Sony PS3 Price Cut confirmed

[raphael2040]

Frontpage; http://www.aoaforums.com/frontpage/content/view/3273/1/

There was a lot of rumours regarding a 40GB PS3 being released, but now it's finally been confirmed!

At a reasonable price of £299, the PS3 is now worthy competition for it's £299 counterpart, the 360 Elite.

The 60GB version has also been docked down to £350, for those wanting that extra hard drive space.

More at the BBC;

BBC NEWS | Technology | Sony offers cut-price PlayStation

Comments?

[madcatmk3]

omre harddrive space on 360 elite. still not worth it unless blu-ray wins.

[danrok]

I'd guess you'll be able to switch the 40GB drive for a higher capacity drive, without much bother?

[Gizmo]

Originally Posted by BBC

The new PS3 will be unable to play PlayStation 1 and 2 games, has a reduced number of USB ports, from four to two connections, and no slots for memory cards.

Yeah boy, I want me one of them! No PS1 or PS2 games, and only 3 PS3 games worth having, and it STILL costs more than everything but the XBox 360 Elite.

Are Sony serious?!

[Favu]

Originally Posted by danrok

I'd guess you'll be able to switch the 40GB drive for a higher capacity drive, without much bother?

I was thinking exactly the same thing here

[funnyperson1]

I don't think the hard drive size should be a big issue, how much downloadable content is there for the PS3 anyways.

The backwards compatibility is a bigger issue because there are a lot of great PS2 games that you can get for dirt cheap.

Neither is really a console killer though. If you are willing to pay $400 for a console chances are you already have a PS2.

The real problem here is that Sony still doesn't have any killer apps for the PS3. MS has had killer games in Halo3 and Gears of War which were exclusives. Even games like GTA that were traditionally PS exclusives are starting to come around because the PS3 market simply isn't big enough. Sony's library will get better, as tradition Sony games like Final Fantasy and MGS sequels come out but is it soon enough?

[raphael2040]

Over at the Official Playstation website, Sony has confirmed that the £299 40GB PS3 SKU will become the ONLY PS3 model available in Europe once the current stock of 60GB PS3's have been depleted. So we bid a farewell to the 60GB SKU, and hope that the new lower priced SKU has more success in Europe.

Quote:

In the UK and Ireland, a Value Pack consisting of a 60GB PS3 with extensive backwards compatibility and two first party titles will be on sale at a price of €499 (£349). Remaining on sale while stocks last, the 60GB model represents outstanding value for the keen gamer wishing to upgrade to the High Definition capabilities of PS3. Once stocks are exhausted the new 40GB model will be the only one available in the SCEE territories.

PLAYSTATION 3 News Articles: - Entertainment like you’ve never seen before

[danrok]

What Sony are claiming, is that few PS3 owners require backward compatibility. So, by dropping that, they can reduce the overall cost of the box.

The big downside, would be that those who want it, won't be able to buy it as an optional extra. Unless there is some other way to run PS2 games on a PS3, using a software emulator, or what?

[Pitch]

I've always seen the PS3 as more of a home entertainment system rather than a purests game console.

I -think- this is a good move for Sony. As a HD movie system, it's a fantastic deal, it really is. But, I still down rate it a console. The 360 on the other hand is opposite. Appealing more to those who just want a good games machine.

[dsio]

Sony is releasing a full TiVo like system for the PS3, eg. a tv tuner/capture box, remote, and MythTV like PVR software, which could be interesting.

Its called PlayTV, and features an external box with dual digital TV tuners, plus capture, allowing you to record, time shift, whatever 720p HD content on your PS3, much like a TiVo box. It will also feature PSP integration, so you can record something, send it to your PSP, and watch it on the train for example.

Its just another little step towards getting the PS3 into more of a digital home theatre role. Another interesting feature that I've heard rumored is a musician's pack for PS3, that being an external commercial grade sound card, with plenty of inputs and outputs, and software on the PS3 for audio production, using the Cell's DSPs for something they're quite good at. Makes alot of sense, but absolutely no official word on that from Sony, just talk from people.

Sony's PS3 PlayTV thing is here: Clips: Play TV On PS3 Explained - Kotaku

[Pitch]

That is the absolutely best direction for Sony now. The PS3 really would excel there. Releasing a musician's pack would be pretty cool too. Most of my equipement for Guitar outputs over USB as it is.