Goodbye, Emotion Engine, you were quite useful

by Nick Doerr { Jul 9th 2007 at 7:30PM }

If we wanted to, we could probably throw a bunch of links about speculations, confirmations, suppositions, depositions, suppositories, or analgesics at you. Oops, looks like we did, even if the words made no sense. All the links but one pertain to all the PS3 news relating to the price cut, but what a lot of our readers have wondered was whether or not the new 80GB PS3 will get rid of the Emotion Engine chip used for backwards compatibility. The answer is yes.

SCEA's Kimberly Otzman went on record earlier today, stating "The current 60 GB model utilizes a hardware and solution for backwards compatibility, namely the Emotion Engine chip. The new 80 GB PS3 will use a software solution for backwards compatibility, similar to that currently found in the PAL model." So there you have it. The Emotion Engine chip will be phased out around August, with the release of the new model. We don't know how to take this news -- give us your opinion.

Tags: playstation 3, Playstation3, ps3, sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

kingofwale @ Jul 9th 2007 7:35PM

i will wait for E3 for the official word, there's NO WAY Sony is stupid enough to take Emotion Engine out, stick in a top 10 game and sell it for 100 bucks more. there's NO WAY

Sony needs to things in that 80GB model, HDMI cable and rumble. Anything less would make sure 80GB SKU won't make it pass its first b-day

dc69 @ Jul 9th 2007 7:40PM

meh,
it's a good thing that it's happening around the time there will finally be a bunch of new games out. That way you won't miss it that much. Plus its not like they're completely getting rid of backwards compatability, just making it slightly less user friendly.

James Darc @ Jul 9th 2007 7:45PM

I think it sux that they will take out the emotion chip out. I like playing all my ps2 games on my ps3. i would like that rumble-axis soon and maybe Home as well. I'm still waiting for more software updates with more options.

Andir3.0 @ Jul 9th 2007 7:49PM

Non-event here...

Software emulation can do far better than sticking a chip on the board. Some "retro gamers" will probably cry about it, but if you look at all the NES/Sega/etc. emulators out there they all do interesting tricks with the pixels to more than make up for the "realism" loss. It's like complaining that someone bought the Beatles album on CD when they should have gotten it on vinyl.

humpty @ Jul 9th 2007 7:54PM

Well, they could have left the EE out from the get go.. all PS3s would have ps2 emulation, and fw updates would increase the bc like xbox 360.

But, they added the EE knowing that bc wasnt all there at launch, now, its at an acceptable level (look at Euro launch.. people dont really care) that they can take it out and save money or lower the price.

They want to clear the 60gb inventory (and stop making them altogether, since they're more expensive) so that the 80gb can take its place. They also want a transition from 60-->80gb version, so they need to price the 80gb unit as a premium model .. this means a higher price until the 60gb are cleared. I suspect the 60gb version will be phased out and the 80 gb version will continue at $600 until xmas, where it will drop to $450 and a $550, 120gb IPTV-ready version will be out (at about the time of IPTV launch).

CJ @ Jul 9th 2007 7:58PM

If you havent seen Sony's CEO trying to twist and turn things, check it out here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFIDsTsWJHw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ejoystiq%2Ecom%2F

The best part is when he throws out at the end of the conversation "The PS3 is still dominant".. Um what world are you living in there guy? The PS3 is so dominant it has to have its price cut less than a year from launch?

Andy @ Jul 9th 2007 7:59PM

I think the Emotion Chip is an excellent example of how Sony is loyal to its customers. Confused?
With the emotion chip they allowed people who had PS2 game libraries to enjoy all their games.

For us people who were early adopters we get full backwards compatibility. So thats good.

Dahk @ Jul 9th 2007 8:02PM

OOoooh I really like humptys prediction. But yeah I fully agree - I'm not TOO sure about being IPTV-ready by Christmas, but gosh would that be cool.

And to be honest, the 80GB version is quite the rip-off =P, but I guess the profits pure Sony on that one. But really, its a good way of phasing out the 60GB version with simultaeneous margin gain.

And lol @ that picture. I like that picture.

Andy @ Jul 9th 2007 8:02PM

http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=4043&start=0#end\

KILLZONE 2 SCREENS. Could be fake but who knows?

Dahk @ Jul 9th 2007 8:05PM

Oops to add to that, I'm not too sure about IPTV, but Video-On-Deman should probably be implemented by then =) Since Korea = test site already (any news on that lately? - It was suppsoed to be June wasn't it?). So we (at least US/CAN) should be getting that at around christmas. That'd be cool.

Andy @ Jul 9th 2007 8:07PM

@Dahk

I like how you add Canada to the mix "(at least US/CAN)"

Are you canadian? Still excited about those Killzone 2 screens. Shall I link again?
http://forums.gametrailers.com/showthread.php?t=122809

humpty @ Jul 9th 2007 8:10PM

Yea, VoD .. thats what i meant.

