Sony's 40GB PS3 for Europe confirmed

Confirming numerous reports of a cheaper Playstation 3 hitting UK shores, Sony announced on Friday it will sell a baseline 40GB version of its console in Europe beginning 19 October for €399. The reduced price, however, will come at the cost of a few features: the console will not include the multi-memory port and has two USB …

[Lupus]

Pointless, surely?

So Sony decides to spend more money on manufacturing a cheaper, and let's face it, rubbish version of their system, whilst at the same time slashing the cost of the full-fat version so it's a mere £50 more?

Call me crazy but I think they could've done better over the price drop alone.

[Pob Olius]

Such a Bargain!!!!!!

399.00 EUR = 564.009 USD,

So Sony are still gouging the European customers with a reduced functionality ps3 for more than the 60gig in the us and close to the price of the 80!.

Don't you just love these greedy corporations

[Anonymous Coward]

Is it me?

Or is Sony unable to get anything right? No PS2 games, pfff...

[Anonymous Coward]

Core

i cant believe they arent makeing any new full versions just cores....

[george]

glad and disapointted

im glad they reduced the price of 6ogb one. im glad their releasing a lower priced one, but no backward campitally on the lower one i think is a bit stupid. now a know some of the general public will never use the memory slots or all four usb slots, hell i dont need all four at once.

im sure they could bring out a usb memory card multi reader if they wanted, but no backwards campitally is stupid. especially for kids who dont care about graphics as much.

[Scott]

PS2 Support

"Most notably, the system won't sport any backwards compatibility with PlayStation 2 games."

Correction: It will not sport the Emotion chipset for backwards compatibility, but will continue to support PlayStation 2 games via software emulation.

[Anonymous Coward]

They should have done this in the first place

I have a 60GB one.

Have had no reason at all to use the memory slot array, have a card reader in my PC so can just stick anything on USB memory key. Can barely use any vid formats anyway.

Have never had a reason to use more than 1 USB port, though this may change in the future when the new eye-toy comes out. And what about Rock Band? Then again, most things use wireless now anyway.

Have had no reason to use the playstation 2 emulator. Still have my trusty old console next to the telly. Besides, all my games are on my memory cards, which the PS3 can't use, so why bother!? Plus you can't play Guitar Hero.

Have downloaded craploads of demos, videos and installed a few full games on it over the months, still used not even 30gig. This may change when the HD tuners come out to turn it into a PVR, but then i'll just swap out the drive for a bigger one anyway.

So why'd they include all the price-inflating crap in the first place? To rip off mugs like me most probably.

Still, with it now about £270 Sony are finally back in the game and its gonna be a worrying christmas for Microsoft now.

[Walter Mellon]

We should all be thankful to Sony

For providing us with such a laughable idea. PS3 is a major turkey. A reflection of the terminally insular corporate culture at Sony. That place is totally dead meat. My god their internal meetings must be PowerPoint-fests of the highest order. Looking forward to reading the Sony obituaries. The place has been a complete embarassment ever since the passing of Morita-san.

[Krystan Honour]

They've missed the point

I don't want a playstation 3 with reduced functionality and the ONLY reason I didn't buy an XBOX360 was because I could play old games on the new console. Maybe i'm not the norm. But as a consumer this simply isn't good enough. As someone else has said we are overcharged in this country anyway.

I don't know why sony are intent on hurting their market but a blue ray player isn't enough for me to buy the ps3 over the 360, i'd sooner wait for blue ray players to drop and get a seperate and play 360 games than be conned by sony.

Well done sony I reckon you've dropped one of the only features most of the people I know who were waiting for a price drop really cared about.

[Anonymous Coward]

Still no deal.

Dear Sony,

I would regard myself as one of your loyal customers. I bought a PS1, followed by a PS2. I also have one of your TV's, a Video, a DVD player and even one of your MP3 players. I always regarded your goods as high quality, and reasonable value for money (which, of course is why I have so much of your gear)

Like many people in Europe, I put off buying an xBox when I first read the spec of the PS3 in the press two years ago. Somehow I always imagined in my mind that the PS3 would be worth waiting for.

