Comments on: Return of the $339.99 PlayStation 3

It's a the 80GB PS3, sold by Dell new, without a rebate or coupon code in sight. With it, you'll get state-of-the-art graphics and gaming, plus a Blu-ray Disc player.

[nthoelke]

If you think about the fact that ps3 doesn't 1. need batteries for controllers 2. need to buy a wireless adapter, thats money, 3. also the cheap xbox 360 doesn't have a hard drive. 4. blue ray! 5. free internet. If you take into account the standard features that come with ps3 vs. the extras you must buy for xbox to get the same, ps3 is better.

[sobishop]

"If you take into account the standard features that come with ps3 vs. the extras you must buy for xbox to get the same, ps3 is better."

It really only boils down to which game do you want to play...Gears of War or Uncharted as an example because the games are what makes the system successful. I could give a crap less if it recorded my favorite TV shows, video chat with someone in Singapore, doubled as a toaster, etc... I don't care about any of that crap. I just want it to entertain me with great games. PERIOD!

[Jawknee1]

I was happy to pay 500 for mine. I would gladly do it again. I was skeptical at 1st and thought it was over priced but after going out on a limb im glad I did. no regrets. It?s the Ultimate in home entertainment. Blu Ray, DVD function, HD gaming, great audio if using HD cables or the Optical cable. Internet browsing capabilities. Free access to the PlayStation Network as apposed to M$ 50 dollars a year to use their LIVE service which doesn?t really offer much more. Built in blu tooth and wifi. Has only froze on me once or twice while trying to load to many browser windows at once but that?s a small gripe compared to the many times my 360 go the Red Ring of Death. With all the features you get with the PS3 500 was a decent price. If they do drop it to 340 or 300 that?s a great deal. After spending money on add-ons for the 360 to get only some of the features that come with the PS3 out of the box you?ll end up spending 100 to 150 more on your 360 then you would at what the PS3 is priced at even now! MS is peddling add-ons and people are falling for it. Suckers.

[sobishop]

"a small gripe compared to the many times my 360 go the Red Ring of Death."

Stop ******** about this! It is your fault for going out and buying new technology that hasn't worked out all the kinks yet. You go and buy a brand new one now and take care of it (i.e. keep it in a well ventilated area and don't play on it for 5+ hours at a time) and I promise you won't have any real problems.

[sticks1839]

@sobishop So not only do I have to go buy a brand new product (bringing the total cost to well more than a PS3), but I have to restrict my use of said product? That sounds like something I want to own.

People will talk about their experiences with each console, and the RROD has been a large part of many people's 360 experience. I know some people whose original 360 is still going strong. That hasn't been the case for others, and they feel it affected their enjoyment of the console.

[sobishop]

"People will talk about their experiences with each console, and the RROD has been a large part of many people's 360 experience. I know some people whose original 360 is still going strong. That hasn't been the case for others, and they feel it affected their enjoyment of the console."

That is the price you pay with new technology. Microsoft is not a hardware company like Sony. PS3 had its defects when if first rolled out but Sony knows how to fix those problems better than Microsoft. They are still in the learning process and when they finally get it right, they are gonna have one powerful piece of machinery.

[bryanb867]

I would pay $340 for the system (and even $399) if games weren't so expensive. That's what's kept me from buying one. I can stand a one-time payout for the console, but can't stand paying so much for games.

[unkonchus]

The avg consumer just doesn't understand the full package you get with the PS3. They see dollars. Obviously the PS3 can't be matched by the Wii or the 360 as far as specs, features, etc.. but $200 looks a lot diff than $400. Ppl will do their add ons to the Xbox as they are necessary and will eventually have spent more than what the PS3 costs for a product that still contains less functionality. But the buy in price is half the cost. Which is the key. The XBox has all the drawbacks that the PS3 doesn't except price. The biggest one. And there are a lot of things to list and be debated over by the nutriders. But overall the ps3 is much more of a beast. I personally bought the ps3 b/c everyone I knew was sending their XBox back to MS to have them fix it. I didn't want to bother with it. The PS3 can't compete at $400 however.. $299 may be a magic number but who knows. The gaming on both systems thus far is too similar to distinguish until a Heavy Rain comes out possibly. The ppl who buy these systems for themselves or children will see the price tag and everything else goes by the wayside. thats life

[rickbroida]

