PS3 will be upgradeable

According to Sony Computer Entertainment's president and CEO Ken Kutaragi, the PlayStation 3 isn't a game console, it's an upgradeable computer.

Kutaragi was speaking with Japanese computer website PC Watch when he referred to PS3 saying "we don't say it's a games console; PS3 is clearly a computer." Consequently, it will be able to evolve over time as new technology becomes available, something Sony's been hinting at for some time. Kutaragi continued, "I think the HDD will gain in capacity. If a new technology gets into mainstream PCs, PS3 will have to adopt it as well."

Reference was made to computer companies who release more powerful machines every two years, and Kutaragi stated that PS3 will have to continue to grow to keep up with the competition: "computers should be changing; it's inevitable that 60GB (the size of PS3's HDD) will become short, memory may become short too."

So should PlayStation gamers be readying themselves with tiny screwdrivers for some PC-style tinkering? We'll have to wait and see.

June 9, 2006