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Let's talk about the PS3
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14-09-2024 6:19pm#1Join Date:Posts: 50977
So I've jailbroke by old PS3 this weekend and going through the library has been feeling a bit nostalgic about the system.
The Hardware
The PS3 was envisioned by Sony as the ultimate PlayStation. An all in one media box that could play the new blu ray format but also 3 generations of PlayStation hardware. It came with a hard disk as standard and multiple ports, from USB to optical.
The Cell Processor
Sony Bullshit factoid 1: The PS3 is 1% as powerful as the human brain.
The Cell processor would be the heart of the PS3 and the brainchild of Ken Kutaragi and the STI at IBM and Sony. The CPU would be based around a Power PC core with supporting SPU cores. The PS3 CPU would eventually be a dual core Power PC with 6 (7 but one was disabled to increase processor yields). This was a brand new approach to processor design but Sony had big plans for the Cell. It was thought that it's position as the dominant Console manufacturer would force developers to learn how to use the complex Cell architecture, something it had managed to do with the PS2 architecture. However Sony wasn't just interested in the console space and saw the Cell processor becoming a rivel to x86000 and had its sights on it being used in servers.
If used properly the Cell was a very capable CPU. The SPUs could be used to take workload away from the GPU and CPU. The data transfer speed between the SPUs and the central core was so fast that it's a major stumbling block for emulation of the system as even on modern PC systems that speed can't be matched leading to mistiming issues.
Unfortunately Sony's ambitions would lead to them making a big mistake. Due to wanting the Cell to be used in applications outside the console space, they had a looser agreement with IBM regarding it's design. When Microsoft approached IBM for a CPU for the XBox 360 they where allowed to create it's Xenon CPU using designs leveraged from the Cell processor.
Unfortunately for Sony, their plans for the Cell never really reached outside the console space other than some short lived applications is server systems.
The RSX GPU
While the PS3 CPU was new advanced tech, the GPU was anything but. The XBox 360 at launch had a GPU that was ahead of what was available on even the PC. For the PS3 Sony chose a off the shelf PC GPU, the NVidia 7800gt. This was about equivalent the Xbox 360 GPU but had major issues in one area which will be mentioned later, memory. However thanks to the design of the Cell, in the right hands the PS3 could exceed the abilities of the GPU by giving GPU tasks to the SPUs. Many of Sony's own late releases still look incredible and far exceed the capabilites of the 360.
Memory
Sony took a baffling approach to memory on the PS3. It has the same memory as the XBox 360, 512 MB, but while the 360 took a modern unified memory approach, Sony took a very backwards approach to memory by delegating 256 MB to the CPU and GPU. This was likely due to the GPU being rushed and opting for an off the shelf component. The 360 also had another ace up it sleeve, 32 MB of eDRAM. While this was a more complex set up than the PS3 programmers were well used to it because, funnily enough, they had experience with this set up due to working with the PS2. As a result the PS3 would suffer from memory issues in comparison to the XBox 360. The PS3 struggled massively with transparencies. The Xbox 360 could also do 2x-4x MSAA essentially for free due to it's setup. The PS3 would struggle with AA and would resort to using quincunx, the AA method used by the N64, which lead to very blurry image quality in early games. Sony's engineers would work on better AA solutions, many of which would carry over to more modern AA solutions.
Build Quality
The PS3 was a well built machine. It had some overheating issues leading to the YLOD but this was no where near as prevalent as on the XBox 360 and would become much less prevalent with the introduction of slim models.
The Dualshock 3
While the 'banana boomerang' controller was shown earlier it was only a mock up prototype and Sony would go back to the dualshock design. Personally I find the dualshock a poor design we only put up with due to Stockholm syndrome and has a terrible d-pad. Motion sensing features were very obviously shoehorned into the controller as a response to the Wii. Rumble was removed from the controller, sony said that it interfered with the motion sensing. This was despite the fact that the Wii had rumble and motion sensing and there was a little know dual shock variant released on the PS1, the DS motion, which had both rumble and motion control.
Sony Bullshit factoid 2: Motion control is a 'last gen' feature and had nothing to do with a legal patent battle they were having over rumble in controllers.
The last generation feature of rumble was reintroduced when the patent legal battle was settled.
The unfortunate result of motion controls being in the dual sense was we had to put up with motion controls being shoehorned into a lot of Sony games.
