Sony Announces 'Superslim' PS3

Sony kicked off the Tokyo Game Show today by announcing a new, even smaller version of the PlayStation 3. It's 25% smaller than the PS3 Slim and half the size of the original PS3. It will be available next week. The company also announced that the PlayStation Plus subscription service will finally be added to the PS Vita in November, providing automatic game updates and extra storage. "Sony also revealed that the long-awaited PlayStation Mobile service will launch via the PlayStation Store on October 3, with support from Sharp and Fujitsu who have both joined the PlayStation Certified license program."

Comments

Slim Slimmer slimmest...

[Anonymous Coward]

Kind of remind me of this:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apple

Yeah I know its Apple..but same story applies ;)

Re:Slim Slimmer slimmest...

[jfdavis668]

Is the new PS3 as thin as the iPhone?

Re:Slim Slimmer slimmest...

[Anonymous Coward]

When it's slimmed down that much from the original, they have to be honest and admit that it's the "PS3 Anorexic".

Re:Slim Slimmer slimmest...

[wiedzmin]

Will it come with a rootkit... I mean DRM? Will PSN user information keep getting stolen?

Most important question

[wonkey_monkey]

Will it have a flat top so I can put stuff on top of it?

Re:Most important question

[LordLimecat]

And will it still grill my food?

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

What kind of features will they drop this time?

Re:Most important question

[muon-catalyzed]

Dropped features? I've been pretty impressed with the development happening on the PS3 lately. One thing that is near magical about it is the capability of true stereoscopic 3D, unlike the competition that ruined 3D, if you buy Sony 7 or 8 series TV with the active 3D, combine that with PS3 games like Super Star Dust HD (seriously wow!) or MotorStorm Pacific Rift 3D to see what I mean. Also if you are a photographer, the new photo app is awesome, you can control the view with that analog sticks, I mean fluid zoom and pan into your photo albums using the wireless controller, you can view 3D photos also. And there is another interesting feature that I've found, only my PS3 can play and handle1080p / 60fps high-bitrate footage plus Dolby Digital without any problem, even my Sandy Bridge laptop can't really play that without frame drops full screen.

Re:Most important question

[fyngyrz]

Dropped features?

Yeah. You know. Like the ability to run linux, a feature they advertised and which sold units for them. That they dropped.

Or the ability to run PS2 games on what was basically PS2 hardware which was part of the original PS3. You remember, when the PS3 hardware was better than it is now... since they dropped that feature.

Or the two dropped USB connections.

Oh, and the dropped media slots.

Or the dropped on-off switch.

You know... dropped features .

Given Sony's history with the unit, the GP/AC's question was spot on target, I think, and I'm wondering the same thing: did they drop any features this time?

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

The disc slot is removed due to piracy. If you have physical copies you want to play, you can exchange them for PSN download versions for a nominal fee, roughly 1x the cost of buying the game on the PSN. They've also closed the analogue loophole by removing all outputs.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

No... the "disc slot" is removed due to it being a top loading drive, not a slot loading drive....

Re:Most important question

[minasoko]

And there is another interesting feature that I've found, only my PS3 can play and handle1080p / 60fps high-bitrate footage plus Dolby Digital without any problem, even my Sandy Bridge laptop can't really play that without frame drops full screen.

Then you have a problem with the configuration of your laptop. I play back 20-50Mbps 1080p video everyday, on a system with an Atom CPU and ION 2 GPU. I've thrown a few 60fps files at it too and it never drops frames.

The PS3 is nothing special in this regards and it's actually a terrible choice as a general video player because Sony have abitrarily limited its container and codec support.

Re:Most important question

[RaceProUK]

Or the dropped on-off switch.

Oh no, I'll have to use the switch on the wall socket! How will I survive?

Seriously, that's one hell of a straw to clutch at.

Re:Most important question

[nitio]

Will it have a flat top so I can put stuff on top of it?

That's what I wondered at first and obviously it's not flat.

I can't put my PS3 vertically as my cats tend to sort of like to bump into it (it's already cracked) so I lose one cabinet space only for it.

My Wii? There's the router, modem and even an IR received sitting on top of it, lol

Re:Most important question

[craigminah]

The only "power switches" on my wall sockets are called GFCIs but I don't play PS3 in the bathroom. Not sure what switches you're talking about. I'd be happy if the PS3 would be turned off via menu...

Re:Most important question

[RaceProUK]

It would be nice. If only Sony made it so you can scroll all the way to the left of the XMB and use the Power Off option.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

You forgot SACD too, something invented by Sony, which they decided could be removed the consoles too.

Re:Most important question

[beachcoder]

If only they let you hold down the PS button on the controller, bringing up a menu allowing you to shut down the system amongst other things.

Re:Most important question

[RaceProUK]

If that was a direct reply to me, I'll send you a new sarcasm detector, since yours is broken. Otherwise, ignore this post.

Re:Most important question

[craigminah]

Thanks...I dropped my old sarcasm detector in the toilet playing PS3 in the bathroom...

Re:Most important question

[GNious]

It would be nice. If only Sony made it so you can scroll all the way to the left of the XMB and use the Power Off option.

This works particularly well when the PS3 is stalled! Almost nothing works, not even the XMB in that situation.

Usually it is possible to hold down the on/off on the front, for 10+ seconds to force a power-off, but this is not working 100% of the times that a recent PS3 freezes.

Re:Most important question

[dywolf]

Are you bloody retarded?

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

I for one am happy that sony removed otherOS... how else would we run linux with almost full acces to the HW on our slims if they haven't done that?
Damn! thanks to sony removing linux now we can decrypt the HDD, turn our retails to debug consoles and so on... so thank you sony! xD

Re:Most important question

[RaceProUK]

Not sure if serious, or just trolling.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, my PS2 was really handy for putting my Dreamcast on!

Re:Most important question

[crazyjj]

Dropped features? I've been pretty impressed with the development happening on the PS3 lately. One thing that is near magical about it is the capability of true stereoscopic 3D, unlike the competition that ruined 3D, if you buy Sony 7 or 8 series TV with the active 3D, combine that with PS3 games like Super Star Dust HD (seriously wow!) or MotorStorm Pacific Rift 3D to see what I mean. Also if you are a photographer, the new photo app is awesome, you can control the view with that analog sticks, I mean fluid zoom and pan into your photo albums using the wireless controller, you can view 3D photos also. And there is another interesting feature that I've found, only my PS3 can play and handle1080p / 60fps high-bitrate footage plus Dolby Digital without any problem, even my Sandy Bridge laptop can't really play that without frame drops full screen.

Either that was a long way to go for sarcasm (and I respect that) or you work for Sony (probably in the PR department, since even most of their senior staff couldn't say that with a straight face). Either way, good show.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

Im glad I shelled out 600$ for the first version back when it came out. I got lucky and didnt have any overheating issues, and I still enjoy my PS2 games on it.
then they moved emulation from hardware to software, and then took it out completely.
In hindsight, good investment on my part.

Re:Most important question

[Barryke]

I would mod you up if i could. You just said what i'd say.

Re:Most important question

[spire3661]

Halo Anniversary worked in 3D jsut as well as Uncharted 3 on the Playstation 3D Display. Not sure what you are going on about. If your Sandy Bridge comp is dropping frames while playing back anything that isnt 4k, your comp is fail. Hell, My Raspberry PI can play full 1080p high bitrate.

Re:Most important question

[Khyber]

"The only "power switches" on my wall sockets are called GFCI"

In many other parts of the world, like the UK, most wall outlets have a physical on/off switch. Perhaps you should try traveling abroad and quit restricting your mind to narrow American points of view.

Re:Most important question

[craigminah]

FYI, I've travelled to Australia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Korea, Canada, Germany, a UK territory, and Mexico and can't recall outlet switches. How about you being more accepting of other people's lack of specific knowledge of your country, no need to get mad about me now knowing something...sheesh.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

Tried travelling abroad to the UK, just so I could plug in my PS3 and be able to power it off.

Apparently, PS3s don't like the alternative power format.

Re:Most important question

[Khyber]

I've been to Australia, and EVERY SINGLE MODERN OUTLET (including every one in my research facility there) has power switches directly on the socket plates.

Ditto Japan (my LED supplier is there.)

I think you might not want to underestimate where I've been and what I've seen given how my job takes me across the entire planet on a regular basis.

Re:Most important question

[Gravatron]

The truth hurts sometimes though. For as much irrational hatred slashdot seems to have for them, they have done a lot to add features to the platform via the near constant firmware updates.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

Calm down, sparky. We all know you're the smartest, most complete human on Slashdot. No need to get all sandy-vagina on us over something so stupid. Just sit down in your assburgers position and rock until you feel good again.

Re:Most important question

[mastermind7373]

If your laptop is having issues playing high-bitrate 1080-60p videos, then you might want to re-examine your disks IO rates and throughput consistency. It's likely that the bitrate is higher than what your drive can deliver, possibly because the drive is heavily fragmented and latency has increased. It's also possible that your laptop is severely clocking down your FSB, which would also potentially introduce problems. Almost any Dual-Core computer from the last 6 years could easily handle a 1080-60p video with a 30-40mbps stream with ease, and I'm being generously high on that bitrate number.

On the subject of PS3 playback, I cannot accept it as a legitimate decoding platform until it NATIVELY supports h.264 Hi10p and the Matroska video container. Why? Matroska has the highest level of flexibility and the widest support for not just video and audio codecs, but also integrated SSA and the highly-superior ASS format subtitle support. h.264 Hi10p not only expands the color depth, decreasing banding and increasing quality, but also produces a smaller file at the same bitrate compared to it's 8bit counter-part. In case this seems impossible, the increased depth improves the results for motion vector and qpel search, increases the quality of DCT's, and matches the CABAC encoder algorithm in such a way that the final losslessly compressed file is smaller. Since half of the current non-commercial video content is delivered in this way, it's kinda important.

http://x264.nl/x264/10bit_02-ateme-why_does_10bit_save_bandwidth.pdf

Also, the PS3 Media Server should not be considered in this discussion, as the video is decoded and rendered on the hostPC and the output is streamed to the PS3.

Re:Most important question

[Tarlus]

I think you're reaching a bit with that one...

Re:Most important question

[flimflammer]

You have those?

Re:Most important question

[craigminah]

Must be nice to be so important...make sure to stretch your arms properly prior to patting yourself on the back to avoid pulling anything. I lived in Japan for four years and do not recall ever seeing an outlet with a switch on it...same thing in Australia and other locations. Not sure why this bugs you so much but I couldn't care less other than to say what I've seen from my experience which obviously differs from your experience. You're that guy Glenn Beck told us not to argue with so I'm done...

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

It would be nice. If only Sony made it so you can scroll all the way to the left of the XMB and use the Power Off option.

Power off from menu != power off from switch. My fan still runs when I power it off this way (occasionally, not continuously). The switch turns it off completely.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

Crusty under-powered old console given new paint job - film at 11.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

So he should travel to a different country just to be able to turn his game on an off? What does the prevalence of wall socket switches in other countries do to help people in places where it is not prevalent and they have legitimate reasons for wanting switches on devices? It would seem useful for people in those countries anyways if they wanted to position things such that the socket is not easy to get to. He could have said things nicer... but the post he was replying to seemed to be flaunting a rather anglocentric attitude. Maybe you should chide him too for now having traveled to places without socket switches.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

As someone who has lived in Australia all my damn life. We have, (and have done for well over 25 years that I can remember) switches on almost every HOME powerpoint. Some in offices don't, but in households it is standard and has been for a long time.

That could be the perceived difference here, some hotels are different to what you would see in a household.

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

I've not only been to numerous countries around the world, I've actually lived in them and outlet switches are exceedingly rare in residential buildings.

