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Press Release

02.23.2007
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Announces Hardware
Specification of PLAYSTATION®3 for Europe

London, 23 February 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) to be launched in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia on 23rd March 2007 would utilise a new hardware specification.

The European PS3 will feature the Cell Broadband Engine™, 60 GB hard disc drive, Blu-ray Disc player, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, SIXAXIS™ wireless controller. It also embodies a new combination of hardware and software emulation which will enable PS3 to be compatible with a broad range of original PlayStation® (PS) titles and a limited range of PlayStation®2 (PS2) 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 firmware updates, which will be made available through the PLAYSTATION®Network, from www.playstation.com or via PS3 game discs, with the first update planned for the launch date of the 23rd 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 on 23rd March to meet launch day.

<European PLAYSTATION 3 Product Specification>

Product Name PLAYSTATION®3 Computer Entertainment System
Product Codes Europe, Middle East and Africa: CECHC04
UK and Ireland: CECHC03
Australia/New Zealand: CECHC02
Russia/India: CECHC08
CPU Cell Broadband Engine™
GPU RSX™
Audio Dolby Digital 5.1 ch, DTS 5.1 ch, LPCM 7.1 ch, AAC, others1,2
Memory 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
Hard Disk HDD 2.5" Serial ATA - 60GB
Inputs/Outputs3 USB 4 x Hi-speed USB2.0
Memory Stick™ Slot Supports standard/Duo size, MagicGate™, Memory Stick PRO™ and high speed data transmission
SD Memory Card Slot Copyright-protection function is not supported
CF Slot (Type I, II), Microdrive
Networking Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 1
Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth Bluetooth 2.0(EDR)
Wireless Controller (Bluetooth) SIXAXIS™ Wireless Controller
Built-in rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery
Voltage - DC 3.7V
Battery capacity – 610 m/Ah
Weight – Approx 136g
AV Output Resolution 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI HDMI (supports Deeep Color / Ver 1.3a) x1
Analog AV MULTI Out connector x 1
Digital audio Digital out (optical) connector x 1
Disc media
* read only
CD PlayStation® CD-ROM
PlayStation®2 CD-ROM4
CD-DA (audio CD) CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW
Super Audio CD  
DVD PlayStation®2 DVD-ROM4
DVD-Video DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, AVCHD
Blu-ray Disc PLAYSTATION®3 BD-ROM
BD-Video BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE*
*BD-RE version 1.0 is not supported
BD/DVD/CD drive maximum read rates BD x 2 (BD-ROM), DVD x 8 (DVD-ROM), CD x 24 (CD-ROM)
Dimensions
(excluding maximum projecting part)
Approximately 325mm (W) x 98mm (H) x 274mm (D)
Weight Approximately 5 kg

1. A device compatible with Linear PCM 7.1 Ch is required to output 7.1 ch audio, supported by Dolby TrueHD or a similar format, from the HDMI OUT connector.

2 This system does not support output from the DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. DTS-HD 7.1 Ch audio is output from a 5.1 or lower channel.

3. Usability of all storage media types is not guaranteed.

4. Certain PlayStation 2 format software titles may not perform properly on this system. Visit faq.eu.playstation.com/bc for the latest information regarding compatible titles


Legal Notes:

Storage media ("Memory Stick", SD memory card, and CompactFlash®) are sold separately.
"Dolby" is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories.
"DTS" is a trademark of DTS,Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is an authorized licensee of the CompactFlash® trademark.
HDMI, the HDMI logo and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are trademarks or registered trademarks of HDMI Licensing LLC.
"Blu-ray Disc" is a trademark.
The Bluetooth word mark is owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such mark by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is under license.
"Memory Stick" is a trademark of Sony Corporation.
"Super Audio CD" is a trademark.
"PlayStation", "PLAYSTATION" and "PSP" are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Also, "Cell Broadband Engine" and "RSX" are trademarks of the same company.

- ends -

About Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE), based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PLAYSTATION®3, PlayStation®2 and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) software and hardware in 102 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. SCEE also develops, publishes, markets and distributes entertainment software for these formats, and manages the third party licensing programs for the formats in these territories. Between its European debut on 24th November 2000 and the end of December 2006, over 44 million PlayStation 2 consoles have been shipped across the SCEE territories, over 115 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history. Between its European debut on 1st September 2005 and the end of December 2006, over 8 million PSP systems have been shipped across the SCEE territories, with over 24 million shipped worldwide since its Japanese launch in December 2004.

More information about PlayStation products can be found at www.playstation.com and www.yourpsp.com or visit the Virtual Press Office at www.scee.presscentre.com.

PlayStation, PSP and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. UMD (Universal Media Disc) is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.



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