The Playstation 3: Behemoth or Not?

On Friday, November 17th, the behemoth that is the Playstation 3 was finally unleashed to the public and only 400,000 units were shipped to North America. What is it that makes this “video game system” worth the hefty $600 price tag it so proudly bestows? Why is it that people are willing to stand in line, three days in advance, just to own a Playstation 3? There are many reasons why the Playstation 3 is currently the hype of the market but is it really worth $600? Sony even revealed that every Playstation 3 unit costs them $800 to make. Is this a deal “too good to be true” or a rip off?

First off, let’s analyze the hardware. The Playstation 3 currently is the only console with a built-in Blu-Ray drive. For anyone not familiar with the Blu-Ray drive, current Blu-Ray players are going for around $1000 in stores. (Yes, even in Walmart!) The Playstation 3 also has a hard drive but so does the Xbox 360. The thing is that the Playstation 3 lets you upgrade your hard drive with any notebook SATA drive. The Playstation 3 has also been proven to support the greatest variety of output options. Surpassing the Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 is the only console able to support up to 1080p resolution, the highest resolution available on an HDTV.

A home computer and the Playstation 3 have more in common than meets the eye. First off, the hard drive can be upgraded and there is a built-in operating system. Sure, it isn’t Windows but it is just as functional and looks great! For those who have PSP’s, the interface will look similar but with quite a few upgrades. Slideshows with uploaded pictures can be created, songs can be ripped from CD’s, and browsing the internet is an option. So far, unlike the Xbox 360, there will be no charge for playing games online but downloading full games such as Blast Factor will require a small fee.