PS3: Router Functionality Dropped

[Borys]

In the latest PLAYSTATION 3 news comes a dissapointment that the console won't be able to work as a home network router. You can read about it at GamesIndustry.biz (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=10033).

The PlayStation 3 will no longer act as a home network router, according to Sony Computer Entertainment boss Ken Kutaragi, who has revealed that the functionality has been dropped because it would have been too expensive.

Speaking with Japanese publication Nikkei Electronics, Kutaragi said that the original specification for the PS3 would have allowed the system's three Gigabit Ethernet ports to be used as a home router.

Ruh-roh. Feature cutting has begun.

[Vandenh]

Another sign that Sony just added a lot of marketing-features just to impress the people at E3 and steal some cloud from the 360.

PS2.5 here we come. Next on the list will be BluRay...

[Cupelix]

Why would I have wanted it to do this? Unless it was going to be a wireless router, I would've had no use for this. I'm happy to see it hit the floor.

[Steve_Erhardt]

Bearing in mind I have little to no interest in the PS3, I really don't see this as a huge loss to the console. It would have been nice, I'm sure, but as features to be cut go... this is pretty sensible without actually putting a dent into what it's supposed to do in the first place. *shrug*

[mkelehan]

The average consumer can just go to CompUSA and get one for $10-20. People like us already have 2 lying around the house. No big loss.

[SaintArnold]

Why would I have wanted it to do this? Unless it was going to be a wireless router, I would've had no use for this. I'm happy to see it hit the floor.

Exactly. Who is going to have a mess of ethernet cords running from their entertainment center around the house? This is a feature that would be used by about 3 people of the millions that would buy the console. Sony is dumb for planning to do this in the first place.

[Goronmon]

If adding something as simple as router functionality is being cut for being too espensive, I can only imagine what else might be on the chopping block.

[Ernst_Jager]

Actually for someone with one computer this feature would have been nice. I hope they don't pull the usual though and nerf 50% of the 'claimed' features.

[EvilBob46]

Sony cutting an absolutely useless feature that is just going to unnecessarily drive up the cost of the console and is not included with any of the consoles from their competitors out of the box? Indeed, what a major disappointment. And feature cutting has in fact begun. Soon they're going to cut 4 of the 6 USB ports and replace the nVidia Geforce 6 equivalent graphics chip with a Riva TNT! You just watch. More reason for the Xbox squad to write more biased news articles that blow everything out of proportion to make themselves feel better about their own upcoming console purchase.

[Wonka]

Cutting this feature WAS a sensible move.

Announcing it when they obviously were not really finalized on their hardware specs was fairly a classic Sony move however... I wonder if any other features will be cut to save on costs before this thing ships? Is there anything else in there that was obviously just "extra", and which does not add a lot of benefit to a gaming unit? I seem to recall that there were a lot of things like that on the PS3, various extra ports and whatnot. I would predict that they would drop the dual video output, as that is almost certainly useless to most people (and would be unused by almost all games), but I doubt that this feature adds very much (if any) extra cost to the unit.

[RandomViolence]

Sony cutting an absolutely useless feature that is just going to unnecessarily drive up the cost of the console and is not included with any of the consoles from their competitors out of the box? Indeed, what a major disappointment. And feature cutting has in fact begun. Soon they're going to cut 4 of the 6 USB ports and replace the nVidia Geforce 6 equivalent graphics chip with a Riva TNT! You just watch. More reason for the Xbox squad to write more biased news articles that blow everything out of proportion to make themselves feel better about their own upcoming console purchase.

Do you see the title that Borys has??? 'Captain of the fucking Xbox Death Squad.' This isn't Microsoft fanboy-ism, you damn dolt.

[Borys]

Do you see the title that Borys has??? 'Captain of the fucking Xbox Death Squad.' This isn't Microsoft fanboy-ism, you damn dolt.

Hehe, maybe he is new here?

Anyway cutting a feature (any feature) is not a good (or welcome) sign no matter how you slice it.

