Rumor: 40GB PS3 to head to US November 2nd

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 8th 2007 at 10:45AM }

"We're hearing Nov. 2 (for the U.S.)," said one industry source, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Immediately after SCEE's bizarre announcement of the 40GB system in European territories, many are awaiting SCEA''s announcement of the same. The 40GB system will retail for significantly less than current PS3 models, most likely dropping down to the $399 price point. However, it will lose 2 USB ports, memory card readers, and will also lose any support for PS2 games.

[Via Joystiq]

Tags: 40gb, price-drop

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Robin @ Oct 8th 2007 10:59AM

and the great news keeps on comming and comming :D

Larry @ Oct 8th 2007 11:01AM

I'll just be happy when Sony settles down with one selling strategy. It's so convoluted right now. I may buy one though. I have a giftcard that will further reduce the price of said console. I want to Play Beyond or Jump In. Whoever has the better value gets my $$$$.

Ben @ Oct 8th 2007 11:24AM

November 2. That's a good time to coordinate with the release of Ratchet and Clank on Oct 30.

Byron517 @ Oct 8th 2007 11:25AM

It's about time they get their mess in order!! They need to now fix their marketing and fire who ever is lead! THEY NEED HELP XBOX is killing them in that department!

Sammy @ Oct 8th 2007 11:30AM

It is true while Sony has some real issues largely they have only been made worse by a terrible approach to PR and marketing. Hacking positive selling points for the console like BC was one of numerous mistakes especially with the PS2 still be supported. Really they should have cut the price full stop and not given out an inferior model to do so. 40 GB fine but everything else makes it a joke.

unboring @ Oct 8th 2007 11:46AM

@5 why not ?
Microsoft sends out lots of inferior skus, some with hdmi some without, core unit is not capable of BC unless you add on some redonkulous proprietry hdd, not to mention that you will need to pay some more of your hard eared cash to get online. oh and 200 dollars for hd movies.

sorry but if you look at this sku, its a ncei deal, they didnt cut anything major, hdmi check, wifi check, harddrive check, bluray check. BC is not important to gamers, they have a ps2 already if they have ps2 games, and if not, buy the 80gb ! life is full of choices! ps2 games after playing ps3 games look junky anyways and I have only ever played ps3 games once, saw the sukiness on my ps3 and went and got some wicked ps3 games instead.

people should be happy that sony is adjusting and creating a more accesible ps3 option, that way people who dont make as much money as me have an option to buy a next gen console other then Microsofts cash cow proprietry toaster oven. Its all about choice, and I for one am happy I can now convince my poor friends to jump on the bandwagon and drop the welfare cheques on quality hardware.

you sound like one of those sneaky "i have a ps3 but i play my xbox more" manipulative trolls,
1st step to recovery
admit your a troll
2nd step to recovery
go back to xbox360fanboy

konajinx @ Oct 8th 2007 12:08PM

@6

Steps for your recovery:

1. Admit that the PS3 is t3h failz.
2. Learn about periods.
3. There is a difference between "you're" and "your." Check it out. If you also use "there" for "they're" and "their," you'll want to turn off that PS3 a little longer and go to night school to get some more edumacation.
4. Stop defending t3h failz0rz. lawlz, etc. pwned.

RPGJock @ Oct 8th 2007 12:09PM

Its so obivious on what they are about to do. Bring out "PS3" only 40GB sku and drop the PS2 to $99. Then marketing it as give the consumer choices. If they want the play PS3 on the cheap, get the 40GB at $399. If you want backward compatiblite, pickup a newly priced PS2 model for $99 dollars also. If they make the PS2 model even smaller, which I thought I read it somewhere on here as a rumor, then it will be argued that it will not really take up any more space.

Of course, at that point you may as well buy the 60GB with all the working features, while supplies last.

