The PlayStation 3 (Japanese: Pureisuteshon Suri, trademarked PLAYSTATION 3, abbreviated PS3) is Sony’s seventh generation era video game console, third in the PlayStation series. It is the successor to PlayStation and PlayStation 2 and will compete against Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Wii.
The PS3 was released on November 11, 2006 in Japan. It will be released on November 17, 2006 in the United States and Canada, and in March, 2007 in Europe and Australasia. It will ship in two initial configurations. Sony officially unveiled the PS3 to the public on May 16, 2005 during an E3 conference. A functional version of the console was not at E3 2005 or the Tokyo Game Show in September 2005, although at both events, demonstrations were held on devkits (e.g. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots) and comparable PC hardware, and video footage based on the predicted PS3 specifications was produced (e.g. Mobile Suit Gundam). It was not until E3 2006 that games were shown on actual PlayStation 3 systems. In preparation for launch, Sony demonstrated 27 playable PS3 titles during the Tokyo Game Show in September 2006 on final hardware.
| Feature | Basic | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Upgradable hard drive | Yes, 20 GB | Yes, 60 GB |
| Blu-ray drive | Yes | Yes |
| HDMI port | Yes[8] | Yes |
| Bluetooth controller | Yes | Yes |
| Chrome trim | No | Yes |
| Built-in Wi-Fi | No | Yes |
| Flash card readers | No | Yes |
System configuration
Sony’s initial retail strategy for the PlayStation 3 will involve two configurations detailed in a Sony press release. The “premium” version of the PlayStation 3 will come with an internal 60 GB Serial ATA 2.5″ hard drive, Wi-Fi connectivity, and multiple flash memory card readers, and features a brighter cosmetic silver-colored trim.Both consoles now feature a silver-colored logo, to add to the cosmetic appeal of the packages. The second, alternate configuration of the console will have a 20 GB internal hard drive, but will not feature Wi-Fi or a memory card reader. The hard drive is upgradeable, and memory card support can be added through adapters, but Wi-Fi support cannot currently be added.
Game pricing
There have also been statements by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) President and CEO Kaz Hirai suggesting games may cost more than the US$60 standard for higher-priced games. The official Sony website, as of 2006-10-15, offers game preorders at US$59.99. Arcade games are available from the Sony Online Store. Game prices start at 840Yen (US$7) for titles such as Blast Zone.
Release data and pricing
David Wilson, Head of Public Relations at Sony Computer Entertainment UK, stated that both models will likely be sold in the UK market, but both may not be available at launch. Previously, Sony Computer Entertainment UK Marketing Director Ray Maguire had stated that only the 60 GB version would be available at launch.Sony announced on September 6, 2006 that the PAL (European and Australasia) launch has been delayed until March, 2007 due to a shortage of diodes used in the Blu-ray drive. Sony have said that they will take legal action against anyone selling imported consoles to EU consumers.
In Japan, Sony has opted to go with an open pricing scheme for the 60 GB model, allowing retailers to set a price point themselves. Rakuten, one of the biggest Japanese online retailers, has set their price point at ¥71,800, or ¥75,390 with taxes added (about US$675). A Merrill Lynch research report estimates the production cost to Sony of a PlayStation 3 console—not including the hard drive but including two more USB ports and another HDMI Output—to be US$800 if they were manufactured for a launch in Spring. Sony has just recently announced that the HDMI cable will not be included, instead Composite[citation needed] video cables will be included.
