Playstation 3 unboxed whilst Sony screams: "Sour Grapes!"

Author: Ryan Garside
Published: 25th October 2006
Comments (30) Stumble
Playstation 3 is a meaty mutha - hence the comparisons to the George Foreman grill.

Playstation 3 is a meaty mutha - hence the comparisons to the George Foreman grill.

The lucky guys over at IGN have received a prototype version of the console. Fortunately they've been kind enough to share and have posted up a gallery of the magical moment they unwrapped their present from Sony.

Before you go anywhere take a look at the gallery with all the pictures. You'll notice that they also got some Blu-ray discs containing some of the launch titles. IGN has a dev-console, so don't worry, if you're planning on splashing out over £400 on one of these it probably won't come in a tardy looking cardboard box.

The first thing of note is how reflective it is. The PS3 surface is mirror-like in its reflectiveness, allowing you to enjoy your own beauty/ugliness every time you turn it on. The second thing you will notice is how massive it is. One wonders how heavy this beauty is going to be. I also have to draw your attention to how similar the console looks to the George Foreman grill. Whether we will be able to cook our steaks whilst playing Gran Turismo is currently unclear.

The controller looks exactly as it has for lord knows how long, minus a wire. The IGN boys were given a few games to play - Lair, Genji Days of the Blade, Motorstorm and Resistance Fall of Man – and it will be interesting to see over the next few weeks how well the PS3 is received by the gaming press.

In other Sony related news, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that the company is denying responsibility for the closure of Lik-Sang. This follows up from our story yesterday where it emerged that Lik-Sang had in fact closed its doors due to legal costs. Sony has since made this statement:

"Lik-Sang did not contest this case (i.e. they did not turn up and therefore incurred no legal costs). We have been awarded substantial costs against Lik-Sang which have not been paid.

We would therefore strongly deny that our actions have had anything to do with this website closing (we assume the legal entity is still trading), and would suggest that this release is sour grapes on behalf of Lik-Sang which is aimed to belittle Sony Computer Entertainment and the British judicial system that found against them."

All in all it's another active day in the Sony camp. Plenty to discuss here so jump on the forums and give us your thoughts.
Quote Darkedge 25th October 2006, 12:21
PS3 heavy?
Oh yes, it'll do your back in taking it round to friends, thats if you want to risk ruining the scratch magnet finish.
First hand opinion..
Quote DougEdey 25th October 2006, 12:23
Bwhahaah, the ad next to the images is for Wii
Quote Veles 25th October 2006, 12:27
Would be coller IMO if it was black anodised brushed aluminium but oh well.

Don't sony realise you have to pay lawyers even if you don't goto court? They probably don't notice little things like that being taken from thier fat wallets.
Quote Lazlow 25th October 2006, 12:46
It's odd that they don't use Sony branded discs (or is Verbatim related to them?)
Quote r4tch3t 25th October 2006, 13:02
So the games are copyable? Hmmm
Quote bloodcar 25th October 2006, 13:09
Quote:
Originally Posted by r4tch3t
So the games are copyable? Hmmm
No, it's a dev kit.
Quote M4RTIN 25th October 2006, 13:59
i dont know about it being huge. its not that much bigger than the 360. and if you were to put the 360 brick with the console it'd be around the same size.
Quote Adam-Mck 25th October 2006, 14:01
Uhm i think it will be able to cook a steak as they did over heat at the sony press con. oh and Verbatim was the first company to manufactur Blu-Ray discs
Quote r-gator 25th October 2006, 14:52
Did anyone else notice that they never showed a picture of the front of the console? It's always the back, possibly the top, but never the front. Do you suppose that Sony isn't allowing them to show the front, or did they just do a crappy job of taking pictures in their unwarranted excitement over unwrapping a shiny black waste of money?
Quote M4RTIN 25th October 2006, 14:57
theres been a lot of photos of the front tho.. i wouldnt read anything into it.. be unusual if its any different to photos of the last few months
Quote rupbert 25th October 2006, 15:51
I'm I the only one who thinks the PS3 design is ugly? :?
Quote Warrior_Rocker 25th October 2006, 16:00
So they rounded the top to the ps2, stuck a ps3 sticker on it. Ran it under a floor buffer and presto PS3! I am surprised to not see any pictures of the unit on... working perhaps? Screenshots of this amazing operating system it is supposed to have.

