PS3 Price drop and 40GB SKU confirmed *

[Rangers]

Tacit confirmation by posters at NeoGAF that 400 to 449 Euro packs will be announced for Spain and France....


Something is happening from SCEE next monday.

It wasn't confirmed at all. Even the one anonymous random guy who stated it said he doesn't have 100% confirmation.

 

[avaya]

It wasn't confirmed at all. Even the one anonymous random guy who stated it said he doesn't have 100% confirmation.

Hence the use of tacit

They will announce a new SKU soon. FCC leak assures something new in the pipeline.

 

[Moonblade]

Retailers, however, have been a little more willing to talk, and multiple sources suggest that the new 40GB SKU will hit stores for £299, as sources told CVG last week.

"We are currently under strict NDA, however that NDA runs out in the next 48 hours," said one retailer. Another source said: "Sony is clearly hoping to make a comeback against the Nintendo Wii, which is currently outselling the PS3 four to one," claims Pocket-lint.

Word is the new model will pack fewer USB ports, no memory card readers on the front of the console and it is said to drop backwards compatibility, although that's unlikely because BC support in UK consoles is done via software, not hardware as in some US and Japanese PS3s.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=173150

Also:
http://i21.tinypic.com/2emcup1.jpg

note $AU pricing

 

[patsu]

Meanwhile....

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8106658&postcount=1

EMBARGOED until 05/10/2007 16:30
New PLAYSTATION®3 Model to Take Holiday Season by Storm



Aggressively priced hardware and a terrific software line-up make for an unbeatable combination
New 40GB PS3 at €399

London, 5 October 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced details of its exciting new PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) model that will launch throughout the SCEE territories on 10th October 2007 at the highly attractive price of €399.

Providing an incredibly appealing entry point to the world of High Definition gaming and entertainment for the holiday season, the new PS3 brings the next generation of interactive home entertainment to homes all across Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia.

Along with an ever expanding line-up of PS3 titles (a total of 65 titles tracking across all genres by Christmas), the new PS3 is equipped with a 40GB HDD and includes all the features central to the High Definition entertainment experience; true next generation gameplay, stunning High Definition Blu-ray Disc™ movies, SIXAXIS™ wireless controller, Wi-Fi and HDMI connectivity, all powered by the Cell Broadband Engine™, the digital heart of PS3.

As with the 60GB PS3, the new PS3 features upgradeable firmware allowing new features and functionality to be added to the system as time progresses. A recent firmware update, for example, enabled PS3 to upscale DVD’s played on the system to full 1080P High Definition.

The introduction of the new PS3 has been determined following user feedback from thousands of existing PS3 owners as well as research into future potential PS3 owners. The new model features two USB 2.0 ports rather than four and no longer includes the multi memory card port.

The new model is no longer backwards compatible with PlayStation®2 titles, reflecting both the reduced emphasis placed on this feature amongst later purchasers of PS3, as well as the availability of a more extensive line-up of PS3 specific titles (a total of 65 titles across all genres by Christmas).

The existing Starter Pack*, comprising a 60GB PS3 with extensive backwards compatibility, an additional SIXAXIS wireless controller and two first party titles will be reduced in price to €499. Remaining on sale while stocks last, the 60GB model represents outstanding value for the keen gamer wishing to upgrade to the High Definition capabilities of PS3.

“The introduction of the new PS3 has been the result of extensive research into the entertainment needs and preferences of the next generation of PS3 owners,” said David Reeves, President of SCEE. “It has allowed us to deliver an extremely advanced, yet incredibly affordable High Definition gaming and entertainment system, configured to the needs of the next generation of European PS3 owners. PS3 has always been the device of choice for the discerning gamer and entertainment seeker, and the new PS3 is more than ever the perfect High Definition entertainment system.

*In the UK and Ireland, the Starter Pack will be replaced by a separate in-store promotion on the 60GB PS3.

- ENDS -

Notes to Editors:

PLAYSTATION®3 40GB Specification
Product name PLAYSTATION®3
CPU Cell Broadband Engine™ Processor
GPU RSX™
Sound Dolby 5.1ch, DTS 5.1ch , LPCM 7.1ch, AAC,
others *1 *2
Memory 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
HDD 2.5” Serial ATA 40GB
I/O USB 2.0 x2
Communication Ethernet x1 (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX,
1000BASE-T)
IEEE 802.11 b/g Included
Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR) Included
Wireless controller (Bluetooth) Included
AV Output
Screen size 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI OUT x1 *3
AV MULTI OUT x1
DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x1
BD/DVD/CD Drive
(Read Only) Maximum Read Speed BD 2x (BD-ROM)
DVD 8x (DVD-ROM)
CD 24x (CD-ROM)
Dimensions Approximately 325mm (W) x 98mm (H) x 274mm (D)
Weight Approximately 5 kg

See chart on attached PDF version of press release

*1 A device compatible with Linear PCM 7.1 Ch. is required to output 7.1 Ch. audio, supported by Dolby TrueHD or a similar format, from the HDMI OUT connector.
*2 This system does not support output from the DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. DTS-HD 7.1 Ch. audio is output from a 5.1 or lower channel.
*3 "Deep Color" and "x.v.Color (xvYCC)" defined by HDMI ver1.3a are supported.


