UBERBURN!

MS sku system isn't that out of control though. I mean its pretty easy to figure...esp when they give code names.

Core, Premium, and Elite. Thats it.
Now sony on the other hand just differentiates between the amount of Hard Drive and BC...with no codenames. SO you've got a clusterfuck of random skus...with more being added on each quarter it seems and others being discounted...

Seriously this like what the 3rd or 4th playstation 3 to be terminated in a lil over a year?

360 and PS3 are more like computers than the Wii - with the ability to swap HDDs in and out they can provide cheaper, smaller SKUs for purist gamers and have bigger drive space machines for people interested in using their systems as a media center - I dunno, to me Microsoft and Sony juggling around different HDD sizes is kind of expected.

There's a lot more to the Wii's success than its single SKU strategy, and a lot more to the 360 and PS3's relative failure than their multiple SKU strategies. There's nothing wrong with having multiple consoles on the shelf, in principle.

You're saying MS's strategy of having 4-5 SKUs on the market all the time with completely informationless titles like "Arcade, Core, Premium, Elite" is better than having just two - the expensive one and the cheap one? For most people who don't know the difference, the cheaper one will be perfectly sufficient. Unlike the 360, where the lowest end boxes are missing some serious functionality (hard drives, wireless), the low end of the Sony is fully functional with the exception of backwards compatibility.... and most moms and dads have no clue about that anyway. Anyone who knows enough to wonder about BC will know enough to read the packaging.

"There is still only one SKU for Wii."

They can't have more SKU's...unlike the PS3 and 360, the Wii's multimedia capabilities are mediocre (Wii Photo or MP3 Playback...seriously, wtf?)

And as far as I know, it was reported that there won't be a Wii with a HDD, so...how would you expect there to be another SKU for the Wii?...

It's not that they are on top for just having one SKU...so I don't know why you would want the PS3 or 360 to follow that

So, if this rumor were true, anyone who actually bought the 80 gig (say, over Christmas) is totally getting screwed.

Sony does enjoy having the consumer get down on all fours and beg for mercy...

How are they screwed? All they are missing is a few gigabytes and a rumble controller. Unless you already have 7 controllers, you won't be wasting money getting another one (this time with rumble).

Will you have missed out (just barely) on a good deal, a couple months later? Yes. but that happens all the time. And you got to play with your PS3 for a couple months in the mean time.

Now, Co... this is the same industry leader that is currently running 9 SKUs for the DS in Japan, right? I'm wondering if we're talking about Nintendo here...

Kushiell, umm... MS was running five SKUs throughout the holiday season, that is if we don't consider the bundles a seperate SKU like they were in most computer systems. In which case, we have 7. But with the various SKUs, you get dramatically different performance and features whereas PS3 only misses BC depending upon the SKU.

@Nate

Sony continues to create new SKU's, then abandon them for one with a bigger hard drive (and less quality guts) so they can entice the user to buy (while saving money for the quality). Sony should make their mind and then stick to the product, instead of constantly changing their minds.

Oh, so that's why Nintendo is thinking about a DVD Video enabled Nintendo Wii console for Japan then?

@FidliousWong

The DS situation in Japan is not comparable to this at all. Saying that Nintendo has 9 different DS SKU's in Japan is misleading. It's just different colors, not different specs or internal components.

lol thanks Guzzie, I was just about to say the same thing....

Ssuk, the fact that Nintendo is "thinking" about bringing a DVD enabled Wii to Japan means nothing until it (if ever) comes to fruition. C'mon, thats ur argument?

Sony is basically throwing anything out there to see what sticks. Along the way, they're cost cutting, removing a feature or two here and there, while perhaps value adding something else.

It almost appears if they don't know what they're doing and they're making it up as they go along. I don't recall this many Playstation models in such a short time frame from Sony in the past.

While it's not necessarily a bad thing, I think there is *some* confusion between the various releases. That the hard drive is self upgradable, makes me wonder why anyone would buy the higher end unit when you can achieve or exceed the space yourself. But I can certainly see Sony attempting to match or exceed Microsoft 120GB offering.

Sony's biggest gain will arrive when the console hits $299 in my opinion. It's unfortunate they had to start so high and struggle out of the gate, when they completely dominated last generation. They should have not lost any momentum from that.

@FidliousWong
There's a big difference between Nintendo offering a choice of colors on the same hardware at the same price, and Microsoft charging extra if you want Green and Black!

For the love of god, can they just stick to something already. It is one thing to have a new "model" after sometime, like a few years for the really small ps2, but for god sakes, this is what the fourth revision barely over a year!!!

I'm glad I already have one, so the only thing I'm truly mad about is that this one might come with rumble....

@Noshino
Don't PS3 and the 360 have the ability to see and play image and music files..... Don't know why having those would be harmful. Personally, I don't use any of my systems for anything aside from playing games since I already have an X product that is use for the Y function. I don't see myself saying "O look at these pictures I took, turn on your ps3/360/wii you got to see them!!!", or "Turn on your system, and listen to this sh!t". With the exception of downloading movies and tv shows with xbox live and psn, you probably already have something that can do what they can do, for example, a computer. "I've downloaded movies on my computer before though, wasn't hard and it was cheaper, and not illegally ether, although that way would be far cheaper."

Although having extra features, even if you will never use them, are always nice.

"The DS situation in Japan is not comparable to this at all. Saying that Nintendo has 9 different DS SKU's in Japan is misleading. It's just different colors, not different specs or internal components."

