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60GB PS3 vs 40GB PS3

Update: The 60GB and 40GB console have now been phased out in the UK. The new console is 80GB - view our 40GB PS3 vs 80GB PS3 comparison here

Here is a summary (updated) of the differences between the 60GB PS3 and the 40GB PS3 (UK Specs). It's not just the storage capacity that's changed.

  1. Price
    A bit obvious this one, but at £299 the 40GB PS3 will be about £50 cheaper than the 60GB version. The price for the 60GB PS3 console will drop to £349*. This should bring the PS3 price more inline with the Xbox 360, unless Microsoft do a tit for tat and drop the price of the 360 again.

  2. Ethernet Ports
    Unchanged. A lot of people are reporting a loss of ethernet ports, but the 60GB console only ever shipped with one ethernet port in the UK. The two other ethernet ports were intended to provide ethernet hub functionality.

  3. HDMI Ports
    Unchanged. The 40GB version will have one HDMI port, as did the 60GB UK PS3. There was a dual HDMI version of the 60GB PS3, but it never made it to the UK. Dual HDMI ports enabled you to do dual screen 1080P, but how many people own or even have the space to run two 1080P screens anyway?!

  4. USB Ports
    Two USB ports vs the 60GB console's four USB ports.

  5. Flash Memory Card Slots
    The 40GB Console has no multi memory card port for SD cards etc.

  6. Controller Vibration
    Still no controller vibration for the 40GB console. Sony were complaining that the vibration on the DualShock 2 would interfere with the motion sensor, but this might have something to do with a lawsuit that Sony was fighting for copyright infringement.

  7. PS2 games compatibility
    No backward compatibility with PS2 games for the 40GB PS3. Sony said something about saving money here by not paying for emulation licences.

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* The 60GB PS3 will be sold for £349 with 2 games. That's £50 extra for 2 games and a higher spec console. We think they need to sort the pricing out here as the price difference between the 40GB and 60GB value pack console is non existent if you take the price of the games into account. The best thing to do is to bundle in one or two games with the 40GB console.

We think releasing the new 40GB console is a good move from Sony (Apart from the close pricing between the two consoles). People complained about how expensive the 60GB PS3 was and the hefty price tag was all due to the shear amount of technology inside the console. In our opinion the features they've removed were just overkill anyway. Most people would only ever use one one or two USB ports and hardly ever use a flash card. Lastly if removing the PS2 backward compatibility saves money then we're all for it, as playing old PS2 games on a HiDef PS3 is just a waste of technology. If you want to play your old PS2 games, just dust off your old PS2 console and play them on that. If you happen to have sold your PS2 then you should have flogged the games with the console.

For people who still feel the need for all those extra ports, the rumour is that Sony will be shipping the 80GB PS3 to the UK next year. That should hopefully carry the higher spec for the people that really need it.

40GB PS3 vs 80GB PS3
 

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