Sony launches 40GB PS3 in Europe for ?399

Right on cue, the 40GB PlayStation 3 is indeed being confirmed by Sony. Announced today in London, the system that's been clamored over for what seems like ages now will "launch throughout the SCEE territories" on October 10th for €399 ($565), which means you don't have too awfully long to wait (or save up, for that matter) before getting your hands on one. Of note, the new model does feature just a pair of USB 2.0 ports rather than four, it no longer boasts the multi-memory card port and it is "no longer backwards compatible with PlayStation 2 titles." Also, the existing "60GB PS3 Starter Pack" will be reduced to €499 ($707), but only while supplies last. We'll keep our ear to the ground in case the news eventually impacts the US. Check out the new addition in high-resolution below.

[Via PS3Fanboy]

Gallery: Sony launches 40GB PS3 in Europe for 399 Euros

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[Rususeruru @ Oct 5th 2007 12:03PM]

they should bring it across the pond at the current exchange rate haha $565.15

[John @ Oct 5th 2007 12:04PM]

Lets hope backwards compatibily can be added via a software update at a later time...

[Grant @ Oct 5th 2007 1:19PM]

seriously,
they are cutting this group out from the biggest current market.... the market i'm sure the people who want/ will hold out for a cheap ps3 are the ones ravishing the PS2 market. Good job sony, you can clearly make connections about your market segments.

[david @ Oct 5th 2007 2:04PM]

Grant, unfortunately I have to agree with you. However, if the newer PS3's are all PS2 compatible through software (?) why isn't the new one?

[Mak @ Oct 5th 2007 2:24PM]

Don't worry about Grant, he is actually the one with no idea. He is still brainwashed by Microsoft that DVD and no HDD is enough for this generation of consoles.

For those of us in the real world however, this is a good move, as it keeps the key components that make the PS3 the only choice for this generation, namely: Cell, Blu-ray, HDD as standard. It even keeps nice to haves, like networking, wired and wireless, wireless controllers and headsets and so forth.

That said, I think the 40GB model will end up selling in relatively low numbers, compared to the reduced price 60GB units. As the £50 difference buys you PS1/PS2 backwards compatability, an extra 20GB of HDD space, card readers and 2 games. Pretty good deal methinks. I don't think Sony want to sell TOO many 40GB models, but want to be in that market nevertheless.

[Andir3.0 @ Oct 5th 2007 2:14PM]

It's not entirely software now. They still have the PS2 Graphics chip on the "software" BC PS3s.

[DAZA @ Oct 8th 2007 8:53AM]

From a comment on The INQ:

"Umm, the PAL 60GB and 80GB PS3s still have the PS2 GPU in there, so it's not all software. The reason why the 40GB doesn't have PS2 BC is that they took the GPU out, so now it has no PS2 hardware at all. Their current emulation solution only emulates the Emotion Engine (CPU). For them to get BC to work on the 40GB models, Sony will need to write an emulator that emulates the GPU as well."

If this is true, it seems as if it will be impossible/not feasible to implement backwards compatibility on the PS3 40GB. I'm not a fanboy or anything, but I think what Sony have done with their SKUs is very strange. We've had a 20GB, a 40GB now, a 60GB and an 80GB. That's 4 SKUs in a very short period of time. Each seem to have different features too, with the old 20GB keeping backwards compatibility. Must be confusing for consumers..

[christapher @ Oct 5th 2007 12:05PM]

is it 'no longer backwards compatible' at all? or is it just lacking the chip for compatibility and uses emulation? thats a big difference.

[Shira @ Oct 5th 2007 12:08PM]

Not backwards compatible? Well that's going to hurt. I imagine it could be added via software updates like the 360 though

[Mak @ Oct 5th 2007 2:07PM]

Erm, you have the choice:

No BC, 40GB, no card reader. £299
Software BC, 60GB, card reader, 2 games £349

And no it can't be added in software. The PS2 GS chip has been removed.