Here's a list of features that Sony can cut in the future (before PS3 launch) and still deliver a kick-ass console equipped with Blu-Ray drive.

Ethernet HUB - (already gone)
Second HDMI output
2-4 USB ports
2 MC slots
Wi-Fi Basestation
HDD - (already gone :mad: )

[AspectVoid]

*shrug* Personally, I buy consoles to play games. As long as Sony doesn't come out and say "We've cut the game playing features from the PS3 because its too expensive" or perhaps "Do to the cost, the PS3 will be shipping with an NVidia TNT card as its primay graphics card" nothing they cut will effect me.

[Vandenh]

>nothing they cut will effect me

Dude, you already have to buy memory cards for your save games.

[doubtingthomas]

Does this mean that the PS3 won't be able to connect to a PC? So, if I have a bunch of Music/Video/Etc. stored on my PC, the PS3 won't be able to connect to it and send it to my TV/Surround Sound? And from what I can tell, the XBOX360 can?

[kokyunage]

Bory's hasn't been himself lately. My theory on it: His account has been captured by one of the many Xbox fanboys on this site. It's like one day his comments made a 180 degree turn.

[Vandenh]

>Does this mean that the PS3 won't be able to connect to a PC?

No it doesn't. This just means the PS3 will not be a router (a HUB to manage your connections in the house). Anyway.. connecting to a PC will not be so easy. In the case of 360 this integrates with some nifty MS software on the PC, in the case on Sony I don't think they will be able to do this, so they will have to include software of their own on PC. As a media HUB I don't think PS3 will be able to beat 360, but who knows...

>Bory's hasn't been himself lately.

It is hard to support feature cutting fud from Sony... even for Borys ;) I always thought he had some good points ;)

[Morratut]

LMAO :D

Yes it was a strange feature to add in the first place.It's still funny though how Sony is backing off already on the features.

Create the hype and then knock em down eh Sony?

Mmm what next? I reckon the second HDMI output. Followed by the Wi-Fi basestion :p

[AspectVoid]

>nothing they cut will effect me

Dude, you already have to buy memory cards for your save games.


Oh, and I don't for the Gamecube, PS2, PS1, PSP, etc? *shrug* Frankly, if I can afford to buy a $300 console and a $50 game or two to go with it, I damn well better be able to afford to buy a $15 memory card, wouldn't you think?

[Ernst_Jager]

*shrug* Personally, I buy consoles to play games. As long as Sony doesn't come out and say "We've cut the game playing features from the PS3 because its too expensive" or perhaps "Do to the cost, the PS3 will be shipping with an NVidia TNT card as its primay graphics card" nothing they cut will effect me.

I thought Ken said the PS3 isn't suppose to be a game machine?

[if76]

. I would predict that they would drop the dual video output, as that is almost certainly useless to most people (and would be unused by almost all games), but I doubt that this feature adds very much (if any) extra cost to the unit.


Oh yeah because who wants to have "system link" games with only one console and one copy of the game? What a shitty idea? I mean who wants to have a lan party in their own house without having to spend hundreds of extra dollars? It's jackasses like you that are making developers choose to go online-only with their multiplayer modes. Jackass.

[Groo]

It would be nice if all online consoles had some sort of pass through. That way, you could daisy chain your consoles, instead of having one huge mess of wires.

[mister_slim]

I hadn't even noticed this feature mentioned. Not really a loss. I might as well take this opportunity to complain about the 360 not being wireless ready out of the box, though.

[TheEpicOfTyler]

Oh noes!! I already have 2 routers!

[Kelegacy]

Another sign that Sony just added a lot of marketing-features just to impress the people at E3 and steal some cloud from the 360.

PS2.5 here we come. Next on the list will be BluRay...

I dont think that's fair. You might as well call the Xbox 360 an Xbox 1.5 then. Or maybe 1.7ish. Neither are bringing anything truly revolutionary to the table. MS has Live, but what else is truly new that will affect my gaming experience? Sony has Blu-Ray and the mystical Cell, but what does that truly mean for me? Both have wireless controllers....but wireless controllers have been around for many years.

