Sony Announces 160GB and 320GB PS3s

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Edited By BradNicholson

Sony announced two additional PS3 models at its Gamescom presentation in Cologne and later confirmed stateside releases on its official blog. The first PS3 configuration announced was a $300 160GB slim model, which seems like a sure bet to replace the standard 120GB model on store shelves now. The second was a $400 320GB slim bundle that includes a Move wand, a PS Eye, a standard controller, the mini-game collection Sports Champions, and a demo disc.
 

 The Sports Champion Bundle.
 The Sports Champion Bundle.
 
Neither new configuration is a surprise. The 160GB model was leaked by online retailers just minutes before the announcement. White variants of the 320GB models have been available in Japan since July. 

According to Sony, the roomier 160GB models are being shipped nationwide now. The Move bundle will make its way to US stores on September 19. Europe will get the former in October for 300 Euros, the latter on September 15 for 350 Euros, according to Joystiq.
 

The new 160GB configuration. 
The new 160GB configuration. 

Until the 320GB slim is yanked from its bundle and sold as a stand-alone unit, the highest capacity PS3 stand-alone configuration is the $350 250GB model. It should be noted that you can actually upgrade PS3 hard drives on your own and save some cash (provided that the latest firmware isn't broken.) All you need is a Phillips screwdriver, a flash drive for backups, and knowledge of what some XMB actually options do.
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#1  Edited By BradNicholson

Sony announced two additional PS3 models at its Gamescom presentation in Cologne and later confirmed stateside releases on its official blog. The first PS3 configuration announced was a $300 160GB slim model, which seems like a sure bet to replace the standard 120GB model on store shelves now. The second was a $400 320GB slim bundle that includes a Move wand, a PS Eye, a standard controller, the mini-game collection Sports Champions, and a demo disc.
 

 The Sports Champion Bundle.
 The Sports Champion Bundle.
 
Neither new configuration is a surprise. The 160GB model was leaked by online retailers just minutes before the announcement. White variants of the 320GB models have been available in Japan since July. 

According to Sony, the roomier 160GB models are being shipped nationwide now. The Move bundle will make its way to US stores on September 19. Europe will get the former in October for 300 Euros, the latter on September 15 for 350 Euros, according to Joystiq.
 

The new 160GB configuration. 
The new 160GB configuration. 

Until the 320GB slim is yanked from its bundle and sold as a stand-alone unit, the highest capacity PS3 stand-alone configuration is the $350 250GB model. It should be noted that you can actually upgrade PS3 hard drives on your own and save some cash (provided that the latest firmware isn't broken.) All you need is a Phillips screwdriver, a flash drive for backups, and knowledge of what some XMB actually options do.
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felixculpa

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#2  Edited By felixculpa

YAya!
 
Phew finally got it, got second twice yesterday.

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nohthink

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#3  Edited By nohthink

I stick a 250 gig hard drive to my fat ps3 long time ago. Don't really need it lol

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Kagamine

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#4  Edited By Kagamine

DO NOT WANT!!
 
Edit - I mean, I wouldn't really like to buy that. What does one need 320 gigs for?

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Levio

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#5  Edited By Levio

Pssh 320 gb?  A real gamer needs 3.2 TB.
 
No really, they do....

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Nadafinga

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#6  Edited By Nadafinga

I've had a 320GB PS3 for a year and a half now.... :)

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CyleMoore

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#7  Edited By CyleMoore

Hope they discount the 120GB's then, I need a new one!

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artelinarose

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#8  Edited By artelinarose

That's great and all, but if they're not backwards compatible it really doesn't make a difference to me. Yeah, it's 2010. But I'm not over some of those awesome PS2 games.

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PjotrLeschenko

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#9  Edited By PjotrLeschenko

have 250GB for a long time, don't care for that stuff

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PhilESkyline

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#10  Edited By PhilESkyline

Sony just give us the 500 GB and 1TB system and be done with it. We're all adults here lol.

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#11  Edited By Mr_Ahh
@Kagamine: divx.
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deactivated-5eecdd1d4617f

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There only doing it to advertise netflix and for people to get the playstation move on a better deal. Most people though who will buy the move already own a ps3.

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Kagamine

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#13  Edited By Kagamine
@Mr_Ahh:  ey?
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MisterMouse

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#14  Edited By MisterMouse

wow sounds like the $400 price tag is pretty good compared to the $300 one...

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radioactivez0r

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#15  Edited By radioactivez0r

"... and knowledge of what some XMB actually options do "?  Methinks thou hast mistakenly mixed up some word placement.  I'm still sitting on a 80GB I think, and haven't made any attempts to fill it.  Though I could certainly pile my mp3s on there, if the music interface is any good.

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roughplague

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#16  Edited By roughplague

who needs so much space, that would last me a lifetime O.o

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HayFourZee

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#17  Edited By HayFourZee

Is this much space really necessary.

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Djeffers03

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#18  Edited By Djeffers03

They should include the movement controller as part of the bundle.

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Jayzilla

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#19  Edited By Jayzilla
@Djeffers03 said:
" They should include the movement controller as part of the bundle. "
i agree. why wouldn't they? these types of things will hurt the starting push for these motion controllers.
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MormonWarrior

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#20  Edited By MormonWarrior

 I don't understand what would fill up your capacity on the PS3. On the 360 you can install your games, and that fills it up QUICK. I suppose there's partial installs on the PS3 quite often, so that makes sense.

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Ujio

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#21  Edited By Ujio

All these SKU iterations are stupid since it's so easy to replace the HD on your own. I got a 500GB HD for less than $100 and replaced my factory 80GB HD this past year. I guess if you don't already own a PS3 these bundles are a deal, but if you already own one and thinking about buying one of these simply for the "larger" HD you're an idiot.

