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Sony Releases PS3 Back-Compat Checker 68
With the 60GB version now 'sold out', the 80GB version of the PlayStation 3 is quickly going to be the only option for consumers in stores. Besides the hard-drive size, though, the two systems have another fundamental difference: the 80GB unit handles backwards compatibility with software and not hardware. What games work on the two console versions is now a bit trickier. To aid in your comprehension, Joystiq notes, Sony has released a handy online game checker to let you know how your library will fare. Over at Curmudgeon Gamer, they have an examination of a game library looking at both a PS1 collection of titles and a group of games from the PS2 era. Assuming this random sampling to be in any way indicative, it looks like there isn't much difference between software and hardware compatibility for PS1 games ... but PS2 games might not have an easy time of it.
Hardware vs Software (Score:1)
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They can also do fun things like extra Anti-aliasing, upscaling, and perhaps some other tweaks. The software emu is still far superior numerically and as a ratio to the 360's backwards compatibility. 80%+ vs ~30%.
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Apparently you're a little behind, because the hardware-back compatible 60GB model has been able to do these things with PS2 games for months now. It was just a firmware update that enabled it all.
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I am aware it can and have a 60gb one. All of these fun features are from the software emu. Other tweaks haven't come yet but the upscaling and AA were enabled in a very early firmware revision.
If you turn off these features it goes back to hardware emu. If you leave any on it's Software emu.
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It's cheaper.
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No, they weren't. The PS3s with the Emotion Engine hardware are undoubtedly more expensive to make than those without. Remember the 60GB PS3s were only discounted because Sony was trying to clear them off the shelves to make way for the 80GB version.
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Explanation (Score:5, Insightful)
When the PS3 was launched in PAL regions, it was launched without the hardware solution already. At that time, emulation was even worse than now, but has people said, it has been improving. There are still lots of problems though from what I've heard.
Now that they've improved software emulation a bit, they're ready to force it down the throats of American customers too. They stopped manufacturing the 60 GB units, and from now on will only produce 80 GB PS3 without software emulation, which will reduce their huge losses due to selling hardware at a loss.
They have said in their latest financial report conference that they expect to reach profitability in hardware sales later rather than sooner.
More likely than not, the new 80 GB PS3 is cheaper to produce than the soon-to-be-discontinued 60 GB one, because they cut out the PS2 chips, and, in terms of hard drives, 80 GB might even be cheaper than 60 GB, due to 80 GB being a very common disk capacity for laptops (note that the PS3 hard-drive is 2.5 inches, meaning the variety used in laptops).
I hope the above wasn't too confusing, feel free to ask any questions you might have...
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Re:sure (Score:4, Informative)
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Kind of annoying, since the saved playbacks are like 1MB each, so the PS2 memory cards can only hold a few of them, compared with the 80GB hard drive...
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In other words, I disagree.
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Backwards compatibility on the PS2 has actually gotten progressively worse since they stopped manufacturing the PS1. Witness the abysmal track record of the silver slimline. In general, backwards compatibility is the first thing cut in a console's lifetime in the name of saving manufacturing costs (DS and GBA micro didn't have GBC support, Sega Nomad and Genesis 3 d
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The jury is still out on how much of the wii's numbers overlap and exclude the PS3 potential customer base. Wii is in a completely different price bracket aimed at a different and larger market, the 360 is likely easting Sony's lunch as much or more then the wii.
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But that's not the issue. Parent poster pointed to declining sales of the PS2 and suggested the PS3 was the cause of it, while it seems safe to say that, if any console is helping to cause the decline in PS2 sales, it's the Wii.
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They may not be buying PS2s, but that's because they're buying Wiis, not PS3s. Sony does not that kind of market dominance and control any more.
Not to mention that GTA being pushed back until spring is going to kill them this holiday season. Most (if not all) of the next-gen holdouts (or Christmas presents) will probably go to the 360 (what with Halo coming out in a few weeks .. GTA was the only "must-have" title coming out for PS3 this holiday).
360 will dominate, and the Wii will do even better if they can get manufacturing online. Plus, you have Metroid that just came out, Smash Brothers coming out, and Mario Galaxy/Mario Kart (with online p
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As for GTA and Exclusive? Never understood that one. I've seen gta on PC, ps1/2, dreamcast, xbox, psp, etc, when has this series ever been exclusive to anything?
