If all you intend to use your PS3 for is playing the industry's cutting edge videogame releases, the $600 price tag might seem understandably steep right now. Only five months into the system's launch, developers are far from mastering the machine's gargantuan potential and the first wave of grade-A titles ( Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy XIII, Resident Evil 5, Assassin's Creed) probably won't begin shipping stateside until the end of the summer—at the earliest. But, the PS3 functions well beyond the straightforward demands of a gaming system, helping to earn its weight in gold for technophiles and media buffs.
Cross Media Bar (XMB)
When the PS3 pops on it loads up the Cross Media Bar (officially abbreviated XMB), a digital interface with 8 convenient options for users, including: Users, Settings, Photo, Music, Video, Game, Network and Friends, all with stylized backgrounds and built-in music visualizers developed by Q-Games Ltd. The handy XMB allows gamers to browse pictures, listen to music or watch movies stored on the hard drive. Since PlayStation 3 is capable of running Linux, several formats can be playable on the operating system, presuming the correct codec is installed. With 64 MiB of RAM reserved for XMB functions, users can multitask by listening to music while they browse pictures or the web.
PlayStation Network - Sony's answer to Xbox Live
Sony's web service is always connected, free, with the potential for multiplayer support. Users can download thousands of PlayStation 1 or 2 games for a fee (ranging from $5 to $15), and some of these titles have exclusive new content, like the PSP port of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, which sports new characters and gameplay modes. The system even plans to have functionality with other consoles, giving users the potential to download titles from older systems like the Sega Genesis. When accessing the web, users can either use an on-screen T9 "dial pad" system with built-in predictive text dictionary (like in cell phones) or attach a traditional USB keyboard.
In October, Sony's PlayStation Home will go live, allowing users to create avatars with personalized homes on their console. Players will be able to decorate their homes with items awarded for special achievements (potentially like high scores) and give their characters customizable wardrobes, pets and more. Gamers around the world will interact in this digital space, potentially using it to find opponents and teammates for online play in multiplayer titles.
Firmware
Fully networked to Sony's (thus far) free PlayStation Network, the PS3 allows users to download firmware updates and directly install them into the system. These updates could include anything from fixes for system bugs (in the same way PC downloads adapt game patches) and practical features for the console itself. These firmware updates can be downloaded by accessing the 'System Update' function within the "Settings" tab of the XMB, or alternatively by visiting the official PlayStation website on a PC and transferring them over with storage media like memory keys.
The latest version (released March 22, 2007) of firmware included a full-size on-screen keyboard as an alternative to the previous phone-style keyboard; an option to automatically play discs upon powering on the console or inserting a disc; and support for rewritable Blu-ray discs, Bluetooth keyboards, and mice. Prospective scientists can now perform intensive simulations of protein folding and other molecular dynamics simulations on the PS3, using Stanford University's medical research project Folding@home (F@H), making procrastination more seamless than ever before.
Blu-ray Player
Many in the gaming public have been quick dismiss the significance of Sony's expensive decision to build the PS3 as a Blu-ray player, DVD's potential successor after the dust of the Format Wars (with HD-DVD) settles. To experience the high-definition performance of Blu-ray movies, users need appropriate high-def compliant TV sets, so for those who don't have them, what's the benefit? Investing in the future may sound like the biggest marketing cliché in the book, but consider the following. With up to 6 times the storage of DVDs (50 GB on a dual-layer Blu-ray vs. DVD's max 8.5), developers won't have to worry about cramming next-generation content onto last-generation media. And while the format is still in its infancy, extra space could eventually translate far beyond crisper picture and sound.
Currently DVD menu interface is unsophisticated in design, with most film discs involving simple backdrops with crude, often pixilated one-tone overlays to distinguish interactive buttons. Including multiple layers over a high-definition release, like commentary tracks, pop-up info and interactive features that let you "control" the events of the film (like the "Choose their Fate" on New Line's Final Destination 3 DVD) or insert deleted scenes in real-time, could make the movie-watching experience more dynamic and interesting. Strategic DVD board games that go beyond the timed trivia clips and randomized movie clips of Scene It, could be possible on the PS3 as well.
The Future
Consoles of the past were static gaming machines, with no connectivity and no ability to evolve within its respective lifetime. However, with this new generation, Sony's PS3 will continue to adapt (with firmware downloads), providing users with bountiful options that go well beyond the scope of simple interactive gaming, while the games themselves strive to live up to the machine's powerful standards. Anyone who owned a PS2 knows that Sony will guarantee a steadfast library of top-of-the-line titles as we enter the PS3's adulthood over the next few years, but it's the supplemental features that have industry insiders and gamers alike truly excited. With the PS3 and its downloadable content, community networks and Blu-Ray compatibility, Sony has married the merits of both console and PC gaming, leading to a revolution in multimedia technology.
