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Since its release on November 11, 2006, the Sony PS3 (short for Playstation 3), has been recognized as one of the most powerful gaming machines to date. Having sold over 38 million units, the Sony PS3 plays PS3 games, CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs. Despite its power, however, it has been heavily criticized. The Sony has gotten a lot of flack, much moreso than its cheaper competitors, the X-Box 360 and the Wii. In fact, when it was first launched, people said for the price of a PS3, they could get a Wii60. (A combination of the terms Wii and Xbox 360.)

Despite its rocky launch, the Sony has improved its position by dropping the price, developing quality PS3 exclusive games, and releasing a Slim model which has been a rousing success. Upon its announcement, the PS3 Slim held amazon.com’s top-seller position for 15 consecutive days. Sony also increased the capacity of the hard drive to 120 GB, up from the original 20 GB and 60 GB models.

The PS3 is also praised for its Playstation Network, a counterpart to Microsoft’s X-Box Live. The Playstation Network offers free demos, purchasable arcade games, news and updates, videos and the ability to play games online with anyone across the world. Unlike X-Box Live, which charges a monthly membership fee, the Playstation Network allows players to play against each other for free, adding extra value between the PS3.

Although at launch the PS3 gaming library was sparse with only 14 titles (including the top-selling Resistance: Fall of Man), the console soon gained such quality titles such as The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, F.E.A.R., Motorstorm and Virtua Fighter 5. Other top games, such as Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, LittleBigPlanet, and Final Fantasy XIII have also added top-quality games to the PS3 library. So far, over 315 million PS3 games have been sold.

Much like many other consoles, the PS3 also has a budget range of PS3 titles called the Greatest Hits. These games include some of the PS3′s top selling titles such as Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, Rainbow Six: Vegas, Assassin’s Creed, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Devil May Cry 4. These games retail for a budgeted price of $29.99 rather than the typical $59.99 price point.

Although beginning on shaky ground, the PS3 has redeemed itself as the big clunky machine that could. Even the PS3′s harshest critics are becoming to come around and admit that the Sony PS3 is a powerful machine capable of displaying beautiful graphics and engaging the player in immersive gameplay. With its fun Playstation Network, top-quality games, sleek new PS3 Slim model, and lowered price, the Playstation 3 has begun to turn itself around.

Where will it go from here? Sony is already planning for the future with more great quality games, engaging peripherals, and perhaps most excitingly, the ability to use 3d stereoscopic technology to play games and watch movies in 3d with either stereoscopic glasses or the use of a 3d television. With these new exciting possibilities, the PS3 is expected to continue to rise in sales and praise.