PS3 Slim in Europe on 1st September

By Tom Bramwell Published 18 August, 2009

£249 / €299, Bravia Sync, Linux option out.

Following on from its press conference at gamescom tonight, Sony has said that the European version of the new PlayStation 3 will launch on 1st September.

The console will cost €299 in mainland Europe and £249 in the UK.

In documentation released after the announcement, we were also told to expect Bravia Sync functionality, allowing people with Bravia TVs and HDMI to operate the XMB using their TV remote, rather than buying the fancy-pants one.

Also in the press release, we were told we'd no longer be able to install another operating system on the PS3. Alright then. Fahey will no doubt be gutted.

The tech specs for the new PS3 - model number CECH-2000A, fact fans - acknowledge that it still has only two USB slots, unlike our beefy 60GB originals.

Then again, it does have a 120GB hard disk, as revealed during the conference, and it also draws less power.

SCE boss Kaz Hirai also demonstrated a new vertical stand during the conference, which will cost $24 in the US and has no current European price or date.

You can see it in Europe though in our video footage of the PS3 Slim's unveiling.

Interestingly, the PS3 Slim press release also notes that we no longer need to refer to the console as PLAYSTATION 3, which will come as a relief to Sony since we weren't doing that anyway. PlayStation 3 it is.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (66) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • solidSnake04 #1 3 years ago

    oh my good lord. sony has really made it... i wonder what sort of price cuts microsoft have under their sleeve.
    + with their games line up and services, this surely has to be the "year of the ps3".
    Edited by 2 at 18/08/09 @ 23:57

  • keyboardmonkey #2 3 years ago

    Bugger and i only bought a PS3 chunky as it shall now be known, a few months ago... And i have the Bravia TV, don't tell me that it will do the BD remote control options as well... :'-( should have held out that bit longer doh!

  • XXmen #3 3 years ago

    Yeah!!!eat that xbots!!you are all finished!!!PS3 rules....now lets see if the people that said they were gonna buy it when the price drops....
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/09 @ 00:04

  • harzo #4 3 years ago

    Hmmmm £249 I might be tempted! I am sure there will be a good few bundle deals in the run up to Xmas so it might be better to wait a tiny bit longer - really like the look of Uncharted 2 :)

  • GuiltySpark #5 3 years ago

    Good deal I reckon. Revised hardware for less money? Bang on. Microsoft are going to look bad tomorrow if they yank the prices up.

  • Cyclone #6 3 years ago

    I'll admit that I never made use of the feature, but it's still a shame to see the linux installation option missing from the new models. Especially after Sony made such a big deal of it when the PS3 was first announced. It'll be interesting to find out why the option was removed.
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/09 @ 00:59

  • Hexagon #7 3 years ago

    £250? That is only a £25 price cut. I'll probably still buy one, though.

  • Kazzahdrane #8 3 years ago

    I can't work out if the comments here are sarcastic or actually people who think they are "fighting" in some kind of "war"...

    As for me, I always said I was waiting for a slim/pricedrop and free time to actually play the thing, so I'll be treating myself to one of these in a couple of months!

  • dr_faulk #9 3 years ago

    Linux on the PS3 is a recockulous joke. I'm glad it's going. Damn Sony, and damn the lot of them! I can't sleep!!

  • Retroid #10 3 years ago

    £250 probably also gives them a good amount of leg-room for price cuts next year after the chunkies are completely out of all retail channels.

  • CB.Gamestation #11 3 years ago

    Hexagon:

    It's a £49 price cut officially. If online retailers choose to sell below RRP it doesn't mean a price cut is tiny.
    To be honest with the 360 Arcade looking at going up to £149.99, the 60GB being discontinued and the Elite moving to £179.99(maybe?)... I'd rather spend the extra money on a sexy looking PS3 120GB (slim). (even if my 60GB Launch model is almost white from dust!)

  • meggsy #12 3 years ago

    What? only a 40% mark up for the UK?

    After the PSP Go mark up of 50% you are spoiling us Sony!

    That said I imagine what with the PSP Go being so bulky and heavy compared to the PS3 you need to ask for a little more when you ship it over...

  • Gaiduku #13 3 years ago

    Any news on if backwards compatibility is back?

  • NinjaWilliams #14 3 years ago

    From the blurry pics of it from the shifty underground shop of the Phillipines that was a rumor forever circulating - to now, a reality - it was abit of a shock eh! Now MS jacking up the prices of the 360, ha, Sony is on a roll this year and they aint stopping!!! :)

  • Slipstream #15 3 years ago

    Backwards Compa... Aww, who am I kidding... =(

  • miiiguel #16 3 years ago

    The price is indeed tempting, its crowd unfortunatly is scary. Can't the "soldiers" see that they are providing their "generals" a poor service, I mean... the goal is *my* money isn't it ? Or is it just a rethoric thing?
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/09 @ 02:23

  • lavalant #17 3 years ago

    It's still just the same old PS3 underneath though, and it's still more expensive than the current price of an xbox Elite (which is rumoured to be dropping) and there is no justification for that. In terms of gaming it's not like the PS3 does anything more than the Elite, and in many cases it actually does less. So why should I pay more?