Re:Most important question

[fyngyrz]

I didn't know they'd removed it. :(

Re:Most important question

[LordLucless]

Pretty sure he's from a country where the standard power sockets include individual switches (like Australia, we're I'm from). Just goes to show you that it's not only the Americans who extrapolate their experiences onto everyone else without informing themselves first.

Re:Most important question

[Khyber]

Even while staying in a 300 year old hotel (Crown and Cushion Inn in the UK) it had power cutoff switches on the power receptacles.

Re:Most important question

[Bremic]

Sure, put your coffee on top of it and keep it warm.

Sony's new portable PlayStation to be good for you

[Anonymous Coward]

With a MINIMUM of size, the new Sony Play Station Vita Min will enhance overall health and help boost players immune reactions to pathogenic microbial threats, when taken orally, once daily with water or milk. Try Sony's new Play Station Vita Min, today!

Even moster important question:

[Anonymous Coward]

will it run Linux again?

kBKbxzAv

Re:Even moster important question:

[Anonymous Coward]

But does it have hdmi?

Re:Even moster important question:

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd rather have PS2 backward compatibility back.

Re:Even moster important question:

[JoeMerchant]

Will it also not be a fragile POS that physically breaks (disc loader) in no time flat, oh, and while we're at it, can we also make a wireless controller that isn't also a $50 disposable item?

Re:Even moster important question:

[crazyjj]

How about an IR remote input so I can control it with my universal remote instead of a separate, piece-of-shit, non-backlit turd of a Sony remote?

Re:Even moster important question:

[spire3661]

You can buy a IR dongle for it, cheap. I hear ya, but there are easy solutions.

Re:Even moster important question:

[crazyjj]

Last time I looked into it, the IR dongles didn't allow access to all the controls of the standard remote and looked pretty ugly and hacked. And didn't Sony remove the USB ports from their newer models (which the dongles need)?

It's a hacked solution to a problem that should never have been a problem, if Sony weren't so Sony when it comes to slapping on proprietary and complicated implementations of things which have become standardized on everything other platform.

Re:Even moster important question:

[Anonymous Coward]

Radio Shack has the IR dongle for $5. They work well.

Re:Even moster important question:

[spire3661]

Sony REDUCED the number of ports, they didnt eliminate them.

Re:Even moster important question:

[Jethro]

I bought a Nyko IR remote for my PS3 - you plug a dongle into the PS3 and use the Neko-provided remote. Except that I had my Harmony remote earn the IR codes from the Nyko. I've have full control over the PS3 with my Harmony remote for years - long before Logitech released a bluetooth module.

Looks like you can't get new ones directly from Amazon, but they're under $10 if you want to look anyway. Plus there's probably an equivalent.

Re:Even moster important question:

[mattack2]

Even the software based one (though I admittedly don't recall/didn't do the research right now to see how good that was). Heck, I'd pay a one time fee for PS2 compatibility via add-on. Though, I will admit, that after the games have dropped FAR enough, I have finally re-bought a few games. Less than $10 each (significantly less in a few cases), and so far they've been Sony games, so I'll be credited via my Sony credit card..

But I'd still rather pay for the emulator itself and re-use the games I already have.

Re:Even moster important question:

[freddysmith81]

agreed. I'd rather scour ebay for one of the backwards compatibility models that buy this. They need to work out the YLOD issue too. Annoying.

Wow

[viperidaenz]

Sony revises the design of an existing product to use smaller, cheaper parts, fewer materials and higher shipping density, markets it as a new and improved model to boost sales and sells it for just as much as the old one.

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

Shhhhhh! Apple may sue them!!!

Re:Wow

[ikaruga]

Well, on their defense they add a 250GB for the lower end model, 25000 yen model($200-250 in US?, exchange rates don't apply), which is almost two times more than we have here in Japan.
Plus, for the price point, it's the best media device you can hook up to the TV. Not even the yet to be released WiiU is as featured as the PS3. The only superior product I can think of is a custom made HTPC.

Re:Wow

[mjwx]

Sony revises the design of an existing product to use smaller, cheaper parts, fewer materials and higher shipping density, markets it as a new and improved model to boost sales and sells it for just as much as the old one.

Yes, they release a new model to prevent the old model falling under the magic US$200 price point. They've got to keep the price up somehow.

Re:Wow

[ccguy]

Sony revises the design of an existing product to use smaller, cheaper parts, fewer materials and higher shipping density, markets it as a new and improved model to boost sales and sells it for just as much as the old one.

Yes, most companies try to do it, it's called increasing the profit margin by being more efficient. Nothing evil about it.

Re:Wow

[DrXym]

The upside for consumers is a smaller PS3 uses half the power of the original PS3. Half the power means far less heat to dissipate so it runs cooler too.

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

And what 5 million year old cave have you been living in?

Every company on Earth does this. Hell, sometimes the price is even more than the older ones with some companies.

Re:Wow

[indytx]

Yes, they release a new model to prevent the old model falling under the magic US$200 price point. They've got to keep the price up somehow.

This exactly. How many people aren't in the market for a game system but would buy one if the price were right. There are probably quite a few people who don't want a Wii (which is now essentially priced at as an impulse buy) who wouldn't mind a PS3. Too bad they won't crank out the old systems for cheap.

Re:Wow

[NoZart]

OTOH you might get less performance. Wipeout on the FAT was spotless, framerate-wise. On the SLIM, there are points in the game where you get framerate drops now. Nothing gameplay hindering, but noticeable nonetheless.

Re:Wow

[firex726]

Yea I fail to see why this a negative against Sony...
It's not like they will brick all the larger PS3s out there and force people to buy this new smaller one.

Re:Wow

[JackieBrown]

Plus, for the price point, it's the best media device you can hook up to the TV. Not even the yet to be released WiiU is as featured as the PS3. The only superior product I can think of is a custom made HTPC.

If only it could read read mkvs and more codecs.

