Updated: March 15, 2006
Announcements from Tokyo --
New information regarding Sony's PlayStation 3
Ken Kutaragi, president and chief executive of Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc., Sony's video games division, speaks during
the "PlayStation Business Briefing 2006" in Tokyo
on Wednesday. He made the following exciting announcements!
So finally we have been given a fantastic amount of information,
hopefully silencing some concerns brought about by analysts.
It is true that the PS3 has been delayed, but thankfully '2007'
is not a part of Sony's plans.
1.) PS3 to launch
worldwide Nov 2006
We have learned
that Sony will be doing a worldwide launch in November 2006.
This includes the US, Japan, and Europe. Yes, all 3 countries,
simultaneously. This will be the first time in video gaming
history that a manufacturer has done so.
In addition, they aim to release
6 Million units by 12/31/2006 and aim to release 2 Million units
per month starting in January 2007.
2.)
PS3 will require a 60gb HDD
In addition, they will be offering larger Hard Drives that users
can upgrade. The Hard Drives will come pre-loaded with a version
of the LinuxOS.
The 60gb HDD will be standard
in all PS3 systems. Early reports point to downloadable games
like Xbox Live Arcade, Music, Video, and LinuxOS. It is unclear
whether they will allow users to save games to the HDD.
3.) Cutting edge HDMI technology
(High-Definition Multimedia Interface)
This addition will help support the ambition of having 120 fps
games in the future.
- Higher speed: Though HDMI has more than twice
the bandwidth needed to support all HDTV formats, HDMI will
increase its single-link bandwidth to support the demands of
future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, deep
color and high frame rates.
- Deep color: HDMI will support 30-bit, 36-bit
and 48-bit color depths for stunning rendering of over one billion
colors in unprecedented detail.
- Greater PC/CE convergence: HDMI will be enhanced
for easier integration into low voltage, AC-coupled PC graphics
controllers, cementing HDMI’s position as the de facto
standard digital multimedia interface enabling true convergence
across PC and CE platforms. The HDMI Founders also support compatibility
between HDMI and the Unified Display Interface (UDI), the HDMI-compatible
digital video interface for PC displays announced recently by
a group of leading PC technology makers.
- New mini connector: With small portable devices
such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless HDTV
connectivity, HDMI will offer a new, smaller form-factor connector
option. Since HDMI offers the highest quality digital audio
and video on a single connection, such devices will be also
benefit from a reduced connector count.
- Lip Sync: CE devices are employing increasingly
complex digital signal processing of high-resolution video and
audio formats to enhance the clarity and detail of the content.
As a result, synchronization of video and audio in user devices
has become a greater challenge and could potentially require
complex end-user adjustments. HDMI will incorporate features
to enable this synchronization to be done automatically by the
devices with greater accuracy.
- New compressed audio formats: In addition
to HDMI’s current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed
digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats
(such as Dolby Digital and DTS), HDMI will add additional support
for new compressed digital audio formats Dolby True HD and DTS-HD.
4.) Basic" PS3 online
service will be free.
This service will include a marketplace
similar to Xbox Live where you can download games, a lobby,
and voice chat at a minimum.
5.) Play Station 3 be backwards compatible with all
previous Play Station and PS2 games
They will be in high definition,
similar to what Microsoft's 360 is offering with their backwards
compatibility, bringing new life to older games.
6.) All PS3 titles will be required to release on Blu-Ray
discs
This will not negatively impact
DVD Movie playback or Backwards compatibilities.
This will undoubtedly result in higher costs for game disc production
for the first year or two but should help hold off the rampant
piracy that has occurred on the PS2 and PS1
