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Sony Producing New PS3 Hardware, Slim Appears Likely

Posted by Soulskill on from the consoles-on-a-diet dept.

The Opposable Thumbs blog reports on a confluence of rumors and information leaks that suggest Sony will be unveiling a PS3 Slim sooner rather than later. Despite waning console sales, orders for PS3-related hardware have risen sharply. There's evidence to suggest that Sony is phasing out its 80GB model, which would help clear the way for a hardware revision. Some expect the official announcement to come as early as August 18th, during the gamescom expo in Germany.

34 of 183 comments (clear)

  1. Do not want!! by Macthorpe · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Unless the price comes down to 360 levels. It's not like the PS3 has an exclusive I particularly want anyway.

    --
    "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
    1. Re:Do not want!! by krou · · Score: 4, Interesting

      The summary doesn't mention it, but there are signs that they may announce a price drop for the PS3 at GamesCom as well. For example, they've doubled PS3 production since the cost of making the PS3 has dropped some 70% since launch, while Amazon reduced the cost of one of the 160GB bundles by around US$50. Probably won't be anywhere near Xbox360 levels though.

      --
      'If Christ had tweeted the sermon on the mount, it might have lasted until nightfall.' - John Perry Barlow
    2. Re:Do not want!! by Davemania · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Comparing the price of a base PS3 to XBox360 is quite frankly ridiculous. The extra features of the base machine offered is completely different, if you get the Xbox 360 with the addtional attachment cost included, comparing the cost would than be more realistic. I do think that the PS3 price need to come to but not necessarily down to 360's.

    3. Re:Do not want!! by Macthorpe · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The difference I see is - I can buy a 360 without the additional attachments. With the PS3 I have no choice.

      Not sure why my original post is a troll though - I guess that it could offend someone, though I'm not sure who.

      --
      "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him." - Tolkien
    4. Re:Do not want!! by FishWithAHammer · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I don't own a PS3, but there are a few exclusives I've enjoyed when hanging out at a friend's and a few upcoming ones that are making me tempted (although I'll probably get a 360 because I'm involved in game dev and my company wants to try to branch to consoles with our 3D engine):

      Metal Gear Solid 4 (it's coming out on the 360, but I strongly doubt it'll look anywhere near as nice)
      Wipeout HD
      Uncharted and Uncharted 2 (I thought they were lame when they were first released, but they grow on you fast)
      Gran Turismo 5 (not out yet, but a definite exclusive)
      Ninja Gaiden Sigma
      Fat Princess (don't knock it till you've played it, this shit is hilarious)

      --
      "You can either have software quality or you can have pointer arithmetic, but you cannot have both at the same time."
    5. Re:Do not want!! by Narishma · · Score: 2, Informative

      Metal Gear Solid 4 isn't coming out on the 360.

      --
      Mada mada dane.
    6. Re:Do not want!! by gbarules2999 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Not really. They've both sold quite a bit (about 30 million 360's to 24 million PS3's), so it's not like EVERYONE is flocking to one console. you exaggerate.

      I for one will not buy an Xbox 360 because they continue to fail and fry themselves. I'll save up for PlayStation 3.

    7. Re:Do not want!! by gbarules2999 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Add to the list: Ratchet and Clank, Resistance 1 and 2, Killzone 2, and inFamous.

    8. Re:Do not want!! by gbarules2999 · · Score: 2, Informative

      You misunderstood him. He's saying that while those might be true, people still go and buy the 360. Funny that you jumped right on his back, there. You're seeing Sony fanboys where there aren't any!

      Furthermore, PSN isn't nearly as bad as you suggested (it was at launch, but firmware heals all wounds!), and the Playstation 3 can run Linux very easily.

    9. Re:Do not want!! by dank+zappingly · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah you can buy a 360 without the additional attachments, but if you do buy them, they are going to hose you with their proprietary hard drives and wireless adapters. If you end up spending $130 for a 120gb hard drive and $77 for a wireless adapter and the PS3 isn't really more expensive, plus you get free online play. I'm sure not everyone needs a blu ray player(well aware of the people who still insist that it barely looks better than a regular dvd), or wireless, and that xbox live is superior to PSN, but I think that for the average gamer there really isn't much of a price difference once you take everything into account.

    10. Re:Do not want!! by Enderandrew · · Score: 3, Informative

      I'm not a console fanboy. I buy all the consoles each generation. Let me debunk your FUD.

