I recently picked up a PS3 due to the price break, 5 free movies and wanting to see 300 on Blu Ray. I opted for the regular 60 gig version with no frills added and an HDMI cable (not included) over the new 80 gig bundle with Motorstorm for $599. After playing around with it and setting it up I have the following inital impressions:

- This thing is heavy!
- PS3 is whisper quiet, my 360 is ridiculously loud and even my Wii is louder
- The PS3 controller is feather light in comparison to other controllers due to the lack of batteries, this takes some getting used to
- PSN is pretty good and can match or even over take the other two consoles download netwokks, IMO
- HDMI was simple to hook up but expensive
- Downloading demos is awesome, it is interesting that you have to install them once you have downloaded them, which is different than the 360
- Six axis controller recognition works very well
- Resistance Fall of Man looks like a good shooter, very much a cross between COD and Halo
- Online play in Resistance with 32 players was lag free, this was very impressive
- Folding@Home looks interesting and confusing at the same time
- Looking forward to increasing my PS3 library with Stranglehold

The UK isn’t getting a price cut on the PS3 like we saw in the US. Instead, Sony is adding some value to the console and now calling it a Starter Pack.

For your £425, you’re now going to get the 60GB PS3, two SIXAXIS controllers, and copies of Resistance: Fall of Man and Motorostorm. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right?

Here’s where I see a problem with this bundle… no one in the UK under age 18 can buy this bundle. You might say people under 18 don’t have that much cash anyway, but that’s not the point. By including Motorstorm, and 18+ game in the UK, Sony is preventing the sale of the Starter Pack to minors. Seems like a poor choice in my eyes. What do you think?

Hit the jump for more…

Seems like the M.O. (modus operandi) for Sony this year is to do something kind of asinine, then issue a half-assed apology for it. For those of you who have played Resistance, there is an almost identical replica of the Church of England, in this case an Anglican Cathedral. The Church wanted its likeness taken out of the game, which obviously did not happen. Here is a statement from Sony, courtesy of Canada.com

“It was not our intention to cause offense by using a representation of Manchester Cathedral in chapter eight of the work,” the letter said. “If we have done so, we sincerely apologize.”

Wow. I guess we can all go out for bangers and mash now.

Sony is being sued by the Church of England over the usage of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man. The Church is saying Sony did not ask for permission and is desecrating the image of the Cathedral by having people dying in the game in front of the place of worship.

Well, Sony responded to the allegations and craziness coming out of the Church. In a statement to CVG:

“Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is aware of the concerns expressed by the Bishop of Manchester and the Cathedral authorities about the use of Manchester Cathedral in the game Resistance: Fall of Man, and we naturally take their concerns very seriously.

“Resistance: Fall of Man is a fantasy science fiction game and is not based on reality. The game is set in an alternate and mythical version of Europe in the 1950s, in which the enemy are strange looking alien invaders seeking to destroy humanity.

“Whilst we believe that we have sought and received all permissions necessary for the creation of the game, we will be contacting the Cathedral authorities in order to better understand their concerns in more detail.”

Sony seems just as confused as we are about this whole ordeal. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more soon. It sounds like a big publicity stunt by the Church of England.

Here’s an interview with the development team on Resistance: Fall of Man about the new Map Pack that is supposedly coming out in May. I’m guessing it’s going to be pushed back until June, since we haven’t heard anything yet.

The maps looks really cool, but $7.99 for 2 maps? Someone needs to stop taking a cue from Microsoft and some of the crap on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

The PS3 launched in PAL territories last Friday, and we’re not getting reports of sales numbers from Europe.

In the UK, we now have a new leader for the fasting selling launch console ever. The PS3 sold 165,000 units, trouncing the competition in it’s opening weekend. The Xbox 360 sold around 70,000 units in it’s opening weekend in the UK, with the Wii seeing around 105,000 units sold in it’s opening stint.

This is pretty surprising, given the media coverage for the PS3 launch in Europe. All reports were of slow sales, but this turns those reports around.

In the same breath, PS3 games are leading the UK sales charts, with Resistance and Motorstorm claimed the top two spots.

Maybe the PS3 isn’t so doomed after all…