Amazon Japan sells 20GB PS3 for twice price of 40GB
by Justin McElroy 
{ Mar 3rd 2008 at 11:30AM }
Are we headed for a similar fate here in the states? No. Or at least, not immediately. With a mostly backwards compatible model already announced for June, it seems that that the folks who like to keep one foot in each generation aren't in danger of the chasm they straddle widening and swallowing them whole just yet.
[Via CVG]
Read -- JAPAN: older PS3 models price doubled! (NSFW ads)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Phranctoast @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:38AM
If you have no interest in Remote Play, the 20gig PS3 was a great buy.
KingOfGods @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:50AM
I have a 20GB PS3 with 160GB HDD and I use remote play all the time.
JayVe @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:54AM
Remote play works on the 20 gig model, but it has to be connected via an Ethernet cable since it has no WiFi built into the box.
FrankTheCrank @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:39AM
I have a 20GB PS3 bought 10 days after launch. I put a 160GB drive in it. I still have the original 20GB drive.
The bidding begins now!!! The reserve is $800.
JayVe @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:41AM
"backwards compatibility, as you know from PlayStation One and PlayStation 2, is a core value of what we believe we should offer. And access to the library of content people have created, bought for themselves, and accumulated over the years is necessary to create a format. PlayStation is a format meaning that it transcends many devices -- PSOne, PS2 and now PS3." - Sony's Phil Harrison as recent as 2006
Personally, I have a 20 gig model. It is a shame that Sony has forgotten their promises to consumers. :(
FidliousWong (Oatmeal Defense Force) @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:19PM
Why am I not suprised by your comment? I swear, the day you say ANYTHING good about Sony, it will be a portent to doom. Thousands of islanders will hurl themselves into lava pits in an attempt to appease the god which would be offended by such an event...
And Tom Hanks would trade orange soda with the survivors...
Ieatbrains @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:54PM
Even if he is a hater it doesnt make the quote untrue.
Mills and Boom @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:02PM
Oh is that Fidel Wong or whatever he was called being a fanboy again?
Thanks for posting the quote. Goes to show how their priorities shift, and their promises and ideas go broken. Frankly I don't trust Sony (and a few other, non-gaming companies) and quotes like that remind me of that.
fwacce @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:52PM
How are Sony's priorities shifting? They still offer a BC option for those that want it. For those that don't, they can buy the cheaper 40GB model. Seriously, what's the problem?
Arttemis @ Mar 3rd 2008 2:58PM
At the moment... they don't offer any consoles with BC. (no more 80GB at the moment)
FidliousWong (Oatmeal Defense Force) @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:15PM
I really do enjoy the logic thread derailings here at Joystiq. It amuses me to no end. Any Sony news will be flocked upon by the Sony bashers and anyone who begs to disagree is slammed for being a fanboy. Mainly by people who do nothing but bash consoles. Hilarious and amusing to no end.
In any Sony thread, all you really have to do is type "fuck Sony" and you're done. And then you wonder why the idiots like Co, Curmeo, and Ken have to troll other threads.
Chameleon @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:24PM
'have to troll other threads'
hmm ...
'choose to troll other threads'
fixed that for you ....
Player1 @ Mar 3rd 2008 4:45PM
In a interview with Peter Dille (Sony's SVP of Marketing) in EGM last month he says that nobody has fully done backwards compatability this generation...right after a question about the Wii.
Also in regards to multiplatform games not running as well on PS3s he says something to the effect that that when you go from a lower denominator to a more powerful machine you're never going to get more performance out of it. A more powerful machine can't get higher performance?
I don't know where Sony gets these people but I think it's from a bubble.
FidliousWong (Oatmeal Defense Force) @ Mar 3rd 2008 5:02PM
player1, Toadstool Tour doesn't work on Wii. At least it doesn't for me. Still works on my cube though.
Player1 @ Mar 3rd 2008 5:39PM
I found a post where someone was having problems. Others were reporting no issues. I could be a memory card issue if you're using a Mad Catz card or something.
Max @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:42AM
It looks a lot nicer too. The chrome on the other ones looks naff. Go matt black!
JayVe @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:44AM
But... chrome is blingtastic!
And who is Matt Black?
