Sony Rolling Out £299 PS3 Next Week

The rumours were true. Entry-level PS3 soon, 60 GB price cut too.

Buying a PlayStation 3 just got a lot easier with Sony revealing that it will have a new £299 model of the console on 10 October.

The new entry-level PS3 comes with a 40 GB hard drive and has almost the same specifications as the current 60 GB model, including Blu-ray support, wireless connectivity, Bluetooth and an HDMI connector.

There are, however, a few key differences.

The new system will have only two USB ports instead of the usual four and it will also not include the memory card slot. This is similar to the entry level 20 GB PS3 that was on sale in the US when the PS3 was released last November.

Another missing feature is support for older games. While the current PS3 can play most PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games, the new 40 GB model will not be able to play any PS2 games. Sony did not specifically mention that games for the original PlayStation games would not work.

Sony has relied on software emulation of PS2 games for its current PS3, so it's not clear why the same could not be done for the new model. The company did not reply to queries for clarification.

In a press release, Sony said the decision "[reflects] both the reduced emphasis placed on this feature amongst later purchasers of PS3, as well as the availability of a more extensive line-up of PS3 specific titles (a total of 65 titles across all genres by Christmas."

If playing PS2 games is a must, Sony still has something for you. The company also announced on Friday that it is bringing down the price of the current 60 GB PS3. Sony will have a new 60 GB PS3 Starter Pack available from 10 October for £349. The pack will contain one Sixaxis controller and two first-party games.

The news comes in the wake of a wave of reports that outed both models well before Sony was officially ready to talk about them.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo