The next generation Sony PlayStation includes an MPEG-2 decoder (HW or SW??), and has an option for DVD-ROM. Sony sold 50 million of the PlayStation 1.............
Sony Computer Entertainment Announces the Design of the Next Generation PlayStation System; Corporate Technological Vision Provides Basis for the Evolution of Entertainment
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 1999--Sony Computer
Entertainment Tuesday announced the completion of its research
and development project to design the successor to the PlayStation(R)
that was first introduced during 1994 in Japan.
The advanced technology of the next generation system provides
the basis for an exciting new era of in-home digital entertainment.
With more than 50 million units shipped to date, the original
PlayStation game console radically changed the landscape for computer
entertainment with the introduction of real-time 3-D graphics, which
significantly enhanced the possibilities for creative expression over
conventional 2-D graphics-based systems.
The next generation PlayStation massively increases the quality
and performance of graphics technology to the maximum level that can
be enjoyed on a television set through the innovative design of its
new Graphics Synthesizer. The new Graphics Synthesizer will give
software experiences for the next generation PlayStation unparalleled
graphic quality and detail. The next generation PlayStation technology
combines this richly detailed graphic quality with the revolutionary
ability to generate worlds, characters, behaviors and complex physical
simulations in real-time via the massive floating-point processing
power of the system.
This powerful combination allows for new types of computer
entertainment to be created. For example, the hair and clothing of a
character can be affected by a digital wind calculated and processed
in real-time. Other examples 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. This will change the future of computer entertainment
forever.
This concept is called "Emotion Synthesis(tm)" which allows the
system to simulate not just how the images look, but how the
characters and objects in a game think, act and behave. This concept
requires a computer system with a massive floating-point mathematical
calculation capability far beyond the current state-of-the-art
workstations and approaches the performance of large-scale super
computers used for scientific simulation.
The next generation PlayStation has at its heart a CPU with data
processing capabilities far exceeding those of today's
state-of-the-art PCs and with a rendering processor that has greater
performance than that of the highest level graphics workstations. This
allows for unparalleled real-time computer graphics expressions and
techniques to be used in software for the first time. Imagine walking
into the screen and experiencing a movie in real-time...this is the
world we are about to enter.
In addition to the technology of conventional CD-ROM, the new
system also adopts the future generation of disc media, DVD-ROM, to
allow for the storage of massive amounts of data and large programs.
Because the calculation performance of the new system can reduce the
requirement for massive data structures on the disc, Sony Computer
Entertainment believes that the capacity of conventional CD-ROMs will
be appropriate for certain applications. However, in the future the
company anticipates the need for larger, high capacity storage
mediums required by the new forms of digital entertainment created by
"Emotion Synthesis."
In addition, the new system employs MPEG2 image decompression
technology, widely used today for image-based DVDs. This allows for
the storage of compressed image data for texture maps and background
data that can then be decompressed in real-time as required by the
application. The resulting image quality not only matches the computer
graphic quality generated by the system but is also of the highest
quality available for in-home use.
In the vital area of sound processing, Sony has gone beyond the
capabilities of the current PlayStation to allow for even more complex
digital enhancement and processing of sound effects and music.
Software generated sounds, using the massive calculation performance
of the system and complex enhancements to the sound processor, allows
for the encoding and processing of advanced 3-D digital sound
techniques such as AC-3 and DTS. With this leap forward in technology,
Sony anticipates a new world of digital entertainment that will
surpass the experience of conventional video and music CDs.
With over 3,000 titles currently available for the current
PlayStation worldwide, Sony has designed the new system to be backward
compatible, therefore, allowing consumers to continue to enjoy their
library of software. This was made possible by integrating a new I/O
Processor that uses a 32-bit core identical to the current PlayStation
system, permitting the accurate interchange of data and programs with
the rest of the new system.
Sony Computer Entertainment will incorporate this new technology
into the next generation PlayStation that is planned to be released
into the Japanese market during the fiscal year ending March 2000. An
overseas introduction is planned to follow in the fall of 2000. To
allow software developers to begin developing new titles to take
advantage of this powerful new technology, development systems will be
made available starting this spring.
The next generation PlayStation system announced here is a
significant part of Sony Computer Entertainment's mission to create "a
new form of entertainment beyond games" via the integration of
innovative computer technology with digital AV technology.
AC-3 and DTS are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.
Sony Computer Entertainment America, a division of Sony Computer
Entertainment America Inc., markets the PlayStation game console for
distribution in North America, develops and publishes software for the
PlayStation game console, and manages the U.S. third party licensing
program. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment
America Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc.
playstation.com
-0-
NEXT GENERATION PLAYSTATION(R) BASIC SPECIFICATION AND FEATURES
CPU 128 Bit "Emotion Engine(tm)"
System Clock Frequency 300 MHz
Cache Memory Instruction: 16KB, Data:
8KB + 16KB (ScrP)
Main Memory Direct Rambus (Direct RDRAM)
Memory Size 32MB
Memory Bus Bandwidth 3.2GB per Second
Co-processor FPU (Floating Point Unit)
Floating Point Multiply
Accumulator x 1,
Floating Point Divider x 1
Vector Units VU0 and VU1
Floating Point Multiply
Accumulator x 9,
Floating Point Divider x 3
Floating Point Performance 6.2 GFLOPS
3D CG Geometric Transformation 66 Million Polygons per second
Compressed Image Decoder MPEG2
Graphics "Graphics Synthesizer"
Clock Frequency 150MHz
DRAM Bus bandwidth 48GB per Second
DRAM Bus width 2560bits
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
Sampling Frequency 44.1 KHz or 48 KHz (selectable)
IOP I/O Processor
CPU Core PlayStation (current) CPU
Clock Frequency 33.8MHz or 37.5MHz (Selectable)
Sub Bus 32 Bit
Interface Types IEEE1394, Universal Serial Bus
(USB)
Communication via PC-Card (PCMCIA)
Disc Device CD-ROM and DVD-ROM
--30--RJ/la* AE/la
|
