It is no secret that everyone was expecting, or even deserved to see, a drop in the price of the PS3. With a console that started at $599 USD three years ago, everyone was waiting to see when Sony would begin to appeal to the majority of consumers who aren’t willing to drop that much on a video game console. But, the question is now that it has come, is it enough to bring Sony back into the console war?

The PS3 Slim is a console that is going to retail for $299 starting in early September. It will come with a 120GB harddrive and is 34% lighter and smaller than the original PS3; this PS3, however, has a matte finish and no longer features the option for installing a secondary operating system.

The Nintendo Wii has heavily dominated the market and brought countless people who have never played video games into the market, but the Xbox 360 has been the console of choice for most people who can only purchase a single console and want a more adult experience than the Wii. The PS3 has always had the advantage of a built-in BluRay player, but the reasonable price difference that Microsoft has kept between it’s console and the PS3 and exclusive games made the BluRay feature more of an added bonus for buying a PS3 than a true decision changer in choosing a console.

The game changes a bit now that the Xbox 360 Elite, the version of the Xbox that is most comparable to the PS3, is $100 dollars more expensive and lacks a Bluray player. There is still a version of the Xbox 360 at the $299 price-point, but it features a 60GB harddrive unlike the 120GB that is being shipped with the PS3 slim. Rumors are now circulating that this version will be completely phased out and the Xbox 360 Elite will drop in price to $299.

Continue reading ‘Is the PS3 Slim enough to reignite the console wars?’