Sony shaves costs on PS3

According to the Nikkei financial newspaper, Sony will reduce processing functionality by somehow separating out CPU and GPU functions. The change will limit backwards compatibility for PS2 games but, beyond that, details are still clear as mud.

To make up for compatibility shortfall, Sony will distribute software, the newspaper reports. That presumably means emulation, with all the usual yawns and waits.

Console makers often view hardware as a loss leader on top of which games can be profitably sold. Sony could be losing a few hundred dollars every time a console is bought, according to market research firm iSuppli. It would appear that Sony would like to cut its bill of costs although this seems an odd place to start.

The latest news might goes hand in hand with recent mutterings from games developers over difficulties in programming for the IBM/Sony/Tosh-developed Cell processor. Reports also suggest that the Cell will make a complete move to a 65nm process rather than using the current 90nm process.

The Nikkei did not name sources so we'll wait to hear more on this but it doesn't sound too great for gamers, Cell prospects and maybe not for Sony either if a brouhaha ensues.

Curiouser and curiouser. µ