Pre Launch
Giant Enemy Crabs
Before the PS3, Sony were dominating the console market with 80% or more of the market share. There was an air of pride and arrogance about Sony and pride comes before the fall.
Manufacturing problems with the Cell would lead to multiple delays of the PS3. It would eventually launch in November 2006, over a year after the Xbox 360 and close to/after the Wii (depending on region), missing an important holiday season. Even worse, in Europe it didn't launch until March 2007, missing two holiday seasons.
Reveals of the PS3 and its titles in 2006 did not impress. Sony's show lacked energy and the games they showed looked like prettier versions of PS2 games. That's not to mention the multiple memes that grew out of the presentation. Many of the PS3 demos were also obviously fake CGI trailers. Motion controls were demonstrated really poorly at the show.
In the lead up to the PS3 Launch, the Xbox 360 had built up an impressive library, including the stunning looking Gears of War, while the Wii had become a sensation and had already launched in some territories. The press and consumers were very skeptical about what it could offer.
Another issue was the price. The PS3 would launch at $600/euros, the Xbox 360 would launched at $400/euros with a 20GB hard disk and $350/euros without a hard disk.
Sony Protip: If you can't afford a PS3, get a second job to help afford it.
Launch and post Launch
Initial sales of the PS3 were quite strong. However after launch sales slowed down drastically. Post launch was a disaster for Sony.
The high price and lack of games compared to the 360 really affected sales.
Sony Bullshit factoid 3: We are selling out of PS3's months after launch
Sony would quote sales figures for the PS3 which made it look like the PS3 was selling well but these were sales to the retailer, sale through to the customer was much lower and images started to appear of PS3 systems piled high in stock at videogame stores and warehouses. This would ultimately lead to price cuts and the introduction of PS3 systems with the PS2 chipset removed (the European launch models all had this removed).
The Price
Let's just talk about the price for a moment. 600 euros was the most expensive console ever other than the 3DO at that point and almost twice the price of the cheapest 360. However there is a psychological element to this and the 360 wasn't as cheap as it seemed.
The PS3 came with a Bluray drive, something the XBox 360 would never support.
The PS3 came with a 60 GB hard disk. The Pro 360 model came with a very slight 20GB hard disk while the core didn't come with one. With the necessity of online with this generation there would come a point when a Hard Drive was essential. 20GB wasn't enough. You would eventually have to upgrade your hard disk but to do so you would need an overpriced Xbox hard disk, (just a hard disk with proprietary protection on it). The PS3 could take a standard PC hard disk which was cheaper but 60 GB was also enough for most people.
The PS3 came with wifi out of the box. The 360 needed to be wired or you had to buy a wifi usb dongle. However said dongle had to be a Xbox dongle, basically a 10 euro wifi dongle with some proprietary protection which was sold at a scandalous 80 euro.
And finally, there was no need to pay a yearly subscription with PSN to play online.
So while the price of entry with a 360 could be quite reasonable, the overall price was probably higher than a PS3.
One other point to mention is that the PS3 supported HDMI while initial 360 variants only supported component. This meant the PS3 could support 1080p while the initial 360 could only support 720p. While most games didn't hit 1080p (some did), and most people only had 720p capable TVs, Sony made a big deal out of this of course.
Sony Bullshit factoid 4: 720p is HD. 1080p is REAL HD.
The Launch Window Games (2006-2007)
This was were Sony really failed to sell the PS3. The launch line up just wasn't very good with many high anticipated games failing to live up to the hype and only Motorstorm being any good. Anything else that was good was a 360 port (or Ridge Racer 7 which was more an update than port).
The Playstation 3's power and high price point were not reflected in the games. People were asking why Resistance Fall of Man looked like a PS2 game when Gears of War looked like a genuine next gen experience. Sony would drag Insomniac developers in front of a conference to press to explain that Resistance was actually a technical marvel by showing how the shrapnel in every grenade was modelled and tracked by the PS3 while everyone just wondered why it looked so bad. Sony would also try to sell the fact that games like Resistance couldn't be possible without the blue ray drive as they were so massive, until hackers looked at the data and the only reason the game was so big was that all the data for every language was on the disc and uncompressed. It didn't help that around this time a little side shoot of Eurogamer called Digital Foundry began and started off by exposing how poorly PS3 games stood up to XBox 360 games.
