UK PS3 drops price, 40GB finally official

Sony makes two big announcements for its UK customers in a pre-Christmas bid to boost PS3 sales; revised hardware loses PS2 backwards compatibility.

One of the worst kept secrets in the games industry has finally been officially announced. After a flurry of rumours and leaks that a new 40GB SKU of the PlayStation 3 would be coming, Sony has finally confirmed the speculation is, in fact, no longer speculation.

The new 40GB version will debut in the UK on October 10 and is "no longer backwards compatible with PlayStation 2 titles," according to Sony. It will also only sport two USB slots instead of four and will ditch the multimemory card port--although this can be added on with an accessory. The 40GB version will go on sale at a price point of £299 (about $610).

The 40GB PS3 in the wild.

In a statement, Sony said of the lack of backwards compatibility that it reflected, "both the reduced emphasis placed on this feature amongst later purchasers of PS3, as well as the availability of a more extensive lineup of PS3-specific titles."

When asked about PSOne games, Sony told GameSpot, "the backwards compatibility of PSOne titles is achieved through software and the vast majority of PSOne titles are backwards compatible with the new PS3." Sony did not return calls to comment by press time on why PlayStation 2 compatibility--which has always been handled with software in European PS3s--could not be achieved with the new model as well.

That's not all UK Sony fans are getting for the holidays. Sony also announced a price drop on the standard 60GB version, which will continue to be sold alongside the new model. The current Starter Pack, which boasted a 60GB PS3, two first-party games, and two Sixaxis controllers, will be discontinued.

It will be replaced by the new Value Pack, which will feature a backwards compatible 60GB PS3, one Sixaxis wireless controller, two first-party titles, and will cost £349 (about $712)--a £76 (about $155) price drop from the current price of £425 (about $868).

"As we approach our very first PlayStation Christmas, it is satisfying to be able to offer UK consumers the choice of two PlayStation 3 packages both now representing remarkable value," commented Ray Maguire, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment UK.

790 Comments

  • theKSMM

    Posted Jan 10, 2008 7:46 am GMT

    If Sony really wants people to forget about PS2 compatibility, they really gotta make sure those PS3 games are in place for all their potential customers. Using your savings on the PS3 to buy a PS2 alongside it just isn't realistic.

  • fleshsniper1

    Posted Dec 22, 2007 2:54 am GMT

    playstation has always been the master, but this time with ps3, the price and delays and other issues has lost to PC and WII, and alot of its fan. most going to WII and PC while the cheapsakes go for booger xbox

  • daveb1978

    Posted Oct 30, 2007 6:11 am GMT

    Still not really interested. Nothing on offer to make me buy one - no games (that are worth playing) that I can't get on other systems. Blu-ray? Big deal.

  • BlueyesCyclone

    Posted Oct 21, 2007 6:14 am GMT

    The ps3 Finally gets a Price cut and people are still Complaneing and its a good price cut to when it comes to PS2 games sony will proberly sometime next year sale them on the PS Store. Who cares if u can't play ps2 games on the PS3 anyway most of you all still have ur PS2.

    And to people that keep saying that the only good games that will make people want a PS3 is Colin McRae: DiRT ,The Darkness,Def Jam: Icon , Dynasty Warriors 6, Dynasty Warriors: Gundam , The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, The Eye of Judgment ,F.E.A.R., Rigde Racer 7, Armored Core 4, FIFA 08, Fight Night Round 3 , The Godfather: The Don's Edition, GT HD, Blast Factory, Star Dust HD, Loco Roco Cocoreccho, Heavenly Sword, Lair, Tekken 5 DR, Resistance: Full of Man, Hot Shots Golf 5, Folklore, MotorStorm, NBA 07, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Boku no Natsu Yasumi 3. And the list goes on and don't forget the line up coming up for the next 2 months and 2008 and onwards.

