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PlayStation 2 Lands With a Splash 

Sony made official PSX2 today with stunning demos, mind-blowing specs, and backward
compatibility. 

March 01, 1999 
 

From Tokyo, Japan today, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. unveiled to the world the most powerful game console to date, a 128-bit backward-compatible, DVD-based machine currently called the PlayStation 2. 

 Sony brought in journalists and developers from across the globe to reveal its Dreamcast-killer, and demonstrated the unit, several key demos (including Tekken 4, the ballroom dance from Final Fantasy, the R4 girl, Crash in a chase), and spoke about the machine's possibilities and th  company's hopes for it. An IGNPSX reporter was there to see it all. According to our correspondent, everyone around the conference room crowd was uniformly stunned by what it saw and the new paradigm that Sony's new machine is aimed at creating for the videogame industry. 

 Monster Polygons 
The specs to the "PlayStation 2" are even higher than previously believed. While the unit can process up to 75 million polygons per second – that's right, 75, not 60 million as previously believed – with all effects turned on, the unit can render an amazing 20 million polygons per second. That's 17 million polygons per second more than Sega's Dreamcast (which, with all effects turned on, produces 3 million polygons per second). Wow. Also, according to our correspondent, the game actually animates at 60 frames per second, so though it can't produce these frames that fast, it is smart enough to automatically apply motion blurring to each frame. 

Backward Compatibility 
The system showed is backward compatible, thanks to the central chip and the system design, which interfaces with the DVDs and CDs exactly the same way the PlayStation does. Also, while it wasn't made clear just yet, there doesn't appear to be any sort of graphic enhancements to PlayStation games when you play them on the new system, which is contrary to previous
information. How many controller ports does it have? Nothing has been confirmed yet, but according to our sources, the machine is backward compatible and works with current peripherals, thus it may be a two-player system. Again, Sony has made nothing official, so exact details are not available just yet. 

 Official Release Dates 
Sony announced its launch dates to the excited group, and the dates appeared almost exactly what we had suspected. At the small but well represented conference, in which top designers and executives from Konami, Namco, Naughty Dog, Square, and other strong developers attended, Sony announced that it would release the PlayStation 2 in Japan this next winter. Prior news
about the system's release date in March 2000 has been corrected, and was meant to read sometime between this December 1999 and March 2000. 

The North American release date is officially in fall 2000. Again, IGNPSX suspects that Sony will synchronize its PlayStation 2 dates with the original PlayStation dates (which were December 1994 in Japan, and September 1995 in the North America). 

 No Word on Price 
At the conference, no official word was mentioned about the PSX2's price. However, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun mistranslated the price of 100,000 yen (about $840), and reported today that "the price has yet to be announced, but an official at a Japanese software maker estimates it will be 50,000 yen (about $420) or less, given the 15,000 yen price of PlayStation." 

 The Demos (Tekken 4, FFVIII, Crash, Square fighting game, and more) 
But while all of the talk was exciting, the real heart of the conference was the demonstrations, which told the story better than words could even attempt. While at least 10 different demos were shown, the most amazing fact was that none of the developers had their dev kits for more than a week and the demos were remarkable. (It was also confirmed that while a few key developers already have kits, most Japanese developers will not receive Version 1 Development Kits until this spring or summer.) 

 From a duck paddling in water, to a lake surface in the mountains, each boasting superb water physics, to firecrackers exploding in the night sky, and a young woman and an old man, which conveyed the subtlety of facial emotions, all rendered in realtime, the demos impressed. 

The Final Fantasy VIII ballroom scene, which appears on the PlayStation in fully prerendered scenes, was shown in full realtime polygonal form, duplicating the original's clean fluid movement and wonder. Namco demoed the R4 girl, as well as what appeared to be the most impressive demo of them all, the Tekken demo. While the fighting that was shown appeared right out
of Tekken 3, this demo looks to be the initial work from Tekken 4. Gran Turismo, a Square fighting game, and a demo including Crash Bandicoot  also appeared at the conference. 

Hardware Assistance 
Sony is currently enlisting people to develop "development systems" for its new console. These companies are being referred to as "middle ware," and include, but are not limited to, WaveFront, Angel Studios, MetroWerks, SoftImage, and AutoDesk. 

The president of Sony Corporation showed up for the presentation, and in doing so, surprised everyone. He never shows up for anything, which brings home the importance of this press conference. 

Check our other two stories, "Demos to Die for," and "The Heart of the PlayStation 2" for go into full detail about the several demos shown, and the full spec sheet and the PlayStation's real capabilities, respectively. 
 

The Heart of the PlayStation 2 

The official specs of Sony's next console, and what they mean for the gamer. 

March 01, 1999 
 

You want power, you're going to get power. Sony has unleashed the floodgates of its next console, and brother, it's more powerful than you've ever dreamed possible. And we're not just saying that, either. 

 From the official release issued by Sony Computer Entertainment, here are the official system technical specifications. 

 CPU: 128 Bit "Emotion Engine" 
 

  System Clock: 300 MHz 
  System Memory: 32 MB Direct Rambus 
  Memory Bus Bandwidth: 3.2 GB per second 
  Co-Processor: FPU (Floating Point Multiply Accumulator x 1, Floating Point Divider x 1) 
  Vector Units: VU0 and VU1 (Floating Point Multiply Accumulator x 9, Floating Point Divider x 1) 
  Floating Point Performance: 6.2 GFLOPS 
  3D CG Geometric Transformation: 66 million Polygons Per Second 
  Compressed Image Decoder: MPEG2 
 
 
 

 Graphics: "Graphics Synthesizer" 
 

  Clock Frequency: 150MHz 
  DRAM Bus bandwidth: 48 GB Per Second 
  DRAM Bus width: 256 bits 
  Pixel Configuration: RGB:Alpha:Z Buffer (24:8:32) 
  Maximum Polygon Rate: 75 Million Polygons Per Second 
 
 
 
 
 

 Sound: "SPU2+CPU" 
 

  Number of voices: ADPCM: 48 channel on SPU2 plus definable by software 
  Sampling Frequency: 44.1 KHz or 48 KHz (selectable) 
 
 
 
 
 

 I/O Processor 
 

  CPU Core: Current PlayStation CPU 
  Clock Frequency: 33.8 MHz or 37.5 MHz (selectable) 
  Sub Bus: 32 Bit 
  Interface Types: IEEE1394, Universal Serial Bus (USB) 
  Communication via PC-Card PCMCIA 
 
 
 
 
 

 Disc Media: DVD-ROM (CDROM compatible) 
 
 

So how does this all break down to real-world, gameplay power? 

 The main CPU, in combination with the graphics synthesizer, has enough power to equal or rival some of the power of workstations being employed at CG development studios. With the amount of polygons and textures that the system can crank out a second with all of the system's effects in place, we could see worlds that could equal what was in use in the movie Toy Story. While the maximum number of polygons the system can generate is 75 million polys a second (66 million a second to be on the cautious side), obviously that number will drop dramatically when you throw textures, lighting, and filtering into the mix. Still, with everything turned on, the system can generate 20 million polygons a second. And that, my friends, is no slouch. This number rivals VooDoo 3 (9 million) and Dreamcast (6 million), so expect some serious graphics prowess when the next
PlayStation is launched. 

 What Sony intends to push about the next system is the consoles ability to make 3D objects look and feel more real, with a technique called "Emotion Synthesis." With the system's power, developers can employ realistic motion in characters' hair and clothing in real-time, as well as how objects react to real-world elements such as gravity, friction, mass – as well as how they
react against surfaces such as water, wood, metal, and gas. This may seem very ambitious for a game system, and it's completely up to the talents and development time of the individual developers. But if companies plan to develop for the next PlayStation system, they've got a whole new world to utilize. 

 The CPU also has MPEG2 decompression built-in, which gives the system the ability to decode MPEG2 data on the fly. Granted, it will assist in the quality of Full Motion Video sequences – like those seen in Final Fantasy VII – but it also allows developers to compress its texture set using the powerful compression ratio that MPEG2 offers. 

On the same line of thought, the console will also have a DVD-ROM drive. It hasn't been announced whether or not the console will be able to play DVD movies, but it's not out of the question. Currently, the first games for the console will be on normal 650 megabyte CD-ROMs, and Sony will continue to use them until a specific game deems it necessary to use the massive storage of a 4.7 Gig DVD disc. 

The audio chip in the console will have the ability to utilize digital enhancements for games, including AC-3 and DTS that are used in current DVD players. These enhancements, when coupled with a receiver, will give true directional surround sound from five different speakers – that is, of course, if the gamer has the setup. 

