Update: PS3 Information

Keeping his cards close to the chest, in his usual style, Phil Harrison (Sony VP of development) provided a bit of clarification about the future of the PS3 in a recent meeting attended by Tejstar of AVForums. Naturally, there was no mention of a release date, (not even a price or pre-order information) but there were specifics about a few things.

Here are some excerpts from Tejstar’s post detailing the meeting:

Is a hard drive going to be included in the box?
Answer: Yes.

Will there be global online play?
Answer: Yes, but only for PAL regions, the US and Japan.
(There will be an emphasis on recouping costs by using online in game advertisements)

What are the plans for PSP-PS3 wireless connectivity?
Answer: You will be able to use the PSP to stream content that is stored on the PS3Â’s hard drive, whether that be game downloads, music or video.

When will we see some games up and running?
Answer: E3

Will there be additional content to take advantage of added Blue Ray capacity?
Answer: [They were] very coy about this, they did say that they need 50GB disks for launch titles, however wouldnÂ’t comment how much of that will be used for games initially.

Among the hype, marketing and spin, a clearer picture of the PS3 is slowly emerging from the shadows. While some of the information is disappointing, like the decision to make the PS3’s Blue Ray drive follow in the limited footsteps of the PS2’s DVD capabilities; their decision to make the PS3 region free is welcome news. According to information coming from Tejstar’s meeting, launch titles will be on 50GB Blue Ray disks (no confirmation on actual games size) and on board memory will be 512 MB, creating a very efficient ratio between the two. Sony has a history of creating great products, but they also have a record of not living up to some of their promises. With E3 around the corner Sony has an opportunity to make a statement and set the record straight.
Keeping his cards close to the chest, in his usual style, Phil Harrison (Sony VP of development) provided a bit of clarification about the future of the PS3 in a recent meeting attended by Tejstar of AVForums. Naturally, there was no mention of a release date, (not even a price or pre-order information) but there were specifics about a few things.

Here are some excerpts from Tejstar’s post detailing the meeting:

Is a hard drive going to be included in the box?
Answer: Yes.

Will there be global online play?
Answer: Yes, but only for PAL regions, the US and Japan.
(There will be an emphasis on recouping costs by using online in game advertisements)

What are the plans for PSP-PS3 wireless connectivity?
Answer: You will be able to use the PSP to stream content that is stored on the PS3Â’s hard drive, whether that be game downloads, music or video.

When will we see some games up and running?
Answer: E3

Will there be additional content to take advantage of added Blue Ray capacity?
Answer: [They were] very coy about this, they did say that they need 50GB disks for launch titles, however wouldnÂ’t comment how much of that will be used for games initially.

Among the hype, marketing and spin, a clearer picture of the PS3 is slowly emerging from the shadows. While some of the information is disappointing, like the decision to make the PS3’s Blue Ray drive follow in the limited footsteps of the PS2’s DVD capabilities; their decision to make the PS3 region free is welcome news. According to information coming from Tejstar’s meeting, launch titles will be on 50GB Blue Ray disks (no confirmation on actual games size) and on board memory will be 512 MB, creating a very efficient ratio between the two. Sony has a history of creating great products, but they also have a record of not living up to some of their promises. With E3 around the corner Sony has an opportunity to make a statement and set the record straight.