They will play games. That's all i care about.

[jacktion]

It is true that cutting this feature all by itself does not amount to much. But it is indicative of the pattern of deceit that Sony has perpetrated again and again.
Sony regularly announces unrealistic products and starts a campaign of lies and propoganda in order to generate hype. Unfortunately, people have no memory or they'd realize that this happens again and again and take action against it by not buying the inferior products made by Sony.

Sony's M.O.

1. Announce insane new product that will cure AIDS and transform into a flying car!!!1
2. Slowly cut feature after feature to make a realistic product.
3. Release a shoddily made overpriced product that disappoints customers but is devoured by greedy fanboys.
4. Repeat as desired.

[Kelegacy]

I hadn't even noticed this feature mentioned. Not really a loss. I might as well take this opportunity to complain about the 360 not being wireless ready out of the box, though.

I'm wondering how "moddable" the new Xbox will be. The first one was extremely hackable, but I wonder how long it will be before the 360 is cracked. Blu-Ray will make it potentially harder because of the expensive media and burners. But the Xbox360 uses standard DVDs. If you own a Dual Layer burner, you're almost in the money. Not that i condone such things.

And i hate the Xbox360 name. It's even too irritating to type. I think i'm going to call it "Xtwat" instead. I quiver in silent rage when i see that horrible name.

[H.M._Murdock]

Next to be dropped- Kutaragi's balls.

[mister_slim]

1. Announce insane new product that will cure AIDS and transform into a flying car!!!1

The PS2 will do this, actually. You just need 2 PS2s and two PSTwos attached to a single PS3, which acts as a router. Sony is taking steps to ensure our safety by disabling router functioning in the PS3.

[Kelegacy]

It is true that cutting this feature all by itself does not amount to much. But it is indicative of the pattern of deceit that Sony has perpetrated again and again.
Sony regularly announces unrealistic products and starts a campaign of lies and propoganda in order to generate hype. Unfortunately, people have no memory or they'd realize that this happens again and again and take action against it by not buying the inferior products made by Sony.

Sony's M.O.

1. Announce insane new product that will cure AIDS and transform into a flying car!!!1
2. Slowly cut feature after feature to make a realistic product.
3. Release a shoddily made overpriced product that disappoints customers but is devoured by greedy fanboys.
4. Repeat as desired.

Let all of Evil Avatar chant this so we can get it over with:

SONY IS EVIL, SONY IS BAD. SONY LIED TO ME, SONY MADE ME SAD.
FIGHT THE EVIL CORPORATIONS!!

You would have thought I'd be jaded to this retarded hatred by now. But i'm not.

[Vandenh]

>>PS2.5 here we come. Next on the list will be BluRay...

>I dont think that's fair.

That was just a joke because Sony people called 360 the XBox 1.5. Next time I will add a smiley :)

[bobbler]

At the PS3 announcement it was claimed to be a switch/hub. How is this news?

It was never officialy supposed to be a router, folks.

A router is a lot more complex than a switch or a hub. The three ports aren't what is supposedly being "cut", its the fact that the three ports won't act as a router (which most people who have a broadband internet connection already have) -- it never was supposed to be a router to begin with, it was supposition because there were 3 ports (kutaragi is just confirming the fact that it won't be a router, because it would be too expensive and pointless).

I'm not really sure what the big deal is.

[KNOTE]

I just hope they don't cut "video aging"

[Deadend]

I just hope they don't cut "video aging"

I so want that, just to know what it does.

Oh, and whoever was talking about 2 screens 1 console... do you honestly think ANYONE would make a game that uses that?

It has way too many technical problems, like how either you drop detail majorly for 2 screens, or it looks like piss normaly.

You will NOT see Killzone 2/3 looking like the video that was made, espically on 2 screens.

The 2 HDMI outs if they will still be there, will not be used by games.

[Chandler]

At the PS3 announcement it was claimed to be a switch/hub. How is this news?

It was never officialy supposed to be a router, folks.

