PS3 Slim, XMB update, SCEE Video Store: No Big Surprises

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PS3 Slim, XMB update, SCEE Video Store: No Big Surprises

Submitted by Paul Munn on August 18, 2009 – 1:17 pm15 Comments

ps_logo_gray_95x95 Sony’s Gamescom address ended with no big surprises for those who’ve been watching the media like a hawk, but it will probably make some folks who’ve been sitting on the fence about picking up a PlayStation 3 happy. The new PS3 slim model will retail for $299 in the first week of September (with existing PS3′s going lower than that while supplies last, no exact price on that yet). It will be 32% smaller and consume 34% less power, all with a 120GB hard drive up from the 80GB in current models.

Less power is relative, of course, and since I know the latest PS3′s have reduced power (and therefore heat) over time with smaller chipsets for the CPUs and/or GPUs (it never was clear if the GPUs were smaller) I wonder if this is comparing with the launch-era units. No complaints from me, though. I like more power efficient and hopefully cooler-running machines.

The 3.00 Firmware arrives with one great feature in the bullet points — it’s not the animated XMB themes, it’s not the What’s New or the shortcuts to the game and video sections of the store. I do like the reorganized Trophies, but my favorite thing in there is a redesigned status bar that can tell me if I have any messages waiting or not when I hit the PS button on the controller and a clock that won’t get blocked by the battery indicator. And no, there is no PS2 compatibility in this firmware even though it’s a major version number.

In other PS3 news, Europe finally gets their video store this November and at TGS Sony expects to show off lots of motion control — nothing at Gamescom though, which makes me think that the motion control stuff is still pretty raw.

In terms of little surprises, we have a PSP version of Eye of Judgment on the horizon and the EU and PAL territories will get Gran Turismo for free for a limited time if they buy a PSP Go. There will also be a comics section for the PSN for a new comic reader on the PSP that Marvel will support with their subscription service. I think we can file that under reaching a narrower gaming demographic instead of a wider one.

Sony is also really pushing the small-apps aspect of the PS Store with a new section for Go apps called Minis for 100 MB or smaller games.

What do you think was most interesting (or least) about Sony’s announcements today?

Source: Joystiq’s live blogging of the event.

Tags: Minis, playstation 3, playstation portable, PS3, PS3 Slim, PSP, PSP Go, scea, scee, Sony

http://www.aeropause.com mclazyj

Hmmm. I was really hoping for some BC support in the software from this conference, and I am left disappointed. The Slim is a nice unit, but it does not make me sad I bought my system. The price cut was needed, and it makes me wonder if MS will hit tomorrow with a price cut of their own. Maybe the bring the 120GB Elite down to $269.00 and the Arcade down to $179.00. Seems like a marketing no-brainer to me.

And thank you for giving me an intuitive way to know I have mail. Countless times I have ended up missing friend requests and what-not, because there is no clear indicator that I have a message waiting to be read. On the Xbox dashboard, there are two big ass indicators at the top right of the page that tell me the number of friends online and the number of new messages.
Vixx

I agree – the BC issue *really* needs addressing.

I hope to Christ MS don't drop the prices on the 360, though. Talk about a kick in the teeth to British gamers who are facing a price hike!

Anyway, all said, it'll probably get me off my ass and to the store to finally pick up a PS3. Just need to wait and see how those new prices transfer to Rip Off Britain. Heh.
http://www.aeropause.com mclazyj

It looks like Optional OS install support has been dropped with the Slim as well. Not that I think it is a widely used feature, but I am sure a few people will be upset about this feature going away.
morphiend

I haven't used it, but have thought about it (if I had the free time). Losing this is a feature that I consider pretty big in the grand scheme of things. It's like taking the manual override (Tiptronic) from your automatic transmission. Yeah, I don't use it at all, if rarely, but some people do and I do consider it a feature that I'd want.

Not so sure why they're dropping the support, UNLESS it has something to do with wanting to shrink the firmware size. Honestly, I think that's a dumb idea since then they have to support more firmware revisions, and as a developer who's done just that: it's a nightmare.
ashdcuk

Just seen that the price will be £249 in the UK, so good on Sony for not using Microsoft's hike as an excuse to keep prices the same over here.
Now if this drop had come a long time ago – namely before the crappy economy lost me my job! – then I'd definitely consider picking up a PS3.
Vixx

Really sorry to have heard how the recession has hit you. Hope you get back on your feet soon.

Good on Sony indeed – it'll be interesting to see how MS go on to justify a price hike when Sony are prepared to cut prices.
ashdcuk

Thanks – it actually happened a little while ago and, if anything gave me a push. Depending on the next week or two, I'll hopefully be starting a Masters in Games Programming in a month!

My thought on MS, and it's a bit of a selfish one, is that the introduction of the European video store gives them an excuse to reduce the price of hard drives (which would help with people buying more expensive Arcades). After all, it'll cost them very little in the long run since we'd be paying them to fill up those same hard drives.
chackokhan

Looks from the photos like the SD card slots are gone as well. Although not too sure, since I own a first gen.
JoeFourhman

Yeah, I'd be more concerned about losing the SD slots (and I've never liked the cutdown to only 2 USB ports) than losing the ability to install linux or whatever. A lot of those card reader formats are sort of dead, but SD is still found in a wide range of products.
chackokhan

I wonder if the SONY Credit card offer below would still work. Would be nice alternative to buying the console at $200 instead of $300.

http://www.us.playstation.com/PSN/events/Playst…
http://silenthillheaven.com Vixx

Really sorry to have heard how the recession has hit you. Hope you get back on your feet soon.

Good on Sony indeed – it'll be interesting to see how MS go on to justify a price hike when Sony are prepared to cut prices.
http://www.ashdcuk.com ashdcuk

Thanks – it actually happened a little while ago and, if anything gave me a push. Depending on the next week or two, I'll hopefully be starting a Masters in Games Programming in a month!

My thought on MS, and it's a bit of a selfish one, is that the introduction of the European video store gives them an excuse to reduce the price of hard drives (which would help with people buying more expensive Arcades). After all, it'll cost them very little in the long run since we'd be paying them to fill up those same hard drives.
chackokhan

Looks from the photos like the SD card slots are gone as well. Although not too sure, since I own a first gen.
http://www.fourhman.com Joe Fourhman

Yeah, I'd be more concerned about losing the SD slots (and I've never liked the cutdown to only 2 USB ports) than losing the ability to install linux or whatever. A lot of those card reader formats are sort of dead, but SD is still found in a wide range of products.
chackokhan

I wonder if the SONY Credit card offer below would still work. Would be nice alternative to purchasing the console at $200 instead of $300.

http://www.us.playstation.com/PSN/events/Playst…

Although, I would suggest that anyone who does take advantage of this offer, to make sure that they pay that card off as soon as possible. The interest rate is probably not very good.