There's no doubt that Microsoft's Xbox 360 will
have the price advantage this holiday season, and if you were hoping to see a bona fide price cut following Sony's introduction of the
$399.99 80GB PlayStation 3, you'll probably be waiting 'til late 2009. Speaking at the Gamer 3.0 conference in London this week, Sony's own Ray Maguire was quoted as saying that the pressure for a price drop from consumers was always there, but given that it "has a business to run" and shareholders to please, it probably won't be decreasing the PS3's price before the end of 2008. He also stated that "at the moment, there's a market place for the PS3," and that "the price of the console [won't] be an issue at all." In all honesty, he's probably right -- after all, this
will be the first holiday season where Blu-ray isn't competing with some
other physical HD format, and c'mon, you know you'll pay a premium to dabble in
Life with PlayStation.
[Via
PS3 Fanboy]
posted Oct 29th 2008 4:08AM
I'm not buying this...
You would if it was glossy white, $999, lacked Blu-ray and had an Apple logo on it.
My comment has a double meaning...
you chose the wrong one....
thats not what your name nor your Avatar says....
all what was missing that the PS3 plays Pacman
@zomgrotfl
That has got to be the most pointless, abstract, and ultimately un-necessary references to an Apple product i've seen come across the comments in a long time.
Congratulations, you're a douche.
He's a funny douche though.
@Zomgrotfl
Actually you got it wrong.. his parents would buy it for him.. 12 year olds don't make enough money to buy shiny stuff..
+1 iEye
I am not buying one either. Sony doesn't wanna admit a price cut coming up, so they won't cannabalize the sales as consumers do not want to wait.
It would be smarter to just tell the consumer nothing.
Saying no, and then doing a price drop, is confusing.
We know one thing about Sony, they say something the do the exact opposite.
I'm not buying this either: Sony "no price drops" when Microsoft has a $199 "arcade" version (mind you I wouldn't buy the "arcade" version, and I'm not buying a PS3 because I already have one (for MGS4).
If they are not going to lower the price: then I expect to see 3 greatest hits games included into the $399 price for admission
"I'm not buying this"
-I am not going to purchase said item
or
-I am not convinced of the truth surrounding these released statements....
must I explain it?
Yea it sucks there is no price cut but PS3 is honestly a good deal. The new 80 gig model with tons of features, a huge game library coming out this fall...SOCOM (with headset), LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles, Resistance 2, Fallout 3, FarCry 2, Metal Gear Solid 4, etc... Blu-ray support is the obviously choice (especially with most Blu-rays under $20 on Amazon), Playstation Home coming very soon, Life with Playstation, etc. I can see a compelling reason to buy it. Not to mention the Xbox 360 may be $100 cheaper for the hard drive model but when you need things like Xbox Live ($50 per year) and something like a $80 Wi-Fi adapter for most people just to get online the price is minimized quickly. I'm happy as hell with mine.
I don's see a problem. The PS3 is by far and away the best value, the best functionality, and the best games this season. Why short change yourself or your kids and get something inferior?
Clearly Sony had to say something, as there may be many people sat waiting for a price cut that's not coming.
There is a problem however. Even if you don't see it!
Problem 1) Games... the quantity & quality of games of Xbox360 is much better, so is the Wii's despite it's inferior processing and Graphics power.
Problem 2) Sale figures... If you've ever been to Joystiq and seen the Japanese figures you'll know that ever since both consoles came out Wii has been selling 3 times more every week, with the exception of 2 weeks when Metal Gear Solid 4 came out. The figures these last few weeks are more shocking when Wii sells in the 25,000 region, PS3 in the 5,000 to 8,000 region and even the PS2 is selling more than it's younger brother.
Not figures you'd expect as Holidays are approaching and top notch games (dead space, Far Cry 2, Mirror's Edge) nearing release for X360 and PS3.
Problem 3) PRICE ITSELF. And all you get more is Blu Ray and HD storage, which although nice, they're not why someone buys a games machine to begin with (not for the jump in price anyway). You can have all the features in the world, if they don't translate to fun they're next to useless. Just look a the Wii's dominance if you think power and large storage are what drives the games industry.
