you want to present? As an owner of a PS2 and X-box I would love to hear more. Ping me if you have further updates in the future.
Sweet. As I understand it, it's a 64-bit PowerPC derivative optimized for multiprocessing, right? I'd think it would have large implications for all aspects of computing, so I'm surprised they seem to be limiting their focus to consoles and specific multimedia applications. I wouldn't mind a 16-way Power Mac G6...
so should I bother getting my kid an xbox this year ?
Great, can't wait to play Pong on it!
I`m getting a play station. X Box is the biggest rip off out there which figures being that it`s made by Bill "I can never get enough cash" Gates. I bought the thing last January and already it`s screwing up. It`s suppose to play DVD`s but half the time the DVDs either skip or freeze, and when I tried to open it up to see if maybe it was dirty inside, it`s impossible. You literally have to break it open. Then when I tried to get games for the thing, 99% of the games out there are all the same. Kill/shoot em up games and you can only play the ones exclusively made for X Box which is kill/shoot em up games. I want porno. I want 100% porno games or games like "Annoy the liberal"
Any comments about Nintendo's DS?
Very hard to get this year.
But it sounds really cool. I hope you make some $$ off of it. And of course, you will carry the satisfaction of working that project. 8>)
/john
Does this count? (Link possibly not safe for more puritanical workplaces).
Nope, I'm still stuck on Super Mario 3, circa 1993, played on my SNES9x emulator. The rest of the gaming world has left me in the dust.
You are dating yourself... And you know what happens when you do that... you'll go blind. ;>)
/john
Well, most hackers don't have access to a chip fabrication facility like Fishkill, so I suspect they're safe for awhile. At least until you can pick up a nanotech assembler at Walmart.
They'll use the JTF assembler instruction. ;>).
Thank you. I haven't thought of that in many, many years.
/john
I missed a point. They'll reverse engineer it and the functionality will be available on a cross compiled version to a significantly enhanced AS400.
/john
PCs and game boxes are already multiprocessor machines by the definition in this article: CPU, GPU, audio processor, net card processor, etc. The "Cell" will be underwhelming.
One of the first games I bought my kid is Super Donkey Kong. He has made it about 1/3 of the way through. He has bought and rented I dunno how many games since then and made it through them but he quit DK because it was too hard. I think its great but I dont have time to play it.
No code is faster than microcode on silicon.
/john
You really have to stop internalizing ;o)
Still won't be able to touch my machine..
3400xp 64 bit 939 pin amd
VIA K8T800 Pro Motherboard
ATI 9800 pro vid card
Kingston 2 gig pc3200 ram
Everquest 2 never looked so good :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.