Sony's 12GB flash-based PS3 now available in the US

[Justin Kahn]

Sony has launched its 12GB Playstation 3 in the United States for $200. Originally launching in Europe last year, the console is now available on the Sony Store and Best Buy.

The new PS3 drops the hard drive for 12GB of flash memory, just like the 4GB Xbox 360. It was rumored to soon be coming to the US after being spotted at Wal-Mart and FutureShop in Canada last week.

The new flash-based PS3 is available in two different configurations at Best Buy right now. You can grab the console alone or bundled with Naughty Dog's The Last of Us and Uncharted 3: Game of the Year Edition for $259.98. It comes with your standard wireless controller, Blu-ray player and 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi.

At about $70 cheaper than a 500GB PS3 bundle, this isn't a huge value but could be a great option for more casual gamers. Another way to look at it might be is that it's just enough space to meet Grand Theft Auto V's 8GB storage requirement when it drops on September 17. Keep in mind though, we often times see the 250GB PS3 bundles available on eBay and other trusted retailers for as little as $229.99, sometimes including a PS Move and Eye.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/53675-sonys-12gb-flash-based-ps3-now-available-in-the-us.html

 

[Guest]

I wonder if you can place your own hard drive into it like the other units. That would make it the cheaper alternative to the other units since you can buy 1TB for a good price these days.

 

[cmbjive]

I don't see the value in this system. Both Xbox 360 and PS3 now have these flash-based systems, but for only an extra $50 most can get a high-capacity hard drive. I don't know what you can do with 12 GB other than saves. Some PS3 games require you to install the game before you can even play it. Those games can be anywhere from 2 GB to 7GB in size.

Hey, folks, stop being cheap. Shell out the extra $50 or so to get a PS3 with a larger drive.

 

[Burty117]

I wonder if you can place your own hard drive into it like the other units. That would make it the cheaper alternative to the other units since you can buy 1TB for a good price these days.

Yes you can, youtube video on how to do it below:

Hey, folks, stop being cheap. Shell out the extra $50 or so to get a PS3 with a larger drive.

Hey Bro, how about us smart people who know they're being ripped off for a crap spec 500GB hard drive?

Cheapest I can find this model in the UK is £145, I can get a 750GB WD Black drive for £45, that's £190 overall and not only do I get a better drive but also has more capacity and 12GB of essentially SSD space for my favorite game to load even faster and it has cost me less.
Normal 500GB is £200 at the cheapest I could find it, normally £215 on amazon.

Guess I should just "stop being cheap" and pay more for less I guess...

 

[cmbjive]

"Hey Bro, how about us smart people who know they're being ripped off for a crap spec 500GB hard drive?"

Because changing out your hard drive voids your warranty. If you don't care about that, go right ahead and switch it out. I think most consumers of the PS3 will not do that and would like to keep their warranty.

For the record, this is the cheapest 500GB drive available at Newegg. The drives included with the 360 and the PS3 gets the job done.

 

[Burty117]

Because changing out your hard drive voids your warranty. If you don't care about that, go right ahead and switch it out. I think most consumers of the PS3 will not do that and would like to keep their warranty.

For the record, this is the cheapest 500GB drive available at Newegg. The drives included with the 360 and the PS3 gets the job done.

Absolutely wrong:
1) You have to get an official Sony hard drive caddy to put it into the console, I don't think it's even legal to sell an add-on for your own device that void's its own warranty. It costs about £8.
2) "getting the job done" - well some of us like to have a faster load time, I have personally first hand seen and experienced a PS3 slim almost half the load time of Gran Turismo 5 simply by changing out the hard drive to something decent.
3) It's still cheaper to not buy the 500GB model but the 12gb and buy a hard drive...

Edit: Some official links from the Sony website here:
http://uk.playstation.com/ps3/peripherals/detail/item577183/Hard-Disk-Drive-(with-mounting-bracket)/

Yeah... Pretty sure you cannot sell something like that if it Void's the warranty...

Edit Edit: Hell even Sony have official instructions on how to change the hard drive:
http://uk.playstation.com/upgrade-ps3/

Third Edit... You linked me to a 3.5 inch drive... the PS3 takes 2.5 Inch drives up-to 9.5mm thick -_-

 

[cmbjive]

Thanks for the correction on the warrany. I was under the impression that exchanging the hard drive would void the warranty.

While I linked to a 3.5" drive, the pricing isn't all that different: A 500GB 2.5 inch drive still runs $43 on Newegg. That drive is 5400 RPM; a 7200 RPM drive is more. I don't see where the value comes in when all you're doing is saving a few dollars (if you get the 5400 RPM one) and increased capacity to that of the 500GB model.

