Sony Confirms $399 PlayStation 3 for U.S.

By Nick Mokey Published October 17, 2007

Sony Confirms $399 PlayStation 3 for U.S.

After Sony introduced a 40GB PlayStation 3 In Japan last week and slashed prices on the 80GB model, rumors swirled that the same would soon happen in North America. Sony confirmed those rumors on Thursday by announcing that a 40GB version of the PS3 would sell for $399 when it hits U.S. shores on November 2, and also that the price for the 80GB version would drop to $499 immediately.

"We’re pleased to offer the consumer a lower price point without sacrificing the core technology components that make PS3 the most advanced high-definition entertainment system available," said Jack Tretton, Sony Computer Entertainment America’s president and CEO, in a statement.

Recommended Videos

While the 40GB version of the PS3 will be identical to its brothers in most respects, Sony crippled the backwards compatibility found in the original system, meaning owners will no longer be able to play their PS2 games. The more expensive 80GB version will retain this capability.

Editor in Chief

As Digital Trends’ Editor in Chief, Nick Mokey oversees an editorial team covering every gadget under the sun, along with…

Gaming

PS6: everything we know about the PlayStation 6 so far

A PS5 DualSense controller.

It sounds like we're going to learn more about a next-generation PlayStation sooner rather than later.

In early 2024, Sony Senior Vice President Naomi Matsuoka told Bloomberg the following: "Looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle." While she didn't outright say that a PlayStation 6 is in the works, we can assume that the company is already looking ahead at its next console.

Gaming

Concord didn’t fail PlayStation. PlayStation failed Concord

A character wields a rocket launcher in Concord.

Ever since its disastrous launch, there’s a lot of discussion about how Concord failed for PlayStation. It's a fair conversation, but it's not the only one that needs to be had in order to understand how we got here. We can't ignore how PlayStation failed Concord and its developers.

Tuesday afternoon, Hermen Hulst announced that Concord, which was shut down two weeks after its launch earlier this summer, would not be coming back. On top of that, he explained that Sony was shutting down Concord developer Firewalk Studios and mobile game developer Neon Koi. He cites the move as “part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen SIE’s Studio Business.”

Gaming

Games preservation dealt a huge blow by U.S. Copyright Office

Mario on an iPhone via an emulator.

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) will not grant an exemption for video games in terms of preservation, the U.S. Copyright Office announced last week, showing that we still have a long way to go in helping people to experience classic titles that might not be available to play anywhere.

The Software Preservation Network, along with the Video Game History Foundation, filed a petition to expand DMCA exemptions for software like video games. This specific effort was to provide an easier way to access games through remote means that might otherwise be protected under the DMCA for the purposes of research and other academic purposes.