Launch Dates and Prices
Japan: November 11
• 20 GB - 58,900 Yen (US $536)
• 60 GB - Priced by retailers
North America: November 17
• 20 GB - US $499, CN $549
$bull; 60 GB - US $599, CN $659
Europe/Australia: November 19 No date yet?
• 20 GB - 499 Euros (US $633)
• 60 GB - 599 Europs (US $760)
Got that? The only difference between the two “models,” apparently, is the size of the hard drive - 20 gigs vs. 60 gigs. That translates to a $100 price difference for the American PS3 … for comparison’s sake, that’s the same as the difference between a 30-gig and 60-gig iPod.
(Also, we didn’t hear a price in Australian dollars… did you?)
Who knows if it’ll be worth it to pick up the larger hard drive right away - or when an add-on to soup up your storage space will come along. The two-tier price system, however, is obviously ripped off from Microsoft’s Xbox 360’s similar price structure. We’ll get into what else they ripped off (think boomerang) from their competitors a few posts down the road.