Neener Neener Neener

Legions of loyal Sony fans were very very upset with my scandalous comments two weeks ago, posted after Ken Kutaragi's underwhelming keynote at ISSCC. Several folks left comments on my blog post, while many others chose the private email route to communicate their fury. They pretty much all predicted I'd eat crow after last week's Taipei Game Show, when they were sure Sony would unveil working hardware.

To which I say….neener neener neener. Another huge game show. Another display of the same three (black, white and silver) empty PS3 mockups, along with the same tired pre-rendered video clips. Another missed opportunity for Sony. Coming hot on the heels of a scathing analyst report (an update of an earlier report from the same analyst firm that I showcased in my December feature article) that predicts an initial per-system cost of $800 or more (HDD not included) and a production ramp no earlier than the spring of 2007 (a forecast which Sony predictably denied, of course).

So what's your next guess, PS3 fanboys? The Game Developer Conference? Or maybe we'll see a real-life Revolution there, instead? Regardless, I'll be there….

Followup: Ars Technica has an excellent post (discussed on Slashdot) on the significant challenge facing a compiler that strives to harness the resources available on the PS3's Cell microprocessor. It's a challenge that the Itanium compiler development team is likely also quite familar with….heck, many folks are still trying to figure out how to harness HyperThreading!