Clearing up some PS3 confusion
by Christopher Grant 
{ May 14th 2006 at 10:00PM }
There's a story making the rounds suggesting that the $500 PS3 "Core" system is missing something else in addition to the aforementioned Wi-Fi, HDMI, and memory card support: wireless controller functionality and an upgradable hard-drive. While the Xbox 360 Core system doesn't ship with wireless controllers, it does support them; however, Games Radar writes that "wireless Bluetooth controllers won't be supported" in the lower-priced PS3. Similarly, whereas the Xbox 360 Core system ships sans hard-drive, it is possible to add one and match the functionality of the more expensive offering. Games Radar writes that a "Sony representative on the show floor at E3 also emphasized that gamers won't be able to upgrade the memory of the 20GB version."
Sony's press release (.doc) clearly states that both models will ship with "Wireless controller (Bluetooth)" so, until Sony issues an official statement saying otherwise, we're going to disregard this rumor. The lack of credibility on this one doesn't bode well for the second rumor, that the PS3's hard drive won't be upgradeable.
Examining older press shots of the rear of the system doesn't reveal a removable hard drive solution similar to the PS2's combo HDD and Ethernet adapter, so it is possible that the hard drive is intended to be permanent. The omission of a user-upgradable hard drive would certainly pressure consumers to "get it right" the first time and opt for the more expensive model, further marginalizing and diminishing the value of their lower-priced offering. If the 360's dual SKU's were "confusing" ...
(Update: It appears our skepticism was well placed: readers were quick to point out that the removable hard drive bay is on the bottom of the console when vertical, or on the left when horizontal. Here's an image where you can clearly see the bay. Games Radar is 0 for 2 on this one.)
[Thanks to everyone that sent this in]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Hank McCoy @ May 14th 2006 10:06PM
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/708/708601p1.html
Says 20 GB Hard Drive is upgradable.
Kwipper @ May 14th 2006 10:08PM
Ahh so Sony is going to force us to get the 600.00 model eh? Fine. How about this. I AM NOT BUYING A SONY PLAYSTATION 3.
Lets see how Sony deals with that.
Ben @ May 14th 2006 10:09PM
In the Sony Press Conference, I remember the speaker clearly stating "removeable hard drive."
Bennet McLean @ May 14th 2006 10:10PM
I'm fairly confident that during the press conference Sony described the hard-drive as 'removable' in one instance, so I'm gonna guess the second rumour is indeed false.
Chalex @ May 14th 2006 10:10PM
Just a reminder to the Joystiq crew, the HDD hatch is on the bottom of the console when standing upright and on the left side (if you are looking at its front) when horizontal.
new*allusion @ May 14th 2006 10:19PM
The HDD looks to be removable via a clip on the bottom of both of the consoles:
http://www.scee.presscentre.com/imagelibrary/detail.asp?MediaDetailsID=28989
There is no silver trim on the right hand lip, so you can tell this is a core system.
If you look very closely at the pics with the Core and Premium PS3s in vertical postions with the controller resting against it, you can see on both models there is something that sticks out almost centerally below the controller.
boots (former bd (former b)) @ May 14th 2006 10:22PM
Anyone that says "Sony did/said this, therefore I'm not getting a PS3" never intended to get one in the first place.
Siraris @ May 14th 2006 10:23PM
I remember when you could get legitimate news on the internet... oh the memories.
I am still extremely interested as to peripherals. Do I have to buy a Sony official hard drive, or can I just order a 2 or 300 gig drive online? Can I plug any USB or sync any bluetooth device? Since the PS3 will be running a flavor of Linux, the OS is under the GPL and must be opensource. No one has really commented on this either. I think the ability to use any device you'd like on the system would really ease many peoples stickershock.
