What Is the Difference in Chrome PS3 Systems?

Price

• The current domestic PlayStation 3 models range in price from $249 to $299, while the Japanese model retails for ¥29,980, roughly $395 at the time of this publication. In addition to the additional cost, you will need to purchase this product through a party that sells Japanese items to North American customers and can be expected to pay a markup in price, plus overseas shipping.

Region

• The Japanese PlayStation 3 consoles are region-free, meaning that they can play games and movies from any country. While the system is region free, it broadcasts in the NTSC standard 480i resolution versus the PAL 576i system used in Europe. This difference in display can be resolved by using the PS3 with a high-definition television when using a PAL-coded game.

Hardware

• The Satin Silver PlayStation 3 boasts the same hardware as the other models. This includes either a 160 or 320GB hard drive, infrared connectivity, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, a 3.2 GHz Cell Broadband Engine CPU, a RSX Graphics Processing Unit and Blu-ray disc playback. The Satin Silver also comes packaged with a wireless DualShock 3 controller and the ability to connect to the PlayStation Network.

Criticisms

• In addition to the Satin Silver color, Sony is releasing red and blue models of the PlayStation 3. Like the Satin Silver model, these upgrades are cosmetic only and do not provide you with any additional benefits to ownership other than a new color to choose from. Many fans are upset about the loss of the ability to play PlayStation 2 games on newer PS3 systems and the option to run another operating system on the console. These concerns have not been addressed in the Satin Silver PS3.