HDMI in EVERY PS3 - Price drop in Japan

At a press conference kicking off the 2006 Tokyo Game Show, Sony Ken Kutaragi has revealed several specifics about the PlayStation 3's plans, both in a heady keynote speech and in a post-keynote Q&A with a Nikkei BP representative.

In the post-keynote Q&A, Kutaragi was quizzed on the lack of the key HDMI standard in the lower-spec PS3, and he commented: "At the time of E3 there was no [consensus on] HDMI", and that Sony was "concerned that it was overkill." But negative reception from the press and manufacturers has caused the company to reconsider. Kutaragi slyly commented: "If you just open the model on the day of the launch... you may see HDMI." [UPDATE: An official Sony Japan press release confirms that HDMI will be included in all Japanese PS3 models, and official Sony contacts are indicating that this will be true for all worldwide PS3 models.]

When asked about the expensive nature of the PS3, Kutaragi somewhat bizarrely claimed that in the U.S., the $499 pricing had retailers and publishers happy at "such a great function for that price", trying to paint a picture where Europe was similarly happy, and it was only Japan (where the lower-spec model is 59,800 yen ($515), and the higher-spec price up to retailers) that price came up as an issue.

He commented: "We set the price in other currencies and converted back to Japan", but there has been a change of heart, and he directly stated that the lower-price model will now be below 50,000 yen in Japan when it launches - presumably 49,980 yen ($429), an effective 10,000 yen price cut for the machine. [UPDATE: The same official Sony Japan press release confirms the 49,980 yen price point, and Sony contacts indicate that this is a Japan-only price drop.]

[NextGen24Gamer]

MS announced the price of the core in Japan with 2 games at $230 american dollars. Interesting to see Sony do the same for a system not even released yet. What are they worried about. They have more clout in Japan than MS does. Anyway, as it turns out. The 360 is still 200 dollars cheaper in Japan than the ps3....and it comes with 2 games. hopefully blu dragon and L.0 help 360 sales. nice to see sony lowering the price to stay competative to the year old 360. So with the hd dvd priced at 160 ish in Japan and the 360 at 230 with 2 games. Its still less than the ps3 with the price cut. MS always thinks ahead.

[JIN KAZAMA]

STFU, you're such a hater. Look how your fanboyism is clouding your common sense. MS is freakin desperate as hell, trying everything but GIVING away 360's in japan you idiot. They are giving it away for that cheap over there cuz it aint selling SH!T. They'll be doing the same thing here, when PS3 will be kickin its A$$ here in the US.
Also, you were talkin all that crap about the price drop not even being true, and when you find out that you were wrong, you twist it all up, cuz you're a MS freak. I wouldnt be surprised if they dropped th price here. Also, all that crap 360 fans were talkin about the NON-HDMI PS3, well, yall just got kicked in the NUTS didnt you. This is too funny.
MS is about to get knocked the FU(K out again!!

[crazyman]

"STFU, you're such a hater. Look how your fanboyism is clouding your common sense"

um yeah did you read your comment through

[Genki]

You know, for the longest time, all you've done is bash Sony, claiming lies, unnecessary extras, sub-par games, too expensive, etc. Now though, when they actually change something, which could be universally regarded as a good thing, you complain STILL? Seriously, I can understand (although I don't necessarily agree) the reasons you loathe Sony, fine, whatever, to each his own, but must you put every move they make under the microscope?

You claim to be a true gamer, the real deal, unbiased, blah blah blah, but every move they make is sinister and inferior in your eyes. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a supposedly unbiased (although there's no such thing) gamer have some good things to say about each console, rather than comparing and contrasting systems just to degrade one in particular? You say you're getting a PS3, because you're a gamer, right? Then why not at least have a SOMEWHAT optimistic look, rather than a perception like "let me see how I can turn this into another Microsoft does it better" comment.

