Best Buy to receive new 80GB PS3 SKU after E3, will cost $399
by Andrew Yoon 
{ May 26th 2009 at 2:10PM } 
Click to see the big picture.
According to the database, this new SKU is scheduled for release on June 9th, one week after the start of this year's E3 Expo. The listed price for the bundle is $399, the current price for a PS3 system now. Analysts have repeatedly stated a PS3 price cut is in the works, but this new SKU may suggest otherwise. Conversely, Sony may opt to drop the price on a "bare bones" bundle, while offering this new "elite" package at the now-standard price.
For now, this new bundle may be exclusive to Best Buy, similarly to Target's post-GDC bundle. The UPC listed uses a prefix that is typically used in Best Buy's PlayStation products. If Sony packages some newer high-profile games with the system (we have a few in mind), the $399 price point might be a bit more attractive. Oh, and Sony, please don't bundle Lair and Haze with the system, kthanks.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
hunter2223 @ May 26th 2009 2:17PM
They Actually put Infamous and KZ2 in a bundle I'd buy it release day.
Not a doubt. That would make the $399 price worth it.
ThatPCgameryouhate @ May 26th 2009 2:36PM
And Backwards compatibility. That would be nice.
uncle jesse @ May 26th 2009 2:50PM
I'm right there with you. I've wanted a PS3 but just can't really justify spending the money when I only want to play about 2 or 3 games for it and already have a 360 and a blu-ray player.
But at $399 with 2 awesome games included, I would be there.
DiggyStyle @ May 26th 2009 3:28PM
Yeah, give me 2 good/great exclusive games with my purchase of a PS3 and I am finally in the "PS360&PC" club like I always wanted to be.
Give me 2 crappy/old games in this deal and I continue to wait.
TypeF @ May 26th 2009 5:27PM
question, what is SKU?
Cosmo @ May 26th 2009 5:29PM
SKU = stock keeping unit, a model of a product. For instance with the Xbox 360, the Arcade, Pro and Elite are different SKUs.
Quattro @ May 26th 2009 7:52PM
@Unclejesse
Why do you already have a Blu-Ray player? I'd assume any gamer looking to get a BD player would grab a PS3.
JXCgunrunna @ May 26th 2009 2:18PM
sounds like a response to the 400 dollar 360 with Halo 3 and Fable 2. Sony would have to do something big to top MS big dogs plus the 360 has a bigger HDD in it. it can be done tho.
hatmantc @ May 26th 2009 2:19PM
is anyone surprised at the price? Sony has said "no price cut" so to see it at that price point isnt a shock
JXCgunrunna @ May 26th 2009 2:21PM
the idea is tho if they put 100-120 dollars worth of games in with it that many people would get anyway, it now makes the system price essentially go down by the value of the games you would buy anyway.
hunter2223 @ May 26th 2009 2:27PM
Exactly.
I buy a PS3 right now I'm spending a minimum of $60 to get something new and shiny to play.
My magic price for a PS3 has been $299 for a long time... it's what I'm willing to pay without a question for the product. Throw in 2 games that to me, are worth at least $100 (KZ2 Infamous without a doubt, even LBP and MGS4 would be close) and it makes the value hit my magic point and I buy.
Easy as that.
Cash @ May 26th 2009 4:01PM
Throwing in a couple games I have no interest in playing doesn't add value for me. $399 is still $399 Sony, sorry. No sale here.
CLShortFuse @ May 26th 2009 2:19PM
The box dimensions (7in x 17.17 x 13.75) are the same as the regular box. This isn't a new slim box.
TONY @ May 26th 2009 2:22PM
i still am under the impression that was a fake, why would a Chinese law firm contact those websites. dont you think Sony being a japanese company would use japanese law firms?
Duke @ May 26th 2009 2:35PM
If a supplier is in China then they would likely use law firms that are authorized to act in their court system. This is all guessing games though.
skyzbig @ May 26th 2009 2:21PM
"Out stock date: 06-09-2029"
That's a long life-cycle lol...
