[Mong.News]

I came across an interesting catch that, oddly enough, was in a Batman: Arkham Asylum trailer. At about 1:30 seconds in, you see several testers playing Batman. The odd thing is, next to the TV's you see a blurred out console, which is tall, thin, and black. It's easy to assume these are PS3's, but why are they blurred out? Is it just my imagination, or do they seem way thinner then the normal PS3?

I know there are quite a few people anxiously awaiting the PS3 slim, and a price drop. So maybe this is hope for you? Or maybe you have an explanation as to why the consoles would be blurred out? Because I sure don't have a clue. I have to assume that Sony will eventually "slim" the PS3 sooner or later, and of course, a price-drop will happen. The question is simply "when?"

SOURCE

-Tenser

[Dalqak]

Yeah, I think it is.  If Sony was trying to keep this thing under wraps, they've been doing a horrible job at it.

I think if you were to put money on it, August 18th's Gamescom in Cologne is probably a pretty good chance for them to finally make it public.  

The price cut on the 160GB model, along with the reports from Japan that the 80GB was going to be discontinued, sure does point to something on the horizon...

Sony needs this...

[BlindShooter]

A slim ps3 would be something cool, would make it easier to fit into  whichever living room I end up...living...in.

[Tenser]

Sony needs this...

You mean "you need this."  

Actually, yeah. Sony does need this. There is an Xbox 360 rumor that the Elite is going to drop in price by 100 dollars. So if the 360 receives another price drop, and the PS3 still has yet to have it's first one, that's going to really hurt Sony. A price-drop will help all involved. I'd love to see more people with a PS3, which isn't me saying that it needs it perse. I never have a problem finding online games full of people. But of course, more users never hurt.

[Deekz]

Seems like Sony is just making attempts to appear as if they are hiding something. Why make it this easy to speculate? Probably because they want people to talk. They want us all to try to figure out what they're doing and get the word out. Those sneaky bums.

[Orvidos]

It would be nice, but. . .this isn't Mongbat news.

(To be less of a dick:) I might actually buy a PS3 if went down in price + wasn't like carrying around a chopping block.

[Tenser]

...this isn't Mongbat news.

Yeah, yer right. That's why it was posted in the "Minor News" section of a "gaming community." Anything game related is relevant. News specifically pertaining to, and effecting Mongbat will continue to be posted in the "Major News" section.

 


[Edit: Actually i think the idea was to get enough people doing this that we have at least one new story posted every day, or every other day, and if the news story is related to Mongbat as a whole, and/or important enough, it gets bumped to "Major News." Maybe Blind can correct me if i'm wrong.]

[Dalqak]

More info that seems to support this, translated for those who don't speaka da French. 

[BlindShooter]

Yeah, yer right. That's why it was posted in the "Minor News" section of a "gaming community." Anything game related is relevant. News specifically pertaining to, and effecting Mongbat will continue to be posted in the "Major News" section.

 


[Edit: Actually i think the idea was to get enough people doing this that we have at least one new story posted every day, or every other day, and if the news story is related to Mongbat as a whole, and/or important enough, it gets bumped to "Major News." Maybe Blind can correct me if i'm wrong.]

Pretty much, yeah
More news, more discussions, more activity. More funbags.

[Orvidos]

More news, more discussions, more activity.

I support this initiative.

More funbags.

I love this initiative.

[Koenwulf]

I've been seeing the rumors about this and read up a little.

It looks like the PS3 slim could launch as early as late September or November. However, the rumored price I've been hearing was 299 euros, putting it around $420 US.

Microsoft has been hearing the rumors too and have enacted a major price drop. They're supposed to be phasing out the Pro edition (mid-line) of the 360 and replacing it with the Elite (high end)...and they're pricing the Elite at $299, if rumors are to be believed.

I'd probably pick up a PS3 slim if the price was just a bit lower...maybe $350. But I'm still out for $420.

What all is the slim going to include, specs wise? Any chance of backwards compatibility?

And as for the screenshot with the blurred systems...I really see an Elite 360 there. I'm pretty sure the plugs are similar on the back of the system. Of course, I haven't really seen a PS3 much in person, so it could be one. I suppose the only reason for blurring the systems would be to show no console preference on the part of the dev's.

[Slade-Khan]

I'd say they blurred the system so as not to label it as a specific system.

If people want to view it as a PS3, cool, if they want to see a 360, cool.

[Koenwulf]

Here's something:

If we go with what the back of a current PS3 and 360 looks like, nothing plugs in as high as the top cord in the blurred picture for the PS3. Again, I think it's a 360, imo. However, we have no idea what a PS3 slim would look like, so cords and such could be moved around to look like the cords on the blurred pic.

I agree with ya Slade, I think they blurred the pic to show no preference. It is a multi-platform game, so perhaps they thought if they showed testers playing it on one system, it could influence sales for that system.

[-Abs0lut3^]

Shicky shicky shicky slim shady? Sorry, always wanted to say that in a thread

[Dalqak]

What all is the slim going to include, specs wise? Any chance of backwards compatibility?

This.  Give me software emulation, give me something... heh, I love me some Star Ocean and Xenogears, and I'd like to still play them on one system, rather than on the PC or on two. 

[Tenser]

I'd probably pick up a PS3 slim if the price was just a bit lower...maybe $350. But I'm still out for $420.

