I was feeling a little ambitious, so rather than having just a basic thread about the PS3 launch, I decided to do a sort of FAQ about the PS3 as well as some info about the launch games. First, some general info about the PS3 that I imagine most people will want to know (if they don't already). There are plenty of sources for general information on the PS3, such as Wikipedia’s PS3 page, or the following launch guides from IGN: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/636/636848p1.html http://ps3.ign.com/launchguide/ I’ll be answering some things myself, but I won't be covering everything. You might want to check out those links in addition to my post for information about the PS3. The two spoiler tags you see contain a lot of info. The first one is my attempt at a sort of PS3 FAQ, while the second one will contain the list of launch games with some generic info (think of the first post I make in the review threads). Spoiler OK, I guess the basics things first. The PS3 will launch first in Japan on November 11th (end of this week), it will launch in North America on November 17th (as well as in some Asian countries I believe), and it will launch in Europe sometime next Spring. In NA, there will be two SKUs, similar to the two SKUs for the PSP and 360, priced at $499 and $599. There will be about 400K systems on launch day in NA, and Sony is aiming to hit 2M units by the end of 2006. That isn't very much if you're not familiar with launch numbers for systems. Games should be region-free (although that may not be the case for every game), and in addition to playing games, the PS3 will also be able to play Blu-ray movies; in fact, the first 500K PS3s will include a copy of the Blu-ray version of Talladega Nights. What is the difference between the two SKUs? Not much, at least from a gaming standpoint. Every PS3 will have a hard drive, a HDMI port (plus the other normal ports for analog video or sound…I don’t know this stuff really well), 4 USB 2.0 ports, a gigabit Ethernet port, and all the expensive good tech that is used for games (Blu-ray disc drive, Cell processor, RSX GPU, 512MB of RAM, etc.). Additionally, every PS3 supports Bluetooth 2.0, allowing for up to 7 different devices to be connected to the PS3 at the same time; since the PS3 controller uses Bluetooth, this means you can use up to 7 PS3 controllers in a game (NBA 2K7 supports this I believe). Now for the differences between the two SKUs. While every PS3 will have a hard drive, not every PS3 will have the same hard drive. The $499 PS3’s HDD is a 20GB HDD, while the $599 PS3’s HDD is a 60GB HDD. Along with this advantage, the $599 has built-in WiFi support as well as slots for the Memory Stick, SD, and CompactFlash memory card formats. It isn’t clear if they will be offered at launch or anytime soon after, but both of these are things that can be added to the $499 SKU through some sort of upgrade (a MS/SD/CF USB adapter for example). The $600 also has a chrome lining, but I don’t think that is a big deal (don’t really like the look myself). Note that, despite Sony’s push for HD, the PS3 does not come with HDMI or component cables. So which PS3 should I buy? It is mostly up to how much importance you place on the extra 40GB of space, the built-in WiFi, and the extra memory card slots. If all you care about doing on your PS3 is playing games, you might not get the $100 worth of value from buying the $599 SKU. Personally, I was planning on buying the $499 PS3, and buying a bigger HDD off of Newegg since that’s the only thing I think needs to be upgraded from a gamer’s perspective. Wait….you can buy PS3 HDDs from Newegg? Yep. The PS3 uses normal SATA 2.5” HDDs, like the ones you find in laptops. Sony might sell some of their own HDDs, but there’s absolutely no reason why you couldn’t order one off of Newegg and stick it into your PS3. Right now, it seems like you can get a 100GB 2.5” SATA HDD at Newegg for around $100. I believe you can also have a HDD hooked up via USB, but I don’t think you’ll be up to run games or other application off of it (not for sure, but I doubt it would be supported). How big is the PS3? Pretty big. Bigger than the Xbox, which some people joked about as being too big. Here's a comparison pic: What’s with this SIXAXIS stuff? The PS3 controller has the “…ability to sense both rotational orientation and translational acceleration along all three dimensional axes, providing a full six degrees of freedom.” If you are familiar with the Wii controller, it can basically detect the same things except for direct pointing. Sony has labeled the controller SIXAXIS because of this ability. Game Informer has a nice summary of what games support the SIXAXIS functionality and how they use it in the following article: http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200610/N06.1026.1835.51031.htm Unfortunately, this feature came at the expense of another feature: rumble. The SIXAXIS controller has no rumble capabilities, such