Ultimately it's about good games versus price.
OR it could be that there bottom line took a massive hit...lower revenue is not helped by lower console prices.....
Sony is going on the fact that people will buy one this holiday season regardless if its $50.00 less
@ Mark
You wouldn't know anything about the quality of the PS3's game library now, would you? I'm sure as shit that you don't own one.
Not to mention, the quality of the software over the PSN easily matches or surpasses that of what is offered on XBOX Live. In fact, many games on the PSN would never be possible on LIVE due to MS's stingy ways of limiting the size of software, where they should be taking the "other way around" approach.
Your argument is basically "the PS3 has no games", but masked as a stealth trolling attempt in the form of clever "analysis". l stopped reading your comment after you ignorantly stated that the Wii's game library surpasses the PS3's. I guess you think a ton of shovelware and shitty motion gimmick party games = quality gaming.
I have to agree with Aaron here.
Mark, it's obvious you don't do your homework before making biased remarks, such as the one you just made. Here are just a few EXCLUSIVE PS3 games out this year that are good:
Metal Gear Solid 4
Little Big Planet
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Resistance 2
The Wii can't touch that and neither can Xbox360.
I agree with MARK
PS1 and PS2 actually made compelling reasons to go out and buy a PS wherin PS3 has not.
PS1 had a list of Singletrac games like Twisted Metal and Warhawk as well as others like MK3.
PS2 had a bunch of games that looked alot better than PS1 and now PS3 has no major games worth purchasing it for.
XBOX360 has more original A+ titles: Gears, Halo, etc that haven't been ported.
XBOX360 is cheaper
Now that the HDDVD format war with Blu Ray has ended, the only reason you buy a PS3 once you own a 360 is simply to watch Blu Rays that are $25 a pop. Or you take the cheap way out and watch regular DVD's. This after all is not the economy for disposable income.
C'mon. That "PS3 has no good games" argument is as old as your great grandmother's underarm. It may be true six months after the PS3's initial release but now, the PS3 library is at least as good as the Xbox 360's (and yes, even if the 360 has the much-hyped Halo).
I agree with Mark
Metal Gear Solid 4 I didn't like the first 3 that much, plus I hear there are too many cut scenes. Plus this will probably be ported ala Twin Snakes
Little Big Planet The ONLY reason so far, and who would buy a system for 1 game?
Motorstorm Pacific Rift Racing games suck especially sims
Resistance 2 First one was mediocre and this one doesn't sound much better
"l stopped reading your comment after you ignorantly stated that the Wii's game library surpasses the PS3's. I guess you think a ton of shovelware and shitty motion gimmick party games = quality gaming."
Is this irony or is he just considered stupid.
@aaron
While I totally agree that what is available online for PS3 is arguable better than what Live is giving... Also I have all 3 consoles although I'm more of a PC gamer.
Mine wasn't a PS3 has no games statement like fanboys may interpret it but a purely objective comparison of facts. Facts that sales figures can back up!
Fact... 360 & Wii ARE selling more (beat that)
Fact... 360 & Wii ARE Cheaper (beat that)
Fact... while PS3 does have quality games, and more on the way: The quantity of these exclusive AAA games can be counted by anyone who can count up to 10
Uncharted
Little Big Planet
Motorstorm Pacific Rift
Resistance 2 (and 1... why not)
Ratchet & Clank
GT4
and Metal Gear Solid 4 is good looking but it's more like a bloody collection of non-interactive movie sequences than a game ... which only pleases the fans!
But X360 does have more AAA exclusives than that
Gears
Orange Box
Halo 3
Mass Effect
Forza 4
Huxley
Splinter cell Conviction
and upcoming
Fable 2
Gears
Alan Wake
Banjo Kazooie
(and many more which I can't care to mention in completion here) but just count them up and do the math. Also most games that come on both systems are superior on the cheaper 360.
The Wii is in a class that's difficult to compare, but the list of first party exclusives is staggering, FUN and in high demand as sales figures demonstrate.