Although, they already have their BRAVIA iptv dongle that attaches to the backs of new bravias. Anyways, i dont have cable, so, VoD or IPTV would be sweet for me. As long as it comes out in Canada.

Scott Krueger @ Jul 9th 2007 8:13PM

Just Remember that Sony Owns their Hardware.
So, the Emulator is already running around 90% of the Old PS2 and PS1 titles.

It's Not like it was on the XBox360 where still only 10% of the titles are Backwards Compatible.

But if you're worried about it. Buy your PS3 Now before the Emotion Chip goes away. I got mine at Launch and everything game I have runs, even Demo Discs.

Scott Krueger @ Jul 9th 2007 8:14PM

Make that "Every Game I have Runs..."

Dahk @ Jul 9th 2007 8:15PM

LOL @ Andy, both links are split-second gone. What the hell! =(
Find me another link!

... And yeahhhhh I'd be a canadian lol. Gotta represent my homies here =).

kingofwale @ Jul 9th 2007 8:34PM

>Sony promised 100% BC, and they still haven't done it, and now it's getting even worse. MS only promised "top titles", and they have EXCEEDED that.

and I'm sure Microsoft also promised a console that won't break every year. not everything will work out. ;)

but then again, 1 billion dollars in 1 fiscal year is enough of a punishment. ;)

Bangbang... @ Jul 9th 2007 8:41PM

I dont think it will matter in the long run. I think that the ps3 having great BC is/was only important because of the lack of games. If what sony says is true, and there will be 150 new games by the end of the year, then who really cares if you can play ps2 crap. I just finished god of war 2, but i wouldnt have even purchased it if the ps3 had more/better games.

uberwaffle @ Jul 9th 2007 8:54PM

personally, I'm very pleased that I got my PS3 at launch and that it has the EE inside, because I'm one of the (probably few) people that bought a PS3 without ever having a PS2. So for me, I really do want the increased compatibility of the EE PS3, because it's like both PS2 and PS3 games are new to me.

I think it's like Andy said some posts up, they put it in there mainly for early adopters, because they were more likely to care about increased backwards compatibility than those who weren't really ready to make the purchase.

Blade @ Jul 9th 2007 8:51PM

Sony Fixed My PS2's DRE 2 times for free. WTF are you talking about?

Andy @ Jul 9th 2007 8:54PM

There gone. NOOOOOOOOO!!!

Why didn't I save em?

kingofwale @ Jul 9th 2007 8:55PM

>At least they are taking responsibility for them, and addressed the issue,

wait, when did they do that??

taking responsibility would be admitting the mistake and ANNOUNCE the failure rate, the last I checked, Microsoft saw "no benefit" in doing that. so clearly they aren't taking responsibility to anything.

and addressing the issue? Lol, what, are you telling them their newly shipped xbox are any less likely to get RROD than ones before? ;)

Bangbang... @ Jul 9th 2007 8:59PM

kingofwale
according to Morgan Stanley, sonys gaming division lost 1.9 billion dollars last fical year.

Also my launch 360 is still going strong, more than i can say about my launch PS1 or PS2 at the same time in their life cycle.

Stef Geiger @ Jul 9th 2007 9:00PM

Sorry, I know this'll sound rude, but why the hell are so many people so STUPID about software emulation? So the thing is going to play ... 95% of the games we own right out of the box, and future updates only increase compatibility. It's not like software emulation provides an inferior experience or something. It's a smart cost-cutting measure by Sony, and it probably saves them enough to nearly justify the recent price drop.

Jason @ Jul 9th 2007 9:02PM

No kidding, that info has been out all along. As I posted in another thread it says "This product has limited backward compatibility with Playstation and Playstation 2 format software" written right on the side of the box art released yesterday.

Bangbang... @ Jul 9th 2007 9:14PM

"and addressing the issue? Lol, what, are you telling them their newly shipped xbox are any less likely to get RROD than ones before?"

Yep thats right, the new repaired boxes are less likely to be red ringed. MS is now (free of charge)adding extra cooling in addition to replacing defective cpus. On top of that, they are refunding money to people that had to pay to have their consoles fixed in the past. They also extended the warrenty on every 360 out to 3 years, also free of charge. So yes, the problem has been addressed.

pete @ Jul 9th 2007 9:07PM

off topic, yall check the new joystiq site. i clicked on the ps3 on top thinkin it take me here, but it just sorted their ps3 post. boo boo, ndoerr hit'em up so it links to this site, i mean weblogs is weblogs right??

Andy @ Jul 9th 2007 9:09PM

"Also my launch 360 is still going strong, more than i can say about my launch PS1 or PS2 at the same time in their life cycle."

