On Friday, November 17th, the behemoth that is the Playstation 3 was finally unleashed to the public and only 400,000 units were shipped to North America. What is it that makes this “video game system” worth the hefty $600 price tag it so proudly bestows? Why is it that people are willing to stand in line, three days in advance, just to own a Playstation 3? There are many reasons why the Playstation 3 is currently the hype of the market but is it really worth $600? Sony even revealed that every Playstation 3 unit costs them $800 to make. Is this a deal “too good to be true” or a rip off?

First off, let’s analyze the hardware. The Playstation 3 currently is the only console with a built-in Blu-Ray drive. For anyone not familiar with the Blu-Ray drive, current Blu-Ray players are going for around $1000 in stores. (Yes, even in Walmart!) The Playstation 3 also has a hard drive but so does the Xbox 360. The thing is that the Playstation 3 lets you upgrade your hard drive with any notebook SATA drive. The Playstation 3 has also been proven to support the greatest variety of output options. Surpassing the Xbox 360, the Playstation 3 is the only console able to support up to 1080p resolution, the highest resolution available on an HDTV.

A home computer and the Playstation 3 have more in common than meets the eye. First off, the hard drive can be upgraded and there is a built-in operating system. Sure, it isn’t Windows but it is just as functional and looks great! For those who have PSP’s, the interface will look similar but with quite a few upgrades. Slideshows with uploaded pictures can be created, songs can be ripped from CD’s, and browsing the internet is an option. So far, unlike the Xbox 360, there will be no charge for playing games online but downloading full games such as Blast Factor will require a small fee.

There are two distinct Playstation 3 styles to choose from. There is the Basic 20GB version for $499 and the Premium 60GB version for $599. Since the hard drives can easily be upgraded, why would it be necessary to purchase the Premium version over the Basic version? First off, the Basic version does not have any memory stick or compact flash drives and no wi-fi or silver accents. The memory stick drives are essential when it comes to uploading pictures although it can still be done via a USB cable but it is more convenient through flash drives.

Originally, the Playstation 3 had a different controller design. Closely resembling a boomerang, the controller was shunned by many fans. Understanding the message, Sony immediately scheduled a redesign and created a new controller very similar to the original Dual Shock controller except without the rumble feature and this time it is wireless. The controller can be tilted to play in some games but this seems more like a gimmick than an actual necessity. Sony claims that all PS1 and PS2 games will be compatible but there have been some issues so far which Sony claims they will soon fix.

Overall, if you have the money, the Playstation 3 looks like the best buy this Holiday season but don’t expect many great games at launch since many more are scheduled for release in 2007. The Playstation has a lot of untapped power and future games will hopefully be able to utilize the eight individual processors locked inside the Playstation 3 for ultimate performance.