This is arguably the most civil "PS3 vs. Xbox vs. Wii" debate I've ever seen. Just goes to show how classy and thoughtful Cheapskate readers are. :)

[usfbull19]

I am a happy owner of all 3 systems, ps3 360 and the wii. All 3 serve their purpose. The wii is something that is turned on only in the presence of company. I have yet to find a wii game that I'll play on my own. The 360 is a great system with a fantastic online community and great game exclusives. I don't to use it as a media extender cause I use a Macbook. It does have netflix on it now, so even more uses for it. The negative, its louder than any of the other systems, the power brick is huge, and the dreaded red ring, which I've gotten already. The ps3 is so quiet, you may forget its even on. Blu-ray looks fantastic on my plasma and it has integrated wifi, which is $100 to add to the 360. I tend to buy games for the ps3 if there is an option for the systems, simply due to it's quiet operation. I really do think that all of the systems are great at what they bring to the home entertainment venue. And the ps3 at that price is a deal.

[Tdurden22]

Your all nuts.

[jsnowbordr47]

uThe PS3 is a fine system, and I respect all who own or want one. However, at its current price point, it's just not for me.

I won't pay more than 199.99+tax for a PS3, the exclusive games that are on it just don't appeal to me. The only game I really wanted to play ever since they announced PS3 was MGS4, and I was disappointed with that game. (I had a PS3, but returned it after beating MGS4 several times). I know the God of War series is great and all, but those games just don't appeal to me. As for traditional Japanese RPG's I just don't get them.lol I prefer the more action oriented ones such as Mass Effect and Fallout 3.

I don't know why, but as good as Killzone 2 looks for some reason it's just not catching my attention, I don't know why.

I don't have HDTV so I have nothing to benefit from buying a blu-ray player at any price point. I wouldn't even buy one for $75 if they had it.

I mean, why pay $150-$200+ to get a system that has features I don't need or can't take advantage of? Or play games that I don't want to play. Or play games that I can already get on a system I already own?

I may however buy a more stripped down PS3 if the price were to drop below $200, however at the rate Sony is going, that might not happen until the next generation starts in 2011/2012, so by then, what would be the point?lol

[Tod Smith]

Consoles are CRAP compared to the PC. I'm upgrading my PC this year with an i7 and DX 10.1 card.

[cleptomaniac]

Quick question then, how much is this said upgrade gonna cost ya, and how much has the upgrades cost you so far? I say 340 and you are good for "10 year" works for me. (10 years according to sony that is)

[the_iceman]

200 is the magic number. 60$ games are too expensive though

[_Dark_Knight]

As a man who owns both an Xbox 360 and a PS3, I play games on the 360 far more than the PS3, and I mainly use the PS3 to play Blu-ray movies. My lady friend and I have a lot more fun on the 360.

I own a 360 and a ps3. My 360 was an elite model because thats all I could find at the time, but even then if I would have bought a 60 gig for 300 bucks, wireless adapter for 100 bucks, plus the online subscription for 1 year and I'd still be at 450 bucks. I just don't understand the ps3 price complaints. Blue ray players are 150 bucks, which aren't nearly as good as a ps3, full Internet, and free online gaming. So if they are sitting at $340 i'm not seeing the problem.

I own a 360 and a ps3. My 360 was an elite model because thats all I could find at the time, but even then if I would have bought a 60 gig for 300 bucks, wireless adapter for 100 bucks, plus the online subscription for 1 year and I'd still be at 450 bucks. I just don't understand the ps3 price complaints. Blue ray players are 150 bucks, which aren't nearly as good as a ps3, full Internet, and free online gaming. So if they are sitting at $340 i'm not seeing the problem.

[cmpbllman9]

Alright fan boys, lets try the price game.
PS3-$339.99
80GB(upgradable to whatever you want to convert to Fat32)-$0
WiFi-$0
Free online play and browser-0$
Blu-ray-$0
Upscaling DVD-$0
Total-339.99
------------------------
Xbox arcade-$199.99
+
120GB-$100.00
+
WiFi adapter-$99.99
+
Xbox live(1 year)-$50
+
HD-DVD-$50(no new movie releases)
=
$498.00
PS3 is cheaper. Add any necessary accessories, if needed.
I am not going to bother adding the wii.(for obvious reasons)

This is a great deal so stop complaining and if you can't afford it, go work a little bit more. Then, you might be able to afford it.

