The NEW PLAYSTATION 3 FORUM is up and running. Sign up and get posting !

New games are being announced on an almost weekly basis now and things are looking very promising indeed. You can discuss the undoubted strengths of the new console and the achingly beautiful games at the Forum. If you have not done so already, you can register here.

This site is dedicated to the excellent PlayStation3 and seeks to act as a very informal place to meet and discuss the new console and its games.

Hopefully you will be able to help out those that are struggling by adding tips, advice and walkthroughs on the Forum.

Please feel free to sign up to the new Forum now and get involved in the excitement surrounding this advanced gaming machine.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. launched their next generation console, PlayStation3, in November 2006.

It has unrivaled performance with the introduction of a Cell Processor with Super-Computer like power and many advanced technologies, and is backwards compatible with PlayStation and PlayStation2.

PlayStation3 combines state-of-the-art technologies featuring Cell, a processor jointly developed by IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba Corporation, graphics processor (RSX) co-developed by NVIDIA Corporation and SCEI, and XDR memory developed by Rambus Inc. It also adopts BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc ROM) with maximum storage capacity of 54 GB (dual layer) , enabling delivery of entertainment content in full high-definition (HD) quality, under a secure environment made possible through the most advanced copyright protection technology. To match the accelerating convergence of digital consumer electronics and computer technology, PS3 supports high quality display in resolution of 1080p(*) as standard, which is far superior to 720p/1080i.

With an overwhelming computing power of 2 teraflops, entirely new graphical expressions that have never been seen before will become possible. In games, not only will movement of characters and objects be far more refined and realistic, but landscapes and virtual worlds can also be rendered in real-time, thereby elevating the freedom of graphics expression to levels not experienced in the past. Gamers will literally be able to dive into the realistic world seen in large screen movies and experience the excitement in real-time.

In 1994, SCEI launched the original PlayStation (PS), followed by PlayStation2 (PS2) in 2000 and PlayStation Portable (PSP) in 2004, every time introducing the latest advancement in technology and bringing innovation to interactive entertainment software creation. Over 13,000 titles have been developed by now, creating a software market that sells more than 250 million copies annually. PS3 offers backward compatibility enabling gamers to enjoy these enormous assets from PS and PS2 platforms.

PlayStation family of products are sold in more than 120 countries and regions around the world. With *****lulative shipments reaching more than 102 million for PS and approximately 89 million for PS2, they are the undisputed leaders and have become the standard platform for home entertainment. After 12 years from the introduction of the original PS and 6 years from the launch of PS2, SCEI brings PS3, the newest platform with the most advanced next generation computer entertainment technology.

It features wireless controllers, connection to the PSP and a powerful new graphics processor technology: Take a look at the PlayStation 3's performance specifications as provided by Sony.

CPU: Cell Processor
• PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz
• 1 VMX vector unit per core
• 512KB L2 cache
• 7 x SPE @3.2GHz
• 7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
• 7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
• 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy
• total floating point performance: 218 GFLOPS

GPU
• RSX @550MHz
• 1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
• Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
• Multi-way programmable parallel pipelines

Sound
• Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell- base processing)

Memory
• 256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz
• 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz

System Bandwidth
• Main RAM: 25.6GB/s
• VRAM: 22.4GB/s
• RSX: 20GB/s (write) + 15GB/s(read)
• SB: 2.5GB/s (write) + 2.5GB/s (read)

System Floating Point Performance
• 2 TFLOPS

Storage
• HDD: Detachable 2.5" HDD slot x 1

I/O
• USB: Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
• Memory Stick: standard/Duo, PRO x 1
• SD: standard/mini x 1
• CompactFlash: (Type I, II) x 1

Communication
• Ethernet: (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2)
• Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)

Controller
• Bluetooth:(up to 7)
• USB2.0: (wired)
• Wi-Fi: (PSP)
• Network: (over IP)

AV Output
• Screen size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
• HDMI: HDMI out x 2
• Analog: AV MULTI OUT x 1
• Digital audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1

Disc media
• CD: PlayStation CD-ROM, PlayStation 2 CD-ROM
• CD-DA: CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW
• SACDL: SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD
• DualDisc: DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side)
• DVD: PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM, PLAYSTATION 3 DVD-ROM, DVD-Video (DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW), Blu-ray Disc (PlayStation 3 BD-ROM, BD-Video, BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE)

With the delivery of Cell based development tools that has already begun, development of game titles as well as tools and middleware are in progress. Through collaboration with world's leading tools and middleware companies, SCEI will offer full support to new content creation by providing developers with extensive tools and libraries that will bring out the power of the Cell processor and enable efficient software development.

Dolby is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories.
DTS is a trademark of Digital Theater Systems, Inc.
CompactFlash" is a trademark of SanDisk Corporation.
HDMI" is a trademark of HDMI Licensing LLC.
Blu-ray Disc" is a trademark.
Bluetooth" is a trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Memory Stick" and "Memory Stick PRO" are trademarks of Sony Corporation.
PlayStation, the PlayStation logo and PSP are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.