20GB PS3 no more in US

PS3 News | Sony cuts loose from budget model.

Only days after a selection of leading US retailers dropped it, Sony Computer Entertainment of America PR boss Dave Karraker has told Next-Gen that Sony is to discontinue its "budget" version of the PlayStation 3.

The console, which comes with a 20GB hard drive and costs US$499 (AU$605 / £252 / €370), has never truly appealed to consumers, with Karraker himself acknowledging that, "Consumer and retailer demand [...] favoured the [$599] 60GB model 10 to 1. This supports the notion that consumers are willing to pay more for advanced technology in a gaming console." An overwhelming statistic, for sure, and it's little wonder that the cheaper incarnation of Sony's console is being axed after less than six months on the market.

The lower-end PS3 has never been released in PAL territories, and no statement has been made on the future of the 20GB PS3 in Eastern markets. With Sony's American arm scrapping the model however, the future is not bright for the much-maligned console.

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10 Comments

renegadesx

5 years ago

This has been discussed and expected for a while. It has less to do with consumer demand and more on cost (of making the thing)

ugh the boot

5 years ago

No I think it has something to do with consumer demand...as they would be able to justify the cost of production if there was any.

The Brett

5 years ago

Completely understandable, in my opinion. Really, if you're going to spend $830 on a PS3, chances are you'd also manage to find an extra $170. Sony loses less money on that proposition. WiFi especially makes sense to me- obviously one of the big attributes in the future will be the PSP-PS3 connectivity, and I see PS3 selling alot of PSPs.

However, the existence of the Core 360 continues to baffle me. Not only has it **** up developers with the lack of a standard hard drive for THE ENTIRE GENERATION, but it's completely useless to the consumer. I'd be completely serious if I said, at my EB, that we've sold about 3 Core 360s since release, versus hundreds and hundreds of Premium 360s.

Crestfallen

5 years ago

The Brett wrote

However, the existence of the Core 360 continues to baffle me. Not only has it f*** up developers with the lack of a standard hard drive for THE ENTIRE GENERATION, but it's completely useless to the consumer. I'd be completely serious if I said, at my EB, that we've sold about 3 Core 360s since release, versus hundreds and hundreds of Premium 360s.

Thats one of the points that Insomniac's boss brought up in his blog.

Not knowing whether 360 owners have the HDD or not is a pain for developers.

Vervain

5 years ago

The Brett wrote

Completely understandable, in my opinion. Really, if you're going to spend $830 on a PS3, chances are you'd also manage to find an extra $170. Sony loses less money on that proposition. WiFi especially makes sense to me- obviously one of the big attributes in the future will be the PSP-PS3 connectivity, and I see PS3 selling alot of PSPs.

However, the existence of the Core 360 continues to baffle me. Not only has it f*** up developers with the lack of a standard hard drive for THE ENTIRE GENERATION, but it's completely useless to the consumer. I'd be completely serious if I said, at my EB, that we've sold about 3 Core 360s since release, versus hundreds and hundreds of Premium 360s.

I actually put a Core 360 on laybuy last week. Although I only payed $399 compared to $499 and I'm getting a hdd for $80 leaving me with $120 to spend on games or a controller and what-not. So in that way the Core 360 was worth it but it definitely ain't worth $499.

DancesInUnderwear

5 years ago

I have no figures or even anecdotal evidence to back it up, but it seems to me that Core 360 do sell rather well. Not as much as the Premiums, but enough.

Plus their existence could become very important if the Premium is dropped and the Elite stays at $750.

Karai Pantsu

5 years ago

crestfallen wrote

The Brett wrote

Thats one of the points that Insomniac's boss brought up in his blog.

Not knowing whether 360 owners have the HDD or not is a pain for developers.

Yep, MS really ballsed up on that one I think. They tried it too early in the XBOX and everyone had a cry that it needlessly bumped up price, so they took it out for the 360 and all the gamers cry out "Hey, no... we want that standard".

I'm not surprised that the 'core' PS3 is being dropped - it always seemed thoroughly pointless to me. You're buying a PS3 because you want a games/multimedia powerhouse - so why would you skimp on it for a gimped experience? It just never made any sense, really.

Edit: 'so they took it out for the 360 core' is what I meant.

The Brett

5 years ago

Having a hard drive as standard on the original Xbox was a master stroke, and Microsoft's real ace against Sony's console. However, this time around, with no standard hard drive and space-limiting DVD discs, you've got to wonder if they have the platform to achieve what they're trying to do, with HD content, XBox Live, ultra-high def and whatnot.

Karai Pantsu

5 years ago

The platform is still entirely viable for a 'true HD experience' I think, but it certainly means more work for devs having to accomodate those issues. Its a shame that MS can't just axe the Core.

NismoR34

5 years ago

While not directly related to this thread or what has been discussed so far, what I can't understand with Microsoft at the moment is why they are release Core bundles in Japan with their big-name RPG games (Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata - Trusty Bell in Japan). You would think that out of all the genres, the RPG one would be the one that needs a HDD purely because of how big the games are and therefore the amount of saving a player will do throughout the game. That I can't understand.

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