Mike Bantick
Thursday, 20 August 2009 08:04
Opinion and Analysis
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The PlayStation 3 Slim has arrived. It is smaller, cheaper, and quieter using less power in the process. Is this the product that returns Sony to the top of the gaming heap?
If you speak to any Sony representative they will invariably drop in a line or two about the PS3 being a work in progress.
This generation the PS3 has seen a metamorphous from the original 20/60GB HDD, 4 USB connections, no rumble, PS2 backwards compatible, flash card reader equipped, alternate OS, expensive model on launch (November 2006 in Japan) to the trimmer model about to hit the market early next month.
Along this journey, whilst the shell has remained shiny, big and black, the internals have altered. Hard disk drive sizes have changed, USB connections and flash card readers have dropped away, backwards compatibility has gone, but rumble has returned to the controller and generally (apart from one or two minor shifts) the feeling has been that “for a gaming console” the retail price was rather steep.
Sony would always counter with the fact that you were getting a sophisticated piece of hardware for your bucks. A machine sporting built in Wi-Fi, changeable HDD, the power of Cell processors and of course the convenience of a high definition video disc format with Blu-Ray.
Consumers struggled to see the perceived value, and as a gaming platform, whilst keeping its head above water, the PlayStation 3 platform – when compared to its peers – has struggled to make a profit for Sony.
Much of this is simply due to cost of hardware, the PS3 being a loss leader on every sale with the not unusual expectation of getting a return on software sales.
Whilst the install base of PS3’s ultimately turned the tide in the high-def disc format battle with Toshiba and HD-DVD, I am certain those aforementioned Sony reps would love to have more PS3’s in homes right today.
Enter the
PlayStation 3 Slim , sporting a new form factor, cheaper construction process and – most importantly – a trimmer retail price.
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