 And thanks to the new system's standard I/O CPU, it will be 100% compatible with all existing PlayStation games. The I/O unit is essentially the PlayStation's CPU, and since the system can utilize standard CDs, every game made for Sony's first game system will play on its next generation unit. It isn't clear if the system will enhance existing games -- signs point to no, but don't count this out as a last-minute feature. 

 The system will also include a USB port that will enable gamers to hook up keyboards, digital cameras, and other devices. 

It will also be completely compatible with the HDTV standard, but games will run at a standard resolution of 640x480 out of the gate. It is unclear if the system will have built-in 16:9 modes for televisions with that aspect ratio, but since some PlayStation and N64 games include this feature, it's almost a definite. 

 To paraphrase a competing company's slogan: welcome to the next level. 
 

Demos to Die For 

Square, Namco, and Sony flaunt PlayStation 2's power in Tokyo. (Screens Included) 

March 01, 1999 
 

PlayStation 2 may be mind-boggling enough from a mathematics standpoint, but its white paper specifications can't truly be put into perspective until you see what they can spit out in the real world. And that's exactly what we saw at today's unveiling of the hardware in Tokyo. 

 Sony Computer Entertainment's hardware wizard, Ken "Father of PlayStation" Kutaragi introduced a number of technical demos produced by Square, Namco, and Sony itself, all running in real-time on prototype hardware. On an important note, Sony was quick to stress that most developers did not receive the kits necessary to create these demos until a week ago. Here's
a breakdown of what was shown: 
 
 

     Tekken Demo – One of Namco's two demonstration pieces was arguably the most impressive rolled-out at the event,      and could foreshadow a future Tekken title for PlayStation's successor. Set in a fully realized, futuristic city environment      at nighttime, the demo showed a fighting locale illuminated by car headlights in which Tekken characters Paul Phoenix and Jin Kazama were duking it out. Both characters appeared nearly photo-realistic, as did their surroundings. But that   wasn't the most impressive part – surrounding them were roughly 30 other characters, all just as detailed, going through all sorts of animations while the fight waged on. This demonstration was utilizing the Tekken 3 fighting engine, and its presenters (who, by the way, were actually playing the game) hinted heavily at it being a possible glimpse at Tekken 4. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Ridge Racer Girl – Namco's second demo was a real-time recreation of the head of its R4: Ridge Racer Type 4  mascot girl. The detail here was phenomenal, looking as good, if not better, than she did in the game's introduction. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Square Fighting Game – Square's gameplay showcase came in the form of a fighting game which featured four or five characters fighting within a town. During one segment a character got knocked through a fence to illustrate background  interaction. No word on whether this will become a actual product. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Emotion Demo – Square used the head of its "old man" character from Final Fantasy: The Movie to illustrate the  Emotion Engine's incredible ability to manipulate facial features in real-time. The man looked exactly as he does in the  film, right down to the wrinkles, as he frowned and smiled. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Final Fantasy VIII CG – One of the most stunning demos shown was Square's real-time rendering on the ballroom  scene from Final Fantasy VIII. The sequence appeared just as it did in the game, with no visible polygons or slowdown. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Gran Turismo – In this rather straight-forward demonstration, Polyphony Digital has ported over the code from the  original Gran Turismo, upping the texture resolution considerably, resulting in an almost photo-realistic racer. This was  shown to illustrate the ease of moving PlayStation code onto PlayStation 2 with considerable enhancements. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Crash Bandicoot – This was only a tech demo, prepped in time for the event. An exquisitely-detailed Crash Bandicoot  ran around the screen chased by penguins. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     Sony Tech Demos – Sony itself presented a variety of simplistic, yet still highly impressive technical demos created to  illustrate the system's incredible physics re-creation abilities. The first of these was a duck sitting in still water. As more  water was added, its surface rippled, causing the duck to bob about. Next came a lake surrounded by realistic mountain  ranges which was manipulated to alter its surface and translucency. At one point, the camera was rotated to reveal     hundreds of fish swimming beneath the surface. The system's particle effects capabilities were demonstrated by a lit  firecracker that cast its sparks into the air and onto the ground below, where they bounced and fizzled out. The final three  demos snippets showed a intricate fractal fern, hundreds of feather displaced by wind, and a bushel of "fuzzy puffs," each  featuring hundreds of hairs that bristled in the digital breeze.