Comments on: Does Sony's PS3 value argument hold up?

Is the PlayStation 3 the most valuable console on the market, or is it all about price?

[iceman721]

The initial price of the PS3 is higher but it has more features so that is to be expected. The PS3 is better hardware that provides a more complete multimedia experience but it is not as good as the 360 for pure gaming. I game on my 360 with wifi & 120gb hd on my 50" Samsung plasma. I have a separate HD DVD/Blu Ray player hooked up to that set. I use my PS3 in my bedroom on my smaller lcd. It is set up on my home network and allows me to surf the web, stream netflix in my bedroom and watch blu rays. I only have a few PS3 games and use it primarily for blu ray and the internet instead of gaming.

Not everyone has the cash to drop upfront on a PS3. I purchased a 1st generation 360 shortly after its release and paid 400.00 for it plus 100.00 for the network adapter plus 50.00 for an additional controller & 150 on 3 games. My initial outlay was 700.00. Crazy!! I just sold my first system which never RROD on me with 1 wireless controller & the 20gb hard drive & 2 older games for 90.00. I replaced it with a newer "Jasper" arcade edition I picked up a CC closeout sale for 150.00. I attached my 120gb hd (bought on sale for 95.00) and now I have a makeshift "elite" system for under 300 dollars. Gaming is an expensive hobby. It is what it is.

[Maccess]

Remove the Blu-Ray drive, place a USB or SATA port and drop the price to $199.

[Mike+1]

Without Blu-ray, you have a $99 PS2 with lower quality graphics. Blu-ray is the game disk format for the PS3 and therefore cannot be dropped, it has two usb ports that can be expanded to 5 for $5 or even 10 for $10 if you really think you need that many usb ports. The HDD can be very easily upgraded by a novice to 320gb for less than $80 or even 500gb for less than $100 in about 15 minutes with a screwdriver if you really need to store that much media, in which case you can easily add an external hard drive or just use your computer hard drive and connect the PS3 through your network wirelessly for free or wired for the price of a $5 ethernet cable.

[swiggins]

It's only a value if you USE this feature ( bluray ) ... I have both and use my 360 97% of the time, and the other 3% is split between the PS3 and the Wii.
The download service on LIVE blows away PSN, and the HD movies ( I'm sorry) just look better on my 60" Elite plasma downloaded from LIVE than PSN.
Then there is Netflix.... there is NO comparison. My PS3 is used for PS3 only exclusives, THAT"S IT.

[CraftLass]

A lot of people are putting down the multimedia capabilities of the PS3, and I just have to comment that I am a gamer, first and foremost, and I rarely even watch movies let alone consider myself a videophile. That said, since I got the PS3 that has completely changed. Watching DVDs is so lame now, it's actually gotten hard to accept the quality of them after seeing my first Blu-Ray. I am constantly streaming video and audio from my laptop and LOVE not having to actually hook the computer up to the TV every time I want to see the stuff on it on in large format. Seriously, I had no desire for any of these things and now I'm in love! I've even downloaded movies, something I never thought I would do.

If someone had told me I would use the PS3's multimedia capabilities even a day before it arrived in my home I would have laughed at them. Now I use them almost as much as I play games (which is at least a few hours daily). It has saved me a lot of money on other ways to do the same thing and I plan to build on my entertainment system with the PS3 at the core of the whole thing.

I spent a lot of time and effort deciding which system to get and the PS3 won the value war every which way I broke it down. Even features you don't expect to use end up becoming important to you once you have them. Also surprising to me was how handy the built-in bluetooth is, I use the same headset for gaming and my phone (works great for both) and if I want to text chat or use the browser I can use the same keyboard and mouse I have for my computer. In our 3-console (PS3, PS2, & Wii)/1 computer home it has truly become a second computer when we need one. While other consoles can browse, only the PS3 can use the keyboard I already own. All of this adds up, I think the darn thing has saved us hundreds of $$$ if not more.

Then again, to reference another comment, I'd rather spend more now and less later, which I suppose makes me a fairly atypical American these days.

That said, I think Sony really made a mistake by dropping the PS2 compatibility because it added production costs, they really disappointed a lot of people with that. However, now that I have the PS3 I have had no desire to pop in an old PS2 game, which surprised me as well. Guess what the PS2 does now? It's the DVD player in a room we almost never watch TV or movies in!

[SteveW928]

Very good points... and I agree. I'm even considering having my parents get a PS3 (they will probably NEVER game) to use as a media hub as well. This way they can play Blu-ray, as well as stream HD from their computer (which I'll set-up as a 'TiVo' type device). It can also stream all their music from their computer to the living-room stereo.... or put their photos from camera cards up on the big-screen..... or play their iPhoto compilations, etc.

I also think dropping the PS2 compatibility was kind of a PR blunder... but I also don't really use the compatibility that mine has. Sony is just being realistic there I guess. I don't think anyone I know with a PS3 still uses their PS2 titles.... even though that was the intention of many of us.

