Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3)

Finally, the latest console from Sony is here. The PlayStation 3 is powered by the "Cell processor", which is boasted to be 35 times more powerful than its predecessor, the PS2.

Its graphics is powered by an nVidia graphics chip called an RSX ("Reality Synthesizer") which operates at 550 MHz core clock with over 300 million transistors, and is claimed to be more powerful than two GeForce 6800 Ultra cards put together.

Comparing the PS3 to the Xbox 360 as far as specifications are considered is near impossible, due to the GPUs and CPUs construction. The RSX has a smaller number of pipelines than what the Xbox 360 boasts, but this could still mean that they are more powerful. Graphics aside, the Nintendo Wii is an even harder comparison due to the completely different market that they appeal to (however with the PlayStation Move this could change).

The online facility, as with the Xbox 360 is an important factor. The PS3 can be played online for free, a positive in comparison with the Xbox: Live (£32-£40 subscription a year). However, there have been mixed reviews with the PlayStation Network, and it is widely known that Xbox: Live is far superior. Downloadable files will cost you extra, but this should not be a major issue for the overall lifetime of you PS3 online experience.

The standard controllers on the PS3 are not a redesign as first anticipated, in fact the controller looks similar to the old PS2 controller with the addition of wireless capabilities. The Sixaxis controller uses Bluetooth technology and has a motion sensor, with 6 degrees of freedom (all as standard). A newer version was designed to incorporate the rumble feature (DualShock 3). The PS3 can accommodate up to 7 players at one time, also additional controllers can be connected to the USB 2.0 ports available. Furthermore, PSP owners will be able to connect their handheld gaming device to a Wi-Fi port as either a controller or an additional screen, perhaps even for viewing tactical information in game.

The system is available in various colours including white, silver and black. The media format that the games will be stored on is Blu-ray (the successor to DVDs) - a standard single-layer Blu-ray Disc can hold 25 GB - roughly 5 times more storage than a standard single-layer DVD. The Blu-ray drive will support all Blu-ray formats (BD-ROM/BD-R/BD-RE) and be backward compatible with current CD and DVD formats to enable 'some' PS2 games to be played (Sony say 200 do not work). As well as this flexibility, what really separates the PS3 from the Xbox 360 is the fact that the console doubles up as a Blu-ray / DVD player. At the moment the benefits of such a system has not reached its full potential, but can be just as successful as the PS2 was to DVDs (providing that Blu-ray stays competitive with HD-DVDs).

September 2010, sees the release of Sony's new motion control system, PlayStation Move, to rival the Wii MotionPlus and Kinect for Xbox 360. It has many similarities to the MotionPlus controller - the ability to mimic sword fighting, golf, tennis, boxing etc. One notable advantage over its Nintendo counterpart is its more noticeable precision. Also, if the requirement in the game is to recognise both hand movements, then the another PlayStation Move controller or the navigation controller can be added (to the unused hand). This means there are two controllers acting wirelessly - this is not the case with the Wii. At the moment, barring unreliable third-party hardware, the system in the Wii has the MotionPlus in one hand with the wired nunchuck controller in the other, which does become a bit restrictive at times, especially during sports like boxing.

Nevertheless, what Sony have created on the face of it is nothing really new and the fact that their main rival, Microsoft have come up with an original concept in Kinect, it will be worrying times leading up to the next generation of console for Sony.

The PS3 comes in varying hard drive sizes, at release it gave a retail value of £425 - which is quite considerable compared to the other consoles. What should also be priced-in is a 2nd controller (£30) and couple of games (£80), which gives an overall total of £535! Adding PlayStation Move to that makes the cost even more considerable - maybe this is why it has taken so long for Sony to come up with it.

As the years have past, this console is slowly becoming cost effective. However, as purely a console, the PS3 is still rather expensive. However, if you a looking for a great console and a Blu-ray player then this would be great value at this price.

Prior to the concept of Kinect, the PS3 was marginally superior to the Xbox 360, but with the introduction of the PlayStation Move, from a cursory perspective it now looks like Sony are comfortable with the present, whereas Microsoft have looked to the future.