PlayStation 3 Zero-Day Hands On

[Jordanv78 20]

Hey guys, thought I would post a few things about the PS3 now that it is about to launch. I can't wait to get mine.... WOOT!

 

Out of the Box:

Photos of the console have been floating around for a while now, but there's a lot to be said for stacking it up physically against the Xbox 360 and the Wii. Compared to the 360, the PS3 is slightly larger, although against our black shelves, the glossy black machine almost disappears, if not for the silver bezel that houses the disc drive

 

 

Two much more practical things differentiate the PS3 from the 360, however. For one, there's no large power brick, only a single power cord that's slightly thicker than a PC power cord, and much thinner than the 360's. That made finding space for the unit easier than expected.

 

And the PS3 is far more quiet than the 360. No jet engine roar from this thing. Without a disc in the drive it's barely perceptible, and with a disc it's not only more quiet than the 360, but quieter even than the PS2. That means watching movies using the Blu-Ray player might be an acceptable experience, since the console won't be making noise to compete with the soundtrack. We'll report more soon, if we notice the sound ramping up during extended play sessions.

 

 

the first thing we did was plug the included USB cable into the Sixaxis controller and console. The cable is short -- a couple of feet shorter than a Dual Shock cable -- but it's a standard USB cable, so procuring a longer one (for playing from the couch while charging the controller) won't require significant expense. The controller charged fully in about 90 minutes, though we'll run that down and charge it again to be sure, since there was likely some factory charge when it came out of the box.

 

While the main power button is on the rear left corner of the console, just like the PS2 (if it's laying horizontally) the reset and eject buttons are touch sensitive, located on the front right in the silver bezel. The console responds quickly to both switches -- we hit the reset button and were good to go.

 

The Xross Media Bar

On the initial setup, the first thing that comes up is a prompt to connect the controller via USB, and press the center PS button. Later on, while in game, holding down the PS button acts a lot like pressing the 'Home' key on a PSP -- it gives the option to quit your current game and go back to the Xross Media Bar (yeah, we don't like the spelling either), to turn off the controller, or turn off the console entirely. There's also an indicator showing the controller's charge level, and which port it's connected to.

 

In fact, much of the early setup is just like your first minutes with a PSP. Setting the language, time, and date are all identical, as is the initial prompt to create and enter a username. After each data is entered, you'll tap right on the analog stick or d-pad to proceed to the next time.

 

After creating your identity and accepting all the basic data, you'll be given the symphonic PlayStation 3 main logo screen, and then to the XMB. The first trip to the XMB will automatically plop you on the "Sign Up For The PlayStation Network" item. But that's pretty hard to do if you haven't already set up a network. A firmware update might want to put new users in the Network Setup area, instead.

 

Fortunately the network setup is a breeze, and after grabbing the latest System Update (regrettable, but easy enough to do) we also set up our video and audio outputs. The PS3 has an optical line out for digital audio, which we selected, and we set our cable connection (component video) and maximum resolution -- 1080i, sadly.

 

Later, when we picked up an HDMI to DVI converter, we sent the video signal out over HDMI, which looked much better. Be careful if you're planning to cart your PS3 to a friend's house, though -- the OS doesn't detect when you step down from HDMI, and you won't be able to bring up a picture to reset it to another output. A firmware update definitely needs to implement a cable and resolution auto-detect feature.

 

 

Going Backwards

Of course, after the botched attempt at backwards compatibility by Microsoft, one of the first things we did was throw in a few PS2 games (and even Castlevania: Symphony of the Night from the PSONE) to make sure everything worked smoothly. To use either a PS2 or PSONE game, we had to create an 'internal memory card' using the memory card utility under the Games option, then assign it either to slot 1 or 2.

Having done that, most of the games we tried loaded quickly, looking and playing much as you'd expect. There is a problem with screen aspect ratio, though -- the PSOne games and many older PS2 games are fullscreen support only, and the PS3 stretches the picture on widescreen displays, instead of offering an option to place black sidebars.