Khash @ May 14th 2006 10:24PM
Kwipper, did you even read it?
new*allusion @ May 14th 2006 10:27PM
According to interviews with Phil Harrison its your typical Serial ATA drive that you could find in a PC, so surprisingly (considering Sony's proprietary history), you probably could just buy a 2'5" PC HDD and put in the slot should you want to. If not then a USB HDD would probably also work very well.
youngmarc @ May 14th 2006 10:28PM
Screw all that. The PS3 doesnt have a controller that vibrates. That is so stupid. They gonna show us trailer like Kill Zone 2 with all this stuff blowing up and your telling me i wont be able 2 feel the experience. Come on guys vibration is standard nowadays. Imagine playing Gran Tourismo 5 and you cant feel the engine or feel the difference in the cars u drive. Come on Sony. Screw that motion sensor crap of a controller.
Chalex @ May 14th 2006 10:30PM
Posted at 10:23PM on May 14th 2006 by Siraris
"Do I have to buy a Sony official hard drive, or can I just order a 2 or 300 gig drive online?"
--------------------------------------------
Phil Harrison: ..... If you're a complete music fan and video fan, and you want to have huge amounts of digital content, then you can upgrade to whatever size of drive you like. You can put any in that you like - it is a computer, after all.
Eurogamer: So that hard drive is a standard PC drive?
Phil Harrison: ATA, bog standard, yeah.
Eurogamer: You're not going to be selling Sony drive upgrades?
Phil Harrison: We've got no plan to. We may offer something, but we have no plan to at the moment.
--------------------------------------------
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=64667
Germs @ May 14th 2006 10:36PM
Hey wait!
In november the Canadian dollar will be much higher the the US dollars! sucka!
Jappleng @ May 14th 2006 10:41PM
It says CND meaning canadian currency. I remember when the PS2 first came out in canada, it was about the same price as this. So this means about what? 2 george washingtons for a ps3? maybe 3? =3
GOD @ May 14th 2006 10:43PM
"Anyone that says "Sony did/said this, therefore I'm not getting a PS3" never intended to get one in the first place."
Ahhh how I love sweeping generalizations....
Momus @ May 14th 2006 10:46PM
Dear boots (former bd (former whatthefuckever)),
I did intend on waiting, because I'd heard it would be expensive. But, not this expensive. I will stick with my PS2.
~M
David @ May 14th 2006 10:48PM
How could a hdd not be upgradable when it is removable...
GOD @ May 14th 2006 10:49PM
another thing they got wrong was this:
"The 20GB console won't include an HDMI output, which means that it won't be able to deliver high definition pictures"
HDMI is not needed to deliever HD graphics.
Chalex @ May 14th 2006 10:49PM
Dear Joystiq crew,
Thank you for the star
C. Grant @ May 14th 2006 10:52PM
Dear Chalex: thanks for the info! =)
Chalex @ May 14th 2006 10:56PM
"Dear Chalex: thanks for the info! =)"
Your comment system cut out my hugs and kisses at the end of that message >:o
Pikachelsea @ May 14th 2006 10:57PM
"Anyone that says "Sony did/said this, therefore I'm not getting a PS3" never intended to get one in the first place."
Or maybe they really did intend to get one and don't want to pay $600 bucks for it, or are unimpressed by the tard pack and all the features that will be removed from it. Maybe it's called being an informed consumer.
I would contend that if you'd buy a PS3 no matter WHAT Sony said or did, you're a li'l bit brainwashed.
David @ May 14th 2006 11:01PM
Check out this thread on Sony's forums, somone made a nice side by side comparison set of the old and newer console.
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3&message.id=358886&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
Also you can see they added a LOT more vents then the first model.
HunterXI @ May 14th 2006 11:07PM
Wait... unless Sony plans to make a double standard for itself, doesn't the lack of HDMI on the $500 'Core' version mean no Blu-Ray movies (in Hi Def, anyway)?
Ya gotta love Sony this E3: stealing Nintendo's controller, changing their story with regards to pricing schemes ("We believe that [Microsoft selling] two [different] SKUs just confuses the customer..." -Ken Kutaragi), ripping the customer off by selling two physically (not to mention inalterably) different units, and, best of all, claiming they never did these things =)
HunterXI @ May 14th 2006 11:09PM
Oh, and what happened to Linux? :P
Staticneuron @ May 14th 2006 11:09PM
"I would contend that if you'd buy a PS3 no matter WHAT Sony said or did, you're a li'l bit brainwashed."
