Sitting in defiant contrast to PS3’s whole design philosophy is the Wii. Nintendo opted not to simply load their system up with enough grunt to blow every competitor out of the water – in fact, their approach was to not even try. Nintendo have opted to instead take a prudent path, by offering a well balanced system, not ridiculously overpowered, yet perhaps still on par with a medium to high-end PC gaming rig. Like with the PS3, they have produced a system that is highly backwards-compatible with legacy games and accessories, includes Bluetooth support, which their innovative motion-sensitive controllers make use of, again like the PS3. The console has legacy memory card, Flash card, USB, and ethernet support, allowing for LAN and Internet use. It’s the choice of games on offer is the first indication that this is a different sort of system. Certainly some of the same demanding titles are in the list, but it’s populated more by simpler “platformer” and parlour games, which both attract their own significant fan-bases. The controllers, including the Wii Remote, and Sensor Bar, have been a huge hit with E3 and TGS attendees, already well-received by the gaming press. The main indicator to distinguish the Wii from the PS3, which may well give it the edge it needs to outperform the superior system in the marketplace, is its price. It starts at a much more manageable US$250, with the highest prices outside North America only reaching $100 more. So marked is the price difference, that Microsoft and Nintendo reps quietly put the word out at 2006’s E3 Expo, that people would be better served by buying both an Xbox 360, AND a Nintendo Wii, rather than a PS3. To compound The Case Against Sony – as their critics may well be phrasing it – supply problems have recently caused delays for the launch of PS3 outside Japan, USA, and Canada, giving the Wii launch window three or four months with only the Xbox as competition.

When it comes to PS3 vs Nintendo Wii, the Wii does not compete on any technical level. It certainly has respectable system specs, but the PS3 is simply a more powerful system that will deliver better performance. Whether this translates to more fun is clearly a choice for each individual to make, because Sony has no short of critics saying that it does not. The three biggest criticisms the PS3 has had to face are a perceived lack of innovation, an arguably outrageous launch price, and a lack of supply during the most crucial period. This all contrasts with reciprocal praise on the same points of the Wii. As it stands currently, both systems are pre-selling like hotcakes, so it will be some time before a clear leader emerges, assuming one will at all.

The two systems are remarkably similar in several ways. They both ship in two different lines – a Basic and a Premium version – and in both cases, the main difference between the two lines for each is the size of the hard drive. In the case of Xbox, the Core version does not have one, while the Premium system comes with a removable 20 GB hard drive. In the case of the PS3, the Basic edition has a 20 GB hard drive, and the Premium comes with a 60 GB drive. Given the similarities of the two lines for each system, from here on we shall just compare the premium version of both systems.
Microsoft’s second console, the Xbox 360, is Internet-capable by standard 100 Mb ethernet port, has a relatively advanced on board Operating System (OS), features a triple-cored CPU for parallel processing, allowing a different processor to focus exclusively on different aspects of each game, has a powerful on-board graphics accelerator with an ATI GPU, has 5.1 surround sound support, DVD playback functionality, interfaces with an online matchmaking and multiplayer service, namely, Xbox Live, and with a software update, will support the HDTV progressive video resolution of 1920×1080 (AKA, 1080p). The system also has 3 USB 2.0 ports, which allow users to plug in additional peripherals, such as the Xbox Live Vision Camera, and wireless network adaptor. There is support for both wired and wireless controllers. Microsoft has also announced it will release an external Xbox HD-DVD drive for users who desire next-generation disk format support. The Xbox 360 ships with emulation software that allows users to play some original Xbox games on the new console. The results vary significantly, however, and a compatibility “profile” must first be released on a game-by-game basis via Xbox Live, before users can use old games. In some cases, the older games are able to take advantage of the significantly more powerful hardware available to them and will actually play better than on the original system. Others, however, do not lend themselves well to this feature, and run poorly, or in some cases, not at all, and thus, will not be supported by Microsoft on the 360.

The PS3 will also be Internet-capable via 1 Gb ethernet, and will offer many of the same features as Xbox Live Gold, using the tentatively named “PlayStation Network Platform” (PNP) service for multiplayer and matchmaking. Unlike Xbox Live Gold, however, Sony has announced that their service will not attract a subscription fee, but will instead be free to all users. It has a highly advanced “Cell” processor, which features eight independent “Synergistic Processing Elements”  (SPE) for parallel computing. One of these is reserved for the OS, and another is redundant, making the console fault tolerant, should one of the units fail. The other six can be dynamically configured by each game to allow developers to optimise the console for the requirements of every individual game. The next-generation Blu-Ray Disk format is standard for all PS3 units, which also allows standard DVD and CD playback, as with the Xbox 360. The PS3 will support all standard HDTV resolutions, and the Premium version has HDMI output support. The PS3 has Wireless Bluetooth controllers, USB, Flash card and memory stick support, and 7.1 surround sound. Finally, Sony has said that nearly every PS1 and PS2 game will be natively compatible with the PS3, and has indicated that some Sega Genesis (AKA Sega Megadrive outside the US) games will also work out of the box. It will gradually make these games available for download directly to the on-board hard drive, for a fee payable via their PNP service.

When comparing the PS3 vs Xbox 360, it can be hard to make a choice. The PS3 is undoubtedly a more powerful machine, however, it costs much more than its competitor. It includes a host of features very similar to those offered by Microsoft, some of which are definitely implemented better. It is fair to expect generally superior performance from a PS3, so any choice boils down to the investment consumers are willing to make – or have already made, in the case of older games – for that experience.

