PlayStation 3 Unveiled

The PlayStation 3 was unveiled yesterday afternoon in a press conference at Sony Pictures Studio. The event was full of beautiful demonstrations, specifications, and talk of the games of tomorrow. The machine is certainly impressive, with backwards compatibility, support for up to seven Bluetooth controllers, multiple HD signals, and intimate interactions with the PSP. Coverage, screenshots, and specs available from 1up.com, Gamespot, Joystiq, NYT, Voodoo Extreme, Gamespy, BBC, GamesIndustry.biz, Engadget, Anandtech, Kotaku, Gamasutra, and CNN Money. The only downside I see so far? The controller. Update: 05/18 21:35 GMT by Z : Gamespot has up a comprehensive look at the console based on what is known so far.

too many mirrors...

[HTL2001]

guess we wont be taking any servers down on this article...

Boomerang

[Anonymous Coward]

Go-Go-Gadget Joystick... What the hell is that thing?

WoW

[pitdingo]

But does it play World of Warcraft?

The controller

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like my sister will love this controller what not with it's vibration function.

Re:Boomerang

[bosz]

I think it is shaped that way, so that if you get really mad because you lost for the 100th time, you can throw the controller away and it will come back to you as a boomerang. You don't have to get up anymore to get te controller.

The Controller..OMG

[cOdEgUru]

The top five reasons why Sony might want to rethink the controller design:

1) Players would use it as a boomerang to exact revenge on their opponents outside the realm of the PS3

2) A certain religious group might object to the "crescent" shaped design and might get their panties in a knot.

3) The controller ends up being a tool to massage your pressure points and used less for gaming

4) Female Players take it further and use it to simulate two spots at once. Oh goody!

5) It looks like one of those guns in Battle Field Earth [tribute.ca]

Re:Why 7?

[killmenow]

Why not 6, Blake? Why not 6?

That controller looks familiar

[brian0918]

I'm fairly certain the Feral Kid used the PS3 controller in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior.

Re:The controller

[xxavierg]

that is a really disturbing post. perhaps "girlfriend" or "wife" or "partner" instead of sister would make it a little less...uhh...wrong...

Re:Microsoft vaporware

[Anonymous Coward]

perhaps MS employees are too busy watching Toy Story rendering on their PS2.

One good thing about the controller...

[ProppaT]

At least when you get pissed off at the game and throw the controller at the tv, it'll come back to you now...

Re:The Controller..OMG

[Anonymous Coward]

Female Players take it further and use it to simulate two spots at once.

Hmm, just curious... What two spots do women need to simulate? :-)

Re:The Controller..OMG

[FunWithHeadlines]

"Hmm, just curious... What two spots do women need to simulate? :-)"

The centers of the brain that are stimulated by chocolate and shopping. Of course. Why, what were you thinking?

Re:Xbox 360 v. PS3

[Queer Boy]

All that and Gameboys still dominate.

Re:too many mirrors...

[Anonymous Coward]

Slashdot Sisters???

What are those?

Re:Will the PC hardware prices come down?

[ilyaaohell]

There is not a huge PC gamer community. PC game sales are a tiny fraction of the overall industry.

However, you're asking why would people stick with PCs and not consoles? Because PCs have different types of games on them than consoles. Although the console world has seen a significant explosion of first person shooters coming out left and right, these games are, for the most part, not quite suited for console gaming. Additionally, you won't find many games along the lines of Civilization on the consoles. So, I guess my point is that PC gaming and console gaming targets different demographics. This is why the MUCH cheaper cost of being a console gamer isn't enough of an incentive to outright "switch" and abandon PC gaming. And, this doesn't even take into account the fact that most people already have a PC in their house to begin with, so it wouldn't be much of a switch but rather ignoring one device that they already own for another.

PC hardware prices will not match console hardware prices for MANY YEARS after the console's release. Even today, if all the hardware in the Xbox was put into a regular PC case, that would still run you several hundred dollars at the least. Meanwhile, the Xbox current costs a measely $150. The kicker here is that it costs $150 to YOU. To Microsoft, it costs a hell of a lot more. The system hardware sales are sold as a loss to the company because profits in the console industry come from game licensing and sales. From each game sold, no matter who released it, Microsoft sees some money. So, it's an incentive to get the hardware into as many homes as possible.

And, by the way, for this same reason you should not pay attention to any of the wildly uninformed price speculations computer geeks will spew about these new console prices. If either the Xbox 360 or the PS3 costs anywhere above $299 when it comes out, expect a significant consumer backlash. The PS2 and the original Xbox were just as technologically impressive for their time as these successors are, and their final retail price remained very competitive. There will be no change in that because this is simply how this industry works. They're not in the hardware-selling business, they're in the game-selling business. Selling the hardware is merely a facilitator.

