Misc. Info

Webmaster's Corner

March 3, 1999

Well, as I mentioned just before I hit the sack yesterday, the actual technical specifications for the next generation PlayStation were released. If you haven't looked at it already, it certainly is worth a read. When I first read the specs, I got this funny feeling... I had seen this somewhere before! :-) Lets put together a little table:

OK OK, no biggie, but nice to see Sony went above and beyond what I was hoping for! (Little video memory is really a small concern with the extreme memory speed and the architecture of the graphics processor/bus. Semi the same principle as AGP.) But at the time 10.000.000 was an outrageous number!

The jump from 250 to 300 MHz is a welcome one. (20% increase in performance right there.) With the intense pressure on higher processor speeds, 300 MHz is really the least they should do. If you remember the EET article a couple of weeks back, it did mention a couple of interesting points. First of all, it sounds like this chip will be based on 0.18 micron technology. When the Pentium III is released on 0.18 later this year, it'll start at 600MHz... Later in the article, when talking about the 250MHz speed, the author says: "The final chip is expected to run significantly faster." Hmmm... Oh well, 300MHz it is.

32 Megabytes of RAM. What a relief for the developers. More than 10 times the Memory of the original PlayStation. Again though, it's the least they should do. With higher resolution textures, more objects, better sound etc. memory is quickly filled to the brim. Luckily the DVD drive ensures at least 1.3MB/sec compared to the 300K/sec of the CD-ROM in the PS. It might even be 2x* or 6x* DVD, almost totally eliminating load times.

USB or Universal Serial Bus. How cool is this feature? Sure, new Dual Shocks from Sony will be cool, as will NegCon 2* from Namco... But with USB comes tons of other periphials! After years of hesitation, finally USB products are hitting the market. You get joysticks, mouse, keyboards, cameras, scanners, microphones, speakers, printers, modems, networks etc. Are they really saying we can use our PC stuff on the PS? Software would have to support it, of course, but think of the possibilities! They are literally endless! Just by implementing some basic drivers (overly simplified, but hey) any of the following could happen:

• Through a camera you load your face for a custom Tekken 4 character*
• You use a microphone to guide your character in Final Fantasy X*
• In Final Fantasy X, a PC monitor connected through USB shows the map and inventory.*
• For Lemmings 4 you don't have to buy a PS mouse, you use your PC mouse*
• You print your highscores and season stats in NBA ShootOut 2001 (in color, no less!)*
• Using a scanner you scan your logo for use on your new custom car in Gran Tourismo 2000*
• Your $200 PC wheel and pedals works perfectly in Need for Speed V*
• Use your USB ethernet HUB to play Unreal 2 against 3 friends in your house*
• Use your USB modem to play against friends on the Internet.* (Specs. do say communication through PC-Card, which would also work, it would just be a tad more expensive.)

Firewire. OK, Sony have officially gone airborne... 400MB/sec transfer speed! For what? Clearly, there is more to this next generation PlayStation than Sony is letting on. Set top box? Sony DV Cam -> PS2? Funky hardware indeed, can't wait to see it implemented!

Dang, it's too late again, have to get up for work tomorrow morning as usual. More comments tomorrow!

- Nils

*) Pure and utter speculation.