Earlier today, Sony officially unveiled it's next generation console. Unsurprisingly, the system is officially named the PlayStation 3, or PS3. The company announced a vague launch window of Spring 2006 (which will likely be the Japanese release); however, a price point has yet to be set.


Sony confirmed the usage of Blue-ray discs as the PS3's media format. The discs can hold up to six times as much data as current-generation DVDs. In addition, the machine will be backward compatible all the way to the original PlayStation, will have slots for Memory Stick Duo, SD cards, and a compact flash memory slot. There is also a slot for a detachable 2.5-inch HDD. The PS3 will also be able to support up to seven, yes seven, Bluetooth controllers out of the box and will have six USB slots for peripherals: four slots in the front, and two in the back. The system even supports 1080p, progressive scan, for all of you gamers with fancy High Definition televisions.

Finally, the PS3 will be online enabled. From what we've heard and seen thus far, the system is basically a much more powerful version of the PS2. However, for the first time in the history of the brand, Sony has really tinkered around with the design of the PS3 controller. Though, functionally it will remain nearly identical.

Here are some of the systems specs:

CPU Cell Processor PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz 1 VMX vector unit per core 512KB L2 cache 7 x SPE @3.2GHz 7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs 7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE

Sound Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell- base processing)

Memory 256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz

Communication Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2) Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)

Controller Bluetooth (up to 7) USB 2.0 (wired) Wi-Fi (PSP) Network (over IP)


Games confirmed so far:

  • Tekken [Namco]
  • Killzone [Guerilla]
  • Vision Gran Turismo [Polyphony Digital]
  • Formula One [Sony Liverpool]
  • Red Dead Revolver Sequel [Rockstar]
  • Oh-Ni [Koei]
  • Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam World [Bandai]
  • Devil May Cry 4 [Capcom]
  • Super Gory Wolfenstein Style FPS [Insomniac]
  • Metal Gear Solid 4 [Konami]
  • EYEdentify Voice Recognition Game [SCEA]
  • Fifth Phantom Saga [Sega]
  • Heavenly Sword [Sony]
  • Warhawk [Incognito]
  • Killing Day [Ubisoft]
  • Motor Storm [Evolution]
  • Grand Theft Auto Sequel [Rockstar]

- Colin Castro