Play Station 3

The PlayStation 3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii, as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles.
A major feature that distinguishes the PlayStation 3 from its predecessors is its unified online gaming service, the PlayStation Network, which contrasts with Sony's former policy of relying on game developers for online play. Other major features of the console include its robust multimedia capabilities, connectivity with the PlayStation Portable, and its use of a high-definition optical disc format, Blu-ray Disc, as its primary storage medium. The PS3 was also the first Blu-ray 2.0-compliant Blu-ray player on the market.
The PlayStation 3 was first released on November 11, 2006 in Japan, November 17, 2006 in North America, and March 23, 2007 in Europe and Oceania.Two SKUs were available at launch: a basic model with a 20 hard drive (HDD), and a premium model with a 60 GB hard drive, and several additional features (the 20 GB model was not released in Europe or Oceania). Since then, several revisions have been made to the console's available models and it has faced competition from the other seventh generation consoles.As of July 17, 2008, the PS3 is in third place in US home console
History
Sony officially unveiled the PlayStation 3 to the public on May 16, 2005, during the 2006 conference. A functional version of the system was not present there,] nor at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2005,although demonstrations were held at both events on devkits and comparable PC hardware.Video footage based on the predicted PlayStation 3 specifications was also shown (e.g. Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire).
The system was initially planned to have two HDMI ports, three Ethernet ports and six USB ports, though, as shown at E3 2006, this was later reduced to one HDMI port, one ethernet port and four USB ports, presumably to cut costs. Two hardware configurations were also announced for the console: a 20 GB model and a 60 GB model, priced at $499 (€699) and $599 (€799), respectively.The 60 GB model would be the only configuration to feature an HDMI port, Wi-Fi internet, flash card readers and a chrome trim with the logo in silver. Both models were announced for a simultaneous worldwide release: November 11 for Japan, and November 17 for North America and uk.
At the Tokyo Game Show on September 22, 2006, Sony announced that it would include an HDMI port on the 20 GB system, but a chrome trim, flash card readers, silver logo, and Wi-Fi would not be included.Also, the launch price of the Japanese 20 GB model was reduced by over 35%,and the 64 GB model was announced for an open pricing scheme in Japan. During the event, Sony showed 27 playable PS3 titles running on final hardware.
Launch
Main article: PlayStation 3 launch
The PlayStation 3 was first released in Japan . According to Media Create, 81,639 PS3 systems were sold within 24 hours of its introduction in Japan.
Soon after its release in Japan, the PS3 was released in North America on November 17, 2006.Reports of violence surrounding the release of the PS3 include a customer shot, campers robbed at gunpoint,customers shot in a drive-by shooting with BB guns,and 60 campers fighting over 10 systems.
On January 24, 2007, Sony announced that the PlayStation 3 would go on sale on March 23, 2007 in Europe, Australia, the Middle East and New Zealand.The system sold about 900,000 units in its first two days. On March 7, 2007, the 60 GB PlayStation 3 launched in Singapore with a price of $799.The console was launched in South Korea on June 16, 2007 in a single version equipped with an 80 GB hard drive and IPTV.
Games
Main article: PlayStation 3 games
The PlayStation 3 launched in North America on November 17, 2006 with a total of twelve titles, with another three being released before the end of the year.[After five days of sales it was confirmed that first-person shooter Resistance: Fall of Man from Insomniac Games was the top-selling game, and was heavily praised by numerous video game websites, including GameSpot and IGN, both of whom awarded it with their PlayStation 3 Game of the Year award for 2006.Some titles missed the launch window and were delayed until early 2007, such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, F.E.A.R. and Sonic the Hedgehog. During the Japanese launch, Ridge Racer 7 was the top-selling launch title, while Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire also fared well in sales; both of which were offerings. The PlayStation 3 launched in Europe with twenty-four titles, including games that were not offered in the North American and Japanese launches, such as Formula One Championship Edition, MotorStorm and Virtua Fighter 5. Resistance: Fall of Man and MotorStorm were the most successful titles of 2007 and both games are to receive sequels in the form of Resistance 2 and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift.
At E3 2008, Sony announced a number of titles for their 2009 line-up, including The Agency, an MMO shooter allowing players to assume the role of secret agents, God of War III, the third installment to the popular hack and slash adventure series drawing on Greek mythology, inFamous, a brand new action title expanding on the ever-growing sandbox genre, Killzone 2, the highly-anticipated sequel to the hard sci-fi first-person shooter, and MAG: Massive Action Game, an online multiplayer shooter that supports up to 256 players simultaneously.