Since then however it has been let down, after let down, after let down. It was bad enough that you decided that practically the whole of the rest of the world would get the PS3 before Europe. Then we had the crazy price point, the continuing lack of games, the (initial) lack of a HD lead for a HD console, the secrecy over backwards compatibility, the pricing of BluRay titles, the reliance on an online connection to provide essential software updates (instead of producing a working console int he first place) and now finally the debacle over DRM imposition on BluRay titles which apparently don't even run on proper BluRay consoles.

Can I ask you to put yourselves in my shoes and just imagine for a second how disappointed I have become with your company because of your attitude to your customers and your unwillingness to listen to what they are saying?

I never really wanted a bloody BluRay player, I just wanted a reliable nextgen games console at a decent, competitive price. Your prices in the UK are not only ridiculous, but you continue to exploit the UK market pricing when compared with the rest of the world. When you do cut the price of the box to something closer to US prices, we find that we're being asked to buy a neutered, low spec version for the (still high) price that people in the US play for the big model.

Frankly Sony you are taking the piss. You have ruptured my esteem of you as a Company, you treat my continued prospective custom with distain, and you treat customers in the UK like they're so bloody stupid.

So hear this. I don't want a PS3 anymore. I don't yearn for it anymore, as I realise that although I wanted one badly I wasn't prepared to be ripped off for it. Maybe in a few years I'll pick up one from eBay for £100, but you are not having my money.

By the looks of it I'm not alone either; PS2 sales in Japan dwarf PS3 sales, the Wii and xBox are kicking your arse wordwide, and with the (inferior quality) BluRay titles kicking out at over £25 in the UK and stuffed full of DRM, that technology is going to fall on it's arse as well.

You deserve all of this because of your arrogance. The board of Sony should probably resign and give the company a chance to be great again

Yours,

Disgruntled, abandoned, insulted (and lost) Sony Customer

[Lee Sexton]

@Lupas

I think this statement shows why it isnt useless? "The price of existing 60GB PS3s will be reduced to €499 and "remain on sale until stocks run out"

In other words they are going to stop selling the 60gb version altogether in the uk/eu.

They should bite the bullet and reduce the cost of the full version console, lets face it, sony have egg on their face (and share price no doubt) after this whole fiasco. I knew they were a greedy horrible company but this whole PS3 thing took it to new levels what with a) the price of the units compared to elsewhere b) the fact that the backwards compatibility was emulated rather than hardware driven in the eu and uk (compared to japan and usa) considering the price differences and c) the utter refusal to reduce prices in the eu/uk without losing more of the already cut down features.

If I was Sony I would drop the price of the unit (the full version) and return the hardware ps2 chip as was originally designed and maybe treat their customers with a bit of respect and maybe sales will improve?.

Also this blu-ray player, does anyone really want one forced upon them? I'm sure costs could be cut down if they found an alternative solution? I mean theres no way these games need to be on 25gb disks?

Sony continually moan and compare XBOX 360 prices compared to the PS3, but at the end of the day they may be the same price when you buy the extras on the 360, the difference here though is we have the choice whether or not we buy the rubbish that is an optional extra, with the PS3 we don't.

Personally I dont see what the fuss is about with HD anyway, I don't think it's something that amazes, yes its a slight improvement over standard dvd films, but it certainly isnt worth the premium companies are asking for, and with the option of whether or not to buy into it would maybe have swayed me into buying a ps3 that didn't have a bluray player built in (as I did when I bought a 360 and never bothered with an HD dvd add on).

Of course we all know why Sony are insisting on bundling the blu-ray player, nothing to do with anything the customer wants, just to get a foothold in the market for their technology.

