810°

PS3 SPUs are 'total monsters', says inFamous 2 dev

Sony has described its PS3 console as being "future proof", but just how powerful is it?

Well, inFamous 2 developer Sucker Punch reckons the PS3 is the business.

"The SPUs kick ass," he said.

"Move your shit there! The SPUs are just total monsters. You just have to move more and more and more and more and more stuff there. We have post-processing graphics passes going on in the SPUs. We have more particle stuff, more collision and physics stuff going on in there. They're unbelievable."

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videogamer.com
Cloudberry5060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

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Looking forward to inFamous 2. : )
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EDIT :

The link's broken......... /: (

FangBlade5060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

Music to my ears.
I'm glad I have a PS3.

Gamerbee5060d ago

Just give us the the old Cole. Not Skinny nathan drake.

Rumor5060d ago

I love em all. Not only do they LOVE to make games, they LOVE to make GOOD games. And we ps3 owners benefit it all! Take your $60 to gamestop and choose a game like alpha protocol after playing uncharted or something, i guarantee u will return it within an hour.

NYPunkster5060d ago

F**k Gamestop bunch of thieves.

Cevapi885060d ago

lets see them back those words up with another great title...if the first Infamous is the devs 1st attempt...imagine how well the 2nd installment will play after all the bugs and minor hiccups are resolved along with pushing the PS3 even further

DaTruth5060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

"We have post-processing graphics passes going on in the SPUs."

MLAA confirmed!!! Lord knows the first game could have used some of this!

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 5060d ago
Strange_Evil5060d ago

Try this link if you can't access the article...

http://www.videogamer.com/n...

HighDefinition5060d ago ShowReplies(4)
raztad5060d ago

If released inFAMOUS 2 screenshots are not bullshots. I'd say the leap from inFAMOUS 1 to 2 is a lot bigger than from UC 1 to 2.

It's amazing to see a dev so excited by the power of the SPUs.

"It's frickin' unbelievable how far we've come. It's crazy how much we've been able to get out of it [the PS3]. It's crazy how much more we're able to do."

inFAMOUS 2 will show R* how a proper HD, with smooth framerate game is done on the PS3.

NecrumSlavery5060d ago

Yeah, it looks as if inFamous 2 will be damn near the same graphical caliber as Uncharted 2, but in a full sandbox. About a year out and this game is already 10x what infamous was. I am completely in awe of what these Sony First Party Devs are capable of.

Incognegro5060d ago

Me too.. but SuckerPunch isn't first party.

NarooN5060d ago

Yeah, they aren't. I think what he meant is pretty much any dev who works really closely with Sony for a good period of time. A lot of people think Sony doesn't care about the games, but a lot of Sony teams help the HELL out of any dev that shows that THEY care about the platform.

ProjectVulcan5060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

Its sort of common knowledge now to developers that the key to PS3's performance is in the SPU utilisation. If you treat it as a conventional system with a general purpose CPU and a dedicated GPU then it will be slow, slower than 360 without a doubt. Its been clear to the most talented developers for a while now that offloading tasks to the SPUs that conventionally the GPU would be given frees up a huge amount of GPU cycles for what it does best, mostly pixel shading and throwing triangles about. RSX has strangled bandwidth, but when you look at CELL, SPUs have enormous memory bandwidth for a CPU (25.6Gb/s which is more than every modern PC desktop CPU bar a core i7 with very fast triple channel memory) - unusually high and a strange balance or so it seemed at first. Then you realise that it was DESIGNED to take tasks from the GPU and thats what that masive chunk of bandwidth is intended for....

Most of the early criticism of the architecture from developers were because it does not comply with their instinctive method of seperating the tasks firmly between what the CPU can do and what the GPU should. Valve clearly found this irritating as a pc developer, but as they became more accustomed to consoles they realised this is just how it is, its not the machine's fault, its your fault for your preconceptions on how to dev for PS3.

Once you work to the machine's strengths instead of your own stubborn ideas of what it should do then the results will come. The library of exclusive PS3 titles is now solid evidence of this fact.

nveenio5060d ago

Bubbles for Well Said. Honestly, I think that devs have been spoiled by companies like Microsoft that build dev kits that are "too easy" to use. Apple is the same way. The iPhone/iPad SDK is so simple that you really don't have to think anything through unless you're trying to do something insanely innovative. When Sony released the PS3, there was little-to-no experience for utilizing the Cell besides simple tech demos and conceptual code. Now that Sony has found some good devs and stood behind them 100%, the devs have learned to realize that when the engine starts to chug, they can just shovel something else over to the SPUs. The SPUs have more theoretical terraflops than any PC CPU out there (except maybe Intel's new 16-core). It only makes sense that their ceiling is uber-high.