Congratulation's to you. Not all of them fail like some people think. I also bought my PS3 for PS2 games. It is actually my first ever console(I didn't even play alot of PC games except Sim City 3000.which I still play.alot)

Sorry for the missing link folks. Wow though those screens were fucking awesome. Two of them were 92% but the second...wow! I am sure they will surface again tomorrow when they should have.

John T @ Jul 9th 2007 9:12PM

Fanboys Suck !

Bored @ Jul 9th 2007 9:16PM

First thing, Sony did not lie about anything, they always said from day one that the BC would rely on the EE chip only temporarily. Look back and you'll hear even Krazy Ken talk about "in the future, we will use a combination of software and hardware emulation". Already back then, they were referring to software emulation of the EE CPU, but combined with the (stil present) GS GPU.

Secondly, the emulator was released with the european PS3, and to my experience, as well as that of many other europeans, it works fine, in fact, I would say it runs perfectly since 1.80 . I've bought my PS3 on euro release and ALL my PS2 games run fine on the thing. If you plug a DualShock to your PS3 (through a USB adapter, of course), you will still get rumble. Upscaling also works fine. PS2 Games with online also play just fine.

B/C has a higher compatibility rate on the PS3 then on the 360, EVEN through emulation.

Andy @ Jul 9th 2007 9:25PM

Sorry I got all excited for nothing. Killzone 2 screens are fake.
http://www.sanctumart.com/
Damn, I am an idiot sometimes.

Dahk @ Jul 9th 2007 10:06PM

Haha s'all good Andy. Though I still wanna see what they look like =P.

Like Stef and Bored were saying. At FW 1.80, Sony stated a 73% compatibility - and thats for ALL PS2 games - even the gazillions I probably have never heard of in my lifetime. So with the fact that major PS2 releases running perfectly fine, I don't see why the removal of the EE chip is so horrible. Sony's making SMART financial decisions that LED up to this price cut.

And plus with all this EE chip removal, FW 2.0 will probably stick the BC rate even higher.

And Brian, you paid for 4 full price PS2s? Damn. I was scringing and trying not to look as i blindly handed my credit card for the PS3 purchase, but that's just Hot Damn. And... haha now you probably got ALL that playing ability for the price of maybe, 2 PS2s, for majority of your games, on an EE-less PS3.

And honestly, saying "my launch 360 is still going strong" does absolutely nothing to convince people =). My launch PS2 still goes strong. WHOPPEE. Just letting you know for future arguments. The fact remains that there was a 25-33% failure rate up until Microsoft gave those announcments.

Hopefully those 65nm chips (probably with the 360 price cut) will rectify that even better. But yeah.

acedoh @ Jul 9th 2007 10:08PM

Bangbang you are up Microsofts arse...I hope it smells nice...Give me a break. Fixing the problem and yet you have no links and there hasn't been one credible story to represent your claim...The 360 is doomed. Microsoft is taking a bigger lose than they ever have with the 1 billion out on Warranty issues.

JKPierce @ Jul 9th 2007 10:11PM

Perspective is fun!

wem003 @ Jul 9th 2007 11:23PM

Stupid question - but I bought a ps3 today - how can you tell if it has the emotion engine in it?

I've read that they started phasing it out in North America in April - but who knows if that was true.

Popfrogs @ Jul 10th 2007 1:07AM

This is a great idea, they should have done this to start with. Actually it's what Sony had planned, but ran out of time at launch. They didn't finish the emulator in time (and evidently it's still a work in progress but way better than that other company's solution) and software opens the door to much, much better emulation anyway.

Think about it. A chip like the EE can only do so much. Replace it with software (remember Bleem?) and all of a sudden you can add polygons, rescale to any resolution, add smoothing, speed up load times, etc. Emulation rocks, don't listen to the crybabies that can't play Barbie's Glamour Salon II.

No way @ Jul 10th 2007 1:59AM

It's sad that people yell about the PS2 DRE so much.

Now maybe I just got lucky, but mine started doing that and I thought I was F'ed. But All I did was open it up and spray out the dust, make sure the laser track got properly re-oiled and BAM! It works like new.

Dishing out money for four PS2's? What a shame.

Perkoff @ Jul 10th 2007 4:12AM

I always used my PS2 to play PS1 games.

Just kidding.

What the hell all you people throw out your PS2 when you bought a PS3?

Bordello @ Jul 10th 2007 4:17AM

Taking out the Emotion Engine does not matter at all.

Nobody will miss it. It's gone already from the PAL version. Backwards compatibility is great without the EE.

Case closed.

