PlayStation 3 Will Include Hard Drive

Sony clears up the confusion over whether or not the system will include a hard drive, but what will that mean for pricing?

Sony's deluge of PlayStation 3 revelations last week brought long-awaited details about the next-gen console, but even still there were unanswered questions. Despite Sony boss Ken Kutaragi saying that developers should create their games with a hard drive in mind, it wasn't clear whether one would be included with the system. Sony has now cleared that up.

The PlayStation 3 will come with a 60 GB HD as standard, Sony's Jonathan Fargher told Gamasutra. You'll also be able to pick up a bigger drive for all that delicious downloadable content that Sony is reportedly planning for its so-called PlayStation HUB network.

The lack of outright confirmation that the drive would come standard at Sony's meeting last week put the fear of multiple versions of the console (like Microsoft has done with the Xbox 360) into many.

The presence of a hard drive in all PlayStation 3s means that developers will now be able to make their games assuming that it's there, using it to store game content and speed up loading times, among other things.

Sony has yet to confirm the price of the PlayStation, which is due early in November, but the inclusion of a hard drive means that it might well live up to Kutaragi's warnings of it being expensive. Microsoft has admitted that part of the reason for not including the hard drive in all Xbox 360s was keep the cost of the console down.

Look for more from Sony and the PlayStation 3 later this week when Phil Harrison gives his keynote address at the Game Developers Conference.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games