Sony announces 80GB PS3...for Korea

Well we have to admit, we sure didn't see this one coming. There have been rumors of a higher capacity PlayStation 3 for several months now, but no one figured that the first 80GB model would drop not in Japan or the US, but South Korea. And yet that's exactly what's scheduled to go down June 16th, when the previously-denied, Euro-spec'ed PS3 (but no 20GB or 60GB models, it seems) will hit the land of Samsung and LG for a pre-tax 518,000 won -- or just $556. While we don't want to get your hopes up, we can't help but think that this move bodes well for US consumers too; after all, the 80 gigger is already through the FCC, meaning that price drops and unimaginable storage space could be right around the corner.

Update: Not that this means much in a world where companies tell bold-faced public lies in order to protect their business plans, but Sony has informed GamesIndustry.biz that there are no plans to sell the 80GB PS3 in Europe, or anywhere else outside of South Korea for that matter. In other words, we expect word on an international release any day now.

[Thanks, Alex]

[Fatima @ May 21st 2007 12:47AM]

Well, the PS3 uses standard laptop HDDs. So it doesnt really matter.
But if they bump up the standard PS3 from 60GB to 80GB, thats not bad either.
I'm just hoping for a price drop prolly next spring to $500.

[Fatima @ May 21st 2007 12:48AM]

doesnt really matter, meaning its very easy to swap the HDD.

[Shadyman @ May 21st 2007 1:17AM]

It's not the swap that I'm interested in... Once they release this guy, odds are the 60Gb will go down in price.

[Paul @ May 21st 2007 4:39AM]

are you serious??!?! those little screws! i stripped like 2 of mine already

[Arthur @ May 21st 2007 1:00AM]

Why Korea? Sure, PS2 was somewhat popular in Korea (플스방's), but consoles are pretty insignificant in Korea. Korea is the land of MMORPG and PC gaming. Korean's wouldn't use the extra hdd space anyway - they download all content onto PC, and it's also the MOST linux-unfriendly country on Earth.

[byungsohn @ May 21st 2007 10:07AM]

whats a 'peul-seu bang'?

[Alex @ May 21st 2007 1:02AM]

Yeah you guys posted my info

[Dragod @ May 21st 2007 1:10AM]

This still won't make me want to buy a PS3. I probably never will, unless I was willing to do the PS360 controller mod, and if better FPS games came out. But more than anything; It needs better online. I love my Xbox Live, give me something to compete with it, or a different experience that is just as great. We don't need any "PlatStation Home" or Folding@Home. Focus on the games and the social experience of gaming.

[Will @ May 21st 2007 1:13AM]

that's the whole point of "home"...to expand the social experience of gaming. moron

[McGinley @ May 21st 2007 3:14AM]

You dont need folding@home,but theres 1000's upon 1000's of people suffering who DO need [e-mail] think about them?

[akijikan @ May 21st 2007 1:12AM]

if they could bring it to the US at $556, that would be something.

[Dragod @ May 21st 2007 1:17AM]

Right. I'm the moron... Home really is nothing compared to Xbox Live. and I love the dashboard. It's really easy to navigate quickly. I just wish it were a bit faster loading friends, music, and other things like that. I've noticed ever since I got Halo 3 Beta, it's been quite slow. But that is where PlayStation might be able to improve. It needs to show me it's power.

But if you ask me, Home won't be comparable to Live. Walking around just doesn't seem like all that fun...

[Will @ May 21st 2007 1:22AM]

that's the point, they're trying not to do what everybody accuses them of doing all the time...copying MS and Nintendo. they're stepping out on their own and doing something different with Home, it may be a bust...but at least they're trying something different. why do we want 2 Live's? let MS have Live and Sony have whatever they can come up with

[Dragod @ May 21st 2007 1:26AM]

I agree, but come on. The online of the PlayStation is horrible... and on the Wii it's nonexistant. All I'm asking for is for is that When I go online to have people to talk to while waiting in the pregame lobby. And joining games and such should be just as easy. I need to be able to see "Oh, my friend is about to play team battle, I'd like to play with him" and hit a button or two and be connecting.

[Fatima @ May 21st 2007 1:47AM]

@Dragod, Home makes it easier to play games with friends. You can see what your friends are doing and use Home as a launching pad to play games with friends. Instead of wandering through menus on XBL. I can walk to up a projector on HOME and watch a trailer, or go bowling in the alley. And play mini games and real games with friends after i hook up with them on home, or just join them right away.
You are indeed a MORON, you should play Home first, before dissing it. Idiot.

