With all the speculation and buzz out there regarding the 40GB PS3 announcements in Japan and Europe, I am very excited to confirm that the new $399 PS3 model will be coming to North America on November 2nd, making that particular configuration available worldwide. In North America, the 40GB PS3 comes bundled with the block-buster movie Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray. Also, effective today, we’ve lowered the purchase price of our 80GB model by $100 to $499.
This move has been part of our longer term business strategy for PS3 since early on and we believe this lower priced model, combined with our broad line-up of content will appeal to a great many of you who want a lower entry price without sacrificing any of the core components of PS3. With today’s news, we’re strengthening our position approaching this holiday season and beyond with the intent to provide you with a choice and an excellent entry point into HD games and movies.
Adding to the appeal of the new retail pricing is the great PS3 lineup that will help further drive our momentum this holiday, including Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, THE EYE OF JUDGMENT, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Heavenly Sword, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Assassin’s Creed, Haze and Rock Band. And that’s just the beginning: This holiday lineup will be followed in 2008 by highly-anticipated Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Grand Theft Auto IV, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet and, of course, PlayStation Home.
Our goal this holiday season is to make PS3 even more affordable and to offer you greater choice to suit your gaming and entertainment needs. Again, I want to thank all of you for your continued support throughout this past year and I look forward to the months and years ahead.
Lets hope this kicks the PS3 into gear…
Good work, Sony! However, you forgot to mention the PS3’s giant in the 2008 games: METAL GEAR SOLID 4!!!
Wahoo, This is great guys. I’ve got a friend who’s buying the lowered priced 80 gig PS3 as we speak.
Works for me…more games sound great!
are we only getting that old juiced demo…if so will it be multiplayer like 360…ps i dont care who gets pissed just make it to the bathroom
How much will the 60GB model be retailing for then? I’ve seen them available in many places still.
It’s all about Metal Gear 4..
Good move—please keep the 80 gig in circulation for those who want Backwards Compatibility tho—-honestly LOL I am shocked that many customers apparently don’t care about it—-but still good job!!
[…] Al W wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptWith all the speculation and buzz out there regarding the 40GB PS3 announcements in Japan and Europe, I am very excited to confirm that the new $399 PS3 model will be coming to North America on November 2nd, making that particular … […]
Awesome. No more $600 and we finally see a PS3 priced at $400. Also, I think people choosing between paying $400 for no PS2 BC (but having PS1 BC), and $500 for PS2 BC is the best way to handle the SKUs (Those who question PS2 BC being removed because of it being software in the 80GB, but in reality, the 80GB is only 50% software since the GS is needed for PS2 BC). The 40GB PS3 doesn’t gimp the PS3 experience anyway since the HDD is still standard, plays blu-ray disc, and still has WiFi (so developers don’t have to make sacrifices).
Thanks a lot for putting out a $400 PS3. I already have mine, but this should help those who want a lower priced console.
METAL GEAR SOLID 4 = Playstation 3’s SYSTEM SELLER! how could you forget :(:(
nevertheless, im glad for america, still i live here in the Netherlands :P
I have only 1 question to sony: Many people, and i mean MANY MANY people who i speak to say that they will buy a ps3 for this price, but the Don’t because it is not backwards compatible.
my question to sony is: will the 40GB version ever be backwards compatible due to a firmware update?
thx for the time,
-Q
AWSOME!!!
THIS WILL EXPLODE SALES. Market leader in just a few months. You might win over the wii this holiday season.. I mean.. WHAT IDIOT WOULD GO AWAY FROM A $399.99 PS3.
JAck , Hey, uhm, Maybe You can tell me something about the upcoming Socom game? Anything at all?
Thanks and Hail Sony!
Sony just shifted out of neutral popped it in to first and the got those wheels smoking!! FINALLY
he jack
how about that mgs4 DEMO?
cant you hook a brother up
we need something to make us go and buy those ps3ies
reply to my comment #11: i meant backwards compatible to ps2 games ofcourse…
-Q
[…] Jesus Diaz wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAnd that’s just the beginning: This holiday lineup will be followed in 2008 by highly-anticipated Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Grand Theft Auto IV, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet and, of course, PlayStation Home. … […]
[…] official Playstation 3 blog has also announced it here Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and […]
“And that’s just the beginning: This holiday lineup will be followed in 2008 by highly-anticipated Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Grand Theft Auto IV, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet and, of course, PlayStation Home.”
