tech news and opinions
Sony has done nothing more than confuse consumers with all of the different Playstation 3 SKUs but Joystiq is here to help. They came up with a little table showing the differences between all of the different PS3 models.
The table doesn’t just tell you which models have PS2 backwards compatibility but also lets you know which models have the cooler and quieter 65nm chips in them.
Joystiq
God of War 3 may be the game that makes everyone change their mind about the Playstation 3 (I know I’ve said it before and I will probably say it again).
The game will run at full 1080p HD resolution and support full Sixaxis tilt and vibration functions.
God of War has been a pretty successful game in the past and hopefully they will continue with this next one. (I openly admit to being a little bit of a Playstation fanboy but only because I hate the Xbox controller).
The rumor of Sony giving PS3 owners the ability to purchase downloadable video on their consoles has heated up because of a recent ad video floating around the internet. The video seems to show off many of the features of the Playstation 3 but very quickly flashes a screenshot of what seems to be a store front for TV shows.
Cartoon Network, NBC, MTV, HBO, and CW are shown in the screenshot but the question to ask is, when will this be unveiled? E3? Maybe.
Includes a revamped Playstation Store
DTS-HD Master Audio output for Blu-ray videos
DTS-HD High Resolution Audio output for Blu-ray videos
Now check out the video below for the walkthrough and to see the new look of the Playstation Store
Back when PlayTV was first announced I was incredibly excited and really hoped that Sony would eventually release it in the US. Unfortunatly Sony hasn’t even been able to release it in the UK yet. But, the BBC got a chance to play around with the PlayTV and it looks pretty cool.
The interface of PlayTV is gorgeous, very simple controls to do whatever you would like, be it watch live TV, schedule a recording, or play recorded shows. PlayTV even goes so far as to allow you to watch live TV or recorded shows on your PSP wherever you have a Wifi connection for the PSP.
The Playstation 3 seems to be doing pretty good right now. Last month Sony sold nearly as many Playstation 3s as Nintendo sold Wiis. Here’s the rundown:
Wii – 274,000
Playstation 3 – 269,000
Playstation 2 – 264,000
Nintendo DS – 251,000
Playstation Portable – 230,000
Xbox 360 – 230,000
It’s uncertain as to whether these are customers purchasing the PS3 just for the Blu-Ray disc support or if it’s just because they like Sony but it does say something for both Blu-ray and the next gen console race.
HD-DVD has taken quite a few hits lately, with Warner Bros. leaving the format and Netflix deciding to go Blu-ray exclusive HD-DVD has been left in the dust of this next generation format war. These numbers showing that the PS3 is selling pretty well isn’t good for HD-DVD. Currently the best Blu-ray player is the PS3 so for many wanting to get into the format this is their best option.
This also shows that this race isn’t over yet, although Nintendo has a huge lead over Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 that doesn’t mean that Nintendo will end up winning. Sony owns three of those top six slots and their newest console is in second place, Sony could still pull a rabbit out of their hat with one killer title exclusive on the PS3 or maybe even Playstation Home.
There have been many rumors lately that Sony would be dropping the 80GB version of the Playstation 3 and come out with either a 120GB or 160GB version.
The new 120/160GB version would also come with the new Dualshock 3 controller.
There have already been signs of the 80GB version disappearing, Best Buy hasn’t been receiving stock of the 80GB PS3 for several weeks and employees of Best Buy have been asked to pull advertising for the 80GB model.
I’m not really sure why Sony would be coming out with a 120/160GBÂ since I’m not exactly sure why anyone would use that much space however it seems like it is incredibly likely since so many websites have been reporting the rumor.
This new rumor comes right on the heels of the Playstation 3 price drop rumor, but this new rumor leaves me wondering one thing, if the 80GB Playstation 3 is discontinued what will that mean for backwards compatibility of PS3’s?
There have been rumors of a PS3 price drop ever since news came that the cost of manufacturing a PS3 was down to about $400.
Yesterday came news via kotaku that a Best Buy in Sterling, VA was having a managers special of 40GB Playstation 3’s for $299.
Not only that but the last time there were rumors of a Playstation 3 price drop Sony denied it, and shortly after denying it they went ahead and dropped the price. Out of the Register we learn that Sony is denying the price drop which isn’t exactly confirmation either way.
I really think that it would be smart for Sony to drop the price another $100, I don’t exactly doubt that they could financially and it wouldn’t hurt the Blu-ray format one bit, especially since the cheapest stand-alone Blu-ray players are going for around $330 on Amazon right now. Undercutting the price of other players while giving the customer a gaming machine for that price would be viewed as one heck of a value to consumers.
Let’s hope this dream will come true, I wouldn’t mind having a PS3 in my home theater.
The PlayTV add on for the PS3 turns your PS3 into basically a DVR. You can watch live television as well as record shows to your PS3’s hard drive to watch later on your television or on your PSP.
I think this device looks awesome, I love the idea of having on set top box to basically do everything I want to do in my home theater. Unfortunately PlayTV isn’t coming to the US any time soon but if it did show up in the US it would sway me away from the Xbox 360 pretty darn quick.
When the Playstation 3 first hit market it cost Sony about $800 to produce each console but recently Sony told Business Week that the PS3 now costs about $400 to produce which means they are about breaking even when selling their 40GB version and actually making a little bit of profit from their 80GB version.
Even though this news doesn’t scream PS3 price drop it does mean that a price drop could be in the near future, especially if sales continue as they have been, a nice $50-100 price drop would get more customer buying. Not to mention the fact that Blu-Ray is doing so well and the PS3 is basically the only Blu-ray player I would suggest anyone should buy (you get a heck of a lot more for your money than if you purchased a stand-alone player).
Business Week
The Logitech DiNovo Mini is a small keyboard that was built to be used on your home theater PC with Windows. The keyboard will allow you to easily control all of the features of your PC without having to use a full size keyboard and mouse.
The keyboard looks really good and will also work with your Playstation 3. The DiNovo Mini will be launching late February for $149.99.
One of the cooler things about the Playstation 3 is that you can install Linux on it, fairly easily I might add.
Recently Softpedia posted an installation guide for Ubuntu Feisty Fawn (7.04) on the Playstation 3. So if you want to maybe play some old school games with emulators or you want to do some other type of cool guy linux stuff, well… you can.
The install process isn’t really that long and the great news is that you can keep the standard PS3 OS installed so you can still do all the great things that the PS3 can do.
One more thing I’d like to mention about it, Ubuntu CAN read the Blu-ray disks however you cannot play Blu-ray movies through Ubuntu (darn DRM).
