Collectible Consoles - Part VII: PS3 Slim 120GB Bundles

Welcome again to PS3 bundles! I have finally moved on to the PS3 Slim, which is where things get more interesting. I will be going in order of release dates, therefore I will be starting with the 120GB. Once I get past the early bundles, in the next blog and the blogs after that, you guys will start seeing some awesome consoles packed with pretty cool goodies. In the meantime, I think that the 120GB bundles have their interesting points as well, so don't stop reading!

PS3 "Slim" 120GB 
Just as a reminder, I am putting the word "slim" in quotations because Sony never referred to it as the Slim model. What we often call the "super slim" is actually called the Slim Model by Sony. They actually called this model the "PS3". The bigger model before it was called the "PlayStation 3". It is a bit confusing, which is why I felt a need to go over it once more.

Kidou Senshi Gundam Senki Bundle 120GB

The first bundle was released alongside the PS3 "slim" on September 3 2009. It was a Japan only release that included Kidou Senshi Gundam Senki along with a 120gb Slim. It also came with two DLC bonuses: codes for FA-78-3 full armor Gundam and RX 81-AS assault armor. As an extra extra bonus it also came with an HD animated film. Sadly, I couldn't find this bundle for sale outside of Japan. Keep an eye out though as I am sure it will pop up on eBay and Amazon occasionally.

All five of these bundles were released on November 27 2009, which was of course Black Friday here in the states...which is most likely why these were all U.S. exclusives. Starting at the top left and working clockwise, I will go through these. The first includes Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time and LittleBigPlanet. It was a Best Buy exclusive. The next bundle was an Amazon.com exclusive containing Infamous and Killzone 2. The Walmart bundle includes Infamous and two doses of Batman: Batman Arkham Asylum and a Blu-Ray of The Dark Knight. Still working clockwise (therefore the bottom image), we have a Sony Store exclusive that, shockingly(insert sarcasm here), comes with Infamous and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. The last bundle was a GameStop exclusive that weirdly contained God of War Collection and LittleBigPlanet: Game of the Year Edition. Maybe they were trying to market to the whole family...I'm not sure about this one. I had some friends who were working at GameStop at the time and I remember tales of some customers that were apparently put off by this bundle as they were buying PS3s for their kids. It seems that Sony was still working on the finer points of marketing bundles during this time, or perhaps GameStop made the decision. Neither would surprise me. (Opinion time over...for now)
As far as rarity goes, these all pop up on Amazon and eBay pretty frequently. All the bundles I have spotted were used, but very lightly. The majority of them went for about $200-300. Not a bad deal if you can get a hold of the one you want.

Pro Evo 10/World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010 Bundle

Once again, the Pro Evo bundle was released as a Japan exclusive. As covered in the previous PS3 blog, this series is called World Soccer Winning Eleven in Japan. This bundle was released sometime in November of 2009. Despite calls from the European market, Sony sadly decided not to release this bundle over there with no reason given. Listen to your European fans Sony! You gave them so many bundles before and it seemed to pay off.

Michael Jackson's: This Is It Bundle

Speaking of Japan exclusives that should have been released elsewhere...the This Is It bundle. I cannot wrap my head around why this was a Japan exclusive when it would have sold well in the states and in Europe. Anywho...the bundle included a PS3 120GB, its usual peripherals and the Blu-Ray of This Is It, The Blu-Ray also included a background for the PS3 as a bonus.  It was released the same day as the documentary in Japan, January 27 2010. As far as I know, this was the last 120GB PS3 "slim" bundle ever released...although it would not shock me if I found another. If I am wrong, I will update this.

As stated before, my blogs are going to be a bit shorter, but I think it is for the best. It allows me to research more and take care of life stuffs. Thanks again for reading!

Sources: 
http://techcrunch.com/2009/08/19/gundam-to-be-the-very-first-sony-ps3-slim-bundle/
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2009/11/25/walk-off-your-turkey-dinner-with-black-friday-shopping/
http://www.dayoftheweek.org/?m=November&d=25&y=2009&go=Go
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pro-evo-10-ps3-slim-and-xbox-360-elite-bundles-show-up-in-japan/1100-6230651/
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/michael-jackson-ps3-bundle-on-the-way
http://kotaku.com/5441145/this-is-it-the-michael-jackson-ps3-bundle
Pictures belong to Sony Entertainment Inc.