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.

[NipGrip]

Ok.. AND? Compared to the $400 XBOX 360, the PS3 is a HECK of a steal.

XBOX 360 Elite - $400 - No Wireless - NO BLURAY - No FREE Online - Ads on Desktop
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16868105001

Do you not understand if the PS3 had a $300 player, that would mean MS would have a more expensive console with MUCH less features? The PS3 is a premium console at a great price with Bluray, built in Wireless, internet browsing (HULU.Com, anyone?), Non-proprietary HD support (500 Gigs - $100), FREE ONLINE, and much more than the 360 RROD machine offers.

Frankly, the real news isn't that the PS3 still has a $400 machine, but that the XBOX 360 STILL gives the RROD issue. How about the media talks about that glaring issue? No wonder they can afford a stripped down $200 model.. It's a hunk of JUNK!

[thetruthbereal]

Ok here my take.

Both systems are great but, Sony has a serious problem. First they were second to the market by a large margin. The 360 was a big jump from the previous systems and we all had to have it. When Sony did get into the next gen. systems they had priced themselves out of the game. In addition to the price difference ($600.00 vs $350.00 if memory service me correct) they had no exclusive that made me want the system. The best games where available for both systems so why spend $659.00 for a game when I can get it for $59.00. Sony will see an uptick form the exclusives they have now and what is to come but with the economy the way it is globally its not going to be enough to over take the 360. By the time they catch up they are going to be in the same spot they are in now. At that time the 720 or what ever Microsoft calls it will be coming out and the process will repeat. Sony keeps talking about a 10yr life cycle that's great if your competition plays that same game. Unfortunately Sony needs to rethink and retool for ps4 to stand a chance at regaining the crown. Those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it. This happen with Nintendo and countless other companies.

Just my thoughts

[lpfan091989]

personally, the xbox 360 suits me best because everyone around me has one, so i would be the odd man, out. although, the ps3 is powerful, i don't personally like it. i'm not going to pay some 400 or more for a console because it has the blu ray, i don't care for blu ray. dvds work fine for me. and i also hear that blu ray is slow too.
i still haven't purchased a next gen console because of financial reasons. I want the xbox 360 because i'm a big halo fan, has great games, overall fits my needs, and again, because my friends have it and i would like to play online with my friends. thats my opinion.

[robertcaro]

I would consider myself a casual gamer, my brother has an xbox and while i love the grafics i haven't totally fallen in love with the games, I used to own a regular play station and do miss some of those games and have had my eye on the ps3 for sometime but with more and more friends buying wii's i just make settle for a wii instead, if sony doesnt get it str8 soon they are going to loose a huge chunk of the market.

[tcr071]

Who cares if the PS3 is a better value? I want to buy a gaming console so that I can play games.

I don't need a blu-ray player so I can buy overpriced blu-ray movies.

I don't need wi-fi. RJ-45 works fine for me.

I don't need bluetooth. IR works fine for me.

I don't need a humongous hard drive. 20GB is enough for me.

I don't need re-chargeable controllers. Batteries work fine for me.


Difference between Microsoft and Sony is that Microsoft doesn't force a bunch of nonsense on the consumer and claim it as a "value package." Microsoft gives options all of which will play the exact same games.

Some people just want the bare bottom basic and don't want to spend a lot of money. Sony has basically told these customers that they DON'T WANT their business.

[Crazy-88s]

Exactly.... Well Said...

[ReesesLee]

You can make the same complaint about auto makers putting in power windows and locks, abs brakes, stereo, and anything else they throw in. It is a matter of consumer choice and Sony just didn't plan for the market well.

[ironsnakemx]

Oh no !!!!!!!!!!!!! another cnet note turned into a console war!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :P hahahahahahahahahaha

seriously xbots and Sony fans ...... you are not going to change anyone´s mindds with your fanboy ******** ......... i have both system and only rated the xbox 360 elite because it has not fail and the ps3 got the yellow light of dead , but aside from that they are both great consoles ..... so just stop it please ...

