US getting gunmetal grey PS3

By Ellie Gibson Published 11 April, 2008

Sony quiet on plans for Europe.

Konami has konfirmed that the gunmetal grey PlayStation 3, already available in Japan, is set to go on sale in North America as a "very, very limited edition".

It's being launched to coincide with the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, according to the US PlayStation blog, and will come bundled with a copy of the game.

Alternatively American consumers will be able to purchase a bundle that includes the black 80GB model, which was discontinued in the US for a while.

In the UK, Sony will be offering a British-themed console shaped like a big red bus draped in a Union Jack with Big Ben sticking out one of the USB ports and the Queen as a bus conductor taking money off Solid Snake who is dressed as Lord Kitchener. Or possibly Lucan. This is of course a lie and Sony has yet to respond to requests for comment.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is out on June 12th. You can find lots of writing and pictures about it over on the gamepage.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Tejstar #1 4 years ago

    Please bring this to Europe. Not sure whether I'd give up my 60GB for it though...

  • agparrot #2 4 years ago

    I'm tired of trotting out Phil Harrison's line about Europe being the most important region for the PS3.

    It isn't any truer today than it was when he said it.

  • Killerbee #3 4 years ago

    If a MGS4 pack is on the way to Europe I don't think Sony will announce it officially until after the GTAIV one has done the necessary business.

    I just hope they see the sense in releasing the 80GB model with backwards compatibility and a Dualshock 3 over here. Pleeeeeeeeease?

  • Tejstar #4 4 years ago

    I didn't even realise there was a 80GB with BC, I haven't bothered to keep to date with all the SKUs they bring out nowadays.

    Does that also come with a card reader?

  • bad09 #5 4 years ago

    I WANT THE MGS4 BUNDLE SONY (with the machine they get, not just the crappy model you have out here)!!!!

  • monkie_king #6 4 years ago

    does that 80gb one have HW b/c?

  • Killerbee #7 4 years ago

    The 80GB model in the US is the same as the Euro 60GB models but with an extra 20Gig - it's part-hardware and part-software emulation, so no, not completely backwards-compatible with the PS2. Sadly, that's probably the best we're ever going to get. :(

  • monkie_king #8 4 years ago

    and are they still making them, or is it just taking a long time to run down the stock levels?

  • MouzerMalti #9 4 years ago

    konfirmed?


    hahaha

  • Widge #10 4 years ago

    I wonder how we are doing on backwards compat at the moment? FFXII had awful glitchy FMV, but that got resolved. Also had no gripes with anything in game at all too.

  • agparrot #11 4 years ago

    @Tejstar

    I didn't even realise there was a 80GB with BC, I haven't bothered to keep to date with all the SKUs they bring out nowadays.


    Only in the USA. Here in Europe, the most important region, you can only get the 40Gb non-backward-compatible version, pretty much.

  • Killerbee #12 4 years ago

    I'm tired of trotting out Phil Harrison's line about Europe being the most important region for the PS3.

    It isn't any truer today than it was when he said it.

    I think the main problem is that, aside from the UK, Sony are probably quite happy with their performance over Microsoft in Europe - and even in the UK it's doing okay. It's only really in America that the Xbox 360 has presented a real amount of competition to Sony's machine, hence why SCEA are so keen to get US gamers onside.

    As much as we all bitch about it on forums, those of us who are still holding out for a backwards compatible PS3 with a Dualshock 3 in the box and a bit more storage are just the vocal minority. The 40GB is actually doing decent business, so Sony don't really see the need to do us any favours.

    They're wrong, of course, and I hate them for it, but that's life in Sony world.
    Edited by Killerbee at 11/04/08 @ 14:59

  • systems #13 4 years ago

    Good news for people with gunmetal grey HDTVs.

  • agparrot #14 4 years ago

    As much as we all bitch about it on forums, those of us who are still holding out for a backwards compatible PS3 with a Dualshock 3 in the box and a bit more storage are just the vocal minority. The 40GB is actually doing decent business, so Sony don't really see the need to do us any favours.

    They're wrong, of course, and I hate them for it, but that's life in Sony world.

    Yes, I see this Killerbee - I have actually given up on the idea of there ever being a new, backward-compatible PS3 model released in Europe, but the DS3 and more storage are sure to come in the fullness of time, and I'm happy to wait for those things, as it turns out, despite thinking that I'd never be able to resist a PS3, at one point.

    Having only picked my 360 up last August, I can't wait to have a similar experience on PS3 - all those games to catch up on, which I can get on the cheap!

  • Tejstar #15 4 years ago

    Cheers guys. I don't think I'd replace my 60GB PS3 unless the replacement model had BC. Believe it ot not I still play a lot of PS2 titles on my PS3, especially as there hasn't been any really exclusive AAA games on the system recently.

