Cnet: Sony shrinks down new PS3 -- except for the price

Sony still hasn't confirmed when we'll see a PlayStation 4 -- bet on late 2013 as the earliest. In the meantime, though, the venerable PlayStation 3 has gotten a face-lift. Cnet have dubbed it the "Super Slim PlayStation 3," since this third iteration of the console is the thinnest and smallest yet. It's logical to assume that this will probably be the last PlayStation 3 design change before its successor, so it allows us to take a look at the console as a whole to see how far it really has come.

[AAACE5]

A price cut is coming. They have to. It will probably be in mid november. They just want to reap the rewards of those who want to upgrade right away.

Im waiting because my sons are tired of paying for xbl so we traded their 360 in. They dont like the new one so i gotta try to get them a slim like mine.

(Conspiracy theory) btw... we think ms are banning xbl accounts to make people open new ones so it looks like more new ppl are joining. They had a few accounts banned for no reason. They dont mod and dont hack... so why else would they get banned? They arent those winey lil shitheads either that we all usually complain about.

[IIC0mPLeXII]

That seems to always be the case "they dont mod or anything" weird.

[Baka-akaB]

Most store i've seen locally made a cut of their own anyway

[firefly69]

Why the fuck people disagree from the truth?!

[Baka-akaB]

because some probably feel i'm making an excuse and agree with Sony not cutting prices .

i dont . Just saying that i've never seen the ultra slim being sold at the price of the older versions .

Here it was 555 US dollars for a 320gb console + a game pack (or one of those trilogy discs) . And those were the only models available for the last 4 months btw (no single 160 gb or 320gb , except the limited silver and red editions)

Now the the ultra slim PS3 is sold at 478 US dollars WITH a 500gb drive instead .

[Lvl_up_gamer]

This case that Sony has fallen into is a strange one at best.

Sony is doing the right thing by creating a Super Slim Sku which is cheaper to manufacture therefor reducing costs. Selling the Super Slim model at a slightly higher price is also smart of Sony because it increases their overall profit on each console sold to retailers which helps get them out of the red faster and into the black. A direction that Sony needs to move into as per their current financial situation.

Now here is where this gets odd.

Sony currently is competing against themselves. The Old Slim Sku is a much better constructed console. Yet the Super Slim is priced just slightly HIGHER then the Old Slim. Now to a customer, it's a no-brainer to go with the Old Slim Sku. However, expect Sony to phase out the Old Slim Sku so that the won't compete against themselves and only have 1 console for consumers to purchase from. Unfortunately, those who chose to wait late in this gen for a PS3 console are actually getting the shaft for waiting. Normally, Consoles get better and cheaper as the gen moves on...however not in this case with Sony. Their consoles have actually gotten worse with the removal of features that were once on the PHAT unit. With each iteration of new PS3 console release, features have been removed until you have what is really just the bare bones of a PS3. All the meat has been stripped.

What we have here is a very odd situation for Sony. I think as a "business" Sony is making the right choice, however, by making this choice, which was no doubt a very hard decision to make, Sony is basically taking advantage of mis-informed consumers late to the market of PS3 console gaming.

Either way, I can't wait to see what Sony will unveil for their PS4. I am excited to see their strategy and what the specs are for the next gen PS system.

[MrDead]

I thought the price of the old slim would be the one to drop to get rid of current stocks, and then the price of the new model will come down.

[Dante112]

Me and my cousin are picking this up next week. Can't wait.

[Lvl_up_gamer]

BS flag on the field.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Dante112]

BS for buying a PS3? I thought I was allowed to buy whatever product that I want to in America.

Edit: Wow, my original comment was rated down for saying that my cousin and I are going to buy the new PS3? And on top of that, I got two people trolling me and telling me that I'm not going to buy one (Telepathy or aggressive persuasion from Xbox enthusiasts, I don't know).

[Droid Control]

I have a PS3 slim. If my PS3 died I would try to find another slim.

These Superslimes look terrible to me. Ugly as sin. The tray doesn't bother me, its just the general shape and the mixute of glossy stripes and ridged spines that make me shudder.

[Acquiescence]

Sony will cut the price a couple of weeks prior to the Wii U coming out.

[Baka-akaB]

i think ms and sony will only cut after , as some sort of reaction to the wii U . Both ps3 and 360 will still comes off the shelves in the holidays at their current prices + the usual black fridays kind of events

[kingPoS]

Really now! the system already comes with a game & larger HDD.
But for some reason people think Sony will only sell you a bundle at $269.99 for the rest of 2012-13. Give it time ppl, it hasn't even been out for a month since it's debut.

[medziarz]

they are upping the price in order to clear stock of the old model, they still have tons of 160s, and 320 bundles especially the MW3 bundle they are probably going to have to recall and repackage