Really man, whether or not you think Microsoft is better, you have praised Microsoft for implementing things into the XBox that the PS3 already has, all the while slandering Sony for it in the past. That's just outright hypocricy, and you put things as such under the guise of MS giving consumers a choice. I'd bet a dime to a dollar that if Sony implemented something into their system that XBox already had, you would label them a copycat without a second thought. Personally, I think this price drop is good, MS inclusion of HD-DVD and 1080p is also good, and the refunding of consumers money for repairs is a brilliant stroke, but I also think Sony has done several good things as well, i.e. inclusion of HDMI, Online service, BD drive, 6-degree motion sensing controller, etc.

That's a fair opinion from an openly admitted biased gamer (I won't lie, I prefer Sony to other companies, but that doesn't mean I hate the others). You don't have to pretend to be unbiased, because in reality, nobody is, NOBODY. You can be biased and consider other things you know, biased doesn't have to be synonymous with bigotry, it simply means you're more partial to one thing than another. You can still give a fair opinion, you know, it shouldn't hurt your pride to consider something else.

[Phytonadione]

I couldn't have said it better myself. I think certain fanboys (both Sony and MS) should really keep track/notes of what they claim/say/believe. And to be realistic, since most of the bashing seems to center around the PS3, I guess I'm addressing the MS fanboys primarily. I personally don't give a rat's ass what a company spokesperson (hell, even the company itself) says about its product or its competitor's product. They can mudsling all day and night for all I care. Just give me a product that I feel is a good value, of high quality, and will give me hours upon hours of enjoyment (good games in this case). I really don't care how that comes about, as long as it doesn't involve something like sacrificing newborn babies to the ancient volcanoe god Miliki Tiki (just an example). But having said all that, I do have a slight problem with people dogging the PS3 for not having a certain feature, then dogging it for having that certain feature, and then to top it off, praising the competition when they implement said feature. For God's sake, don't forget the stance you took a month/week/day/hour ago. It really makes you look like fools. It's great that the 360 will be able to output games in 1080p (though not natively and as someone mentioned, most 1080p, if not all, tvs actually upconvert 1080i to 1080p anyways). It's also great news that the cheaper PS3 will have HDMI built in (and as someone else mentioned, it was something that should have been there to begin with). All systems, in hindsight, could/should have been built better. But why live in the past? Let's all look foward to the unique experiences that each system will bring us. Especially the PS3 and Wii. Haha. Just had to throw that in there.

[original seed]

Now that is funny. Is it me or does little Ken sound sleezy. even when he might be telling the truth it still sounds like bull. I just get a bad vibe from this guy. I dont think Sony's price drop has too much to do with the 360 (although it might) but rather has more to do with nintendo. Japan loves nintendo and now even more than ever.

[THE TRUTH]

HDMI in both SKU's is THE MAJOR NEWS!! The price drop is just an added bonus!! With games like LAIR, that run in full 1080p and CANNOT BE DONE ON 360 HARDWARE I would say 360 won't be selling at all in Japan my friends.!! Check the Lair interview over at IGN the developers have alot to say about Sony's PS3

[Captain Tuttle]

Probably because it's not needed for games.

[achira]

would he mention blue ray you would say they dont concentrate on games, but on films.

[Captain Tuttle]

Sony's line this whole time has been how the next generation of games needs Blu-Ray. They've always said it's not just for movies. It's also the reason for the $600 price tag and the delays in production.

[gsquad]

Blu-ray is needed. There are two confirmed games, whose developers have said that it needs, or should I say they said the game wouldn’t be the same, without Bul-ray, RFOM and Liar.

[Captain Tuttle]

Then why didn't he mention it in his comments? It's like a lead balloon that's dragging this company down.

[TheThinker]

yet they're there anyway. Why? Because we WANT them. Wanting and needing are two different things; don't mix them together.

[Captain Tuttle]

in the 360 if you want the performance. Just like you need the Cell in the PS3. Those things are there to enhance the gameplay. What does Blu-Ray bring? More space to put CGI movies in a game. No thanks, I like my games without 20 minute cut scenes.

[xrobbanx]

The Thruth and you other stupid Sonyapes listen to this. SONY said ALL PS3 should have HDMI from the begining and then took it away and now added it again and you go WOW thats nice WAKE UP god damn it

[Phytonadione]

does the 360 have HDMI? Is it possible to add on HDMI? Not trying to be an ass, just don't want to go through the hassle of looking up that info...so basically, just being extremely lazy.

