Foster City (CA) – Joining the PS3 club is going to be less costly beginning in November. But there’s a catch.
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today confirmed that it will introduce a Playstation 3 with a 40 GB hard drive on November 2. The new entry-level model will be priced at $399 (USD/CDN) and include the movie Spiderman 3 on a Blu-ray disc. The company also has cut the price of its regular 80 GB console to $499, down from $599.
Besides the smaller hard drive, the 40 GB PS3 has the same key technical details of the 80 GB version. However, the software emulation capability for backwards compatibility is gone in this model: Sony confirmed that this console will not run PS2 games. Gamers looking for this feature will have to shell out $500 for the 80 GB version.
Sony justified this move by stating that the removal of the backwards compatibility feature reflects a “more extensive line-up of PS3 specific [game] titles,” which may sound strange to those who are comparing the available games for the PS3 and its competitors. Could it be that the difference between a 40 GB and an 80 GB hard drive cannot justify a $100 premium these days and another feature had to be sacrificed?
Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today confirmed that it will introduce a Playstation 3 with a 40 GB hard drive on November 2. The new entry-level model will be priced at $399 (USD/CDN) and include the movie Spiderman 3 on a Blu-ray disc. The company also has cut the price of its regular 80 GB console to $499, down from $599.
Besides the smaller hard drive, the 40 GB PS3 has the same key technical details of the 80 GB version. However, the software emulation capability for backwards compatibility is gone in this model: Sony confirmed that this console will not run PS2 games. Gamers looking for this feature will have to shell out $500 for the 80 GB version.
Sony justified this move by stating that the removal of the backwards compatibility feature reflects a “more extensive line-up of PS3 specific [game] titles,” which may sound strange to those who are comparing the available games for the PS3 and its competitors. Could it be that the difference between a 40 GB and an 80 GB hard drive cannot justify a $100 premium these days and another feature had to be sacrificed?