Bangbang... @ Jul 10th 2007 4:45AM

acedoh
Heres your link fanboy. Also, as i posted before Morgan Stanley shows sonys gaming division posting a 1.9 billion dollar loss. Here are the links you wanted, now stfu please

About extra cooling in red ringed 360's:
http://www.xbox-scene.com/xbox1data/sep/EElEZukFEleqkRrcnN.php

This ones for sonys huge loss on the ps3:

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25038

Catharz @ Jul 10th 2007 6:33AM

Take it from me, the removal of the EE engine is a total non-issue (since firmware 1.80).

The ONLY game I own which wouldn't run was GT4. It now runs fine.

borland502 @ Jul 10th 2007 9:45AM

@Brian

Topic 1:
"Where did you pull 10% outta, your butt?"

If I recall, when the xbox360 *first* came out there were only a tiny, tiny amount of games that worked: Like "My Little Pony"...not exactly a top shelf game. They improved over time, but they didn't exactly do a bang-up job at first. Sony did stumble with the 100% promise, but MS didn't deliver either on their modest goal.

Topic 2:
"At least they are taking responsibility for them"

After two years of hot denials and even then only when media attention accelerated to the point where court cases were probable. They deserve credit yes, but they were responding to a threat, not to their compassion for gamers.

And finally...do you at least own a PS3, or do you just like being a douche on sites dedicated to products you don't own? There *is* another fanboy site for 360 owners you know.

borland502 @ Jul 10th 2007 9:54AM

@Bangbang

"sonys gaming division posting a 1.9 billion dollar loss"

Yep, but what you are missing my defensive friend is that the loss is a calculated risk to increase market share in Blu-Ray and gaming. Perhaps the strategy may fail, but what exactly is that 1.1 billion dollar loss gaining MS? It's damage control money, not a planned risk. Moreover, the XBox division has achieved profitability recently for only a brief period...so frankly an ongoing loss damages them more.

"About extra cooling in red ringed 360's"

Indeed, but you notice they aren't recalling existing retail units without the fix. They are waiting for those to fail and replacing them then. They'll put the cooling in new boxes, but that will take awhile. So each new xbox purchase for a year carries a 30% risk of failure.

But the same question applies to you as Brian: Why are you on the PS3 side of the house if you hate it?

Popfrogs @ Jul 10th 2007 10:38AM

Looks like it's time to prune the herd again, more Xbox trolls filling this forum with crap.

The Goalkeeper @ Jul 10th 2007 4:50PM

to be honest, i never really used my ps3 to play my ps2 games. That's why i still have my slim ps2...

Brett Boston @ Jul 10th 2007 7:41PM

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

will it be disabled in current ps3s?

jos @ Jul 11th 2007 1:26AM

I'm pretty sure (90%) that since fw 1.80 (or when the upscaling for ps2 happened) the EE chip has already been disabled and it is all sw now.
As an indication, after the fw upgrade some one complained that they now had to press the PS button when starting PS2 games, as has always been the case for the European versions...

cormier6083 @ Jul 11th 2007 8:22AM

I feel all emotional....

lol. Does it really matter?

zenprism @ Jul 14th 2007 5:07PM

I have a pretty good collection of PS1 and PS2 titles that I love and will never part with. Even with older games hitting the PSN for download, it's not a guarantee that every game I own will ever see itself available for download. Backwards compatibility is a big selling point for me in regards to the PS3 because of that.
But at the news that Sony was going to software-based emulation, I panicked. My bank account could barely understand, and I already own a Wii and 360, but because of that news alone, I went out and bought myself a PS3. It's in a box in my closet right now. It's an investment in the past, is my excuse as a gamer. There's not any PS3 games that I really want to play, so I'm not sure when I'll get around to hooking it up.
I bought the 360 and Wii each at launch because I wanted each system and because there were games I wanted to play on them. I just bought the PS3 because I was afraid. Afraid that my beloved PS1 and PS2 game collection would be relegated to the back of my closet forever (once I disconnect a system from my TV, it stays disconnected, especially with my HDTV). I wasn't gonna let that happen. My bank account will recover in time, and I will fiddle around with my new purchase at some point, but I hope Sony gets their act together and starts dominating like they did in the previous two generations. I have a $500 investment riding on that seemingly-very remote possibility.

erocstangs @ Jul 23rd 2007 10:25AM

At least the latestfirmware update gave us HD upscaling for PS2 games. This has breathed new life to my game library. People come over to my house and go why doesn't ________(fill in your favorite PS2 game) look like that! The worst part is I'm only running 1080i not 1080p. Love it.

BillRHODEISLAND @ Jul 17th 2007 11:34AM

I remember reading a WIRED issue last year pre-PS3 launch that said that the Sony PS division had around 6 billion for their game division. Sony is going to have it hard against Microsoft's 38 Billion dollar games division. 1 Billion is like change in Bill Gate's sofa. So I dont think Microsoft will be hurt by their warrenty extention or the free fixes for poor gamers with the RROD.

I am happy to own a launch PS3 now though. Love my evil black box!