Collectible Consoles - The PS3 Part VI: The 3rd Generation

At first I was going to try to break this blog up more, but changed my mind as that would just be too confusing and would drag this out longer. So I am putting all the generation 3 bundles I could find information on here. If I missed anything, please let me know in the comments! Once again, most of these were pretty impossible to find, but I will update this blog if that changes. I will not mention rarity unless I actually found one available for purchase, with a few exceptions aside.

I will try to, kind of, go in order of release...but since there were not many release dates for these they may be slightly out of order by a couple of months. Nothing major.

40GB Model (CECH G/H/Jxx models) 

Metal Gear Solid 4 Special Edition - Gun Metal Black Version

Please check out my previous blog on the PS3 for more info on this bundle. I will quickly go over it one more time. It came with the pretty Gun Metal Black finished PS3, MGS4 Limited Edition, a documentaries DVD, and a soundtrack. This is super easy to find on Ebay and Amazon usually...although it may cost an arm and a leg.

Spider-Man 3 Blu-Ray Bundle

This bundle was released for North America only. One thing to note about movie bundles is that they are close to impossible to find new or even used. This is mainly due to the fact that Sony was pretty much selling every PS3 as a bundle during this time and that people never thought an unopened one would be worth much. So...long story short, I could not find this. The same goes for the other movie bundles. Which is a real shame because who doesn't want Spider-Man 3 packaged with an older PS3?! I kid, I kid.

The Blockbuster Bundle

This bundle is an odd one. I read several articles (which can be found in my sources) that stated that not only was this a Blockbuster exclusive, but that only a select few ever carried it. To make matters even more confusing, I found that some bundles had the 40gb and while others had the 80gb. While Tranformers: The Game was always included, it would seem that the movies differed. I found two different movies, although there may be more. The first was Spider-Man 3 (they were trying to get rid of that movie...) and the other was Click. This bundle also came with a remote and a 12 week rental card. I sadly could not find this on any shopping website, and believe me, I hunted for it. If someone finds this, for the love of all that is holy, let me know! I am super curious at this point.

Dynasty Warriors 6 Bundle

Check out my the PS3 Part II  blog for more information on the Ceramic White PS3. This bundle was a Japan only release that came with a 40gb PS3, Dynasty Warriors 6, nine metallic tags, stickers, and a book featuring characters and maps.

Devil May Cry 4 Bundles

These two bundles were released in Japan on January 31 2008 in both Piano Black and Ceramic White. Besides coming bundled with Devil May Cry 4, they also included a bonus Blu-Ray disc with extra content. 

This is the Ryuu ga Gotoku Kenzan/Yakuza bundle packaged with a Satin Silver 40gb PS3. This bundle was released in Japan alongside the game on March 6 2008. Besides the game, it came packaged with the dragon sticker set pictured on the right.

Both of these Starter Pack bundles were sold in Europe, although the one with NFS: Pro Street seems to have been exclusive to just France, at least for a time. Each includes an extra controller, a 40gb PS3, and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, although the one with Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction had a wider European release.

European Movie Pack Bundle

This movie pack was released for Europe on March 19 2008. It contains a 40gb PS3 along with the movies 300, James Bond: Casino Royale...and Spider-Man 3...yeah. They were trying to get rid of it.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue European Bundle (40gb)

This is the first of several GT5: Prologue bundles. This particular one was released for Europe with a 40gb PS3 on March 28 2008. There is also an 80gb bundle that is not to be confused with this one. It wasn't released until 2009.

GTAIV European Bundle (40gb)

This European only bundle was released alongside the game with a 40gb PS3 on April 28 2008. On a personal note, I worked the midnight release for this game and I have to say it was crazy enough without a bundled system. There was a fight and angry customers that suddenly wanted the collector's edition once they realized it was a thing (read: that night). I had to drive to the other side of town to get more collector's editions, even though people hadn't pre-ordered them, just to keep the anger at bay. Kind of glad this was European only. I would have been doing system runs that night too if it had been here!
(You guys and gals are going to get stories from time to time. Hope you don't mind!)

