Sony Has No Plans to Reduce PlayStation 3 Pricing for Holidays.

Sony Playstation 3 Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has no plans to respond to Microsoft’s aggressive price-cuts of the Xbox 360 video game console in the European Union and the United Stations with similar moves concerning the PlayStation 3 this holiday season, the head of SCEI said in an interview.

“The answer is ‘yes’, if you’re asking, ‘Are these the prices we’re going with this Christmas?’” said Kazuo Hirai, president and group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, in an interview with the Financial Times.

Microsoft recently reduced the price of its Xbox 360 Arcade game console to $199 in the U.S. in response to lowering demand and financial crisis. The company has also consistently cut the cost of the Xbox 360 consoles in other regions, including Asia, Europe and Japan this year in a bid to attract gamers to its latest video game systems.

Obviously, the least expensive Xbox 360 Arcade does not offer certain features that are available on Sony PlayStation 3 ($399) and more expensive Xbox 360 Pro 60GB ($299) game console since the latter have hard disk drives, whereas the PS3 even has Blu-ray disc optical drive that transforms game console into a high-definition video player. In fact, a number of exclusive titles and value proposition have already made Sony PlayStation 3 nearly as popular as the Xbox 360 in some regions and allowed Sony to even leave the rival behind in some others. Still, neither of the consoles is as successful as Nintendo Wii, which usually outsells both PS3 and X360 combined in the USA.

However, for the majority of gamers the X360 for $199 is likely to be an option they will be satisfied with. As a result, there are reasons for Sony to worry about: more Xbox 360 game consoles on the market means that game developers start to give the systems higher priority compared to others, which ultimately leads to higher amount of higher quality titles, which further popularizes the platform.

In common with the rest of the video game industry, Mr Hirai expects video games to be resilient in the economic downturn because consumers buy video games rather than go out.

“As long as we can generate excitement, then we will be less affected than other industries,” the head of SCEI told the FT.

PS3 DualShock 3 controller coming in April

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) on Tuesday announced plans to release its DualShock 3 wireless controller for its PlayStation 3 video game console in April. The new controller will cost $54.95.

Since the PlayStation 3 has shipped, the system has used what Sony calls a “Sixaxis” game controller. It looks almost identical to the gamepads that Sony makes for the PlayStation 2, but features internal gyroscoping capabilities so users can tilt the controller up, down, left and right to control the game.

The interactive capabilities of the Sixaxis controller drew criticism from some game reviewers and analysts because the controller lacks the distinctive “rumble” feature that was present in earlier generations of Sony controllers marked as “DualShock” products. Those devices utilized force feedback technology which would cause the controller to buzz and shake in the user’s hands based on in-game actions, such as being hit or punched, or causing explosions.

Sony axed rumble capabilities from the Sixaxis controller after the company became involved in a lawsuit with haptics manufacturer Immersion Corp., which claimed that Sony violated its patents. In 2004 Sony paid Immersion $82 million in damages but then appealed the decision.

Sony initially dismissed rumble as a feature of older game systems that didn’t need to be in the PlayStation 3. The company quickly changed its tune after Sony settled with Immersion once and for all in March of 2007. At that time, Sony President Kaz Hirai announced that Immersion and Sony were working on “exciting new ways” to incorporate rumble into PlayStation 3 games.

Sony PlayStation 3 Meets Slim Fast?

So does the “T” in “T3” stand for Triple Tease or what? Treat this as the hearsay it almost certainly is, but gadget gossip T3 says it knows a guy (who probably knows a kid, who probably has it from a giant rabbit) who says Sony’s working on a slimmer, sexier, sleeker PlayStation 3 for release in the…well, say “for release.”

Why “slim”? Because they’ve done it to every other system they’ve ever released (PS1, PS2, PSP). Why not the PS3? reasons T3.

Could this be the Jenny Craig edition PlayStation 3?

Sooner? Later? It’s inevitable, with that much I’d agree, but the question is, will anyone care? And by care, I mean in the “buy because I wouldn’t have otherwise” sense, as opposed to the “appreciate the cosmetic nip-and-tuck though I was planning to buy it anyway” angle.

Does your PS3 take up too much shelf space? Not fit somewhere you’d like it to at all? Would you be more inclined to buy a PS3 if they reduced the size (but not the price or thermal output)? Does “sexy” really sell more to anyone outside the diehard-est?

The only thing my PS3 could do better is run a little cooler and a little quieter, though to be fair, its fan on full sounds probably a fifth the decibel level of my blow-hosing Xbox 360

Posted by Matt Peckham (PCWorld)

Rumor: PS3 With Monster Hard Drive And Dual Shock 3 To Replace 80GB

Obviously, the biggest rumor floating around is the apparent news that Sony will soon be discontinuing production of the 80GB PlayStation 3 model. Best Buy was the first retailer to post a bit of “closeout” evidence and we’ve also just heard from an inside source at GameStop that said the 80GB model’s SKU was “deleted” in the store’s inventory. But this rumor has prompted another rumor…an even bigger one, believe it or not.

According to ArsTechnica, an inside source of their own who “has been right almost every time” recently spoke about the discontinuation of the 80GB PS3 plus the fact that Sony will continue their two-SKU market approach. Yep, two PS3 models, with one of them being the 40GB model that’s currently on store shelves. But what’s the other version? Here’s what their “mole” had to say-

“Sony is, in fact, phasing out the 80GB PS3. Sony is going to stay with the two-SKU approach though, and the prices look to stay the same. The Spiderman 3 pack-in will disappear as well once the 80GB unit is gone. In order to maintain a similar value proposition to the 80GB/Spiderman 3 bundle, I expect to see a storage increase to 120 or 160GB at the same price point, plus the new Dual-Shock 3 controller…”

Woah. So we’re looking at a $499 PS3 with at least a 120GB hard drive and the Dual Shock 3 included? We’ve known for a while we’d eventually get the DS3 (it’s already available in Japan), and we also knew Sony would be “evaluating consumer demand and market trends” to decide on new PS3 models. But this “underground info” is certainly news to us, and big news at that. Could it be true? Only time will tell…

Sony Discontinues 80GB PS3, Says Retailer Memo

Best Buy will discontinue the sale of the $499 PlayStation 3 on January 28, says an alleged store “closeout” memo sent to PS3 Fanboy GamePro Staff

Best Buy will discontinue the sale of the US$499 PlayStation 3 on January 28, says an alleged store “closeout” memo sent to PS3 Fanboy.”The 80GB version of the PS3 is going closeout and won’t be replaced at this time,” reads the unverified memo. “Only the 40GB version of PS3 will be sold in Best Buy stores at this time.”

As the memorandum notes, “this means that there currently isn’t a version that is PS2 compatible.”

Of the three major game territories, North America is the only location currently supporting a multi-system lineup. Both Japan and the U.K. have already dropped former models to support a single, and cheaper 40GB model that lacks backward compatibility.

Sony of America abandoned the 20GB and 60GB PS3 models last year, leaving two available models: 40GB ($399) and 80GB ($499) versions, the latter of which uses software to playback a limited number of PS2 titles.

Sony was not immediately available for comment.

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