Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Sony Launching 40 GB PS3 in Europe

By

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has announced it will begin shipping a new 40 GB version of its PlayStation 3 gaming console in Europe beginning October 19 for €399. For nearly a year, Sony has been struggling to make its high-priced, Blu-ray equipped PlayStation 3 gaming console attractive to consumers; the company clearly hopes that by offering a lower-capacity version of the system at a more attractive price point, it may spur holiday-season buying and improve the system’s market share relatively to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s phenomenally successful Wii.

"The introduction of the 40GB model has been the result of extensive research into the entertainment needs and preferences of the next generation of PS3 owners," said SCEE president David Reeves, in a statement. "PS3 has always been the device of choice for the discerning gamer and entertainment seeker, and the new 40GB model is more than ever the perfect High Definition entertainment system."

Recommended Videos

The new 40 GB edition of the PlayStation 3 will include a Blu-ray disc drive, a wireless Sixaxis controller, Wi-Fi wireless networking, and HDMI connectivity. The new configuration lacks the memory card reader found on earlier PS3 models, and reduces the number of USB 2.0 ports from four to two.

Related

Perhaps more significantly, the new edition of the PlayStation 3 is not compatible with any PlayStation 2 titles. PlayStation 2 compatibility has been a thorn in the side for Sony since the PS3’s introduction: original PS3s included hardware to provide PS2 compatibility. As Sony tried to reduce PS3 production costs, portions of that hardware were gradually replaced by software emulation, making the units less compatible with previous PS2 titles. Now, Sony is giving up entirely on PS2 compatibility in the PlayStation 3: PS3 owners will have to content themselves with playing only PS3 titles, which Sony says will number 65 by Christmas of 2007.

Sony says the decision to drop PS2 compatibility came from feedback from "later purchasers" of the PlayStation 3, who placed less importance on PS2 compatibility than on other features.

Sony also plans to fire-sale its existing stock of 60 GB PS3 units, offering a Value Pack of a 60 GB PS3 (with software-emulated PS2 compatibility) with two first party game titles for €499 "while supplies last." Once the 60 GB editions are gone, only the 40 GB PS3 will be available in SCEE countries.

There’s no word yet on when (or if) the 40 GB PlayStation 3 will launch in North American or Japanese markets—but given the PlayStation 3’s market position in both countries, industry watchers seem to agree the 40 GB PlayStation 3 are bound for markets other than Europe very soon.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Geoff Duncan
Geoff Duncan
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…
All upcoming PS5 games: 2024 and beyond
Shadow of erdtree

The PlayStation 5 has been out for some time now, and its reception has been mostly positive. It includes lots of quality-of-life improvements over its predecessor, the PlayStation 4, such as faster load times, a solid-state drive (SSD) instead of a regular hard disk drive (HDD), and an improved controller in the form of the new DualSense. However, a console is only as good as the games available on it, and thankfully, the PS5 has you covered on that front as well.

While the machine already has a worthy library of great PS5 games, there are even more to look forward to, with some releasing as soon as this month, while others are still years away. In the video game world, it's not uncommon to be aware of games that are still several years out from release. It's also normal for a new game to be revealed and launched within just a couple of months. In this comprehensive list, we'll go through the major PS5 releases scheduled for 2023 and speculate on future games.

Read more
Don’t miss this massive PS5 game sale — 68 games, from just $10
Malenia in Elden Ring putting her prosthetic arm on.

PlayStation 5 owners who are looking for the next game to play or are searching for titles to add to their collection should check out the offers in Best Buy's PS5 game sale. With games that span across all genres and prices that start at $10, you wouldn't want to miss the bargains here, and we've picked out our favorites to help you make a quick decision on what to buy. Feel free to browse through the dozens of PS5 games that are available in the sale, but you'll still have to act fast because there's no telling until when these discounts will stay online.

What to buy in Best Buy's PS5 game sale

Read more
All cross-platform games (PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)
Two squads of heroes clash in an Overwatch 2 trailer.

Cross-platform support is becoming more important in the world of video games. Multiplayer hits like Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and Fortnite have pushed crossplay into the limelight, and now most AAA multiplayer games release with at least partial cross-platform support. Finding every cross-platform game is no easy feat, though, so we did the hard work to bring you a comprehensive list of games that support crossplay.

Unfortunately, there aren't any rules when it comes to crossplay, so each game handles the feature a little differently. To make matters more confusing, certain backward-compatible games on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X still support crossplay on the most recent hardware, even if there isn't an official release for that hardware.

Read more