 

The Movie Experience

One of Sony's big talking points on the PS3 has obviously been the Blu-Ray DVD player, and we checked out a few films to see how things looked. First off, we were concerned that full Blu-Ray functionality wouldn't be available without the HDMI cable connected -- that's why we've used component cables so far. But the copy of Mission: impossible III we picked up looked fantastic, and noticeably more crisp and detailed than the regular DVD. Sony included copies of Kung-Fu Hustle and Talladega Nights with the machine, and those played fine and looked excellent as well.

 

 

Media Manager

The first thing we tried was popping in some music CDs. They rip quickly, and with full track data downloaded from the GraceNote CD Database.

 

We found that, unlike the PSP, we could leave a song playing and browse the XMB by hitting the center PS button. And we were pleased to see that when plugging in several media devices at once via USB -- an iPod, Cowon iAudio X5, and the PSP -- all came up immediately, and the iPod and PSP were recognized as such. Not all media folders on the iPod and Cowon were properly browsable at first glance, but by highlighting the devide under the Music, Photo, or Video tab, then hitting triangle to access the 'Display All' prompt, we could browse and play all the media on each device. Files copied quickly from devices to the PS3 drive, as well.

To check card compatibility, we popped in another memory stick with photos and music, as well as the SD card from our digital camera, and those were handled fine, too. Even the JPGs sized for wallpaper display on the PSP looked decent blown up to our 42-inch display. Video clips stored on the PSP played fine, as well.

 

The Remote Browse feature that wirelessly links the PSP and PS3 won't be available for a while yet, since it requires the PSP firmware version 3.0, which has yet to be released. But otherwise the PS3 seems quite adept at recognizing media, devices and card formats.

 

The PS3 will launch with its own online service, similar to Xbox Live but with one crucial difference: it'll be free. The PlayStation Network Platform has similar matchmaking, voice chat, and ranking to Xbox Live, but there are no subs fees (although premium games, like massively-multiplayer titles, might end up charging players). Unlike the 360, it includes a fully featured Web browser, in case you fancy browsing the Internet on your TV.

[Xthar 136]

MINTTTT <3 PS3

[Poply 178]

how heavy is the ps3 and how hot does it get?

one thing i couldn't help but notice is you mentioned the 360 every other paragraph.

[Jordanv78 20]

MINTTTT <3 PS3

 

Xthar if you haven't already go check out the demo of this thing at best buy or something. I am sure that you will be amazed. Even just playing the demos the graphics will just blow you away...very amazing.

 

 

Oh and Poply the 360 is mentioned several times because that is the Console that is already out, so obviously that is what it is going to be compared to. I have one for the Wii also

[Mastric 77]

They go thte WII demo out now too some guys at the EB in the crossgates mail where unpackin it and asked us if we needed a box to wait in for the ps3

 

PS3 Ownage and the ability to load an OS you want onto it i think Sony is leaving it open for "Development" of say a 360 emulator on ps3 :-D

[Jordanv78 20]

yeah the fact that you can actually go onto the internet with an OS opens huge possibilites. Me and some guys at work were talking about that during lunch a few weeks back.

[Mastric 77]

http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en.../osinstall.html

[ViperSRT3g 224]

My friend is planning to sit outside of a best buy to get one tonight ^.^ I'm hoping he'll get one since only 20 are being given to each console distributor in the entire state of Hawaii...

[Poply 178]

My friend is planning to sit outside of a best buy to get one tonight ^.^ I'm hoping he'll get one since only 20 are being given to each console distributor in the entire state of Hawaii...

its like that pretty much everywhere. i heard gamestop and ebgames are only getting 12 each.

[xXSlayerXx 0]

I got one coming :D pre-order so i can get it asap ;D

[Chewy_Purp 0]

zomg ps3 owns all i just jizzed while i was reading that :D

[ViperSRT3g 224]

man you get turned on by the oddest things...

[Chewy_Purp 0]

rofl its ps3 i mean it only come once :D

[Poply 178]

I got one coming :D pre-order so i can get it asap ;D

thats cool, but i would personally wait until some better games came out for the ps3.

note: Ps3s are going for over $2,000 on ebay.