The logo of the Sony Playstation 3 is pictured at a party held by Sony celebrating the new Playstation 3 game console in Berlin March 22, 2007. Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 will double its installed base this year, posting the strongest growth of any video game console and narrowing the gap with rivals, research firm iSuppli said on Thursday.
REUTERS/Hannibal HanschkeSAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sony Corp's (6758.T) PlayStation 3 will double its installed base this year, posting the strongest growth of any video game console and narrowing the gap with rivals, research firm iSuppli said on Thursday.
Worldwide sales of the PS3 are expected to be 10 million units this year, compared with 12.2 million units for Nintendo Co Ltd's (7974.OS) Wii and 7.5 million units for Microsoft Corp's(MSFT.O) Xbox 360, iSuppli said.
As widely expected given its strong sales, lower price and games that appeal to a broader audience, the Wii is in line to become the industry leader with a total global installed base of 30.2 million units.
"In this stage of the new-generation video game console market, consumers are showing they'd rather be entertained and pay less for their consoles than shell out more for the latest and greatest technology," iSuppli analyst Pam Tufegdzic said in a report.
The PS3, which has lagged the other consoles due to its high price and dearth of blockbuster games for most of last year, would double its base to 20.3 million and by 2011 would lead the industry with some 38.4 million users.
The Xbox 360, which has struggled in Japan and faces a tough battle in Europe where the Sony brand has dominated, would see its user base grow to 25.7 million units by the end of 2008.
(Reporting by Scott Hillis, editing by Maureen Bavdek)
According to Ars Technica
By Ben Kuchera
Our inside source of all things video gaming has been right almost every time it comes out of the shadows to give us information, so I'm going to dispense with the back story. Wherever his or her information is coming from, it's usually solid. After I spoke to Sony about the possible discontinuation of the 80GB PS3 model, I lit the mole-signal.
Working late into the night on Saturday, I heard a noise behind me. For both of our safety, I didn't turn around. "You've talked to Sony," the mole said in a gravelly whisper. "Tell me what they told you."
I repeated the information we reported on Friday: Sony is sticking to a two-model approach at retail, but the company won't comment on whether or not the other model would be the 80GB system. The 40GB system seems safe. I asked the mole what information he had.
"Sony is, in fact, phasing out the 80GB PS3. Sony is going to stay with the two-SKU approach though, and the prices look to stay the same," the mole told me. I heard sirens in the background, and the mole seemed nervous. "The Spiderman 3 pack-in will disappear as well once the 80GB unit is gone. In order to maintain a similar value proposition to the 80GB/Spiderman 3 bundle, I expect to see a storage increase to 120 or 160GB at the same price point, plus the new Dual-Shock 3 controller... what are you trying to accomplish with this story?"
"I'm just trying to get to the bottom of Sony's plans for their hardware so my readers can decide whether or not they should buy now, or hold off. But I'm only one man," I say.
"Now we're two," the mole whispers, and when I look around in surprise... my informant was already gone.
Today, you will learn how to install Ubuntu Gutsy (as a second operating system) on your PlayStation 3 gaming console. For those of you who think for a second (and who are scared) that this will replace their PS3 operating system, well you guys are wrong, because this will NOT erase your PlayStation 3 native operating system (called XMB) and it will run as an alternative OS on your PS3 console. Ready? Are you excited? Let’s go!
Things needed:
1. An USB flash drive or a Memory Card (PS3 can read only SD/miniSD Memory Card, Memory Stick PRO (Duo) and CompactFlash). Or, as an alternative, you can use a portable hard disk with FAT32 filesystem on it.
2. An USB keyboard and mouse attached to your PS3.
3. Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) PS3 ISO image, which you can always download from Softpedia. You will need to burn this ISO image on a blank CD with your favorite CD/DVD burning tool.
Prepare your PlayStation 3 for Ubuntu:
You will need to partition the PS3 hard drive, otherwise you will not be able to install Ubuntu. Power on your PS3, Log in and go to “Settings -> System Settings”, scroll down until you find the “Format Utility”, press X on it and go to “Format Hard Disk” (last option). You’ll be asked if you want to format your hard disk, so press “Yes” and then you must choose a partition setting for the hard drive. Select the “Custom” option, then select “Allot 10GB to the Other OS” entry and do a “Quick Format”. When it’s done, reboot your PS3.
The KBoot installation:
As I don’t have an USB flash drive, I’ve used an external hard drive for this operation, and it worked like a charm. Create a folder, on your USB stick (drive),
called PS3, and inside this folder create another one called OTHEROS. Put the otheros.bld (otheros.bld for PlayStation 3) file in the OTHEROS folder. Now, go to “Settings -> System Settings -> Install Other Os” and hit X to detect and install KBoot.
Boot and install the Ubuntu PS3 Live CD
Are you wondering how to access what you’ve just installed above? Go to “Settings -> System Settings -> Default System” (press X) and select “Other OS”. You’ll be asked if you want to quit your PS3 system and start the other OS (of course you do), so choose “Yes” and wait for the PS3 to reboot. You should attach the USB keyboard and mouse to the PS3. In a few seconds, you will see “Ubuntu PS3 KBoot Loader” text on the top of your screen. Insert the Ubuntu PS3 Live CD in your PS3, type install and wait for the Live CD to load.In a few seconds, you will see that sexy wallpaper of Ubuntu Gutsy and the installation wizard will appear. Follow the installation steps from here if you don’t know what to do.
