Sony announces 80GB PS3 will be $399 in Sept.

46 Comments by Kyle Orland Jul 15th 2008 3:57PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3

At its E3 press conference today, Sony announced that, starting in September, the 80GB PS3 would be available for $399.99, down from the $499 Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle currently in place for the 80GB configuration. The newly priced 80GB system will be on par with "the current functionality of the 40GB PS3," according to Sony CEO Jack Tretton. We're not sure if this means the cheaper 80GB system will be losing functionality (like SD card readers and software PS2 emulation) that the 40GB system doesn't have, but we'll let you know as soon as we get this clarified.

Tags: 80GB, breakingnews, configuration, e3-2008, hardware, PS3

Source

(Page 1) Reader Comments

juju187: Jul 15th 2008; 3:59PM

what happen to no price cuts...

Sesur: Jul 15th 2008; 9:07PM

SERIOUSLY!!!

I just bought my 40GB last month! FUCK.

Ordeith: Jul 15th 2008; 4:03PM

No, they didn't. There was some fine print on that comment.

It is a 40GB with a larger hard drive. No thanks.

Haggard: Jul 15th 2008; 4:09PM

Yeah, they meant that it's the current gimped version with twice the hard drive.

Nice for late adopters, but since you can buy a replacement laptop HDD with up to 500GB, or a 150GB one for as low as £40, no thanks.

Demaar: Jul 15th 2008; 4:44PM

and yet they bloody well tried to spin it as a God damned positive! I think Sony totally missed the point on why people are buying the 80GB PS3s. **** me dead...

Obie: Jul 15th 2008; 4:03PM

Give me a PS3 for $299 and then we'll talk Sony.

F1 & The Way PC used to be.: Jul 15th 2008; 4:09PM

Sony just loves losing money huh?

Kspraydad: Jul 15th 2008; 4:09PM

So no more BC?

That is too bad.

Demaar: Jul 15th 2008; 4:45PM

It's clear Sony has abandoned B/C. Which is bloody stupid considering they were talking about making the transition to PS3 easier for consumers. How is stopping them from being able to trade in their PS2s and keep playing their favourite games making the transition easier? God Damn...

Jonawllen: Jul 15th 2008; 10:54PM

I've been on the fence about if I need a PS3, the fact that back compat is going extinct makes it less worhtwile. Why remove this great feature from your consoles?

JJ Rooster: Jul 16th 2008; 10:38AM

Denmar, your comment is spot on. Sony's message about a legion of PS2 users they hope to transition to PS3 users is crazy when they say "Welcome to PS3! I hope you didn't sell your PS2 to get here, did you?" whoopsie, lol! Money please!

Bluebrake: Jul 15th 2008; 4:11PM

So Tretton admits that the 80gb sales are what's been driving the PS3. So he unveils a cheaper 80gb "with the current functionality of the 40gb." In other words, no backwards compatibility. Newsflash: CONSUMERS AREN'T BUYING THE 80GB FOR ITS HARD DRIVE! Idiots.

As long as they keep selling the MGS4 bundle until then (and provided they actually manage to get it in stock somewhere I can buy it) I guess it doesn't matter to me. But goddamn, this is a dumb move.

ANTCEP: Jul 15th 2008; 4:11PM

if only a ps3 cost $399 in the uk then it would be only £30 more expensive than a wii

Mark: Jul 15th 2008; 4:17PM

I wanted to be convinced to buy a PS3 today, and I certainly wasn't. And I don't think I ever will be at this rate. Sony has failed miserably this generation and seem to be getting dumber and dumber.

phobic99: Jul 15th 2008; 4:20PM

Yep, I feel exactly the same. I wanted to be woo'd into buying a PS3 today and now they've given me a reason to wait even longer before buying one.

Thanks Sony!

why not the LS2LS7?: Jul 15th 2008; 4:18PM

I'm sad this is the end of PS2 BC.

But I know from Sony's angle it's tough to maintain multiple motherboards. Anyone who has tried to get their 60GB repaired recently knows that I mean. There's no new 60GB boards being made, so they can't just swap the motherboard out.

MS did the same thing by bringing HDMI down from just the Elite.

I wish Sony would find a way to sell the BC as an add-on. I'd play $60 for it. Just make a way to plug the chips in. That solves the problem of multiple motherboards and still keeps BC for those who want it.

