There's no ignoring the anti-Sony rumors, the doubters and bad publicity encountered by the Japanese company on the subject of its much-awaited PS3. There's the skepticism about Blu-ray, there are the complaints about its long-overdue release date - oh, and let's not even start about the rants regarding its price.

Hold on, though, says Gameindustry.biz writer Rob Fahey - although "Sony only has itself to blame", we just can't write off its latest console. The site says that "a host of factors could conspire to outweigh that price point," such as the inclusion of Blu-ray, the appealing software and the worldwide success of the PS3's predecessors.

Gameindustry.biz points out that the the success of the Xbox 360 in North America makes it seem a hit. Unfortunately, according to the numbers presented in the site, that's not the case. Although Microsoft did manage to sell 3.3 million Xbox 360 consoles in North America, only 1.3 million were sold in Europe and 40,000 in the rest of the world. Moreover, the site says that Sony has firmly established its name in the gaming business, as "the PlayStation brand is synonymous with gaming around the world and across a huge demographic, not just in North America and with a narrow range of players."

Lastly, says Fahey, "2006, and even 2007, are only a warm-up - the battle for hearts and minds among casual gamers, international markets and wider demographics hasn't even begun yet."

For our part, although we do admit that at least some of the criticism Sony's received is deserved, we refuse to write off the PS3 (not this early at least). Call us fencesitters, but we'd rather wait and see what Sony has in store for us all before delivering our verdict. One thing's for certain, though - whatever happens, it's sure to be one interesting ride for all concerned!

And on this corner, storing 25 gigs, the BBBBBlllluuuu-rrrrrrrrrrrrrayyy Disc!
To my right, storing 15 gigabytes, is the HD-DVDDD!
(applause)
Let's get rrrrreaady to rrrrrummmmbbbbllle!

It seems that the HD-DVD is more than ready to fight, with its VC1 compression better than the Blu-ray's MPEG2/AVC scheme. It boasts of less polarization and posterization of images, but with its single-layer HD-15 disc, will it be able to emerge as the winner?

According to Peter M. Bracke, it seems so. His reviews on the Blu-ray and HD-DVD show that the Blu-ray has a narrower aspect ratio (the images were cropped on the side), darker colors, slower menu access, and as mentioned earlier, has more posterized images and polarized backgrounds. It also makes use of Dolby Digital, which is a step lower than HD-DVD's Dolby Digital Plus. However, the Blu-ray boots faster and has bigger storage capacity than the HD-DVD.

The HD-DVD on the other hand, has a slight brightness shift, also has posterization but not as severe as Blu-ray's, and has better sound quality than the Blu-ray due to the Dolby Digital Plus.

Bracke adds that both have sharp images and vibrant colors. Grainy images aren't a problem for both discs as well. But it seems that Bracke's conclusion tilts more into HD DVD's favor. However, it's just from his point of view. We could expect more improvements on both discs in the future, so this isn't a closed case just yet. Read the entire comparison between the HD-DVD and the Blu-Ray and tell us about your take on this.

Heads-up, PS3 fans! According to sources, the PS3 "has officially entered production". It seems that the PS3 is currently in the works, and hopefully, it won't be too long for fans to get their hands on the much-awaited console.

Phil Harrison, Sony's president of worldwide studios says that production is in full swing, from a developer's point of view; developer kits have been shipped and the controller is also in developers' hands. Apparently, Sony's got everything set, minus some improvements and modifications. The games, too, are also being tested, as many studios already have Blu-ray burners in their PCs.

So, final version of PS3 hardware? Check. PS3 controller? Check. Games? Check. Release date? Errrrm... Soon? Hopefully, we'll know more when Ken Kutaragi gives his speech at the Tokyo Games show on September 22.

We here at QJ try our best to heed to your clamor for the latest news on anything PlayStation 3 - screens, reviews, news, and other what-have yous. We do hope we are able to fulfill these fanboy needs...but we also admit that there are times when you are just miles away from internet connection and QJ is not accessible to give you your PS3 fill. That's why we're introducing you to Imagine Publishing's latest product: Next3.

