Will U.S. get 80GB version of PlayStation 3?

Sony said Wednesday that it is considering putting out a new version of its struggling PlayStation 3 game console in the United States with an 80GB hard drive. That's the storage capacity that will come on the South Korean version of the PS3.

To date, the PS3 has come with a 60GB hard drive. A 20GB version was discontinued in the United States but still sells in Japan.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

According to the Associated Press, Sony Computer Entertainment representative Satoshi Fukuoka said that the company is thinking about adapting the storage capacities of the PS3 for different regions.

"Increasing capacity for models is one of the options," Fukuoka told the AP. "We make such decisions depending on the needs of the market, and every country is different."

Sony says it will begin selling the 80GB PS3 in South Korea on June 16, and Fukuoka told the AP that the company may well bring that version to the U.S.

"No decision has been made on other markets, although the company is considering selling it in the U.S. and elsewhere," Fukuoka told the AP.

But in an e-mail to CNET News.com, Sony spokeswoman Kimberly Otzman said, "We haven't confirmed any plans to bring the 80GB model to (North America/the United States)."

Otzman also included Sony's official statement on the matter: "We are constantly looking at new technologies, services and configurations to meet the evolving needs of our PlayStation gamers, but at this time we have no announcement regarding any changes in our PS3 product offering in North America."

Either way, it's hard to know if adding capacity to the PS3's hard drive would solve the problems that Sony is having with the console in the U.S., where it is third in an increasingly bitter next-gen console battle with Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

[spcampbell]

Content more important than size

I think Sony should focus on getting more gaming content for the PS3, rather than the size of the HD. The line-up is still pretty thin, with even fewer games with a "WOW" factor that take full advantage of the next gen gaming capabilities.

[viscus]

Pointless...

Especially considering one could swap out the HDD for a bigger one at little expense. No, Sony already has a great machine, they just need to focus on more and better games.

[flywithsean]

20 GB is not going to make a difference

At this point if Sony doesnt get it together and focus on getting great games it is pointless. They have lost a lot of their exclusive games (Ace Combat, Grand Theft Auto) to the XBOX 360. Also the PS2 is still outselling the PS3. Last I read Sony is planning on dumping a bunch of money this summer into promoting the Blu Ray movie portion of the PS3. ***!? I dont know if at this point they can ever get it together enough to pull themselves out of third.

[xamot]

PS3 struggle

PS3 most part does not make games. You have Camcom, Atari, Sega, Midway etc. etc. who make games The problem with PS3 it is an expensive console. Not everyone is willing to dish out 6 bills just so they can play Grand Theft Auto. Game makers are not willing to make games for PS3 if their sales are not promising. This was predicted prior. If PS3 sales don't increase game makers will pullout. Nintento Wii has dominated the console market. Xbox360 though does sell more games.

[dfichtner]

Games on the way

Sales of the PS3 are right along with what Sony expected, and in line with the sales Xbox360 had when it was released. Same with games... it took Xbox360 almost 1 1/2 years to get Gears of War, and a decent game-base built. Give the PS3 some more time.

A whole slew of new and interesting games are coming out this Summer and Fall, and some wii-styled interactive devices are on the way. Last month, Sony applied for a patent on a glove system, and they are adding rumble to controllers soon.

They just updated the PS3 for full video upscaling of standard DVDs today. The Xbox360 doesn't do that.

[make_or_break]

PS3's "superiority"

You're correct that game development for the PS3 is pretty much at the same level as the 360 was at the same comparable point in its initial launch period. Problem is, the 360 then [i]had no next-gen[/i] competition like the PS3 does now. The PS3 will continue to gain new game titles. But again so will the 360, and pretty much at the same release rate. And worse for BOTH hi-def consoles, game development is faster and CHEAPER for the Wii which, like it or not, [i]is still[/i] a next-gen console despite the lack of HD and tech goodies. And it certainly generates more buzz AND sales than either the PS3 and 360.