What Sony is leaving out of the $500 dollar system isn't that much to cry about. Anymore more anti-sony inflammatory comments and accusations you would like to add?
brian fantana @ May 14th 2006 11:11PM
No memory card support. That'll confuse the hell out of people when they go to buy it. Nevermind the HDD. Most people out there are not very knowledgable when it comes to two sku's and differantiates them from one another.
Sony is (in my opinion) making the same mistake as MS w/ the 2 sku's.
Chalex @ May 14th 2006 11:16PM
As of Friday Linux still has the green light:
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=9290
Blu-ray movies will work fine so long as movie studios don't start using the ICT (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc#Digital_rights_management)
In all reality the only feature that the $600 model has that the $500 CAN'T is HDMI (which is a moot point to all those people who say they don't care about Blu-ray.)
Sean DL @ May 14th 2006 11:23PM
Till it's official official(meaning the day of shipping), I'm not going to believe anything that comes out of the mouths of a Sony employee.
I mean do I really have to bring up all the stuff Sony said and showed E3 2005 about the Playstation 3 and what changed at this years show?
Zach @ May 14th 2006 11:25PM
So, were any of the games actually shown running in 1080p?
Staticneuron @ May 14th 2006 11:25PM
This isn't going to end is it?
The lack of HDMI does not mean that you cannot watch movies in High def. You can still use component cables.
The only unalterable things missing from the $500 dollar PS3 is the HDMI port and the WiFi. I am pretty sure the average consumer wont miss those. As a matter of fact even hardcore gamers can do without.
Sony stole from nintendo huh. So the tilt functions patented by sony in 1999 wont let you believe other wise?
hxxp://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=JP11099284&F=0&QPN=JP11099284
How about the fact that they were considering this in 2003?
hxxp://sony.gamerfeed.com/gf/news/4815/
How about the fact that the warhawk team, even though they added the functionality in 10 days, Knew that the change in the controller was planned for a long time?
hxxp://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3150702
and really the motion sensing was never thought up before? Or even was planned on being implemented?
hxxp://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/police911/story.html?sid=2762376
It is getting old and tired already. Please give it a rest.
minus_273 @ May 14th 2006 11:27PM
"18. another thing they got wrong was this:
"The 20GB console won't include an HDMI output, which means that it won't be able to deliver high definition pictures"
HDMI is not needed to deliever HD graphics."
Wrong. The Ps3-- is not guaranteed to support HD movies from the Bluray drive because it does not have HDMI. If a movie has the security option enabled, all you get is a SD movie from the BLuray disk when not using HDMI
Victor @ May 14th 2006 11:30PM
can the PS3 wireless controller turn the system on and off with a button on the controller or is the power button on the system only ???
Rare Hare @ May 14th 2006 11:30PM
"Ya gotta love Sony this E3: stealing Nintendo's controller"
ok, i've had enough of these comments. for ONE thing, designing and testing and manufacturing a product like this takes a good bit of time.. more time than sony necessarily had had they just started the tilt-sensing controller project upon the announcement of the Wii's remote.
ALSO, i have a link to prove that Sony was looking into motion sensing for the PS3 as early as November of 2003:
http://sony.gamerfeed.com/gf/news/4815/
so just shut up about it. the PS3 controller and the Wii's remote don't accomplish the same thing anyway, as the PS3 isn't BUILT around the ability of the controller to sense motion. instead, it has more limited features and that's all they are: features.
give it a rest and get over it.
Chris @ May 14th 2006 11:32PM
Normally I would applaud a site for issuing caveats in the face of rumor, were it not for two things:
1. Joystiq hasn't really been a bastion of journalistic integrity these last couple weeks, which causes me to wonder about their motives for saying... well, anything they've got motivation enough to want to say.
