Finally, a PS3 hands-on report (which is unfortunately still lacking in title-specific details)

I love the foreman grille idea... Hell, it would be awesome if I could cook steak & eggs whilst playing burnout 6.

The console looks nice, in silver it will go with my other sound system/dvd player..it also bares similarities to bose systems. Nothing bad about the looks... Hell, even the controller looks good from an aesthetical point of view. The control looks crappy for actually playing with really...But if I was going to put it on a stand like a piece of artwork...it looks top notch. I just hope considering it isn't supposed to be getting many changes, that it sits more comfortably in my hand than I imagine & the buttons are set out in the right places to make them more accessable than the (best controller so far) DS2's.

I was dead set on a silver console to go with other stuff, but damn the blacks looking hella cool too.

People slammed the PS2 for it's look when released, but I thought it looked mad retro & had plenty more character in it's shape than the xblock or the cube.... The cube actually looks like an alarm clock I have..... except the alarm clock looks better due to the lcd lightup time on front.

Don't get me wrong the little nintendo alarm clock surprised me with the punch it packed though.
I bought all 3 consoles last time & due to restricted hours in the day & gameplay time..... I have decided the next gen for me will consist simpy of just PS3.
I have a HD dlp tele, so it takes more advantage of my setup... with blu ray hd movie playback out of the box........ & the never ending list of games always available for sony's consoles, theres no other choice for me personally.
The worst that can happen is that I'll have to buy another re-worked controller a few mths later like xbox owners did with the type-s.

For viewing movies, Blu-ray and HD-DVD are both a waste IMO. The visual improvement over DVD's will be barely perceptible, even if you have an HDTV.

you here about ps3 looking like a fridge and a bbq grill, and....? it dont mean its bad looking.

if you look at the xbox 360, it looks too standard, too common. just imagine nice smooth slick black ps3 and nice blak revolution with a nice sony hdtv...nice huh? now add your xbox 360 to the picture - not so nice now is it.

blu ray will be a success because of marketing schemes and comparisons. and the line 'watch blu ray movies in your ps3', this will sell blu ray and it will sell ps3.

il give you 2 reasons why hd dvd add on 4 xbox is a waste of time. 1. blu ray is overpowering hd dvd in the industry in hollywood and that. 2. no one buys hardware add ons. people prefer their stuff inbuilt and compact and they also want plenty for their money.

im getin a ps3, most probably a revolution in the future. and guess what? i get a blu ray player aswl...

I'm actually in the 'gaming elite' class of people (65" sony HD set, and LOTS of extra cash to throw around)... 39, wife, kiddies, more money than brains...LOL..

Yeh, I've got HD, but the AVERAGE comsumer for BR is NOT going to have the capability to play it and wont care about BR players (stand alone or PS3 wise).

Hell, if you look at demographics the baby boomers are going to be retiring soon if they haven't already, so a LARGE percentage of the 'disposable income buying' public is going to be my parents.. SH.t, I finally got them a high end dvd player for Xmas... CAUSE THEY DIDN"T WANT ONE until I convinced them....LOL.....

Yet, you think the average boob is going to buy a BR player just because?...LOL.. Aint gonna happen...

Also, out of those 100 million PS2's, how many are repeat purchases or are multiple units by same person? Yeh, I'd put them more around 50 million realisitically....

As for Japan, who cares. Seriously, Yugi-oh anime anyone?...LOL.. Not really "my cup of tea"...

Back to my little sun servers.... sigh... Its rough, but someones got to do it...LOL..

Peace out kiddies...

"It's certainly obvious this machine is not "twice" as powerful as 360, let alone a generational leap ahead."

"Does PS3 really look like the Killzone trailer? No way."

"...while still impressive, is nowhere near the leap beyond Xbox 360 Sony wants you to believe."

This is what I figured, and I think these are important points. Although the "more stuff simultaneously" sounds good, the memory bandwidth problem could be really apparent.

Personally, I just look back at history, and see that it took Developers 4 years to get anything impressive out of the PS2. This will probably bleed into the PS3 development. However, we do know that the PS3 will be easier to develop for than its predecessor. But if developers stay at a steady pace with all 3 consoles, then the PS3 will always be behind 360 since developers will have had the most time with the 360. By the time the PS3 games possibly make notable difference to the XBox 360, we'll already be seeing the Xbox 720 and PS4 or whatever they choose to call them.

