Official PSX2 announcement, details

[03.02.99] » Sony's press conference reveals their DVD-based, backwards compatible "next generation PlayStation" set for a Winter 1999 release. High resolution demo screen shots included!

   Sony Computer Entertainment today announced the successor to the Sony PlayStation, just shortly after early system details leaked out to Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun daily newspaper. Refering only to the new system as the "next generation PlayStation," Sony asserts their new system "massively increases the quality and performance of graphics technology to the maximum level" thanks to a plethora of technical innovations.

   Running off of a PSX2 prototype, a variety of technical demonstrations were shown to the press at a special conference in Japan to support Sony's grandoise claims. One of the key components in the system is the 'Graphics Synthesizer,' which contains "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." With the hardware's power, incredibly complicated demonstrations of fireworks, feathers, and other sequences quickly awed the forum's audience. Presentations were also put on by Sony's closest third-party developers, including Namco and Square. (Complete descriptions and pictures below.)

   The real-world simulations put on by Sony were all calculated in real-time using a concept Sony terms 'Emotion Synthesis.' The concept "allows the system to simulate not just how the images look, but how the characters and objects in a game think, act and behave." As one might imagine, a hefty processor is required to handle the PSX2's new science-based algorithms and features. "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."

   As previous reports suggested, Sony Computer Entertainment is readying the next-generation PlayStation for a Japanese release sometime before March 2000, with overseas units shipping in the fall of 2000. The system will be 100% backwards compatible, relying on a custom-built 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." It isn't just titles that are completely compatible with Sony's new system -- all current PlayStation peripherals and accessories will function perfectly with the PSX2, from controllers to memory cards to light guns.

   DVD will be the storage format of choice in Sony's new system, though the system also reads CD-ROM discs without problems and may be widely in use for months after the initial release of the PSX2. MPEG2 image decompression technology is also in use in the next-generation PlayStation, which "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." Curiously, no mention is made regarding a capability to play DVD movies, a feature which is almost certain to be either included or easily installed in the system. Sony may not be making a mention of the feature in order to maintain sales of their home DVD player, instead of holding off purchases until the PSX2's release.

   And the cost? According to Sony, the cost will be kept under 50,000 yen, or about $420 US, when the first systems begin rolling off the assembly lines in Japan. By the time a worldwide release rolls around in the fall, it's quite possible costs will be brought down even lower to $250-400, a figure strongly maintained by PSXIGN.

   For those interested in the nitty-gritty, we've listed and explained the full range of technical specifications for the new machine. A complete report on the technical / third-party demos are also included below, with a range of high resolution screen shots.

Tech specs:

   The Emotion Engine, Sony's pet name for the PSX2's main CPU unit, is a 128 bit, 300mHz piece of silicon glory made in conjunction with Toshiba Corporation. The unit enlists the aid of two 64 bit integer processors and a 128 bit SIMD multimedia command processor. The independent Floating Point Unit (FPU) makes use of two point vector calculation units (VU0 and VU1) and has an overall performance of 6.2 GFLOPS. Tack onto that an MPEG2 decoder circuit, a high-performance DMA controller, and Direct Rambus (DRAM) technology capable of attaining a 3.2 gigabyte per second max bandwidth. The technical gobbledegook is flying, but suffice it to say that Sony has a very impressive CPU in development.

   The I/O processor will operate with IEEE 1394 and USB standards. This processor is based upon its predecessor, the current PSX I/O processor, but with a revamped DMA control architecture, allowing for four times the data transfer as the PSX I/O processor's. Also enhanced is the processor's cache memory. The use of IEEE 1394 and USB standards means that a line of PSX2 perhiperals is most likely in store, as Sega has been doing with their Dreamcast. Keyboards, mice, hard drives, and more are possible with the improved technology. Also, the addition of PCMCIA slots means that modem communication is definately possible and is a welcome addition to the already impressive list of improvements.

