Sony's pre-E3 conference is over and the Japanese giant has finally let a number of fairly obese cats out of the proverbial bag. Prices for the system will commence from 499 Euros/Dollars, and November 17th is the date. even revealed a brand new wireless dual-shock controller, complete with motion-sensing functionality that is sure to have just a little riled.

During the conference Sony bosses confirmed that the will definitely include a hard-disk, despite rumours to the contrary, and demonstrated both trailers and playable games during the briefing. Initially the new console will come only in black, but will include two options, one with a 20gb hard-disk, the other 60gb. The PS3 will hit on November 11th, but will launch simultaneously in North America and on the 17th.

Europe and North America will pay the same price, too, 499 Euros/Dollars for the 20gb edition, and 599 for the 60gb model. The biggest revelation however is probably the new controller, which sees Sony dispatching the maligned boomerang design in favour of a traditional dual-shock shape, albeit enhanced with several new features. The new pad will be wireless and chargeable via a USB port on the rear, and the controller Xbox-esque triggers on the top (R2 and L2).

The biggest addition to the dual-shock however has to come in the shape of the motion sensor, which whilst different in application to the Wii's approach, will still cut a little closer than Ninty might have hoped. The motion sensor in the pad will detect the angle of unit through 360 degrees, allowing for movement without button presses. This option was demonstrated using air combat game WarHawk during the conference. This said, the sensor won't have any spatial awareness, and as such is still not as flexible as the controller, which can detect what part of the screen the controller is pointing at and other such cleverness.

A number of games were demonstrated, many of them looking quite stunning and, significantly, running in real-time. The Eye Of Judgement used the EyeToy for on-screen card-playing, Genji 2 was revealed and Heavenly Sword was also looking rather good. Demo title HD was also shown in real-time, looking more than a little swish. Meanwhile, third-party support from the likes of Namco, EA, Ubisoft, Square-Enix and more was also present en masse.

Sony confirmed that the PS3 will be fully backwards compatible, also announcing that movies, and other media will be distributed to both the PS3 and the PSP, with immense interoperability between the two consoles. Old games will also be made available for both the and the PS3. And that, as they say, is that. We'll keep you posted as we learn more on Sony's ambitious plans for their new opus.

By Luke Guttridge