sprint

Sony came blasting onto the console scene not long after its negotiations with Nintendo fell apart regarding the SNES CD-ROM attachment, carrying on the idea of the PlayStation alone and taking a completely different approach to the Kyoto-based company’s family-friendly stance. In doing so, a whole new market was tapped into and gaming quickly became far more of an acceptable pastime than ever before. With Third Parties lining up to taste the new success under a company that was not squeezing them ridiculously hard on the licence fee front, the advent of the new PlayStation 2 was able to ride out the numerous teething problems related with its launch and fast lead the way, leaving Nintendo and Sega flailing. But now is the whole scenario about to change with the PlayStation 3? At such as early stage in its lifetime that cannot be fully determined, so in the meantime why not take a closer look at what lies within the large, shiny black casing and beyond…

That Controller
One of the major talking points behind the new piece of hardware comes in the form of its controller. Originally Sony had intended to bring a boomerang style effort to the table, but following criticism for numerous sources it went underground and resurfaced with the Sixaxis. This new input device is extremely reminiscent of the traditional PlayStation controller in shape, except it is now completely wireless, detects motion for in-game movement and (sadly) lacks any force feedback rumble effect. Using special internal sensors, this controller boasts some rather Nintendo Wii-like abilities in the form of being able to detect different angles of tilting, as well as forwards and backwards motion. As Sony itself puts it, the Sixaxis will ‘become a natural extension of the player’s body’.

Using Bluetooth technology the new PS3 controller can remain wireless at all times, with up to seven controllers able to hook up to the hardware at once to suit all your multiplayer gaming needs. And if you are worried about problems regarding the battery life, then fear not as it includes a mini-USB port that can attach it to the PS3 itself to re-charge! Thankfully, you can actually play with it wired up as well, should you not wish to put your latest time-consuming, highly addictive game down. But other than the more obvious of the newly implemented features, what else is there?

Well, the ergonomic feel of the Dual Shock 2 is fully retained, however Sony has made a few amendments for the better to make this new iteration the best possible re-design yet. The tilting angle of the analogue sticks has been tweaked so that they can be pushed further in any direction, whilst still keeping the fantastic feel of precision movement associated with past iterations of the controller. But what of its wireless range, though? Well, it is reported that it can keep working as far away as twenty metres from the console, which is definitely more than enough, no doubt you will agree…And the other important factor is the actual battery life. Yes, you can recharge by simply hooking a controller up to the hardware, but how long will a full charge last? Well, the situation is again better than you might imagine, given the disastrous PSP battery power stories that floated about around the launch of the company’s début portable platform – you will have up to thirty hours from one full charge.

And, to wrap up, you can still use the Sixaxis as a Dual Shock 2 controller for PS2 titles, and as for those of you who may be wondering what the new clear circle is that can be seen on the centre of the pad, well, it is none other than the ‘Home’ button for use in conjunction with the console itself. Nice…

Blu-Ray = Hoo-ray?
Of course many of you will be pondering over how exactly Sony believes it can justify placing the PlayStation 3 at the astronomical price-point of £425 / €599. Well, the theory behind it comes from the fact that in the belly of the beast there is a new disc drive called a Blu-ray player. Just as the PlayStation pioneered CD playback on a home console and the PS2 followed suit with its DVD-playing capabilities, Sony is once again attempting to push the envelope further by introducing the gaming world to the next generation of home entertainment, this time via Blu-ray DVD. This new-fangled format is in direct competition with the HD-DVDs that the Xbox 360 now supports, but is being classed as “the next leap forward” when it comes to the heady world of data storage technology and digital entertainment…

Yet do you know what the consequences of more space mean? The same as when more lanes open up on motorways to ease the space issues and then they are almost instantly filled to the brim with more cars. In other words, developers will have far more space to use for their games and will likely take full advantage of it very quickly. In fact, Hideo Kojima has already discussed this particular aspect when talking about Metal Gear Solid 4 on PS3, with him stating that as as High Definition video sequences are so large that the space issue will rear its ugly head yet again in the near future, no doubt, as soon as a few of these HD movie clips are included in a final product.

