Router functions dropped from PS3 spec

The PlayStation 3 was originally intended to act as a home network router, according to Sony Computer Entertainment boss Ken Kutaragi, who has revealed that the functionality has been dropped because it would have been too expensive.

Speaking with Japanese publication Nikkei Electronics, Kutaragi said that the original specification for the PS3 would have allowed the system's three Gigabit Ethernet ports to be used as a home router.

However, this functionality was dropped since it would have made the console cost too much to manufacture, he admitted - and Sony now expects that users will continue to use their existing router hardware, which is becoming more commonplace in households with broadband internet connections.

The bank of network ports on the back of the box can be used as a switch or hub, however, and the company has previously hinted that it has other plans in mind for the multiple network ports.

The news that the system was intended for use as a router or hub was first revealed at E3, when Sony's Phil Harrison told GamesIndustry.biz that "it can be a hub, rather than just being a terminal at the end of a network."

"Also, we want to be able to have a Gigabit port for an IP camera," he revealed. "So one of the ports is an in, and two of them are through. It can be a server as well as a terminal."

Nikkei Electronics (Japan) via GameFront (Germany)

Update #1: Clarified references to original specification.