[Vizion @ May 21st 2007 1:29AM]

The 80GB model will retail for 599
The 60GB model will be reduced to 549

[Dragod @ May 21st 2007 1:56AM]

Well, I am sorry... I never said I had used Home, but I have on the Playstation 2 and pre-Home PlayStation 3. Maybe Home will get better, but I kind of prefer quickly sliding over to the "Media" blade scrolling down and going to Videos, and opening my movies. Plus I love having Media Center integration, right out of the box, no orb needed. Though I don't know if PS3 has something similar, but I didn't like Orb.

[wslcrew @ May 21st 2007 2:58AM]

If they really wanted to hook Koreans up, they should've brought Starcraft 2 and WoW to PS3...

[KC @ May 21st 2007 3:53AM]

I would agree here that if WoW was ported over to a console, it would really strengthen that console's position in the market. Frankly speaking, I would really prefer to play EQ2 on the PS3. The thought of spending more money on a video card than a console to play that game... geeze.

[Dragod @ May 21st 2007 3:17PM]

Nope, but I don't feel that when I pay $600 for a game system, that one of the best products for it, doesn't have anything to do with Gaming. It's great that it is helping the research, but it should just be a nice bonus. Not one of its major selling points.

[McGinley @ May 21st 2007 3:19PM]

Yeah thats very true,but bonuses add up.

[Andir3.0 @ May 21st 2007 5:10AM]

It's funny Dragod... try as I might, I don't think the poster said anything about the 360, and I don't think anyone else here cares what you think.

Seriously, I can't think of anyone more defensive about consoles as the 360 people. If there's news (good or bad) about the PS3, usually the first to jump on the post are 360 owners claiming that Live is somehow saving their little sister from evil child molesters and the PS3 was looking the other way. You'd think that you had some money riding or lives on the success of the 360. Seriously. Go away. If your console is the greatest thing since sliced bread, it will talk for itself. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be doing that and you come out in force trying to be it's personal marketing team. And before you respond, if you're not worried about your purchase, why is it that your posting negatives against the competition and trying to sell the only positive about your choice? Again, my question is: Are you that afraid?

[RangerPrimeX @ May 21st 2007 5:34AM]

The ones that are really defensive are PS3 owners looking to defend their purchase.
360 owners have been enjoying gaming for a year and and a half now and PS3 owners are still waiting and will be until maybe this fall.
I do not have a PS3 but nor do I hate it. I think Sony needs to release not a 80GB unit which is only marginally larger than it's current 60GB model (since they already canned the 20GB unit). They need games to compel people to buy it. Sales of units show that it is struggling big time being outside in the US by both the Wii and 360. They need a price drop just as MS needs to do as well with the 360 instead of an Elite sku. MS should have had the Elite be the $399, Premium $299 and Core $249.
Folding is a noble home and they do not need to get on a high horse like Tretton did when MS mentioned that maybe the 360 should join the effort. By Tretton saying MS should not do this as a marketing ploy cheapens your own effort in doing Folding. Instead Sony should embrace anyone joining in heck even the Wii.
Home looks compelling as Second Life on the PS3 and hopefully it will turn out great but it needs to fix their (by all accounts) less than stellar online gameplay experience. 360 owners toute Live because it is a great experience despite the 12 hour Halo 3 PR disaster they had last week.
There really is no need for Fanboy-ism.

[Andir3.0 @ May 21st 2007 8:36AM]

I would say it's the opposite really. Whenever someone talks about the Playstation Network in a good light, someone comes along and says that it's not Live and somehow thinks it will never be. If something is said bad, you have the same folks spouting the same nonsense. I'm sure if I did a survey of posts on xbox360fanboy.com and PS3fanboy.com, you'll have more people on the PS3fanboy blog opposing the PS3 than you have on the 360 blog opposing the 360. That's not because the 360 has a more loyal following or any nonsense like that. It's because the PS3 fans either don't care about the 360.

As a matter of fact, of the 15 posts on xbox360fanboy right now, one of them has a comment that mentions the PS3 and on the PS3fanboy site I'm counting at least 18 xbox360 fan comments, in no less than 10 of the 15 posts on the main page. Most of these comments trying to say that the 360 is a better purchase for ___ reason or ____ game. If these 360 fans are not so defensive... why would they need to be on the PS3fanboy site of all places?

[zsyco @ May 21st 2007 7:08AM]

"unimaginable storage".... What do you call 120GB 360 Hard Drive?

[Mark @ May 21st 2007 1:03PM]

You do realize that the PS3 uses any 2.5 SATA drive that is easily upgradeable and allows easy data transfer? Many users have already upgraded to 200gb+ hard drives and partitioned it to use Linux OS. This is unlike the proprietary design that MS gave us thus allowing them to rape people on the cost of a larger HD.