The same makers of the PlayStation-dedicated UK magazine Play now presents you with a magazine that covers anything and everything about Sony's next-generation console. Next3, UK's first and only PS3-only mag, will offer in-depth news, previews and reviews of upcoming games plus a section that will highlight PS3’s multimedia and networking capabilities (i.e., Blu-ray movie reviews, online gaming and cutting edge technology).

Selling for £4 starting on August 10, Next3 will come out in 13 issues a year. Just take a good look at the cover for what you'll expect in the maiden issue. And you might also want to save another £4 for the next release, which will come with a free covermounted DVD containing high-quality PS3 video footage, features and trailers, interviews and reviews and other bonus materials. While waiting for the first issue to come out, remember to stay tuned to QJ...as we'll keep those PS3 news coming.

The European Commission has recently launched an unofficial antitrust investigation into the two emerging DVD formats that will be sported by two of the battling next-gen consoles-- the Toshiba-supported HD-DVD on the Xbox 360 corner, and the Sony-backed Blu-Ray on the PS3's side.

Both formats, who are fighting for next-gen audio-visual format dominance, will be probed by the commission because they suspect that the licensing terms both are applying for breach European competition rules. A spokesperson for the commission who wants to maintain his anonymity said that "we sent a letter earlier this month to the makers of HD DVD and Blu-ray to request information about licensing,”

Apparently, Sony had already confirmed that they have received the said letter, but on the other side of the fence, the Toshiba camp has not spoken anything about it. The replies of the companies will be very important since these will help the European Commission determine if they will open a hassling and full-time antitrust probe or if they would just drop it.

nVidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang was recently interviewed and he gamely talked about the Xbox 360, PS3 and his personal life. But really, do we care about the guys personal life? Maybe, but not as much as we care for what he has to say for two of today's next-gen consoles - the Xbox 360 and the PS3, after all he is the CEO of the leading maker of graphic chips for gamers. But so as not to be unfair, the guy is married with two kids (who whoops his behind when playing video games). He migrated to the U.S. from Taiwan at age nine. So with all those things said, let's get down to the nitty-gritty of things.

When asked if he thinks that his company made the right decision of working with Sony to make the PS3, he reiterates the fact that Nvidia can't build chips for all the game consoles and difference is important. He also believes that the "picking" process takes two - " Sony picked us and Microsoft didn't."

But to ultimately answer the question he said that "I don't think that working with Sony is wrong. There is no way that is going to be wrong. There are many wonderful things that Sony did. I'm excited that they made Blu-ray high-definition storage as a standard part of the PlayStation 3 platform. The first PlayStation had a CD-ROM drive. The PlayStation 2 had DVD. It makes no sense for the PlayStation 3 to use DVDs. To postpone it by a few months so they could include Blu-Ray was a master stroke."

He says that working on consoles was inevitable for them, he confidently adds that "it makes sense that in the long-term we would work on game consoles as well. The others can't keep up with the R&D that we do. That part makes perfect sense to me." He also added that the company has no regrets in their decision to not work on the 360, he said that "if we use our people on a project where the economic return is not good enough, and there are other projects we could be working on, then we're going to lose money." He also predicts that come Christmas 2007, "the  Xbox 360 can't possibly be a DVD-only device."

So, going back to PS3 talk, he confirms that the RSX for Sony is in production for quite some time now and even the Nvidia CEO can't have special privileges - he claims that he doesn't have a PS3 at home. He was also asked if everything about the PS3 is right on track, he dodged the question by saying that "Sony hasn't changed their schedule".

Even with its steep price, the Nvidia CEO believes that Sony's master stroke is the PS3, why? He says that "the moment we put those consoles together it's going to be very clear. If I'm going to buy a next-generation game console, I'm going to buy a console with next-generation media. It's going to last 10 years." He believes that the PS3 has that much staying power.

If we are to believe a "reliable source" who is said to have worked in the gaming industry for many years, it seems that Sony Computer Entertainment top honcho, Ken Kutaragi, doesn't give that much bearing on the market and instead would want to focus on technology and creating a small market.