[ironsnakemx]

Oh no !!!!!!!!!!!!! another cnet note turned into a console war!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :P hahahahahahahahahaha

seriously xbots and Sony fans ...... you are not going to change anyone´s mindds with your fanboy ******** ......... i have both system and only rated the xbox 360 elite because it has not fail and the ps3 got the yellow light of dead , but aside from that they are both great consoles ..... so just stop it please ...

[Rich_sly]

I work at a retail store and deal with a lot of video games and from what I've seen come through my store and having a lot of hands on time with both systems it is my opinion that the xbox 360 is the over all better system and here are my reasons.

1. Price. The 360 pro is 299.99 compared to a 399.99 ps3. Yes you can talk about the blue ray player but it only is a factor if you have a hd tv, if you do not then 360 is the better system because when compared side by side 360 looks much better in regular audio video and slightly better in component.

2. Options. I see a lot of people talked about all of these different accessories you need to add to the 360 to make it playable and I disagree. What Microsoft did is the exact same thing that Dell and most notebook manufacturers do its create a base system for a certain price and then allow you to pick what accessories and features you want thus keeping down the price. For example my cable modem sits underneath my tv and about 1.5 feet from my 360, thus I do not need a wireless network adapter. So I'm glad i don't have to pay an extra 100 bucks for a feature i don't need. Same with hard drives and rechargeable battery packs. Buy what you want but don't force everybody to buy something they don't need.

3. Online. xbox live is better. Its not an opinion its a fact. Stability, updates, speed, content updates, new demo releases, in every way its better. The reason? BECAUSE YOU PAY FOR IT. As the old adage says you get what you pay for. And seriously at 13 months for 49.99 (you get 1 month free when you buy a year) you talking about a whopping 3.85 a month for a quality service. If you can't afford that then you probably can't afford the system anyway.

4. Games. 360 has better games period. The reason I can say that is because while most games are multi platform 360 is still getting something sony isn't, 3rd party exclusives or exclusive content. Case in point Left 4 dead (360 exclusive) and the GTA4 content download the Lost and damned (360 exclusive). Also most games are made for the 360 and then ported to the ps3 since the development kits for the ps3 are difficult to program for and developers don't like programming for the ps3 thus most games look better, play better and run smoother on the 360. Also there are more games for the 360 because it stole the install base by launching first.

On the ps3 side I will say that the 360 does still have problems with systems still experiencing the red ring of death with I agree is unacceptable and I would like to see the 360 have an internet browsers. Also I think the elite should have built in wifi since the elite is pretty much irrelevant since all 3 models now have hdmi ports and I don't think 60 extra gigs for hard drive space it worth the 100 bucks. But none of those are deal breakers since store warranty's take care of red ring issues and I can always browse the net on my phone on computer.

P.S. sony doesn't include hdmi cables with the ps3 making the blue ray player useless out of the box.

[Crazy-88s]

Well said ! @RICH_SLY

[emarkhasin]

Even $600 is a decent price for PS3, the question is how many consoles Sony can sell for that price!
I bought mine for $300 (40GB) on SonyStyle.com with opening of there credit card ($100 credit for the first purchase), and i don't regret the purchase. The picture quality for BD and games is amazing. And you are getting much more then just BD player and Xbox could give you together!
Sony doesn't want to donate their consoles, Sony always was a premium brand so i don't see a point of lowering a price, unless they can cut the cost of production, and this is not always depends on Sony itself. With economy like now, no one wants to cut cost on anything.
So if you still waiting to get PS3 for $200, wait for a economy to start turning around.
And if just want to get a super system without waiting forever go and buy it for $300-$400, you won?t regret!

[emarkhasin]

You will need to invest at least $600 more to your PC during a life time of PS3 which is around 5-6 years, your PC doesn't give you a guarantee that the new released game will work using highest resolution, PS3 does.
In a year you will need to buy more memory and new video card, and you will change your video card every two years, or you will need to buy a really expensive one for $300-$400.
With PS3 you are confident that the game will play! Plus you getting a center piece of home entertainment with BD player, photo sideshow, music player and so on.

[Dragoniies]

I like the fact that sony fanboys always point out the stuff that the PS3 does, like have a blu-ray player, wifi, web browsing, but never mention playing games on it. If you look at all the head to head comparisions with multi-platform games, the 360 always looks better. Now if you PS3 fanboys want to talk about exclusives well, after Metal Gear and Uncharted the list stops and don't even bring up Hard Rain. 360 gamers have been enjoying great games for years now while you PS3 people have been coming up with excuses for sony.