JXCgunrunna @ May 26th 2009 2:23PM
Sony: "PS3's 10 year cycle has been changed to the new 23 year life cycle"
kacex @ May 26th 2009 2:24PM
"Oh, and Sony, please don't bundle Lair and Haze with the system, kthanks."
BURN!!
Sly (The Cake in fact, is NOT a lie) [PSN SniperChameleon] @ May 26th 2009 2:25PM
killzone 2 + inFAMOUS = win on so many levels
Storm Eagle @ May 26th 2009 2:26PM
As a former BB employee, I'm very familiar with that inventory screen. So I'm curious as to why the "Status" in the top right is whited out. That usually denotes whether the item is Backordered, In Transit, On Order, or Available. So it makes me a little suspicious. Plus the fact that the In Stock date is the same as the Street Date makes me a little weary that this is a limited bundle of any type. Limited hardware bundles usually come in atleast a week before their scheduled to be released.
The Dark Wayne @ May 26th 2009 2:27PM
man i hope it's backwards compatible, a stretch I know, but now that KZ2 and Infamous are out, and with GoW3, Un2 are out Im might finally buy one, but i dont want to have to keep my fucking PS2
Squirtforce @ May 26th 2009 2:30PM
Amen to that, I hate your goddamn ps2 also!!!
hunter2223 @ May 26th 2009 2:31PM
Keep the Cave Clutter free Sony... you Bastards.
Storm Eagle @ May 26th 2009 2:33PM
Just a tip: Gamestop is offering $100 for your PS2 and any 3 games (as long as they're worth more than $2) towards a new PS3 this week.
InFaMoUs1- @ May 26th 2009 2:39PM
im telling you The Dark Wayne a BC PS3 is not worth if you already have a PS2. I spent $500+ for a MGS4 BC PS3 and I rarely use BC and when I do it's only for 5 mins. If you get enough good PS3 games you'll forget about BC all together. I havent used BC on my PS3 for months now because I'm to busy playing PS3 games.
NaeemTHM @ May 26th 2009 3:09PM
@infamous
Yeah but a lot of us could careless about every PS3 exclusive out there. Seeing as I already own a 360, the only reason I would get a PS3 is for Blu-Ray awesomness, BC, and PS3 exclusives. Furthermore I only want 3 games on the damn system.
BC is a huge selling point for me. My current PS2 is broken and I have a huge catalog of PS2 games I'm dying to play. I'm still holding out on Sony being totally cool and throwing backwards compatibility back into the PS3.
Also, I don't know if any of you have noticed, but multi-platform games on the PS3 take a long ass time to go down in price for some reason. It usually takes just a few months for a 360 multiplat game to drop 20 bucks, but on the PS3 that time frame is much longer. Is there any reason for this?
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 26th 2009 3:17PM
You can fetch a PS2 cheap. I agree with Infamous the new version is better and think about it if you get a BC version you’ll need to buy the Dual shock 3 and the HD cables separately.
The Kz2 and Infamous bundle seems like a no brainer. Infamous is crazy fun and Kz2 is a good way to show up your system although be warned that Killzone 2 has a lot of flaws and if you have played Crackdown Infamous might be a bit familiar.
Personally I believe that if you have played COD4 or Bad Company Killzone 2 is not entirely necessary, don’t get me wrong it is a good game but the campaign is not really that interesting and the characters make the Cogs form Gears of war look like deep. Online it starts great because since everyone has the same weapons and the levels are of a good size there is plenty of room for strategy but after you unlock the spawn grenade there is a lot of particle effects and explosions on,hell I don’t what is going on half of the time and even so I’m the best player on my team or at least the 3rd best player all around. Overall the best generic shooter money can buy and I’m saying this in the best way possible.
I personally think Resistance 2 is a better game, I saw it the other day and it looked nice and the environments looked better. If there is something I hate about Killzone 2 is that is too dark and with the Particle Effects and Dynamic light is hard to see what you are doing, collecting stuff during the campaign is awful if you don’t use a guide or set the brightness level all the way to the top.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 26th 2009 3:30PM
Damn it.
