Retailers have told CVG that they expect the 80GB PS3 - currently out in the US - to hit UK stores by the end of the summer.
UK cash and carry superstore chain, Costco, told a CVG reader that it was clearing out its supply of 40GB PS3 units in preparation for the arrival of the 80GB consoles some time soon. But it's not the only retailer expecting the bigger console in the near future.
A HMV staffer told us that, although he had been given no confirmed release date by the retailer, he expects the 80GB console will "very likely" hit the UK soon, especially considering the 40GB PS3's inability to play PS2 games. The 80GB model in the US does include the functionally to play PS2 games.
PS3 customer services offered a similar answer, saying that its head office hadn't yet sent word of an 80GB UK release, but went on to add that it "may come soon", although there was no set date. The advice was "keep an eye on the PlayStation website." We could imagine the person on the other end of the phone winking while saying it.
One London indie games store, who wished to remain anonymous, even went so far as to say the 80GB SKU was on the way this summer. Before you get too excited though we've heard some dodgy stuff from indie stores before like, "Yeah, get Beowolf, it's great."
We dropped Sony a call only to get the official line of: "There's no official word on an 80GB PS3 coming to the UK". Not an outright denial though.
Speculation of a 120GB console was rife when SCE UK boss David Reeves said that he thought a 20GB increase (over the 60GB SKU) was too small, suggesting that doubling the hard drive size would be more worth it. "Maybe you'll see something a little bit later," he teased, with Sony's PR department later deeming it "rumour and speculation".
A bigger hard drive SKU this summer wouldn't come as much of a surprise, considering that the inevitably data-hungry Play TV will launch later this year.
A summer release might also line up nicely for a possible Metal Gear bundle - out June 12 - or for storing levels in LittleBigPlanet when that lands later in the year. Could there be a GTA IV bundle planned for further down the line? You'll know when we do.
I've been waiting for 'news' like this - I forgot about the potential 120GB version, but if the 80GB comes bundled with MGS4 on its release day, then that's a buy for me.
I do plan on getting a PS3 as soon as i can afford a next-gen console, and when i do it will either be a 60gb off eBay or i will keep an eye out for this 80gb model. I think Sony really underestimated how important backwards compatibility is.
The 80GB ps3 will definately be avaliable on june the 12th, MGS4 will be bundled with it, thats the news from WWW.PSXEXTREME.COM, an there will probably be a UK price cut by then to, sony wants mgs4 to be successful from day 1 an hope to sell quite alot of consoles to.
Im really getting annoyed at sony constantly changing the specs of the console, I bought a 40GB machine at Xmas and now if the 80GB version has BC it will lose a lot of value, stop f**king people around and stick with ONE set of specs for the whole market.
i dont really care about all these types of sku's. iv got a 60gb bc upgraded to a 320gb hard drive for about 130euro so i have tons of room for recording tv and lbp levels
A HMV staffer told us that, although he had been given no confirmed release date by the retailer, he expects the 80GB console will "very likely" hit the UK soon, especially considering the 40GB PS3's inability to play PS2 games. The 80GB model in the US does include the functionally to play PS2 games.
So basically you went and asked some random Joe in a HMV store for their opinion. hahaha You may as well ask a tramp.
Why the big fuss over a(nother) new SKU, are Sony picking their business models out of a lucky bag these days?
If the new version doesn't have BC then it's a waste of time as you can upgrade a standard PS3 as cheap as chips to a considerably larger hard drive than 80GB or even 120GB. If it DOES have BC, then what about everyone who bought the 40GB stripped back version?
Either way, Sony are ripping the p**s out of their customer base and they'll probably still "win" the next gen battle because the public are becoming more and more like marketing led sheep every year! Yes of course i'll buy a new iPod that's still under specced and woefully overpriced, an iPhone, hell yeah, even though it would struggle to be modern 3 years ago, EA, of course i'll pay you money for a re-release of the same game every year, etc......
I do plan on getting a PS3 as soon as i can afford a next-gen console, and when i do it will either be a 60gb off eBay or i will keep an eye out for this 80gb model. I think Sony really underestimated how important backwards compatibility is.