Nintendo Wii

The Wii Hardware

• Nintendo Wii's 'Broadway' CPU operates at 729MHZ with a maximum bandwidth of 1.9gbyte/sec.
• Nintendo Wii's 'Hollywood' GPU is clocked at 254MHZ, the internal memory of it includes 3mb of embedded graphics memory and 26megabytes of high speed main memory.
• 64megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as the external main memory. Just like the internal memory, it can be accessed from the CPU and GPU
• The GPU of the Wii is identical to the GC's but it is on average 1.5X faster.

Wii's Optical Disc Drive

• Optical Disc Drive (ODD) supports single and dual layer Wii disks, discs eject with software or button and the maximum read speed is the equivalent of DVDx6.
• Two main disc types supported the single sided 12cm single sided 4.7gb and the double sided 9.1 GB. Nintendo GC discs also supported. Some of the capacity of the discs is used by the system and games can not use full disc space.
• Inserting a disc will start the Wii console, even if it was already in an off state. Pressing the eject button will change the console to an on state to take out the disc also.

General Overview

• An optional wired LAN adapter that connects to a USB port is in the pipeline for users who do not possess a wireless LAN set-up currently.
• Internal non-removable 512MB flash memory used to storage game save data and downloadable content thus eliminating the Need for a memory card.
• Both Wii discs and GameCube discs can be played via an intelligent mode swap. When running in GC mode, the Wii's CPU and GPU will lower to the respective speeds of the GC and some of the MEM2 functions as ARAM.
• Software development environment is an upgrade to the 'Dolphin SDK' used with the GC; the same libraries are used so developers can get up to scratch easily as well as the possibility of ports being easier.
• Supports Wii disks (one sided 12cm) and GC discs (one sided 8cm) and console auto switches depends on what disk is inserted.
• More than just the Nunchaku is planned as an extension. GC peripherals such as DK bongos can be used in both Wii and GC modes.
• 3 power status, on, off and unplugged. To prevent mistaken turn offs, the power button must be held for about a second.

The Wii Control System

• The Wii controller features; Direct Pointing Device, Three axis accelerometer, Wii power button (remotely turn console on/off), buttons, wireless connectivity, indicator LED's, rumble, battery powered (two AA alkaline batteries) and ability to connect extension unit.
• The Wii controller supports three types of operations; by itself, with a Nunchaku extension or with a classic controller. Classic controllers will ship to developers during August 2007.
• The SYNCHRO button on the Wii controller exchanges wireless ID numbers when pressed at the same time as SYNCRHO on the Wii console. Wireless communications are only possible with consoles which have been authenticated.
• The rumble motor can be turned on and off and the intensity can be changed.
• The Wii remote has a pointer for fine movements as well as a motion sensor +/- 3.4G suitable for larger body movements, the Nunchaku attachment has a sensor of +/- 2G.
• The sensor bar must be placed above or below a TV set, the pointer measures coordinates between the ends of the bar which are about 20cm apart.
• The Wii remote has four statuses, disconnected, communicating, establishing connection and pairing wait status.
• The pointer can measure co-ordinates within bounds of rectangle centered upon the sensor bar, thus it can also measure points beyond the screen. It also responds to strong light sources, windows, fluorescent lamps, fireplaces, mirrors etc.