  • Lazy_Marine

    Posted Oct 14, 2007 2:09 am GMT

    Agreed, they keep changing the specs around, over here they are selling different packs with different addon games all with different prices! It is only confusing the consumers. And i can see that they are desperate since all retailers are selling it lower than Sony's official pricing. This Gen of consoles is the worst, x360 is starting to get outdated already, wii is just GC with new ctrl tech, and ps3 is lacking games and sony screwed up its selling structure.

  • wakko19991

    Posted Oct 13, 2007 6:03 am GMT

    all these changes to the configuration is getting on my last nerve. It's getting hard to keep up with this crap... after while you won't know what the heck your 360 or ps3 can and cannot do.

  • Nosnitsttam

    Posted Oct 13, 2007 2:11 am GMT

    @emperorsupreme, sorry man, but this IS junk. Also there's nothing wrong with wanting to play all the best games on the market by owning multiple consoles, i mean thats why i own a 360 and a Wii. and i want a ps3 in the future. i just don't have the cash to spare for a machine that still doesn't have it's killer app and is going to nickel and dime on accessories that should come in the freaking box. or at least make them more affordable (they wanted something like $60 for a hdmi cable that you can get for a fraction of that on-line)

    If sony really wanted to make people happy, all they had to do was make the 60gb version $400 and maybe toss in the component cables that should have been there from the beginning. Rather, they'd like to make the people who already bought the more expensive versions feel like suckers, and the people in eruope feel like they're still getting raped on prices.

  • markd751

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 10:24 am GMT

    I'm so glad I bought my PS3 a month ago! 60GB and FULL BC! I'm so relieved

  • bam11bam

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 8:31 am GMT

    Dont waste your money people...Just buy a 60gb version for $399 on ebay with all the perks and BC...LiKE NEW!....I did ($414 with shipping)

    If it wasnt this cheap i wouldnt of bought it,but my friend buys almost every game and he always offers me if i would like to borrow them....so no need to buy games ...Cheap Bastard

  • Tatsumaki

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 8:06 am GMT

    What a mess...

  • Omnislash_

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 6:48 am GMT

    BXSentinel - Thanks. You made me laugh.

    And, yes... Sony... are you really feeling alright? Geez.. It's about time you started waking up... This is reality: gamers who are already upset with the awfull strategy you have been following really don't give a whole lot for such a small price cut... and as for BC it really is riddiculous. PS1 games sooner or later will be available online so I would understand not including BC for them... But you did it the other way around!!! PS2 games!? Are you really thinking this through? I think it's not only us gamers who will miss something under their christmas tree this year...

  • Titanicles

    Posted Oct 9, 2007 12:02 am GMT

    Now do you Americans see how expensive we get stuff? It's ridiculous!

  • OrianaDorta

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 2:41 pm GMT

    is that Sony's christmas gift?, £76 less? forget about it, i'm not getting it

  • jichaelmackson

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 1:34 pm GMT

    Does any one have a link to where i can get one of these new value pack 60GB PS3's for £349.00? Loads of places advertising the 40GB one all ready but no one advertising the 60GB version yet, or do the retailers not want us to have it as there losing all there proffit on the PS3?

  • Standard_222

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 11:06 am GMT

    @EmperorSupreme I apologize cus I guess somewhere in my comment I hinted that I was a 360 owner LOL. I play video games for games, not the systems. It's not hypocritical to own more than one console. I'd just prefer that Sony stop tinkering with their precious game system, which is fine, and concentrate on giving us something to use it for. When they do that, people will buy the system, including me...

  • SuperGogeta24

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 10:59 am GMT

    "This is Sony's answer to competition huh? To strip down their system and offer us junk for the same price as their major competitor? This is disappointing coming from the system that won the war from the last generation. But as history proves, it's the games that sell, not the system! Even with this stripped down version of the system, it still doesn't mean anything without any games. Sony, you better do something quick..."
    absolutely right!
    You can get the elite for the £299.99 or the complete botch-job of a console PS3 for the same price

  • FLEEBS

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 10:21 am GMT

    Why would they keep taking AWAY features?!?!?!? What the crap are they thinking?!?!?!?

  • EmperorSupreme

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 10:13 am GMT

    @ealycd lol. Pretty hypocritical of an X360 owner to call anything else junk. Even this version of the PS3 is heads above the X360 in quality and features.

  • NFSU2_RC3

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 10:12 am GMT

    isnt the 60gb cheaper? lol

  • makemeweak

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 9:33 am GMT

    Wow - that's a large price drop. Just what the publishers have been asking for all this time.

  • Michael324

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 9:15 am GMT

    Price drops will come to America if Americans were more patient.

  • Standard_222

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 9:06 am GMT

    This is Sony's answer to competition huh? To strip down their system and offer us junk for the same price as their major competitor? This is dissapointing coming from the system that won the war from the last generation. But as history proves, it's the games that sell, not the system! Even with this stripped down version of the system, it still doesn't mean anything without any games. Sony, you better do something quick...

  • zero9167

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 8:54 am GMT

    lol 40gb version still costs more than 60gb US version

  • the_sorrow_MGS_

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 8:42 am GMT

    I will admit that the 360 has had an impressive games line up recently but starting with "Uncharted..." and going into next year we will see the rise of the PS3 (in no small part thanks to Hideo and 'Snake' )

  • _DarKEviL_

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 8:26 am GMT

    THIS VERSION WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE US TERRITORY ON NOVEMBER THE 2ND....PRICE => 399 $

  • Titanicles

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 8:23 am GMT

    The trouble is, that makes it the same price as the Xbox 360 Elite but with no real advantages over it (apart from blu-ray) and lots of disadvantages.

  • BXSENTINEL

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 8:23 am GMT

    hmm.... lets see a ps3 that dosent play ps2 games.... i guess never mind about games like god of war or and mgs 3. like sony says i never wanna play ps2 games again just ps3 games oh wait but i wanna play ps1 games, so that makes sense, gee sony really does know what gamers want!!!! a ps3 that plays ps1 games but not ps2? lol

  • alexjulean

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 7:52 am GMT

    What a crap !

  • Rocul

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 7:34 am GMT

    I have to go check this out. I'm quite stingy with money so this might do for me... but I'll let it sit and wait for the price to drop some more

  • thekey

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 7:19 am GMT

    I'm glad I have a 60GB (the real PS3) this 40GB is an abomination, it doesn't even have all the same vents. And it's coming to the US.

  • jofy

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 6:55 am GMT

    Great news for the ps3,if you you wanna play ps2 games use your ps2,very simple,I'm gonna buy another ps3

  • kaziechameleon

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 6:48 am GMT

    go to the ps3 360 and pc branches of the site at the bottum of the page click on highest rated games, the ps3 has not only the lowest average but all the good games for the system are cross platform and ps3 interations are reviewed lower ingeneral. 360 and pc this season. oh and wii(a whoping two games?) despite the ease of wii developement games are fewer than the ps3 because atleast it gets bad 360 ports.

  • barrett_rob

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 6:37 am GMT

    still don't want it thanks anyway

  • the_sorrow_MGS_

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 5:30 am GMT

    I am sure everyone noticed that the PS2 far out lasted the origional Xbox, PS3 (in my opinion) will be no different. I will stick with my 60gb but I think this is good news for Sony fans. Especially since MGS4 is not far away

  • xAngelxDustx

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 4:59 am GMT

    sony will be fine...everyone needs to stop stressing

  • Link_tha_Gamer

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 4:42 am GMT

    This isnt the way to win, or at least get the upperhand with the console wars. I think it is great that sony is releasing a 40 gig version for a pretty fair price, but ditching the 60 gig version isnt the way to go. Or at least sell an elite edition, the 80 gig version.

  • cooper797

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 4:27 am GMT

    The 60gb console is out of stock in australia, The 40gb Console is all you can get down here, once shops stocks runs out 60gb they cant get any more from suppliers,

  • flyeastguy

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 4:17 am GMT

    What a piece of garbage! It is like they don't want to win the console war. I think they are really banking on Blue-Ray to get a PS3 in every household.

