PS3 dev kits given the official thumbs-up [Update 1]
by Nick Doerr 
{ Aug 18th 2006 at 11:30AM }
The fellows at IGN took it upon themselves to give a review of the PS3 dev kits that were delivered to, well, developers. Not surprisingly, they gave an overwhelmingly positive review of the things (although they didn't comment on the physical attractiveness of them). Let's look at a brief overview of the positive points spoken of:- They ran quietly and did not let off a lot of heat, contrary to rumor.
- They were extremely easy to program for (Pseudo dropped in the wireless support program in two days prior to the review).
- The controllers were light and easily switched between wired and wireless play.
- The controllers were also smart, able to discern what system they were connected to and which player they were associated with.
- As for LAN play, eight PS3's were connected over the PlayStation Network in real time and lag was nonexistant.
- The PS3 menu was easy to manage and was similar to the one on the PSP, but cleaner and sharper.
[Update: After recovering from a case of dyslexia, changed the second bullet from "tilt sensitivity" to "wireless support"... sorry for the confusion!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Paul @ Aug 18th 2006 12:14PM
great to hear this: "They were extremely easy to program for (Pseudo dropped in the tilt sensitivity program in two days prior to the review). "
Contrary to what has been going around but i hope this one is true!
sputnik @ Aug 18th 2006 1:37PM
"They were extremely easy to progam for"
Ha....LOL. Programming in general is not extremely easy...I question anyone that would classify programming for the PS3 as extremely easy.
Prize Fighter Inferno @ Aug 18th 2006 2:09PM
Well Programming is not easy you are right. Maybe they mean relative to the PS2.
Nick James @ Aug 18th 2006 4:34PM
Prize Fighter Inferno's on the right track. What was implied was that programming for the PS3 is easy compared to other platforms. I know everyone cried about how difficult it was to program for the PS2 (and really - it showed... the first batch of PS2 games were pretty lame). But so far, we have not seen reports from ANYONE that programming or developing for the PS3 is difficult. We have seen plenty of RUMORS... but the only reports we have seen are that it is expensive. Well, no shit right there.
Allen @ Aug 18th 2006 6:40PM
Alright, more good news. I'm mored psyched about the PS3 every day
Sponge @ Aug 18th 2006 6:44PM
"The controllers were also smart, able to discern what system they were connected to and which player they were associated with."
What the hell does that first part mean? It can tell if it's plugged into a PS3 or a PC? Or does it mean it can tell the difference between your and my PS3s? If it's the latter, what would be the point?
Caanon: @ Aug 18th 2006 10:13PM
@Sponge:
Bring your PS3 over to your friends house to play a LAN game (a-la Halo) and the controller won't freak out that there are two (or more) consoles. It will stay "connected" to the correct one.
Steven @ Aug 19th 2006 11:50AM
Sponge it means it know which PS3 the controller went to. example you have three Ps3 in the room, you picked up a Controller for Ps3 a but you turn on PS3, then the PS3 won't recognize it for being the wrong on, that what they are trying to say. the ps3 controllers know which ps3 system it was streaming to
Flux @ Aug 19th 2006 12:04PM
The only news in this article is that the final kits are quieter/produced less heat, and that the PS3 online network was functional.
Easy to program for? All SEGA said was that Sony provided a good API for the tilt function of the controller, making that specific function easy to implement. That does not mean the entire system is easy to program for.
Wireless controllers can tell what machine they're attached to? If they couldn't, that would make them absolutely useless. Every wireless device has this ability, even my mouse/keyboard. Not news.
PS3 menu looks like the PSP menu? Already been reported months ago. While I am not personally impressed by this menu, at least it is clean and a lot of people like it.
Adam @ Aug 19th 2006 7:16PM
Let's review the comments..
"The controllers were also smart, able to discern what system they were connected to and which player they were associated with."
Who will have more than one PS3 in their house next to eachother?
"As for LAN play, eight PS3's were connected over the PlayStation Network in real time and lag was nonexistant."
Well, I certainly would think just 8 systems on a LAN (not a WAN) would work this way.
"The PS3 menu was easy to manage and was similar to the one on the PSP, but cleaner and sharper."
Wow! A cleaner AND sharper menu?! OMFG, get me a PS3 right now!
Adam @ Aug 19th 2006 7:17PM
"example you have three Ps3 in the room, you picked up a Controller for Ps3 a but you turn on PS3, then the PS3 won't recognize it for being the wrong on, that what they are trying to say. the ps3 controllers know which ps3 system it was streaming to"
Yeah, I bet every household will have 3 PS3s in their room.
a2 @ Aug 19th 2006 7:27PM
Seriously, who cares if the dev kit is quiet and does not have a lot of heat. How many of us are going to be playing games on a dev kit?
Also, lag on a network that is hosting developers is not a true indication of real world performance. I'm more interested after a million+ consoles are sold.
Don't get me wrong, it's cool to hear about the dev kit and all, but I'm not basing my purchase on how well a dev kit operates.