To settle my main point tho... If you compare price versus games quality & quantity (that translate into fun) PS3 comes last (even though it has games one wouldn't want to miss).
Stop your bitchin, buy the system you want to play and shut up about it.
re: SKI/mark
Yes, many gamers buy systems for 1 game. People did it with Halo and they do it for Metal Gear Solid as we speak. Little Big Planet will do it as well. Many gaming publications are touting it as a must have and that it is the one of the best games ever made. Yes, that will sell systems.
Mark, I don't know what kind of apples-to-oranges comparison you're attempting here, but much of your list came out well over 1 year ago. I listed games that were all released in 2008. And Orange Box is not exclusive--it's also on PC and Mac. yes, I like Orange Box, but I really don't count it. Next, you list Huxley--a game that isn't even out yet and is also not exclusive as it's also going to be released on PC. Same for Splinter Cell Conviction.
My list contained AAA, must-have, exlusive games that are ONLY on PS3. SKI, your dislike of racing games does not mean that Motorstorm is not good.
Price is fine as it is. Sure we all want cheaper stuff, but that does not mean it's gonna happen. PS3 is already unbelivable value for money, as it is..
Here in the UK, I don't think they are having too many problems selling them, I know 6 collegues in the last month that picked up PS3's all but one of the "defecting" from the white side, and once they see what on offer (as opposed to what Microsoft brainwashed them into thinking what was on offer), they can't understand why they didin't buy earlier.
i'd get it just for the blu-ray
But God said its a bag of hurt!
I bought it for BluRay. And there are actually more good games for the PS3 this season than I can afford to buy.
@Patriks7,
me thinks Jobs thinks he is above god, after all he has the fasted growing religion ever.
This is good news for all current the PS3.. the value stays up... unlike other x-consoles, $199 and their games are the same price as the PS3 $60 thats approax 1/3 the price of the game.... sorry i drift away...
Sorry meant to say "This is good news for all current PS3 owners"
How is this good or bad for current PS3 owners?
Why the hell would you care if you already bought one?
$399.99 is cheap compared to the price for a PS3 in Sweden, where you have to pay at least $500 (from 3999 SEK and up).
It's because the US version is less volty.
Isn't VAT in Sweden 25% for general goods, US prices doesn't include sales tax (its usually only around ~5% either way).
Pleasing the shareholders!? 100% BS. What kinds of financial data is Sony going to pull when they read back their holiday sales figures and notice that Wii and Xbox 360 are selling like mad while they are off in a distant third. I would like to see what shareholders are thinking then.
But what if PS3 is still selling well 5 - 6 years from now just like PS2?
Furthermore, PS4 will obviously be on the market and selling.
It's a marathon not a sprint.
Put it this way: Nintendo : 100m gold medal winner.
Microsoft: 800m gold medal winner.
Sony : 1,500m gold medal winner.
My point? It dos'nt matter where you make the sales in a product's lifecycle, just as long as you make 'em.
@Phil
How about:
Nintendo: 100m gold medal winner.
Nintendo: 800m gold medal winner.
Nintendo: 1,500m gold medal winner.
The PS2 has always sold well, and sales soared only when prices were slashed. The Nintendo Wii has sold wonderfully from the start, and it doesn't need any price cut. Sony had better cut prices now and try to catch up with Nintendo's lead before they end up, to put it in your terms, breathless.
@Krystian
I agree. Talking about "pleasing the shareholders" is always BS; the majority of the shareholders can't do anything, and the value of shares is not dependent on real financial data (see current economy situation).
@giuliop
Yep, the PS2 has always sold well. But the PS3 is matching it's sales if you compare the two at the same point in their respective lifecycles.
@Phil
Not true. The PS2 sold about 40 million units in 2 years and a half (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2664337.stm); according to VGChartz, the PS3 is currently at 16.22 million in 2 years (save a fortnight); that's a third of the PS2 sales.
I very much doubt that the PS3 is going to sell twice as much as it sold in two years in the next six months; in fact, I'd bet that with no price slash, sales will be at roughly 20 million in another six months, i.e. half of those of the PS2 in comparable lifecycles.
