Its about time we had a thread for the PS3! :D Discuss anything PS3 here. Updated with news, famboyism and semen occasionally.

To start things off really nicely...

PS3 should be REGION FREE!

According to Michael Iphraim of SCE Australia, in an Aus IT interview, the PS3 should be region free meaning gamers can import games from NTSC territories and they'd still play on their consoles. No moe pepperminting, therefore no more void warranties! :P

Good news, lets hope its true. :dance3:

Here's the full article:

SONY Computer Entertainment is likely to abandon its practice of region coding games for its PlayStation 3 console, the head of its South Pacific operation said.

Sony's current crop of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles contains technology that blocks the use of illegal copied games. It also prevents the use of game and DVD discs that have been region coded for other markets.

However, Sony Computer Entertainment Australia managing director, Michael Ephraim, said the company was unlikely to continue the policy as international television standards emerge.

"If you look at the fact that it will support high-definition TV, which will be a global standard, there's a good likelihood that it will be global region, as for example we've done with the PSP (PlayStation Portable)," Mr Ephraim said.

SCE Australia recent lost a lengthy legal battle which reached the High Court and brought its policy of coding discs specifically for market regions under scrutiny from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

In 2001 SCEA filed a law suit against Eddy Stevens who supplied "mod chips" that circumvent the console's protection measures and allowing the consoles to play discs for other market regions and pirated game discs.

Sony argued that the chips were primarily to support piracy and asked the court to declare them illegal.

However, the ACCC intervened in the case arguing that region coding system was an artificial trade barrier that unfairly blocked consumers' access to games from other markets which are often cheaper.

The High Court ruled that while pirating discs was illegal the mod chips did not infringe Australia's copyright laws.

Making his first comments on the case since the High Court announced its decision Mr Ephraim said that ruling was "redundant".

The company's legal representatives have advised the company that the results of the trial only apply to the PlayStation 1 which was at the heart of the case, he said.

Mr Ephraim said that the company would reserve the option to start a new case based on the PlayStation 2, but said that, for now, the company would focus on lobbying federal Government to have the mod chips outlawed.

Under the terms of Australia's FTA with the US, the federal Government has until January 2007 to amend the Copyright Act to give copyright owners stronger mechanisms to take action against individuals who circumvent "technological prevention measures."

Yeah it's pretty exciting with the possibilty of being region free, I would start importing then :D

I'm defintely looking forward to the PS3 over anythiny else. Apparantly the Cell technology is going to be incorporated into all of Sony's products from now on.

What about the quotes regarding the price of the PS3? Having to work extra hours to afford one... I'm pretty sure saying that is saying "It's going to be a grand" in nice terms.

That was by Ken Kutaragi and he seems to have made some stupid comments to me, but then again he could be right. I wouldn't be suprised if this were the case.

I certainly wouldn't be getting one for that price though.

Only idiots (or filthy rich drug lords) will shell out for the PS3 at launch if it indeed that expensive. I certainly won't be at the launch, I'll do what I did for my PS2, wait atleast a year ad a half before getting one. Plus by then, you have a better selection of games, not hyped up tech demo's. ;)

I was going to put this into the Xbox 360 thread to fit in with the trend of the conversation but it's going a little too off topic.

I quite simply believe that Sony need to reveal some more stuff about the Playstation 3 to us. Right now my mental image is a big silver griller which morphs all forms of entertainment into one device for the ultimate machine to sit under your TV. Whilst this is by no means a bad thing, the problem is simply it's price.

And the controller :P

Right now the PS3 is in somewhat of the same boat as the Nintendo Revolution. We know what it looks like, some key features, and that's about it. We don't know a price, we don't know a release date. We barely even know what games are coming out. However, in the green corner, we have a console with package details, price, release date, and over 30 games announced.

Right now, being a casual gamer looking for the right console to choose, if I had money to spare I'd choose the Xbox 360. I'd like to leave an open opinion but it's the simple fact that Nintendo have failed to deliver us a console before the competition (remember they said that? We don't know anything about the machine, and they said it'd be out before the competition!) and Sony are gearing more for that 25 year old guy with the big TV who wants one machine that can do it all.

Yeah, PS3 loses out. It's released after the 360, and as most of the same games will probably be sold on both systems I'll just leave it at the 360 and get a Revolution when it's released in 2018.

Region free does sound tempting, though...

Is SuXbox region free, BTW?

I don't think so.

At first I thought your first paragraphs was sarcastic. Also I don't think Region Free would matter much with the PS3, what with a stellar 3 games announced :P

LOL. I hope Crash Bandicoot is a launch title.

There's actualyl alot more than 30(X360) and 3(PS3) games that have been announced....

I'm not impressed 1 iota by the PS3 to be honest, and it's Nintendo and Mircosoft that are getting my hard earned cash.(and Nvidia and Athlon when I get my new PC :P)

Thus far I'll be sticking with the X360 and the Revolution, probably wont get the 360 until late 2006, and perhaps get the Rev at launch depending on games and price, it would expected that the Rev wont be anymore than $400.

