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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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

[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.

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

[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

[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

[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

[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.

This is the most important question

[vencs]

does it blend?

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: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:Even moster important question:

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd rather have PS2 backward compatibility back.

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.

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: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.