One day Sony might learn a lesson, but it isn't for a while yet, as always people still are fan boys (as with Apple), but keep pushing their own customer base with bad decisions, forced technology and restrictions etc and people will eventually switch off to Sony et al (one always hopes!).

[Busted]

Wouldn't mind but!

Having invested in a PS3 and 1080P screen I'm left wondering why I bothered. It's boring compared to my Wii and no amount of fancy graphics is going to change that fact. And to top it off the one game I do like runs in 720p which looks naff on my 1080P screen leaving me the option of spending £300 odd on a decent upscaler or ebaying my PS3 60GB before I lose anymore on it.

I think sony have really messed up with this next gen of consoles and I'm sad that I listened to all those saying the Wii isn't next gen due to graphics when the fact is next gen is not just about graphics but a general evolution of the console something I feel the Wii and to a lesser extent 360 have done.

Bye bye sony PS3 don't buy buy people.....

[Alan Birtles]

@olius

€399 - VAT = €340 = $481 which is less than the US 60GB price. considering the extra costs of operating in europe (longer guarantee obligations, multiple languages to support etc.) i think the price comparison is reasonable

[Anonymous Coward]

PS2 backwards compatibility?

"the system won't sport any backwards compatibility with Playstation 2 games."

Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought the European systems did not have the hardware based engine anyway, just a software based one. Is so, why can't they just put the same code onto the new 40GB model at no extra cost to themselves. I know they have come up with some crazy theories recently ("a price cut would annoy Europe", etc.), but I don't think even Sony could be deluded enough to think that there isnt a single person who has not bought the console yet who will later but would like to also be able to play PS2 games on it.

Sounds to me like they are just making it worse for the sake of it there...

[Colin Wilson]

and backwards compatibility...

...is still broken - only this time it's a "feature" rather than "we're tight assed b@stards who want to sell you overpriced inferior hardware" !

[Sampler]

"Until they run out"

You saying we're NOT going to have anymore 60GB versions?

That would just suck

[Chad H.]

No Backwards Compatibility???

Guess that settles it. No PS3 for me.

[Gareth Harmer]

SorrySony

I won't be buying your console while it feels like you're ripping me off for doing it. I'l stick with my Nintendo Wii and it's lower quality graphics and lack of Blu-Ray support for the time being. If you learn how to treat your customers with a little more respect then I might reconsider, but for now I'll leave it on the shelf and carry on walking.

[Steven Raith]

So basically, what we have here is...

A three hundred quid* BluRay player. Which is allright. But a lack of PS2 compatability means..er...well, lets look at the current crop of PS3, AAA, hardware selling titles...

...um..

<...Psst, come back in a few months when GT4 HD, er I mean GT5 comes out.>

<Exits stage left>

Steven R

*PS: Yes, I know it's closer to £275, but do you *really* think they won't sell it for £299.99?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sony really has lost the plot

Oh for goodness sake - obviously Sony only care about the US market. It's a very short-term strategy that's going to be very costly for them.

So they want to ship the crud to Europe - no backwards compatibility - reduced functionality and as expensive as the US full-flavour version.

I was waiting for Sony to see sense and release the same US model in the UK so that I could protect the investment in the PS2 - the kids have a large number of games. But if they can't see the writing on the wall, I'll be voting with my feet and not making any future purchases from them.

They appear to be using the EU as a dumping ground for their sub-standard equipment.

Thank goodness there are reasonable companies like Nintendo still producing kit at (almost) exchange-rate-related prices. Look at the Wii - backwards compatible with the GameCube - again the kids have a lot of GC games - a hell of a lot cheaper and the graphics whilst not as stunning as that of the PS3 are used in a sensitive way and don't detract from the gameplay.

[hans]

60GB = Betamax

So they aint making the 60GB version with its backwards compatibility and its extra USB ports etc...

This means there will be no devices for it then...

So why would you buy a 60GB version, or have I missed a trick?

