Jul 
As you may have seen tonight here, here and here, we’re kicking off this year’s E3 with some big news (and the show hasn’t even started yet).
In short, we’re introducing a new PS3 model with a 80GB hard drive which will include a free copy of MotorStorm, all for the retail price of $599. This 80GB package will be available starting in August, just a few short weeks from today. The larger hard drive will give players more of an opportunity to take advantage of all the downloadable games and trailers on the PLAYSTATION Network, including the content from our forthcoming download service which will include videos, movies and other entertainment content.
In addition, as some of you speculated last week, we confirmed today that we are lowering the price of our current 60GB PS3 by $100, to $499, effective immediately in North America. I know many of you were eager to hear this and we’re thrilled to share this with you now as we head into E3.
Lastly, to keep up with the latest news, you can view a live stream of the official E3 SCEA press conference this Wednesday, July 11th, starting around 11:30 a.m. pacific time. About a half hour before the conference (11 a.m.), click here and we’ll have a live conference feed available.
And if that isn’t enough for you, we’ll have tons of content hitting the PLAYSTATION Store this week, including the SCEA press conference and exclusive first and third party videos and trailers, only available through PLAYSTATION Network. These will be available shortly after the conclusion of the press conference. We want to make sure that you’re getting the info as soon as possible. Rest assured, there is much more to come this week, including the conclusion of our Inside the Developer Studio series, so stay tuned….
Also See
SCEA President & CEO Jack Tretton outlines the details of today’s announcement (YouTube)
(Average: 3.30 out of 5)
201
+ chase on July 9th, 2007 at 7:19 am said:
whats a sku
202
+ tuaamin13 on July 9th, 2007 at 7:23 am said:
@Everyone complaining about the red light thing
No, it’s not False advertising; the developer boxes do it but not the mass produced. Promotional pictures are made with prototype units, b/c it’s already built. If you’re trying to advertise for a new car, you would have to produce them first in order to advertise them coming out. Meaning you’d have to delay the launch.
@Everyone complaining about 599 w/ game
Assuming all of the cables and junk are the same, it’s actually a better deal if you’re a first time buyer to buy the larger hdd if you’re going to use it. As someone pointed out, it’s $107 to buy a 160gb 2.5″ harddrive. It’s probably like $70 retail to get a 80gb. So if you bought an older PS3, adding the $70 retail for the hdd and the retail price of the game, it works out cheaper.
@Everyone who bought an “old” PS3 and is complaining
Grow up; you were the first to adopt the hardware. Kudos to you. Everyone knows the price of hardware drops after it has been released a while, and there are less glitches. I mean look at the new Xbox360s, they’re getting upgrades to stop the red ring of light problem. The original PS2 had it’s problems also. They eventually moved to make a slimline PS2, which cannot support the hdd, so you can’t play FFXI on it (see the EE chip problem). To cut costs they sacrifice components they don’t think everyone needs, and at the same time they’ll cut the price to encourage buying.
I for one am going out to buy a 60gb PS3 b/c I don’t believe I will use all 60gb. So what, you dl’d a movie and it’s taking up room. Delete it. Or, if you really want to save it, I’m pretty sure you can get an external harddrive and move files to it (not sure though, don’t own either).
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+ jason9 on July 9th, 2007 at 7:23 am said:
that is kool but i already have a ps3 and motorstorm. What i want is that you can store downloads from PSN Store to an external drive and play it that way.
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+ PKFC on July 9th, 2007 at 7:27 am said:
Ok if anyone reads this let me know.
This information is no where online which is dumb, but that’s ok I guess…. This is what I compiled about different model numbers for the PS3
CECH +
A – 60 GB w/EE+GS – confirmed
B – 20 GB w/EE+GS – confirmed
C – 60 GB w/o EE+GS – confirmed
D – 20 GB w/o EE+GS – ?
E – 80 GB w/EE+GS – ?
00 Japan
01 North America
02 Australia/New Zealand
03 UK/Ireland
04 Europe
05 Korea
08 Russia/India
Now these were just compiled by me and I haven’t popped any systems to look for the EE+GS chips. Which model are these new ones? They should be a CECHE01 (the only current Es are 05), but they might have removed the EE+GS making a CECHF01? They also might have snuck out the EE+GS from the As without telling anyone…
I would love some assurance that a CECHA does have the EE+GS… Right now I would buy a PS3 as a shiny PS2 only *shrugs*
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+ fireras on July 9th, 2007 at 7:29 am said:
The PR team must be relieved to finally be getting some well deserved good press.
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+ jason9 on July 9th, 2007 at 7:29 am said:
what is EE+GS
207
+ GeminiBoy on July 9th, 2007 at 7:31 am said:
Early adopters, such as myself, need not worry.
All of those memory card slots can be used to easily make up for 20GB if that’s bugging you.
Or, as many have suggested, you can upgrade your HDD on your own.
Sometimes there’s nothing like being 1st !
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+ LoganCrusher on July 9th, 2007 at 7:32 am said:
I have had some fun since I bought my PS3 in May, but 2 months later I could have saved $100 – that sucks. I don’t understand a price cut. Sony is already losing money. I don’t think a price cut is a good sign. It sounds like more panic than anything. They have to lose even more money to attract anyone to the system. Just get us the games that make people want to buy the system!
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+ driver on July 9th, 2007 at 7:34 am said:
I honestly hope that this price drop doesn’t mean more losses for Sony, and that it is not a gesture of despair.
Just hope that manufacturing costs really gone down to justify it.
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+ DigimortalFMBass on July 9th, 2007 at 7:36 am said:
I think that instead of complaining on how the new 80gb model isn’t worth it. We should be happy seeing how the reduced in price 60gb model will be an awsome deal now. It is a much better bargain than the other company’s “elite” model.
The 60gb model is the one that people wanted to get originally, but some could not afford, now that it is reduced a full $100, some people are much closer to that price range.
Personaly I don’t think the 80gb is really worth it. Sony should at least also include and HDMI cable in that model to justify the extra $100. Not just Motorstorm and 20gb. Since the purpose of the extra space will be for downloading media and could be seen in full HD 1080p.
Also it would be nice if Sony could also include AT LEAST component cables in the 60gb, to get the gamer up & set for HD gaming. Not having to force him/her to still go out and buy and extra set of cables. Along with some composites of course.
Well, just my two cents.
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+ Xoonaka on July 9th, 2007 at 7:38 am said:
I think the reason the 60g will sell where the 20g did not is because people don’t care about harddrive space nearly as much as they care about feature sets.
I didn’t buy a 20g because it had no wireless.
I don’t remember all the differences, but that was the big one for me. I think the 60g will do fine since it has the same feature set, just a smaller harddrive. I’m more worried for the 80g one, but the game bundle does make it appealing to the casual buyer.
And yes, some people do buy game consoles, even expensive ones, casually. All it takes is some free time browsing in a store and a smooth talking salesperson.
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+ PKFC on July 9th, 2007 at 7:38 am said:
EE+GS = Emotion Engine + Graphics Synthesizer. it’s the single chip that Sony eventually put in the PS2 to reduce cost as they unified the design from two chips to one.
IT IS NOT IN THE NEW 80 GB MODEL!
On the side of the box reads: “This product has limited backward compatibility with PlayStation and PlayStation2 format software.”
http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=757875987&size=o
ARGH! CECHF01 FTW
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+ ARMZ on July 9th, 2007 at 7:39 am said:
Well it looks like the early adopters of the PSP will have something to complain about after E3…….muahahahahahahaha
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+ Mana Knight on July 9th, 2007 at 7:56 am said:
@ slerch666
Sony isn’t the first one to drop the price after a year. When PS1 came out, its price dropped in just under a year. The Xbox was launched around the same time as PS3 (back in 2001), and it got a price drop in May (by $100). In the electronics industry, prices always drop. You don’t here those who bought a HDTV a while ago complaining that they should get some compensation because they bought an HDTV at full price. There were people who bought a blu-ray player a year ago for $1k, and now they can get it for half the price. I guarantee iPhone will be half the price soon.
