Exclusive: Hands-On with PlayStation 3

Kikizo presents a detailed, early account of its first-hand experience with a little known console called PS3. Is it looking like a new generational leap, or emotion engine tears? We have some answers.

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Nearly twelve years since Sony entered the gaming space, PlayStation's legacy remains untouchable and its leadership barely challenged. But the industry has never seen one company stay on top this long, and a reorganised Sony is surely hoping it won't be third time unlucky for PlayStation 3.

But Sony's silence - deafening ever since the legendary unveiling at Sony Pictures Studios last May - is raising more questions every day. We haven't much of a clue when the next concrete news on PlayStation 3 will turn up - we know it has to be soon, but analysts and gamers alike are seriously beginning to question the machine's ballsy 'Spring' launch date - not to mention its potential, ever since it transpired that the better proportion of its E3 trailers were not the performance indicator we wanted to believe. And that's putting it politely.

Now, we are thrilled to provide at least some form of update for anxious gamers - a behind-the-scenes look at PlayStation 3 with a controller in our hands, leaving no doubt as to the realtime authenticity of what we see on the screen. Last month Sony shipped final development PS3 hardware to many developers - albeit a month behind the latest schedule - and Kikizo has been able to sneak in some time at not just one, but three PS3 developers in multiple territories - one very prominent, and boasting some of the strongest experience working on PlayStation 3 in the world to date.

Is this really possible on PS3? We've dug up evidence...

Naturally, the hardware is not completely final (but pretty damn close), and as you can imagine, all of our access was utterly privileged on condition of complete anonymity for those who helped us get on the inside. We're not supposed to be shown anything on the format, and software we have played is nowhere near final. Disappointingly we can't mention any games or be specific about any game scenarios whatsoever. But we can tell you everything else about our first, intimate experience of getting our hands on PS3, and offer our educated guesses about the larger implications of what it all means and where things might be going next, resulting in what we believe is the first public PS3 hands-on report of its kind.

Firstly however, the box. The stylish PlayStation 3 casing design that SCEI boss Ken Kutaragi revealed last year is, and always has been, empty - and no signs of a final, tangible casing solution appear to be in sight. "I think to fit everything that Sony wants in there AND leave space for a 2.5 inch hard drive," explains one senior developer working on a final kit, who will be our guide for much of this report, "the machine would have to grow. The models they're showing off are way too small for what they want."

The 'Paris Hilton look' - sexy, but empty

Integrated into an imposing tower set-up, the PS3 development kit is playable using pretty much any standard USB controller, but developers are designing games with the familiar DualShock 2 controls in mind. PS3 controller specifics are "nothing we need to be concerned about as developers," explains the techie.

So we have a USB controller plugged into a machine and we're playing a game off a hard disc with not a trace of BluRay technology evident in the building. "PS3 isn't going to have writing capabilities and for us that's of no concern right now. Our stuff runs off a Hard Disc at the moment and won't exceed DVD capabilities; we're programming the game as if it will be written for a 10-speed DVD drive. Anything less would affect load time."

So far the experience isn't exactly the cosy Sony living room vision with an attractive box and a restyled, quick-response Bluetooth wireless controller. It might not be how PS3 is intended for any gamer - but shall we turn it on and give it a chance first? Yes. I think we should.

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