It may be impressive inside, but sony has once again ace'd themselves and made it fugly again.
Quote themax 25th October 2006, 16:11
Holy crap that was alot of cables it came with. It's a dev kit right? So hopefully we don't get all those cables they recieved (actually I wouldn't mind the HDMI). I'm pretty sure I saw RCA, HDMI, Ethernet, Power, and something else haha. As far as Lik-Sang, Sony knew what they did. If you want to shut down a company with no where near as much money as you, you bleed them dry through the court process. Only time it backfired was against Immersion, but even then what Sony paid out was hardly a dent in their coffers.
Quote tkdwarrior 25th October 2006, 16:21
Whilst everyone may like to take the critical angle, i'd still give the PS3 the benefit of the doubt. Sony's actions have been doubtful to say the least, but as long as they get the thing out to consumers (eventually) i'd still wager it sells well and gains back some of the market share it's lost to the 360. Let's not forget Nintendo's actions way back when shall we? :| Hell if it wasn't for them Sony would still be making TV's and home audio systems, etc, etc.

Regardless, im just enjoying anticipating the competition that's to come.
Quote K.I.T.T. 25th October 2006, 16:47
i can't help but think it looks far too much like the PS2, i'll admit i'm an Xbox person but aside from saying i'm not a fan of the looks i can't wait to see how it works (i.e if they've stopped it from overheating)....perhaps having the PSU external is what made cooling the 360 easier because i'm sure the cell proccessor uses power like its going out of fashion and produces alot of heat that when combined with the heat from the power supply and power regulation circitry thats all inside something about the size of the 360 can't be an easy one to deal with...although i will also admit its better if they can get it to work this way than having and external power breeze block that has connector that looks like it should make the sound of numerous explosive bolts detonating to de-tatch it from the console before you can remove it
Quote olly_lewis 25th October 2006, 16:57
I have to say that the PS3 is one beautiful piece of engineering, though many of you think that it is a big mutha of a games console, and you are right in that respect, the black mirrored finish is beautiful and the overall design in much nicer than the Xbox 360 and the black finish keeps the aesthetics of the entire playstation line e.g. the black PSP.

Though I know that Sony has made many, many, MANY mistakes with the PS3 and their entire product line in general I think that the PS3 does have a great deal of potential and the PS3 can be a great product if Sony realize the problems with pricing. I hope that they lower the price several months after the initial release then perhaps it can claw back some of the customers it has lost over the last year or two with delays and the monstrous behemoth that is Sony itself.
Quote Veles 25th October 2006, 18:32
Well if it delivers good (exclusive) games, is reliable and comes down in price alot then I'll get it. But with sony's track record I don't think it will be very reliable and will take a while to come down in price.
Quote g3n3tiX 25th October 2006, 20:58
When do they open it up ?
Quote saeghwin 25th October 2006, 21:06
Quote:
Originally Posted by (Article)
The first thing of note is how reflective it is. The PS3 surface is mirror-like in its reflectiveness, allowing you to enjoy your own beauty/ugliness every time you turn it on. The second thing you will notice is how massive it is. One wonders how heavy this beauty is going to be. I also have to draw your attention to how similar the console looks to the George Foreman grill.
Quote:
Originally Posted by M4RTIN
i dont know about it being huge. its not that much bigger than the 360. and if you were to put the 360 brick with the console it'd be around the same size.

Agreed. The 360, without giant power brick, is about 12.2 inches long. The PS3 is 13 inches. Wow, it's so much bigger! :|

And it doesn't look any more reflective/scratchable than an iPod. In fact, that was the reason I returned my 3G iPod and don't keep one right now--I was cleaning the back more than listening to music. But I agree, a smooth brushed metal would have been better in the end.
Quote Grinch123456 25th October 2006, 21:50
Well, whatever. *goes back to computer*
Quote DXR_13KE 25th October 2006, 22:50
is it big? YES

is the PS3 better than the 360 because it has an interior power suply while the 360 has an exterior one? nope, why? what do you rather have under your TV? a big thing or a less big thing that has a huge thing that you cant see?

and consider this, the PS3 is black, its like Ford, "you can have it in any color as long as it is in black", the 360 has front removable shells that are good if you want to change its aperance.

i for one want a gaming system like the wii, if i want to see movies i see them on my pc, on the cinema or on a dvd player under my tv.
Quote olly_lewis 25th October 2006, 23:14
Quote:
Originally Posted by DXR_13KE

and consider this, the PS3 is black, its like Ford, "you can have it in any color as long as it is in black"
Thats an urban myth, the Model T Ford was available in a huge range of colors and thats just an urban myth, but I forgive you because I know what you're putting across.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DXR_13KE
the 360 has front removable shells that are good if you want to change its aperance.

