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Comments on: Do new PS3 bundles mean Slim is coming soon?

Rumor has it that Best Buy will soon begin offering a PS3 that comes with both Metal Gear Solid 4 and Killzone 2. This would be the second attractive PS3 bundle in the last few weeks. Is Sony trying to clear the channel of old consoles?

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by Kaden101 July 6, 2009 10:52 PM PDT
Quote " by guest86 July 6, 2009 9:48 PM PDT - PS3 Slim is not good. It will get overheat easy"

Do you know something the rest of us don't? The slim hasn't even been officially confirmed by Sony as real, & the PS3 bashing bandwagon is already taking potshots.

I think you'll find that it isn't Sony's console that has the heat & reliability issues.

You may pay more for the initial purchase of a PS3, but it's a higher quality made console with more in it. It's a lot better value as a piece of hardware than the 360 could ever dream of being, but you should pick a console for the games you want to play & the budget you have available.
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by ManjyomeThunder July 6, 2009 11:45 PM PDT
I always love these kinds of threads because PS3 and Xbox 360 fans flame eachother. The PS3 is more expensive, but it also has Blu-Ray. The 360 is cheaper, but Xbox Live costs $60 per year. Choose your poison.

Unless of course, you build yourself a decent gaming PC. That always works too, especially since there's a lot of great games available on Steam at great prices. And the fact that you can actually upgrade the console without buying a whole new one is always nice too. And look, free online for most games and... gasp, Blu-Ray options. Yay.
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by Kaden101 July 7, 2009 2:18 AM PDT
ManjyomeThunder, I understand your point of view, but there are some issues with the whole gaming PC angle.

1. It costs more to build a decent gaming PC than it does to buy any current gen console, & that doesn't include the monitor, keyboard, mouse, desk.
2. PC gaming is a very isolated activity. You're essentially hunched over a keyboard mouse in front of a monitor on your own. I know you can go online, but a console offers multiplayer offline gaming & that's appealing.
3. It's nice to be spagged on the sofa or comfy armchair with a wireless controller in front of a 40" hi def tv - it's just more relaxed.
4. The fact that you can't upgrade a console (except the PS3's hard drive) can be a positive because you know that every game made for it will run as it was intended (barring bad programming & buggy releases).
5. Multiplatform release don't take advantage of the superior power of a gaming PC. Most are now dodgy ports from 360 & PS3 & because HD-TV's have a pretty good resolution the games can actually look better on a large tv rather than a decent monitor on a good resolution. Prototype on the PC at 1680x1050 at high settings looks absolutely awful on a 22" widescreen monitor (& has framerate issues on a PC that can run Crysis without problems) - I can imagine it being a better experience on console because the PC & monitor resolution just highlights what a complete lack of PC optimization this game had.
6. They take up a lot more space than a console - even a small PC. I have mine built into a Thermaltake Kandalf case which is huge, & I like it that way, but I can imagine it not being to a lot of peoples tastes.

The gaming PC has it's place & there are a lot of really good titles on it you can't get for consoles, but they are more complicated, more expensive, & take up more room. A console is just easier, & in the end it's about having fun.
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by duperstar July 7, 2009 8:10 AM PDT
Number 4 is the exact reason I stopped being a PC gamer. The cost to keep it up to date was too high, that's when I bought the PS1 and never looked back.
by sgoodell07 July 7, 2009 8:36 AM PDT
Gee, its too bad your PC isnt hooked up to a 65" tv so that you can play games wirelessly with your wireless mouse and KB, or that you dont have 2 of them hooked up so that you can split the screen and have your wife/gf play right on the same screen with you.

Obviously you have no idea how to build computers as you have to use a huge case to get any performance out of your rig. You do know you could use a smaller case with a better cooling system and get incredible performance that far outstrips a console, even Sony's miracle cell chip that hasnt really done anything (another piece of Sony proprietary equipment finding its bottom to settle on). Your whole post is, unfortunately, ill informed especially since I can buy a cheaper-than-a-PS3 blu-ray to just drop right into my rig as well.

As far as the cost to keep your htpc up to date...I call BSW....it doesnt cost that much to upgrade the......what, wait what am I upgrading all the time? According to these two posts I am constantly buying things to make my PC faster, more powerful....what am I buying...ram?(10 gigs is enough I am pretty sure)...new graphics cards(nope, have 2 in tandem, and they play anything i put in...)...dont need more storage....

To address the original point of this article, no I will not be buying a PS3 at this price and I would be very surpirsed if they didnt practically cripple the slim (if there even is one yet) in order to get it where they want it. As some of you are so astute as to point out that Sony LOSES money on every PS3 they sell, meaning that they need to reduce the cost of the slim, MEANING slashing its capabilities a little I am sure.

