Rumor: 40GB PS3 shows up in UPC database [update]

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 2nd 2007 at 10:56AM }

We received a tip that a UPC database website is now listing a UPC for the "Sony PlayStation 3 40GB." Apparently the site gets its info from GS1 sites, which give UPC information to the public. We're not certain how reliable the database is, so we're tacking "rumor" on this story for now. Interestingly, we did test various UPCs we had lying around, like the one on our copy of BioShock (710425299636) and another on a carton of Half & Half (075457427007), and all showed up correctly -- the website claims not to allow user generated data.

If the PS3 40GB UPC listing is correct (we're attempting other avenues of verification at the moment), it would be another log on the rumor-fire that just won't die. The key "feature" of the 40GB PS3 model would be its alleged $399 price tag, bringing the system into much more financially-friendly waters, and hopefully increasing system sales. If this UPC code holds up, it'll be hard for Sony to keep a lid on the 40-gigger much longer, but for now it's still very much in rumor territory.

Update: Engadget's got word of the 40GB model appearing in Best Buy's internal inventory.

Update 2: PS3 Fanboy shows Play.com has it now too.

[Thanks J. Jenkins]

Tags: 40GB, ps3, sony, UPC

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

DarthDavid @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:02AM

Hopefully they'll mark down the remaining 60GB EEs down to $450 or something......pound for pound that the best value system to get. I could care less about the 40GB....

Rayonic @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:52AM

Sony won't mark down the 60gb version to $450. They're already losing enough money on that model as it is, and $100 seems like a natural price difference.

So... two $100 price drops (well, pretty much) within the first year of release. What lesson do we learn from this? Don't buy a PS3 now. By the time the big budget games get released, there will be another price drop. Or two.

Of course, maybe the 40gb version won't have backwards compatibility? That makes the $500 60gb box more attractive, but it still might be cheaper overall to keep (or even buy) a PS2 in addition to your cheap late-2008 PS3.

Jerk Face @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:03AM

Honestly, and I really hate to admit this, for $399 I'd consider grabbing a PS3.

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:06AM

"for $399 I'd consider grabbing a PS3"

To play what???

danny. @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:15AM

I'm with you on that. As far as 'to play what?', I'll start with LittleBigPlanet.

Brandon @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:19AM

Or Motorstorm, or Resistance, or Heavenly Sword, or Ninja Gaiden Sigma, or Super Stardust HD.

glitched @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:22AM

Warhawk

Jerk Face @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:22AM

All I'm saying is that eventually the PS3 is going to be okay. Anyone saying otherwise is just being stupid. It's true. It will. Right now there is jack shit to play, I know this. But soon enough there will be some games. For that price, I'd think about it.

I mean the hardware is great. Games look great on it. There is no arguing against that. EVENTUALLY there will be games. There has to be. Does it suck now? Hell yes. Does Sony suck at marketing? Hell yes. But will it kill this pretty more-than-alright system they put together? No. So maybe I'll get one. For that price.

Jerk Face @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:22AM

Or White Knight Story. Or FFXIII. Or Gran Turismo. Or Metal Gear. Or... that one kind of cool looking adventure/rpg that I can't remember right now.

There will be games.

Mr. P @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:23AM

Why do you hate to admit it? It's a good console, even at $500. Most of the people complaining about the price are only doing so because they already bought Xbox 360 and can't afford to buy a second console. If you haven't bought one yet, PS3 is the better deal. Believe me if I knew about the red ring back in 2005, I never would've supported MS.

copa @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:25AM

"I'll start with LittleBigPlanet."

I am super-pumped about LittleBigPlanet, but that is a terrible reason to buy a PS3 right now.

Remember all the people earlier this year who said they were happy with their $600 PS3 purchase because MGS4 and FFXIII were coming out for the system?

Guess what, they paid way too much. Those games still aren't out yet, and the system will be available for $400 soon.

You will probably get an even better deal on PS3 in 2Q of next year, when LittleBigPlanet shows up.

Paying too much for hardware now in hopes of future software is not very smart.

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:26AM

i know jerk, eventually it will be a decent system. but you might as well wait for all of those games to come out, and there might be yet another price drop by that time to boot

Jerk Face @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:28AM

@copa

Well said. That's why for now I'm considering it; not lining up with my wallet.

I mean.

Not that there's a LINE.

It's not a Wii, after all.

Zing!

samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:37AM

I WAS excited for LitteBigPlanet, but my enthusiasm kinda farted out the last time it was on display at...E3, was it?

I need to see some evidence that there's an actual game there. Enemies, bosses, something vaguely resembling a story for motivation to move on, etc. Right now, what they've been showing makes it just look like a very impressive demo system or something that you'd screw around in for a little while before moving on to other things.

