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]

Sony launches 40GB PS3 in Europe for 399 Euros

[andibarnes Posted Oct 5th 2007 1:16PM]

Yup - another case of Sony not understanding what consumers actually want.

[joshbw Posted Oct 5th 2007 1:27PM]

There is $300 million worth of one week of Halo 3 sales to suggest the console isn't in a whole hell of a lot of trouble, and the fact that the main install base for the system is the US I don't think a European price difference matters a whole lot. They also have something like twice the install base of the PS 3, and a 3-to-1 exclusive title lead. At this point Sony isn't making maneuvers to beat the 360, but rather to just stay in the game. Microsoft also has argueably one of the nicest holiday title lineup in freaking history. So declaring the 360 dead is a bit silly, given the reality of things don't you think?

That said, the PS 3 certainly isn't down for the count yet either. They have had a slow first year, and they still have to be hemoraging money just making the console, but they still have plenty of clout to keep pushing.

[joshbw Posted Oct 5th 2007 1:29PM]

that was supposed to be a reply to a previous comment about 360 being dead, but obviously it didn't post that way. I really am not going off about the 360 in a sony thread for no reason

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 5th 2007 1:29PM]

Our personal thanks to Sony.
We European are very happy about how Sony is concerned about a significative part of his videogame market, we really like bloated prices, crippled/no backward compability,later and low console avaiability, really thanks.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 5th 2007 1:30PM]

lowering the price of a product is a price drop... cutting out major components and dropping the price isnt a savings, its just a junk version of the old thing with no added value. the problem with the ps3 is that in any incarnation it is overpriced for what it offers. blu-ray just isnt enticing enough to justify spending $600 bucks on and hoping the technology sticks around and that some good games come out.

[DinnyHoon Posted Oct 5th 2007 1:32PM]

Oh what the hell Sony? I've been waiting and waiting for a cut-price, cut-HDD PS3 that I can afford, and you take the PS2 compatibility out of it!

Thanks. Just thanks.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 7th 2007 5:05AM]

I think the 40GB model is a really smart move. IMO most users didn't need the card readers anyway, 40GB of HDD is perfectly sufficient unless you're downloading HD content, and BC only matters if exclusive titles are still being released for the last-gen console (PS2), which they're not.

Bottom line: If Sony release PS3's with PES '08 for £299 this Christmas then, in Europe anyway, they're onto a winner.

(I'm a 360 owner and addict BTW.)

[horizontaleight Posted Oct 5th 2007 2:10PM]

look closely at the high res image showing the controller. compared to the initial controller, that looks to have the dualshock writing on the right top of the controller.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 5th 2007 2:37PM]

no it doesn't - you can work out it says "SIXAXIS" from the top of the lettering...

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 5th 2007 1:59PM]

I really don't get all this bitching and moaning... This system is GREAT for people that DO NOT own any PS1/PS2 games.

I bought the 60GB right before the 'price drop' and I am satisfied with my purchase. It makes a great center for your home theatre system. I loaded up Ubuntu linux onto it for OS/shitting around, and in PS3 mode I have an external harddrive with a crapload of music, movies, and videos, and I can play it right off from the external. I'm not a hardcore gamer either, so so far the PSN games have been sufficient. I've tried a few PS2 titles on it just for shits and giggles, and to me it looked really nice... even on a 46in HDTV

Since I never owned a PS1 or PS2, this option really would have been the best one for me. If you want backwards compatibility, go get one of the other SKUs. Simple as that.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 5th 2007 2:45PM]

"Backwards compatibility, as you know from PlayStation One and PlayStation 2, is a core value of what we believe we should offer. And access to the library of content people have created, bought for themselves, and accumulated over the years is necessary to create a format. PlayStation is a format meaning that it transcends many devices -- PSOne, PS2, and now PS3" - Phil Harrison, Sony, December 2006.

so they lie about the rumble feature being "last gen" and then add it... and now they lie about BC being a "core value" and then remove it.

w*nkers.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 5th 2007 2:49PM]

"Are there two versions of the Xbox 360 that people want to buy, is my question. I don't know. This is my personal view, not my corporate view, but when I look at those formats, I think it just confuses the audience. They don't know which one to buy, developers don't know which one to create for, and retailers don't know which one to stock. So I think we wouldn't take that strategy. We wouldn't create confusion." - Phil Harrison, Sony, August 2005.

keep 'em coming, phil...

[fastm3driver Posted Oct 5th 2007 2:59PM]

priceless

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 5th 2007 3:43PM]

Question : what about fans of the new SKU ??

Note on this picture the difference :

http://i24.tinypic.com/2psoexk.jpg

I will wait for the 1st tests to know how the 40GB with noise !

[njstone Posted Oct 5th 2007 4:26PM]

I must have missed something:

When will the 40GB system be available in the US? It will be $399, and then the 80GB "starter pack" will go down to $499 at that time?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 21st 2007 3:01PM]

80gb w/ motorstorm is $499 at amazon right now.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TVT8PI/ref=reg_hu-wl_item-added/103-6222623-0386267

[Ichinisan Posted Oct 5th 2007 4:34PM]

