Did you hear Sony unveiled the PS3 Slim? We’ve confirmed the new price and launch date for Australia.
The PS3 Slim will launch on September 3 in Australia and retail for $499.95, a price drop of $200.
Also, all remaining stock of the current 80GB “phat” PS3 will also be reduced to the new price point of $499.95 from Monday, August 24.
So, if you really want a “phat”, don’t buy it this week!
UPDATE: Responding to the question of our price vs the US price raised in many of your comments, a Sony spokesperson said: “SCE Australia falls into the PAL markets and therefore our pricing is more closely aligned with European markets. As you pointed out [referring to my comment below] , our new price point is extremely competitive, particularly for the full entertainment offer that PS3 provides, soon to be complimented with the expanding features, content and services in the pipe line as announced at gamescom.”
flyingphush
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 9:55 AMHeres something to cheer you up.
It’s more expensive in NZ (About AUD7, but who cares about the details?)
oggob
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:02 AMWOW… just WOW… I can’t believe alot of you…
Less than 24hrs ago, the US price was $399… or AU$481, we were paying $699… everyone wanted a price cut, not just here, but around the world…
we actually get one and it’s not enough?!?! talking direct conversion, then our price cut should have been ‘only’ $AU120… we got a $AU200 price cut, it’s now technically cheaper than the RRP of the 360 Elite (which has the same 120GB HDD), it’s not the most expensive kid on the block anymore…
I believe the US price doesn’t include Sales Tax, whereas our price already includes ALL taxes…
The other factor though is that Sony Australia is still under the Europe umbrella, so technically we should be looking at our price compared to the UK… GBP299 = AU599… so I think we can consider ourselves to be in front of some other markets… While we might not have the cheapest, we certainly aren’t the most expensive…
Either save for one now (which shouldn’t be that hard) or wait another 2 years before another price cut…
TheD
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:30 AMNo, we should be looking at the price vs US, the reason that consoles cost so much in Europe is because they have to be shipped a longer distance and Europe has very high taxs (much higher than Aus).
Qumulys
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:04 AMI think its great~! Any word of if any tech has been left out, or even added??
Paul Down
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:18 AMYou can no longer install Linux, but apart from that, absolutely nothing.
Namarrgon
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 2:59 PMThey added in an HDMI-CEC-like ability to be controlled via your TV’s remote. Presumably to do this they had to upgrade the HDMI interface chip, or they would’ve added it via software already.
Since the PS3 could previously only output PCM audio – DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD had to be decoded onboard, because the HDMI chip didn’t fully support 1.3a – I wonder if that means that the Slim will now be able to output bitsream audio from Blu-Rays?
Paul Down
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:17 AMWow, I can’t believe this. It’s a 200 dollar price point drop, and it might even just go a little less at retail. What’s with all these stupid comments?
When u factor in buying a 360 elite and all the things you need to pay for on the side, this is a great deal.
Kincuri
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:19 AMExactly where I thought it would be.
$299 US = Around $375 AU + 10% GST = Around $410. Adding the usual import/transport costs, plus the expected Sony Europe/Australia mark-up that has always happened, would make $499 a nice pricing figure. Its a sweet $150 to $200 price drop.
The removal of the “other OS” support is a killer. Scuttled my plans of having a combined gaming console + potential desktop replacement :( Oh wells…
Sing Nguyen
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 11:00 AMMy thoughts exactly on the loss of other OS support. Though granted the other OS would’ve only done one thing for me anyway, which was calculations over an extended period of time. That would’ve meant however that a) I wouldn’t be able to play the PS3 at the same time, and b) that might eventually kill the PS3.
I’m curious though Kincuri; would it have completely replaced your desktop, and what are your average computer activities? I can see myself browsing the internet on it, but opening up PDFs and typing up Word documents or working on Excel spreadsheets I can’t really see happening.
Ding!
Kincuri
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 5:13 PMAs a student, it would have been a way to cut costs while at the same time justifying the purchase of a gaming console :)
I would have stuck on Yellow Dog, just so that I would be able to do assignments (Open Office), browse the web, edit images and check emails. $500 for a gaming console, bluray player AND a desktop PC (albeit a limited PC) seemed like a good deal. Especially if I would be able to hook it up to a TV to use as a monitor.
I suppose there are PS3 phats for sale for at least a little while at a decent price.
MasterCyl
Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 9:25 AMThe maths behind the price drop are wrong, you are all taking the 299US then adding shipping/import costs. It doesn’t work that way, they need to be shipped and imported to the US as well and it’s further away.
The direct conversion should work plus GST as all other costs shipping,importing,profit,retail markup have already been added into this price.
DefoliateCoffee
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:29 AMIn my opinion the PS3 Phat looks better
Jethro Tickner
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:50 AMJesus, we get $200 knocked off the price and people still winge? It’s better than nothing.
Michael Grouse
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 10:55 AMGoing against the grain here I know, but I’m grateful. I will pick one up on, or soon after launch.
brad
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 11:39 AMchill the f**k out ppl.
this will end up on the shelves for around $420-$450 at the larger discount retailers. i bought my 40gig for $550 at kmart in 07. you just gotta wait till you see a price your happy with. i dare say we will see a lot of ps2 owners crossing over now…. finally!!
Aaron Browning
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 12:20 PMYou guys are all missing the big issue here. The PS3 Slim is MATTE and doesn’t have TOUCH BUTTONS. I like the idea of something that looks and feels like a space station. Now it’s just going to look and feel like a PS2.
Kenan
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 2:10 PMI suppose you play games on consoles? or you just like to look at them?
Richard
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 1:02 PMWhat a bunch of ingrates. You’re getting $200 off and you’re still complaining.
qoutheraven
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 2:18 PMSaw A sign At JB HIFI Pre Order PS3 Slim $488…
Dave
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 4:44 PMI dont understand what everyone is worried about with price. People will easily put down $500 – $1000 for some whatever phone but for some reason a awesome game console that does so much isnt worth that much? Please explain!
Stephen Alexander
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 7:05 PMI’m surprised at the number of people complaining here that Sony didn’t cut the cost enough. $200 is a HUGE amount of the price of the console, what’s more you get a 120GB hard drive as standard as opposed to all the 80GB models we’ve been selling here in Australia. Had I not already bought my PS3 last year with LBP for $672, I’d be jumping all over this offer!
There have been a lot of people at JB asking for the PS3 this past month anyway, with NO KNOWLEDGE that a slim was coming into play, they were quite ready to spend $700. Lucky for them we didn’t have any left and now they’ll get to save $200!
Trent Strickland
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 7:41 PMBOOM!!!
nops3
Friday, August 21, 2009 at 2:10 PMIt is not a problem of USD=AUD conversion. It is all about respect. The Australian have never won the respect of SONY.
Just look at the price for XBOX360 and Wii, which follow precisely and nicely the USD-AUD conversion+ GST. That’s the sole reason why I buy M$ Xbox and Wii, but not PSX.
SONY is arrogant.
Unless the AU price is comparable with US price (factor out GST), I will never by PS3.