Go back to the PS3 OS
To get back to your PS3 OS, restart Ubuntu and, at the KBoot prompt, type:
boot-game-os
and hit enter. Wait for the PS3 to reboot and you’ll see the XMB (PlayStation 3 operating system).
Conclusions
Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon has greatly been improved for the PS3 hardware. It can now recognize all the components of your PS3 console, like the Blu-ray unit, the Gelic network card, USB and Bluetooth ports, and the sound system! Even if the installation part takes around 40 minutes (four times longer than on a regular PC), Ubuntu proved to be quite fast on the PS3 console. From the screenshots below, you will see that I can listen to music, watch movies and even transfer files from my BlackBerry, via Bluetooth. However, as I don’t have a HD Ready TV, I can’t really enjoy Ubuntu on my PS3, that’s why the screenshots are so small!
Pros:
- It will recognize all the hardware components of your PS3 console.
- It runs quite fast.
- Easy to install.
Cons:
- The installation takes too long. About four times longer than a normal PC installation!
- When you want to reboot Ubuntu, it will actually shut down. I don’t know why it does this, maybe it’s a problem that happened only to me.
- You must have an HD Ready TV in order to do something useful in Ubuntu. With regular TVs you will have a 576×460 resolution and you will not see the entire window of most applications!
Customers wait in line to purchase the Wii game console outside the Nintendo store in midtown Manhattan, New York, November 21, 2007.
(Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
In this photo provided by Nintendo Co., Wii Sports video game systems are shown Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007, as they pass through the company's distribution center in North Bend, Wash. Nintendo says it has tripled its distribution workforce to meet consumer demand for the holidays.
(AP Photo/Nintendo Co., Corky Trewin)
People try out the Wii console at a media event east of Tokyo, October 10, 2007. Nintendo and telecoms operator NTT's regional units said they would cooperate in Japan to promote the broadband Internet access for the hot-selling Wii game console.
(Yuriko Nakao/Reuters)
REVIEW
Sony has always pushed the PS3 (PlayStation 3) as an all-round entertainment console, with a remit that goes well beyond the realm of gaming. And its striking design certainly makes it look at home in the living room - even if it is larger than the PS2, the diminutive Nintendo Wii or the Microsoft Xbox 360.
The console comes in two versions. The £425 model (which we tested) has a 60GB hard disk, built-in 802.11b/g wireless networking and MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash slots. A cheaper unit, which is not expected to launch in the UK until later this year, omits Wi-Fi and the media card slots, and has a 20GB drive. You can replace the hard drive on either version.
Both versions provide a Blu-ray slot drive (more information here), HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) output, gigabit networking, four USB 2.0 ports and built-in Bluetooth 2.0 support.
At the heart of the PS3 lies a powerful, multicore Cell processor that will impress even hardcore PC gamers. On games such as NBA 07, the PS3’s vastly improved physics and environmental effects are used to devastating effect. It’s far ahead of the Wii (which is at a similar level graphically to the PS2) and the Xbox 360.
The games
Internet connectivity and HD movie playback aside, consoles are all about the games - and exclusive franchises such as Halo (Xbox), Metal Gear Solid (PlayStation), and Zelda (Nintendo) can cement gamers' allegiance to a single console. Whether a PS3 launch title will become such a classic remains to be seen, and its range of games is still comparatively small – but the ones we’ve played so far have been ridiculously fun.
The PS3's wireless, motion-sensitive SixAxis controller lacks the Wii's excellent force-feedback feature. The controller connects to the PS3 wirelessly via Bluetooth (within a 65ft range) and can recharge its batteries (which Sony says will last for 30 hours) when plugged in via the supplied USB cable. The console supports up to seven players at a time.
PlayStation online
Thanks to the PlayStation Network, you can see when your friends are online in order to chat with them by video, voice or text, or to join them in multiplayer games. You can also get retro games, games demos and media content at the PlayStation Store.
The XMB (Xross Media Bar) interface is surprisingly responsive; it feels snappier than the Xbox 360 dashboard, and has a less cluttered layout. Launched from the XMB, the PS3’s internet browser isn’t the speediest thing on the planet, but it did load pages reasonably promptly. You can set bookmarks, browse through your history and make text bigger or smaller. Browsing is easier if you plug in a USB keyboard.
The PS3 carries an intimidating hefty price tag, but think about it this way: it seems almost economical compared with a standalone Blu-ray player, the Xbox 360 with its HD-DVD add-on or a Media Center PC.
Verdict
The PS3 truly is technologically superior to both the Xbox 360 and the Wii, providing stunning graphics that will impress the most cynical of gamers. It's also a pleasure to use, with an intuitive, friendly interface. But this won't be a must-have console until Sony and its partners deliver with some compelling games.