I keep hearing good things about WDTV Live. I am debating between that vs a computer. Since I use Linux, I lose netflix on the computer but I gain the ability to seamlessly share my xbmc library. (I know I can use ps3mediaserver or Serviio but the encoding really starts to effect my viewing when I have to rewind and fast-forward what I am watching. Between the 2, Serviio does integrate the best with my xbmc library)

My wife really loves netflix so I may end up using the ps3 just for that.

Re:Wow

[Zeromous]

This is baloney. MY slim has no such issues, and gets no where near as hot as my two 60GB fats. Both stutter in the same situations.

There is ZERO scientific confirmation of this in the wild, which would indicate the SLIM runs hotter which would lead to framerate stutter issues. It certainly wouldn't stutter because it's cooler.

Re:Wow

[mjwx]

Yes, they release a new model to prevent the old model falling under the magic US$200 price point. They've got to keep the price up somehow.

This exactly. How many people aren't in the market for a game system but would buy one if the price were right. There are probably quite a few people who don't want a Wii (which is now essentially priced at as an impulse buy) who wouldn't mind a PS3. Too bad they won't crank out the old systems for cheap.

Sony doesn't want you buying the PS3 for cheap. It dilutes the premium image and Sony needs to make money from the PS3. Profitability is lagging behind MS (Nintendo is on another planet when it comes to making a profit).

Re:Wow

[Barryke]

Yea I fail to see why this a negative against Sony...
It's not like they will brick all the larger PS3s out there and force people to buy this new smaller one.

Unless the new smaller model also lacks the dropped feature. Thats what happened last time.

Re:Wow

[gl4ss]

making it run cooler by decreasing the temperature at which it throttles would cause such behavior though.. and make it run cooler.

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, Apple quite frequently does the same thing minus a lot of the improvements. The only reason people are taking a piece out of Sony is them removing the ability to run Linux on the thing...and since most of the people bitching about that are already running Linux on their computer anyway, it seems like an odd point to get stuck on. It's as if they're incapable of thinking about anything not Linux related. On Slashdot, no less.

Re:Wow

[GoogleShill]

I used to use my PS3 for all my streaming from Netflix and PS3 Media Server, but all that ended when they started scanning for Cinavia. Now I use the WDTV Live and Plex Media Server. The WDTV interface isn't as nice or snappy as the PS3, but it certainly does the job.

Re:Wow

[Ash-Fox]

it seems like an odd point to get stuck on

You want another point?

So... Wheres the Second life killer Sony execs promised?

Re:Wow

[squiggleslash]

And the PS3 has a lot of revenue to make up for, given the disastrous launch where it was built as a way to market Blu-ray by getting subsidized players out there, rather than as a games console.

Re:Wow

[JackieBrown]

I really am debating using that. I would you XBMC as my media server instead of plex (since xbmc does serve content fairly well over unpn and I already have xbmc running in the living room.) If I have two different systems for the same type of content, one always ends up seeming more difficult since both are different.

Re:Wow

[Gravatron]

ah, this was probably done so they could reduce the price to make it a budget system, like they did with the PSP, ps1 and ps2 before it. You literally have no idea what your talking about, so blinded by sony hatred as you are.

Re:Wow

[man_the_king]

They tried - it's just that it didn't become as popular as they had hoped.
So...not through lack of trying.
Nice little straw you clutched there.

Re:Wow

[Ash-Fox]

They tried - it's just that it didn't become as popular as they had hoped.

As someone who watched very closely, they didn't even try. They failed to even engage Second life's market.

I'm still waiting on the proposed Second life killer.

Re:Wow

[mjwx]

ah, this was probably done so they could reduce the price to make it a budget system, like they did with the PSP, ps1 and ps2 before it. You literally have no idea what your talking about, so blinded by sony hatred as you are.

Right, they released a new model with a higher price tag so they could reduce prices?

In other news, water is dry.

BTW, in case you didn't see my sig, calling someone a "hater" simply means you cant rationally rebut my argument. So nice try with attempting to nulify my argument by attacking me (an attack you give no evidence of being true) but it didn't work sunshine.

If you must know, I don't have a dog in the console race. I'm part of the glorious PC gaming master race, to me all consoles are equal, equally inferior to my gaming PC.

BTW, my assertions are also based on Sony's stock performance (look at the 5 year, they've been doing it pretty bad since the GFC and the 1 year doesn't look good either), the fact that the PS3 is finally making profit per unit and many of Sony's previous profit centres are are losing money so turning the PS3 into a cash cow makes a lot of business sense. Hate has nothing to do with it.

Re:Wow

[DrXym]

I have a slim and Wipeout and haven't seen any issues in any game. I suppose it's possible that the redesign changed something in some subtle almost imperceptible way, e.g. some minor difference in HDD seek times or memory latency which makes a game drop frames it would otherwise have managed to catch but I can't say since I've not noticed it.

Re:Wow

[man_the_king]

As someone who watched very closely, they didn't even try. They failed to even engage Second life's market.

In your eyes maybe.

Home does have a lot to offer though, for the folks who are interested in that kind of thing.

Can you point to any news article that quoted any Sony exec promising Home to be a Second Life killer?

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

We're waiting for you to stop running troll http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3110069&cid=41346029

Re:Wow

[Anonymous Coward]

Where's YOU facing the music here troll? http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3110069&cid=41346029

Re:Wow

[Ash-Fox]

I couldn't find the article where Kaz Hirai mentions it on the first page of results on Google and I am too lazy to dig deeper.

Re:Wow

[mattack2]

Yes, they release a new model to prevent the old model falling under the magic US$200 price point.

I know this isn't responding to what you actually mean (below that price on a consistent basis), but the 2011 Black Friday bundle (which I and zillions of other people got) was $199.99 for a PS3 + 2 games. I wouldn't doubt if this year's Black Friday Bundle was below that too, with more games or this new version? (I didn't RTFA, don't know when this new one is coming out.)

