The PlayStation 3 controller is called the SIXAXIS because it can sense six types of movements:

• Roll
• Pitch
• Yaw
• X-Axis
• Y-Axis
• Z-Axis

Blu-ray Disc (BD) is a next generation optical disc format designed for high-definition content. The name Blu-ray is derived from the blue-violet laser used to read and write to the disc.

The PlayStation 3 was launched in Japan (20GB and 60GB) on November 11th 2006, which was followed by the North American (20GB and 60GB) release on November 17th 2006. PlayStation 3 was released in Europe (60GB only) on March 23rd after a production delay.

The 80GB PlayStation 3 model was launched exclusive to North America on August 6th 2007.

The 40GB PlayStation 3 model was launched in Europe on October 10th 2007, followed by the Australian/NZ launch on October 11th 2007. The 40GB model was launched in North America on November 2nd 2007, and in Japan on November 11th 2007.

The 60GB PS3 is the “premium” option and includes several extras that cannot be found on the 40GB or 20GB version, these are:

• 60GB HDD instead of 20GB HDD
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Built-in Card Reader
• Chrome trim

With the 40GB model, there are two fewer USB ports and no PS2 backwards compatibility. The table below summarizes the main similarities and differences between the three different models.

The Cell Broadband Engine is the name of the CPU that powers the PlayStation 3. PS3’s CPU runs at 3.2 GHz and was developed jointly by Sony, Toshiba and IBM (“STI”). It has a PowerPC-based “Power Processing Element” (PPE) and six accessible 3.2 GHz Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs). A seventh runs in a special mode and is dedicated to aspects of the OS and security, and an eighth is disabled to improve production yields.

The PS3 can support up to 7 controllers simultaneously connected to the PS3. That means up to 7 players can play on a single system. For 5 to 7 players, the controller ID can be calculated by adding the LEDs, so player 5 will be 1 + 4:

Similarly, for player 6 LEDs 2 and 4 will be switched on.

A single-layer Blu-Ray disc can hold up to 25GB of information while a dual-layer Blu-Ray disc can hold up to 50GB of information.

You cannot officially change your PSN username. You can, however, delete your User on the PS3, create a new user and register with the PlayStation Network using a different name. Any save data on the old PS3 username will be deleted when you delete the account.

The PS3 keeps some of your files within your user profile and shared others. See below for a summary of what is personal and what is shared:

Shared

• PS1 and PS2 Game saves
• Videos
• Music
• Photos

Private

• PS3 Game saves
• Sent/Received messages
• Browser bookmarks
• Predictive text