Anyway, a $400 PS3 will give Sony a boost, but not the boost Sony fanboys probably think it'll be. There are still no system selling games (unless Uncharted blows up big), $400 is still too expensive for most people who aren't "hardcore" gamers (see: tepid 360 sales) and, of course, it'll be seen as the "gimped" model and probably sell about as well as the 20GB did or the 360 Core (or soon to be Arcade).
That said, I DO still think the PS3 will ultimately pull ahead of the 360 and that a $400 PS3 will sell better than a $400 360. 115 million people is going to guarantee a good number of people just buying the damn thing because it says 'PlayStation'. Same thing happened with the N64, too.

Jerk Face @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:47AM

@samfish

I mean... Superman 64 was awesome though, right?

samfish (MSDF- Nurse Outfit!) @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:52AM

Best game ever!
Unless you had the pleasure of playing Atari Superman, that is.

Crono (NDF - French Taunting from Holy Grail Ring) @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:53AM

I'll get a PS3 when I can get one (on ebay or whatever) for less than 250, AND I can name 5 games I want for it.

Right now, there's only 1 game, FF13. That doesn't look to be changing anytime soon, either.

Hirsbrunner @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:12PM

For #399, I may consider picking one up, too.

"To play what???"

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

LittleBigPlanet

ummm...well...for now that's it.

ill trooper @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:21PM

Look, it's such a farce to say that there are no games on the PS3. What most of you are trying to say is that there are no different games to play if you already own a 360, a valid point, and if I have a friend that hasn't commited to a 'new-gen' machine yet, I tell them that the 360 is probably the best bet, but honestly we reading Joystiq are a bunch of nerds who are mildly obsessed with games, and a lot of people are still out there thinking this may be the holiday to throw down and go PS3 and/or 360, and if you look at the shelves, you'll see NBA, Madden, Rainbow 6, GRAW2, etc., out on both systems.

Obviously, HALO 3 throws a wrench in that for some, but others may not care about Halo. Like everyone who owns a PS3, I'd like to see more games, more often, but they are there - probably more so than for the Wii even. There is a whole subset of video game nerds that are NOT Nintendo/Halo people: a group that is only into sports games like FIFA, Madden, and NBA games. Those guys don't give a shit if Mario Galaxies is great or how many stellar sales numbers the Wii posts; it's just not gonna work for them.

A $399 PS3 would also appeal to people who are itching to spend another chunk of money on something new, since maybe they've had a 360 for 2 years and a PS3 would be a nice compliment to the 'pimp' factor in the entertainment room.

The PS3 is a cool system; I still get more out of my 360, but if parity is achieved (big, big goals, I know, and by that I mean: multiplatform game quality improvement and online interaction with friends, aka the 'xbox LIVE factor'), I might rather be using my PS3 - it's quieter, the menu system is faster, it's more dependable (my second 360 is on it's way back from Microsoft now), I can use a wider variety of headsets and hardrives, and I like it. My 360s have just been too bitchy. I know I'm not alone, and it's in the air: the 360 is prone to breakng down. Microsoft needs to use the lead they have in this race and massive resources they have to improve build quality.

These factors might lead to a healthy holiday season for Sony. And even if you disagree, you can at least respect the subtle alliteration in that last sentence.

Raikage (NDF - PK THUNDER RING) @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:41PM

Tru dat bro smif!

Ryan LN @ Oct 2nd 2007 4:53PM

Words I never thought I'd type:

I gotta agree with Jerkface.

Getting the PS3 would complete my new gen system trifecta, and at $399 it is at a price where I wouldn't have to punch myself in the face for buying it. I agree with those who say that it may be worth up to $500 on potential alone, but I am probably saying nothing new when I say that at that price it is not worth it if you already own 360 and a Wii. Even if the PS3 only ends up having five games over the course of its lifetime that I really like, the satisfaction that I will have just from having the damn thing and being able to play any current generation game that I like is worth it at $399- although it would be WAY more worth it at $349.I suppose I'm just a completist at heart.

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:04AM

Sell it for $199, I still wont buy that crap!!

GRANTED @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:10AM

fanboy much?

Ihya @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:11AM

Thank you for your utterly pointless insight. Lets hope this wasn't your high water mark for intellectualism this week.

GRANTED @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:18AM

ill be here next week too!!

Ihya @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:45AM

It was a reply to Fenix!

GRANTED @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:55AM

hi five!

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:01PM

Wait that was a typo, I meant sell it for $299 and I still wont buy that crap.

$199 would be the sweetspot for my Bluray player

joeyg @ Oct 2nd 2007 12:21PM

Fenix..

total unrelated post..but i just wanted to let you know that I gave gears another shot. The giant game wasn't on until late sunday, so i was bored the whole day. I played for several hours

Here's my thoughts:
The environments feel a bit fake..almost as if i'm not really in them.

The game seems very repetative and linear. Make way to next checkpoint, kill enemies, go to checkpoint, rinse, repeat.

the game is ok, it was entertaining for the time i was bored...i wouldn't call it great though.