[josh @ Oct 5th 2007 1:06PM]

The 80 Gig PS3 in the states doesn't have the chip either; instead it is done on a title by title emulation basis, just like the 360. The whole point of software emulation is to not require specific silicon.

[Jimmy @ Oct 5th 2007 1:24PM]

As I understand things:

In the original 'launch' PS3s there are two chips for doing hardware BC. In the European 60 gig PS3 the one chip was removed but the second chip remained. In the new 40 gig PS3 both of the chips are missing.

This does not stop Sony from trying to do a complete software emulation but I would not count on it.

[Grant @ Oct 5th 2007 1:29PM]

i can see the commercials now:

"we have the biggest games library.
In the World,
Of all times,
On ANY system....
AND NOW YOU CAN'T PLAY THEM!

Introducing the Gimpstation 3!
All the features you wanted removed!
watch HD movies!
Play a few games!
Almost Awesome!

[BPM (FDF - Hypno-Toad) @ Oct 5th 2007 1:39PM]

The original PS3 motherboard (used for US and Japanese 20GB/60GB models) had the Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer as a single chip (EE+GS).
The second version (used for EU and 80GB model) had the EE removed, which was then emulated by Cell, but kept the GS.
The third version (being used for the upcoming 40GB) will have the GS removed as well. While it's possible they could use the RSX to emulate the GS, it does not do so currently.

[Thomas Morley @ Oct 5th 2007 2:00PM]

it can be added with firmware yes, infact if you can get the firmware update made available earlier this year it will infact add the feature. there are no chips in current models its all done by software

[ssuk @ Oct 6th 2007 9:06AM]

@Jimmy: Well, the PS3 60GB units in America and Japan had a chip called the "Emotion Chip" which was basically, a cut-down Playstation 2 CPU and BIOS. the PS3 then also has the "Cell" processor, which is the PS3's main processor and wasn't used for backwards compatability.
Come EU launch, the Emotion Chip was given the chop and replaced by software emulation, which forced the Cell Processor to emulate a PS2 processor (soft-clocked to PS2 speed). Unfortunatly, this meant that games now didn't work properly, didn't work at all or the odd game that worked fine.
It's the same method which MS took, however Sony's action to cut the EC while keeping the PS3 at the outragious price of £425 ($850) was just plain and simply; distasteful. They went on about how Europe is their "biggest consumer for the playstation brand", which in Sony language means "Clowns who buy anything we throw at them".

I may be a bit bias, but when Sony started fucking with Europe over the Playstation 3's price and launch date, I started disliking the PS3 more and more... Before I was thinking the console could be pretty cool.
When they come forward to drop the price for the PS3 60GB model, they have to make me think what they're really up to, as the 40GB model now has NO backwards compatability. Which means one thing; they've replaced the Bluray drive in the 40GB one with a drive that doesn't support DVD discs. Will they repeat this amazing cost-cutting venture into future 60GB models as well?

[daddycool @ Oct 5th 2007 12:08PM]

Wow. This is making think about finally getting a PS3 now...... but not THIS one. BC is important to me, even on my 360. I don't 3 and 4 systems hooked up to me TV. How am I supposed to play GOW 2 on this?

I'm thinking about getting one of the 60GB's with the EE even though I don't want it right now. When I eventually do. it might not even be available.

[Justin B @ Oct 5th 2007 12:09PM]

This doesn't bode well for the God Of War and Final Fantasy Fans.

[01 @ Oct 5th 2007 12:10PM]

I'm just glad I bought a console that I don't have to pay for backwards compatibility on. And if anything, this just makes me want to buy a PS2 even more...

[groznij @ Oct 6th 2007 9:44PM]

Whaddya mean "not paying for BC"? Of course you're paying for it. What, you think the hardware/software development for BC is free? "Hell yeah guys, lets add BC, but lets make it clear to them that they aren't paying for it, only for the rest of the console!" - "Hell yeah, lets go for it!"

wtf.

