Sony America chief Jack Tretton has expressed his delight over the PlayStation 3’s recent success at retail following the introduction of the price cut and revamped Slim model. “Skyrocketing sales, couldn’t be happier with the numbers that we’re seeing, and I think proof that there was tremendous consumer demand, they were just waiting for the price-point to come down,” Tretton told Forbes.
Following heaps of speculation over the past few weeks, Sony UK has officially unveiled plans to release a series of 250GB PlayStation 3 bundles in the region. Kicking off on October 1, punters will be able to fork out £284.99 GBP for a bundle containing a choice of two Platinum Hits or a copy of the PS3 exclusive superhero outing, inFamous. Things get a little more exciting from October 16, though, when the bundle initiative is expanded to include Naughty Dog’s hotly anticipated sequel, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
Over the last few weeks the PS3 Slim has provent to be a hit, but hopefully Final Fantasy fans haven’t already purchased one. Sony has a special white and pink edition, called Lightning Edition, coming that will honor the franchise. Plus, it will come rocking a 250GB HDD. So far the special edition is only announced for Japan though. It’s slated to be released on December 17 for ¥41,600 (approx £280 / $460).
If you live in Europe, a rumor has been circulating about a new PlayStation 3 Slim model. According to NowGamer, the much-talked about 250GB PS3 Slim model will be coming out as soon as next week. No specific date was given out, but the retail source seems to indicate that this release is no coincidence as news also came out that the new Xbox 360 “Super Elite” will be coming out with bundles.
If you currently own a older PlayStation 3 model and are thinking of moving to the new PS3 Slim, there are a few things you should know. There are some advantages and disadvantages with the new console, though it depends on how you intend to use it. Firstly, the new model is obviously smaller and lighter than the older models and it’s also more energy efficient, saving you some money on your electricity bill if you are a regular gamer. There are also other issues to consider.
According to VGChartz’s preliminary data, the PlayStation 3 Slim sold around half a million units in the first week, which is a 400% increase week on week. In Europe, some regions saw as much as a tenfold increase in PS3 sales, and over 200,000 units were sold in “other regions” (Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia etc) according to their preliminary data. In Japan, reports have already been independently confirmed from Famitsu magazine of over 150,000 units sold – twice as much as the previous best week for PS3.
There have been a lot of comparison videos surfacing this week testing the loading speeds between the old PS3 and the new PS3 Slim. It’s pretty clear that the PS3 Slim is faster than the older model, and it’s not just because of the new Cell CPU. Other reasons include the updated Blu-Ray drive in the PS3 Slim and better hard disk performance. EuroGamer did some extensive tests to see how fast the PS3 Slim exactly is.
As you may already know, OtherOS support on the PlayStation 3 is being dropped by Sony when the PS3 Slim launches on September 1st. The OtherOS option allows PS3 owners to install various version of Linux on their consoles and use it like a PC. All older PS3 models will continue to support OtherOS for the foreseeable future. According to Sony, the main reason for dropping OtherOS is cost.
Earlier this week we featured an article with some Japanese adverts for the PS3 Slim. Today, SCEA unveiled some more adverts targeted at the US market. The new ad campaign uses the tagline “It Only Does Everything” and we have two of the adverts to show you below. The new adverts launch on 1st September, when the PS3 Slim hits stores in Europe and North America.
Thinking about getting the new PS3 Slim next week? The guys over at iFixIt tore apart the PS3 Slim screw by screw to see what the new console had under the hood. Of course, disassembling your PS3 instantly voids the manufacturers warranty (if you still have a valid one) so you wouldn’t want to try this at home. Instead, watch the video below.