    As a gamer I want this system but I'll be dammed if I'm paying a premium to help Sony standardize their blu ray format. No thanks, I can wait for a further price drop.

  • Rewind #18 3 years ago

    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/first-f ootage-of-slimline-ps3-appears
    ]http://ww w.eurogamer.net/articles/first-...[/link]

    This article was indeed correct and very accurate on the price!

  • MORZTAN #19 3 years ago

    I want supreme BC or no buy!

  • TedMoseby #20 3 years ago

    Does this version still retain the capability to upgrade the internal hard drive? (From the photos online it's not obvious where there's any access panel, and I don't have a current model PS3 to compare)

    Personally I was looking forward to this as a potential decision maker on buying a PS3. Still not sure, but the newer size and power consumption is welcome, although the actual new style does make it look a bit cheap and plasticky.

  • onezeonx #21 3 years ago

    You can 100% upgrade the HDD on the slim.

    Few other sites have shown this but I'm on my iPhone so can't look right now

  • rare_uk #22 3 years ago

    I think it looks fugly. Worse than the PS3 Chunky if you ask me.

  • beastmaster #23 3 years ago

    I have a 360 and have been waiting for this for a long time. Will buy one at end of Sept. Best of both worlds soon.

  • Bazfrag #24 3 years ago

    "I want supreme BC or no buy!"........ps2 at asda is £30. "I'll be dammed if I'm paying a premium to help Sony standardize their blu ray format. No thanks, I can wait for a further price drop." Gtfo... Seriously.

  • muscleblade #25 3 years ago

    " its crowd unfortunatly is scary"
    What do you mean?

    To bad they forgot to make a new controller that actually feels good to play games with.
    Its still the same hardware that get ridiculously weak third party games too so im sticking with the best console the market can offer.

  • oupe #26 3 years ago

    Although the-new-gadget-whore in me isn't happy about this, I think the legacy PS3 looks better.

  • muscleblade #27 3 years ago

    @lavalant

    I agree with you. Why pay more for less? I dont get it. And who needs more than one system anyway when theres so many new games coming all the time.

  • Melan #28 3 years ago

    No BC no buy. Still like my PS2 games.

  • jack_klugman #29 3 years ago

    Slightly worried they'll 'do a PSP' and only furnish the Slim version with new features in firmware updates. Any divergence in functionality between console SKUs with such a high price point feels unfair.

  • Doctor_What #30 3 years ago

    I hope the Bravia Sync goes into the firmware of my launch model, that would be a very nice addition.

  • Dave52 #31 3 years ago

    @TedMoseby "Does this version still retain the capability to upgrade the internal hard drive?"

    I believe you can still upgrade the Hard Drve with the turn of just 2 screws... Already got a 320G in my chunky, one of the best features for me...!

    EDIT: By the way, Amazon UK have the new slim 120G for pre-order at £250...
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/09 @ 09:00

  • jack_klugman #32 3 years ago

    I can't entirely understand Sony's 'no BC' stance. Sure, it must be costly to include the necessary hardware in each PS3, but isn't that offset by the value in continuing to monitise the PlayStation 2's established back catalogue, much like the Wii has allowed (to some extent) with GameCube games.

  • Dave52 #33 3 years ago

    But why is BC such a big deal. I've still got my PS2, so it's no biggie. I haven't played a PS2 game in ages.

  • midnight_walker #34 3 years ago

    There is an HDD slot on the bottom right of the front of the PS3 slim.

  • muscleblade #35 3 years ago

    @Dave52

    I really dont get it either. Isnt it enough with all the new and exciting games coming all the time.

  • lucky_jim #36 3 years ago

    I think this price has just about hit my sweet spot. If I can find a retailer willing to bundle a couple of decent games (preferably ones I can't get on my 360), which I'm sure will happen in the run up to xmas, I'll be a PS3 owner before too long.

  • 3william56 #37 3 years ago

    Any sign of wireless N in the slim? It's about the only reason I'd upgrade, to get HD streaming across my wifi. Pretty much everything else has N nowadays, so I was expecting it in the Slim.

  • TheTingler #38 3 years ago

    @Muscleblade & Dave52

    At some point you WILL want to go back to PS2 games. There are a ton of classic games on PS2 that aren't available on other systems, and I don't fancy forever plugging in my PS2 (which is starting to get fussy loading them too) whenever I want to play them. I have only a certain amount of shelf-space, y'know. If it's not being played it goes in the cupboard or gets sold. I want to keep the games but get rid of the console.