   The PSX2's Graphics Synthesizer, as it is being called, is a work of art by itself. It makes use of nes DRAM technology, pioneered by Sony for the PSX2. The DRAM, with a bus width of 2560 bits and a bandwidth of 48 gigabytes, is embedded into the Graphics Synthesizer. In the past, systems have used external VRAM, accessed by an off-chip data bus. This limits the bandwidth between the drawing engine and the video memory, thereby limiting the overall rendering performance. Since the DRAM is all embedded, the bandwidth is greater, which makes for a more powerful renderer.

   As for the numbers that really count, the PSX2's peak polygon count is an amazing 75 million polygons per second, with 150 million particles being pushed per second. 3D computer graphic geometric transformation calculations yield a whopping 66 million polygons per second. Rendering with Z-buffering, transparancies, textures, and lighting (which more or less makes up the brunt of a graphics deluxe package) pulls 20 million polygons per second. For reference, Sega's Dreamcast manages to scrape up 3 million polygons per second with all the same options, a fact bound to spur some emergency meetings over at Sega's headquarters. The Graphics Synthesizer is able to deliver animated scenes at an astounding 60 frames per second. Although the screen does not actually refresh 60 time in one second, the proper motion bluring is added to each frame so that the actual refresh rate seems like a smooth 60 frames per second. In short, we get prettier, more detailed graphics, more fluid animation, and more intricate graphic effects with less or no system slow down.

   Audio processing will be managed by an SPU2+CPU in the PSX2. It will be capable of playing 48 channels on the SPU2, with the cabability for software definable voices. The sound will be sampling at either 44.1KHz or 48KHz, depending on the application. These advances from the PSX's sound chip allows for the use of 3D sound in games, music, and movies, taking advantage of digital sound techniques, such as DTS and AC-3. All this babble means simply that you get a higher quality of sound, and you'll even be able to hook up your surround sound speakers to it. If that's not an invitation to pop in Bust a Groove and jam, we don't know what is.

Technical demos:

   Sony had several technical demos on hand to demonstrate the power of their new hardware. The series of demos began with a scene featuring none other than Crash Bandicoot himself. Pursued by a horde of angry penguins, each of which breathes visible puffs of air, Crash flees through the snow. Even up close, Crash retained his original appearance without any sign of pixellization.

   After a generic "floating shapes" demo, the PSX2's "Emotion Synthesis" features were demonstrated with a scene of an extremely detailed dandelion. A sudden gust of wind blew the dandelion apart into tiny pieces, the movements of which were all mathmetically calculated (based on factors such as weight, size, gravity, etc.) to perform just as they would in the real world. Although impressive visually, the demo was even more significant when you consider that all of the effects were automatically generated by the PSX2's hardware -- they were not locked into paths designed by artists ahead of time.

   The power of "Emotion Synthesis" was further demonstrated by the next demo, which featured a rain of hundreds of feathers, all slowly floating down to earth. Translucent in appearance, one could catch a glimpse of scenery through the feathers. Later, a tornado appeared and sucked the feathers up, all without a polygon in sight.

   The fifth demo featured a lit firework, which gave off individual sparks that bounced along the ground. Each spark illuminated a tiny section of the ground, together creating a realistic lighting effect. The speaker also careful to note that the demo ran at a whopping 600 frames per second. Unfortunately, 540 of those frames will go lost, as current TVs are only capable of displaying a mere 60 frames per second.

   In the sixth demo, a floating head morphed through a series of forms, from a clown face to an Easter Island Moai head, all made possible by the PSX's B-spline mathematics, which it uses to create smooth curves. After several cycles through the various faces, the seventh demo began. In this demo, the icons for the four PlayStation buttons (the square, triangle, circle, and X) appeared in scaled in and out of the screen. This demonstrated the PSX2's "Depth of field" effect, which simulates the way objects become blurry as they near your eyes. The buttons were also all covered with a shiny metallic coating, giving the hardware a chance to show off its ability to texture-map reflections onto a shiny surface.