The source mentioned a hush-hush session with the Sony Computer Entertainment management. What transpired during that session, according to the said source, "Kutaragi is interested only in consoles and technology. He does not care about the market. Some SCE officers disagree with his approach, feeling that the company should be more market sensitive. Kutaragi does not care. Nintendo has shown that it isn't only about powerful technology and graphics, but the PS3 isn't geared for that market at all and is intended for a very specific customer."

Also there seem to be some confusion that has been brewing within the Sony camp. "Some divisions view the machine (the PS3) as a game machine, while other divisions view it as a home electronic device (like a TV or a video player). Some SCE officers are worried about hitting the console's target consumer. As a game machine, it's very expensive for many players and not exactly something parents would buy for their children. As an electronic device, the inclusion of a game player could be off-turn for those only interested in electronics and Blu-ray."

And if we are to believe the source, it seems that Sony is headed towards stormy weather. Why is that? Well, according to the source it is because of the scenario that "many small and medium-sized developers are not making PS3 games, because costs are astronomical. Instead, they are switching to the Wii, the DS and the Xbox 360. Everyone sees developing for the PlayStation 3 as a risk."

Whether it is true or just some senseless backfence blabbers, well, that's your prerogative. So speak up people, tell us what you think through your comments.

Sony is rolling out its Internal Blu-ray Disc Rewritable Drive known as BWU-100A. The BWU-100A is an internal drive with an IDE (ATA/ATAPI) interface and supports recording both 50GB and 25GB BD-R (write once) and BD-RE (rewritable) discs, as well as 4.7 GB DVD+R/+RW/RAM, 8.5GB DVD+R Double/Dual Layer, and CD-R/-RW discs.

It can store up to 4 hours of 1080 HD video on a single dual layer 50G BD disc making it ideal for storing HD videos and data as well as a computer backup.  It is expected to ship on or around August 18, 2006 but you can place your pre-order now. It retails for $749.90.

(Alright, you caught us with the price typo - we just wanted to discourage everyone from buying it so we could have them all for ourselves!)

Billy Talent from our forums has discovered that the local Wal-Mart in Middletown, NY has started selling HD-DVD and Blu-Ray movies. The price tags on these movies are... very interesting and can be a factor in decisions regarding which player to buy.

Although it might be good that these movies are already on sale (take a look at the prices under the titles) - "The Fifth Element" in Blu-Ray format sells for $19.96 while "The Fugitive" in HD-DVD format sells for $24.96 - they're still too costly.

I'm still wondering though what the latest from the war front between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray might be. You might remember that we reported about Pioneer's statement regarding the launch delay of its Blu-Ray players, which Toshiba can take (or perhaps has already taken) advantage of.

If until now you still haven't figured out which of these two next-gen DVD players you would want to get (assuming, of course, you still haven't gotten hold of one), maybe the price of the movies released in Blu-Ray and HD-DVD formats might help you decide. After all, you'd want to invest in something that won't be a pain in the... cause you financial strain in the future.

Since Sony execs seem bizarrely incapable of doing so themselves, Midway President and CEO, David Zucker has stepped up to the plate in defense of Sony's PS3. When asked how he felt about the high price of the PS3, he responded by pointing out that when you consider what you're getting, a next generation Blu-Ray player in addition to a 20 or 60 gigabyte hard drive, it seems like a reasonable price (I tend to agree). He does however point out that he expects price cuts over the systems lifespan to make it that much more appealing. His exact words were:

"There's a lot in the PlayStation 3; think about the fact that you get Blu-ray, the next-generational leap in DVD - you get a Blu-ray player in the machine. When you think about that and some of the feature sets that come with it, including the hard drive, it seems like a reasonable price for the early launch. Presumably that price will come down over time as they move through the console cycle."

While many have their reservations about whether or not Blu-Ray technology is needed in the next generation, and whether it has a place, Zucker seems to have made up his mind on the format.

"I think it's an important part of the puzzle. The other side is, if PlayStation 3 is huge, the gamers are helping to drive that, that's going to have a big impact in helping Blu-ray DVD technology. It's going to work both ways."

Zucker also promises fewer, bigger, better titles, in line with Midways recent effort to rethink and retool the way it makes games, aiming for higher quality titles as opposed to quantity. It can't be argued they've got the right idea. Midway is currently prepping John Woo's Stranglehold for the PS3 launch.