What all is the slim going to include, specs wise? Any chance of backwards compatibility?

I think $420 is a great price, considering all you get with it. The built in Blu-ray player alone makes it worth it. Not to mention they'll probably bundle it with a game. The 160gb PS3 already comes bundled with Uncharted, and it's $499. So if that drops to 420, that's pretty damn good. I honestly don't know why people fight the PS3 price so much, and use it as a slight against the PS3. I guess most don't know a good deal when they see it. /shrug
It should be looked at like this; A 120gb Xbox 360 Elite is basically the same as a 160gig PS3 in terms of features, and specs. Except it doesn't come with a Blu-ray player. So the PS3 costing a hundred bucks more for the built in Blu-ray player is really a steal. Yet some act like Sony is the devil, and is insulting the general population by making their console cost as much as it does. (Not saying anyone here is like that, but you see that constantly on other message boards, and it boggles my mind.)


As far as the Slim's backwards compatibility. I'm going to say it's unlikely, but not impossible. I thought i remembered Sony saying they were done with the whole backwards compatibility project. Personally, i don't mind busting out my PS2 when i want to play older games. It requires minimal effort, and will always work better then any software emulation.

(I also didn't consider them blurring out the consoles so as to not show bias. Good call. I'd say that's the most likely explanation.)

[Slade-Khan]

Tesny-
First off,  I agree with you.

I think the price of a PS3 is a steal for all you get with it.

The problem is-  most people don't give a hoot about the extras.

that's like the $6,000 burger at the hotel in Las Vegas.

Sure..  you get a nice juicy Carls Jr. burger...   but they also throw in an ungodly expensive bottle of champagne...
so what you're getting, as they advertise, is a $6k burger.

...  well..  if all you want is a bliming burger..  then you don't care about the champagne

I think that's where a lot of the anti-PS3 price/bells/whistles come in.

Sure, a Lamborghini is a SWEET ass car..
... but I can buy a Ford Focus which will get me from A to B just as safe,  and then still have enough money to buy a house.

...

Mind you-  again,  I agree with you-  and I was in line to buy the PS3 when they came out-  but i'm just saying what other's might see there.

[Koenwulf]

I was just gonna post exactly what Slade said.

When I buy a console, that's what I want-a machine that will play games. Yes it's nice that the PS3 has a Blu-ray player, and I know that a 'cheap' Blu-ray standalone runs for around $200, but if I wanted a Blu-ray player, I'd get one of those instead of a PS3.

And, on top of that...are we even sure the PS3 Slim is going to come with a Blu-ray player? I've not heard one way or the other if it is or isn't. I'm sure Sony had to remove something to make the PS3 'slim'.

Honestly though, I'd pick up the PS3 slim if they took out the Blu-ray player and dropped the price another $50-100. There are a few exclusives I wouldn't mind getting my hands on.

[Tenser]

The problem is-  most people don't give a hoot about the extras.

Right. I realize that, but the same could really be said about the 360, which i guess is why they have the Arcade version. "Technically" you don't need a hard drive, or a wireless receiver, or Netflix streaming, etc. I think it'd be great if Sony did the same, and put out a stripped down version of the PS3. Who knows, maybe that's what the Slim is going to be. More options is always a good thing. Personally though, i wouldn't buy a 360 without a hard drive, or a wireless receiver. Just like i wouldn't buy a striped down PS3, but that's just me...

My above post was only referring to how i constantly see PS3 vs. 360 articles, or blog posts, and in them they always use the PS3's price as a slight against the machine, without telling you what all you get for that price. Which leads to a lot of people being misinformed, and just avoiding the PS3 because it's this expensive, black enigma in their eyes.

[Koenwulf]

In response to the 'cost' argument, I think I may have your remedy. Rumors are swirling that the PS3 Slim isn't going to be 299 euros...but $299. And with backwards compatibility. No word on Blu-ray yet. 

It's getting tempting, but when I look at the exclusives, I realize I'm only missing out in God of War III and Metal Gear Solid 4. The other exclusives (Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet, etc) just don't interest me. When I look at the 360 exclusives, I see tons of games I want to play (Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Fable 2, Crackdown, Crackdown 2, Dead Rising). Again, it's all preference.

As to why the PS3 gets 'slighted', I think that has to do with the stigma that was attached to the PS3 at launch. I remember watching G4 the day of the PS3 release. Most of the reviewers were like "Resistance!....and not much else for $600." I think people 'dislike' the PS3 due to the not-so-impressive launch titles, and I think that mindset just kinda stuck with the system. Sony tried pulling a risky move, and 2-3 years ago it didn't look like making a console so versatile wasn't what the people want. The discussion was Blu-ray vs HD DVD, and Sony chose wisely. Now people want those extra little bits.

But I just want a console that'll play the games that I want to play.

The thing I don't get, though, is that the multi-platform games of this generation are amazing and the gamer culture refuses to acknowledge that. There's tons of "360 vs PS3" articles or debates, but far too few "Hey GTA IV is great!...no matter the system!" or "Check out Prototype!" As a matter of fact, the gamer culture is almost completely ignoring the fact that Nintendo is stomping both Microsoft and Sony. I think there's so many 360 vs PS3 discussions because gamers are afraid that casual games and shovelware are replacing the good ole hardcore games.

...oh, and I totally agree about the wireless receiver for the 360. You'd think by now Microsoft would have put one in the newer models.