Sony finally confirmed that the U.S. will get a $400 PlayStation 3 model launching on Nov. 2. The unit will have a 40GB hard drive (twice the size of the standard Xbox 360 configuration), Spider-Man 3 on Blu-Ray, a couple fewer USB ports, no memory card reader and absolutely no PS2 backward compatibility - not even the crappier software emulation offered with the newer 80GB systems. Speaking of which, the 80GB PS3s will drop down to $500 (but will they still include a free game?)...
UPDATE: Now, this is just sad. If a little newspaper known as The Wall Street Journal has it right, Sony didn't remove backward compatibility to save money. They did it to "encourage buyers of the entry-level PlayStation 3 to purchase more games designed specifically for the new system." Obviously, the Sony execs haven't done their homework here. Most people don't actually use the backward compatibility features of their consoles much, but they sure like having it. So it enhances "perceived value" without greatly affecting the attach rate for new games. The bigger problem is that Sony doesn't have many awesome, system-selling titles yet. Look at what Halo 3 just did for the Xbox 360 (and that took nearly two years!). Patience, grasshopper. The important thing right now is to build your installed base any way you can.
UPDATE: Now, this is just sad. If a little newspaper known as The Wall Street Journal has it right, Sony didn't remove backward compatibility to save money. They did it to "encourage buyers of the entry-level PlayStation 3 to purchase more games designed specifically for the new system." Obviously, the Sony execs haven't done their homework here. Most people don't actually use the backward compatibility features of their consoles much, but they sure like having it. So it enhances "perceived value" without greatly affecting the attach rate for new games. The bigger problem is that Sony doesn't have many awesome, system-selling titles yet. Look at what Halo 3 just did for the Xbox 360 (and that took nearly two years!). Patience, grasshopper. The important thing right now is to build your installed base any way you can.
