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10 I Thursday, June 15, 2006 | The Red & Black
VARIETY & SPORTS
Sony offers two different versions of next-gen console
COMPARISON OF 2 SYSTEMS: $500 OR $600?
PS3 Basic System:
Cost: $499
Hard Drive: 20 GB
WiFi: No
HDMI Output: No
PS3 Premium System:
Cost: $599
Hard Drive: 60 GB
WiFi: Yes
HDMI Output: Yes
By MILES MOFFIT
mmoffit@randb.com
Editor’s Note: This is part
two of our three-part next-
gen console series.
Sony turned heads this
year at E3 by defying naysay
ers and offering hands-on
demos of their latest system
— the Playstation 3, set to hit
shelves on November 17.
“Playstation 3 is not an
incremental update to our
previous platforms, but is
truly designed to advance
our vision for computer
entertainment,” said Sony
Computer Entertainment of
America President Kaz Hirai.
Since the Xbox 360 will
have been on the market for
a year when the Playstation 3
launches, Sony has a lot to
prove and now all their cards
are on the table thanks to
Hirai’s announcing the
Playstation 3’s slated launch
price of $599.
To clarify, that’s the high-
end system. A toned-down,
$499 system will also be
released and both will come
in silver and black. In addi
tion, unlike the 360, both sys
tems will come standard with
hard drives.
Backing up that price tag,
Hirai said early in his presen
tation that the “Cell” proces
sor powering the PS3 rivals
the computational ability of
supercomputers.
The first video demonstra
tion of this power was made
by Gran Turismo creator
Kazunori Yamauchi, who
demonstrated a version of his
Gran Turismo 4 racing game
that had been optimized for
the Playstation 3.
His demo ran smoothly at
1080p, one of the best High
Definition quality settings
that current video monitors
can display.
Thanks to the Playstation
3’s built-in hard drive, the
game loaded a race in less
than half of the original
game's standard load time.
Electronic Arts revealed
some interesting news for
sports fans when they
announced that athletes in
future EA Sports titles will
find their footing realistically,
as you guide them through
360 degrees of directional
freedom instead of outdated
eight-way running.
Many more games were
shown for the PS3, such as
“Resistance: Fall of Man,” a
first-person shooter taking
place during a version of his
tory in which World War II
never took place and the
world is under attack by a
new species.
While the gameplay in
“Resistance” was directly
demonstrated on stage
(instead of a pre-rendered
trailer), Sony still faced
skepticism for last year’s
“Killzone 2” trailer fiasco.
As stated in last week’s
article about the 360, Sony’s
“Blu Ray” format is to be the
new standard for Playstation
3 titles.
“[Blu Ray] is a next-gener
ation format supported by
major hardware manufactur
ers and motion picture stu
dios,” Hirai said.
He went on to say that a
Blu Ray disc’s storage capac
ity provides a world of free
dom for developers, limited
“only by their imagination.”
He then proudly pointed
out that the Playstation 3
will play PS3, PS2 and PS1
games, as well as Blu Ray
DVD, DVD and Music CDs.
Far more unexpected
than the features of the con
sole, however, was a revela
tion made when Ken
Kutaragi, Group CEO of
Sony Computer
Entertainment, took the
stage.
Kutaragi announced that
the Playstation 3’s standard
controller will use internal,
rather than external, sensors
to detect actual movement of
the controller in six degrees.
This means that a virtual
aircraft will be albe to turn,
for example, simply by tilting
your hands, and change its
altitude by raising and lower
ing the controller.
Unlike earlier prototypes,
the final PS3 controller will
be very much like the
Playstation controller gamers
are familiar with.
The only differences are its
motion-sensing capabilities
and a clear button with the
Playstation logo in the center
of the controller, possibly fea
turing similar functionality to
the Xbox 360 controller’s
central “Guide” button. On
top of that, it’s not just wire
less, it’s Bluetooth.
When the controller was
used on stage in the game
“WarHawk,” the game’s
designer seemed to have
trouble landing his aircraft
when he was finished. This
hints at possible sensitivity
issues for the new controller.