[Adam T]

Stupid move

So the advantage of the console over PC (multiple hardware configurations) takes a beating by Sony.

Man walks into store:

"My PS2 game isn't working on my PS3..."

Sales Assistant:

"What version PS3 o you have?"

Man:

"Er...The black one..."

Ta daaaaaa. Timmy's Christmas is ruined cause mom & dad were too tight.

[Anonymous Coward]

BC Myths

On the Japanese/American systems that had "hardware backwards compatability" the PS3 contained an EE+GS chip (The PS2s CPU and GPU).

On the later "software backwards compatability" the PS3 lost the EE, but still contained the GS to help with emulation.

On the newly announced PS3s, no hardware is there.

[chew6acca]

If only...

Just what sort of hard disks are they? Gold plated?

250Gb for a PC is less than £30.

Sony are selling PS3s at a loss. It's unbelieveable.

Having said all that, Betamax was the better technology - I expect people will find some use for the cell processor.

If only it could run Vista...

[Lupus]

@ Sexton

Yeah, that's basically what I said...

[Danny Thompson]

Another sale lost ....

At launch I was put off by the pricing and the difference introduced between the US and European models. I have zero interest in Blu-ray DVD - the format war between it and HD DVD is far from over, nor is it in any way certain which way this will go. So what are we left with? An over-priced, under-spec'd games console with pretentions of being something much more than it really is. Sony can spin this as much as they like, but the public simply aren't buying into it - witness the lethargic sales.

Now Sony have literally poured petrol onto the flames with the introduction of this new reduced spec and capability model. Cheaper, yes, but at what price? The loss of the already meagre functionality does the new box no favours.

Sony have always mis-read the market, and their success has only come about because of their being there first. Witness their Walkman products - wiped out by the opposition, but big in its day through breaking new ground. The PS One an PS 2 did it for the buying public in their day. But Sony cannot rest on their laurels with the PS3. All the signs are that Sony will make a real hash of the PS3 when compared to its predecessors. And that is a real shame, not only for Sony but its remaining loyal customers which, in Europe, are being treated with disdain. Are Sony really unaware of the public opinion?

Why Sony should think that Europe will be any less discerning than the American market? That would be a grave error on Sony's part.

[Anonymous Coward]

New deal...

Sony should just cut this crap.

We want the full version with HW backward comp. The ability to change the drive to an even larger later on would also be a plus.

Find an easy solution:

Sell the box for 99 Euros.

Add a mothly fee of 9.99 Euros for a period of time.

Together with the fee, they should send information on new games, and extras like Eye Toy etc.

They should also sell games together with the information. They should be a bit cheaper for the customer (and they should have the option of splitting the payment for the game(s) over a few month).

They would sell more consoles, more games and have a higher profit for each game they sell (no retailer).

Then I would probably buy a console - and not seriously consider XBOX.

[Rob McDougall]

Exponential Progression

It would seem to me that technology is advancing at an exponential rate.

It took 20-odd years for the transition from VHS to DVD. In less than half that time (about 8 years) we now have HD-DVD and Blueray. We've had HD TV's available for a number of years now, and of course the PS3 with its full HD support.

What's happening is... the technology is beginning to progress too fast for the average consumer. Sure, HD looks great on paper, but when you realise that you have to upgrade your entire movie collection AGAIN having just completed the changeover from VHS to DVD after many long years (perhaps)... it starts to look like a very expensive proposition.

I can't believe companies like Sony can't see this. It would seem that Nintendo can. All these next-gen fanboys that say the Wii is rubbish because it doesn't have the greatest graphics are obviously missing something - noone really cares about graphics at the end of the day, or at least the vast majority of people don't - which is why the Wii is the #1 next-gen console.

And this is just the beginning mind you. Technology will start outpacing demand. Just because you can develop something, doesn't necessarily mean that you should. There are a lot of old rules that have to be broken (such as the reliance on region-specific standards such as NTSC and PAL) and a lot of people who don't like change.

