The PS3 is about to launch. It's only a few days. Heck, it's about to launch in Japan on the 11th. Lines are starting to form, fan-boys are starting to vibrate like over-clocked hamsters, and headline sections of gaming news sites are starting to froth with PS3 goodness.

And by god it is good. Say what you want about the pricing, or the Network, or Blu-ray, or the SIXAXIS controller, you can't deny that the PS3 is one powerful box. Your opinion of the PS3, and if it will succeed as a console is yours and we can't convince you otherwise, but please recognize the power packaged in that glossy black box.

This article is going to look at all the hype and anticipation surrounding the PS3. We'll recall all the past news and all the bad rep. We'll look at the good stuff too. We'll go through smoke and mirrors, and we'll revisit the online pseudo-arguments between executives and employees.

Let's start with the latest news (the last minute hijinks), and then from there let's backtrack. After all of it let's see if we get a clearer image of the circus that Sony's been running.

Patches, Patches, Patches, and Flames
Yep, the PS3 will be patched on day one. For a reason that may baffle some (yet a reasons that PSP owners know all too well), announcements of patches and firmware, despite the promise of improvements, always has a sour taste to it.

It was previously reported that from day one, anyone connecting to the Internet using the PS3 will be invited to download a system software update to version 1.10. The update will unlock all services on PlayStation Network for customers to get stuck into from 7 a.m. (JST) on November 11.

Another update is planned for late November, this includes a version update for the PSP. It promises enhanced security features and improvements in the execution of the PSP-PS3 connection. The late November update will also give the PSP the ability to download PSP-specific games from PlayStation Store on the PS3, and transfer them to the PSP.

Here's the clincher that has some people up in arms (most especially the haters). It will also unlock the "remote play" feature that allows users to control the PS3 via their PSP remotely. The update will bring the PSP system software version number up to 3.00.

Yep, forum speculation is somewhat confirmed. All that promise from all that press from all the conventions during this past year has a caveat: "version update required." One could say that this bit of news could serve as more fuel for the flamer. Regardless, a flamer will still flame whatever the news on sony is. Anonymity + audience = f*ckwad.

Lines, camping, the demand, and the supply.
Despite rampant Internet hate against Sony, triangle-circle-x-square faithful are undeterred. Numerous video-game blogs already have reports on people camping-out in front of Best Buy as early as 9 days prior to the North American launch.

One has to admit that the flip-flops that Sony has been making makes one at the worst case feel fear, and at the least lose some minor amount of comfort. Sony has been making announcements left and right and often at the last minute. If you've been following Sony news, it's hard not to notice that Sony's been put under a microscope already. Like a clown in the center of a circus ring.

The hard part about this is that if you continue to follow the news around the PS3 and the PSP, one starts to feel like a ball or a baton that Sony the clown is juggling. Things just go round and round and round.

Sometimes Sony press does good, and the Internet community (as the fans especially) gives them kudos for it. Sometimes it does bad and the flamers come out of the wood work and Sony sounds like they're making excuses and they're making Lemonade out of lemons, or putting fart-bags under people they shouldn't.

Sony the Magic Act

Whatever Sony does though, it seems like they're always keeping so much to themselves, and that they have an air of confidence that borders on arrogance. You feel that something is going on on-stage that you know about, but you keep watching. Like a magic act we know that Sony's got a trick up their sleeve already. We know it's there and we're watching, we're anticipating.

Are you familiar with the three parts of a Magic Act? The Pledge, the Turn, and the Prestige? Well the whole deal with the PS3 is sort of like that. Their advertising alone for the PS3 and the PSP are starting to border on the symbolic so much so that it goes all the way to the other end and hits non-sensical. We know that when it comes to anything about the PS3, that until it launches, it's all hype, but we don't care. We wait, and we hope, and we pre-order.

Why don't we have the patience to wait until after Christmas?

It's because the Pledge is over and we're at the Turn. We're waiting for the object, the console of promise to show-up, to come back. It's all hype and we're not clapping yet. We're waiting for the prestige.

The Prestige better be damn good.

See you all on the 17th.