We think the Playstation 3 seems nice, but the fact is it costs a lot and lack of HDMI on the cheaper model is a severe buzzkill to anyone looking to get this as a "cheap" Blu-ray player. Apparently, Sony agrees because they've announced a 20% price cut for the low-end 20GB model -- only in Japan so far -- and added HDMI 1.3 as well. You read that right, all Playstation 3 consoles will come with digital video outputs (we suppose asking for a cable too would be out of line?). Adding features and cutting prices is something we can't really argue with, although glass half-empty individuals could see this as more incentive for studios to possibly introduce ICT in the future, since digital output is now standard on the PS3. They've also been taking shots at Microsoft's 1080p support and showing off several games (Ridge Racer 7, Gran Turismo HD, Virtua Tennis 3 and Mobile Suit Gundam) running 1080p natively at 60 frames per second, despite some saying we wouldn't see that many this soon. Now all we need is a US price drop and we'll forget all about how Sony is ignoring our European friends this year.


Sony cuts Japan PS3 price 20%, adds HDMI to 20GB model