History
Sony officially unveiled the PlayStation 3 to the public on May 16, 2005, during the E3 2005 conference. A functional version of the system was not present there, nor at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2005, although demonstrations (such as Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots were held at both events on devkits and comparable PC hardware. Video footage based on the predicted PlayStation 3 specifications was also shown (e.g. Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire).
The system was initially planned to have two HDMI ports, three Ethernet ports and six USB ports, though, as shown at E3 2006, this was later reduced to one HDMI port, one ethernet port and four USB ports, presumably to cut costs. Two hardware configurations were also announced for the console; a 20GB and a 60GB, priced at $499/€499 and $599/€599 respectively. The 60GB would be the only configuration to feature a HDMI port, Wi-Fi internet, flash card readers and a chrome trim with the logo in silver. It was announced for a simultaneous worldwide release; November 11 for Japan and November 17 for North America and Europe. Unfortunately on September 6, 2006, Sony announced that the PAL region (Europe and Oceania) PlayStation 3 launch would be delayed until March 2007 due to a shortage of diodes used in the Blu-ray Disc drive.
At the Tokyo Game Show on September 22, 2006, Sony announced that it would be including HDMI on the 20GB system with a silver logo, but not the chrome trim, flash card readers or Wi-Fi. Also, the launch price of the Japanese 20GB model was reduced by over 20%, and the 60GB model was announced for an open pricing scheme in Japan. During the event, Sony showed 27 playable PS3 titles running on final hardware.
Launch
The PlayStation 3 was first released in Japan on November 11, 2006 at 07:00. According to Media Create, 81,639 PS3 systems were sold within 24 hours of its introduction in Japan.
Soon after its release in Japan, the PS3 was released in North America on November 17, 2006. Reports of violence surrounding the release of the PS3 include a customer shot, customers shot in a drive-by shooting with BB guns, and 60 campers fighting over 10 systems.
On January 24, 2007, Sony announced that the PlayStation 3 would go on sale on March 23, 2007 in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and New Zealand. The system sold about 600,000 units in its first two days. On March 7, 2007, the 60GB PlayStation 3 launched in Singapore with a price of $799. The console was launched in South Korea on June 16, 2007 in a single version equipped with an 80GB hard drive and IPTV.
Retail Configurations
There are five PlayStation 3 hardware models that are commonly referred to by the size of their included hard disk drive: "20", "40", "60", "80" and "160" GB models.
All retail packages include one Sixaxis Controller or a DualShock 3 Controller (beginning June 12, 2008, one miniUSB to USB cable (for connecting the controller to the system), one composite video/stereo audio output cable, one ethernet cable (20, 60, and 2007 80GB only) and one power cable.
| Feature: | 20GB (NTSC) | 40GB (PAL, NTSC) | 60GB (NTSC) | 60GB (PAL) | 80GB (NTSC) | 80GB (PAL, NTSC) | 160GB (PAL, NTSC) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Available Colors | Piano Black | Piano Black White Satin Silver | Piano Black | Piano Black | Piano Black | Piano Black | Piano Black |
| USB 2.0 ports | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 802.11 b/g (Wi-Fi) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Flash Card Readers | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Chrome Trim | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SACD Support | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| PS2 Compatibility | Yes Hardware | No | Yes Hardware | Yes Software emulation | Yes Software emulation | No | No |
| First available | November 2006 | October 2007 | November 2006 | March 2007 | August 2007 | August 2008 | October 2008 |
| In Production | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| All models include: Blu-ray/DVD/CD drive, HDMI 1.3a, Bluetooth 2.0, Gigabit Ethernet, PlayStation One backward compatibility through software emulation and a glossy finish. | |||||||
In addition to all of the features of the 20GB model, the 60GB model has internal IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, multiple flash card readers (SD/MultiMedia Card, CompactFlash TypeI/Type II, Microdrive, Memory Stick/PRO/Duo), and a chrome coloured trim. In terms of hardware, the 80GB model released in South Korea is identical to the 60GB model released in the PAL regions, except for the difference in hard drive size. Like the South Korean and European models, the North American 80GB model also excludes the PlayStation 2 "Emotion Engine" CPU chip. However, it still keeps the "Graphics Synthesizer" GPU.
Due to emulation of the "Emotion Engine", the level of compatibility was reduced. The 40GB, 80GB (2008), and 160GB models have two USB ports instead of the four USB ports on other models, and do not include a multi memory card port, SACD support, or any backwards compatibility with PlayStation 2 titles. This was due to the removal of "Graphics Synthesizer" GPU, which stripped the units of all PlayStation 2 based hardware.
No official Wi-Fi or flash memory card readers have yet been released by Sony for the 20GB system, although plans for such add-ons are in place. Nevertheless, as the model features four USB 2.0 ports, wireless networking and flash memory card support can already be obtained through the use of widely available external USB adapters.
It was rumored that the Cell processors in the third-generation PS3s (40GB) would move from a 90nm process to the newer 65nm process, which SCEI CEO Kaz Hirai later confirmed. This change lowers the power consumption of the console and makes it less expensive to produce.
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