80GB Model (CECH K/L/Mxx models)

MGS4 and Killzone 2 Best Buy Bundle (80gb)

This U.S./Best Buy exclusive 80gb bundle came with both Metal Gear Solid 4 and Killzone 2, although the latter was download only. Even if you find this now, keep in mind there are no guarantees on being able to download Killzone 2.

LittleBigPlanet Bundle

This bundle was made available for Europe on November 5 2008. I have actually found a good bit of these for sale. They seem to have come in the standard Piano Black as well as Satin Silver. The Satin Silver was technically part of another bundle that was a wider release that came with another controller. They tend to go for about $700 lightly used.
NOTE: I do not have a picture of the Satin Silver here because I did not want to take pictures from Ebay. So far I have been using Sony's pictures while giving them full credit and rights in the sources.

  

Both the Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty (with an extra controller) and Infamous bundle were only found rumored on Spanish website. I couldn't find them anywhere else, except for other pages that were quoting that website as a source. So I'm not sure how widely released these were. If someone knows, please email or comment.

Killzone 2 Bundle (Australia)

This Australia only bundle was released on February 27 2009. Yeah...not much else to say here. Love the box art!

Pro Evolution Soccer/Winning Eleven 2009 Bundle

This Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, or World Soccer Winning Eleven in Japan, bundle was released with the game and two controllers along with a 80gb PS3.

Gran Turismo 5 Prologue European Bundle (80gb)

As mentioned earlier, Europe got two exclusive Gran Turismo 5: Prologue bundles. One was the 40gb bundle mentioned earlier in the red packaging. This one includes an 80gb PS3 and an extra controller. It was released on September 10 2009. 

Resident Evil/Biohazard 5 Bundle

As covered in Part II of  this blog series, this bundle comes with the special Resident Evil/Biohazard (as it is known in Japan) version of the PS3 "fat" 80gb. You can find details on its rarity there as well. Because it is a special PS3, it is easier to find the entire bundle unopened or lightly used. Just be warned that it will cost a pretty penny. The bundle also came with the game and an extra controller. It was released on March 5 2009. 

Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan 3/Yakuza 3 Bundle

This Yakuza 3 (Ryū ga Gotoku Kenzan 3 in Japan) bundle was also previsouly mentioned in Part II. Details on rarity and whatnot can be found there. Glad they replaced the sticker with a full on paint job! 

Motorstorm: Pacific Rift Bundle

Although Wikipedia says that this bundle was a UK only release, I am fairly sure that this was actually a wider European release from the articles I found. In addition, I managed to find it for sale on German Amazon (more fun than calling it Amazon.de) for 200 Euros. However, it was very unclear if it was this original bundle or one created by a third party as the pictures were very unclear. If I managed to find another, I will update this post. 

  

I love Gran Turismo, but for the sake of my sanity, I am grouping these last two together. This is mainly because they were both a bit difficult to find information on, therefore I would like to contain my frustrations in one place. Alrighty then...

The bundle on the left was a UK only release that also came packaged with Midnight Club: Los Angeles. An article I came across also mentioned another bundle just like this one, except with GTAIV in place of Midnight Club. It was supposedly released for Europe. I could not find an official picture though.

The one on the right...well I had to get the picture from forums, so I have no idea where the credit lies because I do not know who took it. I would say Fumitsu because they leaked the bundle release originally. However, they stamp their pictures on the bottom left corner so I am unsure. Picture aside, this seems to be part of a series of bundles released for Japan that were packaged with 80gb PS3s and GT5: Prologue. Besides the Piano Black pictured here, one article states that some bundles came with Ceramic White and Satin Silver as well. I just couldn't find pictures.

In all, there were five Movie Pack bundles released for the UK only, besides the one mentioned earlier with the three movies in it. I will not be talking much about these four bundles because there honestly isn't much to say. The only one I will comment on is the bottom left bundle. That is a movie called Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis for those that are wondering. Apperently it was a popular French comedy around 2009. Now for the fifth bundle...

