The rumors for this baby just won't die, but apparently, the latest one is from a pretty reliable source, says the Opposable Thumbs gaming journal (http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/09/09/500-80gb-ps3-with-a-spiderman-3-blu-ray-pack-in-our-mole-lets-us-in-on-sonys-future-plans) on Ars Technica:

Our mole has a great track record: both the Xbox 360 HDMI story (http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/08/09/microsoft-makes-it-official-premium-360s-now-sihpping-with-hdmi) and the wired Xbox 360 Rock Band controllers (http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/09/09/harmonix-ceo-confirms-xbox-360-rock-band-to-ship-with-wired-guitars) have since been confirmed. Whoever our friendly inside source is, he's got some great contacts. Now he's ready to tell us what Sony's console pricing plans may soon look like. Here's how Sony's platform pricing will shape up by the holiday shopping season:

* 80GB PlayStation 3: $499.99
* 40GB PlayStation 3: $399.99
* Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray movie pack in with one, or both
* PlayStation 2: $99.99

The 80GB price drop isn't that shocking, but a new $400 40GB system would be huge news. Would people be willing to part with 40GB to save $100? I think so, and having a $400 PlayStation 3 option would be a great weapon this holiday season. If they get to show off the Blu-ray capabilities of the system with Spider-Man 3 bundled? That's a nice package.

The $99.99 PlayStation 2 would ensure that the venerable system will continue to sell well. This is rumor for now, but when Sony makes some announcements at the Tokyo Game Show, I would not be shocked if these were among them. You heard it here first.

The only way I could see this happening is if they revive the 20GB SKU and slap in a 40GB HDD. It's the only way the $100 difference would be worth it, not just from the consumer's perspective, but also from a manufacturing perspective.

Here's the way I see it:

$499 ps3:

80GB HDD
SD card readers, etc.
Wi-fi
Spiderman 3 on Blu-Ray

$399 ps3:

40GB HDD


Of course, they could throw in Spidey with the 40GB version and keep Motorstorm bundled in with the 80GB version.

Obviously, the chances of this happening are slim, as Kaz said at e3 that they were planning to stick with a single SKU from here on out. But then, they said the same thing at E3'05 (when MS first announced their multi-SKU strategy) as well. As for packing in Spiderman, that's a given either way, and it's something I've been predicting since before it even hit theaters.

I hear it is cheaper for hard drives to be made in 40GB increments. So with that in mind, the tier structure could be possible.

Besides that, my aunt's second favorite hairdresser's adopted Guatemalan son told her that the PS3 will be packed with Gears of War the day after Christmas. We'll have to wait and see. ;)

I hear it is cheaper for hard drives to be made in 40GB increments. So with that in mind, the tier structure could be possible.

Besides that, my aunt's second favorite hairdresser's adopted Guatemalan son told her that the PS3 will be packed with Gears of War the day after Christmas. We'll have to wait and see. ;)

I know what you mean. I wouldn't have even bothered to post this had the guy not been right about the 360 controllers and HDMI Premiums already.

I can't see them packing in Spidey 3. I would guess Spidey 1 or Spidey 2, but not 3. It's just too new of a release, and they know a good percentage of new PS3 owners would probably buy Spidey 3 on Blu Ray seperately, even though it's the worst Spidey movie (from a quality standpoint) of the 3.

Having said all of that, a $399 PS3 would make the most sense of anything, and that coupled with strong reviews of Ratchet and Uncharted, and alot of advertising, could actually get Sony back in this race.

I can't see them packing in Spidey 3. I would guess Spidey 1 or Spidey 2, but not 3. It's just too new of a release, and they know a good percentage of new PS3 owners would probably buy Spidey 3 on Blu Ray seperately, even though it's the worst Spidey movie (from a quality standpoint) of the 3.

Having said all of that, a $399 PS3 would make the most sense of anything, and that coupled with strong reviews of Ratchet and Uncharted, and alot of advertising, could actually get Sony back in this race.

That reminds me, there were some awesome new Uncharted pics that came out yesterday.

*goes to make a new thread*

The news about the 399 40gig version is huge if true. It would go a lot helping sell people who just can't get past the "twice as high" price. I also agree that they could do it by using the 20 gig feature set, less the emotion engine chip.

I hear it is cheaper for hard drives to be made in 40GB increments. So with that in mind, the tier structure could be possible.

Besides that, my aunt's second favorite hairdresser's adopted Guatemalan son told her that the PS3 will be packed with Gears of War the day after Christmas. We'll have to wait and see. ;)

almost had me out of breath on that 1...
-------------

so for a lil over $500 I can have a 200gb PS3...

hope it's true.