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:11PM
ugh, different strokes for different folks then i guess cause it think the 20GB is an abomination. the thing is hideous to me. i have the 60GB and its just so sexy and shiny that it sticks out as the first thing you notice when you walk in my room (good thing we dont have much crime where i live lol).
xFenixKnightx @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:26PM
"who is Matt Black?"
I loled +1
DangerMouse @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:53AM
What is the "mostly backwards compatible model already announced for June"? Isn't that just the 80GB that's out now with software BC? I know about the MGS4 bundle in june, but is there another one, too?
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:13PM
yea they say "mostly" cause it has like 85% BC while the 60GB and 20GB both had the PS2 Emotion Engine inside and can do like 99$ BC. 85% isnt bad either considering most of the ones it doesnt play are probably obscure titles like My Little Ponies and Brittney's Dance games.
PSN: KillaKornbread (the shirt is a lie!) @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:15PM
and to actually answer your question, yes it is the 80GB. im guessing the MGS4 bundle more than likely.
Chameleon @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:02PM
@korn/anyone who knows
do you know if there's a list anywhere detailing which games are bc for the upcoming 80gb ....
DangerMouse @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:56PM
I wasn't sure if it's the same 80GB one that's been out for a while now or if it's a new 80GB model. As for compatiblity, you can go to the playstation site and look up each game to see if it's compatible.
Arttemis @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:01PM
"do you know if there's a list anywhere detailing which games are bc for the upcoming 80gb ...."
Sony has their own website dedicated to this:
http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/CompatibleStatus
Chameleon @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:20PM
much appreciated ....
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:53AM
If the prices stay high, surely Sony will make a new model with the highest BC to take advantage of the demand. Well, if the demand is real.
Arttemis @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:19PM
I truly hope so. I'd much rather buy a new/retail PS3 with the hardware BC than a used/refurbished one.
Marry me Mario @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:54AM
SCE UK boss Ray Maguire thanks trade partners after milestone – and promises greater success in ‘08
PlayStation 3 has officially sold one million units at UK retail, hitting the milestone faster than PSOne or PS2.
Anbd now Sony Computer Entertainment UK boss Ray Maguire is more confident than ever that the console can step up its game further in the next-gen race this year.
“Achieving one million PS3 sales faster than both PSOne and PlayStation 2 is even more gratifying considering PS3 is a premium product introduced at a premium price,” he told MCV.
It is amazing to me the level of spin the media in general put on the 1st year of the PS3. Remember it was a failure right? So how can a failure sell a million system FASTER than the 2 most successful consoles of all time?
The amount of FUD that was spread about the PS3 in 2007 boggles my mind. Well ladies it looks like by the end of 2008 ALL the media will be singing the PS3's praises INCLUDING Joystiq and everyone will conveniently "forget" about what was said in 2007.
I sure hope that the PS3 continues to FAIL like it has so far and that it FAILS even more than the PS1 or PS2.
Marry me Mario @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:57AM
FYI
Sony will finally have in game XMB in the 2.4 update at the launch of MGS4. About fraking time. Hopefully it will allow complete access to the XMB and not be limited like the 360's in-game access.
NATO_Duke @ Mar 3rd 2008 11:58AM
As always - that whole post doesn't have a damn thing to do with this subject. Crawl back into your hole.
Marry me Mario @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:10PM
As always? Sure bud wutevah
I was showing the continuing rise in VALUE of the PS3. Is that NOT what this article is about?
Its OK if your bitter that the Playstation brand will for the 3rd generation be the machine to own. Really, its ok.
Curtis the Claw Game Master V2 @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:11PM
I actually read your post this time and wish I hadn't. Why don't you try commenting about something on the article? You sound like a complete retard when you go on and on about completely random stuff like how many PS3's have been sold. I own a PS3 and completely love it, and would even say that I'm a "PS3 fanboy". I hope that everyone doesn't think a PS3 fanboy has to be like you, I wouldn't even call you a fanboy now. All you do is give the PS3 a bad name.
JayVe @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:13PM
Funny
That 'rising value' seems to be for the backwards-compatible model. The value is being gained on models Sony discontinued.
I suppose people really want backwards compatibility.
