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

Brian-W

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The original "Playstation" at the time was not a console, but an add on CD-ROM device for the SNES that also added a 3-D chip (although fairly primitive).
 

Ryan-G

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Yes, I left out the Intellivision, Colecovision, and Dreamcast. All of which were technologically superior to the reigning console(s) at the time. Atari/PS2/X-box.

There's no guarantee with consoles, one slip up will do it.

Though the article that Jackay links to is a fairly interesting take on it, that PS3's pricing and limitations were due to Blue-Ray and Sony not stepping on the other manufacturers toes. It makes alot of sense, but I wonder if it's wise to risk hamstringing you main source of profit in a gamble to try to win two sources.

They're taking on alot of risk, if they win they'll certainly be a strong company. But if they lose, they'll have little to nothing left.
 

Ken Chui

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The 360 may offer HD gaming at half the price of the PS3, but does it have the franchises that they're looking for? While the majority of games will be cross-platform, it's the platform exclusives that could affect consumer's decisions as to which road one should take.
 

JackKay

Second Unit
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Ken Chui

Blu-ray players won't be saturating the market anytime soon, and initial offerings from the manufacturers will be priced significantly higher than their HD-DVD counterparts (if I'm not mistaken, on average, roughly twice). When you consider that the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player retails for $499 and the HD-XA1 is $799, for $100 less, you'll be getting a very capable Blu-ray player that not only plays games, but also has the functionality of a DVR and media centre. Consumers and media outlets echoed these sentiments when the PlayStation was launched for $299 back in 1995; it did manage to move 102 million units* before production was discontinued (*after a few price drops).

another quote from Paul Sweeting of Video Busness Online:

By itself, the HDMI connection on the high-end version does not account for the $100 price difference.

The more likely explanation is that, in deference to its Blu-ray hardware partners, as well as its own consumer electronics division, Sony Computer Entertainment hopes to steer those looking to the PS3 primarily for the Blu-ray drive toward the high-end model.

Once retailers bundle in a couple of games and an accessory or two, the real price for a fully functional PS3 Blu-ray player is likely to come out fairly close to stand-alone players, which start at $1,000.
 

Ryan-G

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Ken,

Ty for the explanation of mobile processors, makes alot more sense now.


This is absolutely true. Problem is, all of PS3's franchises are from the PS1 days or older. Tekken 6? Final Fantasy 13? Metal Gear and Grand Turismo 4? Resident Evil 5? Ridge Racer 7? Etc. Given, some of them still have significant draw, many others aren't as strong as they once were. Close to half their announced titles are retreads, and many are excessive retreads.

Meanwhile, 360 is drawing upon newer franchises which are still in their prime. MS also has the advantage of having the support of studios who have experience in Online Gaming like the Battlefield series, and they've scored a coup-de-grace in the better end of the Grand Theft Auto series.

Additionally, 360 has the benefit of pulling in PC titles to boost it, like F.E.A.R.
 

Richard Kim

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There's one factor that's not being mentioned in this thread about the PS3:
Japan. The Xbox 360 is doing terribly there and is essentially a non factor. So it seems logical that the next gen battle in Japan will be between the PS3 and the Wii. One would think that due to the Wii's impressive showing at E3, interest would be higher in Japan than the PS3. But according to a poll in Famitsu magazine regarding the top ten interests in E3, the majority were PS3related, with only a few for the Wii, and zero for the 360.

You can see the poll here:

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3150896

So even though Sony is still in a tough spot, don't count them out in Japan, especially with their Square Enix franchises.
 

Kyle_D

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Real Name
Kyle Dickinson
Richard,

You make a great point - Japan seems to sway toward whatever console has the latest Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy. While the 360's primary selection of action/shooter titles have great appeal in the west, it has little in Japan. It will be interesting to see how the PS3 sells there compared to the rest of the world.

OTOH, the DS is abolutely troncing the PSP in Japan at the moment and now seems to be all the craze. It'll be interesting to see if Nintendo can translate that success to their console business there, though handhelds and consoles have historically been very different markets.
 

Tiago_J

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Sep 16, 2002
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Watching the general gamers' reaction on the web post E3 has been, to say the least, surprising. Nintendo and Wii actually seem to have the upper hand at the moment and Sony's overconfidence might blow on their faces. Watching their E3 conferece I found it surprisingly underwhelming...
 

Andrew Bunk

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Nov 2, 2001
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I'll tell you right now I am much more excited about the Wii than the PS3. Zelda and Mario are always enough for me to buy the console.

I'll likely get into Blu-Ray, but with a standalone player, not the PS3.
 

Ken Chui

Supporting Actor
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A franchise is a franchise, regardless of its age or number of iterations. If developers continue to tap their respective wells for inspiration and consumers purchase them in droves, the 360 is no different than the PS3. Last I checked, the Battlefield series was developed by EA, a PS3 partner; same applies to UbiSoft (Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas), Activision (Call Of Duty 3), and Epic (Unreal Tournament 2K7). All of these developers have online experience and the aforementioned titles are destined for the PS3; MS has no advantage where developer support is concerned.
 

Ken Chui

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The word from Eurogamer.net is that UK customers will have only one model to choose from, the 60GB version, and the MSRP will be £425 (based on today's exchange rate, it comes to US$803.43 :eek: )
 

Nils Luehrmann

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Mar 21, 2001
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Unfortunately, that has more to do with how ridiculously weak the American dollar is right now. It makes any buying sprees abroad very expensive right now for Americans, while Europeans can enjoy some excellent bargains when shopping here.

By comparison, what is the MSRP of the Xbox 360 in the UK?
 

Jonathan White

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Feb 21, 2003
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The core is £210 and the premium is £280.

Playstation are releasing both versions in the UK, the rumour started due to an online store only putting the premium ps3 up for pre-order.

Cheers
 

Ryan-G

Supporting Actor
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Oct 13, 2005
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Not surprising Kyle, Japan is often more interested in innovative products.

Though I'd be *really* interested in Euro/U.S./Aussie numbers. In the U.S. Nintendo has the perception that it is a "Children's" console, and PS3 seems to run the gamut from "Not at that price!" to "Sony is god!". I've no idea what Euro/Aussie gamers think.

There's alot of flack aimed at Sony right now in the U.S., I really don't think that sales will be all that great after the first wave. Pricing is a big issue, and I'm seeing alot of "I'll wait till it's cheaper" or "I'll wait till the second generation games launch". I don't think it'll be much cheaper for a while, as doing so will threaten stand alone BR Player manufacturers who could threaten to go HD-DVD on them. I also wonder when second generation games will launch, a year's wait might be too late. Due to the increased costs, low sales numbers by Holiday 2007 may have alot of studios dropping PS3 support to control costs.

I'm just not seeing an out here for Sony. Price is a problem, but cutting price could harm BR as other manufacturers become angry. Sony may very well have to sacrifice one to save the other.

Another problem that hasn't been discussed at all is Rambus. They give the impression that they're pretty money hungry, and may continue to charge alot of money for the memory, especially as PS3 is really the only major selling platform using it. Rambus's pricing alone could hurt Sony. I'd feel better about this issue if some other platform with very significant numbers in sales were subsidizing the production. But I really think PS3 is the only large number moving platform using it. Maybe Wii uses it, but it'd kinda be overkill considering their low specs...
 

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