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PlayStation 4: Is 12G Truly Necessary?

PS4

PS4

Technological advances in gaming show no signs of stopping. With that said, I understand the need for such things as RAM and storage space. In the case of the latter, if a video game console does not have enough of it, chances are that consumers are going to blow right past it. Seeing as how the upcoming PlayStation 4 will release later this year with an initial 500GB of storage, how compact is too compact?

While there have not been any announcements of this particular version reaching the States, Sony announced that it will release a 12GB version of the PS4 which will be sold at Future Shop, a retailer in Canada. In terms of price, it’s actually very attractive at a rate of $199.99, which should make parents happy come the holiday season. However, Mom’s attention is not going to be set on the storage so much as the spiffy price. Surprise, surprise: gamers want more space.

The idea of parents purchasing the console for their children is the only feasible one that I can think of. Why else would Sony release a version like this? If the company’s focus is on gamers, then it’s not going to matter much, if at all. The standard version of the PS4 is going to release at $399.99 but it won’t deter those who consider themselves hobbyists. You could even add a couple more hundreds to the price and they would probably still go for this as opposed to a model they will see as, in a word, barebones.

This story is actually very ironic from my perspective because it’s somewhat reminiscent of the Wii Mini. This version of the immensely popular Nintendo Wii was released last year on December 7th – except not only in Canada but Europe and the UK as well – and it had about only a fraction of the features the original had. Canadian customers could not use this system for backwards compatibility with Gamecube games, online play, or even reading off of SD cards. Then again, the Wii Mini sold 35,700 units during its first two months on the market, though whether or not this has anything to do with lack of consumer knowledge is anyone’s guess.

If Sony were to look into advertising this 12G PS4 to audiences outside of Canada, I don’t know how successful the attempts would be. The efforts of a reputation management company would dictate that the best deal attracts potential consumers. In comparison to the standard PS4, the 12G looks like it’s destined for clearance. You could make the argument that consumers can just as easily purchase inexpensive external hard drives online, clearing the space issue entirely. Seeing as how Sony has no plans on releasing this version elsewhere, an eye has to be kept on future sales charts in Canada.

What do you think?

Avatar of Rob Sutter

Written by Rob Sutter

Rob Sutter is a writer & SEO specialist for fishbat, an online marketing firm located in Bohemia, NY. He graduated from Farmingdale State University with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Professional Communications in addition to minoring in English Literature. Outside of writing, he is an avid gamer and professional wrestling fan.

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49 Comments

  1. I’d happily buy a 12th version at a lower price as I’m sure others will. There are people out there who are planning on swapping out the hdd with a 1tb anyway so why does it matter what the original size was?

  2. I think a 12Gb PS4 for $199.99 is truly magnificent, and here’s why:

    The clueless will buy it (as you mentioned on the basis of price), those who are strapped for cash but still want a next-gen console will buy it (un/underemployed Millenials and the dying middle class), and true hobbyists, who are as smart with their cash as they are with computers will buy it, and just swap out the internal hard drive for a bigger one, or like you said, use an external.

    If they had plans to release it in the States I would buy it so hard, but alas. However doing so, let’s say at launch even, it would dampen their profits, as only those who really want a big hard drive, with the extra cash, but who don’t have the know-how or desire to swap out a drive or use an external one, would buy the 500GB version.

    However, I feel Sony is merely testing the waters with this bundle in certain markets; them doing it in Canada is a very good indication that they will probably release the 12GB option when the console is settled in and the 2nd wave of blows in the war comes. Microsoft is already poised to drop the price of the Xbone by selling the console by itself.

    That having been said, either company firing that salvo at or even near launch would be doing so prematurely, and hurt each other over the next year, moreso Microsoft I think, since it reportedly costs just as much to make a Kinect as it does the console itself, so they are really pressed to make the console/Kinect combo a success. Sony on the other hand, would just see less returns on their investment, so it’d be wise for them to just release the console as is, let the technology grow for a year, then drop this bomb either next summer or around next holiday.

  3. I think you got the PS3 and PS4 mixed up. $199 is the price of the 12 GB Playstation 3 that Sony is releasing in some territories. There is no 12 GB Playstation 4 in the works. There is only one version of the PS4 coming out and that’s the 500GB version for $399.

  4. Rob,

    I just wanted to let you know that it’s the PS 3 coming out with a 12 GB flash memory system, not the PS 4. (click on your link to CNET up above). Thanks and have a great day.

  5. Sorry, but you got it wrong. Sony is actually talking about bringing the 12 GB version of PS3 to the US, which is available in Europe for month. A 12 GB PS4 would make no sense at all…

  6. How do you not understand that the 12gb console you’ve referring to is a 199.99 version of the PS3? Sorry Rob. Never heard of you until you ended up on page 3 of Google news under “PlayStation”.

    With this kind of blogging/journalism/article I doubt I will hear of you again.

  7. What’s the point of having a comment section if you are just going to delete anything that is of a different opinion to the article. Maybe change the title of the commentssection to feel free to comment but only if you have no opinion of your own

  8. There is not going to be a 12gb PS4. It is the PS3 that they are releasing with a 12gb hard drive. Either you need to go over your own articles or you really need to do some research, on second thought, always go over your articles.

  9. It’s a 12gb version of the ps3. Not the ps4. So this article comparing the two and their prices.. Yea you’d think a site called “techi”
    Wouldn’t need this pointing out right..

  10. What the …? Read the original article, it’s a 12 GB PlayStation **3** which is being released, not PlayStation **4**.

    As far as I know, the only PS4 SKU available at launch will be the aforementioned 500 GB version.

    But seriously, how did this article even get written??

  11. Are you serious? This article is one of the biggest fails I’ve seen in a while. Sony isn’t releasing a 12GB PS4, it’s PS3 and your link even points to the correct system. Wow.

  12. You have no idea what you’re talking about. They are selling a 12gb flash based storage PS3. I thought you were going to say that the PS4 had been upgraded to 12GB ram, but even the articles you’ve linked confirmed what I’m telling you. This is just another PS3.

  13. That sure seems like a lot of effort spent writing an article about an issue that doesn’t actually exist. As shown in the article you linked, Sony is releasing a new 12Gb PS3. Not 4 . . .

  14. Ummm…..

    Not trying to accuse you of link baiting necessarily, but this article is completely off base and false.

    The 12 GB console coming out for $199 is a PS3, not a PS4. It has been available in Europe and Hong Kong for quite some time already.

  15. get it right, yo! the ps3(!!!) is coming with the 12GB drive…not the PS4. it’s already for sale at best buy, and the article you linked to as your source says “PS3”.

  16. Wow just wow. U guys r so wrong its embarassing. Its a 12gb ps3, not PS4. No kidding a $200ps4 would be great, just slap in a har drive and boom. Im amazed by the terrible infotmation.
    PS: YOUR WELCOME.

  17. Please have some common sense before posting an article like this. The ps3 slim 12gb has just launched In canada at $199 after many months of being available in other countries. How on earth do you think a ps4 12 gb would be the same price as a newly laucnched ps3 12 gb !!!! Do your homework next time my friend 🙂

  18. You truly are pathetic to hawk the services of your company fishbat when you can’t even research properly. The 12GB version is for the PS3, not PS4. Why would anybody hire such an idiot who can even read the headline of the article he links? Please fire Rob.

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