Make way for the Playstation 3

The Playstation 3, commonly abbreviated to PS3 is the Sony Computer Entertainment Company’s latest offering in the high-stakes computer game wars. Officially released in Japan on November 11, 2006, it is Sony’s 7th generation video game console and it is the 3rd release in the company’s popular Playstation series. It was released in the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Canada six days later on November 17, 2006 and at the time of this writing is yet to be released in Europe, Singapore and Australia, with a scheduled release date of March 23, 2007.

Two different configurations have been initially planned for the PS3 namely the Basic model that comes with a 20GB hard drive and the Premium model that ships with a whopping 60GB hard drive.

Sony officially announced the Playstation 3 to the public in May 16,2005 by way of an eagerly anticipated unveiling at the 2005 E3 conference. While there wasn’t any actual fully functioning Playstation 3 consoles present at this event nor at the Tokyo Game Show held later in September of the same year, the company did give the public a taste of their innovative new product with demonstrations using devkits of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots running on PC hardware with much the same specs as the actual units. As well as the software demonstrations, video presentations were also shown to the public that showcased game footage of Mobile Suit Gundam based on the planned Playstation 3 specifications. These teasers were sufficiently impressive enough to whet the appetite of most of those in attendance at these events and in the E3 held in 2006, Sony finally delivered and showcased games on the actual Playstation 3 units.

The Playstation 3 is fast shaping up to become a milestone in the fast moving world of video game consoles by offering users the capability to run the latest PS1080p games, view blu-ray videos, surf the Internet and many more incredible features.

What is particularly attractive about the Playstation 3 is that it allows you Internet access from any room in your house, provided of course that you have a wireless modem. It is a simple matter to select “wireless” under the Network Settings>Internet Connection Settings menu, download the necessary firmware from the Sony website and hey presto, you are surfing the Web! Of course a computer keyboard will come in handy at this point, but you really don’t need anything more than that.

When you purchase a Playstation 3, a few games will probably included in the box and some may even come with the firmware upgrade software making it quite painless to hook up a few cables and begin playing right away.

Aside from the freebie games, your package may also include a blu-ray version of the movie, Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, particularly if you are lucky (or quick enough!) to purchase any of the first 500,000 units released. The Sony Computer Entertainment Company has correctly assumed that the blu-ray capabilities of their latest console are a primary consideration in the purchase of this gaming console for many consumers and they are eager to highlight just what this technology is capable of. And quite impressive it is; while DVD’s can typically contain at most 9GB of data on one disc, a blu-ray by contrast can hold a staggering 50GB! This tremendous storage capacity quickly becomes apparent in the stunning clarity and depth of detail in blu-ray videos. To coin a phrase: it really must be seen to be believed.

The blu-ray technology in the Playstation 3 makes it possible for users to take advantage of next generation media capabilities that offer high definition graphic images when used in conjunction with a HD receiver. What this means is that the Playstation 3 is capable of rendering video at a resolution of 1,080 lines of progressive scan; this astounding feature makes the Playstation 3 capable of the highest video resolution currently available.

So far so good for your eyes, but what about your ears? The audio conscious consumer will be thrilled to know that the Playstation 3 offers 7.1 surround sound capabilities and it sounds breathtaking.

Of course all this eye and ear candy won’t amount to much if the Playstation 3 has little to show in the brains department, and happily it doesn’t disappoint. The Cell Broadband Engine contained in the PS3 delivers 10 times the power of a typical personal computer, running at a clock speed of 3.2 GHz and capable of performing 200 billion calculations per second. This staggering computing power will allow new games to almost approximate human intelligence allowing for a gaming experience like no other.