    While I can't buy the PS3 just right now anyway (I'll probably have to wait until next year if I do), Backwards Compatibility would've made it a hell of a lot more attractive and given me a much better excuse to get one. It's a lot of the reason why I got a Wii on day one for example. Yes PS3's got a few great new games on it, but I want to know when the PS4 comes around that I can get rid of that PS3 safely without worrying that I'll never be able to play Uncharted ever again.

  • jack_klugman #39 3 years ago

    @Dave52

    I guess its a convenience thing - fewer boxes under the TV. I also sold my GameCube when the Wii game out as it was no longer needed - bit of extra cash to buy new games certainly didn't hurt. Plus, if you add features like high definition upscaling then you add value to the old content so it incentivises transitioning from your old console to your new one.

    I guess what I'm getting at is at the end of the day if its a viable revenue source why not do it? (Presumably because its not a viable revenue source... Ah!)

  • MORZTAN #40 3 years ago

    Tingler and Klugman are right on the money.

    I dont want the PS3 AND my PS2 plugged to my tv, together with my wii and 360. Its simply to inconvenient.

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #41 3 years ago

    I'm kinda glad Nintendo control the market in numbers atm, the casual market can flock to them while the actal gamers can carry on getting better and better offers from Mircosoft and Sony trying to battle back for 'top dog', sod whos 'winning the war' we're getting better quality and deals from the 'losers' of said 'war' - gamers are the real winners of all this because at least their isn't one 'big thing' being our only option ripping us off with cheap and usless stuff because they 'can'.

  • NorUraeus #42 3 years ago

    Its a bit frustrating that they ditched the Linux option, but since they never gave Linux access to use the GPU it was a bit useless anyway IMHO. And I guess by this time there is enough original systems out there that if you want linux support you can get it by buying a used PS3.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #43 3 years ago

    "There is an HDD slot on the bottom right of the front of the PS3 slim. "

    You know that, do you? Because looking at the pics of the underside it doesn't look that way to me.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #44 3 years ago

    "I can't entirely understand Sony's 'no BC' stance. Sure, it must be costly to include the necessary hardware in each PS3"

    What hardware? The PAL PS3, and the later US models, used software emulation for PS2 games.

  • jack_klugman #45 3 years ago

    @ Stuart Campbell

    Okay, or software. I guess both have their costs - in one instance you need to continue to manufacture PS2 hardware to incorporate in the PS3, in the other you need to hire a programming team to support per-title emulation. My gut feeling would be that the former was the cheaper proposition in the long term (if you can feed off the existing PS2 production lines and establish a common practice for incorporating the hardware cost can only go down over time, right?) and the one less likely to come up against obscure compatibility problems (http://ww w.us.playstation.com/Support/Co...

  • jack_klugman #46 3 years ago

    @ Stuart Campbell

    And just to confirm... Didn't the first batch of NTSC-J PS3 SKUs have PS2 chips onboard? I was under the impression software emulation only came about later.

  • jack_klugman #47 3 years ago

    @ Stuart Campbell

    The reason they've dropped backwards compatibility is so they can sell PS2 games through PSN down the road at an inflated price point.

    Right, ignore me.

  • SeesThroughAll #48 3 years ago

    What hardware? The PAL PS3, and the later US models, used software emulation for PS2 games.

    Even later models still had a GS chip inside, because the PS2 GPU can't be properly emulated by the RSX...

    Do you honestly think they'd block out PS2 games if the emulation was purely done by software already?

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #49 3 years ago

    "And just to confirm... Didn't the first batch of NTSC-J PS3 SKUs have PS2 chips onboard? I was under the impression software emulation only came about later."

    That's correct. PAL PS3s have never had hardware emulation, but early NTSC models did.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #50 3 years ago

    "Do you honestly think they'd block out PS2 games if the emulation was purely done by software already? "

    Honestly? Almost everything Sony have done with regard to the PS3, and in particular its BC, has been so utterly retarded that I wouldn't rule it out. They can't even get their story straight.

    "Backwards compatibility is a core value of Playstation now."
    [link url=http ://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=55108
    ]http://ww w.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_...[/link]

    "We're not going to remove backwards compatibility."
    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=74124 ]http://ww w.eurogamer.net/article.php?art...[/link]

    "We removed backwards compatibility to cut the price."
    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=85648 ]http://ww w.eurogamer.net/article.php?art...[/link]

    "We removed backwards compatibility to make people buy PS3 games, NOT to lower the price."
    [link url=http://kotaku.com/gaming/spin/jack-tretton...ures-31 2628.php
    ]http://ko taku.com/gaming/spin/jack-trett...[/link]

    "We removed backwards compatibility as a result of consumer feedback."
    [link url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=84824 ]http://ww w.eurogamer.net/article.php?art...[/link]

    "We removed backwards compatibility to spend the money on developing new games."
    http://ww w.eurogamer.net/article.php?art...