[hysonmb @ May 21st 2007 5:46PM]

I do realize this and I commend Sony for allowing PS3 owners to do so, however, if 80GB is "unimaginable storage", what is 120GB? I say this because I've been reading Engaget for a while I have noted that they are very biased in the console wars. I don't care if the consumer can put a terrabyte in there, my comment is related to the text in the article.

[panik @ May 21st 2007 8:14AM]

koreans need lots of room for porn...factoid!! :)
$526 per capita

http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html

[Jon Acheson @ May 21st 2007 9:21AM]

A PS3 price cut would be a great move for Sony. There are a lot of wannabee PS3 owners sitting on the fence waiting for that first price cut, which we are all sure will happen one week after we buy at full price.

Making that price cut happen would get a lot of us off the fence. I know I want a PS3, and I can afford one, but I'm waiting for GTA IV, or possibly Stranglehold, or that first price cut. Once the first price cut happens, I wouldn't have any reason to wait any more, as the next cut won't be for at least a year, most likely.

[mj @ May 21st 2007 9:29AM]

A lot of people buy consoles because they don't WANT to swap hard drives, or deal with updates and tech support issues, etc. The next gen is throwing all that simplicity out.

So I think the hdd size matters. It doesn't really matter to the early adopters, but how are you going to gain mass adoption if your strategy involves full download titles like HOME, SOCOM and WarHawk, if you're loading games quickly by installing to the hard drive, and if you want to sell movies and music?

And I think 80gb isn't enough for ~$600. You get a better deal with PCs.

And I hate to burst bubbles, but if the price is reduced in Korea, Sony has less money, therefore, we'll see a ps3 price cut later, not sooner.

[primetime4 @ May 21st 2007 10:14AM]

South Korea still has a boner over the Starcraft 2 announcement. This will not register over there until late 2009.

[Chuckles McGee @ May 21st 2007 7:10PM]

Wow, 20 extra gigabytes, that'll probably cost Sony what, an extra $8 a unit at wholesale prices?

[Randomness @ May 21st 2007 7:42PM]

They should sell a PS3 with no HDD. It would reduce the price and let people add whatever size drive they wanted. Right now you're left with an unused 60gb drive if you choose to upgrade it.

[Deathwish238 @ May 21st 2007 7:53PM]

I've heard rumors of WoW coming to the 360, that'ld be something

[KC @ May 21st 2007 9:03PM]

I suspect that the size of the HDD in the PS3 is largely dependant on the availability from the hard disk drive companies. It probably wasn't Sony's call to scrap the 20 GB drive, but if the HDD companies could supply Sony with 60 GB drives at 20 GB prices, why not? I'm speculating that the latest 80 GB drives are probably the same price, if not lower than the 60 GB drives at launch, and that's why we're seeing the new consoles launch with larger hard drives.

Going forward, it would be logical to assume that the PS3s will continue to launch in different countries with larger and larger HDDs.

[Beefthing @ May 21st 2007 11:36PM]

You guys in US should have nothing to complain about. 60Gb there is sold for $599, while in Canada it's sold for $699 CAD! While the exchange rate between the two are closing in by the second...I honestly don't see anyone buying a PS3 in Canada when they could just cross the border and save themselves a solid $80 bucks

[harpreet @ May 23rd 2007 5:26AM]

finally the koreans have 20 more gigabyte of space to fill in there multimedia content (sarcastically)!!

[techwarrior @ May 30th 2007 5:39PM]

why 80gb it is still smaller tham the 120gb 360 not that this matters since you can swap the hdd but still your paying for the hdd and many consumers may not whant to upgrade the hdd or no how easy it is. even if they were htought it is a waste to pay for a hard driveand then another one

[YoYo-Pete @ Jun 19th 2007 4:42PM]

My PS3 is a 160GB.

Upgrading the PS3's Hard Drive is very easy. Any SATA 150 2.5" drive will work. They recommend a 5400 RPM, 8MB Buffer on the drive. I put in a Seagate Momentus drive in which is the same model that comes in the PS3 (just at a larger capacity).

Faster drives may work, but they may cause extra heat the PS3 isnt designed to cool. Likewise, it has to be an SATA 150 drive. That is the connector on the back. Most 2.5" drives are ATA, which are pins. SATA-150 is like a card connector almost. And of course it needs to be a 2.5" as the 3.5" drives (Pc drives) wont fit.

Likewise, this does nothing with your Sony warrenty as this is an end user replaceable part. EB games told me that they didnt believe that it is end user replacable and said doing that would void their warrenty (I didnt have one, was just asking). But they didnt know as much about things as we do here, so that might be hit or miss depending on which store you are at.

I got this drive: http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1029738

It's the same drive that comes in the PS3, just a larger capacity.