A running joke in the early days of the Playstation 2 among its detractors was one about the ‘hidden power’ of the console. It was due to Sony promising that the system was capable of more than was showcased in the launch titles. Indeed later titles like God of War II, Final Fantasy XII and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater are a world away from the earlier Summoner, Tekken Tag Tournament and TimeSplitters. The games almost looked like they were from two different platforms; this in essence proved what Sony said.

It would seem that the old chestnut reappeared with the PS2’s successor, due to the fact that Playstation consoles are notoriously hard to develop for in the start. Time usually proves Sony right though.

So now, in the third year of its life, can the Playstation 3 prove its mettle? In terms of hardware, the PS3 has the advantage over its two competitors, but can that raw potential be harnessed into stunning visuals that the other consoles can’t match?

Let’s take a look at the evidence. Killzone 2 beta is here, for everyone to see, as well as some footage of Heavy Rain gameplay. David Jaffe was ecstatic over seeing a bit of God of War 3. It’s undoubted that Uncharted 2 will pop our eyes out (just like its predecessor), and in the same tradition of graphic impressiveness, so will Gran Turismo 5.

On the flipside, there’s not much in Microsoft or Nintendo’s 2009 releases that can match these heavy contenders overall, but concentrating on the graphics, we can cite these Xbox 360 titles as potential competitors: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and LittleBigPlanet vs. Gears of War II, Halo 3, Left 4 Dead.

All of these are graphically impressive, but which platform makes for better graphics, it’s up for debate.

Certainly some closure to the fan-fight will be brought next year when said titles are actually released. The same happened in the case of the Xbox vs. the PS2, eventually everyone had to agree that the Xbox was clearly more polished in terms of graphics, and generally sported better-looking games. Next year will bring the same sort of closure, one way or another, with the current generation of consoles.

From what we can see so far, odds are leaning towards Sony, because while most everyone agrees the PS3 has much untapped potential to draw on, the 360 conversely has plateaued, and unless unreleased titles for the latter can impress, the die seems to have been cast.

Analysts held the same opinion, even with the shoddy start the PS3 got off to. They agreed that the PS3 will eventually leave the 360 behind graphics-wise, and it looks like that time is at hand.

A lot could change in 2009, and that is something that everyone can safely agree on? We have a feeling the Xbox 360’s not licked yet, but until further evidence, the PS3 is now rolling smooth.