Page 1 of PSP2 & PS3 news

Seems the PS3 is currently undergoing development hell. It`s cell processor and the dependency on blu-Ray means that not only will it now be delayed until 2007, but the cost-effectiveness of making the console is being severely brought into question. Looks like the ever-increasing cost of hardware could indeed put the PS3 well out of the reach of the average Joe (£450 on release is being touted).

Now, something that`s p***ed me off slightly, Sony are working on a re-modded PSP, which will be thinner, lighter, come with 4Gb memory built in, AND have a bloody camera attached. I like my PSP a lot, but once again, my nice shiny piece of hardware is going to be obsolete within a year..

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It`ll never heal if you don`t stop picking...


My Collection

RE: PSP....

Really? :o Actually, that`s probably not a suprise, because it seems to be aimed more towards the average multimedia (read: ipod) user, rather than gamers. And from the way mp3/mp4 players are produced, we know that they are constantly having new `generations`.

It`s kind of annoying, but its quite typical at the moment. There`s a new DS out soon - thats coming after the recent release of models of alternate colours. It`s us who are loyal and get in there first with our dosh that always seem to come off worse.

RE: PS3....

Maybe it wasn`t such a bad thing that MS came in so early with the 360, because it sounds like they are going to get a fair crack at the games market without much competition for a good while. Well, they need to get around to making a few more 360`s first so that we can actually bloody buy one...

But I`ll almost certainly get a PS3, because specs-wise it seems to tick all the boxes (especially having blu-ray capabilities) and at least a few more of us will HD ready TV`s by the time is does come out. But come on Sony, pull your finger out.

When`s the next E3 by the way?

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Well, they need to get around to making a few more 360`s first so that we can actually bloody buy one...

I was in town yesterday & all the big shops had both Premium & Core in stock.

Cheers

Si



Our Collection (including the ones that belong to the kids!)

Blue John Soul, Blues & Funk Band

The announcement this morning was interesting. 60gig (upgradeable) Hdd as standard, running an unspecified linux distro, Bluetooth joypads, supporting up to 7 players and the ability to act as a media server and storage unit (pretty much the opposite of a 360) and a `worldwide` November launch.

Good and bad news all round. The semi-finalised specs look great and the server and linux aspects will be brilliant (if its not crippled by DRMs). The november launch will give the 360 enough time to establish itself and drop the price significantly, especially in the run up to xmas.

Its given me a lot to think about. I pretty much made up my mind to get a PS3, but if the 360 does fall dramatically in price, I might be swayed that way. The functionality appears to be everything I wanted the 360 to be, which is nice but it is slightly worrying that there was absolutely no mention of price.

Plus the worldwide launch is, inevitably, going to be an unmitigated disaster. But when you cut through all the marketing bulls***, its looking pretty good. At least it gives me a chance to save up. I dont think, once the dust settles, you`ll get much change out of £500 for a console and a game.

I dunno. Im going to pre-order 4, sell 3 and get my 4th for free..........

This item was edited on Wednesday, 15th March 2006, 11:04

Merrill Lynch, that big US finance advisory company, did an analitical breakdown of the PS3`s assumed production cost:



I`m assuming the extra $100 is an estimate for the HDD, which wasn`t calculated in.

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I dont think, once the dust settles, you`ll get much change out of £500 for a console and a game.

Looks that way. And that`s still with them selling at the usual loss.

As much as I hate to pat myself on the back...

Go here and check the date at the top..

Then go to my blog here (`well, duh` onwards) and just remember who had the scoop first.

(swaggers)

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Writer`s Release

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(if its not crippled by DRMs)
...but don`t you feel they need DRMs to tackle piracy effectively? Anything less than tight DRM control will open up Sony equipment (and Sony Music) to piracy even more.
At least they are making some kind of stand, whereas the other hardware manufacturers allow more easy access to media, both in and out of their players.

Neil.

No. I dont.

What is the point of having media server functionality if it is hamstrung to which media it can serve. Take the 360. Out of all the 360 owners here, hands up who uses it as a media server? If not, why not?

Its the same situation with MP3s. This player cant play napster stuff, this one cant play apple stuff, neither of them can play this file.......

