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A table detailing the specifics of the two consoles was released by Sony Japan - Click to enlarge
No HDMI, no WiFi and no card reader for the low end PS3

Hot on the heels of the Playstation 3 news conference, a PDF document from Sony Japan has revealed more details about the new consoles.  Just to recap, there will be two versions of Playstation 3, one with a 20GB hard drive and one with the 60GB hard drive.

On November 11, 2006, Sony will start selling the "lower-end" Playstation 3 for 59,800 Yen, or about $530 USD.  This PS3 will feature a 20GB hard drive, gigabit Ethernet and Blu-ray reader.  However, a table in the document reveals that the 20GB PS3 will be severely handicapped in several ways.

For starters, only the 60GB PS3A will feature a MemoryStick/SD/CompactFlash reader, though we almost certainly suspect there will be add-on readers.  The 20GB PS3 will not feature integrated 802.11b/g.  Furthermore, the 20GB version will not feature HDMI output. 

The price for the Japanese 60GB Playstation 3 has not yet been announced, but the retail price for the 60GB PS3 with HDMI, WiFi and card reader will be $599 USD.  The 20GB P3 will cost $499 USD in the US according to Sony.

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I see the logic
By Scrogneugneu on 5/9/2006 1:24:43 AM , Rating: 2
It's quite simple.

If they priced the PS3 at 600$, everyone would have killed them. Way too high compared to the competition, the highest price ever...


So, offer a cut-down version for a "reasonable" 500$, to be like every new Sony/Microsoft console launch price. Then, offer the real PS3 at your 600$. People will have the 500$ price tag in the head, but will pay 600$.

Wait, how are we gonna make them choose the 600$ version? Just make it so the 500$ version have a ridiculously low amount of features. If the natural choice is going for the full-blown system, then you win. Consumers see "low price", but buys high price for the features, without complaining.

Great execution.




RE: I see the logic
By cookj128371 on 5/9/2006 1:39:55 AM , Rating: 2
EXACTLY what I was thinking. Good marketing by Sony and Microsoft, but as a consumer, I'm insulted. And as for technology, once again Nintendo was right--they're the innovators and others copycat and try to one-up them (eg: PS3's tilt sensor). Nintendo may very well have it right this time. The way I see it, those who want a video game console, but don't want to pay the big bucks will buy a Wii, and those who slap down the ridiculous amount of money for the PS3/X360 will likely also have cash to spare and want the unique functionality of the Wii anyway!


RE: I see the logic
By HermDogg on 5/9/2006 1:44:30 AM , Rating: 2
I'm sorry, but even $500 is too much for a game console. Now Sony's going to have to wait 2-3 years to get my money, and I'm just going to end up with a Wii. I'm seriously considering a PS3, but somehow I just can't fathom half a grand on the red-headed stepchild of a system.


RE: I see the logic
By hoppa on 5/9/2006 2:13:22 AM , Rating: 2
$600 is RIDICULOUS!!!
Who in their right minds would drop that much on a freakin' console?! At least your computer can do some other shit!


RE: I see the logic
By xsilver on 5/9/2006 2:24:12 AM , Rating: 2
yes $500 is a lot of money; sony's thinking is that if you get a ps3 you wont have to buy a xbox360 + blue ray player + internet subscription..

they should add tivo/pvr features as well to make it a "real" home entertainment system


RE: I see the logic
By Scabies on 5/9/2006 9:51:16 AM , Rating: 2
That brings up a wonderful idea. Sony blindsides us with two different launch consoles, against previous predictions/statements, who's to say that they wont get us later by saying "You want IP multiplayer? $20/month please"


RE: I see the logic
By Johnmcl7 on 5/9/2006 7:25:31 AM , Rating: 2
Nintendo are not the company to produce a controller with a tilt sensor. Furthermore, watching that controller in action reminded me of people playing eyetoy, I don't think the Nintendo controller is as revolutionary as some people make out.

As for these two packages, it's the games that will decide it for me - everything about the PS3 seems to be about its hardware rather than the games themselves which are rather important for a console.


RE: I see the logic
By Trisped on 5/9/2006 1:52:08 PM , Rating: 2
The eye toy software sucked, making it to difficult to use. You know you wasted you money on a game that is hard not because you need skill, but because you need luck to get the control device to work right.

Nintendo has proven in the past that they will not have this problem.


RE: I see the logic
By Driftwood on 5/9/2006 10:35:07 AM , Rating: 2
Anyone remember the NEO GEO? That sucker was like $650 and it never took off. I remember seeing a couple stacked up on the top shelf of the video game store in the mall and thinking how many papers I'd have to deliver for that sucker.

I honestly fear that Sony and Microsoft have made a grave mistake in the pricing of their latest consoles. The majority of the market will go with the Wii because of it's family friendly price.


RE: I see the logic
By killerroach on 5/9/2006 11:04:27 AM , Rating: 2
The NeoGeo also had $200-$300 games and graphics that weren't much better than an SNES. People will be able to notice (and rather quickly) the difference in visual quality between a Wii title and an X360 title, to say nothing of a PS3 game.