  • CLeRKSfan4life

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 3:43 am GMT

    Why are Sony making it so hard for me to like the PS3? I would like to get one sometime next year but these ridiculous price packages that strip down one of the PS3 biggest (at least for now) selling points- the PS2 compatability- make it seem like the PS3 won't even be in production next year. Everything keeps getting worse and worse.

  • FinalChosen

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 3:31 am GMT

    What Mattimusprime74 said.

    I'm from Britain btw.

  • Samuz

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 3:22 am GMT

    Great news! I am definetly buying the PS3 now, though mostly for the Blue Ray player and Metal Gear Solid 4. Might be smart to wait for january as they usually drop prices further (atleast here in Norway).

  • c_smithii

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 3:02 am GMT

    For the record, PS2 wasn't 100% backward compatible with PS1.

    Has anyone tried playing Mortal Kombat Trilogy on PS2? Don't you just love when the game freezes up.

  • yabba1

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 2:28 am GMT

    I'm still not buying it.

  • PacoL250

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 2:00 am GMT

    @-Chill: Good point about the X360 not being 100% backwards compatible. The fact is that it honestly won't be unless X360 (like myself) "harass" Microsoft with requests and petitions to get more games on their list.

    However, Sony explicitly said that the PS3 would play PSOne and PS2 games. While the software emulation, IMHO, wasn't a great decision from a consumer standpoint, from the business end, it saves Sony lots of money. In this case, the lack of some hardware in the 40 GB PS3 isn't a big deal since you do at least get 2 USB ports and you have the option to add on the card reader; however, even software emulation for backwards compatibility isn't in the system.

    Honestly, if they're keeping one version of the system backwards compatible, why would they not do the same for the other? Software emulation will cost them nothing compared to hardware as we know. So since it's already being done with firmware updates for the 60 GB in the UK, why not for the 40 GB anyways?

    The major issue here is that they've kept backwards compatibility as a component of marketing the PS3 yet they're pretty much ignoring it now. And they're half-ignoring it to boot as well. Doesn't make much sense to me...

  • MonkeysDad

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 1:59 am GMT

    A reasonable price at last, but they've really had to cut the spec back. They might as well put up a big sign, "Ken Kutaragi was wrong!" next to the new price sign...

  • tyzwain

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 1:18 am GMT

    Right, so this new PS3 deal on 60gb version will you be able to play every PS2 and PsOne games?

  • mattimusprime74

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 12:41 am GMT

    While the price drops is a good thing for our friends across the pond, The 40 GB is way too stripped down for the price. I own a wii and a 360. I plan to own a ps3 eventually. PS3 is a great system but at 610 american dollars, thats not a good deal for how stripped down it is. If Im going to pay that much money for a system, I want every bell and whistle they can throw in there. Backwards compatibility may not be a huge deal because most people with ps1 and ps2 games have a ps1 or ps2 but it's nice to be able to play three generations of games without having two or three systems hooked up. PS3 sales arent going to be great until the killer apps start coming out. MGS4, Final fantasy XIII, a god of war sequel, those games will sell systems. Right now the game selection just doesnt justify the major dollars, or in this case pounds, that you have to throw down for the system. Coming from an American, Sony has given our British friends the crap end of the stick so far with PS3

  • daveb1978

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 12:32 am GMT

    Sounds like they are hard up on plans to sell the thing. Not surprising really when the majority of first party titles, with maybe the expectation of Motorstorm have been complete cr*p. But that they are now offering cheaper, cut down bundles and cut down spec consoles on hardware they were losing money on anyway can't be a good sign....

  • the_sorrow_MGS_

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 12:18 am GMT

    I really hope this will stop Sony haters compaining

    This should boost the sales of MGS4

  • M-ManLA

    Posted Oct 8, 2007 12:15 am GMT

    I Personally like the backwards compatibility in the systems, but is good for sales. For people that has a PS2, they most likely won't care. You can add a USB hub to add more ports, so that is not a big issue, and the HDD can be upgrades. I would more likely to purchase a 60- or 80GB model, and pass down my PS2, but the 40GB version is a good deal. They might have different configurations in the US and Japan though.

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