If you’re a PlayStation fan, this site right where, what you’re reading now, is the place to be. If you’re interested or curious about the PlayStation 3 (PS3) at all, this is the place to be.

But that doesn’t mean you don’t find the Xbox 360 interesting, fascinating, or down right exciting. While I report some Xbox 360 news that I find interesting, this site isn’t really meant to be an Xbox 360 resource.

For those of you looking for a good Xbox 360 resource, you’ll be happy to know that Gaming-360.com is back online and that they have two new writers as well. So now you get Hiro, Phoghawk, Moontopher, and Twitnip all talking about the Xbox 360. It’ll be interesting to see how many posts are about the same topic….

Gaming-360 was my favourite Xbox 360 site before it went on hiatus, and now they’re back. They were my first respected site! I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

Gaming-360.com

Does this portend great things for the PlayStation 3 at CES? Will revelations be revealed to revel in?

Sony is making a big stomp at C.E.S. in January by making the largest booth at the show. This will mark Sony’s return to the main floor of the show after a 10 year absence.

Mike Fasulo, chief marketing officer, said the objective of the 25,000-square-foot booth is “not only to collaborate across all of our divisions, but to show how consumer electronics is transforming consumer entertainment in the future.”

…

The booth itself will feature what Fasulo called several “pillars” which involve all aspects of HDTV, from broadcasting and professional equipment, to branded HDTVs and Blu ray, to other consumer products. PlayStation will also have a featured place at the new CES booth, as well as what Sony calls “e-Entertainment,” the newest developments in cellular phones, Walkman, Vaio PCs and LocationFree TV, among others.

It’s times like these that I wish someone would call me up and offer to send me there. The question is: will Sony be saying anything about the PS3? Personally, I think that it’ll be there but that not much new will be shown. Scratch that. Sony will be releasing all sorts of details at C.E.S. Uh… I dunno? Yeah, I think I’ll stick with door number 3. It’s times like these that I wish I had an inside source at Sony that could scoop me all sorts of details.

TWICE- Sony Moving To Main Show Floor At CES

PSINext has a great article dispelling some of the myths around middleware. Middleware? Basically it’s software that developers use to write games. And by “use” I mean the software that actually runs on the console, not just the developer’s computer. For example, if I wrote a some computer code to calculate a lens flare and sold it to you, your code could make use of my code to create a lens flare whenever it wanted. Your code and my code would coexist together on the console while the game runs. That’s middleware. And with the PlayStation 3 (PS3) getting ready for release next year, middleware announcements have been cropping up all over the place. The most famous of which is the Unreal Engine 3.0.

So what are some of the myths? Here they are. But to find out whether they’re true or not, you’ll have to check out the article.

1. Middleware provides final solutions to problems and difficulties that developers will face.
2. Middleware products reduce the need for programming staff.
3. Middleware products save time and money.
4. Use of middleware products make it easier to find suitable talent.
5. Everybody buying the same middleware will make all the games out there look the same.
6. Middleware products for next-gen will smooth out the next-gen transition.
7. Next-gen middleware means that the technical challenges of next-gen hardware will be no more.
8. With engines like UE3 and NovodeX and Havok out there, gamers will finally get more of what they want.

That’s it! Take a look, see which ones you think are true, false, or maybe, and then see if you’re right over at PSINext.

PSINext - The Middleware Myth

Gavin has posted PS3 Countdown Podcast #8.

In this episode…

• …we hear reports that the PS3 controller’s design is here to stay.
• …Sony responds to some nasty DRM rumors.
• …it sounds like PS3 games might not be region-coded.
• …we find some neat facts in a Hollywood Reporter article (of all places).
• …Sony decides to stick with a non-unified online service.
• …IGN posts ten reasons to not buy the Xbox 360 and wait for the PlayStation 3.

Gavin’s PlayStation 3 musing are fun. You’re missing out if you don’t listen!

PS3 Countdown - Podcast #8

Fortune magazine taunts with a title about waiting for the PlayStation 3 (PS3). But reading the article doesn’t give away anything new.

They point out that the PS3 will have a Blu-ray player, while the Xbox 360 doesn’t. The PS3 will supposedly be more powerful. (Although the consensus currently seems to be that they’ll be roughly equal.) Don’t forget that the PS3 will be backwards compatible! Yeah yeah. What else… oh yeah! Sony might slash the PS2 price to $100. How is that a good reason to wait for the PS3? I dunno.

How about this: if you’re an RPG fan, the PlayStation is the platform to be on. Historically it’s had the lion’s share of RPG’s, and that is likely to continue. What about Gran Turismo? The next installment will be PS3 only. Ditto for Metal Gear Solid. Formula 1? PS3. The PlayStation 2 has been the place for RPG’s, platformers, and some good racing games. The Xbox has been the place for FPS’s, and also some good racing games.

Because at the end of the day, it’s about the games. People have complained about the lack of a killer launch game for the Xbox 360’s launch. Well, it all depends on your outlook. What kind of gamer are you? What kind of games do you like? For many people, the PS3 will have the games they want. And the same is true of the Xbox 360’s launch today.

FORTUNE: Should you wait for the PS3?

For all of you readers buying an Xbox 360 today or in the near future, GameSpot has an article to help you figure out what video cables to use.

