The Playstation 3, widely known as the PS3 is the latest gaming console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the 3rd generation successor of the Playstation 2. But even the ‘Behemoth’ of all the 7th generation gaming consoles also has its many share of critics from left to right. Here’s what LittleBigGamer.com has to say with the Playstation 3.
PlayStation 3
The BIG
The Playstation 3 sure is bulky, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad sign for our sleeping giant. The sleek design, glossy look and the quiet operation is something that most gamers would really want in a console. No one likes a noisy piece of junk that destroys your pleasure of listening to the in-game music. The PS3 still has the same feature with its predecessor that allows you to either lay the console flat or make it stand-up. Also, the DualShock 2 controllers are now history and now welcome the DualShock 3 (formerly known as the Sixaxis). While the DualShock 3 still has its features with the sixaxis of motion reading which can be used on various games, the DualShock 3 has now been upgraded with a vibration capability as well.
We all know that what most people would wanna ask is, “Is the PS3 have a backward compatibility?” We’ll the answer is a both YES and a NO. Why? Basically the Playstation 3 has many different versions, the 1st ever version of the 20GB PS3 supported backwards compatibility then followed by the 60GB and the 80GB which was released late ’06 and 2007. The other succeeding version doesn’t have backwards compatibility such as the 40GB and the most recent 80GB and 160GB but it’s not a bad thing for the PS3. Gamers now have several options on choosing the right console for them just like gamers who wants their PS3 backward compatible.
Do you wanna know what’s the best thing with 7th Generation gaming consoles with the previous ones? No? It is the victor of the format wars, the mighty Blu-Ray. While the Blu-Ray Disc definitely crippled HD DVDs and HD TVs, it has also helped gaming consoles in terms of sales considering that the Blu-Ray is drastically much cheaper than HD ones. But enough with the Blu-Ray discs, back to the PS3. The Playstation 3 supports Blu-Ray discs in both games and media entertainment such as Music and Movies. Technically, the PS3’s revolutionary graphics engine beats the Xbox360 and the Nintendo Wii. It’s one of the greatest advantages of the Playstation 3, it brings you realism into a next level.
The PS3 interface is highly similar with the user friendly interface of the PSP. It also supports Wi-Fi and flash media reader for internet connectivity and file management. Online gaming as well is free… Yes you’ve read it right folks, it is for FREE. The Games for the Playstation 3 has changed a lot from those loyal playstation-only games to the new innovative games every game developers has to offer. RPG gamers will notice some of their favorite Playstation 2 games now being multi-platformed while the other games has completely transferred their franchise on other gaming consoles. But, there are still games that are loyal and would most-likely force you to buy a PS3 with games such as Gran Turismo 5, Metal Gear Solid 4 and of course, Little Big Planet.
Dual Shock 3
The Little
Most of the best Playstation games are now non-exclusive such as Devil May Cry 4 and the GTA4 which is really disappointing. Price of the PS3 is also a big issue, the crowned ‘behemoth’ is also a huge monster when it comes to pricing. The initial reason of sales going down for the PS3 is because of its demanding pricey hardware which is a good thing for console specs and all but not good news who wants to save money.
The Playstation Network is the PS3’s online gaming service which provides online gaming, media and other online services isn’t much of a competitor with the Xbox Live. Lack of elements and the necessary support within the feature is one reason of it. DualShock 3 Sixaxis is also receiving a lot of critics due to its motion reader feature which is highly the same with the Wii remote controller. There’s not much cons and negative points with the PS3, basically it’s just price and the lack of online features which is really the downside of this promising console.
What LittleBigGamer Thinks…
The Playstation 3 is really showing quite a promise from its predecessor, the Playstation 2. Though most people might not see the PS3 as big as the previous one, but recent sales with units being sold in Japan outsell the Nintendo Wii. Large hard drive space and backwards compatibility with the PS2 and the PS1 all makes this console worth the buy but one should always think things through before spending (consumer-wise). Prices should also drop down within this year while more exclusive games should appear in the console in the following months. Ultimately, The Playstation 3 is surely the most powerful gaming console Sony has ever made, with it’s Cell Broadband microprocessor and stupendous amounts of digital space, the PS3 will give you a gaming experience unlike no other (as well as money busting experience.)
PlayStation 3 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
* * 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy total floating point performance: 218 GFLOPS
GPU: RSX @550MHz
* 1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
* Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
* Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines
Sound: Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell-base processing)
Memory:
* 256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz
* 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz
System Bandwidth:
* Main RAM: 25.6GB/s
* VRAM: 22.4GB/s
* RSX: 20GB/s (write) + 15GB/s (read)
* SB: 2.5GB/s (write) + 2.5GB/s (read)
System Floating Point Performance: 2 TFLOPS
Storage:
* HDD
* Detachable 2.5” HDD slot x 1
I/O:
* USB: Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
* Memory Stick: standard/Duo, PRO x 1
* SD: standard/mini x 1
* CompactFlash: (Type I, II) x 1
Communication: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x3 (input x 1 + output x 2)
Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)
Controller:
* Bluetooth (up to 7)
* USB2.0 (wired)
* Wi-Fi (PSP®)
* Network (over IP)
AV Output:
* Screen size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
* HDMI: HDMI out x 2
* Analog: AV MULTI OUT x 1
* Digital audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1
CD Disc media (read only):
* PlayStation CD-ROM
* PlayStation 2 CD-ROM
* CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW
* SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD
* DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side)
DVD Disc media (read only):
* PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM
* PLAYSTATION 3 DVD-ROM
* DVD-Video: DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW
Blu-ray Disc media (read only):
* PLAYSTATION 3 BD-ROM
* BD-Video: BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE