Comments on: Sony cuts price on PS3--is it enough?

With the XBox 360's reliability problems, is $400 the magic price point for the PS3--and its built-in Blu-ray player?

[C433Z]

360 breakdown is a non-issue

The new 65 nanometer process CPUs are in the 360s now (http://gear.ign.com/articles/824/824183p1.html) along with better heatsinks and clamps on the motherboard.

Even so, $400 for a bluray player alone is really nice, but in the end it won't matter because of the slew of great games coming to the 360. I want one, but it's kind of hard to get one if there are very few games worth playing on it. Halo 3, Mass Effect, and Too Human are all 360 exclusives and look really good.

'course I can't wait for God of War in high def.

[akira2]

new 65nm processor?

it has been around for at least a year by now. in fact, it is not new, as 45nm is coming around the corner in Q4 07 and Q1 08.

[cpopken]

Online gameplay

I think Sony needs to concentrate on the online aspect of gameplay. If they can get a couple of good games that people love to play online, I think more people will jump on board. I personally don't care for online gaming at all. I am 34 and don't have time to sit for 10 hours a day playing a game. I would rather buy it for the Blu-ray player, I love to watch movies and players are expensive, so getting a game machine and HD player for under $500 would be great.

I don't think the backward compatibility is a big deal either. Who really wants to play PS2 games on a PS3 anyway? I could just play them on my PS2. I never played my PS1 games on my PS2.

[spamouflage]

Sony is making it so easy...

It's hard not to make fun of Sony. Why did they have to remove backward
compatibility, was it too expensive to leave it in? Weird decision.

[Rod Roddy]

Sega to Sony--game over...

Well not literally. Sony needs to do like Sega did after their final offering Dreamcast flopped like a stack of hot cakes,and focus mainly on producing games. Sega who was in the industry for years called it quits (in the console wars anyway)after their countless disapointments--Saturn ring a bell? And who dethroned them--Sony.

This is a new age of video games, heck-their more like computers now-a-days and Sony dropped the ball big time. The final two Gladiators (Nintendo and Microsoft) will duke it out til the next generation of systems rolls around. Google Games? it can happen!

[lil-yankee]

This is rediculous,

You guys just can't compare this machines. Everybody knows that the ps3 has more potential than the 360 in every aspect.
Check the reviews for the 360 when it came out an see how much different they were from the ones drawn to the ps3, not so much. So now take this in to consideration, the 360 has been out there for some time and has given its game developers enough practice to familiarize with the console and use its full potential. The ps3 in the other hand, has not. During next years spawn you will see how games will achieve better quality: in image and game play. Just stop it, the ps3 has been the 2 best selling console of the three with the 360 in last all the time. The ps3 is a multimedia-hub that also happens to be the most advance gaming console ever.
and the price, yeah for a gaming console is very expensive but for a ps3,blue-ray plarer, internet browser,photo viewing,music streaming:playback storage, and cd playback it is not. Yeah we see it expensive because we think of it as a gaming machine, the wii is. The ps3 and the 360 are not.
Once you get that right you start to realize how much money these consoles, both of then actually cost, and let me tell you this the ps3 is the only one that makes its makers lose profit because it actually cost more money than what they sell it for.
Chose wisely.

[yuca2k1]

ps3 will fail just like the dreamcast

lil yankee your crazy, NPD figures have never shown the ps3 to be in second place. nintendo wii is first, DS is second, xbox 360 is thrird,PSP is fourth, PS2 is fifth while the lonely ps3 is in last place with the nokia n-gage! the ps3 has already came out with several different system types and price cuts to appeal to gamers and nobody is buying it cuz it sucks. raw horse power doesnt mean anything if they dont have any games to push it, and nobody is going to make these games because publishers dont want to take a chance, mainly because the system isnt selling. developers rather take their chances with a system like the 360 which currently has the same graphics, and come out with a friendlier kiddie version for the wii and ds. PS3 will fail because of their lack of innovation!

[lil-yankee]

Yeah, You are right.

Overall, the 360 sales are ahead of the competition, both the ps3 and the Wii. But wait, how come? Isnt' the Wii the top seller since its release in november only outsold by the psp and the ds? Ohhhh, I forgot the 360 had a full year lead compared to the competition. The 360 has only been sold more in the us and in parts of europe. Now go and read, see the predictions and the data. Ps3 owns the 360 in Japan, and In almost all parts of europe. Lets not even go to Australia. And notice that some of those (actually a lot of them) are 360 that were victims of play time causing a RROD to appear. (Weird because you are actually supposed to play in your machine but whatever i HAVE A PS3). Now if you see the numbers even with a full year ahead the 360 is only up by 7 millions that are the number of consoles sold while it was the only one in the market. Hit me back, if you can.