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+ joel on July 9th, 2007 at 8:04 am said:
The emotion engine isnt in the 80gb model? I have a 60gb ps3 and just the look of the box makes me buy another one. Sony is smart that the dropped the price before realsing the new model, I expect the ps3 to easily sell better than the 360, but sony needs to drop the price WW in order to sell alot more consoles during the holidays, it is a smart move though.
216
+ frito on July 9th, 2007 at 8:04 am said:
I’m glad to see that more people will be able to afford a PS3 for x-mas and boost our installed user base…
I guess i’m just seeing all my money fly out the door..with statagies like this, don’t be surprised if at the launch of the PS4 nobody buys it right away, we’ll all be waiting for the better bundles that are invariably going to come…
good luck at E3!!!!
217
+ Darsh on July 9th, 2007 at 8:12 am said:
@Early Adopters:
We’re called early adopters for a reason. We buy it early. What? Did you think the PS3 was never going to drop in price? Did you cry like this when the PS2 dropped in price? Sheesh people. PS2 dropped in price 8 months into it’s life. Guess what? PS3 just dropped in price 8 months into it’s life.
Stop making yourselves look bad on this thing. =(
218
+ nmc75 on July 9th, 2007 at 8:12 am said:
I wanted to comment on this last night when the official news broke, but my PS3 browser couldn’t actually log in.. get this fixed please! Kind of embarrasing if we can’t log in to comment from the PS3 on the PS Blog.
Anyways.. if I didn’t already have a PS3 and Motorstorm, I’d buy the 80gb Motorstorm bundle. That’s a no brainer. 20 extra gigs does mean a lot for downloading media.. My TiVo has that much in it I believe. Did I read downloadable MOVIES?? Nice. Can’t wait, though I may need a HDD replacement soon on my 60gb.
To the people on the fence… Sony gives you two options here vs. just 1. Choice is good. If you were planning on spending $600 anyway you go for the bundle, or if you are a little money challenged, now you get the $100 off on the 60gb. Less complaints please!
219
+ AGQ0105 on July 9th, 2007 at 8:21 am said:
This should increase sales some. Now all you guys need is the AAA games. Some exclusives wouldn’t hurt. Good Job Sony this is a step in the right direction.
220
+ AGQ0105 on July 9th, 2007 at 8:27 am said:
yea…. another thing.. Where are the demos. According to some, a certain other console is getting the demos for their games at e3, through download. Why are we not getting the same treatment?
221
+ zanark on July 9th, 2007 at 8:30 am said:
I guess its ok that there r the 2 options but at the same time is 20 extra gigs and a game worth $100 more i really don’t think so, the 360 went from 20 gigs to 120 that was a big difference but i really don’t think a extra 20 gigs and a game u may or may not want is worth the extra 100, and i won’t be suprised if the media still says the ps3 never really got a price drop but just a new model. i really hope this works out b/c i am a big playstaion supporter but it seems to be that they are not going in the right direction people want to buy the ps3 for less and they want the higher model for that price not the other one, but i hope i’m wrong and both models sell really well so we can get more thrid party developers making the ps3 the lead sku instead of the 360 and making new ip’s for the ps3.
222
+ PKFC on July 9th, 2007 at 8:30 am said:
Sorry if I’m flooding.. Read the full text from the image I posted:
“This product has limited backward compatibility with PlayStation and PlayStation2 format software. Many PlayStation and PlayStation 2 format software titles operate, but full compatibility is not guaranteed. Updating the system software may improve compatibility. Visit http://www.us.playstation.com for system software updates.”
Don’t know if that text appears on all PS3s… I don’t remember that it did…
223
+ TheLostChild on July 9th, 2007 at 8:32 am said:
This is great news. The price drop that is, I don’t much care for the new SKU, as I could just upgrade the HDD myself, and I’ve already bought MotorStorm.
