PLAYSTATION 3: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

We here at technobabble have received a whole bunch of goodies to check out and one of them is a brand-new Sony Playstation 3 60GB.

Well we did have to pay for it but we bought it at the $659.99 price point rather than the $699.99 that Futureshop and Best Buy Canada are trying to sell them for.

Unlike other things I have unpacked in the past (iPods, WoW: BC, digital cameras etc.) the packing job on the PS3 is rather functional but ugly. I guess Sony figures that since they're losing loads of money on the PS3 its doesn't matter what the packaging looks like. Actually I believe the packaging is really important to how the user feels about playing the console. The feel the packaging gave me was "OK you know what to do, hook it up, put in a game and play".

The PS3 is just as easy to hook up as the PS2 and because it has wireless networking built-in you don't have to even hook up a network cord. One unfortunate thing about the PS3 is that Sony gives you really cheap component cables to hook up to your TV. In fact they are the same as the ones provided for the PS2 and PS1. There is no shielding at all so if you have any electronics around you will have to really prepare a cord setup so as to not get a lot of interference.

The firmware on the PS3 is great and easy to use. The setup is just like a PSP and as you know, if you have a PSP, it is extremely easy to use. The only drawback to the PS3 is the keyboard interface. It's a keypad just like on a PSP. This is OK but it makes inputting text take longer than it really should.

The PS3 allows you to import your CD's onto it in different formats including MP3, AAC, and Sony's own ATRAC. I would stick to MP3 as the encoding for AAC and ATRAC seems to put artifacts and skips in the audio tracks.

DVD playback is flawless and if you have an HD display you can also watch BluRay discs on it (I don't have an HD display at the moment but someday I will :)). I would have liked to see Sony bundle a remote with the system though because the controller can be a little complicated to use for controlling video playback.

While we're on the subject of controllers why don't we talk about the new Sony SIXAXIS controller. Sony created this new controller to replace the DUAL SHOCK 2 controller of the PS2. What's changed? Well the PS3 will only allow wireless connectivity so it's completely wireless (except when you need to charge with the provided mini-USB cord). The controller dropped the rumble feature (oh so loved by most and really needed for racing games). However Sony did add an internal gyroscope so that the SIXAXIS controller can detect what angle the controller is at (hence the neam SIXAXIS)

As you know with the new PS3 you also get the Playstation Store. There isn't much on there besides about 5 demos and a few trailers so don't look for much, but I'm sure that Sony will get it together in the next few months and get the Store looking like a store. The setup of the Playstation store is rather complicated and really needs to be completely redone. Maybe a more database driven system like iTunes or something like the sort. Having the store setup to run over the internet just isn't efficient and Sony could learn a few things from XBOX live.

Online play is easy, and as for playing with other people I can't say yet because the only games that we have are demos and they are not online.

The only real disadvantage between the PS3 and the XBOX 360 is that you cannot stream content from your computer to your PS3 like you can with the XBOX. Even though the PS3 has a 60GB HDD (or a 20GB if you went for the cheaper version) I would love to save that space and just stream from my computer.

So if you have a cool $699.99 to drop on a PS3 I'd go for it but don't be discouraged by what salespeople may say. I think some are comparing it to the XBOX 360. You have to remember that XBOX live has been around a lot longer than Sony's Playstation Network and I'm sure Sony has good ideas on what to do in the future to improve even more.