Curtis the Claw Game Master V2 @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:18PM
"I was showing the continuing rise in VALUE of the PS3. Is that NOT what this article is about?"
No, it's not what the article is about. It sounds like you didn't read the article, you just hurried and posted something you had copied and pasted to post on all the articles today. The article is about how PS3's with backwards compatability are wanted more then the new PS3's. People want the older PS3's instead of the new ones! That's pretty pathetic! I'm just glad I got a 60gb PS3 before Sony decided backwards compatability wasn't important.
NATO_Duke @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:32PM
Another day where you go troll the PS3 site and copy paste random news releases into a post in order to sound like you have a clue. You're a troll plain and simple.
I myself am not bitter about a thing - I like my PS3 just fine and unlike you I don't have to stretch to justify its existence every day.
Maybe you should listen to what people here say to you each time you post this trash.
xFenixKnightx @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:33PM
Dear Joystiq,
Please thrust thy mighty banhammer upon this imbecile with the Ken Kutaragi avatar once and for all. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! Ive never seen him ONCE...have a normal convo on videogames in general. To quote J-love Hewitt from I Know What You Did Last Summer...
"What are you waiting for?! What are you waiting for?!!"
why not the LS2/LS7? @ Mar 3rd 2008 1:58PM
Oh please Fenix. As long as Fernando is around, this Ken guy can't be banned. And I modded Ken here down.
Joystiq is apparently more tolerant of fanboy screed from all sides than you or I would be.
Curtis the Claw Game Master V2 @ Mar 3rd 2008 2:33PM
No, this guy is much worse then Fernando. Fernando is actually funny at times, sure sometimes he goes off on a fanboy tangent but it's nothing compared to this guy. This guy posts utter nonsense on every post he can, it's insane. It embarrasses me that I own the same console as this guy.
Arttemis @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:08PM
Back to the issue of backwards compatibility... :
I would purchase a brand new PS3 with hardware supported BC without hesitation if they offered it. As it stands, I'm very hard pressed in deciding whether or not to buy the MGS4 bundle or to get a used 20/60GB model.
I'd imagine Sony would rather receive the money, not someone on ebay.
Chameleon @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:34PM
@Arttemis
agree wholeheartedly. my friend's 60gb just stopped the other day (no clue why, but the kid's affluent so he just went out and bought another one) and since he got it from craigslist around launch, he offered it to me for free if i can get it fixed. now wanting BC as badly as i do, the question becomes take him up on his offer or wait til june ....
NATO_Duke @ Mar 3rd 2008 3:54PM
Why wouldn't you take a free machine. Then you could mess with it to try and get it working without a loss.
Chameleon @ Mar 3rd 2008 4:22PM
@Duke
im considering that, but in all honesty ... im not that confident in my technical fixing skills ....
Mike @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:04PM
"...it seems that that the folks who like to keep one foot in each generation aren't in danger of the chasm they straddle widening and swallowing them whole just yet."
It's gems like this that keep Justin's posts at the top of the heap for Joystiq regulars. Not to mention funniest.
Curtis @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:17PM
"I was showing the continuing rise in VALUE of the PS3. Is that NOT what this article is about?"
No, it's not what the article is about. It sounds like you didn't read the article, you just hurried and posted something you had copied and pasted to post on all the articles today. The article is about how PS3's with backwards compatability are wanted more then the new PS3's. People want the older PS3's instead of the new ones! That's pretty pathetic! I'm just glad I got a 60gb PS3 before Sony decided backwards compatability wasn't important.
Curtis the Claw Game Master V2 @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:18PM
I hate the comment system:(
Papa Midnight @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:18PM
Fanboys never cease to amaze me. Take the time to knock Sony even though Sony never had anything to do officially with what this article is discussing.
Farseer (GDI) @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:28PM
...and don't forget the other end of the spectrum - those who take the time to praise Sony even though Sony never had anything to do officially with what this article is discussing.
Erwos @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:22PM
Makes the $425 I just spent on a 60gb PS3 look like a steal, I guess.
h8rain @ Mar 3rd 2008 12:33PM
When I heard they were discontinuing the 60gb and no longer making them with the actual chips, I picked up the last one from Best Buy. Got a free game and controller to sweeten the deal even further.