Sony said to be hanging onto Cell processor for PlayStation 4

As should be clear by now, any talk of a successor to a still relatively new game console should be taken with a hefty grain of salt but, if word from Japan's Impress is to be believed, it looks like we could possibly be getting a clearer indication of what might be under the PlayStation 4's non-existent hood. Apparently, unlike the massive shift from the PS2 to PS3, the eventually PS4 will be a decidedly smaller leap, with it relying on a slightly speedier (and, likely, 45nm) Cell processor but not a completely new architecture. That would let Sony keep the cost down considerably while also easing development for the console since, by then, developers should finally have a handle on the PS3's hardware. To further cut costs, Sony is also said to be considering a switch from the speedy Rambus XDR memory to more traditional DDR3 memory, which could apparently be tied directly to the processor to cut down on latency. Or the PS4 could be powered by a pink slime that feeds on negative energy, you never know.

[Via Electronista]

[thefiendster @ Sep 30th 2008 6:31PM]

lol

[Chin-Poh @ Sep 30th 2008 6:34PM]

Hey, the Wii isn't that big a graphical leap from the Gamecube and look how successful it is. Lets hope the price of the PS4 won't be $500-600 this time!

[Lowest Ranked @ Sep 30th 2008 6:50PM]

Thats because it was innovative in bringing a new way of playing games to an aging design. Very risky leap, but seemed to work out well enough.

[Jon @ Sep 30th 2008 6:51PM]

And and how many people still use there Wii ? Not i .. it just sits there

[Ray @ Sep 30th 2008 6:53PM]

B U T , W I L L I T R U N C R Y S I S ?

[Lowest Ranked @ Sep 30th 2008 6:56PM]

B U T, W I L L R A Y F I X H I S S P A C E B A R ?

[Marrvia @ Sep 30th 2008 7:16PM]

I don't think PS7 will be able to run Crysis.

[TareX @ Sep 30th 2008 7:19PM]

... and no, seriously. No, it won't play Crysis all maxed out. Only big PC boys could do that.

[KarlW @ Sep 30th 2008 7:41PM]

It's not funny, it's smart. IBM, Toshiba and Sony made a large investment in the Cell. It wasn't meant to just power consoles - it was meant as a future technology for HD image processing on TVs, future mobile devices, computers, and lots more. It has already been used in an IBM server and an upcoming Toshiba HDTV. The roadrunner (faster supercomputer in the world) also uses Cells.

The Cell is really powerful. It's not the 'God processor' like Sony's marketing makes it out to be, but it's very scalable - the PS4 could simply add more SPUs to improve performance and remain backwards compatible. More parallel = more power. Ask Intel for more information.

I wouldn't be surprised if the next XBOX and Nintendo console either use a Cell, or a Cell-derivative custom CPU. IBM make the processors for all 3 consoles (the real winners of this "console war"), and they're really supportive of the Cell. It would make sense for them, as less custom chips mean the ability to cut costs. For the Microsoft, it means less time to market, and using a product that is easily scalable, proven at high-performance computing, that uses a derivative of the PPC instruction set they already use in the 360, and that will cost less than a custom CPU. Microsoft don't care if it's harder to code for, because they make some of the best developer tools in the industry (Visual Studio). They can make it much easier than Sony can. For Nintendo, it means the ability to handle more powerful software whilst keeping the cost down. Nintendo are against powerful hardware - they're just against it being prohibitively expensive.

If this is Sony's plan, they should tell developers soon. It would increase confidence in developing on their platform, and encourage developers on learning how to program for the Cell. I'd expect this to be under NDA though (maybe they have told them, hence the leak).

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Sep 30th 2008 8:28PM]

Factor in for Inflation and in 10 years, $500-600 will be affordable to anyone with a $12-13/hr McJob. It will be like $200 is today.

[THizzle7XU @ Sep 30th 2008 9:13PM]

Cool, then it will most likely be BC with PS3 games as well, which is always a welcome feature :) It may not be the most necessary thing, but it's handy and better to have one box do everything. Hopefully, the PS4 doesn't come out for a long while though. This gen is really solid and with the Wii's lowering of graphical expectations and the wonderful ability of firmware updates, I hope these systems are around for awhile.

[Flashpoint @ Sep 30th 2008 9:57PM]

Playstation 3 has been a FAILURE as a video game system.