  • SeesThroughAll #51 3 years ago

    That's correct. PAL PS3s have never had hardware emulation, but early NTSC models did.

    NO IT'S NOT CORRECT.

    STOP SPREADING LIES.

    FOR THE LAST TIME: EUROPEAN LAUNCH PS3S HAD PS2 HARDWARE (NAMELY, THE GPU) IN ORDER TO MAKE PS2 EMULATION POSSIBLE AT THE TIME. THERE WAS INDEED HARDWARE EMULATION INVOLVED.
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/09 @ 11:23

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #52 3 years ago

    They did not have the hardware emulation that the NTSC models did, which was complete full emulation. It's therefore highly misleading to use the same term to refer to both.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #53 3 years ago

    He's right Stu, they never emulated the graphics hardware in software, and it very much looks like they never will.

    But on to the Linix question - is support for other OSs going out of the door with the firmware, so the PS3 Phat won't support it either? Or is it tied to the new hardware?

    I missed out on bagging a 60GB before the backward compatability went away, and I was actually planning on putting Linux on a PS3 if I bought one. I need to know if I'll have to act fast.

  • rotmm #54 3 years ago

    Stu,

    So wouldn't you be better to state that EU had partial-hardware emulation and US full hardware emulation.

    Much more truthful than stating PAL PS3's only ever had software emulation and no hardware emulation.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #55 3 years ago

    To answer my own question:

    Removal of “Install Other OS” feature

    The new PS3 system will focus on delivering games and other entertainment content, and users will not be able to install other Operating Systems to the new PS3 system.

    Along with a vast line-up of attractive and exciting entertainment content with the new PS3 system, SCE will continue to further expand the PS3 platform and create a new world of computer entertainment.

    Looks like it's a hardware rather than a firmware limitation. Great, I'm going to have to persuade my wife to let me spend £250 in the middle of summer.

    Another model, another dropped feature, eh, Sony? Still, good news for anyone who spent 2 grand upwards on a Sony-branded TV.

  • WinterSnowblind #56 3 years ago

    So how much is the Go? All sites still list it as £250, but it can't possibly be the same price as a PS3.
    £180 like we originally thought would be a LOT more reasonable.

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #57 3 years ago

    How could you have missed the fact that it's £225?

  • WinterSnowblind #58 3 years ago

    £225 is almost as ridiculous.
    No thanks.

  • Ace_McCloud #59 3 years ago

    Definitely eyebrow raising and a real tempter.

    But ultimately as a 360 owner already I just can't really see myself getting one.

    Blu-ray is the most attractive prospect, but I'd rather stick to downloads.

    Still, finally a decent move by Sony so hats off to them. If the games to go with the motion controlling are outstanding then I might buy.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #60 3 years ago

    After using motion plus on the Wii, I really wish Sony would do a motion Golf game in 1080P and using the dual screen option they originally promised gaming would take a leap forward. That would be awesome news. Sorry, but nothing exciting came out of yesterday at all.
    Note to Kaz, we are still ready for real change.

  • NinjaWilliams #61 3 years ago

    It doesn't have an ethernet port either

    Update: Sorry it DOES have an ethernet port! My bad! :)
    Edited by 1 at 19/08/09 @ 19:25

  • Bulbatron #62 3 years ago

    If full PSone/PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility came back I would buy one, but since that is rather unlikely, I won't be bothering.

  • Vermillion3000 #63 3 years ago

    Speaking as a fully paid up member the HATE TEH SONY (Grrr hiss boo etc..) brigade I'm actually quite likely to buy a PS3 slim.
    It'll fit in my flat for a start, (more precisely it'll fit on my AV shelf without having to do serious rearranging - of all the other Sony home cinema kit that is in the way)
    £250 is a much fairer price - and hopefully there'll be some decent bundles.
    There's a few good games I long to play - WipeOut is obviously necessary, and I was enjoying Infamous until I had to give my mate's PS3 back.
    Plus a proper next gen Ratchett and Clank (cos the last one was lots of fun) and you have a deal.

    Even though I obviously HATE TEH SONY (grrr hiss etc etc..) they do seem to be getting their act together a lot now. Which, if this hardware gen lasts as long as everyone is saying should end up very good for us gamers.

  • Nephirion #64 3 years ago

    The TOASTER just got slimmer ^^

  • darm #65 3 years ago

    300 euros is still too expensive compared to 360. $300 would be acceptable though. I'll consider importing one from US.

  • zedzee #66 3 years ago

    @ Nephirion:

    I heard someone calling it a "bread bin" the other day! :-)