As featured on: loadedinc.com, cgno.com
Sony President Ken Kutaragi went on a media rampage last
week, releasing several details about the upcoming PlayStation 3 console. The
overall theme of the interviews conducted was the PlayStation 3 media
center/super computer. Kutaragi has said again and again, on record, that the
PlayStation 3 will not just be a gaming console. We’ve heard this rhetoric
before, with the PlayStation 2, but Sony seems to be taking the first steps
towards making it a reality. The biggest question is what it means for gamer’s
wallets.
In an interview with Japanese outlet Jiji news, Kutaragi
admitted that Sony did not have enough development kits for all dev-houses. He
attributed this mainly to a lack of parts to manufacture sufficient kits. If a
company were serious about the gaming aspect of their next generation console,
they would make sure that developers were getting all the tools they needed to
get the job done. A shortage of kits means that while most developers will get
the tools they need, they won’t get enough of them. Development times will slow
and the PlayStation 3 may see a shortage of quality launch titles—this seems
something more up Nintendo’s alley, not Sony’s. Considering the time they’ve
had to work with—four years since the release of the PlayStation 2—one would
think Sony would have been more than prepared for the demand of their products.
If there’s a sign that the PlayStation 3 won’t focus primarily on gaming, this
could definitely be it.
It’s not a major red flag, however. Sony still has plenty of
time before the release of the PlayStation 3 to ship out enough kits to meet
demand. Work can still begin on new games on a limited basis and accelerated
when more kits are shipped in. The interesting aspects of the PlayStation 3’s
creative direction lay in its approach to hard drive support.
Microsoft’s Xbox console was a leap forward in that it used
memory cards as a secondary method of storing and transferring game data. An
integrated hard drive not only assisted games with hard drive caching—storing
information in real time and reducing load times—but also helped the relevancy
of Xbox Live by allowing downloadable content. Even for less-wired gamers an
HDD let players save without having to worry about space and purchasing
additional pricey memory cards.
Sony isn’t ignoring the hard drive factor; in fact, Kutaragi
admitted that the PlayStation 3 will have a 2.5 inch HDD bay so players can
equip them to the console. However, Kutaragi also stated that current HDD sizes
of 80 or 120GB are “still not enough.” This suggests that the PlayStation 3 is
going to be a multi-faceted console with several functions. That the hard
drives will run Linux suggests addition functionality like video and photo
editing. For casual gamers who want no more than game saves and downloadable
content, they may need to pony up some extra dough for the rumored PS3 add-on.
If 120GB is “not enough,” one can imagine what size the PlayStation 3 hard drives
will be, and the price tag will be enough to make almost anyone cringe.
There’s also cracks in the gaming armor of the PlayStation 3
with the recent news that Toshiba and Sony failed to seal a deal to create a
dual format DVD. Currently a battle of sorts is being waged between Toshiba’s
HD-DVD, the cheaper option, and Sony’s Blu-ray disc, which has a larger storage
capacity. In an interview, Sony Blu-ray director Kiyoshi said,
“Without 50GB of capacity, we can't answer the demands of long hours of high-definition
video recording and high-quality extras. The HD-DVD camp is saying that we
don't need that much capacity, but it will be required in the future.” It
wouldn’t be completely ludicrous to suggest that the PlayStation 3 is the future
that is being described. In fact, it hints at the TiVo-like technology that
shipped with the PSX console in Japan
back in 2003. As of earlier this year, however, the PSX was deemed a failure.
Sony seems to not be taking the hint and trying their luck in the Western market.
I’m all for multi-functional consoles, but the chief
concern is the price. I doubt Sony can throw in real-time video recording, high
storage capability, cutting-edge graphical power, and have it all bundled in a
nice, cheap package. The casual gamer, which propelled the PlayStation 2 to
market superiority, seems to be taking a back seat to technophiles and their dream
of an all-in-one wonder machine. If Sony alienates their primary market, they
may just find Microsoft nipping at their heels in the next generation. The
question to be asked is: Which features are going to come stock on the
PlayStation 3 and how much extra cash will gamers have to shell out to get a
complete package?