Tempest @ Oct 8th 2007 12:18PM

It all comes down to price. You can pour over specifications until you're blue in the face, but people don't want to pay a lot of money, even if the return is a premium device. People know that electronics prices always come down. It's too bad that the price is coming down due to functionality loss, especially after this device had been touted as a premium does-it-all device from inception - that's why people are upset. I have friends that are PS2 enthusiasts that simply don't have half a grand to blow on the PS3 and don't want to forsake their investment in their PS2 titles either. So yes, the price has dropped but maybe for the wrong audience (?). I think if Sony would have stayed with their original 20GB and 60GB models and made the 20GB $200 cheaper than the 60GB, they might not have ever had to resort to hacking the console apart to get market penetration. It costs money to develop the system, but it also costs money to pay the hardware team to redesign the unit to remove technology, then you have to pay the OS team to make changes for the different hardware types, and all of those changes have to propagate down the path to manufacturing, marketing and packaging changes, etc. I wonder what the differences would have been if Sony would have left the hardware alone and just changed the 20GB price instead paying their staff to modify the PS3. I bet they would have been able to retain their original does-it-all promise to the consumer base and still get consoles into people’s homes. Maybe Sony’s corporate side to just too big and removed from the public to understand what they really want from Sony.

navsimpson @ Oct 8th 2007 12:49PM

The thing I'm trying to figure out - and that doesn't really seem to have been reported anywhere - is whether or not the 80GB model is being replaced by the 40GB model, or if Sony is sticking with a 40GB/80GB approach. If it's the latter, then BC is still there - you just need to pay a premium for it, which seems fair to me. While this obviously means that work on BC has probably ceased, there are hundreds of games that work properly through software emulation aren't there?

Also, although taking out the GS chip probably saved Sony about $20 a console, people seem to forget the cost of support phone calls and infrastructure necessary.

Finally, while the focus has been on the lack of BC and two less USB ports/no card readers, other changes have been made to the motherboard layout/materials to reduce costs . At the end of the day, price is the single biggest barrier to widespread adoption of the PS3 (yes, even more than games), so Sony has made the right move.

Wonderflex @ Oct 8th 2007 1:01PM

Personally, I think that if they release it in the US without backwards compatibility there will be a lot of angry people with large PS2 collections.

RPGJock @ Oct 8th 2007 1:07PM

@11
...that have still have PS2 consoles, unless they sell it thinking that they just use their new 40GB PS3.

Sony needs to make it very very clear that what they are doing with the 40GB model.

Andy @ Oct 8th 2007 1:18PM

You guys are rooting for the same console. BC or no BC its still a PS3.

drdre74 @ Oct 8th 2007 1:26PM

Play PS3 games on your PS3 and play PS2 games on your PS2. Its that simple. Dang people want a price cut but they dont want to loose anything to get that price cut. Wow! People can be idiots sometimes. At 399 its still a good deal without the Backwards. You still get a game system and a Blu ray player. Find me any blu ray player out in the market for 399. Hell HD players cost more than that. You get what you pay for people and 399 for it is great and you can always replace the Hard drive to something bigger if you want for pretty cheap.

RPGJock @ Oct 8th 2007 1:30PM

@13

I wouldn't say rooting, more as I want to see my investment protected. As a HD media player for my HDTV, I am happy with it. I also like it as a upcovert PS2 for my existing PS2 library. I just want to be reassured that its a strong console with a with future of good titles from all available vendor supporters, both first, second and third party companies. Without a substantial user base, it won't be for third party companies, who's only true goal is to sell as many copies of their game as it can to the largest market.

Jeremy @ Oct 8th 2007 1:53PM

The only reason they are cutting so much out is to give the PS3 a competitive edge with the price of the other systems. This is the only way Sony can cut the price without loosing major money.

Waruwaru @ Oct 8th 2007 2:50PM

@Jeremy: Unfortunately, Sony is never going to win the price war. Isn't MS already making profit from selling 360s? Plus, Sony wanted to keep PS3 alive for 10 years. MS will probably release the next gen well before that. There is no way they can compete price wise.