as those found in the PS2, 360, and the Wii controllers. They might add it later, or some 3rd party will make a controller that supports both, but that probably won’t mean much since the feature won’t be standard from day one. Along with all that, the R2 and L2 buttons have been changed to act more like triggers, and the controller also has a “PS” button in the middle of the controller that performs various actions (helping the controller find the system, turning on/off the system, pulling up the main menu, etc.). As mentioned, the PS3 supports up to 7 different players at once, which are indicated by the 4 indicator lights on the controller. You can see these in the following picture: As you’ve probably noticed, there is a USB port on the controller. This is for connecting the controller up to the PS3 to charge it. There are no “wired” controllers for sale. All PS3 controllers are wireless, and use a regular mini-USB to USB cable (like the PSP) to connect to the PS3, or even other devices. In fact, IGN hooked up a PS3 controller to a PC, and it actually worked…sort of. The PC was able to read it (something like “PS3 SIXAXIS CONTROLLER”), but it wasn’t able to detect any inputs from the controller. Maybe this could be updated with a driver update. You can not directly replace the batteries in the controller. In the event that the battery dies, Sony will provide a service to replace it for free I believe. This should take years to happen though. What about the user interface? The PS3 uses the same interface used with the PSP. Rather than trying to explain it all, I’ll just link to a video of it in action: http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/03/playstation-3-menu-interface-complete-video-walkthrough/ Since a lot of people recently have gotten PS3s to test out, there have been a bunch of demonstrations of the UI. If you want to see more, just go to Youtube and search for “PS3 UI,” “PS3 XMB,” or something like that. What about the online service? Sony is providing a service that appears to be much better than the PS2’s online service, and possibly comparable to XBL. A single login for all games, a friends list (as shown by the video I linked to earlier), voice/video chat, etc. However, Sony might have rushed and slapped this service together if the online features of some of the launch titles are any indication. Some games have either limited online functionality (compared to their 360 counterparts), or even no online component whatsoever. Sony is also leaving some things up to developers to implement, which can either be good or bad depending on how it is implemented. As with XBL, Sony could possibly add functionality (maybe giving developers less of a “choice” if that is beneficial), but that will probably not be anytime soon. So basically, while it might appear as though the PS3’s online service is comparable to XBL, in actuality, what we see on launch day might lack quite a number of the features that make XBL so great. This isn’t something Sony is really talking much about, so we’ll have to wait and see about this. Oh yeah...online play is free too. The PS3 comes with a fully functional web browser, which you can use to view this forum or sites like Youtube. You might want to get a mouse and keyboard and hook it up to the PS3 (via USB) if you do a lot of web browsing on the PS3 though. Will I be able to download demos and games like I can on the Xbox 360? Yes. Sony has something called the PlayStation Store, where all the downloadable content will be located. This can range from movie trailers, game demos, downloadable games, and more. You can either sign up with your credit card, creating a virtual wallet in the process, or you can buy prepaid cards at stores. There will be some new original games to download from this service, all of which should be priced under $15. There will also be PSOne games available for download that you can play on your PSP (and the PS3 by the end of the year); these games are supposed to be priced under $10, with “most” probably coming in at under $5. Sony hopes to get the entire PS1 library available at some point, although with licensing issues, that will be near impossible to do. I would like to see some of the more rare games offered though (Xenogears, Suikoden 1 and 2, Final Fantasy Tactics, etc.). When will a PS3 Headset/Camera be released? Not sure, but the PS3 seems to support multiple types of headsets and cameras, including Bluetooth headsets used with cellphones and the PS2 Eyetoy camera. So basically if you have a headset or camera that uses USB or Bluetooth, you should be able to use it on the PS3. What does the launch lineup look like? Like this: Genji: Days of the Blade NBA 07 Resistance: Fall of Man Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII Call of Duty 3 EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 Full Auto 2 Battlelines Madden NFL 07 Marvel Ultimate Alliance Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire