PS3 Reveals Intimate Details During Fireside Chat

Engadget seems to be getting lotsa PS3 love lately, but with so little PS3 love in stock at the moment, that doesn’t mean as much as it used to. (Maybe there’s been a shortage of high-definition hearts that’s bottlenecking all the love?) Today they drop some of the minutiae of the system that you may or may not have absorbed through the 24/7 media hype monster (in which we hen-picking interweb writers and fanfolk participate, knowingly or not). I know I’ve missed a few of these lil’ bits myself; some others, not so much. For what it’s worth, here are answers to questions you maybe didn’t ask:

• The console stays relatively cool to the touch on every surface after “plenty of gameplay,” and in a side-by-side comparison to the Xbox 360 the PS3 was “virtually silent,” especially the Blu-ray drive.

• PnP USB keyboards & mice, simple as Grandmammy Tiny’s rhubarb and goat hock pie.

• Alas, Bluetooth mice & keyboards do not fare as well, and will not work at launch.

• Bluetooth headsets should work, although Sony’s recommended hardware list suggests some may do so better than others.

• The EyeToy is the only USB webcam that will work with the system; this includes the original PS2 EyeToy.

• No VGA output. Sorry VGA guys.

• PS3 has a seven-controller maximum. That eighth man is sh*t outta luck.

• No plans for a cheaper, wired SIXAXIS.

• Media playback software gives us in-game custom soundtracks – as we’ve come to expect.

• Sony insists the US remains targeted for a 400,000 unit launch, no matter what anybody else says.

• Certain games can optionally install some game data (actual game data, not game saves) to the hard drive in order to decrease load times, which can be removed without affecting saved games and is purported to shorten loads from 12-15 seconds to as few as 3 or 4. (If that works, big 1ups to Sony for learning from the PSP.)

• TiVo-style hard drive upgrading: it will be possible but will be unsupported and will likely void your warranty.

• No voice or picture messaging through the PlayStation Network. Just text. Good old text. Like this.

I nub noo, Engadget.