A router is a lot more complex than a switch or a hub. The three ports aren't what is supposedly being "cut", its the fact that the three ports won't act as a router (which most people who have a broadband internet connection already have) -- it never was supposed to be a router to begin with, it was supposition because there were 3 ports (kutaragi is just confirming the fact that it won't be a router, because it would be too expensive and pointless).

I'm not really sure what the big deal is.

True, whether or not the ports are cut is up in question.

It is quite hard to make a compatible router these days, my dlink didnt work with some websites, my microsoft didnt connect with my linksys wifi card, my linksys router has been flawless so far...though my friend has problems with it. blah!

So hopefully the ports are still there for me to connect my xbox360 to. And the whole idea of connecting PS3's like a supercomputer makes more sense if they are connected by gigabit.

[Leaving Hope]

I'm wondering how "moddable" the new Xbox will be. The first one was extremely hackable, but I wonder how long it will be before the 360 is cracked.

I'm sure Microsoft learned a great deal from the first generation XBox, so the 360 may have been built from the ground up to limit modifications. However, anything is possible, and I'm sure the Xecuter group and others will do their best to develop a modding solution for this Xbox, too--even if it's harder this time around.

Microsoft has lost money on games because of piracy made possible by modchips, but with users being able to boot unsigned code I'm certain they've sold more hardware. I don't tend to pirate games, but I do regularly stream video from our file server to our 3 Xboxes around the house. Those are 3 consoles that I wouldn't have purchased if they weren't modifiable. It's a shame that Microsoft takes a loss on the hardware they make, or they'd have made some money on me. Now that the next Xbox might be able to stream media, I may not have to mod the 360 (assuming it supports XVid, H.264, and other codecs besides WMV. :)).

As far as I know, with the current XBox, you can't mod your machine and go on Live. That will almost certainly be the case with the 360. And since the 360 will be so heavily Live based--always on, and partially free out of the box--those who rely on modchips might be in for a disappointment.

[Furious Wang]

Sony fanboys:

The point here is that Sony announced a feature then cut it just a few months later. While not an important feature to many, it is still a cut feature and it certainly won't be the last cut feature.

I wonder what's next? Maybe something that you think *is* an important feature.

[Leaving Hope]

The 2 HDMI outs if they will still be there, will not be used by games.
The best response I can give you, Deadend, is to refer you to this article (http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xbox360_inside.asp) on Paul Thurrott's website. I think you're right; most people won't use the 2 HDMI outs, if they do stay.

Paul: Not to get completely off topic, but there are a couple of things from E3 I'd like to cover. One of them is that Sony talked about 1080p, and there was sort of an ... issue ... there about whether that was even real or not.

Jeff: The total number of 1080p-capable TVs on the planet today is ... zero. There are none. Sony has got a dual ... I want to make sure I say this right, because it's science fiction. They had dual HDMI outputs off the back of the console. And I think that there's some theory that you could take dual 1080i signals and interlace them together to have a progressively rendered scene. But again, there are no TVs that actually support this. I think most people are going to actually take one of the HDMI outputs and just feed it out at 1080i.

[Heretic Machine]

This is just a warm up. Wait until a real feature gets cut (I'm guessing it'll happen in a few weeks, up to maybe a couple of months), then everyone is going to be bitching. Should make a fun couple of topics.

[Dirty Harry]

I think personally sony will have the best foothold in this console race. While xbox and gamecube are great consoles their next generations are just merely improvements. Sony on the other hand has the ps2, which is about as old as this computer i am on, maybe a year older. Anyways, sony is the one that will see the most improvement in their console while the xbox will see noticeable upgrades but nothing that the single console owning sony user will experience.


Another way to say it, it will be like chirstmas for sony fan boys who only own a ps2, because they will finally be able to experience way good graphics.

[TrackZero]

I'm confused. Why would I want a PS3 to be a router in the first place?