I meant:
Makes the characters from gears of war look deep.
I also want to clarify something.
Online is a blast when you start because everyone has the same weapons but after you get to general rank the game is completly broken.Some weapons are over powered and the sentries can't defend the spawn point.
The sniper class might look overpowered but is not for the fact that the sniper rifle is really hard to use but the shotgun and rocket launcher by the other hand are incredibly easy to use and every idiot can use it to camp at the spawn which is something they do.
With that said the game is really fun once you play without the shotgun or the rocket launchers but seriously that game should be patched,even Epic patched Gears of War 2 weapons when they proved to be too shitty or over powered why can't Guerrilla do the same.
h2c @ May 26th 2009 2:30PM
The PS3 is a superior machine to both the Wii and 360. Everyone knows it. But I own a Wii and a 360, not the PS3.
Part of it is the PS3's price. Part of it is in general when a game is released on the 360 and PS3, it runs better on the 360.
With exclusives like Uncharted 2, God of War 3, Demon's Souls (US release) coming out, the PS3 can move serious units with a price drop. Bundles won't cut it though.
Please drop the price already. Until then I'll keep collecting dust on my Wii and wishing Fable 2 wasn't such a disappointment.
baby sea tuna @ May 26th 2009 2:36PM
Dang, you really thought Fable 2 was a disappointment? That is a shame. I probably put more time into that than any other game last year, and am still playing it to this day.
Then again, if you took every bit of hype that Peter Molyneux vomited out as gospel truth, you were probably setting yourself up for some serious disappointment.
Storm Eagle @ May 26th 2009 2:37PM
You have just proved the point I try to make to a lot of people:
When it comes to games made exclusively for the PS3, there's no question as to which system has more muscle. Compare the likes of Resistance, Uncharted, and Killzone to Gears, Halo and Fable and it's no contest that the PS3's graphical and audible prowess is unmatched.
But in every other category? It's not so one-sided.....
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 26th 2009 2:39PM
Cool story,bro.
MariusElijah (Only on PlayStation 3) @ May 26th 2009 2:50PM
I feel for you
David @ May 26th 2009 3:12PM
I'm sorry, but Resistance is far from a graphical powerhouse, not by a long shot. Killzone is the best looking game now, but the PS3 and 360 have been trading places as the system with the best looking game every six months. It might be because Killzone 2's art design is so average, but I think the 360 can produce something that looks better than Killzone 2. Though Sony fanboys have been claiming the 360's reached it's graphical peak almost every time a PS3 exclusive is released, so I'm pretty jaded toward your comment already, and things like "no question" and "Resistance" really smudge my benefits of the doubt towards any objectivity or reason.
Tavis Smiley @ May 26th 2009 2:32PM
real sad to see how Sony dropped the ball with PS3. The PS2 was a great system with a bountiful amount of great exclusives...what the hell happened?
Duke @ May 26th 2009 2:36PM
The PS3 has some great exclusives and its young in the projected life span that Sony has given it.
benny boy @ May 26th 2009 2:57PM
How have they "dropped the ball"? It's a fantastic system with fantastic games. Comments like these get so tiresome.
Dave @ May 26th 2009 2:33PM
Again,........four....hundred....dollars???
nate @ May 26th 2009 2:33PM
Hmmm.. You could almost view this as confirmation of a price drop, even if it's a "soft drop". This could pave the way for a cheaper non-bundle PS3 with a smaller HD. But you push the value proposition with a larger HD and games.
Also, how about a second god damn controller, companies. ><
And yes, I am well aware how long it's been since a game company has bundled two controllers.
Sir_Drace @ May 26th 2009 2:34PM
I've been really wanting to get a PS3 for a few months now but the price is still too steep. Trico, inFamous, Heavy Rain and a lot of PSN titles have me very interested. A PS3 equivalent to the 360 Arcade unit would make me consider picking one up. I don't know what that would entail exactly... but it could be a way for Sony to start making some kind of headway into the market and perhaps bring in a different demographic than they currently have.
I love my 360 but I really want to play some of the PS3 exclusives.
