Sony Announces 40GB PS3; Price Cut For The 80GB
SCEA has now confirmed that the 40GB PS3 will be hitting the US shores bundled with Spiderman 3 for a rather slim $400. Now the PS3 will finally be a contender with the price range of the Xbox 360, something Sony has been re-engineering their system for months to accomplish. The 40GB model is a slimmed down version of the previous SKUs since Sony removed the memory card readers and there will be fewer USB ports. The most heinous omission is the removal of backwards compatibility of any kind with the 40GB model. Sony assures that since the PS3 library is bulking up, consumers won't need the backwards compatibility.
I beg to differ. One of the best aspects of the previous models, is it replaces all of your previous Sony consoles in one pretty package. If backwards compatibility is an issue you can always shell out more money for the software emulation on the 80GB model.
Fortunately the 80GB models of the PS3 will be receiving a nice price cut soon. On November 2nd the 80GB model will be reduced from $600 to $500. So the real question is, is it worth it to spend the extra hundred dollars for backwards compatibility and some extra USB ports?
For all the skinny on the new skinnier 40GB PS3, make the jump!
FOSTER CITY, Calif., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) today announced plans to introduce a new 40GB model of its PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system. Beginning November 2nd, to further enhance the HD entertainment experience, the new 40GB PS3 model will come bundled with the blockbuster movie Spider-Man(TM) 3 Blu-ray Disc(TM) (BD) from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and will be available in North America for a suggested retail price of $399 (USD/CND). The company also announced that effective immediately, the current 80GB PS3 model will be available in North America for $499 (USD/CND), $100 below the original launch price.
"We're pleased to offer the consumer a lower price point without sacrificing the core technology components that make PS3 the most advanced high-definition entertainment system available. Every PS3 comes with a Blu-ray drive, HDMI output, an integrated Wi-Fi connection, Cell Broadband Engine and a built-in hard-drive," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO, SCEA.
"This holiday season we'll be able to offer attractive retail pricing with a broad portfolio of outstanding games including Ratchet & Clank(R) Future: Tools of Destruction(TM), THE EYE OF JUDGMENT(TM), Uncharted: Drake's Fortune(TM), Heavenly Sword(TM), Call of Duty(R) 4: Modern Warfare, Assassin's Creed(TM), Haze(TM) and RockBand(TM)."
The new 40GB PS3 will no longer play PlayStation(R)2 titles, reflecting the availability of a more extensive line-up of PS3 specific titles. Consumers looking for backwards compatibility can take advantage of the limited PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility of the 80GB PS3.
PLAYSTATION(R)3 40GB Specification
Product name PLAYSTATION(R)3
CPU Cell Broadband Engine(TM) (Cell/B.E.)
GPU RSX(TM)
Sound Dolby 5.1ch, DTS 5.1ch , LPCM 7.1ch, AAC,
others *1 *2
Memory 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
HDD 2.5" Serial ATA 40GB
I/O USB 2.0 x2
Communication Ethernet X1 (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
IEEE 802.11 b/g Included
Bluetooth 2.0 Included
(EDR)
Wireless controller (Bluetooth) Included
AV Output Screen size 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI OUT x1 *3
AV MULTI OUT x1
DIGITAL OUT x1
(OPTICAL)
BD/DVD/CD Maximum Read Speed BD 2x (BD-ROM)
Drive DVD 8x (DVD-ROM)
(Read Only) CD 24x (CD-ROM)
Dimensions Approximately 12.75in(W) x 3.86in (H) x
10.8in (D)
Weight Approximately 11 lbs
*1 A device compatible with Linear PCM 7.1 Ch. is required to output 7.1
Ch. audio, supported by Dolby TrueHD or a similar format, from the HDMI
OUT connector.
*2 This system does not support output from the DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. DTS-HD 7.1
Ch. audio is output from a 5.1 or lower channel.
*3 "Deep Color" and "x.v.Color (xvYCC)" defined by HDMI ver1.3a are
supported.
Toots
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 18 October 2007
· Comments (13)
Other stuff like this: 40GB, 80GB, ps3
"I beg to differ. One of the best aspects of the previous models, is it replaces all of your previous Sony consoles in one pretty package. If backwards compatibility is an issue you can always shell out more money for the software emulation on the 80GB model."