224
+ BareMetal on July 9th, 2007 at 8:34 am said:
Excellent, I’ve told all my friends to go buy one now. This is even better with that 5 free blu-ray movies offer.
225
+ ROBZ. on July 9th, 2007 at 8:35 am said:
I rather have the 20GB ps3 for $299.
226
+ PKFC on July 9th, 2007 at 8:37 am said:
Oh yeah… Still need a real press release to get the Canadian price. Launch price here was $659.99, but the exchange went sour soon after launch so some places upped it to $699.59. EB Games stuck to $659.99. The 20 GB launched here at $549.99 so “hopefully” it’s that price when it gets to here. The exchange is good now so hopefully they don’t just do a $100 CAD drop
227
+ darktorns on July 9th, 2007 at 8:37 am said:
now all we need is more AAA games….
228
+ AGQ0105 on July 9th, 2007 at 8:38 am said:
Seeing as the Xbox Elite is their biggest selling SKU which is priced at 479.99, that’s only 20 dollars less than a 60gb PS3, that should definitely increase sales. Lets go SONY, don’t forget the good games or the demos from E3, ok bye
229
+ nmc75 on July 9th, 2007 at 8:43 am said:
@ PFKC
It just means, to enable the cost-cutting, the Emotion Engine chip was removed from the PS3.
Backwards compatibility, according to numerous websites has been at around 75% for PS3′s without the Emotion Engine chip back in March ’07 during the European PS3 launch, the first batch of PS3′s to be without the EE. Since then, firmware updates have been improving the compatibility. From my own experience, I haven’t played much PS2 games since owning a PS3, maybe just Okami and God of War 2, which both work 100%.
Here’s a Sony search tool to help you determine the compatibility status of games on the PS3:
http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/CompatibleStatus
230
+ BruceWayneIII on July 9th, 2007 at 8:46 am said:
I think it’s a great move – just before the flood of excellent first party games hit the market. $499 is an great price for all of that PS3 technology. That will send some of my friends to the store.
231
+ Delta_FX on July 9th, 2007 at 8:47 am said:
Why is it you guys always say “videos and trailers” Why is it we can’t get any demos…
232
+ raystorm87 on July 9th, 2007 at 8:51 am said:
Sony is trying real hard, why people keep complaining? what do you people know about smart move and bad move? anyway keep up good work, you have all my support Sony
233
+ thechosenfew88 on July 9th, 2007 at 8:52 am said:
Great move on Sony’s part. I’ve been waiting for this moment to come, now I can make my way to my local GameStop and buy myself a PS3 to enjoy HD gaming and blu-ray movies.
The only concern that I have about the PS3 now are the exclusives. The features aren’t such a big worry to me right about now, since I know that is going to come regardless through firmware updates in the future. But exclusives stay on 1 console only, or for an amount of time if its a timed exclusive. I would consider Sony to do whatever it takes to keep Metal Gear Solid 4 on the PS3. If Sony loses this exclusive, what will the PS3 be then? I am hoping that MGS4 will be announced at E3 for Playstation 3 and Playstation 3 ONLY! Not even a timed exclusive….
Sony PLEASE hear my cry…lol…(Not really) But please don’t let us down by letting Microsoft put MGS4 on the 360. And also, show us what the PS3 is worth through games being the main focus. Yes, blu-ray playback capablities, and all the other entertainment functionalities are great for the price, but the gaming experience is what its all about. @499 for the 60GB, I will definitely go and buy a PS3 over an Elite. Heck yeah!!!
234
+ Black_Ninja_ on July 9th, 2007 at 8:53 am said:
The Home button in the picture is red? does this mean this new controller that comes with this new SKU will have the rumbling features?
235
+ RobinNL on July 9th, 2007 at 8:53 am said:
Is this price cut for europe also? I think it might be a kick in the ass for current owners in europe as the console is out for just 4 months there.
