Where Ps3 Has Got It Wrong - $price$

[Felix..]

Then looks like I'm not buying one for 2 years

I could be wrong but I reckon you'll cave in well before then Gino. There have been some staunch anti-Sony critics here who have succumbed to the allure of the PS3 and its Blu-ray capabilities despite their previous rhetoric.

The price of the PS3 is what it is. Obviously value is a case of each to their own as represented by the diversity of opinion on this thread. Some believe it is fantastic bargain whilst others reckon it is an unjustified rip-off.

[Skid_MacMarx]

The big argument here seems to be that parents wont be able to afford this for there kids - maybe so but do kids really care/notice the difference in PQ and SQ between a PS2 or a PS3 etc at that younger age

The older ones that do notice or must have the latest technology will either need to save up themselves from thier part time job or go without simple! (kids do still get p/time jobs dont they and not just sponge of their folks)???

Surely we all realise we cant have everything we want and this is a serious piece of HT/Gaming equipment, in my opinion thats worth every cent.

Sony arent trying to market to everyone - they are targetting a specific market in serious game players and HD enthuisiasts. If they get anyone else onboard in these early stages - Bonus

Eventaully price will fall and more will buy in, but i dont think sony have done themselves an injustice but marketing there product differently.

I also remember the PS2 coming out around the $800 mark which was alot more money than $1k is now (or maybe i just earn more now haha).

I did not buy the PS3 just for the boys

I agree wii, psp, ps2 &gameeboy are more aimed at children... I reckon the 360 and PS3 are aimed at young (and not so young) adults

[nonny]

I think the price point is definitely a little high when you directly compare it to the 360 feature by feature.

Really it depends on whether you're looking at the PS3 as a games machine right now or something more than that. At launch I really respected MS for how they packaged the premium model of the 360. You got the wireless controller, the required HD Component cable, the headset, the HDD etc... everything you needed to get it home, outputting HD and online with voice comm.

It also didnt ship with the HD-DVD drive because it isnt required for gaming... and the core console was the barebones package for kids/people who werent interested in getting the absolute most out of the console.

With Sony its one target audience really and thats it. If you dont want a Blu-Ray player, well tough you're getting one... dont want the larger HDD? Tough. They then leave out a headset and even more weirdly enough they made the choice to leave out the HDMI/Component cables. I find this really strange but at the end of the day its clear they want to market it as the all-in-one option when really in direct comparison the 360 has just as much functionality built in, if you purchase the external HD-DVD player.

I think Sony will do well with the machine but right now, as a games machine is p1ss poor. The lauch line up is barely ok. I've been impressed with MotorStorm, Resistance and F1.... but really the rest of the games are so-so. Even Virtua Fighter 5 didnt impress me as much as I was expecting and with all this considered alot of the major titles that were expected to be exclusive for the PS3 are now going multi-platform. I guess what Im saying is if you're already an Xbox 360 owner the asking price of the PS3 right now to play games is a little rich when you already have a machine just as capable, and online I still feel Xbox LIVE is still leaps ahead of what Sony is offering.

[ajm1503559545]

Price issues aside, let's face it, it's a console and so it's about the games. I played a bit of the demo of Motorstorm and the F1 game (sic?) at Dick Smith this arvo and, while they both look pretty schmicko I got pretty bored of both in only a couple of minutes - admittedly driving games really ain't my thang though.

Since Motorstorm is one of only two titles that people have made much fuss about (the other being Resistence) I'm absolutely not going to bother splashing that amount of cash for a console without something to play on it.

I'm afraid that until there is a really knockout exclusive title on this thing then it's just an expensive George Foreman grill with a shiny black surface.

[Hussla]

Sonys online system is brand new whilst the awesome Xbox Live system has had a few year head start.

The sony system has potential especially as people dont have to pay for it, so who know who it'll go.

