Regardless of rationale, many are still attracted to that shiny, black case housing the guts and the glory that is the PlayStation3, much like 12-year-old girls to a Sanrio outlet mall. Still, there's more to it than that, obviously...

My ware is hard...

It may be a shallow first point, but it must be said of the PlayStation3: the thing just looks cool, even when it's sitting there doing nothing, with a sexy shape and touch-sensitive eject and power buttons by the slot-loader disc drive. Then again, "cool" is relative, as some have likened the thing to a retro/50's wannabe toaster-oven that used to be an anvil in a past life -- which is still cool, but probably not by the intended standard.

Cracking open that which is meant to crack open, beneath a front panel of the PS3 sits a memory card reader (on the more expensive, 60-gigabyte version) that accepts all Sony Memory Sticks, plus SD/MMC and Compact Flash cards. Below that are four USB ports -- the console can thus accept input from the Sony PSP, USB flash drives, and the majority of digital cameras, not to mention a generic USB cable to recharge the PS3's controller(s). A USB port on the back of the PS3 would have been good touch (two a great touch), but oh well, cords dribbling out the front-end it is.

The 60-gig version also sports onboard Wi-fi connectivity, wirelessly connecting to the Internet (provided you have wireless router in the house... and an Internet connection, obviously). Otherwise, both the 20 and the 60 come with regular hard-wiring Ethernet jacks (again, the broadband Internet connection is your problem -- and dial-up is not an option, nor should it be, because dial-up is essentially useless).

Vying for positioning as the media centerpiece for the room, a PS3 at the very least with score you instant cred for geek chic -- worth inviting over "friends" you haven't seen in a while, just to cheese them off, have-nots that they (surely) are.

More practically, the PS3's Blu-ray format allows for gobs of data to be stored on a signal disc, "gobs" being exactly the kind of space needed for the high-definition data of new-generation games and movies. PS3's Blu-ray is also compatible with current-generation DVDs (in standard-def, not upscaled to HD, sadly, though stand-alone Blu-ray players will also upscale DVD to high-def, but cost more than a grand, so there you go). The PS3 itself (as opposed to Blu-ray players sold separately) is "backwards-compatible" with all those old PlayStation and PlayStation2 titles you still haven't finished, or still cherish, or maybe haven't gotten around to playing, all sliding in to the single Blu-ray disc slot.

Output-wise, it's got HDMI boasting up to 1080p support if you happen to have the HDTV to accommodate it -- though the actual high def cabling -- HDMI or component -- is sold separately, but it will do standard definition out of the box, composite cable including (but then you're missing the point, as in 8-track-in-a-Ferrari).

Up and running, the PS3 operates with admirable quietness (and without the risk of melting anything near its exhaust port), offers free online play, can browse the net, play music, and doesn't have that neutronium-brick of an external power supply / space-heater that owners of <cough> a certain other game console might be familiar with.

Menu-wise, it's essentially the PSP interface redux, for good or ill, cycling between options for launching games, music files, movies or online services like downloading game content, trailers and the like.

Graphically, the PS3 delivers a beautiful experience -- particularly if your TV has high-def resolution -- though it must be said, Sony's much-lauded launch title, Resistance: Fall of Man, doesn't suffer too much of a graphics-death even on a standard TV. Still, you can't credit Sony for creating the high-definition generation -- sparkly-shiny resolution is not a proprietary technology anymore than stars can be copyrighted by George Lucas --, but you can certainly applaud them for the PS3's implementation of it.


Under control...

The new SixAxis controller looks almost disappointingly similar to the previous iteration of Playstation controllers, but Sony obviously wasn't going to fix what wasn't particularly broken. The SixAxis is so named because it includes a motion sensor, allowing players to move it about on multiple axes for, literally, a new dimension in video game control (or at least, one that finally does something; actually, millions of gamers have been fruitlessly twisting their controllers in midair for years, attempting to influence onscreen events through sheer emotion).

Its performance and actual implementation in games that support it is thus far adequate, not great, and the long-beloved rumble feature is, alas, a no-show.

It is wireless (using Bluetooth), however, and it can be recharged while playing by keeping it connected to the PS3 with its included USB cable. Unlike the Wii controllers, the SixAxis battery is not removable, so when it dies (not if, but when, because it will), so too croaks the controller unit, and you're going to have to pony up another 50-odd bucks for a new one. Seems a shame, but perhaps better for Sony in the long run seeing as the very mention of removable Sony batteries currently conjures up thoughts of melting laptops and mass recalls.


The Value Proposition

The value of a console is ultimately tied to the games available for it -- and on that score, the PS3 is still climbing out of a rather bumpy takeoff. The launch lineup was on the lame side overall, but with more titles like Tony Hawk's Project 8 and the forthcoming, jaw-dropping racer, MotorStorm, the Sony skies will only be friendlier in the months to come.

However, the value of a console is even more inextricably tied to, well, the value of the console -- and frankly, the higher-end of the two PS3 versions is the way to go, necessitating a heart-stopping US$600 / C$660 price tag. There is also a slightly less-expensive unit (US$500 / C$550) with only a 20 gigabyte hard drive and also, a lack of the aforementioned media slots and Wi-fi, which takes a lot of the multimedia wind out of the PS3's touted all-in-one-media-center sails. The 20% surcharge on the premium model is well worth it.

Still, there's no way around it; it's an expensive unit (with a slightly elitist model dilemma/schism to boot) -- practically the price of both of its competitor consoles, the Xbox 360 and Wii, combined -- but it's also arguably the sexiest and best-rounded of the three, particularly for those with a jones for "convergence" devices. Otherwise, a lot of the aforementioned value of the PlayStation3 is its testament to the fact that you can afford one.