Morituri5060d ago

Dude, you just blew my mind... What, are you from the future or something?

P1NKY5060d ago

The internal BUS that the SPUs and PPE use has a bandwidth of 300Gb/s

ProjectVulcan5060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

Internal bus between the SPU and the controlling PPE is obviously huge but i was referring to the bandwidth between the processor as a unit and system memory. Typical bandwidth of a core 2 and dual DDR2 800mhz memory is about 7GB/s, a phenom which has an IMC (integrated memory controller) and dual channel 1333 DDR3 is about twice that and a core i7 with triple channel 1600mhz DDR3 over the 20GB/s mark.

In other words only the very fastest consumer desktop x86 processors and compatible system memory even in 2010 surpasses the bandwidth CELL enjoyed in 2006. Which gives a clue to how much performance Sony's engineering team expected to be exploited, they gave the CPU huge system memory bandwidth for a reason, the reason being they saw it as a graphics co-processor and not just a general purpose CPU

Gabe Newell's early complaints in 2006 were that developing for PS3 is useless BECAUSE the techniques didnt apply elsewhere, its a unique system. He was right of course partially at that time! But he looked at it negatively that being unique was a problem and not a challenge. However four years later the whole scene has changed even for PC, as GPGPU takes hold (CUDA, OpenCL etc) the once tightly controlled barriers between what a CPU and GPU can do are fading and becoming very fuzzy. That makes using CELL, a hybrid CPU of sorts, for traditionally held graphics tasks more relevant than it was when PS3 launched!

thereapersson5060d ago

It really does show that Kutaragi was a visionary, and he did everything he could to ensure the PS3 would remain relevant for years to come. Most developers are just *now* realizing what the PS3 can truly do, so just imagine how good PS3 exclusives will look like in another few years!

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 5060d ago
sikbeta5060d ago

There is a lot of Improvement going in Infamous2, I totally believe in them

Cant wait to Play this Monster...

Blackfrican5060d ago

The PS3 alone is proof of aliens. The technology present inside of the PS3 is so technologically superior to anything else that the only possible explanation is that we reverse engineered this technology from a UFO wreck--or that the PS3 was made with the assistance of aliens.

NewZealander5060d ago

thats just a wee bit OTT dontcha think...aliens lol

jerethdagryphon5060d ago

while its an incredibly powerful chip its not alein what it does do is show how some people are capable of lateral thinking rather then more speed more cores more ram. thinking of the late nighties early noughts

218gflops theoretical output,

cell and ageia both changed the way people are looking at cpugpus

larrabe is more in line with cell or a graphics card then it is with the x86 archatecture

Snakefist305060d ago

Hellya PS3 is the ULTIMATE GAMING CONSOLE!!!!!!

NewZealander5060d ago

im not a fan of games like infamous, but i cant wait to see what naughty dog do with uncharted 3, if anyone can tap the ps3 its them. and last guardian is going to be pretty awesome too.

FACTUAL evidence5060d ago

Don't you just love it when dev's get used to the ps3? Only positives baby! It only does monster SPUs!

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 5060d ago
Shadow Flare5060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

Thats why the ps3 is still going to be fresh 5 years down the line. Still pushing bars. Combined with the massive storage of bluray, the ps3 is the most future proof console ever created. And its really gonna stand Sony in a good position in years to come. They saw the generation as a marathon, not a sprint, and planned accordingly. Getting trashed by the media in the process. But they've designed a console which will last a very, very long time. There isn't going to be a need for a PS4 for quite a while yet. Sony had a vision and stuck with it, and its done gamers the world of good.

iceman29295060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

I agree with what you say to a certain extent. There was about a 200 dollar difference between "comparable" skus between the ps3 and 360. If the ps3 can continue to be pushed in a way that allows for a comparable experience with the next xbox then what you say is true. However, if the next xbox completely blows the ps3 out of the water in terms of features and graphics and whatnot, then I feel that releasing a less future-proof console was the better strategy. If Microsoft were to release a console with similar prices to the 360s launch, and did manage to blow the ps3 out of the water, with the 200$ saved , this would essentially pay 2/3 of my new console. essentially the determining factor would be whether or not the remaining 100 -200 dollars of cost makes it worth a new console.

Sorry if my thoughts are a bit murky, im currently slighttttly tipsy so please forgive me :)

Shadow Flare5060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

MS have said that they don't plan to release a new xbox until at least 2015.

http://n4g.com/news/548840/...