I like change. But I'm a student. One day I might be able to afford some newer gizmos.

[Simon Wilson]

Sony are back in the Game

Sony are rolling the there Dice now...double Sixes, yes.

PS2 Compatible who cares why buy a next gen console to play none next gen games. Memory Cards you dont need them, USB Support 2 over 4 ah well. The price is right 299, I know that Gamestation are selling this with 2 games. Ive heard alot of people complaining (these are microsoft users pretending to be Sony UserS)..about the machine and differences between USA and UK, lets be on honest most manufacturers rip off the Europe. Look at Microsoft with Vista and 360, Because of weak members of pariliment and in EU that is why we get ripped off. This is an excellent Buy, if you have 60GB model I would suggest selling it, and then buy this model and have change left over to buy tons of games...Hurry up and bring in the Rumbled Joystick...

[Anonymous Coward]

80Gb version before Xmas?

Guess this means the 80Gb bundle is coming before Xmas probably @ £399 or £425.

[Anonymous Coward]

RE: Bargain indeed.

"IN addition, there is 10% duties for the PS3 not being manufacturered in the EU."

Consoles are zero rated for duty so you don't pay 10% extra just VAT. Also if you import blu-ray films and keep it below £18 per order you pay nothing extra just like people did when UK DVDs were overpriced.

[DrXym]

This thread just goes to show

That Sony can drop their console's price by €200 and people STILL find reasons to bitch.

For people so concerned about backwards compatibility, just buy a 60Gb model. Or just keep the PS2 that you presumably already have.

The 60Gb model represents excellent value since it's also dropped by €100 and contains 2 games, BC, memory card readers and an extra controller.

The new price points also mean that for the first time that the PS3 has stepped into 360 pricing territory. Aside from the extra hard disk capacity, the 40Gb PS3 is still superior to the 360 Elite in most respects.

[Stephen Tordoff]

Wrong

<QUOTE> "Most notably, the system won't sport any backwards compatibility with PlayStation

2 games."

Correction: It will not sport the Emotion chipset for backwards compatibility, but will continue to support PlayStation 2 games via software emulation. </QUOTE>

The current PS3 has the PS2 grahpics chip (GS) and just emulation the emotion engine. This new PS3 has neither, so NO PS2 Game support AT ALL, emulated or not. (Whether this will be added in a fireware update is open to arguement, but I see it as unlikely)

[Joerg]

EE+GS ?! What ?

@Anonymous vulture: The whole PS2+PS1 used on earlier PS3 models is a System-On-a-Chip, which contains just all the hardware needed. Software emulation on later models doesn't rely on anything in hardware. Period.

[Anonymous Coward]

Who needs backward comp?

"but I don't think even Sony could be deluded enough to think that there isnt a single person who has not bought the console yet who will later but would like to also be able to play PS2 games on it."

Errr, why? You can't use your PS2 memory cards, so all your games are pointless, and i'm sure you still have your PS2.

If not you can pick one up for less than £50, its no big loss.

[Anonymous Coward]

Get me one for Xmas!

Some of the comments on here are unbelievable. Whenever I see any PS3 news on the net the comments are filled with Xbox fanboys - and they are always the first to comment, so they must actively search out the news on a console they dont own - very suspicious!

Anybody with half a brain can see that this will probably double sales of the PS3 and with the big name titles coming out over the next few months, I think that microsoft will very worried.

For all you people complaining about backward compatability - get a life - a secondhand PS 2 costs peanuts, or you can pay and extra £50 and get the full version with BC - and also if youve got PS2 games then surely youve already got a PS 2 anyway!

[Anonymous Coward]

re: EE+GS ?! What ?

"@Anonymous vulture: The whole PS2+PS1 used on earlier PS3 models is a System-On-a-Chip, which contains just all the hardware needed. Software emulation on later models doesn't rely on anything in hardware. Period."

