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Sony Officially Dropping 20GB PS3 in North America
Posted by
Zonk
on Wed Apr 11, 2007 05:14 PM
from the get-thee-behind-me dept.
from the get-thee-behind-me dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Sony has just announced they're officially ditching the 20GB model of the PS3. 'Due to the overwhelming demand for the 60GB model from both retailers and consumers, we have ceased offering the 20GB model here in North America. In addition to the larger internal hard drive, the 60GB PlayStation 3 features added storage media slots and built-in Wi-Fi not found in the 20GB system. Based on retailer and consumer feedback, we have decided to focus our current efforts on the more popular 60GB model.'"
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xbox elite (Score:3, Interesting)
Sound familiar? (Score:3, Interesting)
Makes sense to me (Score:4, Insightful)
Makes me wonder when Microsoft is going to axe the $300 version of the Xbox 360, which in a way is kind of crap since it doesn't come with any way to save games on it by default without shelling out at least enough for a memory card or a special HD (since you can't plug your own in as far as I know). With the new Elite version coming out in the future, why bother having this lowend version take up shelf space?
Re: (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The cheapie @ 75USD:
http://www.provantage.com/microsoft-b4b-00009~7MSS X03M.htm [provantage.com]
The fancy ones at $99 USD
http://www.shop.com/op/~MN_740_Broadband_Networkin g_Xbox_Wireless_Adapter,_802_11g,_b-prod-23981381- 32003097?sourceid=3 [shop.com]
What do $7 mail-in-rebate junkie wireless cards for PC have to do with this discussion? Nothing.
JON
But... but.. (Score:2)
(yes, I actually was planning on getting one at some point. But only the 20 gig model).
Re: (Score:2)
Ebay is your friend.
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And yeah, like the other guy said, eBay.
Me, I'm holding out til the price drops a bit - so hopefully, if they concentrate their efforts on one model, that model's price will drop simply due to the economic efficiency of dealing with one model over two.
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I bought my PS3 for $480 used off Craigslist. Actually it was new, still in an unopened box. I actually broke the seal on the box and took the wrappers off everything.
AND it was the 60GB version !!
If you want to save $100, there were a lot of people who bought PS3's early for "profiteering" reasons who never intended to play them or use them. Those people are selling them because they need money for other reasons and they're prett
Here is hoping (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Here is hoping (Score:4, Interesting)
The Xbox 360 cannot use a HDMI connection without the Elite model. And while the Xbox 360 is upgradable, it is expensive to do so compared to standard PC parts (which the PS3 uses). That's why you can use bluetooth or USB devices on the PS3 to expand but have to pay outrageous prices for the hard drive, keyboard, etc. for the Xbox 360.
IMO, Microsoft made a bigger mistake by not including the hard drive as a standard. Developers can count on a hard drive in the PS3 which could be used in a few different ways (expansions, caching, MMORPG content, etc.). The missing wireless and memory card readers don't affect game development like a missing hard drive would.
Parent
That's great! (Score:5, Funny)
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Ah, but now you can compare it to the XBox Elite (est. $480) and the fact that to get a Wii you have to buy it second hand (starting at $379.95 on Amazon last I checked). For $859.95 you can buy a PS3 plus a game (or a laptop and a desktop machine with Linux ;)).
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How ridiculous is this... on Walmart's canadian website [walmart.ca], you search for "wii", and it returns a bunch of PS2 games [walmart.ca]
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Just go to http://xpbargains.com/wii_locator.php [xpbargains.com] and sign up for the RSS feed.
Well color me miffed (Score:3, Informative)
When I first heard about the different PS3 models, I was all for the "why would I buy a gimped version of the PS3?!?" argument. Then I started considering the prices.
The benefits of the 60 gig are:
+40 GB drive
memory card slots
Wifi
And it costs 100 dollars more.
I have a wifi router in my house. My entertainment system is close enough to my router (for my Xbox, et al) to connect with a cable. I connect it, BAM I have WiFi access to my PS3.
A USB Memory card adapter is $10 at the Electronics store.
So I'm left paying $90 for 40Gigs of storage? I'd rather shell out the extra $30, get a 500Gig drive, and plug it in myself (standard SATAII cables, doesn't void warenty).
So, the 20 Gig was the only version I was actually looking at to buy.
That and the fact that upgraded versions of the PS3 have a good chance of being "Software backwards compatible" like in the UK, which is to say "not backwards compatible at all"
I can only hope that they won't get rid of the 20gig here as well.
This is terrible news. (Score:4, Funny)
How am I going to conveniently categorize fanboy comments?! Seriously, did Sony ever think of that?!
Before, pro-Sony would refer to the PS3 as $500, anti- would use $600 (and sometimes $700). How am I supposed to ignore the people I disagree with?!
