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Sunday Comics: Dead Island Usually EB’s email specials are decent, but the latest one is a massive exception. Massive. Head to EB and hand over $200, four games and your “old” 60GB console and a brand-new 80GB can be yours!
This would be a fantastic deal, if it wasn’t so damn, damn awful. Scratch that… it’s devious. It works out to be ~$600 for 20GB… as long as you don’t mind losing backwards-compatibility, some USB slots and the card reader. Add to this the fact 20GB is worth $4, going by current HDD prices, and it’s basically one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen. The sad thing is people are going to buy into it.
Nothing more to say, really, except to warn your friends and family who are lucky enough to own a 60GB that the deal is horrible.
Sony PlayStation 3 Console (80Gb) [Thanks David W./Luke P.]
We heard rumours about it weeks in advance, and then SCEE made it public at this year’s E3. Now, Sony has announced an August 28 launch for the 80GB PS3 in Australia, only a day off the date we already had. The release mentions that the new unit will come with a Dual Shock 3 controller (yeah!), replace the 40GB model (meh) and retain the $699 price point (boo!). Oh well, at least we have a pretty picture of the box, right?
A press release from the company can be found after the jump.
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.
At Sony’s E3 2008 press conference, Jack Tretton announced a 80 GB PS3 “Core Pack” that’ll go for $US 400 — “the same functionality of the 40 GB… with twice the storage”, he said.
“This new 80 GB PS3 is perfectly suited for HD games, music, movies and more”. Full release below…
Finding some dusty old tapes marked “GDC08″, GameDaily have posted an interview held during the conference with Sony’s Scott Steinberg, who in case you’re not aware, bleeds Sony. Steinberg eventually gets onto the PS3′s somewhat-controversial SKU strategy, where he seems to suggest – while explaining why the 80GB model ran dry at Christmas – that the larger PS3 is here to stay:
Don’t think of this as hard evidence of the impending demise of the 80GB PS3. Just think of it as…a rather strong suggestion. Sony’s online store, Sony Style, is more than happy to ship you a 40GB PlayStation 3, but an 80GB model? Nunh unh. No longer in stock. No longer even appearing on the page telling you it’s out of stock, it’s just…not there. With Sony’s GDC address tomorrow, whatever, oh, could this mean? PlayStation 3 [Sony Style, via Gizmodo AU]
GameStop Signals The End of the PlayStation 3 80GB Model. A pair of little birdies from the retail front pass on word from GameStop corporate that stores shouldn’t expect any further shipments on the higher end, PS2 backwards compatible SKU. We’d heard from Best Buy in the past that the 80GB model was on its way out—to be possibly replaced by a 120GB version—but it looks like stock is drying up everywhere. Will Sony have anything to announce in time with next week’s GDC?
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]
I’m getting as sick of it as you, so this is the last backwards compatibility post. I promise. So let’s end the whole sorry mess on a high note! For anyone who already owns a 60GB unit, know that Sony haven’t forgotten about you. SCEE’s Nick Sharples has told us that for the millions of consumers who already own a PS3, they’ll continue to work on backwards-compatibility updates: The current PS3 system software and future updates will continue to support backwards compatibility for the current 60GB and 80GB models.
Good news for existing owners! Also, I wonder why he mentioned 80GB. Sharples works for SCEE, which has never seen an 80GB model. Unless he knows something we don’t.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America reminds us that today’s the day you should be able to walk into a store and pick up the new 80GB Playstation 3, complete with a copy of MotorStorm.
The $US600 PS3 seems like a decent deal to those who have been on the fence about buying the console, what with the larger harddrive and a free copy of a relatively solid game. Of course you could just buy the 60GB version for $US100 less and then buy the game of your choice and have money left over to put toward upgrading the PS3′s harddrive on your own, a relatively simple endeavour.
Sony points out that they expect to be sold out of the 60GB version by this spring, based on current consumer demand.
Hit the jump for the full press release, with a remind of all of the cool games coming to the PS3 in the near future including Heavenly Sword, Folklore and Uncharted.
