Playstation 3

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Again, I thought of writing about another console, this one more popular where I grew up than the Xbox and even though I’d probably only buy consoles and console games if I was as loaded as Bill Gates, and still prefer PC games, I thought it’s time to review the PlayStation 3.

The PlayStation 3 has a 3.2GHz Cell processor which consists of a single PowerPC based core. The cell is thanks to the joint efforts of Toshiba, IBM and Sony. The power put into the processor is meant specifically for the new PlayStation 3 games and would be impossible to run on the older console hardware. The new amazingly crisp graphics is due to the great work of Nvidia and Sony, who joined up to create the "Reality Synthesizer" which is based on the GeForce 7800 graphics technology.

The PlayStation 3 has Wireless Six Axis Controllers which are similar to the original Dual Shock gamepads. The R2 and L2 buttons are now larger and the analogue sticks are now able to tilt at a greater angle, which enable a wider range of motion. They are also more sensitive than the Playstation 2 analogue controllers. PlayStation 3 has incorporated motion sensing capabilities in the controllers… up, down, left, right, up and down. These controls will have different effects in each game. For example when flying an aircraft, tilting the controller upwards will point the aircraft’s noise in the air and by shifting it to the sides, will make the aircraft do the same. PlayStation 3’s wireless controllers will use Bluetooth technology, unlike the Xbox 360 which uses the traditional 2.4GHz RF. Also, the PlayStation 3 controllers will have a 20 meter wireless range and a 30 hour battery life. These controllers are rechargeable by connecting them via a USB cable to the console. While connected, you can still use the controller and it’s hot pluggable, IE: you don’t need to shut the system off to plug or unplug the controllers. It seems the only downside to the PlayStation 3’s Wireless Six Axis Contollers is that should the battery itself ever die, you’d have to replace the whole controller and send the old one back to Sony. But that shouldn’t happen any time soon, as it’s made for the long haul
All in all, the games are good, the hardware is impressive and if it wasn’t for the extreme cost, I might just have gone out and bought one myself

Happy Shopping!

PlayStation Totally Explained