Oh, and the PS3 ISNT a value at this price...it isnt a value at any price. I could live the rest of my life without it and not miss a beat. It isnt something that has any innate value to it, when you buy it try to resell it for what you bought it for and lose money on it, you will see it has no real value as it has nor real impact or benefit to you other than to occupy your mind when you have nothing better to do.
by duperstar July 7, 2009 11:48 AM PDT
@sgoodell7 You're telling me that over the span of a consoles life, you are paying less or the same amount? Nice try. 10 gigs of ram and two video cards sounds expensive on it's own. To say a 4 year old pc that cost the same as the PS3 or Xbox360 did at launch can play today's games is just stupid. Congrats on your setup, you sound like a lot of fun at a party.
by scorpiousx July 30, 2009 12:56 PM PDT
A gaming pc is only a couple hundred bucks more than a desktop pc. On my 42" tv games look just as good as their console counterparts and are about $10 cheaper.
by ReesesLee July 7, 2009 4:25 AM PDT
Nice....and you must have finally bought your first PS2 at the price of $99 that you were waiting for.
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by July 7, 2009 4:50 AM PDT
Look at the PS2 slim. I don't think it's worth it.
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by roachbrain July 7, 2009 6:12 AM PDT
Awsome deal i wish that was around when i jumped of the 360 bandwagon for a PS3.

Anyone complaining about it being still to expensive for this economy just needs to relax. Should a 1080p 50 inch TV be sold for $100 and a 2009 camaro sell at $1,000??? You get what you pay for be it a 360 or Deawoo.
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by chrkeller July 7, 2009 6:16 AM PDT
Honestly I paid $600 for my ps3 at launch. Given it has hardware based ps2 and psx backwards compatibility, built-in wif, still one of the best bluray players on the market and allowed me to upgrade the hard drive to 320 GB for $60... I think I got a very good deal. At $400 with Killzone 2 and MGS 4, amazing deal. Not seeing good value in this particular bundle is fanboyish at best. The ps3 struggling with game lineup in the first 2 years, but now that Uncharted, MGS4, Killzone, Ratchet, Little Big Planet and many others are on the market the system is worth picking up. In the end by the time I upgrade my launch xbox 360 (which died once) with wifi and a 120 GB hard drive it cost me just as much as my ps3, except it has no bluray playback ability.
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by cyclonica1980 July 7, 2009 6:41 AM PDT
Sony just really needs to go bellow the 400.00 price line. Although this is a sweet deal, it does not justify the price tag. 300.00 is pushing it at this point, im more inclined to point to a reasonable 350.00 for this bundle. A 350.00 bundle with MGS4 Kill Zone 2, and the 80 gig PS3 is a selling point. Either that or il just wait for a God of War 3 bundle.
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by alexisbellido July 7, 2009 7:03 AM PDT
Sure, the cost of a console may sound expensive for many but on the long term I've found huge savings in entertainment. I've been playing Fifa 2008 on my PS3 for almost two years now and I'm still enjoying it, the game costed me US$ 50, I know there is a new version and I'll get it but so far I still enjoy the 2008 version as much as I did two years ago.

I'm not one of those guys that play all day everyday but I'm still a geek web developer and I love my PS3 and videogames.

I've also had a lot of laughs, and continue to have, with LittleBigPlanet and all my family.

I think paying US$ 50 for a great videogame that you'll enjoy for many months with friends and family is fair. Sometimes we spend much more going out to the movies (even if the movie sucks) and eating pizza with the family over the weekend.

Videogames are possibly the best alternative for entertainment in recession times.
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by sav1981 July 7, 2009 7:43 AM PDT
I think anyone who's considering to purchase a PS3 this is one heck of a bundle.
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by chris4aker July 7, 2009 8:28 AM PDT
I'd love to buy a PS3 if I had the cash - this sounds like a great bundle...

...although I hate that I can't burn the crappy games that aren't worth $60 - but are still worth tryin out.

XBOX360 =D
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by ArsFragica July 7, 2009 9:20 AM PDT
ps3 sucks.
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by freemarket--2008 July 17, 2009 7:10 AM PDT
How intelligent you sound! Please enlighten us further... J/K.
by mdotts July 7, 2009 9:29 AM PDT
awesome. perfect time for ppl who want a ps3................i would get it, but i want the slim. if u dont care about the slim, just get this, unbeleivable deal when u think about it, that is almost a bargain for all the stuff ur getting, most powerful gaming machine, blu ray player, free online, bluetooth, expandable HDD, exceptional build quality and reliability..................u wont find a better deal than this. but im waiting for the slim.
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by the_iceman July 7, 2009 9:43 AM PDT
Hard to judge this deal vs. upcoming slim value. Will the slim sell at 300, will it feature a faster drive for quicker loads, will it bring back support for SACD & PS2 games, what game bundles will be available for Christmas, will it still feature 2 USB ports, built-in wi-fi, and have a card reader? Too much unknown until Sony reveals details about the slim.
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by zibawal July 7, 2009 11:12 AM PDT
That is still to be seen! But otherwise this is still an expensive bundle to milk all residual juices out of consumers by sony for their originally expensive and now outgoing system!
by sav1981 July 7, 2009 9:54 AM PDT
Did most 360 gamers forget that the elite bundle cost the same as this ps3 bundle? So what is all the complaints about the PS3 selling this bundle for $400? It's a great value for those who wants to buy a PS3. I believe that the Xbox 360 crowd secretly wants a PS3 but wants the price to go down because they don't want to spend another $300 or $400. Yes I know about the 360 Arcade, but it will still cost you $300 if you want the hard drive and trust me once you hear that dvd drive; installing your games to the hard drive is a priority. Oh, and don't forget, if you want wireless that's another $80 and if you want the Xbox Live Gold which is a must if you want to play online with other people is $50. The thing that I don't understand is that no one is complaining about the Wii. Talk about price gouging. The Wii is just a gamecube which you can buy brand new for $30 with the only difference is that you have motion control. But I hope that we gamers stop being fanboys and just enjoy the games that are being made for our entertainment.
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by Kaden101 July 7, 2009 10:07 AM PDT
sgoodell07,