But exactly how much space are we talking about? Well, one Blu-ray DVD roughly works out at being ten times the size of a normal Digital Versatile Disc, which sounds phenomenally large when you consider that on average a PlayStation 2 game fills up less than half the space of a regular DVD. But, as already stated, high-definition imagery and videos requires a greater capacity and this is where Blu-ray excels, giving pristine 1080p picture quality - in other words it can display the highest-definition resolution currently available with the greatest of ease. And this is in addition to the 7.1 channel surround sound audio that provides you with a theatre-like experience in your own living room or bedroom, thanks as well to the supported eight channels of Liner PCM and thirty-two audio streams. On top of this you can even record whatever you desire onto the massive discs, meaning more images, videos and music can be stored than ever before on home console digital media.

The question remains, though, how well is Blu-ray going to be supported, given that Sony’s PSP UMDs have been dropped very quickly? Will it be all about the games, or will people be picking up Blu-ray DVD movies on a consistent basis in the future? Well, seven of the eight large movie studios have already announced titles for Blu-ray, those being Warner, Paramount, Fox, Disney, Sony, MGM and Lionsgate. And, subsequently, in over 170 of the world’s leading consumer electronics, PC and media manufacturers have jumped on-board the good ship Blu-ray (examples being Apple, LG, Samsung and JVC), leading us to the clear conclusion that so far Blur-ray has fast become the format with the widest ranging support in the Industry so early on in its existence.

A Multimedia Monster – Lessons in Convergence
You should all agree that the PlayStation 3 is more than just any old gaming platform – it is the ultimate device for anyone with multimedia needs. Starting things off nice and slow, there is the option to store any photo imagery on your PS3 and then play around with them in the various slideshow options available. But the budding computer boffins out there will no doubt be chomping at the bit to find out what else is on offer. Remember the old Nintendo advertising slogan from the days of the SNES, ‘Now You’re Playing with Power!’? Well, that can definitely be attributed to this new Sony console.

It can, of course, do all the simple things other competitors are currently doing as well, such as play the usual format of music CDs (complete with online compatibility to obtain album and artist information), copy discs onto your hard disk drive, as well as allow you to listen to other types of audio file. However, it can also play, as mentioned above, Blu-ray DVDs as well as normal DVDs. But in addition you can also hook up a digital camera via one of the USB ports to store homemade movies and watch them back whenever you please (MPEG1, MPEG2 and standard-profile MP4 being the main video formats supported). And as if that was not enough, once online you can gain access to exclusive video content that will be supplied on the PlayStation Store and PlayStation Portal. What more could you ask for? Well, in Sony’s effort to be the King of Kon…sorry, Convergence, there is even the ability browse the Internet smoothly using the Sixaxis wireless controller!


Not Just Any Old Gaming Machine…
For those thinking perhaps the PS3 is just a powerhouse in terms of features, it also has what it takes to tackle the competition not only on this playing field, but on the future court, as it will definitely still be able to hold its own five-to-ten years from now.

You see, Sony has ‘future-proofed’ this new console to ensure that the price you pay will definitely be worth it as you will not need to buy anything else for a very long time (in theory). But why is it so special? Well, it all comes down to a little something by the name of the ‘Cell Broadband Engine’. This is such a special aspect of the PS3 that Sony delayed the launch of the entire system from its originally proposed Spring 2006 date due to technical difficulties arising because it is simply that damn powerful.

It has received praise from across the board primarily because of it having a unique multi-processing design that helps developers create fantastic new projects. Engineers from Sony, SCEI, IBM and Toshiba worked long and hard over the past few years to create this monster when truly unleashed, the extra horse-power on offer lets game creators provide more on-screen enemies than ever before, boost up the Artificial Intelligence considerably, ensure the gameplay adheres to physics to improve realism, as well as crank up the overall aesthetics to a level never before seen in home console gaming – all at the same time! The physics aspect is particularly fascinating since now developers can replicate exact impacts on glass, for instance, with larger objects creating many more minute cracks, or small particles of dust flying up as a racing car zooms across a dirt track. With up to eight Synergistic Processor Units (SPUs) or ‘cores’ available to help balance the processor workload and thus make it much more powerful (forty times faster than that of the PS2 chip!) and efficient than ever before, the potential for attention to detail that is now readily on-hand is simply immense and is likely to leave you with your jaw scraping the floor…


