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40GB PS3 Coming to the States

Posted by Zonk on from the stop-monkeying-with-the-hard-drive-size-already dept.

Sony Computer Entertainment of America has finally confirmed that the 40GB PlayStation 3 sku will be released in the US. This release will coincide with a price drop on the 80GB sku, from $600 to $500. "The 40-gigabyte model has already made its debut in Europe and Japan, and was widely expected to come to the United States ahead of the crucial year-end shopping season that accounts for the largest single chunk of annual video game software and hardware sales." (Via GI.biz)

9 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Where is my 500 gig PS3? by BiggestPOS · · Score: 4, Insightful

    With the drives now RETAILING for around $100, I can't imagine why 40 gig drives are still being made. What is the point where the overall cost of the materials reaches the floor and the drives can't get any cheaper? Seriously, a 40 gig hard-drive is just laughable, they must be using up over-stock or putting refurbs in. Are single platter drives with that little capacity even being produced anymore in the 3.5" form factor?

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    What, me worry?
    1. Re:Where is my 500 gig PS3? by ivan256 · · Score: 5, Informative

      They use 2.5" drives, so you can't really get 500GB for $100... 40GB per head/platter-side is still the knee in the price curve on 2.5" drives.... A recent change from 30GB (Hence the move from the 60GB PS3 to the 80GB model).

      Regardless, user-upgrade of the hard drive in the PS3 is an officially supported process. If you want bigger, you can have it.

    2. Re:Where is my 500 gig PS3? by WhatAmIDoingHere · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Sony is pushing it as a media center and not just a console. 40GB isinadequate for what Sony themselves are saying the PS3 is for.

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      Not a Twitter sockpuppet... but I wish I was.
  2. No Backwards Compatibilty == No Thanks... by nweaver · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sorry, no backwards compatibilty == No Thanks.

    I've got a lot of PS2 games still, and I won't be getting rid of em. But there isn't space in my entertainment center housing for a PS2 and a PS3, especially since the PS3 can't have anything stacked on it because of its curvosity.

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    Test your net with Netalyzr
    1. Re:No Backwards Compatibilty == No Thanks... by trdrstv · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Backwards compatibility has always been a nice perk, but seriously, I rarely ever use it. I think I used backwards capabilities on the ps2 to play ff tactics, and thats it. I think people put too much value in it. Besides, if you want backwards capability, you can still get it. Just cough up the extra 100

      Some people put A LOT of value in it. In fact if the PS3 didn't have either BluRay, or Backwords compatibility I would have zero reason to get one. As of now I'm waiting until "Some magical time in 2008" when the exclusives worth buying hit, until then I'm watching Movies, and playing PS2 games upscaled on it.

  3. But what about ... by trevorrowe · · Score: 3, Informative

    What about all of those $500 60GB PS3 units still sitting on the shelves. Will they get a price drop? IMHO the 60GB is the most appealing, as it still plays PS1/2 games w/out emulation.

  4. With GTAIV pushed back to 08.... by the+computer+guy+nex · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What SOFTWARE will help push the hardware? 360 is still cheaper and has more great games being released in a 3 month span (Bioshock, Halo3, Mass Effect) than any PS3 game.

    Also don't count out the Madden effect. Since EA couldn't get the game working right on PS3 (30FPS!!!) the 360 looks even better. Price cut won't hurt the Wii at all either.

  5. Re:What will you lose? by thebonafortuna · · Score: 4, Informative

    From what I've read, that is true for the 40 GB version only. The 80 GB version supposedly does feature the same backwards compatibility as recent versions, which I believe is through emulation, and not additional hardware. If I get a chance, I'll see if I can find an article confirming this.

  6. Re:Regardless of the lack of games... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Yeah, in the same way $500 was once "cheap" for a VHS VCR, or a DVD player many years later.

    Yes, I'm a techie, and I do enjoy me some HD, but above that, I'm a cheapskate and advocate of hardware longevity. While I can understand (and even afford, with some discipline) the early-adopter lifestyle, there is no way I would personally spend $500 on a first-generation BR player that would have to share laser time with a game console I intended to use primarily as such.

    Other than cost, my concern is the same as with the PS2/Xbox and DVDs, and CD-based consoles with music CDs. These aren't PCs; the HD (if any) is the secondary, not primary, data retrieval device, and when the optical drive's laser dies, the system is worthless until manufacturer-repaired (not user-repaired) or replaced. Whereas those older consoles probably were never the most popular device of their kind for playing their respective media, the PS3 - as the trojan horse that Sony is betting on to push BR sales - is far and away the most popular BR player, implying that most BR playback hours are being logged on PS3s. I sure as hell never used my Saturn or PS as my primary CD players, nor my PS2 as my dedicated DVD player, due to both fear of hardware failure and availability of alternative (and superior) playback hardware. I think people are blinding themselves to Sony's traditionally poor hardware reliability, especially with the PlayStation line, if they think the PS3 is a smart buy right now even when considered only at this level, just because other single-purpose BR players are also ridiculously priced. I really think it's a lack of both perspective and patience that has led to this opinion. I think I'll wait until the life of the PS3's optics under typical shared use has been determined before buying in. And if standalone BR player prices fall to reasonable prices in the mean time, I guess that would just serve to sway my buying decision more towards the strength of the PS3's game library at that time, rather than just seeing it as the "best deal" compared to the other first-gen BR players.