[hazyb91]

PS3 is the better console at the end of the day...

I have both the PS3 and the Xbox Elite, and I have come to the conclusion that the Xbox at the moment is better in terms of software available (games) and online play. However in terms of media it is lacking hugely behind the PS3- you cant even copy music/photos from you usb memory to the console, thats just crap. PS3 can do this easily and quickly. what am I supposed to do with the 10gb hardrive? Plus the xbox run really hot and loud, the Ps3 runs virtually silently. The xbox also lacks in the power and processing department, I get the sense that it has reached its peak with games like gear of war, and even they dont run seamlessly- glitchy cut scenes. The Ps3 however has much to offer still in the future. I suggest that you just wait and see who has the better game next year- metal gear and gran turismo.

[Scott Gardener]

No PS2 compatibility is the deal-breaker

I was actually considering this version of the console. (If the hard drive is user-replacible, then a $100 price break would easily buy an even bigger hard drive.) But, if it can't play PS2 games, then it's basically a Blu-Ray player that just happens to support a few stray game titles. With PS2 backwards compatibility, the other versions of the PS3 are both blu-ray players and consoles that support one of the largest game libraries out there.

I'm not a heavy gamer--indeed, hardly a gamer at all. But, I'm looking at getting a console for its blu-ray playback capability, with some gaming on the side. But, I'm more interested in some PS2 titles than anything I've seen for the PS3 so far.

Given how explosively successful the PS2 is and how unsuccessful the PS3 is proving to be, leaving out the backwards compatibility strikes me as simply insane.

[RRosal]

Response to Yuca2K1

"PS3 will fail because of their lack of innovation!"

Spoken like a true fanboy.

[soss22]

Sega dreamcast huh?

Comparing a Sony system to anything created by SEGA such as the saturn or dreamcast failures if laughable. Sony is still one of the top technology companies in the world with consumers. They're going to do everything they can, to make sure their format (bluray) succeeds, and we're seeing that with the loss their taking on the PS3's and the price cuts. It will continue to happen, until HDDVD is out of the way and the titles start rolling in for the ps3.

[brandon_p23]

REALLY think about it...

The bottom line is that PS3 may cost more now, but the XBox 360 will cost more in the long run. Let me explain.
I own both a PS3 and a PS2. Both require that, for interent connection, an ethernet cable be installed for access. No fees are applied (with the exception of your internet service provider). However, the XBox 360, if you want interent access, have to pay either a monthly fee or a prepaid card, costing the consumer more money. Sure, there aren't a great many games for the PS3 and there are a ton for the XBox 360, but when the PS2 came out (or, if any of you who remember the PS1)or even the XBox 360 that didn't have too many games either when it first came out. All those three systems needed was a little time.
Time, unfortunately, the consumer is judging too quickly for the PS3.
Give it a year to get some games under the system's belt, then we might see some progress in sales.

[djclover]

What about the 20gig model?

I was thinking about buying the 20gig model sometime this week, will the price of that one fall as well? or will that be phased out

cheers

[andre_n.1]

ridiculous sony

i think it's funny, every month or so you hear that Sony is again cutting the price of the PS3. Nobody cares-the PS3 is dead. People will drop it like a hot potatoe even if it'll cost 300 bucks

[sgrmba]

Getting there....

Sony is getting there with the price cut. I agree with both sides of the arguments - the processors make it a power house. The lack of innovation, holds it back. It reminds me more of the pc business model where they just keep enhancing the hardware but the user experience doesn't change. Nintento altered the user experience, thus making the Wii and DS more innovative. In the end, without bringing a new aspect to the gaming experience, the PS3 will continue to struggle to find an audience. I mean why pay all that money for the same experience? I would not, however, count them out yet. I would like to think that, based on observations learned from the success of the Wii, they will bring additional innovations to the PS3, not just rely on traditional game play.

[nhlkoho]

this is funny

I laugh everytime someone says that the 360 has been out longer and developers have had more time to work with it. This is true, but then why are developers neglecting the PS3 and not taking the time to even try to take advantage of the console? Because (like the Sega Saturn) it is too damn hard to program for. Sony was in this situation with the PSone except the roles were reversed. They had a great console competing with the Saturn that did great at first and then failed miserably. Developers are dropping their PS3 exclusive titles because they know they just aren't going to make enough money on PS3 titles. It just doesn't make good business sense.
Sony is a great company, but just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Investing that much money in the cell and put it in the PS3 was a huge mistake. Consoles also did not need Blu-ray. I don't want to be forced to buy a hi-def player before I am ready to buy one and it seems like they are trying to make up for their Beta vs. VCR fiasco. They lost then and they wanted to make sure they would win this time.
The bottom line is, no matter how many different packages they are going to offer, no matter how low they drop the price, programmers are not going to waste their time with big budget PS3 exclusive titles that they KNOW they aren't going to make a profit on. They are going to make them on the 360 and port them over to the PS3 exactly like they have been in the past. Maybe they'll learn from their mistakes in the next generation. If they have any money left to produce another console.

