Last rumor before e3 :D

[diOndOrAntt]

PlayStation 3

256mb ram or 512mb ram???

I think 512mb just because Xbox has it to. I dont think Sony would make a expensive processor just to waste its power with the lack of ram.

[the legendary ice man]

I say 256 mb.

XDR is quite highly priced.

PS2 only has what? 32mb ERAM? compared to xbox's 64mb.

Sony have an uncanny knack for acquiring lower numbers, bigger performance.

[THE PS2 INFORMANT]

I hope they can get as much memory in there as fiscally possible. It would really hurt them in the marketing department if the "360" had twice the memory while their "3" only had half as much.

Now the performance is another matter and that can be debated i'm just worried about the possible marketing impact of settling for a lower number. As most of us know average consumers tend to be gullible and buy based on numbers early on rather then an indepth knowledge of the machines they purchase.

[Brandon]

Xbox 360 has 512, so I don't think Sony would lag behind in that department, as they'd get violently ridiculed for it. But you never know.

[Coded-Dude]

probably right(about 512MB)

but...theoretically, it really wouldn't be as necessary.
If the CPU is as fast as "they" are boasting, it wouldn't need as much memory to store waiting procs.
But I guess the argument against that could be what about video?
Even though the speed from which data can travel(disc to cpu vs mem to cpu) is comparative.
It would probably be a good idea to have enough memory for pre-loading large CGI's and such.

I would love to se 1GB, but then I would wish for a linux hack as well(they say cell will support linux)

[spyshagg]

the textures would suffer alot with only 256mb... there is no "CGi dream" kutaragi is always talking about without RAm! lots on it...

[FerrianX]

512MB for certain!

Anything less would be a stupid move on Sony's part... to give M$ any kind of right to brag is pointless. A great example is M$ ability to play with numbers and turn up 1Tflop of performance power... hehe oh M$, how I think you are not in the console war, but the hype war.

[The_One]

I'm betting on 512MB. Sony will probably put that many just to seem competitive. On top of that, 256MB is too limiting in our day and age.
PS2 only has what? 32mb ERAM? compared to xbox's 64mb. No, PS2 only had 4MB od eDRAM, but it's bandwidth was far higher than the 64MB of unified RAM Xbox had.

[Domination]

Like I said before, the 512GB line is most likely standard for next-gen consoles. Which means I don't even see Nintendo dropping below it unless they are really looking to really cut some serious cost. If anything, I'm sure something will be put off to the side ( maybe as an add-on) in replacement for RAM. It only makes sense if you are launching later than your competitor otherwise it would be pointless.

I say 256 mb.

XDR is quite highly priced.

PS2 only has what? 32mb ERAM? compared to xbox's 64mb.

Sony have an uncanny knack for acquiring lower numbers, bigger performance.

Both can be used. It just depends on where you are using it at.

[Rallyracr420]

I'd say 512 for competition's sake. The PS2's textures suffered badly because of the lack of a full 64MB ram that the XBox had. Even with the best texture compression and highest band memory bandwidth in the world you just can't make up for having additional ram.

Personally I'd also like to see a 512 expansion pack similar to what the N64 had. Because the PS3 is going to support 25+GB discs you can almost guarantee that having the opportunity to increase the ram to 1GB will help with the loading and provide for even greater detailed environments in the PS3's 3rd or 4th generation games.

[Bad_Boy]

hell, why not go for the cool 1 GB? 8)

[jongaleo]

hell yeah, I support 1GB fully! why not 1GB instead of 512MB? :) I dont mind paying, I'll just beg for a few more hours worth of money.

[O.D.S]

I totaly agree

I would certainly dish out a little more cash for a better console. especially in later gen games.

512MB is a neccesity, but 1GB is only a want

[diOndOrAntt]

XDR is expensive ram

[Lord Darkblade]

XDR is expensive, however Sony have a way to give us 2GB of ram.

Basically fit the console with 512MB as standard and include an upgrade option, most gamers could easily be sold 1 additional stick with hard core gamers taking the full 3 additional sticks. Games could easily be designed to run with these, PC games already utilise multiple texture levels so having a few additional textures and some defines would not be too bad. Basically Sony partner with the XDR producer, they produce the sticks and Sony brand them, Sony benefits from a better console we get our massive amounts of memory and Sony builds in expandability basically in a cheap and easy way.