I agree with your sentiment - it seems a silly idea that Sony would remove it's #1 ace in the hole - a giant library of games that *still* has new product for several times a month.
I don't know what's going on side the heads of those guys, but I have the feeling it started several years ago when someone said "Hey, let's make the PS3 a Blu-ray player with lots of small chips we can put in everything from cell phones to big machines!" A big, big idea that just wasn't well executed like a business.
Sony still has yet to realize one very important aspect of the console wars: the PS2 is still a contender. Not only that, its one of their system's biggest rivals. People look at the fantastic PS2 library and the dismal PS3 library and... yeah.
"I beg to differ. One of the best aspects of the previous models, is it replaces all of your previous Sony consoles in one pretty package. If backwards compatibility is an issue you can always shell out more money for the software emulation on the 80GB model."
That is exactly it, those that will have an issue with the lack of BC will shell out that little bit extra for the 80GB version and the majority that don't will have a cheaper alternative. The BC option is not a system seller, the success of the Wii & 360 has not been due to the back catalogue of games from their predecessors and if it were the PS3 would be outselling them both. I think Sony are finally doing the right thing in reducing cost and making the PS3 more accessible, of course that wont stop people whinging and moaning, its still Sony after all.
Like many of its fans, SCEA and its Japanese counterpart are simply too young to remember that this is EXACTLY what happened with the Atari 2600 and 5200. People saw the 5200's price, the incomplete controllers, the paucity of games, and kept on buying the 2600. Those who cannot remember the past, etc.
The one real difference is that Atari jumped on the backward compatibility bandwagon too late, whereas Sony is jumping off of it too early.
I guess that whole, "you'll want to work overtime so that you can *earn* the PS3" thing didn't work out so well.
But what exactly is Sony saving on not having the backward compatibility? This is now purely a software component -- at least that is what they announced in the past. So they save some disk space by not having PS2 compatibility?
I'm not quite sure why people are freaking out about this.
Choice #1 - 40GB, blu-ray playing, game playing, internet connected PS3 without backward compatibility
Choice #2 - 80GB, blu-ray playing, game playing, internet connected PS3 with backward compatibility
Nobody is being forced into anything they don't want, and if you want backward compatibility, it's an option (and now $100 cheaper). What's with all the drama?
What you call "freaking out" I would call "a market reaction to an insufficiently lowered price accompanied by too great a reduction in features." But we could be wrong; I guess we'll see what sales look like this xmas.
"So the real question is, is it worth it to spend the extra hundred dollars for backwards compatibility and some extra USB ports?"
you forgot to include the obvious 40GB of hard drive space that goes into that extra hundred dollars...
People will just never be satisfied with anything Sony does in regards to the PS3. I guess it's just too cool to hate on them these days. People complain the system is too expensive and they want a cheaper alternative; Sony finds a way to give them a cheaper alternative and now people are complaining about features that are cut. How did you think they were going to be able to lower the price of the system? Of course they have to cut features. If B/C means that much, then pony up and buy the model that includes it! You can't have it both ways.
Well, actually, we can.... with either of the other two consoles on the market. Sony needs to recognize they actually have to try to compete again. Their fans need to realize that unlike them, most of the 100 million people who bought a PS2 did not buy it out of devotion to Sony.
The inflation and consumer hesitancy on its way from record oil prices and the weak dollar has the potential to wreck Sony's "high-end mass market" strategy once and for all this xmas.
What do you think this is if not trying to compete? Sony is giving people a cheaper choice. Which is what they have been asking for.
I don't know if people have been "asking for" a less expensive model with fewer features. They've been rejecting the PS3 because its price is too high for the features it does have, which is very different.
If they hadn't made the tactical error of putting their games on Blu-Ray media, they could take out the Blu-Ray drive and cut a lot more off the price than cutting out BC got them. But they made their choice and now the market is telling them what it thinks of that choice.
We'll have to wait and see if a crippled unit for $100 less is what it takes to save them this xmas. People didn't really respond that well to the 360 Core System or the 20gb PS3.