Tuesday, May 9th 2006

Playstation 3 Details and Launch Date

May 9th, 2006 01:06 Discuss (37 Comments)

According to the Sony's official announcement of Playstation 3, the console will ship worldwide in early November 2006. There will be two versions of Playstation 3, one with a 20GB hard drive and one with the 60GB hard drive. On November 11, 2006, Sony will start selling the "lower-end" Playstation 3 for 59,800 Yen, or about $530 USD. This PS3 will feature a 20GB hard drive, gigabit Ethernet and Blu-ray reader. This version of PS3 will not feature integrated 802.11b/g and HDMI output. The 60GB Playstation 3 retail price with HDMI, WiFi and card reader will be around $599 USD. Both consoles will use the new wireless controller which will allow up to seven players multiplay game. Sony will also feature a "SingStar Store" in the marketplace that will allow users to purchase music from Sony directly. Music can then be transferred onto the PSP or played on the PS3. Click on the source page for more information.

Source: DailyTech

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37 Comments on Playstation 3 Details and Launch Date

Bull Dog

Prices............ouch!

Satchmo

uh lol @ the "new" controllers

LOL THEYRE CRAZY LOL

HOW THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSE TO HOLD THOSE WHACKEY LOOKIN THINGS???? WOAHAHAHAHA !!!!

zekrahminator

McLovin

I think Microsoft wins on the next gen console war before it's even begun...Xbox360 came out first, is $400 for the top model, and has enough graphics power to make people reach for things on the screen. PS3 on the other hand, is running on yesterday's technology (the equivalent of dual 6800's, from what I heard), is constantly being delayed, and costs $530 for their cheapest model. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY'RE KIDDING??? Oh yeah and Nintendo Wii insults the Nintendo legacy :p.
Edit- But then again, the cell processor might make it worth that extra cash.

PVTCaboose1337

Graphical Hacker

I cant afford $500! I could build a computer with that money.

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator

Satchmouh lol @ the "new" controllers

LOL THEYRE CRAZY LOL

HOW THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSE TO HOLD THOSE WHACKEY LOOKIN THINGS???? WOAHAHAHAHA !!!!

what are you talking about? the controllers look exactly the same with the exeption of the chord or am i looking at the wrong pic?

EDIT: no nvm im an idiot.

rh535

But if Blu-Ray does good just Blu-ray dvd players are over $1000 and if you really like movies you could save alot of money by buying the PS3.

overcast

rh535But if Blu-Ray does good just Blu-ray dvd players are over $1000 and if you really like movies you could save alot of money by buying the PS3.

I would say the majority of people buying the PS3 have no idea what bluray is , let alone high definition. And worse, even owning an HD capable tv. But it is a valid point, and a major selling feature, for those wanting to adopt "fairly" early and have a cheap player.

Migons

Kinda stupid move from Sony..

1. Releasing two different versions (crippled and full-featured) isn't gonna work - that's proven with Xbox360.

2. Pricing is way too high for many people. New technology sure costs, but too much is too much...

3. Copying controller idea from Nintendo. This is what Sony should be shame of.. :shadedshu

Basicly, Sony hasn't done anything very new with its consoles. If you look MS and Nintendo, they have / will have something to bring: MS has made online console gaming reality, and Nintendo is changing the way of controlling. But Sony? Power? More GFLOPS? More pixels??!!

Bull Dog

zekrahminatorPS3 on the other hand, is running on yesterday's technology (the equivalent of dual 6800's, from what I heard),

The PS3 does not use "yeaterdays" tech. Or rather I should say that the 78/9xx series of nVIDIA cards didn't bring any new features to the table (compared to the 68xx series cards) besides the ability to do multisampling on textures. The PS3 uses a GPU that's supposed to be a G71 GPU (24pipe, 90nm) running at 550ish Mhz. This will give the PS3 slightly more pixel pushing power than the XBOX360's GPU. After having said all this I will say that I have no plans to buy the PS3. If I were to buy a console, I would get the XBOX360.

#10

overcast

Honestly the biggest reason I am interested in the PS3 is for a cheap bluray player to hold me over until second gen standalone players. At $600 it's a steal just for the drive itself.

#11

Mad-Matt

MigonsBasicly, Sony hasn't done anything very new with its consoles. If you look MS and Nintendo, they have / will have something to bring: MS has made online console gaming reality, and Nintendo is changing the way of controlling. But Sony? Power? More GFLOPS? More pixels??!!

Thats right, sony are using a sound stratagy that has made them the console leader for the past 2 generations and theres no reason it wont work again. Even ps1/ps2 launch pricies were stupidly high compared with the other consoles that were around at the time.

Although I wont be paying launch prices, i will be getitng the ps3 purly because it has the games i play such as metal gear, gt, final fantasy and heres hopeing to a ps3 version of god of war ;) Online suff doesnt matter to me much, I have a pc for that, and for the ps2 games, its online system maybe basic but more then functional (run game you want to play and find a game server to play, what could be simpler).