Re:Wow

[man_the_king]

I couldn't find the article where Kaz Hirai mentions it on the first page of results on Google and I am too lazy to dig deeper.

In that case I'm sure you'll forgive me if I say I think you are either mistaken big-time, misread something, or just plain pulled that claim out of your backside.

This is the most important question

[vencs]

does it blend?

Re:This is the most important question

[JoeMerchant]

Sneeze on it, no blender required.

Battery life and Antenna

[Anonymous Coward]

With a device that slim, I'm concerned about it's battery life and antenna reliability ....

Yes!

[GeekWithAKnife]

Finally, after years of waiting, I can have the same console, that does the same things in a smaller package. Thank you Sony. thank you for thinking about the user.

Hardrive size discrepencies

[slashmatteo]

Note that Sony US announced two models: one with a 250 GB hardrive and the other with a 500 GB one (link). Sony Europe announced a 12 GB model and an other one with a 500 GB HD (link). 12 GB seems quite suprising for modern games (GTA IV: 3.5 GB required... you won't install many games !) and sony pushing for the use of playstation network an the playstatin store...

Re:Hardrive size discrepencies

[Anonymous Coward]

Note that Sony US announced two models: one with a 250 GB hardrive and the other with a 500 GB one (link). Sony Europe announced a 12 GB model and an other one with a 500 GB HD (link).

12 GB seems quite suprising for modern games (GTA IV: 3.5 GB required... you won't install many games !) and sony pushing for the use of playstation network an the playstatin store...

a 0 is missing?

Re:Hardrive size discrepencies

[hattig]

From the Sony EU website:

connect a 5 inch SATA internal hard drive

Cripes. Where can we get 5" SATA drives?

12GB is a little low. Maybe it's 120GB? Or it's a 16GB flash that is also used for the system firmware?

Re:Hardrive size discrepencies

[DrXym]

I can't make any sense of the 12GB option although Eurogamer hints that there is a dedicated external drive. So maybe Sony hope to hook people in with the cheaper price and then flog them the overpriced drive later. The real question for me is does the new PS3 let people replace the HDD like the older models. If so, if you have a spare HDD lying around you could pop the cover and stick it in or just buy one online.

The only other context I see it makes sense in is if Sony were to launch a cloud service where you could play certain games remotely and therefore didn't need much local space.

Re:Hardrive size discrepencies

[Anonymous Coward]

16GB for firmware and a few games, and BYO 64GB flash drive would be the best option for the budget version. 128Gbit MLC is going for about $8 a unit, and I'm sure they're paying upwards of $55 for their disk drive, sata controller, ribbon cables, power, and structure associated with it.

So subtract those costs, and you've got the magical price of $199.

Re:Hardrive size discrepencies

[Joe_Dragon]

play certain games remotely with lag and A LOT of bandwidth (hop your are on a uncapped ISP)

Re:Hardrive size discrepencies

[Gravatron]

Sony's never sold first party drives for the ps3, it uses any standard 2.5 inch drive you can get off any pc hardware site. Installation was pretty painless, and was even detailed in the consoles manual.

Re:Hardrive size discrepencies

[man_the_king]

Note that Sony US announced two models: one with a 250 GB hardrive and the other with a 500 GB one (link). Sony Europe announced a 12 GB model and an other one with a 500 GB HD (link).

12 GB seems quite suprising for modern games (GTA IV: 3.5 GB required... you won't install many games !) and sony pushing for the use of playstation network an the playstatin store...

a 0 is missing?

Nope - it really is 12 GB - a 12 GB flash drive.

Re:Hardrive size discrepencies

[DrXym]

No not in the past, but according to Eurogamer they're selling a dedicated 250GB drive for the 12GB model. So the immediate question is whether the model is expandable at all by 3rd parties or not. Maybe all it means is it comes preinstalled in a tray that you just pop a hatch and slam in, but it maybe it means something else.

I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[tuppe666]

I think current PS3 owners will be made up with the continuing support from Sony. Personally as someone who expected to own a PS3 by now, having lusted after it at launch, but scoffed at its ludicrous price [I bought a wii]. My problem was never the size...I have a 40" TV, and the last reversion was as small as I could have ever wanted it.

But today my attention is focused elsewhere because the PS3 failed to live up to its promise
* As a multimedia centre having never contained an inbuilt decent Dual TV tuner [I have an ageing Pentium 4 under my TV]
* As a computer crippling the Linux on launch, and dropping it once they failed to get the tax break they deserved, and haven't returned it post Surface.
* Its not smart. In a world that knows smart. Google knows it. Apple knows; I think even Sony knows it.

I bought an Ouya on kickstarter., a Nexus 7, I traded in my Nintendo DS for an Xperia Play[Its wonderful and from Sony], and am occupying myself with the revival of Indie Gaming on Linux no Less[Humble Bundle 6!!!! is out this week].

Sony could have had my money and I was/am desperate to give it them. It could have my money today, but as a single purpose device, I'll take my gaming...and money elsewhere.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[RogueyWon]

Or alternatively, you could get it for... like... you know... the games?

It has a huge library by this point and you can get some of the best titles available for the system very cheap, via budget releases, multipacks or plain old retailer-discounting.

The proportion of cross-platform games this generation has been very high between the PS3 and 360 (probably because, despite the differing architectures, they have very similar overall capabilities). Now, PC ports have become more common over the last 18 months or so (that market's getting harder to ignore, particularly for developers wanting practice for next gen hardware). But there are still an awful lot of PS3/360 games out there that you could get access to if you don't already own a 360. Admittedly, the difficulties of developing for the PS3 mean that it tends, in general, to get slightly inferior versions of multi-platform games (though it often needs detailed tech comparisons to point out the differences) - but there are a few Japanese developers, particularly Square-Enix, who are actually better on the Sony hardware.

