Since Microsoft made Sony’s 120-gigabyte PlayStation 3 hard drive seem puny by unleashing a 250gb slim model in June, Sony is stepping up with 160gb and 320gb models due out later this year.
The 160gb version, which PlayStation Blog says is shipping to stores now, sticks with the $300 price the 160gb model is rocking. The 320gb version, available Sept. 19, will cost $400 and include Sony’s upcoming Move motion controller that would cost $50 separately, the $40 camera required to make the controller work and a Wii Sports-ripoff game and a demo disc. The camera, Move controller and game will also be available in a $100 bundle.
If you don’t own a PS3, are either of these new versions enticing? If you bought a PS3 recently, are you bitter that you didn’t hold out longer?
Available This Fall: New PS3 System Models Featuring 160GB & 320GB Hard Drives [PlayStation Blog]
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I’m thinking of getting a PS3 at some point. The 160GB version sounds pretty appealing. The $400 version sounds like the best deal though, assuming the PS Move has games worth playing. Only time will tell really.
$100 difference for an extra 160GB?
You can get a 2TB drive for $100 these days.
You can even get Notebook (2.5″) 320GB drives (which is what I think the PS3 uses, is it not?) these days for under $50.
I’m a bit disappointed, Sony.
“$100 difference for an extra 160GB?“
From the blub above:
Thanks, GMFish – Reading Comprehension FTW. I read the it would cost ANOTHER $100 for that bundle, but after reading it again I see that it is indeed included in the 320GB bundle.
That might be worth it, if you want the motion controller & camera. (which I don’t). Wouldn’t mind the 320GB drive though.
The PS3 uses regular laptop hard drives (can’t recall if they’re IDE or STAT off the top of my head; I’m thinking SATA)… when I bought my PS3 last year I got the 80gig model and the day it was delivered I bought a 320gig hard drive and swapped it for the 80gig. I’m pretty sure there’s even instructions with the PS3 on how to swap the drives out. It took all of five minutes for the swap and maybe 10 to install the firmware and restore the data to the new drive.
They’re 2.5″ SATA drives. My PS3 upgrades go like this: I get a new hard drive for my laptop, the old one goes into the PS3.
“You can get a 2TB drive for $100 these days.”
Not in the form factor that will fit into a PS3, I don’t think.
i wish it wasnt $100 to get the move – i think it will be cool….but for an extra $100 bundle, and you know i will need more than one move controller…not gonna be cheap….i finally just got a 4th controller for party games – at $55 each, the ps3 is costing me alot of $$.
“If you bought a PS3 recently, are you bitter that you didn’t hold out longer?”
Why? I can pop any standard laptop hard drive in the one I already have.
My old 40GB is still among the most useful electronic devices I own. I put a 640GB hard drive in it, which at the time cost me like $60.
I feel no need for a newer one. But I might buy the Move bundle.
I have an older 4gb fat ps3 and never filled it up. I even store movies, music and pictures on it. I do delete older movies every now and then, but I never ran out of space..
Now I have a 120 gb Slim as well, but I also ran ethernet to my living room so I can stream movies from my PC (much better than trying to stream wireless over 100 ft through walls) so I don’t think the hdd space will be an issue at all.
Yay, more room for Yellow Dog Linux!
Now that’s just funny and so very wrong (mean) at the same time…
Who cares? Sony has had so many different SKUs with different hard drives options that It doesn’t really matter anymore. I just wish I could have gotten one of the original 60 gig PS3 with backwards compatibility with PS2 games.
This is the best idea for anyone wanting to buy a PS3.
That’s what we have. My husband purposefully bought one on ebay so he could get more backwards capability. And yet all his PS2 games still sit on the shelf. Maybe he shouldn’t have started graduate school if he ever wanted to actually complete one of his “shelf” games.
I’d rather they cut $30 off than increase the hard drive size. 120GB is plenty for most people, and it’s so easy and cheap to upgrade yourself anyway.
Given the increasing number of PSN titles (or, for 360 owners, XBLA titles), no, that’s nowhere even remotely approaching enough space.
If they want downloadable content to succeed, they need to start increasing HDD sizes at a rate at least *vaguely* approaching the rest of the world. You can find 500gb notebook drives for sub-$100 now.
OK, am I the only one who think that Move, like Kinect, will allow us the unbridled joy of playing Wii Sports with higher res graphics?
I’m… so excited…
Given that you can stick and off the shelf laptop HDD into a PS3 and it’ll work, if I ever outgrow my 120, upgrading should be really easy and cheap.
I’ve got 250 in mine (bought it in a bundle at best buy) and I’ve never had space problems. If I do, just like the other commenters point out, it’s easy enough to upgrade to a larger drive…. Unlike the Xbox 360.
I believe that is called the “embiggen” ray.
I got a slim at Christmas. I’m perfectly happy with it. If I really start feeling the space crunch (doubtful since I’ve already got an external drive hooked up to it with a couple dozen DVD rips) I can always buy a bigger drive and install it myself.
1. Nice job ignoring the fact a 250GB model currently exists along with the 120.
2. Just buy a 120 and wait for a Shellshocker on Newegg with a good deal on a 320/500/640 HDD.
3. Use any external HDD for media that you might want to store on your maxed out internal HDD.
Can the slim ps3s use sata2? When I upgraded my fat I had to set a jumper for sata1 compatability. It might be worth double checking any drive you buy for said jumper before purchasing
I got a PS3 a few months ago and no, I don’t wish I had waited. The enjoyment I’ve gotten from blu-ray movies and GoW III since I bought it is totally worth it. Plus, I doubt I’ll even fill up the 120 gb hard drive that I do have.
The XBox on the other hand….
Still cheaper to buy the smaller bundle and go buy a larger hard drive…
As others have noted, the premium for a larger hard-drive on the PS3 is silly considering how easy it is to swap out. However, I thought they already sold a 250gb model?
I have a “fat” 80gb model that I bought from a friend for $100, and swapped out the drive with a 320gb that I bought online for $60. It’s really easy and painless to swap out the drive, and as soon as I start seeing 1TB 2.5″ drives at a reasonable price, I’ll drop one of those in it and install my music library!
Make an updated PS3 that’s PS2 backwards compatable, Sony; then we’ll talk.