Btw, the procedure to swap your HDD is thoroughly explained in one page of the PS3 manual. Funny that people go to online manuals for it.

somarix

really it makes a lot of sense for Sony to do, why not create an official external drive for people who don't care to open up their electronics.

Yes, it isn't hard to do, but not everyone wants to spend their time that way. Doesn't always mean they are idiots though, but it is fun to pretend that is does.

mouroutaru

The bigger issue with external drives on the PS3 is that they'll only read one partition off of the drive (so with a larger hard drive, a third party utility is required to make use of all of the space,) it doesn't offer any easy means to autoformat for the PS3 (which would eliminate the hassle of digging through software to be able to manually format the hard drive,) and it's not quite supported the same as the internal drive on the PS3.

@MonkeyBiz: Try copying the files to the hard drive. There have been some known issues of playing DivX from off of discs or flash media. If that doesn't work, then there may be a compatibility issue with some part of the codec used.

Aesteval

mikecoscia

they're looking at the possibility of letting the customer choose the size of their hard drive upon purchase of a new PS3. we're talking about the internal drive, not some external drive.

and we're not talking about the current choice of 40GB or 80GB, as those PS3s have more differences than just the hard drive size. this is clear because he says: "The PlayStation will stay the same, but consumers can choose whichever size of hard drive they want."

we're talking about a scenario like the following:

customer: i'd like a PS3.
clerk: sure, what size hard drive would you like?
customer: what are my options?
clerk: let's see, you've got 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 160, 200, 250, and 500 GBs.

the customer determines which is the best value to cost ratio or simply which is the biggest they can afford, depending on what type of customer they are.

the clerk installs in the drive and the customer walks out with their new PS3.

AgainstOne

pandasonic

Bugseatbooks

Ripner

This is likely to be a retailer-based HDD installation option: Sony will ship upgrade kits that the RETAILER fits, and ships the standard 40GB back to Sony.

That way they only need to manufacture , stock and distribute one "size" of SKU, yet the consumer can walk into their local retailer and buy a 250GB one if they wish.

nemo

Tech savvy people do not need help buying a new drive and installing it for the PS3. It's really easy to do.

But, have you checked all the PS3 forums always asking the same thing - How do I install HDD for my PS3? Which HDD is good for the PS3? Can I buy this 3.5 inch HDD? They do not know what to do and are insecure about the install process. Having the chance to buy a Sony HDD from a store makes thins easier and they feel confident to try it out.

You can still buy any 2.5 inch drive for the PS3. This just an option.

Furu

"It might be that we will offer the possibility for people to have a bigger hard drive, but they have that option now. But it does not mean that we have anything in the works to introduce a different model or bigger hard drive built in"

He does not mention external? The only time he mentions external is here:

"You can plug external hard drives into the PS3 using a USB cable attachment, as Reeves pointed out, as well as buy 2.5 inch SATA (laptop) hard drives and swap them with the one inside your console."

My understanding is that he's planning on having the PS3 like a PC, whereby you tell them how big a harddrive you want. As mentioned here:

"The PlayStation will stay the same, but consumers can choose whichever size of hard drive they want. They can now, or course, because it's not a proprietary hard drive."

The fact that people are saying $ony will rip people off for simple external hard drives is wrong. Especially sine they themselves from launch have told you how to upgrade.

Majority of you people are quick to cry foul at anything. Which continues to make me think that "most gamers bitch about anything"

Ariance

ibunkun

I tried playing some divx movies off a thumb drive, which didn't work. I might have to research this!

MonkeyBiz

BPMο

MetiQluzZ

What I'm worried about is that maybe these drives will be the only ones that you will be allowed to save media purchase from PSN after the new audio/video opens up.
If so; they have my word that I will never purchase a single DRM ridden POS from them if they decide to take that route.

I'll give them the benefit of a doubt on this one and assume that they wouldn't do such a stupid thing as that.
Convincing people to hand over money for 1s and 0s with no actual monetary value is hard enough. Then tell them that they can only use that data on their terms and you have committed an epic fail.