NBA 2K7 NHL 2K7 Untold Legends Dark Kingdom Ridge Racer 7 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 Sonic the Hedgehog Need for Speed Carbon Tony Hawk's Project 8 Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas Note that not all these games will come out on launch day, but they will be out in the launch “window.” As of this time, I think all of them will be out by the end of 2006. I don’t think it is 100% confirmed right now, but I think Oblivion and FEAR might be delayed to early 2007 (like REALLY early…maybe Jan 1st shipping date, at least for Oblivion). How much do the games cost? The same as 360 games, which is usually $60 for normal games. BTW, here’s what the cases look like: If you want to see it in person, I think some PS3 games (EX:Marvel: Ultimate Alliance) might already be in stores. What else is there to know? The system is backwards compatible with the PS2 and PS1, although it appears as though there will be no enhancements. I was hoping for some enhancements (and Sony might provide some down the line), but I guess I shouldn’t be too disappointed. It could be much worse (see list of Xbox games backwards compatible on the 360). Of course, there's also a problem with the fact that the PS3 does not have any PS1 or PS2 memory card slots. They will be selling a USB adapter for $15 that will transfer the saves to your PS3 HDD. A bit of a ripoff since you'll probably only use it once...maybe you can find some people to share it with. I would also like to talk about one thing I find incredibly interesting about the PS3: support for a Linux OS. I’ve touched on this in previous threads, but Sony will allow you to install a Linux OS on the PS3, basically allowing you to use it much like you use any computer. Exactly how similar it is to your PC will depend on exactly what Sony allows and doesn’t allow. All signs so far have been pretty encouraging, but as usual, we won’t know until there are some PS3s sitting in people’s homes. The first Linux OS supported will be Yellow Dog Linux, and it will be available shortly after launch. You can find more info about it at their website, including a list of applications (over 2000) available with YDL 5.0 : http://www.terrasoftsolutions.com/products/ydl/ Here's some various videos and pics relating to the PS3 that I didn't post yet: http://img120.imageshack.us/img120/9877/13f813bc6bcq3.jpg http://img393.imageshack.us/img393/3926/02ps310wo2.jpg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97PmGjkwxU0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJDEMmyxIak http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TipLSVV8OfY Some past threads that might contain some useful info: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=119034 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=118909 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=118827 http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=118829 Spoiler PS3 “Launch Window” Titles (19 Total, not counting FEAR and Oblivion) If I don’t list a date, then that means the game should be out on launch day (according to Gamespot anyway). Genji: Days of the Blade (Fantasy Action Adventure) Resistance: Fall of Man (Sci-Fi FPS) NBA 07 (Basketball Sim) NBA 2K7 (Basketball Sim) Call of Duty 3 (Historic FPS) Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Action Role-Playing) Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom (Action RPG) Full Auto 2: Battlelines (Car Combat) Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (WWII Flight Sim) NHL 2K7 (Ice Hockey Sim) Madden 07 (Football Sim) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Golf Sim) Ridge Racer 7 (Racing) Tony Hawk’s Project 8 (Skateboarding) Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire (Mech Sim) Need For Speed Carbon (GT/ Street Racing) Fight Night Round 3 (Boxing) 12/12 Rainbow Six Vegas (Modern Tactical Shooter) 12/19 Sonic the Hedgehog (3D Platformer) Holiday 2006 The PS3 version of NBA Live 07 was cancelled. From what I understand, all versions of the game probably should have been canceled. Feel free to ask any questions you have about the PS3. I doubt I came close to addressing everything in this post. Outside of maybe a few questions, I'm sure that either myself or someone else on the board can answer any questions that people want answers to. Also, as with the 360 thread last year, I think it would be a good idea to use this thread as a way to help each other find PS3s when they go on sale. I don't live in Houston, nor do I plan on getting a PS3 anytime soon, but I will try to keep an eye on information that would be helpful to those in Houston or other regions. I can't promise that I'll find anything, but if you guys want me to keep an eye out on PS3s in a certain region (maybe Austin for example), just let me know. I might be less inclined to do so if you're looking to buy one just so you can sell it though (good thing I can search a member's post history).