Kinetc is supposed to lengthen 360's lifespan. Ergo, PS3 is gonna keep pushing and pushing, while 360 is gonna be really held back since Kinetc uses the 360 to process its games as well. PS3 games like Uncharted 2 already clearly surpass 360 titles, but over the years, that gaps just gonna get bigger.

Also, if console sales carry on the way they are, PS3 will definitely push 360 to 3rd place, possibly as soon as next year, if MS aren't planning a new xbox till 2015. Analysts predict PS3 will outsell 360 this year by 4 million units, leaving a 1 million gap between ps3 and 360, which will most likely dissapear in 2011. And if Kinetc isn't a success.....well......it's over.

iceman29295060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

I think people have it wrong with that article.
"What you've seen is with this new sleek design and Kinect for Xbox 360 we've got at least another five years of this generation where we continue to offer great experiences for people."

I think this means they will support the 360 until 2015 , but I can't see them not releasing a new console before then. Especially if kinect isnt a hit... however even if it is, I still think we will hear an announcement for the next xbox at the next E3.
Also, in my personal opinion , I feel like the reason why they took the chip out of kinect and made it use the consoles processing was sort of a future-proofing the technology. They will allow you to use the same camera on the next xbox. So on the 360 its sort of a BETA!!

And I don't really care about which console wins or looses or sales, all I want is for them to give me the best gaming experience possible for my money.

Demonsdown5060d ago

Well MS investors are pushing for them to get out of the console business so there may not even be another xbox at this point. Depends on how far they are in to developing it I guess might get one more maybe.

iceman29295060d ago

I feel like xbox live would be the reason why they keep the xbox around.

There was another article on here talking about the revenue from the sales passing the revenue from the subscriptions. Thats pretty big news!

nveenio5060d ago

That $200 difference was worth every penny. PS3 has half-a-dozen games that are insanely better than anything on the 360...and that doesn't look to be changing any time soon.

P1NKY5060d ago

Don't always believe what MS says. They might say they won't be releasing a new console till 2015, but that could be so that they can get a head start.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5060d ago
sikbeta5060d ago

Totally True Shadow Flare, if the PS2 was the "inferior" Console of Last Gen and has 10 Years in the Market, I can't Imagine How Long the PS3 is going to be...

Starlight5060d ago

I do agree but you can't say that there won't be a need for a PS4 for quite some time. Depending on what you mean by quite some time, we'll be seeing a PS4 launching in November 2012 in JPN and US following Sony's history, we should also see the launch of PSP 2 next year.

kws10655060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

SPU pride

MGRogue20175060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

... Those SPUs are just one of the nightmares that Xbox 360 experiences about the amazing PS3 every night. :D

mushroomwig5060d ago

I wonder what the last batch of PS3 titles will look like compared to the first batch.

I remember a huge difference between an early PS2 title and one of the last titles to be released.

fooltheman5060d ago

interesting question...but let sony surprise us

Topshelfcheese5060d ago

good example is The Bouncer-ps2 launch year game, and Final Fantasy 12, both from Square, and it was a huge leap.

bjornbear5060d ago (Edited 5060d ago )

we put an early PS2 game ( Devil May Cry ) and then a VERY late PS2 game (SoTC) and the resolution of textures, jaggies, frame rate and even lighting were VASTLY improved

but you think "OH BUT THOSE ARE DIFFERENT DEVS! TEAM ICO PWN CAPCOM"

well ok, look at ICO against SoTC, or even MGS2 vs MGS3! the leap is HUGE just technically (not only artistically, but that too)

so...the PS3 must have that powa =O

but we've seen a very small version (albeit HUGE visually) of that leap: Uncharted 1 ---> Uncharted 2

edit: topshelfcheese props + FF12 looks amazing too, i'd even argue to say better than FF10 (technically not artistically)

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150°

Sony Patents To Prevent You From In-Game Harassment By Reading Your Emotions

A new patent recently published by Sony wants to gather biometric data of gamers to track whether one is being harassed using AI tools.

Profchaos3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

I hope this is one of those patents that never comes to fruition.

I already dislike the fact you can pay a significant amount for a online service buy associated games and content on said service and get banned from that service over potentially a misunderstanding the bans are already handed out for flimsy reasons

I'd rather see money invested in a ban that simply removes the offensive players ability to communicate with unknown players allow them to continue party chats with friends but not with Joe blow on cod.

exputers3d ago

Agreed. Blizzard recently banned a college Overwatch 2 player who's dependent for saying "shit." Pretty harsh.

