PS3 News

True power of PlayStation 3 to be revealed in 2008

By Stevie Smith Jan 4, 2008, 9:44 GMT

2007 saw the Xbox 360 stealing the software limelight through more than a few critically acclaimed console exclusives, while the Nintendo Wii’s ongoing popularity saw it surpassing all of its market rivals in unit sales. But what of the PlayStation 3? 2008 will be a boom time for the PlayStation 3, say leading developers. Credit: DeskPicture.

2008 will be a boom time for the PlayStation 3, say leading developers. Credit: DeskPicture.2007 for the PS3 saw a parade of somewhat disappointing software exclusives, repeated delays to eagerly anticipated flagship titles, and a blizzard of confusion and controversy surrounding price reductions and the culling of lower GB hardware models. Along the way it also managed to benefit from the value of its steadily expanding PlayStation Store and the likes of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.That being said, 2007 certainly wasn’t the year that Sony and its faithful PlayStation fans were hoping for. Well, saddle up believers, because the videogame development community is indicating that 2008 will be the year that the true power behind the PlayStation 3 comes to the fore. Excited? You should be.More pointedly, several prominent industry figures have recently been quoted in a Games Radar report as claiming that after a year of the PS3’s life cycle videogame developers are finally growing more accustomed to channelling the considerable capabilities hidden beneath its ominously rumbling hood. For example, Brain Hastings, the chief creative officer at Insomniac Games (Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction) believes that the studio’s third-generation PlayStation 3 engine will provide a similar transitional leap of quality as was witnessed when Insomniac shifted up from first to second (30fps to 60fps) with the recent Tools of Destruction.Similarly, Mark Rein, the founder of Epic Games (Unreal Tournament 3) believes that user-created content will exist as a real plus point for the PlayStation 3 in 2008, outlining that PC users will be able to utilise the studio’s Unreal Engine 3 technology to craft mods that can played via the PS3, while Media Molecule’s ambitious LittleBigPlanet will offer up user-based content interaction never seen before on a home console.Although certain quarters of the development fraternity have seen fit to criticise the PlayStation 3 for apparent dev kit difficulties and a lack of base support from Sony, there are those who see the console as an incredibly powerful tool that remains largely untapped."Once you put the effort in and start to understand the hardware, you can see PS3’s huge technical potential," enthused Dave Connell, the lead console programmer at Traveller’s Tales. Connell also noted that the challenge associated with the PlayStation 3’s synergistic processor units (SPUs) is vitally important when it comes to truly accessing the console’s promise. "We are going to see the quality of PS3 titles improve for many years to come as people get to grips with them," he added. "It might turn out that things we’ve not even thought of end up best demonstrating the power of PS3."With other notable developers from the likes of Pandemic, Bethesda, and EA all chiming in with claims that current and upcoming games on the PlayStation 3 are using only around 30 percent of the console’s potential power, 2008 could well be the year that developer evolution with Sony’s hardware is mirrored through the games that we are all presently looking forward to.

Headlines from The Tech Herald

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GingerAidJan 4th, 2008 - 15:03:39

Can we have a link to the source please?

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RorkimaruJan 4th, 2008 - 15:12:20

Well i thought that was prety clear, look at early PS2 games compared to the latest batch

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XXXMonkeyJan 4th, 2008 - 15:59:58

There's a GamesRadar link right there in the post.

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shadowpal2Jan 4th, 2008 - 16:24:57

DUH....do they now suddenly find this out? Jesus a pathetic consumer would even know that. Better hardware gives you an opportunity to create software beyond your wildest dreams. Isn't that common sense?

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NhojFeb 8th, 2008 - 17:41:03

It is common sense. But it's one thing to say it and another thing to program for it... And look at how many xbox360 fans out there who still think that the statements made are bollocks.

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MoveOnFeb 8th, 2008 - 19:15:06

Honestly, what is the cell (oh so powerful blah blah blah) going to provide graphically in parrallel with the PS3 graphics processor? I want to know. How are the cores being utilized by the developers for current and future games? I am not concerned with the sound or the AI. It's like watching the movie The Shinning and the wife discovering her husband is typing the same words over and over again 'the cell (oh so powerful blah blah blah)'. Come on, throw me a bone here and give me a reason to be oh so impressed by the new profound four letter word 'CELL'. If your not a developer then you don't have a clue and I don't want to see any white papers either. Who cares about playing BluRay movies. There will be no improvment in hardware with the PS3 as the output will remain the same except for the occasional firmware updates to fix whate the hardware itself is lacking or incapable of doing. The PS3 will ramain a BluRay playback dinasour while every other consumer purchases a real dedicated unit with improved electronics with a future. Something has got to give, do you honestly beleive 100% your getting more bang for the your buck? I doubt Sony incorporatd electronics of their high end BluRay player into the PS3 to give you the best picture. The most that can be said is the PS3 can play BluRay content.

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JakeFeb 8th, 2008 - 20:34:10

I doubt it.
The full power of the PS3 can't be unleashed unless the PS3 stored multiple discs so you could play Killzone 2 while playing Resistance 2 while playing Little Big Planet while playing Metal Gear Solid 4. Games that run on the PS3 and Xbox 360 use around 85-101% of the Xbox 360's 'power' (yeah, over 101% will cause RRoD) and 5-12% of the PS3. Now, Drake's Fortune, Resistance: FoM, and Motorstorm each use 15-20% of the PS3's 'power;' but they aren't multiplatform. Now, Killzone 2 will probably run you up around 33%, so LBP about 15%, Resist2 about 26% (well, if you play online), and MGS4 about 25%, we're at 99% and your PS3 still won't die. Now, kick in a Blu-Ray Movie and we're in trouble...

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AlphaOmega666Feb 8th, 2008 - 21:42:23

The PS3's power will always remain on top. The 360 is outdated already. It has nothing more to gain then what it already has. The only thing keeping it alive is online content and that is not enough to keep any console alive for the long run. As for the PS3...yeah it has some catching up to do, but at least they left all there doors open to tap into the true potential that the system really has.

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JordanFeb 9th, 2008 - 01:20:14

The 'True power of the PS3' won't be revealed untill at least 2010.

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GrimFeb 9th, 2008 - 13:26:42

Why do so many of you speak bullshit!! Of course the PS3 is going to produce better games in the future but also so is the 360. I'm taking a guess anyone who says they won't are 12-15 years old and have no experience with console's from past as it has shown every console since the SNES has had games improve graphically and in size over the life of the console! So shut the f*ck up the lot of you that say they can't improve anymore!

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jjeoMar 13th, 2008 - 03:10:45

xbox sux^^

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