[sludog]

The multi platform games are identical in every aspect. Gamepro and Gamespot will confirm that some games play better on one system or the other. Saying that every game is better on 360 is just plain foolish.

[ashrafjabbar]

well you should compare the hardware when compaing prices coz the ps3 offers wifi and bluray player fwithin this price and how much can the 360 cost if you add the wifi and there is no bluray player for the 360 at all.

[Smoke8]

Seriously still complaining about the PS3 price? I don?t understand how people can be so upset about the price of a PS3 and don?t think twice about spending $300-$400 on a cell phone a CELL PHONE!

Seriously $340 is tough to swallow? You?re joking right. If a persons sole concern is just to play games a PS3 is not for them. If they want a complete entertainment package then the PS3 is more appealing.

Compare the Xbox 360 pro model to the PS3 $300 vs $340. If you are telling me that the extra features you get with the PS3 is not worth $40 you?re crazy.

You get what you pay for deal with it.

[Balloonknot]

That price is more like it but still too high. I will admit that the PS3 is the superior piece of equipment so it stands to reason that it should cost the most. But the reality is, PS3 needs to make up some serious ground and its not going to do that when there are less expensive alternatives with arguably (which happens to be my opinion) better game selections. The "but hey, it's got Bluray" crowd isn't gonna put the PS3 sales where they need to be. Most people buy a console to play games. If the 360 and/or Wii has better games and is less expensive then the PS3 cannot even begin to make up ground until it is either the same price as 360 or less.

Also, I have all three consoles...I had and loved PS2...no Sony hating here...more like Sony disappointment...

[DrumMaster1982]

I purchased a PS3 about 7 months ago. I had been a big fan of the PS systems going all the way back to the original. Previous to this purchase I bought an Xbox 360 and after I got the red ring of death, but I was within warranty so I was able to return it to GameStop for full credit and upgrade to the 360 Elite. As much as it hurts to say it, Microsoft has made a much better product in just about every aspect.

The main reason I decided to get the PS3 was for the Blu- Ray. I got the HD player for the Xbox but after HD-DVD lost the war I was left with an option of getting a Blu-Ray player or getting a PS3 which was basically the same price. It's sad to say after all these months and money spent that I barely use my PS3 and find myself always wanting to purchase games which are multi-platform for my Xbox. To me, the Xbox OS runs much smoother and is a lot less cumbersome than even the newest update to the PS3 OS. The game installs and loading is extremely annoying with PS3, the controllers feel cheap, and the PS store is just looks cluttered.

The lack of exclusive titles that PS3 has to offer, MGS4 being the only one that really impressed me, has really hurt the system as well. It seems all the developers see the populartiy of Xbox and aim to get it out on their system more than with PS3. If Sony wants to keep themselves in the running, they need to take some hints from Microsoft and make their dashboard more user friendly, start developing some new and exclusive titles, and re-vamp their online interfaces.

I'd rather pay the $50+ a year for a Gold Xbox Live account and quality and impressive features than something for free than I feel I should be getting paid to have to deal with.

Xbox will win this war in the end...

[cleptomaniac]

Ok I understand it is your opinion, but you do know sony won an award for the XMB interface that they use for the PS3 and PSP, right? While you may not like it, most do.

[MongooseProXC]

Make it $200 and I still can't afford it. Sorry :(

[bjordont]

Make it free and I couldnt afford to go get it at times.

[hameiri]

Well, I always like a lower price. But, even though Sony has kept it's price up, I think I can explain why they do, and why it's worth it.

1. It's always been worth more, they were taking a loss on every machine. As important as the consumer getting the lowest price, it's also important for Sony to make money. Otherwise we won't have this option.
2. Even if you say that the Blu-ray is only worth $150 now, doesn't that make the rest of the machine only cost $180 to $250? And some still believe it's the best Blu-ray player.
3. It has Wi-Fi built in and it can be used to surf the net, and download TV shows and Movies....in High Def! It's High Def playback seems flawless because it just downloads it, it doesn't stream.
4. It's online play is free. So, for the boxes that charge for that, don't you have to add on something for the money you'll be putting out every year?