I can't see them packing in Spidey 3. I would guess Spidey 1 or Spidey 2, but not 3. It's just too new of a release, and they know a good percentage of new PS3 owners would probably buy Spidey 3 on Blu Ray seperately, even though it's the worst Spidey movie (from a quality standpoint) of the 3.

Dunno, didn't they pack in Casino Royale with the European release? I could see them throwing in Spidey 3 in the near future. Though, as far as this $399 40 gig business goes, I don't foresee it happening anytime soon.

It would be huge if true.

Why cant sony throw in Spidey 3, Toshiba is throwing in 300 and a Bourne movie, I can only assume that these HD DVD titles are still selling..

I can't see them packing in Spidey 3. I would guess Spidey 1 or Spidey 2, but not 3. It's just too new of a release, and they know a good percentage of new PS3 owners would probably buy Spidey 3 on Blu Ray seperately, even though it's the worst Spidey movie (from a quality standpoint) of the 3.


That's exactly why they would throw it in. They don't make that much in profit on the movies--if it can send someone on the fence to the checkout counter with a PS3, it's certainly worth the money to include it with the system.

Given Sony's recent bravado sales talk about being in the lead by next year, combined with recent sales numbers, you know they had to have something up their sleeves. This is a very credible rumor IMO.

MS better get the price of the 360 Premium down to $299 stat, or they're gonna find themselves in 3rd place behind Sony and Nintendo by 2009.

if true this would also make the cheapest and best blu-ray player to date. i don't think packing in spidey 3 is a good idea, not b/c of the movie itself, but b/c it's the 3rd installment of a series where the first 2 arent sold separately. currently only the trilogy and sm3 are announced, so those who get sm3 in the pack-in can't own the first 2 w/o rebuying the 3rd.

if true this would also make the cheapest and best blu-ray player to date. i don't think packing in spidey 3 is a good idea, not b/c of the movie itself, but b/c it's the 3rd installment of a series where the first 2 arent sold separately. currently only the trilogy and sm3 are announced, so those who get sm3 in the pack-in can't own the first 2 w/o rebuying the 3rd.

I don't see why they wouldn't release SM 1/2 on Blu-Ray individually as well. Even if they don't already have a release date, you can be sure they're coming.

http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News-67734.aspx

Copy the link posted under the updates section.

And according to the label (https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=838546&native_or_pdf=pdf) filed with the FCC it includes wi-fi as well:

http://pocketnews.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/09/12/070912_01.jpg

It seems it won't be gimped afterall.

This (http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/sony-signs-new-ps3-manufacturer-for-low+price-models-300217.php) could explain how Sony can afford these new cheaper ps3s:

A rather mundane report on the addition of Hon Hai Precision to the PLAYSTATION 3 supply chain contains some interesting rumors buried within. According to the oddly worded report, along with electronics manufacturer ASUSTeK, Hon Hai Precision (sometimes known as FoxConn) is reportedly working on planned "low-price models" of the Sony console in addition to the already price reduced PS3s on the market.

Could these be the rumored stripped-down versions of the PS3, speculated to drop as low as $399 by April of next year by Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter? You may remember Microsoft's Andre "Ozymandias" Vrignaud also betting on a "low-end $399 PS3 SKU coming this holiday."

If the rumors are true, it could certainly help Sony shift more than 130,000 PS3s a month. Wonder if we'll hear more at Tokyo Game Show next week.

I mean they have to do something to sell their console it wouldn't surprise me if it is true.

Given Sony's recent bravado sales talk about being in the lead by next year, combined with recent sales numbers, you know they had to have something up their sleeves. This is a very credible rumor IMO.

MS better get the price of the 360 Premium down to $299 stat, or they're gonna find themselves in 3rd place behind Sony and Nintendo by 2009.

I think that is a little farfetched, according the latest NPD results, the XB360 is once again outselling the PS3 at a 2:1 ratio and is the only console now seeing sales growth, even the Wii is seeing sales drop. With Halo 3 coming, the new price drop, and the Xmas line-up, I think the XB360 is poised to really leapfrog the PS3 and leave it in a position that makes it unable to get out of third place.

I think that is a little farfetched, according the latest NPD results, the XB360 is once again outselling the PS3 at a 2:1 ratio and is the only console now seeing sales growth, even the Wii is seeing sales drop. With Halo 3 coming, the new price drop, and the Xmas line-up, I think the XB360 is poised to really leapfrog the PS3 and leave it in a position that makes it unable to get out of third place.

It appears the madden price cut did have it's intended effect (the boost in 360 sales). The ps3 has a decent winter line up, so that's not as big a problem as the immediate Halo 3 threat IMO.

