One newly released media technology – Playstation 3

The Playstation 3, or PS3, is the third console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment, and is part of the seventh generation of videogame consoles, along with the Nintendo Wii and the Microsoft Xbox 360. It was brought out in Japan on November 11th 2006, and eventually in Europe on March 23rd 2007, with the reason for the large release date gap being so Sony would have produced enough consoles to meet demands. At the start there were 2 available models of PS3 – ones with 20GB of hard-drive memory, and ones with 60GB. Seeing as the advanced new games for the PS3 saved onto the memory would take up a lot of space and an external hard-drive is visually undesirable, almost everyone who purchased a PS3 bought the 60GB model. As a result of this, the 20GB model has been very recently discontinued in America on April 11th 2007. The 20GB model is still available to buy in Japan, however there has been no confirmation of a PAL release.
The console is backwards compatible (can play games made for the Playstation and Playstation 2), which is an example of the vertical integration involved in the design of the PS3. This is a very important feature, as many of the most popular games made are for the older consoles, and it also means that Sony can carry on producing games for the Playstation 2 up to and beyond the release of the PS3 without them being seen as out-dated. The other new/improved features of the PS3 are as follows:

- Next generation Cell processor
- HDMI output
- Includes: MemoryStick / SD / Compact Flash slots
- Wireless 802.11 b/g
- Ethernet connection
- Motion sensing wireless Bluetooth controller
- Next generation Blu-ray drive
- Supports USB keyboards and mice
- Stream audio and video to your PS3
- 4x USB2.0 ports
- Backwards compatible with PlayStation 1 and 2 games
- Virtual memory card capabilities save your old PS1/PS2 games
- Dimensions: 325mm (w) x 98mm (h) x 274mm (d)
- Weight: 5kg
- PLAYSTATION 3 games are region-free (some languages and video output resolutions may not be supported in games purchased from outside the UK)

This is a very good example of convergence, which is something Sony is very keen on as they try to take a hold on all of the main media technology markets with single machines such as the PS3. Once purchased, the owner of a PS3 will be spared from having to buy many other media devices, for example a stereo for playing music and a DVD player for watching films. All of these features and the advanced Blu-ray technology mean that Sony can justify the huge price gap between the PS3 and its rival consoles – the Nintendo Wii at £180, the Microsoft Xbox 360 at £280 and the Sony PS3 at £425.
Key concepts:
- Convergence
- Vertical integration
- Quality