This should make for an interesting competition. The PS2 was the weakest console, with the Gamecube being stronger, and the Xbox the strongest (as far as specs/capabilities). However, the PS3 and 360 will be more even and the Revolution will be the odd man out.

This information really just reaffirms for me that I need not be in any rush to procure a PS3. The more and more I read, the less interested I get in the games and the console's abilities. I'm already getting a great all-around experience with the 360, although Live is necessary to get the most out of it.

Overall, I think either a PS3 or 360 and a Revolution combination will be gamers best bet (assuming Sony does provide a useful online service).

"98. bd:"

"A similar number to console owners? Almost every kid I know has at least one video console. I know a total of 2 people with HDTV's. Maybe this is why Nintendo has decided to not even SUPPORT HDTV output in their "next-gen" console. You're trying to tell me that the 90 million PS2's, 25 million Xboxes and 25 million Gamecubes belong to HD consumers?"

There are around 140 million consoles around, but there are also many multiple console owners, not 140 million of owners. Contrary to your belief, HDTVs are already affordable. I'm not an American, and that's why I'm very surprised that where I live, HDTVs are "the best selling product" in the consumer electronics stores (because America is better off than my country, and because America is the land of compulsive consumers).

Worldwide, the number of HDTVs is growing fast. If it wasn't, why would the cable companies be so stupid to make the expensive transition? Anyway, it is being hugely advertised, and by the time Revolution and PS3 launch, there will be an even bigger HDTV market (not like there isn't now anyway; and if they bought an HDTV, why wouldn't they buy a Blu-ray/HD-DVD player? stupid to think they wouldn't).


"My point was this: The industry's technology is developed at a faster rate than consumer adoption. You talk of 2160p BR players in a few years totally diregarding the fact that in a few years 720p sets MAY finally be affordable for the average consumer, at last replacing their 480i sets they bought in the '80s. My point was before Blu-Ray or HD-DVD has been around long enough to gain any credibility, something else will be out which will catch the attention of the videophiles and wealthy elite. This is why I entitled my post as the top reasons Blu-Ray will be met with LIMITED SUCCESS. The mass market simply isn't ready for another format change and the relatively small HD market can't support the immense cost of developing these technologies as such rapid rates. "

You didn't get the point. I was hypothetically speaking about how Blu-ray might be future proof, and that technology is always advancing, so that in 5-10 years, 2160p displays become the next generation, while 720p or even 1080p become mainstream. (I don't care if Blu-ray is still used or not, I'm hypothetically speaking).

I think it will take less time to adopt High Definition, since most of the TVs being sold are HDTVs, they are going down in price, and both SDTVs and EDTVs will be soon discontinued (proof of that is that Panasonic is ceasing to produce analogue TVs to go fully digital, and the trend will probably continue, as rate of profit for older technology will keep going down). All cable companies will broadcast in HDTV as demand for it grows; oh wait, they are all doing it now.

"Case in Point: I know several employees at different electronics stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, Ultimate Electronics etc). Sony SXRD displays, though stunning and one of the only displays able to support 1080p native resolution, weren't selling very well. Circuit City actually had a sale on them offering them for a couple hundred dollars over cost to start moving product. The guy at UE didn't even reccomend 1080p screens as "there is currently no support for it and HD braodcasting will be 1080i for a long, long time". This guy is either a really terrible salesman in a suit and tie (UE is very upper tier, high class product oriented), or he knows his stuff. Best Buy barely even advertises they carry 1080p TV's. I had to ask the salesman if they carried any, to which he replied, "Uh, I think so, but not in-store". I later found 1 SXRD model tucked away in a corner. But you know what, for Sony's sake, I hope Blu-Ray works out for them, or at least that the PS3 is successful regardless of their media formats reception, because if it isn't, Sony will be out of business, and I want plenty of competition in the market to keep MS and Nintendo honest. I will however say that the market is quite full at 3 contenders, so please, no more..."