Check your facts before posting.

http://www.beyond3d.com/content/news/151

[Anonymous Coward]

@Joerg

http://www.beyond3d.com/content/news/151 Oh really?

One of the take-apart-and-analyze companies found one of the "Anonymous" chips on the board contained a GS...... The current "Software emulation" definatly relies on a hardware GS chip... Which is still pretty expensive and removed on this cheaper PS3...

Also look at http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2006/1111/ps3_32.jpg, which is the original japanese PS3 (similar board to original US PS3) with hardware emulation. Notice the chip that says "EE+GS"? That's the EE+GS chip I was talking about... It's the same chip as used in the latest PS2 slimlines.... It does not include the IOP, it does not include the SPU2, etc, which is all emulated on the Cell..

@Anonymous

If you import a memory card adapter you _can_ use your old PS2/PS1 memory cards....

[Neil]

Why the fuss about backwards compatibility?

You do all realise that when you buy a PS3, Sony won't demand your PS2 back, right?

So what's the problem? I'll keep my PS2 and plug it in when needed, like I do with my VCR.

I wasn't worried about playing my PS2 games on my Wii, so why should I be worried about playing them on my PS3?

[Joerg]

And that's a SoC ...

@Anonymous vulture: The EE+GS it's a SoC. It's the same found on latest slim PS2 consoles, it comprises the whole PS2+PS1 functionality.

[Nick]

Wow

A lot of vitriol for what is a very nice announcement for consumers...

Some myths explained:

The original PS3s contained the hardware CPU (EE) and graphics chip (GS) from the PS2 for backwards compatibility. The European version software emulates the CPU but still has a hardware graphics chip. The new version has neither. The only PS2 game I've played on my PS3 is Pro Evo 6, and now there's a new version of that so I'm not going to be doing that any more.

The internal HDD is designed to be swapped out for any 2.5" laptop HDD. Get the 40Gb and stick a 250Gb one in if you want. Also you can plug external HDDs into a USB port.

The memory card readers can be replaced by a USB memory card reader.

The DualShock 3 has been announced so no more complaints about lack of rumble.

Despite all the arguments about lack of games, there were some really good launch games (Resistance, Motorstorm, F1), most decent xbox 360 games have been ported (I'm currently playing GRAW 2, Rainbow 6 Vegas and Call of Duty 3 - bit of a shooter fan!), and the next year or so looks awesome from the PS3 perspective (MGS4, GT5, Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet etc), whereas the xbox 360 has just had Halo 3 scraping in at the not-quite-HD 640p and now even let Bungie go cross-platform. Not many xbox 360 AAA exclusives around the corner, relative to the PS3.

[J.Butler]

Parallel Importing?

I take it that since the 60Gb model isn't going to be onsale for much longer, does that mean it's legal to import and sell these from "other" regions.

When Sony aren't importing 60Gb models, does the parallel importing argument go out of the window?

[Albert]

Sony getting serious

It looks like Sony is finally getting serious about shifting the PS3 in volume with the price drop. Yes, they had to cut the PS2 compatibility and drop the hard drive size to do, but we are not at a price point where it can genuinely compete.

I also believe backward compatibility is less of an issue now than when they PS2 came out due to the number of ports on a TV. In PS2 days you were lucky to have 2 SCART ports and a Composite. With the new HD TVs (I expect most people buying a PS3 will have/but a HD TV) you’ll have 2 HDMI, 2 SCART, 1 Composite and maybe even RGB inputs, so leaving your old PS2 attached isn’t an issue.

For the missing ports, with Bluetooth how many USB ports do you need. Also, you can get a card reader for £5 which will let you access all your memory cards if needed.

If the hard drive size is an issue why not buy the 40GB version and just buy a larger 2.5” drive and drop it in. £35 + delivery will get you an 80GB drive. If you are feeling flush then £55+delivery will get you a 160GB drive.

For me I’m waiting another while.