      What do you mean by "normal software"? I agree that the PS3 can browse the Internet, but I'm not sure that's so useful. The Xbox 360 can play DVDs, too.

      The PS3 can install Linux out of the box and can play BluRays. A BluRay player is still $200+, and $250+ for a decent one. Add $250 to the price of an XBox 360 and then tell me which is cheaper.

      Xbox Live is far superior to the PS3 offering, and I pay only about $35/year. I don't *want* a free, crappy online experience.

      XBox Live is better. I agree. But I prefer a free experience since I don't have 25+ hours a week to play my console online.

      So? Why would I want to use my console controller on a PC?

      I still play PC gaming, and I love the PS2/PS3 controllers. I don't have to buy separate PC controllers for PC gaming. That is nice. You can connect them with the USB cable or bluetooth, since it uses a standard USB connection. This is still a benefit of the PS3 over the 360. You said you were debunking FUD and in reality you're offering opinions, not commenting on facts.

      Excuse me? Care to back that up with proof?

      How about the litany of developers who claim their games won't run on the 360, or the fact that now that developers know how to code for the PS3, that 360 ports look worse, or that developers have had to lower draw distances for 360 versions, or that the cold hard facts show that the PS3 has more power? Again, you're offering opinions rather than facts.

      Overall, I believe cross-platform games look worse on PS3 than they do on Xbox 360. For example, Ghostbusters. But that's just minor. I have yet to see any single PS3 game that looks superior to anything you find on an Xbox.

      That was certainly the case when the PS3 first launched, and they just took 360 games and ported them poorly. That certainly isn't the case anymore.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    11. Re:Do not want!! by Enderandrew · · Score: 2, Funny

      And I'm honestly curious out of the 30 million 360 sales, how many were replacements for broken units? Everyone I know that has a 360 has replaced their unit at least once.

      I replaced my PS3, but it wasn't a fault of the hardware. My daughter just filled the optical drive slot with pennies.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    12. Re:Do not want!! by ravenshrike · · Score: 3, Funny

      You can buy a 360 without the additional attachments sure, but only if you like playing in the same room as a jet engine.

    13. Re:Do not want!! by gbarules2999 · · Score: 2, Funny

      I replaced my PS3, but it wasn't a fault of the hardware. My daughter just filled the optical drive slot with pennies.

      Hilarious. Let me guess; she overheard you saying, "Damn, I wish I could see some change in this machine!"

    14. Re:Do not want!! by ravenshrike · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, there's a few models as cheap as the PS3. However, all the models comparable in performance are indeed much more expensive.

    15. Re:Do not want!! by nutshell42 · · Score: 4, Insightful
      I won't buy a 360 due to the way MS treats the PC. It's not so much that they no longer release anything for the PC (although it's funny that Sony seems to make more games for MS fucking Windows than MS), that's their right. It's the sheer hypocrisy. The way they tout their efforts to "enhance" PC gaming while even their head honchos admit that they want to kill it because they have more control over the 360 - not to mention that they get their cut of every game sold. (see here)

      If you're a smug 360 owner and don't give a fsck about the PC then remember the fate of the original Xbox. Sony's keeping the PS2 around forever and they'll likely do the same with the PS3, you're still gonna get new games years after the PS4 launch. MS killed the Xbox immediatly after the 360 launch. Oh, they say it's gonna be different for the 360 because they don't have to pay intel and Nvidia etc etc, which brings us back to all the crap they spout about their support for PC games.

      --
      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage
    16. Re:Do not want!! by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not sure why my original post is a troll though - I guess that it could offend someone, though I'm not sure who.

      Because there's way too many gamers who, for whatever reason, seem to have tied their sense of self-worth to whichever gaming platform they've chosen. I've never understood that, and likely never will.

      Myself, I don't want a cheaper, slimmed down PS3. I want a deluxe mode. I would likely pick up a new console if Sony would create a new PS3 with full hardware PS2 support. Yes, I already have a PS2, but I would love to be able to get rid of it and just play on the newer system. Oddly enough, my PS2 is still getting more gameplay time than my PS3 (I currently have a 20GB model) as I plow through a lot of the great older PS2 titles I missed (some JRPGs, Tales games, Ico & Shadows of the Colossus, etc).

      It feels like Sony hasn't had a clear direction with their hardware for a long time. They keep changing models and reducing features (except HD space in later models). I guess this economy is more conducive to less expensive systems, so they felt they had to cost-reduce at the expense of features.

