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January 11, 2008

Sony to Axe Original Playstation 3 Models in Japan

By Raju Shanbhag, TMCnet Contributing Editor

Focusing on the on the new slimmed down version of the PS3 amid fierce competition from rival Nintendo Co., Sony has announced that it will stop selling the two original PlayStation 3 models in Japan. The shipments of PlayStation 3s with 20- and 60-gigabyte hard disk drives will end this month in its domestic market.



 
The PS3 was introduced with a price tag of 39,980 yen (364 dollars), compared with a reduced price of 44,980 yen for the standard 20-GB hard disk drive PS3. Also, it is still costlier than Wii, which sells for 25,000 yen.
 
Sony launched two original versions in November 2006 to boost its sales. The new PS3 model did not play games designed for the PlayStation 2 and had two high-speed USB ports instead of four. It also did not have a super audio CD system.
 
AFP quoted Sony Computer Entertainment in a report as saying, “The Company will vigorously promote the expansion of the PS3 platform by further concentrating on the 40GB hard disk drive model.” 
 
The 40GB hard disk drive model is cheaper and it was introduced in Japan in November last year in a bid to compete with Nintendo's more affordable Wii video game console.
 
Nintendo's console outsold the Sony PS3 by three-fold in its domestic market last year. Apart from the cost factor, other features offered by Nintendo's Wii such as a motion-sensitive controller are taking the demand for the consoles to even higher levels. The company has not been able to meet the high demands for its consoles and often repeatedly fails to produce enough consoles!
 
In the New Year, while Nintendo has introduced a cheaper, easy-to-use console that would appeal to a wider audience, Sony is concentrating on chip power and ultra-realistic graphics for the latest addition to the PlayStation series.
 
 
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Mark your calendars! Internet Telephony (News - Alert) Conference & EXPO — the first major IP communications event of the year — is just days away. It’s not too late to register for the event, which takes place in Miami Beach, FL, January 23–25, 2008. The EXPO will feature three valuable days of exhibits, conferences and networking that you won’t want to miss. So what are you waiting for? Sign up now!
 







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