Its saving grace was in offering Blu Ray, but I doubt Blu Ray will even be around in 5 ~7 years since everyone is moving to digital television and download services.

Playstation 3 PALES in comparison to Xbox360. Its had just 1 must-have Playstation only game: Metal Gear Solid 4.

And that's it. Resistance was boring. Warhawk was dissapointing. All the rest of PS3's games are ports. Sure there is an upcoming God of War but in the mean time, its BOOOOOORING.

Xbox 360 is the winner of this generation's system wars. I refuse to include Wii because Wii is like comparing a budget PC to 2 computers that can run CRYSIS.

[water.and.sand @ Sep 30th 2008 10:42PM]

@Jon

I still use my Wii to play some of the most advanced games ever created for the NES.

[Boing @ Oct 1st 2008 4:45AM]

@ KarlW

i'd be amazed if Microsoft followed the cell route for a number of reasons

1) huge R&D costs (added to delays turned a market leader into an also ran in 1 generation)
2) unsuitable for gaming. It's good at tasks that can be split into consistently small parts, gaming by contrast requires infinite flexibility.
3) coding difficulty. Take a gaming industry that already requires hundreds of people to code for a simple machine and add more complexity......costs are going up or quality will come down neither is wanted. It will also make your console vulnerable to simpler competitors as developers will follow the easiest and cheapest route to the market.
Just look at the PS4, longer in development, more expensive components, higher theoretical performance and yet the reality is the 360 has the best looking games. Sony make some beautiful hardware (most of my electronics are sony) but the cell is a bad idea for a games console.

[KarlW @ Oct 1st 2008 10:57AM]

@Boing

Did you read the post?

1) Barely any R&D costs. The Cell has already been made. It uses a derivative of the PPC instruction set anyway. Also, this is the route with least delays - unlike Sony, they don't have to wait for this thing to be designed. Adding more SPUs isn't a problem. Designing a whole new processor every generation is.
2) The PS3 would indicate that it is suitable for gaming. Not only is it suitable, it's ideal because of how well it scales. Want something 2x as powerful as the PS3? Use twice as many SPUs! The Cell could also be used as a GPU (it's a massively parallel floating point optimised CPU. Can anybody say Larrabee?). In fact, you could use 1 large Cell, and eliminate the distinction between CPU and GPU for games consoles. That would allow graphics code to run on what would be the CPU when needed, and vice versa. It's the same effort as the unified shader architecture used in the current 360's design - removing specialised processing units. PCs can't do that, consoles can.
3) Microsoft make the best tools in the industry. Look at what they did with XNA! Those guys know how to make a good platform for developers. If Microsoft took the Cell route, they'd do a much better job of the SDK than Sony. To be fair to Sony, they don't have the decades of platform development experience Microsoft has.

I mentioned all of these in the post. Read it next time.

[thedesolate1 @ Oct 1st 2008 11:01PM]

@Chin-Poh
They are simply building a depression friendly priced console. Ironically thanks to the inflation we will have by then... by the time that comes out it will probably cost more $ than the ps3.

[Mike @ Sep 30th 2008 6:31PM]

Pink slime ... now you're talking.

[mapi @ Sep 30th 2008 6:46PM]

I don't know... pink slime is supposed to be a tough platform to develop on.
Also, AC/Negative energy adapters are pretty pricey.

[Vanillacide @ Sep 30th 2008 7:18PM]

Pink slime has so much ... untapped potential

[Mitch @ Sep 30th 2008 7:28PM]

Nah, I tapped that.

[Mikeweezer @ Sep 30th 2008 10:39PM]

Yes - but can you pour it in a toaster and make it dance?... that is the question.

[Craig @ Sep 30th 2008 11:08PM]

Doesn't necessarily have to be negative energy. It works with positive energy too, remember? If they gave the PS4 a battery you could take it to bed and sleep with it, say kind and nurturing things to it, and it'd charge the batter.

Or turn it into a dancing George Foreman grill.

[Allen Jazeera @ Oct 1st 2008 8:22AM]

Wow. That has to be the first reference to Ghostbusters 2 that I have ever heard. Now if I can just hear a quote from Police Academy 7, my life will be complete.

[Samboini @ Sep 30th 2008 6:32PM]

That mock-up looks sweet; I think I could shave with those razor edges!