[sousuke]

why not do it like nintendo with the gamecube? it has two different ram-types, one fast memory as main memory, and slower (and cheaper) "auxiliary" ram, for appilcations that dont really need fast ram, like sound.

so sony could do the same with ps3. like 512MB main XDR memory and 512MB slower auxiliary ram ;)

[the legendary ice man]

Wouldn't mixing XDR with DDR cause major performance and computing errors?

[eggyoke]

Why not just go for the full 4GBs!! :roll: I can feel the excitment in these forums growing as each day passes lol.

512mb for sure 8)

[the legendary ice man]

mirror topic....mirror topic :D

http://forums.gamespot.com/gamespot/show_messages.php?board=314159282&topic=20639352&p age=0

full of interest and strange...well....

I ain't bothered. As long as PS3 manages to do everything that's been said in statements by the 3 companies...I don't care!

[Z]

1G RAM may not be far fetched. Sony is crazy and when in competition they like to really show their tech superiority and better know-how. Due to X2 having 512 of RAM, PS3 and maybe even Rev will most certainly have as much…if not more.
Or Sony could just go for ~700 RAM so they can technically have more RAM. We’ll hopefully know in two days.


-
2 days to E3!!

[Goki]

Im betting with Z here, just for competitions sake, they'll beef up the 512MB ram, not to 1Gig, but 700 or something, then laugh at Microsoft's face :P

[Grandia]

1G RAM may not be far fetched. Sony is crazy and when in competition they like to really show their tech superiority and better know-how. Due to X2 having 512 of RAM, PS3 and maybe even Rev will most certainly have as much…if not more.
Or Sony could just go for ~700 RAM so they can technically have more RAM. We’ll hopefully know in two days.


-
2 days to E3!!
Isn't XDR RAM ridiculously more expensive than GDDR3 (or whatever the X360 is using)? How is Sony not going to bleed? Blu-Ray, CELL, GPU, etc. etc. etc. :?

[Domination]

1G RAM may not be far fetched. Sony is crazy and when in competition they like to really show their tech superiority and better know-how. Due to X2 having 512 of RAM, PS3 and maybe even Rev will most certainly have as much…if not more.
Or Sony could just go for ~700 RAM so they can technically have more RAM. We’ll hopefully know in two days.


-
2 days to E3!!

You know what, Z, I'm not going to be too optimistic on this, but I did laugh at the possible fact that 1GB of RAM even being possible for the PS3 specifically due to cost alone. But when you're looking at direct competition this serious, pushing one to go to THAT extreme is so unpredictable at times. So although I won't expect this coming from the other two, I won't dismiss it as being an impossible figure due to me personally not knowing what either competitor will do to reach this level or their buget for the project. But I do agree about the possible 700MB prediction. That's not really that far fetched. IMO, I would expect that at the most as a more accountable figure while still remaining in contact with reality.

[Domination]

1G RAM may not be far fetched. Sony is crazy and when in competition they like to really show their tech superiority and better know-how. Due to X2 having 512 of RAM, PS3 and maybe even Rev will most certainly have as much…if not more.
Or Sony could just go for ~700 RAM so they can technically have more RAM. We’ll hopefully know in two days.


-
2 days to E3!!
Isn't XDR RAM ridiculously more expensive than GDDR3 (or whatever the X360 is using)? How is Sony not going to bleed? Blu-Ray, CELL, GPU, etc. etc. etc. :?

Yeah, but cheaper RAM can also be used.

[the legendary ice man]

1G RAM may not be far fetched. Sony is crazy and when in competition they like to really show their tech superiority and better know-how. Due to X2 having 512 of RAM, PS3 and maybe even Rev will most certainly have as much…if not more.
Or Sony could just go for ~700 RAM so they can technically have more RAM. We’ll hopefully know in two days.


-
2 days to E3!!
Isn't XDR RAM ridiculously more expensive than GDDR3 (or whatever the X360 is using)? How is Sony not going to bleed? Blu-Ray, CELL, GPU, etc. etc. etc. :?

I think you're missing the pre-existing point of Sony's already sky high debt. and the fact that it's a large enough company to keep itself a float for a fair few years to go.

