About the Playstation 3
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On May 16, 2005 during an E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) conference, Sony officially revealed the Playstation 3 to the public although a functional version of the console was not present. Demonstrations were held on devkits and PC hardware that were relative to what the PS3 could handle. There was also video footage based on the PS3 specifications that was shown. At E3 2006 games were finally shown on actual PlayStation 3 systems. In order to prepare for launch, Sony showed 27 playable game titles during the Tokyo Game Show in September 2006 on the final version of the console.
Configuration
The basic version of the PS3 has a 20 GB internal hard drive while the premium version of the PlayStation 3 comes with a 60 GB internal hard drive. Because of the standard serial ATA interface the hard drive is upgradeable. The premium version also comes with IEEE 802.11b/g Wi-Fi connectivity, multiple flash memory card readers, and has a brighter silver-colored trim. Memory card support can be added to the basic version through adapters, but there is not an official Wi-Fi adapter. Wireless capabilities can be obtained through third party product though. Also, Sony did not include the HDMI cable but will instead include composite video cables.
The Release
The PS3 was released on November 11, 2006 in Japan. About 81,639 Playstation 3 systems were sold within the 24 hours of its release in Japan. On November 17, 2006, the PlayStation 3 was released in North America. On September 6, 2006 Sony announced that the launch of the PAL versions of the system have been delayed until March, 2007 because of a shortage of diodes used in the Blu-ray drive.
Cost
The production cost of the Playstation 3 is estimated to be $805.85 US for the 20 GB model and $840.35 US for the 60 GB model. The actual consumer price of the system is $499.00 US for the 20 GB model and $599.00 US for the 60 GB model. Sony has defended the high price by mentioning the PS3’s overall value and blu-ray capabilities. As of Dec. 5th many people do not think the system is worth the cost right now though, due to the fact that there are not many good games.
Updates and News
December 13th, 2006
Due to a supply problem that was worse than originally expected, Sony has sold less than half of the PS3 consoles it projected in its first month of U.S. sales. This is according to the research group, NPD Group. They say that Sony has sold 197,000 game consoles in its first month, when they expected to surpass 400,000. The Nintendo Wii has outsold the PS3 with over 476,000 consoles sold in November.