
Originally Sony planned to launch the PS3 with a single (1x, 36Mbps) drive but it's expected that 2x (72Mbps) drives will arrive this autumn, making it possible that Sony will equip its PS3 consoles with the faster 2x version.
Sony has yet to confirm the speed of the drive used for PS3, and its specification is open to change over the next few months - but given that some first generation Blu-ray drives are 2X, it's quite possible that will be the minimum Sony will aim for.