As the Playstation series
has made a name for itself as
the leading console company,
there is no doubt that
gamers will buy the
Playstation 3.
However, it is the most
expensive console system
ever released, and that’ll be
something for everyone to
consider come November.
Hirai said it best, “the real
power of the Playstation 3
rests ultimately with the con
sumers.”
^Jewish |
Met Campus (enter
for Jewish life
iifiinimnaKillnl nrn
www.ucjdiuiUfi.uiy
1155 S. Milledqe Ave.
706 M3 6303
|
Lutheran|
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Presbyterian |
Christus Victor Lutheran Church
■ : s
® first Presbyterian Church
and Student Center
■Pi
Sunday School: 9:A5am
Sunday Worship 10:30am
1
Worship: 8:65 and 11:00am
Midweek Student Activities
“Creatinq a Community”
www.christusvictor.net
W a
185 [.Hancock Avenue
1010 S. Lumpkin St. - 706 543 3801
m
706-543-4338
i
OMAHA: Seniors help lead their
team to the College World Series
> From Page 1
RBIs and four runs scored.
Senior left-handed reliever
Rip Warren has been lights
out, pitching 10 1/3 innings of
four-hit ball, surrendering
just one run in the post-sea-
son.
“The seniors on this team
have basically carried (us),”
Wyatt said. “You look at Rip
(Warren), you look at Bobby
(Felmy), you look at JJ
(Jason Jacobs) — all the
games he’s caught, in games
where the heat was unbeliev
able. I got so much love for
that guy.”
Also contributing with
their hot bats were Side and
Wyatt.
With an SEC-leading 110
hits this season, Side has put
together one of the best sea
sons ever for a Bulldog, solid
ifying his place in the record-
books as Georgia’s single sea
son hits leader and total base
king (188) while hitting .359
with 13 home runs and 53
RBIs.
Wyatt, who leads the team
in batting average at .362, has
been competing with Side at
the top of the order for the
coveted title of team batting
champ.
Wyatt has relished the
opportunity of playing with
this year’s team, especially
since next year’s lineup will
take a big overhaul.
For a large handful of jun
iors and seniors, this will be
their last go-round in a
Georgia uniform. Along with
the seven seniors leaving,
three dynamic juniors — Side,
Brooks Brown and Josh
Morris — will be preparing for
a professional career after
being drafted last week.
The emotions of their final
game at Foley Field finally
caught up with the entire
team once sophomore closer
Joshua Fields threw the final
fastball past Gamecock
freshman Phil Disher, as
the team dogpiled each other
just behind the pitchers
mound.
“It’s all these pent up
emotions, and you made it
and you feel made it, but at
the same time, you know in
your heart that there is a long
way to go — there’s eight
teams left, and we got a tour
nament to worry about,”
Jacobs said.
“I couldn’t ask for anything
more my senior year. I’m just
grateful to have a chance
again to go to Omaha, really
knowing what it takes to
win.”
No. 7 Georgia will face No.
2 Rice Saturday at 2 p.m. and
will be broadcast on ESPN.
east campus
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Congratulations
T.W. Quigley
Last Thursday's Sudoku Puzzle winner!
T.W. wins 2 Free Lunches courtesy of
La Fiesta, East Side!
Solve the Sudoku puzzle in today's Red & Black and you could win 2
Large, 2-Topping Pizzas courtesy of Domino's!
One entry per person, no photocopies.
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540 Baxter St. - Athens - across from Brumby Hall
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*15 Purchase!
Expires July 1, 2006
Downtown Athens
706-369-7418
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CLOTH I rsl G
215 HartH St. ^ '
THURSDAY 6/15 FRIDAY 6/16
WHO’S BADP 2AC BROWN
$10 • doors 9pm $12 • doors 9pm
Advanced tickets available at SCH001 KIDS RECORDS, 264 E Clayton St., 706.353.1666 and at
JUNKMAN S DAUGHTER S DROTHER. 438 E Clayton st.,706.543.4998 and www.GeorgiaTheatre.com.