[Achilles]

The PlayStation 3 will no longer act as a home network router, according to Sony Computer Entertainment boss Ken Kutaragi, who has revealed that the functionality has been dropped because it would have been too expensive.Seems reasonable to me, it’ll allow them to cut out some of the useless ports they’ve got on there. I expect more of this in the future as Sony tries to bring their console down to a place where it can be sold for $300 instead of $400 or $500. It was lame that they over promised at E3 in order to steal the 360’s thunder though. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they didn’t do a cost analysis on all these features till after E3, otherwise they’re just a pack of liars.

[bobbler]

Sony fanboys:

The point here is that Sony announced a feature then cut it just a few months later. While not an important feature to many, it is still a cut feature and it certainly won't be the last cut feature.

I wonder what's next? Maybe something that you think *is* an important feature.

Except the problem is... It was never officially announced to be a router in the first place. It was a hub/switch from the get go.

Kutaragi was confirming the false supposition that it was a router (saying that would be too expensive and not necessary), and people took it as cutting a feature.

[51|RandoM]

Cool, we've suddenly pre-empted all of the "my console is a router, it must be better than your silly toy console" threads.

[Kelegacy]

What else COULD they cut, really? I dont think there is anything on there that would hurt my feelings if it was cut. Of course, if Blu-Ray was taken out i might be a bit mad. I mean, this is supposed to be Sony's biggest feature and one they've fought tooth and nail to get implemented. Still, what could they take out that would bother any of us? They've already eliminated the hope of a standard HDD...and that was the only thing I truly wanted.

[bobbler]

I just listened to introductory part of the PS3 press conference again to make sure I wasn't just insane.

Kutaragi explicitly says "to meet higher bandwidth for the next generation, PS3 will have a built-in gigabit ethernet port with two port switching hub". The router nonsense was all rumors from people and poor game journalism. Now all of a sudden a feature that was never part of PS3 to begin with gets cut and PS3 is going down the drain...

[Kelegacy]

Ut oh. I just saw on Sony's site that they have cut the "Play"
and "3" out of Playstation 3. Now we're just stuck with Station. Goddamn it. First Sony eats my children and now this.

[Zanzibar]

Except the problem is... It was never officially announced to be a router in the first place. It was a hub/switch from the get go.

Kutaragi was confirming the false supposition that it was a router (saying that would be too expensive and not necessary), and people took it as cutting a feature.

Sorry, try again:
Speaking with Japanese publication Nikkei Electronics, Kutaragi said that the original specification for the PS3 would have allowed the system's three Gigabit Ethernet ports to be used as a home router.

However, this functionality has now been dropped since it would have made the console cost too much to manufacture, he admitted - and Sony now expects that users will continue to use their existing router hardware, which is becoming more commonplace in households with broadband internet connections.

Are you now playing spin-man for Kutaragi, like Rove is for Bush?

[Kelegacy]

Which is practical. Routers are so commonplace that you wouldnt necessarily need one as a console. It looks like they weighed their options and dropped an unnecessary feature. Whoopty fucking doo. I'm trying not to spin this, but come on: does anyone really give a shit? The only people in this thread that seem to care are the Xbox loyalists that enjoy spouting doom theories.

I enjoy Sony, but I'm not a fanboy. But talk of routers and gigabits and ethernets all sound too much like a PC for me. Console=games. Give them to me and spare me the fluff.

[Zanzibar]

I just listened to introductory part of the PS3 press conference again to make sure I wasn't just insane.

Kutaragi explicitly says "to meet higher bandwidth for the next generation, PS3 will have a built-in gigabit ethernet port with two port switching hub". The router nonsense was all rumors from people and poor game journalism. Now all of a sudden a feature that was never part of PS3 to begin with gets cut and PS3 is going down the drain...

Read what I wrote above. I could give a rat's ass about the router business, but I hate Ken Kutaragi apologists. "He said it, but he really didn't MEAN to say it that way."

[bobbler]

Sorry, try again:


Are you now playing spin-man for Kutaragi, like Rove is for Bush?


So, essentially however Nikkei feels like spinning it is how it is? Notice they don't use a quote? How is my showing quotes from Sony spinning it when all this story has for it is a second hand telling of it? Wake up a bit.