| Region | Expected pricing at release | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Premium | |
| Japan | JP¥49,980 ($420 US)[8] | JP¥59,980 ($508 US) |
| United Kingdom | TBC | GB£425† ($680 US) |
| Switzerland |
CHF 749 ($550 US) | CHF 899 ($660 US) |
| New Zealand[ | NZ$999† ($590 US) |
NZ$1199.95 ($700 US)† |
| Sweden | TBC | 5999 SEK† ($650 US) |
| Canada | C$549 ($480 US) | C$659 ($580 US) |
| Denmark | 4295 DKK† ($720 US) | 5495 DKK† ($925 US) |
| Mexico | MXN$7,999 ($640 US) | MXN$9,499 ($760 US) |
| Eurozone (excluding Finland) |
€499 ($550 US) | €599 ($660 US) |
| Norway | TBC | 5000 NOK† ($750 US) |
| Finland | €550 ($570 US) | €650 ($670 US) |
| Australia | A$829 ($570 US) | A$999 ($680 US) |
| Hong Kong | HKD$3,180 ($409 US) | HKD$3,780 ($486 US) |
| United States | US$499 | US$599 |
| Taiwan | NTD$14,980 ($451 US) | NTD$17,980 ($542 US) |
* Prices and release dates subject to change.
Approximate US$ conversions provided as reference, and are adjusted for VAT
The high launch price of the PS3 has been subjected to much criticism from analysts and developers, especially in Denmark, where the converted price is US$720, the highest price for the unit. Sony executive Phil Harrison has defended the price by citing its Blu-ray support and overall value.A drop in Sony’s stock price following its fourth-quarter earnings report has been speculated to be in part due to uncertainties about the company’s game business; analysts have voiced concerns about the viability of the PlayStation 3.
Marketing
In what could be the first big advertising campaign, the PlayStation 3 was featured in the advertising boards of 16 stadiums across Europe, during the Matchday 1 of the UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 Group Stage, on September 12, 2006 and September 13, 2006. However, on the other matchdays the advertising has been replaced by PSP, perhaps as a result of the system’s launch delay. Television advertisements also began airing in the United States, carrying the slogan “PLAY B3YOND – 1117.” The 3 that replaces the E in “BEYOND” (an example of leet) hearkens back to the launch slogan of the PlayStation: “u r not e”.
Playable gaming kiosks have now been found throughout the world. Many appear in Japan, such as in the Sony building. SCEA has also confirmed that New York City will be hosting a PlayStation 3 launch party which will be hosted by rapper artist Ludacris; joining him will be D-Nice and comedian Charlie Murphy. SCEA also confirms that only the first 400 will be admitted to purchase PlayStation 3.
Launch
The PlayStation 3 was released in Japan on November 11, 2006 at 0700. At Bic Camera’s Tokyo flagship store more than 1,000 customers queued up for launch, with staff and police having to keep control. Furthermore there were reports that the launch was disorganised with many of the initial consoles being obtained by businessmen who paid mainly Chinese nationals to buy the console without any software, to resell on eBay. The PlayStation 3 will be released in North America on November 17, 2006. Ken Kutaragi has stated that the PlayStation 3 will launch on March 7, 2007 in Europe. According to Gamespot.com 88,400 PS3 systems were sold in Japan during the launch.
Sony recently announced to retailers like Gamestop that for the American release, stores would only get between 200,000 – 250,000 units rather than the 400,000 they promised would ship for launch day. Gamestop/EB and other retailers have responded by placing embargoes on employee pre-ordered purchases, trying to free up as many units as possible to avoid irate pre-order customers angry at not receiving promised goods.
Backward compatibility
Sony stated every PlayStation and PlayStation 2 game that observes its respective system’s TRC (Technical Requirements Checklist) will be playable on PS3 at launch. SCE president Ken Kutaragi asked developers to adhere to the TRC to facilitate compatibility with future PlayStations, stating that the company was having some difficulty getting backward compatibility with games that had not followed the TRCs. It has been confirmed (image) that initial PS3 units will
include the CPU/rasterizer combination chip used in slim PS2 (EE+GS) to achieve backward compatibility. Two days after the release of the PlayStation 3 in Japan, Sony announced that some titles had problems, mostly with sound playback. Most of the 7841 titles in Sony’s database work; future firmware updates will provide more compatibility. PlayStation and PlayStation 2 software will still be limited by region-locking and will not be enhanced or upscaled.