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Zounds

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#22  Edited By Zounds

I think I will buy this bundle.

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SleepyDoughnut

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#23  Edited By SleepyDoughnut

Man, sucks for all the people who payed $500 for the 20 gig at launch eh?

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meteora

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#24  Edited By meteora

This is stupid. People can just replace the HDD with one you buy online or something.
 
Ah well.

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#25  Edited By Binman88

This has nothing to do really with the article, but I needed to vent. I can't fucking stand commenters on articles and posters in the forums talking about SKUs to sound like they know shit. Really annoying.  
 
Also, I don't need a larger HD. I have a 250GB one that I doubt has surpassed 50 gigs yet in almost a year of ownership.  
 
As you were folks.

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Neuhaus

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#26  Edited By Neuhaus

It's cheaper to just buy another hard drive for your current playstation lol.

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Afroman269

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#27  Edited By Afroman269

Still don't get why they keep blowing up the HDD space lol. I'm still content with my 80 gig. Expect to see MS announce a 500 gig soon.

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Bruce

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#28  Edited By Bruce

Kinda weird that this thread has more comments than views.

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Piranesi

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#29  Edited By Piranesi

Thanks Sony, but I'm happy with my 320GB, 4 USB, backwards-compatible fatboy. 
 
If you want to make money, stop making such high quality products that rarely fail and can be easily upgraded. I still have a working Walkman for goodness sake!
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#30  Edited By iam3green

cool i guess. i'm happy with my 80 gig ps3 that i have. if i need room i am just going to buy a new hard drive. i'm still waiting for sony to release a backward compatible ps3. i don't think they are going to release one anytime soon as they are remaking ps2 games. i just think they should be making backward compatible.

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sins_of_mosin

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#31  Edited By sins_of_mosin

Not the $200 sku I'm waiting for.

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xyzygy

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#32  Edited By xyzygy

OMG 320 GB? Jesus. That's a little overkill there. If you wanna go big, why not just buy a larger external one?

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#33  Edited By Branthog
@roughplague said:
" who needs so much space, that would last me a lifetime O.o "
Considering my media server is 30 terabytes, a 320gb PS3 is nothing. I'm surprised you can even find 320gb drives in this day and age, since a 1tb 2.5" drive is around $100 retail. For the PS3 to be taken seriously as any sort of media center (other than a media CLIENT to connect to your media server), it needs to have a lot more space by default, easily extend, and possibly have multiple drives or a multiple drive attachment for redundancy (because I'm certainly not keeping my entire collection on a system with one fail point).
 
That Sony and Microsoft are acting like 250-320gb is some whopping huge amount of story is really sad in this day and age. Especially when games are enormous and a 720p bluray rip is several gigs (and 1080p rip, even more).
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#34  Edited By Branthog
@MormonWarrior said:
"  I don't understand what would fill up your capacity on the PS3. On the 360 you can install your games, and that fills it up QUICK. I suppose there's partial installs on the PS3 quite often, so that makes sense. "
Erm. All of your media, for one?
 
The problem is that 320gb doesn't store jack shit. In my instance, I have a media server with 30 terabytes and my PS3s around the house act as clients, streaming from the open source PS3 Media Server application. If the PS3 could somehow provide all of the storage needed for your media, that would be incredible. Even if it was up to you to buy the additional components. It's certainly what Sony keeps hinting at their console being "a media center". Instead, it just has enough space for things to be stored temporarily, if you need it. It's enough for gaming, but hardly enough for storing your video collection. Hell, for a lot of people I know (and myself), it's barely enough to store our music collection.
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MormonWarrior

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#35  Edited By MormonWarrior
@Branthog:
Huh. I have no idea how any of that media server stuff works or why I would like to do it. All of the music I own is about 5GB (my 8GB iPod nano holds it all - I can't imagine filling it with stuff I actually like listening to) and I have maybe ten movies. My parents have a lot more, but I don't understand the need/desire to make it all digital. I can grab a disc off the shelf and stick it in just fine. I'm fine with leaving everything else to my PC. I can install all my 360 games on my 120GB hard drive just fine too, although it takes up all the space.
 
Seems like a niche issue. It plays Blu-rays, and streaming from other sources usually reduces quality so I don't see the point. I like my physical media.
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#36  Edited By Branthog
@MormonWarrior: 
I don't really have the storage space for five or ten thousand DVDs (not to mention, dealing with format changes, etc) and no inclination to deal with managing physical media on that scale. And you can stream full 1080p content with 5.1/7.1 audio on a standard home network with absolutely no problem. However, if you had a storage solution with the PS3, you wouldn't even have to deal with the streaming.
 
The point is that Microsoft and Sony (especially Sony, who has a larger product based built all around media) are promoting their devices as home media centers and then they cripple them with ridiculously small hard drives. Does everyone need a terabyte or two in their consoles right now? Does everyone need some sort of simple expandable storage solution (and a non-proprietary one, at that) right now? Definitely not. But as incredibly cheap as hard drives are, why would you be rolling out 250gb like it was some amazing new innovation?
 
This will be especially vital to their long term plans, since BluRay isn't really catching on and before it does, HD digital content delivery will be surpassing it.
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#37  Edited By roughplague
@Branthog: 
you're probably right, I still think it's way more than what I would need though =P
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#38  Edited By dichemstys

Son of a bitch, I just bought one.

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#39  Edited By MormonWarrior
@Branthog:  Ah. I get your point. Huge hard drives are extremely cheap to find - replacing the PS3 hard drive with a Western Digital 640GB is like ninety bucks with free shipping on Amazon. I don't understand all the different SKUs they've got going on. The Xbox 360 isn't even compatible with other hard drives, except for 16GB max on a flash drive.