Sony's PlayStation 3 Coming in Spring 2006

The first of the big E3 announcements came this afternoon--and it was a big one. At a bash hosted on Sony's Culver City studio lot, Sony Computer Entertainment formally announced details about its next highly anticipated console, the PlayStation 3. The original PlayStation launched in 1994, followed by the PlayStation 2 in 2000, and the PlayStation Portable in 2004.
The PlayStation 3 (shown below) will be backwards-compatible with both original PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games.

The PlayStation 3's CPU is a 3.2-GHz Cell processor jointly developed by IBM, Sony Group, and Toshiba. The console will have 512KB of L2 cache, and it comes with 256MB of main memory (up from a mere 32MB on the PS2) and 256MB of GDDR3 VRAM (video memory). It will also have NVidia's RSX Reality Synthesizer, which Sony says has the power of two of NVidia's top-of-the-line gaming cards, the NVidia 6800 Ultra graphics card.
The improved graphics power should provide smoother, more realistic gameplay, since the unit will be able to more efficiently handle high-resolution, high-polygon graphics.
The PS3 is going to support the highest hi-def display resolution of 1080p, on up to two HD screens. Other inputs include: 6 USB 2.0 ports, SPDIF audio, two HDMI ports, and memory card slots (for Memory Stick, SD, and CompactFlash media).
Sony is stocking the PS3 with ample connectivity, too. The unit will have gigabit ethernet, built-in Wi-Fi 802.11b and g, and Bluetooth wireless. The myriad of connection options means you should be able to connect your way--for example, you'll be able to use up to 7 Bluetooth wireless controllers simultaneously, do video communication via the Internet, or use peer-to-peer networking so connected PS3s can talk to one another. Here's a closeup of the controller:

As expected, Sony also announced that the new console will support the Blu-ray Disc format--including that format's BD-ROM (read only), BD-R (write-once), and BD-RE (rewritable) discs. Blu-ray can store a maximum of 54GB on a dual-layer disc, enabling delivery of hours of entertainment content in full high-definition (HD) quality. Other supported optical formats: SACD, DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-R/RW, CD-ROM, Audio CDs, and Dual-Disc.
In this event, Sony announced a slew of PS3 games--including Final Fantasy XII, Grand Turismo, and Fight Night 3. Sony says the PS3 and the new-generation of PS3 software will be available in Spring 2006.
It sounds great. Let's have a look in this coming spring.