@giuliop:
Yep, that's how to spread fud... let's pull out information from two different sources instead of pulling it from one. VGChartz offers this little thing called comparison charts:
http://vgchartz.com/hwlaunch.php?cons1=PS2®1=All&cons2=PS3®2=All&cons3=®3=All&weeks=156
It's only a few mil under the PS2 at the same point during launch, but it's still above the 360 at the same point. The end of this Christmas season will dictate if Sony drops the price this spring.
@giuliop
Nope, you're completely wrong.
Link: http://vgchartz.com/hwlaunch.php?cons1=PS2®1=All&cons2=PS3®2=All&cons3=®3=All&weeks=156
Not much of a difference there if you ask me.
PS3 is selling comparatively well to PS2. Furthermore, it is doing better than XBox360 as far as days on the market are concerned..
I repeat, sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not.
Why do people keep comparing the freakin' Wii with the PS3 and Xbox 360??? Wii sales more, Wii is the best, Wii wins all medals. Sure whatever. But they are not even catering to the same crowd of gamers. Just look at the top games for the respective systems for christ's sake and it should be obvious their *main* target audiences are quite different. PS3 and Xbox 360 are direct competitors, but not the Wii.
@Andir3.0
Yeah, let's look dumbly at lines on the screen and jump to random conclusions. Is that your way of spreading FUD?
Because:
a) If you looked at the chart you linked (as wrong as it may be), you would see that those "few millions" are actually 50% more.
b) If you would have used that "little thing" called Google, you would have found that the BBC news were based on a two Sony press releases: one for September 2002 and the other from January 2003.
http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/2002/index_e.html
http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/2003/index_e.html
While VGChartz is probably an accurate source of projected information, official data is clearly more reliable. That said, I took VGChartz's current data because updated official data is not available; other sources confirm that data.
@Phil
Please do not repeat other's people posts, especially when they're useless.
"I repeat, sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not."
So you think that while the PS3 is lagging behind the other consoles (PS2 and Wii), at a certain point not only it would match their numbers, but actually sell much more, and end up beating PS2 sales?
You realise that that would mean 20 millions consoles a year, steady for 7 years, starting about now? And that neither the Wii, probably the fastest-selling console of all time, nor the PS2, the best-selling one, haven't made that numbers?
All I can say is "LOL".
@giuliop
Nope. Not at all. I simply used the same source without looking. Also, please refrain from sounding somewhat disrespectful.
All I'm saying is that Playstation 3 is'nt doing badly at all.
Wii is a phenomenon. Both PS3 and XBox360 sales look bad in comparison. But that does not mean that they are doing 'badly'.
"So you think that while the PS3 is lagging behind the other consoles (PS2 and Wii), at a certain point not only it would match their numbers, but actually sell much more, and end up beating PS2 sales?"
Who knows? Like I said, and will repeat for a third time: Sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not.
See you in 6 years.
@ WickedEast
I am with you. I do not own a game system and I am not a gamer, with that said my mom would NEVER buy a 360 or ps3 but she owns a Wii. PS3 and 360 are for gamers and the Wii is not, however it seems that having a lot of non-gamers buying your hardware and games is better for business than focusing on gamers. If you factor in all the older people, women and non-gamers that own Wii, most would not buy the other systems.
@Phil
"Who knows? Like I said, and will repeat for a third time: Sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not."
Sorry for sounding "somewhat disrespectful" again, but you're repeating the same thing again and again without understanding the implications; you're just stopping there.
To sell better over its lifetime, the PS3 has to match and beat Wii's numbers, which is, in your own words, "a phenomenon". Either the PS3 becomes "a better phenomenon" and sells more than the Wii, or it loses the "marathon", because its position is, right now, at a great disadvantage.
There is no need to wait 6 years. If the PS3 keeps on selling at this pace in the near future, it will never, ever reach the others. The probability is already very low; the more time passes, the lesser the probability. If Sony doesn't cut prices soon and the PS3 doesn't become a "phenomenon" overnight, it will soon need to sell 25 million consoles a year, then 30, 35, and so on, with the probability of "winning" ever decreasing and equalling that of the world exploding now, in this precise moment. Did it explode?