[db @ Oct 5th 2007 12:12PM]

Why does anyone care if its backwards compatable? If you have the games then you have the PS2 right? Then when you have a PS3 why do you want to play the grainy looking old games? If the old games are that good then why buy the PS3?

We cannot have backwards compatability for ever!

[rudebo @ Oct 5th 2007 12:17PM]

because certain games are better then others even if theyre grainy ...

[SteveJ @ Oct 5th 2007 12:19PM]

Uh, because the PS2 has a lot of great games? What if you don't have a PS2? Now you have to buy both systems. What if you do have a PS2? Now you can't sell your old system to fund the new one and you have to have two systems hooked up to your TV. Really, it doesn't take a lot of effort to figure out why people might want backward compatibility.

[db @ Oct 5th 2007 12:25PM]

SteveJ - a ps2 $129.99 used what $50, thats hardly worth worrying about BC. If you have not already got a PS2 knowing all the great games then forget about it- Time has passed you by, all the old systems had great games, look at Nintendo. The Wii has no BC and you have to buy all the old games online.

New systems are for new games. I did not cry about it when I could not use my Sega anymore. Move on and forget about it or just buy the PS2 and stop moaning :)

[Silverfrog @ Oct 5th 2007 12:31PM]

Re: DB

Nintendo Wii does have BC for Gamecube titles and controllers. The controller ports are on top hidden under a door.

[Paragraph @ Oct 5th 2007 12:40PM]

same reason i wanted BC in my PS2, because having two systems makes little sense.
Lemmie give you a good example. Lets say you have CD's, and DVD's (i'm going to go out on a limb and say we all have both). And you have a super awesome home thetater system (not all of us are so lucky, but most of us have DVD players) would you want to have both a DVD player and a CD player and a VCD player, and a SACD player, and a BD player, and a JPEG disc player, etc. No you want one friggin player, a BD player works with all of those, so you'd get the one player.

Using that logic, why would i want a PS2, and a PS3? I have room for exactly one playstation, my DVD's, my games, and my N64 (yes, i have one, one word: Goldeneye). If i had the extra room, i'd probably have a Wii...

most of america (or europe for that matter) picks one system, and uses that one system, only a select few have a 360, a PS3, a PS2, a Wii, a Gamecube, etc.

I'm not saying that the 40gb one is bad, it's great for people who either don't mind having two consoles, or people who never had the PS2 to begin with. But for me, and probably most of the world, just want one box that plays whatever they have allready.

[01 @ Oct 5th 2007 12:47PM]

Errr, no, just because you own the game or want to play it does NOT mean you have the previous gen system. If I never picked up a PS2, but still want to play God of War and Metal Gear Solid 4, should I really need a PS2 AND a PS3? I personally don't think so...

[Shira @ Oct 5th 2007 1:21PM]

Because it's crazy to have to two systems when one is more than capable of playing games of the older generation.

And I think backward compatibility is a wave of the future. Many people sell their old systems to buy their new ones. To them every little bit helps and since you can play old games on the new system, it doesn't matter if you sell it. Plus no one wants to have a bunch of systems hooked up to their TVs.

[Derbeste @ Oct 5th 2007 2:04PM]

Why BC?

Math!

PS3 + BC chips = $599

PS3 - 1 BC chip = $499

PS3 - 2 BC chips = $399

PS3 - 2 BC chips + PS2 = $528 (Assuming $129 for PS2)

Don't get the point yet??

If you have to buy a PS2 to get your BC, then you're right back up above the $500 mark!! You totally negated the advantages of price cuts in the first place.

So now if you never had a ps2 because you skipped a gen, you have to be happy with the PS3's ABYSMAL selection of games at this point. Wii and Xbox owners get at least SOME sort of BC. Doesn't matter how important BC is to YOU...this is a disadvantage to Sony compared to it's competition.