[Wilassasin]

IMO, the bottom line is that, "Out of the box", yes the PS3 offers more but unless u r a gamer or very young most people dont care that it comes with a bluray player. People with interests of owning bluray players are purchasing stand alone players, and buying PS3's for their kids so the bluray player 2 them really doesnt matter. Most younger people I know that own PS3 dont care about th bluray player they just support playstation more due to the preveious consoles sony made. Others who just want HD gaming prefer the XBox360... As for me I own both one for the kids, the xbox360 for me, and multiple bluray players and LCD TV's throughout the house.

[reptile168]

Let me say that when Sony forces people to add extras on the 360, we should do the same. When you purchase a PS3, you don't have backward compatibility, so you must pay 130$ for PS2. You don't have headset, so you must pay 40$ for headset. You don't have component cables, so you must pay 30$ for cables. You don't have ethernet cable, so you must pay 15$ for ethernet cable. You only have 2 usb ports, so you must pay 20$ for a USB hub.

To think of it, PS3 is still much more expensive.

[Mike+1]

Try less than $100 for a PS2 if want to play older games (PS3 does play original PlayStation games, but not PS2 games), you do get component cables included FREE ($0) even though you can buy them for $5 if you need more, WiFi is included FREE $0 (or $5 for ethernet cable if you don't have wireless available) and a 4-port hub is only $5 if you really need one. Bluetooth if included for FREE ($0) again, plus PSN is FREE ($0), and you can stream video from your computer for FREE with Playstation Media Player or FREE with Windows Media Player or on-line at YouTube, Hulu or other similar sites. TVersity and PlayOn add even more possiblities.

[grilledcharlie]

@ Mike+1
The PS3 does NOT come with component cables. It comes with a/v cables. Which I was blown away with considering that it is a HD gaming system/ bluray player. Sure the end cost is more on a 360 for some people, but I haven't even played a game on my PS3 in 3 weeks. I have 3 friends who own a PS3, and at least 15 who own a 360 and play on LIVE (these are real friends, not online ones). It is worth paying for LIVE due to the higher quality experience, and the fact that I actually have friends on it.

[Mike+1]

Yes, PS3 includes FREE ($0) a/v cables that convert HDMI to a/v for those without a modern television made in the last 5 years or so. If you have a newer HD tv, then buy a $10 HDMI cable or spend $5 to $10 for good quality component cables. And, spend $2 to $5 for a digital optical audio cable if you want 5.1 sound through your a/v receiver. No blu-ray player comes with HDMI cables, component cables, digital optical audio cables, nor do any HD televisions lcd, led, plazma or otherwise, that's just the way it is, if you want the best hi-def experience, spend the extra $10 (or less) for an HDMI cable. Most HD cable and HD satellite boxes now include HDMI cables, but that is about it.

My nephew and his 12 to 15-year old friends are the only people that I know with xbox and they do all use LIVE for $50 per year each. My slightly older, 25 to 40-year old friends are all PS3 owners, some x-xboxers and some PS1 and PS2 upgraders, but all have PS3 now and we all use PSN for free, but I use mine more for streaming from the web or my computer, not to mention watching my old DVDs upconverted to 1080 and my new BD movies that blow everything else away.

[grilledcharlie]

@ Mike+1
You actually just made a perfect example of Sony's problem with selling PS3's. So, only your 25-40 year old friends have a PS3, but your nephew and his 12-15 year old friends all have XBOX's. MS was so smart to make a console for every gamer. A cheap one for the kids, a midrange one for the masses, and an Elite one for the more devoted gamer. That's why they sell more consoles. I actually regret buying my PS3. I just kept buying games, hoping that I would find that one to make it worth the $400 that I dropped. Never found it. Even Killzone 2 disappointed me. I don't want to get started on that though...realistic controls, sheesh. OK, and Radek has a damn personal cloaking device. Is that realistic? Sheesh!! Realistic? Try sluggish and inaccurate. Anyway, at least I have a bluray player in my room. Too bad it cost me $400. I should have just bought another standalone Panasonic bluray player like the one in my living room. I could have saved $200. Well, more like $600 if you add the PS3 games and extras.

[Mike+1]

Sony makes a cheap one for the kids with loads of games, it is the $99 PS2, oh yeah and a handheld portable one as well, but I have no need for those. Point being that my nephew and his friends don't watch videos, television or otherwise and have had xbox's from nearly day one, so no need to upgrade to a PS3 at this point since they have invested hundreds of dollars on xbox. They have all spent more on extras (not counting games) than the game console cost in the first place. The PS3 is the best blu-ray player you can buy for anywhere near $400, the $300 ones are not worth the price, most all have very slow loading disk trays, cannot stream music or videos, have no internet connection capablities, no network capabilities, no BD Live, no bluetooth, no storage capabilities at all and often use cheaper parts. Discounted $200 blu-ray players use even cheaper parts and have even fewer capabilities, might as well buy a $50 upconverting dvd player if that is all you want from a player, I wanted more and I got it, the PS3 has it all and more for me.