While 1080p sets are scarce, the number of sales of them are increasing, and Blu-ray discs will come with a native resolution on this level. So what if it isn't as popular? As I said, you don't need a 1080p display for taking advantage of HD (and eventually, the transition will be made). Saying that HDTV owners won't buy HD movies because there is a format war is like saying that VHS and Betamax didn't sell because they were struggling for market dominance, which is false. I had both formats, and both were useful anyway. Eventually I ended up with more VHS movies because it won, but then DVD came and I built a new movie collection. Now, why did people where so eager to replace their VHS collection? I don't know, but they did. This time, it might be easier for HDTV users, since HD-DVD and BD are both Backwards compatible, and they can just keep watching their movies upscaled, while the new ones will look even better with a native 1080p (or 720p) resolution. All that without having to re-build a movie collection.

argh! not the blu-ray arguments again! nooooo!!!!

m3mnoch.

on price:
january 11, 1997. the first dvd players in the u.s. toshiba and rca both had one for $600. samsung for $750. now, get this: sony for $1000. does that tell you where sony's pricing strategies lie?

on adoption:
dvd took about 5 years for it to catch on publicly. and, that was with a huge "easy-consumer-describable" feature improvement over vhs: no-rewind.

with hi-def dvd's there is no "pain point" for the consumer it will solve. similar to hdtv. hence, the nearly decade long battle for even a slight bit of market penetration.

hi-def dvd won't be even close to mass market until somewhere around 2012.

on the expensive bloat-anchor of sony's blu-ray:
http://m3mnoch.wordpress.com/2006/02/06/breaking-consumer-economic-principles/

sony is artificially trying to influence standard consumer buying principles.

it will fail. either because sony can't muscle enough dollars to input into this 'influence' or they go for it and break the company only to get bought by samsung on the cheap.

the ps3 will be overpriced for a 'similar' system as the xbox 360. microsoft is basically buying them out of the market.

which, is really sad if you think about it. more competition is really good for us. it just IRRITATES THE HELL OUT OF ME when i see someone imploding a company that we need.

dammit, sony. knock that shit off.

m3mnoch.

Hmm here is a simple solution to next gen media storage that has been far overlooked over the past year or two. VMD. Here is a link to a comparison chart http://www.nmeinc.com/comparisonchart.htm

Yep, hopefully HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will not be accepted and will not cost the consumer a lot of money then later in the years we can try again with VMD(though probably the holographic discs will be taking over at that time).

Here is their site http://www.nmeinc.com/vmd.htm it's also listed as my url.

I had heard of VMD before, although I didn't know it could reach 200 GB (the same limit Blu-ray can reach). Weird how nobody backs it up because it's as cheap as HD-DVD, and has storage as massive as Blu-ray.

Again, everything being said here can't be proven until we wait and see, but if PSP and UMD are any indicators, Blu-ray movies could meet a similar (or better?) fate.

Sony or a single company could be stupid, but how can an entire industry be stupid? I hope they aren't, and I hope PS3 gets a lot more games than the PSP, because right now, PSP is not the best gaming platform.

And again m3mnoch, maybe Sony needed to differentiate themselves from Microsoft in something, and they did it through hardware (Blu-ray). I mean, we know so little, that perhaps it was the best move Sony could have ever made: Either definitely lose everything to everyone by not taking any risk or chances in the console market (just look at their consumer electronics segment), or having the chance to get back the crown again in everything by using PS3 as a trojan horse (the same thing Microsoft is doing, but in the online arena).

"Again, everything being said here can't be proven until we wait and see, but if PSP and UMD are any indicators, Blu-ray movies could meet a similar (or better?) fate."

UMD is selling what-- in the tens to hundreds of thousands?

Setting the bar pretty low there, are we?

Speaking of-- anyone familiar with Suncoast video? Just found out a bunch of stores on the west coast are going under, and they're selling UMDs for like 30-50% off.

And I thought I read somewhere the Sony is gonna start including UMDs with DVDs they sell in the same package.

Yep, that's what you do when your product sells like wildfire. You bundle.

