Pimp my console - Sony promises new multimedia-centric PlayStation 3

Adam Turner
Friday, 22 December 2006 18:47

Your IT - Entertainment

Sony's Father of the PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi, has "promised" a souped up multimedia-focused PlayStation 3 in the guise of an AV component.

 

Built around the Cell processor platform, the AV-centric PS3 will feature double the main memory of the standard PS3 as well as two HDMI outputs, said Kutaragi in an interview with Japan's Impress, reports Engadget.

Designed to look at home amongst lounge room AV components such as DVD players, the high-end PS3 could retail for as much as $US2500. In comparison, the basic 20GB PS3 sells for $US499 and the premium 60GB version for $US599.

The high-end PS3 follows in the footsteps of Sony's PSX, a high-end PS2 featuring hard drive and DVD recording capabilities. The PSX was released in Japan in late 2003, but underwhelming sales saw plans to make it available elsewhere shelved indefinitely.

The PS3 is barely a month old but it faces stiff competition from Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's newly released Wii. The Wii has become the fastest selling next-generation video games console ever, selling over a million units in just two weeks - despite reports of Sony Computer Entertainment America executives dismissing the Wii as a "novelty".