After months of slimmed down PS3 rumors, all has been revealed. And boy is it ugly. While the original PS3 enclosure is quite large (and shiny), sporting unique angles and curves, it’s got some charm. Sort of like Gehry’s Experience Music Project. But this PS3 Slim with textured matte surface reminds me of some old plastic outdoor furniture we used to have. Or maybe a Foreman grill knockoff. Which is why I found Engadget’s roof-top patio unboxing quite fitting.
Of course, the real news here is that Sony dropped the PS3’s entry level price by 25% to $300. For the next month while inventory is being cleared out, you’ll able to pick up the discounted prior low-end model… in all its piano black glory. Followed by the Slim replacing it on store shelves in September – with the loss of open platform support (think Linux), but a 50% increase in hard drive capacity to 120GB. I can’t say I’m a fan of the XMB or PlayStation online gaming network, but 300 bucks for a modern gaming console that also happens to be a capable Blu-ray player is very reasonable. However, I’m probably holding out for a refreshed Xbox 360 replacement which ditches that tractor trailer of a power brick.
Bizarre “up sell”, “upgrade” to people who already have a PS3, but would you recommend it as a BluRay player for someone who doesn’t have a PS3 or a BluRay player?
Was looking at stand alone BluRay players at WalMart yesterday – they are still really expensive.
Also, if memory serves, isn’t a form factor redesign a signal that a new console is one year away? PS4 = christmas 2010?
the slim ps3 is very tempting to me. i am very close to a samsung blu-ray but now i am thinking this will satisfy all of my needs plus more. i wish we had more concrete evidence of netflix streaming to ps3…
I don’t care if it is ugly, hehe, they finally cut the price down! I saw it is available at Amzon now.
Actually I like the look of the new design.
i bet it will grow on Dave and we will see a “i caved and bought a slim ps3” tweet before christmas
You may see me pick up a soon-t-o-be-discontinued shiny 80GB model for $300 with a bundled game and/or film. But I’ll probably pass and wait for the LG or Samsung networked Blu-ray players to drop in price. My gaming needs are mostly met by the Xbox 360. Although a Drake’s sequel might move me.
Agreed – U-G-L-Y!
jon – the Netflix deal is exclusive to Microsoft. I don’t know if its a timed exclusive or not but at least for the foreseeable future there will be no Netflix on the PS3.
I’m with you Dave, the pending Drake’s sequel will make non-PS3 owners a bit envious. I’ll be purchasing it day and date of release. Unfortunately, so far Drake’s Fortune is still the only exceptionally good PS3 exclusive out there and the sequel is looking even better. But then again, God of War 4 may change everything! ;) Can’t wait for both of them.
…Dale
I like the PS3 Slim’s design. Though there are downsides like you need to buy the mount and it won’t play PS2 games, I think it’s still cool. I heard Sony will be planning to launch a 250GB PS3 Slim too, I hope they do it fast before Aion Online is released in the market as well.
Dave have you already forgotten what the ps2 looked like? That was textured matte plastic too.
I think the ps3 looks fine with the different case, maybe they are trying to make it look like a ps2?
If anyone wants to know of a great PS3 exclusive, just look at Fat Princess. IMHO one of the best games of the year
I think it’s too “Square” looking. It should be more rectangular. I think they are trying to use cheap parts to cover the price cut.
If only the XBOX 360 could play Blue Ray’s, it would be a better choice. Right now I think the XBOX has better games, a nicer UI, media center extender ability, and more support. But the PS3 adds Blue Ray ability, so I don’t know which one to get. I don’t know how much I would own or rent a Blue Ray though. I do most of my movie watching via network distribution method (torrent downloads in H.264 720p or HD-VOD).
I dint like it that much… do to the fact that it’s not a ps2 compatible. so what’s the point of buying it… steel expencive.- can’t play ps2 games, same price as the old one, and not a good looking. so if build me something that can save me some money, maybe I buy it.
Too bad they didn’t make it something that can stack with other gear.
agreed ugly.. ps2 slim design was way better. I think if they added b/c compatibility to this sales would skyrocket.
I remember seeing that the newest 360s have a smaller brick due to the manufacturing process improvements. They’re keyed differently to keep older 360s from using them, too. And the elites are dropping in price to replace the pros within a month.
I’m just saying.
Price, price PRICE!!! Who cares about the price!!! If I were Sony I would rack that f*cker up to $799 for all of the bitch whining customers! Just SAVE your money! Duuuuh!
Listen: if you save $20 of your paycheck for “5” weeks then that equals 100. Save $20 for 10 weeks and you’ll have $200. Do the math and save $20 dollars for 30 weeks out of a year (there’s 52 weeks if you didn’t know) and you’ll have up to $600 bloody bucks. Now thats assuming if the original PS3 price stayed the same. But come on people, stop complaining about the PS3’s price.
Heck, why doesn’t anyone complain about the Wii’s price?!? That overpriced piece of sh*t is a F*CKEN rip off!!! Paying $249 for a flippin toy that has no hd compatibility????? Give me a break……
Consumers are so easily tricked. Well there’s one good thing Nintendo showed……how stupid and low minded many people are for buying that worthless crapload of f*ck!!!
The ps3 slim design is great. I don’t what the hell y’all are talking about it. The “fat” one always reminded me of “yo mama’s so fat…” jokes, like “your ps3 is so fat, it makes me want to buy an Xbox” (i won’t buy anything Microsoft unless I absolutely have to), which I almost did until I heard that the slim was coming out. I have it, it looks great, works great, and it doesn’t look like some shiny piece of sh*t plastic from 1986 like the “fat” one does.
I just bought a slim PS3 and traded in my older version. I must say it is a lot quiter than its predecessor, and it only cost me £10 after trade in! Mind you I did down size the hard drive
to 80GB :/. Meh, I’ll never need the space anyway haha. Cheers.