I dunno. PS3 sounds tempting to me these days, predominantly because of MGS4, Gran Turismo (all sequels... yes, but I do like some measure of familiarity... not to say I hate new franchises and IP...) and the dual screen/one console idea is one I like, too.

X360 does have some market penetration, as I've often heard videogames been named "Xboxes" even if its being played on a playstation, so the Xbox brand is immediately synonymous with videogaming... like "nintendo" and "playstation" before it. Basically, the X360 is a definite contender for the win this generation.

This will be one of the most interesting generations, I think.

Which is actually an interesting call to make. This current generation has been extremely interesting with so many things happening that it is hard to comprehend it all. Yet, it seems like nothing compared to what will possibly (and probably will) happen next generation. This may be cliche or whatever, but it is an interesting time to be a gamer.

:lol: That is said every time there is a console transition coming.

I have to admit games like MGS4 maintain my interest in the PS3, but the apparnt price that households wont be able to afford turns me off.

One major issue here is a final price, Sony need to get it out earlier. I don't want more specs and I already know there'll be tons of good games, I just wanna know the cost!

Hope GTA4 is online. ;)

Yeah, I know it's a risky call, but the Xbox is quite a recognisable brand these days, and you see it in pop culture quite frequently... however PlayStation is even more recognisable...

And when two corporations with giant budgets are slogging it out, each with their own marketing strategies, I think this generation may be more of an arm wrestle.

I don't wish to discount Nintendo at all, though... but they'll need to really market their machine better than the cube.

Indeed, and also it will depend on how revolutionary the controller is when applied to actual games.

Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that it is going to be illegal to make media devices region free some time in the near future...

Better not or I'll declare jihad on the country.

That pretty much contradicts the legal use of mod chips in Australia for the purposes of playing import games though doesn't it?

I hope it's on the 360 :P

Must not be narrow minded, must not be narrow minded...

Actually, I'd love to see GTA4 on Live since the service is more organised than Sony Online. Hopefully though, Sony get things straight this gen.

Phil Harrison says XBox 360 hsn't got true High Def ware. The PS3 with its 1080p capability is supposedly the true meaning of HD. Thats good news, but it costs money.

I still think Ninty are on the money.

:lol:
What a fool. I'm sure joe-average will be able to afford a 1080p-capable TV. Same goes for HD Tv's anyway.
Sony obviously have to counter the 360 launch somehow...

I don't know who's going to cater for average Graphics-Designer Joe's gaming needs with his massive dual 2560x1600 monitors?

I know I'd be pissed if I'd forked out on a "next gen" console only to find that they couldn't even match my monitor's resolution. :P

PS3 will be at CES in January. Hopefully the controller has been retouched. :(

Maybe it'll be like this :P

It doesn't matter, as long as the guys that designed the Rez controller are assigned to it. ;)

Or this :P



edit: crap, i was thinking of boomerangs, not frisbees. there goes 15 minutes wasted

LOL Slash! :lol: Ahh man, that's some funny shit...

:lol: slashy

Haha, nice work Slash. Too bad about the mix up, but it's funny regardless :P

Unless you guys are too drunk to remember, CES is this weeks fuckbags!! :dance2: And bookmark the Sony CES 2006 site cos they're going live on the 4th which is after tomorrow. The PlayStation 3 will get revealed hopefully, and the controller "retouched". *prays*

What is going to be announced? Is it going to be playable?

The PS3 will be officially revealed at CES, and I think we'll see real time demos too. Maybe Killzone 2 or some more MGS4 trailers?

The site will be updated in less than a day, stay tuned.

Alas the PS3 was a no-show at CES. What a shame. I'm chomping at the bit to see what the might have in store.

I'll be disappointed in a PS2.5...

I don't give much credence to the rumour that Sony are struggling with the platform, and are having dramas ironing out the bugs, though. I prefer to believe that they just don't have anything substantially new to show at the moment.

Nothing eh? E3 it is then, last years E3 was deemed the E3 of the next gen consoles, but really only Xbox 360 was there and even that wasnt that great at E3 since most people knew all about it from the MTV promotion, even if was crap.

E3 06, is going to be the true next generation show!

If you go to the Sony CES PS page you'll notice a paragraph on the PS3. Maybe Sony will changed their initial "Foreman grill" design?

Oh and yes, looks like the PS3 is not going to appear this time. Thats a real downer, cos we have to wait for E3 now.

You'd better get in line behind all the Nintendo fans. ;)

That sucks though, I thought Sony had balls, apparently not it seems. :P

If you compare ball size I think Nintendo have the biggest cojones cos of how unafraid they are of change and innovation with their hardware (eg: the new pad), second would have to be Microsoft for challenging Sony and Nintendo so late in the game and launching their next gen so early, and the smallest balls would belong to Sony.

But unless your brains are contained in your balls, this doesn't mean anything.