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To Clarify (Score:5, Insightful)
Which is precisely why the 60GB model is a better deal. It possesses both hardware and software emulation, thus insuring near 100% backwards compatibility and the ability to scale-up games that work with the software emulation. And it's $100 cheaper then the 80GB version. Of course this is all an attempt to clear the 60GB model out of the warehouses, so they can push their cheaper to manufacture 80GB. Which should receive a price drop by about $100 or so sometime shortly after the 60GB model is entirely sold out. At least it should, it would be very stupid of Sony not too.
And thats the best explanation I can give of Sony's current actions, hope it helps.
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It's fairly obvious that once the 60Gb model goes out of stock, a bundle-less 80Gb model will step in to replace it at the same price or even lower.
The softw
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Uh, no. They added 20GB because 60GB drives are going to be if not already more expensive than 80GB drives, since 80GB is what all the manufacturers are switching to. It's the exact same reason as cutting the Emotion Engine hardware: Cost.
As to whether the 80GB gets a rapid price drop once the 60GB versions are gone, that all depends
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It's an accepted fact the PS3 costs more than $600 to make. The X-Box 360 costs more than $(whatever) to make, too. the PS2 originally cost more to make than they made back selling it. So does the PSP, or rather, so did the PSP. I'm not sure about it now.
They accept a hardware loss on the hopes of making it back through software (games) and marketshare. If they didn't, the PS3 would have came out costing like $800 and the 360 like $600.
At which point Nintendo would have had only one thi
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As per Chris, I poked around and you are indeed correct about the cheaper 80GB, which means that the cost of an 80GB is lower then what I was calculating. However, I don't believe this changes that Sony is trying to make something that's actually horribly overpriced compared to the 60GB model not look like it's horribly overpriced, at least to the layman for the time being. Which could also explain the bundle aspect mentioned in the pos
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ps3#Sales_and_pricing [wikipedia.org]
Of course if you don't believe analysts or Sony then you don't believe anyone who can legitimately make a case. Therefore, you be trolling since you'll never be convinced anyways.
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Why else would Sony's Games Division be losing so much money?
Re:To Clarify (Score:5, Informative)
Well, they did sweeten the pot a little more. The 80GB models on the shelves right now come with Motorstorm, and a tossed-in HDMI cable. So while it doesn't cost Sony any extra $100 for these extras, it might tilt the value proposition that way for the consumer. (After all, it's only a little bit extra in cost - a game plus a cable is only a few bucks for Sony).
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You can get an HDMI cable from Amazon for about 2 dollars plus three for shipping. Just a tip.
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http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/09/rumor-40-gb-ps3.html [wired.com]
PS1 hardware emulation??? (Score:1)
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only option? perhaps not (Score:3, Informative)
Kotaku/Ars Technica says otherwise
http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/40gb-ps3-with-spider+man-3-for-christmas-298145.php [kotaku.com]
for those too lazy to click Sony may be coming out with a 40GB system for $399 and dropping the price of the 80 gig system to $499 (and including spiderman 3 as a packin for both). Yeah it's an odd move but I've stopped trying to explain Sony's product moved logically long ago.
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I can just move the drive around to other systems and use it to backup things if I really need it for that.
However, with games alone, my PS3 HDD is filling up. And I own hundreds of PS2 games, so it's possible that a massive PS3 HDD will be necessary in a few years.
What is really better? (Score:1)
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Just sayin' I've not not
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You heard wrong, (Score:2)
But PS2 games usually are upscales and smoothed very well. The effect is a minimal improvement, since my TV is much better too and requires the new resolution, but it is technically a significant improvement.
But to be honest, the ability to play PS2 games is way overrated. I want next gen games. If I wanted to play new games with PS2 graphics, I could always borrow my daughter's wii (not trying to be mean, but serio
I sure hope PS1 emulation works (Score:5, Insightful)
All joking aside, of course the PS3 isn't able to properly emulate PS2 games. I mean, the Emotion Engine produces graphics [that] are so amazingly lifelike [findarticles.com], for Christ's sake!
FTFA:
Sony and partner Toshiba say the new graphics processor has enough power to show humanlike motions such as facial expressions, as well as to learn, and to recognize speech. One analyst says it will merge TV and video games.
I mean, how can the PS3 compete with that?Still don't understand why the hatred of software (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Still don't understand why the hatred of softwa (Score:2)