How do you guys not even mention MGS4???????
Also, is Sony really losing that much money on PS2 emulation?
Lets see how 40GB performs.
What PS3 needs more than a price cut are great exclusive titles. I am not sure if Haze, Ratchet and Uncharted are enough.
about time, now the sky is the limit, the ps3 will destroy the competition, great games coming this last few months in 2007 and amazing games to look forward to in 2008, plus with home and 2.0, nothing will be able to match the ps3
sony is the best
Awesome move sony!!!! This will make sales rocket!!
Hey Jack,
Great news about the upcoming PLAYSTATION 3 bundle, I really think it will help increase sales, even the 80GB price drop.
I’m the owner of onAXIS, a Sony dedicated web site that shows the latest news and such of the PLAYSTATION family. I was wondering if I can get an interview with you for the site’s readers.
Feel free to contact me at admin@onaxisonline.com
I got your story up as well. [Read]
Good going, hopefully the lack of not being able to play PS2 games doesn’t turn people away from the 40gb model.
I have a question, what will retailers price remaining 20gb & 60gb models at? Ebgames.com still has the 20gb at $450 & 60gb at $500 (same price as the 80gb)
So is this the same 40gb as the other ones, without backwards compatibility and all? I hope the decision for removing Backwards Compatibility stays with the “entry level” ps3 skus, cause features are awesome, you know?
Killzone 2 as a spring release would be the greatest thing.
Jack, is there any news forthcoming about the that particular game on this side of new years? The E3 reveal was A+ but we’re nearing four months now since that unveiling and people are craving for more.
Very smart move. Good going!
Great news for those without a ps3 yet!!
The great line up is starting next week :)
Eye of judgment and R&C!
ALRIGHT JACK TRETTON YOU HAVE OFFICIALLY PISSED ME OFF!!! I CAMPED OUT OVER 24 HOURS FOR THE PS3 TO PAY $600 AND SUPPORT THE PS3 AND THEN IN LESS THAN A YEAR A $200 PRICE DROP?!?!?!? IF YOU CARE ABOUT THE DAY ONE BUYERS YOU WILL DO WHAT APPLE DID WITH THE IPHONE AND AT LEAST GIVE US $100 SONY GIFT CERTIFICATE!!!
awesome!!!
@29, that’s what you get for being an early adopter. Same thing happens to people who buy HDTVs and other new electronics.
@Nick
The 60gb plays ALL PS2/PS1 GAMES(The 80gb does not… the 40gb either..) You got what you paid for.
Cool, guess I shouldn’t have bought a launch unit. Could have saved some serious money. Oh well, lesson learned.
@Nick212004
Shut up.. i bought mine in november too but im not pissed for that…
Thats the price to pay for being an early adopter, if you are not happy with it then next gen just wait before buying a console
Jeez some people are dumb
multiple skus, limited “to be updated… not” BC … then no BC, customer confusion over different models…. don’t you learn anything from MS’s mistakes? I always loved Sony because they didn’t act like MS… but now it’s like they are your big brother you’re looking up to and emulating. Sad.
SONY YOU ROCK!!
Great job..
Hopefully somewere in there they wont forget about DUALSHOCK 3.. i think everyone is so excited about it all haha!
Come on 2.00…
Could anyone mention what will be going into 2.00 100% on here please..
keep me excited tell it gets here.. and this Christmas Sony will be happy they made the change..
Enjoy everyone that doesnt have a PS3 and are going to get one now.. i wish i had some free PSN for buying mine early!
But thanks.. at least i know i have backward compatabilty :D
GAP MEMBER :D
I bought the 60GB PS3 on the first day it came out, and it was (and still is) worth every penny. And now with bigger hard drive and lower price, awesome games (ratchet and clank!!!!) you practically giving it away.
[…] post by Jack Tretton […]
This is an excellent move.