Highly anticipated games like Lair, Heavenly Sword and Folklore would eventually come out and disappoint. It wasn't all bad though. Stardust HD was a fantastic game and the first downloadable title that was the same quality as the best of what XBox arcade offered. Virtua Fighter 5 would receive a good port but nobody cared, but conversely Tekken 5 would get a great version on the system. Warhawk was also a good Battlefield clone.
My own experience of getting a PS3 was picking one up in Boston the summer after release as it was a little bit cheaper and then not being able to find any games that interested me. I ended up with VF5 and Armored Core 4 (a 360 game). The PS3 was sit basically unused for a long time.
Honestly I think that if it wasn't for strong position Sony had going into the PS3 era had and the loyal fanbase they had picked up who waited and bought a PS3 just because it was a Playstation, the PS3 would have been in an even worse position. The PS2 was also still going strong and would be receiving a heap of great games right into 2009 so many people chose to hang on, especially if they still had a SD TV.
There were two 2007 releases that stood out, Uncharted and Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. While the game had issues like, respawning enemies, it looked incredible and the high production values really impressed. It was a game I greatly enjoyed and was a rare excuse to turn on the PS3. While I don't think Ratchet and Clank games are that good, the game looked incredible with Digital Foundry commenting that it looked as close to commercial movie CGI as any other game.
PSN and the PS3 interface
Lets talk about PSN for a bit. PSN's best feature was that it was free, but in every other way it was a mess. The 360 and it's UI was built around online features. As a result all of it's online functionality was built into the operating system and hardware. Sony seemed to really drop the ball here and its PSN features felt tacked on to the operating system as an after though.
The PSN store arrived as a HTML page that was badly optimised, slow and crashed a lot and it never really got much better. It felt like the advent of smaller online games took Sony by surprise and they weren't really ready at launch with only Blast Factor there. It took them a long time to catch up to Microsoft in what they offered. I think the biggest miss by Sony was not copying the XBox 360's achievements. These had become an extremely popular feature and it took a long time for Sony to implement it's trophy feature. And lets face it the, PSN trophies are garbage compared to achievements. They take forever to load so you can't check your friends instantaneously like on Xbox and they different tiers just doesn't work as well as on XBox. It's been improved in recent times but I still feel that trophies just don't work as well as achievements and they are only popular since XBox is doing so badly since the PS4.
Sony would later try something different with Home, a kind of MMO space where Sony could advertise to it's users. Sony promoted this heavily but ultimately it wasn't used by many people as it was slow to load and took up a lot of the PS3's 60 GB of hard disk space. I didn't bother because it frankly looked ****.
PS3 in 2008
A few price drops and some new more appealing SKUs for Sony meant that the PS3 started selling a little better. 2008 wasn't great for the PS3 but things were looking up.
Begun, the Fanboy Wars have.
I've never seen such fanboy wars like during the PS360 era. The PS3 was quite clearly a worse choice than the 360 but there was a lot of loyal Sony soldiers that just couldn't accept that fact despite Digital Foundry showing quantifiable evidence of such. My favourite pastiche of this was a website called the 'Sony Defence Force' which was a send up of a videogame review site run by Sony fanboys. The best articles were their 3/10 review of Bioshock on the 360 which they then gave 10/10 when it released on PlayStation.
There was a lot of frustration with the PS3 from owners and fans. Previously Playstation only franchises like Ace Combat were getting exclusives for the XBox 360. The PlayStation was the platform where you went for japanese games and JRPGs but early on, the 360 was the machine to get. Eternal Sonata, Star Ocean and Tales of Vesperia became Xbox exclusives (or timed exclusives) while Microsoft worked with ex Final Fantasy stalwart Hironobu Sakaguchi to release (the very mid) Blue Dragon and the (not as mid) Lost Odyssey on the XBox. There was a big backlash against Squaresoft when they announced FF13 would be coming to XBox as well as PS3. They would also release the interesting Last Remnant on the XBox 360 as a 360/PC exclusive.
The Games
The PS3 library started to pick up in 2008 and it was now worth turning your PS3 on to play some games. Third party game performance had improved but was still way behind the 360, particularly for Unreal engine games. The 360 was still miles ahead of the PS3 in interesting game releases but things were picking up for Playstation.
Wipeout HD was a stunning looking remaster of the best of the series that used dynamic resolution scaling to hit 1080p.
Valkyria Chronicles was my absolute favourite, a wonderful new take on the japanese SRPG genre with a surprisingly well told anime WW2 story.