Sony is also giving up so much in the way of software sales in this move. I have a Wii and I've already purchased 3 GC games because I never owned one of them. PS2 software is STILL Sony's cash cow. They should be encouraging their sale. But instead, they are trying to get people to buy ps3 games because they aren't selling enough to their relatively small install base and the developers are bailing on exclusivity.

[stephenbratz2 @ Oct 5th 2007 2:27PM]

So when Microsoft announces software BC, and games would be added to the compatiblity list over time, the PS3 boys used that to demonstrate the "superiority" of the PS3.

When Microsoft releases the Halo 360 with a different color, the PS3 boys were laughing because it would cause confusion in the marketplace with so many SKUs with their differences.

So now we have one console with omplete hardware compatibility, one with partial software compatibility, and one with no compatibility at all. Some have wireless, some do not. Some have bigger hard drives, some have smaller. The 360 has 4 different editions, core, premium, elite, and Halo (which is just a color change). Really, the only difference is the HDMI port, and all except code has one.

Now that Sony has gone against yet another argument the PS3 boys were using, suddenly more versions and no BC is not all that important? Please choose one consistent argument, and you can back up your arguments better.

[Derbeste @ Oct 5th 2007 2:36PM]

Btw DB...

You have no idea how hard I laughed at this comment of yours:

"Why does anyone care if its backwards compatable? If you have the games then you have the PS2 right? Then when you have a PS3 why do you want to play the grainy looking old games? If the old games are that good then why buy the PS3?

We cannot have backwards compatability for ever!"

That is the EXACT same argument xbox 360 fans used when PS3 fanboys were flaming MS for not making the xbox fully BC.....EXACT same.

Nothing is funnier to me than turned tables.

P.S. to xbox 360 fans....I wouldn't criticize the PS3 TOO much for not being BC anymore. That would kinda negate the arguments you had in favor of MS's same move 2 years ago for the same reason.

[db @ Oct 5th 2007 3:25PM]

LOL sounds like some people are upset. Dont flame me, I just pointed out your options.
If you want BC - pay for it in the full price system
If you just want a PS3 for PS3 only games which still has a Blu-Ray HD player buy the cheap one and forget about it.

As to Sony not having the games, just give it time. The PS2 games took time to program for as well. We will see its full potential very soon when the developers work out what that cell processor can do.

PS I like both systems - but will wait for more price drops before I buy. I bought into the full price PS1 and PS2, but the competition was not as good as this. I am not going to be an early adopter again.

[ssuk @ Oct 6th 2007 9:14AM]

Derbeste: Uhm, actually the $499 PS3 60GB model in America had a backwards compatability chip, however was knocked down in price so they could clear stock so the 80GB model could replace it. The 80GB PS3 is still $599, so you're, in reality; paying $100 for an extra 20GB of HDD space and loose the freedom of true backwards compatability.

Also, a price cut doesn't mean that you butcher a component of the console to make a little bit less-loss on each unit they make. It means that the internal components of the console have become cheaper to produce and the price of the console can fall. If Sony now realises that their product is out-pricing itself from the market, that's not the consumer's fault and we shouldn't have to feel the brunt of Sony's incompitence.

[Phil Perman @ Oct 5th 2007 12:14PM]

Any idea what the UK price is for this? Odd that they would make the announcement in London but not give a price for us Brits

[Alan Partridge @ Oct 5th 2007 12:22PM]

The direct conversion is about £275, so it will probably end up around £299

[Andrew @ Oct 5th 2007 1:14PM]

It is £299 according to the e-mail I got from gameplay

[lolec @ Oct 5th 2007 12:16PM]

$399 ? iPhone RIPOFF!!

[nVidiot @ Oct 5th 2007 12:17PM]

No BC eh?

Just to get the facts strait

American 60gb : Fully backwards compatible. It has the PS2's CPU and GPU, the EE and the GSX.

European 60gb/American 80gb : Partially backwards compatible hardware and software. It has the PS2's GPU but NOT the PS2's CPU.