Alternately, at least make a PS2 with HDMI so I can plug it in easily when I want to use it. Right now it's 5 cables (component), which is a PITA.

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread): Jul 16th 2008; 12:43AM

i was very curious about that actually. i have a 60GB PS3 and i bought a 2 year ESP with it from Wal-Mart when i bought it. but i am just so scared now that if it breaks they wont be able to fix it and will ship me a 40GB or something. i got especially scared when all this 2.40 bricking was going on and i didnt know that if you successfully installed it you were in the clear. i didnt turn my PS3 on until they said that lol. these damn changing SKU's are such a pain. i feel so bad for the people that arent in the know about this stuff cause it could get dammed confusing.

rdj75: Jul 15th 2008; 4:18PM

This is what pisses me off about MS and Sony. I mean come on, drop the price and stop with adding stuff at the same price like what apple does. Three years from now I guess you can get 200 gig 360/ps3 for the same damn price they are now while nintendo is laughing their ass off all the way to the bank. Whatever happened to price cuts?

why not the LS2LS7?: Jul 15th 2008; 4:26PM

Why do you say this when the Wii is the only current console to never have a price cut at all? And there's still no sign of one coming.

rdj75: Jul 15th 2008; 4:48PM

What I basically mean is, I am sure that MS and Sony would like to have the type of sales figures nintendo is having and the only way that will happen is if both MS and sony gets closer to the "sweet spot" of $200. But instead of leaving everything the same and just dropping the price they are adding more stuff and leaving the price essentially the same. The reason why sony and ms don't have sales figures like the wii isn't bacause of lack of storage its because both are still generally perceived as still being a little pricey and it doesn't matter what the memory is, its still going to cost you either 350 or 400.

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread): Jul 16th 2008; 12:49AM

dude you are absolutely right. every time they drop a price this gen, they introduce a new one with some new (often mundane) feature at the previous price. the essentially voids any price cut at all. i mean sure the Wii hasnt dropped in price yet, but it doesnt need too. the other 2 are so expensive that Nintendo doesnt have anything to worry about and there are no signs of that changing any time soon.

i mean the PS3 and 360 have been hovering around $400 (for a decent model) for like 2 years now, while the Wii is sitting comfortably with it's $250 price point. i dont know why Sony and MS cant see this, they are just hurting themselves.

h0mi: Jul 15th 2008; 4:22PM

Wow. MS's move seemed pretty stupid to me... this one isn't much better. The only good that can come of this is the end to multiple SKUs on the ps3.

duggie: Jul 15th 2008; 4:27PM

Are 80GB drives cheaper than 40GB drives yet?

FOXHOUND: Jul 16th 2008; 7:54AM

There's literally a "DEAL OF THE DAY"(ending 7/17) for a SAMSUNG M6 Series 320GB 2.5" SATA 1.5Gb/s Notebook(5400 RPM 8MB Cache, SATA 1.5Gb/s) for $99 bucks on NEWEGG right now. There's even a 250GB one normally running for $150.

So as you can see, Sony... hard drives aren't the point of concern from us. It's the features you've been kicking to the curb since revealling the PS3 in the first place. Memory card slots, BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY(glad I got a 60GB model, though), USB ports, HDMI ports(the original display model had 2), and so on.

Brett: Jul 15th 2008; 4:44PM

I guess I don't understand what the problem is. If the PS3 is supposedly the most "powerful" console on the market today with processors that are being used in super computers, why can't PS2 emulation be done solely through software?
I would think it'd be somewhat trivial for them to add it to all PS3s.

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread): Jul 16th 2008; 12:55AM

thats the whole crazy part. the 80GB DOES do emulation completely through software already. i think it was somewhere around 80% compatibility too but they cut it for no apparent reason. i mean, how expensive can it be to put that software in there? i mean, the expensive part of emulation was when they were putting the whole PS2 Emotion Engine in the 60 and 20GB PS3's, but they dont do that now, which is fine cause there was a comparable software option. i really dont see where they are going with taking it out, it makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever.

Altairio: Jul 15th 2008; 4:50PM

Did Sony just torpedo 2 months of sales for their 40 gig bundles?

Donnie: Jul 15th 2008; 4:57PM

I thought of the exact same thing... not very smart 'cause I was going to buy one... but guess I will wait until September.

SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread): Jul 16th 2008; 12:57AM

not the first time they have done it either. Sony is playing so incredibly retarded this gen. it's so frustrating to watch.

Phil: Jul 15th 2008; 4:59PM

Big difference is - RUMBLE included

Tijan: Jul 15th 2008; 5:02PM

During the first thirty-minutes I was becoming tired. Until i heard that the PlayStation 3 80GB was decreasing to $399.99 Wow, I said to myself. Until the bad news came in it was the same 40GB PlayStation 3 with a 80GB hardrive. Only 2 USB ports, NO chrome finish, and NO Memory Card Slots. On the Sony E3 there was NO real demos... What has Sony become these past years. C'mon...

anglicus: Jul 15th 2008; 5:30PM

You can rest easy friend, even the 40gb's come with chrome finish.

Zippy5150: Jul 15th 2008; 5:07PM

Well, how else is Sony supposed to charge you a second time on the Playstation Store for games you already purchased?

Nate: Jul 15th 2008; 5:12PM

I have no idea what you mean. The PS3 lets you download the same game on up to 5 different machines.

Samantha: Jul 15th 2008; 7:32PM

I DO get what you mean, and while it makes some sense from the business standpoint, in practice, it simply isn't logical at all. That's like if iPods locked out music files that were ripped from CDs in order to force you to buy the tracks through iTunes.

Smarten up, Sony.

Zippy5150: Jul 15th 2008; 5:08PM

Well, how else is Sony supposed to charge you a second time on the Playstation Store for games you already purchased?

jake18oly: Jul 15th 2008; 7:16PM

This is bad news if they are getting rid of PS2 backwards compatability. That was one of the main things that helped me convince my wife to get a PS3. We play all of the multiplatform games on our 360 and we wanted the PS3 for the exclusives and for the ability to play PS1 and PS2 games. I certainly am glad that I was able to pick up a PS3 while they still offer PS2 backwards compatability.

dsub: Jul 15th 2008; 10:55PM

I know everyone wants BC in their next gen system, but a 40GB PS3 is $399. A used PS2 slim is $89.99. An 80GB Semi-BC PS3 is $500.

Do the math.

At least the PS2 slim will give you hardware BC.

Luke: Jul 16th 2008; 12:39AM

I just found a 60 gig for $400. I'm virus_one add me.

Ninjakamster (PS360 FTW!): Jul 15th 2008; 8:24PM

Wait, this has been designated as a "Core Pack", so that means the 40gb is discontinued, this will be the standard model and if there are other models, they will be just bundles, with extra games, movies, controllers, etc?

I'm hoping for a 120gb+ PS3 with software BC to complement this 80gb.

dsub: Jul 15th 2008; 10:53PM

Congrats Sony. No one will be buying a 40GB PS3 for the next three months. Seeing as how that's the only damn one on the market that sucks pretty bad.

I was about to get a PS3 to for a BR Player, but seeing as how there are ZERO exclusive titles coming out between now and September for PS3, I'll be waiting yet again...

Abalistar: Jul 15th 2008; 11:30PM

This just seems like such a perplexing move. Is it really that expensive to include SOFTWARE emulation with their system?

On the other hand, I don't care much about the b/c. It's not worth the extra $100, when I've already got a PS2 anyways.

Joshua: Aug 4th 2008; 5:56PM

I don't care about all the extras. I want something to Play my ps3 games. Why would I need BC when i already have a PS2 slim. I don't need memory card slots when I have 80gb hard drive. And 2 usb ports is good enough for me. What am I gonna do with them when the controllers and headsets are wireless anyway. I think this a smart move by sony. I might actually buy one now.

zach: Aug 5th 2008; 1:46PM

Stop freaking out about b/c, i haven't played my ps2 in over 2 years and i dont plan on it because its lame now, so if you really need b/c to play sucky games go buy a ps2 for $130, and stop complaining

Joshua: Aug 5th 2008; 9:15PM

I now right. Who cares about BC any more. I got a ps3 to play ps3 game snot ps2.

Andre: Sep 3rd 2008; 12:30PM

im just laughing how they add an extra 40 gigs like that alot a 500gb hard drive is less then $100. And just get ride of the BC, if your buying a PS3 how much do you think your going to play the PS2 games and trade it in for what less the $50