PS3: November $499 & $599 Configurations (1 Viewer)

[Kyle_D]

Nevertheless, even with the next Final Fantasy (a franchise, along with Dragon Warrior/Quest that all but assured Sony's dominance in the region for the last 2 generations of consoles according to many gaming analysts) installment announced for the system, only 22.6% of those Japanese surveyed felt Sony would "win" the next gen race. To me, that says either one of two things:

1) The survey was incredibly unscientific and, like often happens in the US, was flooded by Nintendo fanboys. (Very possible)

2) Sony really is in for a rude awakening in Japan.


Sony's out would have been to offer a $299-$399 "core" package with a DVD drive and the $599 "premium" package with a Blu-Ray drive. This would have given the masses a more reasonably priced next gen gaming console, while still aiding in the proliferation of Blu-ray for those gamers and A/V enthusiasts who see a $600 Blu-ray player with gaming capabilities as a deal.

 

[Austan]

April 2006 was the first month that XBOX 360 sales outpaced PS2 sales...
http://www.nlgaming.com/nl/asp/id_8051/nl/newsDisp.htm
Also, when the XBOX 360 came out last Nov, wasnt it all bundled up with extra stuff and the price was really above $500???

There are plenty of Sony "Fanboys" ready to pick up all 4 million units by end of year... http://gear.ign.com/articles/709/709082p1.html

I don't think price will be a factor in the first wave of PS3 sales and Microsoft has no plans to drop the price of the XBOX 360. http://www.xboxcore.com/news/1519.html

 

[Kyle_D]

It depended where you bought from. If you bought online or from an EB Games/Gamestop/etc. then you probably had to buy a bundle with games and extra controllers and these packages often cost well over $500. These stores do this for all consoles when they first launch; it basically ensures that only true gamers who would have bought the games/accessories separately are buying the systems, as opposed someone who buys only the console and promptly put it up on eBay at an exhorbitant reserve. It also guarantees the stores and third-party publishers that the inventory of launch titles will sell, as the stores often decide what games are included in the bundles.

On the other hand, the major retailers like Wal-Mart and Best Buy sell new consoles separately at their retail prices.

 

[orestes]

I will not buy a PS3 until some time late 2007 or 2008. I want to see real reviews of the hardware, and hopefully by then I can have a better HDTV w/HDMI inputs, not to mention a better AV receiver which suppors HDMI too.

 

[Harminder]

Yet another problem with PS3?

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/sony/ps3-cell-yields-in-the-toilet-186937.php

What's next? Not enough plastic to make the PS3 symbol on the controllers? Maybe it's a good idea to pre-order now for anyone that wants one.

 

[Ryan-G]

If true, the impact could be huge. It'd go one of two ways.

1. Sony isn't able to ship significant units, costs remain extrordinarily high, and Sony loses the console wars and living room wars completely.

2. Much more likely. Sony delays by 3-6 months, and revises the specs to disable 1-2 more Sub-processors.(IIRC Cell actually has 8 sub-processors, but only 7 will be active on a PS3). Games end up similiarly delayed as the architecture is reworked, and Sony ends up in an uphill battle.

If Sony delays and revises the specs by disabling more sub-processors, they can improve yields as some of the "Discarded" chips likely have 5-6 working sub-processors.

Heat is also going to be a serious consideration, larger die sizes traditionally generate vast amounts of heat when the speed is cranked. Intel's prescotts are a good example, the 3ghz+ models can double as an Oven.

Cell's a good idea, but I don't think 9 processors on a die is ready for prime time, and I'm not surprised if there are yield problems.

I'll wait for other news outlets to confirm though, this is potentially a big deal.