Sony drops 20GB version of PS3

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2007-04-11 04:24am

When you can't find the 20GB PS3 at certain retailers, it's not that much of a story. When the company that makes the console drops it from their store though, that's something to take note of. You can no longer buy the 20GB PS3 model from the Sony Style store, and it looks like it's getting harder to find overall. It seems as though the entry-level price for the PS3 was just raised $100. From Gamesindustry.biz:

However, SonyStyle isn't the only online retailer which has stopped selling the 20GB PS3. It's no longer available via the websites of Best Buy, GameStop or Electronics Boutique.

But the console is still on sale at some retailers, such as Amazon.com.

Keep in mind that the 20GB model was never available in Europe, so this is mainly going to affect those of us in North America, and possibly Japan. This is a shame; the 20GB model of the PS3 wasn't hobbled in the same way the Core 360 is, it was a valid and full-featured product. While you can track the lower-priced system down at some retailers, once they sell out of available stock, who knows if they'll get any more?

If you're interested in the $500 system, I'd buy one now. It looks like it's only going to get harder to find from here on out.

Losonti Tokash · Post by **Losonti Tokash** » 2007-04-11 08:13am

This is a shame; the 20GB model of the PS3 wasn't hobbled in the same way the Core 360 is, it was a valid and full-featured product.

The hell? I thought you couldn't upgrade the cheaper PS3 at all?

DaveJB · Post by **DaveJB** » 2007-04-11 10:03am

You can't add Wi-Fi to the 20GB model (except in Linux) as far as I know, but you can still upgrade the hard drive and use a USB card reader with it.

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2007-04-11 10:42am

Besides the HDD and the Wi-Fi, were there any other differences between the two? I seem to recall that the 20 GB model also lacked HDMI, but otherwise was the same. I don't think I would pay an extra $100 for a bigger HDD that I wouldn't use, Wi-Fi that I don't need, and HDMI that I don't have, so it seems like it should have been the more popular model.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2007-04-11 10:44am

What about backwards compatability?

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-04-11 12:29pm

Since backwards compatibility is borked in the super elite version as is, I don't think it really matters until someone gets emulation results that aren't sub-par.

Besides, who buys a half-grand's worth of console to play old games anyway?

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2007-04-11 04:16pm

Losonti Tokash wrote:
This is a shame; the 20GB model of the PS3 wasn't hobbled in the same way the Core 360 is, it was a valid and full-featured product.
The hell? I thought you couldn't upgrade the cheaper PS3 at all?

The hard drive was a standard 2.5" SATA drive, so it was WAY cheaper to upgrade, and the 20 GB PS3 had everything the XBox 360 Premium did.

Granted, you couldn't upgrade the 20 GB PS3 to be like the 60 GB PS3 (you can't add an HDMI port) but the 20 GB PS3 wasn't crippled. The Core 360 actually lacks functionality; you can't use any of the downloadable content or patches or extra features of XBox Live on the Core and many games REQUIRED the hard drive.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2007-04-11 04:19pm

Arthur_Tuxedo wrote:Besides the HDD and the Wi-Fi, were there any other differences between the two? I seem to recall that the 20 GB model also lacked HDMI, but otherwise was the same. I don't think I would pay an extra $100 for a bigger HDD that I wouldn't use, Wi-Fi that I don't need, and HDMI that I don't have, so it seems like it should have been the more popular model.

In my case, I REQUIRE Wi-Fi. I've been ticked at the XBox 360 because it's $100 to add WiFi to the system. At least for $100 the PS3 gives you a bigger hard drive, HDMI, and CF/SD card readers as well as WiFi.

Anyway, for the REAL reason Sony discontinued the 20 GB PS3...

It's been known for a while that the 60 GB PS3 had a better margin for Sony; BOTH were negative, but Sony lost like $200 on a 60 GB PS3 and $250-$300 on a 20 GB PS3. On launch Sony shipped like four 60 GB PS3's for every 20 GB PS3 they shipped because they new the margins were that bad.

DaveJB · Post by **DaveJB** » 2007-04-11 04:20pm

Actually, the 20GB model does have HDMI. It turned out that since they had to have two logic boards and case designs, it was more cost-effective to just slap HDMI ports on all PS3s! Not to mention that leaving out HDMI would have potentially crippled the Blu-Ray functionality, and pissed off even more customers.

Praxis · Post by **Praxis** » 2007-04-11 04:39pm

DaveJB wrote:Actually, the 20GB model does have HDMI. It turned out that since they had to have two logic boards and case designs, it was more cost-effective to just slap HDMI ports on all PS3s! Not to mention that leaving out HDMI would have potentially crippled the Blu-Ray functionality, and pissed off even more customers.

Oh, really? I thought that was just the Japanese PS3.