PS3 info HUB-bub: rumors of release date, online service, data storage

After Nintendo's DS announcements made by the company today at the DS Conference 2006 comes a slew of strong information regarding the PlayStation 3, none of which has been confirmed by Sony itself.

Next Generation, an industry-centric site that isn't one to often delve into rumor, is reporting that Sony is planning a September 2006 launch for the PS3 in Japan and the United States. A whole mess of details about Sony's online gaming service are also at the ready. Among them: the service will be called PlayStation HUB and that it will offer many features similar to those of Xbox 360's Live (voice chat as well as downloadable demos and games) while adding some pretty impressive Sony-exclusive stuff such as PSP online gaming and a media content-distribution network.

A bit lower on the truthiness scale are reports relating to the PS3's in-box data storage specs, or the lack thereof. European gaming site Total Video Games did some digging through Sony's official product page and found an interesting nugget of information. The top footnote after the spec list states, "Storage media (HDD, 'Memory Stick,' SD memory card, and CompactFlash) are sold seperately." Of course, opposite that is the grandfather of all tech disclaimers: "Design and specifications are subject to change without notice." Let's hope they add some sort of hard drive while striking the Spiderman font and tossing the boomerang controller.