2. Sony's own announcements have often been about as reliable as internet rumor.
Basically the situation is so cloudy at the moment that no fanperson does their argument any favors by bandying "facts" regarding the PS3 about, excluding the very basics.
GangWAY @ May 14th 2006 11:34PM
where is the DUEL HDMI support that the Sony fanboys been braggin about? As far as the cheaper one not having HDMI I dont think that it is such a big deal. Its fun watching history repeat it self.
minus_273 @ May 14th 2006 11:36PM
#32
Geez do you even know what you are talking about about? Let me say it one more time, Ps3-- does not have HDMI and therefore does not support the encryption used with HDCP. It DOES NOT SUPPORT HD movies if the security option is turned on on the Bluray disk .Therefore, in some cases, no HD movies from the Ps3--. Component cables are not a replacement fro HDMI. The technology used is not the same. There is no way around it unless sony makes some sort of board that you can plug in and also include the encryption keys to use HD data.
You either have no idea what you are talking about or are some Sony fanboy spreading lies.
boots (former bd (former b)) @ May 14th 2006 11:37PM
Well, based on my previous experience, I'm accustomed to 360 fanboys being extremely vocal about Sony's "flaws", so I got used to reading them "What? BOOMERANG? IM NOT GONNA BUY IT" or "What the hell? 600 BUCKS!! I'll stay with my 360, thanks". All that even when they didn't intend to buy one.
What bothers me is that the boomerang was swell, and that Sony changed their mind about it thanks to all the internet fads.
Alex K. @ May 14th 2006 11:38PM
actually, #2, if you want to piss off sony, buy a PS3 and then don't buy any games, that way they lose money.
unfortunatly if you sell it on ebay, that means that someone else will be buying PS3 games.
boots (former bd (former b)) @ May 14th 2006 11:39PM
"Wrong. The Ps3-- is not guaranteed to support HD movies from the Bluray drive because it does not have HDMI. If a movie has the security option enabled, all you get is a SD movie from the BLuray disk when not using HDMI"
Wrong. No movies will have that option enabled. At least in the beginning. By the time they enable it, Blu-ray players will be around 100 bucks, i.e. what you pay "extra" for HDMI on PS3.
Momus @ May 14th 2006 11:40PM
Don't forget, everyone:
"PS3 is not a game machine. We've never once called it a game machine. I'm not going to reveal [the PS3s] price today. I'm going to only say that it'll be expensive. I'm aware that with all these technologies, the PS3 can't be offered at a price that's targeted towards households."?Krazy Ken
It's not meant to play games? That's so odd. The RSX and Cell chip through me off a bit.
So, clearly it's not even targeted toward us household types. Clearly it's meant to further dwindle its audience down, peddling a dicey new format to?I'm guessing?the very few super-rich, or super-I-want-to-be-in-debt-forever types with what is essentially a computer whose monitor will cost five times its own price while playing half-hearted sequels to formerly good games on the side.
Honestly, you apologists? You can shove that self-righteousness right up the missing HDMI port. It is getting old and tired already. Please give it a rest.
~M
Staticneuron @ May 14th 2006 11:42PM
The only thing 1080p on the E3 floor was an upscaled Gran Turismo HD demo and the non-playable Wardevil real-time tech demo. Heavy Rain and Resistance: Fall of Man claim to shoot for 1080p when they are released but that is doubtful.
HDMI has NOTHING to do with security. I think you are confused.
HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, and like DVI, it allows for the uncompressed data transfer of video between a digital TV and HDMI-enabled consumer electronics devices. The big difference between HDMI and DVI is that HDMI transfers the video and audio signal. DVI only carries the video signal.
HDCP stands for High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection and was developed by Intel Corporation.
Politics aside, HDCP is a technology embraced by the Motion Picture Association of America as it eliminates the reproduction of copyrighted material.
minus_273 @ May 14th 2006 11:48PM
#39
"Wrong. No movies will have that option enabled. At least in the beginning. By the time they enable it, Blu-ray players will be around 100 bucks, i.e. what you pay "extra" for HDMI on PS3."
