Post by *NormalGamer* on Aug 11, 2005 1:08:44 GMT -5
www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=167100862
EE Times:
Sony and Nintendo place different bets on gaming
Yoshiko Hara
EE Times
(08/08/2005 9:00 AM EDT)
Tokyo — Japan's two game console companies, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Nintendo Co. Ltd., have set different directions for their next-generation systems. While Sony is relying on technological innovation, Nintendo is focusing on simplicity and entertainment value.
Sony has developed the new Cell pro-cessor from scratch for Playstation 3, collaborating with IBM and Toshiba. "We want to bring about a revolution by innovative technologies," said Ken Kutaragi, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI).
Meanwhile, Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, argues that the game market in Japan is declining because the content is too sophisticated for beginners and is attractive only to game lovers.
Sony's Kutaragi said his company's upcoming console will continue the tradition of innovation established by the first two Playstations. "We'll offer a platform that stands for 10 years or more. It's a challenge to game software creators. If we offer hardware with high limitations, it should take time for creators to use up the platform. The higher the limitations of the hardware are, the more software evolves year after year. So hardware should be high-performing," said Masayuki Chatani, SCEI's chief technology officer.
Indeed, Playstation 3 has the highest-performance specifications among the three next-generation game consoles announced at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo. It features the Cell processor, which has one CPU and eight supporting processors, and supports the Blu-ray Disc format and full high-definition (1,080p) video output. And it will be among the first Blu-ray ROM players available when it hits the market next spring.
The performance of the Cell processor will enable real-time physics simulation and programmable shaders. These are two key improvements over conventional programming, and one of the reasons that the Cell processor was developed, according to Kutaragi.
Conventionally, motion capture or key frame animation are used to program motions and movements, and a texture-mapping method is used to render the surface of objects. In the Playstation 3, motion-capture technology will be replaced by real-time physics simulation, which creates movement by simulating those in the natural world. Programmable shading will be used to obtain a more natural texture.
Iwata of Nintendo warns, however, that a cloud is hanging over the game market in Japan because of too-demanding, complex and sophisticated games. Such games are not easy for beginners and discourage them from playing, narrowing the field for game development to experienced players only. From their peak in 1997 to last year, the total hardware and software market for games in Japan shrank by nearly 40 percent in value, according to Iwata.
Compared with Japan, the North American market is still showing healthy growth, but a heavy dependence on sophisticated game titles could cause a similar downturn eventually, he argued.
Nintendo likes ideas
"Technology does not save the situation," said Iwata. "We need to review what a game is from the beginning. What is needed is not technology but ideas that attract more people." With a good idea, a small-scale game done on a small budget can entertain people, he said. So while "some may see the future [of gaming] in high-performance hardware, we have chosen a different way," Iwata said.
Nintendo has always emphasized a game's entertainment value rather than its technology. Former president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who led Nintendo for 52 years, often said that a game console is a toy.
Despite the emphasis it places on entertainment, the company does plan to make technological improvements. For example, Nintendo intends to use the merits of the semiconductor technology developed for its next-generation game console, Revolution, to lower power consumption and to make the system compact. "We no longer want to have a bulky, noisy console with spaghetti cables. Such a product antagonizes mothers," Iwata said. Instead, Revolution will function as a virtual all-around console that assures complete backward compatibility with Nintendo's game consoles back to the 1980s.
Nintendo will disclose the detailed specifications, availability and price of its Revolution game console sometime this year.
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NG: Looks like Sony and Nintendo are really taking different paths. Well see which of their paths is the right one when they launch their consoles next year.
EE Times:
Sony and Nintendo place different bets on gaming
Yoshiko Hara
EE Times
(08/08/2005 9:00 AM EDT)
Tokyo — Japan's two game console companies, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Nintendo Co. Ltd., have set different directions for their next-generation systems. While Sony is relying on technological innovation, Nintendo is focusing on simplicity and entertainment value.
Sony has developed the new Cell pro-cessor from scratch for Playstation 3, collaborating with IBM and Toshiba. "We want to bring about a revolution by innovative technologies," said Ken Kutaragi, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI).
Meanwhile, Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, argues that the game market in Japan is declining because the content is too sophisticated for beginners and is attractive only to game lovers.
Sony's Kutaragi said his company's upcoming console will continue the tradition of innovation established by the first two Playstations. "We'll offer a platform that stands for 10 years or more. It's a challenge to game software creators. If we offer hardware with high limitations, it should take time for creators to use up the platform. The higher the limitations of the hardware are, the more software evolves year after year. So hardware should be high-performing," said Masayuki Chatani, SCEI's chief technology officer.
Indeed, Playstation 3 has the highest-performance specifications among the three next-generation game consoles announced at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo. It features the Cell processor, which has one CPU and eight supporting processors, and supports the Blu-ray Disc format and full high-definition (1,080p) video output. And it will be among the first Blu-ray ROM players available when it hits the market next spring.
The performance of the Cell processor will enable real-time physics simulation and programmable shaders. These are two key improvements over conventional programming, and one of the reasons that the Cell processor was developed, according to Kutaragi.
Conventionally, motion capture or key frame animation are used to program motions and movements, and a texture-mapping method is used to render the surface of objects. In the Playstation 3, motion-capture technology will be replaced by real-time physics simulation, which creates movement by simulating those in the natural world. Programmable shading will be used to obtain a more natural texture.
Iwata of Nintendo warns, however, that a cloud is hanging over the game market in Japan because of too-demanding, complex and sophisticated games. Such games are not easy for beginners and discourage them from playing, narrowing the field for game development to experienced players only. From their peak in 1997 to last year, the total hardware and software market for games in Japan shrank by nearly 40 percent in value, according to Iwata.
Compared with Japan, the North American market is still showing healthy growth, but a heavy dependence on sophisticated game titles could cause a similar downturn eventually, he argued.
Nintendo likes ideas
"Technology does not save the situation," said Iwata. "We need to review what a game is from the beginning. What is needed is not technology but ideas that attract more people." With a good idea, a small-scale game done on a small budget can entertain people, he said. So while "some may see the future [of gaming] in high-performance hardware, we have chosen a different way," Iwata said.
Nintendo has always emphasized a game's entertainment value rather than its technology. Former president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who led Nintendo for 52 years, often said that a game console is a toy.
Despite the emphasis it places on entertainment, the company does plan to make technological improvements. For example, Nintendo intends to use the merits of the semiconductor technology developed for its next-generation game console, Revolution, to lower power consumption and to make the system compact. "We no longer want to have a bulky, noisy console with spaghetti cables. Such a product antagonizes mothers," Iwata said. Instead, Revolution will function as a virtual all-around console that assures complete backward compatibility with Nintendo's game consoles back to the 1980s.
Nintendo will disclose the detailed specifications, availability and price of its Revolution game console sometime this year.
----------------------
NG: Looks like Sony and Nintendo are really taking different paths. Well see which of their paths is the right one when they launch their consoles next year.
