Seen@GDC: PlayStation 3 dev kit

by Christopher Grant { Mar 27th 2006 at 9:15PM }

This admittedly blurry shot of what looks sort of like an Apple Xserve on steroids is in fact a PlayStation 3 dev kit spotted at Sony's booth on the GDC expo floor. The question is, why show off the humble dev unit under an enticing Revolution-esque plexiglass lid? You'd think they'd have kept it hidden, lest some brain dead superfan mistakes this for a system redesign.

Continue reading for some more shots and Sony's clever solution for preventing confusion.

Here's the back of the unit. Those are ethernet ports in the lower middle for scale.

In case you thought this was a system redesign, Sony wants to remind you that this is "Not Final Hardware." This sign is funny on a couple different levels. Now that Sony's finally told us something, we'll let bygones be bygones... really soon. Promise.

(UPDATE: Chatterbox threw up some higher-res shots of another unit; theirs has more things plugged into it.)

Tags: concept

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Digi Smalls @ Mar 27th 2006 9:32PM

depending on how big that is, i wish it was the redesign. that thing looks pretty serious. it really does look like the uber-do-everything machine that sony said the psTWO was going to be and what the ps3 may actually end up being.

Tim @ Mar 27th 2006 9:33PM

duh... to prove to the anti-PS3 fanboys that it's realtime and running off of PS3 hardware.

brandon @ Mar 27th 2006 9:36PM

The devkit has definitely slimmed down considerably since I have last seen pictures of it. It was roughly twice the thickness of this model. I guess they are nearing that final model that will be sold to developers. Sony cracks me up with the "conceptual design" and "not final hardware" signs, as if they cant trust that developers understand that these things are still being worked on.

Zanch @ Mar 27th 2006 9:47PM

Hey Brandon, make no mistake, those PS3 devkits are still enormous, even if they are slightly slimmer than they used to be. Seeing one in person is shocking.

DocEvil @ Mar 27th 2006 9:49PM

Interesting, over at Tom's hardware, they reported having a really hard time trying to get sony to use the hdmi but this dev kit is clearly using the hdmi...
http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/03/24/gdc2006_ps3_no_hdmi/

Personally, I'm hoping they make the ps3 around the same dimensions and look as most consumer electronics. It actually really bothers me that my 360 doesn't blend in with the rest of my components or should I call it my i360...

James @ Mar 27th 2006 10:10PM

That's a huge bitch!

slow news day @ Mar 27th 2006 10:16PM

If you caught Major Nelson's blog last week, there was an shot he caught pre-show where you can clearly see a Playstation 3 demo system operating Windows XP

http://www.flickr.com/photos/majornelson/116231796/in/set-72057594087872136/

thatguy @ Mar 27th 2006 10:36PM

Yous are all idiots the big bulky thing aint the PS3 dev kit the thing it's standing on is the Dev kit. And that sticker applies to the glass stating that the glass on top of the PS3 was not the final hardware.

Andrew @ Mar 27th 2006 10:51PM

I'm sitting next to an xserve right now...and that picture looks nothing like it

C. Grant @ Mar 27th 2006 11:36PM

It's metal, has roughly the same basic shape, and houses a computer. I specified its appearance looks "sort of like an Apple Xserve on steroids" as opposed to just like the Xserve you're sitting next to.

Reason @ Mar 28th 2006 12:56AM

Ok, so plexi-glass cases only came about when Nintendo used it?

You're fucking dumb.

Andrew @ Mar 28th 2006 1:13AM

ha ha..."roughly the same basic shape" dude it's a rectangle

Jago @ Mar 28th 2006 3:59AM

"Yous are all idiots the big bulky thing aint the PS3 dev kit the thing it's standing on is the Dev kit."

Wait...are you saying that the thing on the bottom is the PS3 SDK? If so then please tell me you are joking.

For the record, that IS the current PS3 SDK that many developers have been receiving as replacements for the previous PC case-sized SDK. It is not quite half the thickness but it is longer then the previous version...but it is NOT the finalized SDK unit.

Art Guy @ Mar 28th 2006 10:08AM

We have a few of these new ones and they look a lot nicer than the last kit. While it is smaller than the old version, it is still quite large, those pics make it seem smaller than it really is. Unfortunately it is very noisy with all the fans running, like a "G5 with all the fans running top speed" loud. On the plus side, we havent melted any yet.

C. Grant @ Mar 28th 2006 10:28AM

Andrew: ha ha..."roughly the same basic shape" dude it's a rectangle

Yeah, exactly. Now you're getting the hang of it. It's not shaped like a PC case, or a PS3, or a sphere. It's roughly the shape of a 1U server but much much larger. And it's shiny metal, sort of like... I don't know. An Xserve?

Reason:11. Ok, so plexi-glass cases only came about when Nintendo used it?

You're fucking dumb.

Thanks for stopping by and enlightening us with your reading skills. Please come again.

PaleGringo @ Mar 28th 2006 12:52PM

If I had to look at that, I'd say it's about the size of a 2U rack mounted server. For those without prior experience with such hardware, the dimensions would be as follows:

Appx. 3-1/2" tall
Appx. 19" wide
Appx. 24"+ deep

Not exactly the size of a home entertainment system. Really.

http://www.uptimetech.com/images/products/RS2100i_large.jpg

Granted, it's smaller than the 286-sized DK we've come to know and love since E305...

http://media.teamxbox.com/dailyposts/sony/ps3sdk.jpg

... but IMHO its still a laughable attempt at miniturizing the hardware into a home console, especially since they said previously (in their E305 slide show) that they wanted 1U dev kits out by December 05.

Four months ago.

C. Grant @ Mar 28th 2006 1:04PM

hehe, thanks Cullen. I'll try! =)

Jago @ Mar 28th 2006 2:11PM

@ Art Guy:

I think "very noisy" doesn't really describe how loud the PS3 SDKs have actually been. Now if you would have said that they are "REALLY FUCKING LOUD!!!!!11one!!" then people would get a better idea.

On a side note...it's funny how when an editor makes a personal attack on someone no one cares but when normal people are smartasses and don't resort to calling others names that they get negative stars...

...just a thought.

Tiberius Jones @ Mar 28th 2006 2:39PM

Still loving my Xbox360.

Oblivion is nuts. And looks significantly better on my 52 inch hi def TV than my friends PC at the highest resolution. Only the 360 version supports full screen AA and HDR lighting simultaneously, and it definitely makes a difference.

GRAW is great too, but I can't pull myself away from Oblivion right now to play it, damnit!!

Since there won't be enough PS3's in North America to stock more than 3 Wally Worlds until sometime in LATE 2007, I'm good.

Stop looking at me like that. Really, I'm good.

Fan @ Mar 28th 2006 3:22PM

Seriously Tiberius WTF are you talking about?

WTH did you feel that it was necessary to bring up the 360 and Oblivion in this post? Do you have some feelings of inadequacy or something? Im sure its a great game and a great system but it has absolutely nothing to do with the PS3 dev kit..... ffs

Are you really so caught up you feel the need to be a marketing tool for some gaming console? Heres what you need to do:

1. Quit posting.
2. Take a long look in the mirror and ask yourself were youre life is going.
3. Go the fuck outside and go fishing or something.
4. Come back and resume posting without beeing a retarded marketing victim.

Seriously people... Dont be idiots.