Learn a bit about journalism before you try to discredit me, also. There is a reason that second hand tellings are used over quotes in some cases. I'll take my quote from Kutaragi himself saying it is a switch over what Nikkei claims kutaragi says -- any rational person would too. I'd love for you or anyone else to find a place where Sony/Kutaragi says it is a router -- a quote, not a "xxx magazine says kutaragi says it is a router!". That doesn't fly as proof anywhere. That is akin to the "my-sister's-boyfriend's-cousin works at Sony and told me it" thing that you hear on forums. Just because Nikkei is a magazine doesn't mean they don't spin stuff in the name of sensational journalism.

[bobbler]

You can hate Kutaragi all you want Zanzibar, but it doesn't mean that this story holds any water. It is poor journalism at its best here.

There is a reason game journalists are still not considered journalists by most. Nobody checks their fucking facts before they post shit. People assume because its written by someone else it must be true.

This is how the situation goes:

Nikkei assumes that the router rumor was true (maybe even only for this article to make some headlines, which it has, obviously) -- not bothering to check their facts. They get it from Kutaragi that there is no router in the PS3 because it isn't of use and it would be expensive. All of a sudden this means that the rumor is true, when all he was doing was confirming the rumor wasn't true. A "feature" has then been cut, which anyone with half a sense of mind could find out it was never a feature to begin with.

it is sloppy and slanderous.

[Stryfe01]

Sony cutting an absolutely useless feature that is just going to unnecessarily drive up the cost of the console and is not included with any of the consoles from their competitors out of the box? Indeed, what a major disappointment. And feature cutting has in fact begun. Soon they're going to cut 4 of the 6 USB ports and replace the nVidia Geforce 6 equivalent graphics chip with a Riva TNT! You just watch. More reason for the Xbox squad to write more biased news articles that blow everything out of proportion to make themselves feel better about their own upcoming console purchase.

Who pissed in your coffee ? :p

[Zanzibar]

Pretty big hole you're digging yourself there, Bobbler - Nikkei Electronics is *THE* top business mag in Japan. This isn't some second-rate website doing the interview. There aren't quotes because this info hasn't been translated directly from the article yet; it's a summary. If it turns out Ken is QUOTED to back up the summary of this claim, what will you say then?

Do you have info that the PS3 specifically WASN'T going to be a router? Because this summary claims that it was in Sony's original specs, and it looks to me like Kutaragi confirmed it as such.

[bobbler]

Why yes I do, Zanzibar, thank you for asking:

Q. Gigabit Ethernet connectors are listed as In x 1 + Out x 2, what does it mean? Does it have router function and are they for WAN/LAN? Or do you use a special connection to connect multiple PS3s together?

A. It has no router function. It's supposed to be a switching hub internally, but I don't know about the meaning of In/Out frankly so will answer about it at the next opportunity. Of course you can connect PS3s together. After it's on sale, some will make a supercomputer by connecting many PS3s. Apparently Sony Picture Entertainment is considering to use PS3 in a rendering farm for movies.

Taken from an interview Masayuki "Masa" Chatani, SCEI CTO. This was around E3 time.

Nikkei is the one who dug themselves into a hole -- I usually don't say stuff unless I have proof to back it up -- unlike Nikkei, it seems.

[Zanzibar]

Why yes I do, Zanzibar, thank you for asking:



Taken from an interview Masayuki "Masa" Chatani, SCEI CTO. This was around E3 time.

Nikkei is the one who dug themselves into a hole -- I usually don't say stuff unless I have proof to back it up -- unlike Nikkei, it seems.

Well, that's fair enough. But I'm still curious as to whether Kutaragi actually made reference to the router as original spec. It's also possible that BOTH statements are true; that originally (before E3) it was spec'd out to be a router, and by the time E3 came around they decided not to. Thus the Nikkei article could be accurate at the same time that this Masa guy is also accurate.

I would doubt that this is sloppy journalism. It's a pretty firm, unambiguous statement that would be a colossal blunder if it weren't true.

