Rumor control: No plans for PS3 downgrade
by Adams Briscoe 
{ Jun 16th 2006 at 1:00PM }
You know the drill. First it starts out from an "anonymous inside source" then it gets construed until the cows come home. That's about how the whole rumor concerning the PlayStation 3 downgrade started. Apparently an "inside source" revealed that Sony couldn't quite get all the pieces to fit and still make it cool correctly, thus needing a downgrade. He or she also said that the Cell could be clocked down from 3.2GHz to 2.8GHz in order to manufacture them in greater mass.Well Jonathan Fargher, a Sony rep, has stepped up to dismiss those rumors for the BS that they are. "Developers have been working with PS3 dev kits for anywhere between eight and 12 months, and to suggest that we'd now take the decision to downgrade the hardware at such a late stage, is, well, ridiculous."
And to address the issue of sticking all those components inside the already large casing, he said they "do have over 40 years of experience making consumer electronics equipment, and therefore, extensive experience in making things fit."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SuicideNinja @ Jun 16th 2006 1:59PM
I think the problem Sony has with these rumors isn't so much that people are believing them; it is that the rumors "wouldn't be surprising if they were true" at this point.
Sony has stumbled over themselves and made ridiculous comments so many times up this point that I think that some gamers are just expecting the situation to get worse.
Again, if they'd keep their flapping lips closed more (or at least learn some tact) and show/talk more about games with the PS3 AND the PSP...it'd be better for everyone. They seem so concerned about the Bluray, PC, and Media functions of their current hardware that it feels like gaming is on the backburner for them.
bobeotm @ Jun 16th 2006 4:13PM
Sony has had to come out pretty much every week and shoot down rash after rash of rumors. Its like herpes or something. They get burned by not saying anything, and then they get burned if the do say anything. I have a feeling half of the rumors proven false over the past month wouldnt even have emerged if it wasnt for people being disgruntled about the price.
ymmv @ Jun 17th 2006 3:28AM
"Well Jonathan Fargher, a Sony rep, has stepped up to dismiss those rumors for the BS that they are. "Developers have been working with PS3 dev kits for anywhere between eight and 12 months, and to suggest that we'd now take the decision to downgrade the hardware at such a late stage, is, well, ridiculous.""
Well, even the most recent devkits don't contain the finalised hardware. Developers try to get their games running on hardware that's as close an approximation to the final PS3 hardware as Sony was able to make it but its NOT the final product. If Sony isn't able to get a Cell chip running at 3.2Ghz out in November, they'll still be able to change the specs, no matter what they promised the developers.
LongshotX @ Jun 18th 2006 7:33PM
I wouldn't necessarily rule this out. It's been said before that they are not producing good enough yields for the Cell processor. There is also speculation that the PS3 will end up having an external power brick. The Cells 7 SPE running @ 3.2 Ghz is going make the system extremely hot. Another thing to be said is that none of the hardware for the PS3 has been finalized. At E3 none of the demos we saw were using finalized hardware. It's June now. The PS3 has four months before it launches. How plausible is it that it willed not be delayed again or that some of the specs will come down. I think this rumor is 50/50, its chances of being true are just as good as its chances of being false. It is Sony. They have a proven track record of saying things that aren't particularly true.
Graal @ Jun 19th 2006 7:03AM
Dear God people!!
What does it have to take?
You get a straight answer for once and your still umming and Ahhhing about if it's true or not.. let the rumour die!
As to the yeld problem that was quite a while ago (good few months) and in yield terms a few generations ago, why not get up to date info before stating that it is still likely. (yes a few months is a lot of time in terms of chip yields!)
50/50 my 4ss
/Walks off in despair.
Mee @ Jun 29th 2006 8:22AM
Graal, when you talk about Straight Answers does it also include statements like "We'll offer dual HDMI and only one SKU because 2 SKU's or more are confusing to the customer ?"
In europe we have a short story about a boy yelling "there's a wolf !" in the village to scare ppl, he does it multiple ttimes and of course one day there is a real wolf in front of him but when he souts "There's a wolf" nobody really pays attention, believing it is another joke, and the kid gets eaten by the wolf...
see my point ?