I can't comment on the multiplayer, but I enjoy realistic fps (such as battlefield). The whole "unreal" thing doesn't do it for me.

On topic, yes, a $400 ps3 will do well..I'll buy one.

xXFenixKnight13Xx @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:38PM

joeyg

Cant win'em all I guess lol

So I guess you cant wait for COD4 then right? Thats going to be the SHIZNIT!!! =)

Negativecool @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:05AM

Wow...people work really hard to prove rumors. People are using avenues I would never have thought of looking before...The patent office patent registrations, FCC paperwork, UPC database.
What next? Will people start making shit up to prove this (if they haven't already) like:
There has been electronic confirmation from the International Center for Electronics and Multimedia Licensing and Registration that confirms this rumor!

The ZeroCorpse @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:07AM

I'd almost consider it at this price. . . Almost.

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:10AM

haha sony can't keep secrets

Brandon @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:21AM

Hardly anyone keeps price drop secrets nowadays. We knew about the 360 a couple of weeks before it happened. Same with the first PS3 drop.

Konny @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:16AM

And, Canadians will get reamed with a $450 price tag when the Canadian Dollar is worth more than the Greenback.. fricken lame.

Beck @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:24AM

Yeah, that is gonna blow. Might as well go across the boarder and buy the system =P

Brandon @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:25AM

Since when, according to the exchange rates. Canadian dollars and US dollars are roughly at a 1 to 1 exchange rate, with the canadian dollar fluctuationg a couple of pennies above and below.

Beck @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:06PM

Yesh, but that doesn't mean companies will adapt to it right away when they know they can make a quick buck outta the process - in this case... a lot of cash.

Marty @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:28AM

The 20Gb PS3 flopped, and you could have just bought the thing and replaced the hard drive... so I don't really see why a 40Gb PS3 is going to make much difference in whether or not people buy the hardware.

The fact is, if you want to push hardware, you need SOFTWARE to sell it.

Hiroken @ Oct 2nd 2007 7:13PM

I'll give you three reasons the 40GB will do better than the 20GB:

1. The 20GB had significantly less features (no wifi) but was $499. Anyone who spent that was just going to get the $599 anyway.

2. At launch, there was ONE game worth playing: Resistance. And that's not a $559 game. Now, there are multiple games (I have almost ten PS3 games already that I consider worth purchasing with more on the horizon), and with used games popping up, there are more choices at better prices.

3. There are shitloads of people (read: Australians and Europeans) waiting for a cheaper PS3.

~

david @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:30AM

the more interesting thing is how MS responds, and the 360 rumored bundle at 349 with forza and marvel seems rather drab. I think it would be better if MS gave you a choice of picking two games from a list of ten like they are doing for the high def movies.

I really think the halo 3 hype will be mostly done by the holiday season. I much rather see a 360 at 299 than the bundle at 350

why not the LS2/LS7? @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:32AM

Here's the guidelines for submitting info:

http://www.upcdatabase.com/guidelines.asp

In other words, they DO take user-submitted info.

The is likely a hoax. Not that I'm saying Sony doesn't have a 40GB unit, just that this particular entry is made up.

Dave @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:37AM

Yeah, I work with UPC codes for a living...and GS1 are the people you get the bar code from, but they don't keep info about what UPC goes to what product. That database is all user-generated info, same thing with stores...they all rely on EDI to get that info.

Long story short...until it's officially announced or in stores, we won't know for real.

JodyAnthony (FDF - Hedonism Bot) @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:34AM

this secret is about as poorly kept as "Black 360 coming!" or "PS3 to have rumble soon!"

hvnlysoldr @ Oct 2nd 2007 1:44PM

It's a secret to everyone.

JL @ Oct 2nd 2007 2:19PM

Everytime I read your comments I think of them being said in Hedonism bots' voice.

http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/0/0e/Hedonism_Bot.JPG

jsn @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:37AM

you seriously have to be stupid to buy a console, any console, for one or two games. There is no game good enough, has never been a game good enough, to justify me spending $400-$600 just to play it. When I buy a console it's about the overall experience and there is nothing about the overall experience of the ps3 that compels me to buy it, even at $399. I honestly don't think I'm that different from most buyers either.

I think that if Sony has a bad holiday season, which I predict they will, they will likely look to drop the price yet again shortly around MGS/FF release time. Considering how few blockbuster exclusives they have coming out this holiday, my best option is to wait on another price drop.

JodyAnthony (FDF - Hedonism Bot) @ Oct 2nd 2007 11:40AM

I bought a PS2 for $300 just for Suikoden III.

I mean, of course I ended up with a ton of other games for the system (actually it's pretty much tied with SNES for my 'favorite console ever' award) but if it wasn't for Suikoden III who knows when or if I would have bought one.

All it takes is one title to really push a console. the title may be different for everyone, but still.