[Captain Obvious]

I don't understand fanbnoys

I myself have owned a 360 since launch and have never had a single problem with it. It is a great system with a great selection of games, with an amazing online service.

I waited anxiously for a PS3 to come out, it looked like a phenomenal system, I have no complaints about the hardware. The price was waaay to high for me to consider buying, especially since every game they had that was worth buying could also be found on the 360.

This is a great price point for the system, however losing backward compatibility is a very annoying problem as is the forced inclusion of a Blu-Ray drive. there was no NEED for this, and is simply a tool to sell more players and win their format war that has nothing at all to do with videogames.

Until the time comes that Blu-ray wins the format war and I need a Blu-Ray player, or they get a great selection of exclusives on the PS3 that is makes it worth buying then I am sticking with the 360. I think my opinion is shared with most of the general public and this is the problem the PS3 is facing, they are in a situation where anyone who isn't a Microsoft fanboy (I can't understand fanboys) can admit they have very impressive hardware, however people who already own a 360 have no reason to invest in ANOTHER piece of expensive electronics when the one they have already does the job. They are going to need some killer apps to really move systems... It is like, why would I buy a Zune if I already own an iPod, I am sure the Zune is nice, but I don't NEED it.

PS3 Needs to set itself apart, not just compete with prices.
and should have, from the beginning let the consumer decide what they wanted, I don't own the 360 HD-DVD drive because I don't need it, I don't need a Blu-Ray player either (I have a Toshiba HD-A20 HD-DVD player standalone)

Perhaps in time Sony will have the software to make their hardware worth while. It is like having a high end media player that is AMAZING but they don't make any media that can play on it, it is still AMAZING but really not worth buying because you can't use it... same thing with the PS3

I do hope it eventually does well though... now is apparently not the time

[Renegade Knight]

Xbox 360 FanBoys Not Rational

The sole reason I got an Xbox 360 was rumble. That's it. Nothing more.

My 360 doesn't do WiFi and game content is limited by the DVD format. I have found that what makes a game stand out isn't so much great graphics. It's great story and background. The thing that take up a lot of space on a DVD.

By the time you take a 360 add in HD-DVD or Blue Ray for content. Kick in a WiFi connection and the larger Hard drive I'm in the PS3 price range.

The lack of Backwards Compatiblity on the 360 (meaning some games work and a lot don't) is a major PITA. Especailly since my Xbox died and I had games to play that are now just trade in fodder.

When the PS3 price drops, and they include rumble. I'm there and I'm not going to be looking back at what I can already see as a limited console. The 360 has already taken steps to catch up, but it's already too late. The console will be replaced on everone shelves much sooner than the PS3's and that's another cost that people should factor in.

[tecneecs]

Lower price is better.

The price is better. But the PS platform does have a habit of letting Xbox and PCs get away with selling games that PS doesn't carry--for example it's weak support of Star Wars titles. Not good for PS fans/Star Wars fans like me!

[brandonh33]

side note...

After i posted my previous comment I have realized that a lot of people are saying that the blu-ray drive was "forced onto us". You know that the drive also has a different use than for movies? Games! some of the more advanced games out are already pushing 20gb. The games in 2-3 years will most likely be around 60-100gb.(The blu-ray disk has an estimated future memory of 200gb) The blu-ray drive is the main reason that the ps3 is a true next gen system while the 360 with a dvd drive is this gen. Sure you can buy the hd-dvd add on but may i remind you that its only for movies, they will never make a game on an hd-dvd disk because the drive is not designed for that. Here is an example, why do you think halo 3 was so short? Memory. Personally me and my cousin won the game in about 5 hours and we are not what you would call "expert" halo players. Why wernt the graphics "Incredible"? Memory. The 360 is at its peak. why? Memory.

[brandonh33]

Yet another side note

Just an update on how the 80gb ps3 is doing. On Amazon.com the sales of the console with the $100 price drop has jumped up more than 480%. No that is not an error, i mean 480%. Is it just me or are there changes in the air!

[Tec Consumer]

That jus means that 48 people actually bought one.

. . . duh. . .

[truedorian]

How's dis fer change: 2005, Sony #1; 2007 Sony #3!