Sony Dumps Entry PS3
By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 4/12/2007
San Diego — Sony Computer Entertainment revealed Wednesday that it has dropped the entry-level 20GB PlayStation3 console in North America to concentrate on the more popular 60GB version.
The unit, which carried a $499 entry price, launched last fall, but offered significantly fewer feature capabilities than the $599 60GB step-up version. Key omissions included HDMI output, 1,080p HD video support and built-in Wi-Fi networking.
In a statement, Sony said more than 90 percent of demand has been for the $599 version.
“Due to the overwhelming demand for the 60GB model from both retailers and consumers, we have ceased offering the 20GB model here in North America,” Sony spokesman Dave Karraker said in a statement. “In addition to the larger internal hard drive, the 60GB PlayStation3 features added storage media slots and built-in Wi-Fi not found in the 20GB system. Based on retailer and customer feedback, we have decided to focus our current efforts on the more popular 60GB model.”
Sony said it will continue to support the model and future PS3 software will continue to be playable on the device. Sony will continue to sell the unit in Japan.
“There is a very limited inventory of the 20GB out there, which will still be sold at $499 until the supply is depleted,” Karraker said.
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As the article states, the 20GB version of PS3 originally launched without HDMI or the ability to output 1080p HD video over the absent HDMI jack. Sony added those features to shipments of players that followed several months later, but by then the opening price point player had already suffered from early reviews that slammed the HDMI oversight, giving the 60GB model a lot of early momentum.
Greg Tarr - 2007-23-4 12:19:00 EDT -
This article is wrong about some of the PS3 20GB points. It does have an HDMI output and it does output 1080P. The only difference between the 20GB and 60GB is 1. a larger hard drive, 2. wifi built in, 3. a memory card reader, and 4. a silver horizontal strip on the front. Everything else is the same. Plus you can always upgrade the hard drive anytime you want. The 20GB version was the perfect BD(Blu-ray Disc) player for only $500.
It's more likely they dropped the 20GB version because Sony lost more money on the 20GB version than on the 60GB version. The extra components in the 60GB version don't come close to costing an extra $100.
aaronwt - 2007-14-4 15:38:00 EDT -
This article contains some factual errors...the $499 20GB model DOES have HDMI and 1080p support; only the WiFi capabilities (and silver accent face plate) are exclusive to the step-up model.
J. Worthey - 2007-13-4 10:54:00 EDT
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