I truly hope Blu-Ray sells just as well.

baby poo:

The point was that UMDs are selling much better than expected, not that they are selling just as good as DVD movies, so if that is an indicator, Blu-ray discs will sell better than expected, especially thanks to PS3. Seriously, who would have thought that UMD movies actually make sales? I didn't, because I don't buy them for my PSP, but it seems that sales for that format are still much better than expected. PS3 might as well push some to even get the whole package of HDTV + BD movies + PS3... You never know, but this could be an indicator.

Blu ray will lower in price very rapidly.

Everybody is going on like it will cost you an arm & leg forever.
Once PS3 has the installed base, even more huge movie production companies will jump on board..... blu ray disk production will go up & become cheaper & savings will be passed onto the consumer.

Watch how quick it all happens. And stop the beta max crap, it's twenty so years on & times have certainly changed & everything is sped up & made to sell for cheaper quicker, in a competitive market.

Just like nintendo & ms, sony know what they are doing....especially more than a bunch of [flame against other comment posters], rather than coming up with their own console production business & software house, to show the ever stupid sony what they are doing wrong.

As for my knowledge, I'd rather not look like an idiot knocking them, when they have sold 100million consoles & are still selling more & are singlehandedly responsible for taking console gaming to a bigger audience.

I'm not shouting out from the rooftops that sony rule, but merely stating the obvious, with the insight to know that extremist fanboys will try to call me the fanboy.

UMDs sell because there are hardly any games for the PSP.

Blu-Ray and HD DVD have a different battle. You have to not only convince people to re-buy movies they already own, you also have to convince them that it's better enough to upgrade (picture alone??), and oh yeah, you have to buy a new TV capable of displaying the new format. People buy new TVs every 10-15-20 years... not on a whim.

We haven't even got into the discussion of how new HD movies are gonna be impossible to copy, or play on certain TVs or computer screens because they lack the necessary components to protect the movie.

DVD is cheaper and just fine for most of us, ThankYouVeryMuch. I've never once watched a movie and thought to myself, this looks awful!

"(assuming Sony does provide a useful online service)."

As a logical thinker I would think it safe to assume that considering this gen. PS2 had an actual working online service (of sorts), & nintendo really didn't, that a little more faith would have to go in sony's service next gen, over nintendo's at least.
Considering sony probably never would have released a network adaptor & taken the ps2 online if it weren't for MS, it turned out ok. Especially as sony's online service was an afterthought in the 1st place & coped pretty well considering (socoms proof of that, look at the users & sales figures). Also MS had a full 18mths extra development time on everything xbox.

Now these same xbox buyers & fanboys are critising sony for not cutting the current gen short like ms was so quick to do. Sony has no reason to rush a half arsed problematic console out now, just like they did not need to rush online with ps2 (it didn't help the dreamcast any, did it?).

Why is sony the only one that gets attacked so consistently & in such high numbers of bitter fanboys. It's amazing when your at the top too long, how many [flame] want to see you fall from grace.

Sony are just doing the same as everyone else, fanboys. They make consoles & gemes, if they didn't do either of these very well, they would not be the number 1 worldwide selling console. All the knockers should just setlle down, take a pill, & realise that sony are no different in what they are trying to achieve than nintendo....... at this point in time the only difference is that they are on the ball of what consumers demand & wnat moreso than ms or nintendo.

"UMDs sell because there are hardly any games for the PSP."

If there were games, there would be more PSP sales, and if there were more PSP sales, UMD would have a bigger market to sell. It's not like the more games that are sold, the less movies that will be sold.

"Blu-Ray and HD DVD have a different battle. You have to not only convince people to re-buy movies they already own,"

Wrong. All players are backwards compatible.

" you also have to convince them that it's better enough to upgrade (picture alone??),"

If they already have an HDTV, they have already convinced themselves that it is better.

" and oh yeah, you have to buy a new TV capable of displaying the new format."

The HD-DVD and Blu-ray disc players are aimed at the HDTV users, not at SDTV users. For SDTV users, HDTVs are aimed, and cable is doing a great job promoting it. The more HDTVs out in the market, the faster the prices will go down, and the faster the adoption rate will be. Xbox 360, and especially PS3 are generations ahead of the market, which makes them "cutting-edge". Nintendo won't support HDTV because they are not Tech-oriented, but more gameplay oriented. Both PS3 and 360 are set to end their generations with the standards they started (HDTV, possibly Blu-ray), but to start the generations as pioneers, just like PS2 and Xbox did with DVD, broadband and progressive scan (most things which Nintendo rejected with regret).

