SCEA Announces 160GB PS3 Bundle, Wireless Keypad

Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that it will introduce a new 160GB PlayStation 3 system to North America as part of an upcoming limited-edition Uncharted Drake's Fortune system bundle. The pack will launch in November for $499.99 and will include a 160GB PlayStation 3 system, a copy of Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, a PlayStation Network voucher for Idol Minds' downloadable game Pain, and a DualShock 3 wireless controller. Says SCEA president and CEO Jack Tretton: "As PlayStation Network continues to evolve with our recently-launched video delivery service and more exclusive games, PS3 owners are demanding more storage capacity." Tretton says the 160GB system is also aimed at providing more space to those who use the PlayStation 3 as an "entertainment hub for their digital media," hoping to enable them to store content like music collections on their hard drive. The company also announced that it will release a Wireless Keypad that attaches to the Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers. The peripheral will appear in North America in November, shipping in Japan, Europe, and Asia by the end of the year. With the keypad, users can access PlayStation 3's text chat communication features without using an on-screen keyboard. Two shortcut buttons, a Communication Button and a Message Box Button, are placed on the lower part of the Wireless Keypad, enabling users to jump to pre-set features on the XrossMediaBar, such as "Friends" and "Message Box," while playing a game. The accessory serves as a Bluetooth device that can be used not only with PlayStation 3 systems, but with other Bluetooth-enabled devices with keyboard functionality, like smart phones and other portable devices. The Wireless Keyboard can be paired and charged by attaching it to a PS3 system with a USB cable. The Wireless Keypad will be supported in Media Molecule's LittleBigPlanet and upcoming PlaySation Network virtual world PlayStation Home, as well as several more titles scheduled to release towards the end of the year. Sony plans to reveal pricing for the product at a later date.