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

Most important question

[wonkey_monkey]

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

Re:Most important question

[Anonymous Coward]

What kind of features will they drop this time?

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?

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

[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

[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.

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: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: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.

sony rootkit

[Anonymous Coward]

never forget, never forgive

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

Re:Even moster important question:

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd rather have PS2 backward compatibility back.

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.