Spoiler Genji http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/genji/review.html (First PS3 Review at IGN/Gamespot) Spoiler 6.4 from Gamespot and a 6.0 from IGN. Looks like this crab never recovered from being hit in its weak point for massive damage (lame joke). Resistance: FoM http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/insomniacshooter/news.html?sid=6157875 If you're even the slightest bit interested in Resistance, I'd recommend checking out the teaser site they have up: http://www.us.playstation.com/Content/OGS/GMID-018/Site/default.html As you might know, Resistance takes place in an alternate timeline, and the site details some of the differences that occured in the early to mid 1900s, prior to the start of the game (such as Einstein working on weapons...so that's why the weapons are so awesome). BTW, this game got some really high reviews in two Japanese magazines (Famitsu and Dengeki), which is pretty interesting since the Japanese usually hate FPS games. NBA 07 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/nba07/news.html?sid=6160209&mode=recent NBA 2K7 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/nba2k7/news.html?sid=6160208&mode=previews 360 version of this game is sitting at an 87 at Metacritic. Call of Duty 3 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/callofduty3/news.html?sid=6160207&mode=previews 360 version of this game is sitting at an 86 at Metacritic. Marvel Ultimate Alliance http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/rpg/marvelultimatealliance/story.html?sid=6160287 360 version of this game is sitting at an 86 at Metacritic. Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/rpg/untoldlegendsdarkkingdom/news.html?sid=6155982&mode=previews
Spoiler Full Auto 2 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/driving/fullauto2/news.html?sid=6160518&page=1 Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sim/worldwariisquadron/news.html?sid=6160213 NHL 2K7 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/nhl2k7/story.html?sid=6160084 360 version is sitting at a 78 at Metacritic. Madden 07 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/madden07/story.html?sid=6160085 360 version of the game is sitting at an 81 at Metacritic. Tiger Woods 07 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/tigerwoodspgatour07/news.html?sid=6160129&mode=previews 360 version of the game is sitting at an 84 at Metacritic.
Spoiler Ridge Racer 7 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/driving/ridgeracer7/news.html?sid=6160212&mode=previews Two other articles about "going online" with RR7: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/driving/ridgeracer7/news.html?sid=6160935 http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/ridge-racer-7/744883p1.html This got some really good reviews from the same two Japanese magazines I mentioned earlier FWIW. Tony Hawk's Project 8 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/tonyhawksproject8/review.html Spoiler 7.3 from Gamespot, no average score yet at Metacritic (only one other score, a 91). Sounds like the framerate is a lot worse on the PS3 version, and the lack of online play hurts (moreso than the SIXAXIS controls help). Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sim/gundamworld/story.html?sid=6160950 I think this game got some decent reviews from the Japanese magazines too...although I'm not sure why. RR7 and Resistance seem pretty awesome, but this game always seemed boring and kind of unpolished. Maybe moneyhats were involved...or I've got the wrong idea about the game. NFS Carbon http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/driving/needforspeedcarbon/news.html?sid=6160286&mode=previews 360 version of the game is sitting at an 81 at Metacritic. Fight Night Round 3 http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/sports/fightnightround3/story.html?sid=6160086 360 version of the game is sitting at an 86 at Metacritic...these probably won't be as alike as the other games where I've mentioned 360 scores though (this is probably more like FN4). Rainbow Six Vegas http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/rainbowsixvegas/news.html?sid=6157495&mode=previews Sonic the Hedgehog http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/sonicthehedgehog/news.html?sid=6150416&mode=previews (all the way back to E3)
i was hyped up on getting a PS3..but after seeing rave reviews for gears of war and actual gameplay, i may go xbox
Gears of War seems to be an incredible game. The only PS3 launch title that could come close to competing with it might be Resistance, and I'm probably being very optimistic about Resistance. RR7 seems like fun and looks great, but nothing amazing like GOW. MotorStorm could be nice (for a racing game anyway), but only the Japanese version is coming out this year (and that version has no online play). But other than that, there probably won't be any PS3 game getting reviews like GOW has gotten until the end of Q1 2007 at the earliest (Virtua Fighter 5, Heavenly Sword, Lair, etc.). Of course, Sony will probably need those games if MS puts in a price drop around that time (would be a good time to put in a price drop on the 360 IMO).
