Another PS3 price drop rumor, plus a "slim" version coming...?

[ONUOsFan]

The details of the Slim are pretty slim. I didn't see any indication of a price reduction on the other models.

You're right. I should have included some of my other "sources"

Fye ad shows PS3 price cut: 160GB for $399, 80GB for $299

The closest thing I've seen to "specs" for the Slim is that it will have a 120 GB hard drive:

PS3 Slim for $300 in K-Mart, Sears Ads? - PC World

 

[riffjim4069]

To me (and only to me as I can't speak for anyone else) the PS3 is worth every penny. I do use every aspect of it. I use it to play games, I use it to play blu, I use it to stream music, movies and pictures from my PC. That is a dman powerful machine that fits into my home theater setup very well.

I agree...we've had three of them and love 'em. I bought one for my 74-year old mom a couple months ago, and she is thumping everyone online at Tigers Woods 2009. Hopefully will stop making the PS2 and put their full efforts behind the PS3 - the $100 price reduction is a big step in that direction.

 

[meStevo]

We've got a holiday bonus coming this December, may get a 2nd PS3 rather than one of the $99 or cheaper Blu-Ray players. Would be nice if they surprised us all and reintroduced backwards compatibility though.

 

[ONUOsFan]

We've got a holiday bonus coming this December, may get a 2nd PS3 rather than one of the $99 or cheaper Blu-Ray players. Would be nice if they surprised us all and reintroduced backwards compatibility though.

I had heard that rumor at one point a while back, but haven't seen anything on it since.... the supposed announcement of the Slim is today, though, so we'll see what they say.

PS3 Firmware 3.0 is also among the rumored announcements - wonder what that will entail...?

 

[meStevo]

3.0 is going to rework the console's UI like the 360's NXE did, I think. This would be a pretty big deal if they go away from the XMB, since that's a Sony staple (ugh, hate that thing).

 

[ONUOsFan]

3.0 is going to rework the console's UI like the 360's NXE did, I think. This would be a pretty big deal if they go away from the XMB, since that's a Sony staple (ugh, hate that thing).

So I did some searching, and guess what else I found - rumor is that 3.0 will actually re-introduce BC via software emulation....

http://www.examiner.com/x-14920-Sac...tay-tuned-for-Sony-PS3-Gamescom-announcements

 

[televisionarchives]

Just got back from an Orlando Best buy. They pulled all of the PS3 consoles. off the shelves. Just yesterday they had over 75 at least. Interesting. I know they didn't sell them all.

 

[meStevo]

So I did some searching, and guess what else I found - rumor is that 3.0 will actually re-introduce BC via software emulation....

Stay tuned for Sony PS3 Gamescom announcements

SW BC is hard to believe, as it's not very scalable and is a lot of work, and has to be done title by title. Even the BC in the hardware based units is not perfect. Absent a new method for doing this, it will probably be limited to the most popular titles and those that accidentally work along with them.

Happy to be wrong though if true!

 

[meStevo]

Just got back from an Orlando Best buy. They pulled all of the PS3 consoles. off the shelves. Just yesterday they had over 75 at least. Interesting. I know they didn't sell them all.

At BestBuy.com, none of their PS3 hardware is available for purchase at any of my local stores (they dont need to be open for them to be available).

 

[ONUOsFan]

IIRC, they already had software-based BC in some of the earlier models, so it would just be a matter of bringing it back.

If they are, though, they're not saying so in this update they just posted:

PlayStation 3 Firmware (v3.00) Update – PlayStation.Blog

 

[yourbeliefs]

To me (and only to me as I can't speak for anyone else) the PS3 is worth every penny. I do use every aspect of it. I use it to play games, I use it to play blu, I use it to stream music, movies and pictures from my PC. That is a dman powerful machine that fits into my home theater setup very well.

I can't really say the same. If not for Folding, my PS3 would be more neglected than Kirstie Alley's StairMaster. The 360 has basically all the same big titles as the PS3, and none of the exclusives on PS3 really entice me (and the two that did I already own and are also collecting dust.) The Wii is good for casual gaming with Wii Sports and Sports Resort, as well as its near-perfect BC with Gamecube games. I do like having Blu Ray capabilities, but I watch movies so rarely that it is almost irrelevant (for the time being.) I also used to like the web browser functionality for watching stuff on Youtube on a big screen, but since I hooked up my PC to my Plasma that functionality has been diminished as well.

One thing that I REALLY hate is that unlike Xbox Arcade, not all PSN games have demos, so you can't at least see if a game is good or not before you throw down $10-$20. I'd really like to try out Fat Princess, but I'm not going to throw $20 down on a non-returnable product.

Still, I don't REGRET buying a PS3. Part of it's neglect is also a result of me constantly going for 360 versions of multi-console releases. I plan on doing a little "console affirmative-action" in the coming months to help ease that problem.

 

[meStevo]

It's offical, slim is 299, all current units dropped to 299.

 

[meStevo]

I buy older games from places like Gamefly to make use of my PS3 more. Newer stuff, if there's an option, is always purchased for my 360. It gets far more use as a Blu-Ray player.

 

[meStevo]

IIRC, they already had software-based BC in some of the earlier models, so it would just be a matter of bringing it back.

If they are, though, they're not saying so in this update they just posted:

PlayStation 3 Firmware (v3.00) Update – PlayStation.Blog

SW emulation still had PS2 graphic synthesizer in the console, to do SW BC they would need to do it like the 360 does, title by title.

 

[ONUOsFan]

It's offical, slim is 299, all current units dropped to 299.

All current units? So the 160GB and the 80GB are the same price now?

 

[meStevo]

Well, that's what I read, but Joystiq says price cut news for current units is coming tomorrow.

Ads seem to indicate $299 for all, with some of the bundles that include games staying at $399 (and likely on the shelf for a long time).

Slim wont be here for a couple weeks it looks like, first week in September and staggered (wonder if they'll try and drum up artificial demand by restricting supply).

 

[yourbeliefs]

The Escapist is reporting that the Slim comes out on 9/11. Way to pick a memorable date..

The Escapist : News : Sony Reveals PS3 Slim, Drops PS3 Prices to $299

 

[meStevo]

So starting today, all PS3s should be $100 cheaper. 'all units at $299' is inaccurate cause of the 160gb bundle, that will now be at $399.

 

[ONUOsFan]

The Escapist is reporting that the Slim comes out on 9/11. Way to pick a memorable date..

The Escapist : News : Sony Reveals PS3 Slim, Drops PS3 Prices to $299

I guess it will get here when it gets here, but most places are saying 9/1:

Sony unveils $299 PlayStation 3 Slim - Game Hunters: In search of video games and interactive awesomeness - USATODAY.com

 

[JamesJ]

early sept. is what I have read also price cuts dont go in effect till tommorow...now I wonder if gamestop does price matching within 30 days as My brother bought a used one from them on the 25th, wonder if they will price match or let him trade it in for a new one.

edit: from jack trenton Sept 1st

http://www.engadget.com/2009/08/18/sony-debuts-slimmer-ps3/#continued