Hardware specification of PlayStation 3 for Europe confirmed

SCEE announce that the PlayStation 3 system to be launched in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia on 23rd March 2007 will utilise a new hardware specification.

The European PS3 will feature the Cell Broadband Engine™, 60GB Hard Disk Drive, Blu-ray Disc player, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, and SIXAXIS™ Wireless Controller. It features a new combination of hardware and software emulation which will enable PS3 to be compatible with a broad range of original PlayStation titles and a limited range of PlayStation 2 titles.

"PS3 is first and foremost a system that excels in playing games specifically designed to exploit the power and potential of the PS3 system," said David Reeves, President of SCEE. "Games designed for PS3 offer incredible graphics quality, stunning gameplay and massively improved audio and video fidelity that is simply not achievable with PS and PS2 games. Rather than concentrate on PS2 backwards compatibility, in the future, company resources will be increasingly focused on developing new games and entertainment features exclusively for PS3, truly taking advantage of this exciting technology."

Some additional PS2 titles will become compatible on the PS3 system through regular downloadable System Software updates, which will be made available through the PlayStation®Network, from playstation.com or via PS3 game discs, with the first update planned for the launch date of the 23 March 2007.

Users will be able to check whether their titles are compatible with PS3 at http://faq.eu.playstation.com/bc. This site will be available at PS3 launch.