Profchaos2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

How rediculas really. You can't say a word that's allowed in most PG films and prime time TV but the game is based around killing the enemy team using guns, explosives etc.

It's just backwards.

just_looken3d ago

What your talking about is called block list

In 2006 a spaceship dropped of the playstation 3/xbox 360 i say that that generation was the last great gen with game functions/tech that has yet to comeback

Anyhow the playstation 3 if you block listed a id they could not talk to you in chatroom with either text or voice. But that was pre mind fucked 2018 when people were more human than sheep.

But hey gta 6 is coming out billion dollar budget without a single player custom character creator and without singeplayer coop off/online something saints row 1-3 had on the xbox 360.

z2g3d ago

Take my social security and bank account numbers too! Here’s a picture of my wife and our address.

phoenixwing3d ago

Cmon where's the pictures of your children. Don't hold out on them.

H93d ago

At this rate I feel Sony will eventually sell a room to play games in it where they can monitor your every breath

jambola3d ago

I genuinely get a bit worried sometimes when a friend says something that could be offensive In a party
Because I have no trouble believing some bans would happen when in a private party for saying something wrong

SegaSaturn6693d ago

I want them to censor erotic content by measuring my groin temperature so i dont get too distracted while playing black ops 2.

Popsicle3d ago

Terrible idea. Not only do I not consent to providing my biometric data, the potential for mishandling biometric data is almost a certainty. Positive stress and negative stress can produce similar changes in biometrics. Interpreting the precise emotion a person is feeling is not only invasive but could be easily misconstrued. I hope this never comes to fruition.

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130°

Sony Could Increase Your Game's Difficulty If It Sees You Complain About It

Sony has recently published a new patent that wants to dynamically handle the games' difficulty and gameplay based on the player's emotions.

jznrpg4d ago

This is something I might use. Sometimes I play some good games but they don’t have difficulty option and are a little too easy.

Profchaos4d ago

Souls games will be like that players struggling make it harder

PassNextquestion4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

I think if used correctly it could work well

jambola3d ago

cool idea
cool idea for horror games especially
the way it's explained here sounds like it could never be forced hopefully, so that's ok with me

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280°

Sony Taps Bungie's Head of Revenue to Lead Live-Service Games

Sony has recruited Bungie's head of revenue Jaremy Rich to head up its live-service gaming division, Rich has announced on social media.

Read Full Story >>
techraptor.net
ChasterMies24d ago

Please do not put Destiny’s monetization into Sony’s first party games. The monetization is what’s driving players away from Destiny.

just_looken24d ago

The new temp boss is the sony cfo bean counter so i can see this being a thing get every penny.

Cacabunga24d ago

PlayStation officially losing it.. fans will never support gaas games

just_looken24d ago

@car

The new boss did a interview in japan he wants to tap into the mobile market like nintendio so he give 0 fucks about gamers/fans

https://www.pushsquare.com/...

Redemption-6424d ago

@Cacabunga
You only speak for you and those who think like you, but most fans will support what they want. Playstation and PC fans are literally supporting Helldivers 2 and that is a gaas. Maybe you wouldn't, but many more would if they like it.

Huey_My_D_Long24d ago

@Redemption-64
Look, Im not making any judgement calls about this guy, but I will say that Helldivers 2 GaaS model is unique to Helldivers, and legit the only other game I can think of thats similiar was the Avengers game except HD2 pass is still better.
The fact that you can earn in game currency in a way that doesnt make you feel like you have to grind forever, as well you being able work on that pass that you bought...on your own time without a time limit...that right there is fucking huge to me, and I can't name any game other than avengers that avoided trapping players with FOMO logic...I think GaaS on HD2 shouldn't be compared to the rest of the industry...it should be copied.

Einhander197223d ago

Cacabunga

Helldivers 2...

Redemption-64

In Europe it's a 60 40 split favoring PC.
In the US its a 60 40 split favoring PS5.

So PlayStation owners supported the game just fine, it's not getting carried by PC or anything like that.

FinalFantasyFanatic23d ago

@just_looken,
I'm perfectly fine with the way Nintendo entered the mobile market, I never touched their mobile games, meanwhile, the console/handheld stayed the way it is. As for being a bean counter, he's probably going to reel in these massive budgets that Sony's studios have had lately, I haven't played Spiderman 2, but I cannot see how they almost tripled the budget for that game.

@Redemption-64,
That's an exception to the rule, I'm expecting a lot of these GAAS games from Sony to fail, to be fair, they only need a few to succeed, but I would have preferred that they put more of their resources into other types of games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 23d ago
DivineHand12524d ago

True their monetization is driving players away and at the same time, their decision to chop out content and convoluted systems is keeping new players away from the game.

