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PS3 Originally Planned to Release in 2005, Lacked GPU

T

Tagg9

Member
Send me back to 2005 if old. New info to me.

IGN said:
In interviews conducted for IGN’s History of Naughty Dog, multiple sources independently confirmed that PlayStation 3 was originally scheduled to come out in 2005.

“For a while, [PS3 had] no GPU, it was going to run everything with XPUs. The ICE team proved to Japan that it was just impossible. It would be ridiculous. Performance-wise, it would be a disaster. That’s why they finally added the GPU, closer to the end.”

Another source confirmed that, during the delay, Sony was “still trying to figure out the hardware” it was creating, and mimicked the notion that “for a while, it didn’t even have a GPU," hence the delay. It's important to note that, before PlayStation 3 was even named, there were very early rumors that it may launch in 2005, but by the time it was officially revealed at E3 2005, an accelerated release schedule was likely already abandoned.

A fourth source noted, “I think that the hardware guys focused too much on getting the [Sony’s proprietary processor] CELL working that the GPU project [for PlayStation 3] ultimately fell behind.”
Click to expand...

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2013/10/08/playstation-3-was-delayed-originally-planned-for-2005
 
A

Aussie Legend

Banned
So Microsoft should delay the Xbox One a year so its not a disaster? Right?

In all seriousness this is a pretty interesting read, console R&D/development must be a nightmare to work on I'd imagine
 
D

Draft

Member
I remember quite a few people bristling at the suggestion a GPU was crammed into the PS3 architecture at the figurative last minute.
 
W

WeAreStarStuff

Member
PS3's cell combined with an amazing GPU would have been an incredible combo for those developers willing to delve into the complexity of the cell such as Sony's first party studios.
 
T

teiresias

Member
Wasn't it already well-known that, at the very least, Kutaragi had wanted a GPU built around the Cell architecture (with maybe some tweaks that made it different from the CELL itself)? Whether the 2005 release is news or not I don't know, but having to quickly integrate an Nvidia GPU into the system was obviously going to cause problems.

It's always been fairly obvious either way based on the rumors back at that time.

I'm an electrical and computer engineer, but I know very little about GPU architecture since I don't work in that area, but I've always wanted to learn about it and then, once I know the fundamentals, compare the "GPUs" in consoles to the "baseline" PC GPUs of the time. In particular, I'd like to know more about the PS2 graphics synthesizer and how it compared to PC parts at the time.
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
Yes, the original Kutaragi vision had two Cell processors and no dedicated GPU. Insane. Hence the last minute deal with Nvidia to get an off the shelf GPU, it also led to a split memory pool because the Nvidia GPU was not compatible with XDR and Cell wasn't compatible with JEDEC standard RAM until the Power Cell X8i in late 2007.

All in all, Krazy Ken did fuck the PS3 over good and proper, but the new management have managed yo salvage that situation and turn it into a true beast.
 
C

ClearData

Member
"Guys, there is no GPU in this thing."

"We have the power of the cell."

"..."

"Put the damn GPU in."

"Okay."

What Naughty Dog says, goes. Confirmed.
 
A

AAK

Member
Man that launch was a disaster. Insomniac single handedly carried the PS3 for its first 2 years.
 
F

Frumix

Suffering From Success
Fill me in guys, google is failing.
What's XPU and how would it ruin everything forever?
 
S

Suairyu

Banned
So the machine was almost more poorly designed as the PS2, which is impressive.

I remember John Carmack talking about this during the build up to Rage's release, too. A lot of developers must have told them outright how dumb a decision it would be.
 
D

dark_prinny

Banned
LB80Ppw.png


Shine on Crazy Diamond.
 
FranXico

FranXico

Member
Yeah, I vaguely remember Ken's unwavering faith in the CELL processor. It should be noted, Cerny was already working with Sony at that time, and he said that he did believe in The Power Of The CELL back then...
 
G

GodofWine

Member
XPU? no GPU? what do XPUs do ??

they were really going off the far end..cell+gpu looks tame now.

I always wondered "what if" ps3 roared out of the gate and dominated and devs become fluent in cell programming, what would games have looked like (it seems when pushed and mastered ps3 was more capable than the 360).

And what would the ps4s architecture had been, crazier, multi-cells, fusion powered etc? Would we have gotten some really exotic console silicon magic?
 
