| rocketpig said: Now, the 40GB model... Am I the only one who was surprised at how quickly this thing popped out of nowhere? A new motherboard, new 65nm processor, no hardware BC whatsoever. Strange, IMO. A pretty quick turnaround for a major hardware redesign. My theory is that Sony always planned to move to software emulation in an attempt to cut costs later in the PS3 lifecycle. I think the pressure from MS, poor sales, and outrage over the launch price forced their hand, making them release models long before software emulation was available, forcing them to cut BC entirely. Not the prettiest of situations but they may have felt that the lower price was worth the short term risk of a reduced feature set. |
The fast turnaround doesn't surprise me -- Sony is a skilled cost reducer. I suspect the plan all along was to have a $499 model for launch 2006, $399 for holiday 2007, and a $299 unit for holiday 2008. The decision to axe onboard BC was probably due to customer response, though -- hardcore gamers like myself wanted BC and were willing to pay extra, but most folks don't really care (and the PS2 will soon be $99 anyway). The emulation will eventually be there, but it's much less urgent than ensuring that the hardware works, and that the audio-visual features are fully functional.
Also, Sony's first year sales were far from poor - they sold roughly as many units as the 360 did during the latter's first year, despite the lack of HDTVs and the PS3's much higher price.