[Handycrap101]

^^^^ Are you implying that Sony is going out of business in the near future?

[the legendary ice man]

nope. I wouldn't throw the idea away though.

$62+bn is a lot of money, and yes, Sony can keep hold of it, but one day, if they don't manage to get it under control they will.

I am aware that their net loss did decrease over the previous years ;)

[The_One]

Isn't XDR RAM ridiculously more expensive than GDDR3 (or whatever the X360 is using)? How is Sony not going to bleed? Blu-Ray, CELL, GPU, etc. etc. etc. :? No, XDR RAM is not ridiculously more expensive than GDDR3.

^^^^ Are you implying that Sony is going out of business in the near future? Perhaps not in the "near" future, but sooner or later, they will. Heck, maybe even before PS4 comes out if PS3 gets own3d by Xbox 360.

[Goki]

Why is Sony going out of buisness, i thougt they were in the dough$$$ ?

[Handycrap101]

Do you think another company (Hitachi,JVC,LG,Mitsubishi,Panasonic,Philips,Pione er,Samsung,Sharp,Toshiba, or Zenith) would take over the Playstaion line if sony was to go out of business? I dont know why it would by impossible for the head honcho of the PS ( I dont know his name) to get a job somewhere else and take all of his knowledge and just continue somewhere else.

[The_One]

Do you think another company (Hitachi,JVC,LG,Mitsubishi,Panasonic,Philips,Pione er,Samsung,Sharp,Toshiba, or Zenith) would take over the Playstaion line if sony was to go out of business? I dont know why it would by impossible for the head honcho of the PS ( I dont know his name) to get a job somewhere else and take all of his knowledge and just continue somewhere else. I don't think so... The other companies doesn't seem interested in the console market (except for Panasonic, I guess).

[makeitlookreal]

Sony has invested a lot of money into the playstation 3 and I believe it is in their very best interest to make it successful. To do so, here are a few things I believe they must do.

1) Make their console system superior in every way to their compeititon which is in this case Nintendo and Microsoft. They already have a superior processor and at least an equal GPU. It would be in their best interest to boost the ram up to at least 1GB.

2) Make their console system powerful enough to last for a longer period of time so that it can generate income for a longer period of time between generations. In my opinion, an at least two cell chip powered machine with ample RAM should be competitive for long enough. If they do not spend the money now it will mean another competitor could emerge with a better console, PC's will gain an edge too quickly, or the learning curve of programmers will max out too fast. The more powerful and complex of a system the longer it takes for everyone to figure it out! You don't want to make it difficult to program, but of course you want it powerful enough that it will take a while for game programmers to fully utilize all the power! That way, even after it has been out lets say five years, you could still have games being released that look better and better! Or perhaps instead of just having a few truly photorealistic characters on the screen at one time you could have dozens.

3) Make it upgradable so you can make money in upgrades. Perhaps in a couple years a new RAM upgrade could be purchased to allow for "high-rez" mode of a game that is border-line photorealistic! With the extra-ram the game could look like a TV show. Or perhaps like the Xbox 360 the hard-drive could be upgradable. Also, perhaps you could have a slot for a future ultra-powerful voice recognition system. Who knows what you could do! Perhaps it will come with a Tivo like device, but a slot could be built in to allow for one.....

[The_One]

My goodness... You remind me of when I was 14 or 15, I had these crazy imagination that I was from some far off planet... You make even me look pale in comparison to your imagination :shock:.

[Domination]

nope. I wouldn't throw the idea away though.

$62+bn is a lot of money, and yes, Sony can keep hold of it, but one day, if they don't manage to get it under control they will.

I am aware that their net loss did decrease over the previous years ;)

LOL! I bet if you owned your own home and had to balance other transactions, that, too, would be a lot of money. But you do see that it's done everyday if balanced correctly. Point is, these are long term contracts Sony is involved with which will eventually help the company profit more in the long run. They are not having to pay this amount up front at one time. Sony has also lost money for many, many years before this decline took place, and they have yet to turn their company over. I'm also sure that's why Stringer is in charge, to help rebuild the company's financial situation. What Sony is running into right now are bumps in the road. It happens. But don't think one or two bumps spell doom. They as a firm, and a large one at that, are far from it.