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    17. Re:Do not want!! by jandrese · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Apparently Sony has been starving the supply chain for the PS3 for a month or so now in an effort to work through the old systems before announcing the new one. I'd also expect stores to offer deals on old fat PS3s "while supplies last" to get them out of the door.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    18. Re:Do not want!! by Jonny_eh · · Score: 2, Informative

      Ninja Gaiden Sigma isn't really an exclusive. It's just a port of Ninja Gaiden with a couple extra features. Hardly worth buying a new console for.

    19. Re:Do not want!! by indiechild · · Score: 2, Interesting

      After I bought a PS3 I did quite a bit of reading and the unanimous conclusion was that the XBox360 had superior hardware capabilities, and was also easier to develop for than the PS3.

      Pound for pound, the XBox 360 would be the console to get if you wanted to concentrate on gaming. The PS3 has the Blu-ray capability going for it, among other things.

    20. Re:Do not want!! by Guspaz · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It all depends on what you want. The basic 360 has half a gig of Flash, like the Wii. That may not be ideal if you want to download XBLA games or demos, but is probably sufficient for saves, patches, and a bit of DLC.

      The 360 doesn't have wireless, which can be a major problem if your console isn't near a network jack. But you may not need it if it's close enough to a router (my TV is next to my computer, so wireless would be overkill to get network connectivity 3 feet).

      The 360 doesn't have an HD-capable optical drive, leaving it unable to play BluRay discs. But that may not be important if you already have one, or have a computer with one, or don't want one. Or if you already have a PS3 ;)

      It all comes down to different requirements. Not everybody needs the missing things. Many people do need them. If you do need them and want to save money, I'd point out that buying a wireless router that supports something like dd-wrt micro and using it as a wireless bridge is usually a far cheaper solution than buying Microsoft's overpriced wireless receiver. And BluRay capabilities are probably better served by buying a BluRay burner for your PC anyhow; they cost less than $130 USD, and can be used to burn BluRay discs; if you already have an HTPC, or can run an HDMI cable from your PC, you're golden. Of course, that really brings up the cost, but it's a lot more flexible.

      There isn't any doubt that Sony needs to bring the price down on the PS3. But then again, so does Nintendo, and even Microsoft to an extent. The cost of PCs that can match the performance of the consoles is rapidly approaching the cost of the consoles. I doubt they'll ever completely get there, but when your choice would be between a $400 console or a $500 PC that can match the performance, the PC will do a heck of a lot more!

  2. Needs Backwards Compatibility. by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Unless it has PS2 game emulation, I have no reason whatsoever to upgrade to it from my 60GB model. A 60GB model which Yellow lighted and had to be repaired so I could save my saves. I'm still using the danm thing despite the imminent risk of another YLOD due solely to the fact that it plays PS2 games with upscaling. I don't want to go back to using a regular PS2 if I can help it. The difference is truly is like night and day.

    If there's no PS2 backwards compatibility (and ffs PS1 game texture smoothing), I see no reason for prefering the model to the cheaper 80/160GBs.

    --
    May the Maths Be with you!
    1. Re:Needs Backwards Compatibility. by Narishma · · Score: 3, Informative

      The only PS3s that have full PS2 BC are the original 20GB and 60GB. Some of the early 80GB versions had partial BC (they had the GPU in hardware but the CPU was emulated in software) but they didn't last long.

      --
      Mada mada dane.
    2. Re:Needs Backwards Compatibility. by ObsessiveMathsFreak · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Being on my 5th 360 and still on my launch PS3 means that your situation might be considered anomalous,

      The YLOD is an unfortunately common problem on the 60GB models apparently. Other models are more reliable. Unfortunately, the 60GB model was one of the last which supported backwards compatibility for PS2 titles. Yoy.

      I don't know how the PS1 smoothing is on the newer models, though.

      No PS3 has ever supported texture smoothing for PS1 titles. It has supported HD upscaling, but that's hardly the same thing. The single best way to play PS1 games remains PS2 emulation with texture smoothing. Later PS1 games like Vagrant Story or Final Fantasy IX gain a whole new lease of life. I would liken it to the effects of the Super2xsai engine for 16 bit titles.

      I truthfully don't know why I still support MS after 4 dead Elites

      The biggest problem with dead consoles in the current generation is not the repair/replacement process. It's the loss of data. The current generation has moved to hard disc as the primary, and indeed sole method of saving game data of all forms. Unfortunately, they have also moved to full disc encryption as well.