Quote, "Obviously you have no idea how to build computers as you have to use a huge case to get any performance out of your rig. You do know you could use a smaller case with a better cooling system and get incredible performance that far outstrips a console"

I know exactly how to build a PC & I chose the Kandalf case because I liked the look of it - nothing to do with performance - I just like big cases, & like the look of the Kandalf, but that's just me, most people won't want to go that way. Oh, & there's nothing wrong with the cooling, it's quiet, & it works. I have a perfectly servicable PC for gaming that on pure power does outperform a console, but that was never my point. The Wii isn't as powerful as well...anything current, but it has an appeal because of the way you interact with it. If you're not tech savvy & can't be bothered dealing with an operating system & firewalls, & antivirus packages, & everything else you need to deal with on a PC then a console is far preferable if all you're going to use it for is gaming.

Who needs 10 gigs or ram?, 4 is more than enough, who needs 2 graphics cards? - all you've shown is that you obviously like to show off about how good your rig is, & that it must have cost you a fair bit of cash (unless it's 2 really cheap GPU's in which case, what's the point). Well, whoop de doo for you - if you're paying out that kind of money for an enthusiasts gaming PC you are in no position to complain about the price of a PS3.

As for your comment about buying a Blu-Ray drive cheaper than a PS3 to drop into the PC - maybe so, but you've still got to take into account the cost of all the components on top of the Blu-Ray drive, lets see - motherboard, cpu, heatsink, case fans, GPU or 2 (in your case), network card, sound card, case, ram, IDE/sata cables, DVD/CD drives, power supply, keyboard, mouse, speakers, & then you've got to put them all together, or you could pay through the nose for a pre-built one. Most people don't know how to put a PC together because most people don't care, they just want it to work, & PC's (even well looked after ones) are want to do a Windows on you & start acting up, it's just hassle most people can't be bothered with, & I don't blame them - I love tinkering with PC's but I know I'm in the minority. The people who peruse these kind of posts are usually a bit more tech savvy, but we're only a handful in a sea of millions.

Sony hasn't even confirmed the existence of the "slim" yet, so how can you say it'll be crippled. You also stated that the PS3 wouldn't be of value at any price. You're basically making up facts to suit your anti Sony stance, which is fine, if a little delusional. Nobody is forcing you or anybody else to buy the PS3 or any other console for that matter.

Oh, & if you need 2 PC's & a 65" tv to have fun with your wife/gf, then you need to get out more.
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by duperstar July 7, 2009 11:51 AM PDT
Right on.
by douggdangger July 7, 2009 11:50 AM PDT
"Most people with a education are unaffected for the most part the hardest hit are the laborers."

My uncle has a PhD in Chemistry and worked for Shell for over 15 years. He was laid off since the oil industry is hurting too.

The guy had a regular house and drives a Toyota. He isn't a "greedy oil" person.
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by douggdangger July 7, 2009 11:55 AM PDT
"I don't think $399 is bad at all for a console as great as the PS3"

Unfortunately for you and Sony, consumers disagree, that's why they're rotting on store shelves.

If the $400 price tag was "great", Sony wouldn't be suffering and wouldn't have to resort to including free games.
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by Byteme2009 July 8, 2009 9:23 AM PDT
'If the $400 price tag was "great", Sony wouldn't be suffering and wouldn't have to resort to including free games'

I don't think that including a free game or two is 'resorting' to anything. Including things as part of a package is pretty standard. Would you say the same is true of Microsoft with the XBox 360 Game of the Year bundle? They packaged in Halo 3 and Fable II for that one. I don't think this was a desperate marketing ploy for Microsoft.
by bigjon94 July 7, 2009 12:36 PM PDT
um, Ya they already had this deal in Canada. For like a week long sale for St. Jean Batiste and Canada Day. If you bought a PS3 online, Killzone 2 and MGS4 were automatically adde to your cart at 0.00$
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by jonathan_a July 7, 2009 2:19 PM PDT
I think this bundle has more to do with the fact that Sony created a @#%load of PS3 40GB models with only 2 USD ports (instead of 4), no Card Reader and no Backward Compatibility with PS1 and PS2 games, that NO ONE BOUGHT, so they took all those consoles that no one wanted, upgraded the harddrive and re-packaged it as a bundle with 2 best selling titles.

As you can see... is this a sign that a PS3 slim is coming? Maybe... maybe not.... the way I see it, Sony is just trying to clean up their warehouse from a cheap PS3 model that no one was buying.
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