[DEIx15x8]

does the 360 have HDMI? - SOON
Is it possible to add on HDMI? - YES
Can the PS3 add new display formats? NO
Can the 360 add new display formats? YES
What console is truly "future proof"? 360

[Silver360]

HDMI is great if you have a 1080p HDTV. You know what even if you don't it is nice that they realized that it was a mistake not to include the cable. THe point here though is there is a price drop for Japan only. Why should PEOPLE in other countries PAY MORE???? Are the systems going to the americas or europe better than the japanese one? NO! So they should drop the price for everyone!!!!!!!

[BlackCountryBob]

What was the point of announcing price and SKU's at E3 if they were gonna announce this at TGS, Sony has had 3 months of negative news reports and fanboys have had 3 months to get angry enough to buy a 360 or pre order a Wii instead! Sony just seem to be making it up as they go along and I dont trust that, if I am dropping £400+ on a console which will last 5 years or more I wanna have a pretty certain idea of where its heading, Wii is still shrouded in mystery, Sony are completely clueless about wht they are doing (there are only so many times they can say we have blu-ray and cell processors before they have to put up or shut up coz from what I have seen of PS3 games so far they aren't any better than 360 games) so I am still saving for the 360!

[gsquad]

Ps3 can add display formats through software just like X360 is doing now. So you’re wrong on that one. Second we have no information confirming that X360 will be getting an HDMI port, and if they do add it, early adopters would have to buy a new system or the HDMI would only be used for movies if it was added to the external HD-DVD drive. So in conclusion what console is truly "future proof" not the Xbox360, not in this configuration.

[jdktech2010]

I must admit your right (to a certain degree). We have no info that 360 is getting HDMI (hints but no announcements). But they have said that you can run 1080p with their software update over the component cables and it looks just as good as with the hdmi cable. And honestly, Microsoft could add almost (almost) any add-ons they want to the back of the 360. Granted, otehr than the HD-DVD and the camera, I personally do not know of any other add-ons at the moment. But they have plenty of space back to there to work with so if they were able to upgrade the 360 to run native 1080p for games then I'm sure they have thought about the HDMI cable and it will work. Because for some reason, 1080p is like the god of gaming to PS3 buyers. Personally 720p and 1080i are fine with me. The only difference I can see (I have looked at both 1080 i and p) is that one has a letter farther in the alphabet. I am not the most knowledgable about the the two formats but from personal experience, I didn't see enough difference to merit all this argument and all that money.

[BlackCountryBob]

The difference between 1080i and 1080p is totally uninteresting to most gamers for 1 reason alone, most people playing games still do so on standard def CRT TVs! Sony and Microsoft can talk about hiDef until the cows come home but all they are doing is making potential customers confused as they think their console will not work on that TV! Maybe they should stop talking to the fanboys who will just argue amongst themselves and start telling the average consumer the benefits of xbox 360 or PS3 on a standard widescreen or 4:3 TV via scart.

[Raist]

Why do you think x360 is so damn cheap in japan ?

Becaaaaause

Beeecause

It simply isn't selling, lol. MS i just doing whatever they can to sell it. But still, PS2 still outsells xbox360 really bad.
The only thing that could save MS from the japanese disaster is those japanese rpg's coming, and still i'm not even sure it will lead to incredible sales.

[jdktech2010]

Wow...I never would have imagined a Japanese company's console selling better in Japan than in the US. 360 is an American and mostly European owned console (maybe more so after Sony's delay) and the PS3 is a predominatly Japanese owned console (which explains the Japan-only price drop. They are trying to make sure they're home country is happy where they will sell the most. They care about NA and Europe but they care about Japan more since they have the most opportunity there seeing as how Microsoft is having a difficult time selling 360's.

Basically, the whole point of this reply is to say yes MS is having problems in Japan, but it is it to be expected since both Nintendo and Sony are based out of Japan. Just like its expected Microsoft has done extremely well here in North America. I never believed that the 360 would be a great sell over there. Although I have to give props to Microsoft, they're trying their best with the rpgs made by Final Fantasy creator. That's as close to Final Fantasy as your gonna get without it being Final Fantasy.