In the current console generation, there have been so many changes to the look and designs of each of the three major consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo.  On Tuesday, Sony revealed at the Tokyo Game Show that they will be releasing a Super Slim version of their trademark console, the PS3.

The updated console will be available on September 28th in the UK, as it is launched on the same day as EA Sports football sensation FIFA 13. These will be available to buy as a bundle.

This sounds exciting for Sony fans, but looking at the bigger picture, is this what Playstation fans want to see? With many rumours being created almost on a daily basis, do we really need a redesigned PS3?

The overview of the new Super Slim version is that it will be available with two different sizes of storage, one with 250 GB and another with 500 GB with a 12 GB flash model. A 250 GB HDD version will be released at the same time on October 12th. 

As I have mentioned before, this does sound good for gamers who are either looking to upgrade their current PS3 to a quieter and more reliable version but is this what the gaming market needs? For the past few years we have been hearing constant rumours of the next generation and this may seem to confirm that a next generation Playstation console has a few years left before it will be unveiled.

The current console generation we are in has experienced one of the most unreliable console experiences in history. The Xbox 360 has suffered from the “Red Ring of Death” and has seen the release of two updated models from the original with the Elite and the Slim released only a few years ago.

The Nintendo Wii hasn’t seen many faults with only other colours being made available. Now with the release of the PS3 Super Slim, the Playstation will have released the standard PS3, Slim and now the Super Slim. The PS3 suffered like the 360, although not as bad, with the “Yellow light of death” mostly occuring only with the earlier versions of the console.

I think that we need to look ahead to the next generation and see what the future holds for us. There have been so many high points, as well as a few low ones, with the current era of gaming.

The current generation has seen many advances in technology with motion controls and new online modes such as horde mode being implemented into most games. I believe that we need more than an updated Playstation, we need to look to the future and see what technological advances we can anticipate. The Super Slim is something may sound great, but would have been better suited three or four years ago.

Personally, I have never owned a Playstation 3 and have owned two Xbox 360s, a Premium Xbox and now a Slim. I believe that the games which are coming out this Fall are extremely exciting. In terms of exclusive games though, the cycle is gradually slowing down and has been for some time.

Playstation continues to draw in players with exciting titles such as Uncharted, God of War, Killzone, Heavy Rain and with games such as Last of Us and Metal Gear Solid 5 still to be released in the future, it may be a great idea to buy a Playstation 3. I still think that we should look beyond this current generation, as great as it is and has been, we need some fresh gaming experiences and I don’t believe that the release of the Super Slim will help this.

@SimonMarshall6

the author

23, Scotland, Great Britain, Enjoys Football (Soccer), Basketball and Running, Manchester United are the team for me!

  • http://www.facebook.com/H2OPanache Lou Wagner

    I agree that the new PS3 is a negative thing, but for very different reasons. The problem that I have with this new iteration of the PlayStation is not that they are making it, it is that they are not adjusting their prices accordingly. Sony is saying they want the PS3 to last until 2015 and they don’t want to de-value their product, so they are not dropping the price on earlier models. This makes no sense to me from the consumer point-of-view.

    The marketing/pricing of the PS3 has been a convoluted mess since its release. It is obvious that they grossly overpriced the system at launch. After a few months they did away with the original models and put in the ones with less card slots, USB ports, and removed the emotion chip. They didn’t really start making any progress until they released the slim and dropped the price of the system significantly. You would think they would want to do the same thing this time around, especially considering the upcoming Wii U, which is priced the same and has superior hardware.
    Regarding the RROD and other console failure issues, I get kind of puzzled when people keep bringing this up as if it is the first time anything like this has happened. Most everyone my age remembers having to blow on their NES games to make them work due to the poorly designed cartridge connector. Also there was the flashing red light issue when too much dust gathered and made the system reset itself repeatedly. The PS2 also had a TON of problems, which people seem to conveniently forget about when discussing these matters. Remember when some of the PS2 discs had that blue tine to the underside? As the consoles aged they would stop reading those discs and once that started, you knew it was the beginning of the end. There was also a hefty class action lawsuit against Sony because of the widespread PS2 malfunctions.
    I think the RROD gets a lot more negative attention then it deserves. Certainly it was a pain in the ass and a terrible thing to happen with a newly released console, but Microsoft stood behind their product and fixed the problem. I had one X-Box red ring, and Microsoft fixed it at no cost. I went through 3 PS2′s and Sony never did a thing about it (minus the pittance from the class action suit). I think MS took a lot of flack over the RROD because they made it so obvious when there was a problem. It was easy to turn it into a symbol for malfunction.
    Bottom line is that new consoles will always have issues that we just won’t know about until the systems are out on the market and being used in mass number and over lengthy periods of time. If you are ever tempted to shell out extra for one of those insurance policies that stores love to sell people, new console release is the time to do it. I don’t think that releasing updated iterations of consoles is inherently a bad thing. Technology evolves and prices drop so rapidly over time that manufacturers can afford to make their product better mid-cycle. This extends the life cycle of consoles and ultimately saves us money and gives us a better gaming experience. It also decreases the barrier of entry for those who can’t afford a brand new system at launch, which brings in younger audiences and new gamers. At least that’s how it should work. Unfortunately, Sony thinks they can cut their production costs and just keep the savings to themselves while offering a BS reason why they won’t drop prices. Maybe they will wise up after a cold reception and drop some prices come Holiday season.

    • http://jeffjohnsonshow.blogspot.com/ Broadcaster Jeff

      Wow Lou! Your comments could have been an article in themselves!

  • crave

    “We” don’t need it, but Sony do. They have to make a profit some day. With less plastic, costs come down, just look at the old models with ‘Playstation 3′ engraved(pressed?) on the sides, this changed to just ‘PS3′ later on. Of course you’ve got the smaller chips blah blah blah.

    If anything, bundling the new FIFA with the new PS3 is a smart move and should shift units, especially outside of North America.

    I just want Black Ops 2.

  • huga

    “The PS3 suffered like the 360, although not as bad, with the “Yellow light of death” mostly with the earlier versions of the console.”

    lie the 360?
    PS3 failure rate was around 4 -9 % while Xbox 360 failure rate was 25 and 35%

    360 was a big hardware failure!

    i don’t own any of these consoles, but i don’t think new PS3 model is a Negative.

  • Guest

    It is deifinitely a negative. It’s not cheaper, it’s uglier en made of poorer quality materials with a PoS top loader design that is bound to go bust. It is no wonder Sony’s credit rating has been lowered again today (BBB) to the second lowest rating. Nobody has faith in that company anymore and investors are pulling out fast.