E

Elios83

Member
I don't know if no GPU is accurate.
The plan was to use a modified Cell with just the SPEs (without the PPC) + rasterizer as the GPU.
 
I

IN&OUT

Banned
People always talk about how Sony fucked up PS3 launch. while it's true to some extent, nobody talks about how Sony actually managed to reverse this tragic situation and ended up with a great console in PS3. achievements such as:

  • Selling better than main competitor despite higher price and 18 months delay.
  • Solidifying BD as media format.
  • Creating the best exclusives lineup of 7th generation consoles.
  • Building PSN from scratch and making it one of the main online-play services.

Sony did one hell of a job to keep Playstation relevant and they succeeded going by PS4 pre-orders and hype.
 
Ovek

Ovek

7Member7
I always got the impression that the GPU in the PS3 was an after thought. The entire thing just seemed to be botched together very near to the end of the development cycle, especially when you compared it with the X360 at the time.
 
dr_rus

dr_rus

Member
Oh it had a GPU. Always planned to have. Just a very shitty one compared to which even a not exactly hot RSX is like a god's device. They did fuck up on the GPU portion of PS3, this is common knowledge now. This is the reason why NVIDIA got involved with h/w rather late and why there were two pools of different RAM in PS3 and why PS3 basically was on the same level of visual performance as Xbox 360 while costing a lot more.
 
FranXico

FranXico

Member
Finaika said:
So would it be better without a GPU? Because I heard the PS3's GPU is its weakest link.
Click to expand...

Those fancy CELL SPUs? Without an actual GPU, they would have been nigh useless...

Those third party "lazy" ports? Without an actual GPU, they would have been an impossible dream...

And so on...
 
D

Draft

Member
IN&OUT said:
People always talk about how Sony fucked up PS3 launch. while it's true to some extent, nobody talks about how Sony actually managed to reverse this tragic situation and ended up with a great console in PS3. achievements such as:

  • Selling better than main competitor despite higher price and 18 months delay.
  • Solidifying BD as media format.
  • Creating the best exclusives lineup of 7th generation consoles.
  • Building PSN from scratch and making it one of the main online-play services.

Sony did one hell of a job to keep Playstation relevant and they succeeded going by PS4 pre-orders and hype.
Click to expand...
And all it took was every cent they made in the PS2 era, and then a little more! I'm sure when Sony's leadership looks at those Blu Ray sales numbers they think, "it was all worth it."
 
E

Eusis

Member
Finaika said:
So would it be better without a GPU? Because I heard the PS3's GPU is its weakest link.
Click to expand...
Just because it's the weakest link doesn't mean it's not an essential part, it's more like it NEEDED that GPU to be relevant but had it been better designed it probably could've brought the CELL's strengths out fully and likely been more decisively ahead of 360 or at least falling behind less frequently.

It is disappointing Sony wanted to rush to next-gen anyway at that point, the PS2 generation really would've been the best one for this extended lifespan given the compromise between technical capability and affordable development. Something like the GTA games were a HUGE leap over what we got before on consoles and that hardware was also able to run games like DQVIII, FFXII, and MGS3. Technically Morrowind, but then I guess last gen's Achille's Heel was the lack of a sizable hard drive in all three systems.
 
Ovek

Ovek

7Member7
IN&OUT said:
People always talk about how Sony fucked up PS3 launch. .
Click to expand...

Indeed... I think they did a quite frankly amazing job at launch in the UK, they must have considering they parted me with my money on launch and I was/still am a PC gamer who never owned a PS2.
 
O

OldAsUrSock

Banned
IN&OUT said:
People always talk about how Sony fucked up PS3 launch. while it's true to some extent, nobody talks about how Sony actually managed to reverse this tragic situation and ended up with a great console in PS3. achievements such as:

  • Selling better than main competitor despite higher price and 18 months delay.
  • Solidifying BD as media format.
  • Creating the best exclusives lineup of 7th generation consoles.
  • Building PSN from scratch and making it one of the main online-play services.

Sony did one hell of a job to keep Playstation relevant and they succeeded going by PS4 pre-orders and hype.
Click to expand...
It is all because of Cerny.
 
N

nubbe

Member
I remember the early rumors said it would have 2 or more Cell processors to handle the graphics

Good thing crazy Ken didn't get his way
 
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