New 80GB Sony PlayStation 3 - good or bad?

[admin_exported]

Last night, Sony revealed a new standard PS3 in the US which will now feature an 80GB HDD to cope with the raft of new movie downloads. It will cost $399.

We're speaking to Sony right now to get UK release/price info - news later - but, in the meantime, we'd like to know what you think about the move...We were kind of expecting a £199 slimline PS3 to be announced....

 

[Andrew Everard]

Good or bad?

Same old same old, but with a bigger hard drive, surely...

And anyway, why not just plug in an external drive if you want more capacity? 80GB isn't much these days, especially if we're talking video storage.

 

[Anonymous]

I still think the PS3 is good value for money as both a games console and blu-ray player. The 80GB HD doesn't really make a difference to me as I just use a 160GB Western Digital USB passport device to store all my movies/music etc and I doubt it would be enough to entice new comers, that's the job of games like MGS, FFXIII, LBP etc. I think it's too early in its life for a slimline version to come out but that and a £199 price point would have been a great way to generate new sales. It's not cheap to manufacture and I'm guessing SCE don't want to lose any more money on the unit. I love the fact that I don't have to pay a subscription to pay online and bear in mind Sony were a good 18 months behind MS, they are catching up fast. Home is still to be released, I'm on the beta and while it looks okay I don't think I'm the demographic that it will appeal to but I'm sure it will be popular with younger gamers. The blu-ray side of things is also a major plus especially with the recent firmware upgrades. Overall, I'm very pleased with the PS3 which is more than I can say for the Wii which as a life long Nintendo fan, is something I never thought I'd say.

 

[Anonymous]

Does the new PS3 look any different? I liked the glossier 60GB one better than the matt 40GB not that it really matters, just interested.

 

[Big Chris]

Most important to me is, is the 80gb backwards compatible with PS2 games like the original 60gb version was? Or have they omitted it as they did with the 40gb?

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

I have a 60GB and a 40GB and don't see a difference in gloss or matt??

If I wanted a bigger HDD I'd either fit one to my spec or add an external one. The 'new' 80GB version is nothing to get excited about.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Anonymous]

Just the silver trim around the disc drive is shiny on the 60GB. A minute difference, but I like it. The 80GB is not backwards compatible.

 

[Cofnchtr]

Hi,

AH! OK - Thought you meant the whole body of the PS3 and not just the silver trim.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Big Chris]

Until they re-introduce backwards compatability to the PS3, I won't be buying one and I have friends who say the same thing.

Sony have shot themselves in the foot with this penny-pinching move.

 

[professorhat]

I still don't really get the backwards compatibility thing. Surely you buy the PS3 to play the new PS3 games and Blu-Rays? If you want to play PS2 games, you'd be much better off getting a cheap new PS2 or even a second hand one off ebay...

 

[Big Chris]

What about the 20 odd PS2 games I already own?

I don't really want loads of consoles dotted around under the TV. I'd much rather have 1 unit do all (I use my PS2 for the few PS1 games i kept....Resident Evil especially. I couldn't part with it!)

 

[professorhat]

Fair enough. I guess I'm different as I own the old 60Gb version so was glad to have backwards compatibility when I first bought it. Since I got the PS3 though, I think I played the old GTA Vice City once while waiting for GTA IV to come out - that's it. Once I'd played a few of the new games, the old PS2 ones just don't get a look in any more (although I still have them all!).

 

[Big Chris]

professorhat:Fair enough. I guess I'm different as I own the old 60Gb version so was glad to have backwards compatibility when I first bought it.

Rub it in why don't ya!

 

[Anonymous]

Big Chris:What about the 20 odd PS2 games I already own?

I don't really want loads of consoles dotted around under the TV. I'd much rather have 1 unit do all (I use my PS2 for the few PS1 games i kept....Resident Evil especially. I couldn't part with it!)

erm haven't you shot yourself in the foot there?
You say you keep the PS2 for PS1 games anyway
or do certain PS3's play PS1, PS2 and PS3 games ?

shame they don't play 360 games too AND have Live cos then they would be worth getting
( me stands back to avoid the explosion )

 

[Big Chris]

colinbw:Big Chris:What about the 20 odd PS2 games I already own?

I don't really want loads of consoles dotted around under the TV. I'd much rather have 1 unit do all (I use my PS2 for the few PS1 games i kept....Resident Evil especially. I couldn't part with it!)

or do certain PS3's play PS1, PS2 and PS3 games ?

Yep! The original played every Playstation game you could throw at it. Then they removed the backwards compatability for some reason.

 

[Andrew Everard]

More to the point they lost the ability to output SACD discs in a sensible hi-res form to a suitable receiver. And that is unforgivable, especially when their Chief Distinguished Engineer in the audio department had spent ages tuning the original one to sound superb when playing SACDs. All his work was in vain...

 

[PJPro]

If the only difference between the 40 and 80GB is a bigger HDD, then it's a total non event. Surely, there's something more to it isn't there?

 

[Anonymous]

Richard Melville:
Last night, Sony revealed a new standard PS3 in the US which will now feature an 80GB HDD to cope with the raft of new movie downloads. It will cost $399.

We're speaking to Sony right now to get UK release/price info - news later - but, in the meantime, we'd like to know what you think about the move...We were kind of expecting a £199 slimline PS3 to be announced....

Pretty irrelevant IMO. A nice bonus for people who were going to buy anyway, but it's hardly going to have people queuing round the corner. It may actually be cheaper for Sony to source 80 GB drives (who makes 40 GB drives any more for mainstream use?), which I'd say is a more likely explanation than Sony trying to satisfy the needs of their customers. 80 gig, as mentioned above, is hardly a huge amount of storage space these days.

Out of interest, any of you out there likely to be downloading movies from PSN do you think?

 

[PJPro]

Errrr, No.

 

[Anonymous]

Is the new 80GB SKU going to come bundled with the new DualShock 3 controller, now that it's been officially released over here (as opposed to import), or will it still ship with the older non-rumble SIXAXIS controller?

Also... will this new SKU feature the die-shrinks on the CPU and GPU? There was some news die-shrinks were coming in Autumn, which would mean smaller chips, less heat, less cooling, less fan noise, i.e. a quieter experience. Something important to us all!

 

[D.J.KRIME]

I would have prefered a choice in Console colours. I have a friend who Works in the Games industry and He has really nice White Jap PS3.

 

[Big Chris]

D.J.KRIME:I would have prefered a choice in Console colours. I have a friend who Works in the Games industry and He has really nice White Jap PS3.

Agreed.

I waited ages until they released the PS2 in silver. All my stuff sits under the TV. My Arcam duo are silver, My Onk is silver, my PS2 is silver, my DVDR is silver, even my Wii is white.

I don't want a black PS3! (I'm sure it's bad Feng Shui to mix colours of A/V kit!)

 

[Anonymous]

Wasn't the previous 80gig PS3 able play PS2 games with a firmware upgrade. Maybe it is possible on this new version.