The first 10 things you need to buy for your PS3. In order.

One week until PlayStation 3 launches over here in the UK, and anticipation is building – although with units still available to pre-order, it’s fair to wonder if this is translating into actual sales. So, assuming you do have a shiny PS3 arriving next Friday, what should your next purchases be?

Here’s ten suggestions, in descending order of importance. Buying all ten will set you back almost as much as the £425 you paid for the console itself, mind. Note, I’m assuming you’ve just started with the PS3 itself, rather than a bundle with extra games.

1. MotorStorm game (£39.99)
As I said before, this looks like the most fun of all PS3’s launch titles, flinging yourself into a bunch of rollicking cross-country races. It’s also one of the most immediate ways to show off what PS3 can do, with rocky terrain and monster crashes hinting at the graphical oomph of Sony’s new console.

2. Resistance: Fall Of Man game (£39.99)
The other essential PS3 launch title, being a slick first-person shooter with a plot featuring aliens in 1950s Britain. But it’s the online modes that make it a key launch title, supporting up to 40 players online in a host of modes. Buy it, even if you’ll realistically spend most of your first weekend getting killed by snotty kids.

3. An extra Sixaxis controller (£34.99)
Why don’t consoles come with two controllers in the box? I’ve always wondered. Anyway, you’ll be wanting a second Sixaxis, so you may as well order one in now, to cater for the friends who’ll be descending on your house next weekend. One thing that might hold you back is the fear that now Sony’s settled its lawsuit with vibration firm Immersion Corporation, a rumbling Sixaxis v2.0 might be on the way soon. If you’d rather hold on for that, you can always buy a PS2-controller-converter, although you’ll miss out on the motion sensing features.

4. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 game (£39.99)
The golf game that even non-golfing fans love, Tiger’s present and correct for the PS3’s launch, and while this version will lack the club-swinging joy of the Wii edition, it’s still shaping up as a superbly polished update to EA’s flagship golfing franchise. New features include 12 courses, various mini-games, and some marvellous facial animation.

5. HDMI cable (£24.99)
PlayStation 3’s high-definition capabilities are well known now, and an increasing number of gamers will be connecting the console to an HD-ready TV. Make the most of it by grabbing yourself an HDMI cable – there are several suppliers.

6. Virtua Tennis 3 game (£39.99)
More sporty goodness. Sega’s tennis title is back for PS3, and although the visuals have been bumped up and there’s new mini-games, the main appeal is still the feel of it. Simple to play, yet bastard-hard to master – especially in the globetrotting career mode. You could argue you may as well play the PS2 version, but this is still one of the best PS3 launch games as well.

7. A fistful of Blu-ray movies (around £20 each)
What’s this Blu-ray lark all about? Find out by getting some HD movies to watch. If you want five recommendations, how about Casino Royale, Black Hawk Down, Talladega Nights, Open Season, and Toto – Live In Amsterdam? Okay, maybe not that last one. Shop around too, it’s not unusual to find Blu-ray movies going for around £14 now.

8. Ridge Racer 7 game (£39.99)
Why does this make it on here? Partly tradition – what would a Sony console launch be without a Ridge Racer game? – but also the fact that after MotorStorm, it’s the most accessible racing game for PS3 – certainly more fun than the somewhat po-faced Formula 1 Championship Edition, while EA’s Need For Speed Carbon is an acquired taste. Oh, and RR7 is online too. Rawk.

9. Tony Hawk’s Project 8 game (£39.99)
Obviously, any list like this will differ from person to person – if you’re a huge Hawk nut, this might be at the top of your list. However, Project 8 deserves its inclusion even if not: it’s like a primer for all the Tony Hawk games gone by, but with next-gen graphics and a neatly-weighted career mode.

10. Blu-ray remote control (£17.99)
Sure, you can control it with a wireless joypad. But it’s not the same…