Ever wanted to try out Blu-Ray or Sony's next-gen gaming system? The entertainment corporation is now giving you your latest excuse.
Yahoo news is reporting that Sony is coming out with a newer, cheaper version of its PlayStation3 video game system, lowering the price point to $299, $200-300 less than its initial release.
From Sony's website:
"Slimmer and lighter than ever, the PS3™ 120GB system comes with free access to the PlayStation®Network, built-in Wi-Fi, Blu-ray Disc™ player and hard disk drive storage for games, music, videos and photos."
Other features mentioned in the Yahoo article are that the new console is "significantly lighter (nearly 4 pounds), thinner (about 33% less hefty), and greener (34% less power consumption)."
The only downside, from the gamer's point of view, is that this system is not backwards-compatible with PlayStation 2 games.
However, to put the new price tag in perspective:
Best Buy's cheapest Blu-Ray player available online is $99.99. Sony's cheapest player is $250.
Amazon.com yields $85, with shipping, for a new 120 gigabyte hard drive.
Also, this new PS3 will be able to play DVDs and select games for the original PlayStation. A used original PlayStation on ebay is selling for $20, including shipping.
For the anime fan, several anime titles have been released on Blu-Ray to date, and there are many more to come in the future. While a Blu-Ray player is not yet a necessity, as Anime News Network writer Bamboo Dong writes:
"Visually, there is a difference between watching anime in high-def (on Blu-Ray) and not. Everything is so much crisper and brighter, and although you really don't need to watch cartoons in high definition, it does add to the experience."
The new slim PS3 is set to hit stores September 1.
PS3 logo taken from a Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. press release.
Comments
It has already hit stores (early) and in many cases already sold out.. may be hard to find one by the time it is *officially* released because of all the stores putting it out early.
That's unfortunate. Maybe it'll mean that the price of the larger units, new and used, will drop too?
I went to walmart, best buy, and gamestop today. All of them had a good stock of PS3 Slims. I would jump at it if I didn't already own an original model.
Thanks for the update, Parker!
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