The ps3 has no real heavy hitters to counter it at this time. 2 highly anticipated games were released, lair & HS, with varying degrees of success (to put things lightly). Of course there are more than a few anticipated games coming out in october & november that the 360 doesn't have.

Although pretty far off from being released, IMO FF will be an important factor in the ps3's success, just as halo is important to the 360's success. If you look at the psp, they sold 78k psps on FF7CC release day & 350k copies of the game. I think it takes a few weeks to normally sell that many psps. Also, I believe it was FF7 that catapulted the ps1 past nintendo. Sony had better not lose it as an exclusive if they don't want to drop even further behind in the "console war" race.

I think the PS3 will remain a strong seller to hardcore gamers and those interested in its strong media abilities, but IMO its clear that the casual base that substained Sony's success in the past has left for MS and Nintendo's pasture. I think that games like FF13 and MGS4 will be big enough hits that the PS3 stays a strong seller and keeps its fanbase happy, but that third place is the only sales spot it will ever see.

It appears the madden price cut did have it's intended effect (the boost in 360 sales). The ps3 has a decent winter line up, so that's not as big a problem as the immediate Halo 3 threat IMO.

The ps3 has no real heavy hitters to counter it at this time. 2 highly anticipated games were released, lair & HS, with varying degrees of success (to put things lightly). Of course there are more than a few anticipated games coming out in october & november that the 360 doesn't have.

Although pretty far off from being released, IMO FF will be an important factor in the ps3's success, just as halo is important to the 360's success. If you look at the psp, they sold 78k psps on FF7CC release day & 350k copies of the game. I think it takes a few weeks to normally sell that many psps. Also, I believe it was FF7 that catapulted the ps1 past nintendo. Sony had better not lose it as an exclusive if they don't want to drop even further behind in the "console war" race.

Well Bioshock and the upcoming halo release is helping the 360 big time.

Its not that the PS3 has waned in sales since the price drop. Its that the 360 has increased in sales.

It appears the madden price cut did have it's intended effect (the boost in 360 sales). The ps3 has a decent winter line up, so that's not as big a problem as the immediate Halo 3 threat IMO.

The ps3 has no real heavy hitters to counter it at this time. 2 highly anticipated games were released, lair & HS, with varying degrees of success (to put things lightly). Of course there are more than a few anticipated games coming out in october & november that the 360 doesn't have.

Although pretty far off from being released, IMO FF will be an important factor in the ps3's success, just as halo is important to the 360's success. If you look at the psp, they sold 78k psps on FF7CC release day & 350k copies of the game. I think it takes a few weeks to normally sell that many psps. Also, I believe it was FF7 that catapulted the ps1 past nintendo. Sony had better not lose it as an exclusive if they don't want to drop even further behind in the "console war" race.

Don't forget Gran Turismo 5. That is the ps3's #1 title. Every Gran Turismo to date has outsold Halo 2, with Gran Turismo 3 almost doubling it in sales (14 mil. vs H2's 8.2 mil.). MGS4 and Tekken 6 will also be big sellers next year as well, as both series usually sell 4 mil. at least with each iteration.

People always talk of the 360 dominating this holiday season because of Halo 3, and that's a given, but they always leave out the fact that AFTER Halo 3, the 360 will have few, if any, "system sellers" left, except for Gears 2 and Banjo 3 in '09, which is when the ps3 will be getting other big games like God of War 3. NG2 is the only title from a major franchise hitting the 360 next year, and it traditional sells low because of its high difficulty. It caters primarily to the hardcore.

I think that in 2008, the ps3 will begin to outsell the 360 globally by quite a bit, due to a superior game selection.

In all fairness, Gran Turismo 3 was a pack-in, so high sells on it was expected. GT4 though sold only right at 8 million copies, which is very close to what Halo 2 sold. In perspective, what is actually a bigger more important series? One that sold 8 million units on a console with a userbase over 120 million, or one that sold that much on a console with a userbase of 30 million. People always forget to compare game sales to the number of consoles, that is where the real story is at.

In all fairness, Gran Turismo 3 was a pack-in, so high sells on it was expected. GT4 though sold only right at 8 million copies, which is very close to what Halo 2 sold. In perspective, what is actually a bigger more important series? One that sold 8 million units on a console with a userbase over 120 million, or one that sold that much on a console with a userbase of 30 million. People always forget to compare game sales to the number of consoles, that is where the real story is at.

Well, if you really want to get into the finer details, one could argue that Halo 2 had such a high attach rate because of the meager selection of titles for the Xbox, whereas GT4 managed to sell 8.8 mil. despite competing with the massive ps2 library.

It would be hard to prove things either way, which is why I just pointed out the overall sales. ;)