Terminator Salvation Bundle/Movie Pack

You will notice this Movie Pack bundle comes with a game! It also doesn't say Movie Pack! Yeah. The reason I grouped it together with the others is because it was announced and released alongside the other Movie Packs in the UK. It was released in June 2009 and included an 80gb PS3, Terminator Salvation, and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. 

Wall-E/LittleBigPlanet Bundle

Right along with the theme of movie bundles is this adorableness. This was a North American/Best Buy exclusive that included Wall-E and LittleBigPlanet along with an 80gb PS3. This actually wasn't listed on Wikipedia and I just happened upon it on...EBAY. Yes. I actually found a bundle. It was going for $274.99 used and was in decent condition. I also found the old SKU on Ebay's website. That history degree really paid off for the research skills!

This gives me a bit of faith that bundles can still be found intact... if you have your hearts set on a bundle, just keep your eyes peeled for long enough. One will pop up somewhere.

160GB Models (CECH P/Qxx) 

Uncharted Bundle (160gb)

Wow! Another North American bundle! We really didn't get many looking back on it. Anyways, I also found this one used on Amazon for $150. Like I said before, keeping your eyes open for these things for long enough will eventually pay off. Especially the newer the model/bundle is. 

Advent Children Bundle with Cloud Black PS3

I have mentioned this beautiful bundle before in Part II of this series. One day, when I am not poor...I will own you! (Have I mentioned my love for Final Fantasy?) 

Next up are the Slim and Super Slim models of the PS3 and their related bundles. I will TRY to fit all the Slim bundles into one blog. I make no guarantees though, because there are a ton of them. The Super Slim should fit into a single blog like this though. This blog series should be over by Part IX at the latest.
As a general update: For next week I will most likely skip the Collecting Tips blog so I can make sure that all of the Slim bundles go up in one week instead of spreading it out over two.

Once again, thanks for reading!

