New PS3 model announced.

http://www.dailytech.com/40GB+PlaySt...rticle9176.htm

Short version aka highlights.

Putting an end to one of the worst-kept secrets of the year, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today confirmed the existence of a lower-priced 40GB PlayStation 3 model by announcing its availability across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia starting October 10. The new model will retail for €399, or about 20 percent less than the 60GB bundle.

To help keep costs down, the new 40GB model does with only two USB ports, instead of four on all previous PS3 consoles, and no memory card reader.

the new 40GB model is not compatible with any PlayStation 2 titles

Two things stand out here.

No US release announced.
No backwards compatible PS2 hardware.


If MS is guilty of starting the whole different bundles, then Sony is guilty of following in their steps. It\'s absurd overall . Both companies should have a set unit, that is afforable and also has enough features to stand out. There really is no need for market confusion.

Lol, they skimped on two USB ports? That\'ll save them, what, $0.02?

[clips]

it makes no sense to be havin all of these variations of the same type of system in the market, by the time they finally decide on a specific platform, it will be time for the next era of consoles to come out....And there still is no announcement for a price drop from the current ps3 model....

[Viper_Fujax]

so true clips. Sony started by saying an advantage of theirs is that there arent multiple versions like the 360. Now there\'s not only multiple versions, but theyre starting/stopping production on other ones and making a huge mess.

Im not too big on backwards compatibility. It\'s nice but its not a system seller for me. All i\'d play is god of war 2 since i sold all my other ps2 stuff. 60% about games 40% about the price, but theyre getting there with the price. If that were dollars and not euros, $400 for 40GB (while not skimping out on stupid stuff like USB ports) sounds decent to me

all SKU\'s still have a standardized hard drive, which the 360 does not.

no announcement for the U.S yet. Hopefully the new SKU will be different here.. I was hoping to get that model (40gb) but if BS is stripped from it, then it\'s a no go. I\'ll have to wait for the next price drop.

This reminds me, I still want to get God of War 2.
 
Poor PS3.

[Viper_Fujax]

all SKU\'s still have a standardized hard drive, which the 360 does not.

it still makes for completely different lines of manufacturing that accountants and all the other divisions have to keep track of/get rid of.

all SKU\'s still have a standardized hard drive, which the 360 does not.

That part is true - but it still does not help with market confusion on a certain level.

Well it is better than having only "expensive" PS3\'s in the market with mem stick duo support, extra USB ports whne there are simply people who just want to get a PS3 to play PS3 games.

After seeing the low PS3 sales in the market in general, I think it is better that way.

BTW they also announced a price reduction on the original 60GB offer which included 2 games and one extra controller

[clips]

^^^I think it\'s still too much goin\' on...first they faze out one system that had a lower price, then they introduce the current system with the higher price..(then as you say they are going to drop the price on that)...and finally they have this bare bones version....i knew when they created this thing that price was going to be a problem for them *but they were incredibly arrogant in thinking it wasn\'t going to be a factor*.....it will be close to 2 years since the ps3 has come out and they still don\'t have a clue as to what platform they want to support.

I personally thought they should have stuck with the 80gb version that had everything and just adjusted the price of that one.

[MPTheory]

Honestly, if they would have had a PS3 with no memory card slots / 2 USB ports for $399 from the get-go, I prolly would have purchased that. Unless they work some reason in for me to want to use my memory cards in my PS3, They are kind of useless to me. I have a computer for that.

\'course, paying an additional $100 for chrome trimming was SOOO worth it

I am not bothered by the console makers having different models. The only thing wrong with the 360 like MM said one does not have the hard drive. I am not bothered by having different models.

I am viewing it like a car. You can get the fully loaded version of the car for this price or the standard version at that price. Still everyone who wants one has a price they can afford. I am all for this in the future.

I know everyone wants one console at one price. The market is changing as technology grows it becomes more expensive adding all these extra features to the machines.  So companies got to try and rethink the whole console market.

[Paul2]

^^^I think it\'s still too much goin\' on...first they faze out one system that had a lower price, then they introduce the current system with the higher price..(then as you say they are going to drop the price on that)...and finally they have this bare bones version....i knew when they created this thing that price was going to be a problem for them *but they were incredibly arrogant in thinking it wasn\'t going to be a factor*.....it will be close to 2 years since the ps3 has come out and they still don\'t have a clue as to what platform they want to support.

I personally thought they should have stuck with the 80gb version that had everything and just adjusted the price of that one.

Corrections here:

first, the PS3 finally came out in November 2006 in Japan and U.S..  That would be nearly 1 year coming this November or about 1 more month to go.

2nd,  Sony slashed the PS3 60 GB model price tag down to $499, or $100 price drop in July, or about 8 months after its initial release in the U.S.  That\'s probably the fastest price drop ever done in a videogame console history.

I do think the 80 GB version is unecessary as to me, as its kind of expensive compare to the 60 GB version as it seems like you have to pay $100 more for the extra 20 GB and a videogame included.

By  having one selection like the 60 GB model might have been a better idea as it won\'t confuse consumers on which one to choose and the price tag for the 60 GBytes is actually a good deal in U.S. as of right now.  Although still expensive, but still a very good deal for hardcore videogamers, and rich and middle class income people.

You guys are expecting too much for a console that hasn\'t reach 1 year yet since its initial launch.

Look at XBOX360, it took them over a year since it initial launch for a price drop and they finally included a harddrive for both models...and no blu ray playback and the lower version doesn\'t even have an HDMI output but who is complaining?

Speaking of XBOX360, i think the original XBOX slashed its price tag from $300 to $200 after it initial launch for 6 months...so that might be a faster price drop than the ps3...

It\'s coming for US for thanksgiving. Same features or lack thereof as the European model.