Sony's keynote presentation at TGS (not with Tracy Jordan) this morning revealed the new, slimline and lower-cost PS3 - a product broadly suspected, and pretty much confirmed from the moment Sony started inviting European and American journalists over to Japan for the Tokyo Game Show.
By the time a retailer accidentally put the new models on its site early, the cat was largely, conceptually, out of the bag. However, the full announcement has some interesting elements.
The new-look PS3 will cut the current model down to size. At 50% the size of the original "Kutaragi's doorstop" model, and 25% smaller than the current PS3 Slim, it will fit neatly under most TVs. It has retained Blu-Ray capability and Internet connectively, obviously, and an optical audio out, so is still a credibly cheap media player stand-in.
Those who like to throw their games consoles will be pleased to hear that weight, perhaps the least relevant statistic for consumers but vital for stock shipment managers, is down to 4.63lbs (2.1 kilos for the Europeans), from 7. Gone, alas, is the classy slot-loading disc drive, replaced by a mechanical cover.
The relative cheapness of hard drive space means the the 320 and 160GB price points will be upgraded to 500GB and 250GB respectively.
Holiday rumble...
Sony has followed Nintendo, it seems, in releasing a lower-tier model that few will see as worth the saving - the 250GB model will retail for around $30 less than the 500GB, at $269 and $299 respectively. And, of course, the 500GB also serves Sony's purposes by providing plenty of space for digital purchases - perhaps Columbia Pictures' The Amazing Spider-Man or Total Recall?
Where things get really interesting is Europe, which is getting a 12GB flash memory-based PS3 instead of the 250GB version (expandable with an external hard drive, on sale for €89.99, which will apparently make the flash storage inaccessible). This is possibly best thought of as a very big Experia phone with no screen and a one-second battery life, with the option to upgrade to a full PS3 experience. I kid. Somewhat.
However, as the next generation of consoles from Sony and Microsoft remain obdurately in their blocks, this move makes sense - the parts required to make the PlayStation are getting older and cheaper, and heat management is getting better. Also, the set of core gamers who do not currently own a PlayStation 3 but are interested in buying one now, at the end of the console cycle, is shrinking fast. A new market - for example, for those looking for a streaming video box which will also let their young children pretend to be wizards - is a logical target for this holiday period.
The PS3s will come in various bundles - the default 500GB version will ship with FIFA13, Assassin's Creed 3 or Harry Potter: Book of Spells, alongside the Sony Wonderbook "paperipheral". Euro prices are set at €299.99 for the 500GB and €229.99 for the 12GB.
UK pricing is not set by producers but retailers, but the RRP will probably translate to £269.99 and £199.99, with offer prices being around £250 and £185. Which will, of course, put the low-cost PS3 into direct price competition with the Wii U over the holidays.
Mobile and downloads
Mobile got some attention with the announcement - again heavily trailed - that PlayStation Plus, Sony's premium subscription service, will be coming to PlayStation Vita in November, free for those who have it on the PS3 and $49.99/€49.99 per year otherwise. The venerable PSP received a price drop, and interestingly, two games - Toukiden and God Eater 2 - were announced for both the PS Vita and the PSP. For those who felt they do not eat enough gods on the move, 2013 will be a banner year, clearly.
The new(ish) hardware will be accompanied by a wave of "PS3 Essentials"- classic games on sale for €19.99 (physical) and €14.99 (digital). This is probably a smart move, as it takes older properties and sells them for a price competitive with pre-owned wares. Leading PS3 Essentials titles include Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Infamous, Far Cry 2 and the Assassin's Creed series up to Brotherhood - a tempting opportunity to get up to speed in time for the latest chapter.
The 250GB PS3 will be released on September 25 in the US, with the 250GB version arriving in a bundle with Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception on October 30, rather demonstrating Sony's mercantile priorities. Europe will get the 500GB model on September 28, with the 12GB model will follow in Europe on October 12.
A white model will be released in Japan on October 22. There are no plans announced for a worldwide roll-out, so those who want their games console to match their phones should get a black iPhone 5, and also ask yourselves some serious questions about your values. There are also two Japan-exclusive color variants of the PlayStation Vita, for which see previous comments re: values.
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