The launch game selection on the PS3 is pretty poor though! I hate fighting games and racing games as they either bore me to tears or make me bored from their sheer stupidity (that goes for most Japanese Fighting games, Ugh! sooooo dumb!) And the Final Fantasy series sucks balls, I played Final Fantasy X when I had the PS2, absolutely the dumbest and most pointless game I ever played, I between watching admittantly excellent pre-rendered videos and running around throwing balls at flower monsters, poor voice acting and lame cliched story, i mean c'mon an evil being called "sin" oh man thats creative! Oh where was I....the PS3 has Sonic (The Gay Hedgehog), which is pretty lame, I hate that they use those annoying "old school" sound effects from time to time, sounds totally lame and out of place on a state of the art gaming system. Actually I generally can't stand a majority of Japanese made games.......which is what the Playstations have traditionally offered more of. BUT if the PS3 ever gets Halo 3 then well I'd definately be buying one without a 2nd thought.

[ajm1503559545]

...BUT if the PS3 ever gets Halo 3 then well I'd definately be buying one without a 2nd thought.

??? You'd spend a grand and buy a console to play the exact same game you could play on a $600 console?

Are you mad or just made of money?

[betty boop]

I did not buy the PS3 just for the boys

I agree wii, psp, ps2 &gameeboy are more aimed at children... I reckon the 360 and PS3 are aimed at young (and not so young) adults

and then thats where theyve missed the spot then I think. I know my neice and nephew would love a ps3 but they aint getting one a the price it retails at. yep it would be a toy the parents would buy for them selves I reckon but not for kids. a pity as for kids games is where its at you'd think. its like sony has priced their market base out of contention.

[Hydrology]

BUT if the PS3 ever gets Halo 3 then well I'd definately be buying one without a 2nd thought.

Is that the same day that Sony HD-DVD discs?

[attilathepun]

Are you sure you got a headset with the premium package for the 360? I know my premium didn't come with one - they usually bundled it with the live gold membership you had to buy separately.

[Hydrology]

Are you sure you got a headset with the premium package for the 360? I know my premium didn't come with one - they usually bundled it with the live gold membership you had to buy separately.

I think the release day units may have had a headset bundled. My system which I bought a couple of weeks after launch defo DIDNT have one in the box, or mentioned it was supplied either for that matter.

[Hydrology]

??? You'd spend a grand and buy a console to play the exact same game you could play on a $600 console?

Are you mad or just made of money?

And unlike the 360 wouldnt have online play!

[Hussla]

As a package the PS3 is pretty much what I want, looks good, has blu-ray (which atm is supported by far more movie studios) has a larger hard drive and has HDMI.

The xbox has a great selection of games, well developed online systems, yes it has HD-DVD but it's a tacky add-on currently no HDMI is available and lack of HD-DVD backers coupled with my feeling that HD-DVD is going to fail as a format.

[Hydrology]

As a package the PS3 is pretty much what I want, looks good, has blu-ray (which atm is supported by far more movie studios) has a larger hard drive and has HDMI.

Incorrect, If you consider the marketplace in world terms, HD-DVD actually has more support, largely thanks to support from Studio Canal, and distribution chains.

[AndrewW]

As a package the PS3 is pretty much what I want, looks good, has blu-ray (which atm is supported by far more movie studios) has a larger hard drive and has HDMI.

Interesting that you don't mention anything about games, even though the PS3 is marketed as a gaming console ...

[AndrewW]

yes it has HD-DVD but it's a tacky add-on

which can very conveniently be attached to a PC ...

currently no HDMI is available

who really cares ?

HDMI is such a restrictive format I'd rather be without it.

and lack of HD-DVD backers coupled with my feeling that HD-DVD is going to fail as a format.

I think Mark covered this one quit well.

Both camps have their exclusives, neither really has the edge.

There will be no winner, this will drag on forever.

Andrew.

[-Bishop-]

Some believe it is fantastic bargain...

