Another month, another games console. Sony’s Playstation 3 (PS3) has been hyped to hysteria and is the last of three next-generation games consoles to have been launched in the past 15 months. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 arrived in 2005 and Nintendo’s Wii topped Christmas wishlists a few months ago. The question, now, is which one’s best?
The bulky Sony PS3 weighs 5kg, the same as nearly six Playstation 2s. It looks the business, with shiny black casing and silver trim, and ‘Playstation 3’ emblazoned on the top, or side, if you stand the console vertically. Lots of powerful technology is packed in, including a Blu-ray drive and support for 1080p high-definition (HD) video; the best picture quality money can buy if you have a 1080p HDTV.
US and Japanese consumers are offered two slightly different editions of the console, but Irish gamers will only be able to buy the all-singing all-dancing PS3. Although this means desperate gamers won’t end up settling for the cut-down version of the console (which has a 20GB hard disk and no built-in Wi-fi or memory card slots), they will have to splash out Euro610 for a PS3 with a 60Gb hard drive and the extras.
However, the PS3 has some fancy tricks up its sleeve. That 60Gb hard disk is great for multimedia such as storing music files, photos and downloadable content including movies, demos and trailers. The hard disk is also upgradeable and it’s possible to play back and store media on external USB drives, so storage need never be a problem. Using Wi-fi you can wirelessly connect a Sony PSP and stream media, providing you’re in about a 10m range.
PS3 controllers are wireless and, like the Nintendo Wii, feature motion-sensing technology. Few games take advantage of the sensor in the way those designed for the Wii Remote do, but this may change.
Perhaps the PS3’s biggest advantage over its rivals is its Blu-ray disc drive, which will play the new high-definition (via HDMI output) movies. In our tests, the PS3 proved to be one of the best HD movie players we’ve seen. The inclusion of this technology is likely to be the main reason for the console’s price.
We have some reservations about the PS3 as an entertainment system. It can’t upscale DVD movies to higher definition formats in the way many standalone players can, or stream music or movies from a computer. But features could be added via free software updates, as we have seen with the Xbox 360.
As always, the games will make or break the console. The graphics are stunning, but most of the launch titles are unlikely to blow you away in terms of playability. However, PS3 has a release schedule that both Nintendo and Microsoft would be envious of, with exclusive titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4, Heavenly Sword, Devil May Cry 4 and Gran Turismo HD looking promising. The PS3 is also backwards compatible with almost every PS1 and PS2 game.
The PS3 is the most expensive of the three by a long way and good-quality software is thin on the ground. But Playstations have done well in the past and in time, the PS3 could be console of choice.
The Playstation 3 is big, expensive and powerful. But it needs a decent roster of games.
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