PS3 Fanboy

A few years ago, Visual Concepts and Take-Two Interactive stunned the videogame community when it released NFL 2K5 for only $20, and now its newest football title All Pro Football 2K5 has hit that magic price point.

Currently, Best Buy has the non-licensed NFL title for only $20 at its online and brick and mortar stores. We still don't know if this is an official price drop, but if it is, it will be interesting to see if EA responds by slashing Madden NFL 2008's price, like it did with the 2005 iteration.

[Via CAG]

We know Sony probably has a new PS3 model in the works, but this is just plain ol' silly. Could the left-for-dead 20GB PS3 be making a triumphant return from the grave? If EB Games' website is to be believed, it could seem so as the retailer lists the stripped-down model for only $450, which is about $50 more than the rumored 40GB unit.

Most likely, the company is trying to burn through some of its old stock or it's just a mistake, but hey, if you really need a cheaper PS3 right now, why not take the plunge?

[via Destructoid]

As you can see above, there are a few things different between the two PS3 SKUs planned. (Hint: the obvious alterations concern high-def output and wireless connectivity -- though Bluetooth controllers should work just fine with both, with or without any chrome case highlighting.)

So what's HDMI, built-in multimedia card-reader slots, wireless internet connectivity, and an extra 40 gigabytes' hard disk space worth to you? $100? Now that Sony's gone with the 2-SKU approach with its next-gen hardware (a la the Xbox 360's premium and "Core" systems), we can expect some tough consumer choices after six months -- with console shortages possibly for another six months after that -- as $100 separates the base $499 and premium $599 versions of Sony's "Clear Black" hope.

HDMI is important to those who want to take full advantage of Blu-ray high def and have the new screens to use it; MemoryStick, SD, and CompactFlash slots would be nice for the PS3 memory-card users and those will run multimedia on the system; Wi-Fi's the only way to avoid stringing ethernet cables for online access; and 360 owners might appreciate the full 60GB available to potential buyers of the premium PS3 model. Neither model comes with a second HDMI port; thankfully, one should hopefully be all most users need. The details are laid out in a feature-comparison table at the end of Sony's official PS3 hardware press release, available in both Adobe Reader and Microsoft Word formats. Determine what's most important to your PS3 ambitions there.

[Image pieced together from the PlayStation.com forums; thanks, Guru]