I was openly seduced by the price drop of the PS3 this week, mostly because it has been instilled in me that anything is fair game (purchase-wise) if it's less in cost then it has previously been. Since this price drop was going to be in effect forever, I thought the purchase was doubly justified. As a Xbox 360 owner up this point, I was curious to see how I would react to this, supposedly the pinnacle of console perfection.

Oddly, what came to mind firstly comparing the Big Three to various forms of liquid libation.

The Wii is a tall pitcher of lemonade in a bright plastic container, easy for anyone to pick up and drink from, and offers no harm to the children unless they try to eat it. The Wii could also last for a 1000 years, but that's a different discussion altogether. The Xbox 360 is a high end six pack, like Samuel Adams, which is for you to get your friends around and imbibe all night long. Upon playing the PS3, however, I realized that the PS3 is very much a bottle of tastefully lit champagne.



Can you spot the bottle of champagne? That's what the PS3 is trying to emphasize with you, the owner, is class. It's like having your own electronic butler.



All of this points to this veneer of civilization, like the burst of classical music that you opened, and how little of the PS3's functions you can't even do yourself. Much like having a butler, you are allowed to wake it up, and send it to bed at night, but everything else you just press a button which summons up your butler. "Shall I take the game out of the disc tray for you, sir?" "Would you like the system deactivated, sir?" Then the camera turns to you, in your smoking jacket and plush armchair, and zooms in on your face as you nod regally. The PS3 is...pretentious.



However, I am finding I like it, if for no other reason then it is an impressive piece of machinery. When I turned it on wasn't the first time I heard music, as I unsheathed that big black block I heard the music from 2001: A Space Odyssey inside my head. Also, if you stand it on it's end, it does look a bit like HAL. The fact that it also offers a Blu-ray player into the mix is another nice bonus. The machine may be pretentious, but it sure leaves an impression. However, the pretension that surrounds the PS3 does tend to damper the appreciation of it's technical excellence which, has been pointed out, is more or less on par with the Xbox 360.



So, in the end, I have to say I do like the PS3, but I'd just like it better if it was less slick, more approachable, and could make it's mind up whether it wanted to be a game console or high octane alcohol.