Of course, we could wait 5 years and 11 months and then you could say, "Who knows? Maybe the PS3 will sell 60 million units in this last month."; I think this "kind of reasoning" more than deserves a "highly disrespectful" insult.
The Wii is naturally going to sell like mad this holiday season and with the new price point & marketing push for the Xbox it will no doubt sell like mad as well. The PS3 on the other hand will be collecting dust on the self as its rivals gain even more of a market share.
Frustrated that you can't afford a PS3? Ask your dad for one for Christmas.
Same Shit different day! =[
translation: "we can sell all the PS3 we can make between now and Christmas at the current price.".
Exactly. This is called "Business" guys.
Just watch and learn on how the PS3 will outsold the 360 this holiday.
Let's watch and learn how you get downranked to oblivion.
@Phil
Actually I disagree with you Phil. The marathon analogy does not apply because after all PS2 created it's massive growth (vs GC + Xbox) by having a great console released early with a marathon of great games out by the time Xbox and GC came out. They lead it from the beginning and just kept leading. They built a great consumer base and grew it out to last so long. It turned out none of the "extra features" of GC or Xbox (superior graphics + online play) were able to beat out Sony. Now the competition is very strong, they are making a big mistake.
@Krystian
Next time you reply to a post, please press "Reply" button, its there for a reason...
In addition, it clearly does matter when you sell during the lifecycle as the sooner you sell a console, the more likely the purchaser will be to buy more games (at a higher price). Those that buy PS2 now get excellent value and bargain priced games. Also, the more consoles sold early could mean more profit per console, as per Nintendo Wii. Also, the more consoles sold early the more upsell opportunities exist, be it Live, PSN, accessories or what have you. Also, the more consoles sold early the earlier developers will take the platform seriously and focus it's efforts on it. Also, the more consoles sold early the more likely it is that your competitors won't be able to encroach on your market share. Also, the more consoles sold early the more momentum builds up for the brand. Also, the more PS3 consoles sold early the more likelihood there is of Blu-ray taking off. Also, the more PS3 consoles sold early the more likely purchasers will migrate to PS4 early during it's lifecycle.
Wether you agree with some or all of the above, there are plenty of reasons why Sony should be doing more to sell more consoles as early as possible. If I have to wait another 12 months for a significant price drop, I might as well wait until they release a Slim version at $200 AUD. I've been a die-hard PS3 fan for the last few years but now I'm thinking that I might as well stick with my Wii and PS2, and perhaps pickup a low-cost DS or 360 until the PS3 gets sensible with it's pricing.
Sony has the best machine, but the pricing is screwing things up. They've gone from dominating the market (PS2) to becoming an also-ran. Sure they're not going to go bankrupt quite yet, but they have been seriously marginalised whilst against relatively weak competition (Wii based on old tech, 360 having so many issues). On top of that, we're stepping into a world-wide recession and it seems that we've perhaps seen the best of what the PS3 has to offer, or close to it, and it aint that much better than the 360 frankly.
Also, the Aussie dollar has fallen so much against the greenback that even another significant price drop in the US would be unlikely to be passed on over here. If the Aussie 360 prices get in line with US 360 prices soon, I'm getting one. And I hate the things.
Its a shame, Xbox is having a hell of a Christmas this year, I wonder if the good ole UK Sony loyalty can survive.
@ ajc
Re-translation: you think we can can lose that much money so soon while we are consistently seeing our marketshare being eaten away by MS and some Japanese retro 80s gamin outfit who get away with re-making the same 6 games every few years, whats their name...oh...yeah Nintendo!
I don't give a damn what they think or who they please! I want a price cut on a holiday!!!
