Sony Computer Entertainment announced the completion of its research and development to design the successor to the Playstation originally introduced in Japan in 1994. Wi...
Sony Computer Entertainment announced the completion of its research and development to design the successor to the Playstation originally introduced in Japan in 1994. With more than 50 million units shipped to date, the original Playstation game console radically changed the landscape of the console industry. The next generation Playstation uses a new "graphics synthesizer," which will offer what Sony calls "massive floating-point processing power." Sony claims Playstation 2 will deliver performance that will enable the hair and clothing of a character to be affected by a digital wind calculated and processed in real time. Other effects will include the dynamic simulation of real-world physical attributes such as gravity, friction, mass, and the accurate simulation of different materials such as water, wood, metal, and gas. Sony is also introducing its concept of "emotion synthesis,'' which will allow the system to simulate not just how the images look, but how the characters and objects in a game think, act, and behave. The next generation Playstation system is a significant part of Sony Computer Entertainment's mission to create a new form of entertainment beyond games. As such, the impetus behind these initial announcements seems to indicate a desire by Sony to take the power out of the PC gaming market. On paper, it looks good. Next Generation Playstation Features: CPU:
128-bit "Emotion Engine'' CPU
300MHz system clock frequency
16KB instruction cache memory (2-way)
8KB data cache memory (2-way)
16KB scratch pad RAM (dual port)
Memory size: 32MB
Main memory: Direct Rambus DRAM
3.2GB per second bus bandwidth
Co-processor 1: FPU (floating point unit) (FMAC x 1, FDIV x 1), micro memory (I:4KB D:4KB)
Co-processor 2: VU0 (FMAC x 4, FDIV x 1), micro memory (I:4KB D:4KB)
Vector processing unit: VU1 (FMAC x 5, FDIV x 2), micro memory (I:16KB D:16KB)
Floating point performance: 6.2 GFLOPS per second
Peak 3D computer graphics geometric transformation: 66 million polygons per second
Compressed image decoder: MPEG2 Graphics:
"Graphics Synthesizer''
150MHz clock frequency
48GB per second DRAM bus bandwidth
2560-bit DRAM bus width
Pixel configuration RGB:Alpha:Z buffer (24:8:32)
Maximum polygon rate: 75 million polygons per second Sound:
"SPU2+CPU''
Number of voices ADPCM: 48ch on SPU2 plus definable, software programmable voices
44.1KHz or 48KHz (selectable) sampling frequency IOP:
I/O processor
CPU core Playstation (current) CPU
33.8MHz or 37.5MHz (selectable) clock frequency
32-bit sub bus
Interface types IEEE1394, universal serial bus (USB)
Communication via PC card (PCMCIA) Disc device:
CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
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