Playstation 3 Showing Cancelled at Last Minute In Japan

Speculation confirmed as next-gen meeting pulled.

Posted by Staff
Playstation 3 Showing Cancelled at Last Minute In Japan
Reuters in Japan has confirmed speculation that the PlayStation 3 was slated to be shown in Japan during last month. However, the long-awaited first glimpse of what Sony Computer Entertainment was working on had to be pulled at the last minute.

SPOnG has known for some time that the PlayStation 3 showing was slated for March 2005, an event that had been pencilled in by SCE since the emergence of the PSP. As the date drew near, various publications ran confirmation or denials about such a meeting. One even edited its story which began as a flat out denial of the event to read absolute confirmation. Both quoted high-ranking Sony insiders. Go figure…

Anyway, according to Reuters, the simple explanation for the decision not to show PlayStation 3 last month is that there wasn’t any software to show and the device just wasn’t ready. Sony also sought to reassure the world’s press that there is no problem with the PlayStation 3 program. “There has been no delays (sic) with our next-generation console”, went the company statement. “We are now preparing for our showing at E3.”

However, there is some speculation that E3 will not see a full hardware showing as has been indicated by SCEI’s press office. Sony’s showing of the PSP at E3 caused shockwaves in Japan and was seen as something of a snub, especially in the Japanese specialist press. Some analysts consider it unlikely that this situation will arise again, with a pre-E3 conference in the East mooted as a possible debut for the hardware design.

As ever, we’ll keep you updated on this and all things next-generation, as they break. Let us know what you think here.
Companies:

Comments

westerhive5 30 Mar 2005 15:39
1/8
I vote that it's a lack of software to show, and also that they'd repeat the dual-shock controllers, which now.... they can't. That's what happens when you steal Sony.
neocarrillo 31 Mar 2005 05:37
2/8
I don't know about stealing but F*** immerson. They just want money off a technology that was made before they even thought about it. Why did they settle with the devil microsoft? i'll tell you why, cause they just want money which is what microsoft is made of. Come on rumble controler's have been around since nintendo 64 and dreamcast.
more comments below our sponsor's message
SPInGSPOnG 31 Mar 2005 12:27
3/8
neocarrillo wrote:
I don't know about stealing but F*** immerson. They just want money off a technology that was made before they even thought about it.


Yeah, f**k Immersion. Their heaters are energy inefficent, and take ages to warm up enough water for a bath.
fluffstardx 31 Mar 2005 12:45
4/8
Maybe they canned it to pull another "silent treatment" like they did in response to DC?

Or maybe it's something mundane, like they just can't decide what to put in the damn thing...
indecorium 2 Apr 2005 01:27
5/8
Sony may have stolen the joystick feedback concept but I doubt it was from Immersion. The first instance of tactile control feedback that I know of was utilized in the AVRO Arrow jetfighter designed in Canada starting in 1953.

It could reliably transmit the proportional strain, shake and flutter of complicated aileron, rudder and other flight controls to the "fly by wire" system in the pilots hands and feet. Just another example of claiming just because you did it with a computer you did it first. The patent office needs to get a grip on prior art and common sense.

Now if they stole the actual physical actuators or software controls then that is another story. But simply shaking a stick ain't nothin' new.
DoctorDee 2 Apr 2005 09:24
6/8
indecorium wrote:

It could reliably transmit the proportional strain, shake and flutter of complicated aileron, rudder and other flight controls to the "fly by wire" system in the pilots hands and feet.


Now, please excuse my ignorance, but I though fly by wire was a much more recent invention than that. I mean, clearly, I am wrong, because you speak very knowledgeably about the matter... but I am still surprised.

Maybe I'm confused because fly-by-wire was, I beleive, a recent and contravertial addition to commercial airliners.

Still, I'm guessing Immersion's case lies in the "doing it by computers" bit. What you are talking about is the transmission of real forces to a feedback controller, whereas, I'm guessing, Immersion is talking about the synthesis of such feedback forces.

What were these Immersion guys anyway? The name makes them sound like one of those "virtual reality" companies that used to promise us that real face-time meeting would be a thing of the past by the year 2000. And that no-one would actually go skiing or hang-gliding, but would experience it virually instead. I mean, I'm sure it'll come, but not soon.
indecorium 3 Apr 2005 07:12
7/8
Courtesy of a knowledge of history and Wikipedia

"Analog fly-by-wire FCS
The fly-by-wire FCS dispenses all the complexity of the mechanical circuit of the hydromechanical FCS and replaces it with an electrical circuit. The cockpit controls now operate signal transducers which generate the appropriate commands. The commands are processed by an electronic controller. The autopilot is now part of the electronic controller.

The hydraulic circuits are similar except that mechanical servo valves are replaced with electrically controlled servo valves which are operated by the electronic controller. This is the most elementary and the earliest configuration, the simple analog fly-by-wire FCS, first fitted to Avro Vulcan in the 1940's.

In this configuration, it is necessary to simulate "feel". The electronic controller provides feel signals to electrical feel devices that provide the appropriate "feel" forces on the controls. Presently this is used in EMBRAER 170, EMBRAER 190 and was used in the Concorde, the first fly-by-wire airliner.

On more sophisticated versions, analog computers are used in place of the electronic controller. The cancelled supersonic Canadian fighter, the Avro CF-105 Arrow, was built this way in the 1950's. Analog computers also allowed certain amount of customization of flight control chracteristics, inluding relaxed stability. This is exploited by the early versions of F-16, giving it impressive maneuverability."

Everything old is new again. Slap a chip on a wheelbarrow and apply for a patent. WAIT FOR YOUR CHANCE TO SUE.

kid_77 3 Apr 2005 09:18
8/8
indecorium wrote:
Everything old is new again. Slap a chip on a wheelbarrow and apply for a patent. WAIT FOR YOUR CHANCE TO SUE.


Now THAT is funny...
Posting of new comments is now locked for this page.