News From E3: PS3 & Wii

Decato | 11 May 2006 - No it ain’t computer, but how can I resist posting this First of all, the PlayStation 3. Sony will release the PlayStation 3 in America on November 17. USD499 will purchase the unit with a 20 GB hard drive, while USD599 will buy the system with a 60 GB hard drive. The USD499 version is also without Wifi, MS/SD/CF card slot, and HDMI, so I guess 599 is the way to go. The new PS3 controller was also revealed, looks exactly like a typical PS2 dualshock controller externally but comes with tilt-sensitive feature.

Next, from the Nintendo. The Wii console will feature a PowerPC CPU code-named Broadway, which is “jointly developed with and manufactured by IBM” using 90 nm silicon-on-insulator process technology. The console will also feature an unnamed ATI graphics processor, as well as 512 MB of internal Flash memory, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, two USB 2.0 ports, a USB 2.0 LAN adaptor, an SD memory card bay, four GameCube controller ports, and two GameCube memory card slots. It looks like HDTV still isn’t on the menu, with only S-video, component, and composite video outputs listed. Finally, the console’s optical drive will support both current 8 cm GameCube discs and “double-layered 12-centimeter optical discs,” perhaps meaning dual-layer DVDs. Opera browser will come as an optional feature with it. There’s no official word on the price yet but it’s rumoured to be between USD199 to USD249.