The PS3 Slim has, officially, been announced. Am I surprised? No, not really. Am I excited? No, not particularly. The new system is smaller, lighter, and uses less power than the old consoles. The new systems will also feature a 120GB hard-drive, that is 40GB bigger than the current 80GB model (aren’t you glad I did the math for you?).
What excites me the most about this new release is the price cut. The system will now be $299. Suddenly, I have hope that someday my sister will attain one of these beautifully machines and play LittleBIGPlanet with me online.
As for this new and official announcement, I cannot bring myself to feel excited in any way, shape, or form. Information has been leaked. Letters have been sent. The gaming world has been spoiled. Can we, as gamers, blame Sony for the sudden font of ‘leaked’ information? I am not entirely sure where I stand on the issue. I do, however, know that the spoilers that led up to the announcement did nothing to add to my own enthusiasm. It is a bit like being told the end of a movie while standing in line to see it or the end of the book while handing that $20 bill to the cashier.
Lusipurr
Bup
Thea
Ginia
Lane
2009.08.18 at 20:33
I was hoping that they’d bring back PS2 compatability with the Slim model, which would have been a nice suprise ending after all the leaks and such. I don’t see any mention of it anywhere, though :f.
I think you’re right, Thea, the best part about this is the price cut. I mean heck, now it’s the price of the cheapest 360 and wireless adapter. The more people on the console, the more inclined publishers will be to make games for it. Who knows, maybe Valve might even release a decent version of one of their games one day.
Sadly, the announcement I’m most excited about is the version of Persona 3 for the PSP. I’ll no longer have to clarrify “it’s a great game” with “but the NPC AI can be outwitted by most varieties of firewood.”
2009.08.18 at 20:47
@Darth: I was going to play Persona 3, but I found a block of dry cedar to do it for me.
True Story!
2009.08.18 at 21:24
STILL SO EXCITED!
September can’t come fast enough.
2009.08.18 at 21:41
For those who don’t already have a PS3, this is great news. But for those who already do, especially those with ones that can play PS2 games, it’s not that special.
Plus, it’s kinda ugly looking, in my opinion.
2009.08.18 at 21:43
@Ethos: I think the price drop itself went into effect today. If you don’t care about the slim-ness, you could pick it up now for just as cheap :D
@Lusipurr: That was silly, everybody knows cedars mostly play puzzle/playformers. Give me a good birch for an RPG any day!
2009.08.18 at 21:46
@Bup: Yeah, I think that sums it up pretty well (except for the ugly part, I think it looks fine)
2009.08.18 at 22:03
More fatphobia from Sony. I hate it.
Seriously, what I’m most miffed about is the lack of JRPGs on the PS3. By the time the PS2 was this old I could literally swim in JRPG discs. WHAT GIVES?
2009.08.18 at 22:30
@Lane this generation has had a very low supply of RPGs in general, let alone good ones. They all seem to be going to the DS or PSP.
2009.08.18 at 23:31
It costs too much to make a good current gen rpg, when one does get made chances are it has all its corners cut. Tales of Vesperia is fantastic though, and headed to PS3.
2009.08.18 at 23:35
Oh I loved Tales of Vesperia, but it was still a Tales game. I want something a little weightier to cut my teeth on, something along the lines of what I hope FFXIII is.
2009.08.19 at 00:10
Well I guess we’ll see what comes of it Q1 2010, I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself after FFXII. The XIII demo was quite good though.
2009.08.19 at 11:22
I was not shocked at all except for the pricing. I had assumed it would be 400 for the slim, but I am happy that it is only 300.
2009.08.19 at 15:46
It’s such a nice looking little system, a pitty there’s no BC else I might think about trading in my fat for a slim.
2009.08.19 at 22:26
Penny Arcade writes, today:
“Reporters can’t seem to decide if the three hundred dollar PS3 Slim is awesome or too awesome, when it’s actually a barbed black crown of shame, and that’s more or less the end of the discussion. It can’t be seen as anything but a concession to a market that has consistently chosen their competitor’s products – an act of contrition, the purest evidence possible that this brand is no longer sufficient to sway consumers. There is an optional stand available that allows you to stand the system vertically, on its side – making the system a literal tombstone, as well as a figurative one.”
This is more or less my opinion on the matter as well. I am pleased the $300 price point has finally been acceded to, but it is an admission from Sony that the 360 and the Wii are devouring them alive.
I agree with Bup that trading your old PS3 for a new one is the HEIGHT of folly, but if you are buying one now, might as well get a Slim. I think they are very nice-looking. (Bup’s philosophy is that “Bigger is better!”)
2009.08.20 at 02:04
Well at any rate the trading of my system will remain theoretical so long as BC isn’t in the offing.
2009.08.20 at 07:49
I just heard that they’re removing the option to put Linux on the light, too. I know nobody but me cares, but now I’m sad :f. I was thinking, even without BC, I could get a slim and turn it inot a cheap blu-ray ripper once the software’s caught up with blu-ray encryption. Maybe I’ll pick up another fat for cheap once retailers start trying to clear out their inventory.
2009.08.20 at 07:51
Sorry, “light”->”slim.” I’ve got DS on the brain, apparently.
2009.08.20 at 13:52
@Darth: That’s a really cool idea and one I’ve never thought of. Sadly, it will remain a function for the fats, it seems.
The reality is that the Linux functionality is used by just about no-one, so I imagine they were pretty sanguine about how important it was to consumers; thus their decision to axe it.