   Demo #8 was perhaps the most impressive, presenting the audience with a distant shot of a water-filled coral basin. Traditional video game water consists of a semi-transparent texture with a water-like pattern on it, which shifts to generate the illusion of flowing water. The water in this basin, however, was far different -- it flowed according to mathmatical properties that took into account gravity, friction, and other forces. Even the topography of the pool bottom affected the way the water rippled and flowed. After giving the audience plenty of time to absorb the visuals, the camera zoomed in to just above the pool. Goldfish were now visible swimming about; their appearance altered by the distorting effect of water. Once again, this was not a pre-programmed animation, but simply the result of real world mathematical properties in actual.

   Sony's final demo displayed a bath tub stocked with a rubber duck and other toys. An invisible hand picked up each object, causing them all to deform slightly. The hand then proceeds to pull the plug on the bath, and all the water was sucked down the drain -- again all guided by the laws of physics.

Third-party demos:

   Before Sony's closest allies showed off their own demos, company officials made a special point of noting that third parties received the necessary development kits for the demos less than two weeks prior to the show. Considering how the system itself has not yet been totally completed, let alone development kits for companies, the technical demonstrations made were supremely impressive.

   First up was Polyphony, the developer of both Gran Turismo games. Polyphony adhered to their roots, presenting (what else?) a scene of a car race. Actually, only one car was present, but it appeared almost the same as the real thing as it sped through a city environment full of tall buildings and landmarks.

   FROM Software, responsible for the King's Field and Armored Core series, presented their demo next. This demo, set in a graveyard, resembled an actual game. Skeletons begin to rise from their graves, until a fairy descended from the sky, trailing individual particles of fairy dust. The fairy used her magic, prompting the skeletons to collapse into individual bones. The bones all flew together to form a boss-like monster, and then... well, that's where the demo ended.

   Namco was up next, armed with a demo of their most famous series -- Tekken. Paul Phoenix and Jin Kazama battled on a dark city corner. No longer were the combatants alone, however, as a crowd of at least 20 people surrounded them, cheering for their favorite fighter. The Namco representatives moved the camera around to demonstrate the realistic scenery, then surprised the audience by having Paul and Jin actually fight! Perhaps an even greater surprise was that the entire demo, just like the other third-party ones, was put together in a mere three weeks.

   Namco's second demo concerned another one of their most popular series, Ridge Racer. The Ridge Racer mascot woman (the "Line Girl") was rendered in real-time, complete with moving hair, light-sourcing, and even distinct eye and facial movements.

   Then, of course, was perhaps Sony's biggest ally, Square, who had three different demos ready. The first was of the character Charles (the old man) from the Final Fantasy Movie. This Charles appeared identical to his cinematic alter ego, except he was being rendered in real-time by the PSX2's hardware. The demonstrator was even able (using a standard Dual Shock controller) to zoom in to show individual strands of hair, and tweak Charles's facial expressions.

   Square's second demo was another fighting game mock-up. Eight characters sat in a room playing cards, until a heated argument amongst them caused a fight to break out. After exchanging blows, the fighters head outside and battle outside at the brink of a huge waterfall, which once again was all generated by mathematical calculations.

   The final demo of all, Square's third, was probably the most stunning of all. While markedly different from the actual version, Square demonstrated a recreation of Final Fantasy VIII's ballroom dance scene, accompanied by the game's theme "Eyes On Me" sung by Faye Wong -- but whereas the sequence in the actual game was pre-rendered FMV, this one was rendered entirely on the fly by the PSX2's hardware. After letting the effect sink in, the Square representative began to add special effects, such as a motion blur effect and picture-within-a-picture shots. If there was one demo that truly demonstrated what the PlayStation 2 was capable of, this was it.

   Thanks goes to Eric Kolb for assistance.