Then there are the exclusives. Actually, I tend to think some of the big-name PS3 exclusives are over-hyped. The first Uncharted was fun (as is the Vita game), but 2 and 3 were a bit too "interactive movie" as opposed to game. And the Killzone series is a hateful trudge through the least-likeable sci-fi setting ever devised, in which it is impossible not to want to kill each and every one of the characters in unimaginably painful ways.

But then there are some of the best games of this console generation as well. The first and third Resistance games are fantastic console fpses, which shun many of the hateful cliches that go with the genre these days (2-weapon limits, cover systems and regenerating health). The Ratchet & Clank titles are the best action-platformers I've seen in years (and I'm including the Mario Galaxy games in that assessment) - with Crack in Time in particular having some puzzle sections that are reminiscent of the best bits of Portal. And Valkyria Chronicles has made more of an impression on me than any other new IP of this generation (just a pity they mismanaged it with the PSP sequels). You've also got the "definitive" version of Eternal Sonata (the 360 version is lacking large chunks of content), which is probably the best traditional Japanese RPG of this generation (maybe tied with Lost Odyssey over on the 360). By contrast, 360 exclusives (of which there were many early in the generation) have felt quite thin on the ground lately, particularly if Halo's not your thing. The only one to excite me over the coming months is Forza Horizons.

So actually, there are lots of reasons to buy a PS3 and - particularly if you don't have a 360 - it's a good way to get access to a cheap games library (late in the console cycle is always good for this).

Alternatively... well... there's Humble Bundle 6. Which is good and worth and all that, but isn't all that exciting no matter how many exclamation marks you want to stick after it.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[hattig]

* As a multimedia centre having never contained an inbuilt decent Dual TV tuner [I have an ageing Pentium 4 under my TV]
* As a computer crippling the Linux on launch, and dropping it once they failed to get the tax break they deserved, and haven't returned it post Surface.
* Its not smart. In a world that knows smart. Google knows it. Apple knows; I think even Sony knows it.

1) It's a games console and blu-ray player, not a digital television decoder. Even so, Sony did release the Play TV.
2) It's a games console, the Linux function was a bonus on the first system, and was irrelevant by the slim (256MB Linux system, woo!)
3) It's a games console. What do you mean by "smart"? Do you mean it can play internet video streams - it can do that. I have iPlayer and 4od installed on mine. It has a store.

It also has professional games with tens of hours of playability. That's because it's a games console.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[DrXym]

The PS3 did have a TV tuner called PlayTV although never built in, instead being a USB DVBT tuner. It's a mystery they didn't produce a model with one in it given the minimal expense that could lead to extra sales, especially in Japan where a TV tuner / BDR enabled PS3 would sell extremely well.

Anyway the story with Linux is well established by now. It was "crippled" in the sense that it was using a hypervisor, in particular to protect the GPU. This was to protect the game console underneath, to stop people developing exploits in Linux land which would allow the firmware to be modded. In the end that is exactly what prompted Linux to be canned. A hypervisor exploit was discovered which in time would have lead to a special Linux crack disk that people could simply boot to hack their firmware.

It should not surprise anybody that given the choice between protecting multi billion gaming platform and protecting a feature very few people used that they'd canned the feature. It sucks for people who used Linux but let's be honest here. Very few people actually did, certainly not most of the people braying about it loudly after the fact.

It also doesn't require much imagination to understand how devastating it would have been to the platform if custom firmware had become endemic. It would have doomed the platform, not only harming Sony but harming owners too. Think of all the premium title games you have played on the PS3 which might not exist at all if endemic piracy had made them economically unviable.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[collet]

Gran Turismo 5 is a big deal for me. If I had the money, I'd probably go for the PS3 over an Xbox because of this.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[RogueyWon]

Gran Turismo 5 is ok, but to be honest, Forza Motorsport 4 is better both as a racing game and as a driving simulator. GT5 has some very specific features that appeal to hardcore car nerds (it has some interesting and obscure old cars, plus a detailed encyclopedia). If that's what you want then GT5 is for you.

Ultimately, however, Forza 4 has better graphics (outside of the relatively small number of "premium" cars, GT5 can be surprisingly ugly), better tracks, better online modes and better customisation options. GT5 could have been awesome, but it needed more attention to the actual gameplay mechanics as opposed to the car-count to really get there.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[RaceProUK]

Gran Turismo 5 is ok, but to be honest, Forza Motorsport 4 is better both as a racing game and as a driving simulator. GT5 has some very specific features that appeal to hardcore car nerds (it has some interesting and obscure old cars, plus a detailed encyclopedia). If that's what you want then GT5 is for you.

Ultimately, however, Forza 4 has better graphics (outside of the relatively small number of "premium" cars, GT5 can be surprisingly ugly), better tracks, better online modes and better customisation options. GT5 could have been awesome, but it needed more attention to the actual gameplay mechanics as opposed to the car-count to really get there.

I would normally leap to the defence of GT5 at this point, but the 400hrs+ I've put into FM4 tells all that needs to be told. Having said that though, I'd take Grand Valley and Deep Forest over Ladera and Iberian any day.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[RogueyWon]

I still can't believe they dumped Midfield Raceway from GT5. In previous installments that had been the perfect track for races between players of... shall we say... differing skill levels. It was pretty easy to get around without spending most of your time off the track and staring at crash barriers, but had a lot you could do around optimising racing lines. So using horsepower handicapping, you could have races on it between good players and very poor players which were fun for both - ideal when you have a large group of friends round. GT5 doesn't really have a good equivalent, but Forza 4's Maple Valley works pretty well.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[Anonymous Coward]

I can't believe you didn't mention the Tales of series.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[Barryke]

Or alternatively, you could get it for... like... you know... the games?

Well that all depends on who you are asking. If you ask me (i own a PS3) the only fun games are BackToTheFuture (also available on PC) and LittleBigPlanet1.
I did not enjoy that game with the diver and little girl (i forgot the name) and Gran Turismo. I found both very boring and even cumbersome.

