In today’s post, I’ll talk about unboxing and setting up the PS3.
This one’s turned out to be really lengthy, so click “Continue reading” to see it.
The packaging.
First of all, the box is pretty heavy. I didn’t expect it to weigh so much, but it’s really dense. My first impression upon opening the box was very forgettable, to be honest. If you’ve never opened an Apple product, then you’re probably not going to get this next statement, but up until this very moment, I didn’t realize just how boring Sony’s packaging is.
In contrast, opening up an Apple product is a moment of … joy. The materials used are generally high quality and very appealing to the look and touch. You’re always greeted w/ a message that says “We’re proud of the work we put into our product”; almost always “Made by Apple in Cupertino”.
The PS3 packaging, however, was very generic and utilitarian. The cardboard was that same light brown color you expect every piece of cardboard to be. The bags feel and look cheap, but sturdy. Things were tucked neatly into their appropriate compartments, but there was nothing innovative or interesting of note. Even the 360 managed to wow me — and I’m not a big Microsoft fan. Sony kinda blew it, here.
The Sixaxis™ Controller
As already noted, the Sixaxis™ controller (I still think it’s cool that Sixaxis is a palindrome) is unusually light, and doesn’t have rumble (hurry up and fix this, Sony). It reminds me of how the original PS1 controller felt. It’s got almost no weight to it. It doesn’t feel cheap, but it doesn’t offer the solid heft and feel of the dual-shock. It has 4 red LEDs on the top edge that indicate which “port” the wireless controller’s connected as. Irritatingly, when you’re holding the controller in your hands and playing a game, when you tilt it up to see the numbers, they’re upside down and backwards.
C’mon guys. Didn’t anyone think of this stuff?
Like the tilty-control scheme, it seems really last minute and tacked on. On the plus side, the USB connector is the standard mini-connector that you probably have on a ton of your other gadgets, so you’re not tied to a specific proprietary cable. The (Bluetooth) wireless seems solid and hasn’t dropped out at all for me, as has been reported elsewhere. The “PS Button” acts the same way the 360’s “X” button does, taking you the system menu and allowing you to turn the power on & off. Lastly, these controllers cost $50 to buy, standalone. Holy fuggin shit. Doesn’t that strike anyone else as ridiculous?
On to the console, proper.
First of all, I’ve seen a few shows and other pages where people detailed their unboxing experiences, and the first thing they said was, “Ooooh! So shiny!” The next thing they made note of was how easily that sexy, shiny surface gathers fingerprints.
Knowing this, I was VERY careful to hold the cardboard end-caps and styrofoam wrapper when pulling it out of the box and placing it in it’s final resting spot. I still managed to get some prints on both the top and sides. Craziness! While I was plugging in all of the cords (note — no high def connections included >:( — don’t forget to buy your own if you need them. This still chaps my ass.), I was a bit overly-cautious of marring the shiny surface and didn’t seat the video/audio connection properly, so the sound didn’t work when I fired up the console.
The rounded shape of the console precludes you from stacking things on it if you lay it on it’s side, and it’s vented along one side to encourage you to stand it on it’s end. Who the hell has space to leave these consoles laying around, standing on their sides?
I’d guess that 90% of the weight of the entire PS3 package is in the console. It’s VERY solid feeling. It feels like a quality piece of hardware. With the power supply inside the console, there’s no power brick, which is a nice touch, but makes for a fairly large case.
Configuration
My config experience may not be typical of what everyone else went through — not having the AV cable plugged in all the way means that the console couldn’t auto sense what type of AV settings to make. I’m not sure that it even does this, but if it does, I think I defeated by fearing fingerprints on the shell of the box.
That said, the network config assumes you’re using a wired connection (ethernet cable included). Since I wasn’t, I had to set up a wireless connection, which took about a minute. Good job, Sony. (Microsoft — why don’t you have wireless built into the 360?) The first thing that happens is the box recognizes that there’s a mandatory update, so just like on the PSP, you download the update to your box and then have to manually go run it. The download was quick and the update applied in just a few minutes. After a reboot, I was back up and running.
The next thing you do is setup your online profile, which is a bit of a pita because I didn’t bother plugging in a USB keyboard, like they recommended. After you fill in all of your personal information, they offer you the option to opt out of Sony and third party marketing emails, which is nice, and you’re taken to the PlayStation Store, which is a website that loads in the built-in browser.
The store has a few demos I was interested in, so I immediately started downloading Gran Turismo HD Concept and Ninja Gaiden Sigma. I also queued up two game trailer videos and they all offered a “Download in background” option, so everything ran seamlessly. Unlike the 360, my downloads didn’t stop when I went off to play an online-capable game (Motorstorm). Very nice.
The Cross Media Bar
If you’ve ever used the PSP, you’re already familiar w/ the PS3’s interface.
It uses what’s called the Cross Media Bar. I’m not a big fan of it.
Imagine a web-based menu bar (In this example, I’ll assume we’re talking about a horizontally-arranged menu). In typical web site (or any application menu, for that matter), the menu bar is normally a solid bar at the top of your screen with a text list of categories to choose from. When you click on any of these categories, a stationary drop-down list appears below your chosen category, showing you what options you have to click on. As you mouse over each menu item, you’re offered visual feedback that highlights the choice you’re about to select. Very simple, very effective. Everyone knows how to use this.
Now let’s talk about the Cross Media Bar.
On paper, it doesn’t sound as bad as it is in action, but stick it out and I’ll see if I can properly explain it.
Instead of a menu bar that’s at the top of your screen, the bar is in the middle of your screen. Unlike most menus you’re used to, there’s no background color to the bar that separates it from the rest of the screen. It’s just a bunch of icons floating on your screen in a horizontal line. There’s no text underneath any of the icons indicating what they are, so you have to memorize them.
Still seems okay-ish, but here’s where it gets wonky.
As you highlight each icon, it’s text label appears underneath it, and it’s items appear. This would be fine w/ me, except that the menu appears both above and below the “bar”. You move up and down the menu to select items, and click the button. Have a look, here.
Wrap Up
Overall, I’m pretty pleased w/ the console. The menu options are buried in a strange gui, but the hardware’s pretty impressive, barring the exceptions I’ve noted here. I haven’t yet tried out the BluRay functionality, but I’m hesitant to invest too heavily into either high def format until one kills the other. It feels solid and more high quality than the 360, and will probably not break just outside the warranty (like my 360 did).
So far, so good. Stay tuned for part 3, where I discuss my impressions of Motorstorm (and the PS3’s gaming capabilities, in general).