20 gig and 60 gig ps3 discontinued in japan

[Kangum]

didnt think they would do it. but they axed the 20 gig and the 60 gig in japan. no more backwards compatability for the ps 2. is this whats to come for the us market too?

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/10/20gb-and-60gb-ps3-discontinued-in-japan-40gb-model-is-focus/

[Dartful Dodger]

Hopefully that mean Sony thinks there will be enough PS3 games to make the console worth getting and this is just a way to make and sell them cheaper.

I'm curious though.  Tomorrow is pay day and I have two best buy gift cards burning a hole in my pocket.  I really want to buy a PS3 this weekend.

Are they making some huge change to the PS3 to make it better?  Or are they just trying to phase out the PS2?



Nuts, this is why I hate buying the latest and greatest console until they've nailed it down.  I always get screwed when I’m too eager to purchase.

(the Atari Jaguar was the last time I bought one)

[ahofle]

What does the size of the hard drive have to do with PS2 backwards compatibility?  This is really stupid if they won't support PS2 discs anymore -- it will certainly make me less inclined to get one.

[Daniel270]

I agree...

I'm still playing (off and on) the majority of my PS2 and PS1 library....

[patrickl]

From what I understood, the PS2 compatibility wasn't exactly 100% anyway and they could make the PS3 a lot cheaper without it (they took out the PS2 graphics and processor chips) and without the card readers and the smaller disk.

I think it makes sense. Either people have a PS2 and want to play the games they have. So play it on your PS2. Or they don;t have a PS2, so there is no problem.

[Zero_Hour]

What does the size of the hard drive have to do with PS2 backwards compatibility?  This is really stupid if they won't support PS2 discs anymore -- it will certainly make me less inclined to get one.

The HD size really isn't relevant except to note which 'phase' of release the console was.

The 20GB & 60GB versions had (as I understand it) full hardware Backwards compatibility with PS2. These were the launch versions of the PS3

The 80GB version sold here in the States (but not in Japan?) has partial HW backwards compatibility and the rest done via emulation. This was the version launched in the US when they stopped selling the 60GB (they had already discontinued the 20GB version prior to this)

The 40GB version has no Backwards compatibility of any kind.

My PS2 has been long dead, and my game library for it fairly small, since I had given most of my games to friends who still had working consoles. I personally opted to go with the 40GB model. If PS2 gaming is important to you though, probably best to find a launch model, or pick up the 80GB before Sony does yet another hardware revision.

[patrickl]

The 20GB & 60GB versions had (as I understand it) full hardware Backwards compatibility with PS2. These were the launch versions of the PS3

The 80GB version sold here in the States (but not in Japan?) has partial HW backwards compatibility and the rest done via emulation. This was the version launched in the US when they stopped selling the 60GB (they had already discontinued the 20GB version prior to this)

The PS2 compatibility of the 20GB, 60GB and 80GB is the same. They have a PS2 GPU and CPU on board and software emulation for PS1 games. The 40GB PS3 only plays PS1 games and does not hat the PS2 chips for PS2 games.

[Samstag]

didnt think they would do it. but they axed the 20 gig and the 60 gig in japan. no more backwards compatability for the ps 2. is this whats to come for the us market too?

They were both discontinued here as of last July.  They're still available in some stores because demand hasn't been that great.

The PS2 compatibility of the 20GB, 60GB and 80GB is the same. They have a PS2 GPU and CPU on board and software emulation for PS1 games. The 40GB PS3 only plays PS1 games and does not hat the PS2 chips for PS2 games.

The 80 gig uses software emulation of the PS2 so it's not 100% working.  I think they put the number at 90% working but that includes some that don't play very well.  If you want to play PS2 games you should keep the PS2 or get a 20/60 PS3.

[Daniel270]

Guess it's a good thing I've got 2 PS2 slim's stored away (NIB)   When my older PS2 finally bites it, I'll be able to continue playing....

Altho the wife's upset about not being able to play the new Ratchet game, it's not worth sinking $400 into a system that won't play the older library of games.

