Sony sued for PS3 Cell processor patent violation: Xbox 360 fans laughing
July 31, 2007 | Filed under Gaming, Sony Playstation 3
Many Xbox 360 fans are going to laugh about the news that Sony are being sued yet again, but as owner of both the PS3 and Xbox 360 I do think that this is a serious issue. The suit is for a patent violation of Sony’s Cell Processor. Parallel Processing Corporation of Newport Beach, California is the company taking Sony to Court in Texas, and state that the cell processor that Sony is using in their PS3 violates a patent.
The violation is with the “synchronized parallel processing with shared memory,” PPC has stated that Sony is causing some “irreparable harm and monetary damage” to their company, which is why they are seeking compensation for damages plus interest, PPC also wants to see the impounding and destruction of all PS3 consoles that infringe on this patent.
This is yet another blow for the PS3, just when we thought that they were getting on top of all their troubles and increasing their sales they get hit with this lawsuit.
Do you think that this could hurt the PS3, or is it just a something that will be resolved easily?
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Only an idiot would be laughing - hence 3shitty users. No one gives a shit. Do u actually think the PS3 will be discontinued?? HELL NO!! This is just microsoft propaganda, but I guess whatever it takes to make 3shitty boys happy. The only thing people should be laughing at is about unrealiable the 3shitty is yet fools still flock (well, not anymore) to buy it. How people let themselves be taken for granted is sad!
Ah Texan justice.
This isn’t Microsoft propaganda, it sounds more like another unsuccessful company is jumping on the lawsuit bandwagon to try and win some easy dollar, or at least earn some international exposure.
‘Parallel Processing Corporation’?… That’s subtle.
@John
It is amazing everytime the ps3 runs into yet more bad press and problems is “Microsofts” fault. PS3 fan boys are amazing. Microsoft doesn’t need to spew any “propaganda”, sony has no problem screwing up all by them selves. As far as the suit, it’s just like the rumble feature thay sony and MS got sued over. If they violate any patents then this company deservse to get paid. If the roles were reversed and this company voilated sony patents don’t you think sony would sue?
Why is terrible patent trolling in the U.S Sony’s fault?
This will be tied up in courts for years to come unless the Supreme Court delivers an injuction, something that typically never happens unless the company bringing the suit can demonstrate actual financial harm. By that time this gets to trial and is inevitably found in favour of Sony it will be a blip on the map.
Of course Sony might shit themselves because of the Rumble patent violation case. Once burned twice shy?
sounds to me like PPC doesn’t know who makes the cell, its IBM not SONY, this case will be thrown out
Ur totally right ps3, they sure are making a fool of themselves! This has to be the most ridiculous quote of the day ‘impounding and destruction of all PS3 consoles’.
did anybody else google that PPC company? seems to me that they don’t have an internet site, which is strange in this day and age, almost fishy, i mean it seems like they don’t even exsist, kinda calls into question this whole suit, not to mention that as the poster above me already pointed out: IBM makes the cell, so if this PPC really exsists, then they should be suing them, not sony, just my opinion [at least its not ignorant;)]
DUDE i live in texas!!! looks like im breaking out my guns lol if they try to take my ps3 they are screwd
I THOUGHT THE CPU WAS THE NVIDIA RSX, NVIDIA’S WEBSITE SAYS IT IS.AT LEAST THE PS3 DOESN’T HAVE THE RED RING OF DEATH PROBLEM. GOOD LUCK WHEN YOUR 360 DIES AND YOU ARE STUCK WITH A
REFURBISHED PIECE OF JUNK.
too bad the US PATENT OFFICE gave Sony the patent for the CELL architecture. In Sony’s patent request, they cite this patent. Neither Sony nor the US PATENT OFFICE believed that it was even close to the patent in 1991.
end of lawsuit.
OOOPS..THE VIDEO CARD IS NVIDIA. IF THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE IBM CPU, THEN SUE THEM. RECALL NOTHING, COME FOR MY PS3 AND YOU BETTER BE MORE BULLET PROOF THAN 50 CENT, CAUSE I’M STRAPPED WITH SLUGS AND A 12 GUAGE SHOTGUN.
The Sony® PLAYSTATION® 3 (PS3) is the easiest and cheapest way for programmers to get their hands on the new Cell Broadband Engine™ (Cell BE) processor and take it for a drive. Discover what the fuss is all about, how to install Linux® on the PS3, and how to get started developing for the Cell BE processor on the PS3.
The PLAYSTATION 3 is unusual for a gaming console for two reasons. First, it is incredibly more open than any previous console. While most consoles do everything possible to prevent unauthorized games from being playable on their system, the PS3 goes in the other direction, even providing direct support for installing and booting foreign operating systems. Of course, many of the game-related features such as video acceleration are locked out for the third-party operating systems, but this series focuses on more general-purpose and scientific applications anyway.