But the biggest obstacle to the Wii taking off is game support... most developers are debating how best to use its controller, and none want to take the leap of faith that Capcom did on the GameCube, considering how poorly that turned out for them (their close alliance with Nintendo almost bankrupted them).


RE: I see the logic
By Eris23007 on 5/9/2006 7:11:05 PM , Rating: 2

That said, the Wii development kit is way cheap - I heard it was only $2000...

I think the Wii is going to be where the independent developers go - they tend to have the most creative ideas regarding how to take advantage of interesting features like the new controller anyway.


600$ graphics
By Hypernova on 5/9/2006 3:38:49 AM , Rating: 2
For that price you might as well get a high end DX10 card that can pump better graphics then the 1 generation behind GPU of PS3. And there's a good chance with Supreme Commander, UT2007 PC etc get more fun out of that 600$ too.




RE: 600$ graphics
By shabby on 5/9/2006 7:15:39 AM , Rating: 2
What good is a video card without a cpu/mobo/memory/case/keyboard/monitor? Did you forget to throw that into the equation?


RE: 600$ graphics
By TejTrescent on 5/9/2006 7:54:56 AM , Rating: 2
Hey, you can build a system that can handle Oblivion and has serious upgrade potential for circa 600$.

So. PC gaming's really not very high compared to consoles anymore.


RE: 600$ graphics
By yacoub on 5/9/2006 11:18:59 AM , Rating: 2
You mean like a PS3 without a high-end HDTV to experience it on? Oh, right.


RE: 600$ graphics
By theprodigalrebel on 5/9/2006 7:53:52 AM , Rating: 2
A video card is usually all the difference between a regular office pc (cpu/mobo/memory/case/keyboard/monitor) and a gaming pc. A $300 video card (7900GT/X1800XT) can transform your $1200 Office PC (and who doesn't have a computer?) into a respectable gaming powerhouse.


RE: 600$ graphics
By Johnmcl7 on 5/9/2006 9:21:35 AM , Rating: 2
You must have fairly high specced office/family PCs then - for gaming most of the ones people around me would need a heck of a lot more than just a graphics card upgrade, bear in mind some machines don't even have an AGP/PCI-E slot.

John


RE: 600$ graphics
By Bonrock on 5/9/2006 12:37:44 PM , Rating: 2
Most people will spend $500-1000 on their primary home PC, and you can get a pretty sweet system for that price. In fact, I just visited Costco.com and custom configured a Compaq Athlon 64 3700+ system with 1GB of RAM, DVD burner, 160GB hard drive, and Windows XP Media Center Edition. And it has an available PCI Express x16 slot. After rebate, the price was roughly $475.

Equipped with the right video card, this system will be more than capable of running any of the latest games. The right video card will run you $300 or so, which is $100 less than the price of an XBox 360 with hard drive. And with a price of just $475 for the base system, can you really argue that this is an atypical hardware configuration for a home user?

Of course, there's one big factor that adds to the allure of consoles--for the most part, they just work. In terms of the level of maintenance required, there's just no computer that can match a console. And before someone says it--no, not even a Mac.


Ripoff
By MrFezzywig on 5/9/2006 6:32:12 AM , Rating: 3
As soon as I found out about Sony's latest "reductions" to the PS3, I wanted to post stating what a ripoff it all is. NO HDMI, No WiFi, No 1080p? As well as NO dual HDMI, No Tri-Ethernet. Sony must be out of their mind.

Forget about the $499 system, the only real next-gen system with blu-ray, HDMI and WiFi costs $599. Just like the Xbox, it is pointless to buy the lesser system, as it is lacking essential features needed for long term enjoyment of the system.

Sony should have swallowed the extra $800 million ($599 - $200 = $399, $200 x 4 million units = $800 million) and released a single console version with all the features. You want to charge $499? Throw in 160GB hard drive, two controllers and a game.)

My enthusiasm is gone. If or when I buy the PS3 will depend on when the price on the "decent" $599 system drops to about $299. That will be around Christmas 2008 or 2009. In the mean time, if I need next-gen that badly, I'll get the Xbox 360. I never would have considered it before today.




RE: Ripoff
By AnnihilatorX on 5/9/2006 8:09:54 AM , Rating: 1
I wouldn't worry about the console price
IT's the games that ultimately inccurs the real cost


RE: Ripoff
By heulenwolf on 5/9/2006 9:05:32 AM , Rating: 2
The games had better be cheap. For past consoles, manufacturers had always claimed the games were so expensive because buyers were amortizing the cost of the under-priced console. At these prices for the console, however, I don't want to hear any such excuses. If the games are more than $20 each (even for the good ones) I don't think I'll be able to talk myself into getting one. If Sony can't manufacture and deliver these things for at or under $600, they're incompetant. Additionally, unlike the PS2, this console had better be utterly silent when powered on.


RE: Ripoff
By Trisped on 5/9/2006 2:00:41 PM , Rating: 2
The prices will also be high because of how difficult it will be to program for the cell processor and the poor development tools from Sony.