40gb
Will Australia See The 80GB PS3? [Update: Yes It Will]
4:30PM Logan Booker | Excellent question, and one I asked Sony earlier today. Unfortunately, it has yet to get back to me. What I can say is the announcement of a 80GB unit gives credence to earlier rumours that a new PS3 SKU is on its way to Australia. Not that storage is an exciting commodity, with the average cost per GB of a 500GB HDD coming in at 20c.
There’s also the strong possibility the 80GB will replace the 40GB. If the 80GB comes in at the same price as the 40GB in the US, and the 40GB isn’t replaced locally or given a price cut… well, I’d be more than a bit upset with Sony, given the massive difference in US/AU RRPs already.
Update: Looks like Sony was too busy talking to Gamespot. It has confirmation the 80GB is coming to Australia, though there are no details on pricing. Thanks Luke P. More » 
Best Buy Says PlayStation 3 80GB Is On Its Way Out
2:45PM Michael McWhertor | We’ve received multiple tips from readers—ones who also happen to be Best Buy employees—who have informed us that the North American retailer hasn’t received stock of the PlayStation 3 80GB model for the many weeks and is expected to discontinue carrying the model soon. According to our sources, Best Buy stores have also been asked to pull advertising materials related to the 80GB model, currently the only version that features PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility. Rumours of a 120GB model have been spread to retail employees, but this conflicts with reports from other Best Buy moles who say that internal communications indicate only one model—the 40GB barebones edition—will be stocked after January 28th. PS3 Fanboy has visual evidence of the notice to employees about the 80GB discontinuation, further proof that backwards compatibility may soon be a thing of the past. We’ve been bugging Sony about the situation all day, but have yet to receive anything other than a paraphrased “hold tight” about the rumours. Best Buy discontinuing 80GB PS3 [PS3 Fanboy] More »
40GB PS3 On Sale. People Buy It.
4:00PM Brian Ashcraft | What a difference a year makes. When the PS3 launched on November 11, 2006, a frenzy ensued. The console was met with long lines fuelled by a strong demand. To mark the one year anniversary of the PLAYSTATION 3, Sony launched a cheaper 40GB model that does not support backwards compatibility. The DUALSHOCK 3, Ratchet and Clank Future and Dynasty Warriors 6 put on sale as well. Less frenzy and crap weather, the new console did get a fair enough turnout — though, nothing like the craziness of last year. (That’s to be expected!) At the Akihabara Yodobashi Camera Customers picked up the DS3 as well. We haven’t heard of any sellouts here, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of boost the 40GB model gave the PS3 in Japan. It could beat the Xbox 360 this week! 40GB PS3 [IT Media] New PS3 [Game Watch Impress] More »
Sony’s New PS3s Are 65nm After All, Partially
4:00AM Mark Wilson | Deep Breath…We heard that Sony was using tiny 65nm chips in their new 40GB PS3s instead of the original 90nm chips but then Sony was all like no we aren’t doing that and we were all like oh our bad because we heard that you were but then we heard (again) that Sony is really using the chips after all but only the Cell processor is shrunk not any of the other stuff but that makes sense to us because the new model uses way less power and we were confused how that happened without shrinking any chips but since the chips have been shrunk and we know it’s true because it came from Kaz himself everything is right in the world again. New PS3 Uses 65nm Process [IGN] More »
40GB PS3s Have “Very Low Failure Rates”
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Relax 40GB PLAYSTATION 3 owners. Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe say that rumour is total bunk. The rumour claimed that 40 percent of the 40GB PLAYSTATION 3s were have disc read errors. SCEE “categorically” denies the rumour and states that 40GB models have “the same industry leading, very low failure rates, comparable to the low level failure rates of the 60GB PS3.” SCEE head David Reeves states: We are very proud of the quality and reliability of PLAYSTATION 3 and are disappointed that such extremely sloppy journalism has resulted in this totally inaccurate story… Since launching the 40GB PS3, we have experienced a fantastic jump in sales and the failure rates have remained at the very low level that we not only strive for, but have been achieving since the launch of PS3. Know: SCEE tells us on record that the “sloppy journalism” remark is a dig at the journalist who started the rumour and “not” Kotaku. More »
40 Percent of 40GB PS3s Are Defective?
7:00PM Brian Ashcraft | See that tag right up there? That says “rumor,” so we don’t know how true this is. We’ve had no problems with our 60GB PLAYSTATION 3s, but apparently Belgian game retailer Games Mania claims that 40 percent of the new 40GB models have been returned because of hardware defects that result in the machine not being able to read discs. Forty percent? That’s a lot. Like we said, our 60GB models have been super solid, so we’re slightly hesitant to go jumping to conclusions. Anyone out there have problems with the new models? Hit us up in the comments section. That’s what it’s for. Problemen met PS3 40GB? [Gamed via Gamer via Game|Life] More »
40GB PS3 Still Using 90nm Chips
1:00PM Luke Plunkett | That rumour about the new 40GB PS3s using the smaller, quieter 65nm chips? Yeah, no. Least, not yet. German site Heise Online managed to get in touch with SCEE regarding the matter, and were told that while consoles in the coming months would start to ship with the newer chips, those shipping now are still packing 90nm chips. Disappointed? Dry your salty tears with the knowledge that thanks to the use of new components elsewhere in the 40GB PS3s, power consumption is down 32.5%. Playstation 3: Sparsameres 40-GByte-Modell weiterhin mit 90-nm-Chips [Heise Online, via Shacknews] More »
Sony Launches “Largest” Hardware Ad Campaign
10:00PM Brian Ashcraft | Sony is serious. About advertising. How serious? Just look at senior marketing v.p. Peter Dille’s sneer. The company has launched its “largest ever” hardware campaign, which is being launched in conjunction with the 40GB PS3 that goes on sale today. Over at the PlayStation.Blog, Dille writes: The games are here, the price point is now $US 399 and we wanted to make the news loud and clear. But we need to deliver that in a way that befits the PlayStation brand. And so, beyond the brilliant HD games that the PS3 delivers, you’ll also see a big focus behind the PS3’s Blu-ray movie capability and, for the first time, you’ll see a major focus behind the PLAYSTATION Network (did I mention online gaming is free on PS3??) and the exclusive gaming content available on the PLAYSTATION Store, as well as breakthrough services like Home. Great, Peter! You blog like a press release. What about MGS4? With the delay and all, we’re all dying for any choice quotes about the game… I recall seeing some comments on this blog recently lamenting why we weren’t making a bigger deal out of Metal Gear. Well, get ready for a steady diet, because Metal Gear Solid is the mother of all exclusives and we can’t wait for its release. You will. What, you didn’t hear? Still, it’s good to see Sony digging in for the long, hard Christmas battle in front of them. It’s going to be a tough fight. Sony’s Biggest Hardware Campaign [PlayStation.Blog] More »
40GB PS3 Uses Quieter, Cooler Chipset
2:00AM Brian Crecente | Computer Base is reporting that the new 40GB PlayStation 3s will make use of the shrinkafied 65nm Cell processor. What that means, according to the site, is that the PS3 will run quieter and cooler and that it will now consume just 135 watts, down from 200. While I’ve never had a problem with a PS3 overheating, it’s nice to know that running the thing will cost me a bit less and that, perhaps, that overdrive exhaust fan will kick in a bit less frequently. ComputerBase [via Gizmodo] More »