Compensation for the Delay?
Considering the PlayStation 3 has now been out in the US since 17th November, 2006 and even earlier in Japan (11th November), you would assume that Sony has something special up its sleeves for the impending European launch, which has been delayed until 23rd March, 2007. Well, nothing has changed in terms of the price – the touted £425 is still in place, albeit amended by retail to £424.99, but there is a significant different in that only the 60GB package will be on offer and the free Blu-ray DVD treat will not be The Ballad of Ricky Bobby like it was in the US, but Casino Royale with the new James Bond, Daniel Craig. Simply be one of the first 500,000 new owners to register on the PlayStation Network and you will get a brand new special edition copy of the best Bond movie for many years!

But again, this is not exactly any form of compensation, sadly. And to rub salt in the wounds of European gamers (who apparently do not mind having to wait for the PS3, according to Sony representatives…), the backwards compatibility aspect has been stunted somewhat. Whilst PSone games will not be affected, Sony has revealed that when buying a European PS3, you will have to check out http://faq.eu.playstation.com/bc in order to see whether or not your PS2 games will work on it. If you are not in luck, then all Sony advises you to do is keep your old console…But why is this approach being taken? Well, Sony states that whilst it will continue to analyse the situation and release firmware upgrades as often as possible to help those who wish to play PS2 titles on the PS3, it is more focused on developing new games and other features exclusive to the PlayStation 3 that take full advantage of the technology on offer so that owners will have the best possible experience in this ‘next generation’. So whilst the Japanese and US PS3’s currently have a 98% compatibility rate, the European PS3 systems will have a far lower success rate due to certain chips being removed from the final hardware and being replaced by software support instead. This should help Sony reduce costs in the long-run as less components in the hardware reduces the price of manufacturing the console, which can only be a positive thing since Sony is currently losing money with each unit sold. And hey, it has been revealed that around 1,000 PS2 games will be compatible from launch anyway, so surely it is not all that bad?

But sticking on a more negative slant for a short while longer, anyone that has bought a high definition television set in order to benefit from the new PS3 games will have to manually change the TV’s aspect ratio from 16:9 back to 4:3 when trying out PSone and PS2 games, since the console will not automatically adjust the games accordingly, unfortunately (and anyone wondering about transferring PS2 saves to the PS3, you must copy the data onto an internal memory card within the HDD on the PS3 by using a PS2/PSone Memory Card adaptor). Again, though, firmware updates could well alleviate this issue in the future – we will just have to wait and see. On top of this, however, although Sony has previously stated it was not going to include region encoding for the PS3, this does not reach as far as backward compatible games (i.e. the PSone and select PS2 games that do work). This also means, as expected, movies from different regions will also be locked. Sadly this means that unless you get hold of special disc to hot-swap, any old NTSC games you have will simply not work with your PAL PS3 and vice-versa.


Final Specifications – Under the Hood
For those out there that like their firm facts and specifications, here is what we know about the PS3’s 60GB package. The box will contain an AC cord, meaning there is no need for an external power source or block like other systems; it will come with CompactFlash, SD Memory Card and Memory Stick Duo card slots; and will have Wi-Fi out of the box for online access (via a PC connected to the Internet and a router or USB dongle to transmit the signal to the PS3) and comes with a pre-installed 60GB HDD (although any 2.5" Serial ATA HDD can be hooked up in reality), plus an Ethernet cable to directly link to a PC for Internet access, as well as a multi-AV cable with composite connectors.