Resistance 2 shook of the disappointment of the launch title and was a fun shooter that looked great.
Little Big Planet was a delightful platformer but it's level design features where what really stood out. It's online integration would not be replicated by anything on XBox 360.
2008 would also see the release of the systems most anticipated game, Metal Gear Solid 4. The E3 showing was frankly stunning and it was held up by Sony fans as an argument in favour of the PS3. It arrived to critical acclaim but I found it quite frankly a bit poo and a massively step backwards from MGS3 in terms of gameplay and story despite being technically impressive. It felt like Sony fans had so little to champion that they went all in on MGS4. If it was a multiplatform release I fell the response would be more muted. I just felt the PS3 had better games to champion.
Sony would also experiment with episodic games with Siren Blood Curse. This was a remake/reimagining of the PS2 classic Forbidden Siren. It was released in 6 parts (and later got a physical release in Europe), released at regular intervals. It was a fantastic piece of horror although Sony would abandon the idea of releasing episodic games. I feel Sony was ahead of Microsoft in releasing a high quality triple A games like this on their online platform and I believe Microsoft were still only using XBLA for smaller games. It also probably wouldn't have been possible without the high HD capacity of the PS3 as standard.
PS3 in 2009
I always felt like 2009 was a turning point of the PS3. It had gone from a complete disaster to having a few decent games but 2009 felt like when the PS3 became essential.
The big release was Uncharted 2. A bombastic action that but to shame similar games on XBox 360. The production values were through the roof and it look incredible.
However for me the best game of 2009 was a game I knew nothing about until I saw a 9/10 review in Eurogamer. Demon's Souls was only available in English from Hong Kong but the game and it's online integration fascinated me and I took a chance by importing the asian version of the game. Honestly this game made it worth owning a PS3 on it's own.
There were some other big titles like Killzone 2 (pretty but kind of poo), Infamous, some more ratchet and clank. Sony would also really focus on their smaller online titles with some interesting releases like Flower, Trash Panic and Fat Princess.
The Third Party curse
I didn't know where to address this so I'll address it here. The poor performance of third party games on the PS3 was an issue from the start. Games looked worse and ran worse than the 360 but things did improve, even though there were some outliers like Bayonetta. Sony first party titles did highlight that in the right hands the PS3 was a very capable machine that could put to shame the XBox 360 but the cost of development had gone up and developers couldn't afford to ignore XBox 360 sales or tailor their games to the PS3's esoteric hardware.
Eventually Unreal engine improved and games were released with near parity between the two consoles. Capcom and their MT framework engine was always impressive with nearly all their games showing parity between systems. There were even examples of game engines outperforming the XBox 360. Dice would bring engineers to add assembly code to their frostbite engine to take full advantage of the systems SPUs and the Frostbite engine games would outperform the 360.
The PS3 in 2010 and beyond
There's too many games released for the PS3 to list here but I feel that slowly but surely Microsoft would drop the ball in terms of developing and pursuing exclusive content for the XBox 360 while the PS3 would pull ahead with some amazing exclusives right up until the release of the Last of Us a few months before the PS4 release. Ultimately I feel the PS3 ended up as the better machine. It's not one of the all time greats but it's got a great library that's worth revisiting and exploring, even if a lot of that has since been ported to other formats and PC.
I think a a lot of PS3 owners were disappointed with the lack of Japanese content on the system but this was the same on the 360. The exclusive RPGs on that system were kind of Poor and the PS3 did end up with some worthwhile exclusives. Japanese development at the time was focused more on DS and PSP. Gust who made a lot of low budget would support the console with exclusives, and some like Atelier Totori and Atelier Ayesha are some of the best of that generation.
Anyway I've waffled on more than I thought I would. What have you got to say about the PS3?
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Join Date:Posts: 50977
Absolutely no Sony hate, just hate aimed at the Sony fanboy brigade at the time who were absolutely obnoxious.
I kind of do and don't get Microsoft. I mean they did the almost impossible and became a real competitor in the console space after spending millions to unseat Sony. And then towards the end of the 360 you could tell they just weren't interested in the games anymore. They pretty much handed the next generation to Sony and have been throwing away everything they built up in the 360 era every since.
So it baffles me that they can waste so much good work but doesn't really baffle me because the Microsoft execs took over and wanted to be bigger than games and ran it into the ground.
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