[j_a_s_p_e_r]

This is the cheapskate blog so let me tell you about some recent deals on the other side. Recently Dell Home had XB360 Pro 120gb = 259 FS with 3 games (after secret code). Wifi 68. HD-DVD as cheap as 8 (try game stores). You just need to know how to shop. Check out Dealnews. Slickdeals. Boddit. Fatwallet. etc. Yes its more expensive even with the deals, but I just want people to know there are better prices out there

[cmpbllman9]

I know there are, i was just going off of Microsoft prices.

[felderga]

I would've brought a PS3 last Christmas, but I got a great deal on a Blu-ray player (plus I already own a Wii). My wife got me a PSP for some to satisfy my need for hardcore games (God of War, GTA, Killzone, etc..). If the PS3 had been around $299 I probably would've gotten one. Instead I decided to hook up my old laptop to my 40" Samsung LCD and use it as a psuedo HTPC to watch DivX movies and stream music. Sony really should have found a way to make a cheaper PS3. Also there aren't nearly a many new game releases as there were about a year ago.

[GameHistoryX]

Some of these non Cnet employees posting blogs on the site is messing the credibility of this site.
First of all the PS3 has a few good games and graphics but not really anything that's looks better than on the Xbox. MGS4 and Little Big Planet are its best tittle. MGS4 looks great during the cutscenes but is nothing mind blowing. I own the Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3, I;m still waiting to see anything on the PS3 that will make it look better than the Xbox 360. For a blogger to come here and post that he is blow away by the PS3 does not seem to have much credibility since there is not much difference between Xbox 360 and PS3.

[BCF1968]

All the whiners. Ok first of all The PS3 is the same price as an XBOX Elite and no one is complaining about that being overpriced. The Elite doesn't even come with wi-fi let alone a HD-player. Anyone also trying to compare a $400 PS3 to the $200 XBOX 360 is a fool. That model doesn't even come with a HDD. How can you even make comparisons? Anyone complaining that $340 is still too much when for $300 you get a 360 Pro which has a smaller HDD and no wf-fi and only plays DVDs. I say for an extra $40 you're getting a hell of a deal.

[action03]

When i paid $599.99 for my PS3 at launch, I thought I was getting a good deal. And I still do. When you look at what you get with the Xbox and the Wii, it is just overrated crap. The Wii can't even play a REGULAR DVD!!!! That is pathetic, because the PS2 could play DVDs for almost 8 years before the Wii even came out. The Xbox has a 33% failure rate, and no source for NATIVE 1080P movies (or games). The PS3 is worth $399, but I can understand that some people simply can't afford that much for what is to them "Just a Video game". When you look at the specs, you get what you pay for, and that is why the PS3 is the best. On top of the PS3 being at a price disadvantage, the media hasn't supported it either. If reviewers weren't so biased towards Xbox, and were educated about how bad the Wii is technically, the PS3 might have had a fair shot. Editors of some game companies still often will say "The PS3 has no god games!". What BS! What about Resistance, MGS4, Motorstorm, Uncharted, Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, Warhawk, and so many other Triple-A exclusives? The bottom line is, $339 for the worlds most advanced computer entertainment system is a bargain.

[Blove2323]

The PS3 is a great all-in-one system. It does everything you need it to do and even more. At the price point of $340.00 it makes up for an XBOX 360 and a stand alone blu-ray player.. The PS3 is the economical way to go. Listen, I have the PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and a Panasonic BD55. The PS3 does everything video, audio, gaming, blu-ray, and internet browsing. If you add all that up $340.00 is an excellent price. If you can find anything cheaper let me know. Any blu-ray player at $150.00 is not going to give you what the PS3 gives you. Blu-rays are on their fourth generation and the PS3 is only on there first; the only downside of the PS3 is that it does not provide backwards compatibility anymore.. We are in a recession and the PS3 is the most recession proof machine out there right now!

[sludog]

$299 in april has been confirmed by Sony. The writer must get perks from Dell to try push the ps3 for $340 in his article. A few weeks ago Cnet had an article about the price drop to $299 for the 80 gb ps3. Once Killzone 2 and God of War come out, people won't care much about price to play those games. Even some Xbox fanboy buddies of mine admit that if Killzone 2 is all it is hyped up to be they would pay $400 for a ps3. For $300 it is a no brainer especially if you want a bluray player.