The worst part about Sony's PlayStation3 holiday launch is that it will be near impossible to find one. The second worst part is that if you do manage to track one down, you'll have to shell out a bit of money to bring it home.

But if you're lucky enough and willing to pay for the privilege, you'll be pretty darned pleased at what this large but sleekly-designed video game console can do. The bulk of the expense stems from the Blu-Ray DVD capabilities of the console, a new format that enables high-definition DVD playback and gives game designers 25GB or more of space for creating more sophisticated games.

Even beyond the drive, the PS3's specs are truly amazing. The 3.2GHz cell processor is the most powerful chip ever found inside a video game console, and the PS3 ships with either a 20GB or a 60GB hard drive, depending on which version you opt for.

The bare bones PS3 lacks the WiFi and media card reader of the full-fledged system, but is otherwise just as powerful. Sony took a page from the Nintendo Wii with their new SixAxis controller: It looks and feels a lot like a DualShock controller, but is motion-sensitive in six directions. It's not as revolutionary as the Wii controller, but the SixAxis does add another element to gaming, such as utilizing the motion sensitivity to control skating in Tony Hawk's Project 8, for example.

The video game console itself is huge--larger than the Xbox 360--but the glossy black box features curves and design touches that just exude coolness. The touch-sensitive buttons give it a decidedly next-generation feel, and the PS3 supports up to seven Bluetooth controllers. Additonally, the system is backwards-compatible and will play all PS one and PS2 right out of the box.

Unlike Microsoft's Xbox Live, Sony's online service is completely free, letting you play head-to-head multiplayer and browse the Web without any add-on software or service upgrades.

The PS3 features 1080p HDMI output, so you'll get the best resolution currently available on your HDTV. Graphically, this will be the console to beat, although launch games don't look that much sharper than those for the Xbox 360. The PS3 doesn't ship with an HDMI cable, adding to the overall expense.

You can't find a stand-along Blu-Ray DVD player for the price of the PS3, so in those terms, it's a bargain. But as far as video game consoles go, the Sony PlayStation3 is the most expensive--and most powerful--one ever created.


Pros: Extremely powerful, Blu-Ray DVD player built in
Cons: Expensive

Warranty
1 year