The system measures around 32.5cm wide, 9.8cm high and 27.4cm deep, weighs in at around five kilogrammes and houses the Cell Broadband Engine, RSX GPU, four USB 2.0 ports and the following internal memory: 256MB XDR Main RAM and 256MB GDDR3 VRAM. No doubt you will agree this is all rather mind-blowing, but there is in fact much more to come. You see, the PS3 can communicate via the Ethernet cable (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T), IEEE 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi and / or Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR), with up to seven wireless controller being able to link to the hardware at any one time. Finally, here is a quick list of the AV Output types:

Screen Sizes: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p
HDMI: HDMI out - (x1 / HDMI)
Analogue: AV MULTI OUT x 1
Digital Audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1
Disc Drive: Blu-ray/DVD/CD DRIVE ("Read Only")


Networking, PlayStation Style…
As you will have already read, the PS3 comes with Wi-Fi capabilities right out of the box, meaning that anyone with an Internet connection at home can technically hook up their system and access the PlayStation Network (via the direct route of the Ethernet cable or using a PC wireless router / USB dongle transmitter). When setting this up, you will go through the usual motions of creating a new account and assigning yourself an appropriate username, before adding your other PS3-owning friends to your buddy list. Upon completion of this, the world is then your oyster. Sony has announced that gamers will be able to conduct voice and video chat sessions with others, participate in online ranking systems for certain games, access the Internet to browse the web for free (excluding specific pay sites, obviously, where whatever normal charges are incurred) and even hook up a USB keyboard and mouse to ease the process of navigation. A word of warning, though; something to note about the Internet access is that you have to keep an eye on how many windows you open as several content-heavy pages will cause the console to run low on system memory, just like a PC starts to chug when too much is going on at any one time. Another potential drawback is the current status of the browser’s set of plug-ins, with reports of Flash content running slow or not at all on more up-to-date websites, plus there is a lack of Quicktime or Windows Media plug-ins. These are again aspects that will likely be resolved in future updates, and ones that may even be dealt with in time for the European release. Watch this space! The beauty of the PS3’s power, though, is that whilst you are browsing, you can be playing stored music from the HDD at the very same time…a small addition, but one that will certainly make browsing less boring.

Internet browsing is not the be-all and end-all of the PSN, though, as PlayStation Portable connectivity can come into play, with the handheld possibly being used as a remote control for the PS3, or simply for the transfer of data between the two platforms via Memory Stick or USB connection. There has even been some hearsay about the PSP eventually being able to access the PS3 from remote locations…But it all comes down to Sony and external developers on how the two will hook-up in the future. For example, in a fashion last seen with Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance and GameCube, in Formula One the PSP can be used as a mirror for the vehicles being driven. The possibilities of how the two can interact are endless and you really have to hope developers don their creative thinking caps to make the most of the opportunity.

As well as that, we have already seen PSone games become downloadable onto the PSP, but Sony plans to allow future PSone, PS2 AND PSP games to be downloaded onto the PS3, creating a unified system similar to what Nintendo is currently doing via its Virtual Console system on the Wii. In addition to this exciting prospect, original games will be distributed on the PSN, items can be bought at the PlayStation Store and online gaming comes free of charge (with the exception of Massively Multiplayer Online games due to their separate charge rates). For the European launch later this month, the PSP release Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection will be ready for download, priced at the amazingly low figure of €9.99 / £6.99, with new title Blast Factor alongside it at only £3.49 and the much-hyped (and completely gratis) Gran Tursimo HD! In terms of what can be expected in the near future, Super Rub-A-Dub is due on 30th March, flOw is down for 6th April, Go! Sudoku comes on 13th April and Go! Puzzle is due for a 20th April launch. Other ‘2007’ games include Lemmings, Gripshift and Calling All Cars, although no pricing has been revealed for them as of yet, although the announced introductory price period is on a sliding scale ranging from €2.99 / £1.99 to €9.99 / £6.99 per game. As for the downloadable items available, these can start as low as €0.99 and increase in cost dependent on the scale of what is being purchased – with cheaper examples being a new SingStar track and more expensive ones being something like new courses, vehicles and modes for a game such as MotorStorm.