New 40gb Model : No backwards compatability. It is also missing the PS2's CPU and doesn't have the GPU either. Most likely WON'T be possible to emulate the GPU.

[Mak @ Oct 5th 2007 12:33PM]

European 60gb/American 80gb : Partially backwards compatible hardware and software. It has the PS2's GPU but NOT the PS2's CPU.


Wrong. The PS3 has the PS2 GPU, but emulates the CPU in software. You have it the wrong way round.

Plus, it's not "partially backwards compatible", you have been listening to Dirtbox360 fanboys, it's very close to the quality of hardware BC, and hopefully the next firmware will close that gap totally.

[Derbeste @ Oct 5th 2007 2:17PM]

Mak....

Did you even read nVidiot's post?

The Euro 60GB PS3 has the PS2 GPU and the cell processor emulates the CPU. That's exactly what you and he said. And if there is even ONE game that SKU can't emulate than he's still technically correct.....It's PARTIAL BC.

The SKU will not even have the GPU and the cell can't emulate it. Hence NO BC.

Sony is doing this because too many PS3 adopters are just playing PS2 games on their PS3 and waiting for a better PS3 selection. But developers won't give the PS3 exclusives until buyers do buy enough PS3 games to make development profitable.

So in essence, they are making the price more main stream and forcing the new user base to actually buy PS3 games. Once again....better for Sony....bad for buyers.

[Mak @ Oct 5th 2007 12:18PM]

Xbox 360, R.I.P

Console owners are fickle creatures.

Last week they were crying that PS3 was too expensive, this week, they are crying that the cheap PS3 has no backwards compatability!

basicaly, they want it all...

For the people that have trouble understanding.

a mere £50 extra on your £299 PS3 buys you:

Software backwards compatability (~85% compatability)
Extra 20GB of HDD space
Card readers.

Whilst the 40GB unit is hardly "gimped", I think most people will go with the 60GB option, unless you are really not interested in PS3 games and easilly importing and viewing photos from your camera.

[Rususeruru @ Oct 5th 2007 12:26PM]

Xbox 360, R.I.P - you say eh? I wouldn't count on that Sony still has to get their online act together. And the 360's library is still considerably larger.

[Rususeruru @ Oct 5th 2007 12:27PM]

Xbox 360, R.I.P - you say eh? I wouldn't count on that Sony still has to get their online act together. And the 360's library is still considerably larger.

[Eldiablo @ Oct 5th 2007 12:57PM]

I'm trying to find out if this elcheapo version supports linux. I want to mess around with using the cell processor for various mini-projects.

But for games, I'll be sticking with my x360 thank you very much. Sony just isn't an interesting enough proposition for gaming yet. I'm more likely to replace x360 with Niwii.

[Grant @ Oct 5th 2007 1:25PM]

Sony continually makes bad marketing decisions, over and over and over again. From a business standpoint, this new revision make very little sense because they are now removing features PEOPLE ACTUALLY WANT.
the whole problem with this beast is that they based it on bluray.
i'm sure if they had a drive that played the games but not movies, and was cheaper(probably 50-75%), people would snap up that iteration in a second cause that would knock nearly $75-100USD off the price. the BR player keeps the cost too high, and it's really not wanted by too many people.

[h0mi @ Oct 5th 2007 3:47PM]

@Eldiablo

It should still support linux, there's no reason why it wouldn't.

[Fuzz @ Oct 5th 2007 12:27PM]

Wow. Even with these "price drops" Europeans sure get screwed for prices. $707 and $565. wow. Ouch.

[nVidiot @ Oct 5th 2007 12:33PM]

You are right.. brain fart.. thanks.

[Ethan @ Oct 5th 2007 12:51PM]

Sony removed quite an essential component there. Of, course, you can't take out the blu-ray, then you have no games. If this doesn't work, they need a new strategy.

[John McClane @ Oct 5th 2007 1:03PM]

If I can't play PS2 games on it. I'm NEVER buying one. Simple.