After Sony's last price drop of the PS3, their sales rose nearly 200%. Sure they have a business to run, but they can't really think that price is not an issue with consumers. Price is one of the biggest things people look at. Sure, to myself, and most of you other Engadget readers, we know how much more power the PS3 has over the competition, or who has more quality games, or what is the best value, etc. but to the average consumer, its hard to pick out these differences. Especially those parents who buy systems for their children. If the child doesn't specifically demand the PS3, there's a good chance that parents see all gaming systems as fairly similar and won't see the value in spending much more than the rest of the systems. The only thing that people can really see without research is the advertised pricing. I can't Sony's PR strategies and their BS, beat around the bush answers. Most people still don't see the value in Blu-Ray either, or even really know what it is. Now that standalone players are nearing sub-$200 prices, with most reaching this price point by christmas, Sony is going to start to lose that sales edge of having the blu-ray player built in at a lesser price than competing Blu-Ray players.
I recently picked up an Xbox w/ the $30 dell coupon for a grand total of $182 after taxes. I figure the money saved by buying used AAA titles on the Xbox, it will have paid for itself. For example, I bought Bioshock for $30($60 plus tax for PS3), Lost Odyssey, and Mass Effect all for ~$30 each.
However I do fear that the development of games for the PS3 might be hampered by the Xbox's DVD limitation. I wasn't feeling the 4 discs Lost Odyssey comes in, it would have fit in one nice blu ray on the PS3. They weren't kidding about the noise of the DVD drive either. Oh, accessory prices SUCK! $100 for a wifi adapter? Common now, I ended up running an ethernet cable to my desktop and bridging the connection.
With the credit crunch and all, I dont think many people will think of consoles this year. And definitely not at the price the PS3 is selling here in Europe. 400euro are way too much if you compare them to XBox360's 199.
Its going to be a mean xmas.
@Krystian
Well, we'll agree to disagree. In my opinion, the success of any product is based upon its sales over its entire lifecycle.
Let's come back to this in say, 6 years.
Sony have a lot of room to manoeuvre with regards to price. We'll see one early next year.
I'm not saying price is'nt important, far from it. For example, the local Curry's electrical retailer reopened recently after a re-fit and they held a discount day. PS3's were £190 (normally £299) for the day and the store sold out 500(!!!) PS3's in one day.
Just an example of the staggeringly huge, untapped next-gen market.
It is all far from cut and dried.
Even so, it would be extremely stupid to announce a price-drop in advance, because everyone would obviously not buy them now and wait.
I'll tell you a couple reasons why PS3 is a value compared to Xbox:
1. Best first, second, and 3rd party games
2. Non-proprietary hard drives
3. Free online
4. Every PS3 has a hard drive (a big plus for developers)
5. PS3 has very reliable hardware (no breakage problems like Xbox has had)
1. you have to be retard
2. i will give you this one
3. free online just sucks compared to live.
4. developers hate programming for the PS3
5. to be honest my PS3 and Xbox have both been sent for repair.
What has that harddrive for every SKU done for us? Mandatory installs?
re: B
I think your question was rhetorical, but I will answer it anyways. When every SKU has a hard drive, software publishers/programmers can release larger patches, bug fixes, and downloadable content. Without knowing that every SKU had a HDD, they would be forced to keep those file sizes much smaller to allow for the smaller memory sticks.
And by the way, mandatory installs are a good thing because they reduce read (load) times post-install.
re: giulioup
If you think the Wii will still be selling this well in 2010, you're dellusional. Meanwhile, the other two consoles will be sporting IPTV functionality via Netflix online, downloadable HD movies, downloadable game trailers, downloadable FULL games.
Oh, and did I mention Xbox and PS3 have more than 1 game that supports online multiplayer.
Sony are a bunch of Douchbags. Lower the freaking price. Not that I really care, I already have one and $399 isn't that bad of a price. However, I know people that want one, that don't want to spend $399. Seriously, would $359.99 put you out of business or eat so much into your profits that you will die a slow and horrible death? No. It will actually do nothing.
True, you sold the PS3 at a loss for the longest time. Now you are making a profit, and by now you already more that broke even. At $359.99 you still make a profit and you can even increase your sales by dropping it such a little amount.
Sony, you suck gangrenous donkey balls.