Backwards compatibility is pretty much a big waste of time, I have both a 60G PS3 and a 360, both with B/C, I think I've played one last gen game on each console.
The quality of next gen games is so much better that you really won't want to bother playing your old games, the graphics, sound and most importantly the AI just don't cut it any more
I'm thinking of upgrading my PS3 HDD to about 100GB but I don't have a clue how to do it. I wanna transfer all my data to the new HDD and I've heard its a bit more complicated then people make out. Anyone know how its done, I would appreciate it cheers.
Ive got to agree with the people saying that sony need to stop messing around releasing so many different versions. I have the 60GB one which im very happy with and will upgrade the disk whenever I feel its necessary. If it means an end to the 40GB waste of space by giving a decent (out of the box) disk size and has BC at the same price then okay, but make this the last one. It does sound as though you've got it right this time, lets forget the 40GB ever happened.
Great news for Europe but this could have been done months ago...or better yet, they could have kept the 60Gig console, just with the backwards compatibility the same as it is with the 80Gig. It just confuses people and is unnecessary.
I don's see why Europe are the last for everything, it's just getting stupid now. It's a console, it should be a worldwide thing. That is console and store...
The SKUs and peripherals are getting ridiculous this gen.
Look out for the new PS3 in the summer with storage bins for your pads when you're out enjoying the sunshine.
Also look out for the new 360 in some random colour and the new Wii backscratcher remote attachment.
If you haven't made the leap yet and it's priced well enough it will seem like a better value to new customers. I can see the PC World and Game staff telling people why this one will be better and why they need it now
Backwards compatibility is pretty much a big waste of time, I have both a 60G PS3 and a 360, both with B/C, I think I've played one last gen game on each console.
The quality of next gen games is so much better that you really won't want to bother playing your old games, the graphics, sound and most importantly the AI just don't cut it any more
Depends what you are looking for. There are some games that to me, simply dont age.I still play Abe's Oddysee and Final Fantasy 7 8 9, Vagrant Story, and a couple of other from the PS1. And when i get a PS3, i'll still want to play Final Fantasy 10 & 12, Ico, Shadow of the Collosus, Timesplitters (until 4 comes out on Ps3), Okami, the Metal Gear Solid's. So yeah some games will obviously have no replay value, but alot still do. AI and graphics arent everything.
The quality of next gen games is so much better that you really won't want to bother playing your old games, the graphics, sound and most importantly the AI just don't cut it any more
The AI? Do you know how much harder the older games are than the ones of today?
The quality is so much better? Sonic 2, Super Mario World, Super Streetfighter 2 Turbo, Final Fantasy 7, GTA 3, PGR1, Daytona USA, Sega Rally.
A small list of games that in the eyes of many has NOT been bettered by their better looking sequels.
I brought the 80GB from the USA for £270 in October 2007. now I wouldn't even look at the 40gigs. its surprising that the 40gig version has sold so much. maybe gamers just couldn't wait for the prices to come down?. the only thing I'm still waiting for is quality games. whats out on the PS3 is a joke!
Mate, I want a ps3 so badly. To be frank I don't care about B/C I care about the slots that aren't there and the rumors about the 40 percent chance of the 40 gb not reading the disks. I am so put off by that. On the other hand, I know that when the 80 gb comes out it'll cost a bomb, so either way I'm screwed. I would rather go with the latter than the first which smells like crap.
I'm new here and i'm thinking about getting the ps3 80gb. I've already got a wii and an xbox 360, but I really want to start collecting blu-ray movies as well. Anyone know if their are any deals about the ps3 80gb?
Well I came across quite a cool looking website that compares the prices of most of the big names playstation 3 80gb and it looks like everyone is about the same price the cheapest seems to be zivvi by a massive £1. lol Anyway i've decided to take the plunge. now i've just got to decide what game and movie to buy with it Have a great bank holiday.
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Glad I sold my 60gb one now
the cheapest seems to be zivvi by a massive £1. lol