So, no. PC hardware prices will not come down. Not because of these consoles.

Re:The controller

[inherent monkey love]

" that is a really disturbing post. perhaps 'girlfriend' or 'wife' or 'partner' instead of sister would make it a little less...uhh...wrong..."

Did you forget that this is slashdot?

Re:Controller

[Gudlyf]

I heard each controller comes with a utility belt, a 300-lb. zipline and gas pellets.

Re:The controller

[BioCS.Nerd]

The poster failed to mention he's Angelina Jolie's brother.

Another acceptible response...

[Anonymous Coward]

...would be "my hot, lesbian, identical twin sister".

Re:Controller

[de Siem]

I wonder when it will be used in a lesbian porn flick as a replacement double dildo. (or vibrator rumble pack pending).

Re:too many mirrors...

[Anonymous Coward]

The brothers with long hair, so it's kinda hard to tell from a distance.

Re:Microsoft vaporware

[John Miles]

Cool, the PS3 supports 1080p... the obvious irony being that only Bill Gates can afford an HDTV display device that can handle 1080p.

Re:too many mirrors...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'll enumerate.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,...Is that good enough for you. Sorry I'm trolling

Re:Rehashed quote?

[mapmaker]

The console also boasts a new graphics chip from Nvidia, which Sony claims can create movie-quality images in real time in games.

Notice they didn't say current-generation movie-quality images. The Last Starfighter was a movie, after all.

Re:Like the XBox controller

[Anonymous Coward]

my hands ache from trying to squeeze something so small.

Ahem.

Re:Another acceptible response...

[vasah20]

Seeing how pasty and beareded alot of us Slashdotters are, I think we're better off with just a "hot, lesbian sister".

Re:too many mirrors...

[Anonymous Coward]

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from a scripted demo.

Re:The controller

[Ruis]

Did they design this controller so that when you got mad at the game and chucked the controller that it would come back to you?

Re:Controller

[SnprBoB86]

No kidding?

I am deathly afraid of being pissed at a game, throwing the controller, only to have it turn around and put out my eye...

Re:Like the XBox controller

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow! A talking gorilla!

Playstation 3 vs Xbox 3(60)

[Basehart]

When will Microsoft come up with an original naming convention?

Are they destined to rip off the names of competing products for the rest of eternity?

Sony currently have a product which is currently at version 2. They either release a new product called 3 or drop the numbering convention completely, so they release the Playstation 3.

Along comes Microsoft with a product that doesn't rely on a numerical versioning system, the Xbox, and what do they come up with next - Xbox 3 (with a 60 added on to make it seem like even more than 3).

The same thing happened with Apple, they had OS 7, 8, 9, and the instead of 10 they went with X.

What does Microsoft do?

Windows 95, 98, 2000 and then - erm - X (with a P added to make it even more than X).

What's next?

Re:It's just you

[zardo]

One thing I noticed is that the PS3 has slots for memory stick, compact flash and secure digital. This gives me some insight into what took place into the designers meetings:

"Memory stick, memory stick and we sell more memory stick!"

"Noooooo! Memory stick sucks! People like SD and CF, like their cameras!"

"Memory stick make us more money!"

"Nooooooo memooory stiiick!! Hai-yah!" *chop*

Re:someone with CPU knowledge?

[ek_adam]

Each APU is essentially a very fast CPU optimized for moving data streams and calculations. Cell was designed to chew on large amounts of similar data very, very fast. It isn't a general purpose core like the POWER or Intel cores found in Xbox 360 or the original Xbox (or your PC for that matter).

So, how long before someone ports SETI@home for this?

Re:Tech Specs vs. Games

[stu_coates]

X-Box:360 - A platoon of enemy troops charging your squad.
PS3 - Two enemy platoons trying to flank your allied squad while you try and find a way to out flank them.

That's done it, I'm definitely getting an XBox360 - the games sound a lot easier! ;-)

Re:too many mirrors...

[CityZen]

No no no. You need to put POINTS behind each of your numbers!

Like this:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Re:Don't pre-judge the controller, folks

[srussell]

I like my controller lighter than a can of soup

I have to ask... why a can of soup? Is this some new SI measurement? Or are you just used to carrying around cans of soup?

--- SER

Re:Controller

[ShinGouki]

you think a 300-lb test line is gonna be enough for the ps3 crowd?