I find Wii games more enjoyable and exciting. I use my PS3 exclusively with PS3MediaServer to browse my videos. I expect to buy an XBox for that in the next few years. For games, i expect to buy the Wii U.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[Anonymous Coward]

Great, a Sony apologist.

Sony should not have ever even mentioned alternate operating systems if it did not intend to support them. Additionally, they should not have allowed PS2 games to be emulated if they did not intend to support that functionality.

They lied to a lot of people to sell the system, and should be held accountable.

Re:I don't own a PS3 because of its opening price

[collet]

Midfield? I'm waiting for them to bring back Red Rock Valley Speedway and Rome Circuit from GT2!

Woohoo!

[Anonymous Coward]

This should totally fix the issues with the underwhelming 6 year old hardware, right? Right?

No?

Oh. Carry on then, like it's still 2006.

-AC

Re:Woohoo!

[hattig]

For us "Fat PS3" owners, this may fix the damn fan noise - although I will wait for reviews. It will also allow Sony to drop the price over the next year so that more people can afford the system for the first time, or get a second PS3 for a different room. Yes, it's akin to buying a PS2 Slim in 2005, but lots of people bought PS2 Slims in 2005.

Eh? what?

[Anonymous Coward]

I really don't give a fuck how big the box is that sits near my tv. Within reason.

Why not add something like more memory. more storage. give back the fucking other os option... something worthwhile might make me care..

But slimmer? its not a cellphone. that's just a fucking stupid thing to sell a console for.

Re:Eh? what?

[verrol]

Yeah, once they removed the 'Other OS' option, I don't care what they do now. i still have mine and mostly use it with my NAS to stream media. The only reason I got it in the first place, was to install Linux. I was fairly happy with my PS2.

Re:Eh? what?

[Anonymous Coward]

Dude, you really need to take a look at your life and re-evaluate.

What posses you to project your negativity over something you claim to "not care about".

Spouting "fuck" every four words about some product you have no intention of buying is a clear sign that you are unstable, and have an unproductive dysfunctional view on life.

seek help!

Re:Eh? what?

[Khyber]

"But slimmer? its not a cellphone. that's just a fucking stupid thing to sell a console for."

Some countries don't have the luxury of large living spaces. Specifically, Japan.

Oh, where's the PS3 made, again?

Newby question: why not PS4?

[spectrokid]

That thing has been around for years, no? Is it so good there is no point in making a PS4?

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[jones_supa]

My theory has been that the investment and complexity for pulling an even mightier console is already so large that you can't do it that so often any more. However I too am surprised how long we have been going on with the PS3 / Xbox 360 generation.

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[Kjella]

I think they're in a waiting game, this generation of consoles has lasted long and the next generation is likely to last longer as 1080p resolution will be standard for TVs for many, many years so it's better to have a PS4 that's 10% faster than the xbox720 for 10 years than it is to get a year's head start on sales - many people will wait until they can compare them anyway.

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[qzak]

They're going to surprise everyone and skip straight to the PS5!

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[drinkypoo]

The PS3 was staggeringly expensive to design because of the Cell processor. It is also probably more expensive to produce (well, they had to disable a SPE to increase yields...) and this was reflected in the initial system cost. Sony can't afford to bring out the PS4 yet. They need to make more money on PS3. They have now done two cost reductions and yet are not passing this savings on to the customer. This is Sony's admission that they have nothing for the next generation of console wars. If Microsoft gets to steppin' they can completely murder Sony and the pieces can be picked up by Ouya and Valve (TV mode.)

Or, on the other hand, there's room for another player now, if they can make a better console than the PS3.

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[Anonymous Coward]

Because when they released the PS3 for $600, they said it would last 10 years instead of 5?

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[gl4ss]

sony released psone right at the time of ps2 release.

if you can sold more of the old - why not do it? they can sit on their new hw designs and wait for the component prices to drop.

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[Narishma]

Why stop at 5, when they can go all the way to the Playstation 9.

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[Gravatron]

I think they made the investment back long ago, seeing as they sold 60 million of them, plus a ton of games. As for admitting they have nothing, I'm not seeing that here. If anything, this is just a parts reduction to lead the console to it's budget days, to prep for a ps4 announcement sometime in the spring or e3. As for passing the savings on, the console launched at 499/599, and is now $250 with a bundle. that's one hell of a price reduction over it's lifespan.

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[drinkypoo]

As for passing the savings on, the console launched at 499/599, and is now $250 with a bundle. that's one hell of a price reduction over it's lifespan.

Introducing the console at $599 was, quite frankly, ridiculous. Sony themselves proved that $300 is about the most people will spend beginning with Playstation vs. Saturn. Then they said it was "probably too cheap" and it should last ten years. Remember when console games had impressive graphics?

Re:Newby question: why not PS4?

[Anonymous Coward]

Remember when console games had impressive graphics?

Impressive in the sense on what can be accomplished on what limited hardware the console has? Sure, quite frequently actually, since console hardware is fixed for many years while PCs could improve their hardware.

Impressive in the sense that it is latest and greatest possible using the best hardware possible? Well not really. As I said, that's in the realm of PCs.

Anyways, graphics in consoles have stagnated because we've been using the same tech for a while now. This may change soon as more newer game engines (and games that use them) come out. New consoles will probably come out to better use the new tech.

Will it...

[muckracer]

have a die shrink down from 45nm?

Re:Will it...

[Henriok]

have a die shrink down from 45nm?

Probably not. I haven't heard any word on further development of the Cell BE-processor beyond the 45 nm node. Nor for its cousin, the PowerXCell 8i processor. Sony could probably enable the 8th core though, yields should have risen considerably since 2008.

Re:Will it...

[Anonymous Coward]

One downside of consoles is that increasing the specs (in this case, by enabling the last core) is often a problem because developers and users expect consistency from consoles. The last thing a developer wants to hear is that the game runs fine on one PS3 but choppy on others.

Re:Will it...