For further information please contact:

Nick Sharples (nick_sharples@scee.net) or Nick Caplin (nick_caplin@scee.net)
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd
Tel: + 44 207 859 5301(5349) Fax: + 44 207 859 5036
Images of the new PS3 are available on the SCEE Virtual press Office at http://www.scee.presscentre.com

 

[avaya]

£299 for 40GB.
Starter will be £349 in UK

Anyone buying 40GB over £349 starter pack is an imbecile. £50 more for extra controller, full PS2 BC and 2 games.

 

[archangelmorph]

£299 for 40GB.
Starter will be £349 in UK

Anyone buying 40GB over £349 starter pack is an imbecile. £50 more for extra controller, full PS2 BC and 2 games.

From £425 to £350 for a PS3?



Awesome!!!

Looking like i'll be picking one up next month!!

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Anyone buying 40GB over £349 starter pack is an imbecile. £50 more for extra controller, full PS2 BC and 2 games.

Anyone who games alone spending £50 on two games and a controller they don't want is an imbecile. Though the value of the 40GB SKU is seriously diminished, if it's 65nm and runs cooler and quieter, and you don't need the extras, £50 cheaper might be worth it. Not sure how Sony's 'research' came up with these two SKUs and pricepoints though!

 

[AlNom]

Not sure how Sony's 'research' came up with these two SKUs and pricepoints though!

Why... through the power of Cell folding of course!

 

[hey69]

Anyone who games alone spending £50 on two games and a controller they don't want is an imbecile. Though the value of the 40GB SKU is seriously diminished, if it's 65nm and runs cooler and quieter, and you don't need the extras, £50 cheaper might be worth it. Not sure how Sony's 'research' came up with these two SKUs and pricepoints though!

you can sell those 2 games and extra controller

that way you have 399euro for a 60gb ps3

 

[archangelmorph]

Why... through the power of Cell folding of course!

Hahahaha!

No seriously though.. I'd imagine £299 was the lowest they could go for the 40GB and £349 is psychological.. Close enough to £300 for people to not see much lost by the extra cost and considering and "miles" away from the threshold £400 which would deter alot of consumer's over here..

I'm interested to see just how far this affects sales now that the machine is finally pretty affordable (especially considering what you're getting.. don't forget a game on it's own costs the difference between these two SKUs)..

 

[avaya]

Anyone who games alone spending £50 on two games and a controller they don't want is an imbecile. Though the value of the 40GB SKU is seriously diminished, if it's 65nm and runs cooler and quieter, and you don't need the extras, £50 cheaper might be worth it. Not sure how Sony's 'research' came up with these two SKUs and pricepoints though!

My wording is harsh but I still stand by it. The people who game alone are few and far between. Most people buy 2 controllers. A SIXAXIS is £30, for another £20 more you get full PS2 BC and 20GB extra, plus car reader's for your convenience in addition to 2 pieces of software that you may or may not like. The value proposition is huge at £350, I can't believe they stuck it at £350. I expect that RRP to be reduced further by retail competition.

Moreover the UK retailers will be able to offer in-store offers for the 60GB, so game of your choice (PES2K8!) + extra controller is a possibility.

Running cooler and quieter is not really a big issue right now (we don't yet know if the quality of the cooling solution on the 40GB is as good as current models...)

I think no announcement of full-software BC is designed to deplete 60GB stocks as fast as possible…

 

[Archgamer]

So the 60 gig is being phase out over there too? That mean PAL regions won't see any BC at all.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Software BC is more then unlikely IMHO. I can't see them emulating the huge internal bandwith of the GS.

 

[avaya]

Software BC is more then unlikely IMHO. I can't see them emulating the huge internal bandwith of the GS.

I thought there were PC emulators that play PS2 games?

 

[archangelmorph]

Software BC is more then unlikely IMHO. I can't see them emulating the huge internal bandwith of the GS.

I hear that..

Unless they can integrate a large proportion into the RSX however it's definitely not going to be gone completely

 

[Shifty Geezer]

When this topic has come up before, it wasn't the BW that was important, but the weirdness of GS doing things other GPUs just can't manage.

What is interesting upon reflection is the idea that RSX had some BC hardware seems now disproven. Which means why's it so big? Did they leave in everything from G70, including all the video decode stuff? Something for a spinoff thread!

 

[avaya]

CVG is reporting that BC was removed to save on software licensing costs...this makes no sense to me....Sony licensing from itself?

 

[archangelmorph]

CVG is reporting that BC was removed to save on software licensing costs...this makes no sense to me....Sony licensing from itself?

Sounds dubious..

I would imagine it would be to have the GS dumped out as previously stated..

 

[patsu]

CVG is reporting that BC was removed to save on software licensing costs...this makes no sense to me....Sony licensing from itself?

There may be 3rd party patents and tech in the hardware + software emulation of GS + EE ?

 

[Carl B]

CVG is reporting that BC was removed to save on software licensing costs...this makes no sense to me....Sony licensing from itself?

Yeah that's ridiculous; man what's wrong with news sources that don't know how to report on the news? Obviously they either meant hardware costs or they don't know what they're talking about overall.

Anyway is there anywhere that B/C has either been officially confirmed or denied? Because I wouldn't expect to see it listed in that spec-sheet anyway to tell you the truth.