So you can guarantee that no movies will have it? where did you read this? Please provide a link that shows that ALL Bluray disks will be playable in HD without HDMI. Stop making stuff up it is just confusing people. It should be stated clearly that the Ps3-- supports some but not all HD movies. Sony and people like you make it seem like these are like DVD players or VHS players. They are not. A ps2 can play DVDs released in 2007. There is nothing saying that a PS3-- will play HD movies from a DVD released in 2007. Do you see the difference. This should either be called a time limited bluray player or clearly state that not all bluray movies will play.
Where did you get the info on the price of a bluray player in a few years. Do you have some inside knowledge that we don't have? or are you making more stuff up to justify sony's false advertising.
thunderleg @ May 14th 2006 11:49PM
Out goes the two-port router dealie, too... not that I need a third one..
C. Grant @ May 14th 2006 11:50PM
Chris: "1. Joystiq hasn't really been a bastion of journalistic integrity these last couple weeks, which causes me to wonder about their motives for saying... well, anything they've got motivation enough to want to say."
I have no idea what that means. Our motivation for saying anything we've got motivation to say?
V1L3 @ May 14th 2006 11:52PM
I understand what Sony are trying to do here. They're saying "Look, if you're an early adopter, and you want all the high-tec stuff we're offering, here's the premium package," and to those who only want it for games, they're saying "Here's a more affordable option - you can still play games and watch movies in HD (for the forseeable future), and if you don't have an HDTV with HDMI input yet."
The only problem is that the cheaper model isn't really all that cheap. If they were able to match the price of the 360 premium package ($400), that would make a lot more sense and sway a lot more people over.
Still, with all this backlash, it's entirely possible that Sony will reevaluate their pricing (in much the same way as they reevaluated the boomerang design). Nintendo, on the other hand...
Hank McCoy @ May 14th 2006 11:53PM
HDMI is unnecessary for 1080p games. Component Cables are capable of carrying images at 1080p as well. What is nice about HDMI though, is that it's a purely digital source; with component, the digital image from the PS3 is converted to analog over the cable, then reconverted back to digital by the tv. A purely digital source should look better with HDMI/DVI.
As for blu-ray movies, HDMI is only necessary if the company has implemented an Image Constraint Token (ICT) into a particular disc. If implemented, the ICT downgrades the picture resolution by half over component cables, requiring the use of an HDMI/DVI connection supporting Hi-Def Copy Protection (HDCP) for full 1080p. So far, companies have decided not to use this feature, although the possibility that this may change in the future exists.
minus_273 @ May 14th 2006 11:56PM
#42
HDMI has everything to do with security. It is the only connector right now that supports HDCP. My point being the Ps3-- has no HDMI support and by extension no HDCP support. the Ps3-- does not have anything else that supports HDCP and therefore if there is a movie that requires HDCP, it will not play it in HD. Sony MUST tell people this. Either that or there will be a lawsuit once Bluray disks stop playing on the PS3--.
Heck, it is not enough that you have a HDMI port, you have to have a HDMI display to watch HD movies from the PS3--. A DVI display does not have HDCP.
Psaakyrn @ May 14th 2006 11:58PM
To #32:
The first link, the only one which might prove your case, is down.
All the other links points to Eyetoy functionality (using a camera to detect movement), and has nothing to do with the technology Nintendo is implementing. About warhawk, a direct conversion of controls isn't THAT hard to implement. Given a proper SDK, you can directly translate analog left to tilt left, and etc. How about the fact that there's only 1 game, and no other demos, which uses it?
Lastly, what's with the hxxp?
minus_273 @ May 15th 2006 12:00AM
#46 "Heck, it is not enough that you have a HDMI port, you have to have a HDMI display to watch HD movies from the PS3--. A DVI display does not have HDCP."
I meant watch on a PS3