The real centerpiece for the PS3, however, is its processor — the Cell Broadband Engine chip (often called the Cell BE chip). The Cell BE architecture is a radical departure from traditional processor designs. The Cell BE processor is a chip consisting of nine processing elements (note the PS3 has one of them disabled, and one of them reserved for system use, leaving seven processing units at your disposal). The main processing element is a fairly standard general-purpose processor. It is a dual-thread Power Architecture™ element, called the Power Processing Element, or PPE for short. The other eight processing elements, however, are a different story.
The other processing elements within the Cell BE are known as Synergistic Processing Elements, or SPEs. Each SPE consists of:
* A vector processor, called a Synergistic Processing Unit, or SPU
* A private memory area within the SPU called the local store (the size of this area on the PS3 is 256K)
* A set of communication channels for dealing with the outside world
* A set of 128 registers, each 128 bits wide (each register is normally treated as holding four 32-bit values simultaneously)
* A Memory Flow Controller (MFC) which manages DMA transfers between the SPU’s local store and main memory
The SPEs, however, lack most of the general-purpose features that you normally expect in a processor. They are fundamentally incapable of performing normal operating system tasks. They have no virtual memory support, don’t have direct access to the computer’s RAM, and have extremely limited interrupt support. These processors are wholly concentrated on processing data as quickly as possible.
Therefore, the PPE acts as the resource manager, and the SPEs act as the data crunchers. Programs on the PPE divvy up tasks to the SPEs to accomplish, and then they feed data back and forth to each other.
Connecting together the SPEs, the PPE, and the main memory controller is a bus called the Element Interconnect Bus. This is the main passageway through which data travels.
The most surprising part of this design is that the SPE’s 256K local store is not a cache — it is actually the full amount of memory that an SPE has to work with at a time for both programs and data. This seems like a disadvantage, but it actually gives several advantages:
* Local store memory accesses are extremely fast compared to main memory accesses.
* Accesses to local store memory can be predicted down to the clock cycle.
* Moving data in and out of main memory can be requested asynchronously and predicted ahead of time.
Basically, it has all of the speed advantages of a cache. However, since programs use it directly and explicitly, they can be much smarter about how it is managed. It can request data to be loaded in before it is needed, and then go on to perform other tasks while waiting for the data to be loaded.
While the Cell BE processor has been out for a while in specialized hardware, the PS3 is the first Cell BE-based device that has been affordable and readily available. And, with Linux, anyone who wants to can program it.
IBM SAYS THE PS3 IS A PPE OR POWER PROCESSING ELEMENT, NOT A
PPC.STICK THAT IN YOUR TAIL PIPE Parallel Processing Corporation. THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO CASH IN. AND YOU STILL AIN’T TOUCHING MY PS3!!!!!
Nice to see the ps3 fans sticking up for what they love again just like last gen+ps2, I was getting worried for a while there, there are a lot of good comments here I’d like to share them with the masses, because some of you who have posted here are simply spot on, and very intelligent, as opposed to immature fanboys out there that defend their system of choice, you guys should be fighting the fight for ps3 on the fan front, and no one else.
Now as for this lawsuit, yea it’ll be thrown out of court they have nothing on CELL and that’s tackling three tech giants… are they crazy? or just non-exsistant. Sounds like another dirty tactic to slow Sony down some more huh? Same dirty tactics that turned ps3 launch into the ‘apparant joke’ the media seems to think it was? yea i’m pretty sure it’s those dirty tactics… Microsoft Tactics, err MonopolySoft tactics… whatever.
I agree with everything that has been previously stated above. But the first thing that crossed my mind was the word “Parallel”. I’m a mathematician of sorts and I think mainly in numbers, so when I saw that word, I thought to myself….”How?” I mean, in order to have something “Parallel”, you have to have an even total number. 9 isn’t an even number and neither is 7. And secondly, the seven cores that operate independently of each other isn’t the industry definition of “Parallel”. Just thought that I’d point out the obvious
“PPC also wants to see the impounding and destruction of all PS3 consoles that infringe on this patent.”
lol
I cant believe it when i read it…
Every company holding patents seek royalties, money from licenses, in a few words make money…
They dont ask royalties or pay licenses, they asking for no one use what they create, what the hell they invent it (if they do it.
What would be if the guy that invent and patent the TV never licensed it, not a single TV sold ever, and die without make any money from his invent, lol
Hardly believe these morons invent anything.
Yea this whole thing is ridiculous, they should just throw it out of the courthouse, it’s a very slippery slope for the law system.
What’s I’m really interested in is, Who is the lawyer… who was stupid enough to take this case… and if he’s got the cajones, then who’s he really working for…?
Microsoft…?
“Sony sued for PS3 Cell processor patent violation: Xbox 360 fans laughing”
“Microsoft spent $1.8 Billions for XBOX 360 3 Red Rings of Doom fix: PS3 Fans laughing”
grrrrr….