PlayStation 3 Hard Drive Confirmed As Standard

Sony has confirmed to Gamasutra that the PlayStation 3 will come with a 60GB hard drive as standard, removing the ambiguity on the issue, following potentially confusing statements from Sony's Ken Kutaragi at the developer's Tokyo conference last week. The news was reported today by various news sites, and has been confirmed to Gamasutra by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe PR Manager Jonathan Fargher. The 60GB hard drive will be the default size, with other larger sizes available as separate peripherals. This follows Kutaragi's already acknowledged comments that all games will require a hard drive in order to run. As previously reported on Friday, additional details on the PlayStation Network Platform, the PlayStation 3 equivalent of Xbox Live, have revealed that it will apparently provide a free basic service that includes online gameplay. According to these reports, only specific massively multiplayer online (MMO) titles and other premium services will require an additional fee. Additional information on the hard drive and other technical aspects of the PlayStation 3 are expected during Phil Harrison’s keynote speech at GDC this Wednesday.