E3 2006: PS3 20 Gig Missing Features?
Images of system with smaller hard drive missing HDMI input, other features.
by Jeff Haynes

May 8, 2006 - The announcement earlier tonight that the PS3 would come in two separate configurations easily caught the ear of PS3 fans eager for any news of Sony's system. However, upon closer analysis of the images for the systems itself, a rather curious system feature seemed to be missing from the 20 gig configuration.

Looking at the official press site of SCEA, we noticed that the PS3 with the 20 gigabyte hard drive seemed to lack HDMI support. This seems to be confirmed by an offical press release from SCEA, which indicates via comparison between the two systems. However, it also indicates that the 20 gigabyte system won't have Memory Stick, SD or Compact Flash reading capability or WiFi support. Even worse, it appears that rumble doesn't appear to be included with the new six axis sensing controller.

Could the 20 gig become a gamer shunned system? When Microsoft launched the Xbox 360, consumers hated the Core system that didn't come with a hard drive and other features, quickly dubbing it the "tard pack." Will the 20 gig suffer the same fate? We'll have more details as we get them from the show.

Update: It also appears that Sony has ditched dual-HDMI support altogether, even from its high-end 60GB system. Whether or not the system is still capable of running dual-displays by using both HDMI and the AV multi-out is unknown.

Also, Sony announced that the Blu-ray disc drive in the PS3 will run at 2X, or roughly 72Mbps.