Try Gears of War before you go out and get a 360 for it. I just got back from trying it out at my friend's house on his 52" HDTV and I was definitely impressed by it and it was fun, but I didn't get that feeling like I was playing something truly magical or anything like that. Visually it's about the best videogame you're going to find, but there were some control/gameplay issues that bugged me. At one point I just handed the controller over to my friend and watched him play it instead of actually playing it myself. It didn't have that "I never want to put down the controller...EVER" kind of feeling that I expect from a truly masterful "killer" app. I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I thought it was worth saying. I too was starting to think of picking up a 360 because of GOW. Not the case after playing it. Great game, but didn't convince me to buy a new system. RC Cola, are you planning on doing a similar thread for Wii?
how long did you play it? it takes some time to get used to the whole cover control thing. i'm about 2 hours in and i feel pretty comfortable now but not so much in the beginning. the game is amazing though, really worth the hype. that said i definitely would not buy an xbox solely for gears of war or for that matter any one game they could put out. same goes for ps3 and whatever their killer app is. (metal gear?) 400 bucks for one game? if you're gonna put down for one of these sytems you better like a pretty decent amount of the library.
I played for nearly 2 hours I'd say, which included the training part of it. It wasn't really a matter of not being comfortable with the controls, but more of just the controls themselves being unrefined. I do NOT like that running, taking cover, and jumping are all done using the same button. Since those are all pretty big parts of the cover system the game is centered around, you can probably see how that would make the game a lot less enjoyable for me. That said, it is freaking beautiful and has an incredible atmosphere. Spoiler The cutscene where the "head monster" or whatever it is walks up behind and impales the guy" is almost beyond words in terms of production. I just watched the video review on IGN and it seems like the worlds get even more visually outstanding later in the game. If I already had a 360, there is no doubt that I'd be playing Gears of War right now instead of typing this message (even though I have a 21" standard def TV ) but the fact of the matter is that I don't. To add to that, I'm definitely getting a Wii in a couple of weeks with Zelda, and depending on reviews, maybe 1 or 2 more games. So, throwing nearly $500 (after tax and including GoW) into a 360 is not a small decision. I also want to get Guitar Hero II and/or Final Fantasy XII for the PS2. I'm torn in more ways than one right now, but I guess it's not such a bad problem to have.
Yeah, and it should be in roughly the same format (unless you guys don’t like it). I'll try to get it posted in the next couple days if I have the time. I wanted to get the PS3 thread posted this soon since it will go on sale in Japan in less than 24 hrs (IIRC). I have a little more time with the Wii since it won't be released anywhere until the 19th.
any idea if best buy in lousiana will get some? im working out at a client in houma...and theres a best buy im hoping noone else goes there and i can snag one up for myself!!
November 17th (assuming "here" is the US). I imagine every Best Buy will get at least a few systems. I'm not sure how many though. Maybe some of the guys who got 360s last year can comment on this since I'm guessing it will be a similar situation.
Great analysis...I'm not sure, what I"m going to do, even if I could get my hands on a PS3...the 360 is not backwards compatible, so I'd have to buy new games anyway...Plus I like the wifi and the blueray...the wifi and hd-dvd are additions that may be more than the $200 difference in price (399 v 599)
That reminds me... Can anyone experienced in wireless networking and possibly getting their 360 to support WiFi explain any possible alternatives to getting a console to support WiFi? I know the easiest route for the 360 was to just buy the $99 WiFi adapter, and for the PS3, you would just spend the extra $100 to get the $599 PS3 (or buy an official WiFi adapter at whatever price if/when Sony releases one). However, if I've understood things correctly, there are other ways of doing so that might be cheaper (though probably harder to setup). I don't have much experience working with networking, especially when working with wireless connections, so I'm a little clueless in this area. I was checking out the following thread at NeoGAF about this: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126860 And I guess you could always do this too: http://www.i-hacked.com/content/view/118/62/