Information about the Sony PS3 release date is bitch to find at the moment. Because over the last year, the release window has changed three times. Just before E3 2006, Sony announced the PS3 release date would be on November 11th in Japan, and November 17th 2006 for North America. Demand since then has skyrocketed, and despite the considerable cost of the PS3 compared to the two competing next-gen consoles, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, every major outlet offering pre-orders in the US has sold out.

Due to overwhelming demand, the release date for the PS3 had to be pushed back in regions where PAL is the television standard, which includes the important European, Australasian, Russian, Middle Eastern, and African markets, until March 2007. Sony was quick to clarify that the number of units to be shipped had not changed, after earlier predicting that they would sell a massive six million units before the end of 2007. The delay stems from a lack of supply of blue-laser diodes, the crucial component for the read-head of the Blu-ray drives, which will be standard in every PS3 unit.

Many are pissed at Sony for their failure to ensure a steady supply, noting that this latest delay will give the competing Nintendo Wii –  which will retail for a considerably lower price – a lead in those markets outside Japan and North America, as well as giving the Xbox 360, which has already been on shelves for months, an even longer free run in the market. If any proof of the ravenous demand consumers have for PS3 is needed, the prices being charged by profiteers offering pre-orders on eBay and the like reach as high as $1,500, while Sony puts the official PS3 release date price at a “mere” US$500 for the 20GB version, and $600 for the 60GB version. Sony has allowed for 600,000 pre-order units for the American market, some of which will find their way from the online auctioneers to Europe and the other areas whose consumers have been told that they’ll simply have to wait.

Others have been equally quick to point out that similar delays and short supply marked the launch of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 approximately one year earlier, with far fewer than Sony’s 600,000 units being available on release day. Understandably, this has lead to speculation that the media buzz created by fans queuing for hours just to be among the first to own one of the new consoles actually plays into the hands of the manufacturers: The consumer frenzy that results from high demand and relatively low supply may help to boost the popularity, come PS3 release date in November. Nintendo’s Wii generated a similar effect when attendees at this year’s E3 Expo were prepared to queue for up to eight hours just to spend a few minutes on one of the prototype consoles.

While the latest news regarding the Sony PS3 release date is disappointing for fans in Europe and the other smaller markets, the launch will still be among the most ambitious in console gaming history. The demand for pre-orders may well be fetching the highest prices ever recorded for any console system at release date, and despite fierce competition from the other manufacturers, Sony’s marketing machine is clearly running at full steam. This will be a launch to remember.

Current Sony Playstation release date is November 17th, 2006 in The United States.

Can’t friggin’ wait!

Sony PS3 Prices…What’s it going to cost a playa?

A quick look at the varying PS3 release date prices across the world.

The Sony PS3 is due for release in Japan and North America on the 11th and 17th of November 2006, respectively. The rest of the world, including Europe, Australia, South-East Asia, the Middle-East, and African markets will have to endure a delay until March, 2007, arising from a shortage of vital components for the Blu-Ray drive that is in every PS3. The PS3 release prices vary for the conditions of each of its respective markets, and not just according to exchange rates, which will be further diverged by Sony’s decision to release both Basic, and Premium versions of their console.

The main difference between the light and premium versions of the PS3, are that the light version lacks the internal CompactFlash card reader, integrated WiFi support, and comes with only a 20GB hard drive as standard. The deluxe version will include those features, and has a 60GB hard drive instead. The PS3 release date price in Japan has not been set by Sony. Instead, they have opted to let market-forces dictate PS3 prices, allowing retailers to set their own level. Based on this, it appears the PS3 release price for the 60 GB will float at around 75,000 Yen, which exchanges to a little under US$700. The Basic version is fixed at just under 50,000 Yen ($US420).

In the US, Sony PS3 prices are a little more modest. The Basic version’s RRP is $499, while the Premium is one hundred dollars dearer. This follows a similar scheme used by Microsoft during the Xbox 360 launch, where the premium version of  the console retailed for $100 more than the basic unit. Sony has managed to keep demand for the PS3 strong, despite several long delays, and the PS3 price-point being the highest for any console ever. Perhaps hardest hit are the European and Australasian consumers, who will have to wait an additional five months. Even then, the expected prices in Europe are 499 Euro for the Basic ($US630), and 599 Euro (US$750) for the Premium version, with customers in some countries within the EU expected to pay considerably more. The Sony PS3 price in Australia will be more or less the same as for the European markets, A$829 and A$999 respectively.

It will be some time before consumers can expect a PS3 price drop: Independent analysts speculate that based on the cost of components and workmanship, Sony stands to lose as much as US$100 per unit at launch, following a now familiar pattern among console manufacturers, where the company voluntarily settles for an initial loss, to later reap their profits from game and accessory purchases. It is expected that as production ramps up, the cost of the more expensive components – specifically the tooling and establishment overheads associated with launching the Blu-Ray disk format – will drop significantly. The PS3 price is certainly not cheap. Indeed, during this year’s E3 Expo, some quick thinking by Microsoft and Nintendo marketing reps started a word-of-mouth rumour that there were unofficially encouraging consumers to buy both a Nintendo Wii, and an Xbox 360 for less than the PS3 price! Subsequent news that PS3 game prices would also be above what is considered the industry standard only fueled the fire. But the PS3 is certainly a powerful machine, and clearly some buyers are more than willing to part with the extra cash in return for what will be the most powerful gaming console ever unleashed.