Am I the only one who thinks this makes no sense when Amazon has the PS3 Metal Gear Grey Bundle for $400 real soon???.... Doesnt really add up.. I smell a price cut regardless. They won't survive this christmas without one. Must of the large titles this winter have been on Xbox or on both systems. The average consumer will choose the xbox over the ps3 this years holiday thats for sure. Sorry Sony :-\....
but I'm broke ..
this is suicide for sony. the 360 is even outselling the ps3 in Japan. this has never happened. playstation 3 was the cheapest bluray player on the block and now you can pick them up a standalone for less than $200 and probably less $175 by the end of the year. this is not good news for sony.
300 notes (the ones with a Queen's head on them) is too much for me. Sorry, Sony, I remain unconvinced that the PS3 is worth this sort of money, particularly when you have competitors selling similar products for a much lower price. Given the current recession I can safely say that my wife would not be impressed if I spent this sort of money when we already have a Wii from last year.
That makes the deal recently featured on TechDealDigger.com look even better. It was $339.99 for a PS3 80 GB from Dell. http://www.techdealdigger.com/deals/sony-playstation-3-339-at-dell-home--home-office/4726
man it really bums me out to see how Sony's PR fails to turn their bad rep around. Out of all 3 systems so far I use my ps3 much more often than wither competitor, and I haven't had any unreliability problems.
"and c'mon, you know you'll pay a premium to dabble in Life with PlayStation."
$250 is the magical price point for me. I don't care about 80GB hard drives, and if you try to tell me that it's justification for a higher, check neweggs site for HDD prices and try to tell me that again.
Even though you can buy a 360 for $199 only an uninformed person would buy one, or someone replacing a broken 360 not covered by the RRoD warranty. The 360 arcade is a terrible system for $199 because to get any of the advanced functionality of the 360 you need to spend a whole lot more on accessories. You need a hard drive for the 360 and a lot of people need a Wi-Fi adapter. It is the same knock on Sony but the Arcade only comes with a composite cable for video and no netwrok cable. At least they added a wireless controller. The 360 pro is really the only starting option for anyone wanting to buy a 360. The Elite isn't really worth the extra cash.
The Xbox 360 is running out of steam. Unless something major happens this is probably going to be the last big season for the console. Microsoft's year over year sales have declined since launch and it is a hardcore system. Microsoft's new family push means that it will put less resources towards the hardcore audience and alienate the hardcore base. Microsoft doesn't care one bit about anyone that bought a 360, they only want the money. The 3 year warranty wasn't created becuase Microsoft cared about the consumer, it was created to stop a recall. So far the strategy that Microsoft has run with failed to put the overall XBOX division in the black and that is why they are taking a Wii approach from here on out.
Disagree if you want but take a look at the new Xbox experience and marketing push. Does that really look like the same company that made a console to play Halo? Even the Gears 2 commercial makes it look a lot more friendly than it really is. I'm sure a lot of parents would watch that commercial thinking the game really isn't all gory and violent. Then watch in horror when they see the actual gameplay. At least Dead Space shows that it is going to be a bloody and violent game.
As for Sony, it does have the best hardware and $399 is a good price for what they give you. It is the only platform with a standard hard drive, wireless, and HD drive all together. The problem is that the competition is cheaper. The PS3 also offers a wider variety of games. The 360 may have Gears and Halo but the PS3 has good shooters as well. Nearly all 3rd party games will be multiplatform from here on out and the PSN has shown itself to be a better network title platform. Add an extra year to the game library and the PS3 easily matches the game library of the 360. A lot of people like to forget that the 360 has the advantage of an extra year, which really didn't put out a lot of good titles.
On overall merits the PS3 is the best console and the most forward looking. The BluRay drive is a great addition and doesn't hold the PS3 back like the DVD drive in the 360. There is a reason why Gears and Halo3 were short games. You can't add more unique levels if you don't have the space.
The biggest problem with the PS3 is that it is a bit too forward. The PS3 should have actually launched last year with a huge built up library and a better GPU. Microsoft's rush and Toshiba's insistence on trying to market HD-DVD really did hurt the PS3. In the end Toshiba clouded the marketplace with a product that had no chance of winning the format war and pushed off adoption of a HD standard and kept HD prices from falling due to volume. Microsoft rushed development and made a piece of junk hardware wise.
