Sony dominated the console market with the PS2. No one can dispute that fact. Microsoft finished strong, and did quite well considering being the baby in the market. Nintendo finished third with the Gamecube. They ended up pretty close to Microsoft in units sold, but had to drop it's price drastically.
But what about the next generation? What will each company offer this time around? Can Sony dominate again this time around? Will Microsoft gain ground or even take the market with the X-Box 360? Or maybe Nintendo will surprise us with the Revolution.
Looking at what we know now, we'll try and get a feel for who might have the edge, and who might end up on the outside looking in.
Playstation 3 Strengths:
Power of the Cell Processor: People at E3 2005 were amazed at the demos showing real time rendering of various scenes in combination with the RSX processor. But what was also quite impressive was what the Cell could render on it's own without the RSX at all. There was a live render of a gas station that was blown up, and shown from different angles as well as at day and at night. The physics on it looked great, and the explosion looked quite good. They also showed beautiful landscapes being rendered in real time based on satellite data and elevation maps. Once again, this was without a graphics processor. Very impressive.
RSX Graphics Processor: RSX @550MHz
1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines
Once again, we look to some of the E3 demos showing off the capabilities of this system. One demo showed Doc Oc rendered live using the RSX, with light shining realistically through the ears, light reflecting beautifully in the eyes, and lifelike skin. Another live render showed these alien like beings with wings, and bright light shining behind them. Once again, the RSX was able to realistically show light partially illuminating even the skeletal system of the beings through the flesh. The membrane of the wings also showed light partially shining through. These subtle and no so subtle effects will add to the realism of games immensely. Dynamic range (the ability to show bright light details as well as shadow details at the same time), will be increased because 32 bit color will now be 128 bit with the RSX.
Huge game support from publishers: Sony since the PS1 has had a load of game publishers tripping over themselves to publish games for the system. This last time around was no exception. The PS2 had the most games, and the most publishers on their side. Sony should have a lot of games for the PS3, but the technology is not as straight forward as say designing for the Xbox 360. This was a negative point with the PS2, and it didn't stop them from taking the market by storm. But they also had a head start release and a strong reputation with the PS1. Microsoft will have both an earlier release date as well as a strong reputation this time around. Look for a lot of games for both systems.
Huge fan base with backwards compatibility: There are always fanboys of every system. Sony had the most loyal following with the most units sold, as well as a meg a-ton of games sold. They were smart when they created the PS2 with backwards capability, and they continue the trend with the PS3. This ensures they have a huge games library at release no matter what, and PS2 and PS1 owners can use their old favorites on the new system.
More than a games machine: Sony has touted the PS3 as more than a games machine. In fact, some don't want you to even think of the PS3 as a games machine. They want you to see a bigger picture. They want to to use the PS3 as an Entertainment hub of sorts... A place where you can download music for your PS3, buy game related stuff online, access the internet, connect with other users, and do a whole lot of stuff you didn't even think about. Will they succeed? Time will tell. Also not hidden away is the promotion of a mass storage disc format called Blu-Ray Disc, which can store a heck of a lot more than a standard DVD . Sony is hoping they can make this the next DVD format, and the standard in the industry. Selling millions of PS3s is a good way of getting this format into people's homes. And also a good way to push high-definition output like the 1080p offered as an output option for Sony's high tech powerhouse.
Playstation 3 Weaknesses:
Price: It looks like the PS3 will cost the most out of the next batch of next gen consoles. Pricing looks to be around the $300 mark, which is a bit high considering the competition. The Xbox 360 will apparently be making sure that their price point is lower than the PS3.
Release Date: With a release date of spring 2006, Sony better hope that they hit the ground running when it is released. The Xbox 360 will have a release date before Christmas 2005, which means Microsoft will most likely cash in big time for the Christmas season. Sony is going to have to show some serious advantages for kids not to want to open a Xbox 360 for Christmas. Sony can do it, but expect Microsoft to get off to a strong start.
Storage Options: This is a very interesting point to look at. It could just as easily be an advantage, but time will tell. What will Sony use for storage for the PS3? DO you use a hard drive, a memory stick, a SD card, a USB storage device? The choice is yours, which is great, or a curse. KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid. Choices are great until no one will know what to use. I’m sure Sony will give us a direction to take, but will everyone take it? As of now, the hard drive is optional, which is really too bad. Give everyone a hard drive, and standardize everyone’s setup.
Also in the air is the Blu-Ray Disc format, which has yet to be crowned as the next DVD Industry standard. It’s a risk that can really pay off for Sony, or bite them in the butt. Have Blu-Ray Disc become the standard, and Sony now has an edge in the Industry. Have HD DVD take off, and Sony is stuck with a proprietary format that will faze out like Beta Max did years back.
Up in the Air:
Will the Cell processor / RSX combo outperform the Xbox 360? Some say, yes, and some say no. Will Blu-Ray take off or flop?
Bottom Line:
The PS3 is an amazing piece of hardware that is sure to kick some serious butt. Sony should probably still hold on to the number one spot, but expect the Xbox 360 to creep closer.
