2006 saw the release of the PlayStation 3, this game console from Sony was the successor to the Sony PlayStation 2 and competes against not only Nintendo's Wii, but the Xbox 360 as well. These are all part of the seventh generation game consoles.
The PlayStation 3, initially came as either a 20 GB or a 60 GB model. Although in North America, the 20 GB model is no longer available but it is still sold in Japan. In the Korean market, the only option available is an 80 GB version.
Released in Japan at 7am on November 11th, 2006, the entire stock was sold out immediately by Chinese nationals who had paid businessmen to purchase the systems, and then resell them on eBay. The first 24 hours of release, saw over 81,000 PlayStation 3 models sold.
When the PlayStation 3 was released in North America, violence ensued. There were several reports of customers being shot, campers who were robbed at gunpoint as well as drive-by shootings with BB-guns.
The cost of producing the Sony PlayStation 3 was almost $250 more than the cost at which they were selling them at. This contributed to Sony computers reporting a loss of over $1.97 billion for 2007. Since their release the production cost has been lowered, and they are now creating a profit. Worldwide sales of PlayStation 3 have accumulated to 1,010,492 systems sold by May 4th 2007.
The Sony PlayStation 3 comes with either of two different operating systems; the first operating system is the System Software, while the second operating system available is Ubuntu Linux.
Not only is the PlayStation 3 capable of connecting to the Sony PlayStation Portable, but it is also capable of being clustered to create a high-performance supercomputer. A project by the Stanford University connected 250,000 PlayStation 3s into a clustered supercomputer, averaging 400 teraflops. That is just the average, the peek that this system has been able to reach was 700 teraflops.
Although the Sony PlayStation 3 has a hefty price tag, not only Microsoft, but CNET as well have given the thumbs up, stating that the price is worth it. The Sony PlayStation 3, no matter how controversial lives up to every single bit of hype that was produced during the marketing campaign. Although some media sources were not impressed, the gamers themselves have been more than impressed with the Sony PlayStation 3.
Original Authors: Gobel Team (Nick)
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 23/05/2008
