Years ago we took enjoyment in reading a column called Rumor Mill from a site named Jose Q's Emuviews, and EGM magazine. So why not take the same angle for consoles? So we hope you enjoy our first edition of "Rumor Roundup".
Sony Playstation 3
In 2001, Sony teamed up with Toshiba and released a console that was so alien to the console norm. A multi-processor design that we call Playstation 2. So what does Sony have in store for their next version? Well they kept their buddy Toshiba along for the next ride. They also invited IBM in a 400 million dollar deal to create a "supercomputer on a chip". This radical new processor designed by IBM, Sony and Toshiba is being dubbed "Cell" (also known as "Grid"). Take 16 processing cores and connect them with silicon-on-insulator (SOI) transistors and low-K dielectric insulation, with features smaller than 0.10 microns (connections 1000 times thinner then a human hair). Slap it all together and you get a processor that is reportedly 100 times faster than a single Pentium 4 chip running at 2.5GHz (one trillion calculations per second or more of floating-point calculations), and the heart of the Playstation 3. That's a lot of speed for gaming, but there are benefits. The Cell's compression engine, for example, will use the multi-processor engine to reconstruct missing pixels or other missing features due to glitches in a streaming PS3 game or video.
The console layout will be a little similar to the PS2, but with a couple more Vector Processing Units, each with more memory. Speaking of memory, Sony has reportedly approached Rambus for some goodies. Code named "Yellowstone" and "Redwood". "Yellowstone," a high-speed interface for connecting memory to microprocessors, and operates at 3.2GHz data rates. "Redwood" is the label for an ultra high-speed parallel interface between multiple chips, which Rambus says delivers a data rate about ten times faster than the latest processor busses.
Wow! Sony is definitely trying to create a beast of a machine. They are also supposedly creating 2 flavors. Not only will they be making a game console, but also a multimedia box. Sony has also requested the assistance of emulation developers. So it may very well be that they will use the processing capabilities of "Cell", and the magic of emulation to make PS3 backward compatible. Sony is declaring a PS3 release date of 2005.
Microsoft Xbox 2
Microsoft will continue being a big spender..er...player in the videogame realm. Their goal is to meet Sony's next console toe to toe with it's Xbox 2 AKA "Xbox Next". This time around they will be telling Nvidia (designer of the Xbox graphic chip) to take a hike. This was mostly due to Nvidia's reluctance to lower the cost of their chips. This contributed to the cost of the Xbox when the competition began price cuts. So who will develop the graphics chip for Xbox 2? Microsoft is going to grab the reins, and develop their own graphics chip. Hell, they even plan on doing their own main processor. Deep pockets helped Microsoft with the acquisition of Silicon Graphics patents. This means that they can implement many features into their chips without worrying about licensing fees. They also posted a request for quotation for a DirectX9/10 microcode engine, the part of the chip that decodes and processes DirectX instructions. The new chip for the Xbox 2 is rumored to be designed as a processor that can decode and execute instructions in Microsoft Intermediate Language (MSIL) while at the same time being able to run x86 code (for Xbox backward compatibility).
Of course the focus of Xbox 2 will be games, but they will also be slapping in "digital media capabilities such as video and photo editing" and "Internet capabilities without the need for direct connections through Wi-Fi." So it looks like Xbox 2 may be marketed as a PC alternative as well. Microsoft may have taken some insult with complaints on the size of Xbox. Xbox 2 is rumored to be much smaller.
Nintendo Gamecube 2?
As usual, Nintendo is pretty tight lipped on it's next console. One thing is for sure is that they will be the first to release their next console. At least they will try. The big shots at Nintendo believe that Sony took the top spot in the game market because they got a head start on the competition. So they intend on being first this time around. An early 2005 release is expected.
Looks like ATI is helping again in the graphics department. The new graphics chip has reportedly been in development for more then a year already, and supposedly several games are already cooking for this new console under Nintendo's protective care. The new console is expected to ultimately ship at a $299 price point, or at least expected to retail less then Sony's & Microsoft's machines. So it may very well be that we can expect a new Nintendo machine soon.
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