[Chandler]

whats odd though is if indeed it was a router, would that mean the Ps3 would be on all the time? :/ ...and then let medical scientists use all the unused PS3s for processing power =)?

[Mason]

Here's the problem, though. Why would they have considered this a useful feature in the first place? Of course it was a sensible thing to cut, but what silly whim put it in the original design?

People are right to be concerned by this, as it indicates that Sony didn't really take their original specs seriously, and bloated it without concern for functionality or economics. If they're just now working out the cost/benefit analysis on something this useless, it means they're pretty far behind in finalizing the features and pricing of the PS3. Which means the potential for more feature cuts and price surprises.

And of course, Sony will wait as long as it can before announcing the cut of major features, so we won't really have any idea what the final console will be like for quite some time. Hopefully they can cram in most of what they promised.

[bobbler]

Well, coming out with news like that is sloppy journalism -- it is trying to pique interest by stating things that aren't entirely true (even if the spec was changed at some point). They are trying to claim (mostly other sites now, 1up, gi.biz, toms hardware, etc, etc) the Router was a spec that was official and we should feel shorted by its non existance. When in reality the PS3 that the consumer was told it would get has not changed.

But like you said, It is possible that at one point the router was going to be in it, but the consumer was never told it would be. So it isn't exactly a feature cut -- because the feature wasn't there in the version of the PS3 we were told we'd get.

[Zeal]

This feature really isn't needed in the first place, anyway. Typically, someone would just use a router before the PS3.

[Mason]

So there are three scenarios here.

1) The PS3 was originally an ethernet router, but now they've downgraded it to a hub or nothing.
2) The PS3 was originally a hub, it was misreported/speculated as a router, and now they're correcting everyone.
3) The PS3 was originally a hub, and it is losing that functionality, and everyone is misusing the term "router" altogether.

Insight?

[bobbler]

well it depends on what originally means. Originally as in the first incarnation that Ken and pals put together? Or original as in what we were told we'd get with the PS3?

Regardless, I think it is probably close to #2 in the context of what we have been told by all these "news" sites -- except it is a switch (not just a hub).

[Achilles]

There is a reason game journalists are still not considered journalists by most. Nobody checks their fucking facts before they post shit. People assume because its written by someone else it must be true.I find that true of most internet journalism actually.

It looks like this whole thing was a feature that was never intended in the first place. Some times rumors take on a life of their own, like the whole 'free Revolution downloads' rumor. Now that that’s out of the way I’ll resume asking them to cut some of the useless features from their design unless they intend to ship what they’ve got for $300.

[Cyrano]

It sounds like either Nikkei or GamesIndustry.biz doesn't know the difference between a router and a hub:

"The news that the system was intended for use as a router or hub was first revealed at E3, when Sony's Phil Harrison told GamesIndustry.biz that 'it can be a hub, rather than just being a terminal at the end of a network.'"

Well, what was it intended for use as, a router or a hub?

As for what a built-in router would be used for, my sister had to buy a router just to hook up to Xbox live. I would guess there would be a few other people with one computer and a game console who would appreciate not having to buy a router. Not really a big deal, though. They're cheap. Plus, Sony doesn't have a plan for online anyway, so who really cares.

[Kelegacy]

I find that true of most internet journalism actually.

It looks like this whole thing was a feature that was never intended in the first place. Some times rumors take on a life of their own, like the whole 'free Revolution downloads' rumor. Now that that’s out of the way I’ll resume asking them to cut some of the useless features from their design unless they intend to ship what they’ve got for $300.

Yeah, most online news is put out there to beat competitors. They dont even bother checking if it's true. On the internet, faster is better...but also dumber. Like a really hot chick you fuck at a party...and then when you wake up and she she actually TALKS, you realize what a fucking retard she is.

[Kelegacy]

It sounds like either Nikkei or GamesIndustry.biz doesn't know the difference between a router and a hub:

"The news that the system was intended for use as a router or hub was first revealed at E3, when Sony's Phil Harrison told GamesIndustry.biz that 'it can be a hub, rather than just being a terminal at the end of a network.'"