Sony better have moved those two missing USB ports to THE #$%^ING BACK OF THE UNIT. It is absolutely unacceptable that all 4 ports have been on the front. What was Sony thinking? Even one port on the back would have been perfect; allowing me to use a hub and connect external storage, controller charging docks, and the #@$%ing camera. When I determine a good, permanent place for a Playstation Eye camera, I have to have that wire coming all the way around to the front of my Blu-Ray playe-Um...PS3. If Sony were ever to release an official IR receiver, it would only make sense if the receiver could be relocatable by plugging into a hub or a USB cable that goes to the BACK of the unit. Because Sony neglected to put any I/O ports in the back, an official IR interface would have to be done through the network...or else it wouldn't be relocatable and work with both orientations of the PS3. If Sony leverages the PS3's place in the living room, they would allow it to use the internal hard drive or external storage as a time-shifting, DVR, IPTV, receiver, media archiver. An external device that can hold all of your CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray, PS, PS2, and PS3 media would be something that ONLY Sony could market, and they need leverage like this! Adding a cablecard module and a LocationFree TV server would make it a must-have device for any serious home theater. By making a system without I/O on the back and without PS/PS2 compatibility, Sony is shooting themselves. At one point, Sony made the proud remark that "Sony invented backward compatibility" (erm, the GAME BOY?). Other remarks suggested that "people only want ONE sku" to excuse the fake price drop while blasting Microsoft. Sony: MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND!

[Ichinisan Posted Oct 5th 2007 6:20PM]

I can see in the gallery that Sony did not move any USB ports to the back. For shame.

[Pamp28 Posted Oct 7th 2007 5:07PM]

even without BC a $400 Blueray and gameing system is a bargan

[h0mi Posted Oct 5th 2007 5:27PM]

Like I wrote on joystiq:

There's a couple of ways to look at this.

This is good because:

- It allows for a cheaper SKU
- If BC is that important, get a ps2 or keep yours
- It "forces" people to buy more ps3 games instead of settling for ps2 ones
- Theoretically it could be re-added with a software upgrade (update- they'd have to add more to be emulated, so this is probably unlikely)

This is bad because:

- "Never before has a console had BC taken away from it"
- "Never before has a console lost features so early in its life"
- This makes this SKU less desirable, and might sell poorly as a result
- This (may) forces Sony to maintain different firmwares for different models

BC was important to me in buying a ps3, though I've barely used it and chances are good I will not anytime in the forseeable future. If I were thinking rationally, I'd not be scared off from buying such a ps3 because I play so few ps2 games as it is; however the ps3 library is dreadfully weak and there are more ps2 games I'd consider buying/playing than ps3 ones.

If the ps3's library were stronger and the ps2 were not being made, this would seem to me to be a great idea. I think it's a mistake; this ps3 is going to be deemed to be "gimped" and won't sell well as a result. And it's alot easier to talk yourself down $50 than up another $100 and buy a different console altogether.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 5th 2007 6:41PM]

Ahem.....what about the now functional upconversion of PS2 games to 1080i/p on HDTV sets due to updated firmware? Nobody seems to have mentioned that little nuance. I tend to think my old PS2 titles look better now on my launch edition 60GB PS3. Particularly those that never did support progressive scan originally.....

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 6th 2007 12:54AM]

Sony sure smacks of desperation, lately, don't they. This is what, the fourth or fifth SKU, at least, for a system that is not even a year old?

When is Sony going to realize that they've messed up with the PS3, and move on to the next thing? However, knowing Sony, the next thing they'll move on to is another fiasco, that's sure to continue to divide the entertainment industry, instead of working towards a unified format.

[Rauelius Posted Oct 6th 2007 1:28AM]

Hey guys, while I already own a 20GB PS3 I really feel for future 40GB PS3 owners who are gonna be assed out of BC. I made a petition to keep BC on the 40GB unit. If your interested, sign it.

http://www.petitiononline.com/40GBPS3/petition.html

[mikefromtexas Posted Oct 7th 2007 2:41AM]

Does anyone remember when console gaming was simpler than PC gaming?

My mind is chock-full of the latest useless electronic gadget info as the next Engadget reader, but the number of changes Sony has made to the various PS3 SKU's is ridiculous.

I think Microsoft's system is much simpler, obviously the Wii only has one system, which takes all guesswork and confusion over trying to decide which "level" console you should get.

Seems like Sony has taken a page out of the Apple iPod playbook for the development of the PS2 'ecosystem'.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 6th 2007 5:37AM]

about time, seems its being scaled down to reduce the price has the anti consumer BD+ DRM been removed?

http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/11371.cfm

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 6th 2007 2:42PM]

I have a PS2, BC is not much of a concern, people who have PS2s and are blowing their gaskets are idiotic over reactors... 40GB good, double my Xbox 360 20GB.
2 USB ports, still can have 4 wireless controllers so doesent matter.

300!!! 125 cheaper (packaged games did not really appeal, maybe Resistance)

frankly this is just what I need (anything extra would be nice but isnt neccessary)

what is concerning: I read that you wont get an ethernet cable to connect it to internet (dont know if it has wireless still)
and No component cable like what xbox has (dont have HDMI)

[Pamp28 Posted Oct 7th 2007 5:09PM]

wow i cant spell gaming lol

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 7th 2007 7:24PM]

Why doesn't Sony stop wasting our time and their time and quit releasing new SKU PS3 models and just release some f*cking games! They have like 40 games in over a yr! ANd only 5 of those are exclusive and the others either have a no online play (when they do on the 360) or a lower frame rate. Also it would be killer for them to include a longer charing cable for the controller, HDMI cable (or at least componet cables) and a brain so anywho who buys this horrible system can at least have one of those.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 10th 2007 1:47AM]

One thing I do not understand.

Which models will there be? Here in DK (europe) only the 60GB model has been on the shelves. With this leaving, this means in future there will not be a model PS1 and PS2 compatible, except on the preowned market?

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 12th 2007 4:27PM]

I only skimmed this entire page so idk if this has been answered. But the way I see it. Just trade in the PS2 and games and controllers for some money, use that money to get the more expensive 60GB model with BC. This 40GB model is just there so people can say that they own a PS3.

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