The PS3: 24 Things You Need to Know

When it comes to the PlayStation 3, it can be difficult to keep things in perspective: details get lost in the shuffle. Have no fear, though, because GamePro is to the rescue with a handy cheat sheet of little-known facts and new information about Sony's Cadillac of a console. Can you dig it?

Be sure to check back here, because we'll be regularly adding to this list over the next few days.

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Touch-sensitive power and eject buttons are a nice touch -- literally.

The eject and power on buttons on the face of the PS3 are touch sensitive, not unlike the iPod's wheel or the Chocolate phone's softkeys. It's a nice, classy addition that helps give the PS3 a more cutting-edge look and feel, especially compared to the somewhat clunky "clicky" Xbox 360 power and eject buttons. A small detail, perhaps, but on worth noting.

15,000 kiosks across the nation by the end of November.

Sony is doing a huge retail rollout of their newfangled system, and these units will be networked to provide updates and new content when necessary. Phil Harrison says that the days of promo discs inside these units is pretty much over. No more physical distribution hassles; new demos can be deployed nationwide in a matter of hours, securely, without assistance by us mere mortals. An elimination of demo discs also means more space on the delivery truck for things that can actually be sold, rather than being dedicated to promotional material. Also, the kiosks will use Sony Bravia HDTVs, which we understand are rather sexy.

We predict that SkyNet will be fully operational just in time for Christmas. Hope you're not on the naughty list!

The PS3 is not just a cheap Blu-ray player

Nothing about the unit looks or feels cheap. The build quality of the console itself seems to be sturdy and substantial. The familiar red and blue/green LED lights, which indicate the system status, make a return from the PS2, but look more slick and futuristic. There are also tiny "feet" on the unit's left side -- handy for standing it in a stable vertical position. And the chrome trim is a surprisingly cool bonus on the $599 premium model, for purely aesthetic reasons.

Not all games will be 1080p.

Although the hardware is certainly capable of delivering 1080p at 60 frames per second, certain titles will not reach this destination. In some cases, it's a matter of not having enough time or resources before launch to include the feature. In other cases, the game is so visually complex that ensuring 60 FPS 1080p might be more trouble than it's worth. We were informed that Resistance: Fall of Man maxes out at 720p -- but this is understandable in light of its ambitious multiplayer. The game uses some pretty advanced physics calculations that require a ton of horsepower. Motorstorm also does not support 1080p and requires some serious calculation for its crash sequences, if appearances are any indication.

The Sixaxis controller doesn't feel too light.

In fact, it feels just about right; light enough to move easily for motion-sensing controls, but still sturdy enough to withstand some serious grip pressure (we tried). So much for those other reports that called it "cheap, plasticky" and "uncomfortable," huh?

Speaking of which, the Sixaxis motion sensing takes some getting used to.

Don't get us wrong: it's a blast guiding Lair's dragon around using tilting motions on the controller. But the controller seems to respond a bit better to subtle, gentle motions (tipping the controller slightly left made the dragon veer left; gently dipping the top forward made the dragon descend). Wildly jerking the controller around will not only clip your wings, but raise your temper. Remember: easy does it!

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