Countdown to Launch
On 23rd March, 2007 you will need £424.99 (or £374.99 if you placed your £50 deposit at places like GAME) to acquire your new piece of kit and will have a choice of some great games. So far we know games will cost €59.99 / £39.99 and the selection consists of something for everyone. Just check out this sampler of the games on offer from day one:

- Ridge Racer 7,
- MotorStorm,
- Resistance: Fall of Man
- Virtua Fighter 5
- Formula One Championship Edition
- Oblivion
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Virtua Tennis 3
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
- Need for Speed: Carbon
- Marvel Ultimate Alliance
- Blazing Angels
- Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
- Enchanted Arms
- Tony Hawk’s Project 8
- The Godfather: Don’s Edition
- Fight Night Round 3.
- NHL 2K7
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- World Snooker Championship 2007

I am sure you will agree that most genres are thoroughly covered, from fighting to racing, platform action to first person shooting, sports and even RPGs. Sony may have arrived late to the party here in Europe, but it certainly has decided to make an entrance of such a grand scale that nobody could ever ignore it!

The countdown begins…

ScootaKuH

Wow that is a really quite informative. Just goes to confirm that waiting for a PS3 was the right thing to do for me

crispino13

i noticed on the game list that call of duty 3 is not on there, does that mean you guys dont get it or something?

ScootaKuH

No that's not an exhaustive list. It's due out at launch

ScootaKuH

hmm..i wonder if there's any way of blocking people who have no intention at all of using this forum in a civilised manner? (See thread"****dicks")

sprint

Don't worry he wont be posting here anymore

ScootaKuH

It's such a shame when you get people that just come on to destroy any meaningful form of discussion. If they really don't like what people are saying and don't like the site in general, why do they even waste theirs and our time by posting?

Personally I thought this article was very informative

scottyboy218

Well I honestly hope you guys enjoy your PS3s, since the console is bombing abysmally over here in America and even in Japan. For all those prospective buyers who plan to get one on launch day, I sincerely urge you to wait a few weeks to see exactly what you are (and aren't) paying for. I am a huge sony fan, and owner of every console they've made, but I have an extreme case of buyers remorse after buying my PS3. The console was extremely overhyped for what it can do. It was delayed an extra year, and what did it achieve? With a year delay you would assume it would come with some sort of WOW! Factor at launch, but it has nothing. Resistance is the only decent game available on it right now, everything else good on the console is a port from the 360 version. I'm not trying to start a flame war, but I'm urging you as a fellow consumer to wait a little while on the PS3. Demand in US was extremely high pre-launch, but has plummeted in a little under a month. I even work in a video game retail store, we sold a total of 3 PS3's in january, and we are in a very populated city.

Crossfade8448

i think people are doing what you say...waiting to buy it when they have more use for it or when more games come out.

dantheman

Exactly, wait and see... their not even using the potential yet. Besides, they keep updating this and that, it's like buying a computer. You need a patch for this and an update for that, then go and change your config.sys and autoexec.bat file to say this.... etc....
Maybe when there is some content and the price comes down, and they include the HD cable and a second controller and a game, then it may be worth $500 and that's only if HD-DVD doesn't beat out Blue Ray for the HD "format of the future". I'll wait and see what format wins market share, or gets dropped, kinda like the UMD fiasco. I think I've got 3 or 4 UMD disks for my PSP, and I love it, it's like a mini dvd player... ah well, goodbye UMD movies!
I'm just tired of changing format over and over and.....

