On March 23rd in Europe, Australia and most of Asia, the Playstation 3 will be released. Said to be twice as powerful as the hastily-released Xbox 360, and 15 times as powerful as the Nintendo Wii, the PS3 is expected to storm the market like it did in Japan and the USA back in November last year.

With the unparalleled Blu-Ray Disc high-quality definition of 1080p, a futuristic design that surpasses the skin-styles of the Xbox 360,  and 100% backward compatability with PS1 and PS2 games, the hottest new console competes with the seventh-generation platforms, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s Revolution/Wii.

So what else is so great about the Sony Playstation 3?

Well, there’s the iPod-compatibility, you can upload your iPod to the PS3’s hard drive, and listen to your music. Then there’s out-of-the-box internet capabilities; the limited era of PS2 gaming online is finally over, you can now play all your favourite games, out of the box - with no subscriptions like the Xbox Live.

There’s an online store where you can download demos and games, and music, and the PS3 is the first console to ever have a web browers (albiet its a bit slow). Video streaming is not a problem, except for Flash popups - but hey, watching a Google video on your full-sized TV is pretty cool, right?

The PS3 itself comes with a 20 GB or a 60GB detachable hard drive and its base unit is a wireless controller. Here’s the packs you can buy from Sony:

The 20GB HDD includes:

• Cell Broadband Engine™ advanced microprocessor
• Blu-ray Disc™ drive
• Bluetooth technology
• Four USB ports
• High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)
• SIXAXIS™ wireless controller
• Pre-installed removable 20GB hard disk drive (HDD)

The 60GB HDD Pack includes:

• All the features included in the 20GB HDD configuration
• CompactFlash®, SD Memory Card and Memory Stick Duo™ card slots
• Wireless network connectivity (Wi-Fi)
• Pre-installed removable 60GB hard disk drive (HDD)

The PS3 isn’t just backward compatable with your PS2 and PS1 games, it improves them, as you play in higher quality definition. The Xbox 360, which offered backwards compatability on only some games, and there were still glitches, freezes and problems. Compared to the 360, Sony offers a major bonus.

“With Blu-ray, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system offers game developers unprecedented power to express their creativity and a larger canvas to produce a level of interaction, sophistication and reality that has never existed in gaming. More than an evolution, Blu-ray is a revolution that frees developers from the constraints of storage space and allows them to dream in Blu-ray.”

And with the PS3’s Blu-Ray capabilities, you get high definition visual, theatre-quality audio, recordable media, maximum bit rate, and full industry support. Sony says that “Just as the DVD offered a technological leap from CDs, Blu-ray Disc is the next leap forward in the advancement of data storage technology and digital entertainment.” In other words, Blu Ray is the emerging new generation disc and just as the video tape was replaced by the DVD, the DVD will be replaced by Blu-Ray.

The PS3 can be purchased for AU $829 (20 GB Pack) and AU $999 (60 GB Pack). There has been some contraversy over the pricing, in the US 499USD (AU $650) for the 20GB and $600USD ($AU 778) for the 60GB.

computer games compatable with windows vista…

yes indeed……