I guess the 96 sheet says “the PS3 is going to hit me like a tornado”. But, I’m not so sure. All I can say for certain is its going to hit my wallet, and maybe my wife will hit me if she finds the £350 receipt.

The PS3’s launch penetration is similar to the 360, and I know its far too early to say if the PS3 is going to seriously struggle – but you’ve got to admit it is an ‘awkward’ console.

It follows three tough acts: The PS2 – everyone had one, and the graphics aged well. The Xbox 360 – moved gaming into HiDef and captured imaginations with Xbox Live. The Wii - We laughed at press pictures of the controllers – then we played Wii Sports and fell in love with Nintendo all over again.

The biggest problem for the PS3 is that so many gamers have two or three of these stellar consoles at home already. When you have HiDef cinematic epics as well as addictive, hugely playable games already plugged into your Sony Bravia – how do you rationalise squeezing in the PS3?

BluRay? Mmmm. I’ll wait and see if it wins the race first thanks. A gaming engine that’s only using a fraction of its processing power on its launch titles? Mmmm, again, I may as well wait and see just how good the graphics get. Titles? Okay, maybe if Grand Theft and Gran Turismo look amazing and aren’t quickly released on other consoles …

It’s a tall order. And I’m not getting enough from the communication to swing it. Vintage PS comms confirmed what I loved at that time about gaming – like destroying armies and conquering worlds in my bedroom. But now I like different things … and thanks to the Wii and the DS they are not all dark and solitary.