Yes, I think sheppy's comment is misleading, but what about the GBA? I mean, Nintendo has had the handheld market for quite a while, and yet, how many SKU's are there for the GBA? GBA, GBA SP, and GBA Micro (Im not missing any, right?)

See, the "one SKU" strategy has nothing to do with being on the top, once again, most of Nintendo consoles haven't undergone any upgrades during their cycle...


Jimwack,

"Don't PS3 and the 360 have the ability to see and play image and music files..... "

Exactly, my point is, the media capabilities of teh 360 and PS3 are beyond to the ones of the Wii (and I put as an example that Nintendo can't even get both Wii Photo and MP3 playback to work), so there aren't many functionalities that you can add/remove to make other SKU's, I mean, an HDD would be a big change, but Nintendo already turned down the idea of one...

Actually no, I wasn't misunderstood. Because most of you people have been throwing around the term SKU as if you knew what the hell it meant. SKU stands for Stock Keeping Units. Period.

So how does this apply? Well, right now, there are roughly 9 different versions of DS you can buy. Some special editions, some with pack in games, and yes, even refurbished units get their own SKU. My point is the term SKU means all of dick when using it as an attack basis. After all, PS2 in the US alone has had at least 10 different SKUs that I can think of off the top of my head. I'd almost be willing to bet the actual number is double. Why is this important? Because PSP got bashed at launch for being too expensive and that was Sony's fault since they ONLY launched in the US with one SKU... the "value" pack.

So what should you guys be using instead of a generic term like SKUs? How about model numbers? Hard thing to grasp, I know, especially since the model number is so very difficult to find considering it's right next to the UPC. Because Model Number is how everything from mobo version to Disc Drive variants is tied to your machine. If a company is doing their job properly, they are not hiding minor updates and changes within the same model number (which means, yes... both the 360 and the Wii are guilty). Model Numbers also refer to what feature sets are included in the device.

Now, if we're talking about SKUs, PSP has, in the US, had 8. If we're talking models, we've had 2. See the difference there?

Besides, at the end of the day, didn't Ken Kuturugi state long ago that he wanted PS3 to mimmick PSX (as in the Uber PS2 for Japan) in how the system will constantly be evolving? Wasn't this the main thing he was talking about when bragging the system up? Cause I really have to be honest, that's the jist I got from his speeches.

See the bigger picture you moron. Another sku probably means a price drop on the current ones. It's all good news for the consumer.

@KushielsScion007

Actually, though there are three SKUs for the 360 versus four for the PS3, there are multiple revisions for 360 SKU. The older ones do not have HDMI and are more prone to failure, so its a pretty big thing to make sure you got the right revision.

Oh ruibing, there it is - how the hell do you people always find a way to bring in the RRoD issue. That has nothing to do with the sku's. There is no sku out there for the RROD in which MS says, "Hey, lets make 20,000 RRoD sku's models this month!"

Get over it and move on.

Kinda, sorta. Honestly, I was expecting this move. After all, the 20GB drives were axed because it was more expensive to make a 20GB hard drive than it was a 40GB. The 60GB likewise are more expensive than making the 80GB. So I expect 80GBs are getting close to that point where it's cheaper just to make the larger hard drives.

Whooooo Hooooo America did it first!!!

U-S-A! U-S-A!

America Fuck Yeah!

Reminds me of that Chappelle skit where he imagined the Count as a pimp...

"How many times must I slap you? one! two! three!"

Five! Five SKUs! A ha ha ha ha!

Six! SIXAXIS! A ha ha ha ha!

"When I'm alone I f*** myself"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlzodENKG7c

It could be a problem if they're ditching PS2 backwards compatibility like they did with the 40GB model.

Its a problem because sony seems to think that adding features is a better idea than lowering prices.

The original 20gb model could probably be priced the same as the premium by now. But instead, they wanted more features, and its killing them at the POS.

Technically, laptop hard drives, but yes, you can, and it's 100% supported by Sony in their software and in their policy. You can get a 160 gig drive for $82 on newegg today, a 250 gig drive for $114.
Kinda makes that $180 120 gig drive for the 360 look like a total ripoff, huh?

Yea, I have the Xbox 360 Elite (which I mainly got for the HDMI port), they totally rip gamers off with the dollar per gig ratio. I think they still charge $100 for the 20 gig.

Technically, it doesn't use it as of yet - the BD "interactive features" should be detailed within a few months.

As for HD space... SONY... seriously, what the eff?

Instead of coming out with so many SKUs/version types, go with what DANGERMOUSE said on this post("If BC is still availible, has dual shock, and it retails for 499, then i think we finally have a winner."); put roughly 60-120GB as its HD and start marketing and/or sponsoring SATA drive upgrades of approved manufacturing partners. Honestly people, there's a REASON why the 60GB PS3 is sought after more than any other version...

It had BC, WiFi, MemCard slots, 4 USB ports, HDMI, and all the other features found in the other SKUs save for a game(which could be bought with the money saved from buying this instead of the 80GB... and then you could *choose* which one you want instead of MOTORSTORM). And if you need more memory than 60GB, you could either use a Memory Card, external hard drive via USB, or even swap out the SATA, which is easily done. It's a cheap man's LinuxOS-possible PC with a BluRay drive, everyone. It pays for itself, personally speaking.

Probably for playtv

My launch PS3 will still be able to play PS3 games in 4 to 5 years time. My PC on the other hand wouldn't.

PWNED!