I’m really looking forward to E3 and as a huge F1 fan I hope that F1 07 will be announced.
236
+ OrganicShadow on July 9th, 2007 at 8:53 am said:
Now all you need to do is start back pedaling a bit and taking care of a lot of the recent bad news bits.
-Get Katamari back(as a downloadable on PSN)
-Get more PS1 games out(the GOOD ones in US/UK)
-Make sure MGS4 stays exclusive(everyone is expecting it to defect to 360 this week)
-Change Square Enix’s mind about PS3 development not being worth the install base
-Make sure Silent Hill 5 is exclusive
-Put the rumble in the controller and DON’T change the price
A lot of these things could help you out. I know plenty of people give you these little lists but im just giving you a list of ammo that the enemy is using against you. Most of this is all the consumer cares about right now, so you might want to be a bit more aggressive this generation.
237
+ PS3_123106 on July 9th, 2007 at 8:57 am said:
An 80gig model now? I don’t think it’s going to sell well EVEN with the free game. A lot of people weren’t buying the $600 PS3 recently because of it’s high price point, so now the 60 gig is cheaper, but the high price remains for another model. I think people will get confused and still think it’s TOO expensive. DAMN IT Sony you should have just stuck with the $100 price cut and keep it at 2 SKUs, it’s not even working out that well for Microsoft.
238
+ PS3_123106 on July 9th, 2007 at 8:59 am said:
And another thing,
#249 is 100% correct, you should have concentrated on those points rather than introducing another SKU that a lot of people probably won’t buy.
239
+ ROBZ. on July 9th, 2007 at 9:00 am said:
Just re-release the 20GB PS3 for $299 and you will compete in price.
240
+ slerch666 on July 9th, 2007 at 9:01 am said:
@mana knight-
Yeah, I realize the situation I’m in. I COULD have waited, but didn’t. But I didn’t wait, basing my decision on my (it seems) incorrect perception of previous console releases.
However, I still think Sony is headed down a dark path, just as Sega did. The difference being that Sony’s first party games, tend to run the gamut from good to horrible. Most people don’t buy a Playstation for Sony’s games; I know I didn’t.
But either way, whatever. $105 gone (tax) isn’t THAT big of a deal, but it does disappoint. And the price drop is Sony’s admission that they [DELETED] up.
For those wanting a larger hard drive without having to spend $600 + tax, here you go:
http://www.gamersreports.com/article/43/
241
+ Mitsugeta on July 9th, 2007 at 9:06 am said:
Ok… please. Enough of this different SKU business. All this is going to do is confuse the consumer. How’s about get rid of that 80GB deal and just bundle in Motorstorm with the 60GB for $499.
ONE SKU = Consumers don’t get confused
Apart from that gripe I wish you guys all the best in an awesome E3. Only request: wow everyone, silence the critics, bring the whole boatload home to my PS3 in a timely fashion.
That includes demos ;)
242
+ thechosenfew88 on July 9th, 2007 at 9:06 am said:
@ 249
I agree with your list totally. And that is what the competitors are using against Sony like you said. And thats the area that they need to focus on more than ever. Forget about all these firmware update features for right now, Sony should now concentrate on how to dominate the market once again with this lower price cut. The firmware updates will surely come in the future,(as I stated already in an earlier comment), but maintaining exclusives, and bringing out killer games is what will drive the PS3 to success….
243
+ PKFC on July 9th, 2007 at 9:06 am said:
@nmc75
Better idea is to check with the European backwards compatibility list as they are the only ones at the moment without the EE+GS so their list would be more representative of what games do and do not work over there.
Yes I’m weird since I want the PS3 for PS2 functionality. Eventually the games I play on it will shift to PS3 only, but that’s a couple years off. I think you will agree that having the EE+GS instantly makes the PS3 a better candidate for playing PS2 games on it. I’m not sure which games I have that would have problems without the chip, but I don’t want to find out the hard way. I haven’t heard enough about CECHCs from Europe in terms of how good the compatibility is. We call hope that eventually through software, all PS2 games will be playable, but that may not be the case.
