PS3 to get smaller Cell and/or RSX chips in August?

Nikko Citigroup upgraded its rating on Sony this morning in anticipation of it breaking even on PS3 costs earlier than expected. At the moment, Sony sells the PS3 at a loss. The respected group of analysts is now earmarking August as the milestone month. Sony's CFO recently suggested that the move would occur in the second half of the year -- a date analysts then pegged at November. No details behind the new upbeat expectations were provided by Nikko CG. However, it's safe to assume that the PS3's break-even event will be realized by a switch to a sub-65nm cell processor, sub-90nm RSX graphics chip, or both, since the smaller chips are less-costly to manufacturer.

P.S. It's worth noting that Sony has consistently stated that the PS3 will only break-even when both the Cell and RSX chips have shrunk.

Update: Reader Yaddam205 just reminded us about the "Slim PS3" redesign rumored for release in Autumn. No guarantees but smaller, less power-hungry, and cooler running chips would certainly be at the foundation of such a rig.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/21/p...ips-in-august/

thats great ill wait until slim ps3 comes out it be neat.

If a slim PS3 came out that would be cool - because right now the PS3 just looks to chunky.

I guess if a slimline version came out, as well as a decent price cut, plus the re-inclusion of backwards compatibility on PS2 games...they finaly sort out PSN to rival XBL ...plus some decent original new third and first party PS3 games get released and also the game prices come down to match/rival the other consoles then I might get one. lol

Until then its no deal!

here the games for ps3 and 360 are the same price, sometimes ps3 is cheaper

Sony making a profit form the PS3 HW! How nice for them. Will they sell it for less? Probably not. If they did why would the analysts care/get excited? I mean I don't care if they make a profit or loss as long as the price is right for me for the length of time the system will be around for and supported.

Give me a "decent" size hard disc, (120Gb minimum) and dual shock and I'll buy one now, (sod Green Peace I'll use a power hungry chips if that's what it has).

I never play my current gen games through more than twice, my PC games normally only once (except the Total War series) so I can't get my head around why anybody would want to play PS2 games on a PS3. It's like wanting Black and White silent movies on BlueRay.

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Originally Posted by ketchup

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I never play my current gen games through more than twice, my PC games normally only once (except the Total War series) so I can't get my head around why anybody would want to play PS2 games on a PS3. It's like wanting Black and White silent movies on BlueRay.

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You don't play your new games more than twice?? :eek:
To say its pointless to have PS2 backwards compatibility seems crazy? The PS2 has an amazing array of quality titles and many of them are still worth playing today!

yeah but compared to ur ps3 titles they looks crap with very low res textures, i played gat3 on my ps3 the other day and i didnt like it much.

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Originally Posted by lmtlmt

yeah but compared to ur ps3 titles they looks crap with very low res textures, i played gat3 on my ps3 the other day and i didnt like it much.

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You'll find that most 3D games date quite quickly - but then theres the grade A games that still look amazing... Marvel Vs Capcom 2, God of War, Streetfighter 3, Shadow of the Colossus, Timesplitters 2, the Metal Gears, Resident Evil 4, Okami etc etc. ..all of these games have got loads of re-play factor and still look great. :)

I know if I was going to buy a PS3 I'd expect all these beauts to work (seeing as my third ps2 died many, many moons ago lol)!

I've got a 360 and the BC is shite on that.. its just a shame that Sony seem to have also now abandonded playing the older titles on their next-gen console. :(

Anyway back on topic - If a smaller PS3 is in the pipeline (which will happen if you look at all of Sony's past machines) then this will be a good thing. ...before that though just reducing the price of the existing machine would be a wise move.

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Originally Posted by Baboon

You don't play your new games more than twice?? :eek:
To say its pointless to have PS2 backwards compatibility seems crazy? The PS2 has an amazing array of quality titles and many of them are still worth playing today!

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I have to agree with you. When I first brought my PS3 to my friend's house, I brought with me the Champions of Norrath. Might not be up to par, graphically, with PS3 games, but its certainly worth its weight in gold as far as fun factor.

4 player multiplayer games (on one console) are hard to come by on the PS3, and it has the benefit of being a great game at that. I just don't understand the PS3 developers; with large screen, HDTVs being the damn near minimum for most buyers, I don't understand why they don't embrace 4 players or more on one console.

A 40 inch TV would yield 10 inch screens for 4 players, games like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark supported 4 player split screen, back in the days when 30 inches were just about the maximum, with the majority of gamers owning maybe a 20 or less inch TV...

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Originally Posted by Baboon

You'll find that most 3D games date quite quickly - but then theres the grade A games that still look amazing... Marvel Vs Capcom 2, God of War, Streetfighter 3, Shadow of the Colossus, Timesplitters 2, the Metal Gears, Resident Evil 4, Okami etc etc. ..all of these games have got loads of re-play factor and still look great. :)

I know if I was going to buy a PS3 I'd expect all these beauts to work (seeing as my third ps2 died many, many moons ago lol)!

I've got a 360 and the BC is shite on that.. its just a shame that Sony seem to have also now abandonded playing the older titles on their next-gen console. :(

Anyway back on topic - If a smaller PS3 is in the pipeline (which will happen if you look at all of Sony's past machines) then this will be a good thing. ...before that though just reducing the price of the existing machine would be a wise move.

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I too was depressed that Sony dropped BC. I don't understand it either, as the PS2 was one of the best selling consoles (if not the best) of all time. And many PS2 owners might have wanted a PS3 when the price comes down (how many people are buying PS2s RIGHT NOW when the price is real low?)

I seriously hope Sony considers reintroducing BC, whether its software or hardware, later on. Because 5 or 6 years from now, there will be people who bought PS2s this year, looking to upgrade and if they can play their PS2 library on it in that time (which they can build rather inexpensively, especially if they buy used games) it will be worth the upgrade to them

Not to mention, having the BC there benefits everyone. Gamestop can still buy and sell PS2 games because THERE IS A SYSTEM that will play them.

cus no ps3 games use all the power of the cell's, that's why they shrink it:D

the dev's can't make the games that the cell's can run, cus the hardware in the ps3 is too good for this generation of games..

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Originally Posted by ____anders____

cus no ps3 games use all the power of the cell's, that's why they shrink it:D

the dev's can't make the games that the cell's can run, cus the hardware in the ps3 is too good for this generation of games..

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It just takes time. No one (besides idiots like JKKDark) really expected the PS3's full power to be tapped right away. Wasn't it the same with the PS2?

I wouldn't count on the slim PS3 showing up anytime soon. What with all the bundles coming out... My guess is the 80GB PS3s with MGS4 and DS3 will probably be the first with a slimmed down RSX/Cell. Only when you hear about both the 80GB bundles and 40GB bundles being phased out will it be feasible to expect a new slim PS3 SKU that may probably signal the coming of one standard console model from then on out...