Santa will be giving me my HD TV and then I’ll wait until the PS3 roadmap is sorted out.

I want my PS3 to come with the rumble controller and also all the features of the long term supported system. I’ll make my decision based on what is included and what is excluded.

So, I’m probably a mid 2008 buyer.

[Iain]

BC fuss?

The short reason for the fuss is that many people were factoring in how much they could sell their PS2 for as part of the upgrade to the painfully expensive new one.

Even the other PS3 doesn't do backward compatibility as well as I'd like it to, so I'm not terribly bothered. I just want a cheap Blu-Ray player, because I'd rather use my 360 for games. So this will suit me fine when I get around to it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Imho: Nice move by Sony

Noted that a few more intelligent people towards the end actually bothered to spend some of their time correcting some of the BS the rabid anti-sony knee-jerk people added up top. Thank you :P

To summarize:

- Cost: It is way cheaper. Even with 17.5% VAT added on top this version will be far more affordable to the unwashed masses. A good price to compete with the XBox 360 Elite.

- Multi-memory Port: This was a waste of space anyway. The one time I actually needed to transfer old data this way I simply used an inexpensive USB card reader ($10). Once you get all your stuff over onto the PS3 you'll NEVER need to use it again anyway.

- PS1/PS2 Backward Compatibility: Software emulation all the way (very easy for the Cell to handle). Perfectly fine for 80% of games, a tiny ickle bit glitchy for the rest (only ~5% of PS2 games are actually unplayable). Sony is always updating the emulation via software updates to improve compatibility -- and they are pretty reliable about it (trust me they DO care). Nice thing about using the PS3 to play PS2/PS1 games is that it has a fantastic Upscaling & Smoothing technology which allows you to play them in resolutions of up to 1080P (full-screen too) -- they look FANTASTIC on a decent HD-TV, way way better than they ever did on the original console.

- Hard Drive: 40GB is plenty if you manage your HD space (tip: don't leave old demos and movies lying around on there forever). Most PS3 games use between 100MB - 1GB (at most) of local HD storage for saves and temporary caching and saved games. If you need more in the future then just buy a standard 2.5" notebook HD and transfer the data across using a USB HD reader device or a PC.

- 2 USB Ports: Just buy a cheap powered USB 2.0 hub, these cost about $30-$50 and you can easily get 4 & 7 port versions to hook up whatever you feel like. Note that this console is easily compatible with almost every USB device I have tried hooking up to it so having more USB ports from a hub may be something most serious users would benefit from anyway.

- Wi-Fi: This version apparently DOES come with the Wi-Fi card. Good one!

- BluRay: It is an internet updateable BluRay player capable of playing v1.1 BD discs and according to reliable technical sites WAS NOT affected AT ALL by the DRM issue encountered recently on two BD+ discs. Also plays regular DVD's (can also upscale them to 720/1080 with advanced smoothing and upgraded sound sampling)

I have to agree with Nick and Albert on this one. Very smart move by Sony just before xmas. If this version had been available when I bought mine I would have DEFINATELY have bought this one instead of the $600 version -- a price I happily accept for being an early purchaser :P

[Anonymous Coward]

DRM - Who's fault?

Are some people really so short sighted that they blame the hardware manufacturers for DRM? Don't you think that if they thought the studios/software houses would support their system without DRM they would drop it in a second? Trying to stay one step ahead of the hackers is an expensive business no doubt and drives up the cost of both hardware and software. unfortunately, a console with no content is about as useful as an XBOX HD DVD add-on. So until the media companies get a grip, don't point the finger at the manufacturers.

[Albert]

Sony are doing a roadshow

I just heard a radio ad for the Sony PS3 roadshow this morning.

It looks like they are finally putting some marketing behind the PS3 console and not just leaving it to the games manufacturers.

I'm now expecting some serious TV ads in the run up to Christmas.

[Anonymous Coward]

re: DRM - Who's fault?

But Sony IS a media company!! Simpleton.