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Radioactive IT 80GB PlayStation 3, why?
Radioactive IT 80GB PlayStation 3, why? | 80GB PlayStation 3, why? |
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| by Mike Bantick | |
| Friday, 30 March 2007 | |
  
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In an email to Next-gen, a Sony PR rep makes a veiled denial of the proposed 80GB model; "As mentioned when we made the product announcement for PS3, the system will have different configurations (thus, 60GB HDD with memory card slots and Wi-Fi and 20GB HDD without memory card slots or Wi-Fi both exist). Application to the FCC has been made with various possibilities in mind, however, it does not lead to a new pro duct announcement at this time." Okay that does not “down-play” anything as such, and still leaves open the possibility of the 80GB model emerging from the dust of this current gaming console war. But why? Why bother to produce this product? The obvious reason is in reaction to the recent Black Xbox 360 Elite, the one with the 120GB drive to help Microsoftettes download their new HD television and movies to. If that was the case, then why not at least match the Xbox offering with a similar or larger Hard Disk size? The answer is that this just is not necessary. We already know that the HDD provided with the PlayStation 3 is a non-propriety system, meaning it can pretty well be replaced with a small amount of work. Furthermore, any USB2 drive can be plugged into the front ports to be used for storing media from the PS3. This gives the customers interested in this type of content a surprising amount of flexibility already with the current SKU’s. Surprising because, at least in the PAL regions now, there is only the choice of a 60GB HD Wi-Fi enabled PS3. Those that purchasing a PS3 for gaming exclusively are forced to buy a large HDD, Wi-FI connection as well as a Blu-ray optical drive that (apart from the fact Blu-ray is the format of the games they are buying) they may not have a need or want for. Microsoft at least give you options during the purchase process. Do I need a Hi-Def drive? Okay throw in a HD-DVD player. Do I want WI-Fi? Okay whack in an adapter. But when it comes to storage, Sony is king now with the flexibility the PS3 offers. It is not complete freedom to do what you want on the home media front, but it is still more than enough to not justify introducing an 80GB model. If an 80GB model does hit the market, this will simply be a win by the Sony marketing team over the technologists. Am I missing something? Personally, I doubt it will happen. {moscomment} |
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