VishusBurn

boopadoo

im def gonna go with 500HDD for this summer. i love cramming anime,movies,and music on my ps3. me likes watching anime on my hdtv, instead of being huddled around my mac.

zanzibarlegend

Also, if they allowed for the external drive to store game data, it would make things so much easier... I understand why they don't, but I guess I have to accept it's not a computer...

bobtheduck

MizzouPhan

Look at memory for the PSP - how many people bought over-priced Sony memory when they could get cards from other brands for half the price? Not everyone, sure, but I bet it was enough to convince Sony it's a good idea.

Luke Plunkett

One: I'm a potential costumer.

Two: Confusing potential customers is not in Sony's best interest.

I originally wanted to get a PS3, but Sony shot that down when they first announced the ridiculous price.In addition, I didn't appriciate how Sony was so quick to introduce and drop various PS3 modes in such a short amount of time.

I don't know about you, but I like them to be more professional and not cause such a confusing and chaotic mess. I've been a gamer for 18 years and I have never been so confused in my life about what a console's price is and what features it has and what may have been taking out. Sony did a sloppy job.

Anyway, I'll probably get a PS3 if there's another price drop and once Sony settles done with sticking to certain models so gamers don't end up getting screwed like how the early adopters were (although, that's really their fault for being foolish enough not to wait for the price drop since it was obvious that it would happen last year.

It's funny how Nintendo is the only one that hasn't managed to get caught up in this trap since they're usually the first ones to offer different console colors and new versions (it was necessary for the DS Lite though). It was a wise move especially when its still having issues with making enough Wiis despite attempting to increase production over the Summer.

Killer7

Btw, samsung now makes a 500gb 2.5" drive.

dabu

ohhello

Shad0X

@josh51:
I'm fairly certain 2.5" HDDs and PCs in general are region free.

VishusBurn

josh51

AverageJoes

ohhello

One doesn't need to be technically inclined, a gamer or a geek to do this. A little commonsense and some effort will do wonders.

Replica23

On the bright side, it's nice that Sony is considering this option.However,it's a shame that they couldn't have thought about it the first time around.

Killer7

That said, I bet this ends up seemingly relatively overpriced, just like the 360 drive. I got 250 for like 90 bucks, they're not going to match that.

kingclip

@AverageJoes: Thanks dude, that one made me chuckle :)

Wolfers

okenny :)

invictus

BPMο

Tom Clancy's Samuraidino

AverageJoes

Luke Plunkett

cduran02

AverageJoes

j.howlett

A few months ago I told my uncle to go to PS website to learn how to replace his with a new one. He did that with ease, and he's by no mean a computer savvy.

Sadly this ideas came from the upper level management who know nothing about sh*t. All they care is how to make money by ruining all the good things that PS3 has to offer now. Even though this is optional, I still think it's stupid.

Playstation3

JET

natiahs

xkotaku

GCO_Gamer

Sailorcancer

metadae

Heyyou27

(Not being bitchy here, honestly)

josh51

You probably will if you play a lot of games. I think of at least 2 games that came out very recently which required installs. DMC4 and Hot shots golf both require 5gb. Most other games you will want to install because without it you're looking at some fairly long load times. Or at least longer than normal. I remember people were complaining about the Orange Box install for the PS3 not being big enough as it still had slower load times than the 360 version.

@josh51:

Oh man don't get me started on the wii storage...I hope iwata actually meant what he said and Nintendo is coming out with some practical external storage devices. Yes I know you can use SD cards but it SUCKS. They're a complete waste of time and money if you're using them for your Wii. Not only is it slower to transfer from the Wii to SD than to delete and redownload, but you can't even play games off the SD card.

CCCombobreaker

okenny :)

Are you one of those freaks who downloads movies and never deletes them, or something?

Palladium

josh51

okenny :)

j.howlett

MonkeyBiz

Luke Plunkett

CCCombobreaker

Firemane

IntelSilver

DigitalHero

Jeff Paine

This way, Sony can make extra money selling an "official" version with easy to follow instructions that people will feel safe with, and then they can make extra money with their movie and game download service.

It's a gift that keeps on giving (for Sony.)

PapaBear434

thepodest

VitFer2007

lbogga1

Work out those issues before you worry about HDD size again. That's something we can take care of on our own.

BPMο

Raziel Dune

=O

NitrousO

Knight-Zero