Standard 60GB HDD
PlayStation Network Platform
PS1/PS2 Games Upscaled to 1080p
100% B/C
PS1 Emulator for PSP (Digital Distribution)

That's quite the repertoire Sony has going for it at this point. I'm hoping all of this will happen now that Sony has some real competition in Microsoft, compared to the dazed Nintendo and bankrupt SEGA at the beginning of the last generation.

Kutaragi did mention that all developers have been told to design their games with the HDD in mind. Assuming this is true, the HDD will have to be standard, or else we're in for minute-long load times when the PS3 launches, unless of course they're going to use this extra time to put in a 4x BD-ROM drive. If it does end up happening, we'll see Sony taking the advantage the Xbox had last generation, meaning even faster load times and lots of room for content storage. Goodbye to mandatory memory cards? Let's hope.

PlayStation Network Platform....I'm not big on console online play mainly because I'm too cheap to cough up the money for online console FPS' and racing games. However, Kutaragi did mention this would be a two-tiered system like with Xbox Live Silver and Gold. Whether or not that allows us to play online for free has yet to be revealed, but if we can't play online for free then I suppose I couldn't care less about this feature. If Sony one-ups Microsoft's XBL Silver, then all the better! If that means online 2D fighters much like the Xbox had, then you'll see me on that for quite a bit.

Backwards compatibility...100% for both the PS1 and PS2. Like the PS2's B/C, I don't expect full 100% B/C, at least out of the box, though they seem to be committed to this feature, which makes me glad. I suspect if they do hardware emulation then they can fill in the gaps through downloadable patches like with Xbox Live...and that's where the HDD will be useful.

Now the upscaling to 1080p is what really interests me. I don't own any screen that can go that high, but for the people who do this will be completely awesome. You'll be able to play previously jag-filled games like Metal Gear Solid at super-crisp resolutions, eliminating much of the need for AA! Again, I'll remain skeptical on this one, but if Sony pulls through it'll be another fantastic bonus.

The one feature that really got me excited that was announced was the PS1 emulator Sony is developing for the PSP. I fully expect this one to actually happen, since Sony has had a pretty good track record with their PSP announcements. With the added DS competition, there's a very low chance this won't happen. Again, we've got digital distribution to worry about and with no standard storage on the PSP this won't be particularly easy. However, the prospect of being able to play old games I missed out on...on the go, is really cool. Symphony of the Night? Final Fantasy VII? Metal Gear Solid? Amazing. We'll see just how much support Sony gets for this service, but I'm sure they'll get a good amount.

That PSP price drop is really nice too, I must say.

I'm really hoping Sony follows through on most of these. Of course a few questions remain, in particular the pricing. I'd gladly pay more than usual for the PS3 if all of these features were included. Not to mention the main goodness, the GAMES! MGS, DMC, FF, SMT, in addition to the many other series Sony usually gets. With the added benefit of more up to date hardware compared to its competitors, multi-platform titles should also be just as good on the PS3 as they are on the 360 aside from controls.

As well, there's the question of the PS3 design. Are they going to change it? Because if I recall correctly, a developer once mentioned that there's no way that Sony can fit all the hardware effectively into the PS3 case they showed. So that begs the question, is there a new design in the works? And how is the PSThree going to look? Are they also making the boomerang into something a bit less repulsive?

I guess we'll have to wait until E3.