But really, you're not changing the appearance of the 360, you changing the color of the front panel and the rest of the console is still a dull beige and I don't think many owners will ever buy more than one face panel, they'll just buy one and keep it on there... At least you can buy a silver or white PS3...
Quote Warrior_Rocker 25th October 2006, 23:18
Is the ps3 going to look as silly looking as the ps2 did when you stand it up? not everyone will have it flat
Quote Alekin 25th October 2006, 23:46
Such a thing of beauty considering it just made such an ugly mess in my pants.. Still, im not shelling out for it unless shops start accepting monopoly money. Will be interesting to see how it fares over the 360.

Alex
Quote saeghwin 25th October 2006, 23:48
Quote:
Originally Posted by DXR_13KE
is it big? YES

is the PS3 better than the 360 because it has an interior power suply while the 360 has an exterior one? nope, why? what do you rather have under your TV? a big thing or a less big thing that has a huge thing that you cant see?

and consider this, the PS3 is black, its like Ford, "you can have it in any color as long as it is in black", the 360 has front removable shells that are good if you want to change its aperance.

i for one want a gaming system like the wii, if i want to see movies i see them on my pc, on the cinema or on a dvd player under my tv.

Who said the PS3 was better because it has an interior PSU? It's just bigger because it has one, whereas Microsoft decided to go for the external to improve the aesthetics of their console a little bit, which I think is pretty useless because it is just one more thing you have to lug around, and possibly forget at a friend's house, etc. In the end it doesn't improve the functionality of the console, unless they were having heating problems inside the case or something.

And doesn't the PS3 come in like 3 colors? Or did they scrap that idea?
Quote K.I.T.T. 26th October 2006, 08:06
Quote:
Originally Posted by olly_lewis
I have to say that the PS3 is one beautiful piece of engineering, though many of you think that it is a big mutha of a games console, and you are right in that respect, the black mirrored finish is beautiful and the overall design in much nicer than the Xbox 360 and the black finish keeps the aesthetics of the entire playstation line e.g. the black PSP.

ummmm....has someone forgotten completely about the orignal playstation, you know the one that started the entire playstation line cause that was grey, non-offensive non-denominational grey..... and remember the PS one which unless its some clever marketing deception was the next up in the entire playstation line cause that was white/grey (whatever color you want to call it but i definately wasn't black)

sorry if that seemed a little harsh but it had to be said...
Quote Saivert 26th October 2006, 08:22
Oh and the MASSIVE DAMAGE you can do with your PS3 warrants the price of FIVE_HUNDRED_NINETY_NINE US Dollars.
Not so sure about the real-time weapon change though.

Jokes aside I think the douche bags over at Sony actually made a neat console this time, and with the possibility of running Yellow Dog Linux on it without having to order a weird Linux-kit (as with the PS2) I think it has a future. But it must have exclusive titles for it or else people will just play it on Wii/360/PC instead.

Theres no such things as a strictly games console these days. People want to use it for playing movies, listening to music and surf the web as well.

Playstation line
About the playstation line, the first was grey, the 1.5 was White, the 2nd was black and the third will be available in striking three colors (black, white, silver).
I actually own a Playstation from 1998 (with the improved firmware and less complicated hardware) and it still runs smooth with the ActionReplay box plugged into it with the disc-lid hack for playing backups.
This will be the last console I will ever buy as I am now a PC man.
Quote kenco_uk 26th October 2006, 10:57
Actually, the original Playstation was available in grey, black and a funny purply-blue colour. The black ones were multiregion, mostly used by the press for previewing games. The purply-blue were Net Yaroze/development consoles able to run custom code.

I still have my self-chipped Playstation from 1995 although I all but stopped playing on it when blue sparks started flying from where the power plug went in. Turns out the fuse was melted on the psu board and a new one sorted it. I could never figure out the fgain pots so it always (weirdly enough) had to be played standing on its side.
Quote r4tch3t 26th October 2006, 14:41
The original Playstion I had needed to be played upside down, never actually knew why. I still prefer the playstation to the X-Box, as there are very few, if any exclusive games on X-Box that I like. I don't play FPS with a controler.
Quote Blademrk 27th October 2006, 10:20
Quote:
Originally Posted by r4tch3t
The original Playstion I had needed to be played upside down, never actually knew why.

Mine too, used to overheat something wicked if it wasn't upside down.
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