However, why does every good move have to be followed by someone (that would be you Mr. Tretton) saying something just really…unusual?
“Mr. Tretton conceded that removing that capability, along with a few other features, isn’t dramatically reducing Sony’s cost of manufacturing the console but will instead encourage buyers of the entry-level PlayStation 3 to purchase more games designed specifically for the new system.”
This is from the Wall Street Journal Online article about the 40 GB system. If you can get the price of the system down to sell at $399 and removing BC doesn’t really factor into that, why take it out to begin with? Taking out PS2 BC now (and what we can only assume to be true in future SKUs) is basically going against the history of the PlayStation brand. I mean, what sense does it make to have a system that can play PS1 games but not PS2 games? None.
I bought a PS3 at launch and now I’m glad I did since I have everything a system in the PlayStation family SHOULD have, but I find the betrayal of what made the brand so friendly to gamers troubling.
I’m glad Sony is able to cut the price of the system down $200 in just under a year of it’s life (which is remarkable really). I just don’t believe customers will be very comfortable with the notion that something they’ve come to take for granted with the brand is stripped out at the same time. Especially when PS2 games are still being released for the system and selling well.
MS took quite a bit of flak for talking about excluding BC for 360 to the point they were forced into half assing it a bit. I figured Sony would want to avoid the same kind of backlash.
I wonder if there will be a full software PS2 B/C solution in the future for the 40GB?
What’s about Singstar?
yay .. my parents will be very happy this Xmas ..
people where asking for a price cut now they got one
A lot of us have been eagerly awaiting this news. I have a 60gb from the initial release, but will be purchasing THREE 40gb systems this holiday season including one on Nov 2nd. Thanks Sony for finally getting this done.
Sony did the right thing by removing the backward compatible. Who doesn’t have a ps2 anyway. It’s cost close to 100$ to Sony to put it (parts+time). 399$ is the perfect price now.
If Sony bring a good 2.00 update and CAN ADVERTISE THERE PS3 for the holiday than it will be a merry Christmas !
PS: what’s the price of all the 60gs remaining.
Rzagoull – still $499 at the various retailers that have stock.
i still dont have a PS3 yet cuz im w8ing for one thing… a BETTER PSP.. still the new lighter version can appeal to the less hardcore gamers but making a more bulkier PSP will not be as taboo as u guys think… the PSP should be innovative to the fact that it can rival the iphone (without having the phone app included) but still im looking for an xtra analog stick STILL to have a better gameplay experience with FPSs on the PSP… moving them more to the middle of the PSP( at least 1/2 in from where it already is) will help the older generation whose hands are indeed too big for it… ive had craps playing the PSP within 5mins of gameplay… making the psp more like the normal playstation controller will ultimately open up the possiblilty for the PSP to act as an “ADVANCED CONTROLLER” for the psp… im still dreaming about the day my psp will feel almost as comfortable as my PS2 controller and watching my HUDs display on my controller knowing where all my allies are within a map n our in house opponents dont which gameplay rivals that of Halo 3… bah who say dreams can come true… but until then… i think ill just stay away from games for a bit…
and Darsh… forget about BC compatibilty witht he PS2… cuz we all know if u have a PS3 you most likely have a PS2… no ifs, ands, or buts, about it…
GREAT MOVE by SONY.
It sucks for us early adaptors, but I am glad I have the 60gb model (which is still the best one..IMO).
But it would be nice if Sony would throw us a bone. Maybe few free Downloadable games from the PSN or add $50 credit to our account for those that created one prior to the first price drop back in July.
It will never happen..I know.
Anyways…good to see Sony dropping the price, and looking forward to shoot down many more of you in Warhawk….LOL
Hey Nick Apple Phone droped in price like ony 2 to 3 months later the ps3 was almost half a year later.
on a side note nice i may pick up a 40gb for my Dorm Room. its Funny backwards compatable only worried me for like the begining of ps2 then i just playied ps2 games only same with ps3.
SMART MOVE! But how could you not list your BIGGEST exclusive METAL GEAR SOLID 4 thats the reason im buying a PS3!