Perhaps not in the "near" future, but sooner or later, they will. Heck, maybe even before PS4 comes out if PS3 gets own3d by Xbox 360.

Going out of business is one thing, selling a nonprofitable division is another. The PlayStation is 1/3, if that, of Sony's overall income. I honestly don't see how this will make them fall if it failed. Now if it were someone like Nintendo, maybe that would matter. But, about 2/3 of Sony's income is generated from their eletronics division outside of the gaming industry.

[Grandia]

I don't think Sony's in $60+ debt...

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=SNE

[Red_Eyes]

To go with only 256 MB of ram when Xbox 360 is going with 512 MB is obsurd. Sony will not make the same mistake Sony made with PS2 (not enough ram). I am pretty sure it will be 1 gig of ram. Hehehe. :twisted:

[the legendary ice man]

I don't think Sony's in $60+ debt...

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=SNE

Standard & Poor's today said it is reviewing Sony's A+ long- term debt rating, its fifth-highest, for a possible downgrade because the acquisition may damage Sony's balance sheet. MGM's losses over three years, which total about $740 million, make it ``uncertain what contribution MGM can make to Sony's profits,'' S&P said. Sony's total debt stood at 6.71 trillion yen ($61 billion) on June 30.

- can't find the link, but that's from a link I found a while back.

anyway...I think that's plenty on Sony's debt.

Having more memory than a competitor is going to force your console to have more 'exclusive' titles isn't it?

[Domination]

To go with only 256 MB of ram when Xbox 360 is going with 512 MB is obsurd. Sony will not make the same mistake Sony made with PS2 (not enough ram). I am pretty sure it will be 1 gig of ram. Hehehe. :twisted:

I'm guessing around 512 and within the vicinity of 700MB. Cost is the very first thing I see wrong over the amount list earlier. Then there's the architecture. And last but not necessarily being the least would be the competition, IMO. I'm not entirely sure what Sony's plans are if even a small percentage, but being realistic, the above seems the most logical to me.

[Grandia]

I don't think Sony's in $60+ debt...

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=SNE

Standard & Poor's today said it is reviewing Sony's A+ long- term debt rating, its fifth-highest, for a possible downgrade because the acquisition may damage Sony's balance sheet. MGM's losses over three years, which total about $740 million, make it ``uncertain what contribution MGM can make to Sony's profits,'' S&P said. Sony's total debt stood at 6.71 trillion yen ($61 billion) on June 30.

- can't find the link, but that's from a link I found a while back.

anyway...I think that's plenty on Sony's debt.

Having more memory than a competitor is going to force your console to have more 'exclusive' titles isn't it?
So are you saying that my source is wrong....?

[the legendary ice man]

That's the value of the company and it's general market worth.

Something completely different.

[Red_Eyes]

Well, Sony could go with 513 MB of ram. That way, PS3 will have 1 more MB of ram than Xbox 360. Sony will do this just to beat Xbox 360 in ram.

[The_One]

Having more memory than a competitor is going to force your console to have more 'exclusive' titles isn't it? Umm... No. Simply put, devs create games on the platform they believe will have the maximum market penetration, not necessarily the most in RAM. Just look at the Xbox, it had more RAM (and overall power too), but it didn't have the most exlusive, did it?

It comes down to how much the devs (or publishers) are willing to lose in market share in order to gain that extra technological advantage.

[the legendary ice man]

Well this gen it was obvious which console you'd publish for - PS2 and it's 60% market share.

On the other, if this next generation becomes a lot closer for market dominance then would my idea be applicable?

[Pina]

Everyone is forgetting that byt the time the PS3 gets out, RAM will be cheaper. Even if they announce some sort of quantity, they can still change it, remember PSP?

[CrumCon]

Calling the new xbox, Xbox 1.5.. sony better put more than 512MB of RAM :wink:

[the legendary ice man]

I feel like being way to over enthusiastic.

anyway.

1.5 is a multiple of 360, it's counterpart is 240.

xbox 360 has 512Mb RAM in. To officially make it 1.5 of the original 360 - PS3 needs 12Pb of RAM? - I knew where I was going when I started...but it all went down hill...