The PlayStation 3 does not include interfaces for legacy PlayStation devices, but there will be an adapter for the memory cards so users can save their PS1/PS2 data on to a virtual memory card in the hard drive. USB devices for PlayStation 2 may be compatible with PlayStation 3. PlayStation 3 can use Memory Sticks to store save data for PlayStation and PlayStation 2 software.
Games
| Game Titles | Other major titles | |
|---|---|---|
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Shooter | Action |
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| Racing | ||
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| Role-playing | Fighting | |
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| Sports | ||
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All PlayStation 3 games will be region-free.
Game development
The PlayStation 3 is based on open and publicly available application programming interfaces. Despite earlier rumours of programming being difficult, IGN reports that they were told that the dev kit “seemed extremely adaptive and easy to program for”. Sony has selected several technologies and arranged several sublicensing agreements to create an advanced software development kit for developers. In addition, in 2005 Sony purchased SN Systems, a former provider of Microsoft Windows-based development tools for a variety of console platforms; including PlayStation 2, GameCube, PSP and Nintendo DS to create additional GNU development tools.
The open standards are specified by the Khronos Group, and are intended to work with Nvidia’s Cg programming language. Scene data are stored with COLLADA v1.4, an open, XML-based file format.[48] Rendering uses PSGL, a modified version of OpenGL ES 1.0 (OpenGL ES 2.0 compliant except for the use of Cg instead of GLSL), with extensions specifically aimed at the PS3. Other specifications include OpenMAX, a collection of fast, cross-platform tools for general “media acceleration,” such as matrix calculations, and OpenVG, for hardware-accelerated 2D vector graphics. These specifications have GPL, free for any use, and/or commercial implementations by third parties.
Sublicensed technology includes complete game engines, physics libraries, and special libraries. Engines include Epic’s Unreal engine 3.0. Physics libraries include AGEIA’s PhysX SDK, NovodeX, and Havok’s physics and animation engines. Other tools include Nvidia’s Cg 1.5 (a C-like shading language, which HLSL was based upon), SpeedTree RT by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (high-quality virtual foliage in real time), and Kynogon’s Kynapse 4.0 “large scale A.I.”.
Sony has considered using IPv6, the next generation of the Internet Protocol.
System software
Firmware
Similar to the Playstation Portable, Sony has added the ability for firmware updates to be downloaded and used on the Playstation 3. The updates can be installed via System Update, HDD, or a Game that requires a firmware update. The current version of the firmware is 1.10. Firmware 1.10 was made available on November 11, 2006. It includes support for the Playstation Network, Atrac, Full Screen Video, Playstation Store, Online User Manual and more. The PS3 reserves 64 Mb Ram at all times for XMB functions.
Default Interface
The PlayStation 3 version of the Cross Media Bar includes 8 categories of options. These include: Users, Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Game, Network and Friends. The PS3 includes the ability to store different user profiles, explore photos, play music and movies from the hard drive, compatibility for a USB Keyboard and Mouse, a full Internet browser and a Friends menu. Also, the Playstation 3 adds the ability to multitask in ways such as listening to music while surfing the web or looking at pictures. The PlayStation 3 cross media bar supports a variety of file formats (audio, image, video), with additional file formats under Linux[citation needed]. In a separate demo Sony presented the “Marketplace” where users can buy and download music.
Sony has also worked with Stanford University to bring the Folding@home project to the PS3. When downloaded, the program will run when the system is idle.
| “Because we have plans for having Linux on board [the PS3], we also recognize Linux programming activities… Other than game studios tied to official developer licenses, we’d like to see various individuals participate in content creation for the PS3.” | ||
| ——Izumi Kawanishi on the presence of the Linux in the PS3. | ||
Linux
Originally Sony stated that they were going to pre-install Linux on the PS3’s hard drive, but current units shipping do not include Linux preinstalled. Instead, Sony has made an option in the XMB menu to install other operating systems. Installation of an operating system is achieved by going to Settings > System Settings > Install Other OS. When installation is complete, the startup operating system can be changed. Sony has set up a web page which will list compatible operating systems.