This generation is kind of a writeoff generation with bad hardware from Microsoft and an out of place console from Sony. That is why the Wii is running away with sales. Not enough people cared about the 360 and not enough people were ready for the PS3.
Is the price point really that bad? I know we go over these comments but they still stand true ...
1) Kid wants a new game console
2) Dad/family wants a new DVD/BD player
= PS3. This was how I made my decision and in the end much more flexibility than 1 other console plus a new player.
Yes, it is that bad.
@Phil
Please do not repeat other's people posts, especially when they're useless.
"I repeat, sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not."
So you think that while the PS3 is lagging behind the other consoles (PS2 and Wii), at a certain point not only it would match their numbers, but actually sell much more, and end up beating PS2 sales?
You realise that that would mean 20 millions consoles a year, steady for 7 years, starting about now? And that neither the Wii, probably the fastest-selling console of all time, nor the PS2, the best-selling one, haven't made that numbers?
All I can say is "LOL".
Maybe if Sony brought back the crippled/ghetto PS3 as I use to call it, then maybe they can have an el cheapo system like the XBox 360 does. I originally had the watered down PS3 with no Wifi card, multi-card reader and smaller hard drive. After having it a week, I realized the Wifi was a big deal for me so I returned it for the 60GB version and have had it ever since. Quality wise, the PS3 is much superior to the xbox because I bought both systems about 2 xmases ago and the 360 has visited the repair center more than once. I will probably have to goto my friends place to play gears of war 2 when it comes out depending on how fast they return the 360. Also the lack of Wifi on the 360 is really a pain in the ass to say the least cause I'm not spending $100 for a wireless card. Finally, the Wii was fun the first week I had it and when people visit, but playing it alone becomes a chore. I really wish they made a regular controller for when you dont want to wavee the wii-remote and the nunchuck around. Also I hope the next iteration of Xbox and Wii do away with the region locks as PS3 has done with BD. There are some Japanese 360 and Wii games that i would like to play but to have to buy a dedicated console for that is also out of the question. That in short is my impression on all three consoles.
@Phil
"Who knows? Like I said, and will repeat for a third time: Sales over a products LIFETIME are how we deduce whether a product is successful or not."
Sorry for sounding "somewhat disrespectful" again, but you're repeating the same thing again and again without understanding the implications; you're just stopping there.
To sell better over its lifetime, the PS3 has to match and beat Wii's numbers, which is, in your own words, "a phenomenon". Either the PS3 becomes "a better phenomenon" and sells more than the Wii, or it loses the "marathon", because its position is, right now, at a great disadvantage.
There is no need to wait 6 years. If the PS3 keeps on selling at this pace in the near future, it will never, ever reach the others. The probability is already very low; the more time passes, the lesser the probability. If Sony doesn't cut prices soon and the PS3 doesn't become a "phenomenon" overnight, it will soon need to sell 25 million consoles a year, then 30, 35, and so on, with the probability of "winning" ever decreasing and equalling that of the world exploding now, in this precise moment. Did it explode?
Of course, we could wait 5 years and 11 months and then you could say, "Who knows? Maybe the PS3 will sell 60 million units in this last month."; I think this "kind of reasoning" more than deserves a "highly disrespectful" insult.
Dear Engadged commenting system: **** you.
ow no.....
They almost had me until bluray players dropped below 200 bucks, now I'll just wait and get one of them when they around 150.
I'm sure Microsoft is cheering at this, the 360 will once again top the PS3 this holiday season.
I own 3 PS3's, I have one in my bathroom, one in my bed room and one in the living room. I also have a Wii, and an xbox360. I like the wii, just because it doesnt have the big shinny graphics doesnt mean anything. I still play PS1 games now and then, graphics dont mean crap especially with these new machines, they all look the same. At least the wii makes you get off you LFA's instead of trying to defend a company, you are all corporate slaves. I cant wait for apple to come out with a gaming system though!