Joe91324d ago

I don't think that will happen based on how things worked out at Naughty Dog now that we know what we do, seems they had the option to fully commit to live service games or stay making single player experences so they gave up on their live service game. We are not sure how things came about with Bend making a live service game but I hope that was not a forced situation. Sony doesnt seem like they are forcing studios to switch up but we will see, Sony's bread and butter is single player games it is how they dominated the console market.

Obscure_Observer24d ago

Yeah, I though Sony learned something from all their failures in the LS segment under Bungie´s disastrous leadership and supervision which led to games been cancelled, studios closed and all the people laid off.

Looks like Bungie still plays a major role in Sony´s LS initiative and Sony is not backtracking on their GaaS plans.

S2Killinit24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

Are we forgetting that Destiny is also a highly successful franchise? I feel like that definitely deserves mention here.

Besides, there is no reason why a person cant learn from past experiences.

Joe91323d ago

I agree, people act as if Destiny flopped when it came out lol it took 9 to 10 years for the numbers to fall yet people are still playing it add the success of Helldivers 2 no wonder Sony is going forward down this path.

S2Killinit23d ago

Personally, I see no problem with Sony also having service games as long as they make good ones, and more importantly they deliver the AAA story driven games that they are known for. So yeah, I agree 100% with you.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 23d ago
Christopher24d ago

I mean, this person made some pretty bad decisions at Bungie. I hope they've learned from them because I definitely don't see those type of ideas as good for PlaySation in general.

CrimsonWing6923d ago (Edited 23d ago )

Honestly, what’s to learn from? How to make people happily continuously dump money into a single game over its life-time? Buy season passes continuously for several years with a smile on our faces?

GaaS is a design decision that is everything wrong with this industry. The fact that Helldivers 2 did so well and people defend the monetization because it was $40 and is a fun game, scares the sh*t out of me to see that the door is open and all shift will probably be to replicate that in future games. We already know the ROI for traditional game dev cost isn’t doing it for them.

I thought with Jimbo leaving we’d see a change for the better… I’m not so sure now.

S2Killinit23d ago

Service games are being offered by everyone. Sony cannot afford to only create single player AAA games. No one can. They already said they will be doing both.

Abnor_Mal24d ago (Edited 24d ago )

Ps5 gamers in 2023 seemed to play more live service types of games, so regardless to how people feel about them, numbers don’t lie and Sony is going where the money is. I mean look at the excitement around Helldivers2, people are showing that they want live service games.

Christopher24d ago

They play long-time existing live service games like CoD, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and the like. Mass majority of new live service games are considered failures and aren't moving gamers away from older games.

just_looken24d ago

Yep the huge issue with live service is they need paid players along with a reason to play them.

You forgot mobile market that also taps into that player base as well as the eve online style games there is only a certain amount of krakens/whales blind supporters compared to the amount of live service games we have its not sustainable math wise.

700 restaurants making food for every seat for 1000-3000 eaters just does not work out

Einhander197223d ago (Edited 23d ago )

Christopher

I am not a big live service fan and literally own zero of the games you listed, but that is not true, unless you call games that aren't the top games to be failures.

There are tons of live service games that are profitable.

Games don't have to be the biggest game ever they just need to make more than they cost.

I challenge you to show professionally prepared data that shows that more live service games fail than make enough to keep going.

Because all the data that I have seen shows that live service is less of a gamble than making a big AAA budget game which needs to survive off retail sales.

FinalFantasyFanatic23d ago

I sometimes wonder if we're at saturation point, where it's hard for a new game to join those ranks unless it's particularly exceptional, people only have so much time and money to devote to these types of games.

romulus2324d ago

Correction, they have no issue playing good live service games

shinoff218324d ago

Lol it's not even a quarter of the ps5s sold. Helldivers may have been a hit but let's not say most are enjoying it because truth is most(the real most ) don't care about it.

S2Killinit23d ago (Edited 23d ago )

I play what is fun. If a live service game is good I’ll play it as long as its not a money scheme which Helldivers is not.

And Im a single player gamer.

mastershredder24d ago

How do you kill a franchise that already been killed?
Destiny’s grind, cash-in-on-playbass-cha-Ching, and pop-culture-insertion mainstream-me-too bs totally killed any rep Bungie had. Sony/Bungie, if you are doing this to ward-off players, it’s already working.

crazyCoconuts24d ago

Headline truncated:
"... off a cliff"

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