I know you seem to have a fervent belief in DRMs and more power to you. But the tape was DRM free and the music world didnt collapse on its arse in the 80`s.

As far as Sonys media server is concerned, I want full functionality. I dont want it to not play DivX files because they are associated with piracy. If I have any ITunes songs (which I dont and never will have, but for the purposes of this point......) I dont want conflict with sonys own DRM management system. I dont want software surreptitiously installing itself on my PC to restrict its functionality. I dont want to buy a piece of music and be told `You can only play it on one device`.

Im sure if you bought a car, you wouldnt like to be told which roads you can drive it on. Its a fairly specious analogy, but it is reasonably apt. If I buy something, I want to be able to use it when I like, where I like. If I cant do this I wont buy it. Its that simple.

The fact of the matter is, DRMs are not a necessary evil. They are a desperate attempt to steer the market where they want it to be, rather than where the consumer wants it. At the end of the day, all DRMs can be avoided and broken and any piece of hardware that is hard coded and restricted wont find its way into my house.

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hands up who uses it as a media server? If not, why not?
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Its the same situation with MP3s. This player cant play napster stuff, this one cant play apple stuff, neither of them can play this file.......
But the reasons are the important factor here...MP3, for example, was allowed to flourish (e.g.encoders freely availble, P2P) without any real control...maybe we didn`t know how their use would be abused...? If a single compression type was agreed by the major players(ok, almost impossible to see this happening), we wouldn`t be talking about this now.
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But the tape was DRM free and the music world didnt collapse on its arse in the 80`s.
You know better than to use that argument. Tape was real time recording, not 30 second album ripping, P2P was swapping LPs with your mates, there wasn`t the cagillion online users, no `legal` downloads, 20gig versus 90mins...etc...etc...it is a entirely different environment now.

I haven`t got so much a fervent belief in DRMs but more an acceptance that if we want reasonably priced media, we have to be squeaky clean. While music and movie producers can play the piracy card, we will be funding their lost revenue through premiums on DVDs and CDs.
Your paragraph about your wants in software and hardware are nice ideals but they all play into the hands of pirates.
If DRM is not a/the solution, what is? I doubt that you condone piracy, but all your wants give no protection to artists and producers; so, how do you propose that piracy can be reduced?

Neil.

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Your paragraph about your wants in software and hardware are nice ideals but they all play into the hands of pirates.

Personally, I couldnt give a s***. Its what *I* want out of it. I have specific wants and needs from a machine and software. Namely i want it to work.

You know how to combat piracy? Make a product that people want at the right price. Take this weeks number one. It has got to number one entirely through digital downloads. Clearly it has achieved a price point and a usability that people want. So why include DRMs in the downloads? So these people cant listen to it on their MP3 players?

DRM is a terrible invention which is designed to work one way and one way only; In favour of Big Business.

Piracy will always be a problem. Hell, i and most people on this site, know how to get around almost every DRM going and we arent even uberL337.

The top and the bottom of it is as a paying consumer I want to be able to use something I have purchased as i see fit. I do not want to be treated like a potential criminal and I could not give a s*** whether it opens the door to more piracy, which I just cant imagine it would or if it causes a drop in Warners profits. If it doesnt do this, im not going to buy it. Its that simple.

I think that the vast majority of people have been sufficiently s***ted up by the strongarm tactics employed by the BPI and the RIAA to not want to pirate things. I think, in all honesty, the piracy issue is a bit of a smokescreen.

And, to be honest, I think that the tape thing is an apt metaphor. I mean, its not like they knew any better........and there was high speed dubbing..........

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....more an acceptance that if we want reasonably priced media, we have to be squeaky clean.

That isnt true at all, as the consumer, its my right to demand a product the way I want to use it. If they dont want to sell it me, thats fine. Take CDs. For years we were gouged at 15-20 quid a throw, then we stopped buying them. As soon as CDs dropped below a tenner, sales shot up. Hell, with CD-Wow and the likes ive bought more CDs in the last 4 years than I did in the preceeding ten. The problem is, it takes a long while for people to realise that they dont have to take it up the arse anymore.

As Dr. Ian Malcolm said `Life will find a way`..

This item was edited on Monday, 3rd April 2006, 17:08