[Homeboy @ Sep 30th 2008 6:54PM]

Or cut cake.

[Lowest Ranked @ Sep 30th 2008 6:51PM]

Not sweet, just skewed.

[Erik @ Sep 30th 2008 7:55PM]

the cake is a lie

[heffeque @ Oct 1st 2008 11:33AM]

Looks more like a FailStation 4 just like the FailStation 3.

[ybd @ Sep 30th 2008 6:36PM]

Introducing the new Playstation 4 from Sony. Twice the price. Half the game library.

[Poom @ Sep 30th 2008 7:46PM]

The article suggests that this move is meant to avoid both situations... Lower starting price and bigger game library.

[BigD145 @ Sep 30th 2008 6:36PM]

What you're trying to say is, it'll be a rebadged PS3 that runs a tad cooler than the original. Isn't that backwards? Rebadges are supposed to be slightly slower and hotter than the original.

[TareX @ Sep 30th 2008 6:36PM]

Hopefully someone other than Hideo Kojima will be able to program for it.

It's frustrating how developers write for X360, port to PS3, and complain of slowdowns and reduced rendering quality. Or maybe it's Sony's fault for not doing enough tutorials on how to program for the PS3.

[KarlW @ Sep 30th 2008 7:47PM]

Microsoft make some of the best and well-known developer tools in the industry. They work with developers all the time, and have much more experience than Sony at making a good platform for developers.

I'm a PS3 guy, but I used to program on Windows before I switched to the Mac. I took it for granted then, but Visual Studio is just fantastic. Microsoft make it easier for developers.

Besides, there have been reports that developers coding for the PS3 and porting to the 360 makes for better games on both platforms. Burnout was created this way, and that's a pretty good game on both platforms. The PS3 makes you optimise for parallel code, whereas the 360 can handle scalar code pretty well, and doesn't need vectorisation.

[joe @ Sep 30th 2008 6:36PM]

no, it'll run on baby fetuses

[Chin-Poh @ Sep 30th 2008 6:44PM]

LOL, it sure is fun to rag on Sony isn't it? While Apple is the media darling. : )

[Reader @ Sep 30th 2008 7:41PM]

Honestly I dislike both of them, but if I had to pick one to baby sit my children it'd be Apple. Sony and their rootkits don't fly with me.

[Chin-Poh @ Sep 30th 2008 7:43PM]

Can I get an explanation to why I was low ranked? Wait, don't many readers here dislike Apple and its cult of fanboys?

[Engadgetier @ Sep 30th 2008 6:37PM]

I like the new design. looks classic! =D

[Jagster @ Sep 30th 2008 6:38PM]

Same system with overclocked CPU? Then they will call it the PSii.

[Evan @ Sep 30th 2008 6:38PM]

LOL, the PS4 will be two PS3s duct taped together!

[Tyler The iPhone Man! @ Sep 30th 2008 6:42PM]

That's be The "Ps6!"


It'd Have To Be A Ps3, And A Ps1 Duct Taped Together.


:-]

[ethana2 @ Sep 30th 2008 7:35PM]

You can already dual boot the XMB with another OS for snes9x...
But that still leaves you having to find region free games I think...

[Dahk @ Sep 30th 2008 6:41PM]

Eh, Playstation logo is gonna change too. Spiderman font is old hat. Iron man font will be the new.

[James @ Sep 30th 2008 7:06PM]

Spiderman font.. LOL! That too funny! But true..

[Lowest Ranked @ Sep 30th 2008 7:50PM]

James, James, James....

For your second comment, this piece of garbage is actually the better of the two.

[goo @ Sep 30th 2008 6:42PM]

put can it power the statue of liberty to walk?

[goo @ Sep 30th 2008 6:42PM]

*but

[Josh @ Sep 30th 2008 6:43PM]

Personally I like the pink slime idea, it has potential.

[StalematE @ Sep 30th 2008 6:44PM]

the new playstation 4 will only have one decent game (metal gear 5) and the rest of the games will suck buttermilk. kind of like ps3 and mgs4...

[AutumnBringer @ Sep 30th 2008 7:00PM]

What kind of games DO you like if you still don't like any that are out now?
Not trying to start a flame war or anything - even if you really dislike the console just because you can, that's fine - it's just that the whole "there are no games for it!!1!" argument really has run out of steam at this point.