It's the same thing with Nintendo... back before they announced the price, people would say either $300 or $200 (or sometimes even $150!) depending on who they were rooting for... now... well, I guess they're still more than $300 on eBay, so this still works some of the time :-P
Thank goodness I can still tell how people feel about Microsoft! Especially with the new model coming out...
This was obvious a few weeks back (Score:2)
But when I tried to buy one, none were available anywhere. I've never seen one at retail.
So it's too bad really... I figured on using the additional $100 to upgrade the HD, making the PS3 a good media extender. But it's pretty clear the 20G model was always the model for price comparison, and I believe it became a casualty of sonhy trying to get a bit rational about distributio of the PS3.
I t
Re: (Score:2)
I think we'll see a reduced price PS3 by the fall in the United States, but it will not have hardware emulation for PS2.
I'm surprised. Either I missed some comments or you're the first person to point this out.
There seems to be a lot of things pointing at a price drop. Like you said, they launched in Europe with the Emotion chip removed. It seems pretty obvious if they engineered a version without this chip and started developing software backward compatability that we're going to see that here in the states. There was also just a story about them starting volume production with a company called Foxconn.
It is al
Not surprising. (Score:4, Interesting)
Clearly, it didn't made a difference considering whenever anyone thinks of the PS3 price tag they only think of $600. The recent announcement of the Xbox360 Elite makes it easier to justify carrying only the expensive version.
Either way, I expect this to make no difference whatsoever. As I've mentioned, everyone already sees only one price tag for the console. What will make a difference is the library of games available and eventual price drops and those had better come sooner than later.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I've come across mountains of 60GB PS3's, but never the lesser one. Which makes me curious about this whole "more demand for the better one" thing. How would they even gage something like that, when it's seemingly impossible to find the goddamn things in the first place?
It's like General Electric making five to
I agree (Score:3, Informative)
However, there is one small bit of anecdotal evidence that backs up what Sony is saying. Amazon had at one point a lottery to get a chance at buying a PS3 from a shipment, you could enter either a lottery for the 20GB or the 60GB model (you didn't pay
Re: (Score:2)
Didn't say it was a good sample... (Score:2)
I think they were not sure they could really sell as many as they wanted at $600 as $500 - once they saw they could outsell the 360 [eproductwars.com] at the $600 price point they decided to stick with that model to make things simpler for retailers and Sony. Sony (and Microsoft) do not really care about the Wii I think, s
Re:i wonder if... (Score:5, Interesting)
This also gives credence to the concept that the PS3 is not going to have a price drop for a VERY LONG TIME.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:i wonder if... (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Different company (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Re:Different company (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Responsibility but nopt the choice (Score:4, Insightful)
Again I ask, if your brother rob a bank should you go to jail? Your father raised both of you, why shouldn't he go to jail? You talked to your brother at some point, surely you are to blame. All of these statements are as silly as what you are trying to say.
Parent
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There's a fundamental difference you're missing (or rather, ignoring). The Sony board are legally responsible for the actions of their employees. My father is not legally responsible for my actions.
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Again I ask, if your brother rob a bank should you go to jail? Your father raised both of you, why shouldn't he go to jail? You talked to your brother at some point, surely you are to blame. All of these statements are as silly as what you are trying to say.
There's a fundamental difference you're missing (or rather, ignoring). The Sony board are legally responsible for the actions of their employees. My father is not legally responsible for my actions.
So if they pass a law making parents legally responsible for their child's actions, does that make a difference? Whether or not something is morally right or wrong, does not depend on legality. I'm not excusing Sony for the rootkit scandal, I'm just saying that legality shouldn't play a role in a moral judgement.
Re:Responsibility but nopt the choice (Score:5, Insightful)
And I wonder, after the rootkit scandal broke, did the board of directors or the president use their vast power to do anything, so as to discourage their other subordinates from making equally bad decisions in the future? Nope:
The uninstaller for the DRM had security problems of its own.
Thomas Hesse, president of that division, who said "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" still has his job today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Sony_BMG_CD_cop
It is their responsibility of those people to keep the company in line and fix quickly when it isn't. That's why they have so much power get paid tens of millions of dollars a year (supposedly). By continuing to delegate their power to somone who wonders why people would care that their machine had been rooted, they clearly approve of those actions.
And I ask, are you given power to control your brother's actions? Are you his legal guardian? Is he under 18 or mentally retarded? If so, yes, you might in fact go to jail. With power comes responsibility.
Parent
Re: (Score:3)
Spiderman the movie? That quote predates that...
Re: (Score:2)
Every dollar that goes to SONY Entertainment, SONY Electronics, or SONY Games goes to improve SONY's bottom line. All the money that flows into all the subdivivions of Sony gets distributed based on what the Board decides, not necesarily on who sold the original product.