I draw line there, I don't care how good it is and what it can do, there is simply no way anyone could consider it a fantastic bargain...

As for Sony's online service being free, I would not bet on that being free for long.

[AndrewW]

As for Sony's online service being free, I would not bet on that being free for long.

Yep, a bit like region coding.

Get all the customers in by (not having region coding on most discs/having a free online system) and then (enforce region coding on all discs/start charging for online play).

Andrew.

[Guest Hogie]

@Nonny

The headset was not bundled in with the premium 360 package in Australia. We received a remote control instead!

[Skid_MacMarx]

and then thats where theyve missed the spot then I think. I know my neice and nephew would love a ps3 but they aint getting one a the price it retails at. yep it would be a toy the parents would buy for them selves I reckon but not for kids. a pity as for kids games is where its at you'd think. its like sony has priced their market base out of contention.

Its a great machine for the family room alebonau, the boys play their games or watch movies.. and my wife and I can watch movies on it..

My boys are quite impressed with the improved graphics.

whereas gameboy, psp etc are solely aimed at the "younger" market.

If Sony get their act together with PS2 game playback (ie backward compatibility issue).. it will truly be a machine for all members of the family..

you will probably find most families are quite happy with their PS2s and wont need to replace them for another year or two and by that time the PS3 will be much cheaper.

[betty boop]

Its a great machine for the family room alebonau, the boys play their games or watch movies.. and my wife and I can watch movies on it..

My boys are quite impressed with the improved graphics.

whereas gameboy, psp etc are solely aimed at the "younger" market.

If Sony get their act together with PS2 game playback (ie backward compatibility issue).. it will truly be a machine for all members of the family..

you will probably find most families are quite happy with their PS2s and wont need to replace them for another year or two and by that time the PS3 will be much cheaper.

yes I can see where it can be a family thing. you might be right re ps2. might be a time for many to get hte ps2 a bargain at $187 for the game pack. and the ps2 games i've noticed too are going for peanuts so a real affidable option I guess.

[forester_gump]

interesting to note that sales hit the 20K mark....

http://blogs.theage.com.au/screenplay/archives/005654.html

[betty boop]

interesting to note that sales hit the 20K mark....

http://blogs.theage.com.au/screenplay/archives/005654.html

you've no doubt come to this thread pretty late. raja posted that link few pages back

Sony sells 20000 PS3's in 3 days

Seems there are some enthusiasts out there. A good start for the PS3 but didnt the 360 sell something like 30000 in four days? and the wii 33000? Still, i think sony will be encouraged by this, but I cant see a price drop any time soon and nor can i see the argument for a 20gb console if the PS3 60gb sells at it has. Sales will drop off to a steady rate, i mean the 360 took another 7 months after the fiorst 3 days to reach 100000 units sold (and still no price drop-even with this competition)

http://blogs.theage.com.au/screenplay/archives//005654.html

cheers

and it is jsut says

"Sony has announced that ...."

whichs is just sony spreading propaganda in my books

[MELso]

And besides, it's not the initial sales that are important. A fair proportion of these are sales to the fanboys who would buy a $1000 George Foreman Grill if it had a Playstation badge on it (errr... oh wait... bad analogy).

The issue will be the same as it has been in Japan and the US: will sales hold up a month or two down the track, once the good and the bad points of the system are better known, and the hype has died down?

[AndrewW]

The issue will be the same as it has been in Japan and the US: will sales hold up a month or two down the track, once the good and the bad points of the system are better known, and the hype has died down?

and considering that the initial sales were worse than the 360 and the Wii, they would actually need to increase their sales to have a hope of catching up.

Andrew.

[Hussla]

Andrew what do you mean that HDMI is a restrictive format? I dont consider it to restrictive in comparison when my HD-DVD equipped 360 is played a disk with ICT (if that ever actually happens) and I cant enjoy the glory of anything more than 576p.

Also there are many displays that wont handle 1080p through component.