Sony’s pre-E3 conference has revealed a large number of facts about the PS3, including it’s final specification, it’s joypad and most importantly, it’s launch date and price. The console is set to go on sale in Japan on November 11th, and in both the US and Europe on November 17th. In a move similar to Microsofts XBox 360 launch, there will be two versions of the console being released, with the high-end specification being priced at $599 and the lower end version being $499. The price in Euro’s is the same figure, being 599 and 499 Euros respectively.

So what are the differences in the two versions of PS3? Well, least worryingly the lower end machine has a 20GB hard drive whilst the higher end ships with a 60GB model. More worryingly, the cheaper model appears to lack some connectivity options, with no memory stick, SD or compact flash input, no HDMI port for connecting to HD TV, and no WiFi support. This information has been taken from Sony’s specification sheets, so we have to assume it to be correct since a $100 price difference would surely not just be down to a smaller hard drive.

Whether it will be possible to upgrade a base model later is not known at this stage, but I guess for the most part the losses aren’t that important. You still have an ethernet connection to combat the lack of WiFi, and memory stick support probably isn’t that useful unless you want to show off your digital camera images. The lack of a HDMI port is more annoying for anyone hoping to upgrade their TV in the future though.

The final PS3 pad was also given it’s first official airing, and unsurprisingly the odd boomerang design has been dropped. Instead we’re presented with a new version of the PS2 pad, which is wireless (it features a USB port to allow the controller to be recharged) and has also had the R2 and L2 buttons changed to be more like an XBox style trigger.

Rumble has been lost (presumably due to Sony’s loss to Immersion early in the year) and instead has been replaced with a new tilt feature. Not to be confused with the Nintendo Wii’s controller, this feature allows the controller to be rotated through 360 degrees to allow games to be controlled apparently much like a steering wheel. Sounds interesting, but I’ll reserve final judgement until I’ve tried it myself.

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