Rusty James

This just in: The Blu-ray compatible PS3 will come in two flavors, a 20GB hard drive for $500 and a 60GB hard drive for $600. In stores Nov. 17.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/08/en...ation-3-e3-ev/

Rusty James

Also: Europe gets the 20GB for 499 Euro, 60GB for 599 Euro (ouch!). Two million to ship worldwide during the launch window, four million by end of calendar year 2006. By March 31, 2007 they'll have shipped 6 million worldwide.

darkside

HDMI does have something to do with it and apparently you have to buy the $599 version to get it.

digitalfreaknyc

uhh..this thread is about HD-DVD...not HDMI.

dvd182

This really burns me. Thanks a fucking lot Sony, I knew there was going to be a catch somewhere. Now I really don't care who wins this war, as long as someone does, and quick.

raven56706

i knew it.... you have to pay $600 for the full capacity of the blu ray....

oh man.... screw this.... waiting for the announcement of the hd-dvd add on... long live microsoft

Coral

Sony just bit themselves in the ass.

Even at $499 the console is too pricey for most.

After taxes and a couple of games , the price edges towards $700 for the "priveledge" of owning this console (close to $800 if you want the higher tiered PS3). I don't see how many people will feel like buying BR movies when they just shelled out a fortune. Getting Blu-Ray players into homes means nothing if the software doesn't sell.

MS and HD-DVD have quite an edge at this point.

EDIT: So basically the $499 model does nothing to help Blu-Ray in the format war as it won't even play HD movies without HDMI. And the $599 was supposed to have 2 HDMI outputs as they kept touting, but (as usual) Sony lies and only offers 1... so much for their dual-display BS they've been feeding everyone. Pure comedy from Sony.

Kocheese99

remind me, what was the pricing for the 2 xbox 360 packages? Were they $299/$399, or was it $399/$499?

penguin42

299/399

wewantflair

Can someone cite the reference to HDMI only being available on the $599 console? I can't find that in any of the articles.

Nazgul

Wow. Viva Nintendo.

No way I can afford this.

dvd182

Most are getting it from this PDF:

http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/rele...f/060509ae.pdf

madara

E3 2006: PS3 20 Gig Missing Features?
Images of system with smaller hard drive missing HDMI input, other features.
by Jeff Haynes

May 8, 2006 - The announcement earlier tonight that the PS3 would come in two separate configurations easily caught the ear of PS3 fans eager for any news of Sony's system. However, upon closer analysis of the images for the systems itself, a rather curious system feature seemed to be missing from the 20 gig configuration.

Looking at the official press site of SCEA, we noticed that the PS3 with the 20 gigabyte hard drive seemed to lack HDMI support. This seems to be confirmed by an offical press release from SCEA, which indicates via comparison between the two systems. However, it also indicates that the 20 gigabyte system won't have Memory Stick, SD or Compact Flash reading capability or WiFi support. Even worse, it appears that rumble doesn't appear to be included with the new six axis sensing controller.

Could the 20 gig become a gamer shunned system? When Microsoft launched the Xbox 360, consumers hated the Core system that didn't come with a hard drive and other features, quickly dubbing it the "tard pack." Will the 20 gig suffer the same fate? We'll have more details as we get them from the show.

Josh Z

So, those who insisted that a fully Blu-Ray featured PS3 would retail for no more than $399 may now officially start eating their humble pie.

mbs

This seems very bad for Sony. I was (maybe still am) planning on getting a PS3 and I used to be a big supporter of Blu-Ray (I'm quite neutral now). But... this "tiering" is going to be bad for Blu-Ray. They needed the PS3 to be their trojan horse.

The bottom tier unit is too limited in terms of movies. No way to get 1080p (yes, component can handle it, but I don't think ANY TV can (or will) display 1080p from component. Poor, poor choice in leaving out the HDMI.

The pricing is also too high, IMO. Blu-Ray was counting on millions and millions of these sold. I'm sure they will still sell a bunch, but I'm not so certain the masses will choose the PS3 over the much cheaper 360.

paulringodaman

Wow, this is super expensive...Just imagine ebay prices a week before Christmas!! Ouch!!

kvrdave

I don't get that move. What is the point of getting BR into all the households to win the format war if one of the systems doesn't even let you use it (for practical purposes in the format war)? It is like they saw the 360 launch, saw that people hated the core unit, and thought they could find a way to make it suck more.

It seems like MS did it to make the full package look like a bargain, but with this it still looks like a butt load of money either way. Do you want to "waste" $500 or spend more to get something useful.

Groucho

Has the Bluth family bought Sony? "I've made a huge mistake."

Burnt Thru

Both types of PS3 would seem to play back BD movies, the only difference being that one doesn't do so over digital connectors. That means output is limited to 1080i (like the Tosh A1) and HD playback lives at the whim of the Hollywood studios not to switch on ICT. It seems likely the X360 HD DVD drive will have similar limitations considering the apparent lack of a secure internal digital pathway in the main device.

AllHallowsEve

Count on them costing more than this...

Cause I am sure the vast majority of places will swindle into purchasing dreaded *Bundles* with items we don't want.

Crazy prices... Seems gaming is being reserved for the well off only...

$600 is a lot of money for the average person... I remember hearing all the bitching when systems cost $200 on launch...

Mr. Cinema

I ain't touching a PS3 for $500 or $600. Guess I'll be waiting a year to get one. Didn't Sony promise the studios they'd have 10 million BD units by end of 2006? With this announcement of the PS3's they are "planning" to have available, is this still true?

Mr. Cinema

3 things I could see happening around Sony's launch:

1. Microsoft has a price drop on the 360
2. Releases the HD-DVD add on (if not sooner)
3. Halo 3 gets released.

That's what I would do....if they are ready to do so.

darkside

I would expect people that want to preorder to ensure they get a PS3 to have to shell out a minimum of $800 to get one with the bundles. Hopefully supplies will be enough so that people can just walk into a Target and buy one for $599, but who knows.

Oh, and the 10 million BR players in homes by the end of 06 is an impossibility. Even if Sony can somehow get 4 million PS3 out by the end of 06 they are not going to sell anywhere that number of standalones at a grand each. Not to mention most of the people buying the $500 PS3 probably won't even care about movie playback.

Qui Gon Jim

How many toes has Sony shot off their feet so far?

So much for that $500 1080P "someone" has been promising as the turning point of the format war.

joshd2012

$500 PS3 = $500 Toshiba

$600 PS3 > $700 Toshiba

Bargin!