    I'm not bothered about storage size as it's quite cheap and easy to do that manually.

  • agparrot #16 4 years ago

    I'm not bothered about storage size as it's quite cheap and easy to do that manually.

    Yes of course - I had completely forgotten you can swap out any 2.5" drive - that was a quality decision, and I'll probably just end up getting a huge drive if I plump for PS3 pre-storage changes.

  • Royal Fool #17 4 years ago

    This limited edition PS3 is rather crappy, as far as limited edition hardware goes.

    EDIT: I mean the way it looks, of course.
    Edited by Royal Fool at 11/04/08 @ 15:30

  • monkie_king #18 4 years ago

    Makes you realise how much profit MS squeezes from the Premium and Elite consoles, when an HDD that can't cost them more than £10 is the only real difference between them and the Core.

  • CobraN #19 4 years ago

    Of course no Euro announcement, all console and game companies agreed to screw europe over and make us wait for everything, hence the Rock band thing and why we get everything last (except the poor aussies who I think have to wait even longer than us)

  • Widge #20 4 years ago

    Tejstar:

    Same here, I never did finish FFXII off. Warhawk literally absorbed weeks before I forced myself off it to try and play my other games. Had a random "I never did give you a chance moment" and went back to FFXII!

    I wouldn't want to give up my emulation either, even with the reports of the 40GB models being even quieter (although over time and firmwares, mine has got better and better... seems like Sony have been working on less taxing upscaling and stuff). If anything, the only thing I'd do is bung a huge hdd in there and move my media collection onto it.

    And are you the AVF Tejstar too? :D

    Oh yeah, no big bind about the colour either. PS3 currently matches my entire setup as it is!

  • Carlo #21 4 years ago

    dogforcedtoeatvegetables.jpg

    DONOTWANT

    Arf!

  • ronuds #22 4 years ago

    Doesn't sound like many of these will be released in the US, so maybe they're stocking up for a Euro announcement.

    I think it would come after GTAIV, though. Remember, the US doesn't have a GTAIV bundle...at least, not yet they don't. And I'd suspect that there wouldn't be or Sony wouldn't have announced this already.

  • CARL05 #23 4 years ago

    "Good news for people with gunmetal grey HDTVs"

    and the only gunmetal grey HDTV I can think of is Sony Bravia, the rest are black, so that would go quite well with sony's plan for world domination!

  • Ryze #24 4 years ago

    Shit - this'll be BIG, I reckon.

    /observes...

  • ChaK #25 4 years ago

    I'm getting seriously tired about sony's european phylosophy (read bottom of the trashcan).

    We are one of their best gamer nest, and we just keep getting things later ... or never !

    c'mon sony, give us some love

  • iWolf #26 4 years ago

    Sony bring this to Europe I beg of you. Or at the very least bring out a better SKU (increased HDD cap, BC, dualshock 3).

  • Les #27 4 years ago

    "Yes of course - I had completely forgotten you can swap out any 2.5" drive - that was a quality decision, and I'll probably just end up getting a huge drive if I plump for PS3 pre-storage changes."

    Or you could just attach a big external HDD. Though for the poor souls with the 40gb version with just two USB ports that's a little less attractive...

  • zedzee #28 4 years ago

    Can someone tell me why is it that Sony thinks the UK can make do with a 40GB HDD model and the US can have 60/80GB machines and the same in Japan?

    Why is this aspect of the specification different?

    We pay more for the unit but get less, while they pay less but seem to get showered with bonuses, like bigger HDD sizes!

  • bad09 #29 4 years ago

    @zedzee

    It's because we are Europe mate and we always get shafted. The only way to stop getting shafted is to speak with our wallets or when a European company develops a console for us. Hopefully one day we will be taken a bit more seriously.

  • m0thr4 #30 4 years ago

    @zedzee

    "Can someone tell me why is it that Sony thinks the UK can make do with a 40GB HDD model and the US can have 60/80GB machines and the same in Japan?

    Why is this aspect of the specification different?

    We pay more for the unit but get less, while they pay less but seem to get showered with bonuses, like bigger HDD sizes! "

    You answered your own question there... Sony are in business to make money for their shareholders, first and foremost.

    The US economy is in dire straits at the moment, and the Americans seem to prefer the Xbox 360 (possibly because it's American) so the PS3 is a much harder sell over there.

    Here in Europe, we're comparatively rich and the PS3 has no problem selling; therefore, it makes perfect sense to trim the machine down to the bare minimum and keep the price as high as the market will stand.
    Edited by m0thr4 at 12/04/08 @ 12:27