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PS3 Turning Up The Power

Set to release in the U.S. on November 17, Sony's hot new console is certainly power hungry. And we're not talking about processing power, either; we're talking about the straight-up electricity requirement.

The PS2 uses only 45 watts of power and in stark contrast, the PS3 will soak up 380 watts, which is also more than twice the 160 watts consumed by the Xbox 360. If you go by current electric costs, that PS3 is set to cost you about $40/year to run if you play it for two hours per day. Depending on how big a gamer you are, this news may or may not make much difference to you.

The Nintendo Wii, on the other hand, should have amazing power efficiency. According to one of the original members of the Wii's design team, Kou Shiota: "With a smaller chip and minimised power consumption, Wii can be left on 24 hours a day." Shiota didn't actually mention the exact wattage usage, though, and Nintendo's Wiiconnect24 service requires the system to be on 24 hours a day.

Well, at least you won't have to choose between your bedside lamp and a next-gen console, provided you're not living hand to mouth…and if you are, you won't likely be picking up a PS3 or Wii, now will you?