      When a PS3 or 360 goes belly up, sending it back for repair means losing your save date entirely. For someone who spends upwards of 200 hours on games they love to play, I can say this is a devastating blow. Losing those saves is like losing old notebooks. Something inside you dies.

      The PS3 provides a backup utility, which must be run periodically to be of any use. But who wants to administer their games console like a web server? The current regime of keeping users saves under encryption keys, all while shipping units that go belly up with some frequency is a status quo that needs to change. Save cartridges may have been a pain in the ass, but at least they offer some degree of protection against total data loss.

      --
      May the Maths Be with you!
    3. Re:Needs Backwards Compatibility. by bmatt17 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      What a load of misinformation. "When a PS3 or 360 goes belly up, sending it back for repair means losing your save date entirely." This is 100% false for 360 as you keep your harddrive, once the new console arrives, you stick your harddrive back on and that's it. I've sent mine back 4 times and have not once lost my save data. DRM on live purchases is another story, but they have since fixed that. PS3 I lost my save data the 1 time it broke. Although I think the harddrive got hosed when it died as I couldn't get the PS3 to even recognize or format the drive when I got my PS3 back. ( I sent it in with a new harddrive so I could keep my save files). So I'm not sure if it's possible to keep your data if the PS3 dies.

  3. He means the original 60GB one by NotSoHeavyD3 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Which is the one I have as well. The first 2 PS3's, the 20GB and 60GB both played PS2 games and both had the complete hardware to do so. (Newer PS3 were missing one of the big chips but still could pull it off. Current systems don't have any of the old PS2 hardware which is why they arn't BC.) Anyway I hope they put BC back in. (Either that or I hope my PS3 doesn't break as much as my 360.)

    --
    Did you know 80 to 90% of the moderators on slashdot wouldn't recognize a troll even if one dragged them under a bridge.
  4. What it would take by snarfies · · Score: 4, Insightful

    1) Bring back HARDWARE emulation of the PS2. Not the software version (which isn't even offered anymore).

    2) Drop the price.

    That is all. Do that and I'll buy. Seriously.

    1. Re:What it would take by Enderandrew · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There have been reports that the software emulaation works better, so I'm not sure we need the hardware emulation.

      A price drop is a must. However, what many people weren't aware of is that Sony was doing a deal if you applied for the Playstation credit card, you got $150 off a PS3. When I purchased my second PS3, I did it through that deal and paid $250 for a PS3, which is the same price as a Wii, for an 80 GB model. That was a pretty good deal.

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    2. Re:What it would take by Enderandrew · · Score: 4, Informative

      I checked, and Sony isn't doing the same deal anymore, but they are doing $100 off a PS3 right now.

      http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/gateway/?offerlink=srnowps3

      --
      http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    3. Re:What it would take by gbarules2999 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Woosh!

    4. Re:What it would take by david_craig · · Score: 2, Informative

      The Blu Ray disc is pretty vital when you look at the sizes of PS3 exclusive titles. Liar (a much better game than reviews indicate) is about 25GB in size. Metal Gear Solid 4 is even larger and there's no disc swapping. There are already suggestions as to how much of a nightmare the latest Final Fantasy game will be if it is ever release on the XBox360 due to the number of DVDs required.

  5. Re:They had PS2 compatibility by Lilith's+Heart-shape · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The current status is that Sony can't believe anybody actually fell for that bullshit.

    --

    I write sci-fi for metalheads

  6. $100 off by Enderandrew · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You can get $100 off a PS3 by applying for the Playstation credit card. When I did it, they gave me $150 off the 80 GB model, but apparently that deal has since expired.

    http://www.sonyrewards.com/en/gateway/?offerlink=srnowps3

    --
    http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
  7. Meh. Still no price cut, still no BC by Millennium · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Even if the Slim materializes, I strongly believe that it will retail for the same price as the current PS3 (which may get a fire-sale price just to get rid of the things). Sony can't afford any other move with all the red ink they're bleeding; they need to start making money now, and a Slim can only provide them a profit if the cost savings from making it are not passed on to consumers.

    I also doubt there will be any BC. While it would provide the PS3 with a source of good games -its own predecessors- Sony's own arrogance will block the move. They've spent too much time arguing that people don't want to play older games anymore.