Arbitrary distinctions which are used solely to divide responsibility for product markets does not mean that Sony Corporate should is n
Re: (Score:2)
Myself, I think it would be better to reward divisions that do well financially (Sony has made some good choices like Linux support and folding at home clients that I approve of). If that division grows, while we all ignore and punish the "bad" divisions, then it's more likley Sony might get rd of or change Sony Music in ways we approve of. Since killing the whole company is
Re: (Score:2)
Corperations are run by people, and your poor choice of userID indicates you are an idiot - or a troll, it matters not which one.
Furthermore, where was your defense of their predatory lawsuits against lik-sang.com, I don't seem to see it in your post.
That's Sony Games. Not Sony Music. Was I ever defending Sony Games from
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But the relations between divisions within companies are quite different than the relations between siblings - which is what you were comparing them to. Parents don't often sell off their lesser children. Your analogy was flawed. I did the best I could with it.
That's a really good argument. You made a personal attack against me. Nowhere did I do that to you. I attacked your
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Man, you REALLY do not know companies and the people that run them do you. Have you ever met a VP? Do you understand the rivaries and turf wars that go on?
Your analogy was flawed. I did the best I could with it.
My analogy is perfect. Your inept handling and understanding of same is not my problem.
That's a really good argument. You made a personal attack against me.
That is an observation, not an att
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Again, it may not be a law, but a company can sell or refuse to sell their product to anyone they choose. A reseller can't force a company to sell them their product.
What's crippled about it? Was superiour. (Score:4, Insightful)
GigE networking
A Hard drive that is user servicable and replaceable
The same AV connections
Anything else used to actually play games, lacking only a media reader for things like CF cards.
I was going to buy the 20GB model, and put a larger HD in it. So I personally think it was the superior option as it was more configurable and it did not have wireless if you did not need it. Lots of things are coming with wireless built in now which is nice, but I was going to wire it up anyway so as not to have the possibility of interference.
I can kind of see why they did it but I'm annoyed they are removing that option.
Parent
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
EBAY!
Finally, PS3 owners will get the $1000+ auctions they were dreaming of!
Outselling the 360 for the past few weeks... (Score:5, Informative)
Wouldn't that mean asking Microsoft to drop the 360 as well? The PS3 has been outselling [eproductwars.com] the 360 every day since Amazon finally had them in stock a few weeks ago (scroll down to "Sales rank of the primary Systems").
And yes, the Wii is still trouncing them both.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Gee, way to spin the statistics ... (Score:2)
Good lord, you should apply for marketing at Sony or something. On that page, every other statistic shows that either the Wii or the 360 is selling far better than the PS3. And even in your particular example, it's only based off the last 2 weeks of data, and in only one store (Amazon), and the d
Look again (Score:4, Informative)
No, other entries say things like "There are more items for sale for the 360" Well, yes - that's pretty obvious - it's been out longer. And as the 360 has been out longer with more games the games they do have are also outselling most PS3 games. That seems pretty obvious as well. What is not obvious, and what is interesting, is that the PS3 every time it was availaible at Amazon, has outsold the 360. It just happens that that has only held true (Amazon havng stock) for any length of time starting around the end of March.
And even in your particular example, it's only based off the last 2 weeks of data, and in only one store (Amazon), and the difference between the "sales rank" is small (360 is 20, and the PS3 is 16). It's not that clear what "sales rank" even means.
You need to understand "the rest of the story". See all those times the graph is low? On every one of those days, the PS3 was not in stock and sales were from third parties charging $100 more for the console. That's every day since the start of the year.
As for what "sales rank" means, you cannot of course derive absolute numbers from sales rank. But what you can say is hat something with a sales rank of x+1 sold more units than something else with a sales rank of x. It might be only one more unit, or it might be 10k. But it is more. And ever since Amazon has had the PS3 in stock, it has outsold the 360.
The February NPD numbers show a much different story. Granted, the NPD values aren't complete either, but much more so than merely combing just Amazon. In any case, the March NPD numbers will be along shortly, so we'll see if your theory holds up.
The Feburary NPD numbers agree with the graph. The March NPD numbers will also agree with the graph, and should show the 360 with a lead (note the rise in the graph only started around the 23rd or so of March). It's the April numbers that will be interesting and will or will not bear out the point I am making.
Of course when the Elite comes out, that will probably push the 360 in front of the PS3 for a while again I imagine.
Let me be clear, I am making no judgements against or for any console with these numbers (I own none of them). I am just saying what the charts and obvservation of all three since the start of the year has shown.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Here's the problem. How do you know that's truly "the rest of the story"? Could there be a similar problem with 360 sales now? Or perhaps the PS3 sales are artificially inflated for some other reason? We don't know because we don't work at Amazon.
Of course w
I know (Score:2)
I know because I have been monitoring this almost daily for months. You can look at the 360 and the PS3 and see if they are in stock, or not. Why? I have no idea, it amuses me to see which way the trends turn.
Of course we could play the "what if" game all day. T