Sources: (In order. There are a ton and Blogger hates HTML. I am working on making this easier to look at.) 
1)http://www.nineoverten.com/2008/09/27/special-edition-sony-ps3-going-on-sale/#.VaNm6KSLtyU
2)http://www.amazon.com/Metal-Gear-Solid-Patriots-Playstation-3/dp/B001B3UOR4
3)http://blog.us.playstation.com/2007/10/18/40gb-ps3-coming-nov-2-price-reduced-for-80gb-model/
4)http://www.amazon.com/Ps3-40gb-Movie-Game-Bundle-Pc/dp/B001COU31E/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1436773348&sr=8-2&keywords=spiderman+3+ps3+40gb
5)http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/27/blockbuster-selling-high-end-ps3-bundles/
6)http://www.engadget.com/2007/10/10/japans-40gb-explained-dynasty-warrior-6-bundle-go/
7)http://www.siliconera.com/2007/10/09/dynasty-warriors-6-and-the-special-edition-ps3-package/
8)http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/20/japans-devil-may-cry-4-ps3-bundle/
9)http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3-devil-may-cry-4-bundle-to-hit-japan/
10)http://www.siliconera.com/2008/02/05/sleek-silver-playstation-3-bundled-with-ryu-ga-gotoku-kenzan/
11)http://www.amazon.fr/Console-Playstation-Starter-Uncharted-Manettes/dp/B0013HBI3W
12)http://www.exophase.com/3165/europe-gets-new-playstation-3-starter-pack/
13)http://www.engadget.com/2008/02/28/europe-getting-40gb-ps3-bundles-packing-gran-turismo-blu-ray-mo/
14)http://spong.com/article/14916/New-Gran-Turismo-5-Prologue-PS3-Bundle-Inbound
15)http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps3-mgs4-killzone-2-bundle-now-available/1100-6213036/
16)http://kotaku.com/5305883/ps3-bundle-includes-mgs4-killzone-2-update/all
17)http://wayback.archive.org/web/20100714005557/http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/webstore/productpage.asp?productcode=PX3000&title=ps3_80gb_console_with_littlebigplanet
18)http://techcrunch.com/2009/05/12/ratchet-and-clank-infamous-ps3-bundles-headed-to-europe/
19)http://blogocio.eleconomista.es/pack-infamous-y-ratchet-clank-quest-for-booty-este-mes-no-16410/
20)http://blogocio.eleconomista.es/pack-infamous-y-ratchet-clank-quest-for-booty-este-mes-no-16410/
21)http://kotaku.com/5149230/australia-gets-killzone-2-console-bundle/all
22)http://www.videogamer.com/ps3/killzone_2/news/sce_confirms_killzone_2_ps3_bundle.html
23)http://kotaku.com/5069017/japans-latest-ps3-bundle
24)http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/10/08/sony-brings-new-ps3-bundles-to-japan
25)http://www.sonyinsider.com/2008/10/09/sony-japan-introduces-new-ps3-bundles/
26)https://www.gtplanet.net/europe-gets-new-ps3-gt5-prologue-bundle/
27)http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2008/08/europe-gets-gran-turismo-blu-ray-ps3-bundles/
28)http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/1221083_1124.html
29)http://kotaku.com/5124199/limited-dragon-playstation-3-console-is-for-japanese-eyes-only
30)http://www.amazon.co.uk/COMPUTER-ENTERTAINMENT-Console-MotorStorm-Pacific/dp/B001EO7DNI
31)http://www.amazon.de/Playstation-Konsole-Wireless-Controller-Motorstorm/dp/B001ELK9QO
32)http://www.amazon.co.uk/COMPUTER-Console-Turismo-Prologue-Midnight/dp/B001U3ZLI2
33)http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=nl&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http://ps3life.nl/nieuws/2844-sony-lanceert-een-ps3-verjaardagsbundel-in-maart/&prev=hp
34)http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-PLAYSTATION-Console-Batman-Blu-ray/dp/B001JJCFDG
35)http://wayback.archive.org/web/20100302005940/http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/webstore/productpage.asp?productcode=PX2000&title=sony_playstation_3_80gb_console_with_i_am_legend_blu-ray
36)http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-PLAYSTATION-Console-Legend-Blu-ray/dp/B001JJCFEK
37)http://wayback.archive.org/web/20100220000455/http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/webstore/productpage.asp?productcode=PX1007&title=sony_playstation_3_80gb_with_terminator_+_blue_ray_pack
38)http://www.amazon.co.uk/Playstation-80-Console-Terminator-Salvation/dp/B002CGRULC
39)http://wayback.archive.org/web/20100220000455/http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/webstore/productpage.asp?productcode=PX1007&title=sony_playstation_3_80gb_with_terminator_+_blue_ray_pack
40)http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-PLAYSTATION-Console-300-Blu-ray/dp/B001JJCFE0
41)http://wayback.archive.org/web/20100312112424/http://shop.gameplay.co.uk/webstore/productpage.asp?productcode=PX2001&title=ps3_80gb_console_with_300_blu-ray
42)http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/27/two-new-european-80gb-ps3-bundles/
43)http://www.gamekyo.com/news28812_two-new-packs-playstation-3.html
44)http://www.ebay.com/itm/PLAYSTATION-3-CONSOLE-80-GB-SONY-PS3-BUNDLE-EXTRA-CONTROLLER-REMOTE-GAME-W-BOX-/321792223311?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aec4fa84f
45) http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/29/best-buy-selling-80gb-ps3-with-littlebigplanet-and-wall-e/
46) http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-playstation-3-80gb-with-littlebigplanet-and-wall-e/9367883.p?id=1218092611397&skuId=9367883
47)http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-160GB-Uncharted-Drakes-Fortune-3/dp/B001ELI4S
48)http://www.destructoid.com/final-fantasy-vii-advent-children-ps3-bundle-is-real-118513.phtml