Speaking of which, Best Buy has a 500GB with GTA V for $269.99. So, for and $70, you get a 500GB hard drive, a 30 day PlayStation Plus membership and a top-notch game.

"2)'getting the job done' - well some of us like to have a faster load time, I have personally first hand seen and experienced a PS3 slim almost half the load time of Gran Turismo 5 simply by changing out the hard drive to something decent."

Yes, the standard drive gets the job done. You think you get great value dishing out extra money for slightly better performance. I don't. I'd rather put the money towards other stuff, like games.

 

[Burty117]

Meh, the pricing over in the US is considerably better, in the UK its cheaper to get a 12GB and add a hard drive than it is to get the 500GB model, I just went searching on US sites and I see what you mean, to keep it competitive over there they've lowered the price on the 500GB model substantially over what we have here in the UK. No wonder I have a friend who swears by importing his consoles from the US!

Anyway, This argument is now irrelevant since you can genuinely get a decent price for the 500GB model while I can't and the performance thing is more of a preferential thing, I have genuinely seen Gran Turismo 5 take 33 seconds to load a large circuit with a full suite of AI.

Once the drive was replace with a WD black it now took 17 seconds, that's a considerable performance boost and one I'm willing to shell out for, again though, not everyone is the same and since in America you actually have to pay a little more to get it, I can see why you wouldn't find value in it.

 

[treetops]

So ps4 is like 4 months away and people are buying ps3. wow?

 

[Burty117]

So ps4 is like 4 months away and people are buying ps3. wow?

Yeah, I'm one of those people, I find consoles are expensive for what they are and really good games are not very frequent so when a generation is near its end I pounce, the console is now £150 instead of £500 and loads of good games are on it.

I'm spending almost £500 this month on a ps3 but I'll be getting all the accessories I need and loads of games. I spend most my time upgrading my PC since that's my primary machine for everything but I still find consoles entertaining and games like the last of us are worth the entry price alone.

This round though I'll probably pickup a PS4 early next year since alot of my gamer friends have decided to pre-order one, in the past though I just kinda picked them up near their end of life, haven't regretted it so far! And kept most of my machines and since they're usually the last versions of the console to come out, usually very refined and therefore reliable, it's intensely nice when an old friend comes round and I can whip out the old PS2 and get a bit of Timesplitters going!

 

[St1ckM4n]

FYI this has been available in Australia (and I expect Australiasia region too) since launch of the super-slim.

I haven't seen any info on if the flash storage remains active if an HDD is installed.

 

[treetops]

Yeah, I'm one of those people, I find consoles are expensive for what they are and really good games are not very frequent so when a generation is near its end I pounce, the console is now £150 instead of £500 and loads of good games are on it.

I'm spending almost £500 this month on a ps3 but I'll be getting all the accessories I need and loads of games. I spend most my time upgrading my PC since that's my primary machine for everything but I still find consoles entertaining and games like the last of us are worth the entry price alone.

This round though I'll probably pickup a PS4 early next year since alot of my gamer friends have decided to pre-order one, in the past though I just kinda picked them up near their end of life, haven't regretted it so far! And kept most of my machines and since they're usually the last versions of the console to come out, usually very refined and therefore reliable, it's intensely nice when an old friend comes round and I can whip out the old PS2 and get a bit of Timesplitters going!

Cool each to their own ! , hey though you should pick one up like a month after ps4 release off ebay I bet you can get one dirt cheap.

idk why I was bein a douche lol

 

[Burty117]

I haven't seen any info on if the flash storage remains active if an HDD is installed.

From what I've read it seems to, But I won't know for sure until tomorrow as I just ordered it all a moment ago.

Cool each to their own ! , hey though you should pick one up like a month after ps4 release off ebay I bet you can get one dirt cheap.

idk why I was bein a douche lol

Yeah... No, lol. Besides, I now have the time to play GTA V and the like, PS4 isn't the top priority right now, when it has matured a bit, see if their is any hardware issues etc... If all is A OK then I'll probably pick one up, not off eBay though xD

 

[treetops]

From what I've read it seems to, But I won't know for sure until tomorrow as I just ordered it all a moment ago.



Yeah... No, lol. Besides, I now have the time to play GTA V and the like, PS4 isn't the top priority right now, when it has matured a bit, see if their is any hardware issues etc... If all is A OK then I'll probably pick one up, not off eBay though xD

I meant a ps3

 

[Burty117]

I meant a ps3

Yeah, I kinda read it back thinking that but didn't want to edit the whole post xD

I prefer to stay away from eBay if I can, plus I plan on keeping this console like I have my PS2 so would rather get a nice new one, arrives in the next 12 hours and already excited just so I can play for myself what all the fuss is about "the last of us".

I've watched my friend play the first hour or so of the game and watched plenty of reviews but looking forward to playing all the same.