On October 17, 2006, a month before the console release, Terrasoft announced a version of Yellow Dog Linux for PlayStation 3. Terrasoft will be using the PS3 for their own supercomputing clusters as well. Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 is already listed in Terrasoft’s store, for US$50 including a printed manual and DVDs for sources and pre-compiled applications; the applications include recent versions of the Linux kernel, the GNU Compiler Collection, Firefox, and OpenOffice.org. According to arstechnica, Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 will be made publicly available two weeks after the console’s launch. Terrasoft stated the installer “enables absolutely anyone to install without instruction.” Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 integrates code from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Sony, and Red Hat’s Fedora Core 5. Yellow Dog Linux on PS3 and the commercial Y-HPC cluster management software will be showcased in the Supercomputing 2006 tradeshow.
PlayStation Network Platform
In response to Microsoft’s successful Xbox Live network, Sony announced a unified online service for the Playstation 3’s console at the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing meeting in Tokyo; tentatively titled “PlayStation Network Platform”. Sony has confirmed that the service will be always connected, free and include multiplayer support. However, developers are permitted to charge a subscription fee, as is common with MMO games.
On September 12, 2006, it was believed to be confirmed that the PNP would be combined with a modified version of the Xfire client to provide various match-making facilities, such as Friends Lists, among other features. However, Xfire CEO Mike Cassidy later clarified: “Xfire is not part of the PlayStation Network Platform. We are in discussions with Sony Online Entertainment, but I cannot comment any further.
At the Tokyo Game Show on September 21, 2006 it was revealed that users will be able to download some of the thousands of PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 titles from the PlayStation Network Platform for a fee, starting with those with the smallest game data. The reason to allow this kind of functionality is that Sony wants to allow the users to choose the games of their preference. Ken Kutaragi also announced functionality with other consoles, similar to Nintendo’s upcoming Virtual Console, including confirmed Sega Genesis and Turbo Grafx 16 functionality. However, Sega has replied that Sony has been too hasty with calling it a fact. Sega is currently reviewing the possibilities, but have not yet made a decision on it.
PlayStation Portable Connectivity
The PlayStation Portable can connect with the PS3 in many ways, including game connectivity, such as Formula One 06 shown at E3 2006 which uses the PSP as a rear-view mirror. Sony also will allow the PS3 to send PlayStation 1 games to the PSP that will be able to be used on the PSP’s PlayStation 1 Emulator, which will be released alongside the PS3.
Sony have also demonstrated the PSP playing back video content, including 1080p content from the PS3 hard disk across an Ad-Hoc wireless network, it has also been rumoured it is capable of playing movies on the PSP, from the PS3’s Blu-Ray drive. This featured it referred to as Remote Play.
Sony asked PlayStation Underground members to rank features they would like concerning PSP interaction with the PS3. Possible features listed include using the device to complete side missions for PS3 games, transferring media wirelessly from the PS3 to the PSP, using the PSP as an additional weapon/utility while playing PS3 games, and recording PS3 gameplay video to the PSP.
Hardware summary
Unless otherwise noted, the following specifications are based on a press release by Sony at the 2005 E3 Conference,and slides from a Sony presentation at the 2006 Game Developer’s Conference.[
The PS3’s 3.2 GHz Cell processor, developed jointly by Sony, Toshiba and IBM (“STI”), is an implementation to dynamically assign physical processor cores to do different types of work independently. It has a PowerPC-based “Power Processing Element” (PPE) and six accessible 3.2 GHz Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs), a seventh runs in a special mode and is dedicated to OS security, and an eighth disabled to improve production yields. The PPE, SPE’s and other elements (“units”) are connected via an Element Interconnect Bus which serves to connect all of the units in a ring-style bus. The PPE has a 512 KiB level 2 cache and one VMX vector unit. Each of the SPEs is a RISC processor with 128 128-bit SIMD GPRs and superscalar functions. Each SPE contains 256 KiB of non-cached memory (local storage, “LS”) that is shared by program code and work data. SPEs may access more data in the main memory using DMA. The floating point performance of the whole system (CPU + GPU) is reported to be 2.18 TFLOPS. PlayStation 3’s Cell CPU achieves 204 GFLOPS single precision float and 15 GFLOPS double precision. The PS3 will ship with 256 MiB of Rambus XDR DRAM, clocked at CPU die speed.
The Cell microprocessor allows programmers to assign SPE’s different work by running individual programs on them. Programmers may also arrange data flow in different ways, for example using parallel, pipelined or streamed processing data flow models. As an example for parallel processing performance gains, one core could work on decoding and multiplexing audio, another core may perform computations on realistic projectiles ballistics, while another might govern the activities of the main character. The programmer still has three more cores not yet assigned but the only remaining tasks are to collect the work performed and display the results on the screen. Since the program code on each SPE core is executed from its local store memory, much more Element Interconnect Bus bandwidth is available to transfers of work data. An obvious downside to this is that there is a 256 KiB size restriction on SPE programs, which may present a challenge for certain programming tasks.
The Graphic processing unit is based on NVIDIA G70 (previously known as NV47) architecture, which focuses on maximizing per-pixel computation in favor of raw pixel output. The GPU will make use of 256 MiB GDDR3 VRAM clocked at 700 MHz. The GPU has access to the XDR main memory as well.
The PS3 supports standard and HDTV resolutions (up to 1080p60) and connectivity options (such as HDMI 1.3 [citation needed] and Component video). In terms of audio, the PS3 will support a number of formats, including 7.1 digital audio, Dolby TrueHD, and others. For the optical drive, a wide variety of DVD and CD formats are supported, as well as Blu-ray Disc. A 20 GB / 60 GB 2.5″ SATA150 hard disk is pre-installed and coupled with Linux. In the 60 GB configuration, Flash Memory can also be used — either Memory Stick, CompactFlash, or SD/MMC. For communication, the PS3 will have one gigabit ethernet port, four USB 2.0 ports, and will support Bluetooth 2.0 EDR.
The console uses heat pipes and Sony claims the system will be as quiet as a slim PS2. Physically, the PlayStation 3 is approximately 5 kg (11 lb), 9.8 cm × 32.5 cm × 27.4 cm (3.9 in. × 12.8 in. × 10.8 in.). The power supply will be built into the console and a standard 3-pin IEC connector is present at the base of the console.
Accessories
The PS3 SIXAXIS is a controller that is nearly identical to that of the predecessor’s DualShock. The SIXAXIS features finer analogue sensitivity, more trigger-like R2 and L2 buttons, a PS button, and a USB mini-B port for charging the internal battery and use for wired play. There are four numbered LED indicators as well, to identify and distinguish multiple wireless controllers. The PlayStation 3 supports up to 7 simultaneous controllers over Bluetooth. The SIXAXIS is named for its ability to detect motion in the full six degrees. Unlike the previous DualShock however, this new controller has no vibration feature; Sony says this would interfere with the motion sensor. The controller will retail for US$50.
The PlayStation 3 Memory Card Adaptor is a device that allows data to be transferred to and from the PlayStation & PlayStation 2 memory cards to the PlayStation 3’s hard disk. The device is a cable that connects to the PS3’s USB port on one end, and features a legacy PlayStation 2 memory card port on the other end. The adaptor will be available for purchase simultaneously with the console’s launch, at a price of JP¥1500 (including tax) in Japan, and US$14.99 in the United States.
Using Bluetooth, the PlayStation 3 BD Remote allows users to easily control videos and music on Blu-ray Disc and DVD. In Japan, the device will be available starting December 7, 2006, and will cost JP¥3,800. The device will be available in North America in December for US$24.99. The Blu-Ray movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby will be included with the initial 500,000 release copies of the PS3 in North America.
Official PS3 HDMI cables will retail for $50. No HDMI cable will be included with the PS3 system
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