[patrickl]

Guess it's a good thing I've got 2 PS2 slim's stored away (NIB)   When my older PS2 finally bites it, I'll be able to continue playing....

Altho the wife's upset about not being able to play the new Ratchet game, it's not worth sinking $400 into a system that won't play the older library of games.

So you have 2 PS2's, yet you really insist on PS2 compatibility in your PS3?

[Samstag]

Guess it's a good thing I've got 2 PS2 slim's stored away (NIB)   When my older PS2 finally bites it, I'll be able to continue playing....

Altho the wife's upset about not being able to play the new Ratchet game, it's not worth sinking $400 into a system that won't play the older library of games.

After I bought a 360 I just can't stand to play games on my old PS2 anymore because the video output (even with Svideo) is pretty awful.  I haven't finished Shadow of the Colossus and haven't even played God of War or Okami.  I'd really like to play some upscaled games on a PS3, but I need the 20/60 gig used prices to come down some more and a couple more good PS3 games I can't play on the 360.

Ratchet and Drake's Fortune look really good, but I'm not seeing anything else upcoming that floats my boat.

[Daniel270]

Well, I'd rather have ONE system to play several games rather than cluttering my tv stand up with several consoles more than I absolutely need.  The main reason I bought extras was in case my primary system does go belly-up and I don't have a PS3, which seems like that's going to be very much the case.

As for the whole graphics issue, should that even be a point?  We are in an arcade forum, after all.. lol.  I guess I'm more in the belief that games should be fun than eye candy.  You know what the most played PC game I currently have is?   Bejeweled 2....

[ahofle]

Exactly.  One of the big selling points of the Wii was the Gamecube backwards compatibility.  Having never owned a Gamecube, it was like getting 2 systems, and gamecube games are dirt cheap (as are PS2 games).  I also agree that having multiple systems cluttering up your entertainment center sucks.

[shmokes]

Hopefully that mean Sony thinks there will be enough PS3 games to make the console worth getting and this is just a way to make and sell them cheaper.


(the Atari Jaguar was the last time I bought one)

You'll be fine with PS3.  Head over to Metacritic and look at the list of scores for PS3.  Click the column heading for the scores column and the games will be listed by score and you'll get a good idea of how many good games there are.  The library is already about twice as good as the Wii library and nowhere near as good as the Xbox 360 (which had a full-year head start, of course).  You gotta remember, every developer on the planet assumed the PS3 would be an unstoppable monster in the market place and had sunk enormous resources into game development LONG before the thing came out with a $500-$600 price tag.  Lots and lots of games are coming, prices are dropping, the brand is huge.  PS3 will not be a Jaguar.

[Dartful Dodger]

You'll be fine with PS3. 

I thought I replied to this already.

We had a client's webpage malfunction earlier and it needed to be corrected asap.  My boss must have come in while I was writing this so I closed the window before posting.  Or I panic posted this reply into a different thread.(which I've done before)

I'm not worried about the PS3 failing, I'm worried about Sony releasing the bigger better and cheaper PS3.5.

I paid a week's salary to buy the Jaguar.  I was in College working part time.  If the PS3 becomes obsolete I won’t be crushed, but I'll be pissed off enough to never buy another console.  (I've held this last grudge since the release of the Jaguar)

I'm pulling the trigger this Saturday.

PS3 80GB Limited Edition MotorStorm Pack.

[shmokes]

Well . . . I wouldn't worry.  The 80GB model has only been out since like September.  I'm sure that Sony will release different models, but how much bigger can they be?  A bigger hard drive?  An extra USB port?  A PS3-slim?  All of those are possibilities, but none would have any impact on your machine or what games it could play.  They've sold many millions of machines; they can't release a PS3.5 that'll actually play different games or they'd suddenly split their market.  The price will, of course, continue to drop as well, but that's to be expected.

[Dartful Dodger]

The 80 gig model is sold out everywhere around Chicago.  Before Christmas they had piles of them.  I don't understand.  Why would they sell out after Christmas?

I had to order one online.  I won't be Rock'n until Friday.