As for nintendo.. How they managed to survive so long i dont know. Surly a weird new controller cant be their saviour and a new console thats no more powerfull then the original xbox. They should just become a software developer and use the existing hardware base of the xbox or even the ps3/360. Besides...the 360/ps3 is sure to get a clone of the new controller if gamers do decide its any good ;)

#12

Darksaber

Senior Editor & Case Reviewer

well I think the big problem here is, as Migons has mentioned:
The two versions...and that the "small" version cannot be upgraded, to the big version...no one who is willing to spend so much for a console, is going to grab the cheap one. If I spend 500 Bucks, I want the whole deal...so I will not spend 400 and not get the most important parts.

There are a few things that Sony did right: Controllers have rechargable batteries in them...no need to buy it seperately. The big console has Wi-Fi included....another 70 Dollar expense für Xbox 360.
And the upgrade drive für the 360 (HD-DVD) will surely cost 200 Dollars, if not more...

so it comes out to the same price for both consoles...600 Bucks, and sony has much more to offer...3x the HDD, included Wi-Fi, bluetooth, card reader, HDMI, wireless controllers which can be recharged...all in one device...instead of 2 pieces connected with USB

So I think Sony has the win here...they have done it right, from the start...if you look at their top end model...just stay away from the 499 US dollar piece!!

cheers
DS
PS: and I am am a paid Xbox 360 promo guy ;) so I am not just playing "fanboy" to sony here...

#13

cjoyce1980

hmmmm! let just see what sony have done with there PS3.

Stolen the controller idea that was displayed at last year E3 but nintendo.

Removed the HDMI option for the cheaper version. so that mean no blu-ray movies for you. i just wonder how many owners are gonna be pissed of with that which dont understand the new technology and how much the cable is gonna cost so you can play them.

Completely copied xbox live feature for feature.

Anyone fancy designing a games console........ if we cant think of any unique idea's, dont worry, we can just plagiarise.

#14

Migons

DarksaberThere are a few things that Sony did right: Controllers have rechargable batteries in them...no need to buy it seperately. The big console has Wi-Fi included....another 70 Dollar expense für Xbox 360.
And the upgrade drive für the 360 (HD-DVD) will surely cost 200 Dollars, if not more...

so it comes out to the same price for both consoles...600 Bucks, and sony has much more to offer...3x the HDD, included Wi-Fi, bluetooth, card reader, HDMI, wireless controllers which can be recharged...all in one device...instead of 2 pieces connected with USB

That's quite true, but it has its reversed side too: perhaps people don't want to pay for what they don't need. Not everybody use WiFi, not everybody is going to need 60GB HDD space... Of course HDMI is always positive, but that's not included in cheaper version.

#15

overcast

cjoyce1980i just wonder how many owners are gonna be pissed of with that which dont understand the new technology and how much the cable is gonna cost so you can play them.

Yeh those awful $20 HDMI cables. So expensive compared to $600. And please don't get into an argument with me over digital cables, because I'm a trained cable ninja.

#16

Jimmy 2004

I might get a PS3... integrated wireless is a great idea for online gamers (like me), rechargable controllers are great and I already find the PS controllers most comfortable. Plus PS3 has its next gen disk player built in, rather than having to buy an external drive (HD-DVD for 360). Silver version looks nicer I think. And it will be sooooo quick for gaming, regardless of what some people like to think. Problem is I will always think PCs are better, they do more, can be upgraded and when one component dies it doesn't spell the end of its life.

#17

Thermopylae_480

Where do you plan on getting all your blue-ray DVDs? How exciting, you can pre-order four movies from Sony right now: Hitch, A Knights Tale, House of Flying Daggers, and the Fifth Element. Personally I think I can live without Blue-ray for a few more years and see which side of the fence I should land on :) . What if Blue-ray doesn't catch on, like Beta Max and those giant Laser Discs? Why spend 500 dollars for four movies, and maybe 25 or so by the end of the year?

Can you tell a difference yet between blue-ray and DVD? Seems like none of the movies coming out would be off sufficent quality yet to notice a difference. I know the Fifth Element surely isn't. You can't make something better quality than it was initially filmed just by switching storage devices.

#18

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder

zekrahminatorI think Microsoft wins on the next gen console war before it's even begun...Xbox360 came out first, is $400 for the top model, and has enough graphics power to make people reach for things on the screen. PS3 on the other hand, is running on yesterday's technology (the equivalent of dual 6800's, from what I heard), is constantly being delayed, and costs $530 for their cheapest model. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY'RE KIDDING??? Oh yeah and Nintendo Wii insults the Nintendo legacy :p.
Edit- But then again, the cell processor might make it worth that extra cash.

You forget that the XBox360 is going to have an add on HD-DVD drive that you will have to have to play the majority of the games coming out. So add another $100 on to the price of the XBox.

Sony did the smart thing, they knew what they wanted in the console and didn't sacrifice things to get it out first. They don't have to worry about getting their console out first, none of their consoles have come out first, and both destroyed the console that was released before it(Sega Saturn, and Dreamcast).

Also the smaller/cheaper console will be missing some of the things that people might not use, it will have a smaller hard drive, and it will lack 802.11 support. So people don't have to pay for things they won't use.

#19

overcast

Thermopylae_480Where do you plan on getting all your blue-ray DVDs? How exciting, you can pre-order four movies from Sony right now: Hitch, A Knights Tale, House of Flying Daggers, and the Fifth Element. Personally I think I can live without Blue-ray for a few more years and see which side of the fence I should land on :) . What if Blue-ray doesn't catch on, like Beta Max and those giant Laser Discs? Why spend 500 dollars for four movies, and maybe 25 or so by the end of the year?

Can you tell a difference yet between blue-ray and DVD? Seems like none of the movies coming out would be off sufficent quality yet to notice a difference. I know the Fifth Element surely isn't. You can't make something better quality than it was initially filmed just by switching storage devices.

The new HD standards are a SIGNIFICANT improvement over SDDVD. The fact that all compression artifacts have been eliminated is reason enough alone. Not to mention the HD audio soundtracks, greater detail, deeper colors and black levels. The original film sources have been rescanned in at 1080 progressive, NOT 480 interlaced (SDDVD). The image is as pristine as it can get at this moment in time. Of course it's been stated to get an actual "film quality" scan, you would need 5000 lines of resolution. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

You really shouldn't comment on things you know nothing about. Your Fifth Element comment pretty much solidifies that. Both the original release , and now it's Superbit release, have both been WIDELY used as one of the defacto "demo" discs for home theater demonstrations. The picture quality is literally stunning in comparison to most SDDVD.

and as just an FYI, laserdiscs are still used in many enthusiast markets. Mainly because of their superior quality (being an analog medium).

In the end it will come down to consumer acceptance. While one of the competing formats may fade away, High Definition video is here to stay. Bluray is a superior technology, with much more industry support. The next year should be pretty exciting.

#20

Migons

newtekie1You forget that the XBox360 is going to have an add on HD-DVD drive that you will have to have to play the majority of the games coming out. So add another $100 on to the price of the XBox.

No, games aren't going to use HD-DVD, it's only for movies.

Also the smaller/cheaper console will be missing some of the things that people might not use, it will have a smaller hard drive, and it will lack 802.11 support. So people don't have to pay for things they won't use.

Well, then the problem is that you can't buy the lacking features afterwards. You buy the cheaper model - you will own that forever.

#21

zekrahminator

McLovin

DarksaberThere are a few things that Sony did right: Controllers have rechargable batteries in them...no need to buy it seperately. The big console has Wi-Fi included....another 70 Dollar expense für Xbox 360.
And the upgrade drive für the 360 (HD-DVD) will surely cost 200 Dollars, if not more...

so it comes out to the same price for both consoles...600 Bucks, and sony has much more to offer...3x the HDD, included Wi-Fi, bluetooth, card reader, HDMI, wireless controllers which can be recharged...all in one device...instead of 2 pieces connected with USB
cheers
DS

I didn't think of that, but it makes perfect sense considering microsoft :laugh:. No matter how cheap, powerful, or tech-savvy these things are, I will stick to PC building. Much more fun :D. Oh yeah and bulldog, I see your point, I was just saying that from what I heard, Sony says the RSX has the power of "only" 2 6800's. Didn't mean to make any Sony fans angry, My first console was a playstation (right before PS2 came out :ohwell:) and I loved that thing. PS2 was fun until I figured out how to build computers, and now I need to find a good PS2 game emulator :).

#22

KennyT772

well plain and simple xbox games will very soon be storage limited as the playstation 1 was...hell we all remember the 2/3/4/5 disc games such as final fantasy and granturismo... with roughtly 9.4gb of storage (dvd) vs what 45 for blue ray? also the rsx in the ps3 has about double the power of a 6800u in say farcry v1.0. to me that is huuge. newer games wont take full use of it yet but once publishers catch on both systems will rock.

anyone know how much ram is available in each console??? i think its like 256mb or 512mb

#23

cjoyce1980

KennyT772anyone know how much ram is available in each console??? i think its like 256mb or 512mb

both systems have 512mb, but the PS3 OS takes up 96mb of that, unlike the 360's OS which only uses 32mb. oh yeah, the PS3's ram is spilt up. one area for graphics, one for working memory and another for sound. this could cause bottle necks, unlike the 360 where its up to the developing programmer, and the 360 as an extra 10mb of ram sitting on the GPU, so it can do more per clock cycle. that why the GPU runs at 500MHz.

#24

cjoyce1980

The Specs

CPU:-
360 have large L2 Cache

GPU:-
360 = 48 pipelines + 10Mb DRAM
PS3 = 24 pipelines

hmmm! i wonder? :rolleyes:

#25

ice91785

zekrahminatorI was just saying that from what I heardI have heard more that the RSX handles more like a single 7800GTX card than 6800s in SLI (comparing PC cards here of course)

Also I think blu ray will definately catch on as the world is slowly changing to high def all over the place with the passing of PURELY digitial (high def) cable as a standard in a few years and how you can't buy a TV now without it be capible of high def output.

SO! that is just my two cents in this case.

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Playstation 3 Details and Launch Date

37 Comments on Playstation 3 Details and Launch Date

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