Ashitaka @ May 26th 2009 3:05PM
What, don't tell me that in those few months you've been wanting a PS3, you couldn't spare those extra 100$ that you're complaining about now.
Orion @ May 26th 2009 3:18PM
At that point you really don't have a PS3. The PS3 will always be more expensive than the 360, even if you get rid of all the components inside that the 360 doesn't have stocked with, because it needs the Blu-Ray player to read Blu-Ray disks. Let's just say an "arcade" version would be 300 bucks (to compensate for the Blu-Ray drive). Would you honestly pay 300 bucks for a PS3 with no built in WiFi, no hard drive, and no rechargeable controller?
I think not.
If you want a PS3, cough up the extra hundred. If you want a 360, get a Pro at least as the Arcade will cost you more in the long run.
Sir_Drace @ May 26th 2009 5:25PM
@ Ashitaka
Money is tight for me and most people right now. The $450 I'd have to pay to get a PS3 today isn't really something I can do. However, if I could get a relatively bare bones system that plays games and Blu-Rays for half the price, well, that's something I'd at least consider. Upgrading a hard drive down the line and spending a little on a longer ethernet cable doesn't bother me.
What is the absolute minimum one needs to play a PS3 game? Console, 10gb HDD, ethernet port and 1/2 usb ports for controllers? Perhaps if the console had the abilitly to upgrade pieces as you needed it could work from a business side. How much does Microsoft make on those ridiculously price hard drives now? Maybe Sony could do something like that. Sony needs people to start buying consoles and games. Anything they could do to build that install base is a good thing. Maybe the PS3 Slim could be this kind of console. I know these aren't 1 to 1 comparisons but the Slim could be to the Arcade what the PS3 is to the Premium.
Just some thoughts...
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ May 26th 2009 2:39PM
ooog look....its the same price....
of Course if they WERE going to drop the price would they be sloppy enough to let it go out to retailers yet?? that USUALLY goes out 2 days ahead of time max...
BigD145 @ May 26th 2009 2:52PM
Stop with the bundles, already. The economy cannot support it.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 26th 2009 2:52PM
400$ is cheap compared to what I paid for mine,I hate import taxes.
Killzone 2 and Infamous super but I don't like Killzone 2 it starts awesome but you slowly start losing interest.The game is really easy to learn and even online there isn't much to say about it,its only hard when there are some douchebags spawn camping with rockets and you only have 2 other team mates and even so I managed to get a ridiculous killing spree.
F102_Crossfire is my PSn if anyone wants to play with me,I'm actually a beast in this game.
I hope Guerrilla rebalances the weapons soon,yes the shotgun,the rocket launcher and the sniper class are broken but banning them from matches doesn't solve the problem.It would also help if the stupid sentries did more damage is impossible to get a kill with the sentries even if you put 2 in the same place anyone can just pass by.
TONY @ May 26th 2009 3:27PM
i do agree the shotgun is a little unfair because of its effectiveness distance. but how are the sniper and assault classes broken. you get 3 rockets if your an assault class. after that you only have a pistol until you pick up another weapon. and i dont see how the sniper class is broken at all.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 26th 2009 8:08PM
Assault class + Engi Repair skill = unlimited rockets.
The sniper isn't broken although in some cases you can get a kill 1 shot and it doesn't have to be a headshot,I think that's unfair but last time I played that was patched so it requieres more skill.
I can believe I'm saying this but I think Online games should be harder.I think most of them are completly easy the only thing that stops me is the fact I don't have a clan and that my connection is slow from time to time.
tmmoore_nc @ May 26th 2009 3:13PM
If a game or two are in this bundle, one of them HAS TO BE LittleBigPlanet.
Manly Mcbeefington (Mr. ESC) @ May 26th 2009 3:21PM
That and Infamous would be awesome. It could also be Ratchet and Clank + LBP.
LBP is a game that consumes time like WOW consumes the life of fat people but seriously why they had to unlock everything in the level editor. The campaign is nice but I wanted to create levels the first day I got it that was disappointing.