Now, I know it's not as simple as that. Every step of the way, you could say there's another option that's better or cheaper. But, if you want this combination of things, I think it's a great box. And remember, they are upgrading it all the time.

[Crazy-88s]

Yes I dont think the ps3 price tag is the problem. Developers dont like developing for the ps3. They said its easier to make the same game for the 360. Please stop bashing the 360 about wifi. Like someone said real gamers do not use wifi to play online games. Its a Game Machine first. Extra features later. I have all 3 systems. I play them all. But my ps3 due to lack of games i use as a blue ray player more than a game machine. Be honest who plays an online ps3 game over wifi??? Lets all be real sony messed up. They put all this crap together for no reason. I think if they did what microsoft did and let us the customers buy what we want, Then maybe they would be doing better. Not everyone wants to buy a games console with a blueray player attached to it unless it comes with it for free. Why be forced to pay for something you dont want!. I think thats why Microsoft is also doing a lot better besides good games and exclusives. If you dont want your system to come with a hard drive then pick the arcade. you pay $199 comes with a 256mb memory card. Look they even said hey if you want to watch Hd Dvd's on your console we wont force you, you can buy the attachment, no force. I have the elite, and yes it didnt come with a wifi adapter you can buy the attachment but why would you. Try streaming a movie over WIFI with your ps3 see how long it takes. Who cares about a browser.. Its a game machine. Im sure all of us here have some type of computer laptop cellphone that can do the internet job. How many of us actually turn on our ps3's to browse the web?... Im no fanboy. my 360 broke with the rrd when i first got it. They replaced it. I gave it to my brother and got an elite. And been fine ever since.. I know sony was doomed the minute microsoft was able to get devil may cry 4 grandtheft auto 4 final fantasy and residents evil 5.

[hameiri]

Well, I guess I have more to say. The developers are not used to the PS3. But, I understand they are getting used to it. As they do, you will probably see more titles using the PS3 to better exploit it's capabilities. Also, the size to the Blu-ray will help in the future. So, maybe some of you are right currently, but in the future the PS3 may rule gamingwise.

I use the PS3 to browse the internet. Yes, I have two desktops and a laptop. But, sometimes you just want to browse where you are, and use your HDTV with out hooking up a computer. It's getting better all the time.

I also use Wi-Fi, and I download Hi-Def movies. It takes awhile, but it's better than going to Blockbusters.

[thashiznit01]

So you're saying I should just wait for developers to come around to programming for what is the better system while it collects dust in my living room? Doesn't really sound like it's worth a purchase right now then as a gaming platform huh? I have all 3 systems and the 360 is used far more often than any other right now because of the games available and the online experience has been far better. The PS3 does have more functionality but why bother if you can have a better experience elsewhere? I can browse the net on my iPhone but when I'm home I use my laptop cause that's what its for. The PS3 is short for (Playstation) which should make it a gaming console first and not just a glorified blu ray player that just so happens to play games as well and that's what its turned into. Sony gambled and so far has lost in its line of thinking that it could ride the coat tails of the PS2 and everyone would jump on board (as I did) without planning on supporting the games or more encouragement of developers to work with their system. As it was referred to earlier instead of making it convenient for its consumers Sony forces us to comply with their format of the week to sell their goods i.e. (Betamax, Mini Disc, UMD's, Memory Sticks, etc..) The PS3 is a really nice concept but its execution was simply not carried out well by the powers that be at Sony... I hope for improvements in the future as an early adopter but I hate that I had to spend my money only to have to wait for develops to catch up.. In the mean time.. back to NBA 2K9 on my 360.. Live Gamertag: thashiznit48

[not2worried]

I'm holding my cash till it's under $300 ( free game wouldn't hurt).
Happy with my 360 for now....
But a PS3 would be nice...
Buddy has all three system. His Ps3 only gets used for Blu-ray right now.
I have tried the online on the PS3... really wish they would improve this....
The Xbox really has a great online set up... and I am happy to buy $2.35 a month for it...
Not knocking Ps3... I want one... Just need a few more games and better online....