ScootaKuH

Of course they're not using the PS3's full potential yet, it's not been out long. It'll take a good 12-24 months before we start to see this happening, and by this point I think the price will have dropped and the popularity will have increased.
As for the format war a lot of industry pundits say the Blu-Ray vs HD DVD has already been won by Blu-Ray since the majority of big Hollywood movie studios have opted for the Blu-Ray format. I personally feel it's way too early to tell but it's definitely a good sign. Now, PS3 updates, this will continue to happen right through the life of the machine, given that you own a PSP you should be used to this as it's exactly the same thing, Sony have been regularly releasing new firmware updates for the PSP to enhance its capabilities and to add new features, and they're doing the same with the PS3, no big deal, it's just what they have to do in order to keep up with the market. If they continued to delay in order to add new features into the machine it would never get launched.
I too love my PSP but it came as no great surprise that the UMD was failing as a medium for movies. For one compared to the DS it's overpriced and it just doesn't have the market share that the DS has and no way in the world was I going to spend £20 on a UMD movie with no bonuses when for the same price (and in a lot of cases, less than £20) I could buy a DVD with tonnes of extras. Added to that a lot of people just couldn't be doing with watching movies on the relatively tiny PSP screen, no matter how sharp it was. I'm one of those people, I don't own a single UMD movie, I only wanted it for games and it's more than lived up to its hype in that repsect. I know it's nowhere near the DS in terms of sales but as far as I'm concerned the PSP is the better machine.

Jeter16

you'll never see its full potential through the next 12-24 months if you dont have an HDTV, and you wont be able to watch blu ray either so

ScootaKuH

ahh well nm

crash1202

I think that people are waiting until better stuff comes out for it. I mean only a few games and thats already $660 right there not to mention tax......

__________________
The PS3 may be weak now...But the 360 is slipping and we will strike when the time is right...

jesusraz

Hope you all enjoyed the article. Clearly due to issues with word limits it had to be condensed in some respects, but there should definitely be enough detail in there to statiate the enquiries of fans yearning to know more about the PlayStation 2 successor.

Hopefully I'll have several more pieces ready for your perusal in the near future

Adam.

Crossfade8448

ah ha no tax here in oregon so its only 600 yeah

ScootaKuH

The price you see on the shelves is before tax added?? At least over here the price you see is the price you pay, tax is already included.

*Chris*

^I think what he means is that they don't get taxed whatsoever. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

We over here in the UK get's ripped off when it comes to these sort of things...I mean, compare the price of petrol over here to that of America...

ScootaKuH

Not just petrol either......everything lol

Slightly off topic i know lol

jesusraz

Taxation shouldn't matter so much, though, since £425 isn't too bad compared to the original price of the PS2. Also, think about the price of a Blu-ray DVD player on its own...your talking £500+ easily! So a Blu-ray player AND high-tech gaming system altogether for £424.99 (or £374.99 since everywhere is doing a £50 deposit scheme) isn't too awful overall.

ScootaKuH

Well, it doesn't matter how you look at it, unless money is no object £425 is a lot of money. I don't think it's asking too much for the PS3 though, I'm sure it will be worth every last penny

jesusraz

The whole 'future-proofing' side ensures it is indeed worth every penny...But when you see stores like GAME with a '20 PS3s Left - Hurry Now!' sign in the window, then see the very same sign remain there for a good ten or so days without that number going down, you get a good idea just how much of a put-off the price really is if nobody is that bothered about pre-ordering!

ScootaKuH

Yeah it is worth but who can deny that £425 is a lot of money? Then there's games and possibly a HDMI cable to buy..

I would absolutely love to see the PS3 take Europe and Oz by storm but I have a bad feeling it's going sink like US and Japan. PS3 has taken a lot of bad press and all of this has got to our shores and will have put a lot of people off.

Also it's no good the PS3 being so future proofed if people are not buying it. Dreamcast anyone?

jesusraz

Sadly you're perfectly right, as reports from the likes of CVG are showing, with most consumers not realising just how expensive the system is until they go to pre-order...then promptly walk out again muttering under their breath.

*Chris*

Only 3 more days to go...

Then, we can find out just how many units the PS3 manages to shift between Europe and Australia. (well, after the 1st week I should imagine we know statistics)

HOPEFULLY it will be more than U.S and Japan...due to the fact they had a shortage.

PS3 [should] be in huge supply now for the release over here, and, frankly, if it does worse than US and JP...that would be pretty bad. Like both of you above, I believe that the PS3 wont do too well...

...still, I personnaly still have hope that the PS3 will be OK. But seriosly, PS3 will never do as well as PS2 I don't think...well, if it does, that wont be for a long time!

Do you ever see PS3 selling 30 whatever million it was consoles? Unless it drops price, then I dont!