14. A newly released media technology

Playstation 3

Technology
-What is it? Playstation 3
-What is it replacing? Playstation 2
-Why is it relevant? An example of the rapid updating of new media technologies
-Technologies involved: playstation, television, computer, HD,

Institutions
-Who is involved? Playstation Inc.
-How are they using the technology?
-Play Station3 boasts High Definition Blue-ray Disk Playback: The huge amount of data storage offered by Blu-ray makes it ideal for High Definition. The ability to access more data means that game makers can embrace the demands of next generation development
-Play Station3 has lots of storage space for storing music, pictures, videos and other files
-PS3 can be connected to broadband so that you can play online games, or play against other online gamers
-High processing speeds means the different components of a PS3 game - the graphics, sound, physics, and so on - are worked out as events in the game as they actually happen - in 'real time'.
- With vast processing power, huge data storage and High Definition imagery, games on PS3 are produced with a level of polish and imagination more traditionally associated with big-budget Hollywood movies.
-What benefits has it brought them?
- PS3s convergence of technologies such as HD, computer storage and connection to the internet means that the PS3 can cater to most entertainment needs, and so eliminates competition from other products which only offer the services of one technology
-The Playstation brand is shown to be at the forefront of technology through it’s introduction on relatively new technologies such as Blue-Ray, which with it’s huge data storage, allows room for the PS3 games to evolve in the future

Media
websites: www.uk.playstation.com/ps3
games: “Sword of Truth”

Key Concepts
Convergence: The Playstation3 is an example of extreme convergence of many different technologies into one “box”, but although it features other medias, it’s main preoccupation will always be gaming.
Quality: The use of technology such as HD, as well as the use of actors to base game characters on, means that games will soon reach an incredibly high quality that is similar to movies, and eventually as near as possible to the spontaneity of reality
Reach: The proliferation of uses that the playstation3 offers will mean that the product will appeal to an audience that is wider than just gamers