Kinda like my article, but with pictures! Lots of pictures. They have pictures comparing RF vs composite. And composite vs S-Video. And 480p vs 720p. Etc. One thing I don’t think they mentioned is that the difference between composite and S-Video is highly dependent on your TV. If you have a great 3D comb filter in there (like my Sony 35″ XBR CRT), then the difference will be negligible. If you don’t (like my Hitachi HDTV), then there will be a big difference.

But what it really comes down to is this: if your TV supports it, use component. Or VGA. You need one of those two to view HDTV. If you have a normal TV, use S-Video. And finally if you don’t have that either, use composite. What’s that? You don’t even have that? Then RF it is, though you’ll have to get yourself an RF modulator from Radio Shack in that case.

GameSpot - Xbox 360: Video Cable Comparison

Some Japanese analysts think that Sony needs to keep its current 70% market share or they’re in trouble:

In a Reuters article, Hiroshi Kamide, analyst for KBC Securities said, “The risks are surprisingly higher than people think because unless they can replicate its 70 percent dominant market position, things are going to be very difficult for them going forward.”

That’s not all.

Hirokazu Hamamura, president of Famitsu added, “PS3 will do very well, but it’s said that development costs will be high and it’ll take longer to make games, so it’s likely that it won’t have a full line-up of games until the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007.”

Although those same considerations apply to the Xbox 360, and they seem to be doing well with launching games.

And lastly:

Koichi Hariya, senior analyst at Mizuho Securities said, “Sony has to launch a new game machine every four, five or six years to maintain the game division’s strength” adding that PS3 will probably struggle to repeat the high profitability of PS1 and PS2.

Duh…

Next Generation - Japan Analysts Offer PS3 Warning

My first experience of an actual Xbox 360 was a good one. I was annoyed at the demo software on the machine, but that’s not the Xbox 360’s fault. All in all I thought it was a great machine. And who are we kidding? $400 isn’t such an unreasonable price when you consider the history of console release prices, no matter what the current media is saying.

So it comes as somewhat of a surprise that the Xbox 360 is receiving a so-so rating from several media outlets. “Good, but not great,” says CNN. “Don’t buy the Xbox” writes The New York Post. Mostly they complain about the price. Personally, I think the Xbox Live price is the kicker, not the price of the console. And upgrading to HDTV? You should be doing that anyway.

They do have a point about must-have games for the system. There’s nothing jaw-dropping. Well, unless you’re a huge fan of one of the franchises. Personally, I’m a PGR2 fan, so I look forward to playing PGR3. Too bad it’s only two player.

So what do you think? Boom or bust? How’s the Xbox 360 now that it’s actually playable, and you can see the launch titles? Come Tuesday, you’ll be able to play it, too.

CNET - Early Xbox reviews: so-so

I went by my local Best Buy today to pick up an RF splitter and check out the Xbox 360. I’ve never seen an Xbox 360 in real life, I don’t know what I was waiting for. I was in for a treat.

I played Call of Duty 2 and it was great. The detail was amazing. The textures were great, the HD was wonderful. I literally saw the allure of next-gen systems. I also played King Kong battling it out with a t-rex. Also very cool.

The controller was very nice. The shoulder buttons seemed a little cheap, however. Otherwise it was great. Controlling my soldier was easy, once I inverted the camera. (Annoyingly, the option for this was not in the control menu.)

The only problem was the demo system. I wanted to try Kameo and the system put me through so many logo screens and introductory cinematics that I actually gave up. Quite annoying.

Well, here’s a review of PGR3.

Now that I have the wind knocked out of my sails about lack of 4 player support in PGR3, I don’t know why I should bother.

Today’s Thursday, so I just got back from games night. It was at Todd’s place, and sure enough, we played PGR2. And I did pretty good this time. Steve wasn’t around, so I got to win some! But Todd was a little ticked too about PGR3. He was postulating that maybe Mike can bring his Xbox 360 over, and we can set up a computer monitor for the other two players and play 4 player PGR3 via system link. (Mike plans to buy an Xbox 360 as well.) Good thing the Xbox 360 has a cable with VGA out to make this possible.

We’ll have to see how that goes. We really love this game, hopefully we can work something out.

IGN: Project Gotham Racing 3 Review

According to Joystiq:

According to Japanese gaming-mag Famitsu, a Sony exec has denied rumors that a redesigned PS3 controller would be unveiled at this January’s CES in Las Vegas.

This could mean one of two things:

1. It could mean exactly what it says. That a new controller will not be unveiled at the CES. That doesn’t mean that a new controller can’t be unveiled at any other time - just not at CES.

2. No new controller will be shown at CES because there will be no new controller. This would be bad. I’ve complained about the controller before. Not necessarily because of it’s strange looking design or small size, but because there’s no added functionality. Like triggers! Boy, wouldn’t triggers be nice?

I need to make a huge placard that says “Give me triggers!”

Joystiq - PS3 controller design here to stay, according to Sony exec

If you’re an astute reader, you may have noticed something new in the sidebar. A link to PS3 Forumz.

That’s right. PS3 Forumz is now the official discussion forum for PS3Blog.net. So if you have a need for writing your own posts instead of just reading and responding to mine, PS3 Forumz is a great place to go!

Update 28nov05: Looks like PS3 Forumz is going in another direction, so they’re no longer our official forum. Stay tuned for some good news!

If you’re a surgeon, or want to be, this post by AnandTech might be right up your alley.

AnandTech got their surgical little hands on an Xbox 360 and vivisected it just for their own pleasure. How morose!

AnandTech - Inside Microsoft’s Xbox 360