@Black_Ninja_
All PS3 controllers have a place for an LED to be soldered on behind the PS button, they just don’t. Maybe this was the plan all along? Lights can tell you at a glance which one has rumble? If I get a 60 this week, I’ll wait for rumble controllers later…
244
+ slerch666 on July 9th, 2007 at 9:07 am said:
And one more thing;
anyone that doesn’t think MS will respond to this price drop is diluting themselves. If I were MS, I’d drop the Core to $199 and the Premium to $299. Then phase out the LE Elite and make THAT the new “Premium” system. That would rain all over Sony’s parade. They’d be back to $200 more expensive with the only advantage seemingly being the ability to play Blu-Ray out of the box.
This also does nothing to correct a huge flaw in the PS3 financial model… games are more and more frequently becoming platform agnostic, and high profile games like GTA IV are getting 360 exclusive content, content that despite previous 6-8 month “exclusivity” on the titles Sony once held, will NOT be made available to Sony buyers.
There are a lot of problems Sony needs to correct. The price is one with the most impact with consumers, since consumers want everything for nothing, but this still doesn’t make a person any more likely to decide on the system based on system exclusives.
245
+ ace2ace on July 9th, 2007 at 9:13 am said:
i agree with #249 as well… however i’ll add this…
*Make a good showing at E3 this year
*Don’t let the 60gb model get overshadowed by the 80gb unit
*Get Assasins Creed back as an exclusive
*Convince Rockstar Games to add exclusive GTA4 content to the PS3
*Improve the PS-Store
i think in the end though… they need to give everyone else out there, mainly the consumer, a reason to buy it over the XBOX360 and Wii… if they don’t they’ll never recover…
also… i really hope sony is taking notes on all these comments… if they would listen to what the consumers want over top of the little voice in there head then i think they have a shot at winning the console/format wars… however only if they start listening to us…
246
+ thechosenfew88 on July 9th, 2007 at 9:13 am said:
**Meant to agree with the list poster 252 wrote. Sorry for that mistake.**
247
+ Mort on July 9th, 2007 at 9:14 am said:
Don’t know if anybody else has mentioned this (becasue there are too many posts to read through), but is it possible that the bundled version of Motorstorm also has an update to support rumble? We’ve already seen rumors today regarding the Touch Sense controller being bundled with the new SKU – wouldn’t it make sense that the game supports it?
Price drop WILL stimulate sales, and this in turn will encourage more developers to take the PS3 seriously (EA anybody?). This just got interesting.
248
+ mckmas8808 on July 9th, 2007 at 9:16 am said:
Hey Sony is the new Dual ShockAxis controller coming with this package?
We know (and saw) the new controller you guys will have this Fall.
249
+ RichiPuppy on July 9th, 2007 at 9:20 am said:
Yeah, I don’t think ms is going to drop their price any time soon, cause you know that warranty you got for 3 years, so they didn’t have to do a recall, that is estimated to cost 1,000,000,000 dollars, that’s alot of councils that need to be sold to make that up. Sure they got exclusive content on gta 4 but it cost them another 50,000,000, that means for them to break even, every live person needs to buy at least one of the 2 downloads.
250
+ thechosenfew88 on July 9th, 2007 at 9:22 am said:
E3 is the time to shine for you Sony. Especially with announcing such great news before the event even takes place. But as I’ve read before on another site, don’t leave the bad news up until the end of the keynote. (Last thing mentioned at the last E3 was the PS3′s price). I understand denying all the rumors of having a PS3 price drop, for that would be the sort of news you would want to release to people at your keynote, and then be spread all over the internet world.
I’m expecting little from you Sony at E3, so that you would satisfy my needs once you announce ALL the great plans you have for your system. But not just plans, because plans can easily be cancelled, but make them facts!! I enjoy the quality you guys put out there, so please help the developers and yourselves of course, to show us QUALITY