" People buy new TVs every 10-15-20 years... not on a whim."

Just as PS2 (and Xbox) helped in making DVD a standard, PS3 and Xbox 360 will probably help spread High Definition to the mass market. Not to 100%, but they will certainly drive the market fast forward, meaning that in the next 5-6 years more people could buy a TV, instead of 10.

"We haven't even got into the discussion of how new HD movies are gonna be impossible to copy, or play on certain TVs or computer screens because they lack the necessary components to protect the movie."

A lot of HDTVs being sold now have the HDMI standard, and some have DVI which is still compatible with HDMI, although it is a shame and somewhat ridiculous that some HDTVs, the earliest ones, the ones that have only component cables won't be able to use those devices. But then again, those that bought those TVs bought them at a time when HDTVs were very expensive, so perhaps those are the users that are more likely to keep themselves updated. I think those TVs should be sold to people that don't care about HD movies or programming, but that could use an HDTV for the 360 lol

"DVD is cheaper and just fine for most of us, ThankYouVeryMuch. I've never once watched a movie and thought to myself, this looks awful!"

You haven't, but companies are launching these devices because they predict that the market is "ready", meaning that they will sell enough to make some profit, lower prices and get even more sales.

According to IMDB.com, UMDs are selling poorly....

"Raising renewed skepticism about whether consumers are interested in watching full-length motion pictures on portable devices, Daily Variety reported today (Thursday) that sales of movies in the UMD format for Sony's PlayStation Portable device are falling behind expectations and that four studios which have been releasing videos in the format are cutting back. A Paramount exec said that sales have been strong for TV comedy shows -- particularly those that present relatively brief sketches and stand-up routines like Beavis & Butthead and Chappelle's Show. But Jeff Baker of Warner Bros. Home Video told the trade publication, "We are reevaluating our position on any future releases at this time. ... We're disappointed with consumer demand." And Chris Anstey, buyer for the Virgin record stores, was quoted as saying. "There is a modest demand for [new titles], but there simply hasn't been a consistent growth of this new format to justify making more space for it."

Hahah, hence why Sony is going to start bundling UMDs with DVDs

You completely missed my point, and you justify some of your arguments against items I've never raised nor do I really care discuss.

I never mentioned backwards compatibility. Why would you buy a high defition player to play DVDs? I'm talking about sales of newer discs. What is going to make the consumer want to buy high defition discs or covert their existing library? Picture alone? It's not enough for some of us. DVD offered great advances over VHS. I don't see the great advances this time around. Better picture for those with HDTVs? Better encryption? Inability to play on certain systems? Bigger discs that benefit episodic discs more than single movie discs? Higher cost than DVDs?

Thanks, but no thanks.

Sony just wanted to boost people's confidence about their system just like they did with PS2, and it came out and wasn't even near as powerful as they said it would be. All this "Emotion Engine" crap they talked about and I don't see any of it.

"Mouths and eyes moved on N64 and Playstation".


Also, Sony likes to wait due to the fact that they can steal whatever else Nintendo or Microsoft doesn't patent.

For instance, Playstation one "getting analog control" from N64 (keep in mind Nintendo started it)

Playstation 2 getting a Hard Drive (Although Nintendo did it first [Not completely -- 64DD] Xbox did it better, and Playstation tried to copy it and failed. (like 2 games use PS2's harddrive?)


They are waiting to see what they can steal from Nintendo Revolution due to the fact more people are excited and talking about a controller than the, of course, FAKE Killzone 2 Trailer.

Xbox 360 just has LIVE, otherwise, there isn't much to steal from them. But watch Sony make a interface simular to "Live" and brag like its a new idea from them.

"barely superior?" No matter how we judge the PS3, one thing is obvious: the system/games are still in developement.. Whether or not we'll see that PS3 "bling, bling" in the first generation of games, a company is only as good as it's best game. what we'll play this fall all depends on what u all want to play. My 360 is the JP ver.(thanks MS for limiting the amount of units you can manufacture) That's what I'm gonna be playing this fall..