BY SHAHZAD CHAUDHARY– MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. announced the release of a slimmer version of the PlayStation 3 on Tuesday that will be available in stores Sept. 1st. The slimmer PS3 will have a 120 GB hard drive and will cost $299.

With the introduction of this new product, Sony also announced [...]]]>

BY SHAHZAD CHAUDHARY– MEDILL NEWS SERVICE

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. announced the release of a slimmer version of the PlayStation 3 on Tuesday that will be available in stores Sept. 1st. The slimmer PS3 will have a 120 GB hard drive and will cost $299.

With the introduction of this new product, Sony also announced a drop in price for the current PS3 to $399 for the 160 GB HDD and $299 for the 80GB HDD.

The difference between the new and old is mostly superficial. The new PlayStation won’t render graphics any better, nor will it run faster, but it does look more sleek and will consume less power.

I must say, this price drop is a long time coming.  A basic version of Xbox 360 can be purchased for approximately $150 dollars and the Nintendo Wii is already only $250. PS3 has fallen behind the Wii and Xbox 360 in terms of sales.

Wii is currently leading the pack with approximately 52.6 million units sold. Xbox has so far sold about 30 million units and PS3 is last with about 23 million. Clearly, Sony is hoping that the slimmer and cheaper version of PS3 will boost sales, but whether it does is anyone’s guess.

Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony generally take a loss (or a very small profit) on their actual game consoles. The real money for these companies is the percentage they take from game sales.  If a system is priced too high, fewer people buy it and fewer third-party game developers create games for the system.

The PS3 is a case in point: It’s probably a more capable system than Xbox 360, but because of the price, it’s lagged in sales.

But what I’m really looking forward to is what these companies will come up with next. PS3 has introduced a Nintendo Wii-like remote which registers a one-to-one movement on-screen. It basically looks like the next version of the Nintendo Wii.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has gone well beyond anybody’s expectations by introducing a system that requires no controllers — the system recognizes body movements and registers them within the game. If this actually works, and game developers are able to utilize it in a creative way, you can bet Microsoft will take a commanding lead of the gaming industry.

Either way it looks like the future of gaming is bright. My inner nerd is very excited.