[muckracer]

Actually it may be the case:

"According to some unofficial information, the new PlayStation 3 super-slim model (CECH-40) is powered by IBM Cell microprocessor made using 32nm process technology as well as Nvidia RSX graphics processor produced using 28nm fabrication process."

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20120919071155_Sony_Debuts_Smaller_and_Lighter_PlayStation_3.html

Re:Will it...

[Henriok]

That's interesting. We probably will have to wait for the teardown to know for sure.

Naming.

[Anonymous Coward]

Original: PS1 (no, get your PSX to hell, it is a demon name!)
Slim: PSOne

Original: PS2
Slim: PSTwo

Original: PS3
Slim1: PSthree
Slim2: PSpi, new for the American audience!

Re:Naming.

[Anonymous Coward]

The original was either PSX or simply PS. Only the slim model referenced the generation.

sony rootkit

[Anonymous Coward]

never forget, never forgive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sony_rootkit

Re:sony rootkit

[Gravatron]

I wasn't aware sony BMG makes the ps3.

Sony

[puddingebola]

Sony announces... nothing.

Re:Sony

[freman]

Sony can get fucked.

Gaming consoles will become extinct

[aNonnyMouseCowered]

News like this could be a sign that dedicated consoles, consoles for the hardcore gamer are a dying breed. Whle I won't go so far as say that the iPad is going to kill the XBox, buy your Galaxy Tab now, I see gaming consoles evolving into a kitchen sink type of device where the ability to play games is one of a range of functions. The next console would be a gadget that allows you to play games better than a general-purpose tablet or media PC, a function that modern consoles can do now anyway.

Re:Sony's new portable PlayStation to be good for

[Anonymous Coward]

I suspect they'll go for the "Lite" moniker personally.

Here's what the adverts for the Vita Lite might look like...

Sony?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sony... Sony... oh! They're that company that used to make game consoles, right?

SNESGenesis and PS3

[ultrasawblade]

Super Nintendo was better than the Genesis, and it's still better than the PS3. Super Nintendo had 32,000 colors, Mode 7, and never lost features. Also the games loaded instantly.

Re:SNESGenesis and PS3

[Anonymous Coward]

Also the games loaded instantly

This is my biggest beef with this gen of games. Oh your software is not patched to the highest level. Oh you want to play now? Well too bad wait 30 mins while we update your console firmware. OH and your game seems to be out of date too. Might as well been waiting a while anyway...

I just want to play a game once or twice a month. Waiting 20-30 mins for patches ticks me off.. Oh I know I can set it to autoupdate. *IF* I dont mind wasting power for the convenience. I am not paying for that in money... So I end up wasting it in time... I am already wasting my time on a game. But I usually do not feel like I am wasting it. But watching a scroll bar...

Re:SNESGenesis and PS3

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed. I usually just want to play for a half hour or so. Modern consoles (and most pc games for that matter) have alienated me as a customer due to the time required to get up and running.

That being said, the PS3 is still an awesome netflix/bluray player.

Re:SNESGenesis and PS3

[tepples]

Super Nintendo had 32,000 colors

PS3 has 16 million colors and a 1080p canvas 36 times the size of the Super NES's 256x224 pixels.

Mode 7

One plane of texture mapping. Even the PS1 had more general texture mapping.

and never lost features.

I seem to remember the later Super NES consoles lacking the RGB signals on the AV Multi Out connector, which makes arcade-monitor and component mods harder.

Also the games loaded instantly.

Not always. Super NES games would often have loading pauses to upload samples to the sound processor and to decompress textures and level maps. The pauses in The Lord of the Rings and Street Fighter Alpha 2 were among the longest.

THANK YOU SONY

[stevejf]

thank god for this new slightly smaller PS3. I happen to only buy tiny doll furniture, so this will really make a difference in my miniature entertainment center.

Was it not selling because it was too thick?

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess as they figure out how to consolidate components and make components smaller, this just lends itself to fitting into a smaller packaging (thereby saving on material costs for the manufacturer.) But I don't think people are now going to be rushing out to buy the 'Ultra-Slim' to replace their 'Slim'. If I saw a 'Slim' discounted 20% off on clearance next to a 'Ultra-Slim' at regular price, I know which one I would be buying.

The Slim i have

[Stan92057]

The Slim i have can heat a small room. How hot is this thing going to be?

Re:The Slim i have

[Bremic]

Purchase two of them and replace that old waffle iron.

Bonus

[tepples]

It's a games console, the Linux function was a bonus on the first system

For one thing, why did Sony have to take away the bonus in firmware updates included with later game discs? For another, there exist games that aren't on PS3 but are on Linux, so the loss of Linux took away games.

SME and SCEI

[tepples]

What makes you think Sony Music Entertainment (formerly Sony BMG) doesn't get preferential treatment from Sony Computer Entertainment in PSN's music store? Or that Sony Computer Entertainment doesn't get preferential treatment from Sony Music Entertainment when licensing music for video games?

OUYA

[zlives]

will be my next console sorry SONY got tired of waiting for the a current hardware PSx

Why!?!

[Anonymous Coward]

Why can't you just put that effort and money into a new console, instead of investing to make the current, outdated one, smaller!?!

Brilliant

[bogie]

A MORE expensive PS3? In this economy? They should have brought the price down to $199 not raised it by $20.

Not a very good idea

[Tuhin Lavania]

I dont really see a point in releasing a new PS 3 model in this late and dying console period when everybody knows the PS 4 is coming. So basically you are buying this console for a year's use. This is a very bad period of buying any console, be it 360 or the PS 3. If i was to buy, i wud have bought no console and instead invested on a gaming PC. Yes, if some-one is so rich who doesnt mind his console eating dust after just a year's use, then this PS 3 is a catch.

Streamliner

[Undertone]

I'm no fan of the PS3, but that's a very nice piece of design.

No N ? Why Not ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why didnt they put in a N wifi adapter ? I would of bought this just for that.

hot news

[KingBenny]

milf gets facelift, calls it innovation . Music sales rise ... ? wtf ?