As for upscaling DVDs...while convergence in devices is usually a good thing, the reality is that most will continue to see the [i]primary[/i] reason for buying either a PS3 or 360 is for [i]gaming[/i], and gaming alone...everything else is VERY secondary at best. Sure, there are those people who will want it for its DVD and Blu-ray capability, but neither use is ever going to be the main point of buying a PS3, any more than HD-DVD and DVD pumps the sales of the 360.

Again, look at the Wii...you still can't find unsold inventory [i]anyplace[/i], and it lacks ANY sort of non-gaming media capability. Sony needs to concentrate on the PS3's primary mission: gaming. THEY might've seen the PS3 as being much more that a mere gaming rig, but gamers--who are the core of the console market--care first and foremost about one thing: the games.

[mikefromaa]

One 10gb game and its over.

It would take exactly one game that packs 10+ GB of awesome onto a blue ray disc for all those 360s to become dust collectors in the closet. Sony should write Insomniac games a blank check and get it done as soon as possible. Resistance II anyone?

[captainwin]

80GB wont do much

Really, is there anyone out there waiting to buy a PS3 in order to have 20GB more? What Sony needs to do is get quality games out. A PS3-lite, one without blue ray but with a significantly reduced price, would help as well.

[extirpator]

You can't do that

A PS3 with out a blu-ray drive is useless. All premium PS3 games are distributed on blu-ray discs. The xbox 360 is already starting to see the drawback of a streight DVD drive with games like blue dragon requiring 3 discs, and the issues they are having trying to fit GTA IV onto a single DVD. How about the fact the PS3 version of stranglehold will also come with the full HD movie on the same disc? I'm sorry blu-ray was a brilliant move, as it gives developers room to work with.

[Starfires]

Too Expensive

People generally will not pay $600 for a game console. So, for now there is not much point in making games for it, with no-one to play them. Of course, for Blue Ray it does make more sense, but that is a different audience. A lot of us saw this coming, even if the technology is great and forward looking. Maybe when Blue Ray drives get cheaper and the price drops this machine will make sense for games. Oh almost forgot- the new drive? What a piddling change- they're better off with a decent size, like 120 Gig. It's a computer, right and we're used to them upgrading.

[techfever]

the problem is marketing

The 20 gig increase probbably will not sell more units and therefore speed up sofware application. They need to start marketing, the fact that it has bluray, on a large scale. Then point out that it can be used to play games and browse the internet, and even has the updated HDMI 1.3 for advanced audio and video use. I'm positive that people will spend 600 if they are able to have these options on their main TV as I did. In addition it is upgradeable via internet so the chances of it getting ols also decrease.

[nightd0]

Absolutely CORRECT!!!!!!!!!!

80 gigs, 100 gigs,1 tb, it really does not matter because all of the games are mediocre at best. Totally need a FLAGSHIP game, and FAST.

[NADE30]

Oh please...stop hatin

All this talk about needing a flag ship game...the PS3 wasn't made for people who just want to star playing video games...its for the hardcore gamers like me....buttt I am a beta tester for their new online only game Warhawk and let me just say this...Warhawk will shut everyone's mouth who has been saying that they only have mediocre games....this game has made Battlefield 2 for the PC look like a high school football field compared to a Pro NFL stadium...its simply amazing...completely makes Resistance look like child play

[markeightch]

treading on dangerous ground

Sony needs to wake up & realize the PS3 is a hybrid machine with no market: if you want parents to buy their kid a game console do you think they'll spend $600 for a console to hook up to the TV in the kids bedroom? Ooops, there goes that market. Drop all the bells & whistles (make them optional - then they'll see nobody really wants that stuff) & get back to basics - make a game console for playing games that people can afford. Do it before the Playstation name goes the way of Atari . . . the PS3 only makes sense if you have a HDTV connected to an entertainment center with a computer hookup. How many kids have that at their disposal?

[detectorlam]

80G PS3 video game consoles ,i think does not used now ,because more games to play disc to playing game. a lot of time use hard disk for game saving. and the price is expensive than xbox360



Eric Lam

http://www.1gamconsole.com