Well, what was it intended for use as, a router or a hub?

As for what a built-in router would be used for, my sister had to buy a router just to hook up to Xbox live. I would guess there would be a few other people with one computer and a game console who would appreciate not having to buy a router. Not really a big deal, though. They're cheap. Plus, Sony doesn't have a plan for online anyway, so who really cares.

They'd better have a frigging online plan. If they think that name brand alone will win them a 3rd successful generation, they're destined for castration. I hope they change some gameplans so they can compete better with MS.

[Twigz'N'Berries]

I hadn't even noticed this feature mentioned. Not really a loss. I might as well take this opportunity to complain about the 360 not being wireless ready out of the box, though.

*shrugs shoulders*
Unplug your wireless router into the back of your xbox...place into xbox360. Problem solved for me.

[Chris_D]

I'll put my money on cutting the 2 x HD outputs back to the usual 1. Cool idea though.

[Twigz'N'Berries]

Let's be honest about one thing...PS3 is exponentially more important to Sony than the Xbox360 is to Microsoft. Sony needs to make the PS3 work for several reasons. Sony is using the PS3 to sell numerous Sony products...from Blu-Ray to "the Cell Chip" (which is actually a collaboration) and Memory Sticks.The PS2 has been a "savior" for the amount of money it has contributed into the coffers of Sony. Sony has seen a slight recession and their profits have been weaker of late. Some of their divisions have not been succesful the past few years. The PS2 has incredible market saturation...which is why the Xbox was able to outsell it of late. It is hard to keep selling PS2s when nearly everyone who buys a videogame system owns one.

Sony is not going to screw up the PS3. The extra features Sony promised were most likely intended to steal the thunder from the 360 launch...and guess what, it worked. Sony's phantom system with smoke and mirrors tricked the average, casual gamer into saving their dough and buying a PS3 when it comes out. The casual gamer (who even saw the E3 footage) probably doesn't know about the "faked footage". Hell, the finalized PS3 hasn't even been decided. They sold people on a 2.4 GHZ "Cell processor" and a few high end graphics cards. They could have also added the special George Foreman Grill feature and the teleporter...and for the Spring launch, ha! If you believe that, I have some ocean front property in Montana I would like to sell you.

Sony promised a lot of things during E3. They are quietly scaling back on those promises. But does it really matter? Nope. Most people have made up their minds on what system(s) they are going to buy already. The uncertain factor is how many people will buy both. That is where MS will gain subscribers.

MS fanboys can rejoice at every piece of the PS3 that is removed. But they have to realize that the amount of people that care (or even know) that the piece has been removed is small. Sony is lowering the cost of their system incrementally and will be closer to the price point of the 360 w/every piece removed. But Sony will not be so stupid as to destroy the system so it is unmarketable. MS is a great software company...they are becoming a good gaming company. But the student isn't snatching the pebble out of the masters hand anytime soon.

"PS3 will be one of the baddest mutha-f_ckas of all time..." Rick James

[Twigz'N'Berries]

I'll put my money on cutting the 2 x HD outputs back to the usual 1. Cool idea though.

LOL, I don't know many people with two HD TVs that will take advantage of this...plus, those tvs would need to be the same size to take advantage of the 32:9 functionality.

To me, that feature is destined to be cut. It can go alongside the George Froeman Grill built in and the home ATM feature. :D

[Achilles]

LOL, I don't know many people with two HD TVs that will take advantage of this...plus, those tvs would need to be the same size to take advantage of the 32:9 functionality.Not only that but the developers would need to spend extra time programming the game to support the 32:9 for the 30 people on earth that own 2 HDTVs and have them right next to each other (mad scientists or super heroes for example). It wouldn't be worth it since nobody would see that feature, so as a result even if they do leave the 2 DVI ports in, no game will use them. If there were 3 ports GT would probably support it for their surround view which they put in their game anyway. Assuming they could support 3x the HD fill rate off of one machine, which I doubt they could.