In the gaming world, being first to market has its advantages, but it also has some downsides. With its Xbox 360, Microsoft has staked itself a year lead over archrival Sony in the next-gen gaming wars and, just as importantly, the battle for living-room dominance--these powerful minicomputers also do double duty as digital media hubs. In those 12 months, Microsoft has managed to sell several million consoles, work through some hardware glitches, upgrade the system's internal software, and bring out a full selection of accessories as well as a few signature games, including the company's own smash hit, Gears of War. But that year has also given Sony time to polish its more ambitious--and pricier--PlayStation 3. Like the 360, the PS3 is available in two versions. Both feature the brand new Cell processor, a built-in Blu-ray player, and HDMI video output. The baseline 20GB version retails for $500, while the step-up deluxe model--reviewed here--boasts a 60GB hard drive, built-in Wi-Fi, a multiformat memory card reader, and silver trim for $100 more. Even though its original specs included even more features--dual HDMI output, for example--what's left is still a lot to throw into a new system, and the final product, expensive though it is, is quite impressive.
The big question, of course, is whether the PS3 is $100 to $200 better than the Xbox 360. From a pure gaming perspective, the short answer is: no, not today. As with any new gaming system, you're going to have to wait at least a year before you see game developers really start to get the most out of the PS3, and right now, there really isn't a game out there that's able to beat anything on the Xbox 360. However, in terms of design and in-the-box features, the value is here: the two versions of the PS3 are well worth their respective $500 and $600 price tags. Now, the bad news: the system will be in such short supply in the early going, you probably won't be able to get one for a while, even if you wanted to buy one. The good news is by the time you get your hands on one, Sony will have already made some improvements and added new features, and the catalog of games will have begun to be expanded.
Design: back in black
Sony has been showing off prototypes of the PS3 for the last 18 months, and though the exact dimensions of the final unit were in doubt, the PS3's general shape and glossy finish have been set in stone for a while. Though it's been overshadowed in recent years by Apple's leading-edge MP3 players and computers, the PS3's sexy shape and futuristic look is ample evidence that the company's renowned design standards are alive and well. One look at its glossy exterior and touch-sensitive power and eject buttons on its face, and you can see why it might cost what it does.
Like the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, the PS3 can stand vertically or lie horizontally in an A/V rack, though because of its curved top, it's not meant to have any other components resting on top of it. We saw early prototypes in white and silver colors, but at launch, the PS3 will be available only in black--the 20GB version is all black, the 60GB version is highlighted with a chrome trim--and there's no way to customize its look as you can with Xbox 360's interchangeable, if overpriced, faceplates. Judging from Sony's recent decision to bring out the PSP in more colors, we don't expect the company to stick to the black-only option for too long, especially since this system, like the PSP, is a fingerprint and smudge magnet. If you handle it at all, you'll end up having to wipe it off, so you'll probably just want to stick it in a rack and leave it there.
As for its dimensions, the PS3 measures 12.8 x 3.8 x 10.8 inches (WHL), which is roughly in line with the overall volume of the Xbox 360. That said, the PS3 does weigh a bit more--11 pounds to the 360's 9.9 pounds including power supply--so if you're going by heft alone, you're getting almost 10 percent more console. Most impressively, there's no external power supply for the PS3; you just plug the included power cable--it's the same standard 3-prong style you'll find on most desktop PCs--into the back of the unit and you're good to go. For those of us who own an Xbox 360, and have had to struggle with its massive brick of a power supply, this seems like a remarkable feat on Sony's part.
Like the Nintendo Wii, the PS3 has a slot-loading disc drive.
One obvious difference between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 is the way you load media. As opposed to the more typical tray loader, the PS3 has a front-slot-loading, Blu-ray optical-disc drive, which contributes to the unit's slicker appearance. Discs slide in and eject smoothly enough, so chalk one up for the PS3 here (how the mechanism wears over time, we can't say--but the odds of snapping off or damaging the Xbox 360's disc tray aren't exactly negligible).
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